A year ago, Carlos Alcaraz was pondering his future. He had just beaten Novak Djokovic to win his second Wimbledon crown, adding it to the Roland-Garros trophy he had collected five weeks previously. But it was not enough.
“At the end of my career, I want to sit at the same table as the big guys,” he said without ego, just with confidence. “That's my main goal.”
The ‘big guys’ are, of course, the “Big Three”: Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Between them, they have 66 Grand Slam titles. Alcaraz has five. Yet he is, already, sitting at the big guys’ table, his chair being next to Jannik Sinner’s.
Sinner has already joined Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Andy Murray as the only men to reach the final of all four Grand Slams in the last 30 years. Just to tick another box: this is his fourth consecutive Grand Slam final (he has won two so far). And he is attempting to win his fourth Grand Slam title.
As the era of the Big Three fades into memory, Sinner and Alcaraz have eased seamlessly into position at the top of the rankings. In Djokovic’s view, they are both several levels above the chasing pack – and he should know having been beaten in straight sets by the Italian in the semi-finals.
Between them, they have won the last six Grand Slam trophies.
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Their rivalry at the top is beginning to match the rivalries between the Big Three, not that Sinner is willing to believe such hype.
“You cannot compare what the Big Three did for 15-plus years,” he said. “Six Grand Slams are one and a half years. It's not that big yet.”
Oh, but it is. Their final at Roland-Garros is regarded as one of the greatest finals in history: five sets, five and half hours and no clue as to the winner until the match tie-break. It was breathtaking – and exhausting.
Sinner held three Championship points, yet Alcaraz won. The mental scars from that could last a lifetime but Sinner has shaken them off. He has played better than he has ever played on grass during the past six rounds.
“If it would be a lot in my head, I would not be in the situation to play a final again, I guess,” he said with a smile. “I think every player is different how he takes the losses or tough situations. After Roland-Garros I practised very hard, maybe more, to improve as a player.”
And he has improved. He feels more comfortable moving on the grass, he is more willing to come forward and his core game of relentless, pinpoint hitting from the back of the court remains as dominant as ever.
It has not helped him in his last five meetings with Alcaraz, though. The Spaniard leads their rivalry with eight wins to four losses. Sinner has not beaten the world No.2 in two years. Still, Alcaraz is alive to the threat he poses.
“I just see Jannik playing great tennis on grass,” the champion said. “I said many times that the movement on grass is the hardest things to get and the most important things, at least for me. And the movement that Jannik has on grass is unbelievable. He's sliding like he's playing on clay from both legs. It's just unbelievable."
The two men seemed to have formed a mutual admiration society. Sinner tipped his hat to the No.2. “He is the favourite,” he said. “He won here two times in a row. He's again in the final. It's very tough to beat him on grass, but I like these challenges. I like to go head-to-head and trying to see what I can do and what I can reach.”
As for Alcaraz, his enthusiasm for the sport he plays, the crowds he plays before and the venues he plays in knows no bounds. Whatever the result, the fact that he and Sinner are vying for the biggest prize in tennis is all that matters.
I think the things that we are doing right now is great for tennis. We're just fighting for the tennis to be bigger.
“I think the things that we are doing right now is great for tennis,” he said. “We just fight to just engage more people to watch tennis. We're just fighting for the tennis to be bigger, as all the tennis players are doing.
“For me, it's sharing the big tournaments with Jannik. It is great just playing in the finals of the tournaments and in final rounds. I think it's great, or at least for me.”
As he and Sinner write another chapter in a rivalry that could go on for another decade and more, the rest of the world thinks it is great, too.