I am sure it was. He definitely suddenly struggled in the longer rallies. Rafa may well have noticed what happend in New York .
Alcaraz can defeat Djokovic. Not saying he would but he can! Carlos can defeat anyone on his best day - again, I am not saying he would, just that he could.
Djokovic is unlikely to win MC. Not sure if you are aware but he has played 3 matches in about 5 months. Clay is his worse surface. Alcaraz probably a better bet actually.
Djokovic is very beatable on clay. Last year showd that and he is older and slower and crucially totally lacking match play this season. Nadal will beat him easily as will Ruud and Tsitsipas as on clay Tsitsipas can hide his woeful returns as he has more time alcaraz over 5 sets would beat Djokovic as there is no way Djokovic would be able to hit through him. Not on clay. Kechavonic couldn't today and he was average about 82 mph off his groundless and onlyhit 15 UFEs.. djokovic averages about 72 mph.
I love that they’re getting surpassed in real time. a) They deserve it, completely, and b) their egos could use a reality check, hopefully it will motivate them to actually reach their potential.
Medvedev seems down to earth. He is limited but is maxing his ability. Zverev and Tsitispas are two utter gobsh#tes who thought they were the Golden chosen child's and are now being utterly stomped on by the next next gen. Its glorious .
Yes, played top 20 level tonight, maybe even higher.
His 2nd serve is fantastic. It is very hard to attack. The 1st serve will be like Sampras once he learns how to place it over to the corners. He has the raw pace if he needs it. He also has the disguise and spin variety.
Needs a bigger serve though. That is a huge weakness for him at the moment.
I keep on hearing this but it simply isn't as true as his detractors make it out to be. Yes, it needs improvement but his serve is great. Look at how few breaks of serve he has faced this year and how few times he has been broken. If his serve wasn't big enough he wouldn't have won 16 of his 18 matches in 2022.
I mean Kech. Not aclaraz. Alcaraz needs to learn to use his serve better. He has a huge serve if he wants to use it. Already he can get to 131 mph. He will soon be getting it over 135 mph.
Alca’s kick serve is something else. It isn’t fully there yet but it has the makings of a true weapon.
O.K., I thought you were referring to Carlos. He is learning how to use his serve better though. Look at his stats. Look how few break points he has faced, excepting the match with Stefanos, but even there he only got broken once. He had 75% first serves in this match! That is great!
Best result of 2021: SF at Buenos Aires; slam results were three 2R and one 1R; Out in 1R eleven times. 2022 saw a big change right away with a career best slam result (4R) at AO. Kec was showing promise in 2019 (QF at IW, a grass final at Antalya, R16 from qualies at Cinci) and the beginning of 2020 (two 250 SFs) before you know what happened. When he returned he got his one career title at Kitzbuhel but bottomed out soon after.
Or Joe Kovic could lose to Evans or Vesely at M-C. There is precedence.
I’m pretty sure, almost certain actually, that Novak would lose to Alcaraz if they played in Monte Carlo right now. Rome or RG are a completely different story, but he has a clear trend of building up during clay season and starting off a little wobbly on the terre battue. And that’s with a normal season, not one where he’s played only 4 full length tournaments since Wimbledon.
Yeah I also wanna see a Djokoraz match at MC. Very intriguing matchup I think. Djoko with (supposedly) full training on CC since Feb should be able to give a real fight should he meet Carlos. But I have a feeling Carlos actually does better on HC than on CC (take this with a grain of salt).
Predicting results for someone with a 2-1 record in 2022 will be tough indeed. He is not dealing with injury and he still enjoys a #1 seeding so he is going to get a softer landing than most competitors after that long a hiatus. The problem though is how much rust will there be. As you say, he played only 12 matches after USO last autumn and now 3 at Dubai, That inactivity makes it vital for him to advance in the draw. There’s no Hopman Cup format that guaranteed a certain amount of match play for fedr upon his return from the long 2016 layoff. He doesn’t want to see an Alcaraz in R16 with just one match to ready himself.
Yep, just like he won in Dubai
I think and hope that alcaraz is going to adapt very good to wimbledon, his RoS, his drop shots, his forehand and all court game... his servr is improving match by match... his game can adapt very good to every surface, hes won titles on clay, indoors, playing very good at hard... i dont think grass is gonna be a problem for him, in fact it can turn out a great surface for him
Long time since i saw a player charge the net with such confidence and good hands
I agree! Fantastic tennis PLUS no BS during play. It was a pleasure to watch and to be flabbergasted just by the quality of the tennis alone.
Well yeah - but Novak will come like a wounded lion, and there is no player more dangerous than that. Just ask Federer and all the 40-15s..
Alcatraz is a better bet based on what? The kid hasn't won anything. Novak has won MC and beat Nadal there.
Anyone can defeat anyone. But you are betting against World #1, dominant force in tennis, 2 time RG winner, the man to beat the clay God (Nadal) MOST on clay .
Read more carefully! I never said he would, only that he could! And YES, based on his level of play so far in 2022 there is evidence that he can be a real contender already! 16-2, and the two close losses were to much higher ranked players! He is ready for the challenge and I am looking forward to his giving his all to achieve it!
Didn't know that, oh well, I've already voted. Still think Alcaraz will pull through.
It is more likely that he does NOT, than he actually does.
It only takes a firecracker.
Because this is 2022. Alcaraz is match fit. Djokovic has not played for pretty much 5 months now. Do you play sport at all? I ask because if you do surely you know how damaging time away is if more than 2 months.
Oh in time no doubt. I just meant this year he may struggle on grass especially if he wins Roland Garros which right now I think is likely. He or Ruud I think for RG
