Jannik Sinner's French Open showdown with Carlos Alcaraz could rubber-stamp this rivalry as the Federer-Nadal of a new age, writes MATTHEW LAMBWELL
Here it is at last: the first meeting in a Grand Slam final of the two finest players of their generation.
Jannik Sinner will go for his first French Open title, Carlos Alcaraz for his second in a row, and the tennis world expects a match which rubber-stamps this rivalry as the Federer-Nadal of a new age.
That is a lot to live up to but this match-up rarely disappoints. Their Beijing final was the match of 2024, their US Open quarter-final the best of 2022.
'I enjoy playing against him, because I love that battle,' said Alcaraz, 22. 'Most of the time it is just about suffering, because he pushes you to the limit. My favourite thing is, he gives me feedback of how I can be better.'
Sinner, 23, echoed his rival almost word for word: 'He makes me a better player. He pushes me to the limit.
'The tension you feel before the match and during the match is different. We are both very young, we are both different, but talented.'
So, who is going to win? The betting lines are basically dead even. Sinner is yet to lose a set this fortnight and Alcaraz has dropped four, but the Spaniard leads the head to head 7-4 and won an absorbing, five-set semi-final here last year.
Against the rest of the field, Sinner is superior. 'The best tennis player right now,' as Alcaraz put it, 'he's destroying every opponent.'
Every opponent except one. Since the middle of August last year, Sinner has won 47 matches and lost two - both to Alcaraz.
The Spaniard is more likely to suffer an upset early in an event, he is liable to lapses in concentration - but never against Sinner.
The Italian is the greatest in the world, yes, but Alcaraz at his best is out of this world - tennis from the gods.
There are certainly echoes of Roger Federer's rivalry with Rafael Nadal, in the early stages especially. Federer was the more successful player in general but Nadal held the head-to-head advantage.
Novak Djokovic, beaten by Sinner in a high-class semi-final on Friday, was asked whether we will one day speak of Sinner-Alcaraz as we do of Federer-Nadal, Djokovic-Federer, and Djokovic-Nadal.
'That's kind of hard,' said the 38-year-old. 'They need to play against each other for at least 10-plus years non-stop in order to be part of the same discussion. But they're definitely great for tennis.
'Their rivalry is something our sport needs, no doubt.'
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