The two decades between 2003 and 2023 were a golden era for men\u2019s tennis. <\/p>\n
The \u201cBig Three\u201d \u2014 Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic \u2014 won 66 of the 82 Grand Slam\u00a0singles. Their unprecedented dominance and rivalries made for intense, captivating matches.<\/p>\n
Now, with Federer and Nadal retired and 38-year-old Djokovic\u00a0struggling to hold back time, some have questioned the future of male tennis.<\/p>\n
The \u201cBig Three\u201d \u2014 Novak Djokovic (from left), Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer \u2014 dominated men\u2019s tennis for decades. With Federer and Nadal retired, and Djokovic aging, some questioned the sport\u2019s future. Getty Images<\/p>\n
In his new book, \u201cChangeover \u2013 A Young Rivalry and A New Era of Men\u2019s Tennis\u201d (Gallery Books), Giri Nathan argues that it shouldn\u2019t be. The future of the game is safe in the hands of two young players \u2013\u00a0Spain\u2019s Carlos Alcaraz, 22, and Italy\u2019s Jannik Sinner, 23.<\/p>\n
\u201cTogether they have made the sport anew,\u201d he writes, \u201cstepping into superstardom right as the greatest generation slipped out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan pinpoints the epic 2022 US Open quarter-final between the two, where Alcaraz triumphed in five sets en route to his first major title, as the moment tennis entered a new phase.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a vision from some sharp and fearsome new era that our eyes had not yet adjusted to,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n
The match was also notable for the marked contrast between the approaches of the two players. <\/p>\n
\u201c[Alcaraz] was mercurial; [Sinner was] methodical,\u201d adds Nathan. \u201cOne was a master of compartmentalization; the other seemed to feel everything all at once.\u201d<\/p>\n
That difference may be down to their backgrounds, the author asserts.<\/p>\n
Nadal and Federer had a unique rivalry and friendship. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Born in El Parmar, Spain in 2003, Alcaraz first picked up a racket at age four and displayed a clear natural talent. His parents couldn\u2019t afford the cost of taking him on the junior circuit, so he had to rely on sponsorship from a local confectionary store. <\/p>\n
By the age of 12 he was already signed by sports agency IMG, securing lucrative clothing and equipment sponsorship deals and by the time he made his debut on the Challenger Tour, at 15, his reputation preceded him.<\/p>\n
He won his first ever match too, reeling off six games in the third set to beat \u201ca gangly ginger by the name of Jannik Sinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sinner grew up in the Dolomites mountain range in northern Italy with parents working at a ski lodge. He first played tennis at age 7, but gave it up soon after to focus on skiing. <\/p>\n
Yiri Nathan\u2019s new book looks at the future of the game. <\/p>\n
In his tween years, he was one of the best junior skiers in Italy, but then his slender physique started to work against him and he returned to tennis.<\/p>\n
\u201cTennis was a passion for Carlos and a religion for Jannik,\u201d Nathan writes. <\/p>\n
Going into this year\u2019s US Open, Sinner is ranked No. 1 and Alcaras is No. 2, but the Spaniard is the clear fan favorite \u2014 all Latin passion and mile-wide smiles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sinner, meanwhile, is something of a villain, largely because he tested positive for a banned substance in the spring of 2024. He served a three-month ban, but many in the game thought it was insufficient, especially compared to punishments given to less high-profile players.<\/p>\n
The fact that they are two very different characters makes their rivalry especially compelling, as does their distinct styles of play. <\/p>\n
Jannik Sinner (left) and Carlos Alcaraz have an exciting rivalry. \u201cThe future of the game is safe in the hands of two young players,\u201d writes Giri Nathan. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Sinner is coolly consistent, hitting powerful, aggressive shots from the baseline.<\/p>\n
Alcaraz thrills with high highs and unbelievable winning shots that are tempered by low lows. <\/p>\n
\u201cLike all the richest rivalries before them, each prodigy possessed some virtue absent in the other one; somehow each one appeared to be the antidote to the other\u2019s style of play,\u201d Nathan writes. \u201cSinner needs to find more comfort in the unscripted moments of feel and daring that are Alcaraz\u2019s native habitat \u2026 [and] Alcaraz has to smooth out his cycles of emotional burnout so he doesn\u2019t feel like a \u2018slave\u2019 to the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alcaraz\u2019s passionate, varied style has made him a fan favorite. Andrew Schwartz \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n
Nathan\u2019s belief that the rivalry is destined to be one for the ages is borne out by the Grand Slam matches they have played since finishing his book.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not only have the pair won the last seven Grand Slam events between them but they have also produced two epic finals in the last two.<\/p>\n
When the pair met in the French Open final in June, Alcaraz won a five-set thriller after a grueling five hours and twenty-nine minutes of play, the longest ever final in the event\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
Six weeks later, the two met again in the men\u2019s final at Wimbledon where Sinner avenged his defeat in Paris in four enthralling sets on Centre Court.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sinner is a consistent, aggressive powerhouse known for playing the baseline. Andrew Schwartz \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n
You can expect more of the same at the US Open, where the men\u2019s singles matches start Monday<\/p>\n
\u201cThe future will surely be defined by these two, interlocked in a joyful and absorbing struggle,\u201d Nathan writes. \u201cIt is a smothering counterexample to anyone fussing about what tennis could even be after the old gods faded away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNew gods take their place.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The two decades between 2003 and 2023 were a golden era for men\u2019s tennis. The \u201cBig Three\u201d \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106336,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[223,2073,432,433,42337,813,4037,99,428,14687],"class_list":["post-106335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-books","tag-carlos-alcaraz","tag-jannik-sinner","tag-novak-djokovic","tag-postscript","tag-rafael-nadal","tag-roger-federer","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-us-open-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}