Follow us on Google Discover Jannik Sinner is on his way towards breaking all sorts of records in professional tennis as he and Carlos Alcaraz prove there is life after the big three.
Novak Djokovic is still flying the flag for the elite group who have dominated the sport, with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal now sailing off into the sunset.
The greatest-ever debate is often discussed in a number of different circles, with it being pretty much impossible to choose between the greatest three players to ever play the sport of tennis.
Juan Ignacio Chela recently picked Federer as the greatest, but Nick Kyrgios has long maintained that his good friend Djokovic takes the mantle.
Now, Sinner has been put on the spot at the recent Six Kings Slam, and he’s picked his greatest of all time based solely on tennis-playing abilities.
Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty ImagesJannik Sinner ranks Federer, Nadal and Djokovic in order of ability
Sinner was praised by Alcaraz after beating him at the Six Kings Slam, and the Italian took home a cool $6 million in prize money.
During the tournament, he sat down to blind rank some of the game’s greatest-ever players and the results were intriguing to say the least.
Naturally, it was obvious which players would be thrown up, and in theory, gaps could have been left for Sinner to put certain players as they were randomly thrown up.
Nadal was the first of the big three offered to Sinner and he quickly placed him in second after saying the game was ‘difficult’.
After Rod Laver was thumped into sixth place behind Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras, Federer came up and Sinner emphatically said: “For me, one, number one!”
Djokovic was then put down in number three, with Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe completing the selection of players.
Jannik Sinner closing in on legends of the game already
Clearly, Sinner and Alcaraz have some way to go in order to match the big three players to have shared around the Grand Slam titles over the last 20 years but he’s already close to other legendary figures.
With four Grand Slam crowns to his name, Sinner already has as many as Jim Courier and is just two shy of Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg.
TitlesPlayer24Novak Djokovic22Rafael Nadal20Roger Federer14Pete Sampras11Bjorn Borg8Jimmy Connors8Ivan Lendl8Andre Agassi7John McEnroe7Mats Wilander6Carlos Alcaraz6Stefan Edberg6Boris Becker4Jannik SinnerGrand Slam titles
The thing that should help Sinner and Alcaraz when it comes to Grand Slam titles is that unlike Federer and Nadal there isn’t a Djokovic emerging to pinch titles away from them.
It’s interesting that Sinner has gone with Federer ahead of Nadal or Djokovic who both have more Grand Slam titles, highlighting how Federer is still viewed despite a minor shortcoming in that sense.
Sinner will begin next year chasing the world number one spot after losing it to Alcaraz and with those two at the summit of the sport, tennis looks to be in good hands.