By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, August 31, 2024
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty
NEW YORK—The service box looked as large as a shoe box.
Novak Djokovic struggled to find the right fit.
More: Jannik Sinner Tests Positive for Banned Steroid
Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin dethroned defending champion Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in a stunning US Open upset to advance to his first Grand Slam fourth round.
It’s the earliest exit for a US Open defending men’s champion since 2000 and the first time Djokovic failed to survive the US Open third round since 2006.
Lleyton Hewitt knocked the young Djokovic out of that 2006 US Open. Australian Davis Cup captain Hewitt was in Popyrin’s support box tonight alongside the Aussie’s coach, Xavier Malisse, who split two career meetings with the Serbian superstar.
Afterward, Djokovic said double trouble caused his demise:
1. Popyrin was simply too good from start to finish.
2. Djokovic sabotaged his cause with the “worst serving” performance of his major career.
Djokovic dumped 14 double faults against 16 aces and at times looked like he had no feel for the serve.
“Congratulations to him and his team. He definitely played better and deserved to win today,” Djokovic said. “I mean, on my end, honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round is a success.
“I mean, I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly, serving by far the worst ever. So, yeah, if you play on a quick surface like this without, you know, the serve, without ability to win free points there, very low first-serve percentage, many double faults, then you can’t win.
“You can’t win, especially against the guys who are in form like Alexei who is serving big, puts a lot of pressure on your service game. Yeah, it was just an awful match for me.”
The four-time US Open champion scored what he called “arguably the biggest success I’ve ever had” when he out-dueled Carlos Alcaraz in the Olympic final to capture the gold medal for Serbia in his fifth Olympic Games last month.
Receiving a hero’s welcome from thousands of fans in Belgrade after bringing gold back home, Djokovic skipped Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati to rest and recover from his passionate Paris performance.
Tonight, Djokovic felt disconnected from his shots and his game.
“I tried so many things, and sometimes that’s an issue, you know, is that…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Blog RSS…