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Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will be the "queen couple" in the coming years like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, according to former French Open champion Adriano Panatta.
Sinner just replaced Alcaraz as the No. 2 player on the ATP Tour after winning the Miami Open this past Sunday. Interestingly, the duo are almost evenly matched in their head-to-head encounters, having won four matches apiece against each other since 2021.
Alcaraz won their latest clash by beating Sinner in straight sets in the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters last month. The duo share a total of three Grand Slams and Adriano Panatta believes that their rivalry has all the potential to become a blockbuster like the one between Federer and Nadal.
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Federer and Nadal have won 20 and 22 Grand Slam titles, respectively. While the Swiss has retired from tennis, the Spaniard, despite being hit by injuries, remains active on the tour.
"For me, Alcaraz will be one of the protagonists of 2024. Nole (Djokovic) less, in my opinion. In the long run, Carlos will emerge. Sinner-Alcaraz will be the queen couple of the circuit in the coming years, retracing what Federer-Nadal has done in the past years," Panatta told Ubitennis.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz to start clay season at Monte-Carlo Masters
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz would play at the Monte-Carlo Masters, which would herald the beginning of the clay court season. The tournament will be held between April 6 to 14.
Both Sinner and Alcaraz have had a mixed record at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. The Italian lost to Novak Djokovic in the third round of the tournament in 2021. Over the next two years, he suffered losses to Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals and to Holger Rune in the semifinals, respectively.
Alcaraz will be playing at the Monte-Carlo Masters only for the second time in his career. His only appearance at the tournament came in 2022 when he lost in three sets to Sebastian Korda in the second round. He withdrew from the tournament in 2023 due to physical discomfort.
Interestingly, the clay court season in 2024 would witness a three-way battle for the top spot in the rankings between Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The 22-year-old's win in Miami not only earned him the No. 2 rank but also moved him closer to the No. 1 spot with just about 1000 points separating the three men.
