Taylor Fritz recently shed light on what it feels like to play against Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The American placed the duo above Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer when comparing the pace of their rallies.
Sinner and Alcaraz are presently at the helm of men’s tennis, ranked World No. 1 and 2, respectively. The young pair’s achievements in the last couple of years have resulted in unending comparisons with the Big 3, which includes Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer.
Following their most recent meeting in the China Open final, former World No. 1 Mats Wilander controversially claimed that “there is no way anyone has ever played better tennis” than the two
Taylor Fritz, who has shared the court with all five players and has a losing record against each except Rafael Nadal (2-2), gave a firsthand account of how the younger counterparts compare to the veterans. He emphasized the “crazy” pace of baseline rallies during his meetings with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, suggesting that the duo display identical prowess while being considerably faster.
“They just play these lateral baseline points, he said on Tennis Channel. “I don’t know what these crazy points you see Nadal and Federer – mostly you see Nadal and Novak have these long points corner to corner.”
“But when Sinner and Alcaraz do it, I swear they’re doing the same rallies but hitting the ball 10 mph faster. It’s crazy,” Fritz continued.
Taylor Fritz on Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz: “They just crush the ball”
While Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are known for their ultra-aggressive playing style, both players implement exceptional defensive skills, too. Taylor Fritz noted that the two often seamlessly put their opponents on the back foot despite being in a defensive position.
“One thing both those guys do really well is just, their defense is incredible. Their defense is amazing but they don’t really play that much defense,” he said during his aforementioned appearance.
“Their defense is when they are full on the run out of the corners… they just crush the ball.”
Fritz, who most recently suffered straight-set losses to Sinner in the US Open final and to Alcaraz at the Laver Cup, further explained:
“A good example is, I can be in a backhand crosscourt rally with either one of them (and) if I get around one, pull forehand inside in or pull back in line, it’s gotta be so good or else the next ball is getting just drilled – huge crosscourt,” he said.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are presently competing at the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Riyadh. Following semifinal victories over Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, respectively, the duo are set to battle it out in the title clash on Saturday, October 19.
