Novak Djokovic suffered a first-round defeat at the US Open, losing to Argentine Mariano Navone, ranked 49th in the ATP rankings. The match on the hard courts of New York ended 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in favor of the Serb and lasted 4 hours and 40 minutes.

The 39-year-old Djokovic, seeded fourth, served 10 aces and committed 10 double faults, converting 4 of 12 break points. The 25-year-old Navone had 9 aces, 8 double faults, and converted 6 of 17 break points.

During the match, the Serb experienced health problems: Djokovic vomited several times and required medical attention. He felt physically ill and played through pain towards the end of the match. The final two sets proved disastrous for him, winning only three games.

This is Djokovic's first first-round defeat at a Grand Slam tournament in 20 years—the last time something like this happened was in 2006 at the start of the Australian Open. The Serb will also leave the world's top ten for the first time since 2018. Navone became the first player since Paul Goldstein at the 2006 Australian Open to defeat Djokovic in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament.

After the match, Djokovic commented on his performance, noting that he felt physically weak throughout almost the entire match, but praised the support of the crowd.

In the next round of the US Open, Navone will play the winner of the match between Italian Matteo Berrettini and Swiss Stan Wawrinka.