Alexei Popyrin Stuns Olympic Champion Novak Djokovic At US Open 2024 to Enter Round Of 16

New Delhi: Novak Djokovic was handed a shock exit by Alexei Popyrin as the Serbian lost 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in his Round of 32 clash in the US Open on Saturday. Coming from winning Olympic gold in Paris, defending champion Djokovic struggled with fatigue against the Australian 28th seed. This is also the first time Popyrin reached the Round of 16 of any Grand Slam.

The No. 2-seeded Djokovic was trying to become the first player in tennis history with 25 Grand Slam singles titles. Instead, 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 Djokovic’s worst showing at Flushing Meadows; the only other occasions he was beaten that early at the U.S. Open came in 2005 and 2006.

The man who defeated Djokovic 18 years ago, International Tennis Hall of Fame member Lleyton Hewitt, is now Australia’s Davis Cup captain and was sitting in Popyrin’s guest box in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Djokovic, who is 37, has reached the final in Ashe 10 times, leaving with the title in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023.

On Friday, though, he double-faulted 14 times and looked physically sluggish and emotionally flat, perhaps residual fatigue after collecting his first Olympic gold medal for Serbia by beating Alcaraz in the final at the Paris Games earlier in August.

The No. 3-seeded Alcaraz entered the U.S. Open as the tournament favorite having won the French Open and Wimbledon, and acknowledged his energy was lower than he realized after getting eliminated in New York by 74th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday night.

With AP Inputs