GRASScaraz
Hall of Fame
I have watched most of the losses Alcaraz has had on fast HCs. The biggest takeaway is that in all those matches the net was taken away from him. Both clay and grass reward net rushing in a way that HCs don't. On clay you can push the opponent back and approach, and on grass the opponent struggles to hit great shots from defensive positions because they can't move well. On fast HC because the ball always has so much speed on it, it's relatively easy to hit quality passing shots and lobs with just flick. It's also easy to not to be pushed back because the ball is not bouncing that high, and the opponent can't create those many angles on the court.
Another big difference is the effectiveness of drop/short volleys. This is massive imo. On clay the backspin grips the surface, and grass is so low bouncing that the ball just dies. In yesterday's match Alcaraz's drop volleys simply did not grip the surface at all and kept moving towards the opponent and set up easy lobs/passing shots.
In yesterday's match Alcaraz was constructing points pretty well but could not finish them because he got passed, lobbed or had to hit an extremely difficult volley. This drove him insane and basically meant that he did not understand how to build /contruct points. He started trying to hit winners from the baseline, which caused him to miss a ton.
This all comes down to the fundamental instict that the goal of every point is to end it on your own terms. Alcaraz still has zero understanding of how to win a match solely based on errors. The gameplan yesterday _had_ to be to play extremely long rallies and frustrate and tire his opponent like a Djokovic or Medvedev would do, the masters of fast HC. This is something that he will have to develop with time.
Alcaraz atm plays best on surfaces where defending is an _elite_ skill. Contrary to popular belief, only clay court guys actually know how to defend well from the back fence on clay, and almost no one knows how to defend on grass. This is where his offense is unstoppable and his defense is superior purely based on speed and racquet talent. Almost everyone can defend well on HCs and so the game becomes more about consistency and errors , which is not a game he understands well atm.
Another big difference is the effectiveness of drop/short volleys. This is massive imo. On clay the backspin grips the surface, and grass is so low bouncing that the ball just dies. In yesterday's match Alcaraz's drop volleys simply did not grip the surface at all and kept moving towards the opponent and set up easy lobs/passing shots.
In yesterday's match Alcaraz was constructing points pretty well but could not finish them because he got passed, lobbed or had to hit an extremely difficult volley. This drove him insane and basically meant that he did not understand how to build /contruct points. He started trying to hit winners from the baseline, which caused him to miss a ton.
This all comes down to the fundamental instict that the goal of every point is to end it on your own terms. Alcaraz still has zero understanding of how to win a match solely based on errors. The gameplan yesterday _had_ to be to play extremely long rallies and frustrate and tire his opponent like a Djokovic or Medvedev would do, the masters of fast HC. This is something that he will have to develop with time.
Alcaraz atm plays best on surfaces where defending is an _elite_ skill. Contrary to popular belief, only clay court guys actually know how to defend well from the back fence on clay, and almost no one knows how to defend on grass. This is where his offense is unstoppable and his defense is superior purely based on speed and racquet talent. Almost everyone can defend well on HCs and so the game becomes more about consistency and errors , which is not a game he understands well atm.
