Is the ATP officially a 2-player Tour?

[Kralingen]

It’s really hard to take any other men’s player seriously after that. Incredibly hard. I have seen just about every men’s player in the top 100 this year and none of them possess even close to that capability. The level shown in that dramatic 5 setter was the best men’s tennis has to offer by a significant margin.

Djokovic and Alcaraz have now won 5 of the last 5 important titles (AO/RG/YEC Djokovic, USO/WB Alcaraz), are both #1 and #2 by over 1000 points, and have essentially mowed down any other competition they’ve seen this year in Slams in dominant fashion.

RG was a one-match tournament. So was Wimbledon. And going into the USO it just feels like no one is even close to these two, which is borderline absurd considering they are 20 and 36.

Can anyone rise to the challenge? How do we take any other player seriously after witnessing that?

 

[pj80]

Hopefully Rafa get's back into the mix...but it's unlikely. He might be discouraged, and he might not want to lose his H2H lead vs Alcaraz.

 

[BGod]

Alcaraz to lose in quarters at USO to like Felix or somebody.

 

[DSH]

No, it's a one player tour.
The beatings that Carlitos will give Djokovic on all surfaces will be anthological and very difficult for the Serbian player to tolerate from now on until the end of his career.
There is no going back and youth always prevails over old age.

 

[Kralingen]

Hopefully Rafa get's back into the mix...but it's unlikely. He might be discouraged, and he might not want to lose his H2H lead vs Alcaraz.

That’s funny, I was just thinking that the best bet for a Slam winner outside of Carlos/Novak is 38 yr old Mecha-Nadal at RG in 2024. Considering that he is currently injured and we have no idea how his rehab will go, that’s a long shot, but it’s still a better shot than everyone else has

 

[Kralingen]

No, it's a one player tour.
The beatings that Carlitos will give Djokovic on all surfaces will be anthological and very difficult for the Serbian player to tolerate from now on until the end of his career.
There is no going back and youth always prevails over old age.

Meh, I think there are still some epics in store between the two. And I think Carlos is clearly the better player now. But I didn’t walk away thinking that this would be one sided for the next few Slams

 

[pj80]

That’s funny, I was just thinking that the best bet for a Slam winner outside of Carlos/Novak is 38 yr old Mecha-Nadal at RG in 2024. Considering that he is currently injured and we have no idea how his rehab will go, that’s a long shot, but it’s still a better shot than everyone else has

I hope you're right...but Rafa was losing before injury....what was it 1-9, in his last 10 matches.

 

[roysid]

Don't worry. The defending runner up Ruud will rise from the ashes and reach more finals.

I would have said yes except for these two.. Medvedev and Rune

 

[TheNachoMan]

No, it's a one player tour.
The beatings that Carlitos will give Djokovic on all surfaces will be anthological and very difficult for the Serbian player to tolerate from now on until the end of his career.
There is no going back and youth always prevails over old age.

Aa long as Nadal stays on 22, fine by me.

 

[Kralingen]

Don't worry. The defending runner up Ruud will rise from the ashes and reach more finals.

I would have said yes except for these two.. Medvedev and Rune

I mean Carlos destroyed them both in straights. Medvedev has zero clue how to play Carlos. Could he beat a listless Djokovic? Sure. But Carlos humiliated him, made him look like a club player in the semifinal.

Rune lacks a killer FH. He doesn’t finish points well enough. I think he has potential as does Sinner but let’s be honest, they aren’t even close to Carlos’s full package of talent.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

I mean I would never discount Medvedev. Clay and grass were never his strong suit so these results aren't shocking and he still made the Wimbledon SF and won Rome on clay.

Every remaining big hard court tournament til the end of year he's won before.
Canada - 2021 champ
Cincinnati - 2019 champ
US Open - 2021 champ
Shanghai - 2019 champ
Paris - 2020 champ
WTF - 2020 champ

Can't discount that.

 

[AlexanderTheGreat08]

Alcaraz just needs to stop Joe at USO. Then the wheels for Nadal's comeback are in motion , #23 at AO and #24 at RG to reclaim slam record

 

[pj80]

I mean I would never discount Medvedev. Clay and grass were never his strong suit so these results aren't shocking and he still made the Wimbledon SF and won Rome on clay.

Every remaining big hard court tournament til the end of year he's won before.
Canada - 2021 champ
Cincinnati - 2019 champ
US Open - 2021 champ
Shanghai - 2019 champ
Paris - 2020 champ
WTF - 2020 champ

Can't discount that.

Also Rune will get better.

 

[Kralingen]

I mean I would never discount Medvedev. Clay and grass were never his strong suit so these results aren't shocking and he still made the Wimbledon SF and won Rome on clay.

Every remaining big hard court tournament til the end of year he's won before.
Canada - 2021 champ
Cincinnati - 2019 champ
US Open - 2021 champ
Shanghai - 2019 champ
Paris - 2020 champ
WTF - 2020 champ

Can't discount that.

Medvedev has zero chance of winning anything against Alcaraz its a nightmare matchup

 

[roysid]

I mean Carlos destroyed them both in straights. Medvedev has zero clue how to play Carlos. Could he beat a listless Djokovic? Sure. But Carlos humiliated him, made him look like a club player in the semifinal.

Rune lacks a killer FH. He doesn’t finish points well enough. I think he has potential as does Sinner but let’s be honest, they aren’t even close to Carlos’s full package of talent.

These two can beat djokovic.

And sinner can beat carlos

 

[DSH]

Aa long as Nadal stays on 22, fine by me.

You are haunted by a player who is close to retirement.
It's funny, I think so.

 

[tudwell]

With Med back in top form, I could see him playing spoiler in the latter half of the year.

Two-man tour on grass. Two-man tour on clay until Nadal returns. Three-man tour on hard (though Carlos will wreck Medvedev every time they actually meet).

 

[DSH]

With Med back in top form, I could see him playing spoiler in the latter half of the year.

Two-man tour on grass. Two-man tour on clay until Nadal returns. Three-man tour on hard (though Carlos will wreck Medvedev every time they actually meet).

The US Open is the Major tournament where Medvedev plays the best.
It would be a great match if they get to face each other there.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Medvedev has zero chance of winning anything against Alcaraz its a nightmare matchup

1: They've played twice, maybe give it a minute before declaring he is never going to win anything against Alcaraz lmao. Bit soon.
2: Your assumption is that Alcaraz is going to be there at every tournament round to play and stop Medvedev...

 

[Subway Tennis]

It’s really hard to take any other men’s player seriously after that. Incredibly hard. I have seen just about every men’s player in the top 100 this year and none of them possess even close to that capability. The level shown in that dramatic 5 setter was the best men’s tennis has to offer by a significant margin.

Djokovic and Alcaraz have now won 5 of the last 5 important titles (AO/RG/YEC Djokovic, USO/WB Alcaraz), are both #1 and #2 by over 1000 points, and have essentially mowed down any other competition they’ve seen this year in Slams in dominant fashion.

RG was a one-match tournament. So was Wimbledon. And going into the USO it just feels like no one is even close to these two, which is borderline absurd considering they are 20 and 36.

Can anyone rise to the challenge? How do we take any other player seriously after witnessing that?

I Can totally understand what you mean specific to grass.

Think back to the 2022 and 2021 Wimbledon finals. It’s absolutely laughable that Berrettini and Kyrgios were what stood in the way of 2 Wimbledon titles.

Off grass I am a little bit more positive. I do think there is a lot to look forward to, mainly because tennis is such a matchups game.

For example it might be interesting drama to watch Alcaraz buzzsaw through his quarter at US Open and then run into Sinner and lose in 5. Sinner is a great matchup for Alcaraz.

And I think Rune is absolute box office. He is capable of a stratospheric level. He doesn’t have the same racquethead awareness of Alcaraz, but he is a wildly entertaining battering ram. And he has improved that Bo5 issue, and matches up well with Djokovic. The elephant in the room for Rune is that Alcaraz is a bad matchup for him

It’s starting to look less like a 2-man band of Nadal and Djokovic and more like five players who on any given day could beat each other depending on surface.

The two sad aspects for me is a player like Tsitsipas basically no longer being in the mix at majors, and the uncertainty of Nadal. Nadal is easily my favourite player of this generation and seeing him in this state of limbo is tough.

 

[tudwell]

The US Open is the Major tournament where Medvedev plays the best.
It would be a great match if they get to face each other there.

I’d love a three-way toss-up between Novak, Alcaraz, and Medvedev there. Hope they’re all still in good form in a couple months.

If Medvedev serves like 2021, he’ll cause anyone issues.

 

[Kralingen]

I am actually laughing at the thought of Medvedev beating Carlos anywhere, unless Alcaraz cramps again or something. Too funny to be taken seriously.

 

[ForehandCross]

I am actually laughing at the thought of Medvedev beating Carlos anywhere, unless Alcaraz cramps again or something. Too funny to be taken seriously.

I have bookmarked this. Next two slams are on HC and Carlos is losing to Medvedev in at least one of them

 

[TheNachoMan]

You are haunted by a player who is close to retirement.
It's funny, I think so.

The images of topspinning moonballs followed by roars of “Vamos!” do haunt me, yes.

 

[arvind13]

Hopefully Rafa get's back into the mix...but it's unlikely. He might be discouraged, and he might not want to lose his H2H lead vs Alcaraz.

Nadal is retiring next year. He’s done

 

[TheNachoMan]

I am actually laughing at the thought of Medvedev beating Carlos anywhere, unless Alcaraz cramps again or something. Too funny to be taken seriously.

It’s like when Medvedev played old Federer. Could do absolutely nothing against him. Same will be true here.

 

[Kralingen]

I have bookmarked this. Next two slams are on HC and Carlos is losing to Medvedev in at least one of them

I have no clue what you’ve seen from their matchups that gives you any hope for Daniil but I admire the confidence. To me it looks like Medvedev’s deep return position and softballing are basically the easiest possible style for Carlos to play, and the results (last 5 sets have all ended 6-3 or 6-2 to Carlos) bear this out.

 

[TheNachoMan]

I have no clue what you’ve seen from their matchups that gives you any hope for Daniil but I admire the confidence. To me it looks like Medvedev’s deep return position and softballing are basically the easiest possible style for Carlos to play, and the results (last 5 sets have all ended 6-3 or 6-2 to Carlos) bear this out.

The way he kept insisting on that return position in the match was so stupid. This is a guy who I’m told has high tennis IQ..

 

[tudwell]

I have no clue what you’ve seen from their matchups that gives you any hope for Daniil but I admire the confidence. To me it looks like Medvedev’s deep return position and softballing are basically the easiest possible style for Carlos to play, and the results (last 5 sets have all ended 6-3 or 6-2 to Carlos) bear this out.

If he GOATs on serve on a fast court, anything can happen. And it’s not like Carlos will never have a bad day again. But absolutely it’s a huge uphill battle for Medvedev in that kind of matchup. If they meet enough times, we’ll probably see a Fed-Roddick kind of head-to-head.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

I am actually laughing at the thought of Medvedev beating Carlos anywhere, unless Alcaraz cramps again or something. Too funny to be taken seriously.

I have no clue what you’ve seen from their matchups that gives you any hope for Daniil but I admire the confidence. To me it looks like Medvedev’s deep return position and softballing are basically the easiest possible style for Carlos to play, and the results (last 5 sets have all ended 6-3 or 6-2 to Carlos) bear this out.

You know I like you as a poster man but remember how cocky you were for the French Open with Alcaraz and how you even did a thread to apologize for it? That's how you're coming off right now. 2 matches Alcaraz has won..

They played on grass, Medvedev's worst surface, a tournament he'd won just 8 matches in his entire career, you need to stop acting like these 2 matches are going to dictate the entirety of their rivalry. They've never met on the American hard court which Med loves. You're basing a win on grass and one Indian Wells final on their entire future? Seriously...

 

[tudwell]

The way he kept insisting on that return position in the match was so stupid. This is a guy who I’m told has high tennis IQ..

He just doesn’t have the reaction time or racquet skills to stand close. He’s reduced to feebly chipping the ball back in play, which isn’t much more effective against S&V than his deep return position, so what, in the end, is really the point?

I hope this off-season he drills nothing but close returns. It’s the biggest hole in his game and has already cost him several slam wins, I would estimate.

 

[Subway Tennis]

I have no clue what you’ve seen from their matchups that gives you any hope for Daniil but I admire the confidence. To me it looks like Medvedev’s deep return position and softballing are basically the easiest possible style for Carlos to play, and the results (last 5 sets have all ended 6-3 or 6-2 to Carlos) bear this out.

Alcaraz can shorten and lengthen the court in a way that scares Medvedev quite a bit

Keep an eye out for the big man, though. I have a feeling he is going to have a huge summer.

 

[fundrazer]

The way he kept insisting on that return position in the match was so stupid. This is a guy who I’m told has high tennis IQ..

Somebody put together a clip of times when he actually stepped in for the return, lost all the points in the clip. Don't even remember if he got any of the serves back or was able to do anything with em.

 

[duaneeo]

I mean I would never discount Medvedev. Clay and grass were never his strong suit so these results aren't shocking and he still made the Wimbledon SF and won Rome on clay.

Every remaining big hard court tournament til the end of year he's won before.
Canada - 2021 champ
Cincinnati - 2019 champ
US Open - 2021 champ
Shanghai - 2019 champ
Paris - 2020 champ
WTF - 2020 champ

Can't discount that.

But we also can't discount Medvedev's record in BO5 since his last slam final...a final he blew a 2-0 set lead.

 

[Lleytonstation]

Aa long as Nadal stays on 22, fine by me.

RG24 says otherwise.

You are just lucky he isn't going to be at the uso bud.

2>1 and 8>7

 

[Lozo1016]

I have no clue what you’ve seen from their matchups that gives you any hope for Daniil but I admire the confidence. To me it looks like Medvedev’s deep return position and softballing are basically the easiest possible style for Carlos to play, and the results (last 5 sets have all ended 6-3 or 6-2 to Carlos) bear this out.

In terms of matchups, do you think guys with H2H leads like Zverev (3-2) and FAA (3-1) can give Alcaraz more trouble than guys who have struggled against him like Tsitsipas and Medvedev?

 

[Angrybirdstar]

I have no clue what you’ve seen from their matchups that gives you any hope for Daniil but I admire the confidence. To me it looks like Medvedev’s deep return position and softballing are basically the easiest possible style for Carlos to play, and the results (last 5 sets have all ended 6-3 or 6-2 to Carlos) bear this out.

Medvedev's serve and defense still have a shot of grinding Alcaraz down indoors, but if they meet in the indoor season and Medvedev loses by any score, then yeah it's just a historically terrible matchup.

In terms of matchups, do you think guys with H2H leads like Zverev (3-2) and FAA (3-1) can give Alcaraz more trouble than guys who have struggled against him like Tsitsipas and Medvedev?

peaking Zverev can definitely give Alcaraz trouble because he's able to maintain the dual-winged baseline aggression that keeps Alcaraz under constant pressure and rely on his serve to maintain his scoreboard pressure, but anything less and he becomes a lot easier to pick apart (see: Madrid matches). FAA h2h is just a timing quirk imo - got lucky to run into Alcaraz in favorable conditions off the back of his exhausting USO runs. don't think he's inherently threatening, unless one thinks relentless serve + 1 botting is a winning formula against Alcaraz.

 

[Rafa24]

I hope you're right...but Rafa was losing before injury....what was it 1-9, in his last 10 matches.

Thats not on the red clay of RG. Rafa is god mode at RG and best of 5 on the dirt.

"Nadal is 137–3 in best of five matches on clay (a win percentage of 97.9%). Nadal did not lose a single semifinal on clay courts for 12 years (52–0) from the 2003 Croatia Open to the 2015 Rio Open — an all-time record on a single surface."

 

[pj80]

Thats not on the red clay of RG. Rafa is god mode at RG and best of 5 on the dirt.

"Nadal is 137–3 in best of five matches on clay (a win percentage of 97.9%). Nadal did not lose a single semifinal on clay courts for 12 years (52–0) from the 2003 Croatia Open to the 2015 Rio Open — an all-time record on a single surface."

but if he lost to Djokovic...yall wouldn't give the credit

 

[socallefty]

Carlos has to prove that he will have lasting health without serious injuries like the Big 3 - so far, the jury is still out on that while he can play at a sublime level when healthy. Apart from Djokovic continuing at a high level for a couple of years, it is very possible that Nadal will come back strong next year on clay as arthroscopic hip surgery is not as serious as the hip replacement surgery that knocked out Murray’s standing at the top. I’m still bullish on Rune being a serious threat on most surfaces, Medvedev being a threat on hard courts, Ruud doing well on clay, Sinner and Tsitsipas showing flashes of brilliance at some major events. Rublev and Fritz will hopefully continue to play well enough to round out an entertaining Top 10 list.

I will enthusiastically continue to attend pro tennis tournaments and the prospect of watching Carlos play again and again with his balance of brute force power and delicate finesse is particularly exciting.

 

[BenC]

Disappointed that Rune and Sinner were such non-factors, hoping they can figure it out since they're still young.

Also hoping Korda becomes a factor but I've given up trying to figure out why he's not as good as I want him to be.

 

[Halba]

Yep. Djokovic and Alcaraz the big two

 

[tex123]

It’s really hard to take any other men’s player seriously after that. Incredibly hard. I have seen just about every men’s player in the top 100 this year and none of them possess even close to that capability. The level shown in that dramatic 5 setter was the best men’s tennis has to offer by a significant margin.

Djokovic and Alcaraz have now won 5 of the last 5 important titles (AO/RG/YEC Djokovic, USO/WB Alcaraz), are both #1 and #2 by over 1000 points, and have essentially mowed down any other competition they’ve seen this year in Slams in dominant fashion.

RG was a one-match tournament. So was Wimbledon. And going into the USO it just feels like no one is even close to these two, which is borderline absurd considering they are 20 and 36.

Can anyone rise to the challenge? How do we take any other player seriously after witnessing that?

USO - Med is a beast on HC.

 

[reaper]

No...the ATP is unofficially a 2 player tour.

 

[Halba]

Disappointed that Rune and Sinner were such non-factors, hoping they can figure it out since they're still young.

Also hoping Korda becomes a factor but I've given up trying to figure out why he's not as good as I want him to be.

Sinner I'm less hopeful for

 

[Halba]

USO - Med is a beast on HC.

Not anymore. Failed ln USO 22 and AO 23

 

[Spin Diesel]

Medvedev has zero chance of winning anything against Alcaraz its a nightmare matchup

Yeah from now on he needs Djokovic to take out Alcaraz for him but that‘s not gonna happen as long as those guys are Nr.1 and 2.
And even then, I‘m not sure if Medvedev can still beat current Djokovic.

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

You are haunted by a player who is close to retirement.
It's funny, I think so.

Lest we forget about the scourges of history.