Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz ‘deserve’ to be compared to Big 3 claims Grand Slam champion
The debate over whether Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are playing tennis comparable to the iconic ‘Big 3’ in men’s tennis has rumbled on throughout 2024 and now another voice has added their verdict to the debate.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic dominated the men’s game for two decades, with all three winning what was hitherto viewed as an improbable total of 20 and more Grand Slam titles.
Now Sinner and Alcaraz have started their own era of dominance, with the young guns sharing the Grand Slam titles between them this year.
Their brilliance inspired former world No 1 Mats Wilander and current world No 4 Taylor Fritz to suggest the new ‘Big 2’ in men’s tennis are serving up tennis on par or maybe even better than the greats who went before them.
It seemed a little hasty to compare Sinner and Alcaraz to Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, but Australian star Thanasi Kokkinakis has insisted the comparisons are justified.
When asked by Tennis365 if Sinner and Alcaraz are playing at a level that allows them to be compared to the all-time greats, he was quick to offer his verdict.
“I think it’s fair to compare them to the Big 3,” said 2022 Australian Open doubles champion Kokkinakis, speaking to Tennis365 at the UTS Grand Final in London.
“Accolades-wise, maybe it’s not as there is so much more of their career to play out, but in terms of ability and talent they are right up there.
“The stuff they can do is pretty special. The way Sinner and Alcaraz move… they are there with a prime Djokovic. They are going to be a the top for a very long time.”
Looking ahead to the first Grand Slam of 2025, Kokkinakis picked out four players who will be in the mix for glory at the Australian Open, as he added Alexander Zverev to his list.
“Sinner and Alcaraz are the favourites, with Djokovic just behind them,” he stated.
“Zverev is playing some great tennis, but you would say those Sinner, Alcaraz and Novak are just ahead of him.
“You can’t write Novak out. It looked like he was taking a bit of a decline and then he goes out and play like that and win the Olympic gold. That shows you can never write him out.”
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Kokkinakis has enjoyed a solid year that saw him finish at No 77 in the world rankings and is hoping for even more to come into his game in 2025.
“You always want to look try and adapt and improve,” he added.
“It’s tricky bringing in new things to you career when you get to the stage I’m at and it’s also tough to try and implement some things when the calendar is so full.
“If here was more of an off-season, you could take a step back and work on a few things, but that’s not going to happen when events are coming up one after another.
“You tend to revert to old habits when you get into competitive matches, but you need to keep up with the times and look at what the top guys are going.
“Alcaraz and Sinner are sliding everywhere on the court and just hitting the ball so well off both sides, so you need to find other ways to win with variety and coming into the net is something I want to work on and improve going into next year.
“My game is my game, so I can’t play like anyone else. I just need to improve what I do.”
