Jannik Sinner claims it is 'nice to see' someone winning besides Novak Djokovic

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the new kings of tennis. 21-year-old Alcaraz won two Grand Slams in 2024 (the French Open and Wimbledon) and Sinner won the other two (the Australian Open and the US Open) and both seem set to replicate the same thing in 2025. While Alcaraz is ranked No. 3 on the ATP tour, most tennis pundits probably assume he is better than No. 2 Alexander Zverev.

Sinner is now No. 1 by more than 4,000 points ahead of Zverev. He is likely to finish the year as ATP No. 1. Alcaraz could finish at No. 2 though he needs a more consistently high level of play late in the year than he has done in the last two. All-time great Novak Djokovic seems set to finish outside the top three.

Maybe Djokovic doesn't care. He has no need to prove he is the best player to ever pick up a racket because the statistics back that up. He has more Grand Slams, more Masters 1000 wins, and more weeks at number one than any other player. In the last two cases, the second player is not close.

Jannik Sinner gives honest response about the current state of men's tennis

Still, the Big 4 era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Djokovic is gone. Federer and Murray have retired and Nadal plays few tournaments and is hardly ever in full health. Only Djokovic keeps trying to win at a consistently high level but even he has not been able to do that this year. Again, Sinner and Alcaraz are the new kings of the sport and are likely to stay that way for a decade.

After winning the US Open this past weekend, Sinner was asked by the press about the current state of tennis and having Alcaraz and himself win every major in 2024. The Italian was respectful but also answered honestly. He also answered in a way that every tennis fan can see as obvious: The Big 4 are no longer and the Big 2 are in charge.

Sinner said, "It is a bit different, for sure. It’s something new, but it’s also nice to see – nice to see new champions, nice to see new rivalries. I feel it’s good for the sport to have some new champions."

He is not wrong. Had there not been new players to take the place of Djokovic and Nadal, the sport would struggle. With Sinner and Alcaraz, tennis is in good hands.

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