Tennis icon Jimmy Connors believes Novak Djokovic’s decision to withdraw from the Canadian Open is correct, considering the importance of his participation in the US Open. The Serbian star last played in the Wimbledon 2025 semi-finals, where he was defeated by World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
Speaking on the Advantage Connors podcast with his son Brett, Connors was asked about many top players pulling out of the Canadian Open to avoid injuries. In response, he gave the example of Djokovic, saying: “Yeah, especially if you look at a guy like Djokovic, you know, he’s gotta monitor his time and the effort that he puts in, because he is the older player on the circuit now.”
Connors further added that Djokovic should not go into the US Open without playing any matches beforehand if he wants to raise his game.
“And if he wants to bring his game up and rise to the top when it supposedly is the most meaningful, which would be the US Open, he’s gotta monitor what’s best, but also be able to play some matches too going into the tournament, so you don’t just go in flat,” he added.
The eight-time Grand Slam champion finally pointed out that players often enter long events lasting 12 days, which involve two to three sets per match.
“But a lot of the other guys go into the 12 day events, that is a lot of tennis. The only good thing is they’re not three out of five set matches, you know, they’re two out of three,” he concluded.
Djokovic is most likely to return to action at the Cincinnati Masters, which begins on August 7. However, his main focus is the US Open, where he hopes to become the oldest Grand Slam singles champion by winning his 25th Grand Slam.
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