"At the moment the biggest rivalry is him and Novak Djokovic" - Jannik Sinner downplays being considered a 'rival' to Carlos Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner believes he has a lot more to do to be considered on the same level as Carlos Alcaraz or even to be touted as a 'rival' to the Spaniard.

The duo have a 3-3 head-to-head record at the moment, with Sinner winning their most recent encounter at the Miami Open earlier this year. In Grand Slams, the duo have met twice, splitting up their encounters -- Sinner won at 2022 Wimbledon and Alcaraz prevailed at the US Open later the same year.

However, in terms of achievements, Carlos Alcaraz is head and shoulders above the Italian. While Sinner won his maiden Masters 1000 trophy at the Canadian Open, Alcaraz already has four to his name. Sinner's best result at a Grand Slam has been to reach the semifinals (at 2023 Wimbledon), but the Spaniard has already lifted two Majors in his career.

As far as rankings are considered, Carlos Alcaraz made history as the youngest ever player to have been World No. 1 in ATP history, while Sinner is yet to break into the Top-5. In 2023 so far, the Spaniard has won six titles against the Italian's two.

Speaking to the press during his time at the China Open, Sinner was asked about his special rivalry with Alcaraz, to which he responded by bringing up the 20-year-old's achievements and pointing out how he is more accomplished than himself.

The World No. 7, therefore, asserted that while he and Alcaraz have a good rivalry, his competition with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic should be considered the most important one for the moment.

"No, look, at the moment it's tough to talk about this rivalry because I feel he has won so many things at the moment. I think at the moment he's still a better player, no? He has shown this. He was No. 1 in the world already couple of times. I think at the moment the biggest rivalry is him and Novak. But in the other way, for sure every time when we play against, it's a really good match. I think we both show the best out of ourself," Jannik Sinner said.

Novak Djokovic has been in a league of his own this year, winning three out of the four Slams and finishing runner-up at the only Slam he did not win (Wimbledon). The man to beat him there was Alcaraz, who won his second career Major at SW19 by beating the four-time defending champion.

Jannik Sinner then added that he was trying to focus only on himself and looking at areas where he has to improve, especially in terms of physicality.

"At the moment I'm very focused about myself because I have to improve also physically because I feel like I have a lot of potential physically. That's also the reason why I played much more less tournaments this year than last year, because I have to prepare the body to win the big tournaments," Jannik Sinner said.

Jannik Sinner: "I would be happy to be the rival of Carlos Alcaraz"

2023 US Open - Day 4

Jannik Sinner emphasized that his rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz is a question that will be answered in the future, though he quickly added that it was impossible for anyone to predict how that will turn out now.

Regardless, the 22-year-old made it clear that he would be happy to form a proper rivalry with the young Spaniard in the days to come.

"It's going to be a question what will be answered in the future, no? I would be happy to be the rival of Carlos, for sure. I feel like that I have the potential to do it. But let's see. It's all about the future. We can't say what's happening," Jannik Sinner said.