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Novak Djokovic is set to make his 20th US Open appearance, a mark reached by only three other men in the tournament's history: Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi and Feliciano Lopez.
The 39-year-old Serbian last won the US Open in 2023, a title that tied him with Margaret Court for 24 Grand Slam championships. Since then, he has pursued a record-breaking 25th major without success.
Djokovic opens his campaign against Argentina's Mariano Navone, ranked 48th, on Arthur Ashe Stadium. He enters as the fourth seed and a heavy favorite.
"I'm very proud of that," Djokovic said Saturday, referring to his run of US Open appearances. "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."
Djokovic has had 11 chances to break the Grand Slam record since equaling Court's mark, reaching two finals and six other semifinals. He lost a five-set semifinal to Jannik Sinner in Australia this year before falling to Carlos Alcaraz in the final, exited in the third round at Roland Garros and lost to Sinner again in the Wimbledon semifinals.
His path toward a 25th major could ease somewhat this year. Sinner, the world number one, is sidelined by a knee injury, while Alcaraz, the defending champion, returns from a four-month absence and remains something of an unknown quantity.
Djokovic withdrew from the Montreal Masters and struggled in his Cincinnati opener, where he said heat and humidity worsened his physical problems.
"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," Djokovic said. "I had two weeks to really train and get my body and mind into the right state, prepared for what's coming up."
He acknowledged uncertainty about how his preparation will translate to competition. "It's different training and then getting out on the Arthur Ashe Stadium and playing best-of-five sets," Djokovic said. "You don't normally play best-of-five on the practice sessions."
If he wins the title, Djokovic would become the oldest man to win a Grand Slam, surpassing Australian Ken Rosewall, who was 37 when he won the Australian Open in 1972.
"Let's see how it goes," Djokovic said. "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."
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