Djokovic Falls to Tirante in Cincinnati After Heat-Stricken Collapse

Novak Djokovic crashed out of the Cincinnati Open in the second round, losing 2-6 6-4 6-4 to Argentina's Thiago Tirante in a match the 39-year-old barely survived physically.

Djokovic, the world number five and third seed this week, dropped onto his hands and knees during the second set and took a medical timeout after an 18-minute third game left him visibly struggling with the heat and humidity. He appeared to vomit twice courtside. A physio and a doctor both attended to him on court, and both players retreated to the dressing rooms after the second set (BBC Sport).

When play resumed, the match hung in the balance until the ninth game of the third set. Djokovic dropped serve — a break of serve means winning a game the opponent is delivering, the hardest thing to do in tennis — and Tirante served out for the biggest win of his life. "The best win of my career," the 24-year-old called it (BBC Sport).

Tirante arrived at a career-high No. 50 in the PIF ATP Rankings and was already on a roll, having upset American Taylor Fritz in Montreal the week before (Cincinnati Open). Still, nobody expected this. Djokovic is a three-time champion in Cincinnati, an ATP Masters 1000 event — the tier just below the Grand Slams — and since his tournament debut in 2005 he had never failed to reach at least the last 32 here (BBC Sport; ATP Tour).

This was Djokovic's first match since his Wimbledon semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner in July. He came to Cincinnati seeking sharpness in his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam title (Reuters). Instead, the tournament that has historically been one of his most reliable build-ups to the US Open has produced his earliest exit in two decades.

The match was played on Saturday, August 15, the second fixture on centre court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati, Ohio (ATP Tour; Reuters).

What makes this result land harder is the physical dimension. Djokovic has built a career on being the fittest man on court, the player who outlasts everyone in the fifth set. Here, the Ohio heat brought him to his knees in the second round of a tournament he treats as home turf. At 39, every early loss invites the same question — how many more build-ups does he have left before the Slams he chases?

For Tirante, the road gets no easier, but the Argentine has already announced himself as a player who belongs at this level. A career-high ranking, back-to-back wins over Fritz and Djokovic, and a first Masters 1000 deep run within reach. His flat groundstrokes and nerveless serving under pressure suggest a game built for hard courts.

The tournament runs through August 23. Whether Djokovic stays in Ohio to train or heads home early, the US Open — starting later this month — now looms with more uncertainty than he would have wanted.