Who would've been the worst matchup for Alcaraz in their peak?

[btsjungkook]

Every player struggles vs Nadal's topspin including Djokovic. Alcaraz is no better than Djokovic on HC in fact his height is 2 inches shorter. Nadal calls different sets of questions than virtually anyone in history of tennis due to lefty topspin forehand. Alcaraz would be annihilated on clay worse than Djokovic.

Vs Fed alcaraz can still have hopes. He is mentally strong and has a great backhand that can easily hang vs Federer's slice and topspin combination of backhands.

I'm talking about Federer at his peak though. At his peak he troubled lots of players, even as he aged.

 

[nolefam_2024]

I'm talking about Federer at his peak though. At his peak he troubled lots of players, even as he aged.

Fed has benefitted incredibly in his 2004 to 2007 peak years vs weak field. Everything we are talking about his performance need to be taken with a grain of SALT.

 

[MichaelNadal]

All of the above?

That's my answer lol

 

[Razer]

The obvious answer would be Pete Sampras because the drop shots would not work. Pete is fastest to either run to the net from the back of the baseline or he is already at the net half the time, so good bye to any drop shots. He has a lethal serve, has super quick reflexes & tremendous athleticism too, all this doesn't look like something which Alcaraz would like.

Same for Nadal too, his lefty forehand is also freakish along with his athleticism, on clay he will reduce Alcaraz to David Ferrer level.

Comparatively Alcaraz will like Federer and Djokovic more.

 

[Mike Sams]

Only because Djokovic fell multiple times and slipped and wind messed his game up (like the murray US Open match, Nole doesn't deal well with wind ) or else Carlos would have lost that one too just like he did Cincy against Nole

You're making excuses for a 7 time Wimbledon champion and 8 time Wimbledon finalist in Djokovic for losing the Wimbledon final against a FIRST-TIME Wimbledon finalist who'd only ever played 3 grass tournaments going in!
As for Cincy, Alcaraz was lucky to even make the final. He was struggling the whole week with each match going 3 sets and even had to save match point against Hurcakz. And even still it took Djokovic nearly 4 hours and having to save a match point to beat the kid.

 

[Mike Sams]

The obvious answer would be Pete Sampras because the drop shots would not work. Pete is fastest to either run to the net from the back of the baseline or he is already at the net half the time, so good bye to any drop shots. He has a lethal serve, has super quick reflexes & tremendous athleticism too, all this doesn't look like something which Alcaraz would like.

Same for Nadal too, his lefty forehand is also freakish along with his athleticism, on clay he will reduce Alcaraz to David Ferrer level.

Comparatively Alcaraz will like Federer and Djokovic more.

You seem to know everything about tennis!!!
You must be living the life with the lamborghini, yacht, and mansion you bought from all the millions of dollars you won from tennis betting.

 

[Mike Sams]

Every player struggles vs Nadal's topspin including Djokovic. Alcaraz is no better than Djokovic on HC in fact his height is 2 inches shorter. Nadal calls different sets of questions than virtually anyone in history of tennis due to lefty topspin forehand. Alcaraz would be annihilated on clay worse than Djokovic.

Vs Fed alcaraz can still have hopes. He is mentally strong and has a great backhand that can easily hang vs Federer's slice and topspin combination of backhands.

Interesting choice of words.
Nadal hardly ever annihilated Djokovic on clay other than RG2020.
Most of their clay matches had Djokovic winning a set or pushing Nadal into tiebreakers.
Hardly what I'd call annihilation.
I can definitely see Nadal beating Alcaraz on clay.
But I don't know if he'd be winning every single clay match against Alcaraz.
Especially not in Madrid where Nadal struggles with altitude.

 

[Razer]

You seem to know everything about tennis!!!
You must be living the life with the lamborghini, yacht, and mansion you bought from all the millions of dollars you won from tennis betting.

Haha no, I am not a punter like @Kralingen

 

[jl809]

This poll is an indictment of where GPPD is atm the gross lack of consideration for PETE and the hilarious overrating of Djoker’s peak compared to Fed’s peak… sad times. Such has been the fleeing of the Fed fans from this site after he got relegated to 3rd in the slam race

 

[nevermind]

All 3 of them would bother him in some different ways on different surfaces, conditions.

Rafa would probably defeat him at RG because he's the God of Clay, but I think that he would struggle a bit on other surfaces(hard, grass) against Alcaraz. I don't see Alcaraz having too much issues with Rafa's lefty cross court heavy topspin forehand outside of clay(where the bounce would be lower). Alcaraz can also actually match peak Rafa in athleticism(speed) and strength(power). I feel like Rafa would dislike playing Alcaraz the most out of the big 3(at least outside of clay). I don't particularly like Nadal's deep court position against Alcaraz - I think Carlos would fancy that.

I think peak Fed would school Alcaraz on grass because there's a huge difference here in spot serving(maybe the best spot server ever vs a mediocre one). Roger also takes time away beautifully(best transition game ever, probably) and Alcaraz is bothered if he's rushed and not in control(dictating) of the points. Situation would probably be similar on hard court(particularly faster ones). Carlos also doesn't have the craftiness, racquet talent advantage against Roger that he does against most of today's opponents. But, I could see Roger struggling against Alcaraz on clay, where serving doesn't matter as much and he wouldn't be able to rush Alcaraz easily. Roger would probably get overwhelmed there by Alcaraz's power(pace generating) advantage and defensive abilities(speed).

I think peak Novak definitely beats Carlos on hard court. He's the best pace absorber and redirector in the history of the game and Novak's machine like consistency and depth would suffocate Alcaraz and really frustrate him. Novak probably beats him on grass, as well, but it would be closer. Alcaraz overwhelmes opponents with pace and Novak's pace absorption and redirection, ability to protect the backhand side like no other plus Novak's relatively close court position and speed would really bother Alcaraz(taking away the drop shot, for the most part). We have seen that Alcaraz doesn't enjoy playing Sinner, and Novak resembles Sinner the most out of the big 3. Not as much pure baseline power, but more consistency, precision, depth, mental strength, better volleying...
On clay, I would say it's a 50-50 match, maybe slight advantage to Carlos. I could see Carlos just overpowering, overwhelming Novak in Nadal, Wawrinka, Thiem style while Novak would struggle to finish points on slower clay.. But I could also see Novak frustrating Alcaraz with his usual package(consistency, depth, pace absorpbion and redirection, taking away the drop shot for the most part, counterpunching, possibly outclutching Carlos in the tight moments...).

When I take into account all surfaces, I think Alcaraz would generally struggle the most against Novak, and then probably Fed on faster surfaces(particularly grass and most hard courts in general). Carlos probably beats Nadal on hard and grass, loses on clay against the King of the surface(obviously).

 

[Mike Sams]

Alcaraz would solve all 3 on all surfaces.
Djokovic looks scared and tense when he's on the court with Alcaraz.
Even in Cincy, Alcaraz had a mental lapse that cost him the second set while Djoker was playing his usual shenanigans.
In 2024, Alcaraz is going to take at least 3 of the 4 majors. Definitely taking RG and Wimbledon.

 

[Benf15harp]

Carlos can't even handle grandad Nole. Come on.. A prime/peak 3 would tear him a 2nd set of horse teeth

Lmao

 

[Benf15harp]

I think peak or even off-peak Michael Chang would’ve slaughtered him with the slight height advantage

 

[aldeayeah]

Roger had similar firepower, better defense, better serve. I think he'd dominate Charlie.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Roger had similar firepower, better defense, better serve. I think he'd dominate Charlie.

 

[NatF]

Fed has benefitted incredibly in his 2004 to 2007 peak years vs weak field. Everything we are talking about his performance need to be taken with a grain of SALT.

Lol more like your posts need to be taken with a mountain of salt. Peak Fed doesn't accrue 5 losses at Wim/USO in three years like Djokovic - only once got to a fifth set too

 

[Olli Jokinen]

Federer wouldn't be a terribly difficult matchup for alcaraz because of his backhand.

Djokovic then nadal is the answer.

Maybe on clay against Fed. But Alcaraz is right-handed. Older Fed beat peak Djoker at RG, remember?

 

[nolefam_2024]

Roger had similar firepower, better defense, better serve. I think he'd dominate Charlie.

Roger definitely has worse defense of these 4 and by some distance. Murray is better than Roger.

 

[aldeayeah]

The current version of Carlos bleeds a ton of errors while defending on the forehand side.

 

[btsjungkook]

Alcaraz would solve all 3 on all surfaces.
Djokovic looks scared and tense when he's on the court with Alcaraz.
Even in Cincy, Alcaraz had a mental lapse that cost him the second set while Djoker was playing his usual shenanigans.
In 2024, Alcaraz is going to take at least 3 of the 4 majors. Definitely taking RG and Wimbledon.

Carlos is the only player capable of making Novak show his age, which explains why he feels more tense against him. He knows if he makes mistakes Carlos will make him pay like in the Wimbledon final.

 

[aldeayeah]

Roger definitely has worse defense of these 4 and by some distance. Murray is better than Roger.

Sure but that's just one part of it. Alcaraz is vulnerable to rushing and Roger is the best of the 4 at that. He's also quite resistant to being rushed himself, very rarely you'd see him lose like that.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Sure but that's just one part of it. Alcaraz is vulnerable to rushing and Roger is the best of the 4 at that. He's also quite resistant to being rushed himself, very rarely you'd see him lose like that.

But there has been very few times he has played these guys. I saw Carlos winning Wimbledon and having championship pts in Cincinnati despite not having great fast courts record. He is like a computer, who is able to adjust to conditions mid match. I am not assuming he will dominate Federer on fast courts. But he probably will have as much success as Djokovic vs fed on fast courts. On slow courts he might completely dominate Federer because Federer has issues with guys like Carlos.

 

[jm1980]

Fedal equally would have tore him apart. Nadal due to the moonball topspin to the corner and Fed due to his mix/match play always keeping the kid guessing. Nole is a little more straight forward so he has his chances there. Essentially all 3 are a nightmare for him.. Hes not used to dealing with that level consistently. He is used to trash like Rune or Ruud . LOL

He's already lost to Rune

 

[aldeayeah]

On slow courts he might completely dominate Federer because Federer has issues with guys like Carlos.

What guys?

 

[nolefam_2024]

What guys?

Guys who have great defense and backhand. Carlos is pretty complete player just like Djokovic.

 

[Mike Sams]

Carlos is the only player capable of making Novak show his age, which explains why he feels more tense against him. He knows if he makes mistakes Carlos will make him pay like in the Wimbledon final.

Djokovic barely holds easy service games. At Wimbledon, Carlos was all over him like a boa constrictor, not giving Djokovic an inch. Same in Cincy except Carlos was already tired and not playing at his usual level that whole week.

 

[Mike Sams]

Guys who have great defense and backhand. Carlos is pretty complete player just like Djokovic.

Carlos will be even better by the time he's 23-24. There are still some nuances to his game that need to be addressed including the ability to finish points faster while also needing some fine tuning on his serve along with learning to keep his focus and not go into a rut or getting emotional.
Much like the big 4 (including Andy Murray) who were all improved players across all surfaces when they were closer to their mid 20s. Not just better players but mentally stronger. That comes with time and experience.

 

[NoleFam]

Djokovic barely holds easy service games. At Wimbledon, Carlos was all over him like a boa constrictor, not giving Djokovic an inch. Same in Cincy except Carlos was already tired and not playing at his usual level that whole week.

That probably has to do with Djokovic serving like crap in both matches. How was he tired? He's 20 years old, had a month off after Wimbledon, and lost rather early at Canada.

 

[MrFlip]

lol all of them??
Alcaraz won 2 slams and one barely.

He's still the GOAT already tho right?

 

[RelentlessAttack]

Based on Federer's history with Nadal, he would have had the most trouble with Alcaraz out of the big 3 imo because of that speed and defense to offense. He's even more offensive than Nadal plus he would just hammer Federer's backhand like Nadal did. I think Djokovic and Nadal would have had their hands full as well but I think would have been better matchups against him in their primes. Djokovic even at 36 is a lot for Alcaraz to handle. Hard to say about Agassi and Sampras but I lean toward him mostly getting the best of Agassi because Alcaraz is a better athlete. Sampras would have been tougher for him especially on faster surfaces.

Disagree, young Nadal was more absurdly fast, had more topspin, and most importantly was left handed. Carlos would be going BH to BH with Roger and even Djokovic’s superior BH wasn’t as good for exploiting that as the Nadal FH. I don’t really see what Carlos has to consistently hurt Roger with, he doesn’t have a superlative return, doesn’t have an easy way to exploit Roger’s BH. He has great defensive abilities but he prefers to be aggressive and take the initiative - he would have a hard time doing so in that matchup. His serve is still improving and peak Roger had an elite return, though it relied a lot on fast twitch/reaction speed and so it started dropping off pretty early after 07. I think this might be his worst matchup of the 3 to be honest.

I think young Nadal would struggle the most, off clay. Carlos has an aggressive, powerful game similar to many players who gave Nadal trouble on faster lower bouncing surfaces in his younger days, but is more complete than most of them.

Matchup analysis with Djokovic I’ll leave to his fans, to pick the years or elements they think would be most interesting. My first thought is that 2011ovic would probably be the hardest version of Djokovic for Alcaraz given his return prowess that year, and how aggressively and early he was hitting the ball

 

[mental midget]

peak davydenko.

 

[mental midget]

Disagree, young Nadal was more absurdly fast, had more topspin, and most importantly was left handed. Carlos would be going BH to BH with Roger and even Djokovic’s superior BH wasn’t as good for exploiting that as the Nadal FH. I don’t really see what Carlos has to consistently hurt Roger with, he doesn’t have a superlative return, doesn’t have an easy way to exploit Roger’s BH. He has great defensive abilities but he prefers to be aggressive and take the initiative - he would have a hard time doing so in that matchup. His serve is still improving and peak Roger had an elite return, though it relied a lot on fast twitch/reaction speed and so it started dropping off pretty early after 07. I think this might be his worst matchup of the 3 to be honest.

I think young Nadal would struggle the most, off clay. Carlos has an aggressive, powerful game similar to many players who gave Nadal trouble on faster lower bouncing surfaces in his younger days, but is more complete than most of them.

Matchup analysis with Djokovic I’ll leave to his fans, to pick the years or elements they think would be most interesting. My first thought is that 2011ovic would probably be the hardest version of Djokovic for Alcaraz given his return prowess that year, and how aggressively and early he was hitting the ball

i think alcaraz/fed would be a great matchup but, due to the matchup, i actually think federer takes him out handily. carlos tends to leave a lot of rally balls short-ish w too much spin...i think prime fed would have been all over him. super fun match though, lots of creativity on display for sure.

 

[RelentlessAttack]

I actually think it would be Sampras, he would rush him too much and take the net away. Alcaraz would feel handcuffed and pressed the whole match.

Really depends on what court speeds and racquets we’re talking about. In modern conditions Sampras wouldn’t be able to deal with Alcaraz’s defense and baseline game. 90s grass or carpet sure he would smoke Alcaraz, especially if Carlos had to go backwards on his racquet/string tech

 

[Federev]

You mean the Federer that got straight setted by Robredo at USO 2013???
Or the Nadal that got smacked around by Fognini at USO 2015???
Alcaraz is going to be torn apart by these guys? You gotta be kidding me!

2013 = Backerer and Post-peakerer

How about 2004-2007 Fed?

Or even Fresherer in 2017?

 

[NoleFam]

Disagree, young Nadal was more absurdly fast, had more topspin, and most importantly was left handed. Carlos would be going BH to BH with Roger and even Djokovic’s superior BH wasn’t as good for exploiting that as the Nadal FH. I don’t really see what Carlos has to consistently hurt Roger with, he doesn’t have a superlative return, doesn’t have an easy way to exploit Roger’s BH. He has great defensive abilities but he prefers to be aggressive and take the initiative - he would have a hard time doing so in that matchup. His serve is still improving and peak Roger had an elite return, though it relied a lot on fast twitch/reaction speed and so it started dropping off pretty early after 07. I think this might be his worst matchup of the 3 to be honest.

I think young Nadal would struggle the most, off clay. Carlos has an aggressive, powerful game similar to many players who gave Nadal trouble on faster lower bouncing surfaces in his younger days, but is more complete than most of them.

Matchup analysis with Djokovic I’ll leave to his fans, to pick the years or elements they think would be most interesting. My first thought is that 2011ovic would probably be the hardest version of Djokovic for Alcaraz given his return prowess that year, and how aggressively and early he was hitting the ball

I disagree. The players that Federer struggled the most with were the ones with great defense but even more so with the ones who could turn that defense to offense. Players that are strong baseliners, great athletes, fast and can play great offense give him the most trouble. This is why I think Roger would match up worst against him out of the 3 because of the weaker backhand in his prime. Alcaraz is also naturally an all court player so he would put pressure on Federer in different ways so don't see how he doesn't have anything to hurt Federer with.

Off clay I could see young Nadal struggling with Alcaraz but not so much on clay.

 

[Devin]

I disagree. The players that Federer struggled the most with were the ones with great defense but even more so with the ones who could turn that defense to offense. Players that are strong baseliners, great athletes, fast and can play great offense give him the most trouble. This is why I think Roger would match up worst against him out of the 3 because of the weaker backhand in his prime. Alcaraz is also naturally an all court player so he would put pressure on Federer in different ways so don't see how he doesn't have anything to hurt Federer with.

Off clay I could see young Nadal struggling with Alcaraz but not so much on clay.

You'd probably have to look by surface. Federer would probably be the toughest matchup on grass, followed by Djokovic and then Nadal.

Nadal can be vulnerable if you rush his forehand or hit heavy to the backhand, and Alcaraz could do both. His dropshot would be much less effective though. I could see Alcaraz giving Nadal trouble on some hard courts, but definitely not on clay.

Between Djokovic and Federer, it would depend on the surface and how much Carlos can zone in depending on whether Djokovic gives him a rhythm or whether Federer takes time away from him. Not sure how effective Federer's slice would be against Carlos. I could see Djokovic's consistent depth giving Carlos trouble, but I could also see it giving him a rhythm. Old Federer bailed himself out of a few matches with NextGen players by junkballing, even though he was generally outplayed otherwise. And Federer's slice then was not nearly as good as it was at its peak. I'd have to see how Carlos responds to the peak Federer strategy of luring him to the net only to pass him too.

 

[Third Serve]

This poll is an indictment of where GPPD is atm the gross lack of consideration for PETE and the hilarious overrating of Djoker’s peak compared to Fed’s peak… sad times. Such has been the fleeing of the Fed fans from this site after he got relegated to 3rd in the slam race

Meh, I’d argue but so few of the claims here these days are worth addressing. I usually just read the username and decide if I wanna engage.

With many TTW Djokovic fans these days, that’s a hard no. Still some that I respect though.

 

[btsjungkook]

You'd probably have to look by surface. Federer would probably be the toughest matchup on grass, followed by Djokovic and then Nadal.

Nadal can be vulnerable if you rush his forehand or hit heavy to the backhand, and Alcaraz could do both. His dropshot would be much less effective though. I could see Alcaraz giving Nadal trouble on some hard courts, but definitely not on clay.

Between Djokovic and Federer, it would depend on the surface and how much Carlos can zone in depending on whether Djokovic gives him a rhythm or whether Federer takes time away from him. Not sure how effective Federer's slice would be against Carlos. I could see Djokovic's consistent depth giving Carlos trouble, but I could also see it giving him a rhythm. Old Federer bailed himself out of a few matches with NextGen players by junkballing, even though he was generally outplayed otherwise. And Federer's slice then was not nearly as good as it was at its peak. I'd have to see how Carlos responds to the peak Federer strategy of luring him to the net only to pass him too.

I feel Federer and Djokovic would probably be the toughest match up for him as well. Federer with his all court play on fast surfaces and Djokovic's return and turning defence to attack in their peak would trouble Carlos a lot in my opinion.

 

[Voleathoney97]

Tsonga or Nishikori

 

[Mike Sams]

2013 = Backerer and Post-peakerer

How about 2004-2007 Fed?

Or even Fresherer in 2017?

2007 Fed that lost to Canas twice and Volandri? Come on. Carlos is going to give Federer the biggest fight no matter where they play. Not saying Carlos wins everything but he'll be a very worthy adversary.

 

[Midaso240]

Carlos can't even handle grandad Nole. Come on.. A prime/peak 3 would tear him a 2nd set of horse teeth

Can't handle? He beat him on grass in 5 which is probably Novak's best surface now. Surely you're trolling

 

[Midaso240]

You can argue that if Novak didn't mess up that second set tiebreaker on set point, he'd won in 3 sets and possibly a calendar year slam this year at 36 years old. Alcaraz was this close to not winning one slam this year at the 2nd set tiebreaker.

But he did win, that's the point. It was still one set all. Do you honestly think if Novak was playing Medvedev or Zverev or Sinner or Kyrgios or Berrettini or Tsitsipas in that final that he wouldn't have gone on to win it after being 1 set all? And remember, Novak has won several slam matches that he was much, much closer to losing than that Wimbledon final. One point away in fact...

 

[thrust]

Alcaraz would have an edge over all of them imo, but I chose Nadal because I think he'd still have an edge on clay at least.

True about Nadal, wrong about Novak and Roger.

 

[mahesh69a]

High jump pole at its peak is the right answer for tiny Carlos !!!

 

[daggerman]

True about Nadal, wrong about Novak and Roger.

The improvements Novak has made recently on his serve, forehand, and volleys have allowed him to match up pretty well with Alcaraz. Absent those improvements, his chances are diminished. Being slightly faster wouldn't help him much.

04-07 Federer would just get beaten by pace. Pretty simple. That was too long ago to even be a fair comparison, tbh.

 

[BeatlesFan]

I don't think fed is stopping Carlito. He would choke same types like he choked vs Nole. There is actually no doubt in my mind.

Just last week you posted, "respect the legends."

Are you following your own advice?

 

[nolefam_2024]

Just last week you posted, "respect the legends."

Are you following your own advice?

I don't mean any disrespect. choking can happen to the best. I just mean, I have never seen anyone mentally better than the kid. He is just 20. Maybe 22 year old Nadal is better but aside from him, I don't see any.
Kid has the complete game like Djokovic and if fed can choke vs him then it can happen. It probably will.

 

[mike danny]

1. Federer. Similiar attacking game,only Roger better at everything. Except maybe mentality.
2. Nadal. As we seen from their meetings.
3. Djokovic. Defo best matchup for Alcaraz.

Almost same as peak Wawrinka.

Too early to make that call.

 

[mike danny]

Federer wouldn't be a terribly difficult matchup for alcaraz because of his backhand.

Djokovic then nadal is the answer.

Because as we all know, Federer has the same BH as Tsitsipas.

 

[mike danny]

Based on Federer's history with Nadal, he would have had the most trouble with Alcaraz out of the big 3 imo because of that speed and defense to offense. He's even more offensive than Nadal plus he would just hammer Federer's backhand like Nadal did. I think Djokovic and Nadal would have had their hands full as well but I think would have been better matchups against him in their primes. Djokovic even at 36 is a lot for Alcaraz to handle. Hard to say about Agassi and Sampras but I lean toward him mostly getting the best of Agassi because Alcaraz is a better athlete. Sampras would have been tougher for him especially on faster surfaces.

Surely you jest.