The Serbian tennis legend came from behind to beat American qualifier Zachary Svajda in four sets in the second round at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday (27.08.25) and confessed that he is "not pleased" with the way he has been playing.

Djokovic said: "I'm not pleased with my level of tennis, but, you know, you have days like this where you're not playing at your best, but you just kind of find a way.

"I'm just trying to solve the riddle once I'm on the court."

The former world number one explained how he was "a bit frustrated with his game" as he makes another attempt to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic said: "It's not like I'm not finding joy on the court competing. I enjoy competing, but I don't enjoy not playing well.

"That's why I put extra pressure on myself and my team to be better the next day, the next match.

"It's not a motivation thing. I kind of go through stuff internally. You don't want to know the details of what I'm going through and telling myself."

However, the four-time US Open champion has warned his rivals that he is hoping his performance levels peak at the business end of the tournament.

He said: "That is what I am hoping [to keep improving]. That was the case for most of my Grand Slam career, the deeper I go in the tournament the better I feel about the game.

"[I want to improve with] a lot of recovery stuff off the court and make myself able to perform at the highest level. I have always enjoyed playing on the highest stage."