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Former World No.23 Names the Player Who can Compete With Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Fahad Hamid | Last updated Jul 18, 2025 6:29 PM ET

Former doubles player Luke Saville has shared a few names who could challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in important tournaments. He claimed that Joao Fonseca is the first of the new generation of players who could topple the current World No.1 and World No.2.

However, Saville believes that the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas cannot threaten Sinner or Alcaraz. Interestingly, all of these players crashed out of the first round of this year’s Wimbledon. Saville said on the latest episode of The Tennis:

I think everyone sees Joao Fonseca as the next challenger to those two players. There’s Carlos and Jannik, and then there’s a gap, at the moment. I feel like Medvedev, Zverev, and Tsitsipas, a few years ago, were kind of the three players everyone saw taking over the sport. Zverev has still played in several finals, but he hasn’t managed to win his first Grand Slam title yet.

Sinner and Alcaraz have won the last seven Grand Slam titles. Despite Zverev being the World No.2 at the start of the season, Alcaraz’s dominance during the summer season has strengthened his hold on the World No.2 ranking.

Meanwhile, Sinner has been on top of the ATP Rankings since June last year. His dominance at the top hasn’t been threatened despite being banned for three months due to a failed doping test.

Jannik Sinner vs Carlos Alcaraz: Who achieves Career Grand Slam first?

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are each one title away from completing a career Grand Slam, one of tennis’ most prestigious achievements. Winning all four majors — the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open — at least once is a rare feat that highlights a player’s skill across all surfaces.

Sinner has already won the Australian Open twice (2024, 2025), the US Open once (2024), and recently captured his first Wimbledon title in 2025 by defeating Carlos Alcaraz. The only missing piece for him is the French Open. He came heartbreakingly close in 2025, losing to Alcaraz in the final after holding match points and leading by two sets.

Looking ahead to 2026, Sinner will target Roland Garros once again. His strong recent form and clay-court ability make him a favorite, with Alcaraz being his main competition on the surface. If he succeeds, he will become the latest member of the elite career Grand Slam club.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, has claimed titles at the US Open (2022), French Open (multiple times), and Wimbledon. However, he has struggled at the Australian Open. Despite dominating the ATP Tour, he has yet to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne. Losses to Zverev in 2024 and Djokovic in 2025 ended his runs. He’ll aim to break that barrier in 2026 to complete his career Slam.

Francisco Cerundolo inches closer to Carlos Alcaraz’s clay court streak

Francisco Cerundolo advanced to the semi-finals at the Nordea Open in Bastad after a tough three-set match on Friday. The top-seeded Argentine defeated Damir Dzumhur 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 in a one-hour, 46-minute contest. Dzumhur struggled physically, taking three medical timeouts for a shoulder issue. Cerundolo now holds a 21-9 clay-court record this season, second only to Carlos Alcaraz.

With this win, Cerundolo moved up to No. 19 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He can match his career-high of No. 18 if he wins the title in Bastad. In the semi-finals, he will face Italy’s Luciano Darderi. Cerundolo leads their head-to-head record 2-1.

Darderi reached the semi-finals after a dominant win over fourth seed Sebastian Baez, defeating him 6-0, 6-2 in just over an hour. The 23-year-old Italian was strong on serve, losing only two first-serve points and facing no break points. Darderi is aiming for his third ATP final of the season after winning in Marrakech.

On the other side of the draw, Camilo Ugo Carabelli defeated Filip Misolic 6-3, 7-5 to make his third semi-final of the year. The Argentine has climbed to a career-high No. 50 in the live rankings. He will play Jesper de Jong next, who came from behind to beat fellow Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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