Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have dominated tennis for the better part of the last two years, much like how Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did for over a decade before Novak Djokovic emerged on the scene. Having won all the major titles in the last two years, Sinner and Alcaraz naturally draw comparisons to the legendary Federer-Nadal rivalry.

In a recent Russian-language podcast appearance, former World No. 11 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova shared her perspective on this comparison, highlighting a key attribute shared by all four players. “And after the match, this is how I compare them,” Pavlyuchenkova said (39:00, translated to English). “Sinner is Federer and Alcaraz is Rafa. It’s just amazing that an actual replacement has happened for Federer and Nadal, because it seemed like they were cooler. Well, of course they are much cooler, but these young guys have now decently replaced them.”

Alcaraz, also from Spain like Nadal, has made an impressive start to his career. At 23 years old, he has already won six Grand Slams and is projected to surpass both Federer (20 Grand Slams) and Nadal (22 Grand Slams) in major championship counts in the future. Meanwhile, Italy’s Jannik Sinner, 24, has secured four Grand Slam titles and is regarded as one of the most formidable players on tour, particularly due to his exceptional movement across the court.

### Patrick Mouratoglou Compares Sinner and Alcaraz to Federer and Nadal

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios and Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou have also drawn comparisons between Sinner, Alcaraz, and the iconic duo of Federer and Nadal.

According to Mouratoglou, Sinner and Alcaraz compete at a pace and physical level that surpasses what Federer and Nadal achieved at their peak. The coach believes Sinner shares more similar attributes with Novak Djokovic.

“So I think the level of Sinner/Alcaraz is higher than the level of Roger-Rafa, or Roger-Novak at that time,” Mouratoglou said. “Not incredibly higher, but it’s higher. And I always said Sinner is a Novak 2.0, in terms of level, not in terms of achievement.”

In another interview, Mouratoglou described Alcaraz’s game as closest to Federer’s among the current top players.

“I think the one whose game is closest to Federer is Alcaraz,” he said. “Like him, he’s super aggressive and super creative, always trying to do something with the ball. The speed with which he is able to go from the back to the inside of the court, that’s pure Roger.

“At the same time, he has the counter-attacking qualities of Djokovic, and he can play long rallies with a lot of spin, like Nadal. To top it off, he serves very well for his size, and he returns very well.”

As the careers of Sinner and Alcaraz progress, it remains to be seen whether either player can sustain their dominance long enough to meet the high benchmark set by Federer and Nadal.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/news-jannik-sinner-federer-carlos-alcaraz-nadal-anastasia-pavlyuchenkova-spaniard-italian-perfect-successors-legendary-duo