"No one can hang with him. Not even Carlos right now. And Carlos kind of admitted that" - Jannik Sinner marvelled by Isner, Querrey and Johnson after Monte-Carlo success

Another hectic week of tennis action has passed on the ATP Tour, and there is much to discuss. Most notable was the return of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner competing on court in a big final. The latter took home the Monte-Carlo Masters title in fine fashion, continuing his incredible streak and leaving tennis fans from around the world to marvel at his greatness.

On the Nothing Major Show, former American tennis players Sam Querrey, John Isner and Steve Johnson talked about their rivalry while also touching on the hasty comeback to the sport by Holger Rune. Johnson, especially, had some cautious views on this.

Querrey and Isner were both in a group chat with four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier, who best described the situation. "Jim Courier summed it up well: the wind affected Carlos’ creativity more than it affected Sinner’s consistency," Querrey stated. "Carlos, especially in the second set, couldn’t find momentum or that one big “wow” shot that gets the crowd going. Part of that was the wind.

Despite whatever the conditions could muster up, there is no denying that Sinner is on a rampage. "But Sinner right now is just on a tear—three Masters 1000 titles in a row. Backhand to backhand, no one can hang with him. Not even Carlos right now. And Carlos kind of admitted that."

Johnson decided to pinpoint the Sinner serve. He has won four Masters 1000 titles in a row with this formidable weapon a huge reason for this. "One thing that really stood out: his serve. Last year, like in the US Open final, his serve let him down at times. But here, it was excellent—especially in the tiebreak. I don’t think he missed a first serve," he commented.

"When you win a long first set like that and then serve comfortably, it gives you huge confidence. What’s interesting is how these two adjust to each other. Last year, Carlos had the upper hand. Now it feels like Sinner has figured something out. You’re going to see swings—one wins three or four in a row, then the other adjusts and does the same. That’s what makes this rivalry great."

While the Italian is seemingly on a march into the distance, Isner was cautious amid the looming threat of Alcaraz. "No, I don’t think so. Sinner has the upper hand right now, but Carlos just won the Australian Open. They’re going back and forth—it’s amazing to see."

On top of all of this, Sinner has now snatched away the world number one tag from the Spaniard, finally ruling supreme again on the ATP Tour. There was a debate over whether players would prefer this title or to sweep up Grand Slam titles. Isner believed the silverware was more of a priority. "At this stage of their careers, Grand Slams are the priority, but right after that is finishing the year as No. 1."

This fate seemed inevitable with the amount of points Alcaraz was defending on clay compared to Sinner. Even the former world number one admitted that he would probably be surpassed by his rival. Querrey found it interesting that he said that, compared to other former world number ones.

"I thought it was cool that before the tournament, Carlos basically acknowledged he’s likely going to lose the No. 1 ranking at some point during the clay season because he has so many points to defend and Sinner doesn’t. You never really heard guys like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, or Novak Djokovic say that. But it fits Carlos. When you watch him, he seems okay with losing. He leaves the court smiling, and that freedom is part of what makes him so dangerous."

Speaking of the 'Big Three', the argument then turned to whether Sinner could overtake their total of Masters 1000 triumphs. It was a big ask, not inot impossible. "Novak Djokovic has 40, Rafael Nadal has 36, and Roger Federer has 28," Isner explained. "I think 28 is attainable. I’d take the under on 40, probably under 36 too. Somewhere between 28 and 36 feels right."

There are two more Masters 1000 tournaments set to be played in Madrid and Rome before the French Open. Even before that, Alcaraz is setting foot at the Barcelona Open as he looks to reclaim his title. On who he trusted more going into the rest of this busy period in the calendar, Johnson hedged his bets with the world number one.

"I trust Sinner slightly more right now, mainly because he’s going to play less," he admitted. "Carlos might play Barcelona, Madrid, and Rome—that’s a lot of tennis. These Masters events are long, and the schedule is tough. So I like Sinner slightly through Rome, but I think Carlos could figure it out by the French Open."

Away from the action in Monaco, Rune announced that he will be back competing on the big stage. He suffered a devastating achilles injury at the Stockholm Open last year and was predicted to spend 9-12 months out of the sport. Seven months later, and he is set to compete in the Hamburg Open in a stunning turnaround.

Johnson shared his deep concerns about the Dane's hurried comeback to the sport. "It sounds extremely quick. I’m not a doctor, but whether it was a partial or full tear, once it’s surgically repaired, recovery timelines are usually similar—and seven months is very fast. In a sport like tennis, you need your legs at 100%, and you need full confidence physically and mentally. This feels rushed."

He was in doubt of the person who gave the green light to go and compete in Hamburg. “We are in a sport where you better use your legs and be full go and believe 100 per cent that you are going to be fine. This seems like a bad idea from whoever is giving him this thought to go and play Hamburg. I hope this is not true. He is still so young that even if he takes the rest of the year off to get 100 per cent healthy, it’s not like he’s 34 and this is his last season."

The American hopes for the best and that he is wrong. “I hope he is fine. It would be great if he’s healthy and he comes back and I was wrong. But I do not want to see him come back and do it again or hurt something else because he is compensating in another area, because then it just restarts your clock. It does seem quick.”

Querrey was also cautious, not jumping the gun and willing to be patient to see how he looks. “I’ll believe it when I see it. He says he is playing Hamburg, but I’m not pretending he is playing it yet. If he plays it and he looks good, holy smokes. Someone pass his rehab routine around to others because that is the fastest comeback of all time.”