Spain’s young tennis star Carlos Alcaraz has named Italy’s Jannik Sinner as his main rival after his recent triumph at Wimbledon 2023.
The 20-year-old defeated the current world number two Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the final of the third Grand Slam of the year with a score of 1–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4 on Sunday.
While talking about the possible rivalries going forward, the current world number one named Sinner as the one who he is likely to compete with in the years to come.
“Right now I think I have a rival & I'm not afraid to say it,” he said. “For me it's Sinner at the moment. That beautiful rivalry we have, those big games we’ve played, on big stages. As the years go by we will fight for the big titles.”
Alcaraz’s triumph in London was a rather surprising one for a lot of tennis fans, considering that his best record at Wimbledon before this year was a fourth-round exit.
On the other hand, Sinner also had an impressive Wimbledon 2023 where he was knocked out in the semifinal against Djokovic in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.
It was the 21-year-old’s first and till now only appearance in any of the Grand Slams semifinals.
In the Australian Open, French Open and the US Open, Sinner has never managed to get past the quarterfinals stage.