Former World No.17 analyzes where Carlos Alcaraz is lagging to challenge Jannik Sinner for big titles
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are dominating the men's field right now, winning the last five Grand Slams.
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Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X)
Former world No. 17 Nicolas Escude believes Carlos Alcaraz is the one who can challenge Jannik Sinner. He explained that Alcaraz has all the tools but struggles to use them correctly.
Sinner is currently the world No. 1 and has a big 4,820-point lead over Alcaraz in the ATP rankings. At the 2025 Australian Open, Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev in the final, while Alcaraz lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
We saw Sinner have a big physical failure against Rune in this tournament (the Australian Open). But for him to lose, I think he needs to come up against a player who can keep up the pace physically against his way of playing, which is not easy. Or against a serving machine, who can bring him to the end of sets and take advantage of a point or two.
Nicolas Escude said in an interview with L’Equipe
Since 2024, Sinner and Alcaraz have dominated Grand Slam events. They have won five straight major titles and seven of the last ten, starting with Alcaraz’s first Slam at the 2022 US Open.
But in a Grand Slam, over time, it’s complicated. Alcaraz probably remains the one who, thanks to all the solutions he has in his tennis, suggests that he can find the weapons to oppose Sinner.
Nicolas Escude added
Sinner has ruled the hard courts, winning the last two Australian Opens and the 2024 US Open. Alcaraz has four Grand Slam titles, including two at Wimbledon and one at Roland Garros. He also leads their head-to-head record 6-4, winning all three of their matches last season.
Carlos Alcaraz’s potential on indoor hard courts
Carlos Alcaraz is set to make his debut at the Rotterdam Open this week. The young Spaniard hopes to improve his performance on indoor courts.
Alcaraz has been highly successful on clay and grass. He has won nearly 89% of his matches on grass and 82% on clay. His hard-court record stands at 75%, and his overall career win percentage is 78.9%, placing him ninth in ATP history.
However, his results indoors are not as strong. He has a 25-12 record on indoor courts, with a win percentage of 67.6%. This is lower than his overall record and below rivals like Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, who have nearly 80% indoor win rates.
Alcaraz has yet to win an indoor title or even reach a final. His best results have been two semi-finals, one at the 2022 Swiss Indoors and another at the 2023 ATP Finals. He struggled at the 2024 ATP Finals and has had limited success at the Paris Masters. In contrast, he has won major titles on clay, hard, and grass courts.
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Fahad Hamid
(694 Articles Published)