Carlos Alcaraz has surprised many with his current ranking of No.3 despite winning two Grand Slams in the 2024 season. Alcaraz still has approximately 3500 points to catch up with his biggest rival, Jannik Sinner, in the ATP rankings. Comparisons between them were fuelled further by Goran Ivanisevic in a recent interview.
Ivanisevic did not hesitate to pick the World No.1 over Alcaraz despite Sinner not managing to win Wimbledon and the French Open so far. He was quoted as saying in an interview with Tennis Majors –
“They’re different players, but when they are both at their best, I feel that Sinner is better.
“He is more consistent throughout the match, whether Alcaraz can go from hitting amazing shots to some easy errors. This year, Carlos had a few losses I couldn’t explain…”
But Novak Djokovic’s ex-coach did not stop there when it came to showing his support for Sinner. Ivanisevic believes that Alexander Zverev, the World No.2, who is above Alcaraz and still has a long way to challenge Sinner for the No.1 ranking, is not in contention for winning Slams.
“Zverev has too many ups and downs. He plays great up until some point, then comes a match where he really needs to put it together, where he needs to perform at his best – that’s when he fails, and against Alcaraz and Sinner, you need to be at your best always.”
Sinner was a large part of the discussion, and the Croatian, who is now Elena Rybakina’s coach, recalled how he locked horns with the WADA when he was mentoring Marin Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion.
Ivanisevic indirectly claimed that the WADA also runs on agendas, as he believes Sinner is innocent and should be left alone.
“I sincerely hope they leave him alone and that they let him play, tennis needs Sinner.
“With (Marin) Cilic, I’ve had to deal with WADA and such people, a lot of people that I didn’t like, that just want to destroy someone’s life. I hope that the outcome is positive for Sinner.”
The 2001 Wimbledon champion also claimed that he will continue to support Djokovic in the 2025 season despite no longer coaching him.
Ivanisevic does not rule out Djokovic for challenging Sinner
Ivanisevic is predicting that Djokovic will be the only man to challenge Sinner and Alcaraz for big titles in the near future. The Croatian continued,
“Sinner and Alcaraz are convincingly above the rest of the field, but I put Djokovic in the group with them, because when Djokovic really wants to play, he is still the best in the world, in my opinion.
“The other thing is how much he wants to play and when – we saw at the Olympics… If he goes out on the court like that, then he can still win a Slam…
“You can never write him off, I would never do that. And good for me – I won’t have to root against Novak, I can stay his fan.”
Ivanisevic knows Djokovic very well, and the Serb’s results have also shown that he is still competitive despite not having a stellar 2024 season. After a winless first half of the season and getting injured at the French Open, he bounced back to make it to the finals of the Wimbledon Championships and win the gold medal at the Olympics within a matter of four weeks.
Ivanisevic might also be considering the fact that only Sinner has truly dominated Djokovic in the last 12 months, beating him in straight sets in the Shanghai Masters final.
The Australian Open 2025 could go a long way in determining whether the 13-time Grand Slam winner, in his role as coach, will be proven right about his ex-pupil. Will Djokovic be able to take back his throne from the defending champion, Sinner? We will have to wait and see!
