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Former No. 1 shocks Carlos Alcaraz: "Jannik Sinner will take advantage"

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Carlos Alcaraz’s recent decision to part ways with longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero has left even a tennis legend like Todd Woodbridge, a legendary former world number one doubles player with 22 career Grand Slam doubles titles won. On Instagram Woodbridge commented on the world number one’s surprising choice this way, which he said could even prove ruinous: “I think it will be difficult for Carlos to win a Grand Slam tournament next year’year”.

Martino DavidiJannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz, the duopoly is coming to an end: tennis guru says so

Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz, the duopoly is about to end: the tennis guru says so
The'world-renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou has no doubt: a player is going to counter the dominance of the'Alto Adige and Murciano
"This year has grown exponentially, and is now coming"
Mouratoglou refers to Brazilian Joao Fonseca, new rising star of tennis
"He too has had ups and downs this'year. He has experienced what it means to feel incredible pressure"
"You can imagine how much the Brazilian fans support him, and it’s a big responsibility for such a young guy"

"He’s exploding like a bomb, just look at his ranking"

"He is the future of men’s tennis"
"He has the potential to compete in the coming years with Alcaraz and Sinner"

"He has everything it takes to be able to beat them"

Fonseca at 19 has already won two career ATP titles
He's the'only teenager in the top 100 of the ATP rankings

“We know he is capable, but I find this change disconcerting at this stage of his career. We are talking about one of the best player-coach pairs in history” said the Australian, who fears that Alcaraz’s performance will not benefit from this decision, indeed. “When Juan Carlos was not by his side in recent years, Carlos did not play as well. He could be seen looking toward the stands, more unsure. It will take months to get used to this situation”, Woodbridge continued.

The early favorite in this situation may well be Jannik Sinner himself: “Considering this change, I think Sinner now has an advantage, and I think he will achieve his Australian Open hat trick in Melbourne”. L’Azzurro has won the last two editions of the Australian tournament, beating Daniil Medvedev in 2024 and Alexander Zverev in 2025. Alcaraz, on the other hand, has always struggled in the Australian tournament. “Carlos will take months to get used to this new situation”, Woodbridge concluded in his review on Instagram.

Alcaraz and Sinner have shared every Grand Slam tournament in the past two years. Insiders say there are no players on the horizon to challenge them right away, and 2026 will still be a matter between these two great champions. Not counting exhibition matches, Sinner and Alcaraz faced each other six times in 2025, and always in the finals.

Carlos Alcaraz in 2025 got the better of Sinner on four occasions, winning in Rome, Roland Garros, Cincinnati and the US Open. L’Azzurro, on the other hand, captured the first Wimbledon tournament of his career, and closed the season by triumphing in Turin in the Nitto ATP Finals, overcoming his archrival in two sets.

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