Upsets and Faith, and Djokovic at the Open

As tennis tournament matches go, neither Carolos Alcaraz vs. Borip van de Zandschulp nor Novak Djokovic vs. Alexei Popyrin was riveting.  Notwithstanding some moments of high form in these contests at the U.S. Open, you do not expect to see the second and third seeds lose in second rounds. Pursuing the other day’s theme in this space, they were upsets.

Less shocking, on the women’s side Madison Keys, strong in the first rounds, lost in the third to Elise Mertens, and two-time champion Naomi Osaka lost (in straight sets) to Karolina Muchova; but these can compare to what happened in the suddenly wide open men’s draw.

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2023 in a thrilling five set final, and repeated the feat this past July, just weeks after winning an epic five-set final against Alexander Zverev at Roland-Garros. He was U.S. Open winner in 2022, following thrillingly close wins over Jannik Sinner in the quarters and Frances Tiafoe in the semis.  At 19 and less than a half, he became the youngest no. 1 in recorded history. Djokovic, who has won the most majors (24), holds the record for most weeks as no. 1.

Stats are what they are worth.  Djokovic tore a knee ligament at Roland, which required surgery; quite remarkable therefore was his run to the final at Wimbledon, even if it was a poor match compared to the previous year’s.  He got his revenge just weeks later by beating the young Spaniard for the gold medal in men’s singles at the Paris Olympics.

Coco Gauff, who breezed through the first three rounds at Flushing Meadows in the form she displayed in winning here last year, commented on the two unexpected upsets.  Between them it’s “peak tennis,” she said; which is certainly true, with an inter-generational battle lurking under the contrasting styles, the younger man’s irresistible offense against the older man’s impregnable defense.  They are, she said, once-in-a-generation players. “and they’re playing each other on two different spectrums.”

Were they seeing each other in Alexei Popyrin and  Borip van de Zandschulp? Neither the 24-year-old Australian nor the 28 year old Dutchman can be compared in playing style to Alcaraz and Djokovic. Also, Popyrin, who won the Canadian Masters this year and is seeded 28 at the U.S. Open, presents, objectively, a greater challenge to Djokovic than van de Zandschulp presents to Alcaraz. But that is probably not what Miss Gauff has in mind. She means they know they are the best, and they want more wins than the other, no matter against whom and where they are playing.

There always comes an ebb after a flow, and both champs were about due for one. Alcaraz said he was “playing against myself” in the match, and he also said, just a fortnight earlier, after a burst of racket-smashing temper while losing to Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Masters, that he was playing the worst in his life.  Djokovic said the same of himself after losing to Popyrin. Ball players would know the feeling, say they are in slumps.

Djokovic made fourteen double faults in his match against the 28th ranked Popyrin; offhand no one sitting in the Ashe Stadium press bleachers could recall  anything like this, and some fellows have been watching him for two decades. Popyrin doubled six times.  They were about even in aces and total points, but the doubles perhaps indicates the sheer fatigue — weariness is not in Djokovic’s nature — under which he was laboring.

Against van de Zandschulp, ranked 74, Alcaraz was about even in winners and service (both rather feeble), but he won 73 points in total to 92:  basically, he was just hitting poorly. It was a sluggish game.  He was unhappy with himself, as he said, or something. He has had a terrific season to date, and maybe losing Olympic gold to Djokovic in a great, close, exhausting match that ended in a tiebreak, got to him.

Coco Gauff observed of her own slump earlier in the season — a very inapt term, considering she kept her no. 3 ranking — that it all depends on the kind of pressure you put on yourself: “Why stress yourself over a victory lap?” You’ve won, here and elsewhere, and you know and believe you will again.

One likes to think she got this from her parents, both of whom are collegiate varsity athletes, and from her being a regular Bible reader, from which this idea of cycles and valleys and mountains emerges in many passages of varied contexts.

Djokovic will move on, he has nothing left to prove where tennis glory is concerned — unless it is as a teacher, like the one he knew and toward whom he has always felt pious love, Jelena Gencic. And Alcaraz will be upset for a while, and he will deal with it, and follow in the steps of his sports heroes, Djokovic of course, Roger Federer, and Rafa Nadal, and his teachers, beginning with his father, Carlos Sr., and the coach who has guided his precocious breakthrough, Juan Carlos Ferrero.

READ MORE from Roger Kaplan:

Sinner and Swiatek Make Their Mark

World’s Best Racquets in New York

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