Djokovic: 'I've played some of the worst tennis I've ever played'

Novak Djokovic made abundantly clear his disappointment with his level after a stunning third-round loss to Alexei Popyrin on Friday at the US Open.

“Congratulations to him and his team. He definitely played better and deserved to win today,” Djokovic said. “On my end, honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round is a success. I mean, I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly, serving by far the worst ever.”

Djokovic hit a stunning 32 double faults in his three matches at Flushing Meadows, including 14 against Popyrin (his record high for a Slam match). The 24-time major champion dropped serve five times against the Australian.

“If you play on a quick surface like this without the serve, without [the] ability to win free points there, very low first-serve percentage, many double faults, then you can't win,” Djokovic said. “You can't win, especially against the guys who are in form like Alexei who is serving big, puts a lot of pressure on your service game. Yeah, it was just an awful match for me.”

Earlier this month, Djokovic surged to one of the highest highs of his career at the Paris Olympics, where he produced a memorable performance to defeat Carlos Alcaraz for the gold medal. But the Serbian, who did not play a hard-court tournament before arriving in New York, never found the same level at the season’s final major.

“It's a different surface. 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,” Djokovic said. “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 and you could see that with the way I played.

“Just from the very beginning, from the first match, I just didn't find myself at all on this court. It's all I can say. Life moves on. I [will] just try and recalibrate and look for what's next.”

𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄 🤩@AlexeiPopyrin99 stuns Djokovic to advance to R4 in NYC.@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/3M96vWxCrv

Djokovic explained that it was “a big struggle mentally” to compete at the US Open, where he is a four-time champion. He admitted to never playing close to his best tennis.

“It's not good to be in that kind of state where you feel okay physically, and of course you're motivated because it's a Grand Slam, but you just are not able to find your game. That's it,” Djokovic said. “The game is falling apart, and I guess you have to accept that tournaments like this happen.

“You could argue that it's because of the Olympics, but I don't know. I don't want to analyse that right now. I was just looking to really improve my game here on a daily basis, but it just didn't happen.”

The 37-year-old tallied a 16-3 record at the Grand Slam tournaments this year, marking the first season in which he has not claimed a major trophy since 2017. His best result came at Wimbledon, where Djokovic made the final before falling to Alcaraz.

The 99-time tour-level titlist’s defeat to Popyrin marks his earliest exit at a Slam since the 2017 Australian Open, where he lost to Denis Istomin in the second round.

“Fresh off the court, you have a bitter taste in your mouth and you don't like losing, even though I had so many more wins than losses in this tournament and really any other. So I have to draw the line,” Djokovic said. “Sitting from a larger perspective, of course I have to be content. It's hard to see the big perspective right now. You're just angry and upset that you lost and the way you played and that's it. But tomorrow is a new day, and I will obviously think about what to do next.”

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