Jannik Sinner has reflected on his rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz and the impact it has on tennis ahead of his US Open title defence.
The world number one has shared a number of memorable battles with Alcaraz this season which has included one of the greatest Grand Slam finals in history at Roland Garros.
However, the last meeting saw Sinner retire due to illness after five games in the Cincinnati final.
Now Sinner has recovered from illness, the Italian will hope to have another memorable match at the US Open.
Speaking ahead of his title defence, Sinner detailed what makes his rivalry so special as he admitted the contrasts in style makes the match so special, “Me and Carlos, we’re sharing big trophies, but at the same time, things can change,” Sinner was quoted by the US Open website as saying on media day.
“It’s good for the sport, but if we don’t continue to improve, players will catch us. It’s just a question of time. We have certain areas of the game that we can certainly work on. From my point of view, that’s a positive. It only makes me a better tennis player in the future.
“He is very fast on court. With other players, the point maybe could be over at times, but he reaches certain balls. He can read the game in a different way. We are two different players. We have different game styles, but also how we are off the court. It makes it very interesting. The only thing we have in common is that we practice very hard.”
It’s been an incredible journey for Sinner on his way to becoming the world number one as he searches for a fifth Grand Slam title in New York.
The world number one made an extraordinary revelation that he almost quit the sport if he wasn’t in the world’s top 200 by 23 years of age, “To my parents, I said that if I’m 23, 24, and around not inside the Top 200, I would stop playing, because we could not afford it with the money that we had,” Sinner explained to journalists.
“When you’re young, you just dream. You don’t even believe it. I sometimes used to say that I wanted to be No. 1 in the world, I wanted to win a Grand Slam. It’s really just a dream. It’s way beyond my dream, being in a position where I am now.”
Sinner will begin his campaign on Monday or Tuesday against world number 87 Vit Kopriva.
