By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, August 15, 2026
Photo credit: Cincinnati Open Facebook
A frenetic two-hour, 40-minute fire fight left Novak Djokovic battling on licorice legs and defiant spirit.
Deadlocked at 4-all, Djokovic lost his touch—and ultimately the match.
Netting a pair of drop shots, Djokovic ceded the crucial break.
Thiago Agustin Tirante threw down his fifth love hold toppling the third-seeded Djokovic, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a steamy Cincinnati Open thriller today.
Playing his first match since bowing to No. 1 Jannik Siner, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the Wimbledon semifinals last month, Djokovic fought valiantly and faced a sticky wall of humidity as well as a laser forehand and rocket serve coming from Tirante, who upset Taylor Fritz in Montreal last week.
A wild two hour, 44-minute had some serious moment shifts—Djokovic won five games in a row at one point and the Argentinean reeled off 24 straight points on serve in one stretch—before Tirante cracked a dazzling crosscourt running forehand followed by an ace for triple match point.
Tirante snapped Djokovic’s 10-match Cincinnati winning streak spoiling the Grand Slam king’s comeback on the day he equaled Feliciano Lopez’s record for most ATP Masters 1000 appearances (139).
The match saw the 39-year-old Serbian superstar save 13 of 15 break points, take a medical timeout in the second set, absorb a passing shot body blow that glanced his rib cage and drop to his hands in knees in apparent exhaustion at one point.
Across the net, the 25-year-old Tirante kept calm scoring his biggest win to improve to 4-1 lifetime vs. Top 10 opponents.
World No. 50 Tirante will face Martin Landaluce in the third round of a Cincinnati draw that’s now a field of open opportunity. The last three Cincinnati Open men’s champions—2025 champion Carlos Alcaraz, 2024 champion Jannik Sinner and 2023 champion Djokovic—are out.
Meanwhile, Djokovic’s quest for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam crown hit another bump in the road. Unless Djokovic enters Winston-Salem, he will arrive at the US Open with just one tune-up match on North American hard courts with questions about his stamina emerging as he gasped for air at times on a steamy day today. Can Djokovic, who won his last major at the 2023 US Open, overcome his lack of match play and potentially exploit a Flushing Meadows major field that could be missing Sinner and/or Alcaraz?
A deep leg drive and elastic arm empower Tirante to torch first serves in the 140 mile-an-hour range.
In the sixth game, Tirante served up a horrid five straight faults to face double break point. The Argentinean compounded that unsightly stretch pushing a drop shot into net to gift-wrap the break and a 4-2 lead to Djokovic.
Three-time champion Djokovic was down double break point in the next game, but locked it down from the baseline. Unleashing a series of heavy forehands, Djokovic denied the first break point then hit a barrage of diagonal forehands to erase the second.
Though Tirante was bringing heat on serve and forehand—he was credited with a 119 forehand rocket to save a set point—the depth of Djokovic’s drives were unsettling.
Hitting off his back foot, the Argentinean shoveled a shot deep to face a third set point. Djokovic blocked a backhand return deep and Tirante launched a forehand long.
The Olympic gold-medal champion seized his fourth game in a row for a one-set lead after 44 minutes of play. Djokovic won 14 of 19 points played on Tirante’s second serve in the first set.
Rust was evident as Djokovic dumped a couple of double faults to start the second set.
In a punishing 18-minute, 40-second hold, Djokovic was hunched over several times gulping air and looking spent. The longest game of the tournament spanned 24 points and featured nine deuce points before Djokovic finally came through a tortuous hold for 2-1.
Afterward, Djokovic, who looked like he was about to be ill in his towel, took a three-minute medical timeout for apparent heat-related illness. Ice towels were on the Serbian’s legs as he sat back in his court-side seat like a boxer on his stool before rising to resume the match.
Playing just his 20th match of the season, Djokovic was pacing slowly behind the baseline, dropping to a crouch after some points and even fall to his hands and knees at one point.
A reeling Djokovic dumped two double faults in a row and later hit his third double fault of the game. Still, Djokovic, who had denied all 10 break points by then, laced an ace holding for 3-2.
An unrelenting Tirante was finding his forehand with more frequency making his 39-year-old opponent work in gaining his 11th break point of the match. Djokovic double faulted into the tape to cede the break and a 4-3 lead to Tirante.
Despite the medical timeout, his struggles to break, Djokovic’s depleted status and the sweltering humidity, Tirante remained locked in on the mission.
How focused was Tirante?
Tirante tore through 20 points in a row on serve stamping four straight love holds. Tirante torched his third game-ending ace to take the second set and force a decider after one hour, 51 minutes.
Both men left the court for clothing changes.
Tension escalated as the pair traded convincing holds in the seventh and eighth games.
Serving at 4-all, Djovic snapped a smash to save a second break point.
Credit Tirante for holding his ground in a rapid-fire toe-to-toe exchange that spanned 17 shots before Djokovic netted forehand to face a third break point. Hammering a massive inside-out forehand, Djokovic saved break point.
Faulty feel cost the former No. 1 the break. Djokovic netted successive drop shots wrapping the break and a 5-4 lead to his opponent.
A streaking Tirante lasered that running forehand followed by his 13th ace for triple match point. When Djokovic’s return sailed, Tirante had his biggest win.
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