Jannik Sinner has been warned that he has only won the phoney war with his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, with the titles that really matter still a little distance over the horizon.
Alcaraz appeared to have moved clear of Sinner in the battle between the two dominant players in men’s tennis when he clinched his first Australian Open and became the youngest male to complete a career Grand Slam of all four major titles.
Sinner has snapped back in impressive fashion as he completed the ‘Sunshine Double’ by winning the Indian Wells and Miami Open titles, with his victory over Alcaraz in last weekend’s Monte Carlo Masters final securing his return to the top of the rankings.
The balance of power at the top of men’s tennis appears to have tilted in Sinner’s favour for now, but former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has suggested the French Open at Roland Garros in June and the Wimbledon title are the two tournaments that matter over the next few weeks.
Speaking on the latest edition of his Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast, the 1997 US Open finalists suggested Grand Slams are more significant than rankings for the ‘Big 2’ in men’s tennis.
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“Sinner can probably take over as No 1 and Alacarz is like ‘yeah, no big deal’,” said Rusedski.
“For these guys right now, No 1 is important. They love to be the top dog, but for me, it’s all about winning majors.
“If Sinner goes on and he wins Madrid, he wins in Rome, but he loses in Roland Garros final, and Alcaraz wins Australia and wins in Paris, you know they would trade their Masters titles for the two majors.
“That’s where they want to peak, but also it’s a combination of confidence coming through.”
Rusedski went on to suggest Alcaraz is more vulnerable than Sinner, as he argued the rock solid Italian has a methodical approach that is tough to break down when he is at his best.
“I think it’s much more difficult to get through Sinner because of his return to serve,” he added.
“With Alcaraz, if you hit your spots, you can get on the front foot and you can knock him around the court a little bit because he’s not as tall
“As we saw with Valentin Vacherot on a few points in the semi-finals in Monte Carlo, when you have a big server, he’s not always comfortable.
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“If you look at Jannik, no matter what server he’s playing, whether it’s a big server, he always looks like he’s there and he’s in every return game. Also, his own serve numbers have been phenomenal.”
Alcaraz and Sinner may be exchanging the world No 1 ranking over the next few weeks, with Sinner favourite to be top of the list heading into the French Open and Alcaraz then having a chance to reclaim top spot at Wimbledon, where Sinner will be defending 2,000 ranking points from his win last year.
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