Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have forged a firm friendship over the years, despite their incredible rivalry in the biggest events in tennis.
The two men have shared the last nine Grand Slams and have met seven times in just over a year as they have established themselves as the ‘new two’ following on from the big three’s dominance.
Despite their epic rivalry on the ATP Tour, Sinner and Alcaraz have rarely ever shown any ill-will toward each other.
They often have kind words for each other in press conferences and it’s arguably become one of the nicest rivalries in tennis history.
However, Mark Petchey expects that to change once Alcaraz returns from the wrist injury which has forced him out of Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Comparing Sinner and Alcaraz’s rivalry to that of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in an interview with The Daily Express, Petchey said: “I don’t think any of the rivals over the years have been like mates.
“Yeah, Roger and Rafa are mates now, don’t tell me they were mates (when they were playing), I saw them the way they were in the Rome final back in ’06; the guys were stealing each other’s dreams.
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“The respect is massive, they love each other now, they get the whole rivalry and what it meant to the sport and to each other, and they’re intertwined at the hip for the rest of their lives, but in the heat of your career, to be cordial is a good effort, because you want to beat the guy on the other side of the court as badly as possible.”
Petchey believes Sinner and Alcaraz vying for the biggest tournaments in tennis could cause the pair to sour toward each other further down the line.
“They [Sinner and Alcaraz] have a lot of respect for each other,” he said. “It can last as long as not too many inflammatory situations crop up in matches, or you say the wrong thing, potentially something that they’re going to get offended by.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets a little bit more turbulent as it goes through at times, and then I think it will go back to kind of where it is. We live in a world of media saturation.
“At some point, probably something’s going to get said or done that neither of them loves that much, but I think the respect is too great that they’ll overcome any difficulties that they potentially have.”
Sinner and Alcaraz have only played each other once so far this season, which came in the Monte Carlo Masters final. The Italian won the match in straight sets to lift the title.
That was Sinner’s seventh win against his Spanish rival, although he still trails Alcaraz 10-7 in their head-to-head.
