Novak Djokovic OUT of the US Open in shocking defeat to Alexei Popyrin to conclude first year with no Grand Slam victory since 2017

Novak Djokovic did not defend his US Open title after Australian Alexei Popyrin played the match of his life, surprising the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

It was the 37-year-old’s first defeat in New York since 2006, when he was beaten by the man who was in Popyrin’s box on Arthur Ashe, Lleyton Hewitt. Djokovic’s scathing self-assessment was: “I played some of the worst tennis I’ve ever played.”

Popyrin was superior, with 15 aces and 50 winners. The 25-year-old nearly overtook Djokovic 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,” Popyrin said. “I’ve been to the third round about 15 times in my career, but I’ve never made it to the fourth. To be able to do it against the greatest of all time… it’s an amazing feeling.”

Popyrin was clearly superior to Djokovic, who produced a surprisingly flawless performance. His serve in particular was all over the place, with 15 double faults.

Australian Alexei Popyrin celebrates winning a break point on Friday night

Djokovic plays to the crowd during his match against Alexei Popyrin on day five of the 2024 US Open

“Honestly, considering how I felt and how I played from the beginning of this tournament, the third round is a success,” Djokovic said. “I played some of the worst tennis I’ve ever played, and served by far the worst I’ve ever served.

‘When you play on a fast court like this without the service, without the possibility to win free points there, a lot of double faults, you can’t win. You can’t win, especially against guys who are in shape like Alexei who serves hard, puts a lot of pressure on your service game. Yeah, it was just a terrible 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 may have seen what it cost both men.

“I put a lot of energy into winning gold, but when I arrived in New York I didn’t feel fresh mentally and physically,” Djokovic admitted.

“But because it’s the US Open, I tried and I did my best. I didn’t have any physical problems. I just felt exhausted and you could see it in the way I played.

“It was really a big mental battle for me to play these three matches here, because I didn’t even come close to my best game. It’s not good to be in that state where you feel physically okay, and of course you’re motivated because it’s a Grand Slam, but you’re just not able to find your game. The game falls apart, and I think you have to accept that tournaments like this happen.

“You could say it’s because of the Olympics, but I don’t know. I don’t want to analyze that now. I just wanted to improve my game here every day, but it just didn’t happen.”

Australian Alexei Popyrin celebrates his victory over Serbian 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 that Djokovic will go a season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2017, when he was struggling with an elbow injury.

He still has 24 Grand Slams, tied with Margaret Court for the most in history. When he won here last year, his third major of the season, it seemed a foregone conclusion that he would leave Court in his rear-view mirror, perhaps even push on to 30.

But after being soundly defeated by Jannik Sinner in Australia, being injured at Roland Garros, being defeated by Alcaraz at Wimbledon and being trained here by the number 28, it is becoming increasingly likely that he will reach the second and third rounds of a Grand Slam.

Of great importance to the locals here in New York is the impact this could potentially have on the American challenge. With the bottom half of the draw now wide open with this result, American trio Frances Tiafoe – he plays Popyrin next – Taylor Fritz and youngster Brandon Nakashima should both fancy their chances of reaching a first Grand Slam final.

What a tournament this is going to be.

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