Novak Djokovic suffered his earliest US Open exit in 18 years, losing to 28th seed Alexei Popyrin in the third round. Djokovic acknowledged playing some of the worst tennis of his career, with 14 double faults and 49 unforced errors contributing to his 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 defeat. This loss means Djokovic will finish a season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2017. Djokovic attributed his poor performance to physical and mental fatigue following his Olympic gold win. Popyrin celebrated his first fourth-round appearance in a Grand Slam, attributing his success to capitalizing on crucial moments during the match.