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nachiket nolefam said:
@Kralingen what are the expectations for Alcaraz in the coming week? McEnroe won it at age 19 and 10 months. Alcaraz is already older.



Nole won ATP finals at the age 21. I think Zverev and Tsitsipas won at similar age but Raz can become youngest since Sampras in 1991.
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Alcaraz has a big week ahead of him. Needs to stop the rot. He also ties the H2H with all these guys. Therefore, the matchups will be interesting. He needs to get some mental edge back before 2024.
 
nachiket nolefam said:
@Kralingen what are the expectations for Alcaraz in the coming week? McEnroe won it at age 19 and 10 months. Alcaraz is already older.



Nole won ATP finals at the age 21. I think Zverev and Tsitsipas won at similar age but Raz can become youngest since Sampras in 1991.
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Not high, after the debacle in Paris last week.

Still, he must know that he has to go undefeated to get the world #1, and I’m sure he will be humbled and more prepared.

Hoping he can win that first match and we’ll go from there. Don’t expect him to win it, but it wouldn’t shock me if he found something - no one expected anything from him on grass either.
 
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Of all 8 players, 6 of them serve harder on first serves than Nole. Nole is from the past era. These guys have serious power in their serves.

Only one guy who has slower first serve is Alcaraz. He is also the smallest of the group. I think Raz stands at 5'11". Nole Rune and Rublev are 6'2" while Sinner might be 6'3". And Stephanos is 6'4" while Medvedev Zverev are 6'6".

But Raz is not the weakest second server. He is right in the middle. The weakest being Rublev. I think many will hope they see the weaker Rublev second serve. Then there is Sinner. Nole next but Nole leads the tour on second serve pts won for 2023 so he is not weak by any means. Then comes Alcaraz. Obviously tsitsipas Medvedev and Zverev (indoors) have much better second serve.
 
Hitman said:
So if he can't beat the GOAT who also happens to be the defending champion and has won the event six times in the past, then that's it for Sinner? LOL
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Well he needs to rise up to a big occasion, and so far he hasn’t. It just won’t happen in the slams next year if he’s unable to do it here
 
dking68 said:
Well he needs to rise up to a big occasion, and so far he hasn’t. It just won’t happen in the slams next year if he’s unable to do it here
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I get your point, but it's not all doom and gloom if he doesn't beat Djokovic in a match here. Djokovic has been the best fast court player this century after Federer, so the bar is very high.
 
Looking forward to most of the matches this year with a few exceptions (Medvedev vs Rublev, Medvedev vs Zverev - both are snoozefests for me so will skip watching them).

Djokovic group
- I'm very much looking forward to watching Djokovic vs Sinner (can Sinner finally get his first win over Djokovic given Sinner's recent high with winning titles in Beijing and Vienna, I'm curious to see if he shows any tactical improvement when they clash)
- Djokovic vs Rune has always been close (their last 2 matches in Paris MS1000), 2-2 H2H as well
- Sinner vs Rune is a rare match-up - H2H is 2-0 for Rune
- Looking forward to Tsitsipas vs Rune and Tsitsipas vs Sinner, expecting Djokovic to beat Tsitsipas once again

Alcaraz group
- Alcaraz will finally play against Rublev for the first time, a bit surprised that they have never played each other before
- Hopefully Alcaraz gets the better of Zverev and Medvedev
 
Hitman said:
You think the third match would wear him out for the semis?
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For all the talks of Sinner's massive improvement and him being the most in-form player or the youngster with the highest ceiling; I still don't think he can beat a Djokovic who has a pair of functioning legs. The Serbian cat is just a nightmare matchup for crosscourt baseline bashers who often drop short balls like Sinner does.
 
Rafa4LifeEver said:
For all the talks of Sinner's massive improvement and him being the most in-form player or the youngster with the highest ceiling; I still don't think he can beat a Djokovic who has a pair of functioning legs. The Serbian cat is just a nightmare matchup for crosscourt baseline bashers who often drop short balls like Sinner does.
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Let’s see, if he can’t beat Djokovic here, no slams won in 24’ IMO and I’m saying this as Sinner’s fan. If he can’t deliver in front of his home crowd he ain’t doing it at any of the four slams. Kids gotta step up his game if he wants to be a big one
 
dking68 said:
Let’s see, if he can’t beat Djokovic here, no slams won in 24’ IMO and I’m saying this as Sinner’s fan. If he can’t deliver in front of his home crowd he ain’t doing it at any of the four slams. Kids gotta step up his game if he wants to be a big one
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I don't want to be a naysayer, but I really don't see any tactical or technical improvements in Sinner's game whatsoever over the past few months. The only things he has slightly improved are his stamina & first serve pace. I don't believe that's gonna cut it against Djokovic unless the Serbian cat has a really bad day and starts shanking.
The combined redirection of shots and consistent depth of balls from Djokovic are the perfect antidotes for Sinner's game; the lanky Italian looks totally powerless against him.
 
Rafa4LifeEver said:
I don't want to be a naysayer, but I really don't see any tactical or technical improvements in Sinner's game whatsoever over the past few months. The only things he has slightly improved are his stamina & first serve pace. I don't believe that's gonna cut it against Djokovic unless the Serbian cat has a really bad day and starts shanking.
The combined redirection of shots and consistent depth of balls from Djokovic are the perfect antidotes for Sinner's game; the lanky Italian looks totally powerless against him.
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Let’s see. Early doors, as I said if he can’t do it here, when will he ever get it done? These are the most favorable of conditions for him and he’s got a whole home crowd behind him - if he can’t do it here, no breakthrough in 24’

We’ve been patiently awaiting a breakthrough and he’s 22 years old and should be coming of age. He needs to start embracing big challenges with optimism, like all ATGs have and start winning big titles fast and NOW
 
dking68 said:
Let’s see. Early doors, as I said if he can’t do it here, when will he ever get it done? These are the most favorable of conditions for him and he’s got a whole home crowd behind him - if he can’t do it here, no breakthrough in 24’

We’ve been patiently awaiting a breakthrough and he’s 22 years old and should be coming of age. He needs to start embracing big challenges with optimism, like all ATGs have and start winning big titles fast and NOW
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I love your optimistic view, must admit that.

Also, got any suggestions on how to manage jetlag effortlessly?
 
tudwell said:
Novak did in 07 and Nadal in 09, I believe. Fed never did – only once did he go out in the round robin phase at all, with a 1-2 record.
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If you wanna get really technical, Novak actually almost did in 2011 but he beat Berdych in a third set tiebreak.

But he never actually played three RR's because he was replaced for the third one by Tipsarevic.
 
Majority opinion seems to be that both groups are tough without too many easy matches. Does it mean all the eight players are really good (my opinion)? Or is it because they are all really bad (Fedal fan opinion) since they keep letting an old man win all the Slams?
 
dking68 said:
Let’s see, if he can’t beat Djokovic here, no slams won in 24’ IMO and I’m saying this as Sinner’s fan. If he can’t deliver in front of his home crowd he ain’t doing it at any of the four slams. Kids gotta step up his game if he wants to be a big one
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I think Sinner is going to win. The barrier of entry to actually winning the title once you are in RR is way lower at WTF than a major.

GOATsipas, Zverev, Dimitrov have all broken through at WTF.

Sinner will do the same as the above, but the difference with Sinner is that he will go onto much bigger and better things.
 
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