by World number 6 Taylor Fritz believes the current elite of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are already superior to tennis icons Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. 23-year-old Italian maestro Sinner and his 21-year-old opponent Alcaraz are the current standard bearers of men’s tennis, having won every Grand Slam on offer this year.
Whenever the two compete against each other, they enjoy exciting battles and seem to be many times superior to the other challengers on the ATP Tour. The 37-year-old Djokovic often takes exception to this and does his almost robotic best to defeat one of the world champions, but the fact remains that few can touch the towering pair when they are in full swing.
The outstanding American Fritz, who has only beaten either duo once – a win against Sinner in Indian Wells in 2021 – lost to the Italian in the US Open final last month and has now gone so far as to say that this one The new generation is better than both Djokovic and the soon-to-retire legend Nadal.
Speaking to Tennis Channel, Fritz was asked about facing the tour’s two leading stars – who often had his number – and he obliged, going into detail about what makes them tick.
“She [Sinner and Alcaraz] Just play those side baseline points like… I mean those crazy points you see like Nadal, Fed… most of the time you see Nadal and Novak have these long points from corner to corner,” Fritz began. “But when Sinner and Alcaraz do it, I swear they are the same but hit the ball 10 p.m. an hour faster. It’s crazy.”
The American credits the pair with more than just a lightning-fast offense, as he revealed that even the pair’s squeaky-clean defense often proves impenetrable.
“I mean, another thing that both of those guys do really well is just that they… I mean, their defense is unbelievable,” Fritz added. “But more than that, I think their defense is great – but they don’t really play much.” Defense!
“Their defense is, you know, when they’re full, on the run, coming out of the corners, they just crush the ball. I think a good example is I hit a backhand cross rally with either one can do.
“When I get around you, pull a forehand inside or pull back in the line, it has to be so good, otherwise the next ball will just be like a trained, giant cross-court.”
As the era of the “big three”, consisting of Djokovic, Nadal and the already retired Roger Federer, is slowly coming to an end, according to Fritz, tennis is in good, perhaps even more experienced hands for the future.
