Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are unquestionably the best players in the world right now, having emerged as the stars of the next generation. They have claimed the last seven Grand Slam titles between them and will almost certainly win many more. Sinner finds himself in the ascendancy at the moment, having prevailed at Wimbledon earlier this month.
There is a huge gap between the pair and the rest of their rivals, with nobody else coming close to breaking into the top tier. There are plenty of similarities with the Big Three era, which saw Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic dominate proceedings for nearly two decades. Andy Murray was the only other player who managed to break into the elite circle.
Tennis now has a Big Two, with Sinner and Alcaraz head and shoulders above the rest. Hubert Hurkacz believes the level in the current era is higher than ever before, suggesting that legends of the past could struggle to keep up.
Speaking to Tennis365, he said: “It’s difficult to say who wins when they are all playing their best tennis. I feel like the level is growing every single year, and obviously, we can say the level is better than it was ten years ago.
“That is not to say Roger, Rafa, Novak and Andy could not get to where we are now. They also improved every year and raised the bar, so if they were playing now, they would still be improving.
“What we can say is Jannik and Carlos are playing at an incredible level now, and it is up to the rest of us to work hard to keep up with them.
“That’s why I wake up every morning and work so hard to try and reach those levels. They are setting a big target now, so that is what we have to aim for.”
It comes after John McEnroe suggested that Alcaraz and Sinner would beat Nadal in his prime, even if they played on clay.
However, the American is not convinced that either player will go on to win as many Grand Slams as the likes of Federer, Djokovic and Nadal.
“You would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favoured to beat Nadal, at his best,” said McEnroe.
“Do I think they’re gonna reach 20, 24 [titles]? No, because that plateau is so hard. But these two guys right now, it’s like when you watch the NBA and you say nobody could be better than Michael Jordan. The tennis level right now is higher than I’ve ever seen.”
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