Cricket

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz (AP Photo) NEW DELHI: Jannik Sinner versus Carlos Alcaraz has been hailed as the next big rivalry in men’s tennis, with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray all retired and 38-year-old Novak Djokovic losing his powers. They’ve brought this sensational contest to the grandest scales as well, including last year’s French Open, Wimbledon in 2022, and sandwiched in between was a shot-making bonanza at the 2022 US Open.All of these have come on the path to glory. Round of 16 at 2022 Wimbledon, quarter-final at 2022 US Open and semi-final at Roland Garros last year. On Sunday, when they step up for their 12th match-up overall, it will be with a trophy on the line.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The matchup has already created a couple of milestones. Sinner became only the second Italian to reach the Roland Garros final since 1976. He is now into his third straight major final, winning the previous two.Defending champion Alcaraz is the fifth-youngest player to reach five Men’s Singles Grand Slam finals and has been to the title matches of a major for four straight years now. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz smiles (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Maybe, most important of all, it will be the first major final between two men born in the 2000s, just in case anyone needed further affirmation that the new era has begun.If that’s not enough, here’s more: 22-year-old Alcaraz and 23-year-old Sinner have won the last five majors.The path to the title clash has been contrasting, though. As Alcaraz hopes to retain the Coupe des Mousquetaires for only the third time since Gustavo Kuerten and Nadal, it comes with the knowledge that Sinner has yet to drop a set this fortnight.The World No. 1 has lost just seven matches since the start of 2024, including one this year, but four of them have come against the Spaniard, the most recent one coming in Rome three weeks back.“He’s the best tennis player right now,” said Alcaraz. “I mean, he’s destroying every opponent.”Such is the brutality and consistency of Sinner’s shot-making that there is a running joke among his peers where they celebrate getting a game off the Italian. Jiri Lehecka, Andrey Rublev, Alexander Bublik and Casper Ruud have been at the receiving end in the last month.Bublik and Rublev needed 27 minutes to win one game against Sinner, Ruud took 47 minutes and Lehecka raised his arms in celebration after 55 minutes.The latest opponent, Djokovic, pushed him the longest: three hours and 16 minutes. Yet, all he could squeeze out of the lanky Italian were 15 games.Alcaraz, meanwhile, has won just two of his six matches in straight sets but had a shorter time on court on Friday after Lorenzo Musetti was forced to retire.There are plenty of things going in the Spaniard’s favour, too. He is 21-1 on clay; won titles in Rome and Monte Carlo in the tune-up; has won the past four matches against Sinner to lead the head-to-head 7-4.Contrary to Sinner, Alcaraz is jovial on the court, likes to entertain and didn’t hesitate in acknowledging that he’s unlikely to make things easy for himself and his fans. His belief is backed by the confidence of not giving up. “Because I know that I have time and I’m strong mentally enough to come back,” Alcaraz said.He proved just that in last year’s French Open final, when he came back from two-sets-to-one-down to beat Alexander Zverev.Sinner and Alcaraz come into the French Open final with a flawless record in major title clashes. That, however, will change on Sunday.“The stage, it doesn’t get any bigger now. Grand Slam finals against Carlos, it’s a special moment for me and for him, too,” said Sinner.“The tension you feel before the match and during the match is a little bit different in a way, because we are both very young, we are both different, but talented.” Italy’s Jannik Sinner (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) Alcaraz acknowledged he’ll have to play out of his skin to deny Sinner a maiden French Open title.“I love that battle. But most of the time is just about suffering, because (he pushes) you to the limit,” said Carlos.Rivalry comparisons with Nadal-Djokovic-Federer get repeated and rightly so. But the 38-year-old Serb, who has been embroiled in 60 clashes with Nadal and 50 with Federer, thinks it’s too early to draw fair comparisons.“At the moment, that’s kind of hard, because they need to play against each for at least 10-plus years nonstop in order to be part of the same discussion,” the 38-year-old Djokovic said Friday, laughing. “But they’re definitely great for tennis, both of them. I think their rivalry is something that our sport needs, no doubt. I’m sure that we’re going to see them lifting the big trophies quite often.”