"It is a question of remaining physically well and strong...": Vijay Amritraj on Alcaraz, Sinner's potential

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 8 (ANI): Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj said that who among Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will be a bigger superstar in the long run depends on how they deal with any injuries and their physical capabilities, noting that they have the talent and work ethic and have been off to an "excellent start".
Amritraj, a JioStar expert for the ongoing Wimbledon tournament, was speaking in a media interaction.
"It all depends so much on injuries, physical capabilities, desire and work ethic. I think both of them have shown, beyond a reasonable doubt, that they both have that talent and the work ethic at this point," he said answering a query.
"It is also a question of remaining physically well and strong. That is why they have very good physical teams around them, to keep them fresh. And so, that's going to come down a lot to that. They are both 22 and 23. They have been playing each other since the juniors. So, I think it remains to be seen. But they are just off to an excellent start," he added.
Alcaraz is the defending champion at Wimbledon and would be eyeing a hat-trick of Wimbledon wins. There is something even bigger at stake for him. If the world number two secures the Wimbledon title for the third successive year and makes it a hat-trick of wins, he will join legendary Bjorn Borg as the only man in the Open Era to complete a double of French Open-Wimbledon in consecutive years, as per ATP's official website.
Borg set a huge benchmark for future superstars of the game to follow between 1978 and 1980, when he captured the French Open and Wimbledon titles in a calendar year three times in a row, a feat that has not been replicated since.
Alcaraz will take on Britain's Cameron Norrie in his quarterfinal match on Tuesday. Sinner will be playing Ben Shelton on Wednesday.
This would be Alcaraz's sixth major if he wins, having captured Wimbledon and French Open twice, US Open once and having a best finish of quarterfinalist in the Australian Open. The 22-year-old had an incredible match with Serbian legend Novak Djokovic for the Olympic gold medal at Paris last year and settled for a silver.
On the other hand, world number one-ranked Sinner would be eyeing his fourth major. The 23-year-old has two successive Australian Open titles and a US Open to his name. His best finish at Wimbledon was the semifinals back in 2023.
Asked Djokovic could break his Grand Slam drought, having won his last major at US Open 2023 and if this could be his last Wimbledon, Amritaj said that the title is well within reach of the Serbian icon.
"I think he is mentally ready for it. He just had his 100th victory at Wimbledon, which is hard to imagine. And the competition is getting tighter and tighter and better and better, the quality of tennis. And obviously, every year makes a big difference to Djokovic."
"But when someone wants to quit, you know, you quit on your own terms. You quit on your own timing. When you leave the game, you will have absolutely no regrets that you ever thought, oh, I could have played one more year, or I could have played two more years. I think that is Djokovic. And he is going to kind of retire on his own timing. So, I do believe that he has the ability to win here, no question. And if the luck favours him, he could potentially do that," he added.
Novak played Alex de Minaur in the round of 16, securing his berth in the final eight with 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in a contest that lasted three hours and nineteen minutes. (ANI)