Djokovic loses to Navone in first-round defeat at a major since 2006

Mariano Navone produced the biggest surprise of the day at the US Open by defeating Novak Djokovic in five sets, ending the Serbian’s long run of first-round success at major tournaments.

The 49th-ranked Argentine beat the fifth seed 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in their first meeting. Djokovic, 39, had won 37 consecutive matches in the first two rounds at Flushing Meadows and had not lost an opening-round match at a major since the 2006 Australian Open.

The match lasted four hours and 36 minutes. Djokovic surrendered a break in the opening set, recovered to lead two sets to one, then appeared to run out of energy as Navone took control of the final two sets.

Djokovic, a four-time US Open champion and winner of 24 major titles, left the court emotionally and stopped to sign several autographs. He has not announced his future plans. Navone, meanwhile, became only the second Argentine to eliminate Djokovic at a major, after Guillermo Coria in 2005, and will return to action in two days.