US Open: Australia’s Popyrin knocks out Djokovic

Novak Djokovic’s latest bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title crashed to a halt on Friday as 28th-ranked Alexei Popyrin knocked the defending champion out of the US Open third round.

One day after third seed Carlos Alcaraz slumped to a shock defeat against 74th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp, 25-year-old Popyrin robbed the tournament of another superstar with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory.

Popyrin handed Djokovic his earliest US Open exit in 18 years and his earliest Grand Slam exit since he fell in the second round of the Australian Open in 2017 — which was also the last year the Serbian great failed to claim a single Grand Slam title.

Although he won the Olympic gold he had long coveted at the Paris Games, an uneven season that included knee surgery saw Djokovic come up empty in the majors.

He had beaten Popyrin in three prior encounters, including at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year.

But a career-high 14 double faults — 49 unforced errors total — were too much for Djokovic to overcome.

“It was just an awful match for me,” Djokovic said. “I mean, I tried so many things, and sometimes that’s an issue … you move away from the basics that work. You lose the foundation. You lose the movement, the timing, the rhythm, the tempo, everything, whether it’s a serve or any other shot.”

Popyrin, coming off the biggest title of his career at the Montreal Masters, saved five break points in the sixth game of the match, swinging fearlessly to seize the first two sets.

Djokovic gave himself some breathing room with an early break in the third. Popyrin clawed back only for Djokovic to break him twice more, the Serbian taking full advantage of Popyrin’s mounting errors.

But the Aussie responded in a tense fourth set, saving break