Djokovic's shocking U.S Open loss: A swan song for the golden generation?

Novak Djokovic's bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title ended with a whimper at the U.S. Open as the defending champion was stunned in the third round by Alexei Popyrin on Friday.

Djokovic searched in vain for the form that helped him win the Paris Olympics gold this month, as the 37-year-old Serbian crashed 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 against Australian Popyrin.

"I spent a lot of energy winning gold and I arrived at New York just not feeling fresh, mentally and physically," Djokovic told reporters after the loss.

"But because it's the U.S. Open I gave it a shot and 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."

The numbers behind the shocking result

Djokovic will finish the year without winning any Grand Slam title for the first time since 2017.

The result will also mark the first time since 2002 that a year will finish without a member of the "Big Three" - Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer - winning a major.

Alexei Popyrin is only the second Australian to beat Novak Djokovic at a Grand Slam after Lleyton Hewitt at the U.S. Open (Round of 32) in 2006.

Interestingly, all of the men’s Paris Olympics 2024 Medalists, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti, have been knocked out of the U.S. Open.

Alexei Popyrin of Australiaembraces Novak Djokovic of Serbia after a third round match win.Reuters

'Big Three'

Djokovic’s loss also sparked questions over the 37-year-old's long-term future in the sport and the endgame for tennis' golden generation of the retired Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic.

When Federer captured the 2003 Wimbledon title, it was the first of 66 Slams won by the "Big Three" out of the 84 played up to this year's Wimbledon.

Federer retired in 2022 with 20 majors.

Nadal, now 38 years old, has 22 Slams, the most recent of which came in 2022 when he swept to a 14th French Open.

A succession of injuries limited the Spanish star to just four matches in 2023, when he won just once, and 19 this year with 12 victories.

He was defeated in the first round at Roland Garros for the first time in his career this season before skipping Wimbledon.

Nadal hasn't played a singles match since losing to Djokovic in the second round of the Olympics.

He is scheduled to return at the Laver Cup in Berlin next month and with his ranking having slumped to 154 in the world, there will be inevitable speculation that he will follow Federer's example and use that event to bow out.

Djokovic, 37, holds a men's record 24 Grand Slams but remains frustratingly short of breaking the all-time tie he shares with Australia's Margaret Court.

'Draw the line'

If he were to achieve that goal at the Australian Open in January next year he would be the oldest Grand Slam champion of the modern era.

"I have to draw the line," said Djokovic. "You're just angry and upset that you lost and the way you played and that's it.

"But, you know, tomorrow is a new day, and I will obviously think about what to do next."

Djokovic's rollercoaster year has seen him lose his Australian Open title to Jannik Sinner who also ended his stay as world number one, a lofty status he had enjoyed for a combined 428 weeks.

Carlos Alcaraz, 16 years his junior, succeeded him as French Open champion after Djokovic withdrew from his scheduled quarter-final with a knee injury which required surgery.

Alcaraz then blew the Serb off court to defend his Wimbledon crown.

Djokovic quickly avenged that loss by claiming Olympic gold in Paris which he described as his "greatest achievement".

The issue for Djokovic, who turns 38 next May, is that his aura of invincibility has crumbled.

Popyrin was so unsurprised by his victory on Friday that he described his recent Montreal Masters triumph as being "way bigger" than defeating a player widely regarded as the greatest of all time.

For Djokovic there is a crumb of comfort in knowing that at the end of a long season, the US Open often throws up surprise winners.

Since 2000, there have been 14 different men's champions at the tournament while no man has won the title back-to-back since Federer claimed his fifth straight US Open in 2008.

Djokovic appeared drained from his emotional Olympics experience and admitted that his preparations for New York could have been better.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia greets the crowd after his third round match loss to Alexei Popyrin of Australia.Reuters

Alcaraz, Gauff also out

Djokovic was not the only high-profile upset at the U.S. Open as former champion Carlos Alcaraz was dumped out in a stunning straight-sets defeat by world number 74 Botic van de Zandschulp on Thursday.

Spanish third seed Alcaraz was fully expected to extend his 15-match winning streak at the Grand Slams but the Wimbledon and French Open champion got off to a horrible start and never recovered, going down 6-1 7-5 6-4 in the second round.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff's U.S. Open title defence ended in a 6-3 4-6 6-3 loss to fellow American Emma Navarro in the fourth round on Sunday, the reigning women's champion becoming the latest big name to make an early exit at Flushing Meadows this year.

Gauff had been looking to avenge her fourth-round loss at this year's Wimbledon but Navarro stunned the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium with an aggressive all-round display to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.