RaulRamirez
Legend
Okay, there are all kinds of threads on this -- serious, trollish, and parody threads alike -- and pardon me for adding a serious one.
Here's the thing: While most of us may already have Djokovic and Alcaraz penciled into Sunday's final, it's not a sure thing. But looking ahead, here are some of my thoughts, and I invite your (serious, respectful) thoughts.
There's a lot of noise about how it would be amazing for a 36-year-old to beat a 20-year-old,and vice versa or even the reverse thought.
My take is, simply -- and I think obviously - this would be a meeting of the top two players in the world, and by a comfortable margin.
Yes, I think that Alcaraz arrived at an amazing level at a young age, and Novak has retained his level - or very, very close to it - for a long time. For both these reasons and more, they are not your typical 20-year-old and 36-year-old.
Should they meet, I hope that they're both healthy and in good form -- and I would anticipate a great match -- a la Wimbledon or Cincinnati.
I had a bit of a brain lock, thinking that Novak and Carlos met in the final of RG23, and of course it was in the semi...if most saw it as the de facto final -- sorry, Casper.
But even at that, the last back-to-back slam matchup was Djokovic-Murray (AO and RG16). If this were back-to-back-to-back, the last time that had happened was during the run of 4 straight Novak-Rafa matchups in 2011-12.
Now, if I'm not mistaken (please check me) the last back-to-back slam matchup among women was way back in 2003-04 with the Belgians, Henin and Clijsters.
If Novak and Carlitos meet, it will be a meeting of arguably the greatest player ever versus a certain ATG. Should Med upset Carlos, this will be his third USO final (along with a SF) in the last 5 years...not too bad. And if Big Ben crashes the party, we have another exciting 20-year-old who is squarely in the mix.
So...enjoy the tennis!
Here's the thing: While most of us may already have Djokovic and Alcaraz penciled into Sunday's final, it's not a sure thing. But looking ahead, here are some of my thoughts, and I invite your (serious, respectful) thoughts.
There's a lot of noise about how it would be amazing for a 36-year-old to beat a 20-year-old,and vice versa or even the reverse thought.
My take is, simply -- and I think obviously - this would be a meeting of the top two players in the world, and by a comfortable margin.
Yes, I think that Alcaraz arrived at an amazing level at a young age, and Novak has retained his level - or very, very close to it - for a long time. For both these reasons and more, they are not your typical 20-year-old and 36-year-old.
Should they meet, I hope that they're both healthy and in good form -- and I would anticipate a great match -- a la Wimbledon or Cincinnati.
I had a bit of a brain lock, thinking that Novak and Carlos met in the final of RG23, and of course it was in the semi...if most saw it as the de facto final -- sorry, Casper.
But even at that, the last back-to-back slam matchup was Djokovic-Murray (AO and RG16). If this were back-to-back-to-back, the last time that had happened was during the run of 4 straight Novak-Rafa matchups in 2011-12.
Now, if I'm not mistaken (please check me) the last back-to-back slam matchup among women was way back in 2003-04 with the Belgians, Henin and Clijsters.
If Novak and Carlitos meet, it will be a meeting of arguably the greatest player ever versus a certain ATG. Should Med upset Carlos, this will be his third USO final (along with a SF) in the last 5 years...not too bad. And if Big Ben crashes the party, we have another exciting 20-year-old who is squarely in the mix.
So...enjoy the tennis!
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