Super talent vs. prodigy

In tennis, the search is always on for the next generation that will finally manage to replace and inherit Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Co. The players around Stefanos Tsitsipas, Dominic Thiem or Alexander Zverev have made it to the top of the world, but the great veterans still tower over them. With Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, the next young players are now setting out to end the domination.

In the round of 16 at Wimbledon, the Italian and Spaniard now meet in a direct duel. If we look at their talent and development, it could be a permanent duel in the advanced rounds of major tournaments in the coming years. Currently, Carlos Alcaraz, although a bit younger, seems to be already a step ahead in development.

Among the betting providers tested, the Spaniard is at least traded as a relatively clear favourite in this round of 16. However, both have already played impressive matches at Church Road this year. But we go with the bookmakers and tend to predict a victory for the 19-year-old Spaniard in this duel of youngsters between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

For both, Wimbledon 2022 is their best year ever at Church Road. They have never been in the fourth round on the hallowed turf. For one of these two great talents, it goes even further, perhaps much further. The tendency is to bet on the Spaniard in the match between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.

Jannik Sinner – Statistics & current form

Current world ranking: 13
Position in the seedings: 10

Even though Italians are said to be better on clay court than on the fast surfaces, that does not apply to Jannik Sinner. The 20-year-old has had his greatest successes on hard courts so far. All five of his tournament victories on the ATP Tour came on hard court. However, the world number 13 has yet to make his breakthrough at a Masters or even a Grand Slam tournament.

Growing from match to match

Although he regularly reaches the quarter-finals at major tournaments, that’s usually the end of the road. Perhaps he can now shed that stamp at Wimbledon. However, he has only played one match on grass before the Grand Slam tournament in London, and he lost that in Eastbourne. Therefore, we do not necessarily look at the odds for a win for the Italian in the duel between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

However, he has delivered good matches at Church Road. In the first round, he prevailed against the old champion Stan Wawrinka and won in four sets. He then had to deal with the Swede Mikael Ymer, against whom he also got the upper hand in four rounds. His toughest match was against the giant of serve John Isner on Friday.

However, Jannik Sinner also delivered his best performance at Wimbledon in this duel. After 2:23 hours, the Italian converted his first match point and won 6:4, 7:6 and 6:3. If he manages to be as strong again on his own service and also to return well against the strong serve of Carlos Alcaraz, then Jannik Sinner could perhaps make the most of his chance.

Carlos Alcaraz – Statistics & current form

Current world ranking: 7
Position in the seedings: 5

Carlos Alcaraz plays very maturely, despite being just 19 years old. Basically, the Spaniard can do everything. He has outstanding groundstrokes and what makes him even more unique is that he is perhaps the fastest player on the tour. Only when the umpire announces the new score, the point is actually over for the rising star from Malaga.

Alcaraz getting better and better momentum

Even once he comes under pressure, he is still able to play terrific balls and finish the point in his favour. If his development continues like this, the Spaniard will certainly become the number one in the tennis world in the future. He is also delivering really well at Wimbledon these days, although he lost 0-2 sets to Francis Tiafoe and Casper Ruud respectively at a preparatory tournament in Hurlingham.

Perhaps the Spaniard needed a bit to get into the swing of things on grass. Against this background, the opening match against Jan-Lennard Struff was perhaps the perfect debut. Carlos Alcaraz needed five sets to defeat his German opponent. In round two, it was only three sets against Tallon Griekspoor from the Netherlands, but the Spaniard still showed room for improvement.

In contrast, his match in the third round against Oscar Otte was outstanding. The 19-year-old Andalusian has obviously arrived at Wimbledon. In just 1:40 hours, he literally rolled over the German and won 6:3, 6:1 and 6:2. If he manages to show this form in the last 16 as well, then there is no way around a prediction of a victory for the Spaniard in the duel between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Jannik Sinner – Carlos Alcaraz Direct comparison / H2H-balance

It is likely that the match between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will become a permanent duel on the ATP Tour in the next ten years. Even though both are still very young, their paths have already crossed twice. The Spaniard has won both direct duels and has a flawless record against the Italian.

The first time the two exceptional talents faced each other on court was at a Challenger in Alicante in 2019. At that time, Carlos Alcaraz won in three sets in the first round. The last encounter was at the end of last year at the Masters in Paris. On the hard court in Bercy, the Spaniard won in two sets, but still narrowly with 7:6 and 7:5.

Jannik Sinner – Carlos Alcaraz Tip

For the neutral spectators at Wimbledon, it should be the absolute cracker in this round of 16 match. Two of the up-and-coming talents, but already among the world’s best, will be looking to reach the quarter-finals at Church Road for the first time in their careers.

The similarities cannot be overlooked. Neither won a grass court match in preparation, but then put in great performances at Wimbledon. Even though the Italian performed strongly, especially against John Isner, the Spaniard perhaps left the better impression overall. We think that in the duel Jannik Sinner vs. Carlos Alcaraz you should do well with a bet on a victory for the Andalusian.

We don’t expect a clear victory for the Spaniard. The Italian, who is one year older, has played too well for that and last year in Paris it became clear that Sinner can play at a similar level. Therefore, we have decided to play the betting odds on a win for the Spaniard with a total of more than 3.5 sets in the match between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.