I really enjoy the way Alcaraz employs the slice. I think at times there has been a perception that slicing off the backhand is obsolete or less relevant because two-handers can improvise a topspin backhand much more easily than a one-hander could - but the point is that a topspin drive is not always the best answer.
Like your demonstration with the grip - looks like a Gaudio/Guga backhand grip!
Briefly what were your thoughts on what Alcaraz did against Sinner in the semi? And do you think those tactical changes will be enough against Sinner on a hard court surface that might not suit him as well?
Just touched on that this morning in the latest post! Ran out of time to go in real depth, but it was similar; changing height and spin, using more angles, more slice, more net sneaks. Using variety!
Really enjoyed watching Carlos employ variety on the forehand. The higher loopy shots, the slice here and there, but also the 3rd gear forehand, which Agassi talked about in the Netflix special. He mentioned the Carlos vacillated between gears 2 and 4/5 with the forehand, but that he needed to find the steady pressure of a 3rd gear. I think that concept applies to more than just the forehand for Carlos. You touch on that with the comparison to Nadal in the piece; and really we saw that on full display at Wimbledon.
Yes I agree Pete. When he has played with patience and discipline he has looked at his best, the short ball will present itself if he can straddle that balance
Thanks so much for breaking down that unreal squash shot! I had no idea he'd flipped his grip until the slowmo replay, and now your explanation makes it perfectly logical why he did what he did.
But you know what isn't logical at all? That he did that while madly sprinting towards a ball that was about to bounce a second time. Surely that is not a shot that Carlos has practiced, right? In my opinion, the "genius" label is too often used in all walks of life, tennis included...but this? This is genius, no question.
I mean, these guys have seen every shot imaginable. Most players have *attempted* or even made this shot in practice or even some matches, but not to this degree. It's a rare shot for sure, but the degree, or "extremeness" of it, is really incredible.
He had a herniated disk which caused the decline but I think he also needs to look at his biomechanics which just do not look clean at the moment. Otherwise he will have more serving performances like he had today where he had a 25% unreturned serve percentage even with Alcaraz taking swipes on the return.
Carlos is so complete maybe the mpst complete player ever for his age ! i mean forehand is the best on tour no doubts ! backhand may be the weak side but still find some incredible shots and also uses the slice perfectly ( similar to djokovic i think carlos backhand on the strecht is unbeliavable). Drop shots/ Volley net game is out of this world and the key of his success in my opinion. Mouvements i think i dont even need to comment on that and the serve is quite good also ! I mean if carlos stays injury free i have no doubts he will dominate tennis for many years. Looking forward to Miami i really believe in his chances for sunshine double.
Question for those who would like to answer: We all know alcaraz performs so well on all surfaces and won all the majors tournements on each surfaces....What do you think is alcaraz best surface or may I say which surface suits his game the best ? Which tournement on which surface alcaraz might win the most. My take is Clay....I know he still hasnt won Rg but just a matter of time/ months maybe this year. Hard courts is looking to be his best surface and last year was phenomal on grass but clay gives alcaraz time and high bounces and this is perfect
i mean there are no bad answers lmao. Grass is perfect also cause even though its faster the low bounces is great for the slices and for his dropshots even tougher to get.
if medvedev had more net feel, he would take those slices, close quickly, and hit them out of the air for a volley down the line. Why do you suppose Khachanov, Rublev, and Medvedev have never/can't learn net feel or transition game? This limits their ceilings as players and makes them less interesting to watch.
Just not a focus for a lot of junior development now, and Medvedev is kind of a good argument why; you can win slams without it. But the very best will always explore getting proficient at net, and ultimately, that's why he is 2 and 8 versus Sinner/Djokovic/Alcaraz in the last year or so. He gets exposed in that area.
Couple of years ago I saw Paire drive Rublev crazy in Cincinnati by drawing him forward over and over and over again. Rublev couldn't get the ball up and down from that shallow a position and we all know he's not a fan of volleying.
The lack of net game is a clear limitation of quite a few players born in the nineties and the ones who develop one quickly come out on top. I would love for you to write a 'death of a volley' type post looking at for example Medvedevs subpsr technique on this shot.
don't know what jr development is like now, but coaching competency and standardization was surely not professionalized in the 90's-2010s. If this happened, a country or academy could have a real advantage. Wondering how Italy's jr development differs from other countries?
Concerned that Fritz/Tiafoe/Opelka/Paul never learned transition to net either, and now may have peaked. Only Paul looks more comfortable than he did at 17 yrs old of the 4 at net.
I really enjoy the way Alcaraz employs the slice. I think at times there has been a perception that slicing off the backhand is obsolete or less relevant because two-handers can improvise a topspin backhand much more easily than a one-hander could - but the point is that a topspin drive is not always the best answer.
Like your demonstration with the grip - looks like a Gaudio/Guga backhand grip!
Great read as always.
Briefly what were your thoughts on what Alcaraz did against Sinner in the semi? And do you think those tactical changes will be enough against Sinner on a hard court surface that might not suit him as well?
Just touched on that this morning in the latest post! Ran out of time to go in real depth, but it was similar; changing height and spin, using more angles, more slice, more net sneaks. Using variety!
Really enjoyed watching Carlos employ variety on the forehand. The higher loopy shots, the slice here and there, but also the 3rd gear forehand, which Agassi talked about in the Netflix special. He mentioned the Carlos vacillated between gears 2 and 4/5 with the forehand, but that he needed to find the steady pressure of a 3rd gear. I think that concept applies to more than just the forehand for Carlos. You touch on that with the comparison to Nadal in the piece; and really we saw that on full display at Wimbledon.
Yes I agree Pete. When he has played with patience and discipline he has looked at his best, the short ball will present itself if he can straddle that balance
Thanks so much for breaking down that unreal squash shot! I had no idea he'd flipped his grip until the slowmo replay, and now your explanation makes it perfectly logical why he did what he did.
But you know what isn't logical at all? That he did that while madly sprinting towards a ball that was about to bounce a second time. Surely that is not a shot that Carlos has practiced, right? In my opinion, the "genius" label is too often used in all walks of life, tennis included...but this? This is genius, no question.
I mean, these guys have seen every shot imaginable. Most players have *attempted* or even made this shot in practice or even some matches, but not to this degree. It's a rare shot for sure, but the degree, or "extremeness" of it, is really incredible.
Medvedev's biggest problem at the moment is his serve. It has really been going downhill the last few years. This reddit post talks about his how steep his numbers have declined. Ace percentage dropped from 12.6% in 2021 to 9.2% in 2023 for example. https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/1b2cd31/medvedev_service_stats_by_year_20212024_ace/
He had a herniated disk which caused the decline but I think he also needs to look at his biomechanics which just do not look clean at the moment. Otherwise he will have more serving performances like he had today where he had a 25% unreturned serve percentage even with Alcaraz taking swipes on the return.
Carlos is so complete maybe the mpst complete player ever for his age ! i mean forehand is the best on tour no doubts ! backhand may be the weak side but still find some incredible shots and also uses the slice perfectly ( similar to djokovic i think carlos backhand on the strecht is unbeliavable). Drop shots/ Volley net game is out of this world and the key of his success in my opinion. Mouvements i think i dont even need to comment on that and the serve is quite good also ! I mean if carlos stays injury free i have no doubts he will dominate tennis for many years. Looking forward to Miami i really believe in his chances for sunshine double.
Question for those who would like to answer: We all know alcaraz performs so well on all surfaces and won all the majors tournements on each surfaces....What do you think is alcaraz best surface or may I say which surface suits his game the best ? Which tournement on which surface alcaraz might win the most. My take is Clay....I know he still hasnt won Rg but just a matter of time/ months maybe this year. Hard courts is looking to be his best surface and last year was phenomal on grass but clay gives alcaraz time and high bounces and this is perfect
I would say it has to be grass just because it really amplifies his powerfull game and slice.
i mean there are no bad answers lmao. Grass is perfect also cause even though its faster the low bounces is great for the slices and for his dropshots even tougher to get.
Plus lighter footwork on grass which helps his running forehand a lot
if medvedev had more net feel, he would take those slices, close quickly, and hit them out of the air for a volley down the line. Why do you suppose Khachanov, Rublev, and Medvedev have never/can't learn net feel or transition game? This limits their ceilings as players and makes them less interesting to watch.
Just not a focus for a lot of junior development now, and Medvedev is kind of a good argument why; you can win slams without it. But the very best will always explore getting proficient at net, and ultimately, that's why he is 2 and 8 versus Sinner/Djokovic/Alcaraz in the last year or so. He gets exposed in that area.
Couple of years ago I saw Paire drive Rublev crazy in Cincinnati by drawing him forward over and over and over again. Rublev couldn't get the ball up and down from that shallow a position and we all know he's not a fan of volleying.
The lack of net game is a clear limitation of quite a few players born in the nineties and the ones who develop one quickly come out on top. I would love for you to write a 'death of a volley' type post looking at for example Medvedevs subpsr technique on this shot.
Thank you so much for putting this together. Really lovely to understand why certain shots work well.
Looking back, an incredibly impressive week from Carlos:
Arnaldi
FAA
Maroszan
Zverev
Sinner
Medvedev
5 of the 6 beat him last year.
Revenge tour!
don't know what jr development is like now, but coaching competency and standardization was surely not professionalized in the 90's-2010s. If this happened, a country or academy could have a real advantage. Wondering how Italy's jr development differs from other countries?
Concerned that Fritz/Tiafoe/Opelka/Paul never learned transition to net either, and now may have peaked. Only Paul looks more comfortable than he did at 17 yrs old of the 4 at net.