Novak Djokovic’s US Open title defence is over after Australia’s Alexei Popyrin produced the match of his life to stun the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
It was the 37-year-old’s earliest defeat in New York since 2006, when he was beaten by the man sitting in Popyrin’s box on Arthur Ashe, Lleyton Hewitt. Djokovic’s withering self-assessment was: ‘I played some of the worst tennis I have ever played.’
Popyrin was superb, hitting 15 aces and 50 winners. The 25-year-old ran Djokovic close at Wimbledon in July but, after winning the Canada Open for the biggest title of his career, he went one better with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory.
‘It’s unbelievable,’ said Popyrin. ‘I’ve been to the third round about 15 times in my career but I havent been able to get to the fourth. To be able to do it against the greatest of all time…it’s a great feeling.’
Popyrin was clearly superior to Djokovic, who gave a startlingly error-strewn performance. His serve in particular was all over the place, with 15 double faults.
Australia’s Alexei Popyrin celebrates winning a break point on Friday night
Djokovic works the crowd while playing Alexei Popyrin on day five of the 2024 U.S. Open
‘Honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round is a success,’ said Djokovic. ‘I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, serving by far the worst ever.
‘If you play on a quick surface like this without the serve, without ability to win free points there, many double faults, then you can’t win. You can’t win, especially against guys who are in form like Alexei who is serving big, puts a lot of pressure on your service game. Yeah, it was just an awful match for me.’
One day after Carlos Alcaraz was knocked out here, the man who beat him in the Olympic gold medal match followed him out of the draw. That was a hugely emotional match in Paris and this week we have perhaps seen the toll it took on both men.
‘I spent a lot of energy winning the gold, and I did arrive to New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically,’ admitted Djokovic.
‘But because it’s US Open, I gave it a shot and I tried my best. I didn’t have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas and you could see that with the way I played.
‘It was really a big struggle mentally for me to play these three matches here, because I wasn’t playing even close to my best. It’s not good to be in that kind of state where you feel OK physically, and of course you’re motivated because it’s a Grand Slam, but you just are not able to find your game. The game is falling apart, and I guess you have to accept that tournaments like this happen.
‘You could argue that it’s because of the Olympics but I don’t know. I don’t want to analyse that right now. I was just looking to really improve my game here on a daily basis, but it just didn’t happen.’
Australia’s Alexei Popyrin celebrates after winning a game against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic plays a backhand return against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic congratulates Australia’s Alexei Popyrin after his defeat
This means Djokovic will go through a season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2017, when he was hobbled by an elbow injury.
He remains on 24 Grand Slams, level with Margaret Court for the most in history. When he won here last year, his third major of that season, it seemed a foregone conclusion he would go on to leave Court in his rear-view mirror, perhaps even push on towards 30.
But after he was soundly beaten by Jannik Sinner in Australia, injured at Roland Garros, annihilated by Alcaraz in Wimbledon and then schooled by the No28 seed here, it is becoming increasingly likely his Slam count will remain at the round two-dozen.
Of great interest to the locals here in New York is the impact this could potentially have on the American challenge. With the bottom half of the drawn blown wide open by this result, the US trio of Frances Tiafoe – he plays Popyrin next – Taylor Fritz and young Brandon Nakashima should each fancy his chances of making a first Grand Slam final.
What a tournament this is shaping up to be.
