Have Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner Has taken tennis to a higher level than Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic? Opinions differ on this.
by Florian Goosmann
last edited: October 7, 2024, 10:08 a.m
The tennis world was extremely enthusiastic about the Beijing final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner – and rightly so, of course.
Alcaraz won here in close three sets, and shortly afterwards the two finalists were seen flying together to Shanghai. And now both of them are active on the pitch here too. Just tennis.
The rivalry between Alcaraz and Sinner, it is a dream for our favorite sport; The matches between the two deliver what they promise. Incidentally, Alcaraz leads head-to-head with 6:4, this year all three meetings went to the Spaniard.
“There is no chance that anyone has ever played tennis better”
Alcaraz and Sinner have a good chance of following the “Big 3” when it comes to big matches – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. And according to tennis legend Mats Wilander, the boys have already surpassed the old masters in terms of quality.
“I hope Roger, Novak and Rafa don’t listen, but in terms of level… when Sinner and Alcaraz are at their best, there is no chance that anyone has ever played better tennis,” said the Eurosport expert.
Wilander is quite alone
After which the good Mats on X faced quite a bit of headwind. Did he forget the 2008 Wimbledon final (between Nadal and Federer)? Or the gold medal match between Djokovic and Alcaraz recently in Paris? And in terms of mediation: well, in terms of movement and athleticism, okay, but otherwise please not yet.
However, it wasn’t just fans who took this approach, but also former professionals. Former player Alex Dolgopolov, for example. “Sorry Mats, I haven’t been watching much tennis lately, but I happened to see the highlights and my opinion may be worthless. But I don’t agree. “The ‘Big 3’ had a much higher level of understanding the height of the ball, as well as changes of pace and angles,” said the former world number 13. On a good day, he would prefer never-before-seen players for such comparisons.
Dolgopolov, in turn, received support from Boris Becker. “I agree with Alex,” said the Wilander expert colleague. “Sorry, Mats…”
And what is your opinion on the topic?
