Serbia’s Novak Djokovic wipes his face against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin during their third round match of the US Open tennis tournament on Friday.
Julia Nihinson/AP
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Julia Nihinson/AP
NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic wasn’t being easy on himself when assessing his sluggish performance early in the US Open, pointing to his clumsy serve as a major reason his 2023 title defense unexpectedly ended in the third round.
“Honestly, I played some of the worst tennis I’ve ever played,” Djokovic said, just after midnight as Friday turned to Saturday. “Serve — worst ever.”
With 14 double faults, bringing his tournament total to 32, Djokovic was forced to bow out in a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to 28th seed Alexei Popyrin of Australia, another shock result at Flushing Meadows a night after Carlos Alcaraz was eliminated.
“It was just a bad match for me,” said the No. 2 seed Djokovic. “I wasn’t even close to my best. It’s not good to be in a state where you feel good physically, and of course you’re motivated because it’s a Grand Slam, but you can’t find your form. That’s it. The match fell apart, and I guess you have to accept that these tournaments happen.”
However, that doesn’t happen to him often.
Djokovic was, after all, trying to become the first player in tennis history to win 25 Grand Slam singles titles. Instead, after knee surgery in June, he ended the year without winning at least one major for the first time since 2017. Before that, he hadn’t won since 2010.
Australia’s Alexei Popyrin reacts to Novak Djokovic during their third round match at the US Open tennis tournament on Friday.
Julia Nihinson/AP
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Julia Nihinson/AP
Also worth noting: 2024 will be the first season since 2002 that none of the Big Three men’s tennis players — Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer — have won a Grand Slam title.
The third-round exit was also Djokovic’s worst performance at Flushing Meadows; the only other times he has been beaten that early at the US Open were in 2005 and 2006. The man who beat Djokovic 18 years ago, International Tennis Hall of Fame member Lleyton Hewitt, is now captain of Australia’s Davis Cup team and was sitting in the Popyrin visitors’ section at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Djokovic, 37, has reached the Ashe final 10 times and won the title in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023.
However, on Friday he appeared slow and bored, perhaps tired after winning Serbia’s first Olympic gold medal by beating Alcaraz in the final at the Paris Games in early August.
“Obviously it worked,” Djokovic said. “I put a lot of energy into winning the gold medal, and I came to New York not feeling well mentally and physically. But because it was the US Open, I tried and gave it my all. I mean, I didn’t have any physical problems. I just felt out of breath. And you could see that in the way I played.”
Third seed Alcaraz entered the US Open as the favourite to win the title after winning the French Open and Wimbledon, and admitted his energy was lower than he realised after being eliminated by world No. 74 Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday night.
According to BetMGM Sportsbook, Djokovic then replaced Alcaraz as the favorite to win the men’s title, but the title did not last long.
For Popyrin, 25, it was a real breakthrough: He had a 0-3 record against Djokovic and 0-6 in third-round matches at major tournaments.
But the powerful-serving Popyrin is playing better than ever having won the biggest title of his career less than three weeks ago at a hard-court tournament in Montreal, where he recorded five wins over opponents ranked in the top 20.
Everything is against Djokovic.
Popyrin was superb at the net, hitting 10 of 10 serves and volleys and 25 of 36 points overall when he came up. Djokovic, by contrast, won only 19 of 40 points at the net, in part because Popyrin kept missing shots past him.
Popyrin hit powerful shots with his forehand, winning 22 of his 50 decisive points with that shot.
And he broke Djokovic five times, including for a 3-2 lead in the fourth. It felt like a giant match, lasting more than 10 minutes and including four break opportunities for Popyrin, who converted the last with an inside-out forehand to end a 22-shot exchange, then rocked back on his heels, clenched both fists and screamed. He also won Djokovic’s next serve, to make it 5-2.
The first time Popyrin served for a winner, he faltered, allowing Djokovic to break. The second time, Popyrin finished the serve, holding good position as Djokovic hit a forehand long.
Popyrin will now try to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal by overcoming No. 20 Frances Tiafoe, who won 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 against No. 13 Ben Shelton in a match between two Americans.
“If he serves well, plays well, he can beat anybody,” Djokovic said of Popyrin. “Look, Alcaraz is out. So am I. Some big surprises. The match is open.”
