Tennis legend John McEnroe believes the arrival of a third young contender could take the Carlos Alcaraz–Jannik Sinner rivalry to even greater heights.
The duo recently produced a French Open final for the ages, with 22-year-old Alcaraz saving three match points and rallying from two sets down to beat Sinner in the longest Roland Garros final ever. They’ve now split the last six Grand Slam titles evenly and head into Wimbledon as co-favourites.
“It’s going to be an interesting time to see if there’s another player or two who can break in with those two the way Novak (Djokovic) did when he was trying to get to the same level as Roger (Federer) and Rafa (Nadal),” McEnroe told reporters. “It shows you what type of a player he was that he was able to do that. But right now, there’s a void.”
McEnroe mentioned 19-year-old Jakub Mensik, 18-year-old Joao Fonseca, and American Ben Shelton as potential challengers. “One of those two guys or Ben would be my choice right now. I think it would be important to get another guy or two to add to the mix. That would be really helpful.”
While Djokovic, Federer and Nadal formed a once-in-a-generation trio, McEnroe sees potential for a new golden era led by Alcaraz and Sinner — provided they stay fit. “It was unheard of what we watched over the last 20 years, and you can make the argument that what we’re seeing now is even faster and different… I can’t wait to see what it’s going to be like in 10 years, or five years even.”
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com