Choosing the best among all is seldom an objective decision, even for a former World No.1 like Andy Murray. Though the Briton provided some compelling reasons for picking the current best player in the world, he was not shy about admitting his personal bias.
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“I think when everyone is fit and healthy, I would say Alcaraz is the best player. But we all have our biases, though,” said Murray during a TNT interview at the Laver Cup. “I just love watching him play. I think he’s a great personality, great character. I love his game style. He can hit every single shot; he’s got a smile on his face when he’s playing, and I love watching Carlos, so I’m gonna go with him.”
Even biased, Murray’s choice of Alcaraz as the best player in the world tracks along the overall consensus in the tennis community. The Spaniard’s all-court game, which has both baseline explosiveness and deft touches at the net, makes him a big draw at tournaments. More often than not, the Spaniard’s shots make the tournament highlight reels, and his charismatic style only adds to his results, given that he has already won seven Majors and eight Masters 1000 titles.
Apart from the results, Alcaraz’s on-court behavior and attitude have endeared him to the tennis-loving public. In a recent interview at the Laver Cup, the Spaniard emphasized the importance of playing happily, as it brought the best out of him.
Even during his recent quarterfinal loss to Ben Shelton at the US Open, where they played past two o’clock in the morning, there was no frustration on the Spaniard’s face as he bid the New York crowd farewell with a smile on his face.
However, injuries have plagued the men’s field, with two of its top stars, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, out of action for significant periods this season. The Spaniard was out for more than four months with a wrist injury, missing the French Open and Wimbledon. On the other hand, Sinner has been sidelined for more than two months with a knee injury and has not played since the Wimbledon final.
Murray weighed the situation carefully as well, while also highlighting the wins of Sinner and Alexander Zverev.
“I think you have to answer that when everyone’s healthy,” said Murray in the TNT interview. “I mean, my opinion is that Alcaraz is the best player, but on any given day, I mean those guys can, you know, we’ve seen them, Sinner has beaten, you know, Alcaraz multiple times as well. You know Zverev’s won two Slams this year. You know, he’s had an unbelievable year.”
The trio of Sinner, Zverev, and Alcaraz have finished the last two seasons in the top three ATP ranking spots. Moreover, Sinner and Zverev currently occupy the top two spots, giving them decent claims to being considered the best player in the world.
Sinner has won 44 of the 47 matches he has played this year, winning five Masters 1000 titles in a row, which completed his career set of all nine Masters titles on Tour, followed by a successful title defense at Wimbledon.
The Italian also has the most wins against Alcaraz among any active players. Even though the Spaniard leads 10-7 in the overall head-to-head, Sinner has won the last two matches against Alcaraz and beat him in the Wimbledon final last year.
As for Zverev, the German player has been having the best season of his life, winning two Grand Slam titles. Over the last four years, he has been one of the most consistent players on the Tour, registering over 50 wins per season. However, Zverev has struggled against Top-10 opposition this year, winning only two of his ten matches against the most elite players on the Tour, with the German himself pointing out the difficulties of Sinner and Alcaraz after his US Open win.
As for Sinner, even though he is right up there with Alcaraz in terms of results, the differences in personality sometimes tilt the scales in Alcaraz’s favor. As of now, Murray’s words are not quite far off the mark, given that Alcaraz is the right package, having both the on-court skills and the off-court magnetism to pull off being ‘the best player in the world’ tag, even though the rankings suggest otherwise.