(Paris) Carlos Alcaraz winner, Jannik Sinner at the top of the hierarchy: the triumphant youth took power at Roland-Garros and intends to establish their superiority on the turf of Wimbledon (July 1-14).
Both the Spaniard and the Italian have proven their all-terrain talent in recent months, with the former becoming on Sunday at the age of 21 the youngest player in history to have won Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces (hard, grass , clay), the second having become at the age of 22 the first Italian world No.1.
“I think my game is suitable for all surfaces, because I train for that,” emphasizes Alcaraz. Drop shots, volleys, I always wanted to have an aggressive game. So I think my game also naturally suits grass. »
In 2022, it was on the London turf that Alcaraz and Sinner, already in ambush, but not yet quite at the top, had given a first Dantesque glimpse of what their rivalry could become.
The Italian then won in the round of 16. A few weeks later, the two men played a historic quarter-final at the United States Open where the Spaniard won before winning his first Grand Slam title and becoming the youngest world No.1.
At the time, Nadal was beginning his slow slide towards the exit – still not made official after his first round loss at Roland Garros to future finalist Alexander Zverev – and Djokovic was far from having said his last word.
The Serbian subsequently regained his place as world No.1 and won three additional Majors to bring the record to 24.
But this year, things have accelerated. Sinner had a phenomenal start to the season and won his first Grand Slam title in Australia, while Alcaraz was above the rest at Roland Garros.
Wimbledon begins three weeks after the Parisian final and Alcaraz will be able to rely on certainties since he achieved one of his greatest feats there last year by beating Djokovic in the final who had been undefeated on this grass since his quarter-final. final 2017…
However, he convinced himself in Paris that a large part of his title was played in the head: “If you are weak in your head, even if you play the best tennis of your life, you will have difficulty winning a Grand Slam. »
Not yet completely comfortable on dirt, Sinner nevertheless made it to the semi-finals, where he lost in five rounds to Alcaraz. And, despite the disappointment of a defeat, he only saw positives in his career, a year after an elimination in the second round.
Definitely reassured by his hip, he “can’t wait” to get back on the grass.
“Last year, I had a very good Wimbledon (defeat in the semi-finals against Djokovic, Editor’s note). I’m happy to go back,” he says.
After years of doubt, it seems that Alexander Zverev, finalist in Paris, has also become capable of fighting for the main titles again, even if the grass has never suited him (he has never gone beyond the round of 16 at Wimbledon).
He was the first young person to claim to drive a wedge into the undivided domination of the Big 3 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic) by winning the end-of-year Masters in 2018 and rising to second in the world in 2022. Without doing better, except a final at the United States Open in 2020.
The advantage of Sinner and Alcaraz is that they only have to deal with the tail of the Big3 comet. Djokovic’s participation in Wimbledon (where he won seven times) is also very uncertain due to the meniscus operation undergone last week in Paris.
We would like to see a new rivalry of the Big3 type develop, with the Sinner-Alcaraz duo as a basis, and the Italian recognizes that it would be “interesting” for tennis, but refuses to be compared “already” to the magic trio.
As for Alcaraz, he “hopes” to win 24 Grand Slam titles like Djokovic, but considers the goal “almost impossible.”
