NoleFam
Bionic Poster
Yea that's true as well and got his get back. With that win, no ATG has a winning record over him in Oz.
Sinner and Alcaraz on hard courts
- Thread starter zvelf
- Start date
-
- Tags
- alcaraz hard court sinner
Giocoswitch
Semi-Pro
Especially in light of their USO match I think that's fair, personally I was willing to chalk up Sinner's struggles this AO to momentary physical dips, although I'll admit I wasn't religiously watching his matches so I'll defer to you here. Think it's obvious now that Sinner's struggles on outdoor HC aren't purely physical if even if that's something he needs to work on. Has a ways to go tactically in big matches
Hitman
Bionic Poster
Yes, that is epic. He is 1-1 against Sinner and Alcaraz there now.
messiahrobins
G.O.A.T.
Thats exactly my point. You hit nail on the head. I'll bet Sinner was watching while warming up and made the fatal error of thinking he had the chance to be playing Zverev, then whenAlcaraz turned it round it had an effect on him. You illustrate my point very well actually there.
Hitman
Bionic Poster
Weren't you telling us all how Alcaraz had played six hours and that evens his match against a 38 year old plus Djokovic....well, how even would it look if Sinner had crushed Djokovic in straights facing an Alcaraz who went six hours?
messiahrobins
G.O.A.T.
That was factually accurate. Anyone with experience of physical exertions will confirm that.
The reality is Sinner was flat, and hitting way slower than he normally does. I believe Alcaraz is in his head a bit in that at his pet slam he didnt fancy the prospect of losing to his great rival. That's just speculation. He could have been injured, or those cramp issues he had earlier in event may have come back to bother him, but for whatever reason his serve speeds and groundies were way off the pace they usually are.
BauerAlmeida
Legend
For all the talk about him having "vultured" in the "CIE", he just beat both Sinner and Alcaraz at the AO and has no titles to show for it, but I suspect that will be ignored by the same people.
If he had beaten Sinner in 2024 instead of 2026, he'd have a final against Medvedev. If he had beaten Alcaraz in 2026 instead of 2025, he'd have the title. If he hadn't gotten injured in 2025, he'd likely have a rematch against Sinner, and the match we saw this year, he can beat him.
Giocoswitch
Semi-Pro
For all that's made of Djokovic's luck at AO 26, perhaps not enough was made of his lack of luck at AO 25. You could say a lot of people just didn't buy his injury claim, but I think the likelier reason for discrediting his run at the time was assuming there was no way he could ever beat Sinner again given their previous encounter there and their overall h2h shifting so dramatically. More of a complex matrix of factors to assess now, of course!
Julian Houston
Semi-Pro
My feeling is Alcaraz will dominate him in 2026. 2027 may be Sinner year after Alc lost motivation. He is disappointed didn’t meet Sinner in AO. 2028-2030 Sinner body conditioning will get stronger and general tour will caught up to limit Alcaraz.
This year physically there is something wrong with Sinner. His only chance will be in RG but if he still hit so softly he will not make final at all.
This year physically there is something wrong with Sinner. His only chance will be in RG but if he still hit so softly he will not make final at all.
Hitman
Bionic Poster
Calling Sinner a chicken is a step too far.
And if a six hour match made Alcaraz and Djokovic even, then against Sinner, Alcaraz is at a disadvantage.
Sinner is no chicken.
messiahrobins
G.O.A.T.
Chicken? Who has called Sinner a chicken?
Sinners big rival, the guy his legacy will be defined by is Alcaraz. Even someone as mentally tough as Sinner obviously was going to be disappointed that Zverev didnt seal the deal (although had he read my posts for weeks he may have been more prepared as i pretty much predicted what Zverev would do at some point, which really nowadays should be expected off him sadly).
Its all irrelevant anyway. Alcaraz won the event. Sinner has his chance to turn the tables in June at FO. Enjoy the ride, this rivalry hopefully now picks up with more meetings away from the slams which it probably needs now just to perhaps develop a bit of an edge maybe between them. Right now they seem too friendly but that will change of course, it has to.
Hitman
Bionic Poster
You imply he ducked him, basically he chickened out of the final by tanking his semi final.
messiahrobins
G.O.A.T.
No, not ducked him overtly, more sub-consciously. Its hard to explain but if you read some player autobiographies it may make more sense as this sort of thing is touched on by most players at some point
Hitman
Bionic Poster
So he was afraid of Alcaraz even if he couldn't face it.
messiahrobins
G.O.A.T.
Of course he has doubts against Alcaraz, who doesnt! Alcaraz has doubts v Sinner. I have long wondered why players look at other matches before playing their own, it truly baffles me.
Hitman
Bionic Poster
Not doubts, players can have doubts....but being afraid is something different.
Federer had his doubts about Nadal on clay, but still would win those semis mostly in a convincing way.
This sounds like Sinner was afraid, if you think he could have tanked this match.
Hitman
Bionic Poster
Sinner missing three months would have played a part in that. Then Alcaraz went to Tokyo, while Sinner played Beijing.
duaneeo
G.O.A.T.
Not really because Carlos didn't make the final of Indian Wells or Miami. And the 3 months have nothing to do with 1 of 5 slam meetings.
Hitman
Bionic Poster
The draws all change with Sinner as the top seed, Alcaraz doesn't necessarily play the same guys like Draper in the semis.
And Djokovic beating them BOTH in back to back AO clearly played a part.
duaneeo
G.O.A.T.
That he lost to the players he did suggests he and Sinner likely wouldn't have met regardless of the draw. That simply wasn't a good time for Alcaraz.
Similar threads
