NEW YORK -- He has been the best player in men's tennis for the past five years, ranked No. 1 for 113 consecutive weeks.
But for a variety of resonating reasons, Novak Djokovic doesn't feel like the favorite here at the US Open.
That would be No. 2 seed Andy Murray, riding the wave of his recent victories in Wimbledon and Rio de Janeiro. Full disclosure: The oddsmakers still favor Djokovic by the slightest of margins.
Murray absolutely wrecked Lukas Rosol in the opening round, dropping only seven games. Djokovic gave away that many in a single set -- and 13 overall -- in an uninspired initial outing against Jerzy Janowicz.
All in all, this is probably a good thing for Djokovic, who lately has been fraying at his ends.
On Wednesday afternoon, he received the best news possible: Jiri Vesely pulled out of their second-round match with a left forearm injury. Vesely actually had a career 1-0 record against Djokovic after winning earlier this spring in Monte Carlo.
This gives the 29-year-old three full days of non-match rest, which gives his sore left wrist and right arm a chance to recover for his third-round match against either Guido Pella or Mikhail Youzhny.
Djokovic came into this US Open as the defending champion, but was knocked out of the Rio Olympics in the first round by Juan Martin del Potro and forced to withdraw from the recent tournament in Cincinnati.
The wrist was the issue coming in, but when Djokovic called for the ATP World Tour trainer to work on his arm during that first-round match, more red flags were raised. Afterward, he understandably declined to get into specifics about his physical condition.
"To be honest, I take it day by day," Djokovic said. "That's what I feel at the moment. It's good, as I said, just to finish the match. I'm pleased that as the match progressed I was feeling better and better.
"I hope that I'll feel overall good so I'm able to perform at my best for the next match."
Djokovic, like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, is experiencing some of the difficulties that come from being at the top of his craft. All tennis players suffer stress on their joints, but the ones who go deepest into draws feel it the most. In the past 52 weeks, Djokovic has played 84 matches, the most in tennis. Murray (78) and Milos Raonic (66) are next in line.
Not only is Djokovic the father of a 1-year-old, Stefan, he was recently elected president of the player council, a position that requires time and leadership abilities.
Despite all the swirling questions, Djokovic has a chance to do something quite rare. With a title here, he can join Roger Federer (2006-07) as the second man to win three majors in consecutive years.
And consider this bit of fortuitous statistical fodder: Djokovic has won seven straight matches against the highest-seeded player in his half of the draw, No. 4 Rafael Nadal, and has never lost to the next two, No. 5 Milos Raonic (7-0) and No. 7 Marin Cilic (14-0).
After his first-round match, Djokovic did not sound like a man succumbing to the hysteria of the moment.
"I have more than enough happiness in my life and blessings to be a father and a husband," he said. "Life is wonderful. I mean, there is no doubt about it. I cannot sit here and complain and whine about the issues that everybody has in each day in their lives, privately, professionally.
"When you expect the least, that's when you have things coming at you as life's lessons. I'm glad that I'm able to accept them and to greet them with a consciousness of wanting to evolve and wanting to get the best out of them. That's all I can say."