 "Novak Djokovic reacts against Alexei Popyrin during their third round meeting at the US Open. AP")
Novak Djokovic slumped to his earliest exit at the US Open in 18 years on Friday as a four-set, third round defeat to Alexei Popyrin sparked questions over his long term future.
The 37-year-old Djokovic, a four-time champion in New York, lost 4-6, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6 to the 28th-ranked Australian, leaving him frustratingly short once again of winning a record 25th Grand Slam title.
The usually flawless Serb hit an uncharacteristic 14 double faults and committed 49 unforced errors in the loss where he failed to convert 12 of 16 break points.
The result meant quite a few milestones:
- For the first time since 2017, Djokovic will end the season without a Grand Slam title
- For the first time since 2002, none of the Slams will have been won by any members of the ‘Big Three’ of Djokovic, the absent Rafael Nadal or the retired Roger Federer.
- Djokovic remains on 99 career titles
- The last time Djokovic was beaten before the fourth round at the US Open was in 2006
- That defeat in 2006 was brought on by another Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who was in attendance for the match on Arthur Ashe Stadium
- It was Djokovic’s earliest loss at a major since 2017.
- The head-to-head between Djokovic and Popyrin now stands at 3-1. The Serb had won both the meetings this year - at the Australian Open and Wimbledon
- Popyrin is now 2-11 against top-five players in his career. His previous win came against Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2021
- This was Popyrin’s first win in the third round of a Grand Slam. He had lost six straight before this