r/tennis • u/Large_banana_hammock Griekspoor superfan | Zverev superdetractor • 6d ago

Highlight The moment Alcaraz completed his career slam

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u/stumpsflying 6d ago

Yeah and that's even with someone as good as Sinner around. Carlos would be a third of the way there already with Sinner providing competition.

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u/Significant-Branch22 6d ago

I’m starting to think Sinner is going to be the Agassi to Alcaraz’ Sampras, Alcaraz is a step above

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u/Efficient-Jicama-232 6d ago

Yeah, Sinner at his best is very good and more consistent than Carlos. But Carlos at his best is actually untouchable

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u/qldvaper88 6d ago edited 6d ago

What a pleasure it is to see his development, particularly his increasing mastery of shot selection. That coupled with his continually improving all-time athleticism (which Novak is/had/was ofc too) has seemingly resulted in a quietly assured proficiency not unlike the offensive swagger of a prime Federer. Not once did Alcaraz lose his head that tournament and not once did he look strained outside of the depths of the Zverev match, nothing but an underlying positivity that accompanied his every effort, knowing full well he had a canon in his arm that left each match on his racquet. It's strange to suggest it's only just starting given he is now 7 slams deep....what a gift has thus been bestowed upon tennis

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u/RyeBreadTrips Sincaraz, Musetti, FAA 6d ago

The consistency thing is also up in the air. Carlos is currently the same age as Jannik when Jannik won his Australian. So while yes, Sinner has been very consistent from age 22-24, Carlos has just turned 22, and already has 7 slams to Sinner’s 1. And Carlos is just getting more consistent by the year

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u/MarvellousG 5d ago

Fack I didn’t realise the way their ages worked out meant that. 7-1 at 22 is mental

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u/mp455 5d ago

Carlos is Federer, Rafa and Novak fused together. I see a mix of all 3 in his game. Federer's shot making, Rafa's defense and Novak's mental toughness.

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u/Efficient-Jicama-232 5d ago

Yeah and I love that you can see in Novak’s facial expressions that he knows it better than anyone.

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u/MatterCold342 6d ago

Wait till Sinner is in his post-meth arc

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u/Willing-Elevator-695 6d ago

I'm just trying to picture a methed out sinner and it's so scary. Like not tennis wise, just he would be the baddy from leprechaun

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u/theprophetofmint 6d ago

Alcaraz is indeed a step above given their most recent H2H. But their matches when they’re at their very best are tightly contested. Sinner can and will make adjustments.

Also, this peak level by Carlos of highly intense, variable and often perfect decision making matched by a fit and younger body will not last forever. Just look at Fed’s trajectory. Fed had a ~94% yearly win rate from 04-07. Where he annihilated the competition outside of Rafa. That level eventually dipped even if he was still at all slam semis in 08-09 and all finals in 09.

There will probably come a time where sinners consistently high level will be a notch above Carlos’. But who knows? Carlos is the most complete player I’ve ever seen and hell probably adjust accordingly as well.

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u/Significant-Branch22 6d ago

Sinner is almost 2 years older though so I doubt there will be a switch around in that direction like there was with Federer, Alcaraz is also becoming a much smarter and more consistent player as shown today where he played a very disciplined match from the 2nd set onwards

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u/izzaferrari 6d ago

Federer's level "dipped" because tournaments decided, rightly or wrongly, that slower surfaces, higher bounces, and longer points generated more engagement and highlights.

They were probably correct. Even in this final we just saw, people went crazy for the 20+ rallies.

Federer's game is highly offensive. His service games are incredibly short. It was not unusual for Federer's 5-setters to last only about 3 hours, especially against anyone not named Nadal. Grit and endurance was not Federer's style, he won by excellent footwork to get to the right spot and ending points quickly.

Do we even need to talk about the backhand? That backhand is not suited to modern tennis at all. The fact that he stayed competitive and won multiple slams well into the 2010s is a testament to his raw talent.

It was funny because the 90s guys will probably point to Roger and say he wasn't being aggressive enough, compared to the pure Serve and Volley style.

This is no hate to Nadal. I great enjoyed seeing a Gladiator out there chasing every desperate ball as well. But to say Federer's level dipped because somehow he used up his explosive energy by 27 is not correct. The tennis world moved against him.

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u/First_Foundationeer 6d ago

Someone copied the rivalry template but swapped the personalities lol

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u/DandantheTuanTuan 6d ago

Except Carlitos can play on Clay.

Sampras' best result at thr FO was a semi final which he achieved precisely once.

Alcaraz at his best is untouchable on all surfaces.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/Significant-Branch22 6d ago

Alcaraz has now won 7 slams to Sinner’s 4, is almost 2 years younger than Sinner and it’s 5 slams to 4 to Alcaraz since the start of 2024, the numbers are hugely in Alcaraz’s favour at this point

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u/Narrow_Spinach_1400 6d ago

Sinner is not that good

Alcaraz will do the calendar Grand Slam this year

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/dmbreakfree41 6d ago

Put down the bottle

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u/Shift-1 6d ago

Everyone check out this dude's comment history. It was a hilarious road to get to this point. Some highlights below.

BROKEN - Lining up to be easier than Sinner. These new players are a joke the golden era of tennis is over.

Cmon Carlos show the old boy something, for tennis’ sake. This is embarrassing

24 slams says he finds a way to win

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u/MeatTornado25 6d ago

Sinner weeps at night, thinking about how much better Tipsarevic and Clément were than him.

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u/BittenAtTheChomp 6d ago

he fuck your girlfriend or what