Mumbai: After swiftly packing his belongings, Novak Djokovic placed them on Court Philippe-Chatrier and cheered for the crowd. He gave the thumbs up, tapped his chest, blew kisses, and folded his hands. Before stopping once more, he picked up his luggage and started moving. He knelt down and kissed his hand, then tapped the red clay of Roland Garros.

"This is not usual," the commentary box phoned. Did Djokovic say goodbye to the French Open with this?

When the man who had won three Coupe de Mousquetaires left the court, everyone in the stands stood up. One excellent generalization about the audience at the Parisian Grand Slam is that they support the underdog and local athletes.

Despite how absurd it may seem, Djokovic, the most decorated men's tennis player in the sport with 24 Grand Slam championships, was the underdog on Saturday when he faced Italian world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the men's singles semi-final. In a three-hour, sixteen-minute contest of the highest caliber, Djokovic was defeated by scores of 6-4, 7-5, and 7-6(3).

The majority of the crowd cheered for Djokovic, the final surviving member of the Big Three of men's tennis.

This year's French Open got off to a touching start when the organizers honored Rafael Nadal, a 14-time champion of the event, with a beautiful send-off and tribute. Two Sundays ago, Djokovic was on court two with Andy Murray and Roger Federer, honoring the legacy of one of his fiercest opponents.

The Serbian has been forced to play catch-up with the two greatest players in the world right now, Sinner and Spanish world, while Federer and Nadal have both retired, and at 38 he is forced to push beyond his limits in a consistently physical sport. Carlos Alcaraz is ranked second.

The 25th Grand Slam seems increasingly unlikely for a man who is motivated by making history and fixated on winning another major title to surpass Margaret Court's all-time slam record. After the loss, he smiled in a way that indicated he had come to terms with the possibility that he would never be able to break this last record. And that his stay in Paris has concluded.

"I'm not sure since this may have been my final game here. That's why I was a bit more emotional, even at the conclusion, Djokovic explained at the post-match press conference. “If this was my last Roland Garros match of my career, the audience and environment made it a memorable farewell.

"Do I want to keep playing? I do. However, I'm not sure if I'll be able to play here again in a year. For the time being, I have nothing else to add.

Even if he might be approaching the end of his professional life, Djokovic is still a formidable opponent on the circuit. From any player, he can still overcome obstacles. with the possible exception of Alcaraz and Sinner, who appear to have reached the astronomical heights that Djokovic once held.

"Although it was a straight-set defeat, I still feel like I gave him a run for his money, so to speak," Djokovic continued. "I attempted to make him work until the very end." I made every effort. This is athletics. "You should just shake the hand of the better player and move on."

To keep the ball away from the Italian's deadly forehand, the Serbian frequently played Sinner on the backhand corner. However, Sinner was in amazing shape this night, as evidenced by the fact that he made his first unforced mistake on the backhand side almost halfway through the second set, with 76 minutes on the clock.

Most importantly, the game came to an end when a Djokovic backhand struck the net.

We will see Djokovic again in the future. He will now concentrate on Wimbledon. He will now go for that 25th Slam on grass, where he has seven victories and is just one championship away from matching Federer's record in men's singles.

Paris has failed to deliver on its promise. He might have some good fortune in London.

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