Carlos Alcaraz is widely recognised as a tennis phenomenon for the way in which he has taken the sport by storm.
At just 20 years old he already boasts two Grand Slam titles, and has enjoyed a few historic battles already with Novak Djokovic where there was little to separate the two.
His place as the world number two is an indisputable one, but now his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, has outlined one player on tour who is just like the Spanish superstar.
But who has the 44-year-old compared to his player? We take a closer look…
What Juan Carlos Ferrero said about Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner is expected to be a generational rival for Alcaraz across the next decade, and although he was perhaps underrated due to the meteoric and eye-catching rise of the 2023 Wimbledon champion, he is now showing the world why he deserves to be named alongside the best.
Currently enjoying a 15-match winning streak that has propelled him to two titles already this season, it promises to be a hugely profitable 2024 for the 22-year-old.
And so, Ferrero has rightly named Sinner as a source of motivation for Alcaraz, whilst also outlining what has earned the Australian Open winner his success thus far.
He claimed: ‘We already saw Sinner working very well two years ago and we knew that this moment was going to come; He has been knocking on the door for a long time, we saw him playing tennis to win Grand Slams.
‘Physically, maybe it was a little doubt because he was a very thin player, but once he trained and matured, he achieved it. He is a player to keep in mind for all tournaments, an important candidate to win, just like Carlos.
‘I think his appearance was a bit like when Rafa and Roger appeared, who between them were pushing the car, until then Novak came in, who is now a bit the one pushing Carlos and Sinner.
‘I told Carlos last year, when Novak won the Masters (ATP Finals) with that level: ‘Have you seen that? Now what we have to do is train like animals to reach Novak’s level. Jannik is going to do it and we have to do it.’ And he answered me: ‘Yes, yes, yes, let’s go with everything.’
‘In other words, it is a motivation. It’s contagion. Between the three of them, and they have to pass to the others, to [Alexander] Zverev, to [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, to [Holger] Rune, they have to feed each other.’
Jannik Sinner has matured magnificently in recent years
Although he still boasts a gangly frame which is hardly indicative of peak athleticism, the way in which Sinner has matured both mentally and physically in recent years has been magnificent.
Clearly, despite not boasting the tree trunk biceps that Alcaraz does or the chiselled physique of Djokovic, the Italian has more than enough power and finesse to compete at the elite level.
This is even reinforced by his recent rise in the ATP rankings too, with his win in Rotterdam now moving him alongside this duo as the third-best player in men’s tennis at the moment.
It would have been easy to write off such an unassuming player like Sinner merely due to how he looks, but in the last 12 months or so he has gone about ripping up the rule book and establishing himself as one of the sport’s finest players.
Winning his first Grand Slam title last month has solidified this notion, and given his triumph in the Davis Cup too as well as his latest title success just last week, there is seemingly no stopping the youngster.
The sky truly is the limit for Sinner, who will surely be breathing down Alcaraz’s neck come the end of 2024 should he maintain his form despite one commentator preferring the Spaniard to enjoy a better year.
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