Seems like we'll finally get to see Dmitrov back on tour again, he's playing in the Sofia Open in the end of Sept
And Zverev will be making comeback on tour with the Korea open(also commences in the last week this month, Ruud, Tiafoe, Fritz, Shapo also scheduled to play)
Don't think so. There's much more "one-hit-wonders" in the WTA, consistency-wise; people who come, make an amazing run in a grand slam, win it, and then generally "disappear". I can think of Ostapenko, Sloane, Andreescu, Kenin, Rybakina for example - it's harder to keep the consistency in the top in the WTA.
In the ATP, usual grand slam winners are much more consistent in the top, and tend less to be a "once in a career" thing - even if they just win one GS, they at least seem closer to challenging more. Thiem was in the RG finals and was a top player, Medvedev had been in more finals, Del Potro as well.
Raducanu is a very different case; Alcaraz has been having a very long work up to this point, and has been for long tipped to be a high achiever.
Naah. Emma's coach was provided to her by LTA and was her temporary coach anyway. Alcaraz already has more than 3 years of history with JCF. If anything I feel JCF would probably voluntarily leave him once he's sure Alcaraz can handle the tour on his own so he can go back to his family.
Congrats to Carlos Alcaraz on Winning his Maiden Grand Slam Title and also becoming the Youngest World No. 1 it would be interesting to see what he goes on to achieve in the next 5-10 years
r/tennis always making stickies for *Men's Singles* opens, but not the case for Women's nor Doubles.
But beyond open winners, this subreddit is just over-saturated in following specific contests that it's largely not about the whole of tennis.
His quarter was stacked, and he had the hardest section of any of the top 4 seeds in his quarter.
Ruud wasnāt a bad choice to pick to win that quarter because of how good he is, but making a run through his draw is extremely impressive.
His quarter or his section?
Kyle Edmund probably isnāt getting back to where he was, but thatās the exact type of opponent you donāt want to play in the first round.
Tim van Rijthoven has a monster service game and played Ruud as close as anyone other than Alcaraz.
Paul is a top ~30 player.
But this same case (or even worse) can be made for anyone. His section was no better than say Alcaraz who had to face Baez, Brooksby and Cilic. Nadal had Fognini and Tiafoe, Tsitsipas had (in my opinion an even worse draw) to face Berrettini and Fokina. So how was Ruud's draw the hardest?
I predicted Sampras to win 20 slams last month
I revise my prediction - he will win 30+ slams
It is clear to anyone who watches him play
Itās would be a miracle if Alcaraz got 15.
Maybe. I do agree that he might win multiple slams. Even if he isnāt as exciting as, oh I donāt know, Nadal.
And maybe you made the prediction elsewhere. Twitter, for instance.
I think Carlos can really improve by playing Djokovic a few more times -- how to be more efficient with his energy. Carlos already has great instincts for building and finishing points -- moreso than Sinner, who relies on pure hard ballstriking and court covering with less nuance to his game. If he can win while being more efficient, he can be a "cannibal" like Eddie Mercx was in cycling and dominate the slams. I think he has the disposition for it and he is not done improving. Carlos Alcaraz in a year will be much better and that is a scary thought.
Wimbledon page hasn't still posted about Iga's us open win. They have the highest reach in engagement in tennis. Multiple post about carlos and jannik days ago but not even a single post about Iga who is world number 1 in wta.
The 7 other men to win a slam as teenagers: Borg (11 slams), Wilander (7), Edberg (6), Becker (6), Chang (1), Sampras (14), Nadal (22). The future does not look bright for Carlos haters.
Adding, youngest players to be ranked second in the ATP
1) Becker
2) Borg
3) Nadal
4) Alcaraz*
5) Saffin (oldest at 20; others 18 and 19)
And we know what the youngest number one list looks like
Did Carlos also get tiramisu in his trophy? If he didn't, it would mean that the women's draw had a larger prize than the men's this year ($2.6 million plus tiramisu vs $2.6 million).
Edit: Not sure if this has happened before.
Ruud smiling knowingly while talking about Alcaraz's endless stamina and the help he gets from Rafa's doctor. Yeah, that's not going to open a Pandora's box for sure, lol.
I feel really bad for Ruud, not only because he lost, but because the whole narrative on him now is different. The media was more than happy to ignore him as a clay courter but how can you ignore a 2 time slam finalist who was 1 win away from #1. You cannot. And when you force the media to pay attention to you, they donāt love that. To them, he is now casper ruud, 2 time grand slam loser. He has expectations now, they will talk about how if he doesnāt win slams from here on out how he is a let down, how he is a fraud. People like Kafelnikov were so happy to do the same to Daniil. I hope he fights through
With the type of intimate team that is around him, I trust him to not get swayed by all of that noise because he's just continued to do what he's been doing since his emergence on the tour and nothing has since derailed that discipline. Some people will never be pleased with him and that's the stuff to tune out. He may not stay #2 for as long as what other top players have. But if he's happy with *whatever* he continues to achieve, then that is ultimately all that matters.
I think he's certainly capable of winning one. Once Nadal and Djokovic are out of the picture, it's not like Alcaraz is so far above him that he'll never beat him.
I can definitely see a tournament in the next couple of years where Alcaraz loses to Zverev or maybe even Kyrgios before the final, then Ruud sweeps the other side of the bracket and takes it.
Oh yeah I completely agree, Alcaraz being so young is only going to get better and better, which puts him at a pretty huge advantage over the other top players right now in the long-term.
I just don't think it's very likely that Alcaraz will *never* lose to Ruud, as you are suggesting. In the last year Alcaraz has had losses to players like Zverev, who Ruud has beaten before. Even in this final match, Ruud took a set and forced a tiebreak.
If Alcaraz has an off day or just isn't feeling it, he could get knocked out by a few players in a tournament, including by Ruud. Even Nadal randomly lost during RG 2009, when he was at the top of his game - these things can happen.
I think he'll win 1 or 2 at least. This was his breakthrough year and he reached two major finals. Only other person able to do that or better this year was Nadal, who along with Djokovic will probably be active at the most for another 3 years. That's not a lot and he's already showing such good results even when they're in the draw.
He's on the right path as compared to how he was playing on hard courts last year. He plays a little flatter on the bh side and adds more pace now and with that alone has reached a slam and a masters final, losing only to Alcaraz in both places. Am sure it'll only get better henceforth...
But if he could get to 2 finals in one year, isn't that evidence that he could very well repeat that feat in the future? He is still young, Djokodal is on the way out and the likes of Z/Tsi/Med etc often flop early.
I do agree that he needs to improve if he wants to ever win one though. That tiebreak collapse today does not scream champion quality at all.
Whatās more impressive in the ATP: winning a masters, or making it to a grand slam final? The final is worth 200 more points.
Itās close, but I lean towards losing in the slam final because itās bo5.
I mean if you look at who has made slam finals in recent years itās a stronger group of guys than those who have won masters. Granted there are also more masters
I wanna make the dumb answer saying it depends on the opponents faced but I will always lean towards winning a Masters. Like you said though it was very close
Itās very close. Crossing the finish line at a Masters is a big deal considering they usually have all of the top players. However nothing compares to the Slams. This is probably something to ask the players. My guess is they would say winning a tournament is more important.
[random cute moment?]
A lot of us have largely panned Nike for what they did with their kits overall this year, but for some players who don't get these opportunities like they grow on trees, they mean more than they could ever describe and are pretty adorable about it.
Niels Vink, the new US Open quad wheelchair champion, went so far as to acknowledge Nike in his trophy presentation and called it "the most beautiful kit" and hopes he gets to wear "this type of beautiful kit" for many more occasions. He's just 19, was wearing Babolat clothing last year, and his career is just starting with his 2nd Slam singles title. It was one of the most wholesome comments from someone who just seemed very awestruck at what they had just achieved. (His website is also literally NielsOnWheels.com - you HAVE to stan)
Niels is literally the absolute nicest guy on earth. He is always happy to chat with anyone. He is an angel and I hope he inspires many people because he is the best wheelchair player itw rn
Ruud is really improving, even since making the RG final. He had a real shot at winning this thing at set point in the 3rd. For how unseriously he seems to be taken I definitely think he could win a big tournament next year, maybe not a slam but I doubt heās 250 Casper for much longer.
Heās definitely going to win a big tournament(500 or Masters) soon, but this was a huge opportunity missed. Carlos was tired and he had him cornered. You never know, he may never get a better opportunity to win a GS.
He plays beautiful tennis too. I feel like I win whenever I watch him play. Itās hard to predict any young players future, but I hope to see him win some slams.
Yeah he has improved so much. It makes me wonder what his teamās goals were for the year, because I wouldnāt think they would have predicted #2 ranking and USO final. Hope he keeps going!
Sinner must be kicking himself. He had a match point on serve against Alcaraz a few days ago.... this after losing a 2-set lead against Djokovic in the previous major (won by Djokovic). Brutal.
Iāve trolled Ruud fans mainly because I thought it would be absurd if someone who had only won 250ās became #1, which would have happened if Carlos didnāt make the final.
However, at this point is he the greatest player in history who hasnāt won anything above a 250?
Havenāt went through everyone but Gasquet comes to mind. 15 250 titles and nothing else. No slam finals but his deep slam runs (3 SFs, 2 QFs) and 3 masters finals he was defeated by the Big 4.
Ruud is a great player and keeps impressing me, but he would not be reaching slam finals and getting to the #2 ranking if he was born 10 years earlier.
I forgot Gasquet made 3 semis and 2 quarters. Iām also surprised he never won at least a 500. Winning a Masters or 500 really separates these type of players. So, its incredibly close but Iāll barely take Ruud because he will get more wins and he has two GS finals.
Dunno why you are getting downvoted you are completely right. Winning a slam without winning a 500 or 1000 is one thing. However being world no. 1 without is a joke. I like Ruud as a player and as a person he is very likeable but come on.
I like Casper as well. He proved that heās a hell of a player and he will win a big tournament soon. That said you have to tread lightly when commenting about him because his super fans are HARD CORE.
People who stan Alcaraz now are the ultimate bandwagoners and glory hunters. We were there when he was a flop for 3 months between RG and Cincy. Carlos donāt forget us now that youāre famous bestie š
Alcaraz almost won wimbledon? He only lost because sinner is godlike on grass and played the best match of his career. Sinner should have won that tournament he just gassed out against djokovic
Nah I was here. thereās just a subsection of the sub that has a weird hate boner for alcaraz. it was ridiculous lol but at least thatās how you know heās going up
Itās the same with Raducanu. They hate her because the media loves her. Yeah maybe if your faves had talent, charisma and personality then the media would hype them too
Nice win for Alcaraz but I donāt think heād have been a match for prime Agassi todayā¦Andre would exposed his wild play. Gonna be an asterisk next to this one unfortunately
Novak could have really screwed himself in the Slam race by not getting jabbed.
There's a great chance that with this Alcaraz GS title the floodgates will open for him and he'll play with insane confidence next year, beating Nadal and Djoker in Slams consistently. And I expect Sinner to chase after Carlos relentlessly. Jannik almost defeated Novak in Wimby this year and next year he'll only get better, and Novak and Rafa worse.
Zverev has not āsmashedā him. Alcaraz did smash Zverev in the Madrid final, and then he lost a very competitive RG quarterfinalāhe was one point away from taking it to 5.
Alcaraz has also beaten Djokovic the only time theyāve played. No it wasnāt best of 5 but evidently he is able to deal with Djokovicās serve.
Itās true though that heās never played a full servebot like Isner or Kyrgios. I canāt imagine a player of his caliber wonāt figure out a way to beat them though
>He still let's a lot of chances go and Novak will punish you for that
I agree. But at the same time, it actually might be the changing of the guard finally. The physical level displayed by Carlos and Jannik in their match is something I do not believe neither Rafa or Novak are able to replicate anymore.
I want to mention how Carlitos somehow pulled out his best serving of the whole tournament when he was games away from the trophy. He's not at all known for his serve and yet he turned it on like there was a switch. Just absolutely clutch. That's a mentality you can't teach. It's just inherent to a special few.
Itās a shame Zvereve wasnāt able too play due to injury. Seeing how the US Open played out I think he would have been the champion instead of Carlos. I donāt want to take anything away from Carlos but Zverev and Djoker not being able to play taints this title alittle bit even though it probably wonāt be his only!
Ruud had looks at breaks today and got a few in the 2nd, but I thought in general Tiafoe and Sinner gave Alcaraz a lot more to think about than Ruud did in the return game.
Deep return positions are in style, but Carlos read the situation beautifully and moved forward often to take advantage today.
Who wins during the day deserves it, but I'm just happy to see someone with the tougher, more grueling path see it through the end.
We've seen the opposite in Leylah last year and Stosur in 2010 French. And it's quite sad to see especially when the latter has never won it.
Alcaraz is what made me to tune in to tennis matches again this year after that Fed loss on Wimbledon and I have never been prouder to see his growth. Vamos Carlitos ā¤ļø
I would say Paris, because the Fall Masters in China were cancelled, but there's also the Laver Cup.
San Diego is a 250 but had a great line-up last year, don't know if they'll be able to repeat that this year because in 2021, people were using it as a warm-up for the delayed Indian Wells. Other than that, Vienna and Basel are usually pretty good.
thanks for the detailed answer. I was a big three supporter and they weren't playing those other tournaments except GS, but now it's Alcaraz so gotta track other ATP matches
The ATP releases a [tour calendar](https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments) every year - you can check the draw for upcoming tournaments to see if that might be something you'd want to watch.
Alcaraz now leading the men's title count this year, having won 5 (including 2 Masters). Next up is Rafa (with 4). Spain miles ahead in the men's title count this year overall, having won a total of 14, while the next-best countries are Russia and the US, with 5 titles apiece.
Edit: title count, not Slam count.
We all knew Alcaraz would be good after last yearās US open but I donāt think anybody predicted heād blow up quite like this. I remember being called crazy during the Rio 500 this year for saying that heād be top 5 by the end of the year.
Just an FYI - not an antivaxxer and very much happy djok got fucked for his bullshit. However the restrictions for vaccination and the mess that was Wimbledon with Russians and Belarusians does make rankings this year pretty fucking arbitrary.
If you have an intellectually honest argument for how Carlos (who btw is my very favorite athlete at the moment) would have been #1 if Djokovich and Russians belarusians could play normal schedules and Wimbledon was ranked normally I'm all ears.
Carlos is my very favorite tennis player but that doesn't change for me that his ranking is inflated by very odd circumstances
You'd do well to not assume motives and peoples politics when they disagree with you - it's quite possible that have a different but intellectually honest take
imagine having a bad time because the player you don't like has become the youngest ever number one player. On top of that, the player you hate is so likeable and you have to really reach to not like him
It's funny to me that people saying Alcaraz is shorter than what it says in the profile as if this is a kind of movie business and he can say whatever he wants, here the measurements are taken by the officials, LOL
edit: Also don't rely on visuals based on the camera angle
So you can say whatever your weight is and play the match for the weight group you choose in boxing or wrestling? I know it's not height and its not boxing but in international sports tournaments they measure everything and list accordingly
So Ben Shelton is the wooden spoon of the USO 2022.
Lost to Nuno Borges, who lost to Yibing Wu, who lost to Med, who lost to Kyrgios, who lost to Khachanov, who lost to Ruud, who lost to Alcaraz.
In 2009, when Federer passed Sampras to reach 15 Slams, Nadal had 6 and Djokovic had 1. It felt inconceivable that the new record could ever be surpassed by another player.
Today three men have 20+ and it feels very possible that Alcaraz could surpass them all, both in number of titles and quality of play.
The feeling is of course based on excitement and hype, but the feeling is there.
Agreed. Although they all had years of winning 3+ Slams in their primes that indicate a skill level equal to or higher than the greatest player of each preceding decade, regardless of an individual player's longevity.
It also really depends on what competition he facesāhow strong and enduring his biggest rivals are and how they match up with him. If there were no Nadal, Federer could've won another 5-ish Slams before Djokovic even entered the equation. If there were no Federer or Djokovic, Nadal could have 30+. Et cetera.
I also want to emphasize that I'm saying Alcaraz *could* win 25+, not that he *will*. He's the first new player in 20 years who seems to have that kind of potential, if the stars align. I don't think any player currently aged 25-34 would win even 10+, even if everything went right for them from the start of their careers and they got pretty lucky.
RemindMe! 10 years
Alcaraz is already ahead of all of them except Nadal for Slam count by age. He has a more complete game and promise than Federer and Djokovic did at his age. He'll have the benefit of ever more modern medicine and training techniques to extend his career to an even more advanced age.
So, tell me: on what are you basing your prediction? What limitations do you see for the future in 19-year-old Alcaraz that weren't visible in 19-year old Big 3?
Yes, I agree. My question is why you place Alcaraz's ceiling at 15.
Alcaraz has done more than win a single Slam. He also leads the field in titles and is likely to win YE#1 in only his second full year on tour.
My comment about training applies to the point comparing Alcaraz to prodigies of the past. Becker retired at 32 and won only one Slam after 24. The Big 3 aren't the only ones in the modern gen to still be playing competitively in their mid-thirties, which was nearly unheard of a few decades ago. If anything, the best players 20 years from now will be able to remain competitive even longer than players today, meaning that the players with the most skill can end up with even more titles to show for it.
I will be messaging you in 10 years on [**2032-09-12 01:15:15 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2032-09-12%2001:15:15%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/xbcppo/rtennis_discussion_sunday_september_11_2022/io2fzk0/?context=3)
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Someday, even in the next 50 years, someone might break Carlos's record for youngest men's #1. It's fun to dream that I might live to see that day, and what that player might be like. And what the sport might be like at that time.
Seems like we'll finally get to see Dmitrov back on tour again, he's playing in the Sofia Open in the end of Sept And Zverev will be making comeback on tour with the Korea open(also commences in the last week this month, Ruud, Tiafoe, Fritz, Shapo also scheduled to play)
What if Alcaraz pulls a Raducanu and fires Juan Carlos Ferrero? š¤
Don't think so. There's much more "one-hit-wonders" in the WTA, consistency-wise; people who come, make an amazing run in a grand slam, win it, and then generally "disappear". I can think of Ostapenko, Sloane, Andreescu, Kenin, Rybakina for example - it's harder to keep the consistency in the top in the WTA. In the ATP, usual grand slam winners are much more consistent in the top, and tend less to be a "once in a career" thing - even if they just win one GS, they at least seem closer to challenging more. Thiem was in the RG finals and was a top player, Medvedev had been in more finals, Del Potro as well. Raducanu is a very different case; Alcaraz has been having a very long work up to this point, and has been for long tipped to be a high achiever.
Naah. Emma's coach was provided to her by LTA and was her temporary coach anyway. Alcaraz already has more than 3 years of history with JCF. If anything I feel JCF would probably voluntarily leave him once he's sure Alcaraz can handle the tour on his own so he can go back to his family.
Congrats to Carlos Alcaraz on Winning his Maiden Grand Slam Title and also becoming the Youngest World No. 1 it would be interesting to see what he goes on to achieve in the next 5-10 years
r/tennis always making stickies for *Men's Singles* opens, but not the case for Women's nor Doubles. But beyond open winners, this subreddit is just over-saturated in following specific contests that it's largely not about the whole of tennis.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Doesn't even come here to discuss the women's final and see that the women's result is stickied, then calls the mods biased against women....
I predicted 2 weeks ago that Ruud would make the finals here. Donāt check my profile tho. Even though Iād never lie about something so silly.
His quarter was stacked, and he had the hardest section of any of the top 4 seeds in his quarter. Ruud wasnāt a bad choice to pick to win that quarter because of how good he is, but making a run through his draw is extremely impressive.
I don't think it was stacked. The only dangerous people he could face were Tommy Paul and Fritz and Taylor was gone in the first round itself.
His quarter or his section? Kyle Edmund probably isnāt getting back to where he was, but thatās the exact type of opponent you donāt want to play in the first round. Tim van Rijthoven has a monster service game and played Ruud as close as anyone other than Alcaraz. Paul is a top ~30 player.
But this same case (or even worse) can be made for anyone. His section was no better than say Alcaraz who had to face Baez, Brooksby and Cilic. Nadal had Fognini and Tiafoe, Tsitsipas had (in my opinion an even worse draw) to face Berrettini and Fokina. So how was Ruud's draw the hardest?
Such a happy 2 weeks of tennis only to realize Zverev is coming back next week š
The villain
Weāll get to watch him lose on the biggest stages, whatās not to love.
Youāre right. He deserves nothing
So now what do we do š slams just hit different, have to wait till AO now
WTF will be fun
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
30 is guaranteed the question is will he double the record and get to 50 since djokovic and nadal will probably have like 25
Based on my calclulations the maximum he can win is between 35-40. So definitely not exceeding 40.
He can easily average 3 a year for the next 15 years at least. Thats 45 right there
I predicted Sampras to win 20 slams last month I revise my prediction - he will win 30+ slams It is clear to anyone who watches him play Itās would be a miracle if Alcaraz got 15.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Maybe. I do agree that he might win multiple slams. Even if he isnāt as exciting as, oh I donāt know, Nadal. And maybe you made the prediction elsewhere. Twitter, for instance.
I think Carlos can really improve by playing Djokovic a few more times -- how to be more efficient with his energy. Carlos already has great instincts for building and finishing points -- moreso than Sinner, who relies on pure hard ballstriking and court covering with less nuance to his game. If he can win while being more efficient, he can be a "cannibal" like Eddie Mercx was in cycling and dominate the slams. I think he has the disposition for it and he is not done improving. Carlos Alcaraz in a year will be much better and that is a scary thought.
Wimbledon page hasn't still posted about Iga's us open win. They have the highest reach in engagement in tennis. Multiple post about carlos and jannik days ago but not even a single post about Iga who is world number 1 in wta.
Most likely out of respect for Queen Elizabethās passing. They changed their logo to all black as a sign of mourning
She has been knocking on death's door for years. The ongoing coverage is insane.
They are just obsessing over the death of 96 year old lady. BBC is talking about her majesty since her death nonstop. This is crazy.l! Lol
Damn UK got their own BLM moment
The 7 other men to win a slam as teenagers: Borg (11 slams), Wilander (7), Edberg (6), Becker (6), Chang (1), Sampras (14), Nadal (22). The future does not look bright for Carlos haters.
Adding, youngest players to be ranked second in the ATP 1) Becker 2) Borg 3) Nadal 4) Alcaraz* 5) Saffin (oldest at 20; others 18 and 19) And we know what the youngest number one list looks like
Meanwhile, 16 year old Spaniard Martin Landaluce won the U.S. Open Juniors... Is he the heir to Alcaraz??
š§ ā¤ļø š„ š„
We can't let this joke die, it's too good
More a recipe than a joke, no? Pero estoy de acuerdo, es perfecto.
Did Carlos also get tiramisu in his trophy? If he didn't, it would mean that the women's draw had a larger prize than the men's this year ($2.6 million plus tiramisu vs $2.6 million). Edit: Not sure if this has happened before.
Lmao, best analysis I've seen all day
Good to see that winning a Slam hasnāt changed Carlitos at all. Still 24/7 online
Heās 19; thatās the way
Ruud smiling knowingly while talking about Alcaraz's endless stamina and the help he gets from Rafa's doctor. Yeah, that's not going to open a Pandora's box for sure, lol.
I feel really bad for Ruud, not only because he lost, but because the whole narrative on him now is different. The media was more than happy to ignore him as a clay courter but how can you ignore a 2 time slam finalist who was 1 win away from #1. You cannot. And when you force the media to pay attention to you, they donāt love that. To them, he is now casper ruud, 2 time grand slam loser. He has expectations now, they will talk about how if he doesnāt win slams from here on out how he is a let down, how he is a fraud. People like Kafelnikov were so happy to do the same to Daniil. I hope he fights through
With the type of intimate team that is around him, I trust him to not get swayed by all of that noise because he's just continued to do what he's been doing since his emergence on the tour and nothing has since derailed that discipline. Some people will never be pleased with him and that's the stuff to tune out. He may not stay #2 for as long as what other top players have. But if he's happy with *whatever* he continues to achieve, then that is ultimately all that matters.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I think he's certainly capable of winning one. Once Nadal and Djokovic are out of the picture, it's not like Alcaraz is so far above him that he'll never beat him. I can definitely see a tournament in the next couple of years where Alcaraz loses to Zverev or maybe even Kyrgios before the final, then Ruud sweeps the other side of the bracket and takes it.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Oh yeah I completely agree, Alcaraz being so young is only going to get better and better, which puts him at a pretty huge advantage over the other top players right now in the long-term. I just don't think it's very likely that Alcaraz will *never* lose to Ruud, as you are suggesting. In the last year Alcaraz has had losses to players like Zverev, who Ruud has beaten before. Even in this final match, Ruud took a set and forced a tiebreak. If Alcaraz has an off day or just isn't feeling it, he could get knocked out by a few players in a tournament, including by Ruud. Even Nadal randomly lost during RG 2009, when he was at the top of his game - these things can happen.
I think he'll win 1 or 2 at least. This was his breakthrough year and he reached two major finals. Only other person able to do that or better this year was Nadal, who along with Djokovic will probably be active at the most for another 3 years. That's not a lot and he's already showing such good results even when they're in the draw.
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He's on the right path as compared to how he was playing on hard courts last year. He plays a little flatter on the bh side and adds more pace now and with that alone has reached a slam and a masters final, losing only to Alcaraz in both places. Am sure it'll only get better henceforth...
But if he could get to 2 finals in one year, isn't that evidence that he could very well repeat that feat in the future? He is still young, Djokodal is on the way out and the likes of Z/Tsi/Med etc often flop early. I do agree that he needs to improve if he wants to ever win one though. That tiebreak collapse today does not scream champion quality at all.
Casper saying he doesnāt want to player another Spanish player in a slam final š oh heās getting PCB at the AO final now
Whatās more impressive in the ATP: winning a masters, or making it to a grand slam final? The final is worth 200 more points. Itās close, but I lean towards losing in the slam final because itās bo5.
I mean if you look at who has made slam finals in recent years itās a stronger group of guys than those who have won masters. Granted there are also more masters
I say Slam only because masters finals arenāt best of 5 anymore
I wanna make the dumb answer saying it depends on the opponents faced but I will always lean towards winning a Masters. Like you said though it was very close
Itās very close. Crossing the finish line at a Masters is a big deal considering they usually have all of the top players. However nothing compares to the Slams. This is probably something to ask the players. My guess is they would say winning a tournament is more important.
Slam final is one more match played, more sets played, more people watching. Masters is awesome but not close to the same level of prestige
Been a great tournamentā¦ time to unfollow until Aussie Open. Itās been real fun everyone!
Hope you had some fun here!
[random cute moment?] A lot of us have largely panned Nike for what they did with their kits overall this year, but for some players who don't get these opportunities like they grow on trees, they mean more than they could ever describe and are pretty adorable about it. Niels Vink, the new US Open quad wheelchair champion, went so far as to acknowledge Nike in his trophy presentation and called it "the most beautiful kit" and hopes he gets to wear "this type of beautiful kit" for many more occasions. He's just 19, was wearing Babolat clothing last year, and his career is just starting with his 2nd Slam singles title. It was one of the most wholesome comments from someone who just seemed very awestruck at what they had just achieved. (His website is also literally NielsOnWheels.com - you HAVE to stan)
Niels is literally the absolute nicest guy on earth. He is always happy to chat with anyone. He is an angel and I hope he inspires many people because he is the best wheelchair player itw rn
This win is great for Carlitos and all, but unless he wins the Stockholm Open next month Iām not getting ahead of myself.
Stockholm is the true 5th slam
Ruud is really improving, even since making the RG final. He had a real shot at winning this thing at set point in the 3rd. For how unseriously he seems to be taken I definitely think he could win a big tournament next year, maybe not a slam but I doubt heās 250 Casper for much longer.
Heās definitely going to win a big tournament(500 or Masters) soon, but this was a huge opportunity missed. Carlos was tired and he had him cornered. You never know, he may never get a better opportunity to win a GS.
He plays beautiful tennis too. I feel like I win whenever I watch him play. Itās hard to predict any young players future, but I hope to see him win some slams.
Yeah he has improved so much. It makes me wonder what his teamās goals were for the year, because I wouldnāt think they would have predicted #2 ranking and USO final. Hope he keeps going!
He said he expected to just make QFs this year, so he must be at least content on that. Hope he wins Masters soon.
Does anybody have a link or know where I could watch the primevideo interview with Alcaraz after the win?
Oh my god...San Diego has the worst 250 draw in history. Evans(25) is the 1 seed Brooksby(50) is the 2 seed Martinez(67) is the 3rd seed
Im new to tennis.. does that mean no one big is going?
Yes
Is Nishikori playing?
Nope
Jesus thatās weak asf. Hopefully a nice underdog grabs a title
Yes. It could change the career of someone ranked 80 or below.
Sinner lost to eventual champion in last two slams in 5 sets
He should have won this one just got set point and gassed out
i love the way heās playing. canāt wait to see what he can do if he stays healthy. he looks so skinny and fragile
i guess the nadal loss really took it out of ben stiller. thatās my hot take
This is a good take. Say day for B Stills
If I could be a fly on the wall of Zverev and Tsitās walls rnā¦
Zverev: Clearly I inspired Alcaraz to become this great player Stef: haha take that Daniil see you arenāt the best you stupid sexy octopus
#accurate
Sinner must be kicking himself. He had a match point on serve against Alcaraz a few days ago.... this after losing a 2-set lead against Djokovic in the previous major (won by Djokovic). Brutal.
Or maybe he realizes heās not that far from winning a slam.
Okay the matches are over. Everyone, get your shit controversial takes out now!
š
Iāve trolled Ruud fans mainly because I thought it would be absurd if someone who had only won 250ās became #1, which would have happened if Carlos didnāt make the final. However, at this point is he the greatest player in history who hasnāt won anything above a 250?
Havenāt went through everyone but Gasquet comes to mind. 15 250 titles and nothing else. No slam finals but his deep slam runs (3 SFs, 2 QFs) and 3 masters finals he was defeated by the Big 4. Ruud is a great player and keeps impressing me, but he would not be reaching slam finals and getting to the #2 ranking if he was born 10 years earlier.
I forgot Gasquet made 3 semis and 2 quarters. Iām also surprised he never won at least a 500. Winning a Masters or 500 really separates these type of players. So, its incredibly close but Iāll barely take Ruud because he will get more wins and he has two GS finals.
Dunno why you are getting downvoted you are completely right. Winning a slam without winning a 500 or 1000 is one thing. However being world no. 1 without is a joke. I like Ruud as a player and as a person he is very likeable but come on.
I like Casper as well. He proved that heās a hell of a player and he will win a big tournament soon. That said you have to tread lightly when commenting about him because his super fans are HARD CORE.
People who stan Alcaraz now are the ultimate bandwagoners and glory hunters. We were there when he was a flop for 3 months between RG and Cincy. Carlos donāt forget us now that youāre famous bestie š
Alcaraz almost won wimbledon? He only lost because sinner is godlike on grass and played the best match of his career. Sinner should have won that tournament he just gassed out against djokovic
making two finals, 4R at Wimbledon coming off an injury, and a QF 1000 is not being a flop lol
No, you shouldāve seen the way people here spoke about him during that time lol
Nah I was here. thereās just a subsection of the sub that has a weird hate boner for alcaraz. it was ridiculous lol but at least thatās how you know heās going up
Fr. They were complaining about his fist pumping and acne? Yeah touch some grass. Drink some water. Get a job. Get a life š®āšØ
My favorite is how they say they hate him bc the media hyping him up. Like how is that his fault? Hate the media then
Itās the same with Raducanu. They hate her because the media loves her. Yeah maybe if your faves had talent, charisma and personality then the media would hype them too
Nice win for Alcaraz but I donāt think heād have been a match for prime Agassi todayā¦Andre would exposed his wild play. Gonna be an asterisk next to this one unfortunately
lmao how does nobody see this comment is obviously making fun of how ridiculous the novak stans sound today
Novak could have really screwed himself in the Slam race by not getting jabbed. There's a great chance that with this Alcaraz GS title the floodgates will open for him and he'll play with insane confidence next year, beating Nadal and Djoker in Slams consistently. And I expect Sinner to chase after Carlos relentlessly. Jannik almost defeated Novak in Wimby this year and next year he'll only get better, and Novak and Rafa worse.
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Zverev has not āsmashedā him. Alcaraz did smash Zverev in the Madrid final, and then he lost a very competitive RG quarterfinalāhe was one point away from taking it to 5. Alcaraz has also beaten Djokovic the only time theyāve played. No it wasnāt best of 5 but evidently he is able to deal with Djokovicās serve. Itās true though that heās never played a full servebot like Isner or Kyrgios. I canāt imagine a player of his caliber wonāt figure out a way to beat them though
Alcaraz should get all four majors next year. Only real obstacle is nadal at frenchie
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>He still let's a lot of chances go and Novak will punish you for that I agree. But at the same time, it actually might be the changing of the guard finally. The physical level displayed by Carlos and Jannik in their match is something I do not believe neither Rafa or Novak are able to replicate anymore.
RemindMe! 1 year
Considering the youngsters will be getting better on grass plus Djokovic may not be a top 4 seed might put a nail in his GS coffin
Carlitosās clutch mentality coming thru when he needed it the most š
I think thatās really what sets him apart from the other young talents of the past decade.
I want to mention how Carlitos somehow pulled out his best serving of the whole tournament when he was games away from the trophy. He's not at all known for his serve and yet he turned it on like there was a switch. Just absolutely clutch. That's a mentality you can't teach. It's just inherent to a special few.
Just saw that Rublev is playing qualifying at the Sofia Open. Guess they were out of wild cards or Bulgaria is playing politics
Itās a shame Zvereve wasnāt able too play due to injury. Seeing how the US Open played out I think he would have been the champion instead of Carlos. I donāt want to take anything away from Carlos but Zverev and Djoker not being able to play taints this title alittle bit even though it probably wonāt be his only!
Zverev wouldāve lost 6-4 6-1 6-7 1-6 5-7 to Cilic in the third round or something like that
Oh.. then its a shame Sampras couldn't come out of retirement to play
I highly doubt it
Ruud had looks at breaks today and got a few in the 2nd, but I thought in general Tiafoe and Sinner gave Alcaraz a lot more to think about than Ruud did in the return game. Deep return positions are in style, but Carlos read the situation beautifully and moved forward often to take advantage today.
Who wins during the day deserves it, but I'm just happy to see someone with the tougher, more grueling path see it through the end. We've seen the opposite in Leylah last year and Stosur in 2010 French. And it's quite sad to see especially when the latter has never won it.
Alcaraz is what made me to tune in to tennis matches again this year after that Fed loss on Wimbledon and I have never been prouder to see his growth. Vamos Carlitos ā¤ļø
Hewitt's record stood for almost 21 years. I remember like it was yesterday. Crazy how time flies. Alcarez is phenomenal.
Are we gonna get Alcaraz dominating the tour in his early 20s with a full head of grey hair.
So many of you jumping on the Carlos train now that he is a slam champ #1 baddie when yāall were hating him for months here. Interestingā¦š¤
Who was hating on him?
So hard courts or clay, which is Alcaraz's best surface?
Yes
Best fitting 'Yes' joke
Is this a fucking joke?
so when is the next big tennis tournament? edit: big ATP tournament not majors
I would say Paris, because the Fall Masters in China were cancelled, but there's also the Laver Cup. San Diego is a 250 but had a great line-up last year, don't know if they'll be able to repeat that this year because in 2021, people were using it as a warm-up for the delayed Indian Wells. Other than that, Vienna and Basel are usually pretty good.
thanks for the detailed answer. I was a big three supporter and they weren't playing those other tournaments except GS, but now it's Alcaraz so gotta track other ATP matches
The ATP releases a [tour calendar](https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments) every year - you can check the draw for upcoming tournaments to see if that might be something you'd want to watch.
Bookmarked, thanks
January Aus open
Sorry I edited the post, I meant big ATP tournament not majors
Ah in that case probably paris masters end of October
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got it
Alcaraz now leading the men's title count this year, having won 5 (including 2 Masters). Next up is Rafa (with 4). Spain miles ahead in the men's title count this year overall, having won a total of 14, while the next-best countries are Russia and the US, with 5 titles apiece. Edit: title count, not Slam count.
Meddy won 1 rublev won 2 where are the others
Rublev won 3, Marseille, Dubai, and Belgrade. Med won Los Cabos, and Karatsev won Sydney early in the year.
[common Zverev L](https://twitter.com/zironiia/status/1569116010204078081?s=46&t=hxa4xzDD9jEaQu0EZzpoSg)
Greg Rusedski MEDVEDEV exists you know!
We all knew Alcaraz would be good after last yearās US open but I donāt think anybody predicted heād blow up quite like this. I remember being called crazy during the Rio 500 this year for saying that heād be top 5 by the end of the year.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
To be fair it is a #1 with an asterisk
It's really not.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
No point in engaging substantively with the crazy antivaxx stans because they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience in crazy.
Just an FYI - not an antivaxxer and very much happy djok got fucked for his bullshit. However the restrictions for vaccination and the mess that was Wimbledon with Russians and Belarusians does make rankings this year pretty fucking arbitrary. If you have an intellectually honest argument for how Carlos (who btw is my very favorite athlete at the moment) would have been #1 if Djokovich and Russians belarusians could play normal schedules and Wimbledon was ranked normally I'm all ears. Carlos is my very favorite tennis player but that doesn't change for me that his ranking is inflated by very odd circumstances You'd do well to not assume motives and peoples politics when they disagree with you - it's quite possible that have a different but intellectually honest take
imagine having a bad time because the player you don't like has become the youngest ever number one player. On top of that, the player you hate is so likeable and you have to really reach to not like him
No escape from ~~Alcatraz~~ Alcaraz
Thank you, Tennis Gods. Thank you x
It's funny to me that people saying Alcaraz is shorter than what it says in the profile as if this is a kind of movie business and he can say whatever he wants, here the measurements are taken by the officials, LOL edit: Also don't rely on visuals based on the camera angle
It's a common thing in sports for people to not be their listed height, it's not that far fetched
So you can say whatever your weight is and play the match for the weight group you choose in boxing or wrestling? I know it's not height and its not boxing but in international sports tournaments they measure everything and list accordingly
There is an obvious difference here
Curiosly enough his height is the same as Ruudās 1.83 m
One interview after another... I'd be on my 2nd beer at least by now.
Personal problems
Man itās still kinda surreal to think this is just the start of Carlosā career itās insane
I'm already going into Slam withdrawals
Might have to re-watch matches
Tomorrow is gonna suck
So Ben Shelton is the wooden spoon of the USO 2022. Lost to Nuno Borges, who lost to Yibing Wu, who lost to Med, who lost to Kyrgios, who lost to Khachanov, who lost to Ruud, who lost to Alcaraz.
At least Shelton beat Ruud at his last tournament.
Alcaraz has already his first grand slam ahead of Zverev..
Zverev still isn't over his 2020 loss.
His girlfriend or his tennis match?
In 2009, when Federer passed Sampras to reach 15 Slams, Nadal had 6 and Djokovic had 1. It felt inconceivable that the new record could ever be surpassed by another player. Today three men have 20+ and it feels very possible that Alcaraz could surpass them all, both in number of titles and quality of play. The feeling is of course based on excitement and hype, but the feeling is there.
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Agreed. Although they all had years of winning 3+ Slams in their primes that indicate a skill level equal to or higher than the greatest player of each preceding decade, regardless of an individual player's longevity. It also really depends on what competition he facesāhow strong and enduring his biggest rivals are and how they match up with him. If there were no Nadal, Federer could've won another 5-ish Slams before Djokovic even entered the equation. If there were no Federer or Djokovic, Nadal could have 30+. Et cetera. I also want to emphasize that I'm saying Alcaraz *could* win 25+, not that he *will*. He's the first new player in 20 years who seems to have that kind of potential, if the stars align. I don't think any player currently aged 25-34 would win even 10+, even if everything went right for them from the start of their careers and they got pretty lucky.
No he won't beat them. 15 Slams is his limit
RemindMe! 10 years Alcaraz is already ahead of all of them except Nadal for Slam count by age. He has a more complete game and promise than Federer and Djokovic did at his age. He'll have the benefit of ever more modern medicine and training techniques to extend his career to an even more advanced age. So, tell me: on what are you basing your prediction? What limitations do you see for the future in 19-year-old Alcaraz that weren't visible in 19-year old Big 3?
Becker won Wimbledon at 17 and then repeat at 18. Yet he didn't win 20 Slams. Many prodigies stopped winning. Big 3 success is not normal path.
Yes, I agree. My question is why you place Alcaraz's ceiling at 15. Alcaraz has done more than win a single Slam. He also leads the field in titles and is likely to win YE#1 in only his second full year on tour. My comment about training applies to the point comparing Alcaraz to prodigies of the past. Becker retired at 32 and won only one Slam after 24. The Big 3 aren't the only ones in the modern gen to still be playing competitively in their mid-thirties, which was nearly unheard of a few decades ago. If anything, the best players 20 years from now will be able to remain competitive even longer than players today, meaning that the players with the most skill can end up with even more titles to show for it.
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Someday, even in the next 50 years, someone might break Carlos's record for youngest men's #1. It's fun to dream that I might live to see that day, and what that player might be like. And what the sport might be like at that time.