Djokovic begins US Open bid for record 25th Grand Slam title

Novak Djokovic, 39, said he felt "as best as I can be" heading into the US Open, aiming to capitalise on an unusually wide-open men's draw. The Serb arrived in New York having played only once since his Wimbledon semi-final run, losing his opening match at the Cincinnati Open to Thiago Agustín Tirante while struggling with humidity. He now views that defeat as a blessing in disguise, saying it gave him nearly two weeks of extra training time to prepare his body and mind. "I don't like early losses anywhere, to be honest, but it gave me time to be prepared for US Open in a most adequate way," he said.

Chasing history

Since winning the US Open in 2023, Djokovic has reached two Grand Slam finals and six semi-finals, but a 25th major — which would move him past Margaret Court as the most successful player in tennis history — has eluded him. As reported by Rediff, in a recently released documentary titled "Novak Djokovic: the Wolf in Winter," he pushed back against retirement talk: "Why would you want me to retire when I am still playing and competing at the highest level? I'm still top-five, top-10 in the world." He currently sits fifth in the world rankings.

Last year Djokovic lost in the semi-finals of all four majors, but this season he reached the Australian Open final and the Wimbledon semi-finals. The field this year is notably open: Jannik Sinner is absent through injury, while Carlos Alcaraz returns after four and a half months out with a wrist injury, and a year ago Djokovic would have been the clear favourite in this scenario.

According to Eurosport, Djokovic won his first-round match against Argentina's Mariano Navone at Arthur Ashe Stadium 6-0, 6-0.

Other names in focus

Home favourite Jessica Pegula, runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the 2024 US Open, is chasing her first Grand Slam title. Two-time champion Venus Williams is making her 26th main-draw appearance, while Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk, who reached the semi-finals at both the French Open and Wimbledon this year, arrives at a career-best world ranking of 11.

On the women's side, Elena Rybakina has declared herself fit after a foot injury forced her to retire early from her Cincinnati Open quarter-final. The second seed and Australian Open champion has a chance to claim the world No. 1 ranking for the first time if she reaches the semi-finals and Sabalenka, Coco Gauff or Pegula fail to win the title.