The reigning US Open men’s singles champion has fallen.
Novak Djokovic’s quest for his historic 25th major title came to a stunning end on Friday night at the hands of Australian Alexei Popyrin, who made his Arthur Ashe Stadium debut while preventing the No. 2 seeded Serb from winning the tournament for a the fifth time with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory.
It was the first time in three attempts that Popyrin was able to defeat Djokovic.
Call it timing or circumstance, but Popyrin competed like a player on the cusp of the biggest win of his career.
The 25-year-old generated a flurry of blistering forehand winners, trained long rallies and maximized Djokovic’s mistakes.
After finishing with 129 points compared to Djokovic’s 127, Popyrin reached the fourth round of the US Open for the first time in his career.