End of a tennis era? Sinner and Alcaraz out of the shadow of the “Big Three”
Jannik Sinner will be the new number one in the tennis world. Photo
© Thibault Camus/AP/dpa
Djokovic injured, Sinner the new number 1, Alcaraz “too good”. A generational change is taking place in tennis. For the first time in 20 years, none of the three superstars of the scene are in the semifinals in Paris.
After his painful exit from the French Open, Novak Djokovic was immediately faced with more bad news. According to the French newspaper “L’Équipe”, the Serbian tennis star had to undergo surgery on his meniscus in a Paris clinic this morning and will most likely miss the grass court classic in Wimbledon at the beginning of July.
As if that wasn’t devastating enough for him, the tennis world is currently eagerly awaiting Friday’s semi-final duel between young stars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The injured defending champion doesn’t seem to be particularly missed.
If the 37-year-old Djokovic watches the match on TV, he should at least get plenty of extra motivation for his comeback. “I think they awaken the beast in me,” the Serb once said about Sinner (22) and Alcaraz (21). But the two are no longer the future, but the present in men’s tennis. Because Djokovic skipped the quarter-final against Norwegian Casper Ruud because of his knee injury, Sinner rose to the new number 1 in the world rankings – the first Italian ever to do so.
Sinner celebrated in Italy
This sparked huge enthusiasm in his home country. For the “Gazzetta dello Sport” the Australian Open winner is “the pride of Italian sport”, for “La Repubblica” the wait for the Messiah is “over”. Even Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni congratulated the “champion” via the short message service X and posted a selfie with the tennis pro.
It was “a special moment” for him, said the 22-year-old Sinner, who only received the happy news after his easy quarter-final victory in three sets against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. “It is a dream for every player to be number 1 in the world.” But his mission in Paris is not over yet, the South Tyrolean stressed. There is “a very important match” on Friday, and that is all he is focused on.
His semifinal opponent Alcaraz, who is 21 months younger, has also long since developed from super talent to top star. “This boy is simply too good,” said the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, number 9 in the world, after the 3:6, 6:7 (3:7), 4:6 quarterfinal defeat against the brilliant Spaniard. “When I play against him, I am reminded of how much I still have to improve as a tennis player.”
A sentence that used to be often said by Djokovic’s opponents. The 24-time Grand Slam tournament winner will also be confronted with his own past in the Sinner vs. Alcaraz match: the last time two players under the age of 23 faced each other in a semi-final at the Stade Roland Garros was in 2008 in the match between him and Rafael Nadal.
When and how will Djokovic return?
The Spanish clay court king Nadal (38) was eliminated in the first round of what will probably be his last French Open against Alexander Zverev and is planning to end his career after the season. Djokovic, who has not won a single tournament this year, will probably not be fit again for the Olympics in Paris at the earliest after his knee operation. And Roger Federer (42), the third of the “Big Three” who dominated the tour for almost two decades, has been in tennis retirement for a year and a half. The fact that this era is coming to an end is proven by the fact that for the first time in 20 years none of the three big stars are in the semi-finals in Paris.
It remains to be seen whether Djokovic will be able to stop the new generation around Sinner, Alcaraz and the young Danish star Holger Rune (21), who brought Alexander Zverev to the brink of defeat in the round of 16, at the big tournaments in the future. “I think that we are slowly losing our awe – in a positive sense – and daring to win against him in big matches,” Alcaraz told “Bild” in March.
But Djokovic always draws new strength from such situations. “The young guys who are very hungry and inspired to play their best tennis against me are an additional motivation,” he said recently. He will need them for his comeback.
dpa
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