Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner Give Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic Tough Competition For the Tennis Picture of the Year 2024

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner produced one of the most entertaining duels of the year by indulging in a 3-hour and 21-minute thriller in the China Open 2024 finals. Not only do many tennis enthusiasts consider the contest the “match of the year,” but a post-game photo is also in contention for the “picture of the year” title.

With Sinner and Alcaraz confirming their participation in the Shanghai Masters 2024, the two had to make the roughly 2-hour and 15-minute journey from Beijing to reach their destination. The rivals, who are also good friends off the court, decided to save a significant amount of carbon footprint by traveling together.

Simone Vagnozzi, Sinner’s coach, shared a photo of both the players with their respective teams on the same flight.

The photo received a lot of traction from tennis enthusiasts. Fans seemed to be in awe of the bond that the two players shared off the court.

Additionally, there were also claims that this photo had the same vibe as the one taken by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic earlier in the year.

Similar to the Alcaraz-Sinner duo, Nadal and Djokovic shared the same transatlantic flight to Los Angeles for the Indian Wells Masters 1000. However, they had not preplanned this reunion. The Serbian superstar was already in Spain, training at the Puente Romano Tennis Club in Marbella.

After an entertaining 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 clash in Beijing, tennis fans are hoping for a similar encounter between the top two ranked players in Shanghai. If all goes well, an Alcaraz-Sinner battle will take place in the semifinal of the competition.