US Open: Surprising exit for Djokovic

Previously, world number three Carlos Alcaraz from Spain had already suffered a surprise defeat in the second round to the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp. For the first time since 2002, none of the “Big Three” – Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – won one of the four major tournaments.

“It was a terrible match from me,” said Djokovic afterwards. “At times I played my worst tennis ever, hit as badly as ever.” Djokovic will have to wait a while longer for his 25th major title; this year the 37-year-old did not win one of the big four tournaments for the first time since 2017.

Olympic victory cost energy

Less than a month after his triumph at the Olympics in Paris, Djokovic was far from the brilliant form he showed in the final victory over Alcaraz. “I spent a lot of energy trying to win gold and arrived in New York without feeling mentally and physically fresh,” he said.

In the third round last year against fellow countryman Laslo Djere, Djokovic had already lost the first two sets 4:6. Back then, the most successful tennis professional in history fought back and won the tournament.

Popyrin whips herself to success

But with the score at 2:2 in the fourth set, Popyrin managed to break the match with a powerful forehand in a hard-fought match. The 25-year-old pulled ahead to 5:2, faltered briefly once more, but deservedly celebrated the biggest success of his career so far.

Popyrin, seeded 28th, once again demonstrated his strong hard court form and showed some inspiring tennis at times. He celebrated spectacular point wins exuberantly and repeatedly fired up the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Victory “Against the greatest is unbelievable”

After winning the match, he spread his arms, shouted his joy and enjoyed the ovation of the spectators. “It’s unbelievable,” he enthused. “To make it to the fourth round against the greatest in history is a great feeling.”

In the first interview, Popyrin recalled matches against Djokovic at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. “I had my chances in those matches, but I didn’t take them. This match was a bit different, I was able to take my chances and played good tennis.”

Zverev almost breaks “night shift record”

The day before, the world number three and number three seed Alcaraz from Spain had also surprisingly lost in the second round to the Dutchman van de Zandschulp. According to the table, there would be nothing to prevent a final between Jannik Sinner (ITA/1) and Alexander Zverev (GER/4).

The German survived a grueling night shift, during which he defeated Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry 5:7 7:5 6:1 6:3 after trailing by a set. At 2:35 a.m. New York time, Zverev converted the decisive match point – only one game in the history of the tournament has ended later.

Only 15 minutes missing

The latest match of the US Open to finish was only 15 minutes away: in 2022, Alcaraz defeated Sinner at 2:50 a.m. “Thank you all for staying so long,” Zverev told fans in the winner’s interview and joked: “It’s a Friday night in New York. To be honest, if I had a free Friday night in New York, I would be somewhere else right now.”

At least the audience was treated to Zverev’s 100th victory in a match at one of the four biggest tournaments of the season. The 27-year-old is the first player born after 1990 to achieve this. The American Brandon Nakashima is waiting in the round of the best 16.

Sabalenka and Gauff fight their way through

In the women’s singles, Aryna Sabalenka had to make up for a bad start with many unforced errors in her victory against Ekaterina Alexandrova. “I’m really happy that I was able to turn this match around,” said last year’s finalist from Belarus. Her opponent “played incredible tennis” in the first set, as is well known, the second-seeded Sabalenka.

Defending champion Coco Gauff won a hard-fought match against Ukrainian Elina Switolina 3:6 6:3 6:3. The number three seed Gauff, who had lost only six games in the first two rounds in New York, faced her toughest test yet against Switolina.

However, they were able to improve over the course of the match. In the second set, it helped that Switolina was unable to maintain her initial enthusiasm and played defensively. The 20-year-old Gauff played her best tennis game in the deciding set.

US Open in New York

Men, Singles

Women, Singles