Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner described as ‘catchable’ by ATP rival despite dominance

 Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been described as “catchable” by ATP rival Casper Ruud despite their recent dominance in the men’s game.

World No 1 Sinner and world No 2 Alcaraz have been the men to beat in recent months, with the two by far and away the most successful ATP players since the start of 2024.

The pair have combined to win the last seven Grand Slam singles titles, one of the greatest duopolies of the Open Era, and faced off in back-to-back major finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this summer.

Sinner and Alcaraz are again the heavy favourites for the 2025 US Open title, with action underway in New York in less than two weeks, with all eyes on whether anyone can potentially challenge them.

Many people are looking towards the younger generation as potential challengers in the future, with the likes of Jakub Mensik and João Fonseca considered among their rivals of the future.

However, former world No 2 Ruud has now thrown his hat into the ring.

Speaking on The Sit-Down, the 26-year-old revealed that he would not be playing if he “didn’t believe” he could challenge anyone on the ATP Tour.

He said: “Now you have two guys [Alcaraz and Sinner] who honestly you can say they’re also taking it to a little bit of a different level.

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“But I really still believe that they’re catchable, let’s say, that it’s possible to catch up with them, and they’re beatable.

“Otherwise I don’t think I would be here if I didn’t believe that you can beat anyone.”

Sinner and Alcaraz’s dominance comes directly after the reign of the ‘Big 3’ of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal, who won a combined 66 Grand Slam titles.

Many predicted that, with Nadal and Federer retired and Djokovic now 38, there would be an open period in the men’s game, with several opportunities to win Grand Slam titles.

However, that has so far proven not to be the case, with Ruud one of the players missing out on Grand Slam success so far.

The Norwegian has reached three Grand Slam finals and has lost on all three occasions, though he has not had an easy time of things in regards to his opponents.

Ruud faced Nadal in the 2022 French Open final and then Alcaraz in the US Open final later that year, with Djokovic his opponent at Roland Garros in 2023.

A difficult spell has seen the reigning Madrid Open champion fall to world No 13 in the ATP Rankings, though the 26-year-old still believes a run to an elusive major is possible.

“The ultimate goal and the final goal for my career is, of course, maybe to lift a trophy at a Slam one day,” he added.

“But it’s not going to be easy, because you have a lot of players who think the same way, and the level is just really high.”