Carlos Alcaraz Names 3 Players Who Can Challenge His and Jannik Sinner’s Dominance

Carlos Alcaraz will lock horns with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Queen's Club to start his campaign on grass.

Carlos Alcaraz Names 3 Players Who Can Challenge His and Jannik Sinner’s Dominance

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Giovanni Pelazzo, Carlos Alcaraz)

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have dominated the Grand Slam events since 2024. They now share the last six Grand Slam titles between them.

This season, Sinner defended his Australian Open title by beating Alexander Zverev without breaking a sweat. Alcaraz had to grind for five hours and 29 minutes to beat Sinner in the French Open final.

Novak Djokovic, who last won a Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open, has reached the twilight of his career and is struggling to play consistent tennis. Then who at present can challenge Alcaraz and Sinner?

The Spaniard is in London for his first grass-court tournament- the Queen’s Club Championships. He will kick-start his campaign against compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on June 17. At the pre-tournament press conference, Alcaraz said Zverev, Arthur Fils, and Holger Rune could compete with him and Sinner.

I don’t know, some young players, I mean, Alex Zverev is always there, I mean, obviously, he’s been talking about himself and everybody knew that he’s struggling a little bit with his game, but he’s one of those players who are able to win everything, everything.

Zverev edges the 22-year-old 6-5 in the head-to-head meetings. Against Fils and Rune, Alcaraz is 2-0 and 2-2, respectively. He met the Dane in the Barcelona Open final, which he ended up losing (his first and only defeat on clay this season as he won every tournament he played on the surface).

So, but I don’t know, I love some players that I’ve said before, I love watching Fils, for example, I think his potential is pretty high. Holger Rune, his potential is pretty high as well.

Carlos Alcaraz added

Sinner, on the other hand, trails 3-4 in the head-to-head encounters against Zverev. Against Rune, he is 3-2 and has met the Frenchman just once and won that match.

Jimmy Connors’ son says Jannik Sinner’s defeat to Carlos Alcaraz will hurt him

Jannik Sinner has now lost five consecutive matches against Carlos Alcaraz in the official tournaments. Last year, Sinner recorded a 73-6 win-loss record and three of those defeats he faced in matches against Alcaraz.

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (3)
Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Univers Tennis)

After making his comeback from the doping ban at the Italian Open, Sinner reached the final only to lose to Alcaraz. Before this season, Sinner had never progressed to the French Open final as last year, Alcaraz ended his campaign in the semifinal.

According to Jimmy Connors‘ son Brett Connors, Sinner won’t forget his French Open defeat easily, given that he had the perfect chance to script history. Sinner took a 2-0 lead and in the fourth set, he failed to convert three championship points.

I feel like it’s got to hurt him. It’s got to be one of those losses he’s not going to get over in a day or two. But at the same time, he knows there’s probably only one guy in the game who can beat him.

Brett Connors said on the Advantage Connors podcast

Sinner too admitted during a recent interview at the Halle Open that he had a few sleepless nights while he brooded over the missed chances. The 23-year-old, however, also looked at the positives as at Roland Garros, he produced his best performance of his career on a surface which is his least favorite.

At the Halle Open, Sinner will aim to defend his title as well as win his second trophy on grass. Last year, he beat Hubert Hurkacz to lift the Halle Open.

This year, he will kick-start his campaign against qualifier Yannick Hanfmann, whom he defeated twice. After Halle, Sinner will be gearing up for Wimbledon where he was the semifinalist in 2023 and lost to Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinal last year.

Also read: Rafael Nadal Embraces ‘New Reality’ After Snubbing Talks of Returning to Tennis