Novak Djokovic of Serbia wipes his face towards Alexei Popyrin of Australia throughout a 3rd spherical match of the U.S. Open tennis championships on Friday.
Julia Nikhinson/AP
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Julia Nikhinson/AP
NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic didn’t go straightforward on himself when assessing the listless means he carried out from the beginning of the U.S. Open, pointing to his sloppy serving as the principle motive the protection of his 2023 title surprisingly ended within the third spherical.
“I’ve performed among the worst tennis I’ve ever performed, truthfully,” Djokovic said, just after midnight as Friday turned to Saturday. “Serving — by far — the worst ever.”
With 14 double-faults, raising his tournament total to 32, Djokovic bowed out with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to 28th-seeded Alexei Popyrin of Australia, another shocking result at Flushing Meadows one night after Carlos Alcaraz exited.
“It was just an awful match for me,” the No. 2-seeded Djokovic stated. “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. That’s it. The game is falling apart, and I guess you have to accept that tournaments like this happen.”
Not usually for him, although.
In any case, Djokovic was making an attempt to change into the primary participant in tennis historical past with 25 Grand Slam singles titles. As an alternative, after knee surgical procedure in June, he finishes a 12 months with out claiming at the very least one main championship for the primary time since 2017. Earlier than that, it hadn’t occurred since 2010.
Alexei Popyrin of Australia reacts towards Novak Djokovic throughout a 3rd spherical match of the U.S. Open tennis championships on Friday.
Julia Nikhinson/AP
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Julia Nikhinson/AP
Additionally of word: 2024 now turns into the primary season since 2002 through which not one of the Huge Three of males’s tennis — Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer — earned a Slam trophy.
The third-round exit equals Djokovic’s worst exhibiting at Flushing Meadows; the one different events he was overwhelmed that early on the U.S. Open got here in 2005 and 2006. The person who defeated Djokovic 18 years in the past, Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame member Lleyton Hewitt, is now Australia’s Davis Cup captain and was sitting in Popyrin’s visitor field in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Djokovic, who’s 37, has reached the ultimate in Ashe 10 instances, leaving with the title in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023.
On Friday, although, he was sluggish and emotionally flat, maybe residual fatigue after gathering his first Olympic gold medal for Serbia by beating Alcaraz within the remaining on the Paris Video games earlier in August.
“Obviously, it had an effect,” Djokovic stated. “I spent a lot of energy winning the gold, and I did arrive to New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically. But because it’s the U.S. Open, I gave it a shot and I tried my best. I mean, I didn’t have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas. And you could see that with the way I played.”
The No. 3-seeded Alcaraz entered the U.S. Open because the event favourite having gained the French Open and Wimbledon, and acknowledged his power was decrease than he realized after getting eradicated by 74th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday night time.
Djokovic then changed Alcaraz because the money-line choose to take the lads’s title, in accordance with BetMGM Sportsbook, however that standing didn’t final lengthy in any respect.
For the 25-year-old Popyrin, this represents an actual breakthrough: He had been 0-3 towards Djokovic and 0-6 in third-round matches at majors.
However the strong-serving Popyrin is enjoying in addition to ever, coming off the most important title of his profession lower than three weeks in the past at a hard-court event in Montreal, the place he picked up 5 wins towards opponents ranked within the high 20.
Every little thing was working towards Djokovic.
Popyrin was terrific on the web, going 10 for 10 on serve-and-volley approaches and 25 for 36 general on factors when he pushed ahead. Djokovic, in distinction, solely gained the purpose on 19 of his 40 journeys to the online, partly as a result of Popyrin stored flipping passing pictures by him.
Popyrin took large cuts together with his highly effective forehand, accumulating 22 of his 50 whole winners with that shot.
And he broke Djokovic 5 instances, together with for a lead of 3-2 within the fourth. That sport felt titanic, lasting greater than 10 minutes and together with 4 break probabilities for Popyrin, who transformed the final with an inside-out forehand to shut a 22-stroke change, then rocked again on his heels, clenched each fists and set free a roar. He took Djokovic’s subsequent service sport, too, to make it 5-2.
The primary time Popyrin served for the match, he faltered, permitting Djokovic to interrupt. The second time, Popyrin completed the deal, holding at love when Djokovic despatched a forehand lengthy.
Now Popyrin will attempt to attain his first Grand Slam quarterfinal by getting previous No. 20 Frances Tiafoe, who superior Friday with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 13 Ben Shelton in a matchup between two Individuals.
“If he serves well, plays well, he can beat anybody,” Djokovic stated about Popyrin. “Look, Alcaraz is out. I’m out. Some big upsets. The draw is opening up.”
