It is the next sensation at the US Open: After Carlos Alcaraz, defending champion Novak Djokovic has also been eliminated early. The last time this happened to the Serb was 18 years ago. The Olympic champion was very critical of himself afterwards – but also provided an explanation.
After Carlos Alcaraz, record Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic also failed early at the US Open. The 37-year-old Serb lost to Australian Alexei Popyrin in the third round with 4:6, 4:6, 6:2, 4:6 and thus was eliminated earlier than at any other Grand Slam tournament in New York since 2006. In what was only his second US Open participation 18 years ago, Djokovic did not get past the third round. Since then he has won the tournament four times.
Barely a month after his gold triumph at the Olympics in Paris, Djokovic has now missed out on his 25th title at a Grand Slam tournament. Before that, world number three Alcaraz from Spain had already suffered a surprise defeat in the second round to the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
“I put a lot of energy into winning the Olympic gold, and when I arrived in New York, I just didn’t feel fresh mentally and physically,” admitted the world number two. At the Olympic tennis tournament in Paris, Djokovic had won the final against Alcaraz, the first gold medal of his career.
Djokovic acknowledges defeat
After the surprising defeat in New York, Djokovic was harsh on himself. “I played the worst tennis – and with by far the worst serve of all time,” said the Serb. “I had no gas left in the tank. It was noticeable in my game.” He said of his opponent Popyrin: “He definitely played better today and deserved to win.”
Popyrin, seeded 28th, once again demonstrated his strong hard court form and showed some inspiring tennis at times. He celebrated spectacular point wins with great enthusiasm and repeatedly fired up the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Australian is in good shape at the moment anyway: In preparation, Popyrin won the Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal and has now made it to the round of 16 in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career.
Djokovic, meanwhile, was close to an early exit during his winning streak last year. Djokovic lost the first two sets 4:6 against fellow countryman Laslo Djere. Back then, the most successful tennis pro in history fought back and won the tournament.
But with the score at 2:2 in the fourth set, Popyrin managed to break the match with a powerful forehand in a hard-fought match. The 25-year-old pulled ahead to 5:2, faltered briefly once more, but deservedly celebrated the biggest success of his career so far.
Now Alexander Zverev is one of the biggest title contenders at the US Open. The Hamburg native defeated the Argentinian Tomás Martin Etcheverry 5:7, 7:5, 6:1, 6:3 and only converted the match point at 2:35 a.m. New York time. Only one match in the history of the Grand Slam tournament has ended later.
dpa/tku
2024-08-31 09:50:25