Novak Djokovic managed to break his difficult streak of Olympic heartbreak, with a gold medal win over Carlos Alcaraz in Paris a fortnight ago.
That was more or less the last time we properly heard from Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian has been understandably celebrating his Olympic gold medal win, with his hometown Belgrade set to build a Djokovic museum as recognition for their star man’s achievements.
Heading into what looked set to be his final Olympic Games, Djokovic was dealt a brutal injury blow after tearing the meniscus in his knee during Roland Garros.
A brief stint on the operating table and the subsequent donning of a sturdy knee brace initially made a Djokovic appearance at Paris look unlikely.
However, as has become typical of the 24-time major winner, he marched to the finals of Wimbledon, before managing to go one better in Paris and get revenge over Alcaraz.
With Djokovic electing to play no US Open warm-up events, the latest sighting of the Serb has filled fans with confidence that his outing in New York may provide another major trophy.
Novak Djokovic is spotted playing without his knee-brace just a week before the US Open
Djokovic has made a career out of unexpectedly turning his fortunes around, playing his best tennis when he really needs to.
The defending US Open champion will be hoping to secure his first major title of 2024 at his last attempt of trying, with Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz having scooped up the previous three.
With question marks over exactly what version of Djokovic might turn up to New York, the 37-year-old has been seen warming up and practising without his knee brace on.
Optimism will be high in the Djokovic ranks as he aims for a 25th major title which would separate him from Margaret Court, currently level with the Serb.
Having won at least one major each year since 2010, Djokovic will be desperate to continue this phenomenal streak.
Can Novak Djokovic win a 25th major title?
With Alcaraz having stumbled to Gael Monfils, and Sinner still nursing a hip injury, the two early contenders will also enter it the US Open not in the shape they’d be hoping to be in.
While a semi-final in Cincinnati will give the Italian some needed minutes on court, Alcaraz’s woes exist in a different way.
The Spaniard’s decision to defend his points in the midwest after last year’s finish as the runner-up were disrupted prematurely in his opening match.
With just one hard court match since March, Djokovic’s decision not to play in North America so far now doesn’t look as unwise as it arguably did before.
Undoubtedly the four-time US Open champion will be ready and raring to go in New York and I would not be at all surprised if he manages to go all the way.
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