Novak Djokovic's shock first-round exit at the US Open may have eerily proved Andre Agassi's warning about how quickly things can change in tennis. The 24-time Grand Slam champion fell in five sets to Argentina's Mariano Navone at Flushing Meadows on Sunday.
Illness and tears on court
Djokovic, 39, suffered from illness throughout the match and even had to halt proceedings to vomit in a towel bin. The match, which was the longest opening round of a Grand Slam in Djokovic's career, saw the Serb in tears during the deciding set.
It was the first time in Djokovic's career that he had been defeated in the first round of the Slam he's won four times. His early elimination is not only a far cry from his peak years in the sport, but even over the past year. The 39-year-old has reached the semi-final or final in six of his last eight Grand Slam appearances.
Agassi's warning
However, the steep, rapid decline among older athletes at the highest level of sport is something eight-time major champion Agassi had warned Djokovic about. Speaking on the Amazon documentary Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter, the former American tennis star said: "I don't know when the end will come for Novak, but the one thing I can say is that the end, when it does come, always comes fast. I would hope for him that he doesn't wait for too long, not because he can't win anymore, but because tennis takes your childhood.
"But then it gives you a chance to be done with your success so that you can raise your children without the preoccupations."
Djokovic himself admitted in the documentary that he can no longer dedicate himself fully to tennis because of his family obligations. He said: "There are days when I feel like I'm the best. There are days when I am doubting myself a lot.
"Then I'm questioning whether you know, I can keep up with the level of the best guys. But I cannot be dedicated to tennis 100 per cent. It's not my life anymore. I need to be the husband, the father, I need to be all of the other things."
Gracious in defeat
Djokovic was gracious in defeat and refused to lessen the significance of Navone's victory, despite his noticeable issues on the court. He said after the match: "I think it was obvious that it was an awful feeling on the court for me. I don't want to take too much out of Mariano's win. Congrats to him, he's a nice guy and a fighter - but I didn't enjoy myself."
The tennis legend's nausea appeared to be similar to the illness that affected him during his defeat by Thiago Agustin Tirante at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month. Djokovic admitted he's dealing with a "health condition" that has impacted him consistently throughout the year.
He said: "It's something that I have been carrying pretty much every match this year - vomiting, throwing up. And then my whole body starts to collapse basically, cramping and pain - the back just gave up in the end and shoulder, and I couldn't close it out."
