After losing to Alexei Popyrin in the third round of the US Open, Novak Djokovic discussed his thoughts on what went wrong.
A few weeks ago, Djokovic played brilliant tennis in Paris to win an Olympic gold medal. Between that August 4 final and his first US Open match, he did not play. Djokovic further disclosed that upon his arrival in New York, he had never felt well, both mentally and physically.
But before diving into possible reasons for his subpar performances, he did clarify that he did not have any injury issues during the tournament.
He talked about it and said: “I mean, obviously it had an effect. I spent a lot of energy winning the gold, and I did arrive in New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically. But because it’s the US Open, you know, I gave it a shot and I tried my best. I mean, I didn’t have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas, you know, and you could see that with the way I played. Just from the very beginning, from the first match, I just didn’t find myself at all on this court. It’s all I can say, you know. You know, life moves on. I mean, yeah, just try and recalibrate and look for what’s next.”
Following his defeat by Popyrin, Djokovic claims that his performance at the US Open was among his worst ever.
He added: “Congratulations to him and his team. He played better and deserved to win. Honestly, with the way I felt and played from the start of the tournament, round 3 was a success. I played some of the worst tennis I’ve ever played. Serving by far some of the worst ever. On a quick surface like this, you can’t win without a serve. You can’t win against the guys who are in form, like Alexei. It was just an awful match from me.”
Novak Djokovic in 2024
At the moment ranked no.2, Novak played his last match on the 30th of August when he was overcome by world no.28 Alexei Popyrin 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 in the 3rd round of the U.S. Open (draw).
This year Djokovic owns a composed 31-8 win-loss record. Novak conquered 1 title in Paris. The Serbian got to the final in Wimbledon.
He is also scheduled to play in Paris (Rolex Paris Masters) after Shanghai. The main draw will start on the 30th of September.
Popyrin at the U.S. Open, ranking, and results in 2024
Now the world no.28, Popyrin owns a compiled 25-16 record in 2024. Alexei is now playing at the U.S. Open where he conquered the world no.340 Soon-Woo Kwon 7-5 6-2 6-3, the world no.43 Pedro Martinez Portero 6-2 6-4 6-0 and the world no.2 Novak Djokovic 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4.
Alexei Popyrin will take on the world no.20 Frances Tiafoe in the 4th round. They have never played each other until now in top events.
Alexei conquered 1 title in 2024 in Montreal.
He is also scheduled to play in Tokyo (Japan Open Tennis Championships). The main draw will start on the 25th of September.
Novak Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin played each other 4 times. Their record is 3-1 for Djokovic. Previously, the last time they fought against each other, Alexei Popyrin won 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 in the 3rd round in New York (U.S. Open) on the 30th of August 2024.