PA Media/dpa
New York
Novak Djokovic was crowned the king of Arthur Ashe after his first-round win at the US Open.
The four-time champion beat Radu Albot in straight sets to claim a record-breaking 78th win on the main showcourt at Flushing Meadows.
The 6-2 6-2 6-4 victory over the qualifier also sees him level with Roger Federer on 89 wins at the US Open.
He said: “I wasn’t aware of it to be honest. It’s the biggest stadium, definitely the loudest we have in the history of our sport.
“The night sessions are the best in the world on Arthur Ashe and ever since the roof was introduced it became even louder. Electric atmosphere. Incredible energy.
“Obviously with some new rules this year with the crowd able to move around, there are a lot of things happening on court.
“We’re clocking midnight right now. I love night sessions, maybe not this late but nevertheless it was great fun.
“I wanted to kickstart the tournament in the right way and I think I did.”
There were wins for fourth seed Alexander Zverev, former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini and eighth seed Casper Ruud on the opening day in New York.
Holger Rune was the biggest casualty of the day as he crashed out to American Brandon Nakashima.
The 15th seed won just seven games as Nakashima recorded a 6-2 6-1 6-4 success.
