
Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry is amazing for tennis
Carlos Alcaraz's coach Juan Carlos Ferrero believes the Spaniard's rivalry with Jannik Sinner will lift the sport to new heights.
Alcaraz and Sinner, the world's top two players, contested their first grand slam final at the French Open – and it was an all-time classic.
Second seed Alcaraz came out on top after a five-hour, 29-minute marathon, the 22-year-old saving three championship points in the fourth set and winning after a tie-break in the fifth.
It was Alcaraz's second Roland Garros title, his fifth at grand slams, and means he and Italian world number one Sinner have shared the last six majors.
Anyone who feared men's tennis would struggle to fill the void left by the retirements of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and – in the not-too-distant future – Novak Djokovic, can rest easy.
'For the sport it's something amazing to have these players after Roger and Rafa – and Novak is still playing, of course – but this kind of rivalry that they have,' said former world number one Ferrero.
'Having these two guys fighting for big trophies, I think we have to be very happy about it in the sport of tennis.
'For them, for sure it's something that they raise their level every time that they go on the court.
'They know they have to play unbelievable tennis to beat the other guy and it's something that is going to help for sure each player to raise the level even more.'
Curiously, Alcaraz won major title number five at exactly the same age as his idol Nadal was when he won his fifth, in 2008 at Wimbledon; 22 years, one month and three days.
Nadal, of course, went on to collect 22 grand slam crowns including 14 at Roland Garros, and was honoured at this year's tournament following his retirement.
The coincidence was not lost on Ferrero, although he was keen to avoid too many comparisons between his fellow Spaniards.
'I think it's amazing,' added Ferrero. 'The same grand slams at the same age at the same day, it's something that looks unreal.
'It's something very curious. But we don't think too much about it. We try to write his own way.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
18 minutes ago
- BBC News
Murray open to coaching return 'at some stage'
Andy Murray is open to a return to coaching "at some stage" but says he still has plenty to learn about the role. The 38-year-old, who retired from tennis at the 2024 Olympics, joined long-time rival Novak Djokovic's coaching team last the pair parted company in May 2025 after just four tournaments together, with former number one Djokovic stating he "couldn't get more" out of their was positive about the six months he and Djokovic spent together, hailing the "unique" experience of working with "one of the best athletes of all time", while also stating he had not planned on making the transition into coaching quite so soon after hanging up his racquet."I would do it again at some stage. I don't think that will happen immediately," he told BBC Sport's Clare Balding at the unveiling of the Andy Murray Arena at the Queen's Club on Monday. "I wasn't planning on going into coaching as soon as I finished playing but it was a pretty unique opportunity. It was a chance to learn from one of the best athletes of all time."You also learn a lot about how to work with a team. As an individual athlete, you have a team of people around you, but you're the focal point whereas when you're coaching an individual, you're working with a physio, physical trainers, agents, and you need to know how to get your message across to the player and find out what makes them tick. That was the thing I learned and something I need to work on if I want to do it again in the future."It was a brilliant opportunity for me. We got to spend some really nice moments away from the court. Results weren't as we wanted but we gave it a go."We'll see about coaching in the future but I don't think that will happen for a while." 'Men's tennis is in a great place' While the jam-packed nature of tennis' schedule means focus has already shifted to the grass-court swing, this year's men's singles final at Roland Garros will be remembered as one of the all-time champion Carlos Alcaraz recovered from two sets down and saved three championship points to beat world number one Jannik Sinner after five hours and 29 minutes – the longest French Open final in pair, who occupy the top two spots in the ATP rankings, have now shared the past six major titles between them and Sunday's final – their first meeting in a Grand Slam trophy match – confirmed the arrival of a new blockbuster rivalry in men's believes Sunday's final is confirmation the sport is in a "great place" and tipped Britain's Jack Draper, ranked fourth in the world, to be part of the success."They're both brilliant athletes and very different personalities, which I think for fans is really exciting," Murray said. "For me, particularly Alcaraz has an exciting brand of tennis to watch, and they complement each other well. They've already had some brilliant matches and from what I've been told, it was one of the best finals for a long time." "Moving forward, men's tennis is in a great place. People always worry at the end of a generation of players what's going to happen with the sport next, but generally sports continue to evolve and, in most cases, improve."Jack [Draper]'s right in the mix just now and doing extremely well. He's going to give himself opportunities to win majors over the next five, 10 years."However, while heaping praise on the next generation, Murray was keen to emphasise that Alcaraz and Sinner have a long way to go to match the 20 years of dominance achieved by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic."The sport's in a really good place but it's important not to forget what the guys have done before them, what Roger, Rafa and Novak have done," he added."Winning 20-plus majors is something exceptional and it's easy in today's age to forget a little bit about that. I saw some pundits saying if [Alcaraz and Sinner] went on court against Rafa at the French Open, they would be favourites going into that match with Rafa in his prime."Alcaraz and Sinner are on the path to being two of the best, no doubt about that, but it takes time to build what Roger, Rafa, and Novak had. We'll see whether they get that." 'Queen's is always special for me' Murray is synonymous with Queen's. The Scot is the most successful player in the tournament's history, winning a record five men's singles titles between 2009 and 2016. He also won the men's doubles with Feliciano Lopez in this year, however, his name will not just adorn the honour's board but also the centre court at Queen's Club, which has been renamed the Andy Murray Arena."It's pretty surreal," he said. "A number of tennis courts around the world are named after great players. It's a bit strange to have a court named after you."I have a lot of amazing memories at this place and on that court. It's by far my most successful tournament that I competed in. "I won my first ATP match here. I didn't dream of winning Wimbledon or being world number one, I just wanted to be a professional tennis player and play on the ATP tour. Moments like that, you remember; it was a special moment for me."Winning the tournament feels great and winning major events is the pinnacle of the sport but that wasn't my dream growing up. You remember moments like the place where you won your first tour match and that's why Queen's is always special to me."This grass-court season marks the return of women's tennis to Queen's for the first time in 52 years, with singles and doubles events taking place from 9 to 15 June before the men take to the courts the following week (16-22 June)."Having women's tennis back at Queen's for the first time in over 50 years is brilliant," Murray said."I hope the event gets well attended. They've got a brilliant field – I think 10 of the top 20 women are here. There'll be some brilliant matches and I always look forward to the grass season."


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
PSG star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's family home is BURGLED while holidaying on the French Riviera with Georgian teammate
Champions League winner Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been the victim of a burglary while enjoying time off on holiday. According to Georgian outlet Geo Team, the Paris Saint-Germain winger was holidaying on the French Riviera with his family and international team-mate Zuriko Davitashvili when the incident took place. According to French outlet L'Équipe, jewellery, luxury watches and designer bags were among the items taken from Kvaratskhelia's rental property while the duo were in the coastal town of Cannes. No one was harmed in the burglary and an investigation has been opened by French police. Kvaratskhelia, who was a key part of PSG 's successful Champions League run this season, was granted time off before the club emarks on its Club World Cup campaign later this month. The 24-year-old joined the Parisian club from Napoli last summer before going on to score scoring 7 goals and provided 6 assists in 25 matches. The winger was holidaying with Georgia team-mate Zuriko Davitashvili on the French Riviera He was not called up to the Georgia squad for their recent friendlies against the Faroe Islands and Cape Verde in order to rest ahead of a busy summer. PSG begin their Club World Cup campaign against Atletico Madrid on June 15th before further group games against Brazilian side Botafogo and the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer. Alongside their Champions League success, Kvaratskhelia helped guide Luis Enrique's side to a record 13th Ligue 1 title.


Times
an hour ago
- Times
Emma Raducanu: I'm wary when I go out after stalker ordeal
Emma Raducanu admitted she has been 'wary' when going out after her ordeal with a stalker at the Dubai Duty Free Championships this year. The 22-year-old hid behind the umpire's chair in tears after receiving repeated unwanted attention from a man displaying 'fixated behaviour' before and during a second-round match against Karolina Muchova in February. At the time, the 2021 US Open champion said she 'couldn't see the ball through tears' and could 'barely breathe' — and she revealed on Sunday that the situation was exacerbated by her being unsettled without a full-time coach. 'It was difficult,' Raducanu told BBC Sport. 'It was emphasised by the fact I didn't necessarily feel certain or comfortable in my own set-up and team, so it just added to the anxious feeling. 'I'm obviously wary when I go out. I try not to be careless about it because you only realise how much of a problem it is when you're in that situation and I don't necessarily want to be in that situation again. Off the court right now, I feel good, I feel pretty settled. I feel like I have good people around me and anything that was negative, I kind of brush it off as much as I can.' Raducanu has meanwhile revealed that she has low expectations for the start of her grass-court campaign because of a back spasm that continues to hinder her after the French Open. She will take part in the singles and doubles, with Katie Boulter, at the HSBC Championships as women's events return to the Queen's Club for the first time since 1973. Raducanu has been practising in west London with Nick Cavaday, the coach with whom she parted ways in January, while Mark Petchey has commentary duties at Roland Garros. Cavaday withdrew five months ago for health reasons, leaving Petchey and Jane O'Donoghue to oversee her performances on clay, but both men are set to help out on grass. 'I'm happy to see him healthy first of all,' Raducanu said. 'It's been a long time since we were last on court together in Australia. Obviously Mark is in Paris commentating so Nick was around and it was nice to just have a few days with him.' Raducanu played encouragingly on clay, reaching the fourth round of the Italian Open and second round of the French Open, but was comprehensively beaten by Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek. Expectation is higher for British players on grass, but a recurrence of the back spasm that affected her in Australia and France has hindered Raducanu's preparations. 'Of course you want to win the tournament, like every tournament, but especially when it's at home,' Raducanu said. 'My expectations, truthfully, are pretty low because I played points for the first time today and I've had maybe two or three days on the grass courts so it's not been much. 'Today was the first day I opened it up and played points on the grass so it's pretty early days. I wouldn't say I've had a lot of prep on it but I felt pretty good today. Playing with Katie in a doubles match on the grass hopefully will help give a good feel of how it is to serve, to move and to react to balls on that surface. British grass-court season HSBC Championships, Queen's Club June 9-15 (women's) June 16-22 (men's) Nottingham Open June 16-22 (women's) Rothesay International, Eastbourne June 23-28 (women's and men's) The Championships, Wimbledon June 30-July 13 (women's and men's) 'I know I've been managing my back for the last few weeks now and that's something that comes and goes. Overall I just have to manage what I can take care of and if it does happen then I just need to deal with it and just keep doing the right thing.' Last year Raducanu reached the semi-finals in Nottingham, where she lost to Boulter, and defeated Jessica Pegula, the world No5, en route to the Eastbourne quarter-finals before a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon. This year's calendar differs because of the restoration of a WTA 500 event at Queen's. After the championships stopped in 1973, Queen's returned in 1977 as a men's-only event, but this year there will be a week-long women's draw to kick off a fortnight of competition. Ten members of the women's top 20 will be in action. Qinwen Zheng is the highest-ranked entrant, followed by Madison Keys and Emma Navarro. Barbora Krejcikova, the defending Wimbledon champion, is here along with the former SW19 victors Petra Kvitova and Elena Rybakina. Joining Raducanu in the singles are fellow Britons Boulter, Sonay Kartal, Jodie Burrage, Francesca Jones and Heather Watson. Boulter and Raducanu will team up in doubles against Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu on Monday. This is novel ground for Raducanu: she competed at the 2022 Citi Open with Clara Tauson, and infamously withdrew from a partnership with Sir Andy Murray at Wimbledon last year. Murray will be at Queen's on Monday when centre court is unveiled as the Andy Murray Arena. Boulter comes into Queen's from an uplifting clay season in which she secured her first tour-level win on the surface, a title at WTA 125 level, and a first win at Roland Garros. 'Obviously I want to do well here, but at the same time I know it's my first week, I'm trying to build towards Wimbledon as well,' Boulter said. 'So I've got quite a few weeks before then.' Kartal also reached the second round at the French Open, and will start at Queen's on Monday with a tough match against Daria Kasatkina, before Burrage faces Amanda Anisimova. Boulter will play Ajla Tomljanovic and Raducanu will take on Cristina Bucsa in the first round.