Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have brought tennis into a new era and there has been plenty of debate about how they stack up to the ‘big three’.
Sinner and Alcaraz have won the last nine Grand Slams, with Novak Djokovic’s US Open victory in 2023 acting as the last time a major was won by a player outside of the Spaniard and the Italian.
Djokovic has been full of praise for Alcaraz, but there are many fans who still believe that the two best players in the world right now can hold a candle to Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Djokovic.
Legendary tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou suggested that Alcaraz and Sinner have now surpassed the ‘big three’ and Andy Murray has shared his reaction.
Andy Murray laughs at Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic comparisons
On Instagram, Mouratoglou suggested Sinner and Alcaraz deserved to be in the same bracket when it came to quality.
“For those who think Djokovic’s win over Sinner in the Australian Open semifinals means the big three plays better tennis than Alcaraz and Sinner: that’s a far too simplistic view,” he said.
Can Carlos Alcaraz win MORE Grand Slams than Novak Djokovic? 🤔
“Jannik is faster, hits harder, takes the ball earlier, and serves better than Novak. Novak has the strongest mentality in tennis history, and that’s what made the difference.”
“Novak isn’t a better tennis player than Sinner, but he is the greatest competitor in history, and he was better than Jannik Sinner in that match.”
Nadal questioned the statement with a series of emojis and Andy Murray did the same on an Instagram post.
Murray posted three laughing emojis and a heart on Mouratoglou’s interview with Jake Humphrey on High Performance.
How Greg Rusedski compares Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz to the ‘big three’
Former British number one Greg Rusedski also believes Sinner and Alcaraz are better than the ‘big three’, although he has a caveat.
Speaking to Tennis365, Rusedski said: “What Jannik and Carlos are achieving is elevating tennis to a higher level; they are playing at a level never seen before, so it can be said they are better than the Big 3.”
Do you believe Carlos Alcaraz is already the greatest tennis player of all time?
The star believes Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic would have also thrived in the current conditions that Sinner and Alcaraz play under.
However, that does not mean Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic wouldn’t have reached this level of play if they had the current conditions.”
Much has been made of how the courts have been slowed down in recent years, which is probably what Rusedski is referring to.
