Carlos Alcaraz v Jannik Sinner will be one of the 'greatest rivalries' in tennis, says Jim Courier - 'Next-gen version of "Big Three"'

Alcaraz and Sinner are the two dominant players on the ATP Tour and have won the last nine Grand Slam titles in a row between them.

Alcaraz leads the head-to-head record 10-7 but has lost the last two meetings against Sinner.

The pair won’t meet at the French Open after their epic final a year ago as Alcaraz is currently out with a wrist injury.

However, TNT Sports expert Courier is excited to see how the rivalry develops over the years ahead, one that reminds him of the epic battles involving Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

”They're a new generation of players who grew up watching the 'Big Three' and have taken that prototype game and the best elements that Roger, Rafa, Novak, and Andy Murray also, brought to the table, and they put them into their little machines and spit out this sort of next-gen version of it,” said Courier ahead of a TNT Sports documentary called ‘The New Dawn of Tennis’, which will be shown on TNT Sports 1 on May 17 at 17:30 UK time.

”I'm not saying that they're better players necessarily, but I'm saying that they play a faster brand of that same type of tennis because they're playing with light equipment, they're aggressive, they move that way. 

”It's early on in this rivalry, but if they're healthy, this is going to be one of the game's greatest rivalries.”

In the absence of Alcaraz, Sinner looks the heavy favourite heading into the French Open, which starts on May 28, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

TNT Sports expert Alex Corretja says the rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz reminds him of Djokovic v Federer.

”For me, stylistically, it’s a bit more like Federer v Djokovic: one is more structured in his patterns, and the other seeks constant magic and creativity, but both know they must be there for hours.

”By styles of play, that’s the closest comparison for me. I might also say it has a bit of [Pete] Sampras v [Andre] Agassi in it.

”Sampras was very aggressive, always looking to surprise at the net, while Agassi was a laser-like baseliner, hitting every ball as cleanly and hard as possible.

"I get that same feeling with Sinner - he reminds me of a modern-day version of Agassi or Djokovic, though of course he’s his own man and not really comparable.

”When I watch him, I think, ‘wow, what returns, what speed, how he plays right on the baseline, how he applies pressure’.

”And with Carlos, it’s slightly different - he’s got something of Sampras too. The way he likes to go to the net, have fun, how he can throw in a slice or a drop shot at 4-4 in the fourth set of a Grand Slam final, 15-30, and you think, ‘How did he even dare to do that there?' That’s what makes Carlos so unpredictable.”

Alcaraz has been out of action since the middle of April and it is not known when he will return to the tour.

His absence at Roland-Garros will give Sinner the chance to extend his lead at the top of the world rankings.

TNT Sports expert Mats Wilander says about the Sinner v Alcaraz rivalry: ”It does remind me of the rivalry that Roger Federer had eventually with Rafael Nadal. 

”Federer had claimed most of his victories in the generation before, and then Rafa came, but no-one thought anyone could beat Roger Federer, and then Rafael Nadal comes along, and if you had to build a tennis player that could beat Roger Federer, you would build a left-hander with a lot of topspin. 

”Along comes Sinner and Alcaraz, and in one way they play quite similar. They play very fast, they move quite similar because they move very athletically, most probably more athletically than at least Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, maybe more so like Novak Djokovic, extremely flexible and extremely quick. 

”But it's different because there's only the two of them, and we have been lucky enough to see them play each other on all three surfaces. Not in all Grand Slam finals, but we're getting close to it, and the games are very similar on all three surfaces.

”They stand very close to the baseline. They smack the ball as hard as they can. They seem to have no fear, and there's also sportsmanship.”

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TNT Sports is the exclusive French Open broadcaster in the UK and Ireland. Coverage of every court will be available to stream live on HBO Max