Jannik Sinner, rival Carlos Alcaraz’s troubles: ‘He lost joy’
Jannik Sinner, rival Carlos Alcaraz’s troubles: "He lost joy"
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz shared Slam tournaments equally and both experienced a very satisfying 2024, but there is no denying the Murcia tennis player's marked decline in the second half of the year compared to his Italian rival. Alcaraz disappointed at the Australian Open and ATP Finals and è slipped to third in the ATP rankings, more than 4 thousand points behind the South Tyrolean.
A decline that Paul Annacone, famed coach of Roger Federer and current coach of Taylor Fritz, analyzed in an interview with Tennis Channel’s Inside In podcast.
"Carlos è a player full of joy. I think he lost some this year for multiple reasons. The defeat in the final in Paris 2024 against Novak Djokovic broke his heart a little bit, leaving a mark for the rest of the season. But he has an incredible mentality and a fantastic team, so there's no reason why it wasn't just a little turbulence along the way. È just a bump in the road".
Annacone remains cautious about comparing Sinner and Alcaraz to the greats of the past: "It"ll be fun to follow the rivalry" between Sinner and Alcaraz, but let’s not compare them to the “Big Three” yet. When guys like Andy, Roger, Rafa retired, all these younger players must have thought their time would finally come. Well, that time è now. Now they have a few more chances ù to achieve success".
