Sensation in New York - the Australian tennis player, Alexey Popirin, defeated the second tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, 3:1 (6:4, 6:4, 2:6, 6:4) early this morning in the third round of the US Open.
Đoković experienced his first defeat against Popirin in the fourth match between them.
In the sixth game of the first set, Djokovic missed five break points, and then in the ninth game, Popirin reached a break, which was enough for him to win the first set.
And in the second set, Popirin reached a break - it was in the fifth game, when the Australian tennis player took a 3:2 lead, preserved the advantage, and then reached 2:0.
Đoković woke up in the third set - he led 3:0, and then Popirin managed to reduce it to 3:2. After that, the Serbian tennis player tied three games and won the third set.
In the fourth set, Popirin made two breaks, won four games in a row and took a 5:2 lead. Djokovic managed to reduce it to 5:4, but that was all - the Australian tennis player used the first match point and advanced to the next round.
Popirin recorded the best result in Grand Slam tournaments, for the first time he managed to pass the third round in one of the four biggest tournaments of the season.
His next rival will be the American Francis Tiafo, who defeated his compatriot Ben Shelton.
For Djokovic, it is the worst result at the US Open since 2006, when he was eliminated in the third round by Lleyton Hewitt.
Bonus video: