Novak Djokovic is now the last of the ‘big three’ and must find new motivation

When Jannik Sinner defeated Novak Djokovic in Shanghai to extend his lead at the top of the world rankings to a whopping 4,000 points, the tennis kings looked on.

This title clearly applies to Djokovic himself, who was powerless to react as Sinner swung a final ace – his eighth of the match – at the courtside billboards to seal his victory.

But that wasn’t the end. Sitting in the front row, Roger Federer could be seen comparing watches with Carlos Alcaraz, who is both the reigning Wimbledon champion and the only man to beat Sinner more than once this season.

These two giants had come to see Djokovic fight for the 100th ATP title of his career, and also to see if Sinner could continue to drive home his supremacy in this fascinating rivalry.

It turned out he could. This 7-6, 6-3 victory was Sinner’s fourth in five meetings with the old master, and continued the pattern of a season in which Djokovic has generally – with one key exception – been unable to match the leading talents of the next generation. : specifically Sinner and Alcaraz, who split the four 2024 major titles down the middle.

That exception came in the final of the Paris Olympics, where Djokovic donned his ultimate match face to pass Alcaraz and end a two-decade Olympic curse. His first gold medal meant so much to him that he called it the “greatest achievement of his career.”

Otherwise, however, Djokovic has lost eight of nine sets against Sinner and Alcaraz this year, starting with what turned out to be a season-defining encounter with Sinner at the Australian Open in January. In the semifinals of that event, Djokovic unexpectedly “laid an egg” – to borrow one of John McEnroe’s favorite phrases – as he sprayed unforced errors in all directions.

Djokovic now finds himself in a fascinating position. He has achieved every goal except perhaps the 25th major which would put him above Margaret Court in the all-time rankings. But no one seriously believes that Court’s record, achieved at a time when few foreign players traveled to Melbourne for her home country’s Australian Open, is equal to his.

How does he now motivate himself for the new season, especially after the last of his contemporaries – Rafael Nadal – announced his impending retirement on Thursday? As Djokovic said that day: “It’s a bit overwhelming for me. I don’t know what to think. I still enjoy competing, but a part of me left with them, a big part of me.”

The off-season will be significant as it will require a huge commitment to do all the physical work required to prepare for the New Year in Australia. And there must be a question mark as to whether Djokovic can beat these young pretenders over the best of five sets.

Even during his breathtaking performance in the Olympic final, he worked extremely hard to shut down Alcaraz’s play all over the court, ultimately winning the match by a margin of 7-6, 7-6. If he had had to win another set, perhaps his 38 years would have taught him something.

On Sunday in Shanghai, Djokovic played a strong first set, but was less clinical at the net than Sinner, and also found himself overpowered on his previously world-famous backhand side, where Sinner averaged 120 km/h to his own 68 : a small difference perhaps. but one that increases over the course of the match.

While Alcaraz is a magician with phenomenal sleight of hand, Sinner is much more of a Djokovic disciple, relying on an almost mechanical consistency of line, length and tempo. As a player, the last thing you want is to encounter someone who plays a similar style to you but at a slightly higher level, and that’s exactly what Sinner has done with Djokovic lately.

Sinner is still awaiting an appeal in his controversial doping case, after WADA said they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the ‘no fault or negligence’ ruling he received in relation to two positive tests for Clostebol – a banned steroid – in March.

On the tennis court, however, he is on the rise, with only Alcaraz, who has won all three meetings this season, being able to crack the code. Sunday’s victory made Sinner the fourth man to collect seven or more ATP titles in a single season in the past decade, after Djokovic, Federer and Andy Murray.

During the awards ceremony, Sinner paid a gracious tribute to Djokovic. However, if you looked closely, there was a very vague subtext of: “Aren’t you getting a bit old for this, mate?”

“So nice to see you’re still playing great tennis,” Sinner said. “I wish you all the best, not just for this season, but try to stay healthy next season and hopefully see you on the big stages for as long as possible.”

As for Djokovic, he thanked Federer for gracing the match with his presence. “I’m not used to seeing you in the stands, I wish you were here on the field and playing with us. It’s probably the first time I played for you guys, so I had an extra pressure.”

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