Roger Federer weighs in on Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz rivalry

The budding rivalry between World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz has drawn comparisons with the iconic battles between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, especially for how the two young competitors bring the best out of each other.

Alcaraz — who grew up watching those Nadal versus Federer battles — further fueled those comparisons when he said that he "dreams" of forging a rivalry with Sinner that would push both players to raise their games to the "maximum level" and thereby help them carry the torch from Federer and Nadal.

So, does Federer see those similarities? In a recent interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, the 20-time major winner had a rather interesting take on the sport's blossoming rivalry.

"Sinner and Alcaraz like me and Nadal? It's still early, but Jannik and Carlos are from the same generation and are very strong," Federer said. "It seems to me that they respect each other a lot. They started off on the right foot, theirs promises to be a great challenge. It's nice to see them play."

To Federer's point, Sinner and Alcaraz share the sort of mutual respect rarely found among young athletes, especially when they're both chasing the same goals. 

Case in point: in the lead-up to their Roland Garros semi-final earlier this month, Alcaraz declared Sinner the "best player in the world" and went as far as to say that the Italian fills him with "the ambition to improve" every day. 

After Sinner lost in the five-set marathon, he was equally complimentary of Alcaraz, admitting that every matchup with the Spaniard makes him "a better tennis player" regardless of the outcome. 

The Sinner versus Alcaraz rivalry reached a fever pitch during the 2022 US Open quarterfinal, regarded by many as the best match of the 2020s. 

Since then, they've continued to dazzle tennis fans with riveting contests, including their latest clash in the French Open. Alcaraz took a 5-4 head-to-head lead in Paris but Sinner could repay the favor if the two young stars clash again at next month's Wimbledon.