Novak Djokovic might be winning match after match at the 2025 US Open, but he’s got some serious concerns about how his body is holding up.
The 38-year-old has already dropped two sets in New York this year. He cruised past Learner Tien in straight sets in his opener, but then lost a set each to Zachary Svajda and Cameron Norrie.
There were warning signs in his earlier matches, but things got more worrying against Norrie when he had to take a medical timeout for a lower-back problem.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic | 38 | 8,360 | 18 - 6 |
Still, his serving was pretty much perfect that day. He pulled through for a four-set victory, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3.
Playing His Cards Close to His Chest
During his on-court interview, the 24-time Grand Slam champion got asked about his physical condition. He’s not the only player dealing with health issues at this year’s tournament, after all.
But Djokovic wasn’t about to spill all the details right there on the court. He knew his rivals were watching and listening.
"You have some ups and downs. I guess, you don’t wanna reveal too much to the rivals listening and watching this. I’m good man. I’m as young as ever."
That got everyone in the stadium laughing.
The Real Story
Later, in a more private interview with ESPN, Djokovic opened up about what’s really going on. And it wasn’t exactly reassuring.
"Well, honestly I am concerned. You know, nowadays [I am] more concerned than I have ever been. Even though I really am meticulous with the care for my body and I put in a lot of hours on and off the court to make sure that my body is fit and recovered well."
That’s pretty telling coming from someone who’s made taking care of his body an absolute science throughout his career.
It’s got to be really frustrating for him. He’s doing everything right, but his body just isn’t responding the same way it used to.
"But you know, age is… you can’t fight it. So things are different. I have to obviously adjust myself the way I approach things training. Sometimes I don’t train between matches because with my team when I have this discussion, we think that long term is better and that recovery is more important than hitting some balls in the court."
Recovery Mode
These days, Djokovic is basically in constant recovery mode between matches.
"So maybe that’s going to be the case tomorrow. We have to still discuss that and just focus on recovery and get ready for next one."
Think about that for a second. One of the greatest players ever is having to skip practice sessions just to make sure his body can handle the next match.
He’s spending more time on recovery now than when he was younger, not less.
"Actually probably even more when I was younger; it’s just in order to keep up with the youngsters I just have to put an extra, extra hour, extra few hours every day. Whether it’s table work, whether it’s recovery from using different wellness machines or good sleep, nutrition, obviously all of it, all of it comes into equation and all of it matters when you go deeper in the tournament."
Half Tank Empty
Djokovic painted a pretty vivid picture of what he’s up against these days.
"The young guys, they come in fresh and I come with a half tank empty in a sense and so I’m going to try to change that for this tournament. I don’t know if that’s going to be possible. Obviously, it’s very unpredictable how the body is going to respond."
It’s a tough reality for someone who’s used to being the guy everyone else had to catch up to.
But he’s not giving up without a fight.
"But one thing is for sure, I’m always going to give my very best the last drop of energy to make sure that I go as deep as I possibly can."
That’s vintage Djokovic right there. Even when his body’s not cooperating, he’s still determined to squeeze every ounce of performance out of what he’s got left.
The question is whether that’ll be enough to get him through another deep run at a major tournament.
