Novak Djokovic will attempt to defend his title at the 2024 US Open after not playing any hard court tournaments in preparation.
The Serb has not appeared since his stunning and emotional triumph at the 2024 Paris Olympics in early August, when he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the gold medal match.
Djokovic withdrew from the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati, meaning this is the first time in his career that he has not played a hard court event before the New York Major.
This is only the second time in Djokovic’s career that he will compete in the US Open, after missing both the tournaments in Canada and Cincinnati.
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Here we look back at Djokovic’s 2021 season.
Djokovic’s preparation for the US Open 2021
The only other season in which Djokovic withdrew from both North American Masters events but played in the US Open was 2021 – the previous Olympic year.
The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo have been postponed to 2021. The tennis event on hard courts will be held from July 24 to August 1.
Djokovic was aiming for a historic Golden Slam in 2021 after becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win the first three majors in a season.
However, the Serb suffered a bitter defeat in Tokyo, losing to Alexander Zverev in the semifinals before losing to Pablo Carreno Busta in the bronze medal match.
After the disappointment of missing out on the gold medal, Djokovic withdrew from the Toronto Masters, which began a week after the Games. He also decided not to compete in Cincinnati the week after the Games in Canada.
Djokovic’s 2021 US Open campaign
Djokovic came to the 2021 US Open, his first tournament since the Tokyo Games, with the goal of completing an amazing calendar Grand Slam.
The fourth and final Major of the year began about a month after the Olympics, but despite the break, Djokovic seemed exhausted by the pressure of his remarkable, history-making efforts during his campaign at Flushing Meadows.
The No. 1 seed began his tournament with a four-set win over qualifying seed Holger Rune before scoring his only straight-set victory of the series in the second round against Tallon Griekspoor.
Djokovic then fought through three consecutive four-set matches against Kei Nishikori, Jenson Brooksby and Matteo Berrettini.
In the semifinals, Djokovic avenged his Olympic defeat and defeated Zverev in a tough five-set match – leaving him just one win away from this breathtaking feat.
The final was ultimately one game too many for Djokovic, as he lost to Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, but the Serb could still be immensely proud of having had one of the best Grand Slam seasons in tennis history.
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