Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have started their own era in men’s tennis after dominating the last seven Grand Slam events, yet former British No 1 Dan Evans has suggested their levels of consistency are ‘not normal’.
Sinner won his first Grand Slam title at last year’s Australian Open and backed that up with a win at last year’s US Open and a successful defence of his title in Melbourne in January.
Alcaraz has won two French Open titles and two Wimbledon titles over the last couple of years, with the new ‘Big 2’ in men’s tennis also making it through to this year’s Wimbledon final.
Such relentless consistency is remarkable for players who are at the start of their careers, with former British No 1 Dan Evans telling Tennis365 that their he duo are playing ‘beyond their years’ as they march to titles.
“The play older than their years,” Evans told Tennis365, as he joined the TNT Sports panel for their live coverage of the Wimbledon finals.
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“Jannik is so mature at the age of 23 and that makes you forget how young he is. It has become the norm for them to get to Grand Slam finals and to play brilliant tennis tournament after tournament, but that is not the form for players that young.
“Sometimes they have a slight blip and we are all surprised, but that is pretty normal for players of that age.”
Evans went on to suggest Sinner’s achievement of bouncing back from a French Open final defeat against Alcaraz that saw him fail to convert on three match points could have broken the spirit of some players, yet he found a way to bounce back quickly at Wimbledon.
“For Sinner to be where he is now after having that heartbreaker against Alcaraz in Paris says all you need to know about him,” he continued.
“To have the mental capacity and the guts to get up off the floor after that match and play as he has done at Wimbledon, to forget about it and not be angry, it’s a really special thing to do.
“For someone of his age and who has only been operating at the very top of the game for the last couple of years, it reminds you how good he is. Whatever happens on Sunday, it’s unbelievable the way he has come back from that final at Roland Garros. He should be massively proud of himself.
“He’s got everything in his game and he has the personality to go with it. Sinner is more of a steamroller who just blows his opponents off the court. He is more subdued, more focused and that’s why the rivalry is going to be such a good one. They seem to be polar opposites and that makes the rivalry so good to watch.”
Evans is in a great position to judge whether Sinner and Alcaraz are playing at a higher level than Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in their prime and he admits the new young guns may be ahead of the three most successful players of all-time in one area.
“Sinner and Alcaraz might hit the ball harder than Fed, Nadal and Novak, that’s probably fair to say,” he added.
“There is no doubt that Jannik and Carlos will be all-time greats of the sport, but they need to keep this up and their bodies have got to stay fit for a long time before they can start thinking about winning the number of Slams Novak has won.”
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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