Regarded as one of the hardest sports in the world, tennis has seen its fair share of mystical rallies, jaw-dropping shots and magical underdog stories. However, for much of the 2000s, men’s tennis was dominated by a three-headed monster: Switzerland’s Roger Federer, Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. Now as we flip our calendars to 2024, the sport seems to be dominated by another equally gifted force: Italy’s Jannik Sinner, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and once again, Djokovic.
Djokovic, fresh off an Olympic gold medal, entered the U.S. Open as one of the favorites to win the title. On the other hand, modern tennis’ golden boy, Carlos Alcaraz, entered Flushing, New York just one year removed from being the youngest number-one seed in U.S. Open history. The Spaniard holds four grand slam titles with two coming in the 2024 calendar year, all at just 21 years old.
So, it’s safe to say the greatest tennis players ever and the future of the sport entered this year’s U.S. Open with millions of eyes on their respective rackets. Both of their journeys, however, came to a shocking halt last week. On Aug. 31, a rattled Alcaraz walked off Arthur Ashe for the final time this season at the hands of Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp. Just one day later on the same court, Djokovic watched Australia’s Alexei Popyrin celebrate a career victory. So what went wrong for the two superstars?
Well, the simple answer is that both Djokovic and Alcaraz were forced on their heels and unable to maintain a dominant rhythm. The matches showcased both players defensively running across the court looking to keep points alive, and when they did have opportunities, both players struggled to hit that “winning” shot, allowing van de Zandschulp and Popyrin respectively to come back with an even better shot to win the point. In Djokovic’s case, the 24-time Grand Slam champion was plagued by 13 double faults, six more than his opponent Popyrin.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz struggled with returning serves. Van de Zandshulp managed to win 43 percent of serve return points, whereas Alcaraz won only 29 percent. After the match, Alcaraz told the media, “I didn’t feel well hitting the ball… I think I made a lot of mistakes.” Unforced errors played a huge role in both Alcaraz and Djokovic’s losses, with Djokovic saying, “I’ve played some of the worst tennis I’ve ever played.. serving by far the worst ever.” The men’s final will take place on Sunday, Sept. 8, and will be without Djokovic or Alcaraz for the first time since 2020.
