Carlos Alcaraz has insisted that he and his rivals will almost certainly find it impossible to establish rivalries as iconic as the one
Novak Djokovic,
Rafael Nadal, and
Roger Federer had.
Many hope that Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s rivalry will rank among the best in tennis history. They have contested memorable battles such as five-set epics at the US Open and French Open and a
grueling three-hour final at the China Open.
However, they have a long road ahead of them to match the long rivalry of Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer when they dominated the sport, winning 24, 22, and 20 Grand Slams, respectively, while competing against each other at the top.
Alcaraz is not hopeful that any of his rivalries will match that iconic trio, as he said to
El Nuevo Dia. The Spaniard acknowledges he will have many great battles throughout his career but does not expect any of them to match Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer’s.
“They have set the bar for tennis and what can be done at an astronomical level. There are many players capable of winning Grand Slams, of beating the best. Young players, including myself, who can really be fighting for great things.”
“But getting to the point of that rivalry between Rafa, Federer and Djokovic, the truth is that it will be practically impossible to repeat that. We will have our battles; I will have my battles with great players, but a rivalry like theirs will be practically impossible.”
Although it is impossible to definitively know at this point that none of Alcaraz’s rivalries will become as epic, the sentiment from the four-time Grand Slam champion is understandable because of what those three players achieved.
Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer raised the standard of tennis to a level never seen before. Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, each with three Grand Slams, challenged them for a time, but their outstanding achievements still did not come close to the trio.
What Alcaraz is saying should not diminish the fact that tennis is in a great place. There were understandable concerns about whether the sport would decline after the era of the so-called “big three” dominating ended.
Alcaraz and Sinner’s emergence has calmed those fears. While matching Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer will prove challenging, having two outstanding young players at the top will keep tennis interesting for years.
Sinner is currently suspended until May 4th after
settling his doping case with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). That case has caused controversy, but WADA accepting that Sinner was accidentally contaminated means his reputation will probably recover.
Women’s tennis is also in a healthy position.
WTA Finals champion Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, and others have ensured that global viewership of the WTA Tour has grown in the last few years and that looks destined to continue in the coming years.
ATP and WTA players will appear together at the 2025 Indian Wells Open. Equal prize money is awarded at the tournament, but that is something Nadal opposes. The Spaniard caused a stir by
coming out against equal prize money in tennis.
