US Open 2024 tennis: Alexei Popyrin stuns Novak Djokovic; makes Grand Slam pre-quarterfinals for first time: Alexei Popyrin’s victory over Novak Djokovic was his first victory over him in the last four encounters. Earlier in the year, Popyrin had suffered defeats at the hands of the Serbian in both the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
On Friday, Alexei Popyrin of Australia upset Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who was the second seed in the tournament, by defeating him in the third round of the US Open 2024 tennis tournament with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
At this point in his career, Alexei Popyrin, who is currently ranked 28th in the tennis rankings, has made it to the pre-quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the very first time.
These shocking results occurred just one night after Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands eliminated Carlos Alcaraz from the US Open. Alcaraz was eliminated from the tournament.
Additionally, this was Popyrin’s first victory over the 24-time Grand Slam champion, and it came to him on his fourth attempt. In the beginning of this year, the two tennis players also competed against each other at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
After the match, which lasted for more than three hours, Popyrin stated, “To tell you the truth, we had some battles against each other at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon.” I had the opportunity to participate in those matches, but I chose not to take advantage of it.
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It was during this match that I was able to play some solid tennis and take my chances when I got him. “It’s unbelievable because I’ve been in the third round about 15 times, but I haven’t been able to get past the fourth round in my career,” the Australian pointed out. ”
It’s a travesty.” To be able to achieve it against the greatest fighter in the history of the sport, to go to the fourth round, is an extraordinary accomplishment.
Following his historic accomplishment of becoming the first Australian player to win an ATP 1000 championship since Lleyton Hewitt in 2003, Popyrin, who is now 25 years old, entered the US Open as a seeded player for the first time in a Grand Slam tournament.
This was the earliest exit from the US Open that Novak Djokovic, who is 37 years old, had experienced in the past 18 years. Since a season that was plagued by injuries in 2017, Novak Djokovic will finish the year without a Grand Slam to his name.
This will be the first time that this has happened. After capturing the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics earlier this month, he was able to accomplish the feat of completing a Golden Slam. “I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played,” Djokovic said as he summed up his performance in the contest.
To tell you the truth, the third round qualifies as a success for me because of how I felt and how I played from the very beginning of this tournament. “Despite my best efforts, I did not experience any physical difficulties. As you could see, I just had the sensation that I was out of gas.
Djokovic continued, “I just didn’t find myself on this court from the very first match.” Within the seventh game of the opening set, Popyrin failed to capitalize on three breakpoint opportunities that were presented to him at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Despite this, the Australian tennis player succeeded in breaking Djokovic’s serve in the ninth game without suffering a single point loss, so gaining a 1-0 advantage in the match.
As Djokovic committed three unforced errors of his serves in the fifth game of the second set, Popyrin took another early break in the match. This time, he was able to capitalize on the momentum that was on his side. As Popyrin maintained his commanding control on serves, he pushed his lead to 2-0.
By making some powerful returns, Novak Djokovic put Popyrin on the defensive during a set that he really had to win. Djokovic was able to win one set back in his favor by breaking Popyrin’s service in the sixth game. This occurred after Djokovic had established a 3-0 lead by winning an early break.
Popyrin capitalized on a vital opportunity in the fifth game of the fourth set, following a cautious beginning for both players in the fourth set. Despite the fact that Djokovic was able to preserve three break points, he ultimately bowed to the pressure that Popyrin was applying.
Another break was won by the Australian tennis player in the seventh game, and she quickly jumped to a 5-2 lead in the match. In spite of the fact that Djokovic was able to bring the score to 5-4, Popyrin was able to win the match because to his powerful serves, which allowed him to achieve victory in four sets.
Frances Tiafoe, a fan favorite in the United States, will now be Popyrin’s opponent in the pre-quarterfinals of the tennis competition at the United States Open 2024.