US Open: Novak Djokovic starts title defense with dominant win as he eyes 25th Grand Slam championship

Novak Djokovic’s quest for a historic 25th Grand Slam title is off and running.

Djokovic cruised through his opening round match at the US Open on Monday night. He beat Moldova’s Radu Albot in straight sets at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. It marked his 71st consecutive first round win at a major championship, and pushed him to 18-0 in the first round at the US Open in his career.

Djokovic, who won the US Open title last year, picked up right where he left off after his gold medal win at the 2024 Paris Olympics — which he said was the biggest accomplishment he’s had in his career and officially completed the Golden Slam. Djokovic won four straight games to close out his first set, and then did the same in the second to finish that set out without any issue.

Though it wasn’t anywhere near as quick — Albor jumped up 3-2 in the third set after a battle for the point in the third game — Djokovic rolled his way through the sixth and seventh games of the set to retake the momentum and eventually grab the win in just more than two hours.

Djokovic, who lost in the Australian Open semifinals to start the year, withdrew from the French Open with a torn meniscus in his right knee in the quarterfinals. After undergoing surgery, Djokovic returned at Wimbledon and made it to the final — though he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in London. That led Djokovic to his Olympics win, where he beat Alcaraz to win the first gold medal of his career. It was his first title of any kind this season, too.

Though he still has a long way to go, a win at the US Open would cap a historic year for the Serbian star. It would mark his 25th Grand Slam title, which would extend his lead in the race and add to his list of accolades. It would also break his tie with Margaret Court and make him the most decorated tennis player of any era.

Djokovic will now take on fellow Serbian Laslo Djere in the second round. Djere beat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in a five-set battle in his opening match on Monday night.