Moments after Novak Djokovic beat Lorenzo Musetti to reach his first Olympic final the Serbian said in a court-side television interview that he had nothing to lose in the gold-medal match.
Later that day, however, when asked whether he would be happy to leave the Paris Games with silver, the 37-year-old glared at his inquisitor and snapped: “Next question!”
Djokovic faces Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster showdown at Roland Garros on Sunday and only victory will really satisfy the 24-time grand slam champion’s hunger.
His four previous appearances at the Olympics earned him a solitary bronze medal and plenty of heartache as he lost three singles semi-finals to Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray and Alexander Zverev.
Doubles crown
Australia’s Matthew Ebden went from suffering the heaviest defeat in the first round of the men’s singles in Olympics tennis, winning only one game against top seed Djokovic, to winning a gold medal in the doubles on Saturday.
Ebden and his partner John Peers downed US’s Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-1), 10-8 in the final.