Carlos Alcaraz will be hoping to secure another French Open title in the coming weeks, but Jannik Sinner will be chief among those trying to stop him.
The Italian has been in constant competition with the four-time Grand Slam champion for some time now, reducing the Grand Slam deficit to within just one.
It is this constant back-and-forth that their rivalry breeds which has drawn such mass intrigue, especially as the influence of the Big Three has slowly waned following the retirements of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
However, their legacy lives on, and it is their rivalry which Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner could only hope of replicating given the success this legendary duo enjoyed across two glittering careers.
Carlos Alcaraz reviews his rivalry with Jannik Sinner
Speaking at his pre-Roland Garros press conference, it’s no surprise that Sinner’s name once again cropped up.
After all, he has just faced his outstanding rival once again in a final, and now all the talk is about whether they could repeat that feat at a Grand Slam.
Stuck on opposite halves of the draw due to their seeding, things are poised for a dramatic showdown in the final of the French Open.
However, Alcaraz is wary about putting their rivalry on a pedestal too soon, as he noted: ‘Well, I’m not going to put myself or the rivalry that I have with Sinner on the same level as those legends (McEnroe Borg, Nadal Federer, etc) but I think for the tennis fans it’s great to have a match-up from some players that make them excited about watching that match.
‘As you said it was Borg McEnroe, Rafa Roger or Djokovic, the Big Three against each other… right now I think the people are excited every time I’m facing Jannik. It’s a really high quality of tennis and I think for the people and probably the people who don’t like watching tennis, it’s a match that because of that they’ll start to watch tennis.
‘Let’s see in the future how it’s going to be but right now for sure I’m not going to put ourselves into that table of rivalries.’
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner already have a generational rivalry
It’s already clear as day that the rivalry between Alcaraz and Sinner will be the outstanding one of their generation.
After all, the two have already shared 11 impressive meetings despite their youth, and are poised to enjoy many more given their penchant to reach the latter stages of almost every event they enter.
Rivalries compared
| Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer | Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe | Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner | |
| Matches played | 40 | 14 | 11 |
| Finals contested | 23 | 9 | 3 |
| Combined Grand Slams won | 42 | 18 | 7 |
Much like John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, or Nadal, Federer and Novak Djokovic, these titans of the sport would come into contact with each other so often because of their consistency and ability to always go deep in tournaments.
They were a cut above the rest, and were rewarded for their efforts by facing their greatest adversaries.
As the two outstanding players of their generation, Alcaraz and Sinner will share this blessing. We, as tennis fans, will therefore get to enjoy so many more iterations of their rivalry over the next decade and beyond.
