Novak Djokovic has experience, but this is a new situation for everyone: Becker on USO favorites

Amid the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal and the absence of Roger Federer due to injury, Novak Djokovic has emerged as the outright favorite for the US Open. But the tournament comes with its complications, as competitive tennis has been halted for the last six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, former coach of Novak Djokovic, Boris Becker opined that while the Serb may be the bookmaker's favorite, nothing is guaranteed during these uncertain times. Becker also spoke about the disastrous Adria Tour, for which Djokovic copped a lot of flak from the media and the fans.

The tournament was for a good cause: Boris Becker on Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour

Novak Djokovic (R) at the Adria Tour

When asked whether Novak Djokovic has a clear path to the US Open title this year, Becker explained that there are no certainties in Grand Slam tennis, especially during a global health crisis.

"The tournament is open, in a Grand Slam no one has a clear path," asserted Becker. "Nole has great experience, but this is a new situation for everyone. Whoever adapts first will be favored. And who knows, new names could also emerge."

The German coached Djokovic from 2014 to 2016, and is one of the few personalities in tennis who knows intricate details about the Serb's mentality and tennis game. On the Adria Tour, Becker conceded that Djokovic had made a mistake - before adding that the World No. 1 had the best of intentions.

The Adria Tour, hosted and funded by Novak Djokovic and members of his family, led to four players - Borna Coric, Viktor Troicki, Grigor Dimitrov and Djokovic himself - testing positive for COVID-19. Since then, the Serb has faced massive backlash from the tennis world over his supposed lack of responsibility and concern.

"It must be emphasized that tennis remains a safe sport because there are no contacts between the players," Becker said. "Nothing can really happen. That tournament was for a good cause, Nole just wanted to create a big charity event, but the fact that the Serbian government allowed spectators to fill the stands without protection didn't help."

"The virus threat should have been handled differently globally, and instead, the wrong decision was made. Or, simply, it was hoped that everything would be fine. Unfortunately the forecasts were not correct and, as often happens, in retrospect we can say that we had to be much more careful," the German added.