"After winning Australian Open, Jannik Sinner has extra confidence" - Rafael Nadal's uncle predicts Italian to become 'tough rival' for Carlos Alcaraz
Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni Nadal has said that Jannik Sinner will be a 'tough rival' for Carlos Alcaraz, especially after the Italian's first Grand Slam win.
Alcaraz and Sinner have staked their claim as the next big things in the sport. The Spaniard has two Grand Slam titles to his name at the age of 20, while Sinner won his first Major last month at the Australian Open.
Many tip them to be the poster boys of the sport once the remaining two members of the 'Big 3' - Nadal and Novak Djokovic - hang up their racquets. Toni Nadal believes Alcaraz is 'the best' there is right now, but he has predicted that Sinner, 22, will give the Spanish youngster tough competition in the future.
"In Sinner, from now on, Alcaraz will have a tough rival. He already was before, but after winning (the Australian Open), he (Jannik Sinner) has extra confidence. And I think we will see great confrontations between the two," Toni Nadal told AS (via Eurosport).
"Alcaraz is very young. I think he is the best. And well, he gave up a match there with Zverev that he could lose. You have to continue trusting him. I believe that he will continue to bring a lot of joy to Spanish tennis," he added.
Sinner is on a hot streak right now. After finishing as the runner-up at the ATP Finals in Turin, he won the Davis Cup and the Australian Open. The Italian has also beaten Novak Djokovic thrice in their last four meetings.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, hasn't won a title since his Wimbledon triumph over the Serb last year. He exited the Melbourne Major in the quarterfinals, losing to Alexander Zverev.
How many times have Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz faced each other on the Tour so far?
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have faced each other seven times on the Tour, with the Italian holding a 4-3 lead.
Sinner has had most of his success so far on hardcourt, while Alcaraz comes alive on natural surfaces. 11 of the Italian's 12 singles titles have come on hardcourt, whereas Alcaraz has won nine of his 12 singles titles on either clay or grass.
Curiously, however, Jannik Sinner has won on both occasions where he has faced the former World No. 1 on natural surfaces (2022 Umag final, 2022 Wimbledon last 16). Their other five meetings have come on hardcourts, with Sinner winning the last two.
Both those wins came last year, with Sinner triumphing over Alcaraz in the semifinals of the Miami Masters and the China Open. Apart from these encounters, Alcaraz has beaten the World No. 3 in the 2021 Paris Masters Round of 32, the quarterfinals of the 2022 US Open quarterfinals, and the semifinals at Indian Wells last year.