Former ATP star names the player who will “catch up with” Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the future

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have dominated the men's circuit, winning the last seven Grand Slam titles.

Former ATP star names the player who will “catch up with” Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the future

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

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Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been the two most dominant forces in the men’s circuit for the past two years. Both players are dubbed to have taken over the Big 3 (Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer). Former ATP star John Isner believes that a Brazilian teenager will challenge the duo in the future.

The past seven Grand Slams have gone to either Alcaraz or Sinner. The former have claimed three of the seven, while the latter won four. Sinner recently claimed his fourth after beating Alcaraz in the final of the Wimbledon Championship, just five weeks after he had lost to the Spaniard at the French Open final.

This season, Alcaraz leads the chart for the player with the highest number of titles. He has won five titles this year and was unbeaten in 24 matches on tour, the longest winning streak in his career. Three of those aforementioned titles came during the clay-court season, winning the Monte Carlo, Italian Open, and Roland Garros.

During a conversation on Nothing Major podcast, John Isner raised the question of who will likely challenge Alcaraz and Sinner in the future. The former American player revealed that he believes João Fonseca will be the player to do so:

He’s 18. I remember Sinner at 18 or 19, I think I played him when he was 19. He was not nearly as good as he is now. He has improved so much from then, four years ago, to where he is now. I know we pump up Fonseca a lot but for the sake of the health of our sport and I actually do believe this, I am going to say yes, he can catch up to these guys and get to the conversation. I am not saying that it’s next year or the year after but in the next four or five years he can be in the conversation where he is one of the top four favourites to win each slam he enters.

Fonseca currently has one title to his name after winning the Argentina Open in February. However, the 18-year-old claimed the biggest win of his career after beating Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open. The Brazilian star then produced an impressive run at the French Open, beating Hubert Hurkacz in the first round and then reaching the third round of the Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career.

But Fonseca has struggled to beat top players or more experienced players on tour. At the Wimbledon Championship, he was the favorite to beat Chilean Nicolas Jarry in the third round, but he was stunned in four sets. The same experience happened at the French Open as Jack Draper defeated him in straight sets in the third round.

Former American player believes Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will be unparalleled on tour

During the dominance of the Big 3 (Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer), certain players went on to Grand Slam titles. Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, and Juan Martin Del Potro were among them. Murray and Wawrinka won three major titles, while Del Potro won just one in his career.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (2)
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

During the aforementioned conversation, former ATP Sam Querrey revealed that João Fonseca will end up being like Murray or Wawrinka on tour. He added that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will be too good for other players:

I am super pro Fonseca but I think these two are too good and they are separating themselves by the day. I see it more as these two, Sinner and Alcaraz, are like Fed, Nadal and Djokovic. Fonseca is more like a Murray or a Wawrinka, who maybe gets three to five slams. But I think Sinner and Alcaraz are going to be on an island of their own for the next 15 years.

Fonseca will not compete at the Washington Open, which kicks off on Monday (July 21). Hopefully, the Brazilian teenager will compete at the Canadian Open as Sinner and Alcaraz have already announced their withdrawal from it.

Also Read: Andrea Petkovic Snubs Coco Gauff, Calls Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka the ‘Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’ of WTA Tour