Novak Djokovic Stunned by Mariano Navone in US Open First Round

NEW YORK — The night began like so many Novak Djokovic nights on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The familiar walk, the familiar roar, the familiar feeling that, whatever the draw said, this fortnight would run through him.

It ended with a stunned hush, a 39-year-old legend doubled over, and a scoreboard that will sit awkwardly in the history books: Mariano Navone def. Novak Djokovic 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

A first-round exit at a Grand Slam for Djokovic for the first time since the 2006 Australian Open. A 78-match winning streak in major first rounds snapped. His perfect 37-0 record across the first two rounds at the US Open gone in one ragged, disjointed night.

A Giant Falters

For half an hour, it felt routine. Djokovic raced out to 3-0, then 4-1 in the opening set, dictating with ease against the world No. 49. The rallies were short, the patterns familiar. Another veteran’s night at the office.

Then the match turned, and so did Djokovic’s body language.

The precision leaked away, replaced by a stream of unforced errors. He trudged to the sideline between games, moving as slowly as the rules allowed. He took pills. He looked listless. At one point, he threw up. The aura of control evaporated, replaced by a man simply trying to get through the next point.

Navone sensed it. The Argentine, one of 11 men from his country in the main draw, broke Djokovic twice to erase that early deficit and level at 4-4, punctuating the surge with a booming ace. The rallies stretched, often past 20 shots, each one sapping Djokovic’s legs a little more.

The tiebreak belonged to Navone. Djokovic’s misery in the opener ended with a routine error, his return buried in the net. The stadium, so often his stage, felt suddenly neutral.

Djokovic Fights, But the Body Won’t

The second set became a test of nerve. Neither man broke serve through the first 10 games. Then Djokovic, almost by muscle memory, found a burst. He ripped through eight straight points, seized the set 7-5, and clawed back the momentum.

He rode that surge into the third. The points remained long, the physical toll obvious, but he willed his way through the tight moments, capturing the final two games of the set to take a 2-1 lead. He turned to the Ashe crowd, urging them to rise with him, trying to summon the old storm.

The cost was brutal.

Navone kept coming, forcing Djokovic to hit one more ball, then another, then five more after that. Djokovic finished the night with 70 unforced errors, an astonishing number for a player built on precision. Navone couldn’t fully cash in—he converted just six of 17 break chances—but he earned the one that mattered most, a crucial break in the fourth set that flipped the match on its head.

From there, Djokovic’s body began to betray him completely.

“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 afterward. “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.”

The vomiting episode was not new. Djokovic also dealt with it during his second-round loss to Thiago Agustin Tirante at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month. On Ashe, under the lights, the issue looked worse, the consequences far greater.

Navone’s Night

For Navone, this was not just a win. It was a career-altering moment.

“(It) was very tough for me because you are playing with the ‘GOAT’ on this court,” he said on court, still trying to process what he had done. “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?"

He had reason to be overwhelmed. In 2024, Navone made history by becoming the first man in the Open Era to be seeded in his Grand Slam main draw debut at the French Open. On Monday night, he added another line to that résumé: the man who sent Novak Djokovic home in the first round of the US Open.

The final act felt almost cruel in its simplicity. After four hours and 36 minutes, with Djokovic trailing badly and his movement compromised, a weak return from the fourth seed floated short. Navone sent it back with purpose. Djokovic could only watch as it went past him, the match, and his tournament, over in an instant.

Navone will face the winner of Matteo Berrettini vs. Stan Wawrinka in the second round on Sept. 2. He will walk into that match no longer as a curiosity or a promising Argentine seed, but as the man who survived Arthur Ashe against a fading, hurting giant.

Djokovic leaves New York with his 25th Grand Slam still out of reach and a season now defined as much by a stubborn, recurring health problem as by any result. The question no longer hangs over whether he can still summon greatness for two weeks.

It hangs over whether his body will let him try.