Djokovic believes he is as prepared as he can be for US Open

FILE PHOTO - Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic in action against Germany's Dominik Koepfer during the Men's Tennis Singles Round of 16 at Roland-Garros Stadium. (is associated with: «Djokovic believes he is as prepared as he can be for US Open») Sven Hoppe/dpa

Novak Djokovic says he has no excuses for being under prepared for his latest crack at the US Open.

But the 39-year-old admits it “remains to be seen” how he can perform physically at Flushing Meadows.

With Jannik Sinner absent and Carlos Alcaraz undercooked having not played since April, the coast looks clearer than usual for Djokovic to challenge for grand slam title number 25.

But alarm bells were ringing after he was clearly in distress during a second-round defeat to Thiago Agustin Tirante in Cincinnati a fortnight ago, and then revealed he was managing a long-term health issue.

“I don’t like early losses anywhere, to be honest, but it gave me time to be preparing for US Open in a most adequate way,” the Serbian, a four-time winner at the New York major, told reporters on Saturday.

“I had actually two weeks to really train and get my body and mind into the right state, prepared for what’s coming up. So it remains to be seen.

“If you ask me if I’m prepared, I feel like I am as best as I can be, but it’s different training and then getting out on the Arthur Ashe Stadium and playing best-of-five. You don’t normally play best-of-five on the practice sessions.

“So let’s see. Let’s see how it goes. The opening matches are always for me, particularly in the last few years, quite challenging. So hopefully I can overcome the first hurdle and build from there.”

Djokovic’s 20th appearance at the US Open is a milestone made all the more poignant by the imminent retirements of two of his peers, wild cards Stan Wawrinka and Gael Monfils.

“I’m very proud of that,” added Djokovic. “Obviously longevity was always one of the goals when I was younger, trying to have long career, trying to have more shots at grand slams, and stay healthy long enough so that I can perform for as many years as possible.

“So it’s great to know that I’m back at slams 20 years in a row. I’ve seen it somewhere there’s like three, four of us that played I think back then. I think it was Wawrinka, Monfils and (Marin) Cilic. So it’s nice to kind of turn back the time.

“I actually played in my first US Open match against Monfils, a five-setter, and here we are 20 years later, we’re both still grinding and representing the older generation.”

Djokovic gets under way on Sunday in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium against Argentinian Mariano Navone.