Tennis fans around the world were very concerned that the sport would lose appeal when the Big 3 retire. Roger Federer retired in 2022, while Rafael Nadal is still active but not the player he once was. Novak Djokovic is still competitive and won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics this summer, but the first signs of decline have begun to show at age 37. The Serbian legend has yet to win an ATP title in 2024 and has not even won a Major title for the first time since 2017.
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The big dominators this season were definitely Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the only two players who seem likely to follow in the footsteps of the Big 3 in the next decade. The Italian ace played a 2024 bordering on perfection, in which he won two Grand Slam titles and two Masters 1000s while suffering only six defeats.
The Spanish champion did not have the same consistency as Jannik, but he became the youngest player ever to win the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships in the same year. As if that were not enough, the 21-year-old from Murcia also won the Indian Wells Masters 1000, the ATP 500 in Beijing, and the silver medal at the Paris Olympics.
What a rivalry
Carlitos and Jannik put on a show in the final of the Beijing tournament last week. The 4-time Grand Slam champion prevailed in the deciding tiebreak at the end of an epic battle. In the past few days, Mats Wilander's statements after the final of the Atp 500 tournament in Beijing won by Carlos Alcaraz over Jannik Sinner after more than 3 hours of play and with a great spectacle on the court had caused much uproar.
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The former Swedish tennis player and 7-time Slam champion did not hesitate to compare the matches between Sinner and Alcaraz and those of the Big 3 and called them superior in terms of play. They are following in the footsteps of the Big 3, Wilander said, I hope Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are not listening to me, but in terms of level, when Sinner and Alcaraz are at the top of their game, there is no one who has played better tennis. Definitely strong sentences especially when talking about three players who have won 66 Grand Slam tournaments altogether, 24 Djokovic, 22 Nadal and 20 Federer.
And former Ukrainian tennis player Alex Dolgopolov posted on his X profile his deep disagreement with Wilander. Sorry Mats, opens his post X the Ukrainian tennis player, who peaked at No. 13 in the Atp rankings, I rarely watch tennis lately (Dolgopolov joined the Ukrainian army, ed.), but I accidentally watched the highlights of the Beijing tournament final and my opinion is probably worthless. I tend to strongly disagree, Dolgopolov continued, the Big 3 had a much higher level of using heights, changes of pace, and finding angles. On a good day I would never pick the stars currently present.
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The Italian ace and the Spanish champion have shown that they can play at a much higher level than any other player, especially in major tournaments. Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas seem to be far behind them right now, and even Serbian legend Djokovic is starting to feel the weight of age.
Rematch in Shanghai?
Alcaraz and Sinner could face each other again in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters 1000, but there is still a long way to go. The 21-year-old from Murcia awaits Gael Monfils in the round of 16, hoping to take a rematch of his defeat in Cincinnati over the summer. The Italian will have a very difficult match against young American Ben Shelton, who beat him just in Shanghai last year.
In the latest edition of the show Sans Filet, top analyst Benoit Maylin discussed the rivalry between these two young champions: I'm more impressed by what Sinner has managed to do than by what Alcaraz has managed to do. I have the impression that for Alcaraz, all the gods of the universe have fallen on his head.
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He's got it all. Not Sinner. When you see him arrive on the circuit, you think he's going to have trouble with his monolithic tennis. The progress he's made, he's bubbling inside like everyone else. You've got to be able to keep your mind under control, with all the other stories he's got to deal with. And the guy doesn't move an ear and still manages to be number 1 in the world with that bib. They all tell you: you're number 1, everyone wants to take you down. It's normal, you're the target. You've got to hold on to that position, and he's got it.
