Defending champion Novak Djokovic experienced a surprising early exit at the 2024 US Open, marking his worst performance at the tournament since 2006. The 37-year-old Serbian, who recently secured a historic gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Was eliminated in third-round by Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 defeat at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday.
Djokovic, who won his opening match against Radu Albot in straight sets and advanced to the third round after his second-round opponent Laslo Djere retired while trailing, openly admitted that he was fortunate to have reached this stage of the tournament. Reflecting on his performance, Djokovic confessed, “I played some of the worst tennis of my career and suffered an awful loss against Popyrin.”
The match against Popyrin highlighted Djokovic’s struggles, particularly with his serve. Over the course of the three matches he played, Djokovic committed a staggering 32 double faults, with 14 of them occurring in his clash with Popyrin. These errors led to five-breaks of serve, including two in final set that allowed Popyrin to take-a decisive 5-2 lead.
“Congratulations to him and his team,” Djokovic graciously remarked. “He played better and deserved to win today. On my end, given how I felt and played from beginning of this tournament, reaching the third-round is a success. I served by far the worst I ever have.”
The Serbian star’s struggles were evident as he attempted to find his rhythm on the fast-paced New York courts. Especially after opting to skip the warm-up events following his Olympic triumph. “It’s a different surface, and it had an effect,” Djokovic explained. “I spent a lot of energy winning gold, and I arrived in New York feeling drained both mentally and physically. I didn’t have any physical issues, but I felt out of gas, and it showed in my play.”
Djokovic’s loss means that, for the first time since 2017, he finishes the calendar year without a Grand Slam title, prolonging his quest for a record-breaking 25th major. His best performance this year came at Wimbledon, where he reached the final before losing to Carlos Alcaraz.
“It’s not good to be in that state where you feel okay physically and are motivated, but you just can’t find your game,” Djokovic reflected. “The game is falling apart, and you have to accept that tournaments like this happen. You could argue that it’s because of the Olympics, but I don’t want to analyze that right now. I was just looking to improve my game here on a daily basis, but it just didn’t happen.”
Despite the disappointing outcome, Djokovic remains resolute. “Life moves on,” he said. “I’ll just try and recalibrate and look for what’s next.”
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