Talking about his rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, Jannik Sinner admitted that his Spanish rival has something more at the moment. The young ATP No.1 analyzed which skills Carlitos has more, which Jannik must work on – as admitted by the Italian himself – to improve
“We are two very different players. I keep the pace very high, I am mentally strong. He is physically strong and tennis-wise at the moment he has something more: he plays the slice better, the volleys. But for me it is a positive fact: it means I have margins. Carlos on the court does the numbers: drop shot, passing shot, lob. I don’t know if I will ever be like that. But as a tennis player I am more solid and when needed I place the winning acceleration,” explained Sinner, before dwelling on what it means to be successful in life and in sport: “Success hasn’t changed me, I am always the same. I don’t walk with my head held high if I win, I don’t get depressed if I lose. I don’t like being in the spotlight. I don’t put on airs. Those close to me know how much time I dedicate to tennis. Then you either like it or you don’t, you can’t control everything. I take care of who is with me close, to the family, the rest doesn’t matter to me.”
The rivalry between Carlos and Jannik, despite their young age, has already become a rivalry capable of capturing the attention of fans. This year, the Italian and the Spaniard have split the annual Majors: Sinner triumphed at the Australian Open and the US Open, Alcaraz completed the historic Roland Garros and Wimbledon double. For the first time since 2002, none of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal (close to a farewell at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga – ed.) and Roger Federer (retired in 2022 – ed.) have won a Major. The Serbian champion lost the final in three sets on the lawns of the All England Club against Alcaraz. The sign of the end of an era and the promise of a new dawn.
In the consecration season, in which Jannik established himself as ATP number 1 thanks to the seven titles won, including the two Slams on hard courts in Melbourne and New York, the Italian has shown that he currently has no rivals, except Alcaraz himself, definitively opening a rivalry destined to mark tennis in the coming years.
On the occasion of the special Sinner, beyond tennis – Chapter 3 of Sky Sport Italy, the 23-year-old talked about the beginning of a new chapter in tennis, revealing who are the opponents with whom he suffers the most.
“It’s still early to talk about a new era, though, the others have won Slams for twenty years. We’ll see how the next 5/6 years go and then, potentially, hopefully, it would be nice to talk about this. Zverev is getting closer and closer to winning a Slam and in my opinion, when he manages to win one, then he could leave. Then there’s Medvedev, really tough to beat in the majors. Nole won the Olympic gold and is still there because he knows he can still win. When he knows he can’t win anymore, then in my opinion he won’t stay there for long,” he said.
Jannik then talked about his main opponents, explaining the difficulties in facing them: “There will always be players against whom I struggle more, who put me in difficulty, but they are the ones who make you grow as a player. I could never beat Medvedev, I struggled a lot. But then we added serve & volley, drop shots, attacking the net, volleys, and he made me grow. I became a better player. With Nole as with Alcaraz and as with Zverev who I always struggled to beat. But there will always be new players who arrive with new qualities and you always have to continue. So this sport is very beautiful.”
