Better level of performance - Nadal at AO09 or Alcaraz at AO26?

Higher level of play

  • Nadal at AO 2009

    Votes: 87 89.7%

  • Alcaraz at AO 2026

    Votes: 10 10.3%
  • Total voters
    97
aman92

aman92

Legend
Considering, Nadal was watching today from the stands, thought the comparison was inevitable. Alcaraz won his first AO today at age 22 the same age Nadal was when he won in 2009.

Whose level of play was superior? For me the answer is clear, on the other hand - people on this forum told me Tennis continues to evolve every year so perhaps there is an argument for Alcaraz.
 
It would be competitive but I would expect Nadal edge to it.

But I won't really vote or comment further because I missed too much of this AO.
 
Like obviously it’s Nadal. AO 09 is a tier 1 ATG performance on plexi, up there in the top tier with AO 11, AO 13 etc. Featured arguably the greatest pair of back-to-back matches in any hard court slam this century

However, I fully expect that AO 26 will be nowhere near Raz’s AO peak. I’m expecting him to put together something like USO 25 at that tournament now that he has the experience of winning one. I think he’s getting better at just managing himself through the tour too - he didn’t crash and burn at the ATP finals last year, and I think he’s come into this tournament not half-baked, playing really mature tennis compared to some of what we’ve seen in the past
 
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Is this a joke? There is no legit basis for comparison of these two performances when the levels of their opponents were so different. Of course we can say Rafa 09 based on eye test, but we’ll never know what Carlos could have produced when pushed harder? Like he did during Wimbledon 2023 Final.
 
Krish0608 said:
Is this a joke? There is no legit basis for comparison of these two performances when the levels of their opponents were so different. Of course we can say Rafa 09 based on eye test, but we’ll never know what Carlos could have produced when pushed harder? Like he did during Wimbledon 2023 Final.
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We're really gonna go to Nadal hitting loopy cross forehands to the service box into Fedeerers backhand.

In the eye test of a blind man, Federer is always king.

In relative terms, ofcourse Nadal is way better. But if they literally played each other Alcaraz would easily win.
 
Each had an advantage in the final. Carlos faced a 38 year old opponent and Rafa faced a 27 year old opponent who was by then his mental pigeon.
 
Red Rick said:
We're really gonna go to Nadal hitting loopy cross forehands to the service box into Fedeerers backhand.
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Is this a description of the AO 09 F? If so tell me you’ve never properly watched it without telling me you’ve never watched it

What set that match up as one of the most rewatchable, high level and entertaining of Fedal clashes is that Fed’s BH wasn’t collapsing into a weak puddle in that match (like it did in the much vaunted Wimbledon 08 final) and Ned was forced to play an all around baseline game in which his own BH played a starring role, particularly CC to the Federer FH. It’s why that match has the best rallies by far of any of their slam meetings as neither’s main weapon could resort to stock patterns

Add to this that Verdasco was swinging for the fences - off both wings - for basically 5 hours in the SFs with power that would stand up to ‘modern’ power with ease, and still lost… and yeah, I’d be fine with taking Nadal against the modern field too even with his lighter 09 racket
 
aman92 said:
Considering, Nadal was watching today from the stands, thought the comparison was inevitable. Alcaraz won his first AO today at age 22 the same age Nadal was when he won in 2009.

Whose level of play was superior? For me the answer is clear, on the other hand - people on this forum told me Tennis continues to evolve every year so perhaps there is an argument for Alcaraz.
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Beating a prime Federer or a washed-up Djokovic of almost 39 years old, I wonder which of the two opponents was more difficult to defeat?
:sneaky:
 
aman92 said:
Considering, Nadal was watching today from the stands, thought the comparison was inevitable. Alcaraz won his first AO today at age 22 the same age Nadal was when he won in 2009.

Whose level of play was superior? For me the answer is clear, on the other hand - people on this forum told me Tennis continues to evolve every year so perhaps there is an argument for Alcaraz.
Click to expand...
Alcaraz is a more complete player and his play and adjustments throughout this tournament shows that. I'm not sure it's obvious whose level was higher taking that into account.
 
duaneeo said:
Each had an advantage in the final. Carlos faced a 38 year old opponent and Rafa faced a 27 year old opponent who was by then his mental pigeon.
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You're forgetting one small but important detail:
Back then, the Australian Open semifinals were played on different days, and Nadal played the second semifinal.
He had a much more demanding match than Federer and 24 hours less rest than his rival in the final.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, did not have that disadvantage, on the contrary, he had more hours of rest than Djokovic, as he played the first match of the day.
:D
 
Megafanoftennis100 said:
Neither was Djokovic :p

Nah, who am I kidding??
Of course the answer is obvious: Nadal AO 09 >>> Alcaraz AO 2026, it's not even close.
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I also highly doubt that Alcaraz will face someone like Soderling of 2009 at RG and like Del Potro of the same year at the US Open.
:D
 
DSH said:
You're forgetting one small but important detail:
Back then, the Australian Open semifinals were played on different days, and Nadal played the second semifinal.
He had a much more demanding match than Federer and 24 hours less rest than his rival in the final.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, did not have that disadvantage, on the contrary, he had more hours of rest than Djokovic, as he played the first match of the day.
:D
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lmfao can't believe what I read on here sometimes...

Nadal had ZERO advantage going into that match physically... in fact as you pointed out, he was at a disadvantage...

As for mentally... well Nadal earnt that mental edge over Federer, it was well deserved. Having said that, Fed didn't drop sets to Nadal in that final due to mental collapse... the two of them were playing unreal tennis and each of the first 2 sets Nadal won pretty much could have gone either way...
 
OK, look, I know that most of you will disagree with me on this, but really, Djokovic shouldn't even have been in the finals. His AO finalist plate deserves an asterisk all over it.

Sinner TANKED the SF match against Djokovic. He never intended on winning that match.
And yet, even with Sinner going very easy on him, it took Djokovic (who was playing noticeably better in the SF than in the F) an extremely close five setter to barely "defeat" Sinner. Even then, Djokovic still won 12 points less than Sinner. Safe to say, even when Sinner was holding back and Djokovic was playing anomalously well, the two were basically on par with each other, and if anything, it was Sinner who was overall the better player.

Now, what happened when this very version of Djokovic showed up in the first set of last night's finals match? He dominated Carlitos 6-2 in less than 40 minutes. It was only when his body finally started remembering it was 39 years old that Djokovic's level dropped substantially in sets 2, 3 & 4. But then, even in set 4, Carlitos just barely managed to scrape by.

Let's not kid ourselves: we all know that Sinner, if he were truly going all out, would've steamrolled Djokovic in straight sets, just like he did in their last four meetings. And he would've needed 4 sets at most to dismantle a rather subpar Carlitos in the finals.
 
The_Order said:
As for mentally... well Nadal earnt that mental edge over Federer, it was well deserved. Having said that, Fed didn't drop sets to Nadal in that final due to mental collapse... the two of them were playing unreal tennis and each of the first 2 sets Nadal won pretty much could have gone either way...
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They typically go the way of the player with the mental edge. And of course, the banging match ended with a whimper with that pathetic 5th set.
 
duaneeo said:
They typically go the way of the player with the mental edge. And of course, the banging match ended with a whimper with that pathetic 5th set.
Click to expand...

Typically, sure. But not that night. Nadal had to play some incredible tennis to seal those sets.

Of course the 5th set was a let down, had they maintained that level in that one... we're talking about it being probably the best match of all time.
 
Megafanoftennis100 said:
OK, look, I know that most of you will disagree with me on this, but really, Djokovic shouldn't even have been in the finals. His AO finalist plate deserves an asterisk all over it.

Sinner TANKED the SF match against Djokovic. He never intended on winning that match.
And yet, even with Sinner going very easy on him, it took Djokovic (who was playing noticeably better in the SF than in the F) an extremely close five setter to barely "defeat" Sinner. Even then, Djokovic still won 12 points less than Sinner. Safe to say, even when Sinner was holding back and Djokovic was playing anomalously well, the two were basically on par with each other, and if anything, it was Sinner who was overall the better player.

Now, what happened when this very version of Djokovic showed up in the first set of last night's finals match? He dominated Carlitos 6-2 in less than 40 minutes. It was only when his body finally started remembering it was 39 years old that Djokovic's level dropped substantially in sets 2, 3 & 4. But then, even in set 4, Carlitos just barely managed to scrape by.

Let's not kid ourselves: we all know that Sinner, if he were truly going all out, would've steamrolled Djokovic in straight sets, just like he did in their last four meetings. And he would've needed 4 sets at most to dismantle a rather subpar Carlitos in the finals.
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Dont think he tanked, but i was the only person who suggested he might not be that pumped up to have a war with Carlos, id say its more accurate he had one eye on Alcaraz and so wasnt as focussed as perhaps he normally would be.
 
aman92 said:
Considering, Nadal was watching today from the stands, thought the comparison was inevitable. Alcaraz won his first AO today at age 22 the same age Nadal was when he won in 2009.

Whose level of play was superior? For me the answer is clear, on the other hand - people on this forum told me Tennis continues to evolve every year so perhaps there is an argument for Alcaraz.
Click to expand...
At '09, Nadal didn't have the physical strength to compete with Alcaraz. Witness all the pre-'12 Federer-Nadal battles, Federer would hit and Nadal would chase. After Federer hit a few shots, would lose focus and the point.

The same thing almost happened in '12 AO, that's why Djokovic lost the 4th set and the TB. To play with a jackrabbit that used to be Nadal, you have to be patient, and not shoot for winners, but for him to chase.

After '12 AO, Nadal decided to add a lot of muscles, so he could go baseline to baseline with Djokovic. As the result, he lost some speed, but held on to his RG mainstay, which was his main objective. You notice that, after '11, Nadal never won AO & WB again with an active Djokovic. '22 AO was when Djokovic was expelled from down under.

I suspected that Nadal meant, at some point in his career, to add muscles and lose that extraordinary speed of his youth. Djokovic just speeded up that process.
 
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Idk how anyone who watched both runs could arrive at the conclusion that Carl’s run was better. Thankfully the poll results are playing out as they should. I’d be curious to see who voted for Carl, though I suspect it was mostly just anti-RAFA accounts.

Anyway, AO 09 RAFA moved notably better than AO 26 Raz did. His shot tolerance and fitness would just be too much to overcome as well. He was just an absolute rock that tournament. He wouldn’t be giving away points the way Zedrot, Oldovic, or Carl himself were this fortnight. And we saw how Carl’s cramps came rearing their ugly head again. Thankfully, they came against the mental midget Ziraffe. Then in the F he was visibly breathing hard on longer points when he really hadn’t had that tough of a run to get to the F. Whereas RAFA had a days less rest than Fred and looked noticeably fresher. Honestly think he out rallies Carl for the most part until the latter coughs up an error or a short ball RAFA could pounce on. The level of play between the Nadasco SF and the Zveraz SF was light night and day…literally. And then sets 1-4 of the F somehow eclipsed that until Fred threw in a 5th set stinker.
 
Federer and Del Potro said:
09 AO Ned made young Fedpo cry
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giphy.gif
 
Alcaraz would take the position that Djokovic for the most part took at '12 AO. Hit ground balls for Nadal to chase.

Federer didn't realize that, if you hit and he chased, you would still be in the driver's seat.
 
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The_Order said:
Typically, sure. But not that night. Nadal had to play some incredible tennis to seal those sets.

Of course the 5th set was a let down, had they maintained that level in that one... we're talking about it being probably the best match of all time.
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Do you still have Nadal as the winner in this alternative scenario?
 
Maybe im in the minority but my eyes tells me Nadal (young Nadal especially) chased down almost every single ball and balls that were coming in faster at absurd angles vs what Alcarez has shown us til date. The kind of would be winners Fed was throwing at Nadal only to be retrieved back or even hit back as a counter winner was just nuts..

Id say old Djokovic if having to have ALL of his shots come back would really rattle him as seen when Carlos was able to do some of that at Wimb '23 unlike the likes of Rudd, Berrettini etc.
 
The Blond Blur said:
Idk how anyone who watched both runs could arrive at the conclusion that Carl’s run was better. Thankfully the poll results are playing out as they should. I’d be curious to see who voted for Carl, though I suspect it was mostly just anti-RAFA accounts.

Anyway, AO 09 RAFA moved notably better than AO 26 Raz did. His shot tolerance and fitness would just be too much to overcome as well. He was just an absolute rock that tournament. He wouldn’t be giving away points the way Zedrot, Oldovic, or Carl himself were this fortnight. And we saw how Carl’s cramps came rearing their ugly head again. Thankfully, they came against the mental midget Ziraffe. Then in the F he was visibly breathing hard on longer points when he really hadn’t had that tough of a run to get to the F. Whereas RAFA had a days less rest than Fred and looked noticeably fresher. Honestly think he out rallies Carl for the most part until the latter coughs up an error or a short ball RAFA could pounce on. The level of play between the Nadasco SF and the Zveraz SF was light night and day…literally. And then sets 1-4 of the F somehow eclipsed that until Fred threw in a 5th set stinker.
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Talk about being bias LMAO. Alcaraz has a better serve than Nadal did in 2009 also Alcaraz generates naturally more Power than Nadal he's not going to out rally Nadal but he doesn't need to he'll use his Variety like he does Sinner... you're really selling alcaraz LMAO... do you forget that Alcaraz is 15-1 in 5th set matches ? He beat Djokovic in a long Wimbledon match in 2023 also he won the US Open in 2022 being on court for 23+ Hours which is the most hours spent for a champion at a slam so to Question alcaraz Fitness makes you lose credibility.... you're being a Nostalgic Merchant... Alcaraz game is more Complete than Nadal he can beat you in so many ways just ask sinner, Djokovic.... Djokovic himself said alcaraz is more complete than Nadal and roger.. Alcaraz is a better Hard court player than Nadal....
 
TheVenom1234567 said:
Talk about being bias LMAO. Alcaraz has a better serve than Nadal did in 2009 also Alcaraz generates naturally more Power than Nadal he's not going to out rally Nadal but he doesn't need to he'll use his Variety like he does Sinner... you're really selling alcaraz LMAO... do you forget that Alcaraz is 15-1 in 5th set matches ? He beat Djokovic in a long Wimbledon match in 2023 also he won the US Open in 2022 being on court for 23+ Hours which is the most hours spent for a champion at a slam so to Question alcaraz Fitness makes you lose credibility.... you're being a Nostalgic Merchant... Alcaraz game is more Complete than Nadal he can beat you in so many ways just ask sinner, Djokovic.... Djokovic himself said alcaraz is more complete than Nadal and roger.. Alcaraz is a better Hard court player than Nadal....
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Lol, says Carlbot123456789 :-D
 
TheVenom1234567 said:
Talk about being bias LMAO. Alcaraz has a better serve than Nadal did in 2009 also Alcaraz generates naturally more Power than Nadal he's not going to out rally Nadal but he doesn't need to he'll use his Variety like he does Sinner... you're really selling alcaraz LMAO... do you forget that Alcaraz is 15-1 in 5th set matches ? He beat Djokovic in a long Wimbledon match in 2023 also he won the US Open in 2022 being on court for 23+ Hours which is the most hours spent for a champion at a slam so to Question alcaraz Fitness makes you lose credibility.... you're being a Nostalgic Merchant... Alcaraz game is more Complete than Nadal he can beat you in so many ways just ask sinner, Djokovic.... Djokovic himself said alcaraz is more complete than Nadal and roger.. Alcaraz is a better Hard court player than Nadal....
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Nadal will make you out rally him its a huge part of his game
 
Federer cried because gave Nadal his best, but still lost. That says a lot about how incredible the quality of this match was(barring Fed’s drop off in the 5th set).

This was the last year of Nadal’s insane speed. Federer could not hit through this version of Nadal. Nadal’s speed would be the difference here.

I am taking Nadal in 4 very tight sets.
 
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