Novak Djokovic identifies Alcaraz, Rune, & Sinner as the candidates who’ll bear the weight of the sport following his retirement

Alcaraz, Sinner and Rune have all been having incredible seasons in their own right.

Novak Djokovic identifies Alcaraz, Rune, & Sinner as the candidates who’ll bear the weight of the sport following his retirement

Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune, Carlos Alcaraz(Images via Tennis365 and ATP Tour)

World No.1 Novak Djokovic anointed Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, and Jannik Sinner to carry the sport after his retirement. The 36-year-old is still playing his best tennis. However, there will come a day when he has to hang up his racket. However, the Serb was confident in leaving tennis in the hands of the trio.

Novak Djokovic has been defining the sport for nearly two decades. With 24 Grand Slam titles, he is the leading contender for the Greatest Of All Time debate. However, he is one of the oldest players on the tour. He is currently playing at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he is the oldest player in the tournament. The next oldest is Daniil Medvedev, who is nearly ten years younger than him. This shows the older tennis players handing the torch to their successors. However, there will come a day when Djokovic will have to announce his retirement from the sport.

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Djokovic was seemingly satisfied with handing over the sport to the next generation. He was especially content with Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, and Jannik Sinner being the faces of the next generation of players. The 24-time Grand Slam champion said:

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The generation of Carlos, Holger, and Jannik is very strong. They are probably the three players who can carry the weight of this sport in the future, but also in the present, because they are already at the top.

He also appreciated that the younger players were motivated to get better and stronger in their game.

However, he also admitted that predicting the match between Rune and Sinner would be tough. “I don’t know what Jannik is thinking, “ said the Serb. The home hero was already qualified for the semi-final, even before his match against Rune. However, Djokovic was confident that despite the Italian being qualified, he would do his best to win every match he played. True to his word, Sinner defeated Rune in three sets, which qualified Djokovic for the semi-final.

Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner are considered the new Big-3 by many

Tennis is a sport dominated by the best players of each generation. Such an iconic set of players is Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. They have defined and redefined the sport for more than two decades. However, with Federer hanging up his racket in 2022 and Nadal hinting that the 2024 season is his final one, it is high time the torch is handed over to the next generation.

Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner(Images via Sky Sports, Tennis365 and CNN)

Various people in the tennis audience have coined the term new Big-3, especially for Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, and Jannik Sinner. Fortunately, especially with the 2023 season, the trio proved that they were truly deserving of the honor. With Alcaraz winning two Grand Slams at just 20 years old, Sinner at the Canadian Open and Rune’s consistent performances, they have proved over and again that they are the leaders of the next generation of players.

It will be nostalgic for the fans of the sport to see the Big 3 retiring one after the other. However, it is reassuring to know that they will be leaving the sport in good hands. Nevertheless, it will be a grim day to see the last of the older generation retiring.

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