Down Goes Djokovic: Alexei Popyrin Shocks Defending Champion At US Open

NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic did not go easy on himself when assessing the listless way he performed from the start of the U.S. Open, pointing to his sloppy serving as the main reason the defense of his 2023 title surprisingly ended in the third round.

“I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly,” Djokovic said, just after midnight as Friday turned to Saturday. “Serving — by far — the worst ever.”

With 14 double-faults, raising his tournament total to 32, Djokovic bowed out with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to 28th-seeded Alexei Popyrin of Australia, another shocking result at Flushing Meadows one night after 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz exited.

It’s only the third time in the Open era that two of the top three men’s seeds at the U.S. Open are gone before the fourth round; the other instances were in 1973 and 2000.

“It was just an awful match for me,” No. 2 Djokovic said. “I wasn’t playing even close to my best. It’s not good to be in that kind of state where you feel OK physically, and of course you’re motivated because it’s a Grand Slam, but you just are not able to find your game. That’s it. The game is falling apart, and I guess you have to accept that tournaments like this happen.”

Not often for him, though.

After all, Djokovic was trying to become the first player in tennis history with 25 Grand Slam singles titles. Instead, after knee surgery in June, he finishes 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 now becomes the first season since 2002 in which none of the Big Three of men’s tennis — Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer — earned a Slam trophy.

The third-round exit equals