Novak Djokovic continues to write tennis history in New York. The 38-year-old beat Zachary Svajda 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in the second round of the US Open, extending his perfect record in the opening two rounds in New York.
The veteran notched his 92nd win at the final Major event of the season. Combining them with 99 triumphs in Melbourne, Novak stands on 191 hard-court Major wins, matching his great rival, Roger Federer.
If the Serb tops Cameron Norrie in the third round in Flushing Meadows, he will take sole ownership of the recordand set his eyes on a huge milestone - 200 hard-court Major wins.
Djokovic's hard-court journey at Majors started in 2005, two decades ago. Two years later, he was the US Open finalist at 20, falling to Roger Federer and missing a chance to lift a trophy.
However, it came at the Australian Open a couple of months later. Between 2011 and 2016, Novak produced his most dominant stretch, amassing 75 victories and cementing himself as the ruler of the most common surface.
After an injury lull, he returned strongly in 2018 and 2021, continuing his chase toward Federer and adding another wave of titles and deep runs in Melbourne and New York.
Novak skipped both hard-court Majors in 2022, which prevented him from passing Roger earlier. When he returned a year later, he wasted no time, compiling a flawless 14-0 record at the Australian Open and the US Open.
The Serb's level slowed slightly in 2024 following an early loss in New York. This season, Novak repeated the Australian Open semi-final and retired versus Alexander Zverev due to injury.
Djokovic needed only two wins at the US Open to catch Federer for the first time. The veteran ousted Learnen Tien and Zachary Svajda for a magical number of 191, hoping to pass it on Friday night against Cameron Norrie.
Novak and Roger are the most decorated hard-court players at Majors. Rafael Nadal stands on 144 victories, followed by Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl and Andy Murray, the other four players with at least 100 hard-court triumphs.
