It has been roughly six weeks since Novak Djokovic played a competitive singles match. Rather than take part in warmup hard-court events ahead of the U.S. Open, the 24-time major champion gave himself a breather, using the break to spend time with family and prepare for the final grand slam of 2025.

Novak Djokovic’s first match at the US Open was a bit of a litmus test for the Serbian legend because he didn’t play a hardcourt warm-up tournament coming into the year’s final Grand Slam. The 24-time Grand Slam champion said he didn’t play the Cincinnati Open because he prefers to focus on the Grand Slams at this stage of his career.

Novak Djokovic is on a race against time to clinch his 25th Grand Slam title. Since winning his 100th career title at the Geneva Open, the Serbian has only shown up for the Grand Slams.