Former British No 1 Dan Evans has fired a warning to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as they talk up their chances of matching the game’s all-time greats.
Alcaraz has made no secret of his desire to move past Novak Djokovic with the most Grand Slam titles in tennis, with the remarkable young Spaniard winning his first five finals in the biggest tournaments in tennis.
Sinner has won three Grand Slams since picking up his first at the Australian Open last year, with the duo contesting an epic final at the French Open last month that was instantly hailed as one of the best matches of all-time.
Tennis legend John McEnroe told TNT Sports at the French Open that Alcaraz and Sinner would be ‘favourites’ to beat prime Rafael Nadal on a surface he dominated more than any player in tennis history.
Yet Evans has told Tennis365 that such platitudes are misplaced, as he suggested 22-year-old Alcaraz and 23-year-old Sinner have a long way to go before they can be compared to the game’s all-time greats.
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“It’s easy after that kind of stuff and their amazing match in Paris, but Sinner and Alcaraz have to win a lot of Grand Slams before they get anywhere near the records Novak has set,” Evans told Tennis365, as he joined the TNT Sports panel for their live coverage of the Wimbledon finals.
“They are doing great at the moment, but they need to keep this up and their body has got to stay fit for a long time before they can start thinking about winning the number of Slams Novak has won.
“It’s an interesting debate and we can’t give a definitive answer on whether Sinner and Alcaraz are playing at a higher level than the previous generation, but I am still sticking with Roger, Rafa and Novak as they have the trophies on their list and the other two are still at the start of their careers.
“There is such a long way to go in the careers of Sinner and Alcaraz and we know that all five of these players are going to be all-time greats of the game. I guess we will find out at the end of their careers who ends up with the most Grand Slams.
“The only guy winning this debate at the moment is Novak. He got the most Grand Slams, he’s just won his 100th title. It’s all in his favour at the moment.
“We have to wait a few years to get the answer on how these five great players will be ranked.”
Evans was beaten by Djokovic in the second round at Wimbledon last week and while he has come up short in his recent battles with Sinner, Evans suggests his desire to fight on and beat the new generation of champions can only be admired.
“The other guys from that era may have been playing at a good level at the end of their career, but they didn’t have two generational players coming through and that’s where Djokovic is having a problem,” he added.
“I’m not saying they (Federer, Nadal and Murray) could not have competed with them, but Novak is trying to hang with Sinner and Alcaraz, go toe-to-toe with them. What Novak is doing is impressive, but it’s tough.”
Watch both singles’ finals from Wimbledon live on TNT Sports and its streaming platform discovery+ this weekend with Nick Kyrgios, CoCo Vandeweghe and Dan Evans offering their own insights and analysis during both matches. Coverage for the ladies’ and the gentlemen’s singles finals begins at 3:30pm.
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