Alcaraz and Sinner claim is ridiculous – no wonder Nadal hit out | Tennis | Sport

Many tennis fans were wondering who could possibly fill the void left by arguably the greatest generation of men’s tennis players ever. The big three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were almost untouchable for most of the past two decades, with 66 of 83 Grand Slam singles titles won by one of the trio between 2003 and 2023.

Now, only Djokovic is an active professional player, with Federer hanging up his racket in 2022 before Nadal called it a day two years later. Since then, tennis fans have been spoiled by the emergence of young stars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who have won the past nine Slams between them, with Djokovic last tasting glory at the 2023 US Open.

The dominance of Alcaraz and Sinner has sparked inevitable comparisons with the big three. One prominent voice to weigh in on the debate is high-profile coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

The Frenchman sparked controversy by suggesting that the current world number one and two are performing at a superior level to the three most decorated male players in tennis history.

“For those who think that Djokovic beating Sinner in the semi-final of the Australian Open means that the big three is playing better tennis than Alcaraz and Sinner, this is a very short view,” he said.

“Let me explain. You take one match, and you make a rule out of it. Just remember that Sinner had won the five previous matches they played against each other. Just one match will not make me change my mind about what I’ve seen for the last two or three years.”

He capped off his video by adding: “Novak is not a better tennis player than Sinner, but he’s the biggest competitor in their history, and he was better than Jannik Sinner in that match.”

Those comments generated plenty of debate, with Nadal among those to have his say, calling them “wrong”. But who is right in this debate? Below, Express Sport writers have given our verdicts.

It’s hard to compare different generations of tennis players, but having watched the big three at their peak and now Alcaraz and Sinner, the new “big two” are still some way off. Federer barely lost matches at his peak between 2004 and 2007.

Nadal hardly lost any sets in his 14 French Open title wins. Djokovic held all four Grand Slams between 2015 and 2016. As good as they’ve been, I struggle to see how Alcaraz and Sinner would have competed with that.

And while Mouratoglou has dismissed this fact, a 38-year-old Djokovic beat Sinner at the Australian Open this year before pushing Alcaraz in the final. That’s strong evidence to suggest a peak Djokovic would have beaten them.

The big three are the big three for a reason. They amassed at least 20 Grand Slam titles each while not only fighting each other but also fellow multi-champions Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka. They also had to contend with an extremely talented old cohort, including Juan Martin del Potro, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer and Marin Cilic. It shows you just how dominant Federer, Nadal and Djokovic were.

From the beginning of 2004 to the end of 2023, they won 65 of 79 Grand Slam tournaments. They were barely losing matches, unless it was to each other.

I’m also not a fan of the comparing generations thing in general. As Nadal himself once said, if, if, if … doesn’t exist.

Alcaraz and Sinner are already future Hall of Famers, and they have been absolutely brilliant for the men’s game. Everyone feared what would happen when the Big Three era finally came to an end, and here are these two young champions, already thrilling the sporting world with their rivalry. And that’s enough.

Again, you can’t compare players then to players now in any sport. Djokovic has always been top-notch with his preparation, recovery, you name it.

Look how advanced science, medicine and technology are today. Imagine young Novak with 2026-grade resources – and that’s just one example.

You simply can’t properly put today’s Alcaraz and Sinner up against the prime Big Three. There’s no such comparison, and there are way too many nuances in the different generations to make a blanket statement.

Then again, bold, blanket statements are what grab attention. Mouratoglou even got Nadal to bite.

While there is an air of subjectivity to Mouratoglou’s comments, to claim that Alcaraz and Sinner are already playing better tennis than the big three is like comparing apples to oranges.

Of course, it’s clear that the Spaniard at the age of 22 is getting the better of a 38-year-old Djokovic at present, especially on the big stages, with Alcaraz taking three of their last five meetings.

But not even the most naive of tennis fans could claim for certain that either he or Sinner will enjoy a more prestigious career than Djokovic, Federer or Nadal, considering what they have achieved.

While the seven Grand Slams Alcaraz holds and the four Sinner has to his name are impressive within their own right, they’re still not qualified to lace the shoes of Djokovic, who has a mammoth 24, Nadal with his 22, and Federer with his 20.

You also have to consider the longevity of the big three in the grand scheme of things, with Federer playing into his 40s, Nadal calling time on his career at 38, and Djokovic still going strong at the same age.

Whether Alcaraz and Sinner will be able to keep up their own relentless pace that long remains to be seen. The future is certainly bright for both men, but they’re a long way off being mentioned in the same breath as the big three.

It’s far too soon for such comparisons. Alcaraz has just won the career Grand Slam, Sinner still hasn’t.

The Italian has reached many finals, but still has only four major titles, and that’s without a third rival challenging them as Djokovic, Federer and Nadal had, without even mentioning Andy Murray.

The fact that Novak Djokovic is in one big three and is also still arguably the third-best player in this era further complicates matters. It is not a stretch to say the Serbian could have beaten Alcaraz in the Australian Open final after already knocking out Sinner, even at his age.

It’s impossible to say whether Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner would beat in-prime Rafael Nadal, Sir Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. What is certain is the fact the big four had much harder opposition in and around the top 20.

They also had to contend with Stanislas Wawrinka (three Grand Slams), Andy Roddick (one Grand Slam), Dominic Thiem (one Grand Slam) and Juan Martin Del Potro (one Grand Slam), while other top stars like David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic, Robin Soderling, Fernando Verdasco, and so many others were there in the early rounds.

It was telling that Jack Draper, after reaching the world number four spot, admitted Sinner and Alcaraz were a long way ahead of him.

There is fear when players outside the top five find themselves pitted against Alcaraz and Sinner. This was not the case when Nadal, Federer, Murray and Djokovic roamed the courts.

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