Djokovic feels the heat in Cincinnati opening defeat

24-time Grand Slam Champion Novak Djokovic was stunned 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 by Argentina's Thiago Augustin Tirante at the Cincinnati Open on Saturday.

Although the veteran put up a good fight despite ailing physically, it may prove to be his last appearance at the tournament he has previously won three times.

The second-round battle lasting more than two and a half hours was the first match for the 39-year-old since he lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals more than a month ago.

Djokovic, who last won the Cincinnati Open in 2023, claimed the opening set with little fuss.

He won a brutal 18-minute third game of the second set, saving four break points over nine deuces but bent over in distress between points and even dropped to his hands and knees after one particularly gruelling exchange.

The Serb took a medical timeout after that game, with the physio and then a doctor coming on court to assist with assessments and ice towels.

After Tirante took the second set, both players cooled off in the locker room.

Slightly revived, Djokovic set the pace again in the deciding set.

But it all went wrong in the ninth game, when the former world No 1 saved three break points before getting it wrong on a drop shot to bring up a fourth break chance that his opponent converted.

Tirante clinched the biggest win of his career in the next game as Djokovic again failed to land a drop shot on match point.

Djokovic, who must now try to regroup before the US Open starts on August 30, admitted he might have played his last match in Cincinnati.

"It looks like I won't be back, unfortunately to play here," he said, confirming that the sweltering weather got the better of him.

"It was a combination of the heat and humidity, all those things," he said.

"Everything involved makes it worse."