Pain-free Novak Djokovic targets golden season ahead of Australian Open

Novak Djokovic will have his sights on arguably the biggest prize in tennis as he begins his Australian Open campaign on Sunday.

Djokovic has made it a habit to begin the year with a title in Australia. He's on a 28-match winning streak at Melbourne Park, where he has won a staggering 10 men's singles crowns – the biggest contributor to his record 24 Grand Slam titles.

The Serbian won 27 of his 28 matches in majors last year, losing only the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz. He is determined to go one better than that in 2024, and hopefully add an Olympic gold medal in Paris to go with it.

Asked on Saturday if the 'Golden Slam' – all four majors plus Olympic gold – was his target this season, Djokovic said he wants to win it all.

“It’s no different this year,” he said. “I’m just hoping I can start the season in a way that I have been starting my seasons, most of my seasons, throughout my career: with a win here in Australia, in Melbourne. My favourite place, no doubt.

“The season is so long. We have an Olympic year. Grand Slams, Olympics, those are the big goals. It's not a secret that I want to break more records and make more history of the game. That's something that keeps on motivating me.”

The injury update from Djokovic was also encouraging on the eve of his Australian Open opener.

Djokovic hurt his wrist playing for Serbia in the United Cup last week, and needed treatment twice during a quarter-final loss to Australia's Alex de Minaur.

“My wrist is good. I had time from the last match against de Minaur to my first match here to recover,” he said ahead of Sunday's match against qualifier Dino Prizmic. “I’ve been training well. Practice sessions pain-free so far. It’s good. It’s all looking good.”

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