Novak Djokovic endures Slamless year for first time since 2017 and other sensational stats as he is stunned by Alexei Popyrin
Novak Djokovic’s incredible run of winning a Grand Slam every season has come to end after seven years as he will finish the season empty-handed at the majors after a shock defeat to Alexei Popyrin at the US Open.
Fresh from winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, the defending champion was the heavy favourite against Popyrin in the third round but he was outplayed as the Australian came away with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory.
For Djokovic, it is his joint-earliest loss at the US Open and it was his first defeat before the fourth round in New York since 2006 when he was beaten by another Australian, Lleyton Hewitt.
It is also the first time since 2017 that the tennis great will finish a year without a Grand Slam.
The Serbian won his maiden Grand Slam at the 2008 Australian Open and then had to wait three years before winning another major in 2010 as he ended up winning a Slam every year for six consecutive years.
That run came to an end in the 2017 season as he suffered a Grand Slam-less campaign after losing in the second round of the Australian Open, quarter-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon and missed the US Open due to elbow surgery.
But he returned with a bang in 2018 as he won Wimbledon and US Open, and then proceeded to win a major every year until 2023 as he lifted trophies at the Australian Open, French Open and US Open last year to take his Grand Slam tally to 24.
Many believed he would pick up major No 25 in 2024, but he lost in the semi-final of the Australian Open, withdrew from his quarter-final match at the French Open due to a knee injury, finished runner-up at Wimbledon before losing in the third round of the US Open.
Big Three Run Also Ends
It is also the first year since 2002 that one of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer failed to win a Grand Slam. Federer, of course, retired in 2022 while Nadal has played only a handful of tournaments this year due to injury.
But it is now a sure sign that the Big Three is on the way out.
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With Carlos Alcaraz also losing in the second round at Flushing Meadows, it is only the third time since the start of the Open Era that two of the top three seeds are out in the first week of the US Open.
Third seed Alcaraz was beaten in straight sets by Botic van de Zandschulp.
The first time that two of the top three seeds lost this early was in 1973 when second seed Ilie Nastase lost in the second round and third seed Arthur Ashe was beaten in the third round.
It would take another 27 years for the feat to happen again as second seed Gustavo Kuerten lost in the first round in 2000 before top seed Andre Agassi lost in the second round.
