Tennis analyst discusses best players in the world ft. Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, leaves out Rafael Nadal due to fitness issues

Veterans Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are grabbing the limelight even in their mid-30s, having won four of the last five Grand Slam titles. But with Carlos Alcaraz snatching the remaining Major, the younger generation has finally started knocking on the doors at the top.

Recently, tennis analyst Gill Gross classified tennis players into tiers based on their current form and results. The analyst was quick to declare that reigning US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz and 22-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic were a class apart, and placed the duo in tier 1 as the best players in the world.

Gross remarked that Novak Djokovic could even be placed alone in the first tier, but decided to hold off until Carlos Alcaraz got matches under his belt. Alcaraz has not played since November 2022 due to an injury.

“I think, there’s a tier 1. In tier 1, it’s Djokovic and Alcaraz. You could say, maybe Djokovic belongs in a tier by himself. Let’s let Alcaraz play tennis before we do that,” Gross said.

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic were the leading trophy earners of 2022, winning one Grand Slam and four other titles each.

In the second tier, Gill Gross placed World No. 2 Stefanos Tsitsipas alone. While the Greek tennis player has accumulated mixed results at tournaments over the past year, he has proven to be a consistent threat to his colleagues.

Featuring in his second Grand Slam final at the 2023 Australian Open has only strengthened Stefanos Tsitsipas' case, even as his arch-rivals Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev struggle for form.

“Tsitsipas is in tier 2. I think he is alone in tier 2. Zverev isn’t there anymore, Medvedev isn’t there right now,” Gill Gross observed.

But the tennis analyst decided to leave out 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal due to his injuries and poor form in recent months. While Nadal won four titles in 2022, including the Australian Open and the French Open, the Spaniard suffered a sharp decline in the second half of the season and has earned a mere two wins since the 2022 US Open.

“Let me just tell you right now, I don’t know where to put Nadal. I am not including Nadal in this. He’s in a holding period for me. He doesn’t go in any tier,” Gill Gross said.

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Apart from Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, Gill Gross recognizes several young tennis players as tough contenders

Holger Rune defeated the six-time Paris Masters champion to clinch the 2022 title

Novak Djokovic is a veteran, but he has still been able to tame the fierceness of the younger players. The World No. 1’s dominance aside, it is a common belief right now that any player inside the top-20 or top-50 can be considered a serious contender at tournaments.

Gill Gross picked the most consistent of those athletes as part of tier 3 and 4.

“Tier 3? Lots of people. I think you’ve gotta put [Casper] Ruud there. I think you gotta put Felix [Auger-Aliassime] there. I think you gotta put [Holger] Rune there. I think you gotta put [Jannik] Sinner there,” he said, adding, “Next tier - [Taylor] Fritz, [Andrey] Rublev, [Cameron] Norrie.”