Round 1: Novak Djokovic vs. Learner Tien
Arthur Ashe Stadium — Night Session — First Match (7 p.m.)
- Tennis under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium kicks off with a high-profile match pitting four-time King of Queens—and 24-time major champion—Djokovic against rising star Tien. The American is making his fourth main draw appearance at Flushing Meadows, but has yet to make it past the first round. That being said, Tien is now in the Top 50 (last year he arrived in New York ranked No. 191) and holds a 4-1 record against Top 10 players this season. At the Australian Open this year, the two-time junior Grand Slam finalist upset Daniil Medvedev en route to the Round of 16.
- Djokovic is in search of the elusive 25th major singles title, and if he lifts the trophy here, the Serb will tie Conners, Federer and Sampras for the most US Open men's singles in the Open Era. The No. 7 seed is 35-0 in the first two rounds at the US Open, with his earliest exits coming in the third round in 2005, 2006 and 2024.
- The two players are at very different stages in their career—37-year-old Djokovic has the most Grand Slam match wins in history, having won 392 men's singles matches since his first main draw appearance at the 2005 Australian Open. Tien, just 19, is playing his seventh Slam.
- Djokovic lifted the trophy at Geneva, was the finalist at Miami, and reached the semifinals at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but hasn't played since London. Tien reached the quarterfinals at Acapulco and Mallorca, and made a run to the fourth round at Toronto after making the third round at Washington, D.C.
- If Tien wins, he will be the sixth teenager to defeat Djokovic at the tour-level, and the first to do so at a major. He would also be the youngest American man to earn a Top 10 win at the US Open since Pete Sampras in 1990.
