NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic began his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam title while equalling Roger Federer’s record of 89 match wins at the US Open. The Serbian player defeated Romanian qualifier Radu Albot 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 on Monday evening.

Seeded number two, Djokovic participated with a gray sleeve covering his surgically repaired right knee. This was his first competitive match since winning an Olympic gold medal three weeks ago at the Games in Paris, which was the last major achievement missing from his resume.

At 37 years old, Djokovic improved his impressive first-round match record at Flushing Meadows to 18-0 and now holds an overall record of 89-13 at this challenging tournament, which he has won four times, including last year. He has never lost a match before the third round at the US Open, while Albot has never advanced beyond the third round in 30 appearances at Grand Slam events.

Federer, a former player, held a record of 89-14 at the US Open, with five consecutive championships from 2004 to 2008. He is the last man to have won the US Open at least twice in a row. Among men, only Jimmy Connors has more match wins than Djokovic and Federer at this event, with a record of 98-17.

Djokovic has never lost a Grand Slam match to a player ranked as low as No. 138, Albot, who now has an overall record of 0-12 against top 10 ranked opponents.

With this victory, Djokovic once again demonstrated why he is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, as he now looks forward to the next challenge in his pursuit of historic milestones.