Argentina’s Mariano Navone stunned Novak Djokovic in the first round of the US Open, securing a 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win in New York on Sunday evening. The Argentine took the opening set in the tiebreak, but Djokovic bounced back strongly to win the next two sets.

The Serbian then had a break in the fourth set however, Navone was quick to get it back and dominated the last two sets against an ailing Djokovic, who vomited multiple times.

Meanwhile, this is Djokovic’s first opening-round loss at a Major since the 2006 Australian Open. Thus, he could not make it to the second round of a Slam after 20 years and seven months.

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

“It’s unbelievable. It means a lot for me,” Navone said of facing Djokovic, one of his idols, 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.”

On the other hand, Djokovic was trailing by 1-3 in the final set when the New York crowd decided to back him. The Serbian, who was struggling physically, was seen getting emotional on the court and could not hold back his tears.

“They were super nice. So grateful to experience this. When it comes to [the] match itself and overall feeling of how I felt with body and playing, it was really not enjoyable. I pretty much despised every moment that I spent on the court for that,” Djokovic said. “But from the perspective of the crowd and support, it was incredible, honestly from the beginning. They were trying to lift me up in important moments, and I’m very sorry that I didn’t perform as well as I should have or could have or wanted for them.

“But the love and appreciation they gave me in the end was really touched my heart.”