NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) – Novak Djokovic is not taking it easy when assessing his disappointing start to the U.S. Open, pointing to his poor position as the main reason his 2023 title defense surprisingly ended in the third round. .
“I’ve played some of the worst tennis I’ve ever played, to be honest,” Djokovic said, after midnight as Friday turned into Saturday.
With 14 double faults, increasing his tournament total to 32, Djokovic fell to a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to 28th seed Alexei Popyrin of Australia, another shock result at Flushing Meadows one. the night after 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz exited.
This is only the third time in the Open era that two of the top three men’s seeds at the US Open have been eliminated before the fourth round; other incidents occurred in 1973 and 2000.
“It was just a terrible match for me,” said the No. 2 Djokovic. “I didn’t play close to the best. It’s not good that kind of country where you feel OK physically, and of course you’re motivated because it’s a Grand Slam, but you just can’t find your game. That’s it. The game falls apart, and I think you should accept a tournament like this.
Not often for him, though.
After all, Djokovic is trying to become the first player in tennis history with 25 Grand Slam singles titles. However, after knee surgery in June, he completed a year without claiming at least one major championship for the first time since 2017. Before that, it hadn’t happened since 2010.
Also of note: 2024 is now the first season since 2002 that none of the Big Three of men’s tennis – Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – have won a Slam trophy.
In the third round out the same as Djokovic’s worst show in Flushing Meadows; the only other occasion he was defeated early in the US Open was in 2005 and 2006. The man who beat Djokovic 18 years ago, member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame Lleyton Hewitt, is now the captain of Australia’s Davis Cup and is sitting in Popyrin’s guest box. at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Djokovic, Popyrin said, “doesn’t play the best tennis; I’m waiting for him to step up.”
“I don’t want it to be one of those times where Novak goes ahead and comes back from two sets-to-love,” Popyrin said. “It went over my head.”
Djokovic, who is 37 years old, has reached the final at Ashe 10 times, leaving the title in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023.
On Friday, however, he was weak and emotional, possibly tired after collecting Serbia’s first Olympic gold medal by defeating Alcaraz in the final at the Paris Games earlier in August.
“Obviously, it has an impact,” Djokovic said. “I used a lot of energy to win the gold, and I came to New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically. But because this is the US Open, I tried and tried my best. I mean, I didn’t have any physical problems. I just felt out of gas .And you can see it in the way I play.
Alcaraz, the No. 3 seed, entered the US Open as the tournament favorite after wins at the French Open and Wimbledon, and admitted her energy was lower than expected after being eliminated by 74th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-1, 7-5. , 6-4 Friday night.
“I woke up in the morning and immediately showed my girlfriend, I was surprised. It was crazy. The result was like that,” said Popyrin, who never stepped foot in the playground with a capacity of 23,000 more than Ashe until about 20 minutes before against Djokovic. “I thought to myself: Why not me today?”
Djokovic replaced Alcaraz as the money pick to take the men’s title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, but that status didn’t last long. Now the only US Open men’s champion left before Week 1 ends is Daniil Medvedev, whose only Slam title comes in 2021. He plays No. 31 Flavio Cobolli on Saturday in the third round.
For the 25-year-old Popyrin, this represents a real breakthrough: He is 0-3 against Djokovic – including losses at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year – and 0-6 in third-round matches at majors.
But the powerful Popyrin is playing like he is today, claiming the biggest title of his career less than three weeks ago at a hard-court tournament in Montreal, where he won five against opponents ranked in the top 20.
Everything works against Djokovic.
Popyrin was excellent at the net, going 10-for-10 on serve-and-volley approaches and 25-for-36 overall on points when she went forward. Djokovic, in contrast, only won points on 19 of 40 trips to the net, partly because Popyrin kept flipping shots past him.
Popyrin took the big slice with a powerful forehand, collecting 22 of his total of 50 winners with the shot.
And he broke Djokovic five times, including for a 3-2 lead in the fourth. The game felt titanic, lasted more than 10 minutes and included four opportunities to break for Popyrin, who changed the end with an inside forehand to close the 22-stroke exchange, then rocked back on his heels, clenched both fists and let out a roar. He also took Djokovic’s next service game, making it 5-2.
The first time Popyrin served in the match, he faltered, allowing Djokovic to break. For the second time, Popyrin finished the deal, holding to love when Djokovic sent a forehand long.
Now Popyrin will try to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating 20th seed Frances Tiafoe, who advanced on 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 Americans.
“If he does well, plays well, he can beat anybody,” Djokovic said of Popyrin. “Look, Alcaraz came out. I went out. Some big upsets. The draw is open.”
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