Storm vs calm: All eyes on Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry at French Open | Tennis News
PARIS: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the two best male tennis players in the world, both born in the 2000s, have been shaping for a rivalry that pits great contrasts — styles, mentalities and personalities — across the net.The 23-year-old Italian’s steel versus the 22-year-old Spaniard’s staggering range, the world No.1’s sangfroid versus Alcaraz’s sense of adventure. The calm and storm of the sport are the top two seeds of the French Open, starting Sunday. They are the youngest top two seeds at a major since the 2006 US Open, when a 25-year-old Roger Federer and a 20-year-old Rafael Nadal bookended the men’s draw.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!On a windy Friday at Roland Garros, where the highs hovered around the late teens on the centigrade scale, Sinner and Alcaraz’ paths crossed on Court Philippe-Chatrier where they both had practice sessions scheduled in the afternoon. The 22-year-old Spaniard was winding up when Sinner walked in behind his coach Aussie Darren Cahill. The top-seed went over to Alcaraz’ side and waited for him – who owns a Tour-leading 30 match wins in 2025 – to finish an exchange, before throwing an arm around him.Who’s that IPL player?
The rivalry, which kickstarted in November 2021, seemed to have it all. Shades of Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer all over again. They were friendly but their matches were fierce. A pair of personable young men, maybe caught in a crossfire of the unspoken word. Alcaraz, who won the last meeting in the Rome final last weekend, brought to an end Sinner’s 26-match win streak. Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 7-4, while tying with the world No.1 at 19 titles apiece.Sinner, who returned to competition after serving a three-month ban for testing positive for Clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, said that there were players in that period who he didn’t expect had reached out to him, while there were others, who he was expecting to hear from, hadn’t reached out. Alcaraz was asked if he thought Sinner was referring to him. “I didn’t call him in those three months, but it wasn’t about if I agreed or not (with the ban),’ Alcaraz said.The telephone call that wasn’t made aside, Sinner and Alcaraz agree they bring more to the court when they face each other.“When we play, there is a little extra attention,” said Sinner. “While he is winning, I feel that my practice sessions are getting more intense.”Alcaraz, the gifted four-time major winner said: “I’m even more focused when I play against him. I feel a little bit different when I’m going to face him. Jannik has that aura. When you see him at the other side of the net, it’s kind of different. I feel like it is a different energy when we face each other than when we face other players.”
If the rivalry were to be renewed at Roland Garros, both must survive a thorny path. The road to the final is long and the weather promises to be whimsical, but fans in the French capital will hope the final will be a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which the Spaniard won.“It’s great to have matchups that make (fans) excited. It was BorgMcEnroe, Rafa-Roger or Djokovic, the big three against each other,” the defending champion said of rivalries. “Right now, people are excited every time I’m facing Jannik. Our matches are high quality. People probably who don’t like watching tennis, started to watch tennis (because of these matches).”For now, Roland Garros would like a 12th career meeting of the two best Generation Z players, who are looking to make history.
