Over time, many characters linked to tennis, but not tennis players, have managed to enter the collective imagination of fans: one of these is certainly the now former chair umpire Carlos Bernardes, who ended his career as an umpire at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
Bernardes has seen several generations of tennis players at work and, thinking of the one led by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, he expressed a clear thought on the Big 3. What Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have done, according to the Brazilian, represents something unique in the world of tennis.
“What they did was impressive. Federer, Djokovic and Nadal were different people with different styles, but it was very special to experience them up close. Their era was the best in the history of tennis.
I don’t think the current generation of Sinner and Alcaraz can keep up with the pace of the Big 3, who spent 20 years at the top. Today everything goes too fast, I don’t think they will capture the public for that long,” he explained in an interview with Tuttosport.
Sinner and Alcaraz© @giovannipelazzo X account
On Sinner, he then said: “Jannik was introduced to me by Riccardo Piatti’s wife, he was still a kid. She told me straight away that one day I would umpire him because he played so well.
The level to which Sinner has brought tennis in Italy is impressive, people talk about him everywhere. I remember his first Finals in Turin and how he was this year: he brought an incredible amount of people closer to tennis.”
We recall Sinner will defend for the first time in his career a Slam title, these next two week at the much awaited Australian Open 2025. At the same time, by winning the Happy Slam, Alcaraz will complete the Career Grand Slam, while Djokovic would win the 25th Major and his 100th title of his glorious career.
Tennis World USA