Tennis icon Jimmy Connors has shared his thoughts on Novak Djokovic’s chances at the upcoming US Open, revealing who he believes will take home the men’s title at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic heads into the tournament without having played a singles match since losing in straight sets to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals last month. The 38-year-old has not publicly addressed his decision to skip the back-to-back Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati.
During his Wimbledon loss to Sinner, Djokovic appeared physically hampered, likely due to an injury he sustained during match point of his quarter-final win over Flavio Cobolli.
Ahead of the singles competition, Djokovic and fellow Serbian Olga Danilovic have accepted a wildcard to compete in the revamped US Open mixed doubles event on August 19–20.
Djokovic is chasing a historic 25th Grand Slam title and, with a win in New York, could join Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer with the most US Open men’s titles in the Open Era.
On his Advantage Connors podcast with his son Brett, Connors raised concerns about Djokovic’s lack of recent match play leading into the event.
“I know he made it to the Wimbledon semis, but that performance wasn’t up to his usual level,” Connors said. “Now he’s heading into the US Open without any match practice.”
“He’s no longer in a position where he can coast through the early rounds—he’ll likely have to get through three very tough matches in a row: the quarters, semis, and final. That could mean facing players like Alcaraz or Sinner in the semis, depending on how the draw shakes out.”
