Even at 39 years old, Novak Djokovic has continued to produce his best tennis when it matters on the biggest stages.

Djokovic has faltered at Masters events this year, losing in the second round of both the Cincinnati Open and the Italian Open, but he’s rolled back the years at the majors.

He began the year by reaching the Australian Open final, which saw him produce one of his best-ever victories against Jannik Sinner in the semi final.

He also reached the semi finals of Wimbledon, where he lost to Sinner, and his chances at the US Open have been boosted by the withdrawal of the Italian.

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Speaking to Sky Sports, former doubles star, and forming training partner of the Serbian, Ryan Harrison, believes Djokovic’s ranking will also help him in his quest to win an incredible 25th Grand Slam title.

“Being fourth seed is really, really important because if he gets in that five through eight range in the seedings, he could potentially have to play three players in the top four in the world all the way through,” said Harrison.

“If you’re five through eight and you end up drawing in the same quarter as a player who is ranked ahead of you, you have to play somebody in the quarter-finals who is ranked ahead of you, in the semi-finals ranked ahead of you, and in the final ranked ahead of you and that’s a really tough task.

“If you get to that stage at 39 years of age, you’re playing four matches even before you get there and then you’re getting to the point where you’re facing the stiffest competition – so getting that fourth seed means he is going to control his own fate, as in playing players only ranked behind him at least until the semi-finals.

“We’re not quite sure the form Alcaraz is going to be in coming off that long lay-off, while Alexander Zverev has been tough to predict at times, so we’ll never know what happens with Novak but he will have that fourth seed.”

Djokovic reached the semi finals of the US Open in 2025, but he has not tasted victory at the New York Grand Slam for quite some time now.

His fourth title victory at the US Open came in 2023, when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win the Grand Slam. To date, that was his last Grand Slam title win.

Djokovic has also claimed the US Open title in 2011, 2015, and 2018 and he holds a 86% winning rate at the New York event, which is his third best-performing Grand Slam.