ROME—Novak Djokovic said the long awaited “shift of generations” has finally come to men’s tennis after the world number one lost to 20-year-old Dane Holger Rune in the Italian Open quarter-finals.
The ‘Big Three’ of Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, and Roger Federer have dominated the ATP Tour for nearly two decades but age and injury have been catching up with them in recent years.
Top seed Djokovic’s 6–2 4–6 6–2 defeat by Rune on Wednesday means that for the first time in 19 years neither the Serb nor the injured Nadal will play in the Rome final.
Djokovic, who has now lost two in a row to Rune, said the next generation of players led by world number two Carlos Alcaraz is like a breath of fresh air for the sport….