Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner gifted us an “entertaining show” throughout the 3-hour-20-minute battle in the final of the China Open. Alcaraz literally came back from the jaws of a defeat to secure his fourth title of the 2024 season. After that match, several fans and tennis experts came up with their thoughts on the match on social media. The Eurosport expert, Mats Wilander even went on to hail this matchup as “one of the best sporting events ever.” However, his comparison of this battle featuring the two youngsters with the ‘Big 3’ in the tennis world raised a few eyebrows among the hard-core ‘Big 3’ fans.

Wilander was literally bashed from left, right, and center for drawing up this comparison. But what did he say, though? The 60-year-old tennis legend admitted that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are following in the footsteps of the ‘Big 3’ in terms of their level. However, at the same time he made a bold claim stating, that when Alcaraz and Sinner are at their best, they are head and shoulders above the rest. Carlos Alcaraz has won 4 titles this season including two Grand Slam triumphs. While Sinner has won 6 titles this season (including the 2024 AO and 2024 US Open).

So, they have literally ruled the 2024 season. No one among the ‘Big Three’ could get near to them and that’s quite extraordinary! While speaking on Alcaraz’s recent 6(6)-7,6-4,7-6(3) victory over Sinner in Beijing, Wilander added, “I hope Roger, Novak, and Rafa are not listening, but in terms of level, when Sinner and Alcaraz are at their best, there is no way anyone has ever played better tennis, that the tennis ball has done more different, complicated, difficult things than the ball is doing between Sinner and Alcaraz.” This was quite a bold call from the former world number one! And as expected, there were a few sets of fans who weren’t too pleased with these comments.

They portrayed their anger and disagreement with the Swedish legend on X (formerly Twitter). However, do you know, even in 2022 Mats Wilander made a comment on Carlos Alcaraz and the ‘Big 3.’ He stated, “He’s the most inspirational tennis player that we have because of what he did in 2022 and most of all because of the way he did it. Never compare him to Rafa, Roger, and Novak. The way he did it, I’ve never seen anything like it.” Even that time, he caught some attention with his comments, but this time the rage among the fans literally was more visible on social media. 

Tennis legend’s assessment of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner with the ‘Big 3’ left the fans fuming

Roger Federer made his debut in 1998 and he retired in 2022. Throughout these 24 years, he won a staggering 103 titles, which includes 20 Grand Slam titles. Now, if we take a look at his rivals who are still competing on the main Tour, Rafael Nadal has won 92 titles (including 22 major titles) throughout his 23-year tenure at the pro level. And, let me tell you, he hasn’t stopped yet! While Novak Djokovic sits at the top of the ‘Big 3’ with 24 Grand Slam titles. In comparison to these gigantic presences in the tennis world, both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner look pretty much tiny as of now. Alcaraz has won 4-Grand Slam titles while Sinner has so far managed to win 2.

Surely, they have the potential to become the best in the world in the upcoming years, but isn’t it too harsh to say something like “no way anyone has ever played better tennis” than these two youngsters? A fan wrote, “The disrespect is mind boggling. They gave us the best 20y in the history of the game. For what? This? It’s hasn’t been a week and we’re already being served this nonsense.”

While another fan highlighted some of the iconic matches featuring Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. First, he pointed to the final of the 2012 AO where Djokovic defeated Nadal by a marathon five-setter. Then next on his list was Nadal beating the Serb at the SF of the 2013 French Open by a 6-4,3-6,6-1,6(3)-7,9-7 scoreline. Next came another epic clash between the two. This time it was the SF match at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships. In that match, Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal by 6-4,3-6,7-6(9),3-6,10-8. There are plenty of “entertaining shows” featuring these two in the past. However, these three surely stand tall among the rest.

“Nadal and Djokovic in their prime wipe the floor with these guys. How quick people forget about matches like AO 2012, RG 2013, and Wimbledon 2018. They were playing tennis in those matches you had to see to believe. And that’s just 3 of the 60 matches. Alcaraz and Sinner on there way to being greats for sure but what Nadal and Djoker did was hard to believe they were human,” the fan tweeted.

When Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are drawn into a discussion, how can the other one stay away from the debate? One of the fans highlighted the memorable final match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal from the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. In that match, Nadal defeated the Swiss by 6-4,6-4,6(5)-7,6(8)-7,9-7. Highlighting that epic clash a fan reminded the Swedish legend, “Mats, the 2008 Wimbledon final is calling you. Please, pick up the phone. Thanks.“

Mats Wilander has always been regarded as one of the harshest critics of Roger Federer. He has faced quite a few backlashes from the fans in the past as well, but this time fans went a step further. Another one tweeted, “lol, yeah sure. But unfortunately, Mats has an endless history of talking bs.“

Is Mats Wilander the only tennis legend to make controversial comments on these young guns and the ‘Big Three’? Well, previously we saw American legend, John McEnroe say, “He’s (Carlos Alcaraz) better than Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic at 21.” However, did he face a similar backlash for his comments though? Well, let us know if you have the answer. However, recent comments of Wilander made some of the fans say, “Mats Wilander is not a journalist but an opportunist, that would adapt his opinion however money dictates.” Share your overall thoughts on this controversial comment from the tennis legend.