A must-read new book about the Big Two

Tennis thrives on great rivalries. The riveting ones feature legends like Borg-McEnroe, Navratilova-Evert, Sampras-Agassi, and Djokovic-Nadal-Federer. A compelling, insightful book on this subject, written by Johnette Howard in 2005, chronicled the longest (80 matches) between the most contrasting of champions—The Rivals: Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova, Their Epic Duels and Extraordinary Friendship.

Books about famous sports rivalries are almost always published after the superstars have retired. What makes this latest contribution to tennis literature so special is that its recent publication (by Gallery Books) comes during the early phase of the exciting duopoly of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Fittingly, Changeover: A Young Rivalry and a New Era of Men’s Tennis was written by a highly talented young writer, Giri Nathan, whose insights, humor, and wordplay remind me of the late journalistic genius Bud Collins.

Whether these two young tennis giants can match the exploits of the iconic Big Three—each won 20 or more Grand Slam titles—is fun to debate and predict.

What isn’t debatable, though, is their stunning domination of the pro game already. Alcaraz, 22, and Sinner, 23, have captured the last seven majors and captivated the sports world. Their recent Wimbledon final, which Sinner won 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, averaged 2.9 million viewers on ESPN, peaking at 4 million viewers at the end of the match. That men's viewership increased 31% from last year’s final between Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic and had the highest viewership since the 2019 final between Djokovic and Roger Federer, which averaged 3.8 million viewers.

Even more enthralling was Alcaraz’s spectacular 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) triumph over Sinner in the unforgettable 2025 French Open final. For sustained brilliance and fluctuating unpredictability, it was the greatest match ever at Roland Garros and one of the top three Open Era men's matches anywhere. On their “telegenic” rivalry, Nathan wrote, “Every match they had ever played, dating back to their adorable Challenger circuit meeting in 2019, had been addictive, alien tennis.”

Much like Fedal (Federer and Nadal), Sincaraz are both foes and friends. And like Roger and Rafa, their successors contrast in personality, background, and playing style. During the 2024 Laver Cup, Nathan captured the essence of Carlitos, writing:

“Anytime he wasn’t playing tennis, he was partaking in horseplay. As much as he intimidated other players with his talent, he still remained chummy with them—hugging them, backslapping them, whispering stupid things in their ears…. He was the star pupil conjoined to the class clown.”
Nathan’s subtle description of Sinner’s game is matchless:

“Sinner’s best tennis feels both languid and violent; it can be difficult to connect the cause with the effect…. His play aligned suspiciously with the popular depiction of aliens: slender, possessed of a strength irreconcilable with our understanding of human anatomy, demure in effect, capable of lethality without visible exertion. I found it hypnotic.”

Portraits of the personas and games of the Big Three and the new Big Two’s challengers—from the fading legend of Novak Djokovic to the lost middle generation of Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alexander Zverev to young hotshots like Holger Rune—are just as pungently accurate.

On ruthlessly efficient Rafael Nadal, the 14-time French Open king, Nathan wrote: “In his prime, it sometimes appeared he was landing eight haymakers in a row on an insensate corpse.”

On Medvedev, the entertaining, nonconformist Russian: “His insights into other players offer a more transparent view into their minds and their tennis than those players do themselves. I have often wished he could hold press conferences on behalf of everyone else on tour.”

Changeover lacks an index, a foreword, and photos. But Nathan paints such vivid pictures of the protagonists that actual images aren’t needed.

Let’s hope this gifted author writes more books about Alcaraz and Sinner, their challengers, and their eventual successors in the next tennis changeover.

Paul Fein — Aug. 9, 2025