The U.S. Open always offers unexpected outcomes and inspiring storylines, and sentimentality is a common theme. Week 1 provided all three. Many highly seeded players advanced as expected: women’s No. 4 seed Coco Gauff of the United States defeated Zeynep Sonmez 6-3, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night, and men’s No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain took down Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4 in their first-round meeting at Ashe on Monday.
But Novak Djokovic, arguably the greatest men’s player of all time with a record 24 Grand Slam titles, fell to 25-year-old Mariano Navone of Argentina, 49th-ranked in the world. In a marathon battle lasting more than four and a half hours, Navone prevailed 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Additionally, Venus Williams, who at 46 years old was playing in her 26th U.S. Open singles tournament, lost to fellow American Sofia Kenin 6-2, 7-6(6) on the court at Arthur Ashe in a match that began at 12:13 a.m., the latest start time in the history of the event.
As for Djokovic, it was the first time the 39-year-old from Serbia lost in the first round at the U.S. Open in 20 outings. Suffering from an illness, Djokovic threw up at least once into a towel, was given pills by medical personnel, and had his back massaged.
Credit: Margot Jordan
“Just struggled all the way since the fourth game of the match,” said Djokovic after the defeat. “When it comes to the match itself and overall feeling of how I felt with my body and playing, it was really not enjoyable. I pretty much despised every moment that I spent on the court for that.”
“It’s amazing. The way we played five sets against the GOAT,” said Navone. “It’s a dream come true.”
Serena Williams, who has 39 total Grand Slam titles (23 singles, 14 women’s doubles and two mixed doubles) teamed up for mixed doubles with Alcaraz. After winning their first match, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals on Aug. 25 by the duo of Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli 4-5(7), 1-4.
Serena, 44, will again team up with her big sister Venus in women’s doubles; their first match will be today at 11 a.m. versus Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint. The Williams sisters last played doubles at the U.S. Open together in 2022.
