Tennis legend and esteemed commentator Mats Wilander believes Carlos Alcaraz is better than Jannik Sinner as he argued the 2024 Australian Open champion is ATP #1 because of the computer.
The Swede backed Alcaraz to clinch many more Grand Slams due to his aggressive approach and thinks that the result of matches always depends on his performance.
Alcaraz last week bagged his third major title to complete three titles on each of the three surfaces as he won 2024 Roland Garros by downing Alexander Zverev after a close 5-set battle.
The Spaniard prevailed against Italian Jannik Sinner where he was two sets to one down before overcoming his arch rival in 5-sets as he improved the head-to-head 5-4 win the valuable win.
Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal from the clay major after reaching the last eight ensured Sinner would replace him to become the World No. 1 for the first time in his career.
Alcaraz’s Paris win also saw him surpass Djokovic to seal the ATP #2 rank.
7-time Grand Slam champion Wilander highlighted why tennis needs Alcaraz and declared that he gives the Spaniard the edge over the 22-year-old Italian World No. 1.
“With the end of the Big Three, Carlos Alcaraz is a godsend for our sport. He can make tennis even more popular,” expressed Wilander in his column for L’Equipe.
“Alcaraz has shown that he does not have to play his best tennis to win. He will be able to win many more Slams thanks to his aggressive game and the great courage he shows in important points. The match result always depends on his performance.
“Sinner is world No 1 only because of the ‘computer’, but Alcaraz is better.”
After it was confirmed Djokovic would be dethroned of the ATP #1 rank by Sinner, the former World No.1 asserted that the Serbian remained the best player in the world.
“I know very well that Sinner has just had an exceptional first part of the season and that the computer is not lying,” he wrote in another recent L’Equipe column.
“But I also don’t forget that Novak remains the defending champion at the US Open and the Masters (ATP Finals), and that he was a finalist at Wimbledon a year ago. As long as he is there, for me, he remains the best.
“And we saw in his end of the match against Cerundolo that, even injured, when he goes into ‘Djoko mode’, he is almost unbeatable. In fact, he fell to second place in the world due to a health problem. Not on a defeat.”