The last week following the US Open has been dominated by the Davis Cup, as the World Cup of tennis returns to action.
Always an enthralling and unique dynamic for the sport, where players often famed for their solo exploits are forced into a team format, many stars relish this format as a break from the loneliness involved with being on the tour.
Carlos Alcaraz in particular has not been shy in voicing his excitement about joining up with his fellow Spaniards, with Pablo Carreno Busta one such teammate who has since spoken about the young superstar.
Pablo Carreno Busta warns Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
Chatting to Punto de Break after his country successfully navigated themselves out of the Davis Cup group stages, the Spaniard was naturally full of praise for compatriot Alcaraz.
However, when speaking about him and his main rival Jannik Sinner, he remained cautious, imploring them both to remain aware that success is far from guaranteed.
He warned: ‘They are still very young, both Sinner and Carlos. It’s clear that they are very good, but we already take it for granted that they will reign for the next 20 years like Roger, Rafa and Novak did.
‘Many things can happen, it is not easy to maintain the level of demand for so long, or the level of success to share the four grand slams, as has happened this year.
‘New people can also come along, another very good player can appear who is four years younger than Carlos, for example. I don’t think that the future belongs only to these two players, others will come along who will make things difficult for them, but it looks like these two will be there for many, many years.
‘Sinner has improved a lot, Carlos has consolidated, Novak is finding it a little bit harder to win. But the big difference I’ve noticed is in the rest of the players, especially from the top 20 onwards. Players that when I left [because of injury] were good, but were top 60 and top 80, now they are top 30.’
There’s unlikely to be anyone on Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz’s level
Although people probably said similar about Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and later Novak Djokovic, in the end, there is always the next generation waiting to emerge and challenge.
However, at this moment in time, there’s nobody who seems even close to a fully fit Sinner and Alcaraz.
After all, at 23 and 21 years old respectively, they have already surpassed what the entire generation that came before them managed with remarkable ease.
The Spaniard alone has more Grand Slam titles than every male born in the 1990s combined, which admittedly says more for the Big Three’s dominance than anything.
However, the point remains.
For now, their monopoly over the game is only just starting, with all four Grand Slam titles in 2024 shared between them to emphasise that notion.
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