Rovesciarete
Hall of Fame
Carlos Alcaraz has become the youngest male player to win both a slam on all surfaces and the number one in ATP history. Especially impressive his is record in five setters, winning 10 out of 11. Watching quite a few of those matches I have reached the following conclusions:
1) He is obviously a generational tennis talent - nothing to add there.
2) Precocious physical specimen par excellence, a man at 18. Surprise, surprise°
3) Unique ability to shape shift to answer the opponent new tactical questions to solve. Now that is the intriguing part:
Much has been written that his unmatched variety sometimes seems to confuse himself out of a lack of discipline. Too little about his ability to confuse others due to sticking to his discipline of changing his tactical approach and shot making. His believe into shifting is undoubtedly link to some degree to the coaching off and on court by wily fox Juan Carlos, exemplified by the 2024 AO QF and 2024 SF RG. This is no underhand compliment and I find it personally fascinating to see his adjustments.
What is the logical conclusion? Carlos can get out the opponent’s comfort zone more easily than pretty much everybody else, almost resetting the match mentally. Especially against Sinner that has been of great importance as he lost a surprising amount of sets badly while leading the H2H without dominating Sinner in similar fashion in a single set*. Carlos however can often rally under the tactical guidance of his coach and his unique tool kit, getting a second or third wind even in bad matchups.
His physical baseline allows him to stick around and the longer the match goes the more tactical chances he gets to reverse matches with his supreme talent. For me that is a greatly undervalued superpower of a great champion.
°Seems that some are keen to misunderstand, didn’t want to repeat ‘nothing to add there’. His athletic performance is so well known that any comment is superfluous...
*Apart from the final 6-2 against a hesitant Jannik after a fall. He got bread-sticked at least four times and lost three sets 2-6, against that single 6-2. There is little doubt that Sinner has out-pointed him over their H2H.
1) He is obviously a generational tennis talent - nothing to add there.
2) Precocious physical specimen par excellence, a man at 18. Surprise, surprise°
3) Unique ability to shape shift to answer the opponent new tactical questions to solve. Now that is the intriguing part:
Much has been written that his unmatched variety sometimes seems to confuse himself out of a lack of discipline. Too little about his ability to confuse others due to sticking to his discipline of changing his tactical approach and shot making. His believe into shifting is undoubtedly link to some degree to the coaching off and on court by wily fox Juan Carlos, exemplified by the 2024 AO QF and 2024 SF RG. This is no underhand compliment and I find it personally fascinating to see his adjustments.
What is the logical conclusion? Carlos can get out the opponent’s comfort zone more easily than pretty much everybody else, almost resetting the match mentally. Especially against Sinner that has been of great importance as he lost a surprising amount of sets badly while leading the H2H without dominating Sinner in similar fashion in a single set*. Carlos however can often rally under the tactical guidance of his coach and his unique tool kit, getting a second or third wind even in bad matchups.
His physical baseline allows him to stick around and the longer the match goes the more tactical chances he gets to reverse matches with his supreme talent. For me that is a greatly undervalued superpower of a great champion.
°Seems that some are keen to misunderstand, didn’t want to repeat ‘nothing to add there’. His athletic performance is so well known that any comment is superfluous...
*Apart from the final 6-2 against a hesitant Jannik after a fall. He got bread-sticked at least four times and lost three sets 2-6, against that single 6-2. There is little doubt that Sinner has out-pointed him over their H2H.
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