Djokovic and Venus Williams both crash out in a wild US Open opening night

[PixelBarrel]

Novak Djokovic suffered his first ever US Open first round exit on August 31st, losing 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to world number 49 Mariano Navone of Argentina in a match that lasted four hours and 36 minutes. It marked the 24 time Grand Slam champion's earliest exit at a major in 20 years, ending a run in which he'd previously gone 19-0 in US Open first round matches and hadn't lost an opening round at any major since the 2006 Australian Open. Asked about the streak ending, Djokovic said it was a good record but that he wasn't really thinking about it, adding he's proud of his past achievements but now is now

The marathon match pushed the night session dramatically behind schedule, meaning 46 year old wildcard Venus Williams didn't take the court against Sofia Kenin until just after midnight. Williams lost in straight sets 2-6, 6-7(6), with the match not wrapping up until 2:01 AM, the latest finish to a first round match in US Open history. Williams later criticized the scheduling directly, saying it was extremely late, that she'd never played a match that late before, and that there was clearly room for improvement in how the tournament handles situations like that

Tournament officials had reportedly considered moving Williams' match to Louis Armstrong Stadium once the delay became apparent, but both players opted to wait it out and stay on Arthur Ashe instead. It was Williams' 14th consecutive singles loss and her 96th career Grand Slam appearance, though she remains in the doubles draw alongside her sister Serena. Curious what people think tournaments should actually do in situations like this, force a venue change to keep things on schedule, or let players decide for themselves even if it means matches finishing near 2 AM

Novak Djokovic knocked out of U.S. Open in the 1st roundwww.pbs.org

[Molly4]

19-0 in first round matches since 2006 is such a wild stat to actually see end, that's basically two decades of dominance in just one single round of one specific tournament

[Amy96]

Djokovic's reaction is honestly the more interesting story to me than the loss itself, that record but I'm not really thinking about it now is now response reads like someone genuinely at peace with where he is in his career at this stage

[David1]

Wonder how the paying fans who stayed until 2 AM actually felt about the whole night, that's a long time to sit through for what ended up being a straight sets loss for the wildcard they likely came to see

[ActivationRune]

Four hours and thirty six minutes for a five set match is genuinely brutal on the body, no wonder the whole schedule fell apart afterward and pushed everything else on the night session that much later

[QuantumLeap34]

Both players choosing to wait it out on Arthur Ashe rather than switch venues says something about how much routine and rhythm matters to elite athletes, even a logistically sensible option can throw off preparation

[Phil7]

Venus Williams speaking that directly about the scheduling rather than just accepting it quietly is a good reminder that even wildcard entries with nothing left to prove are still willing to push back on conditions they think are unfair

[Marnie]

A 2 AM finish is just not a reasonable outcome for professional athletes or the paying fans who stuck around, tournaments really need a hard cutoff policy that forces a venue switch rather than leaving it up to players in the moment