In a stunning turn of events at the US Open, defending champion Novak Djokovic was eliminated in the third round by 28th-seeded Australian Alexei Popyrin. The match ended with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, marking Djokovic’s earliest exit from the tournament since 2006.Djokovic, who had been aiming for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam singles title, described his performance as ‘terrible’ and ‘one of the worst tennis of my life’. The 37-year-old Serbian cited fatigue from his recent Olympic gold medal win in Paris as a contributing factor to his poor showing. ‘I spent a lot of energy winning the gold and arrived in New York without feeling fresh mentally and physically,’ Djokovic explained.This loss has significant implications for tennis history. It means 2024 will be the first year since 2017 that Djokovic hasn’t won a Grand Slam title, and more notably, the first time since 2002 that none of the ‘Big Three’ (Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer) have won a major title in a calendar year.Popyrin, who had never beaten Djokovic in their previous three meetings, played an impressive match. He went 10 for 10 on serve-and-volley approaches and accumulated 22 winners with his powerful forehand. The 25-year-old Australian will now face Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round.With both Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz (who was eliminated in the second round) out of the tournament, the US Open is now wide open. Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 champion, is now the highest-ranked player left in the competition. As Djokovic himself noted, ‘Anybody can take it’, setting the stage for an unpredictable and exciting conclusion to the tournament.
Key points
- Novak Djokovic was eliminated in the third round of the US Open by Alexei Popyrin, his earliest exit since 2006.
- Djokovic cited fatigue from his recent Olympic gold medal win as a factor in his poor performance.
- This marks the first year since 2002 that none of the ‘Big Three’ (Djokovic, Nadal, Federer) have won a Grand Slam title.
- The US Open is now wide open, with Daniil Medvedev as the highest-ranked player left in the competition.
