Andrey Rublev admits Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are "ahead of the entire competition," but adds it doesn't make sense to compare them to the Big Three only because the playing conditions have changed.
For two decades, the Big Three - Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer - completely dominated the Grand Slam scene. Now, the Grand Slam stage is completely owned by Alcaraz and Sinner, who have split between them the eight Majors that have taken place since 2024.
This year, only one Grand Slam final didn't feature an Alcaraz and Sinner match - Alexander Zverev reached the Australian Open final before being ousted in straight sets by the Italian. Heading into 2026, the two top-ranked players in the men's game are widely favored to dominate the biggest stage once again.
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Against Alcaraz, Rublev has one win in five matches - it came at the 2024 Madrid Masters. The Russian has three wins against Sinner, but has lost five of the six matches they have played since 2023.
Rublev: Alcaraz and Sinner are way ahead of the rest of us
Carlos and Jannik are obviously way ahead of all of the rest of the players, thats it. For me, they are just playing tennis. They are not playing with fear or hoping for the other guy to miss. They just play tennis, do the same thing and it doesnt matter the score of the player. Thats the difference with everyone else, in my opinion," Rublev told Tennis365.
After dropping a massive praise on the 22-year-old Spaniard and the 24-year-old Italian, Rublev also explained why comparing them to the Big Three probably wouldn't make sense.
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You cannot compare. Roger and Rafa played when it was a different time and in different conditions. Tennis now more modern and the courts are changing, the balls are changing. They are not the same as before, so you cannot compare. Its different conditions," the Russian added.
Rublev is a 17-time ATP champion, but owns an infamous 0-10 record in his Grand Slam quarterfinal matches.
