For the first time since 2017, Novak Djokovic will not stride out onto Centre Court for the Wimbledon final.
Whether he returns at all to the site of his seven SW19 titles is a matter that will be debated, after a semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner in which he was made to look every one of his 38 years. Djokovic has never been beaten in a completed match at Wimbledon so quickly. He has never won fewer games.
He experienced what it has been like to face him for the past 15 years; his opponent getting everything back in play and forcing the mistakes. This was a masterclass formed not with the flamboyance and excitement of Carlos Alcaraz, but with a ruthless efficiency.
A brief drop in concentration at the start of the third set aside, it was a Sinner procession. The world No1 was utterly dominant in a 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory and he will face two-time defending champion Alcaraz in Sunday’s final, just over a month on from the pair’s epic five-and-a-half hour showdown at the French Open.
They are the undisputed kings of this new era of men’s tennis, now guaranteed to have shared the past seven Grand Slam titles between them.
Looking ahead to another final meeting with his Spanish counterpart, Sinner said: "We saw the last final - you never know [what will happen]! It's a huge honour for me to share the court with Carlos. We try to push ourselves to the limit, he is one of the players I look up to and I love watching him.
"Hopefully it's going to be a good match like the last one, I don't know if it can be better because I don't think it's possible!
Sinner has now reached every Grand Slam final, joining only Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray in doing so in the past 30 years.
"It's amazing, it shows I'm growing as a player on all surfaces, which is important, trying to keep going and working,” Sinner said.
“I struggled a lot five years ago when I started on this surface, I couldn't really move very well but now I'm moving much better.”
Djokovic was left to reflect on a fifth-straight defeat to Sinner and a second in a row to the Italian in the semi-finals of a major, after defeat at Roland Garros last month.
At times he moved as though hindered by injury, a hangover from a nasty fall late in his quarter-final win. He called a medical timeout after the second set and near enough stopped mid-point at times in the third, seemingly keen to emphasise how much he was struggling, but he had long since been beaten by then.
Sinner dropped just two points on serve in the first set as he quickly set the tone. He broke in the third game of the match and the early signs were worrying for Djokovic, who was losing out in the baseline exchanges.
The Serb saved two set points on his own serve but not a third, as a loose backhand gave Sinner the set after just 33 minutes.
By the time they sat down again it was 3-0 to Sinner in the second set. Of the first 36 points played on the Italian’s serve, Djokovic won only four.
He survived a set point and five deuces at 5-2 to briefly extend the set, but the reprieve was brief and an ace secured a two-set lead for Sinner.
Djokovic then received treatment to his left thigh and from nowhere the momentum swung. A shanked forehand into the crowd from Sinner gave Djokovic his first break point and it was converted, the Italian producing another unforced error in his first lose game of the match.
Djokovic waved his racquet in the air and Centre Court responded, the crowd making their desire for a more competitive contest clear. The sixth seed was suddenly looking stronger and Sinner not quite so precise as the break was consolidated for a 3-0 lead.
That proved to be not the springboard for a comeback, but rather the last game Djokovic would win out of the next five. Sinner broke back and Djokovic was back to looking sluggish, his attempts to get up to the net for the serve and volley predictable as the Italian fired a succession of returns at his feet.
Sinner broke to lead 4-3 and Djokovic was already walking back to his chair as the top seed put a backhand into the empty court to move 5-3 up. Djokovic had the look of a man who had had enough, but he saved two match points on his serve to extend his Championships by a game. It was just a game.
In a fitting conclusion, Djokovic was a little more than a spectator as he returned one final serve and stood motionless at the side of the court, Sinner sealing victory with no resistance. There will be no such luxury come Sunday.
