Novak Djokovic, in pursuit of his 25th Grand Slam title, began his US Open title defense with a strong showing, overcoming 138th-ranked Radu Albot in straight sets. The Serbian star, though not at his sharpest, broke Albot six times to secure a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win. Djokovic, who is aiming to repeat his success from last year’s US Open, marked his 78th match win at the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium, attributing his success to the unparalleled energy of the night sessions. The US Tennis Association reported a record crowd of 74,641 spectators, with 42,886 attending the day session and 31,775 during the night. Djokovic, seeded second behind Jannik Sinner, is striving to become the first male player to defend a US Open title since Roger Federer’s five consecutive victories from 2004 to 2008. Despite committing 10 double faults and 40 unforced errors, Djokovic maintained control throughout the two-hour, seven-minute match, which concluded just before midnight.
In other matches, American Ben Shelton claimed a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory over 2020 champion Dominic Thiem, who had earlier announced his retirement at the end of 2024. Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev needed four sets to defeat Maximilian Marterer, while sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev overcame Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in straight sets. Casper Ruud, the eighth seed, advanced with a solid win against Bu Yunchaokete of China. Gael Monfils, who beat Diego Schwartzman, will now face Ruud in the next round. On the women’s side, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka progressed with a straight-sets victory, as did Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova. Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen rallied to defeat Amanda Anisimova after losing the first set.
