If his elimination at the hands of the Australian Alexei Popyrin in the third round of US Open Friday was a bell ringing in New Yorkthe words were also loud after his defeat by the Serbian Novak Djokovic, who assured that he had exhibited “one of the worst tennis” in his more than two decades of professional career. His setback and the one the Spaniard had suffered on Thursday Carlos Alcaraz (he was defeated by the Dutch Botic van De Zandschulp) opened the way for several contenders for the crown, among which the world number one, the Italian Jannik Sinner, stands out.
“Without a doubt, he played better and deserved to win. Honestly, with the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, reaching the third round is a success. I played some of the worst tennis I’ve ever played.. As for the serve, the worst by far,” said Djokovic, four-time champion of this competition (he won it in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023), after his defeat 6-4, 6-4, 2-6 and 6-4. against Popyrin, 28th in the ATP ranking and winner of the Montreal Masters 1000 less than three weeks ago.
“If you play on a fast surface like this without the serve and without the ability to earn free pointswith a very low percentage of first serves and many double faults, you cannot win. Especially against players who are in shape like him, who was serving very well and putting a lot of pressure on my serve. It was a terrible match for me,” added the Balkan, who will complete a season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2017.
Absence37, attributed part of his weak performance to a lack of energy, which he associated with the effort that the competition at the Paris Olympic Games had demanded of him, in which he won the gold medal. “I arrived in New York not feeling fresh mentally and physically. I felt powerless and that showed in the way I played,” he admitted. winner of 24 Grand Slam titleswho wasted one more chance to beat the Australian Margaret Court (he also achieved 24 between 1960 and 1973) to set the absolute record in tennis.
“Since it is the US Open, I gave it a chance and gave it my best. I didn’t have physical problems, I just didn’t have gas and that could be seen by the way I played. I have to accept that tournaments like this happen,” the world number two stated resignedly. This was the first time since Australia 2017 that he did not reach the round of 16 of a Grand Slam (that time he lost in the second round against the Uzbek Denis Istomin) and the first time since 2006 when he lost in the third round in New York ( on that occasion he was surpassed by the Australian, Lleyton Hewitt).
The elimination of the Serbian showed one more example of the change of era that the circuit is going throughsince this will be the first year since 2002 that none of the four Grand Slam trophies will be in the hands of any of the members of the Big 3. The Spanish Rafael Nadal, hampered by injuries, did not compete in New York and did not compete. will do in the remainder of the year, and the Swiss Roger Federer is enjoying his peaceful retirement.
Without Djokovic on the scene, the dark streak of the current US Open champions added a new chapter: Nobody managed to defend the throne since Federer chained five titles between 2004 and 2008 (in 2009 he lost the final to Juan Martín del Potro). And this year there is only one man left in the race who was once crowned in the Big Apple: the russian Daniil Medvedev, fifth in the world ranking, who achieved it in 2021.
The premature setbacks of Djokovic and Alcaraz were not the only ones of players who aspired to much more in this competition: 18 of the 32 seeds capitulated in the first three rounds. In this way, the men’s team was full of alternatives and is looking for a strong contender for the title. In the top half Sinner and Medvedev are still in the race. In the lower portion, the German Alexander Zverev (4th), the Russian Andrey Rublev (6th) and the Norwegian Casper Ruud (8th) have already settled in the round of 16.
“The picture is opening. Obviously Sinner is the main favorite, but there are also (Frances) Tiafoe and (Taylor) Fritz as American favorites. You have guys who are playing well like Zverev, Rublev and (Grigor) Dimitrov in that part of the draw. “Anyone can win,” analyzed Djokovic, who will have to follow the decisive moments of the tournament on television.