Men’s tennis has seen a smooth transition over the years. While Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal reached the end of their careers, the period saw the emergence of the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Take the example of this season. While Sinner won the Australian Open and the US Open titles, Alcaraz won the other two Grand Slams in 2024. With both dominating the ATP Tour currently, American tennis star, Taylor Fritz, made a massive admission about the Spanish-Italian duo.

Fritz is one of the few players who has played against Sinner, Alcaraz, Nadal, and Djokovic. As a result, he knows their games very well. During an interview with Tennis Channel, the American star highlighted the similarities between the two young stars and legends like Nadal and Djokovic. Moreover, he was also of the view that Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz were a cut above Nadal and Djokovic.

He said, “What impresses me the most about Jannik and Carlos is how incredibly well they defend. In fact, it’s not even that they defend, but when they find themselves in a corner of the court, they explode the ball. I can be in a backhand exchange with them, and I know that if I go for a drive, my shot will have to be really good. If I don’t manage to completely overwhelm them, the next ball will completely displace me. They move laterally as well as Rafa and Novak did in their best moments, but their ball is about 10 miles per hour faster than theirs.”

While Fritz has managed wins over Sinner and Nadal, he is winless against Alcaraz and Djokovic. Earlier this year, he played one of the biggest matches of his career, the US Open final, against Sinner. However, he was outplayed by the Italian star, losing in straight sets.

While the American star compared the young stars versus the legends of the sport, he also once compared Sinner with Alcaraz, as he revealed who was tougher to play against.

Taylor Fritz while playing against Carlos Alcaraz: ‘Had less breathing room’

Playing consistently at the top level, Fritz has often found the likes of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on the opposite ends of the court. As a result, he knows the two players very well and highlighted their strengths during an interview last month.

He said, “I did feel Jannik maybe can serve a bit better, but from the ground I felt like I had pretty much no time to play today, trying to get into rallies, feel things out. I just didn’t really ever get to settle in. I was always being rushed and moved, and I definitely felt like I had less breathing room against Carlos. But I mean, both are insane players.”

Interestingly, Fritz is 1-2 against Sinner while he hasn’t won a match against Alcaraz in two attempts. While it might be still early days, Alcaraz has been a tougher opponent for Fritz than Sinner. Nonetheless, this surely won’t be the end of their rivalries and one can expect some thrilling matches of Fritz against the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz in the future. But do you agree with his assessment that Alcaraz and Sinner have additional qualities as compared to Djokovic and Nadal? Let us know in the comments below.