Novak Djokovic told who his hardest opponent will be at the US Open after Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal

Without the ‘new two’ firing, a golden opportunity has presented itself to the rest of the ATP Tour.

Sinner and Alcaraz have dominated the Grand Slam scene for the past two years, with 10 of the last 11 major titles won between them.

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But now a different name looks set to be engraved on a major trophy, and Djokovic is in pole position, suggests Serena Williams’ former coach, Rick Macci.

Rick Macci discusses Novak Djokovic’s US Open chances

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Macci said: “Djokovic has a real shot.

“It is not whether he can win it. His toughest opponent will be the weather. If the conditions are in the high eighties and sticky this is where for the Serbian Sniper it gets tricky.

“Rest, recovery and shorter New York street fights, we might see the Joker get another Slam under the Flushing Meadow lights.”

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Djokovic struggled physically with the hot and humid conditions recently at the Cincinnati Open, where he suffered an opening round exit.

In his first match since the Wimbledon semifinals, Djokovic lost to Thiago Agustin Tirante in three sets at the ATP Masters 1000 competition.

The last time Novak Djokovic won a Grand Slam title

It has now been three years since Djokovic last won a Grand Slam title, with the Serb having hoisted the 2023 US Open trophy.

Djokovic dropped just two sets en route to capturing the title, both of which came in his third-round clash with Laslo Djere.

He battled past Daniil Medvedev in the championship match, overcoming the Russian 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.

Since then, Djokovic has made two Grand Slam finals: Wimbledon 2024 and the Australian Open earlier this season.

Djokovic fell to Alcaraz in both of those finals, taking just one set off the Spaniard across the two matches.