The diminished drama of the tour continues to erupt. The notorious golden era has officially reached what amounts to an encore with Djokovic soloing at Roland Garros, still ripping, still taking-on whatever this next gen can muster despite a considerable lack of tennis character and imagination.

Spoiler alert: we’re waiting for the Alcaraz v Djokovic SF. We want the truth.

Some of the build-up, such as watching Novak continue to find some form vs. Fucsovic yesterday, is, admittedly, very good television.

I really haven’t seen much of anything else. But watching scorelines, which predictably evidence the sadness of this sport’s current draws, bereft of any genuine talent (Thiem, or whatever is left of that guy, crumbling, or the likes of everyone’s favorite future stars Medvedev and Sinner going down very early), is enough to almost forget about what’s happening over “there.”

The absence of Nadal is at least two things: the aforementioned sign of the inevitable post Big 3 reality setting-in. And a more competitive French Open.

I must admit: I am saddened by this eruption of ATP irrelevancy outside Djokovic or maybe one or two other players/matches. Nadal’s impending retirement from the sport, strikingly presaged by his DNS, makes me quite nostalgic. Federer is now long in the rear-view and here we have Nadal’s big R closing-in, fast.

Thankfully, we can still, for now, enjoy the tennis of the noble Serb. His quality was certainly on display vs Fucsovics. Showing signs of rust, accompanied by the standard back-and-forth with his box, especially Ivanišević, despite being up on his opponent, he loses some of that laser focus, only to recapture that composure and his opponent, who begins, on cue, to succumb.

We’ll be keeping an eye on this tournament for sure. Rune is interesting, as is Alcaraz. Fritz has quietly become a very solid player on tour, handling himself nicely on the dirt.

But, again, a potential Alcaraz SF, followed by, what, a Rune F(?) vs (hopefully, God willing) Djokovic would be a nice way for this tournament to go. Ha ha.

Cheerio.