'I felt like Novak Djokovic was going to lose at...', says ATP legend

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• Novak Djokovic

Despite these premises, the US Open will be able to capture the attention of the public, as Novak Djokovic will have the opportunity to complete the Grand Slam and become the player with the most majors in history. After the Olympic disappointment, Djokovic did not participate in any ATP event to present himself in the best possible conditions in New York.

The Serbian will be under a lot of pressure, considering the stakes, and will have to beat competition from players like Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The first two, in particular, have proven to be close to the definitive leap in quality in recent weeks.

The Russian won and dominated the Toronto Masters 1000 showing all his talent; The German took the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and took home the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, and will arrive in Flushing Meadows with great confidence.

The big news will finally hit the total prize pool. The organizers of the US Open have announced that they will give away $ 57.5 million, a record total prize pool. The richest edition had registered a figure close to 57.4 million dollars.

John McEnroe reflects on Novak Djokovic

John McEnroe recently weighed in on Novak Djokovic's prospects at the US Open. McEnroe reckons Djokovic is the man to beat at Flushing Meadows but feels the Serb could be affected by the sweltering conditions in New York.

"I anticipate that he’s (Novak Djokovic) going to win the tournament, that’s what I anticipate," McEnroe said on ESPN. "I felt before Wimbledon started that he was going to win the Grand Slam. I felt like he was going to lose at the Olympics.

The two-out-of-three format, just excessive travel, no fans, et cetera, I think contributed." Temperatures in New York are currently peaking at over 30 degrees Celsius, with humidity often crossing the 80% mark. "I would say the biggest threat, first of all, the biggest threat to Djokovic in my book is the conditions, like the heat," McEnroe said.

"He’s a human being. I think that could affect him more than his opponent." The seven-time Major champion feels Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas are the most likely candidates to upset Djokovic at the US Open.

"It’s difficult to say who of those guys, whether it’s Zverev, Tsitsipas, Medvedev, those are the obvious ones that come to mind for me, who would be in best position to do that," the American added. "I couldn’t predict. I would say it would be one of those three players, if it was."