Djokovic's inspired victory over Carlos Alcaraz in Paris last August, two months after the Spanish sensation won the French Open for the first of likely many times, thrust the super Serb alongside Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi as the only men to have completed a career golden slam in singles.
With that elusive feat finally complete, the 37-year-old will draw on those magical memories from Roland Garros in his obsessive pursuit to move past Margaret Court as the most successful grand slam singles player in tennis history.
"Probably the highlight of my career, what I experienced in Paris last year," Djokovic told fans at the ASICS Tennis Summit in Melbourne.
Novak Djokovic regards the Paris Olympics as a career highlight. (AP PHOTO)
"I've been lucky enough to achieve great things in this sport, but winning a gold medal for Serbia at age 37 was probably the last best chance that I had.
"Yeah, under the circumstances also of having a surgery not long before that of the knee and coming back (with) really getting the highest possible motivation and inspiration for myself to represent my country and to really have a shot at gold.
"And it happened in almost a kind of a movie-like scenario for me really, having my wife and my kids with me and just incredible support atmosphere.
"The Olympic Games are unlike any other sports event.
"Most important, historic sports event. Happens every four years, so the opportunity is very rare.
"So it was just a wonderful fairytale."
But five months on and edging closer to 38, Djokovic knows Father Time waits for no man and served up a vulnerable side to the seemingly indestructible superhuman that has dominated the sport for more than a decade.
The clock is ticking as Novak Djokovic chases a 25th grand slam title. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS)
The 24-times grand slam champ acknowledges he will need to conjure up something equally as special to snare major No.25 in 2025.
Known for his fastidious care for body and mind, which even extends to carting his own CVAC pod - a Cyclic Variations in Adaptive Conditioning machine that takes hypobaric chambers to another level - to Melbourne Park, Djokovic will stop at nothing to accomplish what others may seem impossible.
He even told fascinated fans at the pre-Open forum that he fantasises about being cryogenically frozen at the peak of his powers in order to stay playing at his insane best.
"I wish I can play, always like I played in 2023 Australian Open where I was smacking every ball and was not missing a lot and won the whole tournament, just dropping one set," he said.
"Yeah, I want to freeze myself in that moment and it's like in that movie (Demolition Man) when (the cryogenically frozen) Sylvester Stallone wakes up … but you can't be frozen. You're ever evolving."
