Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have already recorded legendary careers in professional tennis.
Between them, the two have captured a total of 55 ATP Tour-level titles, including 11 Grand Slam crowns.
Alcaraz has seven major titles to his name, which is already as many as both John McEnroe and Mats Wilander.
Who is the better hard court player – Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner?
Sinner, on the other hand, has four Grand Slams and is the overwhelming favourite to clinch his fifth at this year’s Wimbledon.
The ‘new two’ look set to earn as many majors as the all-time leader, Novak Djokovic, which Rafael Nadal thinks they will need to do to be considered the greatest of all time.
Rafael Nadal discusses Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
Asked in an interview with CNBC if he thinks Sinner or Alcaraz can become the ‘GOAT’, Nadal replied: “It’s all about numbers.
“I mean, when I say Novak is the best tennis player in history, it’s because the numbers say that. And we need to think about numbers when we say who the GOAT is.
“To answer your question, the numbers will say that in the future. I don’t know. I mean, you need to play well for a super long time.
Is men’s tennis boring without Carlos Alcaraz?
“Today, it looks like they don’t have rivals. It depends on if new great rivals arrive on the tour as to how tough they’re going to have it to keep winning that often.
“And they need to stay away from injuries. You never know. I mean, life is unpredictable and tennis too.”
The all-time leaders in men’s singles Grand Slam titles
Djokovic leads the all-time list in men’s singles Grand Slam titles, with a record tally of 24 and counting.
Just behind him are his two longtime rivals, Nadal and Roger Federer, who clinched 22 and 20, respectively.
After the ‘big three’, the player with the next highest total is Pete Sampras, who once held the record with 14.
Trailing Sampras is Roy Emerson on 12, followed by Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg, who both won 11 major titles.
Just one player has exactly 10: Bill Tilden. No player in history has exactly nine, while Fred Perry, Ken Rosewall, Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl each have eight.
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