Novak Djokovic makes ‘angry and upset’ confession after shock US Open defeat
Novak Djokovic suffered his earliest exit from a Grand Slam since 2017 and he admitted that his Olympic gold medal run eventually took its toll after he was bundled out of the US Open.
Just weeks after his record achievement at the Paris Games, Djokovic was sent packing from the final Grand Slam of the year by Alexei Popyrin.
The Serbian defeated Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets in the gold medal match at Roland Garros at the beginning of August to become the first man to win gold in the singles without dropping a set. He also became only the fifth player to complete the career Golden Slam by winning the four Grand Slams and Olympic gold.
But he struggled against in the third round at the US Open as the Australian dominated during the 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory.
It was a defeat that hurt as he admitted in the post-match press conference: “Fresh off the court, you have a bitter taste in your mouth and you don’t like losing, even though I had so many more wins than losses in this tournament and really any other. So I have to draw the line.
“Sitting from a larger perspective, of course I have to be content. It’s hard to see the big perspective right now. You’re just angry and upset that you lost and the way you played and that’s it. But tomorrow is a new day, and I will obviously think about what to do next.”
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Djokovic started the US Open without any hard-court warm-up tournaments under his belt as he skipped the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open.
Asked about the impact that the Olympics had on him, he replied: “It’s a different surface. Obviously it had an effect. I spent a lot of energy winning the gold, and I did arrive to New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically.
“But because it’s [the] US Open, I gave it a shot and I 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.
“Just from the very beginning, from the first match, I just didn’t find myself at all on this court. It’s all I can say, life moves on. I [will] just try and recalibrate and look for what’s next.”
But there was no doubt that Popyrin deserved to win and the 24-time Grand Slam winner was full of praise for the 25-year-old.
“Congratulations to him and his team. He definitely played better and deserved to win today,” he said. “On my end, honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round is a success. I mean, I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly, serving by far the worst ever.”
