Carlos Alcaraz will “do better” than Jannik Sinner in 2024, reckons British No. 1 Cameron Norrie.
The young duo are primed to take over at the summit of men’s tennis, but are yet to truly dethrone the evergreen Novak Djokovic, who took home three of 2023’s four majors as well as the year-end No. 1 ranking.
Alcaraz and Sinner – together with Holger Rune – have been touted as the next ‘Big Three’, but despite Sinner’s stunning end to the year – which saw him beat Djokovic twice, once at the ATP Finals and once en route to Davis Cup glory with Italy – it’s the Spaniard who looks the better bet for success in 2024, according to Norrie.
“I think Alcaraz will do better than Sinner next year,” Norrie told Tennis365.
“I think Alcaraz has a more complete game. He moves better than Sinner, has more variety on the forehand, better drop shots, he volleys better than Sinner. More skilful with the slice.
“So I’d say Alcaraz has a better year than Sinner. Let’s see, I could be wrong.”
Norrie, along with the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz, is getting ready to jump back on the tennis treadmill once again with the start of the season just weeks away.
The durable 28-year-old, who has played a remarkable 214 matches in the past three years, is due to make his season bow at the United Cup in Australia, which begins on December 29.
But it’s the 2024 Australian Open, live on Eurosport and discovery+, that will be the Brit’s main target as he seeks to go past the third round for the first time.
In Norrie’s mind, there is only one man to beat in Melbourne – 10-time champion Djokovic – who downed the Brit at the recent Davis Cup finals in Malaga.
“When you look at his record in Australia, clearly he [Djokovic] is the favourite,” Norrie said.
“The match at the Davis Cup was a tough one for me. I was doing a lot of fitness and a lot of cardio ahead of that match and it was so physical against him. It always is.
“It’s always a lot of fun to be playing against him and even though the result went against me, I wanted to set the tone high and finish the year with a good performance.
“I was just trying to go in and challenge him. I think I definitely brought a much better level than I had at the last end of my year, so I was kind of proud of how I competed, but it was still tough to lose that one.
“You want to see how close you are to the best player in the world at the moment. He won the ATP Finals the week before, so there is no doubt he is the best right now.”
