Tennis great Martina Navratilova admitted she was “not surprised” by Novak Djokovic’s early exit at the US Open, saying he didn’t have the “focus or fire”.
Djokovic said he “played some of the worst tennis I have ever played” after he followed Carlos Alcaraz in crashing out of the US Open.
Defending champion Djokovic was dethroned by 28th seed Alexei Popyrin in a stunning 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 exit in the third round at Flushing Meadows.
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Highlights of the US Open match between Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin
Defeat for Djokovic means it is the first time since 2017 that he has not won a Grand Slam title and is his earliest exit at a major since the Australian Open that year.
It extends the Serbian’s wait for a record-breaking 25th major title and, at 37, his domination may be coming to an end.
“His goal for the year was to get the Olympic gold medal, and he got that done, so I’m not surprised he didn’t have the focus or that fire,” said Navratilova, an 18-time women’s singles champion.
“It’s impossible to keep it going consistently. When you have a slight off day when you are older, it’s way worse than when you’re 25.
“Everything gets harder, takes longer. Recovery from training hard, recovery from injury. You want to train less but then you’re in worse shape.
“I just don’t see how he can stay motivated. If anybody can, it’s him, but he has got to play a little bit more than he has been playing.
“If he pulls back too much…you have to be match tough. You can’t practice that.”
Henman: Go for 25 in 2025
Djokovic said he “played some of the worst tennis I have ever played” after his defeat to Popyrin
Djokovic came into the tournament knowing he would be up against it owing to his emotionally draining Olympic win and being without a hard-court match since March and Tim Henman said: “It just emphasises how important a serve is. When he’s not getting those cheap points, he’s not really getting the platform to dominate from the back of the court.
“And you add to that physically, the tank is probably a bit empty. The emotional energy looks flat, and he couldn’t find a spark.
“That being said, I thought Popyrin deserved so much credit. He’s playing fantastic tennis. I loved his attitude.
“However badly Djokovic said he played, Popyrin deserved to win.
“It’s about recharging the batteries emotionally and physically, and then going for 25 in 2025.”
Broady: Is he even going to make the ATP Finals?
Noami Broady emphasised she didn’t pick Djokovic as her favourite because his ultimate goal for the year was the Paris Olympics.
“For the entire year he was eyeing the Olympics, that’s what he trained for, and now that he’s got that, you hear it sometimes with the Olympians in other sports, you have to reset and readjust your goals,” she said.
“How much motivation does he still have to push himself for No 25? That’s what I’m going to find interesting.
“Is he even going to make end-of-year finals at this point? He has to push on if he’s going to.”
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Highlights of the opening round clash between Djokovic and Radu Albot
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in September?
- Jasmin Open, Tunisia – WTA 250 (9-15 September)
- Guadalajara Open, Mexico – WTA 500 (9-15 September)
- Korea Open – WTA 500 (16 -22 September – with Emma Raducanu in action)
- Thailand Open – WTA 250 (16 -22 September)
- Chengdu Open, China – ATP 250 (18-24 September)
- Hangzhou Open, China – ATP 250 (18-24 September)
- China Open – WTA 1000 (Sept 25 – Oct 6)
- Japan Open – ATP 500 (Sept 25 – Oct 1)
- China Open – ATP 500 (Sept 26 – Oct 2)
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Find out all the ways to watch tennis on Sky Sports, including the US Open, ATP and WTA tours
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