An emotional Novak Djokovic has made his earliest exit at a major in 20 years following a shock five-set loss to Argentine Mariano Navone at the US Open.
Playing through tears in the final set, four-time champion Djokovic — who was in physical discomfort for much of the match — fell to 49th-ranked Navone in the first round, 7-6 (7/5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
The match lasted almost four hours and 36 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium and finished just before midnight, local time.
The last time Djokovic exited a major in the first round was at the 2006 Australian Open.
He had previously never lost in the opening round at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic made 70 unforced errors during the match.
The 24-time major winner vomited at least once and later appeared to be cramping when he grabbed his left foot.
"I pretty much despised every moment I spent on the court for that," Djokovic told reporters.
"I didn't enjoy myself. I think it was obvious that it was an awful feeling on the court for me."
Djokovic added: "It's something that I've been carrying, unfortunately, pretty much every match this year: vomiting, throwing up. [It's a] serious issue there.
"Then my whole body starts to collapse, basically cramping and pain. The back just gave up in the end and shoulder, and I couldn't close it out."
The 39-year-old swallowed pills brought to him by a doctor and had his lower back massaged during a medical timeout between the fourth and fifth sets.
He also grimaced after several shots.
Throughout his time on court, it was clear Djokovic was not himself, as sickness and soreness took a toll.
"Five sets, against the GOAT (greatest of all time), it's not something you do every day. I'm very happy," Navone said in his on-court interview.
"It means a lot to me. It's a dream come true. Now I have to recover. It's almost 12 am. We have to go to sleep."
Djokovic arrived for his 20th US Open appearance with questions over his form and fitness after losing to Thiago Agustin Tirante in Cincinnati two weeks ago.
The match began in humid conditions but the roof of the main show court was soon closed when rain fell at Flushing Meadows.
Earlier, former champion Daniil Medvedev made light work of France's Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, exorcising the demons of his ill-fated campaign a year ago with an aggressive performance at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
A frequent — and gleeful — villain at the tournament he won in 2021, Medvedev crashed out in the opening round in 2025 but was all business on Sunday (local time), with 34 winners against just 11 from his opponent.
"You need to play your game. I knew he was going to do some drop shots, some underarm serves," Medvedev said.
"I needed to make some winners, put some pressure on him."
Gaston's creative shot-making had little impact on the nimble-footed, six-foot-six-inch Medvedev, and the Frenchman did himself no favours as he handed his opponent the break with a misplaced backhand in the seventh game.
The seventh seed upped his level in the second set, where the Frenchman gifted him the break in the third game when he whacked a forehand into the net.
Medvedev held the momentum from there, leaping into the air to hit a superbly placed backhand shot out of Gaston's reach on break point in the seventh.
Only days after publicly pondering a career in pickleball after his opening-match defeat at Winston-Salem, the mercurial Russian converted another break-point chance in the opening game of the third when he whipped a forehand past the Frenchman.
He closed it out with an unreturnable serve and will play the winner of a match later on Sunday between American wildcard Sebastian Gorzny and Belgian Raphael Collignon.
Cilic, Ruud pull out injured
Former champion Marin Cilic and 2022 runner-up Casper Ruud pulled out of the tournament due to injuries shortly after the tournament got underway on Sunday (local time).
Cilic won the only major title of his career at Flushing Meadows 12 years ago, and the Croat will be replaced in the draw by lucky loser Otto Virtanen, who faces 23rd seed Andrey Rublev in the opening round.
Virtanen pulled out of his third-round qualifying match against Grigor Dimitrov with an injury.
Organisers did not specify what injured the 37-year-old Cilic. The veteran joins a growing list of withdrawals with the likes of Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper, Joao Fonseca and Holger Rune skipping the tournament this year.
Ruud, the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz four years ago, was another high-profile player to pull out earlier, and lucky loser Arthur Gea will take his place in the opening round. The Frenchman meets Juan Manuel Cerundolo first up.
The 27-year-old Ruud had retired during the second set of his Cincinnati Open meeting with Christopher O'Connell this month and said his back injury had not recovered in time.
"Unfortunately, my back hasn't healed as quickly as we had hoped," Ruud said on Instagram.
"We've been optimistic that I would recover in time, but my team and I have decided that we need to think long-term and give my body the time it needs. I'm very sad to announce that I have to withdraw from this year's U.S. Open singles event.
"It's never easy to miss a Grand Slam, but I know this is the right decision. I'll take the time I need to recover properly and come back stronger."
Ruud competed in the revamped mixed doubles tournament last week, partnering Diana Shnaider and the pair were beaten in the quarterfinals by Rublev and Mirra Andreeva.
Pegula shakes off nerves to win
Third-ranked Jessica Pegula shook off nerves that contributed to a slow start against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, winning her opening match in straight sets.
Leading off at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 32-year-old American missed her first nine opportunities to break Ruse but found a rhythm and began dominating. Coming off a trip to the final at the Cincinnati Open, which she lost to Coco Gauff, Pegula won 92 per cent of her first-serve points on the way to a 6-3, 6-2 victory in 83 minutes.
"I was so nervous," Pegula said. "I was like sending GIFs of what I felt like. It was GIFs of people freaking out and stuff. … The first round of a slam, there's always a ton of nerves."
Maybe a little more this time, given what's at stake.
Pegula leads the women's tour with 46 wins this season. She has two titles and has reached three other finals. Pegula can become number one in the women's rankings if she wins her first major title and number two Elena Rybakina loses before the semifinals.
