Djokovic's defeat at the US Open marks the end of the Big Three's 23-year record and the close of a golden era.

Although Djokovic exerted maximum effort, he was defeated by Alcaraz in the US Open semifinal, halting his pursuit of a 25th Grand Slam this year. Strangely, even though he made it to the semifinals in all four majors, he could not progress to any final. With this, the era of the tennis "Big Three" has come to a close, ending a rare 23-year streak.

For the first time in 23 years, none of Djokovic, Federer, or Nadal reached a Grand Slam final in the same year. Although Federer retired three years ago and Nadal announced his retirement last year, Djokovic maintained a high level, reaching at least one Grand Slam final annually over the past seven years. However, this year he failed to get past the semifinals, marking the first time since 2002 that no member of the Big Three appeared in a Grand Slam final.

With the conclusion of the Big Three era, the "Sinka" era (Sinner + Alcaraz) has taken center stage. Sinner has reached the finals of all four Grand Slams this year, while Alcaraz won the French Open, reached the Wimbledon final, and now meets Sinner in the New York final.

Meanwhile, in the semifinal, Alcaraz dominated Djokovic completely. After the match, Djokovic admitted how tough it is to beat Alcaraz and Sinner in Grand Slam tournaments: "This is all I could do. Yes, overcoming Sinner and Alcaraz in best-of-five Grand Slam matches will be very difficult for me in the future. I think I had a better chance in best-of-three, but best-of-five is really tough."

On one hand, Djokovic faces a delicate situation as his career approaches its final stages, bringing him closer to retirement; on the other hand, the Serbian star has performed well this season, especially in Grand Slams, reaching the semifinals in all four majors. Sports commentator Katherine Whitaker frankly says Djokovic is in a conflicted position, uncertain whether to step away from the sport, and must make some tough decisions about his future.

She said, "There are many layers here, involving what this means for men's tennis overall. You know, what should Djokovic do? When you can consistently reach Grand Slam semifinals and are clearly the world’s third-best player, you can’t just say ‘I’m retiring.’ But at the same time, I totally understand that this isn’t enough for him, not enough to get him out of bed every morning and push his body to maintain that level. He’s in a very strange place."

Nonetheless, Djokovic still desires to claim his 25th Grand Slam title and hopes to continue pursuing this goal next year. Do you think the Serbian can win another Grand Slam and achieve the 25-title milestone? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Huohua)