"Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have really separated themselves" - Jimmy Connors on Spaniard and Italian's meteoric rise

Jimmy Connors has weighed in on the rise of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The Spaniard and the Italian have firmly cemented themselves as the two elite players in men's tennis amid the inevitable decline of the famed Big 3 of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Roger Federer, plagued by knee problems, called time on his career in 2022. This year, Rafael Nadal announced that he would retire following his 2024 Davis Cup Finals campaign with Spain. While Novak Djokovic is still active, the Serb's days look numbered, particularly because he is yet to win a title this year despite enjoying a dominant 2023.

In the meantime, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have pulled away from the rest of the ATP Tour, and have been the only Grand Slam champions apart from Nadal and Djokovic since the start of the 2022 season. Alcaraz's success came earlier, with the Spaniard clinching his first Major title at the 2022 US Open and adding the second one at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

This year, Sinner won the Australian Open and the US Open, while Alcaraz successfully defended his Wimbledon crown and also triumphed at the French Open. Both players have been ranked World No. 1 as well, with the Italian currently being the top-ranked men's tennis player.

In a recent episode of the Advantage Connors podcast, Jimmy Connors assessed Alcaraz and Sinner's rise to men's tennis' elite. Connors also talked about how he and his son Brett (the co-hosts of the podcast) had been wondering who would follow in the Big 3's footsteps.

"It's been good to see the last year or two, to see Alcaraz and Sinner kind of step up and start taking it. We've talked about that since the first podcast we ever did, 'who's going to jump up and take it away?'," Jimmy Connors said. (at 13:12)

The 72-year-old, a former World No. 1 himself, went on to opine that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have elevated themselves well beyond their rivals over the last two years.

"These two guys have really separated themselves, especially over the last year with Sinner and the kind of year he had, but Alcaraz with the last two years," Connors added.

Alcaraz and Sinner's blossoming rivalry is already much talked about in the tennis world. The pair's last meeting came in the final of the recently-concluded Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner produced a pulsating display of tennis in the Six Kings Slam final

Jannik Sinner strikes a pose with the Six Kings Slam trophy (Source: Getty)

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's Six Kings Slam final clash did not count as an official match owing to the tournament's exhibition status. Nonetheless, the Spaniard and the Italian were fiercely competitive throughout the encounter, with Sinner ultimately triumphing.

The Italian lost the tight first set 6-7(5). However, he bounced back, and dominated the next two sets, clinching both of them 6-3 to bag the staggering $6 million paycheck.

The pair has so far faced each other on ten occasions on the ATP Tour. Carlos Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 6-4 and won all three official matches against Jannik Sinner so far this year. The Spaniard's last official match win over the Italian came in the final of the 2024 China Open in Beijing.

Both players have qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals as well, and are the joint favorites to win the prestigious year-end title.