Emmanuel LANGELLIER, Media365: published on Sunday October 6, 2024 at 2:30 p.m.
Former Swedish player Mats Wilander released a statement about Jannik Sinner and Carlos ALcaraz that did not go unnoticed.
We feel that these two are set to dominate tennis for several years. On our left, Jannik Sinner (23 years old), world number 1 and winner of two Grand Slam tournaments. On our right, Carlos Alcaraz (21 years old), 3rd in the ATP rankings and holder of 4 major lifts. Between them, they won all of the 4 biggest tournaments of the year (Sinner triumphed at the Australian Open and the US Open, Alcaraz reigned at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon). They are the best current players and they are young, therefore logically likely to last over time.
“I hope Roger, Novak and Rafa don’t listen”
Sinner and Alcaraz once again put on a major show during their final in Beijing a few days ago. At the end of a highly contested meeting, the Spaniard overthrew the Italian after 3h24 of struggle to end up winning 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 in China on Wednesday and dominating his rival for the 3rd time in a row . The level of play once again delighted fans of the little yellow ball but also specialists in the discipline. A consultant for many years after a very good playing career, Mats Wilander even dared to make a statement which did not go unnoticed.
“They are following in the footsteps of the Big 3 in terms of level,” said the former world number 1 and winner of 7 Grand Slams on Eurosport. I hope Roger (Federer), Novak (Djokovic) and Rafa (Nadal) are not listening, but in terms of level, when Sinner and Alcaraz are at their best, no one has ever played better tennis. There’s no way the ball did anything more complicated than what it does between Sinner and Alcaraz, to me. » In good form, the Italian and the Spaniard got off to a perfect start at the Masters 1000 in Shanghai where they could meet in the semi-finals this time. The two rivals have already faced each other 10 times, including 3 in 2024 (victories for Alcaraz in Beijing, Roland-Garros and Indian Wells). Alcaraz leads 6 successes to 4.
