Can Alcaraz keep up the pace with Nadal?

[Hitman]

The acid test is about to commence for Alcaraz is his relentless pursuit for greatness, and in keeping pace with what Nadal accomplished.

It goes without saying that Nadal is the standard for the earlier years this century, and in no period did he really accelerate towards immortality than in the year from turning 22, all the way until turning 23. By the time Nadal celebrated his 23rd birthday, he had accomplished some titanic achievements.

6 slams across all three surfaces
47 weeks at number 1
1 year ending number one
Olympic Gold
15 masters titles


Alcaraz currently sits at

4 slams across all three surfaces
36 weeks at number 1
1 year ending number one
7 masters titles

The key thing for Alcaraz is of course to keep pace with the slam count, after Wimbledon 2008 Nadal had five to his tally. Alcaraz would need to at least win one of the next two to keep up, it will be hard to do the channel slam again, as no one other than Borg has managed to pull it off, but if he does, then he gets to six slams and keeps up the pace. With Sinner being so dominant on HC, this is a key period for Alcaraz.

In the masters, Alcaraz is significantly behind, Nadal was super dominant in masters at a young age, Alcaraz while impressive is still a level below.

He failed in achieving gold for now, but he can make up for it in another way, trying to win the YEC to have something Nadal didn't to balance it out.

Can he also get back to number one, because up until now he enjoyed that edge over Nadal, but Nadal was basically number one for almost the entirety of this period, Carlos has a massive Sinner problem to deal with here.

His goal is to be the greatest of them all, so he does need to keep up the pace, and eventually overtake, or it gets increasingly harder, of course not impossible, but certainly harder as time passes on.

 

[Gary Duane]

The acid test is about to commence for Alcaraz is his relentless pursuit for greatness, and in keeping pace with what Nadal accomplished.

It goes without saying that Nadal is the standard for the earlier years this century, and in no period did he really accelerate towards immortality than in the year from turning 22, all the way until turning 23. By the time Nadal celebrated his 23rd birthday, he had accomplished some titanic achievements.

6 slams across all three surfaces
47 weeks at number 1
1 year ending number one
Olympic Gold
15 masters titles


Alcaraz currently sits at

4 slams across all three surfaces
36 weeks at number 1
1 year ending number one
7 masters titles

The key thing for Alcaraz is of course to keep pace with the slam count, after Wimbledon 2008 Nadal had five to his tally. Alcaraz would need to at least win one of the next two to keep up, it will be hard to do the channel slam again, as no one other than Borg has managed to pull it off, but if he does, then he gets to six slams and keeps up the pace. With Sinner being so dominant on HC, this is a key period for Alcaraz.

In the masters, Alcaraz is significantly behind, Nadal was super dominant in masters at a young age, Alcaraz while impressive is still a level below.

He failed in achieving gold for now, but he can make up for it in another way, trying to win the YEC to have something Nadal didn't to balance it out.

Can he also get back to number one, because up until now he enjoyed that edge over Nadal, but Nadal was basically number one for almost the entirety of this period, Carlos has a massive Sinner problem to deal with here.

His goal is to be the greatest of them all, so he does need to keep up the pace, and eventually overtake, or it gets increasingly harder, of course not impossible, but certainly harder as time passes on.

It is too soon to make this kind of prediction. There are so many things that can go wrong with health, in particular injuries. I'm content to just watch to see what happens.

 

[Razer]

He wont be able to because he is not that good.

Nadal is probably once in a 100 years player, such unique players don't arrive for many many many decades.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Can we for the love of god stop comparing the current group to the past? Nobody will eclipse the Big 3 or come close. Ever.

These young guys won’t hit 20 slams, they won’t hit 15. I don’t even know if they both or possibly either of them will reach double digits. People have become far too spoiled and forget how quickly players can fade away. Hewitt had two slams by 21 and never won another. Hingis had 5 by the age of 18 and never won another. More other examples. Who’s to say they want to chase what the big 3 did? Ruining their bodies almost into their 40’s? They might pull an Ash Barty and throw in the towel at 25 after doing what they wanted to do.

Not saying these guys can’t get to 6-12 but they won’t be hitting 15. So no, Carlos won’t keep up with Nadal.

 

[The_Order]

As long as Alcaraz can win 13 slams by the time he's 31... he's a shot to win 25... just ask Djok, all he'll have to do is stick around and pound on mugs... if he gets as lucky of course

 

[Razer]

Open Era Slams before 30th Birthday/ in your Prime years [Presently this list is what you need to see, everything else depends on great age shift and weak next gens which cannot be predicted now]

01. Roger Federer - 16 Slams
02. Rafael Nadal - 14 Slams
03. Pete Sampras - 13 Slams
04. Novak Djokovic - 12 Slams
05. Bjorn Borg - 11 Slams
06. Ivan Lendl - 8 Slams
07. Jimmy Connors - 7 Slams
08. John Mcenroe - 7 Slams
09. Mats Wilander - 7 Slams
10. Boris Becker - 6 Slams
11. Stefan Edberg - 6 Slams
12. Agassi - 6 Slams
13. Newcombe - 4 Slams
14. Vilas - 4 Slams
15. Courier - 4 Slams
16. Alcaraz - 4 Slams

 

[Hitman]

Open Era Slams before 30th Birthday/ in your Prime years [Presently this list is what you need to see, everything else depends on great age shift and weak next gens which cannot be predicted now]

01. Roger Federer - 17 Slams
02. Rafael Nadal - 14 Slams
03. Pete Sampras - 13 Slams
04. Novak Djokovic - 12 Slams
05. Bjorn Borg - 11 Slams
06. Ivan Lendl - 8 Slams
07. Jimmy Connors - 7 Slams
08. John Mcenroe - 7 Slams
09. Mats Wilander - 7 Slams
10. Boris Becker - 6 Slams
11. Stefan Edberg - 6 Slams
12. Newcombe - 4 Slams
13. Vilas - 4 Slams
14. Courier - 4 Slams
15. Alcaraz - 4 Slams

The goal is to beat Djokovic's 24 slams, that is what he is targeting, something that is next to impossible in your 20s alone. He openly stated that he wants 25 slams.

For that, he needs to at least try to keep pace with Nadal if he can to give himself the best chance, because he needs to win more than any of those guys ever did.


As for the list, even with what you put, your list is wrong. Federer won this 17th slam past his 30th birthday.

 

[TennisGrandpA]

He can do do it , he has the talent to do it, he needs to be consistent and a better coach first.

 

[ND-13]

Will Alcaraz have the luxury of a 2018-23 era reemerge again ? One need that kind of 5 year period with no competition to get to 25 majors. Otherwise , I say a better way to supposed GOATdom will be by winning the CYGS and becoming the greatest ever after Laver

 

[Racquet_smash]

Will Alcaraz have the luxury of a 2018-23 era reemerge again ? One need that kind of 5 year period with no competition to get to 25 majors. Otherwise , I say a better way to supposed GOATdom will be by winning the CYGS and becoming the greatest ever after Laver

Alcaraz has had that level of competition for his entire career lol.

 

[Razer]

The goal is to beat Djokovic's 24 slams, that is what he is targeting, something that is next to impossible in your 20s alone. He openly stated that he wants 25 slams.

For that, he needs to at least try to keep pace with Nadal if he can to give himself the best chance, because he needs to win more than any of those guys ever did.


As for the list, even with what you put, your list is wrong. Federer won this 17th slam past his 30th birthday.

Right ... edited.. it is 16. fed won 17th in 2012.

Def impossible in 20s but he will have to do the bulk by 30 because post that winning shall reduce a lot...

 

[messiahrobins]

Open Era Slams before 30th Birthday/ in your Prime years [Presently this list is what you need to see, everything else depends on great age shift and weak next gens which cannot be predicted now]

01. Roger Federer - 16 Slams
02. Rafael Nadal - 14 Slams
03. Pete Sampras - 13 Slams
04. Novak Djokovic - 12 Slams
05. Bjorn Borg - 11 Slams
06. Ivan Lendl - 8 Slams
07. Jimmy Connors - 7 Slams
08. John Mcenroe - 7 Slams
09. Mats Wilander - 7 Slams
10. Boris Becker - 6 Slams
11. Stefan Edberg - 6 Slams
12. Newcombe - 4 Slams
13. Vilas - 4 Slams
14. Courier - 4 Slams
15. Alcaraz - 4 Slams

Hard to argue here against Federer and Nadal being the greatest players. Djokovic has to go ahead of Sampras as he got the Golden Slam although peak level wise Sampras was greater than Novak.
Connors and McEnroe need to go ahead of Lendl as Lendl didn't win the biggest Slam. Alcaraz I'd put at no.12 at the moment. A 3rd Wimbledon or 2nd FO puts him 8th for me..another Channel Slam puts him to 6th. If he then got AO next season already for me he would be 4th.
We all criticise Alcaraz but my god when u look at it he is on the verge of sporting greatness potentially within the next 6 months.

 

[messiahrobins]

Right ... edited.. it is 16. fed won 17th in 2012.

Def impossible in 20s but he will have to do the bulk by 30 because post that winning shall reduce a lot...

Not necessarily if his 30s pans out like it did for Djokovic where all his rivals are old and suffering with injuries and there are no top class younger players coming through. However I actually see Sinner benefitting more as I suspect alcaraz will suffer with injuries more in later years but sinner could well keep playing relatively injury free until he is 40 looking at his physique so I could see a scenario where Sinner overtakes Alcaraz eventually. But unless Sinner makes inroads against Alcaraz during their peaks it wouldn't make him greater than Alcaraz obviously

 

[nolefam_2024]

Alcaraz is +125 fav for rg and in IDEAL world, I know world isn't ideal, favorite for Wimbledon as well.

He is less so for usopen and AO. I am over 50% confident he wins rg in 2 weeks already and if he does that , he would be already at 5 slams.

 

[messiahrobins]

Will Alcaraz have the luxury of a 2018-23 era reemerge again ? One need that kind of 5 year period with no competition to get to 25 majors. Otherwise , I say a better way to supposed GOATdom will be by winning the CYGS and becoming the greatest ever after Laver

Golden Calendar Slam for Alcaraz even if he only had 10 Majors would make him undisputed GOAT. Even the Calendar Slam would.be enough. Its the holy grail. Could also explain why Djokovic is so frustrated and seemingly down mentally. I thought it was because of Nadal and their seismic 2022 clash but it's just hit me that of course he must see the potential for Alcaraz and Sinner to do a Calendar Slam and he will know what that means

 

[nam416]

Open Era Slams before 30th Birthday/ in your Prime years [Presently this list is what you need to see, everything else depends on great age shift and weak next gens which cannot be predicted now]

01. Roger Federer - 16 Slams
02. Rafael Nadal - 14 Slams
03. Pete Sampras - 13 Slams
04. Novak Djokovic - 12 Slams
05. Bjorn Borg - 11 Slams
06. Ivan Lendl - 8 Slams
07. Jimmy Connors - 7 Slams
08. John Mcenroe - 7 Slams
09. Mats Wilander - 7 Slams
10. Boris Becker - 6 Slams
11. Stefan Edberg - 6 Slams
12. Newcombe - 4 Slams
13. Vilas - 4 Slams
14. Courier - 4 Slams
15. Alcaraz - 4 Slams

You don't have Agassi on the list, he had, what, six of'em before he turned 30?

 

[zagor]

He wont be able to because he is not that good.

Nadal is probably once in a 100 years player, such unique players don't arrive for many many many decades.

Yeah but he doesn't have Nadal's competition, he might not need to be as good as Nadal.

Rafa faced 2006 and 2007 Fed in his first two Wimbledon finals.

 

[ChaelAZ]

It is too soon to make this kind of prediction. There are so many things that can go wrong with health, in particular injuries. I'm content to just watch to see what happens.

Exactly. So sure, he CAN keep pace, but even Nadal struggled to keep up with what ultimately was Nadal's career. At home many given points did TTW say his career was over. Heck, I remember within his first few years how many threads there were talking about how his physical play would only give him like 5 years on tour "realistically". lol

So I say 'yes', but we will see.

 

[TennisFan3]

Yeah but he doesn't have Nadal's competition, he might not need to be as good as Nadal.

Rafa faced 2006 and 2007 Fed in his first two Wimbledon finals.

This IS the most critical point people ignore. In his earlier years, Nadal faced prime/peak Fed who is the putative Grass GOAT and co-HC GOAT and no slouch on clay. Then he had to content with Djokovic who started to get better.
Alcaraz, at best, has Sinner - with the Italian himself being very fragile physically and not as good on natural surfaces.

In short: Quality of rivals matters a LOT when winning titles, and so it's impossible to compare across eras. Alcaraz might win almost as much, just being half as good as Nadal, by virtue of less competition.

 

[Deleted member 827468]

This IS the most critical point people ignore. In his earlier years, Nadal faced prime/peak Fed who is the putative Grass GOAT and co-HC GOAT and no slouch on clay. Then he had to content with Djokovic who started to get better.
Alcaraz, at best, has Sinner - with the Italian himself being very fragile physically and not as good on natural surfaces.

In short: Quality of rivals matters a LOT when winning titles, and so it's impossible to compare across eras. Alcaraz might win almost as much, just being half as good as Nadal, by virtue of less competition.

good to see you again

 

[dking68]

Not at all, don’t see him winning AO until he gets rid of Ferrero. And Sinner will be keeping his number 1 for a few more years

 

[nolefam_2024]

This IS the most critical point people ignore. In his earlier years, Nadal faced prime/peak Fed who is the putative Grass GOAT and co-HC GOAT and no slouch on clay. Then he had to content with Djokovic who started to get better.
Alcaraz, at best, has Sinner - with the Italian himself being very fragile physically and not as good on natural surfaces.

In short: Quality of rivals matters a LOT when winning titles, and so it's impossible to compare across eras. Alcaraz might win almost as much, just being half as good as Nadal, by virtue of less competition.

This is NOT as always members are wrong.

Nadal faced fed on hc slam in 2009. This is similar to alcaraz facing sinner in hc slam by 2026. Nadal didn't even face djokovic in hc slam till USO 2010.

 

[Razer]

You don't have Agassi on the list, he had, what, six of'em before he turned 30?

Thanks, updated it... Sorry, he slipped my mind.

Yeah but he doesn't have Nadal's competition, he might not need to be as good as Nadal.

Rafa faced 2006 and 2007 Fed in his first two Wimbledon finals.

TBH Nadal's competition is also a bit overrated. Nadal first of all enjoyed a huge matchup advantage over Federer, something which Alcaraz does not over Sinner. Also Nadal got the year 2010 to add 2 valuable no clay slams in his peak when Fed and Novak both were not at their best, it was like a transition phase of sorts when Fed was slowly starting to leave his prime while Novak was yet to enter his peak. Alcaraz had no such luxury and he might not be having years like 2017-2019 which Nadal had to collect 2 US Opens in old age. So technically Alcaraz's path is not as easy as e think...

Not necessarily if his 30s pans out like it did for Djokovic where all his rivals are old and suffering with injuries and there are no top class younger players coming through. However I actually see Sinner benefitting more as I suspect alcaraz will suffer with injuries more in later years but sinner could well keep playing relatively injury free until he is 40 looking at his physique so I could see a scenario where Sinner overtakes Alcaraz eventually. But unless Sinner makes inroads against Alcaraz during their peaks it wouldn't make him greater than Alcaraz obviously

If Sinner/Alcaraz's 30s is filled with weak set of players born in the 2010s then they definitely can approach BIG 3 numbers but we have no way of judging the present 10-12 year olds without them growing up and entering their primes at least a decade from now. Thats why I presented the list till 30th birthday, beyond that is imaginary at this point.

Sinner could win into his 30s, you are right, he def will do better than Alcaraz in their 30s.

Hard to argue here against Federer and Nadal being the greatest players. Djokovic has to go ahead of Sampras as he got the Golden Slam although peak level wise Sampras was greater than Novak.
Connors and McEnroe need to go ahead of Lendl as Lendl didn't win the biggest Slam. Alcaraz I'd put at no.12 at the moment. A 3rd Wimbledon or 2nd FO puts him 8th for me..another Channel Slam puts him to 6th. If he then got AO next season already for me he would be 4th.
We all criticise Alcaraz but my god when u look at it he is on the verge of sporting greatness potentially within the next 6 months.

Djokovic overall has 24 slams, so he is greater today. 30s performance is also counted and once that is counted Djokovic is ahead. Federer and Nadal are not greater than Djokovic today. More influential maybe but not greater in achievements.

 

[SonnyT]

At first, Alcaraz might not keep up with Nadal. But he could easily, in the long run, because right now Sinner is his only legitimate rival.

In the previous era, two also dominated: Nadal only dominated one slam site, while Djokovic dominated two. But Alcaraz doesn't have any trouble with Sinner, so the future belongs to Carl, more so than Jannik!

 

[nolefam_2024]

At first, Alcaraz might not keep up with Nadal. But he could easily, in the long run, because right now Sinner is his only legitimate rival.

In the previous era, two also dominated: Nadal only dominated one slam site, while Djokovic dominated two. But Alcaraz doesn't have any trouble with Sinner, so the future belongs to Carl, more so than Jannik!

You have to wait and see.

To op's question. Yes raz can keep up with the pace today. I will not guarantee for future. I have taken bet raz wins 12 slams minimum. No idea how many more he wins.

 

[TennisGrandpA]

This IS the most critical point people ignore. In his earlier years, Nadal faced prime/peak Fed who is the putative Grass GOAT and co-HC GOAT and no slouch on clay. Then he had to content with Djokovic who started to get better.
Alcaraz, at best, has Sinner - with the Italian himself being very fragile physically and not as good on natural surfaces.

In short: Quality of rivals matters a LOT when winning titles, and so it's impossible to compare across eras. Alcaraz might win almost as much, just being half as good as Nadal, by virtue of less competition.

Hey man , you have been prophetic through out your ttw history, how many slams do you think Sinner will win?

 

[Razer]

Djokovic's record won't be broken by either of Sinner/Alcaraz

If Sinner had Alcaraz's mental toughness during matches then he could have .... Similarly if Alcaraz had Sinner's height and body frame then he too could have broken but these 2 don't have it.

Big 3 scored a lot, it will be broken by a true Superstar who will arrive after them I feel.

 

[wang07]

At first, Alcaraz might not keep up with Nadal. But he could easily, in the long run, because right now Sinner is his only legitimate rival.

Technically Nadal also has the best longevity, longest span between first and last slams. How will Alcaraz "easily" match that? Hyperinflation era never ends and Fritz and Zverev will be in slam finals in 2035?

 

[THUNDERVOLLEY]

Djokovic overall has 24 slams, so he is greater today.

Djokovic is one the "Best of the Rest" players (those with the largest collection of majors, but never won the Grand Slam to become a GOAT), and at present, Alcaraz is simply not one to project as being a "Best of the Rest" player, contrary to the

I say a better way to supposed GOATdom will be by winning the CYGS and becoming the greatest ever after Laver

Alcaraz has never displayed any ability capable of reaching the GOAT-defining zenith of the sport. Allegedly, he's a "better" player now than in past years, but his 2025 at the majors started on a disastrous note.

 

[socallefty]

How about seeing if Alcaraz can keep up the pace with his peer Sinner rather than some hero from the past?

 

[SonnyT]

Technically Nadal also has the best longevity, longest span between first and last slams. How will Alcaraz "easily" match that? Hyperinflation era never ends and Fritz and Zverev will be in slam finals in 2035?

Hyperinflation? Federer won all of one slam between '11 and '17, all three of his slams after that resulted from Djokovic's elbow injury! Federer has to ask: what's hyperinflation!

 

[SonnyT]

How about seeing if Alcaraz can keep up the pace with his peer Sinner rather than some hero from the past?

If the field is winnowed down to two, that's not a problem for Alcaraz, however it's a big problem for Sinner!

 

[M4tchP0int]

As long as Alcaraz can win 13 slams by the time he's 31... he's a shot to win 25... just ask Djok, all he'll have to do is stick around and pound on mugs... if he gets as lucky of course

If there is a war between China and the US between 2025 and 2035 , i highly doubt the australian open , Wimbledon and the US open are gonna be played. it will be like the pandemic but will last longer.

 

[Jonas78]

I can see him winning 2/4 next slams. He will be behind in the masters. Sinner could also stand in his way, looks like Jannick intends to rack up the the big HC titles in the years to come.

 

[johnmccabe]

The acid test is about to commence for Alcaraz is his relentless pursuit for greatness, and in keeping pace with what Nadal accomplished.

It goes without saying that Nadal is the standard for the earlier years this century, and in no period did he really accelerate towards immortality than in the year from turning 22, all the way until turning 23. By the time Nadal celebrated his 23rd birthday, he had accomplished some titanic achievements.

6 slams across all three surfaces
47 weeks at number 1
1 year ending number one
Olympic Gold
15 masters titles


Alcaraz currently sits at

4 slams across all three surfaces
36 weeks at number 1
1 year ending number one
7 masters titles

The key thing for Alcaraz is of course to keep pace with the slam count, after Wimbledon 2008 Nadal had five to his tally. Alcaraz would need to at least win one of the next two to keep up, it will be hard to do the channel slam again, as no one other than Borg has managed to pull it off, but if he does, then he gets to six slams and keeps up the pace. With Sinner being so dominant on HC, this is a key period for Alcaraz.

In the masters, Alcaraz is significantly behind, Nadal was super dominant in masters at a young age, Alcaraz while impressive is still a level below.

He failed in achieving gold for now, but he can make up for it in another way, trying to win the YEC to have something Nadal didn't to balance it out.

Can he also get back to number one, because up until now he enjoyed that edge over Nadal, but Nadal was basically number one for almost the entirety of this period, Carlos has a massive Sinner problem to deal with here.

His goal is to be the greatest of them all, so he does need to keep up the pace, and eventually overtake, or it gets increasingly harder, of course not impossible, but certainly harder as time passes on.

So far he dominates Sinner and no one else is really close. If he keeps up with motivation and tactical discipline and health, I like his chances. Wishful thinking maybe..

Somehow I'm worried about Draper rising up too quickly

 

[DSH]

The acid test is about to commence for Alcaraz is his relentless pursuit for greatness, and in keeping pace with what Nadal accomplished.

It goes without saying that Nadal is the standard for the earlier years this century, and in no period did he really accelerate towards immortality than in the year from turning 22, all the way until turning 23. By the time Nadal celebrated his 23rd birthday, he had accomplished some titanic achievements.

6 slams across all three surfaces
47 weeks at number 1
1 year ending number one
Olympic Gold
15 masters titles


Alcaraz currently sits at

4 slams across all three surfaces
36 weeks at number 1
1 year ending number one
7 masters titles

The key thing for Alcaraz is of course to keep pace with the slam count, after Wimbledon 2008 Nadal had five to his tally. Alcaraz would need to at least win one of the next two to keep up, it will be hard to do the channel slam again, as no one other than Borg has managed to pull it off, but if he does, then he gets to six slams and keeps up the pace. With Sinner being so dominant on HC, this is a key period for Alcaraz.

In the masters, Alcaraz is significantly behind, Nadal was super dominant in masters at a young age, Alcaraz while impressive is still a level below.

He failed in achieving gold for now, but he can make up for it in another way, trying to win the YEC to have something Nadal didn't to balance it out.

Can he also get back to number one, because up until now he enjoyed that edge over Nadal, but Nadal was basically number one for almost the entirety of this period, Carlos has a massive Sinner problem to deal with here.

His goal is to be the greatest of them all, so he does need to keep up the pace, and eventually overtake, or it gets increasingly harder, of course not impossible, but certainly harder as time passes on.

He wont be able to because he is not that good.

Nadal is probably once in a 100 years player, such unique players don't arrive for many many many decades.

Nadal had as his greatest rivals, first the majestic Federer and then, the implacable Djokovic.
Sinner, despite being very good on hard courts, is nowhere near their level.
Who will Alcaraz face as major competition, aside from the Italian, in the near future?

 

[DSH]

Open Era Slams before 30th Birthday/ in your Prime years [Presently this list is what you need to see, everything else depends on great age shift and weak next gens which cannot be predicted now]

01. Roger Federer - 16 Slams
02. Rafael Nadal - 14 Slams
03. Pete Sampras - 13 Slams
04. Novak Djokovic - 12 Slams
05. Bjorn Borg - 11 Slams
06. Ivan Lendl - 8 Slams
07. Jimmy Connors - 7 Slams
08. John Mcenroe - 7 Slams
09. Mats Wilander - 7 Slams
10. Boris Becker - 6 Slams
11. Stefan Edberg - 6 Slams
12. Agassi - 6 Slams
13. Newcombe - 4 Slams
14. Vilas - 4 Slams
15. Courier - 4 Slams
16. Alcaraz - 4 Slams

And Nadal missed out on opportunities at his peak/prime due to serious injuries, which would have undoubtedly given him the lead in that table.

 

[DSH]

Alcaraz is +125 fav for rg and in IDEAL world, I know world isn't ideal, favorite for Wimbledon as well.

He is less so for usopen and AO. I am over 50% confident he wins rg in 2 weeks already and if he does that , he would be already at 5 slams.

If he wins the Channel Slam again, they'll say he's better than Nadal at the same age and mention Borg, as the only ones to achieve the rare feat of winning RG and Wimbledon in consecutive seasons.

 

[Razer]

And Nadal missed out on opportunities at his peak/prime due to serious injuries, which would have undoubtedly given him the lead in that table.

How did Nadal win 14 french opens if he was so badly injured? Lets no exaggerate, injuries are a part of the game. Nadal was fit at the time he needed to be, thats all that matters.

 

[DSH]

How did Nadal win 14 french opens if he was so badly injured? Lets no exaggerate, injuries are a part of the game. Nadal was fit at the time he needed to be, thats all that matters.

As his uncle already said, Nadal is an injured person who plays tennis.

 

[Sport]

This IS the most critical point people ignore. In his earlier years, Nadal faced prime/peak Fed who is the putative Grass GOAT and co-HC GOAT and no slouch on clay. Then he had to content with Djokovic who started to get better.
Alcaraz, at best, has Sinner - with the Italian himself being very fragile physically and not as good on natural surfaces.

In short: Quality of rivals matters a LOT when winning titles, and so it's impossible to compare across eras. Alcaraz might win almost as much, just being half as good as Nadal, by virtue of less competition.

Nice to have you back in the forum!

You always bring uniquely original viewpoints and perspectives. Great to read you again!

 

[DSH]

Will Alcaraz have the luxury of a 2018-23 era reemerge again ? One need that kind of 5 year period with no competition to get to 25 majors. Otherwise , I say a better way to supposed GOATdom will be by winning the CYGS and becoming the greatest ever after Laver

Maybe Alcaraz will replace Djokovic as the new GOOAT of tennis, I wouldn't really rule it out.

 

[TennisFan3]

Nice to have you back in the forum!

You always bring uniquely original viewpoints and perspectives. Great to read you again!

Thank you so much. Exactly the same for you. Love your posts.
Now that Nadal has retired, people will slowly realize what he has truly accomplished. Lot of players will try but will never be able to match his records especially on the clat.

 

[TennisFan3]

Hey man , you have been prophetic through out your ttw history, how many slams do you think Sinner will win?

No idea, as it's too early to say. I don't know if he will win double digit slams. What do you think?

 

[Hitman]

The acid test is about to commence for Alcaraz is his relentless pursuit for greatness, and in keeping pace with what Nadal accomplished.

It goes without saying that Nadal is the standard for the earlier years this century, and in no period did he really accelerate towards immortality than in the year from turning 22, all the way until turning 23. By the time Nadal celebrated his 23rd birthday, he had accomplished some titanic achievements.

6 slams across all three surfaces
47 weeks at number 1
1 year ending number one
Olympic Gold
15 masters titles


Alcaraz currently sits at

4 slams across all three surfaces
36 weeks at number 1
1 year ending number one
7 masters titles

The key thing for Alcaraz is of course to keep pace with the slam count, after Wimbledon 2008 Nadal had five to his tally. Alcaraz would need to at least win one of the next two to keep up, it will be hard to do the channel slam again, as no one other than Borg has managed to pull it off, but if he does, then he gets to six slams and keeps up the pace. With Sinner being so dominant on HC, this is a key period for Alcaraz.

In the masters, Alcaraz is significantly behind, Nadal was super dominant in masters at a young age, Alcaraz while impressive is still a level below.

He failed in achieving gold for now, but he can make up for it in another way, trying to win the YEC to have something Nadal didn't to balance it out.

Can he also get back to number one, because up until now he enjoyed that edge over Nadal, but Nadal was basically number one for almost the entirety of this period, Carlos has a massive Sinner problem to deal with here.

His goal is to be the greatest of them all, so he does need to keep up the pace, and eventually overtake, or it gets increasingly harder, of course not impossible, but certainly harder as time passes on.

A quick update heading into the US Open final


6 slams across all three surfaces
47 weeks at number 1
1 year ending number one
Olympic Gold
15 masters titles


Alcaraz currently sits at

5 slams across all three surfaces
36 weeks at number 1
1 year ending number one
8 masters titles

 

[medieval_remnant]

It is too soon to make this kind of prediction. There are so many things that can go wrong with health, in particular injuries. I'm content to just watch to see what happens.

Injuries a bigger challenge than the rise of formidable opponents? Genuinely asking

 

[GRASScaraz]

22yo Alcaraz> 22yo Nadal on HC

 

[gamelovergold]

Alcaraz is right there with nadal.
But will he play till 38 years of age.

 

[TennisGrandpA]

Yes he can but he needs to win USO this year

 

[dking68]

22yo Alcaraz> 22yo Nadal on HC

lol you’re so wrong for this. 22 year old Nadal would not lose to Grandpavic at AO