Djokovic in trouble: which implications does his US Open early exit have?
Djokovic won’t be able to fight for the 25th major trophy of his career after shockingly losing to Alexei Popyrin.
Novak Djokovic had a great opportunity to try to fight for another Grand Slam event trophy in the US Open. Carlos Alcaraz, one of his fiercest rivals, fell to Botic van de Zandschulp, and that should have boosted Nole’s motivation to try to go all the way in New York.
However, as it happens with other sports, sometimes this logic doesn’t work in tennis and Djokovic was the next superstar to be eliminated from the fourth and last major of the season.
The former world No. 1 didn’t find his rhythm and was seen struggling in most of the match. Although he won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics some weeks ago, this is probably one of Djokovic’s worst seasons, as he hasn’t been able to win any of the four Grand Slam events.
What consequences does Djokovic’s US Open elimination have?
Djokovic’s early US Open against Popyrin is a bitter pill to swallow but the Serb’s problems go beyond that, as his defeat may have bigger implications for the rest of 2024.
The Serb lost 1,900 points for his defeat against the Aussie, as he was defending 2,000 for winning in New York in 2023. And he will go from the second spot in the ATP rankings to the fourth. Alexander Zverev -now virtually the world No. 2- and Alcaraz overtook him, although Daniil Medvedev could be ahead of them if he wins the title and surpass Djokovic if he reaches the semifinals.
Jannik Sinner will continue to lead the standings on Monday, September 9, and he has a shot at finishing the campaign in that privileged spot, as he can still win more games in New York, although he will have to defend 2,180 points for the remainder of the year.
The worst consequence of Djokovic’s fiasco is that he will have to fight to be in the ATP Finals since he is not guaranteed to finish in one of the top eight places in the ATP Race to Turin.
Right now he is seventh with 3,260 points, but there are quite a few players who could overtake him, as they continue competing in the US Open. Alex de Minaur is in the eighth spot with 3,005 points, Taylor Fritz (9th) has 2,790, Grigor Dimitrov (11th) and Tommy Paul (12th) both have 2,635, Frances Tiafoe (18th) 1,850, Alexei Popyrin (20th) 1,715, and even Jordan Thompson (25th) 1,400 points. They all have real options of surpassing Djokovic.