Tennis-Defending champion Djokovic knocked out of US Open third round
Adds quotes and details
NEW YORK, Aug 30 (Reuters) -Novak Djokovic suffered a major upset at the hands of Alexei Popyrin with a 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 beating in the third round of the U.S. Open on Friday to end the Serbian's bid for a 25th Grand Slam title.
Djokovic, who had to dig deep to win the Olympic gold medal in Paris this month, looked sluggish against the energized Australian, who notched the biggest win of his career.
"I spent a lot of energy winning the gold, and I did arrive to New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically," Djokovic told reporters.
"But because it's U.S. Open, I gave it a shot and I tried my best. I didn't have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas and you could see that with the way I played."
Popyrin, who lost to Djokovic at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, raised his arms in triumph and beamed a wide smile after knocking out the tournament's defending champion to reach the round of 16 of a major for the first time.
"Third time lucky I guess," Popyrin said in an on-court interview.
"No, honestly we had some battles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. I had my chances in those matches but 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."
Djokovic had five break point chances in the opener but failed to convert any of them, while Popyrin broke serve on his first opportunity for a 5-4 lead en route to grabbingthe first set.
Popyrin broke again in the second when Djokovic's volley landed wide for a 3-2 advantage andtook control of the match with a perfectly executed serve and volley to capture the second set.
Djokovic showed some life in the third, when the second seed broke serve with a forehand that Popyrin could not handle and took the set to claw his way back into the match.
But the comeback proved short-lived, with Popyrin letting out a mighty roar when he crushed a ferocious forehand winner for a break of serve and 3-2 lead in the fourth. He completed the upset when Djokovic's forehand sailed long on match point.
The veteran Djokovicwas uncharacteristically sloppy in the contest, issuing 14 double faults, a record for him in a Grand Slam match, while his25-year-old opponent smacked 50 winners.
"If you play on a quick surface like this without the serve, without ability to win free points there, very low first-serve percentage, many double faults, then you can't win," Djokovic said.
"It was just an awful match for me."
The loss means Djokovic will end this season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2017.
The upset on Arthur Ashe Stadium came one night after third seed and tournament favorite Carlos Alcaraz, who finished runner up to Djokovic at the Paris Games, was stunned in straight sets by unseeded Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
Next up for Popyrin is a fourth-roundmeeting with American Frances Tiafoe.
Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, Rory Carroll in Los Angeles and Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Stephen Coates
Últimas notícias
Isenção de Responsabilidade: As entidades do XM Group proporcionam serviço de apenas-execução e acesso à nossa plataforma online de negociação, permitindo a visualização e/ou uso do conteúdo disponível no website ou através deste, o que não se destina a alterar ou a expandir o supracitado. Tal acesso e uso estão sempre sujeitos a: (i) Termos e Condições; (ii) Avisos de Risco; e (iii) Termos de Responsabilidade. Este, é desta forma, fornecido como informação generalizada. Particularmente, por favor esteja ciente que os conteúdos da nossa plataforma online de negociação não constituem solicitação ou oferta para iniciar qualquer transação nos mercados financeiros. Negociar em qualquer mercado financeiro envolve um nível de risco significativo de perda do capital.
Todo o material publicado na nossa plataforma de negociação online tem apenas objetivos educacionais/informativos e não contém — e não deve ser considerado conter — conselhos e recomendações financeiras, de negociação ou fiscalidade de investimentos, registo de preços de negociação, oferta e solicitação de transação em qualquer instrumento financeiro ou promoção financeira não solicitada direcionadas a si.
Qual conteúdo obtido por uma terceira parte, assim como o conteúdo preparado pela XM, tais como, opiniões, pesquisa, análises, preços, outra informação ou links para websites de terceiras partes contidos neste website são prestados "no estado em que se encontram", como um comentário de mercado generalizado e não constitui conselho de investimento. Na medida em que qualquer conteúdo é construído como pesquisa de investimento, deve considerar e aceitar que este não tem como objetivo e nem foi preparado de acordo com os requisitos legais concebidos para promover a independência da pesquisa de investimento, desta forma, deve ser considerado material de marketing sob as leis e regulações relevantes. Por favor, certifique-se que leu e compreendeu a nossa Notificação sobre Pesquisa de Investimento não-independente e o Aviso de Risco, relativos à informação supracitada, os quais podem ser acedidos aqui.
