French Open 2020 – Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have left a generation praying for retirements

"I look at Nadal and see a warrior, fighting for everything, he’s going to leave blood on the court. I look at Djokovic and I see more of a robot but in a good sense." – Chris Evert, 18-time Grand Slam champion

When Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev played out an epic US Open final, it seemed the time of the Next Gen was finally upon us. With the trophy stowed safely at home, Thiem picked up where he left off in Paris and set about a repeat on his favoured clay. Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas quietly made his way through the draw and although Zverev bowed out citing a mystery fever, teenagers Jannik Sinner and Hugo Gaston were sending shockwaves through the sport.

What of the established names? Roger Federer was away for yet more surgery. Rafael Nadal looked troubled on clay after skipping New York. Novak Djokovic cut a tetchy figure before being booted out of the US Open. Andy Murray is sadly no longer in the conversation. Surely this, many years later than billed, was the changing of the guard.

But a fortnight of twists and turns at the French Open later and… nothing is different. It’s Nadal v Djokovic in the men’s final on Sunday.

Thiem was labelled the "clear favourite" by Eurosport’s Alex Corretja, only to lose to Diego Schwartzman. Nadal duly swatted his conqueror aside. Tsitsipas reached the last four without dropping a set, then threatened to unravel Djokovic as he forced the world number one to a fifth set. Then Djokovic won.

The younger generation clearly have the weapons to topple the remaining big three – but do they have the belief? Not only when they step onto court, that’s the easy part, but when they’re staring down an eighth break point after an endless deuce at a Slam? Knowing that survival could mean another hour of punishment in the unforgiving best-of-five format, knowing that each time they crumble the aura of invincibility grows.

Of course, there is hope for them. Nadal, Djokovic and Federer have redefined the ageing process. Thiem is 27. Zverev is 23. Tsitsipas is 22. There’s no rush if they want to win a Slam or two. But if they want to go down as greats, how much longer can they wait while Nadal refuses to be dethroned in Paris and Djokovic hoovers up the rest? Only three players have won a Slam outside the fabled ‘big four’ since 2010 – and while there will eventually come a time when this dynasty ends, do the young guns want to be remembered as the generation who waited for the greatest to retire before making their mark?

Nadal is the sport’s ultimate fighter, the man you would turn to if your life rested on a single tennis point. He was often second-best in the baseline slogs during his semi-final win over Diego Schwartzman, but as soon as there was a whiff of danger, he won the next point.

Djokovic is a little different. Resembling a human backboard for the majority of his career, constantly tempting his opponent into a mistake and happy to turn the screw should one not arrive. But perhaps his greatest gift is his histrionics: his ability to convince his opponent he is suffering, then pouncing on the inevitable lapse. Pablo Carreno Busta bristled at Djokovic’s medical timeouts during their quarter-final – "every time the match becomes a bit difficult for him, he asks for the doctor" – but it is a tactic that works.

"Novak is at times not human. The mental part of his game is a level ahead of everyone else, it’s awesome," Evert tells Eurosport.

"His game is flawless, he doesn’t make errors, he moves well, he has good defence and offence. If he has a weakness, it would be himself. If he’s not in the mood to play or he’s upset or whatever.

Can he bulldoze through Nadal on clay, the biggest wall of them all? He’s done it before – one of just two men who can claim to have done so (Robin Soderling, here’s your obligatory mention) – but that was not peak Nadal.

Even if he fails, he can always exact revenge in 2021 on another surface. Djokovic and Nadal are primed to surpass Federer at the top of the men’s game in the next two years, and in doing so continue to suffocate the generation underneath. And while Federer has flitted in and out, and Murray has disappeared as a competitive force, it is the Serb and the Spaniard who have condemned those underneath to spend their best years waiting for them to retire.