Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have a pretty good relationship as they showed during this year's preseason practice sessions but the rivalry can get in the way of that.
Rivalries are an interesting thing because they can be perceived differently by different players. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer had a fierce rivalry and still maintained a pretty strong relationship off the court, something resembling a friendship.
It's a bit different for Novak Djokovic, who respects both tremendously, but they never had a proper friendship. Alcaraz and Sinner have been rather friendly with each other as of now.
Despite playing a couple of big matches, they're really solid off the court. They even practiced together before this season, which shows their friendly rivalry. According to Alcaraz's coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, that can change.
As Ferrero told Marca, the more they play each other, the more emotions will get involved, and over time, that can strain any friendly relationship. The hope for Ferrero is that it remains the way it has been so far.
"Yes, yes, and on many occasions it is not easy because it is one of your biggest rivals or your biggest rival. The more times you play and the more defeats you have that can hurt, that relationship is not easy to be fluid. The two of them have a super healthy, super good relationship. Carlos sees the things that Jannik does well and they will feed off each other's level."
This rivalry is going to be the cornerstone of any tennis story moving forward because it is shaping up to be 'the rivalry' for the next decade.
There are some other players like Holger Rune who can insert themselves into the narrative but right now, it's Alcaraz and Sinner who are the forefront. With the two, tennis is likely in safe hands.
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