Novak Djokovic will not be worried about heading into the US Open on the back of a loss, according to Greg Rusedski.
Djokovic fell to a surprise defeat against Daniil Medvedev in the Cincinnati Masters semi-final earlier this month.
However, that should not cause any issues when the world No 1 gets his US Open title defence underway at Flushing Meadows.
Former British No 1 Rusedski believes the New York courts suit the Serbian with their slower speed of play.
And he also highlighted several other boosts Djokovic will receive.
“No not at all. It is a different ball in Cincinnati, a much quicker ball,” Amazon pundit Rusedski told Express Sport.
“The US Open ball is slower so that gives him a little bit more time.
“Honestly, Medvedev played the match of his life. He was tremendous in that semi-final so Djokovic still goes in as the favourite in three out of five sets.
“The guy has won two out of three majors this year and lost in a hurricane semis at the French. You can never discount him.
“Plus, he got enough matches reaching the semi-finals. He was only one match short of getting the extra match.
“It is nothing to worry about from Novak’s point of view as well.
“Marian Vajda is going to be back with him next week as well. The whole team will be reunited so I’m not worried about Djokovic at all because he has got enough matches.”
Djokovic is hoping to win a 17th career Grand Slam title at the US Open over the next fortnight.
The Serbian has two fewer than Rafael Nadal and is four behind Roger Federer’s all-time record.
But that only provides the world No 1 with motivation to continue improving.
“I’m aware of [the debate around the Grand Slam titles leaderboard],” he said. “It’s definitely one of my ambitions and goals.
“Especially now, more or less everything is about Grand Slams, in terms of how I see tennis and how I approach them because they matter the most.”