"My kids hid it, I was panicking" - Novak Djokovic on 'forgetting' Olympic gold medal due to son Stefan & daughter Tara's mischief ahead of US Open

Novak Djokovic recently revealed that he was unable to bring his gold medal which he won at the 2024 Paris Olympics to New York after his son Stefan and daughter Tara mischievously hid it from him. The Serb won his second medal at the Games with the first one, a bronze medal, coming at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Djokovic was the top seed at the quadrennial event and he defeated Matthew Ebden, Rafael Nadal, and Dominik Koepfer in the first three rounds. In the quarterfinals, he triumphed over eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and then registered a win against 11th seed and eventual bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinals to secure a spot in the championship match.

In the final, the former World No.1 defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3), 7-6(2) to win the gold medal.

Recently while speaking to Forbes, Novak Djokovic revealed that he was supposed to bring his gold medal with him to New York ahead of the 2024 US Open for a few planned events. However, he was unable to do so as he could not find the said medal as his children Stefan and Tara played a prank on him and hid his medal. The Serb said that he went into a state of panic when he was unable to find the medal.

“I forgot it because my kids hid it somewhere. So, then I was panicking because I had to take it. One night my daughter and one night my son sleeps with it. They have a couple of trophies in their rooms. I try to look at it [gold medal] once a day and say ‘hello,’ and say ‘thank you’ and get inspired for more,” he said.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion also recalled his semifinal win over Lorenzo Musetti at the Olympic Games. He expressed that after winning the match, he fell to the ground in jubilation as he realized that the silver medal was guaranteed. However, his ultimate goal had always been to claim the gold, which he did by producing, in his words, the "best levels of tennis."

“When I won the semis in Paris [Olympics], I fell to the ground because I knew silver was guaranteed. But silver was never the final goal. I was going for gold. It was one of the best levels of tennis I had produced in years. It is just different. Olympic games are historically the most important sports event,” he added.

Novak Djokovic will face Laslo Djere in US Open 2024 2R

Novak Djokovic will take on compatriot Laslo Djere in the second round of the 2024 US Open.

Djokovic, who is seeded second at the New York Slam, began his title defense by defeating qualifier Radu Albot in straight sets, with a score of 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, in two hours and seven minutes to advance to the second round. This victory marked the Serb's record 78th win by a male player at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Meanwhile, Djere faced a tough challenge in his opening match against Jan-Lennard Struff, where he managed to secure a hard-fought victory with a score of 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2

Novak Djokovic and Laslo Djere have met twice before on the ATP Tour, with the former emerging victorious in both encounters. Their most recent encounter was in the third round of the 2023 US Open, where the 24-time Grand Slam champion staged a comeback to win 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.