The rivalry that can break all the rules in world tennis

Barcelona"Tennis is in very good hands," said Rafa Nadal this week. Naturally, he was talking about Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the two players who seem destined to fight for dominance in the sport over the next decade. After the beautiful five and a half hour final at Roland Garros, in which the Murcian emerged victorious with a comeback very reminiscent of those performed by the player from Manacor, both are now looking ahead to Wimbledon. To be in shape for the grass-court Grand Slam, they have chosen different paths: the Italian will participate in the Halle tournament, where he won in 2024, while Alcaraz is betting on Queen's, although he has not yet confirmed 100% whether he will be there. "The plan is to play, but in a few days we'll make a final decision. Halfway through the tournament we talked about it and Alcaraz told us he wanted to go. After these days of rest we'll do a test to see how he's physically and mentally. He'll resume his specific training for grass. We'll go to Wimbledon with great enthusiasm; he loves to play;

The Roland Garros final was the first Grand Slam between the two. Alcaraz had won the previous four he had played and Sinner, three out of three. In their first direct duel, the Italian fell, although he was within striking distance of winning when, in theory, Alcaraz rules on clay. The Murcian became the third man capable of winning a major final after saving a championship point since the 1960s in the longest final ever seen in Paris. At Wimbledon, then, they are rubbing their hands in the hope that they will meet again, although the London tournament will also be special because it will be the farewell of the player who Novak Djokovic, who has beaten him the most times at the age of 38, kissed the ground on Centre Court in Paris in a symbolic farewell, while rumors grow that he's giving it his all this season and dreams of winning a 25th Grand Slam title. "They're fantastic. I think their rivalry is what our sport needs, without a doubt. The way they play and the way they approach life, I think they'll have very successful careers in the coming years. I'm sure we'll see them lift big trophies quite often," the Serb says.

"A pace that's not human"

Djokovic is the last survivor of the golden era that he, Rafa Nadal, and Roger Federer have led. It seemed that without them, tennis would enter a cold era, but Alcaraz and Sinner have turned the script around. While Djokovic is still playing, they have already begun a new era that is impressive. "Federer and Nadal played a couple of good finals, but nothing comes close to that. I thought it was impossible to see two players playing that match, whose pace is not human. They are two of the greatest athletes the human race has ever seen," said Sweden's Mats Wilander, seven-time Grand Slam champion. "At that age, they've already played one of the greatest matches of all time," marveled John McEnroe.

The consensus is general: the new era promises a lot, with the question of how 23-year-old Sinner will stop the hurricane from Alcaraz, who is a year younger. Sinner, who served a three-month doping ban between February and May, has shown remarkable consistency over the past 20 months, losing just 10 of 121 matches since September 2023. But half of these defeats have come in his last five meetings with Alcaraz. The Murcian has defeated the South Tyrolean player eight times, who has won four head-to-head duels. "This is the first match against us in a Grand Slam final. We hope it won't be the last, because every time we play each other, we raise our level. If you want to win the Grand Slam, you have to beat the best tennis players in the world," said Alcaraz.

Between them, they've won seven of the last eight major tournaments—only Djokovic won in the United States in 2023—an incredible dominance for two young players. Alcaraz has already won five major tournaments, the same number as Nadal at his age. In fact, his challenge is to withstand the comparisons with the Manacor native. Sinner is different. Italy has never had a genius like him, although he doesn't have it easy either: he's cold, less fun than Christmas, and introverted. He also comes from a German-speaking family from the South Tyrol region, which has drawn some ridicule from journalists and former Italian players who say he's not very Italian.

Tennis needed a generational change, and it arrived sooner than expected. Alcaraz has already won 20 tournaments, while Sinner has won 19. Their first Grand Slam final was so beautiful that everyone now anxiously awaits the next duels, as they symbolize two opposing ways of understanding tennis. Alcaraz is explosive, less consistent. He hits more winners, but also makes more mistakes. Sinner is icy, like an Alpine glacier. But his game is aesthetic, seeking perfection, as if it were a chess match. Sinner is elegant, Alcaraz is electric. At times, they can be reminiscent of Federer and Nadal, but going their own way.

"I think we should be very happy with these two guys fighting for big trophies. For them, it's undoubtedly something that raises their level every time they step out onto the court. They know they have to play incredible tennis to beat each other, and it's something that will help each player raise their level even further." The golden age of tennis wasn't over yet, and a new one has already begun: that of Alcaraz and Sinner.