Novak Djokovic comes clean on US Open 'concerns' in brutally honest admission

Novak Djokovic comes clean on US Open 'concerns' in brutally honest admission

Novak Djokovic is 'concerned' over his physical condition after taking a medical timeout during his third-round matchup at the 2025 US Open against Cameron Norrie

Novak Djokovic survived an injury scare during his third-round match (Image: Getty)

Record singles Grand Slam holder Novak Djokovic has admitted that he's "concerned" about his physical condition after battling a US Open injury scare.

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The 38-year-old, a 24-time singles Grand Slam winner and 2024 Olympic champion, struggled physically during his first three matches at Flushing Meadows. After his second-round win over Zachary Svajda, he said he "didn't feel that great."

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Djokovic overcame an injury scare to claim a four-set victory over Cameron Norrie in the third round. The Serb prevailed 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3 against 35th-ranked Norrie, but the scare came in the first set with Djokovic leading 5-4.

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Djokovic left the court for a medical timeout due to a back issue that was causing him discomfort. He also received treatment early in the second set, leading to a concerning admission from the tennis great. "Well, honestly I am concerned. You know, nowadays [I am] more concerned than I have ever been," said the four-time US Open champion to ESPN.

"Even though I really am meticulous with the care for my body and I put in a lot of hours on and off the court to make sure that my body is fit and recovered well. But you know, age is… you can't fight it. So things are different. I have to obviously adjust myself the way I approach things training.

"Sometimes I don't train between matches because with my team when I have this discussion, we think that long term is better and that recovery is more important than hitting some balls in the court. So maybe that's going to be the case tomorrow. We have to still discuss that and just focus on recovery and get ready for next one."

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Novak Djokovic is looked at between games against Cameron Norrie (Image: Getty)

Djokovic revealed that he focuses heavily on his recovery, which has allowed him to compete with the latest generation of tennis stars.

"Actually probably even more when I was younger; it's just in order to keep up with the youngsters I just have to put an extra, extra hour, extra few hours every day," Djokovic explained.

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"Whether it's table work, whether it's recovery from using different wellness machines or good sleep, nutrition, obviously all of it, all of it comes into equation and all of it matters when you go deeper in the tournament.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia leaves the court for a medical timeout (Image: Getty)

"The young guys, they come in fresh and I come with a half tank empty in a sense and so I'm going to try to change that for this tournament. I don't know if that's going to be possible.

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"Obviously, it's very unpredictable how the body is going to respond. But one thing is for sure, I'm always going to give my very best the last drop of energy to make sure that I go as deep as I possibly can."

Djokovic will now play German Jan-Lennard Struff in the Round of 16. The veteran is looking to snap a two-year Grand Slam drought. Djokovic's last Grand Slam win came at the 2023 US Open.

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