London London. When Carlos Alcaraz is on the court for a training session, perhaps working on his newly modified service motion, he does so to strengthen his game, which is already good enough to win four Grand Slam titles. Good.Also in mind is his young rival, Jannik Sinner.
“The good thing for me is that when I see them winning titles, when I see them on top of the rankings, it forces me to practice even harder every day. In practice, I just do those things. I think about the things I need to improve on to play against them,” Alcaraz said on Saturday, a day before the start of the Australian Open. “I think it's great for me: having such a great rivalry with them (and) so far, just forces me to give (my best) every day.”
Alcaraz, 21, and Sinner, 23, enter the 2025 tennis season at the top of the men's game, coming off a year that promises greatness for both. With Rafael Nadal now joining Roger Federer in retirement, leaving 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic as the only remaining member of the Big Three on tour, it appears that Alcaraz and Sinner have found themselves among the rest of the next generation. Each of them has won two of the four Slam singles trophies in 2024.
Invariably, it seems that sport's most important prizes have been dominated by Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, and anyone hoping to claim one at that time has had to defeat at least one, and often two, of that trio. The names have changed, but the dynamics are the same.
“I think now, with Jannik and Carlos, it's progressed in the same way, just with new people. To win big tournaments you have to go through them. It's that simple,” the two-time major said finalist Alexander Zverev, who is seeded No. 2 between No. 1 Sinner and No. 3 Alcaraz at Melbourne Park. “They won two Grand Slams last year. And they're obviously the two best players in the world. And you have to beat them to win the tournament.” Sinner is the defending champion in Australia, and won the U.S. Open in September. Open, part of a season in which he compiled a record of 73–6 with eight titles – but also dealt with a doping case in which he tested positive twice for the amount of anabolic steroids he had given to his trainer. Pleaded guilty to accidental exposure to a controlled substance through massage and was acquitted. (The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed that decision; a closed-door hearing will be held at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland on April 16-17.) Alcaraz bowed out of the Australian Open in the quarterfinals against Zverev last January, but then the Frenchman He won the Open, defeating Zverev in the final, and at Wimbledon, where he won against Djokovic in the final for the second consecutive year. On Sunday, Zverev faces wild-card entry Lucas Pouille, while defending champion Aryna Sabalenka faces 2017 U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka. The Open champion will be from Sloane Stephens. Competitors on the first day include 2024 Australian runner-up and Paris Olympic champion Zheng Qianwen and three-time major finalist Casper Ruud.
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