The US Open is turning out to be a leveller for both the old guard and the new order of world tennis. Both Carlos Alcaraz (third seed) and Novak Djokovic (second seed) are out, leaving behind a sense of shock. While Alcaraz naturally has age on his side and this is just a bump, albeit a major one, in his journey, for Djokovic the questions going forward are deeper.
The era of the “Big Three” is over. Roger Federer is happily retired, Rafael Nadal is languishing at an unbelievable 154th ATP ranking, and Djokovic is ending a year with not a single major title to his name, with the Paris Olympics being the only exception.
It also meant that 2024 became the first year since 2002 in which none of the Big Three earned a grand slam trophy.
The fact is that he still trails only Jannik Sinner in the rankings points at the churning that men’s tennis is going through. No one player is really dominating the scene.
Not only Alcaraz and Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz are all capable of beating the best on their day and are all ranked within the top 10.
Can they give Djokovic a tough time in the next season? Well, that remains an open-ended question simply because you are talking about someone of Djokovic’s calibre.
But age and injuries are catching up. However, the man himself has not yet spoken about retirement.
It was in the 80s that Boris Becker brought in power tennis that changed the sport for ever. But now, it has evolved into a completely different beast and it is becoming tougher for older players. Djokovic had been able to hang in there, and is still one of the best in the business.
Djokovic bowed out with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to 28th-seeded Alexei Popyrin of Australia in the third round of the US Open. He came down rather harshly on himself after the loss. “I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly,” Djokovic said, just after midnight as Friday turned to Saturday. “Serving — by far — the worst ever.”
With 14 double-faults, raising his tournament total to 32, Djokovic left Flushing Meadows one night after Alcaraz exited.
“It was just an awful match for me,” the No. 2-seeded Djokovic said. “I wasn’t playing even close to my best. It’s not good to be in that kind of a state where you feel OK physically, and of course you’re motivated because it’s a grand slam, but you just are not able to find your game. That’s it. The game is falling apart, and I guess you have to accept that tournaments like this happen.”
In 2023, Djokovic had all the grand slam titles except the French Open in his possession. Compared to that, 2024 had been barren till he got the better of Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics final, earning the gold that he had been craving for. With that, he also completed a career golden slam, becoming the third man to do so, after Andre Agassi and Nadal.
At the US Open, Djokovic was trying to become the first player to win 25 grand slam singles titles. His ouster means he finished the year without claiming at least one major for the first time since 2017. This was also one of his worst showing at Flushing Meadows. He had made third-round exits in 2005 and 2006.
At 37, maybe the time is coming nearer for the Serb to rest on his laurels. Asked whether he lacked motivation and was fatigued after the Olympics, he said: “Obviously, it had an effect. I spent a lot of energy winning the gold, and I did arrive in New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically. But because it’s the US Open, I gave it a shot and I tried my best. I mean, I didn’t have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas. And you could see that with the way I played.”
On Friday, Popyrin was terrific at the net, going 10 for 10 on serve-and-volley approaches and 25 for 36 overall on points when he pushed forward. Djokovic, in contrast, only won the point on 19 of his 40 trips to the net, in part because Popyrin kept flipping passing shots by him.
The first time Popyrin served for the match, he faltered, allowing Djokovic to break. The second time, Popyrin finished the deal, holding at love when Djokovic sent a forehand long.
“If he serves well, plays well, he can beat anybody,” Djokovic said about Popyrin. “Look, Alcaraz is out. I’m out. Some big upsets. The draw is opening up.”
With inputs from AP/PTI
