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How Long Before We Get Tired of Jannik Sinner vs Carlos Alcaraz?

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Antonio Sepe | Last updated Sep 14, 2025 7:45 AM ET

For the third Grand Slam in a row, the final was between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The two have also faced each other in the finals of the last five marquee tournaments and have split the last eight Grand Slams. It’s a great response to those who feared that tennis would decline after the retirement of the Big Three. But as soon as Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal stepped away, they were replaced by two younger players who created a similarly fierce rivalry.

What all four share is having to deal with Novak Djokovic. However, the Serbian has struggled over the past year to challenge Jannik and Carlos, despite still being clearly the best player among everyone else in the world. And he hasn’t been able to prevent “Sincaraz” finals at the biggest events. The question is: will anyone be able to? And when? Djokovic himself recently said tennis needs a “third wheel,” a role he played against Roger and Rafa. But what if no third contender emerges, and it’s just Sinner and Alcaraz? Would that be good for tennis?

The Rivalry Fans Want

As things stand, there’s no doubt that Sinner–Alcaraz is what everyone wants – from fans to broadcasters to almost anyone invested in the sport. Their French Open final was one of the best matches of this century, and their battle for the top spot in the ATP rankings has been compelling.

That match in Paris was the peak of their rivalry, but since then they haven’t been able to replicate it. The Wimbledon final ended in four sets but wasn’t close, with Sinner clearly the better player. The same happened at the US Open, where Alcaraz won in four sets despite dominating from start to finish. And in Cincinnati there was barely a final at all, as Sinner wasn’t feeling well and retired after just five games.

In his book “The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and His Kingdom of Clay“, tennis journalist Christopher Clarey wrote that things would have been monotonous if it had only been Federer vs. Nadal, even if those two were legends. It was Djokovic who broke that monotony, at the cost of being cast as the “villain.” What about now?

A Challenger Is Needed

To answer the question in the title: not anytime soon. Maybe in four or five years, unless something changes. It’s not the first time in history that a few players have dominated tennis. But everything is temporary. Even if it’s hard to imagine now, eventually both Sinner and Alcaraz will lose a Slam to someone else. What tennis really needs is another player who can genuinely challenge them.

The problem isn’t that some of their finals are slightly boring – Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal also played some less-than-thrilling matches against each other. The issue is that Sinner and Alcaraz are reaching finals largely unchallenged. Between them, they’ve only needed one fifth set each to reach the finals of the last three Grand Slams.

Alcaraz played his in the first round of Wimbledon against Fabio Fognini. Even though it lasted over four hours, he never really seemed in danger of losing. Sinner’s toughest moment came when he was down two sets to love against Grigor Dimitrov, also at Wimbledon. But it’s unclear whether Dimitrov could have finished the job even if he hadn’t been injured.

All in all, Sinner–Alcaraz is undeniably good for tennis, and the prospect of the two of them battling for the sport’s most prestigious titles in the coming years is exciting. Still, it would be refreshing to see a different outcome now and then – perhaps Djokovic wins his 25th Slam, an American ends the 22-year drought, or a non-European player finally breaks the streak that has lasted since 2010 (the last one was Juan Martín del Potro at the 2009 US Open).

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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