Alcaraz, Sinner's comparison with 'Big Four' not justified, says former world No 1: 'There’s so much that goes into it't goes into it'

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have dominated men's singles tennis for more than two years now, having shared all the Grand Slam titles since the start of the 2024 season, and certainly are streets ahead of the rest of the field at present. However, statements suggesting that the two youngsters are playing at a level higher than the 'Big Four' have been labelled premature by British former player Jamie Murray.

Tennis greats such as John McEnroe and Mats Wilander had suggested that the 'Sincaraz' pair, who had equally distributed the eight Majors in 2024 and 2025 between themselves, are playing at a level higher than the legendary quartet of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Jamie's younger brother Andy at the corresponding phase of their careers.

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Former doubles No 1 Murray, however, dismissed the suggestion, stating that it still is too early for Alcaraz and Sinner to be compared with the 'Big Four' despite their red-hot success over the last couple of years.

"I would never say who is better or not, but until those guys (Alcaraz and Sinner) get up to 18, 19, 20 Grand Slams, it’s tough to say that those other guys (Big 4) weren’t the greatest," Jamie, who had announced his retirement from the sport recently, said on the Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast.

Catching up with the 'Big Four' easier said than done, says Jamie

The 'Big Four' had collectively won a mind-boggling 69 Grand Slams in an era of domination that has rarely been witnessed in professional sport, with the trio of Djokovic (24), Nadal (22) and Federer (20) accounting for a majority of those titles.

Alcaraz and Sinner, in comparison, have a total of 11 Grand Slam triumphs between them, the former collecting his seventh after beating Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open in January.

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And while Jamie believes that catching up with the quartet certainly is possible for the two young stars, maintaining that form over an extended period of time would be easier said than done.

"They’ve got the numbers to back it up. Is there a good chance they’ll catch them? Right now you have to say it is, but know, Alcaraz has seven right now. So he’s still 17 away from Novak. People think, oh yeah, but he can win three a year for the next, you know, five years. But that’s not easy to do that!

"There’s also players that we don’t know about that are going to come through and challenge those guys and you’ve got to stay fit and healthy and motivated. There’s so much that goes into it. I personally will be surprised if those guys play until they are 38, 39, 40. I don’t think they will do because of the nature of the tour now, but we’ll see," Jamie added.

Alcaraz and Sinner had recently faced off in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters on 12 April, which the latter won by a 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 scoreline.