After the early elimination of Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic also exits the scene. The Serbian was defeated in the third round by Australian Alexei Popyrin, ranked 28th, with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. The defeat of the 37-year-old Djokovic, a four-time champion in New York, prevents him once again from reaching the coveted record of 25 Grand Slam titles, in a season that ends with no major tournament in his collection, though he does have the beautiful consolation of the Olympic gold.
Already defeated at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon in 2024, Djokovic (37 years old), in search of his 25th title of this rank, will close the year without a Grand Slam trophy for the first time since 2017. The Olympic gold won a month ago in Paris was, however, the last trophy missing from his list of successes.
For Djokovic, the defending champion of the tournament, it is the first elimination in the third round at the US Open in 18 years. He had defeated Popyrin in their three previous encounters, including this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon, but 14 double faults (and 49 unforced errors in total) proved fatal for the Serbian champion.
“For me, it was a horrible match,” he admitted at the end of the match, adding that he will now seek to “rebalance and look forward.” Popyrin, coming off the biggest title of his career at the Montreal Masters, won the first two sets with a fearless performance serving and from the baseline. Djokovic gave himself a bit of breathing room with an early break in the third. Popyrin recovered the break only to see Djokovic break him two more times, with the Serbian fully capitalizing on his opponent’s growing errors. But the Australian responded in a very tense fourth set, saving break points in the second game before snatching it and taking a 3-2 lead.
“Being in the fourth round of a Slam by beating the greatest of all time is incredible,” said Popyrin.
US Open, Alexei Popyrin vs Novak Djokovic – August 31, 2024 (AFP)
Musetti knocked out, Nakashima advances in four sets
Lorenzo Musetti’s adventure at the US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam of the tennis season, comes to an end in the third round. The Italian, bronze medalist at the Paris Olympics, succumbed in four sets to American Brandon Nakashima after three hours and a quarter of play. Here are the set scores: 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
And now Jannik Sinner returns to the court, playing tonight (not before 19:15) against Australian Christopher O’Connell. The Italian, ranked number 1 in the world, takes to the court looking for a spot in the round of 16 at Flushing Meadows. Following his convincing victory over American Alex Michelsen, Sinner faces the Australian who is coming off a win over Italian Mattia Bellucci.