Novak Djokovic arrived at the 2025 US Open chasing a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title and delivered another landmark performance in the third round.

The 38-year-old secured a 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3 victory over world No 35 Cameron Norrie in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night. He is also vying for a record-equalling fifth US Open men’s singles crown.

With that win Djokovic recorded his 192nd hard-court Grand Slam victory, a mark that moved him past Roger Federer to become the outright record-holder for most hard-court wins at majors. He had first drawn level with Federer with his second-round victory before surpassing him in New York.

The Serb has also extended his all-time Grand Slam match wins to 395, a tally that underlines his sustained success at the sport’s biggest events.

Djokovic remains the longest-serving world number one in history, having spent a record 428 weeks at the top. The article notes a complicating detail from August 2024: 400 ranking points Jannik Sinner earned for reaching the Indian Wells semi-finals were later invalidated following positive doping tests, yet the ATP did not retroactively remove those points from Sinner’s ranking. Had those points been subtracted, Djokovic would have reclaimed the top ranking for one week in August 2024 and the weeks-at-No 1 total would have read 429 instead of 428. A journalist outlined that scenario to Djokovic after his win and asked whether the ATP should award him the additional week. Djokovic replied:

“(Smiles) Yeah, maybe. Maybe we’ll have this discussion another time, but right now, I’m okay with it. I’m okay with it. Right now, it’s fine, but honestly, I forgot about it. I didn’t even think about it,” Djokovic replied.

“But look, it’s been a great career of hunting the No 1 for me and defending the No 1 and I mean, I’ve been there longer than anyone, so one week more or less at this moment in time is not so relevant. But maybe that will change (laughs).”

On the match against Norrie, Djokovic said: “I guess coming into the match, any match, you really want to win in straight sets without any drama and just ease through, but that’s not possible.

“My team wants me to suffer on the court so I can get some more minutes spent in match play. It’s good that I get tested.

“I hadn’t played any matches since Wimbledon and it’s been for us quite a long time, five to six weeks. I’m still trying to find my groove and my rhythm on court.”

John McEnroe delivered a blunt assessment of Daniil Medvedev after the Russian’s dramatic US Open defeat, saying he “loved every minute” of the on-court meltdown while warning that Medvedev “has got to get his act together.”

Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, has endured a difficult Grand Slam season with a 1-4 record at the majors this year, exiting in the first round at Wimbledon and the French Open and falling in the second round at the Australian Open.

In the match with Benjamin Bonzi the contest swung on a chaotic sequence at 5-4, AD-40 in the third set when Bonzi held match point on his serve. After Bonzi missed his first serve a photographer entered the court before the Frenchman’s second serve. Chair umpire Greg Allensworth awarded Bonzi another first serve, a decision that provoked a furious reaction from Medvedev. He encouraged the crowd to protest louder and joined in booing directed at Allensworth, producing a six-minute delay before play resumed.

Medvedev broke back, won the set in a tiebreak and then dominated the fourth as Bonzi began to struggle physically. Yet in the deciding set Medvedev twice squandered a break advantage and Bonzi prevailed after Medvedev suffered hand cramps late in the match. A furious Medvedev destroyed his rackets and remained on court until midway through Bonzi’s on-court interview.

The world No 16 was fined $42,500: $30,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and $12,500 for smashing rackets against his chair.

McEnroe made the comments on the Nothing Major podcast with John Isner, Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson. Asked by Johnson what he thought about Medvedev’s outburst, McEnroe — who is no stranger to on-court controversy — said: “Besides loving every minute of it? Well you know, he already has tapped out, like months ago,” said the former world No 1.

“So I’ve been worried about his level ’cause he doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing at this point, to me, for a guy that good on hard courts.

“So this sort of cemented it, like how little confidence he has in anything. But I was sorta hoping, I gotta admit — not at Bonzi’s expense because he showed a lot of balls at the end, to me, in the fifth set — but I was sort of hoping Medvedev would win that.

“If I was Bonzi, by the way, I would have, about three minutes into this six or seven minute break, I would have put up the ball and said: ‘I don’t even need a first serve. Here’s a ball, second serve. I’m gonna win this anyway.’ Medvedev probably would have missed the return, we wouldn’t be talking about this.

“But he (Medvedev) has got to get his act together. I’m not sure he can. I think he’s so lost right now, I’m not sure what’s gonna happen with him in the future. I always liked Daniil and there’s something about the US Open that brings out the best and worst of him.”

Novak Djokovic spoke plainly about his physical condition after a tense third-round match at the 2025 US Open. The 24-time Grand Slam champion edged Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3 in Arthur Ashe Stadium in two hours and 49 minutes to reach the last 16.

Djokovic left the court when leading 5-4 in the first set for a medical timeout because of a back issue that caused visible discomfort. The Serbian also received treatment early in the second set. After surrendering a 3-1 lead in the tiebreak to drop the second set, he was broken in the opening game of the third set but then won 12 of the next 16 games to seal his place in the fourth round.

Following the win, Djokovic was candid about his concerns in an interview with ESPN. “Well, honestly I am concerned. You know, nowadays [I am] more concerned than I have ever been,” he said. He expanded on how age and recovery are changing his approach. “Even though I really am meticulous with the care for my body and I put in a lot of hours on and off the court to make sure that my body is fit and recovered well.

“But you know, age is… you can’t fight it. So things are different. I have to obviously adjust myself the way I approach things training.

“Sometimes I don’t train between matches because with my team when I have this discussion, we think that long term is better and that recovery is more important than hitting some balls in the court.

“So maybe that’s going to be the case tomorrow. We have to still discuss that and just focus on recovery and get ready for next one.”

The world No 7 also described the extra time he spends on recovery compared with his younger days. “Actually probably even more when I was younger; it’s just in order to keep up with the youngsters I just have to put an extra, extra hour, extra few hours every day,” he said. “Whether it’s table work, whether it’s recovery from using different wellness machines or good sleep, nutrition, obviously all of it, all of it comes into equation and all of it matters when you go deeper in the tournament.”

Djokovic will meet world No 144 Jan-Lennard Stuff in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.