Djokovic: "In these conditions, reaching the 3rd round is an achievement".

Novak Djokovic didn't look for extenuating circumstances after his 3rd-round loss to Alexei Popyrin at the US Open. The defending champion explained that he had simply played the worst tennis of his life this year in New York. Here is his full press conference.

Question:
"It's clear that Alexei played exceptionally well tonight. From your point of view, where were you shortest?"

Novak Djokovic:
"Congratulations to him and his team. He really played better and deserved to win today. For my part, honestly, the way I've felt and played since the start of this tournament, reaching the third round is an achievement.

I've played some of the worst tennis of my life. The serve, by far, is the worst I've ever had. If you play on a fast surface like this, without the serve, without the ability to win three points on serve, with a very low first serve percentage, lots of double faults, then you can't win.

You can't win, especially against guys who are in form, like Alexei. He serves very well, which puts a lot of pressure on your service games. It was a horrible match for me."

Question:
"You spoke of an achievement in reaching the third round, given your level. If we go back a few weeks, given your level that Sunday afternoon (in the Olympic final against Alcaraz), which was perhaps one of the best matches you've ever played, can you tell us about what happened between then and now? Was it too much?"

Djokovic:
"I don't know. Maybe, but it's a different surface. Obviously, it had an effect. I put a lot of energy into winning the gold. I arrived in New York not very fresh mentally or physically. But as it's the US Open, I took my chances and did my best.

I didn't have any physical problems. I just felt a bit low on energy. You could tell by the way I played. Right from the start, right from the first match, I felt completely out of place on this court.
That's all I can say. Life takes its course. I'm just trying to recalibrate myself and look ahead to what's next."

Question:
"Did you try to change anything (during the match)? Did you try to do anything to slow him (Popyrin) down?"

Djokovic:
"I tried so many things. That's sometimes a problem. You get away from the basics that work and you lose those basics. You lose the foundations.

You lose the movement, the timing, the rhythm, the tempo, everything. Whether it's a serve or any other shot, I had a lot of trouble mentally playing those three matches here.

I wasn't even close to my best. It's not good to be in that kind of state where you feel good physically. Of course, you're motivated because it's a Grand Slam, but you can't find your game and that's it.

Your game falls apart and I think you have to accept that tournaments like this happen. You could say it's because of the Olympics, but I don't know. I don't want to analyze that right now.
I just wanted to improve my game day by day, but it didn't work out."

Question:
"Is Alexey Poporin a real threat here? Can he claim the title, or is he not there yet?"

Djokovic:
"I don't know what to think about that question. He's just beaten me, the defending champion. He deserves to be congratulated and respected for that. If he serves well, if he plays well, he can beat anyone. I mean, Alcaraz is out, I'm out. There have been some big surprises.

The men's draw opens. Sinner is obviously the main favorite, but there's also Tiafoe, the American favorite. Fritz, Zverev. There are some great players playing well. Rublev, Dimitrov in this part of the draw. Anyone can win. It will be interesting to see who wins the title."

Question:
"Novak, you've said that tournaments like this can happen, but they don't usually happen to you. How do you feel thinking about all those tournaments in which you've managed to top this over all these years?"

Djokovic:
"Yes, obviously when you leave the court you have a bitter taste in your mouth and you don't like losing. Even though I've had far more victories than defeats in this tournament and in all the others. So I have to put things in perspective and look at things from a broader point of view. Of course, I have to be satisfied, but it's hard to see the big picture at the moment.

You're just angry and upset that you lost the way you played, and that's it. But tomorrow's a new day and I'm obviously going to think about what I'm going to do next."