Men’s tennis is going through a duopoly at the moment, with World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and World No. 2 Jannik Sinner winning each of the last eight Grand Slam singles titles. Their dominance has paved the way to a new high-profile rivalry in tennis, with the two facing off in the last three Grand Slam finals. Amidst this, tennis legend Roger Federer had pointed out that tournament directors often change the speed of the tennis courts in order to ensure that Alcaraz or Sinner are near-impossible to beat, virtually guaranteeing that the two reach the summit clash. Now, Sinner has reacted to these statements.
Federer had earlier exposed the intentions of tournament directors when he appeared on ‘Andy Roddick’s Served Media’ channel.
“I understand the safety net tournament directors see in making the surface slower. For the weaker player, he has to hit extra amazing shots to beat Sinner,” Federer had stated.
“Whereas if it’s quick, he can only maybe blast a few at the right time and he gets past. That’s why tournament directors like having Sinner and Alcaraz in the finals, it kind of works for the game,” Federer had said.
However, Sinner has now reacted to Federer’s comments, claiming that most hard courts are similar in nature.
“The hard courts, they are at times very similar,” Sinner said ahead of his first match at the China Open.
“At times, there are some small changes, a couple of changes. One tournament that comes up a bit is Indian Wells because the ball bounces very high. It’s a bit different how the ball reacts with the court,” Sinner observed.
“But yeah, if not, we have more or less similar game situations on the court. This is how it has been for a long time, like this. I don’t know if there is going to be a change or not,” Sinner said.
“I’m just a player who tries to adapt myself in the best possible way. I feel like I’m doing a good job in this, but let’s see what the future can give us in every tournament,” Sinner further said.
Alcaraz and Sinner have been nearly unbeatable in singles recently, with the two almost inevitably making their way to the Grand Slam finals.
Sinner held the World No. 1 ranking for much of 2025, but lost it after his US Open final defeat to Alcaraz earlier this month.
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