The reigning U.S. Open men’s singles champion has fallen.
Novak Djokovic’s pursuit of his would-be 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 Serbian from winning the tournament for a fifth time with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory.
It was the first time in three tries on hard court that Popyrin was able to defeat Djokovic.
Chalk it up to timing or circumstance, but Popyrin competed like a player on the precipice of the biggest win of his career.
The 25-year-old generated a plethora of blistering forehand winners, worked out long rallies and maximized Djokovic’s mistakes.
Finishing with 129 points compared to Djokovic’s 127, Popyrin reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the first time in his career.