Djokovic surpasses Federer's record at Grand Slam

(Dan Tri) - Novak Djokovic came from behind to win 3-1 against Zachary Svajda on the night of August 27 to enter the third round of the 2025 US Open. The Serbian tennis player set a new record for the number of times he has reached the third round at a Grand Slam tournament.

Novak Djokovic continued his journey at the US Open 2025 with a dramatic victory in the second round, despite his less than convincing performance. The Serbian defeated American Zachary Svajda 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, thereby maintaining his perfect record in the second round in New York and reaching the third round of the tournament for the 19th time.

This was Djokovic’s second straight match at Flushing Meadows. After struggling to beat Learner Tien in the first round, he continued to struggle against Svajda. Djokovic made 14 unforced errors in the first set and even fell behind 1-3 in the third. However, the 38-year-old’s composure helped him increase his intensity and benefit from Svajda’s foot problems, which slowed his opponent’s serve significantly at the end of the second set and throughout the third and fourth sets.

Djokovic has won consecutive victories at the 2025 US Open despite still facing difficulties (Photo: Getty).

Djokovic admitted of his performance after the match: “To be honest, it wasn’t that good. I wasn’t really happy with my performance in the first set of the match, but credit to Zach for playing some really good tennis. It was unfortunate that he got injured at the end of the second set, but credit to him for staying on the court. Obviously he couldn’t serve as well as he did in the first set and a half, I wish him all the best.”

With this victory, Djokovic set a new record of reaching the third round at a Grand Slam for the 75th time, surpassing Roger Federer's record of 74 times. The former world No. 1 is aiming for his 25th Grand Slam title, and his first US Open title since 2023. His next opponent will be Cameron Norrie or Francisco Comesana.

Djokovic also shared about the change in his physical condition: "I have changed a bit in the last few years. My fitness is wearing out faster than before. I have to face that, a lot of recovery off the court to try to achieve the highest form for as many hours of competition as possible."

Novak Djokovic has expressed surprise at his form, admitting he "felt bad" in his first-round win over Tien and continued to experience "shaky" moments during his 2-hour, 35-minute match against Svajda.

Djokovic is still looking for his 25th Grand Slam title (Photo: Getty).

In the first meeting between the two players, Djokovic lost the opening set when Svajda's powerful forehand was too much for the Serb to handle. Despite leveling the score after two sets, he was broken in the third with an unforced double fault.

However, the 22-year-old American, who had qualified from four qualifying matches to reach the main draw, could not maintain his momentum from the third set onwards. The slump from the world No. 145 allowed Djokovic to regain the game and win the match.

Djokovic is now 28-9 on the season, highlighted by his 100th career title in Geneva in May. Despite reaching the semi-finals of all three Grand Slams this year, he has yet to reach a final. The last time the Serb failed to reach a Grand Slam final in a season was in 2017.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/djokovic-vuot-qua-ky-luc-cua-ferderer-tai-grand-slam-20250828074329415.htm