Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's abilities have been given a ringing endorsement by Thanasi Kokkinakis, who thinks it is fair to compare them to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.
Djokovic is the only man still playing from the trio that dominated the ATP Tour for several years. He, Nadal, and Federer are broadly considered the three greatest players ever to pick up a racket.
Federer retired at the 2022 Laver Cup after playing a doubles match with Nadal, with whom he shares a friendship despite their epic matches over the years, including the iconic Wimbledon final.
Nadal's career ended at last month's Davis Cup Finals. Unfortunately, the Spaniard lost his final match against Botic Van de Zandschulp, and Team Spain was eliminated after Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers lost the deciding match.
Some question how much longer Djokovic will keep competing. The gold medal he secured at this year's Olympics means the Serbian has now won every significant honor in tennis, something Nadal or Federer did not achieve.
Many feel it is too early to compare Alcaraz and Sinner to Djokovic, Nadal, or Federer. Nadal himself argued earlier this year that doing this would not be helpful to either of the young stars as they seek to establish themselves.
However, the outstanding level both men produced this year makes it understandable why some compare the duo to those three legends. They established themselves as the best players in the world in 2024.
Sinner won the Australian and US Opens, while Alcaraz claimed the French Open and Wimbledon. Their successes meant Djokovic failed to win a Grand Slam for the first time since 2017.
Speaking at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in London, Kokkinakis outlined why he thinks the comparisons are not unreasonable and highlighted how incredible Alcaraz and Sinner are.
“I think it’s fair to compare them to the Big 3. Accolades-wise, maybe it’s not as there is so much more of their career to play out, but in terms of ability and talent they are right up there. The stuff they can do is pretty special. The way Sinner and Alcaraz move… they are there with a prime Djokovic. They are going to be a the top for a very long time.”
Kokkinakis also chose Sinner and Alcaraz as the favorites for next year's Grand Slams. However, the Australian does not think Djokovic and Alexander Zverev's chances at the majors should be ruled out.
"Sinner and Alcaraz are the favourites, with Djokovic just behind them.Zverev is playing some great tennis, but you would say those Sinner, Alcaraz and Novak are just ahead of him."
"You can’t write Novak out. It looked like he was taking a bit of a decline and then he goes out and play like that and win the Olympic gold. That shows you can never write him out."
A few analysts have ranked Djokovic's chances of challenging for Grand Slams below Sinner's and Alcaraz's. The Serbian hired Andy Murray as his coach until at least the end of the Australian Open to give himself the best possible chance of winning majors.
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