Mariano Navone defeats Serbia’s Djokovic!
Sports Desk, Aug 30 (EFE).-
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic stunned the U.S. Open on Sunday, falling in the first round in a five-set defeat to Argentina’s Mariano Navone that could have been the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s final match at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic had a 19-0 record in U.S. Open first-round matches in his previous 19 appearances. His record stood at 37-0 in first-round matches at Grand Slam tournaments. But the 39-year-old Serb fell to Navone, ranked No. 49 in the world, who earned the biggest victory of his career.
The four-time U.S. Open champion tried to compete but once again appeared short of energy during a difficult U.S. hard-court summer.
He had already lost in the opening round of the Cincinnati Masters 1000 to another Argentine, Thiago AgustÃn Tirante. On Sunday, he succumbed to Navone after four hours, 36 minutes, losing 7-6 (5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
“Without a doubt, it’s fantastic to win on this court, because of the way we played. Winning in five sets against the GOAT isn’t something that happens every day,” Navone said after the match.
“It’s incredible. It means a lot to me. The buildup was tough because I was going to play against the GOAT, against this opponent, who has always been on this court. It’s a dream. Now I have to recover, go to sleep and get ready,” he added.
Djokovic said goodbye to the New York crowd emotionally and stayed on court signing autographs before leaving.
His defeat shook a tournament that will welcome its defending champion, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, on Monday.
The match finished under the roof after rain forced several matches scheduled on uncovered courts to be interrupted or postponed.
Among the other matches, Spain’s Jaume Munar and Daniel Mérida advanced from the first round.
Munar rallied from two sets down against France’s Terence Atmane to win 6-7 (5), 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4), 7-5. He will play France’s Arthur Rinderknech, the No. 26 seed. Mérida defeated Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 and will face the winner of the match between Russia’s Andrey Rublev and Finland’s Otto Virtanen.
Argentina’s Tomás Etcheverry defeated Czech Republic’s VÃt Kopriva 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 and will face the winner of the match between Spain’s MartÃn Landaluce and Britain’s Jacob Fearnley in the second round.
Mexico’s Renata Zarazúa lost to Russia’s Polina Iatchenko 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7); Colombia’s Emiliana Arango fell to China’s Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-2; Argentina’s Solana Sierra was beaten by Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-2; and Spain’s Pablo Carreño was eliminated by Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka, who won 6-1, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-2.
American Jessica Pegula, the No. 3 seed, advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Romania’s Gabriela Ruse.
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, the No. 8 seed, defeated France’s Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 and will face the winner of the match between Belgium’s Raphael Collignon and American Sebastian Gorzny in the next round. EFE
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