“Gonna Have to Beat Himself”: Tennis Legend Reveals How Novak Djokovic Can Lose at US Open 2020

As soon as the US Open 2020 men’s players’ field was announced, many considered it to be a bright opportunity for some of the young guns to finally take charge. The absence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal made many heads turn towards some of the other top stars to challenge Novak Djokovic.

It will not be easy for Novak Djokovic. But tennis legend John McEnroe believes that the only way the draw could be considered open is if Djokovic was not playing. At the same time, American highlighted the threats that Djokovic could face.

John McEnroe lists the threats for Novak Djokovic

“I think one of these big bombers would be his biggest threat. And the other threat would be if he hasn’t been able to train as hard. If he got into some type of physical war with one of the fitter guys or younger guys that don’t have that issue in their head potentially,” McEnroe said in a recent interview.

Despite the threats to Djokovic, McEnroe thinks there are very few players who can actually beat the Serbian superstar. Only ‘unbearable circumstances’ can lead to Djokovic’s defeat, opines McEnroe.

“To me, there’s very few guys that can beat him. So he’s gonna have to beat himself. And that would be due to conditions that would be unbearable, or unforeseen circumstances. If he decided not to play, it would have been wide open,” McEnroe added.

Djokovic’s record against top competitors at US Open 2020

The likes of Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alexander Zverev are Djokovic’s biggest competitors at the US Open 2020. Djokovic holds a favorable head-to-head record against all these players. They have all bested the World No. 1 on the ATP Tour before.

However, the only player to beat Djokovic at Grand Slams is Dominic Thiem. The Austrian World No. 3 bested Djokovic twice at the French Open. One of those wins came during last year’s semi-final.

Djokovic suffered from injury issues at the Western and Southern Open, which he eventually won. However, he looked fit and in supreme form in his first-round match at the US Open. He dropped just six games against Damir Dzumhur and is set to face Kyle Edmund in round two.