Final moments of the Novak Djokovic era of…

The 36-year-old greatest tennis player of all time defeated his most recent opponent in a lopsided championship match that put Jannik Sinner squarely in his place after Sinner dared to challenge Djokovic’s seemingly unbeatable aura by defeating the world No. 1 in the tournament’s group stages.

The win for the Serbian superstar completed a year that saw him win three more Grand Slam titles and dominate the world No 1 ranking once again.

That was a little over three months ago, yet the tennis world feels very different now.

Sinner bounced back from that defeat to beat Djokovic in Turin to beat him in the Davis Cup semi-finals and then inflicted a crushing defeat on the 10-time Australian Open champion to end his reign as the undisputed king of Melbourne in a hugely significant semi-final in January.

Since then, Djokovic has only played two matches and in the second of those, he lost to the unheralded Italian Luka Nardi in a match that offered up real signs that Djokovic’s superpowers are beginning to drain away.

He openly admits his desire to compete in tournaments other than Grand Slams is waning, with his decision to pull out of the Miami Open and focus on spending more time with his family a statement that confirmed he is already looking to life after tennis.