{"id":1784,"date":"2026-02-24T15:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=1784"},"modified":"2026-02-24T15:00:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:00:22","slug":"carlos-alcaraz-and-jannik-sinner-comparisons-with-the-big-3-given-fresh-perspective-by-former-world-no-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=1784","title":{"rendered":"Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner comparisons with the \u2018Big 3\u2019 given fresh perspective by former world No 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

The debate over whether Carlos Alcaraz<\/a> and Jannik Sinner<\/a> have taken tennis to another level has been raging over the last couple of years and now a player from the era dominated by the \u2018Big 3\u2019 has entered the debate.<\/p>\n

Alcaraz and Sinner have won the last nine Grand Slam titles between them, ending the era of dominance that was led by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and concluded by Novak Djokovic.<\/p>\n

The levels Alcaraz and Sinner have produced as they have started their own era have inspired some experienced tennis observers like former Grand Slam champions John McEnroe and Mats Wilander to claim they are playing better tennis than Federer, Nadal and Djokovic<\/a>, even though that trio served up as they won 66 Grand Slam titles between them.<\/p>\n

Former world No 3 Ivan Ljubicic is perfectly placed to offer a verdict on this debate, as he played against Federer, Nadal and Djokovic on numerous occasions and beat all three during his career.<\/p>\n

He also coached Federer to a series of Grand Slam titles and was credited with improving the Swiss star\u2019s backhand as he roared back to Grand Slam-winning form, as he came back from injury at the start of 2017.<\/p>\n

More Tennis News<\/h2>\n

Is Jannik Sinner \u2018in a crisis\u2019? Grand Slam winner answers in strong message to Italian\u2019s critics<\/a><\/p>\n

Jannik Sinner \u2018a force to be reckoned with\u2019 as star backed for Sunshine Double resurgence<\/a><\/p>\n

So when he reflects on whether Alcaraz and Sinner are a step ahead of the three greats who won more Grand Slam titles than anyone in tennis history, he offers some perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell what\u2019s better. mean, you know, do we talk about the speed of the ball? Yes, they\u2019re hitting harder, you know,\u201d he began.<\/p>\n

\u201cI often look at the videos and the matches in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and the guys were not missing. They were so accurate,\u201d he said on the Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast<\/a>, referring to Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were so precise with shot selection. They were building up points. It was just different. That\u2019s why it\u2019s impossible to compare eras.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was different tennis. Now it\u2019s hit hard, stay close, hit hard, stay close. So I cannot classify something better than it was different. So you can compare what you can compare how many matches they played.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is definitely more physical now. It\u2019s faster in a way, but depending what you like. I like more tennis, but I think like every older guy, you like your times rather than the modern times.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it is fascinating, you know, how far we pushed our sport and how athletic it is. So it\u2019s impossible. It\u2019s literally impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, Roger [Federer] was playing better than [John] McEnroe. Yes, I guess, but you know, what\u2019s better? You know, how do you compare?<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe artificial intelligence one day will be able to come up with a formula that you can actually compare it, our brains, I don\u2019t think, are ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alcaraz and Sinner have a long way to go before they get a chance to challenge the records set by Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, but they are already among the game\u2019s all-time greats at the start of their careers.<\/p>\n

The longevity by the \u2018Big 3\u2019 at the top of the game is one of their greatest achievements and Alcaraz and Sinner will need to dominate for a decade a more before they can think about challenging their status as the all-time greats of tennis.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT: Carlos Alcaraz reaches stunning world No 1 milestone only one man can beat<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner comparisons with the \u2018Big 3\u2019 given fresh perspective by former world No 3<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The debate over whether Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have taken tennis to another level has been raging over the last couple of years and now a player from the era dominated by the \u2018Big 3\u2019 has entered the debate. Alcaraz and Sinner have won the last nine Grand Slam titles between them, ending the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}