Novak Djokovic Withdraws From French Open As Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer & Djoker Era Coming To Close

Prior to the start of the 2024 French Open, Rafael Nadal – who had won the event a record 14 times – announced this would be his last. Unfortunately for Nadal, he lost in the first round to Alexander Zverev. 

That left just one of The Big Three, Novak Djokovic, left in the tournament. Roger Federer retired from tennis in 2022 (at age 41) and Nadal (38) is headed for retirement, as well. Djokovic (37) continues to play at a high level, but it's fair to wonder just how much he has left in the tank. 

Djokovic defeated Francisco Cerúndolo in the fourth round of the French Open on Monday, but he was clearly hampered by a knee injury. 

On Tuesday, Djokovic withdrew from the tournament with that injury, giving the walkover victory to seventh-seeded Casper Ruud, who has reached the final in each of the last two years (losing to Nadal in 2022 and Djokovic last year). 

But more importantly, with Djokovic out, that means two players not named Nadal, Federer or Djokovic will reach the final match of the French Open for the first time since 2004. Yes, it's been 20 years since none of those three players reached the final of the prestigious Roland-Garros. 

Novak Djokovic withdrew from the French Open, making this the first French Open to not feature Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer since 2004.

(Christian Liewig - Corbis/Getty Images)

This will also be just the second time during that stretch that one of those three players did not win the tournament (Stan Wawrinka, 2015). 

With Djokovic now 37 years old and dealing with a knee injury, it's fair to wonder how much tennis he has left. Granted, he won three Grand Slam titles in 2023, and he's currently the #1-ranked player in the world. 

This season hasn't been as kind to "Djoker," though. He failed to reach the final of the Australian Open (an event he had won each of the previous four times he competed in it) and now failed to reach the final of the French Open (after winning last year and in 2021).

Djokovic also suffered an upset loss at Indian Wells, one of the biggest non-Grand Slam tournaments on the tennis calendar, at the hands of 20-year-old Lucas Nardi (Djokovic was -5000 to win prior to the match start) in the Round of 32. 

If we are witnessing the true end of The Big Three Era, let's take a moment to truly appreciate its greatness. Despite playing simultaneously, each of these men has piled up Grand Slam titles. The three have combined for a whopping 66 Grand Slam titles since 2003. 

In fact, the presence of each of them probably takes away from the greatness of all of them, since no one player was able to dominate his era. That's usually the defining trait for the GOATs of tennis, but these legends all managed to co-exist. 

It's indeed sad to see that era closing, but there's a batch of young tennis players worth watching. Chief among them is 21-year-old, 2-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz. Can he live up to the hype created by the greatest concurrent trio in tennis history? 

It's a tall order, but hopefully other players will step up to create the next great era of tennis.