A day after Carlos Alcaraz, holder of the final two Main titles and heavy event favorite, was bundled out of the US Open in a shock second-round defeat, his huge rival for the title adopted go well with.
An out-of-focus, off-colour Novak Djokovic was nicely crushed by the fiery problem from Alexei Popyrin, the rising World No. 28 from Australia, succumbing 4-6, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6 in simply over three hours on Friday night time to finish his title defence within the third spherical. It was a defeat that was each an upset, in addition to completely attribute of Djokovic’s streaky 2024 season, at many factors of which he has didn’t raise himself to satisfy his ridiculously excessive requirements.
Justifications and circumstances apart, for the Serb to lose this early in a Main stays a shock. Djokovic didn’t make the second week at a Slam for the primary time because the 2017 Australian Open, and this was his earliest defeat on the US Open since 2006. He has gone all the calendar 12 months with out successful a Main, just for the fourth time since successful his first one.
Maybe laying naked the transitional second males’s tennis is at present going via, with Djokovic the one main gentle of the earlier order, 2024 is the primary 12 months since 2002 wherein neither of him, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer gained no less than one Main.
Djokovic appeared out of contact from the off. Serving poorly and failing to seek out the standard acute angles he finds from his groundstrokes, he was comfortably the more serious participant as he went two units down. Simply then, the acquainted script started to emerge.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has come again from two units down eight instances in his profession, together with on his option to the title at Flushing Meadows final 12 months. After he emerged refreshed within the third set, he took management and punished Popyrin’s errors to rout the third set.
Alexei Popyrin has been ready for this breakthrough.
And he did towards Novak Djokovic. pic.twitter.com/y4Y6Vf5plG
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2024
The comeback momentum was on, however Djokovic appeared completely out of steam to journey it. He let his degree drop as Popyrin stayed robust to take the fourth set and the victory.
It had been an unusually off night time for the Serb. He hit 14 double faults – essentially the most he had ever hit in a single match in his profession – and gained simply 38% of the return factors he confronted, two areas of the sport the place Djokovic is the out-and-out class chief. Later, he didn’t mince phrases about his efficiency.
“It was simply an terrible match for me,” he was quoted as saying by AP. “I wasn’t enjoying even near my finest. It’s not good to be in that type of state the place you’re feeling OK bodily, and naturally you’re motivated as a result of it’s a Grand Slam, however you simply will not be capable of finding your sport. That’s it. The sport is falling aside, and I suppose you need to settle for that tournaments like this occur.”
Credit score should come Popyrin’s approach too. Not like Alcaraz, Djokovic fell to an opponent of a lot greater stature that was roaring in type. The 6’5’ Aussie has been one to look at together with his huge serve and booming groundstrokes for a few years, however lately, after bettering the duller elements of his sport like his health and return, he has emerged as a extra rounded challenger. A month in the past, he gained the Canada Masters, one of many largest non-Slam tournaments on the calendar, within the buildup to the US Open.
His enchancment and sizzling type have been rewarded with the largest win of his life. “I didn’t need to be a type of moments the place Novak type of stepped up and got here again from two-sets-to-love down. That was going via my head,” he mentioned after the match, wherein he hit a whopping 50 winners.
That second for Alexei Popyrin 😤 pic.twitter.com/DbAMvn4rGJ
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2024
For Djokovic, although, the heavy nature of the taxing summer time got here to cross. “Clearly, it (the Olympics) had an impact. I spent lots of vitality successful the gold, and I did arrive to New York simply not feeling recent mentally and bodily. However as a result of it’s the US Open, I gave it a shot and I attempted my finest. I imply, I didn’t have any bodily points. I simply felt out of fuel. And you might see that with the best way I performed,” he mentioned.
It can’t be mere coincidence that every one three Olympic medallists, together with the Italian Lorenzo Musetti, have been knocked out of Flushing Meadows inside 24 hours. Only a few weeks previous to enjoying on the clay of Paris, all three reached no less than the semifinals on the grass courts of Wimbledon too.
However there’s extra to Djokovic’s off season than calendar congestion. Losses to unheralded gamers have crept in with extra frequency – he was defeated by Luca Nardi, ranked exterior the highest 100, in Indian Wells, and later by the lower-ranked Alejandro Tabillo and Tomas Machac in the course of the European clay season.
On the Majors, he misplaced to each Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in disappointing vogue. After making vital adjustments to his group this 12 months and parting methods with coach Goran Ivanisevic, he’s right down to a skeletal help workers and no coach, figuring out the ways himself. His excessive requirements make it simple to overlook that he’s nonetheless simply two months faraway from knee surgical procedure.
Damage bother, change and transition, and poor type can put on down even the lads’s tennis GOAT. His incapability to convey himself again to carry out one among his trademark turnarounds on Friday recommended simply that.
Alarm bells should not ring but. Djokovic’s base degree health nonetheless counsel he can play a full season. His emphatic efficiency towards Alcaraz within the Olympic remaining present he can nonetheless will himself to nice heights. The subsequent few months could be huge for the Serb, who can take a break to reset, and decide and select the large tournaments he performs to work himself again to type.
Judgement calls, over whether or not Djokovic’s rein as king of Majors has really ended or if 2024 was a blip, should await subsequent 12 months’s Australian Open, on the very least.