Novak Djkovic shows heart in early exit during Opening Night of the US Open

Coming into the opening night playing against Marlano Navone, Novak Djokovic struggled majority of the game. He struggled to find his rhythm, and at times he looked out of sync After dropping the first set 7(7)-6(5), Djokovic knew he had to dig deep in order to survive the second set.

After winning a game in the second set, it looked like Novak could dig himself out of the hole. His first serve went up but Mariano smashed any momentum with keeping Novak from being dominate in the middle and used his strength with slicing the ball to the corners of the court. It seemed like father time had caught Novak; he was a beat to slow to hit backhand and kept hitting everything short, which is uncanny for him. The second set got a bit interesting late, Novak had to come from behind to win three games to force a winner take all set, 7-5.

Coming into the third set, Novak was on a nine consistent winning streak, and all the momentum was going to his side. Instead of engaging with the crowd like he normally does, he was just laser focused. Just like the previous sets, he had to dig himself out of a hole. Both players battled it out and after five hours of play, Novak tried his best, but it was not enough as he dropped sets, 6-2, and 6-1.