Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are two of the finest young talents in tennis at present and both have produced some impressive performances lately.
The two have already played four matches within 10 months, with their head-to-head tied at 2-2. Alcaraz and Sinner have faced each other thrice so far this season, with the Italian winning two encounters while the Spaniard won their most recent clash at the US Open.
The two youngsters have shown promise of forging a rivalry for the ages and recently spoke about it on Tennis TV.
Alcaraz said that both will try to push themselves to become better players by defeating the other. He also likened their budding rivalry to that between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, with the trio pushing themselves to become better players while playing against each other when they were younger.
"I'm gonna push myself to be a better player, to try to beat him, and I think for him it will be the same. I will push him to be a better player as Djokovic, Rafa and Federer did when they were younger. It's going to be a great rivalry and of course, we are great friends outside of the court," Carlos Alcaraz said.
Sinner said that they are friends on and off the court and try to compete in the best way possible.
"We are friends off court and on court when we practice or play against each other. We try to compete in the best possible way, which I think is very nice to see," the Italian said.
When asked if Carlos Alcaraz is his biggest rival, Jannik Sinner said that he hoped so as they always raise their level while facing one another.
"Well you know we are young. We two are young but we both play incredible tennis. So, let's see the future what's going to happen. I hope so, really, because when we play against each other, we raise our level to our maximum."
Carlos Alcaraz reaches maiden Grand Slam semifinal by defeating Jannik Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz reached his maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open by beating Jannik Sinner 6-3. 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. The match lasted 5 hours and 15 minutes and was the second-longest in the history of the New York Major.
After beating Sinner, Alcaraz will face Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals. The winner will face either Casper Ruud or Karen Khachanov in the US Open final and if Alcaraz has a chance of leaving Flushing Meadows as the top-ranked player in the world.