NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic was not kind to himself when he assessed the lackluster way in which he performed from the start US Openpointing to his sloppy play as the main reason his 2023 title defense surprisingly ended in the third round.
“I honestly played some of the worst tennis I’ve ever played,” Djokovic said, just after midnight as Friday turned into Saturday. “By far the worst serve I’ve ever played.”
With 14 double faults, taking his tournament total to 32, Djokovic was forced to retire with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to 28th-seeded Alexei Popyrin of Australia in another shock result at Flushing Meadows, a night after Carlos Alcaraz to leave.
“It was just a terrible match for me,” said the second-seeded Djokovic. “I didn’t play anywhere near my best game. It’s not good to be in that state where you’re physically okay, and of course you’re motivated because it’s a Grand Slam, but you’re just not able to find your game. That’s it. The game is falling apart, and I think you have to accept that tournaments like this happen.”
For him, that is not often the case.
Djokovic, after all, was attempting to become the first player in tennis history to win 25 Grand Slam singles titles. Instead, following knee surgery in June, he ends 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 will now be the first season since 2002 in which none of the three major men’s tennis players — Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer — have won a Grand Slam trophy.
The third-round exit is Djokovic’s worst performance at Flushing Meadows; the only other times he was defeated so early at the US Open were in 2005 and 2006. The man Djokovic defeated 18 years ago, International Tennis Hall of Fame member Lleyton Hewitt, now captains Australia in the Davis Cup and was sitting in Popyrin’s guest box at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 37-year-old Djokovic has reached the final in Ashe ten times, winning the title in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023.
However, on Friday he was listless and emotionally flat, perhaps due to residual fatigue after picking up his first Olympic gold medal for Serbia by beating Alcaraz in the final of the Olympic Games in Paris earlier in August.
“It definitely had an effect,” Djokovic said. “I put a lot of energy into winning the gold, and I arrived in New York not feeling mentally and physically fresh. But because it’s the US Open, I tried and I did my best. I mean, I didn’t have any physical problems. I just felt exhausted. And you could see that in the way I played.”
The third-seeded Alcaraz entered the US Open as a tournament favorite after winning the French Open and Wimbledon and acknowledged his energy was lower than he realized after he was knocked out by number 74 Botic van de Zandschulp with 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday evening.
Djokovic then replaced Alcaraz as the money-line pick to win the men’s title, according to BetMGM Sports Bettingbut that status did not last long.
For the 25-year-old Popyrin this means a real breakthrough: against Djokovic he had won 0-3 and in the third round of the majors 0-6.
But the powerful Popyrin is still playing as well as ever. Less than three weeks ago, he won the biggest title of his career at a hardcourt tournament in Montreal, where he won five times against opponents ranked in the top 20.
Djokovic had everything against him.
Popyrin was superb at the net, taking 10 out of 10 serve-and-volleys and winning 25 of the 36 points overall when he pushed forward. Djokovic, on the other hand, won the point on only 19 of his 40 trips to the net, partly because Popyrin kept throwing passing shots past him.
Popyrin made big cuts with his powerful forehand, hitting 22 of his 50 winners with that stroke.
And he broke Djokovic five times, including a 3-2 lead in the fourth. That game felt huge, lasting more than 10 minutes and featuring four break chances for Popyrin, who converted the last with an inside-out forehand to cap a 22-shot exchange, then fell back on his heels, clenched both fists and let out a howler. He also took Djokovic’s next service game, to make it 5-2.
The first time Popyrin served for the match, he faltered, allowing Djokovic to break. The second time, Popyrin sealed the deal, holding at love when Djokovic sent a forehand long.
Now Popyrin will try to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal by No. 20 Frances Tiafoewho advanced on Friday with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 13 Ben Shelton in a match between two Americans.
“If he serves well, plays well, he can beat anyone,” Djokovic said of Popyrin. “Look, Alcaraz is out. I’m out. A few big surprises. The draw is getting wider.”
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
