Novak Djokovic feels ‘as best as I can be’ before tilt at 25th grand slam title in New York

• Serb hopes to take advantage of wide-open men's draw

• Elena Rybakina has eyes on No 1 world ranking

Novak Djokovic said he was as prepared as he could be for the US Open as he attempts to take advantage of the wide-open men's draw and battle for a potential 25th grand slam title.

Djokovic arrived in New York having competed only once after his semi-final run at Wimbledon, losing in his opening match of the Cincinnati Open to Thiago Agustin Tirante while struggling with the humidity. However, he now sees the silver lining in that defeat, which he believes gave him the time to make sure he was in optimal shape for the US Open. I don't like early losses anywhere, to be honest, but it gave me time to be prepared for US Open in a most adequate way," he said. I had almost a few weeks, actually two weeks, to really train and get my body and mind into the right state, prepared for what's coming up.