Novak Djokovic yet to arrive in New York despite having match in 24 hours

Novak Djokovic is supposed to walk onto the court at Flushing Meadows tomorrow, but as of today, he is still not even in America. For most players, that would feel like chaos, but for Djokovic, it’s a moment that tells you a lot about where he is in his career, his priorities, and the strange crossroads of time he’s standing at.

The US Open has so often been the site of his highest triumphs and deepest frustrations. He has lifted the trophy four times in New York, but he’s also lost five finals here. At 38 years old, he is now balancing more than just opponents across the net, he is battling his body, his schedule, and the expectations of an audience that has grown used to him chasing history every time he plays.

What makes his late arrival, so puzzling is the silence surrounding it. This summer, Djokovic has been noticeably absent from the hard-court grind. He skipped Toronto, citing a groin injury, and then pulled out of Cincinnati without offering a medical reason, something almost unheard of in his meticulous career planning. That means he comes into this US Open without a single hard-court match in months, an unusual choice for a man who has always treated preparation as seriously as the tournaments themselves.

Some close to the tour whisper that rest has become just as important to him as rhythm. Others wonder whether he is managing something behind the scenes that he hasn’t shared publicly. Whatever the truth, his absence has turned his preparation into a mystery.

And yet, this is Djokovic. He has defied odds so many times that doubt often feels foolish. He has won titles when written off, stormed back from injuries that looked career-ending, and found ways to silence the cheers for his rivals in stadiums that seemed set against him. He lives for that defiance. But it is hard not to wonder whether this time is different. The image of him arriving in New York at the last minute, possibly tired and jet-lagged, doesn’t exactly align with the picture of control he has always projected.

There’s also the matter of the new mixed doubles event, a sideshow turned spectacle at this year’s US Open, which Djokovic has entered alongside fellow Serbian Olga Danilovic. It is meant to be fun, fast paced, and full of star power, but it also adds one more wrinkle to his schedule. If he lands and heads straight into that competition, it could either serve as the sharpener he badly needs or a distraction that drains the energy he wants to conserve for singles. He has admitted more than once this year that he no longer recovers like he did in his twenties, and that every match feels heavier on the body. Those words carry weight when you’re staring at the longest hard-court Slam of them all.

For years, fans have measured time in tennis by Djokovic’s dominance. Every Slam was framed by whether he would extend his total, how many weeks he would add to his reign, how much longer he could keep younger rivals at bay. Now the conversation has shifted. Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and other new forces aren’t just nipping at his heels, they’re beating him in matches that used to feel inevitable. Djokovic, to his immense credit, acknowledges this reality. After his Wimbledon loss to Sinner, he admitted openly that it was harder and harder to keep his energy full across the biggest matches. That kind of honesty from him, once the ultimate machine of tennis, shows how human this stage of his career has become.

Still, if there’s one thing tennis has taught us, it’s to never dismiss Novak Djokovic until the very last point. He has made a career out of reminding the world that he can bend narratives to his will. Arriving late could look like chaos, but if he goes on to win, it will become another legendary chapter: the champion who strolled in with no preparation and conquered anyway. If he struggles, it may be remembered as the moment when time finally started to take more than even, he could give. For now, all anyone can do is wait for him to show up in New York and see which version of Novak Djokovic takes the court.