Novak Djokovic gestues after winning a point. File photo

After the early exit of Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open, we thought it is going to be a cakewalk for World No.1 Champion Novak Djokovic to win his 25th Grand Slam at the US Open this year. Alas, after completing the Golden Slam at Paris Olympics, he seems to have slackened a bit and lost during the 3rd round match to Alexei Popyrin of Australia in 4 sets. After losing the first two sets and when he won the 3rd set, we thought it could be another comeback win in 5 sets. But it just proved to be an awful match for him to exit early.

Anyway, the Australian Open is not far away and he could recover before the start of the Australian Open in 2025 to annex his 25th Grand Slam. We wish him the best during the next year slams.

Vinay Mahadevan,

Chennai, India