Men’s tennis in 2024 has seen a curious dichotomy exist in close proximity. On one side is the irresistible rise of the younger brigade, with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz sweeping all three Majors held so far. On the other is the timeless brilliance of Novak Djokovic, who at 37 — nearly a decade-and-a-half older than Sinner and Alcaraz — won the elusive Olympic singles gold in Paris to add the one big title that was missing from his glittering cabinet.
Of course, there have been overlaps threatening to blur the reality. Djokovic lost to Sinner in the Australian Open semifinal and then to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final to give rise to a narrative that the Serb’s time as this era’s pre-eminent tennis player was well and truly over. But his victory over Alcaraz in the Olympic final, where with a surgically repaired knee he played his best match of the year, resurrected his season and showed that there was no softening of his steely resolve to win.
When the season’s last Grand Slam tournament, the US Open, gets underway on Monday, it will be another opportunity for the fans to experience this delicate tension between the two seemingly disparate twains and the never-ending tangle between the past and the present. Sinner is World No. 1 and Alcaraz No. 3; Djokovic is No. 2 and the defending champion at Flushing Meadows.
Ready to swing
It helps that Djokovic has trudged into New York in better shape than he has in recent months, a world so far away from his travails for a good part of the season. Prior to the Olympics, he lost to rank outsiders, skipped tournaments he otherwise wouldn’t, parted ways with his coach of six years Goran Ivanisevic — who helped him win 12 Majors— and tore a meniscus in his knee. The defeat to Alcaraz at Wimbledon appeared the last straw; it was his fourth straight against a top-10 player and he hadn’t won a title since beating Sinner at the ATP Tour Finals last November.
Paris, however, changed everything. The victory was unexpected — such is the level to which Alcaraz has grown — and one of the most impressive of Djokovic’s career.
The Serb’s tennis has long been about playing the percentages and managing risk. But with the physical advantage that once separated him from the rest of the field dwindling, Djokovic presumably understood that points needed to be shorter, his technique more refined and shot-making crisp.
This facet was evident in the two tie-breaks he won against Alcaraz; at 3-3 in the…