24 hours. Two stunning results on Arthur Ashe. Reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, as well as defending titlist Novak Djokovic both beaten before the second week at a Major for the first time in a while, just weeks removed from their Olympic exertions on Parisian clay left the pair undercooked and lacking energy needed for a deep Flushing Meadows foray.
Alcaraz’s August goes from bad to worse
van de Zandschulp bt. Alcaraz [3] 6-1, 7-5, 6-4
- Turnaround: Botic van de Zandschulp’s ranking plummeted after several early tournament exits – he lost against Swiss teenager Mika Brunold on July 23, before defeat by Belgium’s Raphael Collignon 11 days later
- 28-year-old pondered retirement as recently as the French Open after a R1 defeat by Fabio Fognini – a Major which Alcaraz won outright without playing his best tennis – and now has produced a marquee victory
- Dutchman, who reached the tournament’s quarter-finals in 2021, was beaten in straight-sets by Britain’s Jack Draper in subsequent R3 tie
CARLOS Alcaraz declared his Gael Monfils collapse in Cincinnati was the worst match of his career, though some 14 days later, this showing was surely on par with that.
The four-time Major champion, who had collected two of the year’s three Grand Slam titles heading into Flushing Meadows, departed into the New York night sky with little more than a whimper on Thursday night as the Arthur Ashe crowd were stunned.
His forehand groundstrokes were erratic, 27 unforced errors not illustrating just how easy it was for van de Zandschulp to penetrate him during their longer rally exchanges and well, the Spaniard’s serve wasn’t firing when he needed free points.
He won just 60% of first serve points (26/43) and even less behind his second (14/27, 52%), a startling statistic given how potent a weapon his serve-plus-one often is against anyone on tour.
There were first-round teething problems against Australian qualifier Li Tu, but Alcaraz rarely produces his best tennis early on and was expected to improve as time wore on – especially having shrugged off an injury scare days beforehand.
By the time he found some ball-striking rhythm, it was too late to conjure up an inspired comeback in-front of a bemused crowd: van de Zandschulp was in the zone, slicing well with excellent court coverage to match the world no. 3 in their longer rallies. Pre-match in the tunnel, he said he was aware Alcaraz wasn’t 100%. Executing a straight-sets victory over him though, the way he did, took everyone by surprise.
Popyrin [28] bt. Djokovic [2] 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
- Djokovic concedes in press conference that he was fortunate to even reach round three, given the way he’d been serving and playing overall as the Olympic hangover caught up with another men’s singles medallist
- Djokovic, Alcaraz and Musetti all out in round three or before as the draw opens up on both sides, world no. 1 Jannik Sinner and 2020 runner-up Alexander Zverev are now favoured to reach next weekend’s final
- Intriguing showdown: Popyrin vs. Cincinnati finalist Frances Tiafoe, who reached the 2022 US Open semis, for a quarter-final berth next on Sunday
Just hours after Olympic bronze medallist Lorenzo Musetti’s four-set defeat by rising American talent Brandon Nakashima, defending champion Novak Djokovic was bested in four sets by Australian no. 2 and Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin.
The 25-year-old ended his third-round Major hoodoo against a man he had twice pushed close earlier in the year, first on home soil in Melbourne before Wimbledon and did so the hard way – even if the Serb gift-wrapped 14 double-faults and was rather error-prone during pressure points by his exceedingly high standards.
Djokovic served ten double-faults against Radu Albot, eight in two-and-a-half sets against Laslo Djere and a new unwanted Major record 14 here, equating to three-and-a-half service games’ worth of free points relinquished.
You can’t give away that many against someone who serves as well as Alexei does, with an improved backhand groundstroke and booming forehand, armed with the confidence a first Masters 1000 title would’ve provided him last month too.
Djokovic was passive behind the baseline and consciously displayed little emotion nor energy in the first two sets. By the time he found a foothold in the match, having squandered earlier break point chances, Popyrin had a lead to build upon and fed off the crowd’s raucous atmosphere, giving them excellent shots to savour.
Popyrin saved 75% of the break points he faced over four sets (12/16) and held his nerve in the fourth, when they could’ve easily headed into a deciding set instead.
Much more clinical at the net, he produced some highlight reel shots, line-kissing winners and timely serving to keep Djokovic under the kosh on another evening where the Serb’s serve had deserted him for sustained periods which cost him dearly.
That was evidenced by handing an insurance break (4-2 became 5-2 Popyrin) to the 25-year-old, despite having three chances to close out the game on his serve.
It gave him a double break cushion he would later need to close it out, inflicting Djokovic’s first US Open third-round defeat since 2006 – where one Lleyton Hewitt – in Popyrin’s box here – bested him some 18 years ago. Talk about unpredictability.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via ESPN broadcast
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