Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz hailed as ‘better’ than Federer, Nadal and Djokovic

Kevin Palmer
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz played out a thrilling final in the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Saudi Arabia and the level of their performance has been described as the best tennis ever played.

Sinner recovered from losing the opening set of the final to score a first win of the season over Alcaraz, beating the Spaniard 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3.

It may only have been an exhibition event, but the quality of ball striking and the lack of errors despite the level of difficulty of the shots being taken on by the two best players in the men’s game was breathtaking.

The epic battle inspired British No 3 Liam Broady to suggest Sinner and Alcaraz are producing tennis a step ahead of anything we saw from the ‘Big 3’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic when they were at the peak of their powers.

“It was an absolutely incredible match,” Broady told Sky Sports Tennis. “They can’t seem to help themselves from creating constant highlight reels across three-set matches.

“The ball striking is some of the best I’ve ever seen and I hate to say that as I’m a ‘Big 3’ fan, but they hit the ball so big and so consistently big. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Broady went on to suggest Sinner’s victory over Alcaraz could be significant, with the duo set to compete for the two big prizes left on the ATP Tour in 2024 at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals over the next few weeks.

“You could see the wry smile at the end of the match when that drive volley went away from Carlos,” added Broady.

“It was a big win for him. They both competed in the finals of this event like it was a Slam final. There was no quarter given.

“Sinner wobbled for a bit and it looked like he was struggling to find the answers, but he was rock solid in the third set.

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“What gets me is how free they play. They are trying to hit the cover off the ball every shot and hit winners every shot.

“They are not trying to be careful. They have to hit the ball bigger than their opponent or they will get crushed.

“I’ve not really seen tennis as free and consistent as that before and they’ve done it for multiple matches for three hours players where they will go toe-to-toe and it’s down to who can get their shots in at the right time.”

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash echoed Broady’s views, as he suggested Sinner and Alcaraz are the product of watching Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray lifted the standards in men’s tennis.

“Sinner and Alcaraz are coming off the back of seeing these guys like Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Andy Murray coming up as young players,” said Cash.

“They have gone ‘okay, that’s what I’ve got to do’. These two have managed to get to that level so quickly, thanks to the inspiration of these four great players.

“They have seen these players come up and played against them at a young age. They see this is the level they have to get to and they’ve done it.

“We have been pleased by the previous generation and now these two guys are head and shoulder above the rest.”

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