Novak Djokovic leaves for 'strangest' US Open campaign with his 3-member team
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has left for the United States with his coaches Goran Ivanisevic and Marian Vajda as well as physio Ulises Badio. The Serb had confirmed his participation in the US Open and Cincinnati Masters a few days ago, and he will look to acclimatize himself to the American hardcourts as quickly as possible.
Novak Djokovic's coach Ivanisevic shared a picture of their departure for the US on his Instagram handle. While the 2001 Wimbledon winner sounded excited about the resumption of the tour, he labeled the upcoming US tour as his 'strangest' one.
"It's time for the strangest @cincytennis and @usopen ever. Hoping this is a one-time thing and let the games begin 😷🇺🇸🗽🎾," Ivanisevic's caption read.
Novak Djokovic could compete in the men's doubles event at the Western and Southern Open
Novak Djokovic will start as the favorite to win the men's singles event at both the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open. Moreover, a few days ago, the organizers listed the 17-time Slam champion even in the doubles provisional entry list of the Western and Southern Open. Djokovic appeared on the list along with compatriot Filip Krajinovic.
That caused plenty of excitement among tennis fans because Novak Djokovic doesn't play doubles too often; he has a rather poor 55-72 record in the category. Nevertheless, Djokovic has confirmed that he will be a part of the two big upcoming events at least in singles, which is ominous enough for the rest of the field given that the 33-year-old is yet to lose a singles match this year.
With Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer unavailable for the hardcourt season, Novak Djokovic's chances of winning the US Open 2020 have increased even further. But that doesn't mean the road to the title will be easy for the 2016 French Open champion.
The likes of Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas could prove to be big obstacles in Novak Djokovic's path.
World No. 3 Dominic Thiem, who was the most active player during the lockdown period, has also left for the US along with Dennis Novak. Interestingly, the pair of Thiem and Dennis also appears on the provisional doubles entry list of the Western and Southern Open.
It will be intriguing to see if Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic do indeed compete in the doubles tournament. With Thiem likely to occupy the second seed at the US Open 2020, the probability that he clashes with Djokovic in the summit clash at Flushing Meadows is very high.