Novak Djokovic. Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Novak Djokovic remains invincible against Americans

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 8:33 AM ET

Novak Djokovic improved to 16-0 against Americans at the U.S. Open with his 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 win over Taylor Fritz on Tuesday.

The Serbian icon started his dominance over Americans at Flushing Meadows with wins over Donald Young and Mardy Fish in 2006, then beat Robert Kendrick and Andy Roddick in 2008, the latter helping him reach his first semifinal at the hard-court major.

In 2009, he defeated Jesse Witten in the third round, and in 2010, he slayed two more Americans — Fish and James Blake — in straight sets on his way to his first U.S. Open final appearance. Thereafter, he didn't face any Americans from 2011-13, until a third-round victory over Sam Querrey in 2014.

For those keeping score, he went 8-0 against Americans from 2006-14, with Fish losing twice.

The ensuing victims were as follows: Tennys Sandgren (2018), Denis Kudla (2019), Jenson Brooksby (2021), Fritz (2023) and Ben Shelton (2023). This year, the 38-year-old defeated three more Americans on his way to the semifinal — Fritz, Zachary Svajda and Learner Tien — increasing his total number of victims to 16.

The numbers for Novak Djokovic are staggering.

53 Grand Slam semifinals
14-0 in US Open quarterfinals
16-0 vs Americans at the US Open
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 3, 2025

21-0 against Americans since 2016

Djokovic's dominance of Americans extends beyond the U.S. Open. The 24-time major champion is 21-0 against Americans across all Grand Slam events, with his last loss coming against Querrey in the third round of the 2016 Wimbledon.

Amazingly, Djokovic has earned a similar reputation for beating countrymen in their respective home majors.

According to OptaAce, he is now 38-1 against opponents in their home Grand Slam events — 3-0 against Australians at the Australian Open, 12-0 against Frenchmen at Roland-Garros, 6-1 against Britons at Wimbledon and 16-0 against Americans at the U.S. Open. Andy Murray was the only one to benefit from a home crowd when he beat Djokovic in the 2013 Wimbledon final.

38 - Novak Djokovic now holds a career win-loss record of 38-1 in Men’s Singles matches against opponents at their home Grand Slam event, with his only loss coming to Andy Murray in the 2013 Wimbledon final. Terminator.#USOpen | @usopen @atptour @ATPMediaInfo
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) September 3, 2025

These numbers further demonstrate Djokovic's mental toughness and ability to silence partisan crowds. Over the years, he has faced a lot of negativity from crowds, especially at Wimbledon, where he's often been portrayed as a villain by the local British media.

Djokovic is two wins away from tying Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras for the most U.S. Open titles in the Open Era, and a record 25th Grand Slam. He will face Carlos Alcaraz in Thursday's semifinal and possibly Jannik Sinner in Sunday's final.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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