After Nadal exit, Djokovic left to rage against dying of the light

Rafael Nadal's retirement announcement on Thursday left Novak Djokovic as the last man standing from tennis's golden era but with major question marks over the Serb star's own long-term future in the sport.

Djokovic remains marooned on 24 Grand Slam titles, a record for a man but still level with Margaret Court in the all-time total.

For the first time since 2017, he will finish a season without a Grand Slam trophy.

Djokovic, who will be 38 next May, salvaged his season by winning Olympic gold in Paris, a victory he described as his "greatest achievement".

That made him only the third man after Nadal and Andre Agassi to clinch a career Golden Slam of all four majors plus Olympic gold.

However, Djokovic has been pushed into the shadows by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz who split the four Grand Slams between them in 2024, confirming their status as the brightest stars in tennis's new generation.

This year was the first since 2002 that at least one of the Slams had not fallen to either Djokovic, Nadal or Roger Federer who retired two years ago.

Djokovic's stunning third round loss to Alexei Popyrin at the US Open was his earliest exit in New York since 2006.

- 'Worst tennis' -

"I played some of the worst tennis I have ever played," admitted a crestfallen Djokovic after his title defence came to an abrupt end.

Djokovic's rollercoaster year has seen him lose his Australian Open title to Sinner who also ended his stay as world number one, a lofty status he had enjoyed for a combined 428 weeks.

Alcaraz, 16 years his junior, succeeded him as French Open champion after Djokovic withdrew from his scheduled quarter-final with a knee injury which required surgery.

Alcaraz then blew the Serb off court to defend his Wimbledon crown before Sinner swept to the US Open title.

The issue for Djokovic is that his aura of invincibility has crumbled.

Popyrin was so unmoved by his New York victory that he described his Montreal Masters triumph earlier in the summer as being "way bigger" than defeating a player widely regarded as the greatest of all time.

When Sinner swept Taylor Fritz off court in a brutally one-sided US Open final, he became the first man since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season.

That is a feat that eluded Federer, Djokovic, Nadal as well as Pete Sampras and Agassi.

Two years Sinner's junior, Alcaraz already has four Grand Slam titles to his name.

"It's nice to see new champions. Nice to see new rivalries," said Sinner in New York.

"I will always have players who are going to make me a better player, because there are going to be times where they beat me.

"Then you have to try to find a way how to win against certain players."

The 23-year-old beanpole Italian has six titles this year while second-ranked Alcaraz has four.

Alcaraz is making Grand Slam history faster than Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.

- 100 titles? -

None of the three legends managed to win four majors before their 22nd birthday.

Djokovic did not win his fourth Slam until the 2011 US Open, when he was 24.

Nadal was 22 when he earned his fourth at the French Open in 2008 while Federer was 23 when he collected a fourth major at the 2004 US Open.

Alcaraz could claim a career Grand Slam while still 21 if he wins a maiden Australian Open in January next year.

Despite the gloomy forecast, Djokovic still has targets on the horizon -- should he capture the Shanghai Masters this weekend, he'd become just the third man to win 100 career titles.

He described that goal as "extra motivation".

"My love for tennis will never fade away," said the world number four.