Novak Djokovic hopes losing early at Cincinnati has him more prepared for the U.S. Open

NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic never likes to get eliminated early in a tournament. In this case, he is looking on the bright side.

The 39-year-old who holds the record with 24 Grand Slam titles goes into the U.S. Open fresh off losing his first match at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month. That was his first action since Wimbledon, but he is at peace with the outcome.

“It gave me time to be preparing for U.S. Open in a most adequate way,” Djokovic said Saturday. “I had almost few weeks, actually two weeks, to really train and get my body and mind into the right state, prepared for what’s coming up.”

Seeded fourth, Djokovic begins his quest for a 25th Grand Slam championship - and fifth in Flushing Meadows - against 48th-ranked Mariano Navone on Sunday night inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. Despite being a sizable favorite, he is not looking past Navone.

“Let’s see how it goes,” Djokovic said. “The opening matches are always for me, particularly in the last few years, quite challenging. So, hopefully I can overcome the first hurdle and build from there.”

Djokovic has played in just 16 tournaments this year, the fewest of anyone ranked in the top 95 on the ATP Tour. He reached the semifinals at Wimbledon before losing to Jannik Sinner, was out in the round of 32 at the French Open and made it to the Australian Open final, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz.

This will be Djokovic’s 20th appearance in the U.S. Open as he joins Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi and Feliciano Lopez as the only players to hit that milestone in men’s singles.

“I’m very proud of that,” Djokovic said. “Obviously, longevity was always one of the goals when I was younger: trying to have long career, trying to have more shots at Grand Slam and stay healthy long enough so that I can perform for as many years as possible.”

The only one he has missed since debuting in 2005 was 2017 because of a right elbow injury. He won it in 2011, ‘15, ’18 and most recently in ’23.

Djokovic played his first U.S. Open match - a five-set marathon - against Gael Monfils, who is planning to retire but is also in the field at least one more time.

“Here we are 20 years later,” Djokovic said. “We’re both still grinding and representing the older generation.”