On August 25, the US Open 2026 started with "Fan Week" in mixed doubles. However, August 30 is considered the official start time, with 2 men's and women's singles events.
This year's US Open witnessed many players withdrawing due to injuries, but that did not reduce the attraction of the tournament in New York. Many reasons for US Open 2026 to be expected, including whether Novak Djokovic will take advantage of the opportunity - possibly the last - to make history with his 25th Grand Slam or not.
Since the last victory here in 2023 to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles, the Serbian superstar has constantly pursued the number of 25.
The search, which has not been successful so far, does not make the 39-year-old player lose the joy from the smaller milestones he is accumulating on his journey.
Djokovic is ready for his 20th appearance at the US Open, a milestone that only 3 other male tennis players - Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi and Feliciano Lopez - have ever achieved.
I am very proud of that," Djokovic shared when preparing to face Mariano Navone in the opening match.
Obviously, endurance is always one of the goals when I was younger, trying to have a long career, trying to have more opportunities at Grand Slam tournaments, and keeping myself healthy enough to be able to play for as many years as possible.
But it's not just about maintaining existence, and when world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is absent along with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is still a question mark when returning after 4 months of injury, Djokovic's path to his 25th major title may be a little easier.
Djokovic has had 11 chances to break Grand Slam records, reach 2 finals and half a dozen other semi-finals since equaling Court's record.
He defeated Sinner in a fiery 5-set semi-final in Australia this year before falling to Alcaraz in the final, and after being eliminated in the 3rd round of Roland Garros, then losing to Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
After withdrawing from the Montreal Masters, Djokovic was eliminated right in the opening match in Cincinnati, where he admitted that heat and humidity had greatly affected him.
But also because of that, he has more time to prepare for the US Open. Djokovic, the 4th seed, is rated much higher than Navone, ranked 48th in the world.
However, Djokovic understands very well the threat that any opponent can create when he seeks to become the oldest male tennis player to win a Grand Slam - the record currently belongs to Ken Rosewall (Australia), who was 37 years old when he won the Australian Open in 1972.
Djokovic said: "The opening matches, especially in the past few years, have always been quite challenging for me. So, hopefully I can overcome the first barrier and build momentum from there.
According to predictions, Djokovic's journey to the final will not be easy, because after Navone may be Matteo Berettini, Tomas Etcheverry, Brandon Nakashima and then Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals, Alcaraz in the semi-finals and Alexander Zverev in the final.
Djokovic will play at 6:00 AM on August 31st (Vietnam time), while Alcaraz will play their first match in the early morning of September 1st.
For the Spanish player, the first opponent is Roman Safiulin and the journey will be at an increasingly difficult level, with potential opponents being Jamie Faria, Matteo Arnaldi, Alexander Bublik, Ben Shelton, Djokovic and Zverev.
Zverev - the No. 1 seed this year - aims to win his second Grand Slam in his career, but his bracket is also not simple to reach the final against Alcaraz or Djokovic.
The women's singles is still quite full of famous players, with Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina (waiting until the last minute to decide whether to withdraw or not), Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, Iga Swiatek...
