Is an era ending for Djokovic? Can Neeraj strike 90?

Carlos Alcaraz embraces Jannik Sinner after defeating him during a tournament in California. (Extreme left) Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon 2024. AFP; AP

- Rutvick Mehta

Exactly two decades ago, the collective dominance of the Big Three in men's tennis began to take shape, when Rafael Nadal captured his first Grand Slam title at the 2005 French Open. Roger Federer, the early starter as the 2003 Wimbledon champion, won the next two Slams of that season. The trio – Novak Djokovic joined a couple of years later – would gobble up all but one Major over the next six years.

As the 2025 season begins to roll, the Big Three has one man left standing: Djokovic, staring at two younger, fresher champions who split the four Slams of 2024 between them. He has some heavy lifting to do.

Coming off a surprisingly quiet Slam-less year in which Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz bossed it over him, the 37-year-old Serbian will be itching to strike back, starting at the Australian Open in January, where he is a record 10-time champion. How Sinner and Alcaraz stand up to that will be interesting to watch. More interesting, however, is the guy who will be in Djokovic's box. In what was the most talked-about coaching announcement of 2024, the men's record 24-time Major winner recruited three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray as his coach.

Murray, a week older than Djokovic, retired from professional tennis at the Paris Olympics in August. At his peak, he was the most prominent challenger to the Big Three, even occupying the World No. 1 spot for 41 weeks.