Friends teach you stuff. Critics bring the best out of you. But contemporaries truly show where you stand. This is a small story regarding the relationship between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner – the top rivals in Men’s tennis – with Alcaraz letting loose a bit of knowledge himself.
The 9th edition of The Laver Cup is upon us, and it features the 7-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz and the 2026 US Open champion Alexander Zverev. However, there is no World number 1 Jannik Sinner. Now, since Laver Cup is between Europe and the World, had Sinner also been featuring, it would have meant that Alcaraz (Spain), Zverev (Germany) and Sinner (Italy) were in the same team (Europe), making the already daunting team even more so.
This is Alcaraz' second competitive tournament since his return from a wrist injury in April, and questions were raised regarding his participation in the US Open without any ATP practice. Addressing the media in a pre-tournament conference, Carlito admitted that he misses Sinner a lot. In the past, Carlos had already expressed his opinion of him and Sinner reviving the Nadal-Federer rivalry in the modern era.
Alcaraz further went on to say that Sinner always pushes him to get better at what he is doing. For instance, Jannik Sinner possesses one of the best serves on the planet. That sets itself as a constant high-level benchmark for the man from Murcia.
Matches against Sinner have not only forced Alcaraz to work on how to return the Italian’s serves, but also how to improve his own serve – one which let him down massively in the US Open quarterfinal against Ben Shelton. Additionally, with Sinner being strong from the baseline and his groundstrokes being powerful, the Spaniard has developed his ability to hit the ball wider, constantly flirting with the lines. The reason this question popped up is that Alcaraz and Sinner have played each other only once this season, in April, at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
After that, Alcaraz took a break due to a wrist injury, while post-Wimbledon, Sinner has gone into an injury break due to his knee. And if we look at 2025, the duo met 6 times in finals, including a hat-trick of Grand Slam finals – French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Hence, the thirst for more.
The Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry is nicknamed Sincaraz, with Alcaraz leading their head-to-head rivalry 10-7 in ATPs, and 4-2 in Grand Slams. Both players enjoy this rivalry and have mutual respect for the other. Alcaraz has gone on to say that Sinner’s excellence makes the Spaniard a much better player, and he is grateful to the latter for challenging him to the extreme.
Carlito further said that the Italian’s presence makes him give 100 percent, using Sinner as a target in every training session, helping him give his 100 percent every day, even during practice. Let’s hope that 2027 brings us joy with renewed matches of the Sinner-Sinner rivalry.
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