Novak Djokovic was handed a microphone at a promotional stop for his Amazon Prime documentary and asked to name every one of his 24 Grand Slam titles in order. He worked through the list and then, without missing a beat, added one that has not been played yet: the 2026 US Open.
The pick was himself.
At 39, chasing a record 25th major, Djokovic arrives at Flushing Meadows with as clear an opening as the modern era can offer him. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner pulled out of the tournament with a right knee injury, Alexander Zverev has moved up to the top seed, and Carlos Alcaraz is seeded second on his return from a wrist problem that had kept him out of singles for more than four months. Djokovic himself climbed to the No. 4 seed.
Last major win was 2023
He is backing a version of himself the tour has not seen for three years. Djokovic’s four US Open titles came in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023. The last of them, a straight-sets win over Daniil Medvedev, is still his most recent Grand Slam, and he has not added another since.
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Mixed doubles warning shot
The build-up has not helped the case. On August 25, two days before Thursday’s men’s singles draw, Djokovic and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka lost their mixed doubles first-round match 1-4, 4-2, 10-2 to Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten. Siniakova finished it with an ace past Djokovic on match point.
“It wasn’t looking very good for a while,” Patten said afterward.
“We played an amazing tiebreak. Kat acing Novak on match point was pretty fun.”
Sinner out, Alcaraz back from injury
Sinner’s withdrawal is a rare removal of the world No. 1 from a major. Alcaraz, the defending champion, has not played a singles tournament in more than four months. Zverev has never won a US Open title. Djokovic has won four, the last in 2023.
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Main draw play begins Sunday, August 30, and the men’s final is scheduled for September 13. The champion takes home $5.5 million from a record $108 million total purse.
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