Carlos Alcaraz insists that the ‘nightlife world’ has nothing to do with him being less consistent than Jannik Sinner. Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has tipped Sinner to enjoy a more successful tennis career than Alcaraz because the Spaniard ‘likes girls’ and ‘might party too much’.
But those comments have been swatted aside by the world No.2, who followed up a trip to Ibiza earlier this summer with an impressive victory at Queen’s. Alcaraz and Sinner are the two main candidates to win Wimbledon this year, and given that they are the pair to take the torch from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and, when he retires, Novak Djokovic, there is a lively debate around which player will accomplish the most.
Kyrgios gave his take on the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, stating: “I’ll say Sinner, because Alcaraz likes girls. He might get distracted, he might party too much. That’s my only thing, whereas Sinner will stay a bit locked in, I think.”
There was more than a hint of a dig in Alcaraz’s response as he claimed to be unmoved about eye-catching comments like those coming from Kyrgios.
“They’re funny comments, which coming from him doesn’t surprise me,” said the five-time Grand Slam winner. “It’s no secret that Jannik has fewer ups and downs than me. It’s something I’ve been working on. It has nothing to do with the nightlife world.”
Sinner may have been pinned with the consistency tag but Alcaraz has been consistently beating him of late. The 22-year-old has won their last five head-to-head battles, including a five-set epic in the French Open final last month.
As the top two seeds at Wimbledon, the only stage they could meet each other at the All England Club is in the final. Djokovic will also be keen to throw a spanner in the works as a seven-time winner of the tournament, but at 38 years old, doubts are creeping in about whether he can still consistently challenge the two young guns.
Aleksandar Vukic, who was thrashed by Sinner at Wimbledon this year and lost to Alcaraz last year, insists that the new-age duo are streets ahead of the competition.
“[They] are definitely at least two levels above everyone else. And it’s pretty evident,” he said. “Carlos gives you more free points – you can breathe a little bit. Jannik, it’s just suffocating. He exposes opponents’ weaknesses very easily.”
