Novak Djokovic commenced his quest for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title with a decisive straight-sets victory over Radu Albot at the US Open on Monday. The four-time US Open champion defeated the Moldovan qualifier 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 in his opening match, setting a new record with his 78th victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Returning to hard courts for the first time since Indian Wells in March and playing his first tournament since winning Olympic gold on clay in Paris three weeks ago, Djokovic didn’t bring his cleanest game to Arthur Ashe Stadium. The four-time champion threw in 10 double faults, put just 47 percent of first serves into play, and made 40 unforced errors.
The US Open marks Djokovic’s first hard court event since March and it is just the fourth event he has contested on his favorite surface all year. The second seed has a helpful draw as he tries to find his rhythm on the surface without any hard court preparation. Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Daniil Medvedev, the last three players in the tournament to defeat him at a grand slam, are all as far away from him as possible in the top half.
On Monday, his first challenge was Albot, a 34-year-old Moldovan qualifier who has spent most of his career ranked between No. 50 and 150. While Albot is a consistent and tenacious player, at just 5 ft 9 (1.75m) he is underpowered against the elite.
Even though he started the match struggling with his first serve, Djokovic imposed himself from the beginning, rolling through his service games and putting constant pressure on Albot’s weak serve. Bit by bit, Djokovic ground his challenger down with his relentless depth and consistency off both wings and he rolled to a comfortable win.
Joking before the match that he was seeking revenge on Albot, who has wins over his brothers Marko and Djordje, Djokovic captured a record 78th win by a male inside Ashe.
“I wanted to kick start the tournament in the right way and I think I did,” Djokovic said. “Some ups and downs which I think is normal, getting the rust off your shoulders coming off a different surface and the Olympic Games.
“I haven’t played on hard courts for six months, so I’m still finding that groove, finding the tempo on the court.”
Djokovic will face his compatriot Laslo Djere, who defeated Jan Lennard Struff in five sets on Monday. While this is a straightforward matchup, Djere played brilliantly to lead Djokovic by two sets last year at the US Open before the elder Serb recovered to win in five sets.
“It’s great for Serbian tennis that two Serbian players are facing each other,” said Djokovic. “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 likes playing on a big stage.”
Having now essentially completed tennis, winning every single major honor on offer to a tennis player, it remains to be seen how Djokovic will continue to motivate himself with nobody or nothing to chase. As he begins his pursuit of a record 25th grand slam title, though, Djokovic insists that nothing has changed.
