Carlos Alcaraz unfiltered on Jannik Sinner: "We can both do without"

Fighting no holds barred and respect off the court, Carlos Alcaraz in an interview with Vanity Fair talked about the rivalry with Jannik Sinner that has changed the face of the ATP circuit in the last two years. The two outfielders have faced each other 17 times, with mixed results even though the Spaniard is ahead 10-7. Unlike many other dualisms, their off-court relationship is not only cordial but also friendly.

“We are showing the world that we can give our best on the court, try to inflict as much damage as possible on our opponent, try to beat each other, and then, off the court, just be two guys who get along very well,” said the Iberian, currently out of action due to a wrist injury.

Alcaraz explained that there is almost a partnership between the two: “We help each other to give our best. Therefore, there is no need to hate each other: “We can definitely do without each other, we fight for the same goal but there is no need to hate each other because we want the same thing. When you compete at this level, having a deep friendship is complicated… But it can be done. I am absolutely in favor of it.”

At the moment Carlos does not want to make comparisons with the great rivalries of the past such as McEnroe-Borg or Federer-Nadal. “Rivalries are long processes. It’s not comparable to historical tennis rivalries because we both still have so many years of our careers ahead of us. I hope we will continue to play against each other many times, in many finals, and share victories in the most important tournaments.”

The void left by Alcaraz in Rome has also opened up space for new players. Boris Becker, who was in the capital for a celebratory event, spoke enthusiastically of young Spaniard Rafael Jodar, class of 2006, pointing to him as one of the most promising talents on the circuit: “I am a big fan of Jodar. He has an incredible mentality despite being very young. On a mental level, he reminds me a lot of Jannik Sinner.”