By James Toney in Paris

Nothing motivates Novak Djokovic like revenge and proving a point, which is why Boris Becker thinks he's the man to beat for Olympic gold.

Becker spent three years as Djokovic's coach and was even linked with a return to the role when he split with Goran Ivanisevic earlier this year.

But the Serbian's 13-6 singles record at the Games bares no relation to his 24 Grand Slam titles, a solitary bronze from 2008 his only return from four appearances, which also include two bronze medal match defeats.

Becker was his coach in Rio, where he suffered a first-round loss, and admits he'd never seen him so heartbroken, refusing to speak to his team for 48 hours.

Roger Federer never won Olympic singles gold, though he did win the doubles in Beijing, and Djokovic has made no secret the next fortnight at Roland Garros was his priority for the season.

"When you've won everything there is to win, you want that thing that's not in your cabinet so badly," said Becker, who is part of the expert team for Discovery+, the only place you can watch all the Olympic tennis tournament.

"He could be President of Serbia; he is an icon in that country, and he wants to represent them on the world stage and there is no better way to do that than the Olympics.

"I coached the Serbian team in Rio, and you can't imagine the expectation and pressure on him when he plays for his country. When he lost, it was probably the biggest disappointment of his career.

"He loves his country more than anything in the world outside his family and that's just another reason why this Olympics is so important to him."

Djokovic underwent surgery for the just the second time in his career three weeks before Wimbledon, where he went down tamely in a one-sided final against Carlos Alcaraz.

Some questioned his determination to play, with the Olympics starting just a fortnight later, but Becker believes that run to the final is invaluable.

"For him to reach the Wimbledon final after that surgery was close to a miracle," he added.

"He has tested his knee in matches and there is enough time between the Wimbledon final and the Olympics, so I don't worry about that. Wimbledon was important for his preparation for Paris.

"Novak was very transparent that this was the one he wanted, not that it means he didn't take the Grand Slams seriously. I expect to see a very good Novak in Paris, I think playing for Serbia gives him that extra ten percent.

"When you are used to winning so much every year, you realise the competition never sleeps. The sport is evolving but Novak is still around, he's still the King."

Six-time Grand Slam champion Becker never went beyond the third round of Olympic singles but won men's doubles gold with Michael Stich in 1992.

Spaniards Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal team up as an all-star pairing in that competition and Becker is full of admiration for the recent Wimbledon champion.

"It's going to be most watched partnership at the Olympics in any sport, we had the Dream Team in basketball and now it's these guys in tennis," he added.

"Nadal is one of the all-time greats and Alcaraz is clearly the player in form. It's one for the history books, something everybody will be watching at these Games.

"I'm a huge fan of Alcaraz, what he is doing and how he is playing is spectacular. After the big three - Novak, Federer, and Nadal - it was important we had a player come along like Alcaraz.

"The sky is the limit for him, the question is how long can he stay hungry and injury free because he plays such a physical game.”

Watch every moment of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live only on discovery+, the streaming home of the Olympics.