WHAT HAPPENED: Defending US Open champion Novak Djokovic began his quest for a historic 25th singles major in emphatic fashion with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win against Radu Albot Monday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Olympic gold medalist met resistance from the Moldovan qualifier early in each set, but Albot could not sustain his challenge enough to seriously threaten for his first Top 10 win—a result that would have ranked among the all-time tennis upsets.
"I think it was a solid start," Djokovic said after his first hard-court match since Indian Wells in March. "Look, I struggled with my serve and the rhythm on certain shots. Overall from the back of the court I thought I played pretty well.
"It's always challenging to start, particularly when you haven't played on this surface for five, six months and coming off an Olympic gold and playing on clay. I haven't had any official matches before US Open. So I'm expecting to be probably challenged a little bit more in the opening rounds. Hopefully I can play better each day."
Djokovic won five straight games to take the opening set against the world No. 138, then broke early in the second for a 2-1 lead. That sparked an eventful stretch of three consecutive breaks, with the defending champion shrugging off his lone lost service game of the evening by breaking back with the help of two passing-shot winners.
Albot hung in despite being on the ropes in set three, fighting off multiple break points in consecutive games to lead 3-2. But the Serb buckled down and won four rallies of 10+ balls to secure his sixth and final break of the match, ultimately seeing the victory home with no further fuss.
WHAT IT MEANS: With his 89th US Open match win, Djokovic ties Roger Federer for second-most wins at the event in men's history. Now 89-13 in New York, Djokovic trails only Jimmy Connors (98-17) on the US Open's all-time list.
The Serb will bid for win No. 90 in the second round against countryman Laslo Djere, who earned a comeback, five-set win against Jan-Lennard Struff on Monday night. Anchoring the bottom half of the draw—with Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev all in the top half—Djokovic could meet surprise Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin in the third round. An American fan favorite could await beyond that, with recent US Open semifinalists Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe both lurking in Djokovic's section.
Djokovic has now won eight straight US Open matches. He has twice won 13 in a row in New York, when he followed a title with a final appearance in 2011-12 and 2015-16.
MATCH POINT: Djokovic improves to 18-0 in first-round matches at the US Open. He has never lost before the third round in New York, exiting at that stage in his first two outings in 2005 and 2006.
