(Reuters) – Carlos Alcaraz faces Jannik Sinner in the fourth round of Wimbledon on Sunday, with their blockbuster maiden Grand Slam encounter likely to give fans a glimpse of what the future of men’s tennis could look like.
Alcaraz won his only previous tour-level meeting with Sinner — defeating the Italian 7-6(1) 7-5 at last year’s Paris Masters — but the 19-year-old said he expects a difficult test when the two friends face each other again at the grasscourt major.
“Jannik is a good player. He plays unbelievable. He has a great level on grass. He has won really good matches here, so it’s going to be a really tough round,” said the fifth-seeded Spaniard, who thumped German Oscar Otte in his last match.
“But obviously I’m going to enjoy (myself)… I like to play these kind of matches.
“We’re the youngest players in the draw… maybe the most talented players, but obviously there are a lot of young players as well that play unbelievable. Out of youngsters, let’s say.”
Last year, Alcaraz won the Next Generation ATP Finals title to emulate the 20-year-old Sinner — who had managed the feat in 2019 — and the Spaniard has since broken into the top 10 on the back of titles in Madrid, Barcelona, Miami and Rio in 2022.
While Sinner has not enjoyed similar success this year, the world number 13 does not lack belief on the grandest stages, as he proved by storming into the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2020 and the Australian Open in January.
The Italian, who downed big-serving American John Isner in the previous round, hopes that his latest meeting with Alcaraz can help their budding rivalry take off.
“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’re both young, 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 where I have to go… there is a lot of work to do.”
Awaiting the winner of the match could be top seed Novak Djokovic, who faces Dutch wild card Tim van Rijthoven on Sunday.
Among the women, third seed Ons Jabeur plays Elise Mertens while former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko meets Tatjana Maria.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
