Djokovic on body: 'More concerned than I have ever been'

ATP Tour

Djokovic on body: 'More concerned than I have ever been'

Serbian chasing first Grand Slam title in two years this fortnight at Flushing Meadows

Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour Novak Djokovic seeks his first Grand Slam title since the 2023 US Open. By ATP Staff

A candid Novak Djokovic has conceded that his rocky start physically to the US Open has him worried.

After showing signs of physical distress for the third consecutive match Friday night during a four-set win over Cameron Norrie, the 24-time Grand Slam champion spoke candidly to ESPN shortly after his win, which marked a record 192nd Grand Slam win on hard courts.

“Well, honestly I am concerned. You know, nowadays [I am] more concerned than I have ever been,” Djokovic said. “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.”

The four-time US Open champion grabbed at his lower back late in the first set after an awkward movement at net to reflex back a ball that was above and behind his head. Before lining up to serve for the set at 5-4, the 38-year-old walked off Arthur Ashe Stadium to receive treatment in the locker room from ATP physio Clay Sniteman.

Djokovic was also treated at the first changeover of the second set but from that point looked largely free of discomfort for the remainder of the match.

Djokovic is playing his first tournament since a run to the Wimbledon semi-finals. Despite winning his opening match against American teen Learner Tien in straight sets last Sunday, the Serbian looked short on match fitness and looked gassed at times despite relatively benign conditions.

He then needed four sets to defeat Zachary Svajda in the second round, when again he looked to be well below peak physical fitness.

Asked how much time he spends on recovery during tournaments these days, Djokovic said it was more than ever.

“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," he told ESPN. "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.

“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. 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.”

The seven-time Nitto ATP Finals champion next plays German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff, whom he leads 7-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Djokovic, who has spent a record 428 weeks at No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings during his career, is seeded to meet Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals and Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.

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