Sinner & Alcaraz nearing Big Four levels of Top 10 dominance

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have quickly established themselves at the top of the sport, and a big reason why is because of their performance against the best players in the world.

Entering the season, only four players since 2000 had earned at least 13 wins against opponents inside the world’s Top 10 in a single season. They are the legendary ‘Big Four’ of Novak Djokovic (10x), Roger Federer (10x), Rafael Nadal (4x) and Andy Murray (3x).

[ATP AWARDS]

Sinner has joined the elite group by earning 14 Top 10 victories entering the final match of round-robin play at the Nitto ATP Finals. Alcaraz is one triumph away from adding his name to the exclusive list with a round-robin clash to go on Friday against Alexander Zverev.

“That's good to know for my confidence to go up a little bit,” said Alcaraz, who cracked a smile when told about his 12-4 record against the Top 10 this season.

Most Wins vs. Top 10 (2024)

Not only have they earned a lot of Top 10 wins this year, but they have been doing so at a historic success rate.

According to Infosys ATP Stats, Bjorn Borg holds the career record for winning percentage against the Top 10 at 71.1 per cent. The Swede is the only qualifying player on record with a winning percentage of more than 70 per cent.

Alcaraz has claimed 75 per cent of his Top 10 matches this year (12-4) and Sinner has emerged victorious from 73.7 per cent of his Top 10 matches (14-5). According to Alcaraz, it is key against the very best to focus on playing “good tennis”.

“Obviously playing against the top players, you think to yourself that you have to play at your best tennis. If not, you are going to lose against them. That helps a lot,” Alcaraz said. “Before matches against top players, realise what kind of game, what kind of shots you are going to play or you're going to hit. I think that's it. In tennis, really important [is]the mental game, the way you talk to yourself before the matches.”

The Spaniard explained how he puts himself in a different mindset to meet the challenge against the very best opponents.

“When I'm going to play against a top player, I'm going to repeat myself that I'm better,” Alcaraz said. “I’m going to play my best, my 100 per cent just to beat them.”

Sinner’s Top 10 turnaround helped him climb to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings in June. Entering 2024, the Italian was 22-27 when facing the elite group. This year he is 14-5 and all five of his defeats were in a deciding set.

Sinner is 2-0 in the Ilie Nastase Group and Alcaraz is 1-1 in the John Newcombe Group as they both try to reach the semi-finals at the Inalpi Arena. Their success the rest of the week in Turin will rely on their efforts against Top 10 opponents.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]