Reason Why Alcaraz Needs To Go To 'Another Elite Level' Named By Williams' Ex-Coach

Carlos Alcaraz's current high level will not be good enough in the future because of Jannik Sinner, according to Serena Williams' former coach, Rick Macci.

Alcaraz is a four-time Grand Slam champion despite being just 21 years old. Some, like John McEnroe, consider him to be the most complete player at that age in tennis history.

With Novak Djokovic now in the latter stages of his career, there may have been concerns about Alcaraz dominating the sport in a similar way to Roger Federer from 2004-2007. The Swiss maestro won 11 of the 16 Grand Slams during those years.

Federer would almost certainly have won more if it were not for Rafael Nadal, who retired at the Davis Cup Finals. The 14-time French Open champion defeated him from 2005 to 2008 at Roland Garros before he and Djokovic began to challenge Federer at other Grand Slams.

Djokovic won three Grand Slams in 2023, but his level finally dropped this year. The Serbian failed to secure a Grand Slam for the first time since 2017, which opened up an opportunity for other players to exploit.

Alcaraz did this by winning the French Open and his second Wimbledon title this year. However, his season was bettered by Sinner's outstanding consistency from the start of 2024 until the very end.

Sinner's hard-court dominance has been particularly incredible. He won the Australian Open and US Open, the ATP Finals, and three Masters 1000 tournaments on the surface throughout the 2024 season.

Those achievements were the principal reasons he became the year-end No. 1. However, Sinner's level did not drop during his final tournament of the season, the Davis Cup Finals, and he sealed Team Italy's place in the final against the Netherlands.

The Italians beat Argentina in the quarterfinal, and its captain, Guillermo Coria, called Sinner one of the best No. 1s in tennis history. That is a significant claim, given the number of great champions the sport has seen.

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Macci, in his posts on X (formerly Twitter), said Sinner's game has many elements that can be improved, meaning Alcaraz will need to get even better to achieve further success in response to his rival.

Interestingly, Alcaraz is the only man to consistently beat Sinner in 2024. He triumphed against the Italian at the Indian Wells Open and French Open before outlasting him in the final of the China Open.

Sinner stopped that losing streak at the Six Kings Slam exhibition, but that match was not counted in their official head-to-head. The prospect of their matches becoming even better if they improve is very exciting.

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