The world No 1 found himself in a similar situation during last year’s US Open, with Federer recovering from double knee surgery while Nadal opted not to travel due to uncertainties surrounding the pandemic.
He was the favourite to win the title but let his frustrations get the better of him when he was broken during his round of 16 clash with Pablo Carreno Busta, hitting a ball away in anger which unintentionally hit a linesperson and saw him immediately defaulted from the tournament.
Last month, at the Olympics, he was also tipped to win the gold medal in Federer and Nadal’s absence but lost in the semi-finals, going on to suffer defeat in the bronze medal match the following day.
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Wilander thought Djokovic could run into similar troubles at the US Open, saying: “I think the 21st win for Novak might not be as straight forward as we might have expected because Rafa and Roger are not there.”
