Novak Djokovic loses in opening round of US Open for first time, falling in 5 sets to Mariano Navone

Djokovic’s US Open Reign Ends in the First Round for the First Time

Goldlaner.com – For twenty-one years, Novak Djokovic had never lost a first-round match at the US Open. On Sunday night, that unbroken streak snapped in the most dramatic fashion imaginable: a four-hour-and-36-minute five-set war that stretched past midnight and left the 39-year-old Serbian legend visibly broken on court. Mariano Navone, a 25-year-old Argentine who captured his first ATP singles title earlier this year, outlasted the four-time defending champion 7-6 (5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to claim what Navone later described as a dream realized.

The result marked Djokovic’s earliest Grand Slam exit in two decades, a date that stretches back to the 2006 Australian Open. It was also the longest opening-round match of any major tournament in his career. The implications hang heavy: with the scoreline final and the crowd dispersing into the New York night, questions about whether this was the last Grand Slam match the 24-time major champion will ever play began circulating almost immediately.

A Body Pushed Past Its Limits

The physical toll was unmistakable and, by Djokovic’s own admission, had been building throughout the season. At some point during the contest, the record major-title holder vomited at least once. Later, he grabbed at his left foot in what appeared to be a cramping episode. Between the fourth and fifth sets, a medical timeout brought a doctor to the court; Djokovic swallowed medication and received a lower-back massage before limping back to the baseline, grimacing after several exchanges.

“It’s something that I’ve been carrying, unfortunately, pretty much every match this year: vomiting, throwing up, a serious issue there. Then my whole body 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.”

He committed 70 unforced errors across the five sets, a number that told its own story about a player whose body was no longer answering the demands of his mind. The match concluded mere minutes before midnight, and the exhaustion was written across every line of his posture as he walked off.

The Match Narrative

The first set set the tone for everything that followed. Djokovic, the No. 4 seed, surged ahead 3-0 and then 4-1, looking for all the world like the player who has dominated this tournament for over a decade. Then the lead evaporated. He lost the set on a tiebreak, 7-6 (5) — the first time since 2006 that he had blown a commanding first-round lead at the US Open and dropped the opening set.

“Just struggled all the way since the fourth game of the match. When it comes to match itself and overall feeling of how I felt with body and playing, it was really not enjoyable. I pretty much despised every moment that I spent on the court for that.”

He clawed back the second set with a fist pump that briefly recalled the player who has won more Grand Slam titles than anyone in history. He gestured to the crowd, hand to ear, seeking applause as he marched toward the third set. But Navone did not fold. The Argentine, who had grown up idolizing Djokovic, played with a fearless intensity that the lights of the US Open arena only amplified.

By the fourth set, Djokovic was all but conceding. After firing a shot wide, he landed awkwardly and dropped his racket entirely. Navone converted the break and took the set 6-2. The fifth set became a formality in Navone’s favor, 6-1, sealing what would have been Djokovic’s 43rd five-set victory had the outcome gone differently.

Navone’s Dream, Djokovic’s Uncertainty

For Navone, the night was transcendent. He had watched Djokovic’s career unfold as a young player in Argentina and now stood across the net from the man he once called the greatest of all time.

“(It) was very tough for me because you are playing with the ‘GOAT’ on this court. 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?”

It was Navone’s first five-set victory of his career, and he embraced the magnitude of the moment without reservation.

For Djokovic, the aftermath carried a different weight. His wife Jelena sat in the stands throughout, her face tight with worry as her husband stumbled through set after set. After the final point, he spoke of trying to understand what was happening to his body and how far he could continue in this direction.

“I didn’t enjoy myself. I think it was obvious that it was an awful feeling on the court for me.”

A Pattern of Early Exits

The US Open loss did not arrive in isolation. Earlier that month, Djokovic had also been eliminated in the first round at the Cincinnati hardcourt tournament, his first competitive action since falling to top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semifinals. Before Cincinnati, he had expressed cautious optimism that the early exit would grant him additional preparation time for New York. That hope proved misplaced.

The broader context matters: Djokovic entered this tournament carrying the physical residue of a grueling summer, a body that has absorbed more than two decades of elite competition. The question he now faces is not merely tactical or strategic but existential — whether the machinery of his body can still sustain the demands of Grand Slam tennis, or whether this Sunday night in New York represented a quiet, painful period at the end of an era that began with a 17-year-old from Belgrade and stretched across 24 major titles and countless records.

Whatever comes next, the fact remains: the most decorated player in tennis history lost his first-round match at the US Open for the first time in 21 years, and the scoreline will outlive the night it was played.