Novak Djokovic Is Confirmed for Paris Games, Serbian Olympic Committee Says

Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts after a game during his men's singles round of sixteen match against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day nine of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on June 3, 2024. (AFP)

08:33-19 June 2024 AD ـ 13 Thul-Hijjah 1445 AH

Novak Djokovic Is Confirmed for Paris Games, Serbian Olympic Committee Says

Novak Djokovic will compete in the upcoming Paris Games, the Serbian Olympic Committee confirmed on Tuesday.

Djokovic had knee surgery after withdrawing from the French Open ahead of the quarterfinals and said he hoped to return to competition “as soon as possible.”

The Serbian committee said in its announcement that Djokovic had confirmed he will play in Paris. It will be his fifth Olympics.

The 37-year-old Djokovic had said surgery on his right knee “went well.”

The tennis events for the Paris Olympics start on July 27 at Roland Garros, the site of the French Open.

It was unclear if Djokovic will be ready to play at Wimbledon, where he has won seven of his 24 Grand Slam titles. That grass-court major begins on July 1.

Djokovic has only won a bronze medal at the Olympics. That came in his first games — Beijing in 2008.

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Portugal Into Euro 2024 Last Eight

Portugal's forward #07 Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during the UEFA Euro 2024 round of 16 football match between Portugal and Slovenia at the Frankfurt Arena in Frankfurt am Main on July 1, 2024. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP)

Asharq Al Awsat

07:13-2 July 2024 AD ـ 26 Thul-Hijjah 1445 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

07:13-2 July 2024 AD ـ 26 Thul-Hijjah 1445 AH

Portugal Into Euro 2024 Last Eight

Goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved all three penalties as Portugal won 3-0 in a shootout against a brave Slovenia side who had held them to a 0-0 draw after Cristiano Ronaldo’s extra-time miss from the spot in a dramatic Euro 2024 last-16 clash on Monday.
Portugal had the lion's share of the chances but also their brilliant goalkeeper to thank for a one-on-one save from Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko as they stumbled into a quarter-final meeting with France in Hamburg on Friday.
Costa also saved from Josip Ilicic, Jure Balkovec and Benjamin Verbic in the shootout - the first keeper to save three penalties in a Euros shootout - to send his side through despite a team performance that lacked spark for the most part, Reuters reported.
"This is probably the best game of my life," Costa said. "I focused on doing what I had to do. I went with my gut feeling. Of course we had analyzed the penalty takers, but players change how they shoot. I'm very happy and very excited to have helped the team."
Ronaldo in particular will come under the spotlight as he wasted several opportunities to go with a penalty miss in extra-time that left him in a flood of tears and needing to be consoled by team mates.
"Even the strongest people have their (bad) days. I was at rock bottom ... when the team needed me the most," Ronaldo said in a post-match interview before bursting into tears again.
"Sadness at the start is joy at the end. That's what football is. Moments, inexplicable moments," he said.
"I feel sad and happy at the same time. But the important thing is to enjoy it. The team did an extraordinary job.
"We fought right to the end and if you look at it, if you analyze the game, I think we deserved it because we had more authority."
SPOT KICK
Portugal were awarded the penalty late in the first half of extra time when Diogo Jota's storming run into the box was illegally stopped by defender Vanja Drkusic, who had already been booked and was lucky not to receive a second yellow card.
They have a reliable penalty taker in their team in Bruno Fernandes but captain Ronaldo elected to take it and his effort was superbly saved to his left by Slovenia's Jan Oblak, who pushed the ball onto the post.
Ronaldo, aiming to become the oldest scorer in Euros history at 39, had looked out of sorts all through the match, missing several headed chances.
He also insisted on taking all four free-kicks Portugal were awarded in shooting range, with none of them particularly threatening for Oblak.
Slovenia defended superbly and every time they had a scrap of possession they sent the ball long to forwards Andraz Sporar and Sesko to try and make something of it.
It was a ploy that worked well and Sesko had two one-on-one opportunities in the game, both from Pepe mistakes.
His first was scuffed wide and the second, some seven minutes from the end of extra time, was well saved by Costa.
That miss will no doubt haunt him and when it came to the pressure of the shootout Slovenia wilted in the face of excellent goalkeeping, much to the relief of Ronaldo, who to his credit scored the first penalty for Portugal.
Slovenia go home having played out four draws in Germany, but having qualified for the knockout rounds of a major tournament for the first time in their history.
"Unfortunately, it did not work out for us. I’m lost for words, the atmosphere here is amazing and that’s what makes it that much more difficult," Oblak said.
"There’s nothing more to add. You see what happened in extra time, we had the opportunity to score, but we were probably missing a bit of luck."

Novak Djokovic Is Confirmed for Paris Games, Serbian Olympic Committee Says

Novak Djokovic Is Confirmed for Paris Games, Serbian Olympic Committee Says

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Portugal Into Euro 2024 Last Eight

Portugal Into Euro 2024 Last Eight

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