Novak Djokovic began his quest to become the oldest grand slam champion – man or woman – in the Open Era with a slightly shaky first-round victory over Learner Tien, a player roughly half his age.
Having not played since his Wimbledon semifinal loss to Jannik Sinner six weeks earlier, the Serbian overcame fatigue and an 82-minute second set to beat the American 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
The world No. 7 continued his slightly shaky run into the second round, where he dropped the first set to another American, Zachary Svajda, before retaking control and defeating the qualifier 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
Next for Djokovic was a seventh win in seven matches against Cameron Norrie, who led for a short time when he broke the Serbian in the third set. But, despite apparent issues with his lower back, Djokovic stormed back to win 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-3.
The 24-time grand slam singles champion was finally starting to show his quality, and he breezed past fourth-round opponent Jan-Lennard Struff with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 victory in less than two hours.
That set up Djokovic’s first serious test of the tournament, a quarterfinal against world No. 4 Taylor Fritz. But it was one the Serbian passed with flying colors, fending off multiple break points and looking a different player entirely from the one who started the tournament.
His 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 win was his 11th victory in 11 matches against the American.