Novak Djokovic said the long-awaited “shift of generations” has finally come to men’s tennis after the world No.1 lost to 20-year-old Dane Holger Rune in the Italian Open quarter-finals.

The ‘Big Three’ of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have dominated the ATP Tour for nearly two decades but age and injury have been catching up with them in recent years.

Top seed Djokovic’s 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 defeat by Rune on Wednesday means that for the first time in 19 years neither the Serb nor the injured Nadal will play in the Rome final.

Nadal, still hampered by injury, on Thursday withdrew from the French Open.

Djokovic, who has now lost two in a row to Rune, said the next generation of players led by world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz is like a breath of fresh air for the sport.

“A new generation is here already,” Djokovic told reporters. “Alcaraz is No. 1 in the world from Monday, obviously he’s playing amazing tennis. I think it’s also good for our sport that we have new faces, new guys coming up.

“We’ve been saying this for years that we can expect that moment to come when you have a kind of shift of generations.

“I’m personally still trying to hang in there with all of them. I still have the hunger to keep going. Let’s see how far I’m going to play.”

Swiatek injury

Two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek retired in the third set of her quarter final against Elena Rybakina because of a right thigh injury. It was 2-2 in the third when Swiatek stopped. She won the first set 6-2 before Rybakina took the second set 7-6 (3).