The legendary Italian tennis player Adriano Panatta predicts that Carlos Alcaraz will be a major player in 2024 and that Novak Djokovic will be less involved.
The former French Open champion believes that Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner would follow the battle between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and become the circuit’s royal couple.
Sinner and Alcaraz have solidified their positions as the two top players from the new ATP player generation by sharing the three big titles that are now up for grabs in the 2024 season.
Panatta claimed that Alcaraz would be a stronger contender this year than Djokovic, citing the Spaniard’s rivalry with Sinner as motivation.
He stated his remarks about Alcaraz and said: “For me, Alcaraz will be one of the protagonists of 2024. Nole less, in my opinion. In the long run, Carlos will emerge. Sinner-Alcaraz will be the queen couple of the circuit in the coming years, retracing what Federer-Nadal has done in the past years.”
The Italian also discussed Sinner’s prospects for the clay-court season and added: “Logically he prefers fast courts, but if he plays as he has done in recent months, in my opinion, he can also win on carpet, lawn, wood: everywhere. Then there are also the opponents.”
Carlos Alcaraz in 2024
Ranked no.3, Alcaraz played his last match on the 28th of March when he lost to world no.9 Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 6-4 in the quarter in Miami (draw).
This year Carlos owns a 15-4 win-loss record. This year, the Spaniard won 1 tournament in Indian Wells.
Alcaraz conquered 1 title in 2024 in Indian Wells.
Alcaraz won 14 titles in his career: 4 on hard courts, 7 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 2 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Alcaraz will compete next in Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte–Carlo). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 7th of April.
Jannik Sinner in 2024
At the moment ranked no.2 (career-high), Sinner played his last match on the 31st of March when he defeated world no.9 Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 6-1 in the final in Miami to win his 14th career title.
This season Sinner has achieved an overall 22-1 win-loss record. The Italian has won 3 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Rotterdam and Miami.
Sinner has won 3 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Rotterdam and Miami.
The Italian won 14 titles in his career: 6 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 7 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Sinner will compete next in Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte–Carlo). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 7th of April.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played each other 9 times. Their head to head is 5-4 for Alcaraz. The last time they squared off, Carlos Alcaraz won 1-6 6-3 6-2 in the semifinal in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open) on the 16th of March 2024.
Here are the highlights.