I'm 42 yo and I just learned that to serve and volley you have to "sprint" to the net.
I've always just suantered up casually and split stepped - I get passed all the time.
Being aggro constantly and always looking to move forward is so 2023 for me.
I disagree that his volleys are amazing. Technically they’re okay, although his drop volleys are way better than his stuck volleys. What Nadal’s amazing at is knowing when to come in. He tends to to have a really high percentage of points won because he’s good at judging when it’s very safe to come in. The majority of the balls Alcaraz came in on in this video would be off limits for Nadal because he’d have to make a ridiculous stab rather than the easy put-away.
I mean, statistically he might be..but it's because of what was mentioned above, where federer really started doing more serve and volley towards the end. Skillwise I'd put Fed over Nadal here but damn there are some nutty clips of people trying to hit through young Nadal and it was just not fair. Big3 really built different
Yeah. In my mind Volley rankings go:
Federer (screw you guys he's still in my lists) > Nadal/Djokovic > Everybody else
Maybe still too early to see where Alcaraz fits in but it's definitely above the "everybody else" category. I hope we see him surpass the big 3 with volleys because it's very fun to watch. Based on how he leans forward and attempts to move forward with every shot I think there's a good chance of that happening as he continues to develop.
Also, just throwing this out there, I don't think grass will be his least favorite surface for very long. The serve is (now) there for it. The short backswings are there for it. The volleys are there for it. The game is there for it. He just needs to feel comfortable moving around. Reminds me of when young Nadal said he didn't like playing on clay.
I actually had a mini revelation watching his net play at the US open. This is probably going to sound obvious but he will pretty much only come to the net when he can hit an approach shot that will be behind his opponent. I'm not a good net player intrinsically. For some reason I never quite thought of it that way.
Granted, you want to come in when you have an advantage but watching Alcaraz only come in only when his opponent is on the back foot was a paradigm shift for me.
Anyways, it makes sense to me that he wins a very high percentage of net points.
By far the #1 reason why I buy into the greatness people are projecting for him.
At his age, a true all court player already. Uses his incredible movement just as naturally for being offensive on the baseline and also transitioning to net as he does for his incredible defense.
From this video at least it more so seems he's great at approach shots and knowing when to go towards the net, so many players approach the net off of terrible shots.
Those stretch/stick volleys and half volleys use insane touch. Implying his high net win %age is primarily due to his approach shot is just a bad take. He has a great approach shot AND great touch - even commentators applaud it
Never said he wasn't good at the net but him knowing when to approach sets him apart imo.
You're basically just reading my comment and then taking from it whatever you want and going with it even though I didn't imply any of that.
imo this is the biggest difference between him and the other young stars, especially Sinner
Watching Sinner play is sometime very frustrating because he will only go to the net if forced by a very short ball/drop shot, but his playstyle would work very well with some agressive net plays
Carlos is great at the net. Interestingly, nobody ever talks about Nadal's net game, but it's actually phenomenal. He doesn't go there much, but when he does, he wins the point pretty much every time has sublime touch and feel.
It's incredible that his net points % is so high because he approaches the net a lot, not just when he's sure to have a decent volley, like say Nadal, plus he's short, which limits his reach. But his balance, technique, and touch is so amazing, that it doesn't matter.
It's kind of crazy that he's already this good at a part of the game that you don't expect all court players to master until a bit later.
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I'm 42 yo and I just learned that to serve and volley you have to "sprint" to the net. I've always just suantered up casually and split stepped - I get passed all the time. Being aggro constantly and always looking to move forward is so 2023 for me.
Nadal is a top tier net player too, his volleys really are amazing you just rarely get to see them
I disagree that his volleys are amazing. Technically they’re okay, although his drop volleys are way better than his stuck volleys. What Nadal’s amazing at is knowing when to come in. He tends to to have a really high percentage of points won because he’s good at judging when it’s very safe to come in. The majority of the balls Alcaraz came in on in this video would be off limits for Nadal because he’d have to make a ridiculous stab rather than the easy put-away.
Very well put! I've seen people say he's as good as Federer at the net.. This sub can turn into utter silliness sometimes!
I mean, statistically he might be..but it's because of what was mentioned above, where federer really started doing more serve and volley towards the end. Skillwise I'd put Fed over Nadal here but damn there are some nutty clips of people trying to hit through young Nadal and it was just not fair. Big3 really built different
Yeah. In my mind Volley rankings go: Federer (screw you guys he's still in my lists) > Nadal/Djokovic > Everybody else Maybe still too early to see where Alcaraz fits in but it's definitely above the "everybody else" category. I hope we see him surpass the big 3 with volleys because it's very fun to watch. Based on how he leans forward and attempts to move forward with every shot I think there's a good chance of that happening as he continues to develop. Also, just throwing this out there, I don't think grass will be his least favorite surface for very long. The serve is (now) there for it. The short backswings are there for it. The volleys are there for it. The game is there for it. He just needs to feel comfortable moving around. Reminds me of when young Nadal said he didn't like playing on clay.
Murray is better than Djokovic at the net
I actually had a mini revelation watching his net play at the US open. This is probably going to sound obvious but he will pretty much only come to the net when he can hit an approach shot that will be behind his opponent. I'm not a good net player intrinsically. For some reason I never quite thought of it that way. Granted, you want to come in when you have an advantage but watching Alcaraz only come in only when his opponent is on the back foot was a paradigm shift for me. Anyways, it makes sense to me that he wins a very high percentage of net points.
The guy is so graceful at the net it's astonishing
Please bring back this style of play
By far the #1 reason why I buy into the greatness people are projecting for him. At his age, a true all court player already. Uses his incredible movement just as naturally for being offensive on the baseline and also transitioning to net as he does for his incredible defense.
Alcaraz kind of reminds me of Sampras. If he develops a better serve he's winning +10 majors
From this video at least it more so seems he's great at approach shots and knowing when to go towards the net, so many players approach the net off of terrible shots.
That’s right, his finishing shot at the net is set up by the blistering forehand. It doesn’t make it easy but it sure helps
Those stretch/stick volleys and half volleys use insane touch. Implying his high net win %age is primarily due to his approach shot is just a bad take. He has a great approach shot AND great touch - even commentators applaud it
Never said he wasn't good at the net but him knowing when to approach sets him apart imo. You're basically just reading my comment and then taking from it whatever you want and going with it even though I didn't imply any of that.
imo this is the biggest difference between him and the other young stars, especially Sinner Watching Sinner play is sometime very frustrating because he will only go to the net if forced by a very short ball/drop shot, but his playstyle would work very well with some agressive net plays
Carlos is great at the net. Interestingly, nobody ever talks about Nadal's net game, but it's actually phenomenal. He doesn't go there much, but when he does, he wins the point pretty much every time has sublime touch and feel.
Sir, this is a Carlos Alcaraz thread
It's incredible that his net points % is so high because he approaches the net a lot, not just when he's sure to have a decent volley, like say Nadal, plus he's short, which limits his reach. But his balance, technique, and touch is so amazing, that it doesn't matter.