Novak Djokovic’s Decision to Not Play Warm-up Events Before US Open Questioned After Semifinal Exit

Novak Djokovic played every Grand Slam semifinal this year but failed to progress beyond that.

Novak Djokovic’s Decision to Not Play Warm-up Events Before US Open Questioned After Semifinal Exit

Novak Djokovic (Image via Univers Tennis)

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Novak Djokovic did not play many warm-up tournaments before a Grand Slam event this year. He played the Brisbane International before the Australian Open, where his run ended because of an injury in the semifinals.

Before the French Open, Djokovic featured at the Monte Carlo Masters, Madrid Open, and the Geneva Open, losing in the opening rounds in the first two events and winning in Geneva by beating Hubert Hurkacz. After the French Open, where he lost to Jannik Sinner in the semifinals in straight sets, Djokovic’s next two events were Grand Slam ones.

He skipped warm-up events before Wimbledon, where Sinner once again ended his run in the semifinals in straight sets. Before the US Open, the Serb skipped both the Masters 1000 events on the North American hardcourt swing.

At Flushing Meadows, Djokovic once again lost in the semifinal, this time at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz. Former player Jimmy Arias questioned his decision to skip these events before entering Flushing Meadows. He said during the Inside-In Tennis Podcast:

It’s hard to work as hard as you do in a match without adrenaline, without that feeling. Adrenaline takes so much out of you, and you can’t recreate it in practice. I don’t care how much you practice, but I feel like he needs to have a couple of tune-up tournaments to get used to playing. He was almost dying in the first match against Lerner Tien, and he was playing the night match.

The last time Djokovic won a Major was at the 2023 US Open by defeating Daniil Medvedev, and since claiming his 24th Major, he has played only one Grand Slam final so far (in last year’s Wimbledon, which he lost to Alcaraz). The defeat to the six-time Grand Slam champion in the US Open final was his fourth one in their nine encounters.

Boris Becker thinks Novak Djokovic bade goodbye to the US Open

After his exit, Novak Djokovic expressed his wish to play at least one more year. But he has also time and again said his dream is also to feature at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. His former coach Boris Becker, however, thinks playing till 2028 is an unrealistic goal.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (via Punto de Break)

Do you have any idea when that could be? Do you think he’s playing a full Grand Slam year? On one hand, he still dreams of the 2028 Olympics, where he wants to defend the gold medal for Serbia. That’s in three years, so I personally find that unrealistic. But the US Open that sounded a bit like goodbye to me.

Boris Becker said on the Becker Petkovic podcast

This year, Djokovic has played two finals, losing the Miami Open and winning the Geneva Open. What his next tournament will be is uncertain because he has been skipping tournaments this year as well. Djokovic, however, has planned to play the Hellenic Championship, which is scheduled to take place from 1–8 November in Athens.

Djokovic has relocated his family to Greece. Reports have emerged that the reason why he moved to Athens was because of his support to protests against President Aleksandar Vucic last year. As per reports, Djokovic has also enrolled his two children, Tara and Stefan, at St. Lawrence College.

Because of his US Open performance, Djokovic has once again climbed back to the top four on the rankings table with 4,830 points. Ahead of him stand Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz.

Djokovic removed Alcaraz from the top spot after winning the US Open back in 2023 but was removed by Sinner last year. Alcaraz replaced the four-time Grand Slam champion after beating him in the US Open final.

Also read: Andy Roddick Highlights the Secret Behind Aryna Sabalenka’s Recent US Open Win