Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the two leading players on the ATP Tour at the moment.
Sinner and Alcaraz are the favourites for the US Open, and they have shared the last seven major titles together.
The most recent Grand Slam saw Sinner beat Alcaraz to win the Wimbledon title and get revenge from the Roland Garros final.
Many of Sinner and Alcaraz’s matches are thrillers, and now rising American talent Learner Tien has revealed which of the two players he prefers.
Learner Tien says he would give Carlos Alcaraz ‘the edge’ over Jannik Sinner
Like both Sinner and Alcaraz, 19-year-old Tien knows what it is like to have a breakthrough on the ATP Tour at a young age.
Tien, who has made big strides this year up to a career-high ranking of world number 55, has now spoken about Sinner and Alcaraz in a new interview with claytenis.com.
In this interview, the American teenager was asked which of the top two ATP players he prefers, with Tien giving Alcaraz ‘the edge’ over Sinner after revealing that the Spaniard actually got him into watching tennis more in 2021.
“The first person I kind of started watching when I really started liking to watch tennis was Alcaraz,” said Tien. “It was kind of when he was coming up.
“I think it might have been like 2021, kind of when he was starting to break through and he kind of pulled me into watching tennis. So I’d probably have to give him the edge there.”
In 2021, Alcaraz made his Grand Slam debut, won his first ATP title and the Next Gen Finals at the end of the year.
The praise is not one-sided, as Alcaraz praised Tien’s level earlier this year after his own breakthrough at the Australian Open.
Learner Tien reveals if he would want to play Novak Djokovic
Tien has never played either Sinner or Alcaraz before, nor 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
With it currently unclear as to when Djokovic will retire from tennis, Tien suggested that it would be ‘like a childhood dream’ to play the now 38-year-old.
“That would be really cool I think,” said Tien. “To play from anyone from that generation. I played [Kei] Nishikori and I lost, but it was still really cool, playing someone that you’ve seen for so long like on TV when I was really young.
“To see yourself in that screen playing as him is like a sensation. It’s pretty surreal. It’s definitely like a childhood dream to play against people you’re watching on TV.”
After his exit from the Cincinnati Open, Tien is now gearing up for his fourth main draw appearance at the US Open.
Tien has never won a single match at the US Open before, but this is the first year that he has entered the tournament directly through his ranking and not via a wildcard.
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