Australian Alexei Popyrin unleashed his brand of Big-Man Tennis to stun Novak Djokovic at the US Open Friday night, ousting the defending champion 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on the back of 50 winners.
Djokovic was the partial author of his own demise, serving a career-high 14 double faults in a Grand Slam match, including four to hand Popyrin a double break at 5-2 in the fourth set. That insurance break proved crucial as the Australian was broken in his first attempt to serve out the match but closed it out two games later.
“Third time lucky [this year] I guess,” Popyrin said. “Honestly, we had some battles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. I had my chances in those matches, but didn’t take them. This match was a little different. I was able to take my chances when I had them and played some good tennis.”
“It’s unbelievable because I’ve been in the third round about 15 times in my career, but I haven’t been able to get past to the fourth round,” Popyrin said. “To be able to do it against the greatest of all time to get into the fourth round is unbelievable. It’s a great feeling and the hard work has paid off.”
With the biggest win of his career to date, Popyrin ended Djokovic’s hopes of winning a record-extending 25th Grand Slam men's singles title and 100th career title. Popyrin pushed Djokovic to four sets at the Australian Open and Wimbledon earlier this year, but came into Friday night’s match with an 0-3 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the legend.
This will be an August to remember for the 25-year-old Aussie, who was also the surprise winner of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal earlier this month. With that win, the current No. 28 jumped to a career-high No. 23 in the PIF ATP Rankings as he defeated five Top 20 players on his way to the title.
The last time Djokovic ended a season without a Grand Slam triumph was 2017. Not since 2002 has a season gone by without a member of the Big Three (Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal) winning a major.
Popyrin will now face home favourite No. 20 Frances Tiafoe in his first fourth-round appearance at the US Open. This will be the pair’s first meeting in the Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Tiafoe beat compatriot and last year’s semi-finalist No. 13 Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 in a marathon match on Arthur Ashe earlier on Friday.
The defeat was Djokovic's earliest loss at a major since a second-round exit at the 2017 Australian Open at the hands of Denis Istomin. It was also his earliest departure from the US Open since he bowed out in the same round to Lleyton Hewitt in 2006.
FOURTH SET
The Australian was immediately under pressure when serving in his first service game of the fourth set as Djokovic’s precision from the baseline increasingly came to the fore.
But he was able to save two break points to at least halt the flow of games running against him, with the second an error drawn as a result of swinging a serve into the champion’s body.
The Davis Cup star continued to live dangerously on serve, but was able to escape another tricky situation in the following game after two wild forehands saw him slip to 0-30.
The control he showed to make a backhand half-volley off a stinging Djokovic return on the fourth point of the game was critical as it enabled him to draw square rather than face break points.
Arguably the most critical game in the match followed as Popyrin pressed for the first time in 45 minutes on the superstar’s serve at 2-all.
Set up with some superb defensive work on the backhand side, Popyrin was able to win two points from the deuce court when whipping forehand winners cross court after dipping the ball to the advancing Djokovic’s feet to bring up a break point.
The Serbian rose to the occasion on the first break point with a crisp backhand volley. Popyrin earned another opportunity with superb defence, only for Djokovic to answer again, this time with an ace.
When a third opportunity presented, Djokovic crunched a deep second serve which proved too tricky for the Australian to handle given his aggressive returning position.
Djokovic double-faulted at deuce to offer another chance.
This time Popyrin pounced when, after an extended rally, he thumped an inside-out forehand winner that has become a real strength. Sitting in his box at the change of ends, the Australian pumped his fist in delight.
Against Djokovic, it cannot be considered a break until the following game is won and the superstar tightened his level to move to 15-40 on Popyrin’s serve.
But in a measure of his conviction, the Australian rose to the occasion with superb forehands and serving to see off the challenge yet again and move to within two games of victory.
With the pressure mounting, the issue that threatened to prove Djokovic’s Achilles heel in this tournament came to the fore.
In his final service game for the tournament, he served four double faults to take his tally for the night to 13 on the way to conceding a second service break.
Bidding to serve out the match, Popyrin showed some nerves, slipping to 0-40.
He saved the first three points, but the defending champion proved too brilliant from the baseline on the fourth. Has there ever been a more defiant player in tennis?
The gap closed and the nerves tingled. Djokovic held serve again and, as he walked to the chair, he put his hand to his ear to hear the roaring of the capacity crowd watching courtside.
This time there was no blinking, with Popyrin holding to love to defeat a giant of the sport.
THIRD SET
In any match involving Djokovic, it is important not to count ones chickens before they have hatched. And as a rattler on the Long Island Railroad line that runs behind Arthur Ashe Station thundered past with Popyrin serving at 0-1, Djokovic broke for the first time.
It was a reminder that while the Popyrin Express had sprinted out of the station, reaching the destination was no guarantee. Just a year ago on this court, his 37-year-old rival had overcome a similar deficit against Laslo Djere on the way to clinching the title.
And while Popyrin performed brilliantly when winning the Montreal Masters earlier in August, managing the deed over five sets against the most successful man in history was always going to prove difficult.
After all, he had run down players the calibre of Roger Federer, Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas from this position in the past.
With the crowd behind the only man to post at least 90 wins in all four majors, the world No. 2 threatened to steam back into the match. Having played at an extremely high level for the first 95 minutes, errors started to flow from Popyrin’s end of the court more regularly.
That said, the point Popyrin and Djokovic played with the Australian serving at 0-13, 15-30 in the set is well worth tracking down and watching again and again, as it highlights the Sydneysider’s agility and range of shotmaking and also the Serbian’s incredible movement.
For a 37-year-old? My word. Remarkable. But what has not been as extraordinary is his serving through the tournament and Djokovic offered Popyrin a reprieve at 3-1.
To his immense credit, the angular right-hander pressed the Serbian hard in the game, eventually retrieving the break when Djokovic pushed two forehands wide from deuce.
But there has been no-one better than Djokovic at breaking immediately after dropping serve and the Serbian managed the deed once again.
After dropping serve for the first time in the match when leading 30-0 at 0-1, he again lost his delivery despite being in a strong position in his serving game.
Popyrin will rue a couple of double faults in a game he led 40-15 when seeking to level the set and the 10-time Australian Open chance waved his arms to the crowd after seizing the upper-hand once again.
In a sign of a significant momentum swing, Djokovic was able to break for the third time in the set to clinch it 6-2.
SECOND SET
Popyrin was able to seize the upper-hand in the early stages of the second set when, on his third break point at 2-all, he drew Djokovic into an error after drawing the four-time US Open champion forward with a low-sliced backhand directed to the Serbian’s forehand.
Djokovic made a serious bid to level when forcing the Sydneysider to deuce with Popyrin serving at 4-3 but the three-time ATP Tour titleist was able to see off the challenge when holding his composure in a searching rally.
But there was a concerning moment in the following service game when the Australian pulled up short after pushing wide in a bid to scramble a forehand.
He leant on a box on the side of the court for several seconds and Djokovic watched with clear interest as a replay was shown. The Australian barely moved on the next two points and looked towards his box as he walked to the change of ends.
But he did not call for a trainer and, on the opening point of his bid to clinch a two set lead, moved well to finish a rally with a crisply struck backhand down the line.
Djokovic’s struggles with his serve, which had been below-par in his first two wins, surfaced in the second set when he struck a couple of unforced errors.
FIRST SET
The encounter started exactly 90 minutes after its scheduled time due to the late finish in the all-American epic Frances Tiafoe clinched over Ben Shelton in five sets in the afternoon session.
Djokovic has struggled on his serve in the first two rounds, describing his level as “awful” after a win over compatriot Laslo Djere, who withdrew early in the third set on Wednesday night due to injury.
But he began with two aces in the opening game to the advantage court – one on a second serve – in a more promising start for the Serbian, who ultimately landed 50 percent of his first serves for the set.
The combatants held at relative ease in the first five games before Djokovic launched the first real challenge in a game that he started by spanking a forehand return winner.
Popyrin saved five break points in all – three in succession from 0-40 – to suggest he had the appetite for the fight ahead. Djokovic had declared prior to the match that he needed to “step it up”. And he certainly did that on serve until 4-all, when the Aussie surged.
The Montreal Masters winner broke the 24-time major winner to love to move to a 5-4 lead. When thumping a forehand winner to bring up three break points, he bellowed ‘C’mon’. He then played a superb point capped by a backhand lob that drew an error from his rival.
His confidence blooming, Popyrin clubbed a couple of forehand winners and then a brilliant serve-and-volley point to close out the first set by winning the last 10 points.
