The Serb was one of the pre-favourites to win the Grand Slam tournament, which he has won four times. The last time was last year, and he would now try to become the first male player since 2008 to defend his title in New York, but that will not happen now.
Earlier in August, Djokovic won the Olympic Games tennis in Paris, which has affected him both physically and mentally, he admitted after the match against Popyrin.
Of course, it plays a part, says Djokovic.
Popyrin is ranked 28th in the world and has had a small breakthrough in the last month, following his victory in the major tournament in Montreal. He will face home favourite Frances Tiafoe in the next match, who won a tough five-setter against compatriot Ben Shelton in the third round.
Djokovic's elimination follows shortly after another of the big stars, Carlos Alcaraz, was forced to leave the tournament after unexpectedly losing to Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp. The Spaniard won the US Open 2022.
On the other hand, Alexander Zverev is moving on after a three-and-a-half-hour-long night match against Tomas Martin Etcheverry. The Argentine took the first set and had the lead in the second before the German world number four managed to turn the match around with the winning scores 5–7, 7–5, 6–1, 6–3.
In the women's singles tournament, world number two Aryna Sabalenka is through to the fourth round after coming back from 0–1 down in sets to win 2–6, 6–1, 6–2 against Jekaterina Alexandrova, Russia.
