Those wishing that Novak Djokovic is still on the singles circuit may breathe a sigh of relief. The Serb shot down the rumors of a romance with a fellow Olympic competitor, javelin thrower Leryn Franco of Paraguay, during a press conference at the US Open.
A variety of sources including USA Network coverage of the US Open picked up the story and Franco is said to currently be in New York as well. A coincidence, perhaps?
“Yes, I've heard that this has been the main subject in the papers, and I've heard that even they showed it on the TV two days ago when I played my first match, so I'm denying this, and I'm saying that we don't have a romance like people call it already. I even heard that she's here, so it's kind of strange, because I would be the first to know, probably.
“Yeah, the papers are probably trying to make another scandal of it, you know. Another romance. This is part of my life, and I have to accept it like this, but we know each other, that's true, and we met, and then she came to watch my matches, but there is nothing more than friendship,” he told reports after his third round win over American Robert Kendrick.
It is unknown how the duo met. Sightings of the two holding hands around the Athletes’ Village have been reported, but Djokovic only confirmed that Franco was in attendance for his matches in Beijing.
“Djokovic looks to his new partner as if she were a trophy,” an Argentine athlete has confided to his native newspaper, La Nacion. “Is it official? Yes, of course. They go hand in hand everywhere.”
Franco, 26, is five years Djokovic’s senior and known as much for her modeling career as her athletic achievements. She is a two-time Olympian, having competed in Athens in 2004 and now in Beijing, where she failed to reach the finals, finishing second to last in the event, 10 places below her best result in Athens.
She has competed successfully off the field as well, taking top honors at the Miss Bikini Universe competition and was runner up in the Miss Paraguay pageant in 2006.
Djokovic is not the only athlete with rumors surrounding an Olympic hook-up. Michael Phelps, who broke Mark Spitz’s record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympic Games by pulling in eight pieces of golden hardware, was linked to Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice.
While neither romance has yet to be confirmed, there is one memorable Olympic encounter that has stood the test of time. It was at the Sydney Games in 2000 where Roger Federer met his now longtime girlfriend, Mirka Vavrinec.