‘I’ve beaten Alcaraz and Sinner – stop thinking they’re invincible’ | Tennis | Sport
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have set themselves apart from the rest of the pack in recent years, sharing the last eight Grand Slam titles and sitting thousands of ranking points ahead of their rivals. Beating them both to claim a title has become a huge challenge. In the last two years, only one tournament that has featured both Alcaraz and Sinner in the main draw has been won by someone else, with Andrey Rublev lifting the 2024 Madrid Open trophy.
But one player doesn’t believe that the two young champions are “invincible”, and instead is much happier playing in this era, where the rest of the field is open until it comes to trying to beat Alcaraz and Sinner. Frances Tiafoe has earned victories over both men during his career, and has also lost some tight Grand Slam epics to them – and he doesn’t believe that they can’t be stopped.
“I still don’t think these guys are unbeatable,” the current world No. 30 told Andy Roddick’s Served podcast. “I have to think that way. Look, I’ve played Carlos twice and he’s won two Slams [after I lost to him]. I lost to him in five [sets] and I feel like I missed out on it.”
Tiafoe has a 1-2 record against Alcaraz, beating the Spaniard at the 2021 Barcelona Open. He lost a four-hour, five-set thriller in the semi-finals of the 2022 US Open before Alcaraz went on to claim the title. Again, at Wimbledon in 2024, Tiafoe lost to eventual champion Alcaraz in five sets.
He added: “Last year at Wimbledon, I felt like that’s one [where] I let one go. At the Open, I was hanging for dear life. I mean, we were 3-3 in the fifth, but I was hanging for dear life in the sets I won. But at Wimbledon, I really felt like that was just one up with a couple of 0-30s.
“Now, are they very tough to beat? Absolutely, hence why they’re winning mostly every tournament they enter in. But if you’re telling me, the whole tour, you have a shot [at beating them], and then at the end of the week, you’ve got to beat two guys, I’ll take that.”
Tiafoe also has a losing record against Sinner, but he got his sole win over the world No. 2 in the Vienna Open semi-finals back in 2021. Sinner leads their head-to-head by four wins to one loss, but one of those match wins came at the Next Gen Finals in 2019, which uses a fast-four scoring format.
The former world No. 10 also notched another, unofficial win over Alcaraz on Sunday as he beat the Spanish star at the ‘A Racquet in the Rock’ exhibition event in New Jersey. They split the first two sets before Tiafoe took it in a first-to-10-point match tiebreak, clinching a 6-3 3-6 [10-7] victory.
It was Alcaraz’s first match after an injury cut his 2025 season short and forced him to withdraw from the Davis Cup. The following night, the world No. 1 beat teenage sensation Joao Fonseca in another exhibition match, this time in Miami. Alcaraz came back from 0-5 down in the match tiebreak to win 7-5 2-6 [10-8].
