NEW YORK (Reuters) -Novak Djokovic's bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title ended with a whimper at the U.S. Open as the defending champion was stunned in the third round by Alexei Popyrin on Friday while Aryna Sabalenka survived a late-night scare.
Djokovic searched in vain for the form that helped him win the Paris Olympics gold this month, as the 37-year-old Serbian crashed 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 against Australian Popyrin to ensure a year without a major for the first time since 2017.
"I spent a lot of energy winning gold and I arrived at New York just not feeling fresh, mentally and physically," Djokovic told reporters.
"But because it's the U.S. Open I gave it a shot and tried my best. I didn't have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas and you could see that with the way I played."
The result will also mark the first time since 2002 that a year will finish without a member of the "Big Three" - Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer - winning a major.
A second shocker in as many days at the year's final Grand Slam, after French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz's premature exit, left a host of players relishing the chance for a rare shot at glory.
Frances Tiafoe kept alive his hopes of becoming the first American man to claim the U.S. Open title since Andy Roddick 21 years ago by outlasting compatriot Ben Shelton 4-6 7-5 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 to move ahead.
He was joined by another top contender in Taylor Fritz, who eased past Francisco Comesana 6-3 6-4 6-2 to emerge as the first American man to make the last 16 at all four Grand Slams in the same year since Andre Agassi in 2003.
"It's a pretty cool thing to do because just last year I was really struggling with Grand Slam results," Fritz said.
"So it's nice to do a lot better at something I put a lot of emphasis on, which was performing at the slams and performing at the biggest tournaments."
Defending champion Coco Gauff conceded six games across the first two rounds but came under pressure from Elina Svitolina as she dropped the first set to the Ukrainian before rebooting to complete a 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory.
"I feel like I lost eight points in a row at the end of the first set. I don't really know the exact number. Probably more," world number three Gauff said.
"So I knew I needed a reset at that point. I just went and used the bathroom, changed the bottom half of my clothes, and splashed some water on my face, and felt like a new person coming out.
"I just didn't want to leave the court with any regrets."
LATEST START
Sabalenka looked shaky after the latest start to a U.S. Open match at 12.08 a.m. local time on Saturday morning but secured a 2-6 6-1 6-2 win over 29th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Alexander Zverev outlasted Tomas Martin Etcheverry 5-7 7-5 6-1 6-3 on Louis Armstrong Stadium in the second latest finish at the major at 2.35 a.m local time, behind the epic between Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in 2022 that ended at 2.50 a.m.
Paula Badosa was also in no mood to bow out tamely as the former world number two rallied from a set down to beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse 4-6 6-1 7-6(8).
The Spaniard has hit top form on the American hardcourts a few months after she contemplated retirement when doctors told her she could struggle on the surface due to a back injury.
"It means so much. After what I've been through the last year, for me, it's very special to already be on this level," said Badosa, who won her first title in over two years at Washington this month.
Three-times runner-up Victoria Azarenka could not avoid an exit as the Belarusian fell to a 6-4 3-6 6-1 loss to unseeded Wang Yafan.
Wang's Chinese compatriot and Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen also continued her winning run, beating Jule Niemeier 6-2 6-1, but it was the end of the road for Shang Juncheng, who squandered a two-set lead against eighth seed Casper Ruud.
Ruud, the 2022 runner-up, won 6-7(1) 3-6 6-0 6-3 6-1 and credited his mental toughness for getting him through.
"We're all physically strong out here. It's a matter of having the right mindset and believing all the way. Luckily I wasn't down in the third set," Ruud said.
"I probably got some fire going and just kept believing."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar, Amy Tennery and Rory Carroll; Editing by William Mallard and Himani Sarkar)
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