Friday proved too soon for the future of tennis to arrive.
Three rising men’s stars challenged the ruling class in thrilling third-round matches, but none prevailed.
Karen Khachanov, 22, pushed the top seed and defending champion, Rafael Nadal, for 4 hours 23 minutes, but ultimately could not complete his fourth-set comeback, falling, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3).
Denis Shapovalov, 19, took last year’s runner-up, Kevin Anderson, even further, but could not convert any of his five break points in the fifth set and lost, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Taylor Fritz, 20, held several leads midway through his match against the 2018 French Open finalist Dominic Thiem, but could not sustain any in a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-4 loss.