Entering the 2024 US Open, its previous two champions Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic were the betting favorites. Then the tournament lost both of them in its first week, in the span of two days, in a sport where titans rarely fall to non-titans.
Djokovic was stunned by No. 28 seed Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the third round on Friday, one day after Alcaraz was bounced from the tournament by unseeded Botic Van de Zandschulp. It was the Serbian star's earliest elimination from a Grand Slam since the 2017 Australian Open.
The dual upsets leave top seed Jannik Sinner as the favorite to take the US Open title, after having won the 2024 Australian Open earlier this year.