Novak Djokovic grinded through physical and internal ailments, made one mistake after another and could not find what it took to beat a feisty, younger opponent who was not intimidated under the lights against tennis’ most decorated player.

The 39-year-old is out of the U.S. Open after a first-round defeat to Mariano Navone on Sunday night (August 30, 2026), losing 7-6 (5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in a five-set marathon that lasted four hours and 36 minutes. It was the longest opening match of a Grand Slam in Djokovic’s career and became his earliest exit in one in two decades, dating to the 2006 Australian Open. He had never lost in the first round at the U.S. Open.

With this defeat, 21 years to the day of his U.S. Open debut, the question now lingers as to whether this was Djokovic’s final match at this or any Grand Slam.

Djokovic made 70 unforced errors in a painful performance that ended mere minutes before midnight.

“(It) was very tough for me because you are playing with the GOAT’ on this court,” said Navone, who idolised Djokovic growing up. “For sure it’s the best thing I’ve had on court. This is an amazing court and the biggest stage. It’s amazing, the way we play. I mean, five sets. … I’m very happy. I don’t know. What can I say?”

The record holder with 24 major titles threw up at least once and later appeared to be cramping when he grabbed at his left foot. Djokovic swallowed pills brought to him by a doctor and had his lower back massaged during a medical timeout between the fourth and fifth sets, and he grimaced after several shots.

Throughout his time on court, it was clear Djokovic was not himself, and the wear and tear of sickness and soreness took its toll. The No. 4 seed from Serbia cruised to early 3-0 and 4-1 leads before blowing them and losing the first set — the first time that happened to him in the first round of the U.S. Open since ’06.

With his wife, Jelena, watching from the stands with worried looks on her face, Djokovic had moments where he looked like one of the best to play the sport. His fist pump was reserved after winning the second set, and he put his hand to his ear and gestured to the crowd for applause on the way to taking the third.

But Navone — a 25-year-old from Argentina who earlier this year won his first ATP singles title — did not go away.

Neither did the frustration of not being healthy or at his best. After firing a shot wide in the fourth set, Djokovic landed awkwardly and dropped his racket.

Djokovic all but conceded the fourth set. But he was unable to muster enough for the what would have been his 43rd five-set victory as Navone picked up his first.

“It’s unbelievable,” Navone said. “This means a lot. It’s a dream come true.” It extended a nightmare stretch for Djokovic, who also lost in the first round at the hardcourt tuneup in Cincinnati earlier this month. That was his first action since losing to top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the semifinals at Wimbledon.

Djokovic expressed hope Saturday that his early exit at Cincinnati gave him more time to prepare for the U.S. Open but acknowledged concern that the first match at any tournament has become challenging for him in recent years. Instead of overcoming the hurdle and building from there, he is left to contemplate an uncertain future

The FIFA’s World Cup has increasingly become a celebration not just of football but of football as entertainment.

So, on the eve of the final, the governing body transformed the Javits Center beside the Hudson into a fan park. Hundreds queued for hours and paid between USD 60 and 80 to watch Argentina skipper Lionel Messi, coach Lionel Scaloni, Emiliano Martinez, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente and captain Rodri share a stage with Novak Djokovic, Tom Brady and Kevin Durant, who swapped their sporting greatness for the role of celebrity interviewers.

Rio Ferdinand and comedian Kevin Hart played masters of ceremony, filling the gaps with jokes and banter to ensure that the crowd felt their tickets were worthwhile.

For FIFA — which has spent this tournament monetising almost every available minute from sponsored water breaks to introducing a 30-minute halftime for Sunday’s Super Bowl-style show — it was another reminder that the World Cup has become as much about the spectacle as it is about the sport.

Messi, who skipped the official FIFA press conference upstairs where Emiliano represented Argentina, answered questions from Brady and Djokovic. The loudest laughs came when Brady brought up the famous photograph of a 20-year-old Messi bathing an infant Lamine Yamal during a Barcelona charity photoshoot.

“Lamine is truly amazing,” Messi said. “I’ve followed him a lot because he plays for a club I love so much. He has a chance to achieve something historic. We’re going to try to make sure that it doesn’t happen this time. We’ll try to put on a good match, but I hope he and his team don’t put on a good one,” the 39-year-old added with a smile.

The most memorable moment, though, came after the microphones were switched off. Scaloni walked over to de la Fuente, his former coaching instructor, and embraced him warmly. Later, the Argentina coach laughed about the unusual setting. “I told Luis that I came because of him. I came to this event because Luis was there. I respect and admire him so much.” It was a fitting line for an afternoon that felt surreal.

Messi chatted with Brady, Djokovic and Durant downstairs while, two floors above, the accredited media — many of whom had travelled almost as extensively as the finalists themselves across this World Cup — were denied the opportunity to question the captain of an Argentina side standing one victory away from becoming only the third nation to successfully defend the crown.

If a tournament’s final four has the top two seeds, its greatest active champion and a local hero, it’s like drawing a royal flush in poker. With the best cards in hand, the event is always going to be a winner.

Wimbledon 2026 will have a chance to experience this on Friday. Jannik Sinner, the top seed and defending champion, will take on Novak Djokovic, a 24-time Major winner and seven-time titlist at SW19. In the other encounter, second seed and reigning Roland-Garros trophy-holder Alexander Zverev will meet British wildcard Arthur Fery.

There is both familiarity and novelty. Sinner and Djokovic have sparred 11 times overall, with the Italian ahead 6-5. Zverev and Fery are first-time Wimbledon semifinalists and have no history of facing each other.

The Sinner-Djokovic fixture will be more intriguing, primarily because the gap between them appears to have shrunk a little. Sinner, who thrashed Djokovic 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 here in 2025, is not the player who went on an awe-inspiring 29-match winning run earlier this year. At the French Open, he was troubled by the heat and lost early; over the past 10 days here, he has not been at his clinical best.

Djokovic beat Sinner over five pulsating sets in the Australian Open semifinal in January, snapping a run of five defeats to the Italian. But much will depend on the 39-year-old’s recovery after the five-hour, 15-minute marathon versus Felix Auger-Aliassime. Two days’ rest would have helped, and so will the additional time on Friday, for Djokovic’s will be the second match.

Back in Australia, the Serb was aided by Jakub Mensik’s withdrawal (fourth round) and Lorenzo Musetti’s mid-match retirement (quarters). Sinner, however, remains wary. “Even when I had the [winning] streak, every match with Novak had its own story,” Sinner said.

“Especially on grass, if you have a bad serving day or if you are not feeling the ball well, it’s going to be tough. He has won this tournament so many times and he knows exactly how to approach it.”

Zverev and Fery will be short on that foreknowledge, but the German, by virtue of being more pedigreed, should fancy himself. This will be his 12th Slam semifinal, and after succeeding in Paris, his confidence will be sky-high.

On the other hand, 23-year-old Fery was ranked No. 114 coming into Wimbledon and had only won two Major contests all career. He will be pumped up nonetheless, more so after the straight-sets demolition of Flavio Cobolli and the five-set victory over Grigor Dimitrov. Will there be another chapter in the fairytale?

In tennis parlance, 39 years is when your career is in its autumn. But for Novak Djokovic, it is proving to be a glorious second summer.

History-making and record-setting are like second nature to him. Yet, his performance on Tuesday (July 7, 2026), under the dazzling white lights of Centre Court and against an opponent nearly 14 years his junior, was astonishing to say the least.

The Serbian great finished on the right side of a five-hour, 15-minute slugfest to oust third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(4) and set up a much-anticipated last-four meeting with World No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner.

Djokovic has now reached eight straight singles semifinals at Wimbledon. It is also his 15th overall at the All England Club, equalling Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s single-Slam records at the Australian Open and French Open respectively.

In a fantastic co-incidence, Djokovic was early in the first-set tie-break when fellow 39-year-old Lionel Messi was fashioning a thrilling 3-2 World Cup win for Argentina over Egypt in far-away Atlanta.

Asked about it in the post-match press conference, the seven-time Wimbledon titlist chuckled and quipped: “It would be nice to play 90 minutes like him.”

That Djokovic was on the court for three hours and 45 minutes more – albeit in a less explosive and non-contact sport – was testament to his incredible fitness and supreme conditioning.

Djokovic’s ship did not always sail smoothly. He experienced discomfort in his left leg as early as the ninth game and called for a medical time-out. There were multiple occasions when he grimaced between points and continued stretching his legs. He also seemed out of breath after many a long-drawn rally. But he made it look enjoyable, letting out a wry smile from time to time.

It was an evening of undulating fortunes; Auger-Aliassime had set-points in the first stanza but did not capitalise; Djokovic was up a break in the fourth and yet allowed the match to drift into a decider.

But the 24-time Major winner was flawless when it was most required – in the 10-point match-tiebreak where he barely missed a shot.

It was a textbook example of how elites quarantine themselves and elevate their play. As Djokovic later mentioned, it was all about “management of nerves and the extreme tension”.

“These are still the moments I still play tennis for,” Djokovic said, after the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history. “I wish it was the final so that I didn’t have to worry about how the body will feel.

“But I am happy. I was telling the kids to go to sleep after the fourth set but they didn’t listen. I am glad they stayed because it was one of my best matches on this court.”

Late in their careers, legends are masters at rationing excellence. It is an act of self-preservation, for trying to radiate class for sustained periods can often be energy sapping. Instead, they choose to remain steady, hang in there when needed, and go for the kill in short bursts.

On a hot Sunday afternoon at Centre Court here, Novak Djokovic did exactly this to quell the challenge from Roman Safiullin 7-6(6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

It was a record 106th match-win for the 39-year-old Serb at Wimbledon as he went past Roger Federer, and it propelled him into his ninth straight singles quarterfinal at the All England Club.

Good going

At the start, it was Safiullin, with his ruffled look, loose-fitting T-shirt and expansive style, who was better. He ran up a 5-2 lead as Djokovic struggled with his depth and appeared troubled by the sun directly hitting his eyes while serving.

Safiullin also had significant momentum coming into the match. Grass is one surface where the value of early round results compounds. The Russian had started in the qualifying, beaten the 12th seed Andrey Rublev in the opening round and then ousted rising star Joao Fonseca in the third.

Six matches are generally good enough to get a feel for the lawns and find your footing on the slippery turf, and Safiullin, whose best result at a Major is also at Wimbledon (quarterfinals in 2023), seemed at ease.

Champion stuff

But not for nothing is Djokovic a seven-time titlist at SW19, and he showed this in the eighth game of the first set by erasing two set-points with a service winner and an inch-perfect ace.

The value of this hold was fully realised in the subsequent game when he broke the Safiullin serve after recalibrating his power and range. The set was secured in the tie-break for the loss of six points.

In the second stanza, Djokovic, again, chose his moments wisely. He broke in the sixth game after earning a break-point with a searing forehand winner, and then executed two first-rate serve-and-volley points at 5-3, 30-30.

In the third set, however, the 24-time Slam champion’s level dropped. After an early trade of breaks, he fought hard in the sixth game to deny Safiullin five chances to go 4-2 up by coming up with aces, on-the-run passes, lobs and volleys. The pressure, though, eventually told, as the World No. 132 took it on the sixth opportunity, and held on to 6-3.

But the 28-year-old’s honeymoon ended there as Djokovic stepped it up a notch to zoom 3-0 ahead in the fourth set. Safiullin wilted, and the stunning low volley on match-point summed up Djokovic’s overall superiority. “I don’t get to feel inferior from the back of the court often, but I did today,” Djokovic said later.

“I didn’t want to stay in the rallies [for long]. I had to change things up, and my accuracy and precision with the first serves got me out of trouble.”

“Survive to thrive” was his mantra, the Serb added. And he did that to a T.

Later, Naomi Osaka, in contrast, only thrived as she reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 6-2, 7-6(2) over World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

It snapped the Belarusian’s 14 straight quarterfinal or better performances and 20 consecutive tie-break wins at Majors, and was her first straight-sets loss at a Slam since US Open 2020.

Novak Djokovic saw Arthur Rinderknech falling toward the Centre Court net after a volley and said to himself “please stay down.” The Frenchman did — and 39-year-old Djokovic dove to hit a backhand volley winner on match point for a 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) record-equaling victory in the third round at Wimbledon on Friday (July 3, 2026).

Djokovic’s 105th match win at the All England Club ties Roger Federer on the men’s list for most singles match victories. Martina Navratilova won 120 singles matches at Wimbledon.

By next weekend, Djokovic would love to equal Federer’s men’s record of eight singles titles, but this one will have to suffice for Friday.

“Today, I was quite stressed out, more tension than usual,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “I knew it was going to be a very challenging match for me.”

The 24-time Grand Slam champion overcame a blip — dropping the third set in 18 minutes — and held his nerve in the fourth-set tiebreaker by hitting back-to-back aces before Rinderknech’s forehand went wide to set up match point.

“I saw him slip and kind of fall down. And I was just like please stay down’ for that last shot,” Djokovic, who had repeatedly punched his left thigh after losing the third set, said of the final play.

Joining Federer on 105 singles match wins is “a huge honor and privilege,” Djokovic added. “I propose a matchup for me and Roger for 106.”

Djokovic will face Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin in the fourth round.

Also Thursday, defending champion Jannik Sinner beat Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 on No. 1 Court to advance to the fourth round.

Fonseca loses to Safiullin Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin wiped away tears after beating Brazilian rising star João Fonseca 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the fourth round.

Safiullin, ranked No. 132, dealt with a knee injury last year but this week has eliminated two seeded opponents at the All England Club. He surprised 12th-seeded Andrey Rublev in the first round. Fonseca was seeded No. 24.

The 28-year-old Safiullin, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2023, became emotional when he described his journey back.

“After the U.S. Open, I had to stop — for treating my injury,” he said in an on-court interview. “That time was super tough. Even let’s say half a year ago I didn’t know if I will be able to be back.” Safiullin then paused and used his shirt to wipe away tears as fans applauded on No. 2 Court.

“I’m super happy to be back here,” he added.

In the women’s draw, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka plays Jelena Ostapenko later on Centre Court.

When Novak Djokovic ends up winning points that ​his opponent had ample opportunities to ‌kill off, it can only ​mean one thing — there ⁠was absolutely no way that the Serbian great would get beaten by Stefanos ‌Tsitsipas on Wednesday (July 1, 2026).

Billed as a “heavyweight Centre Court collision” in the ‌official Wimbledon programme, the ‌scrap ⁠turned into a one-man show ⁠as 39-year-old Djokovic rolled into the third round with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 win ​over the man ‌who had once been tipped as a future Grand Slam champion.

At 4-4 in the second set, ‌facing break point, Tsitsipas had ​two chances to smack the ball away for a ⁠winner but both of his overheads were off target. Djokovic punished that ‌sloppiness to snatch the break and with that he also crushed any hope his Greek rival might have harboured of pulling off an upset.

Djokovic won eight of ‌the last 10 games to condemn ​Tsitsipas to a 12th successive defeat in their head-to-head rivalry.

The ⁠seventh seed will next face 25th-seeded ⁠Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech as he looks to continue his bid ‌for an eighth Wimbledon title and a record 25th Grand ​Slam crown.

Jannik Sinner reached the semifinals of the Italian Open on Thursday (May 14, 2026) after seeing off Andrey Rublev and establishing a new record of consecutive wins in Masters 1000 tournaments.

Another straight-sets victory, this time 6-2, 6-4 over Rublev, moved Sinner up to 32 straight wins in the ATP’s top-ranked events, one more than the previous record established by Novak Djokovic in 2011.

“I don’t play for records; I play just for my own story,” said Sinner on court.

“At the same time, it means a lot to me, but tomorrow is another day, another opponent, a different opponent.”

Rublev was Sinner’s first seeded opponent at this year’s tournament in Rome and the World No. 1 made short work of his task in front of a delighted centre court.

On Friday (May 15, 2026), Sinner could face Daniil Medvedev, winner of the 2023 title at the Foro Italico, with the seventh seed taking on lucky loser Martin Landaluce.

Sinner looks near unbeatable at the moment and with his great rival Carlos Alcaraz out injured, he is the heavy favourite to become the first Italian to win the Rome title in five decades, with a potential career Grand Slam on the cards at the French Open.

Rublev offered little resistance, the Russian dropping his own serve in the first game of both sets to give Sinner a handy leg up and committing 28 unforced errors in 18 games.

Sinner, meanwhile, showed flashes of his best tennis but also started to look tired towards the end of the match, visibly touching his left thigh before confidently serving for the match.

“However it goes it will be a win for me; if I win great but even if things don’t go well, that’s ok because I’ll have a few more days to prepare for Paris, which is my main objective this year.”

Gauff in final

Coco Gauff followed Sinner by reaching the Rome final for the second straight year after beating veteran Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3. The American star has struggled on clay this season, with a last-16 exit in the Madrid Open coming after a disappointing run to the quarterfinals in Stuttgart.

But she dealt with Romanian Cirstea — who is set to retire at the end of the year — professionally as Spring sunshine burst out on centre court, helped by a marked improvement in her often erratic service game.

Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Monte Carlo Masters after having skipped the Miami Open with a right shoulder injury.

“We send him our best wishes and hope to see him back on court very soon,” the clay-court tournament wrote on Friday (March 28) in announcing Djokovic’s withdrawal in an Instagram message.

The post didn’t specify the 38-year-old Djokovic’s reason for pulling out, but the 24-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t played since losing in three sets to Jack Draper in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open two weeks ago.

A year ago, at Monte Carlo, Djokovic lost in the second round to Alejandro Tabilo.

Djokovic, ranked No. 3, has not commented on his social media channels about the withdrawal.

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from ​the upcoming Miami Open ‌due to a right ​shoulder injury, ⁠tournament organisers said on Sunday.

The 38-year-old competed at Indian ‌Wells last week, where defending champion ‌Jack Draper rallied ‌from ⁠a set down ⁠to beat the Serb on Wednesday. Djokovic also played ​doubles alongside ‌Stefanos Tsitsipas in the California desert before exiting in the second ‌round.

The 24-times Grand Slam ​champion has won the Miami Open ⁠six times, making him the most successful ‌men’s player in the tournament’s history. He will now miss the chance to chase a record-breaking seventh ‌crown, having reached the ​final last year before losing to Czech ⁠player Jakub Mensik.

The Miami ⁠Open begins on Wednesday, with qualifying ‌beginning on Monday. (Reporting by Angelica Medina in ​Mexico City Editing by Christian Radnedge)