'He can catch up to these guys': John Isner names player who will challenge Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz in the future

Men’s tennis has seen two names once again dominating the proceedings, just like the ‘Big Three’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the past. Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz have shared the last seven Grand Slams amongst them and also faced off in the final of the last two major competitions.

At the recently concluded Wimbledon, Sinner came out on top against Alcaraz with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Such is the domination of those two players that the players who were tipped to take the reins from the ‘Big Three’, such as Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, and Andrey Rublev, are no longer even in the discussion to win major titles.

Sinner and Alcaraz’s rise to the very top, on one hand, makes them the crowd favourite, but on the other hand, pushes the former players to look for someone who can push them in the future. One of the names that has been discussed over the last 12 months is Brazil’s young tennis sensation Joao Fonseca. The 18-year-old has already produced some incredible performances on the court, upsetting some of the big-name players. At the Australian Open this year, Fonseca secured a shocking win over number-nine seed player Russia’s Andrey Rublev in the opening set in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 3-6, 7-6.

In March, Fonseca secured his first maiden title at the highest level as he lifted the Argentina Open after beating local player Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-6. In the first round of the French Open, Fonseca secured another impressive result as he defeated Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

At the recently concluded Wimbledon, Fonseca’s journey ended in the third round as he lost to Chile’s Nicolas Jarry with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6. On his way to the third round, Fonseca defeated Britain’s Jacob Fearnley in the first round and America’s Jenson Brooksby in the second. Former American player John Isner has recently spoken on the Nothing Major Podcast, where he discussed the potential of Fonseca. Isner was of the opinion that Fonseca can become a force to be reckoned with in the next four years and compete with players like Sinner and Alcaraz for the big titles.

“He’s 18,” said Isner about Fonseca. “I remember Sinner at 18 or 19, I think I played him when he was 19. He was not nearly as good as he is now. He has improved so much from then, four years ago, to where he is now. I know we pump up Fonseca a lot but for the sake of the health of our sport and I actually do believe this, I am going to say yes, he can catch up to these guys and get to the conversation. I am not saying that it’s next year or the year after but in the next four or five years he can be in the conversation where he is one of the top four favourites to win each slam he enters. So I am going to say yes but not to the level they are at. I think he can get to the level where he is expected to make the final four.

However, Isner was unsure whether Fonseca would be able to dethrone the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz, who, according to him, are still improving every passing day. “Well, not quite [sure that Fonseca will be able to dethrone Sinner and Alcaraz from the very top],” said Isner. “But he’s going to be up there. It’s hard to say he’s going to be as good as Sinner is in four years but I think he can compete with these guys in four years. He is not going to roll off four Slams in two years, but I think he can win one or two in the span of two or three years.”