During this year’s French Open, tennis legend Mats Wilander stirred debate by claiming that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner might have had the tools to defeat Rafael Nadal in his prime. Stefanos Tsitsipas—himself a former Roland Garros finalist—was asked to weigh in on that bold claim.

Many fans and analysts pushed back on Wilander’s take, arguing that Nadal’s dominance at Roland Garros remains unmatched. Tsitsipas, who has faced Nadal, Alcaraz, and Sinner on clay, offered an insightful perspective.

“I have played both of them,” Tsitsipas told Tennis365, talking about Alcaraz and Sinner. “Both of them are great ball strikers, both on clay and hard, but I would favour, as a creative player more, more of a creative player on clay, I would favour Carlos”.

“I feel like he has way more options when he plays and it’s quite evident and clear. I mean, it’s not something absurd. And I would favour obviously Sinner on hard courts,” he continued. “So I would give Carlos more chances on Nadal on clay. If I have to bet my money somewhere”.

Carlos Alcaraz Garfia of Spain (L) and Rafael Nadal of Spain pose for a photo ahead of the Madrid Open. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

While Tsitsipas doesn’t go as far as saying Alcaraz would defeat Nadal in his prime, he does believe the Spaniard’s versatility could make it interesting. “I feel like Carlos would have chances against prime Nadal on clay. I think so. I’m not saying he would have beaten him, but he would have had chances to create something special against him,” Tsitsipas added.

Tsitsipas on tennis’ next generation

Tsitsipas isn’t surprised by the rapid rise of Alcaraz and Sinner, who currently sit atop the ATP rankings as World No.1 and No.2, respectively. With Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal retired, and Novak Djokovic riding the final chapters of his career, the Greek star sees their emergence as part of the sport’s natural progression.

“It’s not annoying that these two guys are playing so well,” he noted. “This is what you expect. It’s going to keep happening that we have new champions, new stars. It’s going to keep happening“.

“It’s part of the circle of the game and how things work. I’m telling you, in the next five years, we’ll see more superstars enter the game and more players that have a different identity from those that are playing now,” he said.