Djokovic nearly skipped US Open due to wrist injury

Before Novak Djokovic's US Open draw parted as neatly as the hair on Milos Raonic's head, and before he got a velvet-roped runway to his 10th straight semifinal in Flushing Meadows, the world No. 1 nearly opted to forgo his title defense.

Coming off dispiriting early-round losses at Wimbledon and the Olympics, and nursing a left wrist injury that forced him to pull out of the Cincinnati Masters, Djokovic strongly considered withdrawing from the tournament, according to one of his coaches.

"I was very worried about it," Marian Vajda told Christopher Clarey of The New York Times. "It takes time to heal something like this, and there was no time, just two weeks to three weeks. So we were all worried. We didn't expect this performance here, basically because all the diagnoses, everything, led us to think that we should consider not to play the tournament, basically. He needed more rest."

Djokovic's first match at the US Open seemed to bear that out, as he looked sluggish and distracted in a four-set win over Jerzy Janowicz. Since then, however, Djokovic has gotten just what the doctor ordered, as he's played just one completed match - a sub-two-hour demolition of Kyle Edmund - and just five completed sets in a 10-day span. Jiri Vesely withdrew with an inflamed forearm in the second round. Mikhail Youzhny retired due to a bad hammy after six games in the third. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga called it quits after two sets in the quarterfinals thanks to a knee injury.

"Look, I never had a Grand Slam where I had three retirements up to the semifinals, but I've got to take it, I guess," Djokovic said.

In the quarters, the benefit of all that time off was evident. Djokovic played two of his best sets of the summer, completely neutralizing Tsonga's attack and repeatedly landing knockout counterpunches. Tsonga's retirement simply expedited the inevitable.

"I thought the two sets I played tonight were the best tennis I've played in this year's US Open," Djokovic said after the victory.

"Novak is very specific with this," Vajda said. "He takes care of himself very much. I think he recovers very well."

Tsonga's coach, Thierry Ascione, had his own take.

"Novak's got a good witch doctor," he said.

As if he needed any more help, a scheduling quirk gave Djokovic another two days off before meeting his stiffest test yet in semifinal opponent Gael Monfils.

For a guy who nearly sat out to rest, it's hard to imagine Djokovic having a more restorative tournament.