The last time Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz played in a Grand Slam, we got this. 5 sets of video game tennis. They’ve both grown immensely since this moment. This Roland Garros semifinal is going to be a future classic.
Sinner vs Alcaraz: the new age duel set to command tennis world post Big Three
ATPWednesday, 05 June 2024 at 12:45
Eurosport tennis expert Mats Wilander sees the rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz as what the sport needs in the post Big Three era. They will meet again in the semi-finals on Thursday at the 2024 French Open.
Novak Djokovic withdrawing means that if only one Grand Slam champion will be left in the draw no matter what happens at the end of Thursday. It will be the ninth time that they meet with the winner likely to be favourite for the final. They have had four wins a piece during their eight clashes so far leaving it finely poised.
Wilander spoke after Alcaraz' win over Stefanos Tsitsipas and said that it is what the sport needs amid all of the big names of yesteryear either retiring or in Djokovic's case being an injury doubt going forward. He said that he had a chat with Lleyton Hewitt on the end of the Big Three and what tennis will do after. But Wilander sees it as a quick fix with rivalries such as Sinner and Alcaraz being ones to anchor the sport going into the future.
It will certainly be a clash that will engross the tennis world once more. Each one especially as of late has provided a true sporting spectacle and shown that they can lead the sport post Big Three. But this time it will be one with a lot more stakes with likely the French Open on the line of sorts.
Casper Ruud will face the winner of Zverev and De Minaur. The Norwegian could be seen as an outside favourite given that he has reached the final before and is the most experienced of the remaining field on winning on the surface despite Alcaraz and Sinner as well as Zverev having prowess on paper.
"I think it's absolutely, massively important," he told Eurosport. "Actually, I had a chat with the Australian legend Lleyton Hewitt once and we were talking about, in a meeting with a few oldies, what’s going to happen to the game when [Roger] Federer and [Rafa] Nadal and [Novak] Djokovic [go].
"And he said 'no, no. Nothing's going to happen to the game. It's not the stars that we need. We need rivalries. Rivalries is what keeps the sport alive. And do you know what? I think he’s right. Rivalries is what it's all about."
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