NEW YORK.- Novak Djokovic He was not kind to himself when assessing his lackluster performance since the start of the US Open. He considered his poor serve to be the main reason why the defence of his 2023 title surprisingly ran aground in the third round.
“I played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly,” the Serb said in the opening minutes of Saturday. “On serve, yes, worse than ever.”
With 14 double faults, which raised his total in the competition to 32, the reigning champion succumbed in the US Open on Friday, one night after Carlos Alcaraz was eliminated.
The Serbian fell 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to Australian Alexei Popyrin (28th seed).
“It was just an ugly match for me,” Djokovic said. “I didn’t play anywhere near my best. It’s not good to be in that situation when you feel good physically and certainly when you’re motivated because it’s a Grand Slam, but you just can’t find your game, that’s how it is. The game is falling apart and I guess I have to accept that there are tournaments like that.”
It is not very common in him.
Djokovic (2nd) was trying to become the first player in history with 25 Grand Slam titles, to extend his record. Instead, after undergoing knee surgery in June, he ends the year without winning at least one major, something that last happened to him in 2017.
Before that, it hadn’t happened since 2010.
Another statistical note: 2024 will be the first year since 2002 that none of the Big Three of tennis — Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer — will win a Grand Slam trophy.
The third-round exit equals Djokovic’s worst performance at Flushing Meadows. The only other time he was eliminated so early was in 2005 and 2006.
Lleyton Hewitt, the man who defeated him 18 years ago, is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, captain of Australia’s Davis Cup team and sat in Popyrin’s box at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Djokovic, 37, has reached 10 finals at the Ashe Stadium, winning the title in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023.
The weight of Olympic gold
But on Friday he looked even lacking in emotional intensity. Perhaps it was fatigue, after winning his first Olympic gold medal with Serbia, beating Alcaraz earlier this month in Paris.
“Obviously that had an effect,” he admitted. “I put a lot of energy into winning gold and I did arrive in New York feeling unrefreshed, physically and emotionally.”
Popyrin will face Frances Tiafoe, who beat Ben Shelton in an all-American duel 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3.
German Alexander Zverev (4th seed) advanced to the round of 16 after winning four hours against Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry at 2:35 in the morning. His next opponent will be American Brandon Nakashima.
Meanwhile, Argentine Francisco Comesaña said goodbye to the competition after losing 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to local Taylor Fritz (12th), who will now face Norwegian Casper Ruud (8th).
The first men’s matchup to be decided for the fourth round was that of Russian Andrey Rublev (6th) against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (9th).
