The Madrid Open 2024 has seen more than its fair share of injuries. Jakub Mensik, Daniil Medvedev, Jiri Lehecka, and Jannik Sinner, all retired hurt during their matches, whereas Carlos Alcaraz suffered an arm injury amidst his loss to Andrey Rublev. Now, putting things into perspective, Novak Djokovic superfan Pavvy G has urged other fans to get realistic in their expectations when it comes to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz and Sinner are the two big names that concern the tennis world, as they are constantly labeled as the next ‘Fedal’ of tennis. Sinner took the tennis world by storm after winning the 2024 Australian Open. Alcaraz, on the other hand, has been regularly winning tournaments for the past two years, none sweeter than beating Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
There have been countless parallels drawn between them and ‘Fedal’ by experts and fans. Federer and Nadal have won 20 and 22 Grand Slams respectively throughout their careers that span 4 decades collectively. Alcaraz will turn 21 on Sunday and has won 2 Grand Slams already (2022 US Open and 2023 Wimbledon), whereas Sinner won his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open 2024. So the Spaniard and Italian are expected to play more as well as win almost every time they take to the tennis court.
They have a long and illustrious career ahead of them, but not everyone can be a Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. Lofty expectations could make Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner try too had perhaps to be like those legends and that in turn, might be harming them mentally, and then physically according to Pavvy G, who wrote:
“Sinner and Alcaraz have both had ridiculous expectations and hype put on them. They’ve been branded to be the next Fedal and the next GOATS both are young lads and the pressure that it puts on their shoulders of course will attribute to not only physical issues but also mentally.”
It’s not just the fans, but the media as well who draws such parallels. Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal have had a lot of similar achievements at the age of 20. Alcaraz idolizes Nadal, and his power-hitting ability overall, and his swiftness and elegance on clay are also very reminiscent of Nadal. Even Roger Federer once saw similarities between the two Spaniards.
Pavvy G’s post did again take a dig at fans for invoking Federer and Nadal in comparisons and it got mixed reactions from the tennis community on X –
Jannik Sinner has reminded many of Roger Federer. He started the 2024 season with 15 consecutive wins, nearly getting to Federer’s record of 17 at the beginning of the 2018 season.
The current World No.2 is also the 3rd player after Nadal and Federer to defeat Djokovic at the Davis Cup, ATP Finals, and the Grand Slams i.e. Australian Open 2024. With a likeness for skiing and sponsorship with Nike, the comparisons with Federer just don’t end.
As if the Federer comparison wasn’t heavy enough, Sinner’s playing style is also very similar to Novak Djokovic since the Italian relies on playing more from the baseline and power-hitting.
When Novak Djokovic Reserved the Highest Praise for Carlos Alcaraz
The 2023 Wimbledon Championships was iconic for many reasons. While it placed a dent in Djokovic’s otherwise flawless year, winning 3 out of 4 Grand Slams, it also saw the 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz upset a legend, playing at his very best.
After the match, Novak Djokovic had some words of high praise reserved for the youngster as he compared Alcaraz to himself, Federer and Nadal. The Serb was quoted as saying:
“I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so, about his game being consisting of certain elements from Roger, Rafa, and myself. I would agree with that. I think he’s got the basically, best of all 3 worlds…”
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic are the Big Three of tennis. Comparing any young, up-and-coming talent to them is unfair to the youngsters and to the legends. Therefore, Pavvy G is right in calling out the unrealistic expectations of many fans.
But players like Alcaraz and Sinner are also exciting prospects as tennis needs new champions as Nadal and Djokovic are aging. Both the youngsters have done well in keeping interest in men’s tennis alive considering their experience, so the hype around them is expected to be huge and that is something they will have to learn to manage.
