Radu Albot has not advanced to a second match at the US Open since 2017, and he faces an uphill task in Monday night's first-round encounter against defending champion Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian, positioned on the opposite side of the draw from Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, is chasing a historic 25th Grand Slam title and a fifth in New York.
Match preview
Albot's reward for beating Luca Van Assche and Shintaro Mochizuki in US Open qualifying is a first-round match-up with No. 2 seed and four-time champion Djokovic.
The World No. 138 is the rank outsider heading into the first match of his 10th appearance at the fourth Slam of the year, and the Moldovan faces a daunting task to end his losing run in New York after drawing his Serbian opponent.
The 34-year-old has lost five round-one matches on the trot since the 2018 tournament, unable to make it to a second match at the Major.
Albot's 18% win rate at the US Open is the experienced player's worst of all four Slams, and a first second-round match since a run to round three in 2017 seems an impossible dream against his illustrious opponent.
Consecutive first-round exits at this year's French Open and Wimbledon suggest that the 34-year-old may face another early elimination in New York.
As for his opponent, Djokovic's ambition to notch a history-making 25th Grand Slam has been halted by Sinner at the Australian Open, an injury-enforced withdrawal in Paris and by Alcaraz at Wimbledon.
Excluding his recent Olympic gold medal success against Alcaraz, the 24-time Majors champion has endured a frustrating year with no title win on the ATP Tour.
The closest the Serbian has come to surpassing Margaret Court's 24 Grand Slam singles titles, aiming to become the undisputed leader in tennis history, was at Wimbledon, where he was outmatched by Alcaraz.
Having not competed since his victory over the Spaniard at the Paris Olympics, it remains uncertain whether the 37-year-old is in peak condition heading into his first-round match in New York.
The 2023 champion has avoided Sinner and Alcaraz in the draw, and he hopes to keep ticking over in the early rounds, aiming to peak in the second week as he bids to become the first man since Roger Federer (2004-2008) to retain the title at the US Open.
Head To Head
Although Albot turned professional in 2008, he has yet to face Djokovic in a Tour match prior to their upcoming encounter in New York.
The difference in class between the two players is underscored by the Moldovan winning one singles title to Djokovic's 99.
We say: Djokovic to win in three sets
While Djokovic has not played competitively since the Olympics, the best Albot can hope for is nicking a set off the four-time champion. However, we expect the Serb to beat his qualifier opponent fairly comfortably and advance to the second round.
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