Popyrin and Djokovic to clash in US Open third round

Australia’s Alexei Popyrin and defending champion Novak Djokovic will clash in an intriguing third-round match at the US Open after both won their second-round matches in New York on Thursday (AEST).

Djokovic is one of the favourites to win the US Open this year, with most tennis betting sites putting him joint with Carlos Alcaraz on $2.87 to win the season’s final Grand Slam.

Popyrin, however, is in a rich vein of form and will fancy his chances of an upset.

The Aussie recently won his maiden Masters 1000 title in Montreal and came to New York with a new career high of No.23 in the world.

Popyrin races past Martinez

Popyrin was first on court on Wednesday in New York, with the 25-year-old taking in Spanish veteran Pedro Martinez.

A potential banana-skin match, Popyrin navigated the challenge expertly, dropping just six games in the one-hour, 49-minute clash.

Across the 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 win, Popyrin faced only four break points. While he did concede on three of them, the Australian’s serve was strong when he landed the first punch, racking up 13 aces and winning 82 percent of first serve points.

He also hit 36 winners to his opponent’s five, while making just 25 unforced errors.

Djokovic sees off tricky Djere

Djokovic’s path to the third round was less straightforward, despite what his 6-4, 6-4, 2-0 (ret) scoreline against Laslo Djere may indicate.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion was in energy-conservation mode against his compatriot, knowing full-well that he would require all his reserves in latter matches.

Still, he needed to expend plenty to get past a player that took him to five sets in New York last year.

Both sets went beyond the one-hour mark, and at times the defending champion looked to be struggling physically. He received treatment on his abdominal area and left leg between sets, and generally looked lethargic and a little breathless at times.

However, as he so often does, Djokovic raised his level when necessary, with bursts of energy gaining a break in the 10th game of the first set and seeing him claw back from a break down in the second.

Djere eventually succumbed to an injury of his own, retiring after two games of the third set to hand Djokovic the energy-conservation boost he desired.

Popyrin and Djokovic will now play for the third Grand Slam in a row, with the latter winning both encounters.

The Aussie will take hope from the fact that he has been able to push Djokovic in both matches, winning a set in each and pushing the 37-year-old to two tiebreak sets as well.

Tennis betting sites are yet to release odds for the third-round match, but Djokovic will be heavily favoured to claim a third win of 2024 over Popyrin.

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