Winning Olympic gold has got Novak Djokovic behaving out of character as he celebrates the “biggest achievement of his career” to date. The 24-time Grand Slam champion beat Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s tennis final at Paris 2024 to finally clinch the crown that’s long eluded his grasp, and he’s marking the occasion in style as he revels with family.
That’s after the Serb was snapped drinking alcohol while partying with loved ones in Dubrovnik following his latest career milestone. Djokovic, 37, can be seen swilling what appears to be a bottle of bubbly from a boat in Croatia before leaping into the water below.
It’s no rare thing to see arguably the greatest tennis player of all time celebrating – but it’s far less common to witness Djokovic imbibing in public. In fact, ‘Nole’ has been open regarding his preference of living alcohol-free in his efforts to maintain such high standards.
“I haven’t been drinking for years,” he told VICE in 2019. “I sometimes did and as an athlete who rarely drinks, which is well known, one drink will throw me into the machine and I don’t know where I am.”
But that’s not to say Djokovic hasn’t lapsed on occasion in the past. And the superstar’s willingness to partake appears to have softened as he verges towards retirement.
It was after beating Rafael Nadal in a classic to clinch the Australian Open in 2012 that one of his most famed brushes with booze unfolded. Djokovic was subject to the standard doping controls after the almost six-hour encounter, but he was so dehydrated that officials gave him beer so that he could provide a sample.
The Melbourne icon then proceeded to party with volunteers and sung karaoke into the early hours of the morning. Tales such as that may leave some tennis fans wondering what they’ve missed out had Djokovic partaken more regularly over the years.
“I was at that party,” Australian journalist Chip Le Grand once recalled on X. “The funniest line from Djokovic was when he got on stage and apologised for only having one beer that night. Cue mock boos from the crowd of tournament staff and volunteers.
“Then he lifted up the trophy (which was filled with beer) and declared: ‘But it came in a very big cup!’ Cue Djokovic scull and crowd goes nuts.”
Having finally completed his collection of medals with an Olympic gold, it seems Djokovic has been making up for lost time. However, he’ll be sure to shrug off any hangovers in pursuit of the US Open, which gets underway on August 26.
