As Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner continue to adapt impressively to grass, the Spaniard and the Italian will deliver fans the next instalment of a highly-anticipated rivalry at Wimbledon.
Almost simultaneously, Alcaraz completed a straight-sets domination of Oscar Otte while Sinner tamed the big-serving John Isner, also in straight sets.
It means the two young guns will clash in a blockbuster fourth-round meeting – with dominant Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic expected to be waiting for the winner in the quarterfinals.
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Alcaraz said he was going to enjoy facing his fellow rising star in one of the biggest matches of their respective careers.
“Playing against Jannik is always tough. I like to play these kind of matches, these kind of challenges,” said the 19-year-old, who is targeting a third major quarterfinal after reaching the same stage at the 2021 US Open and at Roland Garros last month.
“I would say Jannik and I are the youngest player in the draw right now, I think so. Well, maybe we are the most talented player, but obviously there are a lot of young players as well that they play unbelievable.
“I would say that out of youngsters, let's say.”
Alcaraz is correct – he and Sinner are the youngest players remaining in the men’s singles draw at Wimbledon in 2022.
They have a good relationship, chatting in the locker room and practising together; Sinner revealed they saw each other in the ice bath after winning their third-round matches on Friday.
And they are two of the game’s most breathless ball-strikers, who seem increasingly comfortable unleashing their attack upon opponents on London’s lawns.
Until this tournament, Sinner had never won a main-draw match on grass, and entered having lost six consecutive grass-court matches.
But by reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon, he has now recorded second-week appearances at all four majors.
Sinner was the “it” player on the men’s tour a couple of seasons ago, especially when he stormed into the Roland Garros quarterfinals in 2020.
Then aged 19, he was the youngest player to reach a major quarterfinal in almost a decade, and the youngest to do so in Paris since Djokovic in 2006.
He peaked at world No.9 in November 2021, but has been superseded by the younger-still Alcaraz, an even more potent force in 2022 with two ATP Masters titles, wins over Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, and a higher peak ranking of No.6.
When the two faced off in their only previous tour-level meeting at the 2021 Paris Masters, Alcaraz outhit his rival in a thrillingly entertaining 7-6(1) 7-5 encounter.
“I hope I can be part of this (highly-anticipated rivalry), for sure. But everyone has his own way. I still have to work a lot. So let's see what the future gives me and Carlos,” Sinner said.
“We are both young. We are both great tennis players and good persons. Hopefully this can be the case.
“But I'm not thinking so much about that. I'm thinking about my way where I have to go. Obviously there is a lot of work to do.”
Like Sinner, Alcaraz entered this year’s Championships with an extremely limited grass-court CV.
He had played just two professional matches on the surface in his career – both at Wimbledon in 2021, for a win and a loss – and did not play an official lead-in event this year.
He was given a scare in the first round when he trailed Jan-Lennard Struff by two-sets-to-one, and 0-2 in the fourth-set tiebreak, before conjuring an escape.
He has thrived ever since, winning eight sets in a row to book his appointment with Sinner.
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“I played unbelievable today. This was my best performance so far,” Alcaraz said after beating Otte, adding he was growing increasingly comfortable playing and moving on the lawns.
“I'm really happy with the level, and I will try to keep this level into the next round.
“Obviously Jannik is a good player. He plays unbelievable. He has a great level here on grass. He has won really good matches here.
“So it's going to be a really tough round.”