Alcaraz versus Sinner
Alcaraz versus Sinner
Yesterday’s French Open final between Alcaraz and Sinner was the greatest tennis match ever played. No adjective can do it justice. You might think I am exaggerating, but this is the consensus view. Sinner is 23, Alcaraz 22—at the beginning of their tennis careers. The match lasted over five hours and had many ups and downs for both players. It had to be seen to be believed; I feel sorry for anyone who didn’t see it. The two greatest players of all time are almost exact contemporaries. Sinner is number 1 in the world, Alcaraz is number 2. No one is a match for either of them, except each other. The final tiebreak in which Alcaraz was up 9-1 was truly astonishing. You might wonder if the recently retired greats, Federer and Nadal, would be able to give these two men some serious competition; but I really don’t think so. They are in a class of their own. Djokovic did well against Sinner in the semi-final, considering, but didn’t take a set and never looked like he could win. I think Sinner and Alcaraz amazed each other. The former is solid as a rock and virtually unbeatable, but the latter can bring the magic and then nothing can stop him (he made 7 double faults and missed many first serves, but he still won). For tennis enthusiasts, and any sentient human being, it was a truly remarkable performance from both players. I went out and hit some balls in a daze afterwards.
100% agree on the top level exhibited in this game and the pair being in the league of their own now, but way to early to declare these impressive players GOATs. GOATs must have durability like the great three had, not just domination… But for all I know your call might be proven right and it is plausible now.
Alcaraz coming back from 0:2 and after facing a triple match point in the 4th deserves a special mention. A chip and a chair poker metaphor materialized in tennis…
I’m not claiming to know that they will be the best of all time, just that they are now the best players ever. They could both fall ill and never win another match.
In my opinion Nadal, Federer and Djokovic in their prime consistently exhibited the top level we saw Sunday from the young guys. Federer’s elegance is still unmatched in today’s elite tennis. If you remember the performance of Wawrinka in 2015 Roland Garros when he overwhelmed Djokovic — it was even more out of this world than what we saw Sunday. The same goes for Del Potro’s win over Federer in US Open in 2009. In any case, I think we by and large agree on what counts as greatness in tennis.
Interesting: there have been outstanding individual performances like that. But I don’t think any of the great past players could beat either Sinner or Alcaraz consistently, though they could have a fluke win. But it’s not easy to demonstrate this.
The level of athleticism on display in such a protracted and gruelling contest was of the highest order. I think there was only one brief visit to Sinner in the first set by a medic, then they just got on with it. There was no off-courting to regroup, as Rafa and Djoc used to resort to regularly in long matches, or adverse situations. Seemingly hardly a sweat was broken by either man, with just the odd shirt change and towel- down sufficing. Even Spiderman and the Hulk would surely have both been blowing a little harder after a similar encounter.
Alcaraz arguably had an advantage in that he was at the closing stages clearly channeling Rafa, his hero, as he skipped with aplomb back onto court past the seated Sinner. These two young men have surely raised the game to a level of excellence not seen previously. Wimbledon up next.
An accurate description. As a player myself, I am continually impressed with both men’s backhand and speed around the court. They both change the direction of the ball particularly well.