"Carlos Alcaraz and I cannot be compared to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic yet" - Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner recently acknowledged that he and Carlos Alcaraz had a long way to go to reach the level of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Italian also spoke about how he felt the importance of the occasion whenever he played his Spanish rival.

Sinner and Alcaraz are widely regarded as the flag holders of the newer generation of players having won 13 titles each and have had many great matches in their short careers so far. The two have met eight times in their careers with both players winning four each.

Due to how evenly matched and close in age the two are, their rivalry is often compared to the rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who have met 59 times on tour (most in the history of men's tennis in the Open Era) with the Serb edging their head-to-head 30-29.

In a recent interview, Jannik Sinner admitted that though he understands the magnitude of his matches with Alcaraz, the two were still young and had a long way to go to reach the level and consistency of the Spaniard and the World No.1.

“When I play against him you know that’s a very important match. But we are so young and cannot be compared to [Nadal and Djokovic] yet. We have a long way to go and need consistency,” Sinner said to The Guardian.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz can meet in the first SF of the French Open, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic could headline the other

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the second and third seeds respectively at this year's French Open. They are the top seeds in the bottom half of the draw and could meet in the semifinals provided they make it through the other rounds. The Italian will kick off his campaign against Christopher Eubanks whereas Alcaraz is already up and running taking out J.J Wolf in straight sets.

The Spaniard will play Jesper de Jong in the second round and if the Italian defeats Eubanks he will play veteran and home favorite Richard Gasquet next. The possible semifinal will be the first meeting between the two young rivals on French Clay.

On the other hand, Rafael Nadal and top seed Novak Djokovic could play each other in the semifinals for their 60th meeting. While the Serb will play home favorite Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the Spaniard will play fourth seed Alexander Zverev to kick off their campaigns.