Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner get blunt Federer, Nadal, Djokovic comparison from Marat Safin
Marat Safin competed with Roger Federer during his prime, and he has compared the Swiss legend’s level with that of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
During a career spanning from 1997 to 2009, Safin reached world No 1 and won two Grand Slam titles: the 2000 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open.
Federer was the dominant force in men’s tennis in the mid-2000s, having won 12 out of the 18 Grand Slams played from his maiden major triumph at Wimbledon in 2003 until the 2007 US Open.
From Wimbledon in 2004 to the 2007 US Open, Safin was the only player other than Rafael Nadal to defeat Federer at a Grand Slam, having beaten the Swiss in the semi-finals at the 2005 Australian Open.
Federer finished his astonishing career with 20 Grand Slam titles — a total which puts him third on the all-time men’s major list after Novak Djokovic (24) and Nadal (22).
Alcaraz and Sinner — who have won seven and four majors respectively — are the leading players of their generation, and they have frequently been compared to the Big Three of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic
Wimbledon News
Novak Djokovic’s ‘behind the scenes’ gesture to Jannik Sinner after Wimbledon match revealed
Kyle Edmund doubles down on calls for a radical tennis rule change at Wimbledon
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
Safin appeared on the Best Tennis Podcast YouTube channel with two Russian ex-WTA stars: his sister and former world No 1 Dinara Safina, and former world No 5 Anna Chakvetadze.
The Russian great argued Federer was at a “completely different level” to Alcaraz and Sinner.
“I think I probably would have lost to them, but I don’t see them as intimidating players,” Safin said.
“No, they’re not Federer at all. It’s a completely different level. To reach Federer’s level, you still have a lot of growing to do. I don’t want to belittle anyone. It’s simply my way of seeing it.”
Safin went on to claim that Alcaraz and Sinner would not have been ranked in the top two had they competed when Nadal and Djokovic were at their peak.
“If Sinner and Alcaraz had played in the era of Nadal and Djokovic, or even in the early 2000s, they wouldn’t have been number one or number two in the world. I don’t think they would have gotten that far,” Safin added.
“The level of tennis has dropped. I don’t know why it’s happened, but the level isn’t the same anymore.
“Before, there were thirty or fifty players capable of playing extraordinary tennis. Now, at most, there are ten.
“They reach the semi-finals or finals without losing a single set, and I find that almost laughable.”
