Novak Djokovic admits that this year’s US Open was some of the worst tennis he has ever player after losing to Alexei Popyrin 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4.
There will be no Grand Slam title for Novak Djokovic in 2024 after the Serb was stunned in the third round by Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin.
The Serb was only able to convert four of 16 break point opportunities as he suffered his earliest Grand Slam exit since 2017.
After claiming Olympic gold, a Grand Slam run was always going to be a tough ask for Djokovic as his title defence ends in the first week.
Speaking after the match Djokovic congratulated Popyrin but admitted he played some of the worst tennis of his career at this year’s US Open, “Congratulations to him and his team. He definitely played better and deserved to win today,” Djokovic stated in his press conference.
“I mean, on my end, 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.
“So, yeah, if you play on a quick surface like this without, you know, 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.
“It was just an awful match for me.”
After achieving the biggest moment of his career in Paris, Djokovic came into the US Open fatigued and unprepared with evidence of that being a first week exit.
Elaborating on his game Djokovic admitted he lost the foundations of his game and reflected on what impact the Olympics had on the result, “I mean, I tried so many things, and sometimes that’s an issue, you know, is that you move away from the basics that work,” Djokovic explained.
“Then you just lose the basics. You lose the foundation. You lose the movement, the timing, the rhythm, the tempo, everything, whether it’s a serve or any other shot. 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.
“So, you know, it’s not good to be in that kind of state where you feel okay 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.
“I mean, obviously it had an effect. I spent a lot of energy winning the gold, and I did arrive to New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically. But because it’s US Open, you know, I gave it a shot and I tried my best.”
Djokovic will now leave the world’s top three after the US Open having been defending champion entering the event.
The Serb also sits at seventh in the Nitto ATP Finals race rankings and will need to have deep runs in Shanghai and Paris in order to qualify for the season ending finale in Turin.
