Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are being widely touted as the two players who will have a riveting rivalry in the coming years. But Sinner’s coach has brushed away comparisons with Alcaraz and admitted that the Spaniard is way ahead of his own pupil despite being two years younger, as things stand. While that is evident from the career trajectories of both players up to this point, it is surprising to see a coach admit this so honestly despite his pupil having just won the biggest title of his career.
In an interview with Sky, Simone Vagnozzi dissected Sinner’s campaign at the recently concluded Rogers Cup in Toronto where the Italian lifted his first ATP Masters title. In the same tournament, Carlos Alcaraz surprisingly fell to American Tommy Paul. While some would look at it as Sinner coming into his own and challenging Alcaraz, Vagnozzi believes his student has a long way to go before that happens.
Carlos Alcaraz is ahead technically and physically
Carlos Alcaraz has no doubt already established himself as the real deal and not just another youngster with potential. His victory at the US Open last year, one where he even beat Jannik Sinner along the way, was no fluke. Nor was it only possible because a certain someone named Novak Djokovic was missing. He put all those doubts to rest this year, taking over the World No.1 spot and beating Djokovic in a Wimbledon final.
All along his journey, however, Alcaraz has pointed at Sinner as his biggest rival, apart from Djokovic that is. But from the looks of it, the Spaniard certainly believes that the Italian will be his long term rival. The Djokovic to his Nadal, perhaps?
Sinner’s coach however has iterated that the Rogers Cup champion has a lot to work on if he’s to compete with Carlos consistently. Vagnozzi also urged everyone not to use Alcaraz as a point of reference for Sinner and has also suggested that the two will have different paths in their careers.
“Sinner doesn’t start beaten against anyone, but I think he has a different path from Carlos who, despite being two years younger, is already ahead from a technical and physical point of view. Surely, getting to the bottom of tournaments can give you greater awareness.”
The coach also stressed on how important it is to now put the Toronto celebrations to bed and look ahead to Cincinnati by adapting quickly to the different conditions, saying the first round in Ohio will tell if Sinner has moved on from the previous tournament.
“The most important thing will be to recover mental energy and adapt to the conditions which are different from Toronto. The first round will be important to understand if and how much he has managed to move on.”
