The 37-year-old Djokovic, a four-time New York champion, was painfully unsuccessful once again in his attempt to win a record 25th Grand Slam championship, falling to 28th-ranked Alexei Popyrin of Australia 4-6, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6 in the third round, as per AFP.
He made an unusual 14 double faults and 49 unforced errors in his defeat, which means that he will finish the season without a Grand Slam victory for the first time since 2017.
“The way I played from the beginning of the tournament reaching the third round is a success,” said a despondent Djokovic, who remains marooned on 24 Slam titles with Margaret Court.
“I have played some of my worst tennis ever.”
Djokovic acknowledged that his dismal New York campaign was influenced by the effort and fallout from his Olympic gold medal victory in Paris just four weeks prior.
“Obviously it had an effect. I spent a lot of energy winning the gold, and I did arrive to New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically.
“But because it’s the US Open, I gave it a shot and I tried my best. I didn’t have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas.”
“Life moves on,” added the Serb. “I’ll try and recalibrate and look for what’s next. Tomorrow is a new day.”
