Paul Annacone on Carlos Alcaraz

[ALCARAZWON]

I kind of forgot about this point, that once the big3 are all gone, the gap between Alcaraz's clutchness and everybody else, could lead to 20+ slams. Even if he's injury-prone, his opportunities to win slams could be CONSTANT because of Sinner's lack of clutchness at slams, and others being so small mentally (and that's maybe a product of today's human beings being so small mentally).

"I think Alcaraz, if he could stay healthy, should be a multiple, multiple Grand Slam winner. Is he going to get 20? I have no idea. I don't even like to guess at stuff like that, but if he stays healthy with his athletic skill set, & from what I've seen… Look, I don't think we've mentioned enough what he's gone through with Juan Carlos Ferrero. Juan Carlos Ferrero has taught him since he's been a little kid. And he's the most complete young player I've ever seen in my life. That doesn't mean Rafa didn't have more results at his age, but I've never seen anyone at his age that can defend, that can volley, that can stay back & play lateral tennis, that can use drop shots. That can use spins, speeds, all the different areas. I've never seen it before at someone that age. The other thing that's even more overwhelming, & this is where Ferrero deserves, I think an unbelievable amount of credit is, how do you teach someone with that many skills & the diversity & ability of so many different styles, how to make the right decisions in big moments. He almost never makes really crazy decision making situations happen. He generally makes really good decisions. People don't understand how difficult that is to do under pressure. And the more options you have the harder it is to make the right decisions because he can do so many different things. Seeing him that stabilized with that many skills at this age is an absolutely awesome sight. I think there's gonna be 2 or 3 others that'll be there that will push him. But right now I just think he's a little bit better than everyone else other than Novak.”

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1739011429678944716

 

[Jonesy]

He is that good. Would 2 more GS make greater than Murray?

 

[Purestriker]

He is that good. Would 2 more GS make greater than Murray?

Yes and if he’s healthy it happens sooner than later.

 

[BeatlesFan]

I'm excited to see what 2024 will be like for Carlos. I think he wins one slam, but hopefully two. Staying injury-free is a must, obviously.

 

[mahatma]

We didn't even reach 5 and we are discussing 20+. Talk about exaggerated behaviour

 

[ALCARAZWON]

We didn't even reach 5 and we are discussing 20+. Talk about exaggerated behaviour

That's because none of the players of Alcaraz's generation are mentally tough. So he'll sweep through all the slams after Nadal-Djokovic leave the tour.
So most of Alcaraz's slams should not be won this year or next year, but in the next 10-12 years.
I feel his generation is so mentally weak, because of society becoming so soft, and he's the ONLY player who has been able to defy it from his generation.
So even if he's injury-prone, he'll still win 20+ slams because of the constant opportunities of beating mental midgets in the semis and finals of slams....
I mean even Nadal is injury-prone - and probably more injury-prone than Alcaraz - and he's already won 22 slams and headed for more despite having to share the last 20 years with Fedjokovic.

 

[Benf15harp]

He just too tiny to win more than 8.
Used up quite a large amount of roids to get the first two.
Prolly see a decline from here on out
Deal with it.

 

[mahatma]

That's because none of the players of Alcaraz's generation are mentally tough. So he'll sweep through all the slams after Nadal-Djokovic leave the tour.
So most of Alcaraz's slams should not be won this year or next year, but in the next 10-12 years.
I feel his generation is so mentally weak, because of society becoming so soft, and he's the ONLY player who has been able to defy it from his generation.
So even if he's injury-prone, he'll still win 20+ slams because of the constant opportunities of beating mental midgets in the semis and finals of slams....
I mean even Nadal is injury-prone - and probably more injury-prone than Alcaraz - and he's already won 22 slams and headed for more despite having to share the last 20 years with Fedjokovic.

And you are sure - no new player will come up who isn’t in the circuit yet. Or Alcaraz may falter in long run or Sinner etc might catch up. Serious dream world you live in

 

[Krish0608]

Carlos is indeed a great talent. A bit overestimated though in my opinion. They are some key vulnerabilities in his game that can and has been exploited successfully.

 

[FeroBango]

Carlos is simultaneously overestimated and underestimated.

 

[reaper]

Who knows who Alcaraz's rivals might be in 5 years, and how clutch they might be?

 

[thrust]

Carlos is simultaneously overestimated and underestimated.

So it seems, time will tell.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Carlos is just 20. Talk about being overrated needs to drop.

This is same TTW which started hyping players like Gasquet and Shapovalov. Not even worth a dime.

Carlos is real deal. I think next year he wins 1 slam but he may even win 3 if super lucky. And he will just be 21. Already won Wimbledon on grass and USOpen on hard courts while his best surface is clay. So I think he will soon complete CGS. He is just 20 and halfway to the CGS. Who else has EVER done it? Let's see the ATGs at age 20.

Jimmy Connors - 0 grand slam at age 20
Bjorn Borg - 3 grand slams by age 20, 2 RG and 1 Wimbledon. Slams on two surfaces
John McEnroe - 2 slams by age 20, 1 USO and 1 Wimbledon. Slams on two surfaces
Lendl - 0 slams

Now this era should be taken with grain of salt. GOAT candidate like McEnroe was uprooted because of racket change. Otherwise, there is little chance for so many to win so much early on.
Wilander - 3 slams by age 20. Slams on two surfaces.
Becker - 2 slams by age 20. Slams only at Wimbledon
Edberg - 1 slam by age 20.
This era ends thankfully.

Agassi - 0 slam by age 20
Sampras - 1 slam by age 20
Federer - 0 slam by age 20
Nadal - 2 slam by age 20. Slams only at RG
Djokovic - 1 slam by age 20.

So other than the disputed mid 80s to mid 90s era where every single youngest record were set, the only guy who historically comes ahead of Carlos is Bjorn Borg.

Alcaraz is already so far ahead of the field at age 20. His post USOpen results are vastly inferior to his pre USOpen results but not inferior to anyone else at his age , except Borg. And if he wins RG next year, he will be the youngest player ever to win slam on 3 surfaces by age 21. It's that rare. Not even the disputed 80s era could achieve this.

How does Carlos achieve this so early on? Its on the video below but in short its about his speed on the court, his mental strength which is similar to Rafole and his game which is very mature even at age 19/20. He will improve on the shot tolerance soon and be even more dominant.

 

[reaper]

Carlos is just 20. Talk about being overrated needs to drop.

This is same TTW which started hyping players like Gasquet and Shapovalov. Not even worth a dime.

Carlos is real deal. I think next year he wins 1 slam but he may even win 3 if super lucky. And he will just be 21. Already won Wimbledon on grass and USOpen on hard courts while his best surface is clay. So I think he will soon complete CGS. He is just 20 and halfway to the CGS. Who else has EVER done it? Let's see the ATGs at age 20.

Jimmy Connors - 0 grand slam at age 20
Bjorn Borg - 3 grand slams by age 20, 2 RG and 1 Wimbledon. Slams on two surfaces
John McEnroe - 2 slams by age 20, 1 USO and 1 Wimbledon. Slams on two surfaces
Lendl - 0 slams

Now this era should be taken with grain of salt. GOAT candidate like McEnroe was uprooted because of racket change. Otherwise, there is little chance for so many to win so much early on.
Wilander - 3 slams by age 20. Slams on two surfaces.
Becker - 2 slams by age 20. Slams only at Wimbledon
Edberg - 1 slam by age 20.
This era ends thankfully.

Agassi - 0 slam by age 20
Sampras - 1 slam by age 20
Federer - 0 slam by age 20
Nadal - 2 slam by age 20. Slams only at RG
Djokovic - 1 slam by age 20.

So other than the disputed mid 80s to mid 90s era where every single youngest record were set, the only guy who historically comes ahead of Carlos is Bjorn Borg.

Alcaraz is already so far ahead of the field at age 20. His post USOpen results are vastly inferior to his pre USOpen results but not inferior to anyone else at his age , except Borg. And if he wins RG next year, he will be the youngest player ever to win slam on 3 surfaces by age 21. It's that rare. Not even the disputed 80s era could achieve this.

How does Carlos achieve this so early on? Its on the video below but in short its about his speed on the court, his mental strength which is similar to Rafole and his game which is very mature even at age 19/20. He will improve on the shot tolerance soon and be even more dominant.

The one thing against him having a career as great as his early stats suggest is that he's clearly an early developer. How much physical improvement can there be in someone with his physique?

 

[nolefam_2024]

The one thing against him having a career as great as his early stats suggest is that he's clearly an early developer. How much physical improvement can there be in someone with his physique?

Once he becomes endurance wise fitter, he will not try to end rallies early like how sometimes he pull the trigger in a rally. That will improve his winning percentage a lot. And its already at 84% this year.

 

[renarulz]

I kind of forgot about this point, that once the big3 are all gone, the gap between Alcaraz's clutchness and everybody else, could lead to 20+ slams. Even if he's injury-prone, his opportunities to win slams could be CONSTANT because of Sinner's lack of clutchness at slams, and others being so small mentally (and that's maybe a product of today's human beings being so small mentally).

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1739011429678944716

"He generally makes really good decisions. People don't understand how difficult that is to do under pressure".

Which Carlos is he referring to? Alcaraz does recieve plenty of coaching during matches.

 

[ALCARAZWON]

He just too tiny to win more than 8.
Used up quite a large amount of roids to get the first two.
Prolly see a decline from here on out
Deal with it.

Sinner isn't tiny at all, and he won't be winning slams anytime soon, if ever....
And Medvedev has no hope of every beating Alcaraz in a Roland Garros or Wimbledon Final.
Heck, Alcaraz has already beaten Djokovic at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz is the entire future, deal with it.

 

[ALCARAZWON]

And you are sure - no new player will come up who isn’t in the circuit yet. Or Alcaraz may falter in long run or Sinner etc might catch up. Serious dream world you live in

You are the one dreaming of a new player coming up out of nowhere....
It takes a long time for these guys to develop, as prodigies have become almost non-existent apart from Alcaraz, because we are in generation soft.
Sinner is taking forever to win a slam, and I don't see him winning anything next year either.
Rune, taking forever too.
Sinner won't ever catch up, because in tennis you either have it (mentally) or you don't.
Alcaraz already has it, to the full extent, beating Djokovic in the Wimbledon FINAL, and only faded last year because of injuries.
Apart from a rare case like Agassi, tennis players don't suddenly transform into being mentally strong (and even in his 30s, Agassi lacked clutchness at times).

 

[mahatma]

You are the one dreaming of a new player coming up out of nowhere....
It takes a long time for these guys to develop, as prodigies have become almost non-existent apart from Alcaraz, because we are in generation soft.
Sinner is taking forever to win a slam, and I don't see him winning anything next year either.
Rune, taking forever too.
Sinner won't ever catch up, because in tennis you either have it (mentally) or you don't.
Alcaraz already has it, to the full extent, beating Djokovic in the Wimbledon FINAL, and only faded last year because of injuries.
Apart from a rare case like Agassi, tennis players don't suddenly transform into being mentally strong (and even in his 30s, Agassi lacked clutchness at times).

Lol - okay. whatever dream helps you sleep well.

Though pragmatic approach is best. 10+ slams is an ATG career. I would keep it at that for Alcaraz.

 

[JoshDragon]

I kind of forgot about this point, that once the big3 are all gone, the gap between Alcaraz's clutchness and everybody else, could lead to 20+ slams. Even if he's injury-prone, his opportunities to win slams could be CONSTANT because of Sinner's lack of clutchness at slams, and others being so small mentally (and that's maybe a product of today's human beings being so small mentally).

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1739011429678944716

He's a big fish in a small pond.

 

[JoshDragon]

This guy has to be the laziest YouTuber of all-time.

Every video is titled "How Good Was Player X, Actually."

I mean come on! You can try a little bit, right?