For the first time in 20 years, Novak Djokovic has lost in the first round of a Grand Slam as he was reduced to tears inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Serbian legend was stunned by World No.49 Mariano Navone at Flushing Meadows as the 39-year-old failed to overcome a lower back problem and the intense humidity on court.
Watch Novak Djokovic’s emotional moment via the video player below
While his Argentinian rival, almost 15 years his junior, thrived in the grind, Djokovic suffered his first opening-round Grand Slam exit since he was beaten in four sets by Paul Goldstein at the 2006 Australian Open, when he was just 18.
Navone showed grit from the outset, fighting back from an early break to take a one-set lead in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-5).
Alarmingly early in the second set, the 24-time grand slam champ said to his box: “I have nothing right now”.
While initially that seemed not to be the case as he won both the second and third sets, the signs were there that he wasn’t at the peak of his powers.
“He looks punch drunk,” commentator Mary Carillo said on ESPN.
“He’s against the ropes.”
“He was wobbling a bit,” co-commentator Jimmy Arias added during a change of ends in the third set.
In the third set alone, Djokovic committed more than a dozen unforced errors and four double faults as his movement and accuracy abandoned him.
He then threw up just before the end of the fourth set at the back of the court.
“You can see that (the humidity) is the struggle for both players,” Jelena Dokic said in commentary on Nine.
“You don’t know which way this is going to go. If we go into a fifth set, this will be an extremely long first round match. Novak is still hanging on here, though.”
Djokovic took a medical timeout to receive treatment on his lower back ahead of the fifth set, and was visibly emotional while a break down as the match slipped away from him.
He was comfortably dispatched in the decider to seal his fate and bring up a memorable win for Navone, 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
“There was a lot going on there. He could barely walk,” Dokic said after the US Open boilover.
“You just wonder where does he go from here? Will he be back at the US Open? Only he knows that.”
Djokovic arrived in New York having competed only once after his semi-final run at Wimbledon.
That was at the Cincinnati Open where he lost in the opening round to Thiago Agustín Tirante as the humidity also proved too much.
As for Navone, he has pulled off the greatest win of his career and could hardly believe it.
“It is the best day I’ve had. It’s amazing – and on one of the biggest stages,” he said post-match.
“The way we played. Five sets against the GOAT. It doesn’t happen every day.
“I am very happy. I don’t know what I can say.”
Navone has previously said he’s idolised Djokovic and said playing against him is a dream come true.
“It is unbelievable. It means a lot for me … the match was tough for me because you are playing with the GOAT. It is a dream come true, 100 per cent,” he added.
Aussie mixed bag on Day 1
Djokovic’s struggles come on what has been a tough opening day for the Australian contingent.
Qualifier Storm Hunter was defeated by 11th seed Marta Kostyuk, while breakout Aussie star Talia Gibson lost in three sets to Donna Vekic.
Gibson had her rival on the ropes down 0-40 serving at 4-2, only to miss five straight returns to let the Paris Olympics silver medallist off the hook.
That blunder would in the end prove costly as the Croatian came back to take the match.
“It’s a hard one to swallow,” Gibson said after the loss.
“Most of the time it’s who makes the most unforced errors on the court who comes away with the loss, and today that was me, so it’s just something to learn from.
“Days like these are really tough. It’s hard not to be disappointed. When it comes to the slams, every player wants to do well.
“But if I’m looking at my entire year so far, I’ve been able to achieve some things that probably at the start of the year I probably wouldn’t have thought I’d be able to do.
“So to still be in the position ranking that I currently have and moving forward to these next tournaments, I don’t really have any points to defend, so it’s kind of just no pressure and more opportunities.”
Adam Walton also crashed out to China’s Yibin Wu in straight sets.
However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom with rising star Taylah Preston beating local hope Alycia Parks in straight sets.
The 20-year-old was dominant from start to finish as she reeled off a 6-3, 6-3 win.
Two more Aussies will take to the court on Monday morning in a bid to be the first Aussie through to the second round.
Kim Birrell and Alexandar Vukic also took to the court on Day 1. However, their matches were stopped by rain and will be continued tomorrow.
Birrell is a set down and the match is precariously balanced in a second set tiebreak, while Vukic is midway through the fifth set against Rei Sakamoto.
World No. 7 Alex de Minaur’s US Open campaign will begin tomorrow morning against Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri.