Jo-Wilfried Tsonga highlights gap between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to 'Big Three': "20 Grand Slams before you will be able to compare those players"

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have set themselves apart from the rest of the ATP Tour, regularly dominating and scooping up all the big titles. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is one who has praised their talent and dominance on court, but is hasty to calling then greats or comparing them to the Big Three, yet.

With a combined 11 Grand Slams between the, Alcaraz and Sinner have been the ones to beat over the past few years. The last nine Grand Slam titles have been split between them, but that will end in thus year's Roland Garros. With Alcaraz injured and Sinner stunned in the second round against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, an opportunity is there for other players to have some joy on court without the concern of coming up against either of them.

This year alone, Alcaraz won the Australian Open while becoming the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam. Sinner was slightly more sluggish, but once he got going he was unbeatable. He won five Masters 1000 tournaments in a row and went 30 matches unbeaten.

According to Tsonga, they cannot be compared to the best the sport has to offer. The main competition is the 'Big Three' made up of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic who dominated two decades of tennis in which the Frenchman was one of the victims unable to make an impact. Between them, 66 Grand Slam titles have been won, putting them in a league of their own according to many.

“It’s not unusual that we have one or two guys that dominate, but maybe you will have to for 20 Grand Slams before you will be able to compare those players,” Tsonga told Tennis365

“It’s difficult to say for me because I am not on the court. What we can say is that Novak is still there and he is still bothering many of the guys. The last time Sinner played Novak in a Grand Slam, he lost. So that says a lot.

“What we can say is we are fortunate to have guys like Alcaraz and Sinner as great ambassadors for our sport, but let’s not say they are the best already. Carlos and Jannik are incredible. They are such good players and they will continue to win matches and win tournaments. We like sport because anything can happen and you never know when you will have a problem like we have seen with Carlos and maybe it can stop you.”

He is not the only person to have that opinion. Former British number one Greg Rusedski also believes that Alcaraz and Sinner will have to do a lot more on the court, but the trajectory is looking good when compared to Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.

“Are Alcaraz and Sinner on track like the Big Three? Yes, but there is a long way to do,” he commented on his podcast, highlighting the challengers that Alcaraz and Sinner do not currently have.

“Let’s not forget the party started with Nadal and Federer. They were the dominant force for five years and then Djokovic showed up to join the party. Then Andy Murray joined the party as well. So who’s gonna join the party in Paris?

“We will have a new Grand Slam champion this week and that will break the dominance of Alcaraz and Sinner. We just don’t know what will happen and maybe someone else will come through and break up the Carlos and Jannik story, just like Djokovic did with Nadal and Federer.”