SINNER PARTY
Jannik must escape from Alcaraz
JANNIK SINNER and Carlos Alcaraz have been told they can create a Grand Slam rivalry like Federer against Nadal.
On Sunday the Italian won his first Major title, the Australian Open, at the age of 22. And the world No.4 was immediately congratulated on social media by his friend and double Grand Slam winner Alcaraz – the only other man under 25 to have won a Major.
Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal (below) enjoyed a decade-long battle at the top of the rankings until Novak Djokovic overtook them.
And the Serb, who turns
37 in May, insisted he still has the drive to add to his male record haul of 24
Grand Slam singles titles.
But the future is the next generation, with Alcaraz only 20. Australian legend
Lleyton Hewitt, who won Wimbledon in 2002, said: “I think this is going to be one of the great rivalries moving forward, the Sinner-alcaraz rivalry.
“It’s potentially like the Roger-rafa one we saw for so many years.
“Their styles are slightly different, their upbringings are different. Tennis needs these new guys coming through.”
The two-time Major champion added: “There’s been plenty of talk about Sinner for three or four years, that he’s a possible Grand Slam champion and world No.1 but Alcaraz came out of nowhere and took that from him. I think that spurred Jannik on to find a way to win these titles.”
Asked if Sinner had been spurred on by Alcaraz, the Italian’s coach Darren Cahill said: “Hell, yeah! Absolutely. There’s no question that seeing the young players come through and having success drives each and every one of them. Carlos has trailblazed for a lot of young players. We’re really thankful for that.
“I do think Jannik can become a superstar. I think this sport at the moment has a few superstars. Carlos is very similar to Jannik in both the way they play with the excitement level they bring to the game, and their personalities and their likeability. “They like each other. They have a friendly rivalry.”
Sinner, who has strong family support, said: “Obviously I’m really happy about what Carlos has done and what he is doing. When we play it’s always a good match-up but at the moment we also have to say that he is ahead of me.”
The Italian leads their head-to-head encounters 4-3 and his performances Down Under showed he has made big progress in his game since losing in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Adriano Panatta, the last Italian male Grand Slam winner at the 1976 French Open, told Gazzetta dello Sport: “Sinner has done crazy things in Melbourne. What will happen now? He will now win a lot more Slams.
“I am sure that he is now the best player in the world.
“Forget the rankings. In the last three months he has made a great leap forward and he seems like a different player. He has become a man.”