Record 14 double faults cost Djokovic dear at US Open: “I played some of the worst tennis I have ever played”

The 24-time Grand Slam champion said he was “out of gas” and had nothing left to give as he lost in four sets to Alexei Popyrin

Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic

Simon Cambers

August 31, 2024

It doesn’t need a statistical genius to see where things went wrong for Novak Djokovic in the third round of the US Open on Friday night.

Against quality opposition – and in Alexei Popyrin he had a man playing the best tennis of his career on the other side of the net – Djokovic sent down 14 double faults, the most he’s ever done in any match in his whole life and didn’t mince his words when he was asked to sum up his performance.

“Congratulations to him and his team. He definitely played better and deserved to win today,” Djokovic said. “Honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round is a success. I mean, I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly, serving by far the worst ever.

“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. You can’t win, especially against the guys who are in form like Alexei who is serving big, puts a lot of pressure on your service game. Yeah, it was just an awful match for me.”

No injury concern

Djokovic said he was not struggling physically but was emotionally spent, admitting that his hectic summer – a knee injury at the French Open which needed surgery, a quick return and run to the final of Wimbledon and then a stunning Olympics triumph – may have lefty him with nothing to give.

“I spent a lot of energy winning the gold, and I did arrive to New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically,” he said. “But because it’s US Open, I gave it a shot and I tried my best. I mean, I didn’t have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas, you know, and you could see that with the way I played. Just from the very beginning, from the first match, I just didn’t find myself at all on this court.”

Second serve vulnerable throughout

Djokovic won just 46 points on second serve and only 33 percent in the fourth set, allowing Popyrin to clinch the biggest victory of his career and claim a place in the last 16 of a slam for the first time.

“It was just really a big struggle mentally for me to play these three matches here, because I wasn’t playing even close to my best,” Djokovic continued. “It’s not good to be in that kind of state where you feel OK physically, and of course you’re motivated because it’s a Grand Slam, but you just are not able to find your game. That’s it. The game is falling apart, and I guess you have to accept that tournaments like this happen.

“You could argue that it’s because of the Olympics, but I don’t know. I don’t want to analyse that right now. You know, I was just looking to really improve my game here on a daily basis, but it just didn’t happen.”

Djokovic may have been way below par, especially on serve, but Popyrin needed to be at his very best and with the exception of a dip in the third set, he was.

The Australian won 25 of 36 points at the net and continued to be aggressive throughout, hitting 22 winners on his forehand and 50 in all, including serve. He dug himself out of trouble many times with huge hitting, saving 12 of 16 break points and taking five of the 12 he created.

“If he serves well he can beat anybody”

Popryin will play Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round and Djokovic said he had the game to go a long way.

“If he serves well, plays well, he can beat anybody,” he said. “Look, (Carlos) Alcaraz is out, I’m out, you know, some big upsets. The draw is opening up. Obviously (Jannik) Sinner is the main favourite, but then, you know, Tiafoe is there as well as American favourite (Taylor) Fritz. (Alexander) Zverev, you have great guys playing well, and (Andrey) Rublev, (Grigor) Dimitrov in this part of the draw. Anybody can take it. It’s going to be interesting to see who takes the title in the end.”

It is Djokovic’s earliest Grand Slam exit since he lost in the second round at the Australian Open in 2017 and he will now drop out of the world’s top three.