Can anyone in the men’s game derail the Sincaraz train? As the season’s first Grand Slam comes into focus, that is the burning question. It underlines how dominant Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are in men’s tennis that the great Roger Federer felt compelled to namecheck Brazil’s João Fonseca to break the duopoly.
Speaking days before the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne, the season’s first Grand Slam, Federer challenged players from several generations to step up. “Sincaraz”, as Sinner and Alcaraz have been dubbed, have claimed the last eight Grand Slams between them. You have to go back to the US Open in 2023 for a different winner, when Novak Djokovic claimed his 24th career singles Grand Slam title.
One of the gobsmacking statistical anomalies is that No 3 Alexander Zverev is more than 6,000 ranking points below Sinner at No 2. In terms of points, Zverev is closer to India’s Atharva Sharma, last on the official ATP rankings at position 2223, than he is to Sinner. Brazil’s 19-year-old rising star Fonseca, who is ranked 30 in the world, is seen as the player likely to turn this era into another “big three” similar to that of Federer, Djokovic and Rafa Nadal.
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But Fonseca is young and inexperienced at Grand Slam level in particular. He has won two ATP titles already, but it seems a long shot that he is ready for a tilt at a Grand Slam. The established chasing pack such as Zverev, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz and others also must believe they can stop the Big Two.
“You don’t want to be the third guy,” Federer said of Fonseca, before the start of the 2026 Aussie Open, where Federer will play an exhibition doubles match to start the tournament. “You want to bethe guy. For anybody… I would think hopefully that’s what he’s thinking.
I think anybody from the draw could come here and say, ‘I want to win the Australian Open.’ It should be totally the same for João. I hope he has that mindset. “I think what separates him from a lot of the other guys in the draw are his power, forehand, backhand, serve, and what he’s able to bring point for point.
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