Djokovic Out in the First Round: Navone Wins in Five Sets

Mariano Navone beat Novak Djokovic 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in four hours and thirty-six minutes in the match that opened the evening session on Arthur Ashe, knocking out the No. 4 seed in the first round of the US Open.

It's Djokovic's first opening-round loss at a Slam since the 2006 Australian Open, and his first ever in the first round in New York, where he was 19-0. His streak of first-round wins at majors ends at 78, the longest ever put together by a man in the Open era.

The Serb, 39 years old and a 24-time Grand Slam champion, was up two sets to one before fading physically. He vomited on court, used an inhaler, and won just three games total across the final two sets.

"I didn't enjoy it. I think it was pretty obvious that being out there was a horrible feeling for me,"

he said after the match.

Navone is 25, his career-high ranking remains No. 29, reached in June 2024, and before Sunday he had never won a fifth-set match on the ATP Tour. In the two decisive sets, he stopped going for the winning shot and simply moved Djokovic from corner to corner, waiting for his opponent's legs to give out.