Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have continued their dominance of the ATP Tour this season, and indeed this week alone.
Alcaraz won the Japan Open for his eighth title of the season, having overcome Taylor Fritz in the final in Tokyo.
And claiming his third title of the season, Sinner won the China Open in Beijing, overcoming Learner Tien in the final.
Alcaraz and Sinner occupy spots one and two in the ATP rankings respectively, while they shared the four Grand Slam titles this season.
The duo achieved the same feat last season, and have left their rivals in the dust once more this time around.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesPatrick Mouratoglou names five challengers to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
Their dominance is reminiscent of that of the Big Three, when Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were almost unbeatable for a lengthy period.
But renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou has now identified five players who he thinks can challenge Alcaraz and Sinner in the future.
READ MORE: Jannik Sinner reacts to Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek’s latest complaints and says if he agrees
He said on his Instagram: “You guys ask me who I see as a potential rival to Carlos and Jannik in the future. They will need to have great forehand, great backhand, great serve, great movements, great mindset. It’s a lot.
“First name, Ben Shelton. Unbelievable serve, unbelievable forehand, lefty, another advantage, great mindset, good movement. I would say he has two of the whole package.
“There are two that are not at the top at the moment, the movement, yes, he’s fast, but he’s not as fast as the guys because he’s heavier, he’s more muscular, so that’s a disadvantage.
“And I would say the backhand. His backhand was a weakness. Now it’s not a weakness anymore, even though he gets out of the backhand cross as early as he can, it has to become a strength.
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“Jack Draper is, of course, in the conversation. Another lefty. That’s an advantage. This guy has a lot of qualities. Big serve, unbelievable forehand, good sense for the game, very good fighter, very driven, confident in his ability to become top, top.
“He has a weakness, which is the backhand. His weakness is not a weakness anymore. Second weakness is his body that breaks a lot. Said that already two years ago that I was seeing him really, really high, and the only question mark was the injuries he was going through.
“I mean it looks like every year now he’s going to have one big injury that’s going to prevent him from playing three, four months. It’s too much. So this is the main issue he will need to solve. If he solves it, then I think he can be a rival of Carlos and Jannik.
“Of course, Felix [Auger-Aliassime], coming back to a great level. Felix’s weakness has always been his backhand. He’s someone who serves so well and moves so fast around his backhand that he could cover it most of the time, because he’s very often in offense.
“Not only he was able to hit many more backhands in play and good backhands, but also he kept moving around it really fast, using his forehand, using his serve, and did serve very well. So it’s great news to have him back because I think he’s a very exciting player to watch as well.
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“Then you have Holger Rune that I know very well of course. I think he has also what it takes in his game, strong serve, huge forehand, huge backhand, unbelievable movement. He doesn’t have the stability, and the consistency, whether it’s in his game, in his results, or in his attitude.
“Because that’s also one of the things between the matches, sometimes the emotion takes over, and he loses his focus, and he loses matches because of that. So he has things that he needs to solve. If he does, he’s a really serious potential rival to Carlos and Jannik.
“Then Joao Fonseca. He has everything. He has no weakness, and I would say that both of his shots are really extremely strong. He serves well, he moves well, so he’s a potential rival for them, and I feel he really, really wants it.
“We have to be patient with Joao. How much? Well he needs to pass the stages. He has to finish the season top 30, and next season top 10, and I think the next season after top 10, this is where he should really start to threaten Carlos and Jannik.”
How do Patrick Mouratoglou’s challengers compare to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?
Mouratoglou certainly knows a thing or two about tennis, having been under the employment of legendary figure Serena Williams once upon a time.
The well-respected Frenchman has also coached the likes of Simona Halep, Stefanos Tsitsipas and most recently Naomi Osaka.
RankPlayerAgeTitles1Carlos Alcaraz22242Jannik Sinner24216Ben Shelton2238Jack Draper23311Holger Rune22513Felix Auger-Aliassime25743Joao Fonseca191Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner vs five ATP rivals
And he’s certainly identified some very exciting talents on the ATP Tour, who should really be desperate to knock Alcaraz and Sinner off their perch.
But that is much easier said than done, and it could be quite some time before the leading duo witness a worthy challenger to their current dominance.