For sure he is not a kid/child and for sure he is not a full grown man. To me Nole at 20 vs. Nole now is like to different universes.
I think you're forgetting that Djokovic won three Grand Slams in 2021 and earned a full 1,200 points for his US Open final appearance because he lost all points for the previous year due to disqualification, while Medvedev earned an extra 1,280 points because he defended the previous year SF.
I look forward to the coming years and seeing his game mature.
It's his goal, that is way too far sighted! He has to think about current slam!
I wonder if it's as much arrogance as it is complacency. He's been an exuberant guy his whole career, I wonder if it's the same problem Nadal had in 2009 - so used to being the underdog and chasing the old guard, but couldn'y adjust to the pressure of being #1 just yet.
6 months is a long time in tennis like a week is a long time in politics. He's on a 9 tournament losing streak - 0 wins since W.
If anything I see a barrage of anti-Alcaraz posts from the anti-fans of Alcaraz. There's very minimal posting on his defense for their supposed arrogance to be "worse" than many things going on here. Who exactly is the fan you're referring to? AlcarazWon, the lone poster?
yeah right now his issue is that he doesn't have elite rally consistency with his forehand on the move/against depth because of his slightly inverted setup, but his shotmaking is also not fully developed in its use of angles and measured pace, so he's a jack of all trades without being enough of a master of anything (vs Djokovic or Tsitsipas), and he can spend a bit too much time donating errors
he's Laver, Connors, and Federer fused together, actuallyBut I thought Carloth is basically peak big 3 fused together?
it's funny how people can agree with this obvious fact and not realize he hasn't peaked yet. his most dominant win at a major against a credible opponent was against Tsitsipas in RG '23 and he still lost focus in the 3rd set in the process! he beat Djokovic in a Wimbledon final while donating a set and a half lead!
would have to be very generous to say this Alcaraz was only 10% off, and he's plenty capable of ugly wins. he just couldn't rein himself back in to any sort of winning level in this Zverev match
definitely agree that his playstyle is an unbridled expression of joy and that its core is unlikely to change. i do think he can manage a bunch of improvements without changing who he is as a person and player though: more strategic discipline (dominating is fun!), resilience to dips in form, and experience dealing with the pressure of expectations
I dont think that was any strategy from novak, i honestly think he meant It, the reason he doesnt Talk like that about the other guys IS because they havent had the results and the impact Carlos has had, Carlos problem is not that he is thinking about novak, Carlos problem is that he has to improve more to adapt to big rivals in different surfaces
Thank you so much for this analysis, great read
i have my qualms with these shot quality metrics but they're not wrong on the general point - Alcaraz has a very good backhand by tour standards, not very poor
(for newer albeit very similar numbers for the relevant players: https://preview.redd.it/rh0qq3q0k7p...bp&s=a7d426944c12615a7c5d0b3bab0f9f3fafb14f16)
Alcaraz's (and Rublev's, for that matter) problem isn't spin - they're actually higher than many elite 2hbhs like Schwartzman, Djokovic, RBA, and Medvedev. Alcaraz's technique allows him to play aggressively off higher and/or slower balls (thus the decent results against Medvedev in bh exchanges), and he can hit very good shots down the line (even with slightly inside-out spin), but he can't consistently maintain depth and width in neutral cross-court trades and he can't defend very well with drives off that wing. imo, some additional factors are defensive footwork issues that also show up on his moving forehand, and his ambivalence about hunting forehands on hard courts, so he gives opponents more angles to hurt him in the ad court. you don't have to agree with Zoid's theses about control and technique (though they're fairly convincing), but it seems pretty clear from an eye test that something is funky about Alcaraz's backhand technique and that makes him somewhat unreliable
yeah right now his issue is that he doesn't have elite rally consistency with his forehand on the move/against depth because of his slightly inverted setup, but his shotmaking is also not fully developed in its use of angles and measured pace, so he's a jack of all trades without being enough of a master of anything (vs Djokovic or Tsitsipas), and he can spend a bit too much time donating errors
extrapolating from these comments, i tend to think that Alcaraz's forehand can lose its range on 1st returns (see Toronto & Cincinnati '23) and both his strokes can be inconsistent at getting returns in play, particularly against 2nd serves (his glaring weakness in match charting return stats). but when he's on (and it's more than often enough) he's just so clearly an ATG returner
he's Laver, Connors, and Federer fused together, actually
it's funny how people can agree with this obvious fact and not realize he hasn't peaked yet. his most dominant win at a major against a credible opponent was against Tsitsipas in RG '23 and he still lost focus in the 3rd set in the process! he beat Djokovic in a Wimbledon final while donating a set and a half lead!
would have to be very generous to say this Alcaraz was only 10% off, and he's plenty capable of ugly wins. he just couldn't rein himself back in to any sort of winning level in this Zverev match
definitely agree that his playstyle is an unbridled expression of joy and that its core is unlikely to change. i do think he can manage a bunch of improvements without changing who he is as a person and player though: more strategic discipline (dominating is fun!), resilience to dips in form, and experience dealing with the pressure of expectations
Trying to provide facts? Are you crazy? Lol
i have my qualms with these shot quality metrics but they're not wrong on the general point - Alcaraz has a very good backhand by tour standards, not very poor
(for newer albeit very similar numbers for the relevant players: https://preview.redd.it/rh0qq3q0k7p...bp&s=a7d426944c12615a7c5d0b3bab0f9f3fafb14f16)
Alcaraz's (and Rublev's, for that matter) problem isn't spin - they're actually higher than many elite 2hbhs like Schwartzman, Djokovic, RBA, and Medvedev. Alcaraz's technique allows him to play aggressively off higher and/or slower balls (thus the decent results against Medvedev in bh exchanges), and he can hit very good shots down the line (even with slightly inside-out spin), but he can't consistently maintain depth and width in neutral cross-court trades and he can't defend very well with drives off that wing. imo, some additional factors are defensive footwork issues that also show up on his moving forehand, and his ambivalence about hunting forehands on hard courts, so he gives opponents more angles to hurt him in the ad court. you don't have to agree with Zoid's theses about control and technique (though they're fairly convincing), but it seems pretty clear from an eye test that something is funky about Alcaraz's backhand technique and that makes him somewhat unreliable
yeah right now his issue is that he doesn't have elite rally consistency with his forehand on the move/against depth because of his slightly inverted setup, but his shotmaking is also not fully developed in its use of angles and measured pace, so he's a jack of all trades without being enough of a master of anything (vs Djokovic or Tsitsipas), and he can spend a bit too much time donating errors
extrapolating from these comments, i tend to think that Alcaraz's forehand can lose its range on 1st returns (see Toronto & Cincinnati '23) and both his strokes can be inconsistent at getting returns in play, particularly against 2nd serves (his glaring weakness in match charting return stats). but when he's on (and it's more than often enough) he's just so clearly an ATG returner
he's Laver, Connors, and Federer fused together, actually
it's funny how people can agree with this obvious fact and not realize he hasn't peaked yet. his most dominant win at a major against a credible opponent was against Tsitsipas in RG '23 and he still lost focus in the 3rd set in the process! he beat Djokovic in a Wimbledon final while donating a set and a half lead!
would have to be very generous to say this Alcaraz was only 10% off, and he's plenty capable of ugly wins. he just couldn't rein himself back in to any sort of winning level in this Zverev match
definitely agree that his playstyle is an unbridled expression of joy and that its core is unlikely to change. i do think he can manage a bunch of improvements without changing who he is as a person and player though: more strategic discipline (dominating is fun!), resilience to dips in form, and experience dealing with the pressure of expectations
Bingo! I don’t know how many fans he has but the ones cussing him here are more for whoever can stop Djokovic.
Huh? Please share a video of evidence that his left hand doesn't move.
Really enjoyed your comments - just quoting this part to avoid repetition but also because it resonates with my take on how Carlos might adapt to improve without compromising his natural instincts. Thanks for your input that worth logging on for.
Well said, regarding Carlos. He has just won the award voted for by fellow players, and is generally spoken of as nice kid.
Agreed.
