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Novak Djokovic upset by Alexei Popyrin in 3rd round of US Open - ESPN

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NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic did not go easy on himself when assessing the listless way he performed from the start of the US Open, pointing to his sloppy serving as the main reason the defense of his 2023 title surprisingly ended in the third round. «I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly,» Djokovic said, just after midnight as Friday turned to Saturday. «Serving — by far — the worst ever.» With 14 double-faults, raising his tournament total to 32, Djokovic bowed out with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to 28th-seeded Alexei Popyrin of Australia, another shocking result at Flushing Meadows one night after 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz exited.

It's Djokovic's earliest loss at a major since the 2017 Australian Open, where he lost in the second round to Denis Istomin.

It's also only the third time in the Open era that two of the top three men's seeds at the US Open are gone before the fourth round; the other instances were in 1973 and 2000. «It was just an awful match for me,» the No.

2-seeded Djokovic said. «I wasn't playing even close to my best. 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.

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Frances Tiafoe blamed his heartbreaking five-set US Open semi-final defeat to Taylor Fritz on cramping after his "body shut down". Tiafoe twice led in the match but the final set lasted just 27 minutes in which he was broken three times and collected just nine points. "I was the better player for sure tonight. In the fourth set, I just had some in-and-out cramps. I felt like my body just kind of shut down on me," said the 20th-ranked Tiafoe after his 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 defeat.
NEW YORK : Shock upsets, marathon encounters and late nights are nothing new at the U.S. Open, but a handful of notable matches at the year's final Grand Slam have put the sport and its packed season schedule under greater scrutiny.
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NEW YORK — Frances Tiafoe returned to the US Open quarterfinals for the third straight year, beating Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3 on Sunday night.
Coco Gauff joined Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz on the US Open scrap-heap Sunday as the defending champion crashed out to Emma Navarro in a blizzard of mistakes. As Gauff exited, US hopes were then rekindled when Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz reached the men's last-eight, igniting hopes of a first homegrown male Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick's win in New York in 2003. Third-ranked Gauff slumped to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 fourth round defeat to her American teammate on the back of 19 double faults and 60 unforced errors. 
NEW YORK : Jannik Sinner reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open, avoiding the fate as his main rivals, while fellow top seed Iga Swiatek gained momentum in her bid for a sixth Grand Slam title after a pep talk from Serena Williams on Saturday.

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