Carlos Alcaraz feels he and Jannik Sinner have what it takes to make a next great rivalry.
On Thursday, Alcaraz outlasted Sinner 6-3 6-7 (7) 6-7 (0) 7-5 6-3 to progress into the US Open semifinal.
The fourth meeting between Alcaraz and Sinner was an absolute thriller as it lasted five hours and 15 minutes.
Their match finished at 2.50am and set the new for the latest match in tournament history.
Alcaraz saved a match point in the fourth set, before winning in five sets.
The Big Three – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – all pushed each other to become versions of themselves.
Alcaraz is hoping he and Sinner have a similar effect on each other.
“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,” Alcaraz said.
Sinner on his rivalry with Alcaraz
Sinner and Alcaraz have a great rivalry on the court, but off the court they are good friends.
“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. 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,” Sinner explained.
The head-to-head between the two now stands at 2-2.
Previously, Alcaraz defeated Sinner at the Paris Masters last year, while the Italian defeated the Spaniard at Wimbledon and Umag this season.
It remains to be seen if we will see another Alcaraz-Sinner matchup before the season ends.