Three-time US Open champion Djokovic, who comes into the tournament having won his fifth Wimbledon title, is followed in the seedings by 2017 winner Rafael Nadal.
'I was aggressive. I had this in my mind, and I wanted to finish the points quicker, but was not that easy with her. She's moving very well. She was returning every single ball'
The 26-year-old first reached the top last October but lost the spot 16 weeks later having not hoisted a Grand Slam trophy.
'I think when I first started, you could win a lot of easy matches, then you're in the quarter-finals, that's when it starts to get a little more tough. Now, like, there's no easy match. Everyone's playing great. Everyone's just doing a lot better'
Organisers are confident a rain-hit opening day will not hold up the tournament.
Simona Halep trailed by a set and 5-1 against Elina Svitolina but somehow dug herself out of a hole before storming to victory to set up a semi-final against Karolina Pliskova.
Badosa beats Fernandez; Swiatek, Halep storm into quarter-finals
Serena Williams, hoping to win a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, will start her campaign against fellow American Kristie Ahn.
Awesome images from the world of Sport 2018.
Factbox on Japan's Naomi Osaka, who beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win the US Open title on Saturday.
Romanian fifth seed Simona Halep advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open with a 6-3 6-4 win over Lucie Safarova on Thursday in the first full match played under a closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The $150 million retractable roof was installed ahead of this year's tournament and guaranteed there would be at least some action on a muggy and overcast Day Four at the year's final grand slam.
As the fans head toward Flushing Meadows, tennis stars gear up with ground-breaking styles to rule the courts.
Images from the French Open women's semi-final matches played at Roland Garros on Thursday
With no standout favourite in the women's field, it could provide an ideal stage for American Serena Williams to finally end her quest for an elusive 24th Grand Slam title.
Time is running out for Serena to reach the career milestone that has become one of the sport's longest running storylines.
Red-hot Rafael Nadal faces Delbonis, says majors tally not a focus
World Number one Simona Halep and Japan's Naomi Osaka are among the players nominated for the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Player of the Year award.
Serena Williams creates ripples with her latest outfit.
As far as Halep was concerned, her 6-1, 6-3 semi-final win over Elina Svitolina meant that her mother Tania will finally get to experience something she has been dreaming of for more than a decade.
Former champion Stan Wawrinka battled past Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in five sets to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals with a 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 victory. Fifth seed Dominic Thiem kept his flawless record against Gael Monfils intact with a trouble-free 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victory on Monday to reach his maiden Australian Open quarter-final.
Images from the women's singles quarter-finals at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
"I think she will win a Grand Slam. Which one and when I don't know, but definitely clay is a good surface for her."
Swiatek's last defeat on clay came in the WTA 1000 event in Madrid against Australian Barty, who elected not to defend her 2019 French Open title last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Serbian Jankovic was serving for the title at 5-4 in the second set but World No 3 Halep won the next three games and battled back for the biggest title of her career.
Her coach Patrick Mouratoglou believes she is now ready to matching Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slams.
Unlike the United States and European countries, which are battling to contain the virus, Australia has not had a case of community transmission for 11 straight days and residents have regained most of their pre-COVID freedoms.
Third seed Simona Halep broke her hoodoo against Belgian Yanina Wickmayer with a 6-4, 6-2 win to sail into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday.
Defending champion Serena Williams finished her last US Open tune-up in style by beating Romanian third seed Simona Halep 6-3, 7-6(5) to win the Western & Southern Open on Sunday.
Modric beats Djokovic to win Balkan athlete of year
A summary of Wednesday's action at the US Open.
Roger Federer's proposal to merge the tours gets thumbs up from top players.
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka will join Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in playing a pre-Australian Open warm-up exhibition
Of the top 15 on Forbes' list of best-paid female athletes, 12 were tennis players. Indian badminton player PV Sindhu came in tied for 13th ($5.5 million), with Thai golfer Ariya Jutanugarn ($5.3 million) rounding out the top 15.
'I think what Venus and her sister have given our sport is absolutely tremendous. The way they've elevated women's tennis is truly inspiring'
Tactical change helps Halep to French Open semis
However, the 30-year-old Russia belied her own self-doubt with an impressive three-set win over the Romanian to thrust the former world number one back into the spotlight as the toast of the Big Apple.
Breeze though the outfits that caught the maximum shutterbugs at the final Grand Slam of the year.
Halep has struggled for form and fitness since her first-round defeat at the US Open last August and came to Australia on a five-match losing streak and without a coach after long-serving Darren Cahill left for "family reasons".
The Czech world number 52 had beaten top-10 players Simona Halep and Johanna Konta on her way to the final
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