What a couple of days it has been at the 2024 US Open. On Thursday night, Wimbledon and French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz was knocked out in straight sets by Botic van de Zandschulp. Then on Friday night, the defending US Open champion Novak Djokovic was knocked out in four sets (6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4) to Alexei Popyrin.
It now means that the two of the favorites to win the event are gone in its first week. For the first time since 2006, Novak Djokovic will not get passed the third round at the US Open. As for Carlos Alcaraz, this is his earliest exit at the tournament in his young career.
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Novak Djokovic had recent struggles before 2024 US Open upset
Outside of the Gold Medal win, Djokovic has had a down year in the majors. He lost to Jannik Sinner in Australia in the semifinals. Then, he got hurt at the French Open and had to withdraw. Djokovic had a remarkable comeback to play Wimbledon and made it to the final, losing straight to Alcaraz.
Djokovic did get Alcaraz back in Paris on the clay at the Olympics. However, this has been an unDjokovic-like year. For the first time since 2002, a member of the Big 3 will not win a major in a calendar year. The only man playing on the tour at that time was Roger Federer. For a mentally tough athlete like Djokovic, you must wonder if splitting with coach Goran Ivanišević was the best decision.
Those two had so much success together. While Marián Vajda and Djokovic had success together as a team, it was not to the level of Goran Ivanišević and Djokovic. It’s something to watch moving forward as Father Time is catching up with an all-time great.
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It is not like Djokovic played a bad match. Alexei Popyrin just played better. Djokovic had eight break-point chances in the first set. He could not convert, and Popyrin just needed one and took the set. Popyrin was striking the ball so smoothly, especially on the forehand. His forehand and serve were on target. It was a similar story in the second set. Djokovic upped his game, but Popyrin stuck with him to take the first two sets.
Popyrin got broken early in the third set but had chances to get back on serve, but Djokovic held strong and took the third set. You could see the thoughts of beating Djokovic entering Popyrin’s head. He was missing shots he had made earlier in the match. Novak Djokovic was finding his rhythm on the return game, and you thought, here we go again.
However, Djokovic could not come back this time from two sets down. Popyrin stayed strong in the fourth set. He got up 5-2 and held on to win 6-4 after Djokovic got one of the breaks back. This is the biggest win Popyrin’s career. He had taken a set off of Djokovic in their previous meetings. This time, he got him. Plus, the Aussie had a lot of confidence heading into this match, winning the Masters 1000 event in Montreal and knocking off five of the top 20 players to claim the crown.
It was an incredible performance by Alexei Popyrin, who will now face Frances Tiafoe in the next round. Tiafoe had a fantastic five-set win over Ben Shelton.
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Carlos Alcaraz’s recent struggles continue
Carlos Alcaraz, who looked to be back in form in his first-round match, is gone in the second round. His forehand continues to break down. It started in the Gold Medal match against Novak Djokovic and continued onto the hardcourts of America. After skipping the Masters 1000 event in Montreal, Alcaraz went to Cincinnati. He was looking to win the title. However, he bounced early and lost to Gael Monfils.
Alcaraz said that was the worst match he played in his career. Again, the forehand was a problem, and he smashed his racket in anger after dumping a shot into the net. The North American hardcourts have not been kind to the young Spaniard.
There is still a lot of time left in the season, with the Asian swing and the Year End Tournament to clean things up. However, expectations were high for Alcaraz heading into the tournament. He was looking to join Rod Laver and Rafael Nadal as the only men to win the French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open in the same year.
Now, he will get back to the drawing board. The men’s field is wide open. Several American men are left in the tournament. Daniil Medvedev is the only man left who has won this title. So, with the losses by Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, it is truly anyone’s tournament to win.
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