Former Italian ATP star Paolo Bertolucci has asserted that there are “no real challengers” to Carlos Alcaraz Jannik Sinner and argued this is “the most serious problem” in tennis.
Alcaraz and Sinner have each won four of the last eight Grand Slam tournaments, and the duo have met in five consecutive finals when competing in the same event (Rome, French Open, Wimbledon, Cincinnati and US Open).
The pair will face off in the final at the 2025 Six Kings Slam exhibition in Riyadh on Saturday. The winner will secure $6 million — the biggest paycheque in the sport.
Alcaraz and Sinner both progressed to the final with dominant semi-final wins, with the former beating Taylor Fritz and the latter defeating Novak Djokovic.
After Sinner’s one-sided 6-4, 6-2 win over Djokovic in Saudi Arabia, Bertolucci sent a warning to the ATP players chasing the leading duo.
“Last night, the gap between the world’s number two and number three was starkly evident, Djokovic, while still an immense champion, is no longer able to keep up with the pace of Sinner or Alcaraz in long matches, the ones that truly matter,” said the former world No 12.
“He admitted it himself: in five-set matches, he can no longer sustain that level of intensity. Yet, even in exhibitions, the difference was noticeable.
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“Not due to any fault of his own, but because world tennis is currently experiencing an obvious void: behind the two dominators, there are no real challengers.
“This is the most serious problem, even more than the natural decline of veterans. When Sinner and Alcaraz play, they almost always reach the final; when they’re absent, the outcome becomes unpredictable, and this imbalance is a warning sign for the entire sport.
“It’s true that all sports go through cycles of exceptional talent, but in tennis, the generational gap has become enormous.
“[Alexander] Zverev and [Daniil] Medvedev now seem out of the race, [Jack] Draper has lacked the necessary consistency, and the gap with [Casper] Ruud is clear. Even [Holger] Rune, who was supposed to be the third contender among the young players, has stalled.
“On the horizon, there are no figures ready to join the fight. [Joao] Fonseca will need at least a couple of seasons; he must build himself physically and learn to handle the circuit’s demands.
“Until then, the Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly will continue to dominate without question, and it will likely do so for the next four or five years. When two phenomena emerge together, the gap with the rest of the field tends to widen.”
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