Novak Djokovic kicked off his quest for a historic 25th Grand Slam title and matched Roger Federer with his 89th match victory at the U.S. Open by defeating Moldovan qualifier Radu Albot 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 on Monday night. The second seed Djokovic, wearing a gray sleeve over his surgically repaired right knee, was competing for the first time since winning an Olympic gold medal three weeks ago at the Paris Games, an achievement that had eluded him until now.
Djokovic acknowledged the challenge of starting a tournament after such a long break from this surface. “It’s always challenging to start, particularly when you haven’t played on this surface for five or six months, and coming off an Olympic gold and playing on clay. I haven’t had any official matches before the U.S. Open. So I’m expecting to be probably challenged a little bit more in the opening rounds,” he said. He expressed optimism in improving his performance as the tournament progresses.
The Serbian tennis star, now 37, is 18-0 in first-round matches at Flushing Meadows and holds an overall record of 89-13 at this hard-court event, which he has won four times, including last year. Djokovic has never exited the U.S. Open before the third round, while Albot has yet to progress beyond that stage in 30 major tournament appearances.
Federer’s record stands at 89-14 in New York, including five consecutive titles from 2004 to 2008, making him the most recent male player to win the U.S. Open at least twice in a row. Among male players, only Jimmy Connors, with a record of 98-17, has won more matches at the U.S. Open than Djokovic and Federer.
Djokovic has never lost to an opponent ranked as low as No. 138 Albot, who now holds an 0-12 record against top 10 players.
Next, Djokovic will face fellow countryman and friend Laslo Djere, who advanced after a five-set victory over Jan-Lennard Struff. In their previous U.S. Open encounter last year, Djokovic had to come back from losing the first two sets against Djere to win.
“It’s a guaranteed third round for one of the Serbian guys. Hopefully, it’s going to be me. But Djere is a guy that really likes playing on a big stage. I think he also loves the conditions here. It’s a bit quicker. The ball stays low. He has a very flat backhand particularly and a very good serve, great return. He’s physically as fit as anybody,” Djokovic said, reflecting on their past match and expressing a desire to improve in their upcoming clash.