After a few years in the grey, tetchily unaware of what could possibly replace the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal decade-long rivalry, tennis fans the world over have been gifted a new jousting contest. A swashbuckling two-way show of skill, stamina and showmanship that men’s tennis badly needed.
For Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic – world No 1 and 2 and the top seeds at the US Open, which starts this afternoon – the French Open semi-final this year was the warm-up act. Two sets of mesmerising rallies before the 20-year-old Spaniard succumbed to the occasion, cramping up irrevocably. But recent finals at Wimbledon and Cincinnati, gruelling affairs of high-drama and tension, show the hype is not inflated.
