1976 French Open champion Adriano Panatta believes Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will lead tennis in the coming years in a similar manner to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Alcaraz and Sinner have already developed an outstanding rivalry. The latest installment of this was in Indian Wells, where the Spaniard dramatically recovered to hand Sinner his only loss so far in 2024.
The Italian responded to that setback by winning the Miami Open. He has been the standout player so far this year, with Andy Roddick comparing Sinner to Nadal's clay-court dominance.
Alcaraz's run to the title in Indian Wells was his first since his famous triumph at Wimbledon last year. Despite fans loving his electrifying tennis, some think Alcaraz needs to become more boring to be even more successful.
It remains to be seen if the Spaniard eventually does this. But a much more obvious reality is that Alcaraz and Sinner are going to be stars of the sport for many years to come.
However, Panatta has gone even further with recent comments he made to Ubitennis. He believes Alcaraz and Sinner will become the 'queen couple' of tennis in a manner that mimics Federer and Nadal.
"For me, Alcaraz will be one of the protagonists of 2024. Nole (Djokovic) less, in my opinion. In the long run, Carlos will emerge. Sinner-Alcaraz will be the queen couple of the circuit in the coming years, retracing what Federer-Nadal has done in the past years,"
His mention of Novak Djokovic is another interesting element of his remarks. While the 24-time Grand Slam champion has had a difficult start to 2024, some may think it is too early to say Djokovic will be one of the lesser protagonists of the season.
The Serbian has thrived so many times after being written off and will hope to do so again. But Sinner and Alcaraz having an incredible rivalry in the coming years seems like a much safer prediction.
Hopefully, 2024 will bring more great matches between that pair and the other top players in the men's game.
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