Novak Djokovic's Stunning First-Round Exit at US Open
NEW YORK — On the court where he has so often looked immortal, Novak Djokovic suddenly looked very human.
Under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium, in a building he has owned for much of the last decade, the 39-year-old arrived with a clear target: a deep run at the US Open and a record 25th Grand Slam title. Instead, he walked off in the first round, beaten in five sets by Mariano Navone, 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, and left behind a swirl of questions about how much more his body can take.
This was not just any loss. It snapped a 78-match winning streak in Grand Slam first rounds. It marked his first opening-round exit at a major since the 2006 Australian Open, a tournament he would go on to win 10 times. It was also his first defeat in the first two rounds of the US Open after 37 straight wins at that stage.
The ending felt almost muted. After 4 hours and 36 minutes, Djokovic floated a weak return short, Navone sent it back with interest, and the fourth seed barely moved. No last stand, no desperate scramble. Just resignation.
A giant looks drained
For half an hour, it looked like the script would be familiar. Djokovic raced out to a 3-0 lead, then 4-1, striking cleanly, moving sharply, dictating as if he intended to be off court in time for a late dinner.
Then the match turned messy.
The footwork slowed. The shoulders sagged. He began moping between points, walking to the sideline as slowly as he could, reaching for pills, looking as if every changeover took more out of him. He threw up during the third set, just as he had during his second-round loss to Thiago Agustin Tirante in Cincinnati earlier this month. The greatest Grand Slam winner in men’s history looked, at times, downright disinterested.
Navone pounced.
The world No. 49, one of 11 Argentine men in the draw, broke Djokovic twice to erase that early deficit in the first set. He hammered an ace to level at 4-4, then rode the surge into the tiebreak, where Djokovic’s errors kept coming. The set ended with another miscue into the net, and with it, a hush fell over Ashe.
“It was very tough for me because you are playing with the ‘GOAT’ on this court,” Navone said on court, almost overwhelmed by the moment. “For sure it’s the best thing I’ve had on court. This is an amazing court and the biggest stage. It’s amazing, the way we play. I mean, five sets. … I’m very happy. I don’t know. What can I say?"
Djokovic fights, but the body won’t follow
Djokovic did what he always does: he tried to turn the screws.
The second set stayed on serve through 10 games, both men holding firm. Then Djokovic suddenly surged, ripping through eight straight points to steal the set and tilt the night back in his favor. He carried that edge into the third, forcing a crucial breakthrough late, taking the final two games and whipping up the Ashe crowd, arms raised, demanding more noise, more energy, more belief.
Navone refused to fold. He made Djokovic grind for every point, dragging him into long, punishing rallies that regularly stretched beyond 20 shots. The Argentine’s consistency and depth slowly drained the veteran’s legs and lungs.
Djokovic sprayed 70 unforced errors across the night, a staggering number by his standards. Navone could not fully cash in — he converted just six of 17 break points — but he took the ones that mattered. A huge break in the fourth set cracked the match open again, and this time Djokovic had no real answer.
The fourth seed later admitted the physical toll had become unbearable.
“I think it was obvious that it was an awful feeling on the court for me. It's something that I've been carrying, unfortunately, pretty much every match this year,” Djokovic said. “You know, vomiting, throwing up, a serious issue there. Then my whole body, you know, starts to collapse, basically cramping and pain. Yeah, the back just gave up in the end and shoulder, and I couldn't close it out, you know?
"I was a break up in the fourth, but just struggled all the way since the fourth game of the match. Again, I don't want to take too much out of his win. Congrats to him. He's a nice guy, a fighter. But, you know, I didn't enjoy myself."
He had led by a break in that fourth set, seemingly on the verge of finishing the job in four. Instead, his body shut down. Navone swept the last two sets 6-2, 6-1, turning what once looked like a routine Djokovic win into a rout going the other way.
A new name, a massive scalp
Navone is no stranger to making quiet history. Earlier this year, he became the first man in the Open Era to be seeded in his Grand Slam main-draw debut at Roland Garros. Now he owns something far louder: a five-set win over Novak Djokovic on Arthur Ashe.
He outlasted a legend, matched him in the rallies, and handled the occasion with a composure that belied his ranking. The pressure of the stage, the aura of the opponent, the length of the match — none of it broke him.
His reward is a second-round meeting on Sept. 2 against the winner of Matteo Berrettini vs. Stan Wawrinka. That’s another big stage, another big name, but nothing will feel quite like this.
As for Djokovic, the questions will not stop at one bad night. The vomiting, the cramping, the back and shoulder pain — by his own admission, these have shadowed “pretty much every match this year.” The numbers and the aura say he is still capable of greatness. His body, on this brutal New York night, said something very different.
