Novak Djokoviceliminated this Friday in the third round of the US Open against Alexei Popyrin ensured that his level of tennis with this ‘great’ New Yorker was the worst he could remember in his legendary and brilliant career.
“Honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, getting to the third round was an achievement. I mean, I played some of the worst tennis I’ve ever played. As for the service, the worst so far“he said in a press conference.
“If you play on a fast surface like this without serving and without the ability to win ‘free points’, with a very low percentage of first serves and a lot of double faults, you cannot win. Especially against players who are in shape Alexei Popyrinwho serves very well and puts a lot of pressure on my serve. Yes, it was a terrible game for me,” he added.
Just one day after removal Carlos Alcarazthe US Open suffered another shock this Friday with the loss of Djokovicdestroyed in the third round by Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-4, 2-6 and 6-4 in three hours and 19 minutes.
The current champion of the ‘big’ New Yorker will finish a year without winning a ‘grand slam’ for the first time since 2017. She also fell short of her 25th major title to break the tie with Margaret Court (24) as the tennis player with the most trophies in history.
Djokovic comes from winning the gold in Paris 2024but in the Big Apple he arrived with little energy and did not participate in any of the hard court tournaments on the North American tour.
“I spent a lot of energy winning gold and arrived in New York not feeling fresh mentally and physically,” he admitted.
“Since the US Open, I gave it a chance and did my best. I mean, I don’t have any physical problems. I just don’t have gas and you can see it in the way I play,” he added.
The Belgrade native also emphasized that he “can’t” find his best tennis and is “not even close” to his level.
“I guess you have to accept that tournaments like this happen,” he said resignedly.
“I guess you can argue that it was because of the Olympics but I don’t know. I don’t want to analyze that right now. I was just looking to improve my game here day after day but it didn’t happen,” he said. .
Finally, Djokovic He emphasized that the race to win this edition of the United States Open is wide open after his departure and that also surprised Alcaraz.
“The draw has opened. Obviously Sinner is the main favorite but Tiafoe and Fritz are also there as American favorites. Zverev… You have guys playing well. And Rublev and Dimitrov in this part of the draw. Anyone can win . It will be interesting to see who wins the title in the end,” he concluded.
Source: La Verdad
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