Novak Djokovic beaten by Mariano Navone in US Open first round at Arthur Ashe Stadium
Novak Djokovic, 39, was defeated by Mariano Navone 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium on 31 August 2026, ending the Serb’s tournament. The match lasted four hours and 36 minutes and featured repeated episodes of Djokovic vomiting and physical distress.
Djokovic’s exit was his earliest grand slam loss in more than two decades and came during a record-extending 84th grand slam appearance. It is only the third first-round defeat of the 39-year-old’s career and his first first-round loss at a major since the 2006 Australian Open, when he was 18. The match was played as a night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium and was approaching the three-hour mark when Djokovic first walked to a court corner and vomited into a towel bin.
Trouble for Djokovic began unusually early: before he had consolidated an opening break at 2-0, around 15 minutes into the match, he showed visible signs of distress. Over five sets he alternated between panting behind the baseline, coughing, vomiting and struggling to find his balance, and by the fourth set he was fighting off cramps. Conditions included a temporary roof closure after rain at 4-3 in the opening set; organisers closed the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof from that point until the match ended.
A similar episode at the Cincinnati Open a few weeks earlier against Thiago Agustín Tirante was referenced in coverage, with Djokovic saying a health condition exacerbated by heat and humidity had affected him there and again in New York. Djokovic addressed his physical problems after the match: “I think it was obvious that an awful feeling on the court for me,” Djokovic said. “It is something that I’ve been carrying, unfortunately, pretty much every match this year. You know, vomiting, throwing up, serious issue there, and then my whole body starts to collapse, basically cramping and pain, and the back just gave up in the end, and shoulder, and I couldn’t close it out, break up in the fourth, but just struggled all the way since the fourth game of the match. And again, don’t want to take too much out of his win. Congrats to him; he’s a nice guy, fighter, but you know, I didn’t enjoy myself.”
Match management interventions were recorded during play: Djokovic used ice cloths to cool down, the tournament doctor gave him pills at 5-4 in the opening set, and he continued to serve strongly for much of the contest. Despite those efforts, his first serve deteriorated and his legs were described as heavy by the fourth set, leaving him unable to sustain the earlier level that had kept him in the match.
Navone, 25, produced what the report described as a career-defining performance, chasing down balls, maintaining consistent depth from both wings and forcing extended exchanges. The Argentine has recently re-established himself inside the top 50 after nearly dropping out of the top 100 last year and had most of his previous best results on clay. Fans noted Navone’s longstanding admiration for Djokovic through tweets from his youth, and his parents altered holiday plans to attend the US Open when the draw paired him with Djokovic.
Djokovic left the court in tears and returned to the locker room after the defeat, a loss that ended his US Open campaign. Navone’s victory removes Djokovic from the tournament and sends the 25-year-old through from the first round.