Ever since their 5-hour-29-minute epic in Paris, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s rivalry has entered a whole new stratosphere. Their recent clashes in epic encounters, including Wimbledon and US Open, have only added to the popularity surrounding their crowd-pleasing battles. No wonder they pulled in 3 million in views last week during the final in New York. But that’s not the juicy part. What’s important to note is Sincaraz has the potential to draw numbers recorded only by the Big Three’s appearances in slam finals. Their clash in Arthur Ashe last week pulled in the US Open’s second-best viewership for the men’s singles final. You’d have to go back a decade for comparable numbers – in 2015, the Djokovic-Federer final hooked 3.2 million people to their television screens.

It’s simple. The more Alcaraz and Sinner face each other, the more comparisons get drawn with the elite club of Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer. For example, 7-time slam king and ESPN commentator John McEnroe made a huge claim last month on the Spaniard. “This guy, Carlos Alcaraz, in my opinion, is the most talented young kid 2021-22 that I’ve ever seen on a tennis court. That’s more than Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, who I have great respect for.”

But what do the Big 3 icons think about the new faces of men’s tennis? It seems like 22-time slam winner Rafael Nadal doesn’t like comparisons at all. According to him, the two shouldn’t be put under the weight of comparisons with him or Federer or the 24-time major winning Novak Djokovic. Per Nadal, “Each person has to live their own story, each story is different and there’s no need to be comparing all day long. Let’s enjoy that great rivalry and stop comparing”.

So there you have it. A straight clarification from the former ATP icon and 14-time Roland Garros king. Interestingly, though, he is not the only former ATP legend to dismiss the idea of Alcaraz-Sinner’s comparisons with the Big Three.

Back in June, after the record-shattering French Open final, a former slam winning British icon made his point clear on this ever-growing topic in the ATP landscape. Not to mention he had a perfect response to McEnroe’s bizarre claim on Alcaraz and Sinner’s clay potential against Nadal.

Andy Murray dismisses Sincaraz-Big Three comparisons

Ahead of the men’s singles final in June, John McEnroe was in awe of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s talent on the clay surface. Thanks to their dominating run to the final.

During his commentating duties, McEnroe made a bold claim over SinCaraz’s clay court prowess. Especially regarding their invincibility against 14-time French Open king Nadal. “You took a look at them bringing their A-game right now — I’m saying Sinner and Alcaraz against Nadal on clay — you would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favored to beat Nadal, at his best.”

Simply put, McEnroe believes that Alcaraz and Sinner are so good already that they can even beat Nadal in his prime form on clay. But one person was quick to dismiss this idea.

Ex-British icon and 3-time slam champion Andy Murray had a completely different perspective. The former World No.1 said, “The sport’s in a really good place but it’s important not to forget what the guys have done before them, what Roger, Rafa and Novak have done. Winning 20-plus majors is something exceptional and it’s easy in today’s age to forget a little bit about that. I saw some pundits saying if (Alcaraz and Sinner) went on court against Rafa at the French Open, they would be favorites going into that match with Rafa in his prime.”

Do you also believe it’s too early at this stage of Alcaraz and Sinner’s careers to draw parallels with the Big Three? Let us know your honest thoughts in the comments section below.