Another night, another stunning upset in the men’s draw at the U.S. Open.
One night after betting favorite and 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz lost in straight sets in Arthur Ashe Stadium, defending champion Novak Djokovic was defeated in another shocking development.
Alexei Popyrin, the 25-year-old No. 28 seed from Australia, took it to the 24-time Grand Slam champion and No. 2 seed in a commanding 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory in 3 hours, 18 minutes during the night session in Ashe.
On Sunday, Popyrin will face American No. 20 seed Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round after Tiafoe took out fellow American Ben Shelton in five sets earlier Friday.
“Third time lucky, I guess,” Popyrin, who smacked 50 winners, said on court. “Honestly, we had some battles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon and I had my chances in those matches but I didn’t take them. This match was a little bit different, I was able to take my chances when I had them and played some good tennis.”
He had been 0-3 against Djokovic and 0-6 in the third round at majors.
“It’s unbelievable because I’ve been in the third round about 15 times in my career, but I haven’t been able to get past to the fourth round,” he said. “And to be able to do it against the greatest of all time to get into the fourth round is unbelievable.”
The loss means the 37-year-old Djokovic will have to wait until 2025 to attempt to pass Margaret Court with a record 25th major title. No man has defended his U.S. Open title since Roger Federer won the last of five straight from 2004-8.
Djokovic coughed up 13 double-faults in the match, his most ever in a Grand Slam encounter. He lost in the third round for the first time since 2006, and that was to Lleyton Hewitt, a fellow Australian who sat in Popyrin’s box Friday night.
After winning three of the four majors in 2023, Djokovic, arguably the GOAT of men’s tennis, ends 2024 without a single major title. He did win his first Olympic gold medal earlier this month in Paris shortly after undergoing meniscus surgery following Roland Garros.
And for the first time since 2002, no member of the “Big 3” of Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal won a major title. Nadal did not play the Open due to injury, and Federer retired two years ago.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner won the Australian Open and has a chance to capture his second major of the season with Alcaraz and Djokovic out. Alcaraz won the French Open and Wimbledon but was overwhelmed Thursday night by Botic van de Zandschulp of The Netherlands in straight sets.
Born in Sydney, Australia to Russian immigrants Alex and Elena Popyrin, Popyrin developed a passion for tennis at a young age. He traveled to Spain and France for tennis training and speaks Russian, English and Spanish.
Popyrin broke at love for a 5-4 lead in the first set and then closed out the first set at love to put a scare into Djokovic. He won the last 10 points of the initial set.
Popyrin then struck first in the second with a break for 3-2 when Djokovic swatted a forehand wide off a drop shot.
“This is not the Novak Djokovic we’re used to seeing,” John McEnroe said on ESPN after the Serb swatted a forehand into the net.
With Djokovic serving at 3-5, 30-0 in the second set, Popyrin appeared to injure himself and began limping.
But Popyrin stormed right back to hold for a two-sets-to-love lead when he served-and-volleyed and hit a backhand volley into an open court.
After Djokovic regrouped to win the third set, Popyrin earned a break for 3-2 in the fourth with a forehand winner and then clenched both fists and yelled out in celebration.
Serving at 2-4, Djokovic was broken again for 2-5 when he sailed a forehand long on break point.
Djokovic earned a break back, but Popyrin served served it out at love at 5-4, leaving the Serb and the crowd stunned. When Djokovic hit a forehand long, Popyrin raised his hands in celebration and the two embraced at the net.
“I don’t think you’ll be seeing a lot more of [Djokovic] this year, if I had to guess,” John McEnroe said on ESPN.
