Djokovic's tears before being eliminated from the US Open
What was experienced today at the Arthur Ashe Stadium of the US Open will be remembered for a long time. Mariano Navone has just defeated Novak Djokovic in the first round after a marathon match where the Serbian tennis player's physical condition finally gave out. The drama was such that Nole ended up crying before the match finished while the entire court chanted his name in some very hard-hitting images.
This breaks the heart 💔
Djokovic crying in the middle of the match. His mind wants to, but his body can no longer keep up.
Sad 😭 pic.twitter.com/1GnRzKDnMI— José Morón (@jmgmoron) August 31, 2026
In fact, Djokovic already requested the physio in the first set. His physical condition is no longer what it used to be, and even though no one knows what is happening to him, the reality is that the passage of time affects everyone equally. At 39 years old, he cannot withstand so much accumulated fatigue, which is compounded by a problem that he does not want to reveal but has been limiting him for quite some time. Once the match went to the fifth set, Novak could barely move, making it a case of impending doom, to the point where the entire stadium began chanting his name and the Serbian could not hold back his tears.
Djokovic's children stay with him until the end
Both his wife Jelena and his children stayed in the stands until the end to try to encourage him to achieve the epic, but it was not to be. Stefan's 'Idemo' could be heard throughout the 4 and a half hours that the match lasted, but his face ended up telling another story. Like that of all his father's fans, who are not few. A cruel and premature ending that only raises more doubts about his continuation in the sport.
Djokovic wants to keep competing, and he has done so for much of the year in the few tournaments he has played, but during this North American tour, it has already been evident that he has arrived very short of condition. The heat and humidity have gotten the better of him, and there has been no way to wrap up a season in which his best level was seen precisely at the beginning of the year in Australia.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Las lágrimas de Djokovic antes de ser eliminado del US Open