Carlos Alcaraz won the French Championships in June. The final against Jannik Sinner was a classic and the longest in the tournament's history (5 hours and 29 minutes).
A little over a month later, Sinner got his revenge when he took home Wimbledon.
I continue to look up to Carlos because even today, it felt like he did some things better than me, said Sinner after his Wimbledon win according to AP.
On Sunday, the US Open starts, the year's last Grand Slam tournament – and few will be surprised if it ends with a new showdown between "Sincaraz".
I think it's these two that it will be about in the coming years and that it can become an iconic duel, says Maria Strandlund Tomsvik to TT.
Even Swedish legend Mats Wilander is fascinated by the duo.
We must start realizing that we are watching two players who can become some of the best players in history, said Wilander to TNT Sports after the final in the French Championships.
Big differences
Spaniard Alcaraz is only 22 years old and has five Grand Slam titles. Italian Sinner, 23, is one behind. Their path to the top has, however, looked very different.
Alcaraz moves in a way that I have never seen anyone move on a tennis court. He is somehow above the ground and has more shots in his book than actually exist, says Strandlund Tomsvik and continues about his Italian rival:
Sinner has discipline, methodology, and positional play. He has a huge offensive position on the court and misses very little.
The players' personalities also differ.
Alcaraz involves the audience, walks around with a big smile, and loves the duels. Sinner is in his bubble, works methodically, and shows little emotion. They are such contrasts which really create this intense rivalry, says Strandlund Tomsvik.
"Unbelievably good"
Considering the two world stars' young age, there is much to suggest that they can dominate men's tennis for several years to come.
Alcaraz and Sinner are on their way to taking tennis to a place where it has never been before, and it will not come back, says Mats Wilander.
We have been in an era now where I have said that tennis has been unbelievably good with the three big ones (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic). But I feel the same way about Sinner and Alcaraz. And if they can continue to develop for 15 years, it's impossible to predict, but they have the foundation to achieve something enormous, says Strandlund Tomsvik.
Alcaraz meets American Reilly Opelka in the first round, while Sinner faces Vit Kopriva, the Czech Republic.
Correction: In an earlier version, the wrong number of Grand Slam titles was stated for Alcaraz and Sinner. The correct number is that they have five and four titles, respectively.
