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But the Serb's golden touch was decidedly
lacking in the late night match as he struggled with serve and
racked up nearly twice as many unforced errors as winners.
For all that, he had more than enough weapons to handle Moldovan
Albot in their first tour clash and claim a record 78th win at
Arthur Ashe under a closed roof.
"I was not aware of it, to be honest with you," Djokovic said of
the centre court milestone.
"It's definitely the loudest stadium we have in the history of
our sport. The night sessions are the best in the world here."
While having never played Albot before, Djokovic said he had
done his homework on the 34-year-old who beat both his younger
brothers Marko and Djordje during their playing days.
"They both lost to him so hopefully I can avenge my brothers
tonight," he told ESPN commentator Brad Gilbert with a laugh
before taking the court.
Djokovic duly avenged the family name in three clunky sets but
he will hope for better from his game as he looks to move past
Margaret Court on the all-time Grand Slam winners' list.
With 10 double-faults, his serve was wild by his usual
standards, and he winced throughout the night as 40 unforced
errors piled up.
His coach Nenad Zimonjic was an animated presence, barking
instructions in Serbian at the wayward champion, who could
convert only six out of 16 break points.
Though Djokovic was well off his best, Albot was unable to make
the world number two pay.
After bright starts in the first two sets, he crumbled on serve
in each of them before making a better game of the third.
In the twilight of a record-smashing career, Djokovic is eyeing
several milestones in New York, including a fifth title at
Flushing Meadows to match the professional era record held by
Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer.
He also hopes to become the first back-to-back winner in the
men's singles since Federer's run of five successive titles from
2004-08.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter
Rutherford) [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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