Novak Djokovic suffers first Grand Slam opening-round loss in 20 years

Novak Djokovic’s latest bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title ended in the US Open first round, where physical problems overwhelmed him after a four-hour, 36-minute battle with Mariano Navone.

The 39-year-old Serbian lost 2-3 to the world No. 49 from Argentina at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. Djokovic vomited several times during the match and later suffered cramps, back pain and shoulder pain. He also committed 70 unforced errors.

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The back just gave up in the end and shoulder, I couldn’t close it out.

Djokovic recovered after losing the opening set in a tiebreak, taking the second and third sets to move ahead. He briefly led 2-1 in the fourth set after breaking Navone, but then dropped five games in a row. Before the deciding set, he took a medical timeout for treatment to his back. Navone quickly moved 3-0 ahead in the fifth and did not allow Djokovic to recover.

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I’ve been carrying it, unfortunately, pretty much every match this year.

The loss ended Djokovic’s streak of 78 Grand Slam first-round victories, which began after his opening-round defeat by Paul Goldstein at the 2006 Australian Open. He had never previously exited the US Open before the third round, and this was his first opening-round loss in 20 appearances at the tournament.

Djokovic said afterward that the physical problems had affected him in almost every match this year and that his back and shoulder ultimately failed him. His 25th major title remains out of reach after he won his 24th at the 2023 US Open. Navone, who had never faced Djokovic at a Grand Slam, called the victory a dream come true.

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I played five sets against the GOAT. It’s not something you experience every day. A dream came true.