Boris Becker admits that Carlos Alcaraz is a “more fascinating shot maker” than Jannik Sinner, but he feels the Italian’s attitude is what makes him an unbelievable competitor and the man to currently beat in tennis.
Sinner and Alcaraz are the two names on most tennis fans’ lips these days and many believe they will dominate the sport for years to come.
Alcaraz was first to make his breakthrough as he won his maiden Grand Slam in 2022 at the US Open and also became the youngest world No 1 at the age of 19 in the process. He followed it up with the Wimbledon title last year as he defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic in five sets
The 22-year-old Sinner has been on the scene longer than his young Spanish rival and his progress has been a bit slower. He only started to rise to the top last year as he won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open and also steered Italy to their first Davis Cup title since 1976.
The Italian has kicked on this year as he notched up his maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open and also rose to a career-high No 2 in the ATP Rankings on the back of winning three titles in 2024.
During the 2024 Laureus World Sports Awards press conference, Becker was asked about Sinner’s rise as well as his rivalry with Alcaraz and replied: “Obviously I love Jannik, red heads stick together. When I see Jannik, I see a younger version of myself, I love his poise, I love his mental attitude winning or losing – better than all of them.
“I think Alcaraz is the more fascinating shot maker, he gets the crowd running but Jannik usually wins the last point with his attitude.
“Yes, he has a lot more power than last year but he’s an unbelievable competitor, his competition instinct is second to none right now and that’s why he’s seeded No 1 in Madrid and that’s why this contrast in tennis is so exciting.
“You have you know Carlos and Jannik they couldn’t be more different the way they look, the way they play but they both have an unbelievable instinct to you know to play until the end to excite the crowd.”
Becker’s fellow Laureus Sport for Good Foundation ambassador Martina Navratilova described Sinner’s rise as “astonishing”.
“Jannik is astonishing the way he has progressed this year last year, really working on his game and trusting in the process of really working on his game and trusting every aspect of his game that if he improves every little bit he will get the results,” the tennis great said.
“It wasn’t about the results, the results will come if you do the work and he’s just the epitome of that.
“In tennis, you are only as good as the opponent makes you play you cannot hit great shots if you’re not forced to hit great shots and that’s why these match-ups we just marvel because these guys and women bring out the best in each other and uh that’s where the fun begins so I’m looking forward to next 10 years or more hopefully between Alcaraz and Sinner and who knows who else going to sneak in there as well.
“The same for the women, you need rivalries in tennis and uh it’s starting to form on both both women and men.”
Leave a Reply