Twin towers: The Sincaraz saga

TITANS OF TENNIS

- Kunal Pradhan

It was April 1, 2019, just another All Fools’ Day in our strange world.

Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika faced massive protests after nearly 20 years in power; British parliament voted against four Brexit alternatives; and a US judge rejected a plan by Donald Trump to send asylum-seekers to Mexico.

Amid this global churning, in the Mediterranean port city of Alicante, two teenagers faced each other for the first time, in the opening round of a nondescript Challenger tennis tournament.

From Sexten, Italy: Jannik Sinner, 17. From Murcia, Spain: Carlos Alcaraz, 15.

The encounter would mark the start of two fairy-tale storylines: distinct yet connected, separate yet intertwined. Let's call it Sincaraz Day.

Six years later, in June and July 2025, the two stories would collide over the course of two matches, played on two of the tennis world’s biggest stages, the Stade Roland Garros in Paris and the All-England Club in London, setting the tone for a new era in sport. A passing of the torch, if you will, from the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic Age of the GOATs.

Alcaraz came from two sets down to dismantle Sinner on the red Paris clay, and Sinner brushed off a first set loss to demolish Alcaraz on London’s hallowed grass.