Novak Djokovic suffers shock Cincinnati defeat to Thiago Tirante

Thiago Agustin Tirante pulled off the biggest win of his career on Saturday, knocking out five-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Cincinnati Open. Ranked No. 50 in the world, Tirante recovered from losing the first set 2-6 to beat Djokovic 6-4, 6-4. It was Djokovic’s first competitive match since his Wimbledon semifinal loss to Jannik Sinner in July, and the Serbian appeared to struggle physically during the contest.

Djokovic saved 13 of the 15 break points he faced, but Tirante kept creating chances and eventually made the crucial breakthrough. After Djokovic found some extra energy in the deciding set, Tirante broke serve in the ninth game and held on to complete the upset. "I think this is the best win of my career," Tirante said, as quoted by an ATP official website. "I think I really did a good job inside the court. I managed very well the nerves of playing against a legend like Novak. Now I feel relieved, because it is all so much pressure when you cannot break serve. I had so many points to break, and I could not, so that was the key, to keep believing in myself with my team and think about it after the match." Tirante also said his family and friends in Argentina were watching and supporting him from home. "Thinking about my family and my friends that are in Argentina watching me, they are really happy to watch me on TV... They are in Argentina, but they are in my head as well," he added.

The win takes Tirante’s record against top-10 players to four victories and one defeat. He will next face Martin Landaluce, who defeated 31st seed Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. "The confidence my team gives me is key. I think we are doing a really good job with my mental coach ," Tirante said. "They are helping me a lot, and I think this has been the key this year, to believe in myself more and listen to my team between the points in the match. So I think I am doing the right things," he signed off.