Tony Blair was in Downing Street, Carlos Alcaraz a baby and Twitter and Instagram non-existent the last time the French Open took place without Rafael Nadal.
But the Spaniard will be at Roland Garros in statue form only this year after giving notice that the end of one of the great sporting careers is looming.
Nadal’s record on the Parisian clay is absurd – since winning on his debut in 2005, he has lifted the title 14 times, lost three matches and withdrawn mid-tournament once.
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The dynamic will undoubtedly be different without him and, for those players now seeing an opportunity, how they handle the situation will go a long way to determining who walks away with the trophy.
Novak Djokovic takes over favourite status given his history at the tournament – two titles and four more finals – and the 22 slam titles he has already won.
The Serbian turned 36 this week and, although he has shown many times – including at the Australian Open this year – that he can fight through physical issues to win slams, there are major question marks about the state of his right elbow.
Djokovic has suffered defeats to Lorenzo Musetti, Dusan Lajovic and Holger Rune on clay this season but still spoke bullishly about his chances in Paris.
“I know I can always play better,” he said in Rome. “Definitely I am looking forward to working on various aspects of my game, of my body, hopefully getting myself in 100 per cent shape. That’s the goal.
“I always like my chances in grand slams against anybody on any surface, best-of-five (sets).”
Djokovic is increasingly mounting a one-man defence against the younger generation, and 20-year-old Alcaraz reclaimed the world number one ranking from him this week.
Rune, also 20, has established himself as a big-time talent over the past six months while 21-year-old Jannik Sinner is having the best season of his career.
Only Rome champion Daniil Medvedev is within a decade of Djokovic in the top 10, and the Serbian said: “A new generation is here already. Alcaraz is number one in the world. Obviously he’s playing amazing tennis. I think it’s also good for our sport that we have new faces, new guys coming up. It’s normal.
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“We’ve been saying this for years, that we can expect it to come, that moment when you have a shift of generations. I’m personally still trying to hang in there with all of them. I’m, of course, very happy with my career so far. I still have the hunger to keep going. Let’s see how far I’m going to play.”
On the women’s side, a top three has emerged this season, with Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina closing the gap to world number one Iga Swiatek.
The Pole remains a class act on clay in particular but is certainly not as clear a favourite as 12 months ago, when her second French Open title came as part of a 37-match winning run.
The best hope for a strong British run once again is Cameron Norrie, whose top-16 ranking ensures he will avoid other top players in the early rounds.
The withdrawals of Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu are a blow but 21-year-old Jack Draper has recovered from an abdominal problem in time and will look to show his potential on the big stage again.
Sinner avoids O'Connell upset at US Open
Jannik Sinner beat Australia's Christopher O'Connell in straight sets to reach the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday, avoiding a similar fate to Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
The men's draw at Flushing Meadows has been blown wide open by early exits for Alcaraz and Djokovic, but the top seed remains in the hunt after a composed performance.
He reached the fourth round for a fourth consecutive year with a routine 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory, setting the tone with several huge groundstrokes in the opening set.
O'Connell never looked likely to fight back as Sinner smashed 46 winners in a ruthless performance, wrapping up his win in one hour and 56 minutes.
The Australian Open champion will face either Tommy Paul or Gabriel Diallo for a place in the last eight, and he was relieved to survive an opening week full of surprises.
"Everything can happen in this sport, so I try to stay on my side of the net and I'm trying to take the tournament day by day," Sinner said in his on-court interview after the win.
"Each opponent is a very tough challenge and [I am] also enjoying every moment on the court. There have been already a couple of upsets, so let's see what's coming.
"But I'm very happy to still be here and hopefully I can play as many matches as possible. But as I said, we go day by day and then we'll see how it goes."
Data Debrief: Sinner heating up
Sinner lost his first set of the tournament to Mackenzie McDonald but has been largely untouchable since then.
He has only lost 18 games across his last nine sets of tennis, an average of two per set.
The Italian's winning streak now stands at seven straight matches, meanwhile, following his triumphant Cincinnati Open run.
US Open: Sabalenka overcomes first set scare to progress in late start
Aryna Sabalenka came from a set down to keep her US Open dream alive as she beat Ekaterina Alexandrova in the early hours at Flushing Meadows.
Sabalenka emerged on court at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at seven minutes past midnight following Novak Djokovic's shock exit from the tournament, and consecutive upsets looked to be on the cards.
However, the Belarusian responded from a disappointing opening set as she looks to avenge her defeat in the showpiece match against Coco Gauff a year ago.
The world number two set up a meeting with Belgium's Elise Mertens as she emerged a 2-6 6-1 6-2 victor in one hour and 40 minutes in New York.
"I don't know what I did, I was just trying to stay low, put as many balls as I can back on that side," Sabalenka said.
"She played incredible tennis in the first set. It was really tough to change it."
"I'm really happy I was able to turn around this match and get this really difficult win. Thanks so much for staying that late."
Data Debrief: Sabalenka survives late, late show
Sabalenka's encounter with Alexandrova was the latest starting match at the US Open, beating Gabriela Sabatini and Beverley Bowes' meeting in 1987 that started at midnight.
The Belarusian, however, will be hoping for a much improved performance in the next round, having produced 27 unforced errors throughout the contest and serving four double faults.
US Open: Djokovic played 'worst tennis ever' in Popyrin loss
Defending US Open champion Novak Djokovic suffered a shock exit at Flushing Meadows as he lost in four sets to Alexei Popyrin.
Djokovic arrived at the tournament with confidence following his gold medal triumph at the Paris Olympics, and was tipped to lift a record-extending 25th grand slam title.
However, the Serbian's hopes of a fifth success in New York were dashed as he followed fellow favourite Carlos Alcaraz out of the competition in the third round.
Popyrin emerged victorious in three hours and 18 minutes, prevailing 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 to confirm Djokovic's earliest exit from the tournament in 18 years.
"I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played," Djokovic said.
"Honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round is a success."
"I tried my best, I didn't have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas, and you could see that. From the first match, I just didn't find myself on this court.
"Life moves on. I'll try to recalibrate and look forward to what's next."
Data Debrief: Another one bites the dust
Djokovic was far from his clinical best, serving a career-high 14 double faults in a grand slam match and committing 49 unforced errors.
The Serbian will also end the year without winning a grand slam title, the first time he has done so since 2017.
But the day belonged to Popyrin, saving 12 of the 16 break points he faced against the world number two, finding particular success with his forehand as 31 of his 49 winners came from that shot.
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