Novak Djokovic didn't have the best time in New York this year, and he explained that he didn't feel like himself there.
Djokovic has been in Serbia for the past week, preparing for the 2024 Davis Cup tie against Greece. He once more stepped up for his country, signing up to play the Davis Cup shortly after the US Open disappointment, as it was an important matchup for the country.
They needed to win that tie, and while they were heavily favored, Djokovic came and delivered two crucial points for the country. With him in the team, Serbia was almost guaranteed to win, and that made a lot of difference, especially for some of the other players, as there wasn't as much pressure on them.
During his time back home in Serbia, Djokovic sat down with national broadcaster RTS to talk about tennis and his life outside of it. One of the topics that came up was his performance at the 2024 US Open, which wasn't the best.
Many rumors circulated about his performance in New York, including an injury rumor that Djokovic apparently got injured playing pickleball in the lead-up to the event.
He didn't talk about that, but he did say that he didn't feel like himself in New York. Those who have watched him many times could easily spot that Djokovic looked far from his average level.
His serve was terrible, and it didn't even improve from round one to round three. His movement was slow, and for the first time ever, he looked old. In the matchup against Alexei Popyrin, which did end up being his last at this year's US Open, he looked one step behind all the time.
He didn't feel like himself and wasn't well-prepared for the event, as he explained in the interview with RTS in Serbia.
"In New York, for instance, I felt that it wasn’t me on the court, that I was not well-prepared, so I felt more additional pressure ahead of every match compared to before the finals at the Olympics."
"Just because of the way I felt. Tennis is an individual sport – if you don’t have a solution on a given day, that’s it, you lose. Over the years, that kept me disciplined."
While losing in New York isn't the biggest setback of his career, Djokovic refocused the debate on his future. For much of this year, the 37-year-old didn't look like the regular version of himself, which got many thinking about whether he would ever get back to that.
When he did at the Olympics, many of his fans were relieved. After the US Open loss, the topic became warm again. Was it a one-off? Will he continue playing below his level? The answer didn't come at the Davis Cup because he was so much better than anybody Greece could field, as they didn't have Stefanos Tsitsipas, but the answer will likely come in the remainder of the year.