Novak Djokovic needed some time to prove himself on Wednesday at the Paris Olympics before he dominated the match with five straight games to secure a 7-5, 6-3 win over Germany’s Dominik Koepfer and reach the men’s singles quarter-finals at the Summer Olympics for the fourth time.
The gold medal is the only major achievement missing from the resume of Djokovic, the 37-year-old from Serbia who has won a record 24 men’s Grand Slam titles and spent more weeks at No. 1 than anyone else in the history of the computerized world tennis rankings.
That’s why Djokovic, the top seed in Paris, has declared success at the Olympics a priority this year. His only medal so far was a bronze in Beijing in 2008.
This time, the tennis matches will be played at Roland Garros, the home of the French Open, which Djokovic has won three times. One of his victories came in the final on Court Philippe Chatrier in 2021 against Stefanos Tsitsipas, whom Djokovic will face on Thursday.
Greek Tsitsipas defeated Argentine Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-1.
American Tommy Paul booked his place in the Olympic quarter-finals for the first time and ended France’s hopes of a medal on home soil when he beat unseeded Corentin Moutet 7-6(5) 6-3.
Against Koepfer, Djokovic was initially erratic, not as strong as he was when he beat Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the second round. The score was 5-5 in the first set, with Koepfer hitting powerful forehands to help him drive Djokovic along the baseline.
Djokovic looked out into his box, where his wife Jelena and their son sat. He occasionally stretched out his arms and mumbled — either to himself or to them.
But he won the last two games of the first set, prompting cheers from the crowd with his two-syllable nickname: “No-lee! No-lee!” As Koepfer struggled to the touchline, he threw his racket onto his bench.
Djokovic started the second set leading 3-0. Meanwhile, a coach visited Kupfer to get treatment for a blister on his left middle finger.
Koepfer is a 30-year-old left-handed player with a career record of less than -0.500, has only reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam once, is currently ranked No. 70 and has never risen above No. 49.
Djokovic was wearing a grey wrap on his right knee, which underwent surgery in Paris in early June after tearing the meniscus during a match at the French Open. He played at Wimbledon less than a month after the operation and reached the final before losing to Carlos Alcaraz.
Now Djokovic has become the first man to reach four Olympic singles quarter-finals since tennis returned to the Summer Games in 1988.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
