Djokovic begins record bid for 25th Grand Slam title with three-set victory

NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic began his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title and equaled Roger Federer’s 89th match win at the US Open by beating qualifier Radu Albot of Moldova 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 on Monday night.

The second-seeded Djokovic, again wearing a gray sleeve over his surgically repaired right knee, was competing for the first time since winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics three weeks ago, the last major achievement missing from his resume.

“It’s always a challenge to start, especially when you haven’t played on this surface for five, six months, and you’ve just won an Olympic gold medal and you’ve played on clay. I haven’t played any official matches before the US Open. So I expect that in the opening rounds I’ll probably be challenged a little bit more,” he said. “Hopefully I can play better every day.”

He said his knee, which he had surgery on in early June, feels fine.

Djokovic, a 37-year-old from Serbia, improved to 18-0 in first-round matches at Flushing Meadows and is now 89-13 overall at the hard-court tournament, which he has won four times, including a year ago. He has never lost beyond the third round at the U.S. Open; Albot has never advanced beyond the third round in 30 major appearances.

The retired Federer went 89-14 in New York, winning five consecutive championships from 2004 to 2008. He is the most recent man to win at least two consecutive US Opens. On the men’s side, only Jimmy Connors, who went 98-17, has won more matches than Djokovic and Federer at the event.

Djokovic has never lost a Grand Slam match to someone as lowly-ranked as No. 138 Albot. And Albot is now 0-12 against opponents ranked in the top 10.

Djokovic now faces a compatriot, familiar opponent and friend, Laslo Djere, who came through with a 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-2 victory over Jan-Lennard Struff. A year ago, Djokovic met Djere in the third round of the US Open; Djere won the first two sets before Djokovic came through in five.

“It’s a guaranteed third round for one of the Serbian guys. Hopefully I will be. But Djokovic is a guy who really likes to play on a big stage. I think he likes the conditions here too. It’s a bit faster. The ball stays low. He has a very flat backhand, especially and a very good serve, great return. He’s as physically fit as anyone,” Djokovic said. “I remember our match very well. It was a very tough match. I’m going to try to analyze that and hopefully I’ll do some things even better than last year.”

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