Reigning US Open champion Novak Djokovic was eliminated in the third round on Friday night in New York.
Australian Alexei Popyrin, who won the National Bank Open on August 12 in Montreal, caused a surprise by winning 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
“It was a horrible match from me,” Djokovic said at his press conference. “These kinds of tournaments happen.”
Djokovic, who was trying to become the first player in history to win 25 Grand Slam titles, will instead have ended the year without a triumph in a major tournament, a first since 2017.
It is also interesting to note that 2024 will be the first year since 2002 without a triumph by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Djokovic in a Grand Slam tournament.
Djokovic’s third-round exit matches his worst performance at Flushing Meadows. The other two times he was eliminated this early were in 2005 and 2006.
The 37-year-old Serbian has reached the final of the US Open 10 times, winning in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023.
For Popyrin, 28e seed, it was a magical moment. He was 0-3 against Djokovic and 0-6 in third-round matches at Grand Slam tournaments.
The 25-year-old Australian’s next opponent will be American Frances Tiafoe, who overcame Ben Shelton’s powerful serve and shone at the net to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3.
Tiafoe has reached the fourth round of this tournament for the fifth year in a row.
Last year, the 26-year-old American was eliminated in four sets by Shelton in the quarter-finals.
In 2022, Tiafoe defeated Rafael Nadal on his way to the semi-finals, his best result to date in a Grand Slam.
After defeating Shelton in four hours and three minutes, Tiafoe was cheered by the thousands of spectators at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The two friends then had a long discussion at the net, during their hug.
“I have to say Ben is a really incredible player,” Tiafoe said after the duel on the court. “He tries a lot of different shots and he doesn’t care at all. It’s really annoying … he’s really talented.”
“He can make great shots…and so can I. It’s one great moment after another. I hope you enjoyed the show.”
Shelton, 21, had not dropped his serve once in his two wins earlier this week. Tiafoe, however, broke him five times; the final break gave him a 3-1 lead in the fifth set.
The other key to Tiafoe’s success has been his drive to the net. He has won no fewer than 35 of his 48 points in such circumstances.
Taylor Fritz, the highest ranked American currently (12e), took the measure of the Argentinian Francisco Comesana 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. He will face in the fourth round the Norwegian Casper Ruud, who beat the Chinese Juncheng Shang 6-7 (1), 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-1.
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, seeded ninth, and Russia’s Andrey Rublev, seeded sixth, won their respective duels on Friday and will meet in the next round.
In the other match of the day, American Brandon Nakashima surprised the 18e seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Vekic vs Zheng, like in the Olympic final
As in the final of the Paris Olympics earlier this month, Donna Vekic will face Qinwen Zheng, but this time in the fourth round at the US Open.
At the Olympics, Zheng reached the top of the podium by winning 6-2, 6-3.
On Friday in New York, the Croatian defeated American Peyton Stearns 7-5, 6-4, while the Chinese defeated German Jule Niemeier 6-2, 6-1.
Zheng is the seventh seed at Flushing Meadows, Vekic is the 24th seede.
Earlier in the day, defending champion Coco Gauff beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
The third seed, the American, made several errors in the first set, where she conceded the last 11 points, against the number 27 seed.
“She’s a fighter,” Gauff said. “I knew I had to play at my best.”
The 20-year-old, however, won nine out of 11 games later in the match.
In 2023, she won three games after losing the first round.
What was the secret this time? “I tried to be more aggressive with my forehand,” Gauff said. “And I tried to make fewer errors with my backhand.”
The comeback ends Gauff’s five-game losing streak against top-50 opponents.
It could also allow it to bounce back after a more difficult stretch, during which it has won only five of its last nine matches.
That’s a contrast to last year, when Gauff won 12 straight matches en route to two hard-court titles and a first career Grand Slam title.
She became the first American teenager to win top honors at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.
In the round of 16, Gauff will face her compatriot Emma Navarro, 13.e headliner, after she beat Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Navarro knocked out Gauff in the fourth round at Wimbledon this year.
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka will play in the evening against Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.
The winner will face Elise Mertens as her next rival, who won 6-7 (5), 7-5 and 6-4 against Madison Keys, 14.e seeded.
Canadian Dabrowski loses in mixed doubles
Mixed doubles favorites Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and Joe Salisbury of the United Kingdom were upset in their first match, losing 4-6, 7-6 (5), 10-8 to Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Harri Heliovaara of Finland.