True but Alcaraz didn't help himself with some dubious errors. He essentially handed over the break again at the end of the match, and by tightening up at BP chances.
2024 Shanghai Open ATP Master's 1000 QF - [3] Carlos Alcaraz Garfia (SPN) v/s [30] Tomáš Macháč (CZE)
- Thread starter Rafa4LifeEver
- Start date
Hahaha your boy is still 0-3 and has only as many slams as Alcaraz ... that's just this year alone.
Plus it helps that Sinner has both consistency and roids in his system.
Djokovic_is_the_best#1
Bionic Poster
This is a good point. Alcaraz has all the talent in world but his tennis IQ does need work. If he gets into trouble in a match or the pattern of play goes against him he doesn’t change it up or adapt. It is something he has to work on to show he has a plan B or C if he’s usual plan isn’t working on the day. I agree with your analysis.
Dominic & Andrey
Legend
Male Czech tennis is in good hands with Machac and Mensik.
Rafa4LifeEver
G.O.A.T.
Again, look at some of the losses that he's had this year against players who were bigger hitters than him, the pattern of play on Alcaraz's side is the same & has proven to be disastrous
Zverev at AO
Jarry at Argentina
Draper at Queens
Machac at Shanghai
Alcaraz kept trying to outhit a redlining, bigger hitting opponent and it didn't work.
NaDjoFed
Professional
Czechia is a great school of tennis, well deserved
Krish872007
Talk Tennis Guru
As I was saying...
Machac is a serial disruptor - should easily be able to crack the Top 20, maybe even challenge for Top 10 with the firepower he has
Rafa4LifeEver
G.O.A.T.
So far, there are only 2 matches in which I've seen him using his brain, changing tactics & gameplan after getting outplayed initially.
Against Djokovic in 2023 Wimbledon F
Against Sinner in 2024 Indian Wells SF
Baseline_Bungle
Legend
Who had Alcachac in two?
Succession
Professional
Raz's perfomance, not Mahac's. But as said, I haven't seen much
Succession
Professional
That what was my feeling - Raz tactically not on top. With more variation and new gameplans I guess the result would have been different
Paulreedsmith
Semi-Pro
Just won Beijing atp 500 but otherwise you are 9000% correct sir!
jimmy0slams
Semi-Pro
Please explain.
albatros_forehand
Hall of Fame
Cmon. He doesn’t really care that much and he likely already knew anyways. Stop turning ATP into WTA drama
albatros_forehand
Hall of Fame
And Lehecka
Zardoz7/12
Hall of Fame
Alcaraz has the highest ceiling on tour, he's just inconsistent. That's basically it.
NaDjoFed
Professional
as clearly showed by the ATP ranking and points dominated by Sinner
Nah he didn't know, he was hoping he wouldn't retire soon just a few days ago.
If you say he doesn't care much, others can say he does indeed care quite a bit. You can't counter a subjective take with another subjective take that masquerades as a fact.
Points which he never should have had and lost along with the paltry sum he lost at IW.
He was borderline idiotic with his shot selections. Certified Raz moment.
ghostofMecir
Legend
First of all, I thought Machac Played extremely well, but this is very typical of losses that Alcaraz has. He won 12 more return points, but didn’t win the breakpoints, something that has been a common theme in his losses. He has had bundles of breakpoint chances early on especially in most of these matches and doesn’t convert them and winds up losing.
albatros_forehand
Hall of Fame
There is not a single reason why a 21 year old star still at the start of his career should feel in any way emotionally impacted by Nadal retiring. He was absent from tour for the most part in the last years and it’s not like he is dying. So any form of friendship they developed can still survive. They played doubles at Olympics and played together at Davis so all good. If he was the same age then I’d understand it would turn into a “Laver cup” cry fest as he would be projecting his own retirement but nah cmon.
Machac was incredible. Replicated the level he showed during set 1 of their Davis Cup encounter. Credits to him.
As for Raz, this unsettling habit of wasting BP will one day bite his back during a slam final and perhaps then his team will see this problem that's yet to be fixed.
He's a better Tennis player today imo, and is definitely a force to be reckoned with on all courts but his BP mentality cancels it all out.
Djokovic_is_the_best#1
Bionic Poster
Great analysis and I agree.
Anyway this is not something where any of us can confidently say we are right. They did develop a bond though, and have known each other for years. We can speculate all we want but Machac played better and that's the story of the match.
Winner Sinner
Hall of Fame
A true number 1 of the season does not lose to Jarry, Dimitrov, Draper, Monfils, VdZ, Machac.
A pinch of Clostebol would help Raz tbh. Agreed. He isn't the true no.1
FailBetter
Semi-Pro
sinner has this conistency only since the end of last year. just give carlos some time he isnt so long on the tour like jannik
Incognito
Legend
I just knew it would affect him
rule no.1 of TTW. Sinner shall get all the benefit of the doubt in the world including ones reserved for Carlos
Winner Sinner
Hall of Fame
Ok, I'm pleased that now that the discussion on who is the real number 1 in the world is definitively over (it really shouldn't have been asked), the topic has completely changed to allude to Clostebol. After all, it is the only thing we can hold on to at the moment given that for the results obtained in 2024 Sinner>Alcaraz is the definitive answer. Indeed we must hope that Sinner is disqualified, otherwise for future events "Houston we have a problem". Sinner's consistency will always prevail over Alcaraz's peaks in the economy of a season. I accept bets that the Italian will end his career with many more seasons at number 1 than the Spaniard.
Genie Of the Bank
Hall of Fame
Acaraz is just too young to learn how to pace himself for indoors season. He needs to practice with Novak, to learn a thing or two from the old master .
There was no discussion about Sinner here (negatively that is, for I had hailed Sinner's game in a comment earlier) until you shoved him here in a way that's condescending, typical of an Italian Sinner fan.
The younger, still more accomplished Alcaraz with more upside to his game, who is 3-0 against Sinner and the reigning Channel Slam champion, likely will have the better career but unlike Sinner fans, I can't say anything for sure.
There's no allusion here. Alcaraz could do with some clostebol and become the beast that's Sinner 2.0.
Winner Sinner
Hall of Fame
I repeat, the excuse for my sarcasm is dictated exclusively by those who, taking advantage of the seasonal direct clashes between the two, alluded that Alcaraz was the real number 1 of the season when, due to the gap in the ranking, consistency of results, tournaments won, and overall performance in the majors, the question shouldn't even have arisen. Today we had yet another confirmation of this, while Sinner demolishes Medvedev, Alcaraz loses you in two sets against Machac.
It's too easy to rely on direct clashes (among other things, all very balanced) when on all the other occasions in which Sinner could have beaten him the other was eliminated by opponents that Sinner has (Dimitrov in Miami) or would have demolished.
Just as it is too easy to insinuate Clostebol by implying that Sinner used steroids to improve performance. But who says that?
The independent tribunal and Wada itself with its appeal have averted this thesis from climbing on mirrors. If he is convicted it will certainly not be for that reason but possibly for negligence.
And I would like to specify that the comparison is aimed exclusively at this 2024 where Sinner>Alcaraz, no one doubts the evidence that if we base ourselves on the entire career of both so far it is Alcaraz>Sinner. These are all objective facts. Objectivity evidently unknown to many.
ghostofMecir
Legend
Especially those first four games as they really have nothing to do with anything other than pure tennis level, i.e., not about fitness, not much about mentality and pressure, etc. He almost always has breakpoint chances in those first few games and if he doesn’t get them, you know that something is going to be going on in that match.
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Pheasant
Legend
What a major bummer that Alcaraz lost. I guess that happens. I wish that he'd perhaps pull a Medvedev against certain players and stand near the fence to return serves from certain players. He needs to change something regarding his return of serve against certain players. He needs to mix up his play in general.
Regarding Machac serves, he was broken 6 times in his first 3 matches of this tourney. But Alcaraz only managed to break him once.
Hopefully, Alcaraz can use this as a learning experience. I think that when he gets this sorted out, he'll be a stone-cold killer on hard courts as well. He's still very dangerous as it is. But I think that he'll get much more consistent as he matures. After all, this juggernaut is only 21.
Regarding Machac serves, he was broken 6 times in his first 3 matches of this tourney. But Alcaraz only managed to break him once.
Hopefully, Alcaraz can use this as a learning experience. I think that when he gets this sorted out, he'll be a stone-cold killer on hard courts as well. He's still very dangerous as it is. But I think that he'll get much more consistent as he matures. After all, this juggernaut is only 21.
Oval_Solid
Hall of Fame
the greatest upset in sports history
The thing is he didn't do what he did against Monfils at Cinci -- which is play horrendously. He played well enough to beat Machac and was in the latter's service games all the time except for the fact that he lost his brains every single time a BP appeared.
In fact Carlos was cruising in his service games and suffocating the opponent in the return games yet ended up being soundly beaten. He needs to get over his BP jitters.
Succession
Professional
Always on point!
Tallawah Tennis
Professional
Yah man. Disappointed for Carlitos that he could not get through but what a couple of matches by Tomas! Yesterday against Tommy and today against Carlitos. I've been keeping an eye on TM since the Davis Cup match with Carlitos, when he also played superbly in the 1st set.
Word. Kid continues on that learning curve. Good to see him to continue to pay well, but the required improvements will, I hope, be addressed.
True, man. Been interested in Mensik's game for a while and hoping he'll keep improving. Recently, Machac too. Lehecka plays well too.
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KennyoFatoBoiyo
Semi-Pro
You do realize that Alacaraz just beat Sinner mostly by out hitting him right?
His forehand is probably the best on tour when clicking. For some reason today he just wasn't hitting it as hard as he was just a few matches ago.
He has it in him to outhit all those players you just listed.
He just had an off day and his opponent red lined and could have maybe beaten anyone today.
robyrolfo
Hall of Fame
Yeah, no... you can't compare them like that. People keep saying Carlos is younger, but he matured a lot earlier than Sinner.
Sinner has only been this way since the end of last year because he was still growing, maturing and improving. And there is almost certainly more to come if you listen to some of the things Darren Cahill says about the way he works and his approach to the game.
You must seriously be kidding with your need to constantly bring this up. Nobody that is serious about the sport thinks that Sinner's performance level has been enhanced in any way whatsoever. So just give it a rest.
Winner Sinner
Hall of Fame
Here are the players who beat Alcaraz this season (I don't consider Monteiro);
Zverev
Jarry
Dimitrov
Rublev
Draper
Djokovic
Monfils
VdZ
Machac
And here is Sinner record this season against the same players;
Zverev 1-0
Jarry 1-0
Dimitrov 2-0
Rublev 2-1
Draper 1-0
Djokovic 1-0
Monfils 1-0
VdZ 2-0
Machac 1-0
Total 12-1
Zverev
Jarry
Dimitrov
Rublev
Draper
Djokovic
Monfils
VdZ
Machac
And here is Sinner record this season against the same players;
Zverev 1-0
Jarry 1-0
Dimitrov 2-0
Rublev 2-1
Draper 1-0
Djokovic 1-0
Monfils 1-0
VdZ 2-0
Machac 1-0
Total 12-1
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