Jannik Sinner is not on court at the O2 this weekend, still working his way back from the right knee injury that pulled him out of the US Open. Roger Federer, in the city as the Laver Cup begins, was asked which of the three men at the top of the game is the best right now. He gave the nod to the Italian.

“I’d say, maybe it’s even Sinner, just because out of the sheer dominance he had in Masters 1000s, he played great until his injury,” Federer told TNT Sports.

The case sits on a season most players would not manage in three. Sinner won six straight Masters 1000 titles at Paris, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, then defended his Wimbledon crown before the knee gave way. He remains world No. 1.

“Now, what does the injury matter with his level of play?” Federer said. “I think when he does show up, he’s been the best. That’s why also his ranking is right there.”

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Zverev’s breakthrough year

Federer’s second nod went to Alexander Zverev, who has finally converted years of near-misses into silverware. The German won his first major at Roland Garros in June, beating Flavio Cobolli in five sets, and then added the US Open with a four-set win over Ben Shelton earlier this month.

“And Sascha is now finally where we all hoped he would be one day as being a Grand Slam champion,” Federer said of the world No. 2.

Alcaraz still in the argument

Carlos Alcaraz opened the year in Melbourne, beating Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final to complete the career Grand Slam at 22. A knee problem then interrupted his summer, and he lost in the US Open quarter-finals to Shelton.

Federer would not shut the Spaniard out of the argument.

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“Now we also know that when Carlos is at his absolute best, that maybe he is, and I might argue that he is the best player out there,” he said.

Even so, the Swiss came back to Sinner’s numbers.

“And now you could argue that maybe right now, if there was a matchup, that maybe he would be the guy because also Carlos is coming back from injury and Sascha,” Federer said. “So I think it’s a debate, but I think just from the year that Sinner has had, I’d say he’s super, super tough.”

The Laver Cup runs at The O2 from Friday to Sunday, with Yannick Noah leading Team Europe and Andre Agassi in charge of Team World. Sinner is not in either squad.

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