Wimbledon finalists Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz not yet on same level as ‘untouchable’ Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic – Nick Kyrgios

If their Roland-Garros classic is anything to go by, the second consecutive major final between the two could be just as special.

You would have to go back to the 2023 US Open to find a men’s Grand Slam final that did not feature either the Spaniard or Italian, and Vandeweghe believes that their rivalry “seamlessly replaces” Federer and Nadal’s.

“The only one I can think we can compare it to was Roger-Rafa here, and it was a similar setting after playing in the final of Roland-Garros, they played in the final of Wimbledon,” said the American.

“It’s a repeat of history and I think it’ll be interesting. Carlos has come out and throttled Taylor Fritz, even though it was four sets. Fritz stayed in it with big serving. And Jannik Sinner, how is his elbow? This is his biggest rival – Carlos Alcaraz – he’s the one that can hang with them in the physicality department.”

She continued: “It seamlessly replaces Roger and Rafa for sure. I’m throwing it out there. This is going to be a rivalry for the ages. I think the contrast of the personalities fits well, their games pose such different questions that they have to manage on different surfaces. They’re meeting on every single one and the rest of the field has to play massive catch-up.

“They are leaps and bounds the best in the world. We saw what happened to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. Novak used to be the pinnacle of physicality as well as just a game technician and he got beaten at it two times in a row at Grand Slams.”

In beating Fritz in the semi-finals, Alcaraz reached his third consecutive Wimbledon final and could walk away with a third straight title at SW19.

His French Open triumph was his second consecutive in Paris, and it was his fifth straight win over world No. 1 Sinner, who will chase his first triumph against Alcaraz since the China Open in October 2023.

Despite that, Sinner has the only win between the two at Wimbledon, beating him in 2022 in the last 16.

“The elbow is feeling pretty good. You beat Ben Shelton in straight sets, then you beat one of the greats of all time in straight sets,” Kyrgios said about Sinner’s journey to the final.

“The elbow is feeling fine. There’s a lot on this match. Sinner’s lost five times in a row to Alcaraz, and mentally that plays a part. I lost five times in a row to Andy Murray; it does play on your mind. The sixth time you go out there, you come with a different game plan.”

Regardless of the result, Sinner will stay at the top of the ATP rankings and mark his 57th consecutive week at the top of the list, but the Italian will be desperate to avoid another final loss to Alcaraz after their five-and-a-half-hour match in Paris.

“The last five times they’ve played have been the finals of Rome, French Open,” Kyrgios said. “Mentally for Sinner, this is going to be a big task. I do think it could happen, but my eyes are slightly with Alcaraz.

“Let’s put to bed the conversation that these two are near the three ‘GOATs’ of our sport. These three paved the way for all these players.

“Eventually, they will get to some pretty incredible numbers, but right now, prime Roger, Rafa and Novak are untouchable.”