Written By | Sports Desk
A vomiting, cramping 39-year-old Novak Djokovic crashed out of the US Open in the first round for the first time since 2006 — and admitted, mid-match, that he thought about walking away.
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NEW YORK
The Match That Wasn't Supposed to Happen
Nobody in Flushing Meadows on Sunday night expected to watch history get rewritten in the worst possible direction for Novak Djokovic. The 24-time Grand Slam champion, still chasing the record for most men's majors ever, was drawn against Argentina's Mariano Navone, a 25-year-old ranked well outside the top 30 who had never beaten a top-five player, let alone the man many consider the greatest to ever hold a racket. By the time the match limped to its conclusion four hours and thirty-six minutes later, Navone had done what almost nobody believed possible: he had beaten Djokovic 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, sending the Serbian out of a Grand Slam in the first round for the first time since 2006 — two decades, and 24 major titles, ago.
It wasn't just an upset. It was a spectacle of physical collapse playing out in real time, in front of a crowd that arrived expecting a routine coronation and left having witnessed something closer to a war of attrition.
Five Sets, One Body Giving Out
The warning signs were there from the first set. Djokovic, who turns 40 next spring, was seen reaching for an inhaler between points and grimacing through what he later described as chronic breathing trouble. As the match dragged into its fourth hour, he vomited on court — not once, but multiple times — while also receiving medical treatment for his lower back and shoulder. Cramps set in. The crowd, sensing the improbable, began roaring for a comeback that briefly looked possible when Djokovic clawed back to force a decisive fifth set.
It didn't hold. Navone, playing the biggest match of his career, broke early and never let go, closing it out 6-1 as Djokovic — barely able to move freely between points — shed visible tears on court. It was, by any measure, an image tennis fans have rarely if ever associated with a player of his stature: not a champion undone by an opponent's brilliance, but a body that simply stopped cooperating.
"I Didn't Enjoy Myself"
Djokovic did not hide from what happened afterward. "I don't want to take too much out of Mariano's win. Congrats to him, he's a nice guy and a fighter — but I didn't enjoy myself," he told reporters, visibly drained. Asked directly whether he considered quitting mid-match, he didn't dodge the question. "Yes, I did. I did, but then I won a set and then another."
He went further in later comments, describing the vomiting and breathing issues as a recurring problem rather than a one-off. "It's something that I've been carrying, unfortunately, pretty much every match this year: vomiting, throwing up, a serious issue there," he said. It's a rare and striking admission from a player famous for near-superhuman durability — a man who has spent the better part of two decades treating his body like a finely tuned instrument, pioneering gluten-free diets and recovery routines that other players eventually copied wholesale.
Navone's Coming-Out Party
For Navone, the win instantly reshapes his career. Facing one of his childhood idols for the first time — and beating him in five sets on one of tennis's biggest stages — is the kind of result that can define a season, if not a career. "The way we played, five sets against the GOAT," Navone said afterward, still seemingly processing what he'd done. He added that playing Djokovic for the first time meant "a lot for me," a notably humble reaction given he'd just delivered one of the biggest upsets in US Open history.
Navone's win also reshuffles the entire bottom half of the men's draw, opening a route to the second week for players who would never have expected to avoid Djokovic this deep into the tournament.
What This Means for the GOAT Conversation
Djokovic's most recent major title came at Flushing Meadows in 2023, and his pursuit of a 25th Grand Slam — which would put the all-time record even further out of reach for rivals — has increasingly become a story about time as much as talent. Earlier this year, he fell short in the Australian Open final and left that tournament with his own retirement hints, telling reporters, "God knows what happens tomorrow." Sunday's collapse adds fresh urgency to a question that has hovered over his last two seasons: not whether Djokovic can still win majors, but how many more chances his body will give him to try.
That question matters beyond one player's career. Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray defined men's tennis for the better part of two decades, and Djokovic is the last of the so-called Big Four still competing at the majors. His physical struggles on Sunday were a reminder that even the most durable athlete of his generation is not exempt from the calendar.
What This Means for You
You don't need to follow tennis closely to find something familiar in what happened at Flushing Meadows. Djokovic's admission — that he wanted to quit but kept going anyway, one set at a time — is a strikingly human moment from someone who has built a career on appearing invincible. It's a reminder that even elite performers hit walls, and that pushing through discomfort has real costs, whether you're chasing a 25th Grand Slam or just trying to finish your own version of a hard day.
For casual sports fans, it's also a signal to pay attention to the rest of this US Open. With the tournament's most dominant recent figure gone in round one, the draw is wide open in a way it hasn't been in years — good news for anyone hoping to see a new name lift the trophy in two weeks.
The Bottom Line
Novak Djokovic didn't lose Sunday because Mariano Navone outplayed him with brilliance from start to finish. He lost because his body, for the first time on this big a stage, couldn't keep up with his will. Whether this becomes a footnote in an otherwise historic career or the beginning of its final chapter is a question only time — and Djokovic himself — can answer. For now, tennis is left with an unforgettable image: the most decorated men's player in history, in tears, admitting he wanted to walk away, and choosing, one more time, not to.
