Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner took control of the ATP tour in 2024, making a difference especially in Grand Slam tournaments. The Italian ace lifted the trophy at the Australian Open and US Open, while the Spaniard became the youngest player ever to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year.
The world number 1 had an impressive regularity last season, collecting 73 victories and suffering only six defeats, despite the fact that the doping case caused him a lot of stress from March onwards.
Three of Jannik’s six losses in 2024 came against Carlitos, who reached an impressive peak between spring and summer but did not have the same consistency as his great rival. As had already happened in 2023, the 4-time Grand Slam champion had a further drop in the latter part of the season and was overtaken by Sascha Zverev in second place in the ATP rankings.
Almost everyone believes that the Italian and the Spaniard will be the men to beat in 2025 as well, especially in the four Major tournaments. The two young champions will have a very similar schedule in the first part of next season. Both will make their official debut directly at the Australian Open, which will start at Melbourne Park on January 12 and end on January 26.
Jannik and Carlitos are both entered in the ATP 500 in Rotterdam and Doha in February, before the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and Miami in early spring. The 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria will have to defend almost 12,000 points in 2025, but he has an excellent chance of staying at the top of the ATP rankings by having a huge advantage over all his opponents.
Alcaraz – on the other hand – will have to be much more regular during the year if he wants to get closer to Sinner’s throne. For the first time in his career, the Spaniard will not only have Juan Carlos Ferrero at his side but also the experienced coach Samuel Lopez.
An incessant comparison
In the last year, the comparisons between Sinner and Alcaraz have become more and more insistent. These two players are destined to mark an era, and many believe that they are the worthy heirs of the Big 3.
In one of his last interviews in 2024, Alcaraz confided that he struggles a lot to maintain the same level of motivation and intensity from January until November.
“Sometimes I didn’t feel motivated at all. It is a difficult moment. As I said many times, you know, the calendar is so tight, a lot of tournaments, no days off or not as many days off as I want” – he explained.
“I’ve seen a lot of people talk about my exhibitions this year and complain about the schedule, at the same time putting a lot of exhibition. But I want to say there is different things; we all have to separate the exhibitions and the calendar” – the Spaniard concluded.
The current world number 3 has understood that he has to change some of his habits if he wants to dethrone Sinner and his work during the pre-season has been very intense from all points of view. Carlos hopes to reap the rewards of this hard work in Melbourne in a couple of weeks’ time.
