Novak Djokovic’s US Open title defence is over after Australian Alexei Popyrin produced the match of his life to upset the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
It was the 37-year-old’s earliest defeat in New York since 2006, when he was beaten by the man sitting in Popyrin’s box at Arthur Ashe, Lleyton Hewitt.
Popyrin was superb, with 15 aces and 50 winners. The 25-year-old came very close to Djokovic at Wimbledon in July, but after winning the Canadian Open, the biggest title of his career, he was even better with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory.
“It’s amazing,” Popyrin said. “I’ve made it to the third round about 15 times in my career, but I haven’t been able to make it to the fourth. To be able to do that against the best of all time… it’s a fantastic feeling.”
Popyrin was clearly superior to Djokovic, who put in a performance surprisingly riddled with errors. In particular, his serve was all over the place, with 15 double faults.
Australian Alexei Popyrin celebrates victory after earning a break point on Friday night
Djokovic has fun with the crowd as he plays against Alexei Popyrin on day five of the 2024 US Open
Australian Alexei Popyrin celebrates after winning a match against Serbian Novak Djokovic
A day after Carlos Alcaraz was eliminated here, the man who beat him in the Olympic gold medal match followed him out of the draw. It was a very emotional match in Paris and this week we may have seen the toll it took on both men.
This means Djokovic will go a season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2017, when he was hampered by an elbow injury.
She remains on 24 Grand Slam titles, equalling Margaret Court for the most ever. When she won here last year, her third Grand Slam of that season, it seemed a foregone conclusion that would put Court in the rearview mirror, perhaps even pushing her closer to 30.
But having been soundly beaten by Jannik Sinner in Australia, injured at Roland Garros, annihilated by Alcaraz at Wimbledon and then punished by the 28th seed here, it is looking increasingly likely that his Grand Slam tally will remain in the second round of the dozen.
Of great interest to New Yorkers is the impact this could have on the American challenge. With the bottom half of the draw completely exposed by this result, the American trio of Frances Tiafoe (who next plays Popyrin), Taylor Fritz and youngster Brandon Nakashima should all have a chance of reaching their first Grand Slam final.
What a tournament this is shaping up to be!
