The three medalists in Paris, almost appeared for the first time in the US Open

Novak Djokovic (2), Carlos Alcaraz (3) and Lorenzo Musetti (18). Gold, silver and bronze at the Olympic Games in Paris. And the three, eliminated almost for the first time in this edition of the US Open against lower ranked rivals in the world such as Alexei Popyrin (28), Botic Van from Zandschulp (74) and Brandon Nakashima (50). Alcaraz was eliminated in the second round, while Djokovic and Musetti were eliminated this morning in the third round, with neither of them reaching the round of 16.

It may be a coincidence but it doesn’t seem to take into account that less than a month since the grand final Djokovic and Alcaraz battled for gold at Roland Garros. “I spent a lot of energy to win gold and I arrived in New York not fresh mentally and physically,” admitted the Serbian.who did not attribute his surprising loss this morning to any kind of injury: “Because it’s the US Open, I gave it a chance and gave it my best. I mean, I don’t have any physical problems. I just don’t have gas and I can say the way I play.” So much so that Djokovic himself did not hesitate to describe his match as “terrible for me. In terms of serving, the worst so far. One of the worst tennis I’ve ever played.”

Alcaraz, in the same line

Although less emphatic, too Carlos Alcaraz He indicated, in part, that his poor performance at this US Open, which he won in 2022, could be due to physical deterioration from a difficult period, although he did not want to use it as an excuse: “I’ve been playing a lot these past few days. Including Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the Olympic Games. I took a little break after the Olympics. I thought it was enough, but it wasn’t. I came here not as strong as I thought I would be, but I didn’t want to use the calendar as an excuse. Whether I’m a player who needs more or less rest days before big tournaments is something I have to think about. Learn from it all.”