Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner Warned Alexander Zverev Can Disrupt Their Grand Slam Dominance After French Open Win

Earlier this year, Alexander Zverev said he was confident about ending his Grand Slam drought this year. There were some who mocked him, calling him delusional, but Sascha responded to every criticism by defeating Flavio Cobolli in five sets in the French Open final.

Zverev then repeatedly said he was confident of having a better run at Wimbledon, where, prior to this season, he failed to reach the quarterfinals. But this time, Sascha not only progressed beyond the fourth round but reached the final, where Jannik Sinner dashed his Channel Slam hopes with a four-set win.

Richard Krajicek, a former World No.4 and the winner of the 1996 Wimbledon, warned Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner that Zverev could end up disrupting their Grand Slam dominance.

In a way, yes. But I have to say now, with Zverev winning that Slam, you saw it already [at Wimbledon]… grass is not his surface, but he wins close matches. He’s very confident.

Richard Krajicek told Tennis365

In Paris, for the first time since 2024, a player whose name is not Alcaraz or Sinner won a Grand Slam title. Alcaraz injured his wrist during the Barcelona Open and withdrew from the French Open.

Sinner suffered a shock second-round defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo. The day following Sinner’s exit, Joao Fonseca upset Novak Djokovic‘s run in the third round. Zverev successfully capitalized on this opportunity and shed the name tag of one of the best players to have never won a Major.

I remember when [Ivan] Lendl finally won his first Grand Slam, he started winning a lot of Grand Slams. It was eight [Grand Slams] he won in the end. So, maybe something like this can also happen [with Zverev]. I think it’s going to be those three players – Sinner, Alcaraz and Zverev – playing for the next three, four, five years, in the top.

Richard Krajicek added

Sinner, with his 10th consecutive win over Zverev in the Wimbledon final, defended his title in the tournament. It was also his sixth title of the season after his victories in the first five Masters 1000s.

Richard Krajicek on Carlos Alcaraz’s injury

Because of the wrist injury, Carlos Alcaraz not only missed the French Open but also Wimbledon. But he is scheduled to return at the Cincinnati Masters, where he received a walkover from defending champion Jannik Sinner last year.

Alcaraz has not revealed anything about his injury, but he has started uploading clips of his practice session on social media. He was also seen wearing protection on his wrist when he was watching the FIFA World Cup final. Reacting to Alcaraz’s injury, Richard Krajicek, during that aforementioned interview with Tennis365, said:

I had an elbow injury myself. It’s really difficult to reset when you start playing again [after this type injury]. So, you hit a little bit… You need to go step by step. It’s not as clear-cut as tearing the ligaments in your ankle, which they say is three or four months, and it’s always three or four months, and then you can play again. So yeah, it takes a bit of time, but he’s young, and I think he’s got good healing power.

Before the Barcelona Open, the 23-year-old played the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters but failed to defend his title, losing to Sinner. Alcaraz also lost his No.1 ranking to the five-time Grand Slam champion because Sinner had no points to defend in The Principality and had also completed the Sunshine Double (did not have any points to defend) prior to the clay swing. The Spaniard has so far lifted two trophies, the Australian Open and the Qatar Open.

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