Match Report
Popyrin Stuns Djokovic at US Open
Serbian ends a season with no Grand Slam title for the primary time since 2017
August 31, 2024
AFP/Getty Photos
Alexei Popyrin defeats Novak Djokovic in 4 units Friday night on the US Open.
By ATP Employees
Australian Alexei Popyrin unleashed his model of Large-Man Tennis to stun Novak Djokovic on the US Open Friday night time, ousting the defending champion 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on the again of 49 winners.
Djokovic was the partial writer of his personal demise, serving a career-high 14 double faults in a Grand Slam match, together with 4 at hand Popyrin a double break at 5-2 within the fourth set. That insurance coverage break proved essential because the Australian was damaged in his first try to serve out the match however closed it out two video games later.
It was the second surprising upset in as many days on Arthur Ashe Stadium, following World No. 74 Botic van de Zandschulp’s straight-sets win over 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz within the second spherical.
With the largest win of his profession thus far, Popyrin ended Djokovic’s hopes of successful a record-extending twenty fifth Grand Slam males’s singles title and a hundredth profession title. Popyrin pushed Djokovic to 4 units on the Australian Open and Wimbledon earlier this 12 months, however got here into Friday night time’s match with an 0-3 Lexus ATP Head2Head file in opposition to the legend.
This might be an August to recollect for the 25-year-old Aussie, who was additionally the shock winner of the ATP Masters 1000 occasion in Montreal earlier this month. With that win, the present No. 28 jumped to a career-high No. 23 within the PIF ATP Rankings as he defeated 5 High 20 gamers on his strategy to the title.
The final time Djokovic ended a season with no Grand Slam triumph was 2017. Not since 2002 has a season passed by with no member of the Large Three (Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal) successful a significant.
Popyrin will now face dwelling favorite No. 20 Frances Tiafoe in his first fourth-round look on the US Open. This would be the pair’s first assembly within the Lexus ATP Head2Head sequence. Tiafoe beat compatriot and final 12 months’s semi-finalist No. 13 Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 in a marathon match on Arthur Ashe earlier on Friday.
