Mariano Navone, his admission about Novak Djokovic. And about his mom…
Mariano Navone was one of the standout players on the first day of the 2026 U.S. Open. The world No. 49 defeated Novak Djokovic after a grueling 4-hour, 36-minute battle, winning with a score of 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. This was a particularly significant victory for the 25-year-old Argentine from Nueve de Julio. In fact, Djokovic had not been eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament in twenty years: the last time it happened was at the 2006 Australian Open, when he was defeated by Paul Goldstein.
Navone can now focus on the second round, where he will face the winner of the match between Matteo Berrettini and Stan Wawrinka. Following his match against Djokovic, the Argentine commented on his performance and the significance of the victory during the press conference.
“It was a real battle. Facing Novak for the first time on the biggest stage in the world of tennis right now is crazy. He hasn’t lost in the first round in 20 years—that’s insane. Mentally, I think it was my best match. I was down 1-2, and then I lost my serve in the fourth set as well. From there on, my game improved, but in the fifth set it was tough even for my shots, because he was struggling due to an injury. I could tell he wasn’t feeling very well. It’s tough to play against him under these conditions, because you know you have a good chance of beating him.”
“I got up super early so many times to watch Novak in Australia, to watch Novak at Roland Garros, to watch Novak at the US Open, and then I’d be late for school—my mom wasn’t happy about that…”
“I’d never played at Arthur Ashe before, and I’d never faced Novak. This is the first time I’ve won a five-set match. Before that, I think I’d lost four matches. We’ll remember this moment for a long time. Beating Novak in the first round of a Grand Slam…” he concluded in disbelief.
