Amid Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner's growing friendship, Boris Becker credits Federer & Nadal for changing tennis rivalry forever

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's bond has been the talk of the tennis community this season despite their on-court rivalry. In light of that, Boris Becker reminisced about tennis rivalries from earlier days and credited Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for changing those.

Becker had a conversation with the Gazetta dello Sport, where he spoke about the growing friendship between Alcaraz and Sinner. Comparing how on-court rivalry was during his time and crediting Nadal and Federer for bringing the theme of friendship in rivalry, he said, as quoted by welovetennis:

"In our time, we were not friends. It just didn't exist. Imagine me friend with McEnroe or Lendl... impossible. (Laughts) I got along well with Stefan Edberg, I esteemed him a lot, but it wasn't like today. In my opinion, the theme of friendship between rivals has changed with Federer and Nadal. They were the ones who transformed the way two big opponents behaved towards each other, and that was a good thing: an excellent example for young people."

He added:

"I find it great that Sinner and Alcaraz have this chemistry outside the court: we feel that they respect each other a lot, that they appreciate each other, that they have no problem doing things together. And yet, on the court, they are fierce rivals. It's a positive model for the new generation."

Becker had made a name for himself in the tennis world and retired from the sport in 1999. He won 64 titles in his career, including six Grand Slams. In addition, he also won an Olympic gold medal in doubles.

While Nadal and Federer are an iconic duo, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are now set to create their own legacy. They contested against each other in six finals this season, out of which the Spaniard prevailed in four of them.

Carlos Alcaraz opened up about his relationship with Jannik Sinner

Nitto ATP Finals 2025 - Day 8 - Source: Getty

Earlier this year, in an interview with Gazetta, Carlos Alcaraz laid bare his bond with Jannik Sinner. Despite having a heated on-court rivalry, the Spaniard said that they were 'good friends.' Calling him a 'nice' person and opening up about how much he respected the Italian, Alcaraz said:

“Tennis is a special sport that allows you to be great rivals on the court and, at the same time, to respect each other. Sinner and I are good friends, we can talk about a lot of things off the field. I have great respect for him, he is a nice person, I’m sure we will always be able to maintain this relationship."

Carlos Alcaraz had an impressive run in the 2025 season, as he won eight titles, including the ATP Rotterdam, Monte-Carlo Masters, Italian Open, French Open, HSBC Championships, Cincinnati Masters, US Open, and Japan Open.

On the other hand, Sinner won six titles, including the Australian Open, Wimbledon, China Open, Vienna Open, Paris Masters, and ATP Finals.