I have been thinking about the slice that Alcaraz uses and the fact that his cross court two handed backhand is not his strength. This makes me think that in another era Alcaraz would have been a great one hander. It is a beautiful shot that has to be hit with acceleration and freedom to be effective. My feeling is that a one hander fits with his personality and swashbuckling style more than a two hander. He is strong enough to make it a good shot. But it is not a great shot. Even in this era, I think he has a great one hander given that he probably does not practice it much. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kLEc3C6rpgc
I know! This is not the 90's. No one plays with one anymore. Sinner on the other hand looks weak when hitting with one hand. He seems to use the off arm a lot more from what you posted earlier. It looks like he needs it. The really interesting part is that the modern one hander is one with a great slice. And Carlos is showing that the slice is effective against male players as well. Do you think he might start to slice even more? Will he steal a page from Barty and Federer to make himself pretty much unbeatable? Nadal did it against Djokovic and later against Medevev. Will Carlos do the same?
He's a phenomenal player/athlete/timer of the ball. He would have made a one-hander work, but I think the two-hander is more conducive to the modern game now. It will be interesting to see how much he uses the slice. For sure on grass and against certain opponents we will see it a lot.
Well that's a good question. My feeling for Medvedev/Djokovic/Sinner when they play Carlos is that they should make it a match of backhands, and only go to the forehand with a lot of heat. Those three have more consistent backhands than Alcaraz, and if you force him to be aggressive off that wing, he can leak errors. But if carlos is going to be more patient and use slice and variation from that wing, well that's the next step in the evolution. It would mean those three would have to really thread the needle on their backhand line shots. But who knows, these guys adapt and evolve in unpredictable ways sometimes. Who say Meddy playing up in the court in 2024?!
That's what you want to see, opponents changing their tactics and then their opponent having to change theirs to counter. It could be a very exciting game of cat and mouse tactics in the next few years!
Very compact take back. I like his stroke. He does an excellent job with the off-hand, using it as a really good reactive break/not opening too early, and this helps catch that 'outside of the ball' (the feeling of it).
Look how well this left hand keeps him on the shot:
Possibly. Without the free points on serve compared to most players (or even the ability to attack off the ground), losing half a step, or a bit of fitness, is huge for him, if that has been the case. He was a baseline rock at his best and phenomenal mover.
Dimitrov looked VERY sharp against Alcaraz. I am not buying the 1hbh disadvantage argument. Today’s one handed is like a lefty. The game looks different and that look throws the modern player off. Dimitrov had no problem returning serve either. So, where is the disadvantage?
I have been thinking about the slice that Alcaraz uses and the fact that his cross court two handed backhand is not his strength. This makes me think that in another era Alcaraz would have been a great one hander. It is a beautiful shot that has to be hit with acceleration and freedom to be effective. My feeling is that a one hander fits with his personality and swashbuckling style more than a two hander. He is strong enough to make it a good shot. But it is not a great shot. Even in this era, I think he has a great one hander given that he probably does not practice it much. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kLEc3C6rpgc
I know! This is not the 90's. No one plays with one anymore. Sinner on the other hand looks weak when hitting with one hand. He seems to use the off arm a lot more from what you posted earlier. It looks like he needs it. The really interesting part is that the modern one hander is one with a great slice. And Carlos is showing that the slice is effective against male players as well. Do you think he might start to slice even more? Will he steal a page from Barty and Federer to make himself pretty much unbeatable? Nadal did it against Djokovic and later against Medevev. Will Carlos do the same?
He's a phenomenal player/athlete/timer of the ball. He would have made a one-hander work, but I think the two-hander is more conducive to the modern game now. It will be interesting to see how much he uses the slice. For sure on grass and against certain opponents we will see it a lot.
A natural follow up question is: What should be Sinner's solution?
Well that's a good question. My feeling for Medvedev/Djokovic/Sinner when they play Carlos is that they should make it a match of backhands, and only go to the forehand with a lot of heat. Those three have more consistent backhands than Alcaraz, and if you force him to be aggressive off that wing, he can leak errors. But if carlos is going to be more patient and use slice and variation from that wing, well that's the next step in the evolution. It would mean those three would have to really thread the needle on their backhand line shots. But who knows, these guys adapt and evolve in unpredictable ways sometimes. Who say Meddy playing up in the court in 2024?!
That's what you want to see, opponents changing their tactics and then their opponent having to change theirs to counter. It could be a very exciting game of cat and mouse tactics in the next few years!
How does Humbert hit the FH wrist angle wise? Racket doesn't seem extremely upright at least on TV
Very compact take back. I like his stroke. He does an excellent job with the off-hand, using it as a really good reactive break/not opening too early, and this helps catch that 'outside of the ball' (the feeling of it).
Look how well this left hand keeps him on the shot:
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/ATP_Tennis/107972/ugo-humbert-tests-positive-for-virus-hours-after-australian-open-loss/
And compare to some others who have a less active/prominent off-hand:
https://www.heyalma.com/diego-schwartzman-and-the-outsized-power-of-representation/
Some of that may be grip relate - more extreme grips tend to unwind more at contact, but the point remains.
What has happened to Schwartzman? Just a movement deficit that he can’t make up due to age, or something more?
Possibly. Without the free points on serve compared to most players (or even the ability to attack off the ground), losing half a step, or a bit of fitness, is huge for him, if that has been the case. He was a baseline rock at his best and phenomenal mover.
Dimitrov looked VERY sharp against Alcaraz. I am not buying the 1hbh disadvantage argument. Today’s one handed is like a lefty. The game looks different and that look throws the modern player off. Dimitrov had no problem returning serve either. So, where is the disadvantage?