"These guys are still young": Gael Monfils calls for no comparison between Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and 'Big Three'

France’s Gael Monfils believes that it is unfair to compare Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz so early in their career with the original ‘Big Three’. The original ‘Big Three’ consisted of Switzerland’s Roger Federer, Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.

Those three players dominated men’s tennis for a good part of three decades. With Federer and Nadal already retired and Djokovic going a full season without winning a Grand Slam in seven years, there have been talks about a change of guard in men’s tennis.

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Those discussions intensified by some incredible performances from Sinner and Alcaraz, as the two ended up sharing all four Grand Slams in 2024. Sinner won the Australian and US Open, whereas the young Spaniard lifted the French Open and Wimbledon titles. The Italian tennis star also lifted the ATP Finals, where he defeated America’s Taylor Fritz in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-4.

French veteran tennis star Monfils was recently quoted in a report by Tennis 365, where he discussed the incredible talent of Sinner and Alcaraz. However, the 38-year-old was of the opinion that despite their achievements, it is unfair to compare two such young players with three greats of the game, that too so early in their careers.

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“Of course, Jannik had an incredible year and Carlos as well, but we need to give it to Jannik because his record was just insane,” said Monfils. “It’s been an unbelievable year for him and on the numbers, he has to be the best player this year. It’s tough to compare Jannik and Carlos with the ‘Big 3’. These guys are still young, so let’s wait and see. Maybe in five years, ten years. Then comparisons will be easier. Now Carlos is 21, so it’s really tough to compare him to someone like Novak, who is 37 and has won so many Slams. What we can say is these two guys are doing it in a way that will give them a chance to match the legends in our sport.”