Novak Djokovic Breaks Down in Tears After Five-Set US Open Defeat

The 24-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic could not hold back his tears rolling down as he suffered a shocking first-round defeat at the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open 2026 in a grueling five-set match that lasted for more than five hours.

The 39-year-old Serbian looked visibly physically exhausted and was repeatedly sick and experienced pain throughout the match, but still he left no stone unturned in his efforts to take down Mariano Navone from Argentina but eventually failed to get past him. After the match, Djokovic admitted he had underlying healthy issues, which was serious. But he also remained positive on fixing the problem.

The veteran Serb lost his match that could have gone either way as the scoreline 7-6 (5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 suggests and this was his first exit in the opening round of a major tournament since his defeat to Paul Goldstein in the Australian Open way back in 2006.

Speaking after the loss, Djokovic said, “I think it was obvious that it was an awful feeling on the court for me. It is something that I have been carrying, unfortunately, pretty much every match this year. You know, vomiting, throwing up, a serious issue there. Then my whole body, you know, starts to collapse, basically cramping and pain. Yeah, the back just up in the end and shoulder and I couldn't close it out. Can the issue be fixed? I don't know. I am trying, man, I am trying. Let us see.”

Djokovic, holding back his tears at one point in the fifth set, managed to put up a gracious smile on his face as he walked towards the net to congratulate the world number 49, Argentine, Navone, which was also one of the biggest wins of his career. Djokovic further added, “I don’t want to take too much out of his win. Congrats to him. He is a nice guy, a fighter. But, you know, I didn't enjoy myself.”

“When it comes to the match itself and the overall feeling of how I felt with my body, and playing, it was really not enjoyable. I pretty much despised every moment that I spent on the court for that.”

During the match, Djokovic’s cheeks had turned red and his hair drenched in sweat midway through the first set, which he was leading at 3-0 but eventually lost the set in a tie-break. Later he came back strongly in the match, taking the second and the third set after the roof and with air conditioning system on.

Djokovic’s five-hour struggle at the court meant that Venus Williams couldn’t step onto the Arthur Ashe stadium until after midnight for her match against a fellow wild card entrant, Sofia Kenin. The 46-year-old American squandered seven set points in the second set before losing in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (6) and bowing out of the tournament.