Musetti and Zverev

[messiahrobins]

Now the dust has settled and celebrations have stopped after a brilliant end to the AO in the SFs and Finals on reflection is it fair to say that the closest potential challengers to the Big 2 are Zverev and Musetti?

Zverev was only guy remotely close to troubling Alcaraz and Musetti actually was playing a higher level than Sinner in the event and but for his injury may well have beat Sinner In the SF based on the form both showed at the event.

Zverev we know gets tight but he can play well on clay and Musettis best surface is clay so a semi final of the Big 2 and Musetti and Zverev could be pretty epic.

 

[helterskelter]

At Roland Garros, yes. At Wimbledon, maybe not.

 

[Chanwan]

At Roland Garros, yes. At Wimbledon, maybe not.

Musetti is more than decent on grass too

 

[messiahrobins]

Musetti is more than decent on grass too

The upcoming 5 M1000 events are crucial for Musetti and Zverev. I'd say they need to be winning a couple each beating the Big 2 along the way. I'd add Djokovic into that but he will hardly play now, if at all.

 

[Hitman]

Now the dust has settled and celebrations have stopped after a brilliant end to the AO in the SFs and Finals on reflection is it fair to say that the closest potential challengers to the Big 2 are Zverev and Musetti?

Zverev was only guy remotely close to troubling Alcaraz and Musetti actually was playing a higher level than Sinner in the event and but for his injury may well have beat Sinner In the SF based on the form both showed at the event.

Zverev we know gets tight but he can play well on clay and Musettis best surface is clay so a semi final of the Big 2 and Musetti and Zverev could be pretty epic.

Musetti is closest IMO.

Zverev will continue to decline.

 

[Hitman]

Musetti is more than decent on grass too

Musetti has the perfect game for grass.

Before the start of the grass season in 2024 I said Musetti would shine on grass and called him a dark horse for Wimbledon....the guy then went onto make the Queens final and his first ever slam semi final at Wimbledon.

 

[messiahrobins]

Musetti is closest IMO.

Zverev will continue to decline.

Thought Zverev had improved aspects if his game..the FH noticeably better

Any news on Musettis injury?

 

[Hitman]

Thought Zverev had improved aspects if his game..the FH noticeably better

Any news on Musettis injury?

No news.

Zverev played a decent AO, but his form was off for a while.

Musetti was on fire in Hong Kong heading into AO, and his forehand is getting heat. To me, he looks the best of the bunch chasing the top guys, his only issue is his body IMO.

 

[Soul_Evisceration]

If Zverev would hold himself together mentally and if Musetti would have the endurance to go to 5 Sets on a regular basis without cramping, yes they are the biggest threat aside Djokovic that can challenge Sinner and Alcaraz on every surface.

I don't see Draper, Shelton, Fritz, De Minaur, Auger-Aliassime, Tien, Fils, Fonseca anytime soon posing any threats.

 

[Hitman]

If Zverev would hold himself together mentally and if Musetti would have the endurance to go to 5 Sets on a regular basis without cramping, yes they are the biggest threat aside Djokovic that can challenge Sinner and Alcaraz on every surface.

I don't see Draper, Shelton, Fritz, De Minaur, Auger-Aliassime, Tien, Fils, Fonseca anytime soon posing any threats.

Djokovic shouldn't really count at this stage, he's almost 39 and won't be around much longer.

Moose and Zed though....if they want big titles, they need to take the top out.

 

[messiahrobins]

No news.

Zverev played a decent AO, but his form was off for a while.

Musetti was on fire in Hong Kong heading into AO, and his forehand is getting heat. To me, he looks the best of the bunch chasing the top guys, his only issue is his body IMO.

Musettis BH and ROS are where he will need to tighten up to really take the next step hope he does as I was bigging him and Sinner up a decade ago after I'd played in Italy at Lake Garda. Italian coaches were absolutely raving about them.

Many within the game years ago thought the New big 3 would be Alcaraz Sinner and Musetti so really hope Musetti steps up

 

[Hitman]

Musettis BH and ROS are where he will need to tighten up to really take the next step hope he does as I was bigging him and Sinner up a decade ago after I'd played in Italy at Lake Garda. Italian coaches were absolutely raving about them.

Many within the game years ago thought the New big 3 would be Alcaraz Sinner and Musetti so really hope Musetti steps up

Most important is to continue to improve court positioning, something which he admitted he needed to keep doing.

 

[messiahrobins]

Most important is to continue to improve court positioning, something which he admitted he needed to keep doing.

Yeah needs to step up more closer to baseline more often.

 

[Chanwan]

Musetti has the perfect game for grass.

Before the start of the grass season in 2024 I said Musetti would shine on grass and called him a dark horse for Wimbledon....the guy then went onto make the Queens final and his first ever slam semi final at Wimbledon.

Agree, am arguing the same point

 

[Chanwan]

If Zverev would hold himself together mentally and if Musetti would have the endurance to go to 5 Sets on a regular basis without cramping, yes they are the biggest threat aside Djokovic that can challenge Sinner and Alcaraz on every surface.

I don't see Draper, Shelton, Fritz, De Minaur, Auger-Aliassime, Tien, Fils, Fonseca anytime soon posing any threats.

A fit Draper (an oxymoron?) is most def a threat imo. 4th best performance rating in the past 52 weeks and very good peak level. None of the chasers have showed a higher sustained peak in recent memory than Draper last spring

 

[Chanwan]

Musettis BH and ROS are where he will need to tighten up to really take the next step hope he does as I was bigging him and Sinner up a decade ago after I'd played in Italy at Lake Garda. Italian coaches were absolutely raving about them.

Many within the game years ago thought the New big 3 would be Alcaraz Sinner and Musetti so really hope Musetti steps up

Fwiw, return is top-5 and BH no 9 on the rating https://www.atptour.com/en/stats/td...e=all&sortBy=ShotQuality.Return&sortOrder=dsc

 

[Soul_Evisceration]

A fit Draper (an oxymoron?) is most def a threat imo. 4th best performance rating in the past 52 weeks and very good peak level. None of the chasers have showed a higher sustained peak in recent memory than Draper last spring

Yes I forgot about his Spring performance. Seems like a long time ago already.

The problem is he's so injury prone that even when he comes back, I'm not sure if he'll be back to how he was before the major setback.

 

[Chanwan]

Yes I forgot about his Spring performance. Seems like a long time ago already.

The problem is he's so injury prone that even when he comes back, I'm not sure if he'll be back to how he was before the major setback.

Me neither. But up until the latest injury I actually had him as a bigger threat than Z cause of the lack of scar tissue

 

[gamelovergold]

Musseti played his heart out in match vs Novak.
He has to work on physical fitness if wants to become top 3.
Novak is now non factor for slams.
Zeverev can he shine on the biggest stages. ??
He was the one who defeated rafa in RG .SO talent is there . He needs one slam win to have that belief in himself

 

[Nostradamus]

musetti to upset sinner at the french open this year

 

[messiahrobins]

Yes I forgot about his Spring performance. Seems like a long time ago already.

The problem is he's so injury prone that even when he comes back, I'm not sure if he'll be back to how he was before the major setback.

Draper at least 18 months away now I'd think from being a threat.

 

[helterskelter]

Musetti is more than decent on grass too

Musetti is. ZvereMUG is not.

 

[Fabrivitx]

Musetti constant legs muscle injuries are not good looking, everytime he pushes deep he cracks immediatly

musetti to upset sinner at the french open this year

 

[The Guru]

Musetti has the perfect game for grass.

Before the start of the grass season in 2024 I said Musetti would shine on grass and called him a dark horse for Wimbledon....the guy then went onto make the Queens final and his first ever slam semi final at Wimbledon.

Eh I think his strokes are too long and spinny for his game to be a perfect fit for Grass. There are aspects of his game that work very nicely for the surface but he will always be a clay specialist imo.