US Open: Meet Mariano Navone, the Argentine who upset Novak Djokovic in round 1

New York, Aug 31 (IANS) Mariano Navone might have won his first ATP Tour title in April 2026 and has defeated the likes of Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud, but not many would have backed him to beat 24-time Major champion Novak Djokovic in the first round of the US Open 2026.

Navone staged a massive upset in New York when he handed fourth-seed Djokovic his first opening-round loss at Flushing Meadows, a tournament where he was making his 20th appearance and had played in 10 finals.

The victory marks a historic milestone in the 25-year-old’s career, who has been a clay court player more than a hard court one. He has a career win-loss record of 44-32 on clay courts, which drops significantly to 12-29 on hard courts.

The Argentine captured his first ATP Tour title on the clay courts of the 2026 Bucharest Open when he defeated Daniel Merida Aguilar but had to save two match points in the semifinal against Botic van de Zandschulp.

His win over Djokovic, whom he considers one of his idols, was one of his biggest moments, while he has wins over some other big players too. The Argentine star had earlier defeated No. 5 Auger-Aliassime in the round of 64 at the BNP Paribas Arena to reach his maiden ATP Masters 1000 round three.

Navone has also had the better of No.17 Casper Ruud in the Geneva Open semifinal. Ruud was a three-time Geneva Open winner. Along with this, he has also achieved a career-high ranking of No.29 after winning his sixth Challenger title in Cagliari in June 2024.

He has played in the main draws of all Grand Slam events and was the first man in the Open Era to be seeded on his Grand Slam main draw debut. He was the No.31 seed when he made his Major debut at the French Open 2024, where he defeated former world No.10 Carreno Busta in the first round.

He also reached the second round of the Australian Open 2025, when he defeated England’s Jack Draper, who later became World No.4 in June that year. The win over Djokovic marks his greatest triumph to date, and he was chuffed to bits for having played and defeated the 24-time Major winner.

“It’s amazing. The way we played, five sets against the GOAT,” Navone said, as quoted by ATP. “I’m very happy. I don’t know, what can I say?”

“It’s unbelievable. It means a lot to me,” Navone said of facing Djokovic for the first time. “It’s a dream come true, I mean seriously, 100 per cent. Now I have to recover. I think it’s almost 12 o’clock, so we have to go to sleep.”

–IANS

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