Grand Slam champs Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner not definitive new era, says Novak Djokovic

Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic has rejected claims of the ‘change of guard’ in tennis after the recent success of Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Italy’s Jannik Sinner. The three are considered the best men’s tennis players in the singles category.

This year, there has been a notion that it is becoming clearer with every passing day that the guard is changing from the old ‘Big Three’ to the new era of ‘Big Three’ or ‘Big Two’. That claim has been pushed because Spain’s Alcaraz and Italy’s Sinner have won all three Grand Slams this year.

However, former world number one Djokovic was recently quoted in a report in which he stated that he does not agree with such an argument. The 37-year-old, who is often regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles, stated that such notions are being pushed by people who have never come close to winning a major title in their respective careers.

"Carlos' results make it deserved to talk about a generational change on his part and Sinner is doing very well this year, but these results must be endorsed over time,” he said. “There are people who have not even been close to winning Grand Slam titles and make these assertions. In short, words are carried away by the wind.”

The first Grand Slam of the year — the Australian Open — was won by Sinner when he defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final in a five-set thriller with a score of 3–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–3. Later, the French Open was won by Alcaraz as he defeated Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the final in a five-set thriller with a score of 6–3, 2–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2. The Spaniard also won the recently concluded third Grand Slam of the year, defeating Djokovic in the final at Wimbledon in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2, 7-6.