Former WTA tennis player Andrea Petkovic recently talked about why people flock more to Carlos Alcaraz than Jannik Sinner.
The former German player has been around tennis for a very long time, so she's seen everything. She understands player and fan dynamics well after being somewhat of a crowd favorite herself, despite not reaching the highest highs on the WTA Tour.
On the one hand, the better a player is, the more appealing they are to a crowd because of simply what they can do. Being good isn't needed to become a crowd favorite, even though it helps tremendously.
In the case of Alcaraz, his skill set and what he does on the tennis court are enough to make any crowd fall in love with his tennis. Some other players, like Sinner, have to work harder for the same amount of attention.
According to Petkovic, who appeared on a recent episode of the Rennae Stubbs tennis podcast, there are reasons for that. In her mind, even when Alcaraz fails and is not playing well, he's still amazing to watch, while Sinner can be a bit boring even if he's winning.
However, on the flip side of that, when Sinner plays his absolute best, then he can be one of the most spectacular players in the world, so there are different sides to it.
"Why people flock to Carlos more. When Jannik doesn’t play well, as he didn’t the first week, he’s right away boring. Because he just plays it solid and the other one will eventually miss, then it’s boring. But when he plays well, he’s the most spectacular player in the world."
"And Carlos, when he fails, he still fails gloriously and I think that’s why people… the chaos is interesting to watch. I think that’s the difference between the two."
Interestingly enough, it's not the first time somebody used the word 'boring' to describe Sinner. He's a consistent player who does everything on a solid level, but he's out there to win a match.
He is not interested in playing flashy shots the way some other players might be. Alcaraz has been criticized for trying to impress too much when he plays his matches, so in a sense, they are opposites.
People would want Sinner to be a bit more like Alcaraz, but the Spaniard to be a bit more like Sinner. It just shows that a mix of both would be ideal, but there are no ideals in the real world. To her credit, Petkovic has defended Sinner in the past, calling it absurd that some think his tennis is boring.
"For anybody who finds his [Sinner's] tennis boring, I would urge you to try and see him live if you can. The way he moves, always in perfect balance, the way his body is leaned slightly forward as if going down a slope on skis, is a thing of beauty. No matter how hard you hit at him, he never falls out of his equilibrium."
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