Carlos Alcaraz reveals what he has ‘learned’ from Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer rivalry
Carlos Alcaraz has drawn comparisons from himself and Jannik Sinner to the rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, revealing that he hopes they have ‘a long and beautiful future ahead’.
Alcaraz is bidding to become only the eighth man to complete the sunshine double, having defended the Indian Wells title last week.
During this run to the Indian Wells title, Alcaraz ended the aforementioned Sinner’s 19-match winning streak in the latest installment in their brewing rivalry.
And the world No.2 has revealed what he has learned from the Nadal–Federer rivalry, that consisted of 40 matches against each other.
“What I have learned from this rivalry is that you can never fall behind or give up or settle. You always have to improve, you always have to raise your level,” explained Alcaraz. “It doesn’t matter if you think that you are at your highest level, that you can’t give more, you can always give a little more.”
He continued, “That’s what they have shown for so many years that they have been up there. Every time one of them lost to the other, they tried to be better to win the next time. And they have done it for a long time, which is something incredible and worthy of admiration.”
If Alcaraz and Sinner are to continue their rivalry this week, both players will have to reach the final as the top two seeds at the Miami Open.
The Spaniard has implied that himself and Sinner could be the next big rivalry on the ATP Tour, “Right now, the way people look at it, it could be with Jannik. Hopefully both Jannik and I have a long and beautiful future ahead of us. That way I hope that I can give my best level and continue growing thanks to him while I see the level he is having.”
Vamos!!! ???????????????? https://t.co/wBwZkFHtRu
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) March 24, 2024
Alcaraz will look to join Sinner in the Miami Open fourth round later today, when he plays former top 10 player Gael Monfils.
Inside the baseline…
Some people may say that it is arrogant to pit yourself against the rivalry of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, but it is hard not to with all of the hype around himself and Jannik Sinner. The closer both players get to the Miami Open final, the more hype there is surrounding it with their matches usually being extremely entertaining – especially on the quick hard courts in Florida.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner
With Alcaraz and Sinner potentially set to lead the ATP Tour for the foreseeable future, we at Tennishead wanted to compare some of their various achievements:
| Player | Career-high Ranking | Number of titles | Grand Slam titles | Masters 1000 titles | Davis Cup titles | ATP Finals Best Result |
| Carlos Alcaraz | No.1 | 13 | 2 (US Open 2022 & Wimbledon 2023) | 5 (Miami 2022, Madrid 2022 & 2023, Indian Wells 2023 & 2024) | 0 | Semi-final (2023) |
| Jannik Sinner | No.3 | 12 | 1 (Australian Open 2024) | 1 (Toronto 2023) | 1 (2023) | Final (2023) |
Head-to-head
Alcaraz vs Sinner: 4-4
Last meeting: Alcaraz beat Sinner, 1-6 6-3 6-2
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