Novak Djokovic continues his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam title. The Serbian star advanced to the third round at Flushing Meadows with a comeback victory over American Zachary Svajda, earning yet another place in the history books by moving past long-time rival Roger Federer in a significant Major milestone.
After dropping the opening set in a tiebreak, 6-7(5), Djokovic quickly regrouped, dominating the next three sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. With the win, the 38-year-old reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the 75th time in his career, surpassing Federer’s previous record of 74.
Djokovic also tied another mark held by Federer at the US Open. The victory marked his 19th appearance in the third round in New York, equaling Federer for the most in the Open Era.
Now eyeing history, Djokovic is bidding to become the only player ever to win 25 Grand Slam singles titles. While he has reached the semifinals at all three Majors this season, he has yet to make a championship match. The last time Djokovic failed to reach a Grand Slam final in a calendar year was back in 2017.
Djokovic on his performance
The former World No. 1 looked uncomfortable during the opening set, struggling to find his rhythm and committing 14 unforced errors that allowed the American to take the first set. After the match, Djokovic admitted he was not pleased with the level of tennis he showed early on.
“Not that great to be honest,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview when asked about his tennis. “I was not really happy with my tennis in the first part of the match but also credit to Zach for playing some really high-quality tennis”.
As the match wore on, Svajda began to show physical struggles that limited his serving ability. Djokovic capitalized but expressed sympathy for his 22-year-old opponent.
“It was unfortunate that he struggled with injury towards the end of the second but kudos to him for staying on the court. He obviously could not serve as well as he did for the first set and a half but I wish him all the best,” Djokovic added.