Alexei Popyrin’s exuberant celebrations following his stunning 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 third-round win over Novak Djokovic at the 2024 US Open led to the Australian being criticized by the Serb’s fans. However, in response, a Djokovic critic later brought back the Serb celebrating his own second-round victory against the Aussie at the 2024 Australian Open.
Popyrin and Djokovic have faced each other at three different Majors this year, and the first of those clashes came in the second round of the Australian Open in January. The Australian severely tested the Serb on that occasion and even took a set off the former World No. 1. However, ultimately, Djokovic hung on to clinch the contest in four sets.
After converting match point, Djokovic let out a fierce roar, which was symbolic of how tough Popyrin made it for him on the day. The 24-time Major winner was also heckled during the match, which perhaps added to the intensity of his celebrations.
Watch Djokovic’s 2024 Australian Open celebrations after his second-round win over Popyrin below:
The clip of the World No. 2’s Australian Open celebrations gained traction on X (formerly Twitter) soon after Popyrin was criticized by several Djokovic loyalists on the platform for overcelebrating his win over the Serb at the US Open.
According to these fans, Popyrin played a subpar version of Djokovic at Flushing Meadows owing to the Serb’s erratic serving and age, and shouldn’t have celebrated in the manner he did.
However, via the resurfaced clip featuring Djokovic’s own wild Australian Open celebrations, others pointed out that the Serb himself has done something similar in the past.
During his post-match press conference at Flushing Meadows, the World No. 2 hailed Popyrin’s performance but also lambasted his own.
“Alexei Popyrin played better and deserved to win” – Novak Djokovic after being stunned by Aussie in US Open 2024 3R
Djokovic shared a brief but stinging assessment of his display against Popyrin during a post-match press conference. While the Serb acknowledged the Aussie’s high level of play throughout the match, he harshly criticized the quality of tennis he brought to the table.
“Congrats to him (Popyrin) and his team. He played better and deserved to win. Honestly with the way I felt and played from the start of the tournament… round 3 is a success. I played some of the worst tennis I’ve ever played. Serving by far some of the worst ever. On a quick surface like this, you can’t win without a serve. You can’t win against the guys who are in form like Alexei. It was just an awful match from me,” Djokovic said.
The Serb is yet to confirm where he will play next this year. Meanwhile, Popyrin is set to lock horns against home hope Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round at the 2024 US Open. The winner of the match will go on to face either Andrey Rublev or Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals.
