Jannik Sinner Draws Line on Carlos Alcaraz Rivalry at US Open: “We Are Enemies”

With the ‘Big three’ era having ended, and Novak Djokovic, as the last man standing from that era of men’s tennis, fans are looking for another rivalry to latch on to. It seems like the fandom has already found another budding rivalry that has all the hallmarks of establishing another era of defining competitiveness. And at the forefront of that era stands Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. When they face each other, tennis takes the centerstage and the urge to outplay one another crosses limits. But, when it’s over, they leave it all on the court – and that’s SinCaraz for you.

Ever since the duo faced each other in two consecutive grand slam finals (Roland Garros and Wimbledon) this year, the spectators became certain that the Alcaraz-Sinner story line is here to stay. And often, they expect a burgeoning friction between the two. However, last month, Carlos Alcaraz made it evident while sharing his thoughts on Sinner as his opponent. “People really like the idea that there is friction between us. That’s what sells. But although tennis is an individual sport, we are with the same players every week, day in and day out,” said the five-time slam winner while clearing all doubts. Guess what? His Italian counterpart thinks no different.

After his fourth round win at the US Open, against Alexander Bublik, Sinner was asked what people can learn from his rivalry with the Spaniard. Making a simple honest confession he said, “I think we have a good friendship off the court. We see that this is possible, you know. It’s not like you have to be enemies also off the court. Of course we are enemies when we step on the court. We try to play our best tennis but it ends there you know, after the handshake everything is fine again.”

The Italian emphasized that “One thing is to be a good tennis player, the other one is to be a good person. Two different things. I think we have both a little bit. So it’s good.”

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Sinner explained the depth of his rivalry with Alcaraz. It’s different in a lot of ways than just on-court encounters. Of course, that’s one way to look at it but for the Italian, all of their clashes contribute toward them getting better at the game itself. How?

On a previous instance, Sinner admitted, “he pushes me to do better, which is something good. Then I try to improve my game in the next days or, in the off-season you’re going to practice for that.” Now the question arises: if they are not extremely intense off court rivals beyond their matches, are Sinner and Alcaraz close tennis buddies? Well…

When Carlos Alcaraz cleared the situation on “friendship” with Jannik Sinner

Last season at the China Open, Carlos Alcaraz bested Jannik Sinner in the summit clash. The former World No.1, despite losing the first set, made a solid comeback to eventually clinch the trophy with a score line of 6-7, 6-4, 7-6.

During the press conference, the Spaniard cleared the picture on his complicated equation with Sinner. When a reporter asked, “whether you spend any time off the court, say, going to dinner or doing anything else besides tennis.” he had a surprising response to say the least.

Alcaraz simply revealed, “Well, we don’t talk too much when we are around, obviously. We have a really good relationship off the court as well. I think we both respect each other a lot, as a player, as a person, but once we are on tour traveling, you know, during tournaments when we are on site, we are with our team on our own, so we don’t speak too much.”

He emphasized that they share “a good relationship, but we are not close friends, you know, but I think the respect that we have, you know, put us in a position that we have a really good relationship.” With them being in the quarterfinal stage of the US Open this week, chances are increasing for the two to come face-to-face, again, in the summit clash. After their blockbuster encounters in Paris and London, the Flushing Meadows may witness a third epic SinCaraz showdown at a slam this season.

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