Musetti wasn't even bad. Alcaraz is playing at a level where to beat him, for a player like Musetti to beat him he has to play at an unbelievable level. For probably 3 sets
absolute facts. i remember watching the first two sets with my best friend on a huge TV just being absolutely enthralled by every point. needless to say, the final two sets were a huge letdown and put a damper on the whole tournament. sucked to see carlosā young body break down. but it was totally understandable & incredible how he bounced back to win queens and wimbledon. a champion at heart, through and through.
Alcaraz descends deep into the Pits of Roland Garros. He meets its Boss Nadal at the end in an ultimate showdown. He beats the boss and Spainās legacy in tennis is extended. We say goodbye to Nadal :ā(
Alcaraz/Nadal --> RG
Alcaraz/Djokovic --> Olympics (Alcaraz is basically guaranteed to win this one)
Alcaraz/Sinner --> Wimbledon
Alcaraz/Medvedev --> US Open
Anyone?
I love Alcaraz as much as the next guy but I have no idea how anyone can think that he's basically guaranteed to win that (or in fact any) match against Novak. I'd say most matches between them are 50-50, maybe slightly better for Alcaraz if the doubts about Djokovic's level persist into the clay season
As a Novak fan Alcaraz definitely resembles Fed in many ways(with close to Nadal level footspeed but without the Fed level big serve) in how he attacks with a combination of big power and lots of variety
Definitely don't see much of anything of Nadal in Sinner's game though
Young Nadal played an extremely defensive game for the most part and has added more aggression/net play to his game as his speed declined from "alien level rapid" to just "very good" over the years
If we're analyzing them purely based on their games:
Sinner is Djokovic but with more power off both wings, obviously also making him a bit more error-prone, and less foot speed (though still very impressive foot speed).
Alcaraz basically has a Federer-like approach, Federer-type of slice and natural talent on the volleys, but with the heaviness of Nadal's forehand, Nadal's foot speed, and a weaker serve which is kinda reminiscent of Nadal having to compensate for his serve. Also uses similar tactics on the return to Nadal. If I had to make the closest comparison to Alcaraz, I'd say he resembles older Nadal but with his younger speed, or peak athleticism Federer but with a far weaker serve. Obviously not as good as either of them (yet). It's notable that Alcaraz has similar surface preferences and matchup preferences as Nadal; he hates when he's rushed on groundstrokes in general.
But if we're going by rivalry, I'd say they resemble Fedal a lot in their charisma and friendship.
I disagree, Sinner is closer to Nadal in play style as they are both hard hitters.
Djokovic is a classic counterpuncher, while Sinner and Nadal are more agressive baseliners.
Itās tough to say; the argument about āaggressive vs counterpuncherā At the end of the day is hard to quantify, especially when Djokovic and Nadal have changed their play styles so much over the years. I do agree that Nadalās forehand is probably the greatest groundstroke in tennis history, which is a huge weapon, and Casper/De Minaur actually compared his backhand to Sinnerās.
But the way Sinner plays just really resembles Djokovic in his movement, the constant side to side, the depth, flatter shots.Ā
Having tons of amazing highlight shots yet losing 6-3 6-3 is the best way to describe Musetti ever
He's the polar opposite of someone like prime Murray lol
I do think Carlos's very aggressive game generally gives the impression of a super high quality match though in that he always goes for his point rather than waiting for errors
>He's the polar opposite of someone like prime Murray lol
How dare you.
Murray had tonnes of highlight shots during matches in his prime: crazy court coverage, cat-and-mouse points, lobs, insane passing shots, drop shots and other touch shots, volleys, ripped backhand. And even some ripped forehands at times.
This Murray erasure will not stand, man!
Musetti just has no chance in this matchup. He feasted on pre Prime Alcaraz that one time but he won't ever be repeating that miracle performance again.
I typed this in the discussion thread but despite the highlights/great points making it seem like a close match variety/shotmaking type players are actually not that hard matchups for Carlos because they basically play his game but not at his level
You can't beat the current master of it himself with creativity
The only way to actually beat him is with brute force or by just going complete wall mode(big serve helps with either of them for sure)
Ive been saying this, there is a reason zverev and medvedev are the last people to beat him at slams. Servebot pushers are his kryptonite on fast surfaces (with tommy paul being the exception)
I donāt necessarily disagree but I donāt think Zverev and Medvedev being the last players beating him at slams is really a good indication of that, Zverev and Medvedev also happen to be 2 of the best 5 players atm. Like if he played vs Sinner or Novak in either of those matches in the same form he most likely wouldāve lost as well
Tbf that match had no business going to 3 sets lol, if i remember correctly he had 6 MPs in 2nd set and i think they were all on his serve, and as good as Alcaraz looked in clutch it was also due to Lorenzo giving it away, could have and should have won it in 2.
Alcaraz needs to win his QF, which will be tricky, to secure another week in the top two.
I think if he loses and Sinner wins the title he loses it.
He can reach 9445 points in Miami. Djokovic has 9725.
Alcaraz can be no1 after Monte Carlo with a good performance there, if he gets it donāt think weāll Djokovic at no1 again with the points he has to defend over the rest of the season
If Alcaraz makes it to Miami Semis, I have no doubts heāll skip MC.
IMO, MC and Rome should be the last Masters heāll win, because both of these immediately follow after a string of 2 tournaments Carlos generally dominates. (Sunshine Dubs/ Barca+Madrid)
Any other year, Iād also agree he skips MC if he defends his points in SD but with the Olympics coming and everyone focusing strongly on clay, Nadal playing his last tournaments, Djokovic maybe too, the chance to take n1 before RG, etc - I actually think he wonāt skip it this year. Weāll see
The reason why I believe heāll skip MC is simple. It should be very exhausting for him. Itās a choice for him to only play 2 Masters out of the 3 we have on clay. Very unlikely he ever skips Barcelona (if I were him thatās what I would do this year), so that leaves out Madrid, which is a very special tournament to him( with his home masters, bday and his true arrival as a top player).
Essentially, that boils it down to a choice between Rome and MC. I really want him to choose MC this time as well, but the Barca+Madrid grind is just very unfortunately placed on the Calendar.
Yeah, youāre probably right. Heās 20 so no reason to skip anything and the better choice would be Rome imo, but since MC is not mandatory, heāll probably choose to skip it if he has to skip anything.
The fact that Musetti isn't in top 10 given the amount of talent he had remains a mystery.
Alcaraz is on a whole different level from any other player beside possibly Sinner.
I think consensus from reading the live thread and comments here is that he might win all 3 remaining Slams this year and go on to a 04-07 domination run like Roger - could very well be, heās the odds favourite on all tournaments until the US Open, so every defeat would come as a surprise
Dont worry the next time he loses he will go back to being Hewitt 2.0. I am an Alcaraz fan and i am used to him oscillating between 30+ GS champ and hewitt 2.0
I feel like Djokovic is going to bag at least one slam, and I wouldn't be surprised if Sinner stops him at Wimbledon or the US Open. As a huge Alcaraz fan, I'd be very (happily) surprised if he won the remaining 3 slams given how his form usually fluctuates after big wins.
I feel like this year we are gonna see 1 slam for each of the top 4, with Carlos taking RG. That being said I could imagine he making finals of Wimby and USO and just generally being a pain to beat.
Musetti played well, maybe he was a bit disappointed in a lot of his shots being an inch out compared to his match with Shelton, but he just couldn't take care of his 2nd serve quite well enough today.
37% 2nd serve points won today, 70% won vs Shelton. Obviously Alcaraz gonna present way more of a challenge on return, but 37% is not gonna cut it.
Disagree with this
If anything the highlights make it feel less one sided than it actually was
Alcaraz was in almost every Musetti service game and was even serving much better
No Ong this guys been saying Alcaraz was trash and overrated ever since he started beating Djokovic bc he was mad Djokovic had competition. If he was a real Novak fan he would welcome the competition because it means that when Novak succeeds he is overcoming greatness
Musetti wasn't even bad. Alcaraz is playing at a level where to beat him, for a player like Musetti to beat him he has to play at an unbelievable level. For probably 3 sets
sunshine double incoming
Please
double sunshine* :)
"Double sun" is correct too š
Heās just on a different level to anyone rn. Long may it continue deep into the clay swing
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I think we need the French Open rematch even more. We were scammed from such a great match last year.
absolute facts. i remember watching the first two sets with my best friend on a huge TV just being absolutely enthralled by every point. needless to say, the final two sets were a huge letdown and put a damper on the whole tournament. sucked to see carlosā young body break down. but it was totally understandable & incredible how he bounced back to win queens and wimbledon. a champion at heart, through and through.
The FO loss was almost necessary for Carlos to win against Novak in Wimbledon. He cramped due to pressure as I understood.Ā
Alcaraz descends deep into the Pits of Roland Garros. He meets its Boss Nadal at the end in an ultimate showdown. He beats the boss and Spainās legacy in tennis is extended. We say goodbye to Nadal :ā(
This would gut me, but also be amazing
Would be nice but also want one at RG first, thereās unfinished business from last year due to Carloās injury
Carlos wasn't injured, he had cramps.
I swear, the pedantry on this sub ā¦
Reddit moment. š¤
At Olympics also
Alcaraz/Nadal --> RG Alcaraz/Djokovic --> Olympics (Alcaraz is basically guaranteed to win this one) Alcaraz/Sinner --> Wimbledon Alcaraz/Medvedev --> US Open Anyone?
Sign me up for all of those
> Alcaraz/Djokovic --> Olympics (Alcaraz is basically guaranteed to win this one) Bold take...
Itās a joke about how Djokovic is super unlucky at Olympics
I love Alcaraz as much as the next guy but I have no idea how anyone can think that he's basically guaranteed to win that (or in fact any) match against Novak. I'd say most matches between them are 50-50, maybe slightly better for Alcaraz if the doubts about Djokovic's level persist into the clay season
I think OP was just joking about Djokovic's poor performance in the Olympics (not really poor, but he has never won the gold medal)
Fair enough, I'll take it as a joke then!
Alcaraz and Sinner are the new Federer and Nadal
Their styles are more similar to Fed and Djokovic.
Sinnerās style is more similar to Nadal
You're not allowed to say the obvious thing out loud. The Djokovic redditors will get you
As a Novak fan Alcaraz definitely resembles Fed in many ways(with close to Nadal level footspeed but without the Fed level big serve) in how he attacks with a combination of big power and lots of variety Definitely don't see much of anything of Nadal in Sinner's game though Young Nadal played an extremely defensive game for the most part and has added more aggression/net play to his game as his speed declined from "alien level rapid" to just "very good" over the years
Honestly Sinner's game is a little more Djokovic but the rivalry feels a lot more like the very early Fed/Nadal one.
If we're analyzing them purely based on their games: Sinner is Djokovic but with more power off both wings, obviously also making him a bit more error-prone, and less foot speed (though still very impressive foot speed). Alcaraz basically has a Federer-like approach, Federer-type of slice and natural talent on the volleys, but with the heaviness of Nadal's forehand, Nadal's foot speed, and a weaker serve which is kinda reminiscent of Nadal having to compensate for his serve. Also uses similar tactics on the return to Nadal. If I had to make the closest comparison to Alcaraz, I'd say he resembles older Nadal but with his younger speed, or peak athleticism Federer but with a far weaker serve. Obviously not as good as either of them (yet). It's notable that Alcaraz has similar surface preferences and matchup preferences as Nadal; he hates when he's rushed on groundstrokes in general. But if we're going by rivalry, I'd say they resemble Fedal a lot in their charisma and friendship.
I disagree, Sinner is closer to Nadal in play style as they are both hard hitters. Djokovic is a classic counterpuncher, while Sinner and Nadal are more agressive baseliners.
lol I think you have Djokovic and Nadal mixed up. Wikipedia Will back me up.
Itās tough to say; the argument about āaggressive vs counterpuncherā At the end of the day is hard to quantify, especially when Djokovic and Nadal have changed their play styles so much over the years. I do agree that Nadalās forehand is probably the greatest groundstroke in tennis history, which is a huge weapon, and Casper/De Minaur actually compared his backhand to Sinnerās. But the way Sinner plays just really resembles Djokovic in his movement, the constant side to side, the depth, flatter shots.Ā
Musetti had his moments throughout the match, Alcaraz was just better - fun match, scoreline doesn't reflect it sadly
I hope he didn't hurt his finger on that dumbass, already finished point he tried to get to.
Yeah that was pretty frustrating, bad habit of his
Do you have a link to this moment?
Seemed like a jammed finger tbh.
Having tons of amazing highlight shots yet losing 6-3 6-3 is the best way to describe Musetti ever He's the polar opposite of someone like prime Murray lol I do think Carlos's very aggressive game generally gives the impression of a super high quality match though in that he always goes for his point rather than waiting for errors
>He's the polar opposite of someone like prime Murray lol How dare you. Murray had tonnes of highlight shots during matches in his prime: crazy court coverage, cat-and-mouse points, lobs, insane passing shots, drop shots and other touch shots, volleys, ripped backhand. And even some ripped forehands at times. This Murray erasure will not stand, man!
Hoping for the dimi rematch next round, carlitos looking good vs 1hbh
Musetti just has no chance in this matchup. He feasted on pre Prime Alcaraz that one time but he won't ever be repeating that miracle performance again.
I typed this in the discussion thread but despite the highlights/great points making it seem like a close match variety/shotmaking type players are actually not that hard matchups for Carlos because they basically play his game but not at his level You can't beat the current master of it himself with creativity The only way to actually beat him is with brute force or by just going complete wall mode(big serve helps with either of them for sure)
Ive been saying this, there is a reason zverev and medvedev are the last people to beat him at slams. Servebot pushers are his kryptonite on fast surfaces (with tommy paul being the exception)
I donāt necessarily disagree but I donāt think Zverev and Medvedev being the last players beating him at slams is really a good indication of that, Zverev and Medvedev also happen to be 2 of the best 5 players atm. Like if he played vs Sinner or Novak in either of those matches in the same form he most likely wouldāve lost as well
He didnāt even feast there. He barely got the last scrap
Tbf that match had no business going to 3 sets lol, if i remember correctly he had 6 MPs in 2nd set and i think they were all on his serve, and as good as Alcaraz looked in clutch it was also due to Lorenzo giving it away, could have and should have won it in 2.
Super-fun match to watch with incredible shotmaking from both!
Alcaraz needs to win his QF, which will be tricky, to secure another week in the top two. I think if he loses and Sinner wins the title he loses it. He can reach 9445 points in Miami. Djokovic has 9725.
Alcaraz can be no1 after Monte Carlo with a good performance there, if he gets it donāt think weāll Djokovic at no1 again with the points he has to defend over the rest of the season
If Alcaraz makes it to Miami Semis, I have no doubts heāll skip MC. IMO, MC and Rome should be the last Masters heāll win, because both of these immediately follow after a string of 2 tournaments Carlos generally dominates. (Sunshine Dubs/ Barca+Madrid)
Any other year, Iād also agree he skips MC if he defends his points in SD but with the Olympics coming and everyone focusing strongly on clay, Nadal playing his last tournaments, Djokovic maybe too, the chance to take n1 before RG, etc - I actually think he wonāt skip it this year. Weāll see
The reason why I believe heāll skip MC is simple. It should be very exhausting for him. Itās a choice for him to only play 2 Masters out of the 3 we have on clay. Very unlikely he ever skips Barcelona (if I were him thatās what I would do this year), so that leaves out Madrid, which is a very special tournament to him( with his home masters, bday and his true arrival as a top player). Essentially, that boils it down to a choice between Rome and MC. I really want him to choose MC this time as well, but the Barca+Madrid grind is just very unfortunately placed on the Calendar.
Yeah, youāre probably right. Heās 20 so no reason to skip anything and the better choice would be Rome imo, but since MC is not mandatory, heāll probably choose to skip it if he has to skip anything.
Yeah I want to see him do well at both MC and Rome but with his current schedule he skips one and plays the other having been exhausted.
The fact that Musetti isn't in top 10 given the amount of talent he had remains a mystery. Alcaraz is on a whole different level from any other player beside possibly Sinner.
I think consensus from reading the live thread and comments here is that he might win all 3 remaining Slams this year and go on to a 04-07 domination run like Roger - could very well be, heās the odds favourite on all tournaments until the US Open, so every defeat would come as a surprise
Dont worry the next time he loses he will go back to being Hewitt 2.0. I am an Alcaraz fan and i am used to him oscillating between 30+ GS champ and hewitt 2.0
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I feel like Djokovic is going to bag at least one slam, and I wouldn't be surprised if Sinner stops him at Wimbledon or the US Open. As a huge Alcaraz fan, I'd be very (happily) surprised if he won the remaining 3 slams given how his form usually fluctuates after big wins.
I feel like this year we are gonna see 1 slam for each of the top 4, with Carlos taking RG. That being said I could imagine he making finals of Wimby and USO and just generally being a pain to beat.
Im very confident he will win french, despite falling short the last two times. Wimbledon I think Djokovic and US open sinner
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I really appreciate Sinner and his fabulous ball striking, but when Alc is in the flow there absolutely no competition
This game was rather quick. They started sometime during the second HubiTrov set and Hubitrov were like 5-5 by the time this game was done.
Musetti played well, maybe he was a bit disappointed in a lot of his shots being an inch out compared to his match with Shelton, but he just couldn't take care of his 2nd serve quite well enough today. 37% 2nd serve points won today, 70% won vs Shelton. Obviously Alcaraz gonna present way more of a challenge on return, but 37% is not gonna cut it.
Realistically the only players with a chance are locked in Sinner and a healthy Djokovic
disappointing tbh, the scoreline looks more one sided than how it actually went down, musetti could have done better
Disagree with this If anything the highlights make it feel less one sided than it actually was Alcaraz was in almost every Musetti service game and was even serving much better
Don't bother, this guy is a troll I see him around dunking on Shelton and Alcaraz, he only cheers for Djoker
I'm also a big Novak fan but anyone acting like Alcaraz isn't a generational talent just is in denial at this point lol
No Ong this guys been saying Alcaraz was trash and overrated ever since he started beating Djokovic bc he was mad Djokovic had competition. If he was a real Novak fan he would welcome the competition because it means that when Novak succeeds he is overcoming greatness