US Open 2024: Novak Djokovic equals Roger Federer record with comfortable first-round victory at Flushing Meadows

Novak Djokovic equalled Roger Federer's tally of 89 wins at the US Open with a straight-sets victory over Moldova's Radu Albot in the first round. The Serbian, fresh off clinching Olympic gold, completed a 6-2 6-2 6-4 victory in the first night session of the tournament at Arthur Ashe Stadium. A title win would see him claim a 25th Grand Slam and take sole possession of the all-time record.

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Novak Djokovic began his US Open title defence with a comfortable 6-2 6-2 6-4 victory over Moldovan qualifier Radu Albot – a result that also drew him level with Roger Federer for wins at Flushing Meadows.

It was an 89th triumph at the iconic venue for the history-making Serbian, putting him joint-second with Federer, behind only Jimmy Connors on 98.

“I wasn't aware of it, to be honest. It's the biggest stadium, definitely the loudest we have in the history of our sport,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview after the match.

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Djokovic headlined the first night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium and was never troubled by Albot as he goes in search of a 25th Grand Slam that would cap off an incredible few weeks for the 37-year-old.

After claiming the Olympic gold medal in Paris, a win in New York would see him move clear of Margaret Court and inherit the solo record for the most Grand Slam titles in history.

“The night sessions are the best in the world on Arthur Ashe and ever since the roof was introduced it became even louder,” he added. “Electric atmosphere. Incredible energy.

“Obviously with some new rules this year with the crowd able to move around, there are a lot of things happening on court. We're clocking midnight right now. I love night sessions, maybe not this late, but nevertheless it was great fun.

“I wanted to kickstart the tournament in the right way and I think I did.”

For the first time since 2017, Djokovic arrived at Flushing Meadows without having won any of the first three Grand Slams of the year.

He was beaten in the semi-finals by Jannik Sinner in Australia before having to withdraw from the French Open ahead of the quarter-finals because of a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.

He recovered to reach the Wimbledon final, where he was well beaten by Carlos Alcaraz, although he got his revenge in the gold-medal match in Paris to capture the one title that had eluded him.

A four-time champion of the US Open, he will be eager to lift the trophy again and become the first man since Federer to defend it since 2008.

It was not perfect in his opening-round match but he had more than enough firepower to ease into round two.

From 2-1 down in the opener, he reeled off five games in a row to assert his dominance and then did similar in the second to close in on victory.

The third was a tighter affair but Djokovic secured the crucial break in the seventh game before serving out for the win.

He was dominant behind his first serve, but the 10 double faults will be something he will undoubtedly want to improve upon.

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And the same goes for the 40 unforced errors that flowed from his racquet.

It was objective achieved, however, in his first match since having the gold medal hung around his neck.

“I think it was a solid start,” Djokovic continued. “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.”

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