What do you mean, it was not hitting? And Med pulling out the stake of the net is actually pretty funny. He is resorting to the mind-games that the rules seem to allow, and I have no problem with him doing it against Zverev. Against other guys, it's a bit of a different story, but some guys seem to deserve it (including Rune).
It was actually refreshing and nice that nobody took a break after the 2nd set of the IW semi-final between Alcaraz and Sinner. In hindsight, and in the moment, it probably would have been good for Sinner to take the long "toilet break," as he started the third set on the back foot, just as the second had ended, but Sinner is too respectful and has too much sportsmanship for that.
Lot's of hypotheticals and recency bias here. I don't see how you can say that a guy that lost in the semis, to the guy that eventually lost in the final, could have "easily" won the USO last year. Especially since he would have faced Novak, who had just reclaimed his territory at Cincy a few weeks before.
Have people already forgotten that, prior to the last few matches at IW, Alcaraz was still considered lost/hungover from Wimbledon? He hadn't done much of anything since then, and while winning a Masters 1000 is good, we still don't know if he is fully back to form, or if he can maintain the form. Or perhaps, as some seem to think, maybe this is the time of year where he ramps up his "medicinal" preparation.
Lastly, not sure if you can say that Rune "has it all" talent wise, as having a strong mental game is a "talent" in tennis. And that is something where both Alcaraz and Sinner seem several steps ahead of him.