Djokovic Stunned by Navone in US Open First Round

Novak Djokovic lost his first-ever US Open first-round match, falling in five sets to Argentina's Mariano Navone after a four-hour marathon.

Novak Djokovic's record chase for a 25th Grand Slam title ended at the very first hurdle Sunday night at Flushing Meadows. The 39-year-old, seeded fourth, lost 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to Argentine world No. Sky Sports reports it was the longest first-round match of Djokovic's career at a Grand Slam, and per Newsday it ran four hours and 36 minutes while Hindustan Times puts the duration at four hours and 35 minutes. Navone, 25, converted his first-ever five-set victory.

Djokovic had never lost a first-round match at the US Open before Sunday. According to Newsday, this is his earliest Grand Slam exit in two decades, dating back to the 2006 Australian Open, and it came 21 years to the day after his US Open debut. Hindustan Times confirms it is his first Grand Slam first-round loss in 20 years, the previous one coming in 2006 at Melbourne.

The match turned on Djokovic's physical distress. Per the Associated Press report carried by Newsday, he made 70 unforced errors, threw up at least once, appeared to cramp and grabbed at his left foot, swallowed pills brought by a doctor, and took a medical timeout between the fourth and fifth sets for a lower-back massage. Yahoo News Australia reports he was spotted vomiting at the side of the court and shed tears late in the match, telling his box early in the second set, 'I have nothing right now.' He blew early leads of 3-0 and 4-1 in the first set — the first such first-round collapse at the US Open since 2006, Newsday says.

Mariano Navone refused to be intimidated under the lights against tennis' most decorated player, as Newsday describes. The 25-year-old Argentine entered with a 21-20 record in 2026 and a maiden ATP title won this year at the Tiriac Open in Bucharest, per LatestLY. He was considered a poor matchup risk on paper: PrizePicks noted his career hard-court win rate was 29.3% and he was just 4-8 on the surface in tour-level matches this year, while Djokovic was given an 89% projected win probability by Tennis Abstract's Elo ratings and priced at 1.16x versus Navone's 4.76x.

Newsday raises the lingering question of whether this was Djokovic's final match at this or any Grand Slam. The defeat ends his pursuit of a record-extending 25th major, a goal that looked newly achievable with the draw cracked open: Sports Illustrated and The Indian Express both noted world No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew with a knee injury and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was returning from a four-month wrist layoff, leaving Djokovic's path unusually navigable. Djokovic's 2026 season included an Australian Open final loss to Alcaraz and a Wimbledon semifinal exit to Sinner, per Sports Illustrated.

Djokovic wasn't the only big name to fall on day one. Yahoo News Australia reports Casper Ruud, the 19th seed and 2022 runner-up, and 2014 champion Marin Cilic both withdrew before their first-round matches, replaced by Arthur Gea and lucky loser Otto Virtanen, joining prior pullouts including Sinner, Jack Draper, Joao Fonseca and Holger Rune. Former French Open and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova also lost 6-7 (4), 2-6 to Uzbekistan's 88th-ranked Kamilla Rakhimova, and Cameron Norrie fell to Luca Van Assche in four sets, per the same report.