Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have raised the standards in men’s tennis to ‘unfair levels’, according to former British No 1 Tim Henman.
Sinner and Alcaraz have become the new dominant forces in men’s tennis, sharing all of the last seven Grand Slam titles between them and contesting the last two Grand Slam finals at the French Open and Wimbledon.
The duo are a few steps ahead of their rivals in men’s tennis and sparked some suggestions that they are playing at a higher level than the legendary trio of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Now Henman has given his verdict on the rise of Sinner and Alcaraz, he he paid the young duo the ultimate tribute by suggesting the success in raising standards have made it impossible for their rivals to compete with them.
“I think what they’ve done in such a short period of time is absolutely incredible,” Henman told Sky Sports News.
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“There were understandable concerns about who the next generation was going to be in the men’s because of what Federer, Nadal and 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.”
Hubert Hurkacz has played Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Sinner and Alcaraz and the Polish star told Tennis365 that the two young guns who have started to sweep up Grand Slam titles strike the ball harder than the trio who were so hard to beat during their era of dominance.
Tim Henman holds a Sky Sports mic
“It’s difficult to say who wins when they are all playing their best tennis,” Hurkacz told Tennis365 at an Adidas event in London.
“I feel like the level is growing every single year, and obviously, we can say the level is better than it was ten years ago, but that is not to say Roger, Rafa, Novak and Andy could not get to where we are now.
“They also improved every year and raised the bar, so if they were playing now, they would still be improving.
“What we can say is Jannik and Carlos are playing at an incredible level now and it is up to the rest of us to work hard to keep up with them.
“That’s why I wake up every morning and work so hard to try and reach those levels. They are setting a big target now, so that is what we have to aim for.”
Sinner and Alcaraz are set to return to action at the end of this month, with the duo set to play at the ATP 1000 Canadian Open.
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