Novak Djokovic is hoping his Olympics success will spur him to US Open glory despite not playing since the Paris Games.
Djokovic became just the second player in the Open Era to win all four grand slams, the gold medal at the Olympics and the ATP Tour Finals after Andre Agassi.
The Serb triumphed at Flushing Meadows last year, winning his 24th major title, but one year on, is still waiting for the win that would take him clear of Margaret Court as the outright record holder.
He came close at Wimbledon but lost the final in straight sets to Carlos Alcaraz, who he then beat to claim his elusive gold medal earlier this month.
Djokovic, the number two seed for the tournament, will begin against Moldovan qualifier Radu Albot on Monday, and he believes his recent success will serve as the perfect springboard for a similar outcome in New York.
"I hope to never recover from that [Olympic triumph] because it's the best set of feelings that I ever had as an athlete," he told Eurosport.
"On the court but also off, when we went back to celebrate with our people, all of the Serbian Olympians that managed to win a medal.
"It was a very unique moment for me. I'll never forget it, and I'll try to use it as a great confidence boost for what's coming up in New York in the next few weeks."
At 87.1%, Djokovic holds the second-best win percentage at the US Open in the Open Era of players to have featured in at least 30 matches at the event, after Sampras (88.8%).
And the 37-year-old will be hoping that is a good omen as he aims to win a joint-record fifth title at the tournament.
Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have split the major trophies between them so far in 2024, while the last time Djokovic failed to win a single grand slam in a calendar year was in 2017.
Djokovic has not competed in the hard-court swing so far, instead choosing to recover, having struggled with a knee injury since the French Open in May, but he is sure that break will help his performance.
"I haven't had much time to recover or much time to train," he added. "I tried to get the most out of the few weeks that I had.
"I had more than all the other guys that played the tournaments, but that was a conscious decision that I made not to have any lead-up tournaments to the US Open because I just felt that the calendar is too congested this year with the Olympics.
"I needed my break, short but sweet, celebration, family quality time and then, of course, [I] started my training and trying to build my body, build my form for the start of the tournament."
US Open: Medvedev restores order at Flushing Meadows
Daniil Medvedev restored order by beating Flavio Cobolli in the US Open evening session, avoiding the same fates as former champions Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
The Russian, who is now the only former champion remaining in the men's field at Flushing Meadows, won 6-3 6-4 6-3 in two hours and 18 minutes.
Though Cobolli fought well, getting the first break in the match early on and valiantly defending set point six times in the first two sets, he could not stage another upset.
Medvedev struck 33 winners as he asserted his dominance and will meet Nuno Borges in the fourth round in New York.
"I said it before the match that for me the upsets don't really matter," Medvedev said.
"The only thing [is when] the conditions are a bit tricky, the favourites maybe have less margin than the other guys. Just have to be more cautious.
"It was a tough match. It was just a little bit up and down, and at one moment I started playing much better on my serve than on his.
"If I play good tennis I can win the whole thing. If I don't play good, I can lose against anyone."
Data Debrief: No upsets here
With two of the favourites for the title already out of the race, Medvedev will feel good about his chances of winning a second US Open title.
This victory was his 138th combined match win on hard court (grand slams and ATP Masters 1000 events), equalling Roger Federer for the second-most of any player on the surface in the past decade, trailing only Novak Djokovic (227).
Medvedev is into the fourth round for the 11th time in the men's singles event at grand slams on hard court - he is the only Russian in the Open era to reach this stage 10+ times.
US Open: Swiatek breezes into fourth round in straight sets
Iga Swiatek cruised into the fourth round of the US Open, crediting a chat with Serena Williams for her straight-sets win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The world number one prevailed 6-4 6-2, without facing a break point in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday.
Swiatek needed just 95 minutes to get into the next round, setting up a meeting with Liudmila Samsonova.
A four-game winning streak in the second set put the game beyond doubt, earning her a third straight-sets victory of the tournament so far.
"It was nice that Serena [Williams] approached me [in the players' gym], because I wouldn't, for sure, find courage to do that," Swiatek said.
"Even though we met before and for a couple of years we have been on the same sides and on tour together, she's still star-striking for me.
"It inspired me, and it gave me a positive kick.
"It's not like my tennis is perfect, but it is weird because I have been number one and winning tournaments, I feel I need to work on some stuff."
Data Debrief: Total dominance
Swiatek, who won at Flushing Meadows in 2022, is into the fourth round at a grand slam for just the second time this year, having failed to reach it at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
It is the 16th time she has reached that stage in her 23rd main draw appearance - only Coco Gauff has also reached the fourth round in over half of her main draws at grand slams among active players.
The Pole looks to be in fine form though, with this victory lifting her winning percentage to 82.8% (82-17) in women's singles matches at grand slam events - she is now up to 11th on the all-time list in the Open Era, surpassing Martina Hingis.
Sinner avoids O'Connell upset at US Open
Jannik Sinner beat Australia's Christopher O'Connell in straight sets to reach the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday, avoiding a similar fate to Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
The men's draw at Flushing Meadows has been blown wide open by early exits for Alcaraz and Djokovic, but the top seed remains in the hunt after a composed performance.
He reached the fourth round for a fourth consecutive year with a routine 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory, setting the tone with several huge groundstrokes in the opening set.
O'Connell never looked likely to fight back as Sinner smashed 46 winners in a ruthless performance, wrapping up his win in one hour and 56 minutes.
The Australian Open champion will face either Tommy Paul or Gabriel Diallo for a place in the last eight, and he was relieved to survive an opening week full of surprises.
"Everything can happen in this sport, so I try to stay on my side of the net and I'm trying to take the tournament day by day," Sinner said in his on-court interview after the win.
"Each opponent is a very tough challenge and [I am] also enjoying every moment on the court. There have been already a couple of upsets, so let's see what's coming.
"But I'm very happy to still be here and hopefully I can play as many matches as possible. But as I said, we go day by day and then we'll see how it goes."
Data Debrief: Sinner heating up
Sinner lost his first set of the tournament to Mackenzie McDonald but has been largely untouchable since then.
He has only lost 18 games across his last nine sets of tennis, an average of two per set.
The Italian's winning streak now stands at seven straight matches, meanwhile, following his triumphant Cincinnati Open run.
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