Thiem: ‘Djokovic is the favourite, but he won’t have it easy’

Sports Desk, Jul 24 (EFE).- Austrian tennis player Dominic Thiem, number six in the world rankings, said that Serbian Novak Djokovic is the big favourite to claim the gold medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, but “he won’t have it easy.”

Thiem is among a handful of international tennis stars that will not be competing in Tokyo, including Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

“He is in a great position to win the Golden Slam (winning the four Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic gold) and probably won’t get another chance this good to achieve it,” Thiam told Efe in an interview.

Thiem, who has won 17 ATP titles, said that Djokovic, first in world rankings, has a good shot at taking gold, but the Olympic competition is “different to Grand Slam tournaments, with best-of-three sets.”

“For me, there are some players that can win in a best-of-three sets face-off,” said Thiem, as he insisted that anyone hoping to wear gold “will have to fight for it since day one and won’t have it easy.” EFE

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