US Open: Alexei Popyrin stuns Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka survives late scare

NEW YORK, August 31

Novak Djokovic’s bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title ended with a whimper at the U.S. Open as the defending champion was stunned in the third round by Alexei Popyrin on Friday while Aryna Sabalenka survived a late-night scare.

Djokovic searched in vain for the form that helped him win the Paris Olympics gold this month, as the 37-year-old Serbian crashed 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 against Australian Popyrin to ensure a year without a major for the first time since 2017.

“I spent a lot of energy winning gold and I arrived at New York just not feeling fresh, mentally and physically,” Djokovic told reporters.

“But because it’s the U.S. Open I gave it a shot and tried my best. I didn’t have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas and you could see that with the way I played.” The result will also mark the first time since 2002 that a year will finish without a member of the “Big Three” — Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer — winning a major.

A second shocker in as many days at the year’s final Grand Slam, after French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz’s premature exit, left a host of players relishing the chance for a rare shot at glory.

Frances Tiafoe kept alive his hopes of becoming the first American man to claim the U.S. Open title since Andy Roddick 21 years ago by outlasting compatriot Ben Shelton 4-6 7-5 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 to move ahead.

He was joined by another top contender in Taylor Fritz, who eased past Francisco Comesana 6-3 6-4 6-2 to emerge as the first American man to make the last 16 at all four Grand Slams in the same year since Andre Agassi in 2003.

“It’s a pretty cool thing to do because just last year I was really struggling with Grand Slam results,” Fritz said.

“So it’s nice to do a lot better at something I put a lot of emphasis on, which was performing at the slams and performing at the biggest tournaments.” Defending champion Coco Gauff conceded six games across the first two rounds but came under pressure from Elina Svitolina as she dropped the first set to the Ukrainian before rebooting to complete a 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory.

“I feel like I lost eight points in a row at the end of the first set. I don’t really know the exact number. Probably more,” world number three Gauff said.

“So I knew I needed a reset at that point. I just went and used the bathroom, changed the bottom half of my clothes, and splashed some water on my face, and felt like a new person coming out.— PTI