The era of the ‘Big Three’ may be coming to an end, but the threat has not disappeared.
Players born in the 1990s were restricted to just two Grand Slam singles titles between them as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic diced up the major prizes for more than two decades.
Two players born after 2000 have captured seven major titles between them.
That is the current top two of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who are on a collision course in Paris.
But Novak Djokovic still looms large.
The 38-year-old faces Sinner – who is 15 years younger than him – in Friday’s first French Open semi-final, having become the oldest man to reach the last four since 1968.
“I think at the moment he’s a bit underrated,” world number three Alexander Zverev said after falling to Djokovic in four sets on Wednesday.
“I think a lot of people count him out already, but this year he’s had wins over Carlos at the Australian Open, and he has beaten me at the French Open.
“Forget the age. For any player, those are pretty good results.”
Defending champion Alcaraz, meanwhile, will look to continue his recent dominance over Lorenzo Musetti in the second semi-final.
Djokovic is bidding for another slice of history. Win in Paris and he will secure a record-breaking 25th major singles title.
But no man has defeated the top three men’s players to win a major since the ATP rankings were introduced.
Djokovic is on a nine-match winning streak heading into the 51st major semi-final of his career. Victory in Geneva last month secured him the 100th tour-level title of his career – a timely confidence boost following a run of three successive defeats.
That run included consecutive opening-round defeats to begin his clay-court season, and the Olympic champion entered Roland Garros in the unusual position of sixth seed.
But he showed age is not inhibiting him as he won a 41-shot rally to save a break point in the fourth set on his way to beating Zverev in three hours and 18 minutes.
He displayed impressive variety to disrupt the German’s baseline dominance with drop shots and serve-and-volley tactics.
Sinner, however, will pose a sterner test.
While their head-to-head record stands at 4-4, the Italian has won their past three meetings.
The reigning US Open and Australian Open champion is on a 19-match winning streak at Grand Slam tournaments – the fourth longest this century after the Djokovic (30), Federer (27) and Nadal (25).
He is chasing history of his own at Roland Garros, seeking to become the first Italian man to win the tournament since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
In his 52nd week as world number one – despite serving a three-month doping suspension between February and May – Sinner could become the first man to win three consecutive majors since Djokovic in 2021.
With unshakeable consistency and devastating precision, Sinner is yet to drop a set this fortnight before attempting to break down arguably the greatest defensive player the game has seen.
Alcaraz looks to continue dominance over Musetti
Alcaraz appears to have hit top gear at the perfect time.
After losing just five games in his straight-set quarter-final win over American Tommy Paul, the Spaniard said: “I could close my eyes and everything [would have gone] in.
“My feeling today was unbelievable. I was trying to hit every shot at 100% – not thinking about anything else, just hitting.”
The four-time major winner did not face a single break point in that match and will now target a sixth successive win over Musetti, having lost just one set in their previous five meetings.
Musetti, whose sole victory over Alcaraz came in their first meeting back in 2022, has risen to sixth in the live rankings after moving to the brink of a first major final.
The Italian will hope to offer greater resistance in their latest meeting after working to improve his serve in the off-season.
“We shortened a bit the motion to have more control, and then I got more confidence in what I was having as a motion,” Musetti said.
“Right now in really difficult situations, I make an ace or have my serve as a weapon, and it was a pretty big change for my game.”
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