Novak Djokovic: I played some of the worst tennis I have ever played
Novak Djokovic has been knocked out of the US Open, with the Serbian suffering his earliest defeat at the tournament since 2006.
Djokovic was beaten by the in-form Canadian Open champion Alexei Popyrin, 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4, as the shocks continue in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It was an error strewn match from the 37-year-old, who hit a total of 49 unforced errors and 14 double faults in his defeat.
This poor performance was pointed out by Djokovic, who praised Popyrin after the match, “Congratulations to him and his team. He definitely played better and deserved to win today.”
The 24-time major winner continued, “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. It was just an awful match for me.”
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have been knocked out of the US Open on back-to-back nights.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2024
As a result of his third round US Open defeat, this is the first year that Djokovic will not win a Grand Slam title since 2017.
Djokovic did complete the Golden Career Slam after winning gold at the Paris Olympics earlier this month, and he suggested that this may have impacted his performance in New York.
“I mean, I tried so many things, and sometimes that’s an issue, you know, is that you move away from the basics that work,” explained Djokovic. “Then you just lose the basics. You lose the foundation. You lose the movement, the timing, the rhythm, the tempo, everything, whether it’s a serve or any other shot. It was just really a big struggle mentally for me to play these three matches here, because I wasn’t playing even close to my best.
“So, you know, it’s not good to be in that kind of state where you feel okay physically, and of course you’re motivated because it’s a Grand Slam, but you just are not able to find your game. That’s it. The game is falling apart, and I guess you have to accept that tournaments like this happen.”
He added, “I mean, obviously it [Olympics] had an effect. I spent a lot of energy winning the gold, and I did arrive to New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically. But because it’s US Open, you know, I gave it a shot and I tried my best.”
We’re in unprecedented times. pic.twitter.com/NaacIjFzYg
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2024
Djokovic will now leave the top three in the ATP rankings after failing to defend the US Open title, and is not currently entered into any tournaments.
Inside the baseline…
The past two night sessions have provided huge shocks in the men’s singles draw, with both Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz exiting the tournament. Djokovic has looked uncomfortable throughout the US Open this year, and that was something that we considered after the Paris Olympics as that was his big goal for the year. Perhaps the Olympics have had an impact on the US Open this year with all three men’s singles medallists now out, with bronze medallist Lorenzo Musetti also losing, but the three medallists in the women’s singles draw still remain. The US Open men’s singles draw is now wide open, with Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev the only Grand Slam champion’s left.
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