NEW YORK – Carlos Alcaraz cannot afford to relax. Having the numbers on his side against his biggest rival is no guarantee of anything, warns a former world No. 1 and multiple Grand Slam champion.
“I don’t think Carlos can feel too comfortable with Jannik in the picture, no matter what the head-to-head is,” Jim Courier told CLAY, with the record now at 10–5 in favour of the Spaniard after his victory over Jannik Sinner in the US Open final.
Alcaraz not only doubles Sinner in overall wins, he also leads in finals (4–2) and in Grand Slam encounters (5–2). Still, Courier stresses that the devil has been in the details.
“So many of their matches have been decided by just a point or two. Roland Garros is a great example. Back here at the US Open in 2022, Jannik had match point and didn’t convert. This year’s final wasn’t as close as those matches, but in so many of their encounters, there’s very little between them. You never know how these things work,” analysed the two-time Australian Open and French Open champion.
Sinner’s big win at Wimbledon was the only bright spot for the Italian in the recent history of the rivalry. Alcaraz has handed him too many bitter moments, the latest by taking away the world No. 1 ranking after their clash in New York.
The Spaniard has won seven of their last eight matches, including that battle in Paris after coming back from two sets down, the Rome final against the Italian crowd, and their most recent meeting in Cincinnati, which ended with Sinner’s retirement due to illness.
Courier is fascinated to witness a new era in men’s tennis, taken from Novak Djokovic by two youngsters clearly ahead of the rest.
“We’re incredibly lucky as tennis fans to have these two guys that have totally taken over from Novak, the last of the Big Three still standing. He still made four semifinals this year, but these guys, as Novak said, rightfully impressed. They’ve separated themselves from the rest of the field, including him right now,” Courier told CLAY. The North American was year-end world No. 1 in 1992.
“We’ll see how long they can remain the two dominant players, and whether someone can get in the middle the way Novak did with Roger and Rafa. But for now, it’s their tour.”
Who can challenge them?
“The rest will be thinking about how much more they need to improve, and that’s exactly what inspired Novak to reach his great heights,” Courier said.
“Whether it’s one of the guys already on tour, or maybe a junior, they’ll be watching and working hard to catch them. But these two are also going to work hard to stay ahead.”
