By FirstSportz,Gouri Das

Copyright yardbarker

Roger Federer is currently in San Francisco, the host city for the eighth edition of the Laver Cup, where Team Europe will bid to defend their title against Team World. Just like last year, this year’s Laver Cup will gain a considerable amount of attention thanks to Team Europe player Carlos Alcaraz.

After making his Laver Cup debut last year and helping his team deny Team World a three-peat by beating Taylor Fritz in the final match, Alcaraz was one of the first players last year to sign up for the latest edition of the tournament, co-founded by Federer.

But Alcaraz’s arch-rival, Jannik Sinner, will not be in action this week. Sinner has never played in this team event and chose to skip it this season as well.

Since 2024, Sinner and Alcaraz have emerged as dominating forces, thanks to their Grand Slam wins as well as their consistent performances that also saw them win many other titles. While Sinner clinched eight official trophies last year, Alcaraz has so far bagged seven of them this year. The duo, in fact, have shared the last eight Majors, with the World No.1 winning the French Open and the US Open, while the World No.2 lifting the Australian Open and Wimbledon this season.

Federer was convinced that the epic five-hour, 29-minute French Open final showed the tennis world that, finally, the changing of the guard from the Big 3 era had happened. The last Major title won by one of the members of the famous Big 3- consisting of Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic– was the Serb, at the 2023 US Open.

I think the French Open, for me, was the match the game needed to move on from the post-Roger, Rafa, and Serena [Williams] time. To truly embrace this rivalry and this incredible shotmaking that Carlos and Jannik have right now.
Roger Federer told CNBC

Alcaraz overcame a two-set deficit and later saved three championship points in the fourth set to defend his crown at Roland Garros.

Roger Federer on Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam campaigns

While Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are enjoying their retirement life, Novak Djokovic is still on a quest for the record 25th Grand Slam title. Other than Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, not many players are able to challenge the 38-year-old in Grand Slam events.