Carlos Alcaraz tells Big Three about plans he has with Jannik Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz admits he would have nothing against him and Jannik Sinner forming the next historic rivalry in tennis and at least coming close to replicating the Big Three’s success and dominance.

Although the Spaniard and the Italian aren’t currently both ranked inside the top-2 in the world, there is no doubt that they had the most success this year, taking into account that they split four Grand Slams between them. And since they are both still very young and have proven that they have the game but also the mindset to deliver on the biggest possible stage, more and more have been wondering whether this could possibly be a Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal rivalry of the next decade.

So far, the two have met nine times and the 21-year-old Spaniard owns a 5-4 head-to-head record after winning their last meeting which came in the French Open semifinal. Over the last few years, they have had some thrilling matches – usually they don’t fail to deliver their best tennis against each other – and there is a lot of buzz whenever they are about to meet. In that regard, there is definitely a resemblance to the meetings played between the Big Three.

Earlier this year, it was the world No. 3 who managed to end Sinner’s perfect start to the season and his 19-match winning after beating the top-ranked player at the Indian Wells Masters.

“Well a lot of people talk about it and I hear it. I’m not going to lie, I hope so. I hope that our rivalry is going to be or almost be like the Big Three had during their whole careers,” Alcaraz said.

Alcaraz on his and Sinner’s Slam dominance in 2024

This season, something happened for the first time in over two decades – not a single Grand Slam tournament during the year was won by someone named Novak Djokovic Djokovic, Rafael Nadal Nadal or Roger Federer. Instead, two guys took it all home as the Spaniard won back-to-back Major titles at the French Open and Wimbledon while his Italian rival won the Australian Open and US Open titles.

When the season started and Sinner elevated his game to a new level, there was a lot of talk about whether he could keep up with this level and if he and Alcaraz could possibly end the Serb’s reign. And while the record 24-time Major winner managed to win the Paris Olympics, he failed to register a Slam victory during a season for the first time since 2017.

Considering how things went this year, there is no reason not to think that Alcaraz and Sinner will be the two top contenders for the biggest titles in 2025 as well. Currently, the Spaniard has four Majors while the 23-year-old sits at two.

“I don’t know. This is the first year that we shared all the Grand Slams. Hopefully it’s going to keep going like that, sharing great moments, fighting for the great tournaments, the Grand Slams, Masters 1000. So let’s see how it’s going to be in the future, the next few years, if we are going to stay like that at this level. I think we are going to build or create a relationship off the court as well,” the 21-year-old explained.

“So hopefully I have him here on the tour for a long time because he pushes me to be a better player every day. He pushes me to practice at 100% just to try to beat him in the next matches. It’s great and hopefully we’ll have that rivalry that the Big Three had in their careers.”

John McEnroe doesn’t think Alcaraz and Sinner can dominate like the Big Three

After the Italian defeated Taylor Fritz in the US Open final, American tennis legend McEnroe was asked to address the massive Slam success that he and the Spaniard had in 2024 and what he thought about the chatter that we may be witnessing a new Big Three-type of dominance in the making.

“These guys can’t possibly – can they? – dominate like these last three guys have. Zverev is currently No.2 in the world after this tournament. Those guys who have been bypassed, you would think it would increase the hunger to finally get over the hump and win one,” the 65-year-old said earlier this month.