There will be a new winner of the US Open after reigning champion Novak Djokovic was defeated 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 by Alexei Popyrin in the third round on Friday evening.

The updated pool for the US Open is led by top-seeded Jannik Sinner, who prepares to take on Christopher O’Connell in the third round on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. ET.

The loss came a day after Carlos Alcaraz was surprised by Botic van de Zandschulp. This is only the second time in the last 10 Grand Slam tournaments that at least one of Djokovic and Alcaraz is not in the final (2022 French Open).

Friday’s loss also means Djokovic will not win a Grand Slam title this calendar year for the first time since 2017. It was also the earliest defeat in any of the four major tournaments he has lost since Denis Istomin defeated him in the second round of the 2017 Australian Open.

“I played one of the worst tennis games I’ve ever played, honestly,” Djokovic told reporters after his defeat. “Serving – by far – the worst ever.”

It is also the first time since 2002 that neither Djokovic, Rafael Nadal nor Roger Federer have won a Grand Slam tournament.

The No. 3 made a career-high 14 double faults against Popyrin, four of which came in the second set, giving Popyrin a double-break chance with a 5-2 lead.

Djokovic entered 2023 coming off one of the most dominant seasons of his career, reaching the finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments and winning the Australian Open, French Open and US Open.

The only time Djoker appeared in one of the four major tournament finals this year was at Wimbledon, where he lost to Alcaraz. He saved it in 2024 by winning his first Olympic gold medal in Paris.

Friday marked the fourth head-to-head meeting between Djokovic and Popyrin, with Djokovic holding a 3-0 record in the previous three matches. The two most recent meetings came at the Australian Open and Wimbledon earlier this year.

Popyrin finally got over the hump against perhaps the greatest male player of all time, having won nine of his last ten matches, dating back to the National Bank Open.

Popyrin’s next opponent is a fourth-round showdown with No. 20 Frances Tiafoe on Sunday.