In the women’s singles competition, the talk was of a “changing of the guard” as Serena Williams made one last run. (Probably. We think.)

But the women’s tennis guard isn’t really changing. In Serena’s absence, we’ve seen about a dozen players emerge who are all capable of winning majors. They’re still there.

The change is on the men’s side. The era of the Big Three (occasionally Big Four) is starting to fade. The No. 1 spot in the world will be decided Sunday between two guys who are going to be around for a while. And Carlos Alcaraz has a ceiling that’s someone in the parts of the atmosphere that can only be reached by billionaires’ rockets.

And some players have become must-see viewing. Who won’t want to watch Frances Tiafoe, who didn’t have his serve in high gear and had a lapse of about 45 minutes but still pushed the outstanding Alcaraz into a fifth set and a fifth hour? And Nick Kyrgios has that McEnroe “it” factor of being volatile but charismatic.

Long live the new guard. This is a lot of fun. Thanks for following along with me again. Now have a rest (once you read Bryan Graham’s match report below):

Patrick McEnroe first interviews Tiafoe, who’s in tears and takes some time to answer.

Tiafoe tells Alcaraz he’ll win a lot of Grand Slams. “You’re a hell of a player and a hell of person.”

“I will come back, I will win this thing one day. Sorry guys.” And that’s all he can say before walking back to his chair while the crowd roars and Alcaraz again points to salute.

Over to Alcaraz, who gives cliched but accurate answers about persevering through five-hour matches.

Tiafoe leaves the court, touching his heart to thank the crowd.

Alcaraz doesn’t seem interested in looking ahead to the final. It seems so far away, he says.

McEnroe then gives Alcaraz a chance to say a few words in Spanish. I studied the wrong language in high school and college, so I have no idea what he said. I think one word translates to “incredible.”

How do you beat this guy? Alcaraz takes Tiafoe’s best shots, and Tiafoe finally hits wide. 0-15

Tiafoe gets impatient and hits long. 0-30

Then it’s that lob again. Tiafoe runs Alcaraz from one side of the court to the other, approaches the net and volleys, Alcaraz scrambles and ends up putting a lob just inside the baseline. Triple match point

Fault. Alcaraz returns long, by a sliver of green. Still match point.

Alcaraz returns. The ball ends up at Tiafoe’s feet, and he hits into the net. That’s it.

Alcaraz lies down on the court. There’s more relief than excitement. Tiafoe comes around the net and gives Alcaraz a good hug. As they break, Alcaraz points at Tiafoe to salute his valiant opponent.

Fifth set: Alcaraz 5-3 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

Ace. Tiafoe error. Unreturnable serve. Scramble to save a should-be Tiafoe winner, followed by a Tiafoe error.

Tiafoe serving to stay alive.

Fifth set: *Alcaraz 4-3 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

Alcaraz goes up 15-0, and this seems like deja vu, with the wheels falling off the Tiafoe wagon. (I’d actually call it a Tiafoe sports car.)

But Tiafoe takes the next point, and buries Alcaraz’s next return with a forehand winner. Then it’s an ace, his 14th.

Tiafoe hits long. 40-30. The crowd noise slowly crescendos.

Tiafoe has only hit 46% of his first serves.

And he misses the next. He flirts with a double-double but lands it just inside the line and holds his nerve to win the point.

But Alcaraz’s ability to prolong points is simply unfair. Tiafoe hits at least two shots that would be winners again mere mortals. He returns them. Deuce.

Boom, return goes long. Game.

Can Tiafoe break once more?

Fifth set: Alcaraz 4-2 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

Fifth set: *Alcaraz 3-2 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

Most faults in this match have been too close for anything but Hawk-eye to tell. But Tiafoe puts one much farther away, and that seems to unnerve him. Point lost, 0-15.

Does anyone hit lobs better than Alcaraz? In big trouble in the next point, he arcs one up into the air. Tiafoe turns to look, and the shot drops into the back corner. 0-30.

And Tiafoe’s roller-coaster match is back in the valley. Alcaraz breaks at love.

Fifth set: Alcaraz 2-2 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

0-15. Then Alcaraz misses by a mile, and it’s 0-30.

This can’t happen, can it? There’s no way Tiafoe comes back again, right?

Alcaraz is simply too strong on the next point. 15-30

Then it’s an unforced error from Tiafoe, and it’s shocking because, after having tons of horrible shots in the third set, Tiafoe has been much more solid. 30-30

But Alcaraz falters, and it’s break point.

Fault. Second serve. Tiafoe takes a couple of hops up and pounces like Ramsay Bolton’s dogs. Return winner.

Fifth set: *Alcaraz 2-1 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

Tiafoe continues to conjure surges of power from who knows where. He wears down Alcaraz to go up 30-0. He follows with an ace, not his fastest serve of the night but placed perfectly. He controls the next point and holds at love.

Fifth set: Alcaraz 2-0 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

Tiafoe is fighting hard. A series of powerful shots induces Alcaraz to hit into the net for 30-30.

But Alcaraz just finds open spaces to hit. A forehand winner makes it 40-30. A changeup on the serve, just 98 mph, clinches the game.

Fifth set: *Alcaraz 1-0 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

Millimeters. Tiafoe could’ve been up 40-15, but it’s 30-30. Then 30-40 after a shot into the net. On break point, Tiafoe hits the net cord, and the ball slips back into his own side.

Conventional wisdom would say Alcaraz would be fading here after his epic matches through the week. But how much adrenaline and how much emotional energy has Tiafoe used to get back to this point?

My body is yelling at me to go to sleep. It’s been a long week.

But this is as dramatic a competition as you’ll ever see. So what if we go five hours again?

TIAFOE FORCES A FIFTH SET!!! pic.twitter.com/zmhyoam9Kv

Alcaraz serves after the umpire pleads for quiet. It’s a good serve, but Tiafoe returns well. Alcaraz hits back, and it’s wide!

Tiafoe looks like MMA old-timer Rampage Jackson, letting loose a howl in the New York night. We’re tied.

Tiafoe serves. Fault. Alcaraz’s return is just slightly on the baseline. His next shot is just slightly wide. 5-5

Tiafoe serves. Alcaraz can’t return it. Set point, Tiafoe. Can you believe this?

Tiafoe serves, and Alcaraz’s return is in the net. 4-3 Tiafoe.

Alcaraz serves, Tiafoe returns, and Alcaraz hits a picture-perfect drop shot. 4-4

Alcaraz serves, Tiafoe struggles to return, and Alcaraz hits a forehand winner the other direction. 5-4 Alcaraz

Alcaraz serves, and Tiafoe hits a couple of pinpoint returns. Alcaraz hits wide, and Tiafoe has the mini-break. 3-1 Alcaraz serves, and Tiafoe’s return is in the net. 3-2

Tiafoe serves, and Alcaraz rips his second serve for a clean backhand winner. 3-3, and we’re back on serve.

Alcaraz serves and outlasts Tiafoe in a compelling rally.

Tiafoe serves and induces an error with his second serve. 1-1

Tiafoe serves and does the impossible, running Alcaraz so far in one direction that even he can’t return the other way to keep the ball in play. 2-1 Tiafoe

Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-1 6-6 Tiafoe (going to tiebreaker)

Alcaraz hits long on the first point. Tiafoe gets an ace on the second.

Then Alcaraz responds with another otherworldly return, forced far to his right and still ripping a forehand back in play to the corner.

But Tiafoe slams his way through the next two points. After being all but out of it, in score and in body language, Tiafoe has taken this to a tiebreaker. He has won all seven of his tiebreakers in this Open. Will this be lucky eight?

Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-1 6-5 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

How is Alcaraz doing this? Tiafoe smashes the ball cross-court, and Alcaraz gets there as if teleporting, then hits a sublime cross-court shot that Tiafoe can only watch. Alcaraz goes on to hold at love.

Tiafoe will once again serve to prolong this match.

*Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-1 5-5 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

A smash opportunity, and Tiafoe squanders it. Alcaraz hits a winner, and it’s 0-30.

Tiafoe battles back nicely for 30-30, but Alcaraz wins the next, and it’s match point.

The big points in this match just keeping getting bigger. Alcaraz slowly builds up an advantage, but Tiafoe gets a bit lucky with a ball of the net cord. Alcaraz could’ve hit better, with his drop shot falling where Tiafoe can get it, and Tiafoe slices his shot so it goes over the net, lands in play and spins away. Deuce.

Boom. It’s 5-5. Tiafoe has officially come back from the brink.

Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-1 5-4 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

At 0-15, Tiafoe simply outlasts Alcaraz in a rally – something that hasn’t happened often – and he charges the net for the winner, acrobatically stopping his own momentum to avoid an illegal touch of the net.

But Alcaraz otherwise controls the game. Tiafoe now faces what is literally a must-win service game.

*Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-1 4-4 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

Tiafoe opens a must-win service game with a terrific serve, and he calmly dispatches Alcaraz’s nifty returns. Then it’s an ace for 30-0.

Alcaraz tries to pounce on a second serve. Nothing but net. 40-0.

Unreturnable forehand. Holds at love.

Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-1 4-3 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

At 30-15, Alcaraz unleashes a monstrous serve. Tiafoe returns well. Then hits even better. It’s a cross-court backhand that leaves Alcaraz stranded.

Alcaraz takes the next point, smashing Tiafoe’s lob attempt. He closes out the game and heads to his chair for a banana, some gel and two drinks of different colors. Gotta consume a variety of colors to stay healthy, right?

*Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-1 3-3 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

Remember when these guys were winning their service games with no trouble at all? Tiafoe does it here, and he bares his teeth and pumps his fist. He’s very much alive after withstanding about 45 minutes of a beatdown.

Speaking of which … welcome to hour 4.

Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-1 3-2 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

On ESPN, Chris Fowler and John McEnroe are already talking about an Alcaraz-Ruud final in which we would have a first-time champion and a new No. 1.

No one told Tiafoe to tap out, though, and he comes out the better in an exchange of drop shots to go up 15-30. He pummels his way through the next point and earns two break points.

He only needs one. Backhand return winner, and he sprints to his chair for the changeover. Back on serve.

*Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-1 3-1 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

And just like that, Tiafoe is on the ropes again. At 15-30, Tiafoe hits effectively and comes to the net for an easy shot – that he hits well long and wide. Double break point.

But Tiafoe fights back. Two confident forehands save the second break point, and it’s deuce.

Alcaraz, though, just has an answer for everything. Tiafoe rips a terrific serve, Alcaraz returns, Tiafoe hits and approaches the net, and Alcaraz hits one close to Tiafoe’s body that he can’t get over the net, much to his obvious chagrin.

A couple more brilliant shots later, Alcaraz has broken back.

Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-1 2-1 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

Tiafoe pounces on a second serve to hit a winner. As dominant as Alcaraz has been, a break puts Tiafoe right back in it. And it looks like he’ll get that chance after he punishes a weak drop shot to go up 0-30.

Alcaraz strikes back with an effective serve to set up a forehand winner. Then he gets a backhand winner, one of several recent points in which Tiafoe is stuck at the net while Alvaraz gleefully slams it.

Another error for Tiafoe, and he has the look of a soccer player whose team is down 5-0.

And yet … it’s still not over. Tiafoe gets to deuce. Alcaraz wins the next, but Tiafoe pounds Alcaraz’s second serve with some fury and wins a brief rally to get back to deuce.

Then comes the best return of the match. Alcaraz served well. Tiafoe looks like he’s just stabbing at it with his backhand, but it slides nicely into the corner where Alcaraz can’t get it. Break point.

Another good return. A few shots in a tense baseline rally. Finally, Tiafoe gets a slight advantage and capitalizes with an angled winner.

Tiafoe lets out a yell and pumps both fists. We’re on serve in the fourth.

*Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-1 2-0 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

Much better from Tiafoe. Some good serves, including a well-placed second serve to go up 40-15.

But this isn’t just about Tiafoe trying to shake off a bunch of errors. Alcaraz is doing no wrong. On the next two points, Tiafoe has Alcaraz beaten, and Alcaraz simply responds with a wonder shot – a lob deep to one corner that Tiafoe races back to get and hit only as far as the net, then a cross-court winner off a drop shot. Tiafoe follows with a horrific unforced error, then Alvarez drops one right at Tiafoe’s shoelaces to set up another winner for another break.

Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-1 1-0 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

At 30-15, we get a glimpse of the last 30 minutes in a nutshell. Alcaraz hits a drop shot. Tiafoe races forward to get it and ends up at the net. Alcaraz then simply hits right past Tiafoe, who doesn’t even lunge at it.

At 15-15, Tiafoe double-faults. The next rally is 16 shots, but the 16th is one that Tiafoe drilled into the net. Double break/set point.

Alcaraz misses the baseline with a lob, and not by much. One set point left.

Tiafoe clanks one into the net. Another break. Another set. Tiafoe wasn’t going to come back and win this set, but that’s a terrible way to go into the fourth.

Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 5-1 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

One of many bad outcomes for Tiafoe in this set is that he’s squandering the opportunity to make a guy who has played nine hours this week play another drawn-out set. Alcaraz’s legs have to give out at some point, right?

*Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 4-1 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

Ace. Good serve. Another good serve, then some poise to retreat and smash an Alcaraz lob. 40-0.

Alcaraz gets one back with a deep return. Tiafoe calmly hits another ace. Bagel averted.

Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 4-0 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

Stats: Through three games in this set, Tiafoe has five unforced errors and a double fault.

At 15-15, Tiafoe plays his two best shots of the set, landing a difficult return in play and following up with a clean winner. If nothing else, that’ll give Tiafoe a slight jolt of confidence.

And it’s nothing else, because Tiafoe hits into the net on the next point and hits an unpressured shot long on the next. Tiafoe will serve. His only realistic goal in this set is to avoid the bagel.

*Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 3-0 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

A forehand winner stops the skid, but Tiafoe continues to falter and double faults to give Alcaraz two break points. An unforced error gives Alcaraz a second break. An even match is now decidedly not even.

Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 2-0 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

At 30-0, Tiafoe does well to get to a drop shot and return, only to see Alcaraz hit another brilliant shot to take the point. He holds at love.

Since Tiafoe had a break point to get back on serve in the second set, Alcaraz has won 11 straight points.

*Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 1-0 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

The players take a well-deserved break, as if planning to keeps us all here for another three hours. We know it’s coming, don’t we?

Tiafoe takes a longer break, leaving Alcaraz waiting on the court. That’s not a bad thing, though, given the presence of the ever-present tennis entourages with whom he can chat. Why don’t journalists have entourages? I’d love to have a few people offering me advice and encouragement while I … no, you know what, scratch that.

Tiafoe hits a shot just long. And I mean a millimeter long. First look at Hawk-Eye makes it seem in, but when it tilts, we can see just that teeny bit of green between the line and the ball’s shadow.

And it goes wrong for Tiafoe from there. Two shots in the net, and it’s triple break point. The crowd tries to give Tiafoe a lift, but he looks out of sorts on the next rally and hits long. Break at love.

Going back a ways, here’s the best point of this match or many a match, near the end of the first set:

CARLOS ALCARAZ IS A HUMAN HIGHLIGHT REEL pic.twitter.com/2ySEIlloEp

Alcaraz opens with an ace. He hits another great serve but botches a volley at the net. They trade winners (OK, “forced error” in Tiafoe’s case), and then Tiafoe earns break point with a brilliant backhand that just finds the line. He does it again on the next, but this one pops up for Tiafoe to smash for deuce.

One more for Alcaraz, and it’s set point. Another good serve and brief rally, and Alcaraz has leveled the match.

*Alcaraz 6-7 5-3 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

Tiafoe quickly drops into a 0-30 hole, then lands a nice winner.

Alcaraz, though, conjures a truly special shot. With Tiafoe coming to the net, a few feet to the left of the center line, Alcaraz somehow finds just enough space to sneak it past a dejected Tiafoe. Double break/set point.

How to respond? How about an unreturnable serve, an ace, and another unreturnable serve? Nice hold to prolong the set. Can Tiafoe break to get back on serve?

Alcaraz 6-7 5-2 Tiafoe* (* – denotes next server)

The break clearly rattled Tiafoe, who had already struggled with his returns in Alcaraz’s last service game. He quickly drops two points.

But Alcaraz drops the next. Then Tiafoe hits a brilliant cross-court shot, with about one-quarter of the ball catching the line. Alcaraz hits into the net on the next, and now Tiafoe has a break point.

It’s an even rally for a while in a 15-shot rally, but Alcaraz manages to hit a deep one, and Tiafoe can’t get around it, hitting into the net. Deuce.

Tiafoe’s next return is long, and he punches his racket. But Alcaraz can’t close out the game, playing a drop shot that Tiafoe covers with relative ease. Deuce.

Big, big serve from Alcaraz, and Tiafoe’s shot hangs in the air before falling a couple of inches over the net and a few inches in play, where Alcaraz is waiting to smash it.

One more winner, and Alcaraz holds.

*Alcaraz 4-2 Tiafoe (* – denotes next server)

And just as I say these guys aren’t overpowering each other on their serves, Tiafoe lets loose with an ace.

But Tiafoe has three unforced errors in the next four points, and he’s suddenly facing break point. Tiafoe again uncorks a big serve, and Alcaraz’s shot is quite long.

Alcaraz wins the next point the old-fashioned way. He gets to a drop shot, then ducks as Tiafoe tries to blast it back, hitting long.

And Alcaraz converts this time. First break of the match.