Djokovic in tears, disaster at the US Open: "I didn't make it"

The four-time champion lost to Argentina’s Mariano Navone 7-6 (5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The first-ever meeting between the world No. 5 and No. 48 lasted quite a while — four hours and 40 minutes.

Djokovic struggled throughout the match, and things became even more difficult after he lost the opening set, something that had not happened to him in the first round of the US Open in 20 years.

Novak could not have made a better start to the match, but Mariano quickly found his rhythm.

After Djokovic broke to take a 4-1 lead, Navone settled down and broke his opponent’s serve to love in the seventh game.

Rain also began to fall in New York at that point, so the rest of the match was played under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The servers were more or less reliable for the remainder of the set, but at 5-5 in the tiebreak, Djokovic made two forehand errors, handing the opening set to his opponent.

Djokovic had chances at the start of the second set, but missed three break points early on. Navone showed excellent defensive skills during those exchanges.

Novak played without any emotion, seemingly on autopilot, but completely out of nowhere he broke serve in the 11th game without dropping a point, and soon leveled the match at one set apiece.

The third set was calm and closely contested, but Novak once again ensured that the scenario was almost identical to the previous set.

He broke serve in the ninth game. Djokovic patiently waited for his chance, defending brilliantly at 30-30 before Navone made an error on break point.

Who would have thought that this would be Djokovic’s last game of the set? Navone immediately broke back and then continued to wear down the Serbian player.

The break in the sixth game proved decisive, as it lasted nearly 15 minutes. The break in the eighth game was merely a formality, and Djokovic seemed eager to get to the changeover and call for a medical timeout ahead of the deciding set.

He received treatment and a massage to his lower back, but it did not help much, as he was broken in the opening service game of the fifth set.

He could barely stay on his feet and was on the verge of tears, and there was little realistic chance of him troubling Navone, who will face the winner of the Stan Wawrinka–Matteo Berrettini match in the next round.

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