Novak Djokovic’s quest for his historic 25th Grand Slam title is in full swing.
Djokovic mastered his opening match at the US Open on Monday evening with ease, defeating Moldova’s Radu Albot in straight sets 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. It was his 71st consecutive victory in the first round of a major tournament and took him to 18-0 in the first round of the US Open in his career.
Djokovic, who won the US Open title last year, picked up right where he left off after winning the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics – which he called the biggest achievement of his career and officially completed the Golden Slam. Djokovic won four games in a row to close out his first set and then did the same in the second to close out that set without any problems.
Although it was nowhere near as quick – Albor took a 3-2 lead in the third set after a battle for the point in the third game – Djokovic fought through the sixth and seventh games of the set to regain the momentum and ultimately secure the win in just over two hours.
Djokovic, who lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open earlier this year, withdrew from the French Open in the quarterfinals due to a torn meniscus in his right knee. After surgery, Djokovic returned at Wimbledon and made it to the final – although he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in London. This led to Djokovic’s Olympic victory, where he defeated Alcaraz to win the first gold medal of his career. It was also his first title ever this season.
Although he still has a long way to go, a victory at the US Open would cap off a historic year for the Serbian star. It would be his 25th Grand Slam title, extending his lead in the race and adding to his list of accolades. It would also break his tie with Margaret Court to become the most successful tennis player of all time.
Djokovic will now face fellow Serbian Laslo Djere in the second round. Djere defeated German Jan-Lennard Struff in a five-set battle in his opening match on Monday evening.
