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João Fonseca has been tipped as the “new challenger” for Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz amid the pair’s domination of men’s tennis in recent months.

World No 1 Sinner defeated Alcaraz in four sets to win his first Wimbledon title last weekend, just five weeks after they had met in the French Open final.

On that occasion, it was world No 2 Alcaraz who prevailed, though Grand Slam success is something both have become accustomed to.

The pair have combined to win the last seven straight major tournaments between them, one of the greatest Grand Slam men’s singles duopolies of the Open era.

The last male player to win a Grand Slam title outside of Sinner and Alcaraz was Novak Djokovic at the 2023 US Open, though the 24-year-old has reached just one major final since then.

Sinner and Alcaraz have moved clear of the rest of the field with former potential challengers, such as Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, falling down in the ATP Rankings in recent months.

With world No 3 Alexander Zverev also struggling to get over the Grand Slam hurdle, all eyes are on who could rival the Italian and the Spaniard in the future.

Rising stars such as Jakub Mensik and Arthur Fils have been tipped in the past, though teen star Fonseca has consistently attracted attention.

And, speaking on The Tennis, former ATP Tour player Luke Saville has tipped the Brazilian to rival the ‘New Two’ in the future.

He said: “I feel like they’re [Alcaraz and Sinner] clearly the two best in the men’s game right now, and it’s just great to see when they both go at it – amazing tennis.

“I think everyone’s looking at Fonseca to be the next challenger to those two. It’s Carlos and Jannik and then there’s daylight, at the moment.

“I feel like Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas a few years back, they were kind of the three everyone was looking at.

“Still Zverev, he’s made a bunch of finals and just hasn’t quite broken through for that maiden Slam title.”

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Fonseca is still only 18 years old, but there is plenty to like about the Brazilian’s game and potential.

The teen star already has one of the biggest and most dangerous forehands in the men’s game, and has consistently moved up the ATP Rankings in 2025.

Fonseca came through qualifying to reach the second round of the Australian Open in January, famously beating ninth seed Andrey Rublev in his first-ever Grand Slam main draw match.

The Brazilian has since gone on to reach the third round of Roland Garros, beating Hubert Hurkacz in round one, and also made round three at Wimbledon.

His showing at the All England Club propelled Fonseca into the top 50 of the ATP Rankings for the first time, with the 18-year-old ranked 48th in the world.

Fonseca is already an ATP Tour titleist, triumphing at the Argentina Open back in February.

Read Next: Exclusive – Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner compared to ‘Big 4’ by a player who has faced them all

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Mats Wilander believes that Jannik Sinner is a better role model for young people than Carlos Alcaraz because ‘everyone can play’ like the Italian if they have ‘total dedication’.

The Swede heaped praise on the two men who have shared the last seven Grand Slam titles, including the last two Grand Slam finals.

Sinner and Alcaraz’s most recent meeting occurred in the showpiece match of Wimbledon, with the world No 1 triumphing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

“I’ve never seen anyone play tennis as aggressively as Sinner,” commented Wilander to L’Equipe.

“It’s not that he hits everything that moves like a madman, it’s that he’s always looking to get the ball early. Some people hit it harder than him, but no one gets to the ball as quickly to play it on the rise, never waiting for it to come back down.

“I think his tennis is five or ten years ahead of what I imagined the evolution of the game would be. A bit like when, in football, for the first time, there was quick one-touch passes: the speed of the game was turned upside down.

“He’s leading the way and will quickly serve as a role model, because not everyone can play tennis like Alcaraz. That requires extremely rare talent. On the other hand, everyone can try to play like Sinner, which doesn’t require exceptional talent in itself, but total dedication.”

Sinner’s victory now brings the Grand Slam tally to 5-4 in Alcaraz’s favour, with the Spaniard also leading the head-to-head 8-5.

However, many of the clashes could have gone either way, including the French Open final in June, where Sinner held three championship points in the fourth set.

“Watching this final unfold, it was hard to believe that Carlos Alcaraz had won his last five matches with Jannik Sinner,” added the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

“And easy to remember that, yes, Jannik should have won at Roland Garros a month ago. There, as here, he was the better player.

“He has improved more than Carlos over the last two years combined, which, consequently, also leaves the latter more room for improvement in the future, particularly in terms of choosing his shots better, sometimes.

“It’s more the emotional or the motivational part that you have someone who is young, who wins basically everything. You have to be ready, no, if you want to keep up.”

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“It was amazing what he [Sinner] has just pulled off,” said John McEnroe, three-time Wimbledon champion, speaking to ESPN after the latest Alcaraz-Sinner clash.

“He was hitting the ball as big as anyone has ever hit it. That is impressive. But it was the way he took it to Alcaraz and got Alcaraz physically discouraged. Imagine how hard that is.”

Sinner and Alcaraz will both return to the tour at the Masters 1000 event in Toronto, which takes place from July 26 – Aug 7.

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Great sporting rivals often struggle to develop a friendship away from the heat of battle, but Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are continuing to show mutual respect for each other after their tennis battles came to an end.

Federer and Nadal won a stunning 42 Grand Slam titles between them and that total may have been higher for both if they were operating in a different era of the sport.

Initially, Federer was not welcoming of the young upstart threatening his dominance at the top of the men’s game, but the duo have since developed a strong bond and that was confirmed as the Swiss star visited the Spaniard’s Rafael Nadal Academy base.

Images of Federer and Nadal spending time together warmed the hearts of fans of the duo who were eventually overtaken by Novak Djokovic in the race to finish their careers with the most Grand Slam titles.

The duo tagged ‘Fedal’ by their fans clearly have a good relationship and Nadal spoke about how that developed as he took part in Federer’s farewell event at the Laver Cup in 2022.

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“Roger was always there in front of me,” reflected Nadal.

“For me, he was always the guy to beat. So at some point, we were probably the biggest rivals – I think always in a very good way.

“We have never had any big issues and always respected each other and our families as well.

“But our personal relationship has got better and better over the years, and we approach life in a similar way.

“On court, we have completely opposite styles, and that’s what probably makes our matches and our rivalry so big and interesting.

“I’m very proud to be part of his career in some way, but even happier to finish our career [rivalry] like friends after everything we shared on court as rivals.”

An unforgettable day with @RafaelNadal & @rogerfederer at the @rnadalacademy! pic.twitter.com/Ko8yGW5sSX

— Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar (@rnadalacademy) July 18, 2025

Nadal later went on to clarify his comments, as he insisted he would not describe his cordial relationship with Federer as a friendship.

“I wouldn’t consider him a friend, but someone familiar, with whom I have a great relationship,” Nadal stated.

“We have shared most of our careers. We have helped each other.

“We have also taken away a lot. We have achieved a level of self-demand that is difficult to repeat because we knew that we could not fail. That competition pushed us to the limit.”

Whether Nadal considers Federer to be a friend or an acquaintance, it is clear that they enjoy spending time together and we do not see occasions like this with Federer or Nadal visiting Djokovic, who has always been viewed as something of an outsider in this story.

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Former British No 1 Tim Henman has insisted Emma Raducanu is ‘a much better player’ than she was when she won the US Open title almost four years ago.

Raducanu’s breakthrough win in New York catapulted her to international superstardom, but she has predictably struggled to back up that success in the four years since.

Yet Henman suggests the 22-year-old Brit will be heading back into action next week in Washington with renewed hope and belief, after some impressive performances on grass courts in recent weeks.

After reaching the quarter-finals at the new WTA 500 tournament at the Queen’s Club, Raducanu pushed world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round at Wimbledon and Henman believes she is now maturing into a player ready to compete at the top of the women’s game.

“She’s a much better player than she was in 2021 because she’s had four more years of experience and now she’s started to build more of a team around her,” Henman told Sky Sports News.

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“She’s been competing so much more this year, which therefore emphasises the physical resilience that she’s got because she was always getting injuries.

”So I just hope she can continue in that vein because if she keeps doing the right things on the practice court, the results will come on the match because she’s that good a player. And I think it was great to see her on the biggest stage in our sport against the number one player in the world.

“She had a really good chance to win that match and I’m sure that will motivate her now moving onto the hardcourt swing in America to keep building.”

Henman also admitted Britain’s Jack Draper has a huge task on his hands to compete with for Grand Slam titles, with new Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner and his big rival Carlos Alcaraz winning all seven of the last major titles between them.

Draper crashed out of Wimbledon early after a second round defeat against Marin Cilic, with Henman impressed by the consistency of the top two in the men’s game.

“I don’t think anyone can deny that those two, Alcaraz and Sinner, have certainly separated the way that they’ve dominated the Grand Slams in the last 18 months to two years,” added Henman.

“But Jack has made unbelievable strides this year and has been top five in the world. He didn’t have the best Wimbledon, but I think that’s a steep learning curve to be playing at home. 

“He’s played so well on clay and hard courts and I think he needs to adapt his game a little bit on grass. And the reality is, you don’t get long to play on grass.

“There are only three weeks between the French Open and Wimbledon and then Wimbledon itself. But he’s got a great team around him. He would have taken many learnings away from the Championships this year and I’m sure in 12 months’ time he’ll be a better player and better prepared.”

Raducanu is set to return to action in a WTA 500 tournament in Washington next week, with Draper’s next match coming a week later at the ATP Masters 1000 National Bank Open in Toronto that gets underway in the last week of July.

“I think what they’ve done in such a short period of time is absolutely incredible,” said Henman. “And I think there were understandable concerns about who the next generation was going to be in the men’s because of what [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal and [Novak] Djokovic had done. They won 66 Grand Slams between them.

“I think at times they’ve almost raised the bar unfairly high. However, Alcaraz has now won five and Sinners won four, and in the grand scheme of the great champions of our sport, you look at [Stefan] Edberg, [Boris] Becker and [John] McEnroe and [Jimmy] Connors and [Andre] Agassi, they won six, seven and eight and they are absolute legends of the sport.

“All of a sudden, we’re asking the question, ‘Well, is Alcaraz going to get to 15 and 20?’ I mean, it’s mad, but they are phenomenal players. I think they benefit from each other because that rivalry will continue to motivate them and push each other to keep improving their games. And it’s other players’ jobs to try and get into that conversation.”

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The grass season is finished for another year which means attention turns back to the hard court and the upcoming US Open.

The final slam of the year kicks off in a little over a month and while we wait, we’ve put together a list of the best finals in men’s singles history.

5.) Andy Murray v Novak Djokovic – 2012

In 2012, there were questions over whether Andy Murray would always be the bridesmaid, such was the skill and dominance of the Big Three, but the Scot answered his critics with a brutal five-setter against Djokovic.

Murray won the opening two sets but did so both times by tiebreak, perhaps explaining why Djokovic was able to draw level with a 6-2 and 6-3 run.

At two sets apiece, many thought Murray was down for the count but this match of momentum swung back to the Scot in the fifth set. He broke Djokovic twice during a match that set a then-record for the longest US Open final, clocking in at 4 hours and 54 minutes.

Murray, at the fifth time of asking, had won a Slam final.

Murray won 7–6(12–10), 7–5, 2–6, 3–6, 6–2

4. Rafael Nadal v Daniil Medvedev – 2019

With Djokovic retiring in the fourth round and Roger Federer losing in the quarters, many thought Nadal was to be the easy winner of the 2019 US Open.

Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev had other ideas.

Following a run that saw him beat Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov, Medvedev faced Nadal in the final, having played him just once before, a 6-3, 6-0 defeat in Canada earlier that year.

Nadal went two sets up, suggesting this final was going to be a quick one, but Medvedev regrouped to win the third and fourth, taking both players to the deciding fifth set. With Nadal leading 5-2, Medvedev saved a number of break points before breaking back, putting the score back to 5-4. But after 4 hours and 50 minutes of gruelling tennis, Nadal showed grit under pressure to win.

Nadal won 7–5, 6–3, 5–7, 4–6, 6–4

3. Andre Agassi v Roger Federer – 2005

All eras come to an end and eventually, every player must pass the torch but just as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have found in recent years, the departing veteran does not go without a fight.

Ahead of their meeting Stateside, Federer was coming off the back of a Wimbledon win but the 35-year-old Agassi had the home crowd behind him.

Even losing the first set 6-3 was not a fatal blow for the American legend as he hit back 6-2 in the second before forcing a tie break in the third.

But it was to be Federer who prevailed, winning the fourth set 6-1 to seal the match, as the Swiss secured his second of what would go on to be five US Open titles.

Federer won 6–3, 2–6, 7–6, 6–1

2. Novak Djokovic v Roger Federer – 2007

In 2007, US Open spectators were treated to the first of what would become five slam finals contested between the two iconic players.

While he would go on to surpass Federer and have a winning record against him, in 2007, Djokovic was very much the underdog against the experienced Swiss.

In his first Slam final, the Serbian failed to make the most of his chances, not converting set points in the first and second set and allowing Federer to recover.

Two tie breaks in the first two sets came before a 6-4 win for Federer and the first punch of this rivalry was landed.

Federer won 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–2), 6–4

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1. Federer v Juan Martín del Potro – 2009

The upset of all upsets.

Heading into the 2009 final, a dominant Feder was on a run of five consecutive US Open titles and every sign pointed towards a sixth.

Del Potro had never beaten Federer with the Swiss winning their last six matches, all in straight sets, on a variety of surfaces.

But the first hint of a surprise result came in the semi-finals when Del Potro not only beat Nadal but did so in a commanding fashion. Three sets, all won 6-2, put Del Potro into his first Slam final.

In that final, Federer entered as favourite and a 6-3 score in the first game suggested it would be light work for the Swiss. Instead, Del Porto fought back, winning the next set 7-6 before losing again in the third.

A fourth set win, again via tie break, set up a deciding set but Del Potro’s forehands and brave play broke Federer’s aura of invincibility.

The Argentinian won the final set 6-2, bringing an end to the four-hour macth and becoming the fourth man from his country to win a slam.

Del Potro won 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–2

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Nick Kyrgios believes Novak Djokovic has less than a year of tennis in him and revealed a telling conversation they shared at Indian Wells.

After a career lasting 23 years, much thought has been given to when Djokovic may finally hang up the racket, joining Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer in retirement.

For now, the 38-year-old has kept tight-lipped on any possible exit but Kyrgios believes the most successful player in men’s game history does not have many tournaments left in him.

Speaking on the All on the Table podcast, Kyrgios revealed a conversation he had in the dressing room with Djokovic during Indian Wells that hinted he may not have long left.

“I think he’s got to be finished soon,” Kyrgios said. “Like, come on, what more? I asked him this at Indian Wells this year. We were in the locker room and I said ‘why are you here? Why are you playing?’ He just goes ‘I don’t know.’

“I go ‘what about your kids, I know you want to spend time with your family’. He said ‘yeah, I don’t know’. That was the first time I think he misses his family a lot. I stay in touch with him all the time.

“I can’t see him playing for more than another year. Not again. Not the whole year again. He is so professional. I am just speaking from my experience if I had a family like his and kids.

“It’s like Andy Murray. It’s like you play your whole career and then you retire and you don’t spend any time at home, you just go straight into coaching again. If I was his partner I would be so angry!”

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Djokovic hinted at a possible planned exit date when he spoke after his semi-final loss at Roland Garros. In his speech to the crowd, the Serbian said that it could well be his last game on the court.

“This could have been the last match ever I played here – I don’t know. That’s why it was a bit more emotional at the end. But if this was the farewell match of Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere and what I got from the crowd.”

Pressed further on that he added: “I don’t know right now. Twelve months at this point in my career is quite a long time. Do I wish to play more? Yes, I do. But will I be able to play in 12 months’ time here again? I don’t know. That’s all I can say for the moment.”

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Novak Djokovic has been told that it is his mentality, not his physicality, that will prevent him from winning a 25th Grand Slam.

The Serbian is undoubtedly towards the end of his career but still continues to go deep in tournaments, reaching the semi-final in all three slams this year.

But with the rise of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, there is much debate over whether Djokovic, the most successful male player of all time, will ever win another slam.

Djokovic himself has suggested his body moves a little slower but the 38-year-old has been told that his inability to win is in his head, not his body.

“From my opinion, is only here,” Patrick Mouratoglou said whilst pointing to his head on the All on the Table podcast.

“Only because the guy wins three grand slams and in the final of the fourth, three months later, the guy is nowhere. It’s impossible.

“He didn’t lose his tennis he’s just realised that he would be the best of all time because Rafa [Nadal] was out.

Djokovic surpassed Nadal for the record number of slams won after his victory at the 2023 French Open. Since then, Djokovic has won just one more slam as well as the 2024 Olympics.

“You know the thing he was fighting for 15 years, suddenly there is no more goal,” Mouratoglou continued. “So I think he completely lost the motivation, which is easy to understand. It’s normal.

“He got motivated again just for the Olympics, and then he was a beast at the Olympics.”

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Mouratoglou did suggest that the one motivation Djokovic has left is to show he can still mix it with the top of the game, as seen in his match at Roland Garros against Sinner.

“I don’t know if you saw his match against Sinner at Roland Garros but I felt he was more in demonstration mode than really wanting to win. I exaggerate a little

“If he really wanted to win, I feel he would have won. That’s crazy, but he’s such an unbelievable competitor, I think he would have won.

“But he just wanted to feel I can beat, I can potentially beat those guys. They’re not miles away from me. And I want to, I want to enjoy the moment. I want the crowd to like me. I want to do a nice press conference after. I exaggerate but I felt this the whole match.”

Read next: Jannik Sinner’s coach in retirement decision U-turn as 2026 plans revealed

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Iga Swiatek has admitted that her Wimbledon triumph is still “hard to describe” as she reflected on her triumph in a new Instagram post.

World No 3 Swiatek captured her first Wimbledon title last Saturday with a historic 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Amanda Anisimova, needing just 57 minutes to defeat the American in an extraordinary result.

Victory saw the Pole become the first player from her nation to triumph in singles at the All England Club, and become just the eighth woman to complete the ‘Surface Slam’, having now won major titles on hard, clay, and grass courts.

Swiatek’s victory on Centre Court ended a 13-month trophy drought amid recent form struggles, with the Pole ultimately dropping just one set over the fortnight on her way to her sixth Grand Slam title.

Wimbledon had statistically been the 24-year-old’s weakest Grand Slam tournament before 2025, with just one previous quarter-final showing to her name.

However, her rampant run to the title has cemented her return to form and further seals her place in the record books as a champion at the oldest and most prestigious tournament in tennis.

Swiatek revealed in her post-final speech that winning the title had always felt “way too far” away, and, in a new post on social media, admitted the magnitude of her triumph was still sinking in.

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She wrote: “Winning Wimbledon was always such a distant dream for me that it actually has never crossed my mind to think about it.

“It’s hard to describe the emotions that arise in me now that this dream has come true. Even after these few days I am still putting it together in my mind.

“I am very happy and proud that working day after day and having the support of my team in every situation (as I said after the game, sometimes they believed in me more than I believed in myself), we achieved something so magical.

“Now I understand this uniqueness and, in a way, the momentousness of this tournament. I will never forget these emotions and experiences as much as I will always remember how much work on and off the court it cost me to get to this place.

“And now it’s time to catch my breath.”

After her Wimbledon triumph, Swiatek is currently set to return to action at the Canadian Open, which gets underway in just under a fortnight.

The Pole has never previously triumphed at the tournament and skipped the event in 2024 due to her Paris 2024 Olympic Games campaign, as did a handful of other ATP and WTA players.

Swiatek is then set to play the Cincinnati Open, where she was a semi-finalist in 2024, before the final Grand Slam tournament of the year at the US Open, which starts on August 24th.

The world No 3 is set to play in the revamped mixed doubles tournament alongside Casper Ruud prior to the singles event, before she competes for what would be a seventh Grand Slam singles title.

Swiatek previously triumphed at the US Open back in 2022, beating Ons Jabeur in the final.

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