‘Worst tennis’ sends Djokovic packing

MANILA, Philippines — Novak Djokovic’s latest bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title crashed to a halt on Friday as 28th-ranked Alexei Popyrin knocked the defending champion out of the US Open third round.

One day after third seed Carlos Alcaraz slumped to a shock defeat against 74th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp, Popyrin, 25, robbed the tournament of another superstar with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory.

Popyrin handed Djokovic his earliest US Open exit in 18 years and his earliest Grand Slam exit since he fell in the second round of the Australian Open in 2017.

A career-high 14 double faults – 49 unforced errors total – were too much for Djokovic to overcome.

“It was just an awful match for me,” Djokovic said. “I have played some of my worst tennis ever.”

Defending women’s champion Coco Gauff survived late-match drama in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Elina Svitolina.

Gauff next faces fellow American Emma Navarro, who beat Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.