Mariano Navone stuns Novak Djokovic in US Open first round

NEW YORK: Novak Djokovic suffered his earliest Grand Slam exit in 20 years after Mariano Navone beat the four-time US Open champion 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in a four-hour, 36-minute first-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday night.

The defeat ended Djokovic’s latest attempt to win a record 25th major title. It was his first opening-round loss at a Grand Slam since the 2006 Australian Open and his first first-round defeat at the US Open.

The official US Open match coverage confirmed that Djokovic struggled with vomiting, cramping and back and shoulder pain during the match. He still fought back from losing the opening set to lead by two sets to one before Navone took control late.

The short answer: Mariano Navone beat Novak Djokovic 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the 2026 US Open. Djokovic led by two sets to one and a break in the fourth set, but his physical condition worsened as Navone won the final two sets to complete the biggest victory of his career.

Djokovic vs Navone at a glance

Match detail	Confirmed information
Result	Mariano Navone def. Novak Djokovic 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
Round	US Open first round
Venue	Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York
Date	August 30, 2026
Match time	4 hours, 36 minutes
Djokovic seed	No. 4
Navone ranking	No. 48 in the ATP rankings at the time of the upset
Historic note	Djokovic’s first Grand Slam first-round loss since the 2006 Australian Open

How did Mariano Navone pull off the upset?

Navone did not win by catching Djokovic in one brief bad spell. He stayed in the match long enough for the physical battle to change its shape, then took full advantage when the Serbian could no longer sustain the same level of movement and resistance.

Djokovic recovered from losing the opening-set tiebreak to win the second and third sets. He then broke early in the fourth for a 2-1 lead, a position that appeared to put him on course for another escape. Instead, Navone won five straight games to take the set 6-2 and carried that momentum into the decider.

ATP’s official results page lists Navone’s five-set win as one of the headline results from the opening day, while its pre-tournament coverage noted that this was the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting.

What happened to Novak Djokovic physically?

Djokovic’s physical condition became the central story of the match. He vomited during play, dealt with cramps and later received treatment for back and shoulder discomfort. He also took a medical timeout before the fifth set.

Afterward, Djokovic said the problem was not a single late-match injury but something he had been carrying through matches this year. The official US Open report quoted him saying that his body began to break down with cramping and pain, and that his back and shoulder eventually prevented him from closing the match.

Yahoo Sports’ Associated Press match report also described the contest as Djokovic’s longest opening match at a Grand Slam and confirmed the four-hour, 36-minute duration.

Why is this loss historically significant?

The result is striking because first-round Grand Slam defeats had effectively disappeared from Djokovic’s career. Before Sunday, he had won 78 consecutive opening-round matches at majors. His previous first-round loss at a Slam came against Paul Goldstein at the 2006 Australian Open.

It was also Djokovic’s earliest exit in New York. The 39-year-old entered the tournament as a four-time US Open champion and the No. 4 seed, still chasing a 25th major title that would move him beyond the all-time record he currently shares at 24.

ATP Tour highlighted the scale of the result in its breakdown of the upset, noting that Djokovic had not lost in the first round of a major for more than two decades.

What did Djokovic say after the defeat?

Djokovic did not hide how difficult the night had been. He said the match was physically miserable, but he also thanked the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd for repeatedly trying to lift him.

He acknowledged that he considered stopping the match, but after winning the second and third sets he chose to continue. He also praised Navone for fighting back after falling behind early in the fourth set.

The larger concern is what comes next. Djokovic said he is trying to understand the physical problem and how far he can continue playing through it. That makes the loss more than a one-night upset, even if it is too early to draw firm conclusions about his future from a single match.

What does the win mean for Mariano Navone?

For Navone, this is easily the biggest win of his career. The Argentine entered the match ranked outside the top 40 and had never faced Djokovic before. Beating a 24-time major champion on Arthur Ashe Stadium gives him a defining result on the sport’s biggest stage.

The way he won matters too. Navone did not simply survive Djokovic’s physical problems. He recovered from losing the second and third sets, erased an early break deficit in the fourth and then controlled the final stretch with increasingly confident service games and patient baseline play.

What does Djokovic’s exit mean for the US Open draw?

Djokovic’s defeat removes one of the tournament’s most successful players from the men’s draw on opening night. He began the event as the fourth seed and was seeking a fifth US Open title and a record 25th major championship.

For the rest of the field, his elimination opens space in a section of the draw that had been expected to feature one of tennis’s most experienced Grand Slam competitors deep into the second week. For Djokovic, attention now shifts away from the title race and toward his physical recovery.

Bottom line

Navone’s five-set victory is one of the biggest first-round shocks in recent US Open history. Djokovic still found a way to lead by two sets to one despite being visibly unwell, but the physical problems that followed him through the night eventually became impossible to overcome. Navone stayed composed, took his chance and ended a first-round Grand Slam winning streak that had lasted since 2006.