“Alcaraz will have a tough rival,” Rafael Nadal’s uncle foretells the story of the next great rivalry on the tour between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

Uncle Toni backed the Italian to be more confident in his matches hereon against both Alcaraz and Djokovic.

“Alcaraz will have a tough rival,” Rafael Nadal’s uncle foretells the story of the next great rivalry on the tour between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Toni Nadal (Images via IMAGO)

The tennis world is waiting for their next pair of rivals to carry the sport as the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic move closer to retirement. Djokovic is still quite fit when compared to Nadal. The Serb is making cautious decisions in signing up for events to retain his fitness.

With Roger Federer retired and British hero Andy Murray admitting of retiring in a few months, the famous ‘Big-4’ is slowly fading away. Amid this, the hopes have been pinned on the young shoulders of current World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and World No. 3 Jannik Sinner.

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Alcaraz and Sinner have both won Grand Slam singles titles already. The Spaniard is a two-time winner having won the US Open (2022) and Wimbledon (2023). The Italian clinched his first at the 2024 Australian Open.

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While Carlitos has already been the World No. 1 too, Sinner broke into the Top-3 for the first time after winning the title in Rotterdam this month. Djokovic still leading the rankings, giving the two youngsters a lot of work before they can replace him.

Nadal’s uncle, and former coach Toni Nadal recently offered his view on Sinner and his latest triumph in Melbourne Park. The legendary coach backed the 22-year-old to now be a big rival to both Djokovic and Alcaraz given his Grand Slam victory. 

I think so. It's already one more. In Sinner, from now on, Alcaraz will have a tough rival. It was before, but after winning, he has an extra confidence. And I think we will see great clashes between the two.
Said Toni speaking to AS.

Head-to-head record of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

The two youngsters have been part of a rare group to win a Grand Slam singles title since each of the Big-3 members had won a Major. Juan Martin del Potro, Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, and Daniil Medvedev are the only other men to achieve it.

Carlos Alcaraz congratulated Jannik Sinner on winning the 2024 Australian Open
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner (Source:L ATP Tour)

But as they two work on making a name for themselves, the two have already started a heated rivalry. Fans and legends try to pit them against each other. But the pair have shown mutual respect towards each other nonetheless.

They first met in the 2019 Alicante Challenger where Alcaraz won in three sets. Their first Tour meeting took place in the second round of the 2021 Paris Masters. The Spaniard emerged victorious in a close straight-set battle.

Sinner won the next two matches, their fourth-round encounter at 2022 Wimbledon, and the finals of the 2022 Croatia Open. Alcaraz got back in the next two duels. These included the quarter-final at the 2022 US Open and the semi-finals at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters. The Spaniard won both the events later.

The last two meetings have been won by the Italian however. These came in the semi-finals of the 2023 Miami Masters and the semi-finals of the 2023 China Open. Sinner would go on to win the event in Beijing.

As things stand, the head-to-head is currently tied at 4-4 including the Challenger tie. If only the matches played on the ATP Tour and Grand Slams are counted, Sinner narrowly leads the tie 4-3.

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