MIRACLE RIVALRY: WHY RICHARD KRAJICEK SAYS CARLOS ALCARAZ AND JANNIK SINNER SAVED MEN’S TENNIS
Richard Krajicek calls the Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry a miracle! Read how the "New Two" have won 9 straight Slams and what's next in 2026.
Richard Krajicek, who won Wimbledon back in the day and now runs the Rotterdam Open, can’t get enough of the rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. He calls it “unbelievable”, and honestly, he’s got a point.
Right now, Alcaraz and Sinner sit at the top of the ATP rankings at No. 1 and No. 2. They’ve completely taken over men’s tennis. Between them, they’ve claimed the last nine Grand Slam singles titles. Alcaraz just picked up another at the Australian Open, and both he and Sinner have bagged two majors each in both 2024 and 2025. Nobody’s surprised that everyone expects them to dominate the rest of the big tournaments in 2026.
Last season, these two were everywhere. They faced off in the finals at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. That’s never happened before in the Open Era: two guys meeting in three Grand Slam finals in one year. It’s wild.
This kind of dominance comes right after the Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic era. People thought things would open up once those legends stepped aside, maybe seeing a bunch of new faces winning Slams. Turns out, that didn’t happen. Alcaraz and Sinner pretty much shut the door on everyone else.
Krajicek himself wasn’t sure what men’s tennis would look like after the Big Three. He admits he worried about what was next. But then these two showed up and flipped the script.
He told Bolavip, “Alcaraz and Sinner are both unbelievable players, and they have an unbelievable rivalry. I certainly didn’t expect this to happen to tennis after Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. It is like a miracle.
“Of course, we still have Djokovic left. I want to say this is his last year, but with him, you never know; probably, he has three years left in him. But I was starting to think about what tennis is going to look like, even being a bit worried, and then these two guys arrived on the stage.
“Of course, they are very different. Alcaraz is very outgoing and has a lot of variety, whereas Sinner is more introverted and disciplined.
“Both of them are so popular and are playing amazing tennis, so I never expected this to happen so quickly after the Big Three.”
Krajicek had a front-row seat, too. As tournament director in Rotterdam, he’s gotten to know both players. Sinner won the tournament in 2024, beating Alex de Minaur. Alcaraz took the title in 2025, also against de Minaur.
Alcaraz was supposed to defend his Rotterdam title this week, but after his win at the Australian Open, he decided to skip it. Both he and Sinner are gearing up to play in Qatar next week. So, the show’s far from over.
WHY DID 22 PLAYERS SUDDENLY WITHDRAW FROM THE 2026 ITALIAN OPEN MID-TOURNAMENT?
Discover the full list of injured stars, including Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, forced out of the 2026 Italian Open.
At the 2026 Italian Open, the number of players who have withdrawn or retired during matches has climbed to 22, spanning both the ATP and WTA competitions.
By midweek, 17 players had already exited the combined ATP/WTA 1000 event in Rome. Since then, an additional three men and two women have followed suit.
Before the draws were even announced on Monday, prominent names like Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper, and Marketa Vondrousova had pulled out. On the opening day of the women’s tournament, Tuesday, Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu also withdrew.
Amanda Anisimova, ranked sixth in the WTA, stepped back before her first match on Thursday due to a left wrist injury. Meanwhile, Victoria Mboko, who is ninth in the world, withdrew before playing on Friday because of a gastrointestinal illness.
Valentin Vacherot, the 16th-ranked player on the ATP tour, pulled out shortly before his scheduled second-round match against Marin Cilic on Friday, citing a foot injury.
Tomas Machac, holding the 41st spot in the men's rankings, also withdrew ahead of his second-round encounter with Daniil Medvedev after an impactful win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in round one.
Arthur Fils, ranked 17th, retired during his opening match against Andrea Pellegrino on Saturday, trailing 0-4, due to hip pain.
Here’s a rundown of the withdrawals on the ATP side: Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2) was replaced by Sebastian Ofner; Taylor Fritz (No. 7) by Zachary Svajda; Valentin Vacherot (No. 16) by Martin Landaluce; Arthur Rinderknech (No. 24) by Aleksandar Kovacevic; Holger Rune (No. 40) by Damir Dzumhur; Gabriel Diallo (No. 46) by Alexander Blockx; Jack Draper (No. 50) by Hamad Medjedovic; Raphael Collignon (No. 68) by Alexandre Muller; Reilly Opelka (No. 74) by Aleksandar Vukic; Arthur Cazaux (No. 73) by Mattia Bellucci; Kamil Majchrzak (No. 76) by Roberto Bautista Agut; and Eliot Spizzirri (No. 92) by James Duckworth.
On the WTA side, Amanda Anisimova (No. 6) was replaced by Elena Gabriela Ruse from Romania; Victoria Mboko (No. 9) by Nikola Bartunkova; Marta Kostyuk (No. 15) by Ajla Tomljanovic; Emma Raducanu (No. 30) by Lilli Tagger; Marketa Vondrousova (No. 44) by Solana Sierra; Sonay Kartal (No. 56) by Zeynep Sonmez; Varvara Gracheva (No. 61) by Eva Lys; and Veronika Kudermetova (No. 70) by Petra Marcinko.
THE "REST OVER REPS" PLAN: WHY JANNIK SINNER IS SNUBBING HALLE FOR WIMBLEDON
After 23 consecutive wins, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner adjusts his schedule to target a Career Grand Slam and Wimbledon glory.
Jannik Sinner has already logged a heavy schedule this year, with deep runs in recent Masters 1000 tournaments keeping him on court against top-tier competition regularly. Given this demanding stretch, he’s taken a fresh look at his calendar and decided to skip the Halle Open, carving out a three-week break between Roland Garros and his Wimbledon title defence.
The 2024 Wimbledon champion won’t be heading to Germany for the grass-court event. That’s notable since Sinner claimed that Wimbledon crown in impressive fashion, overcoming two-time winner Carlos Alcaraz to secure his first major title away from hardcourts. That victory was his latest Grand Slam, following Alcaraz’s wins at the previous two majors.
After Roland Garros, where he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam, Sinner plans to recharge rather than pile on more tournaments before Wimbledon. Without Alcaraz in sight, he’s considered a favourite to maintain his remarkable run. His recent haul includes titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and, most recently, Madrid. Now, he’s setting his sights on Rome, his home turf, where he’s never clinched a win but is eager to continue an ambitious streak of Masters 1000 victories, aiming for a sixth in a row.
Post-Rome, he’ll take a week off before the French Open begins. In total, Sinner has played 23 matches over the last two months without tasting defeat. If he wants to lift the Rome trophy, he’ll need to notch six more wins, then potentially battle through seven more rounds in Paris. This demanding schedule partly explains his choice to forgo Halle.
As for the 2026 Halle Open, fans might be disappointed not to see the world number one, but the field remains strong. Heading the draw is Alexander Zverev, a local favourite who has yet to claim a grass-court title or even one on home soil. With Sinner out, this could be a prime opportunity for Zverev to break through.
The American players are also well represented. The U.S. hasn’t seen a finalist here since Mardy Fish in 2004, but Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton might be poised to change that, especially Fritz, who has already shown grass prowess with titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne last year.
Defending champion Alexander Bublik, who ousted Sinner on his way to victory and took down Daniil Medvedev in the final, will be back aiming to repeat. Alongside him, names like Andrey Rublev, Flavio Cobolli, and Frances Tiafoe are also set to compete. The tournament runs from June 15 to 21, promising plenty of exciting tennis.
