The bonfire of the seeds continued at the US Open as four-time champion Novak Djokovic lost in four sets to the fast-rising Australian Alexei Popyrin.
It was the first time in seven years that Djokovic had failed to reach the second week of a slam, and his earliest exit from the US Open since 2006.
Even more tellingly, Popyrin’s 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win makes 2024 the first season when the “Big Three” men – Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – haven’t won a major since Federer originally opened his account at Wimbledon in 2003.
The statistic suggests that a 21-year era has just come to an end – although it would hardly be a surprise if Djokovic bounced back in January by winning the Australian Open for the 11th time.
Popyrin earned his victory with some bold and fearless shot-making, striking no fewer than 50 clean winners in the match. But he was also boosted by an indifferent performance from Djokovic, whose 14 double-faults were a career high (or low, depending on how you look at it).
“I played some of the worst tennis I ever played,” said Djokovic after the match. “My serving was by far the worst ever. If you play on a quick surface like this without a serve, you can’t win. It was just an awful match for me.”
The upshot is that, even before we have completed the third round in New York, two of the three big favourites for the title have already left the building. Of that top tier of players, only world No1 Jannik Sinner survives.
The previous faller was Carlos Alcaraz, reigning champion at both Wimbledon and Roland Garros, who had suffered a shocking loss to the Netherlands’ unheralded Botic van der Zandschulp on Thursday night.
Popyrin’s performance was not quite such a wild surprise as van der Zandschulp’s, because he had won his first Masters 1000 event only three weeks ago in Montreal.
We knew that he was a dangerous player, with a massive serve that has clocked 150mph and a big forehand to back it up. And we also knew that Djokovic might struggle to deliver his usual intensity, having achieved a career high by winning his first Olympic gold medal in Paris four weeks ago.
Even so, it was still difficult to compute that Djokovic could lose a third-round match at a slam, simply because this has happened so rarely. He came in with a 65-5 win-loss record in these last-32 matches.
As for Popyrin, he had never won a third-round match at a major before, despite six previous attempts. Neither had he ever beaten Djokovic, despite having taken him to four sets at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open earlier this year.
The difference this time was in Djokovic’s level. Asked whether the Olympics had left him suffering from burn-out, Djokovic replied: “It obviously had an effect, I spent a lot of energy winning the gold. I arrived in New York not feeling fresh mentally and physically. I just felt out of gas, and from the very beginning of my first match I couldn’t find myself at all on this court.”
While Djokovic competed respectably from the baseline, he never took control in the manner we have become used to seeing. Popyrin got away with floating a lot of soft backhand chips back over the net without being punished for the lack of pace on the ball.
It was a smart strategy, allowing Popyrin to build rallies gradually before pouncing whenever he had a chance to set himself for a huge forehand swing. He also did a brilliant job of running down drop shots and drop volleys, which took away Djokovic’s usual mastery of the net.
Popyrin is now due to face home hope Frances Tiafoe, who had outlasted fellow American Ben Shelton in an exhausting four-hour battle earlier in the day. After this latest upset, there will be a lot of men in the draw wondering if 2024 could be their year.
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