Argentine ATP Tour star Sebastian Baez has declared that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are “completely different players” as he identified what makes the two stars so difficult to play against.
Alcaraz and Sinner have established a duopoly in men’s tennis in the last two years having secured the last nine majors between them since the start of 2024.
The pair met in six finals last year, including three successive Grand Slams championship matches (French Open, Wimbledon and US Open).
In an interview with Argentine newspaper La Nacion, world No 34 Baez broke down Alcaraz and Sinner’s respective games.
“They’re completely different players,” said the 25-year-old.
“Alcaraz has a talent, skill, and rebelliousness that are extraordinary; incredible leg power, impressive shot quality.
“They’re relatively tall and lanky with uncommon mobility, and then there’s the variety of shots they have.
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“Alcaraz is constantly hitting shots that make you think, ‘Come on, man!’ He can hit a slice, a lob, a rocket, a drop shot, another lob, another rocket. You can hit in every direction and always have a response.
“With Sinner, you feel like he’s suffocating you. You give him a short pass and he’ll sink you. But then he doesn’t miss a ball, he doesn’t miss returns, he’s always there, intense, defending, so they create different situations.
“With Alcaraz, at least from a player’s perspective, it feels like he makes more mistakes, but at the same time, he doesn’t know what he’s going to do next; he has a wider range of shots to leave you standing still.
“Sinner might be more predictable, but he’s very… we call him Robotito. He’s very consistent and always plays in the right place.
“He’s a machine. Cool. Tactical. They’re both talented, and it’s impressive how quickly they’ve achieved so much.”
Baez is in action this week at the Argentina Open, an ATP 250 tournament in Buenos Aires, where he is the No 4 seed.
What is Sebastian Baez’s record against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?
Baez holds a 0-3 record against Sinner and a 0-2 record against Alcaraz (0-3 if a Next Gen ATP Finals match is included).
The only set the Argentine has won against either of the two greats came in his first meeting with Sinner at the 2023 Shanghai Masters.
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