CNN
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There was another big surprise at the US Open.

One night after No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz suffered a surprise straight-set defeat by unseeded Botic van de Zandschulp, No. 2 Novak Djokovic was eliminated in the third round at Arthur Ashe Stadium by 28th-seeded Australian Alexei Popyrin.

Popyrin achieves the biggest win of his career with 6:4, 6:4, 2:6, 6:4.

“I’ve been in the third round about 15 times in my career, but I’ve never made it past the fourth round,” Popyrin said on court. “And to have managed to get to the fourth round against the greatest of all time is incredible.”

It was a strange year for Djokovic – at least by his standards – as he failed to win a single Grand Slam title in 2024. For the first time since 2017, he finished a season without a major title.

In fact, it is the first year since 2002 in which none of the members of the “Big Three” in men’s tennis – Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and the now retired Roger Federer – have won a Grand Slam.

Djokovic, who made 14 double faults and 49 unforced errors, did not mince words about his performance.

“The way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of the tournament, the third round is a success for me,” said Djokovic. “Honestly, I played the worst tennis I’ve ever played. The serve was by far the worst ever.”

Djokovic will have to wait until 2025 to win his 25th Grand Slam singles title – which would be the most in either men’s or women’s tennis – with the 37-year-old setting his sights on next year’s Australian Open.

Popyrin had entered the evening with a record of 0:3 in direct duels with Djokovic, including a 0:2 defeat to the Serb at this year’s Grand Slams (Wimbledon and Australian Open).

But the 25-year-old Australian has been on a steady rise this season – particularly during his summer hard court tour, when he won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal earlier this month.

“All good things come in threes, I guess,” Popyrin said. “No, honestly, we had some battles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon. I had my chances in those matches, but I didn’t take them. This match was a bit different. I was able to take my chances when I had them and played good tennis.”

In the round of 16, Popyrin will face American and number 20 seed Frances Tiafoe, who defeated his friend and compatriot and number 13 seed Ben Shelton in a four-hour, five-set battle on Friday morning.

Popyrin is the second Australian to defeat Djokovic at a Grand Slam tournament and the first player to defeat Djokovic before the fourth round of the US Open since Australian Lleyton Hewitt – part of Popyrin’s box at Arthur Ashe Stadium – defeated Djokovic in the third round in 2006.

This was Djokovic’s earliest exit from a major this year.

In January, Djokovic failed in his most successful major tournament to date – the Australian Open, which he won ten times – and lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

In June, he withdrew from the French Open after suffering a torn meniscus in the fourth round on clay. Less than a month later, Djokovic was improbably back on court after surgery, competing on grass at Wimbledon, losing the final to Alcaraz in straight sets.

His only title up to that point this year was winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games at Roland Garros – the same venue where he had sustained the knee injury just a few weeks earlier – against Alcaraz.

“I put a lot of energy into winning gold and when I arrived in New York I just didn’t feel fresh mentally and physically,” Djokovic said. “But because it’s the US Open, I tried and did my best. I don’t have any physical problems. I just felt out of breath.”