Novak Djokovic's ex-coach makes bold claim comparing Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner when 'both are fit'

Novak Djokovic's former coach Goran Ivanisevic was recently asked to pick the better player between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The Croat gave quite the answer. He also claimed that the duo will dominate the ATP Tour for the next few years.

Both Sinner and Alcaraz have enjoyed great respective seasons in 2024. While Sinner won two Major titles and rose to the World No. 1 position, the Spaniard also triumphed at two Grand Slam tournaments and secured silver at the Paris Olympics.

Goran Ivanisevic, who coached Novak Djokovic for five years before they split this March, recently spoke to SportKlub's Sasa Ozmo about the two players. The former Wimbledon champion was asked to pick the better player between Sinner and Alcaraz.

In response, Ivanisevic claimed that when both of them were fit, Jannik Sinner was superior to Carlos Alcaraz.

"They are different players, but when both are fit, I think Sinner is better," Goran Ivanisevic told SportKlub (translated from Croatian).

The 53-year-old also maintained that unlike the World No. 1, Alcaraz had struggled with consistency this year. He also asserted that both of them were 'light-years above' the rest of the field on the ATP Tour and that they would monopolize the big tournaments in the near future.

"This year, Carlos experienced some defeats that are difficult for me to explain," he added. "If we take Novak out of the equation, they are five light years above the rest, they will dominate for the next five years."

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Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner in all of their tour-level matches in 2024

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after beating Jannik Sinner at 2024 China Open (Source: Getty)

Jannik Sinner has won 65 of his 71 matches on the ATP Tour in 2024 thus far while picking up seven titles. Carlos Alcaraz's match-win record isn't as impressive (52-11), but he did defeat his archrival in all three of their tour-level meetings this year.*

Alcaraz's first victory over Sinner during this season came in the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters in March, where he prevailed 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. The two players next met in the last four of Roland Garros. The Spaniard again overcame an early deficit to come through 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 en route to winning his maiden title in Paris.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz then met in the title match of the Beijing Open a few months later. The four-time Major winner came back from 0-3 down in the deciding-set tiebreaker to win 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3). By virtue of this victory, he also took a 6-4 lead in his head-to-head meetings with the Italian.

*Note: While Alcaraz defeated Sinner thrice in 2024, the Italian beat him 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3 to win the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last month.