"Don’t want Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner to be too friendly" - Andy Murray's ex-coach on his 'love' for John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors' tense rivalries
Andy Murray's former coach Mark Petchey has shared his opinion that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner shouldn't be too friendly with each other. Petchey disclosed that his opinion was influenced by his fondness for John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors' era of tennis.
Alcaraz and Sinner have established an incredibly compelling rivalry on tour, frequently locking horns on the biggest stages of the sport. The Spaniard enjoys a narrow 5-4 lead in their head-to-head, having claimed a hard-fought 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory in their most recent clash in the semifinals of this year's French Open.
Despite their fierce on-court battles, the duo have also developed a close friendship off the court. During this year's Indian Wells Masters, the World No. 1 opened up about his amiable relationship with Alcaraz, asserting that they maintained the balance of being good friends while still giving their all during their clashes.
"Carlos, it's always fun to play with him (smiling). We are good friends off the court. On the court, we just try to give 100%, no? I think we have a good attitude on court," Sinner said in a press conference.
However, Mark Petchey has expressed his belief that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner could benefit from being less friendly with each other.
During a recent appearance on the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast, Petchey emphasized that their matches should feel like there were high stakes on the line, similar to the contentious rivalries seen in the era of John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl.
"Don’t want it (Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner) to be too friendly. I don’t want love-ins on the court. I want it to mean something. You want to feel like when they walk out there that it’s all on the line. You go back to Lendl-Mac, Lendl-Connors, I love that era," he said.
Carlos Alcaraz on Jannik Sinner: "I think we are gonna build great rivalry, relationship off the court as well"
During a press conference at the 2024 Laver Cup, Carlos Alcaraz opened up about his desire to forge a longstanding and fierce rivalry with Jannik Sinner, similar to the one Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic shared for two decades.
"Well, a lot of people talk about it. I like hearing it, I'm not gonna lie. I hope so. I hope that we our rivalry is going to be or almost that the Big 3 had during the whole career," Carlos Alcaraz said.
Having split this season's Grand Slam titles, the Spaniard also conveyed his wish to continue battling with Sinner on the biggest stages of the sport while maintaining a strong relationship off the court.
"I don't know. This is the first year that we shared all the Grand Slams. Hopefully gonna keep going like that, sharing great moments, fighting for the great tournaments, the Grand Slams, Masters 1000, Masters," Alcaraz said.
"So let's see how it's gonna be in the future the next few years. If we're gonna stay like that at this level, I think we are gonna build great rivalry, relationship off the court, as well," he added.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are both in action at the China Open in Beijing. Alcaraz will battle it out against Tallon Griekspoor in the fourth round of the ATP 500 event, while the World No. 1 is set to take on Jiri Lehecka in the quarterfinals.