Two days after Novak Djokovic's possible departure from the French Open, his successors Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will meet for the first time in the final of a Grand Slam tournament.
08.06.2025, 00:00
08.06.2025, 00:01
SDA
The world number 1 and his closest rival will battle it out for one of the four most prestigious trophies in tennis: the scenario is very reminiscent of the sometimes epic battles that have taken place between members of the "Big 3" Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in Melbourne, Paris, London or New York.
"It will be a while before we can compare ourselves with the elite trio who have won 66 Grand Slam titles," said Jannik Sinner on Friday after his victory in the semi-final against Djokovic, who at 38 years of age once again fought with all his might, but in vain, to prevent the final changing of the guard.
A rivalry that does you good
"I think that every sport needs rivalries," said the world number one, adding cautiously that the rivalry between him and Alcaraz could "perhaps" become one of those long-term antagonisms that unleash passions.
Djokovic himself finds it "a bit difficult at this stage" to compare the times. "Sinner and Alcaraz would "have to compete against each other for at least ten years to keep up", the Serbian record player emphasized. "But they are undoubtedly good for tennis, our sport needs their rivalry," continued the 24-time Grand Slam winner. "I'm sure we'll see them lifting the biggest trophies often enough over the next few years," said the "Djoker".
Sinner and Alcaraz have shared every Grand Slam title since the 2024 Australian Open, and the French Open will be the sixth in a row for one of them. Sinner has the edge in the hard court tournaments, Alcaraz on clay and grass.
First Grand Slam final of the 2000s generation
On Sunday (3 p.m.), it will be the first Grand Slam final between two players born in the 21st century. The fact that there has only been one major final between two players from the 1990s - at the US Open in the coronavirus year 2020 between Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev, when Federer, Nadal, Wawrinka and Murray were all absent and Djokovic was disqualified - shows just how difficult it is for the generation between the "Big 3" (and Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka).
However, the clash between the Sinner and Alcaraz will be their twelfth meeting. The 22-year-old defending champion leads 7:4 and has won four times in a row against the South Tyrolean, who is one year older.
Alcaraz "not at all" worried
At first glance, "Carlitos" seems to have the edge on clay, as he won the French Open in 2024 after beating Sinner in five sets in the semi-final. Alcaraz also defeated the Italian in front of his home fans in the final of the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome three weeks ago. However, it was already an impressive comeback for Sinner after his three-month doping ban.
The path of the first Italian since Adriano Panatta's victory in the 1976 French Open final was also much more straightforward than that of Alcaraz. The three-time Grand Slam winner did not drop a single set on his way, whereas his opponent "only" won four of his six matches in four sets.
"I'm not at all worried about dropping a few sets at a Grand Slam," said Alcaraz after his semi-final victory over Italian Lorenzo Musetti. In best-of-five matches, "I know that I have time and am mentally strong enough to recover," emphasized the four-time Grand Slam champion. "But Jannik is the best tennis player at the moment, he has demolished every one of his opponents," argued the Spaniard and was full of anticipation: "It's going to be a good Sunday for tennis fans."
So a winner has already been decided before the match begins. And in ten years' time, we may be talking about a rivalry that has nothing to hide from the "Big 3".
