The guard had changed well before Carlos Alcaraz took Novak Djokovic to the woodshed at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday with a 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2 straight sets semifinal victory in which romance and drama both played second racquet to reality.

At age 38, Djokovic is the third-best player in the world after advancing to the semifinals in all four Grand Slams this year. There probably isn’t a fourth that would be in his league. His results this year have bolstered a résumé that glitters in gold.

The problem: Djokovic did not win even a single set in any — and all — of these final fours. He retired with a leg issue after dropping a first-set tiebreak to Alexander Zverev at Australia before he was wiped out by Jannik Sinner at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon and then by Alcaraz here at Flush

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