Defending champion Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the US Open in a stunning defeat by Australia's Alexei Popyrin in the third round on Friday, his earliest exit from Flushing Meadows since 2006.
The match that took three hours and 19 minutes saw Popyrin create an upset in emerging victorious against Djokovic, 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. For Popyrin, this was his first outing at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and the triumph made it even more memorable for him.
The Serbian superstar was seeking a 25th Grand Slam crown and a record-breaking 100th victory, but he will conclude the year without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2017. For the first time since 2002, one of the Big Three-Djokovic, Roger Federer, or Rafael Nadal-has not secured a major title.
But despite Djokovic's impressive record of coming from two sets down in Grand Slam matches, it proved to be too tall of an order for him. Popyrin-a 25-year-old-scoring the biggest win of his career, advancing for the first time to the fourth round of a Grand Slam. This defeat for Djokovic came on the back of 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz's exit and marked the first time since 1973 that both the second and third seeds were knocked out before the fourth round.
While Popyrin thrilled with 50 winners, Djokovic's performance was dragged down by a career-worst 14 double faults in a Grand Slam match. Four of those came in the fourth set as Popyrin surged ahead to a 5-2 lead. Although Popyrin was broken serving out the match, he held two games later to close out the victory. Notably, Lleyton Hewitt, the last Aussie to take down Djokovic at a Slam, was courtside to see Popyrin make history.
Coming into this encounter, Djokovic was undefeated at 3-0 against Popyrin, including victories in this year's Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Popyrin afterward reflected, "Third time lucky this year, I guess. We had a couple tough battles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon. I had opportunities there, but didn't capitalize on them. This time, took my chances and played well."
He added, "It's an incredible moment because I've made the third round about 15 times in my career but never made it past that. To do it against the greatest of all time feels great. It's a testament to how much work I have put in.".
Popyrin will now face home favourite Frances Tiafoe in his maiden US Open fourth-round after the American won through by defeating last year's semi-finalist Ben Shelton in an energy-sapping five-set encounter earlier in the day.
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