Fils heads into US Open as leader of the French pack as Djokovic bows out

Djokovic, 39, struggled to maintain his balance and vomited on court during his loss in four hours and 36 minutes to the Argentine journeyman Mariano Navone.

It was Djokovic's earliest exit at one of the four Grand Slam tournaments in Melbourne, Paris,London and New York since he lost to Paul Goldstein at the Australian Open in 2006.

In the absence of world number one Jannik Sinner due to a knee problem and Carlos Alcaraz's return after a four month injury lay-off, Djokovic was among the contenders for the 2026 US Open title.

His removal opens up the draw in his section for the likes of Thomas Etcheverry and Jacob Fearnley to reach the third round where losers will collect $290,000 (€250,000).

Contender for 2026 US Open

Even before Djokovic's elimination on Sunday night, Fils was among the names tipped for the US Open trophy.

The 22-year-old's enhanced status followed a dazzling run to the title at the Cincinnati Masters which is considered one of the most prestigious championships on the ATP tour after the Grand Slam competitions.

The 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 win over Frances Tiafoe catapulted Fils 10 places up the ATP rankings to a career-high 11 in the world and a berth as 10th seed at the US Open.

"Purely based on his game and what he's offering, there are so many parts of his game that are an absolute problem for most of the players on earth – save Alcaraz and Sinner," said the 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick on his Served podcast.

'His physicality is absurd'

"If you can't take away time from Fils, you have a problem. His physicality is absurd. The serve is only going to get better. When his serve is firing, he makes the other player look stupid."

In his opening round,Fils will take on the unseeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas aiming to beat the formerFrench Open and Australian Open finalist for a sixth consecutive time.

"It's not going to be easy," Fils told the French broadcaster RTL on the eve of the clash with the 28-year-old who was ranked number three in the world for 11 weeks in 2021.

"He's a very, very good player. The fact that he's been in Grand Slam finals means it's going to be a difficult match. I know it's going to be a great battle. I just have to play well."

France's standard bearer

Fils enters the tournament as the standard bearer for French tennis.

Arthur Rinderknech, who reached the US Open second round following a four-set win over Sho Shimabukuro from Japan, is the only other seeded Frenchman of the 12 who entered the main draw.

Diane Parry will lead the four French female players in the main at the tournament. French tennis player Diane Parry won her first title on the WTA circuit in Monterrey in Mexico.

The 23-year-old will take on Viktorija Golubic from Switzerland on Monday night a few days after collecting her first title on the WTA circuit in Monterrey.

The 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 victory over the veteran Belgian Elise Mertens followed a run to the last eight at the WTA tournament in Cincinnati.

The success pushed her 19 places up the rankings to a career high 31.

"I couldn't have asked for anything better," said Parry after dispatching Mertens. "What's more, it's just before the US Open, so it's great to see that I'm managing to string together some good weeks and that I'm capable of going all the way in this sort of tournament and coming away with the trophy."