Novak Djokovic lost in the third round of the 2024 US Open to Alexei Popyrin, and the Serbian could only congratulate his opponent on being the deserved winner.
It was a late match between Popyrin and Djokovic, and it wasn’t a very high-quality match. Popyrin was the better player and deservedly won, but neither he nor Djokovic played particularly well.
The Australian had a massive advantage with his serve, which bailed him out a few times. Djokovic turned in one of his worst serving performances ever, and it proved to be a problem.
He couldn’t really compensate for that with his baseline play because that wasn’t very good, either. Eventually, he simply lost to a player who was better on that day.
After the match, the Serbian was honest and openly admitted that this event featured some of the worst tennis he’s ever played. An early loss demonstrated how badly he played, but as always, he remained graceful in defeat.
He didn’t take anything away from Popyrin, admitting that the Australian was the better player and congratulating him and his team on the performance and victory.
"I mean look he's just beaten me, the defending champion here. So he deserves credit for that and respect. If he serves well, plays well, he can beat anybody."
"Congrats to him and his team. He played better and deserved to win. Honestly with the way I felt and played from the start of the tournament… round 3 is a success."
Obviously, the 24-time major winner was disappointed, but he didn’t show it much. He seemed almost at peace with what had happened in New York. The season overall hasn’t been the best.
"I mean I've played some of the worst tennis I've ever played. Serving by far the worst ever. So yeah, if you play on a quick surface like this without the serve, without the ability to win free points there, very low first serve percentage, many doubles faults, then you know can't win."
"I mean you can't win especially against the guys who are in form like Alexei, who is serving big and pouts a lot of pressure on your service. So yeah, it was just an awful match for me."
This loss will see him drop massively in the rankings, but he’ll remain in the Top 10. He also didn't elaborate on what’s next for him in 2024 because he likely doesn’t know.
The Serbian will now take some time to reflect on the loss and probably return in Shanghai, or perhaps only during the indoor season in Europe. Time will tell, but Djokovic appeared calm after the match.
He didn’t win any Grand Slams this year, which is the first since 2017. The tennis world hasn’t seen that in a very long time. However, he won the Olympics, which was his main goal before the season.
On that alone, the season could be judged a success, but as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, the 37-year-old certainly wanted more.
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