AO 2026 Final Alcaraz v Djokovic

[Jelenafan]

I know what you mean! He has the complete package, but I don't feel compelled to watch him play! His game is effortless, but for some reason he's still more vulnerable than Sinner! He'll suffer bad losses & you wonder why? It's kind of weird that for some reason I almost resent his talent & the flashes of brilliance! Hitting those dropshots on the old man w/ a smirk on his face makes me want to applaud his disappointments!

See, that is an example of his completeness. Usually players who use the drop shot as a weapon a lot it’s to compensate for lack of power or more for
“variety” . From the getgo Carlos caressed these drop shots from the baseline as an offensive tool , it’s insane when he did this age18 and he still does it regularly.

Doesn’t always work but the sheer audacity to have that in your toolbox….

 

[Federberg]

 

[Federberg]

 

[Federberg]

Wow

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

I think history proves voids don't last too long. We had Fed and then Nadal and Djoker popped into the equation.

Yeah, I hope so. I don't want to have a repeat of the 2010s, when Novak and Nadal bookended it by winning all of the slams (in 2010-12 and again in 2018-20). At least the competition was good for the first half of the decade, with guys like Wawrinka, Murray, Cilic, and del Potro challenging. But when they fell off, there was a very huge void at the end of the decade. 38-year-old Federer was the biggest challenger to Novak and Nadal in 2019/AO 2020. (So pretty much no different now than Novak being the biggest challenger to Sinner and Alcaraz.) It would be so boring if Sinner and Alcaraz are still dominating the slams in 2032-34.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Wow

For someone who is about to play for History he was pretty chilled

 

[mrzz]

It’s going to take someone better than Jannik to find it and that’s really scary

Sinner had match points to have swept Alcaraz in major finals last year, so yeah, he needs to get better. One point better

P.S. Forgot about the USOpen final. He was a match point away of getting to 3x1 in majors.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I was so blessed to be able to watch Alcaraz live last night to complete his career slam
We can all see how complete this young man's game is on TV, though to watch him Live is a Joy
Carlos did a great job leveraging his physical advantage in the final.
Extending points and turning points around with off pace defense, lobs and slices
Stripping Novak of pace to feed off.
Playing short angles off both wings to make Novak cover ground.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

BTW
Where in the hell is Moxie?'
I thought she would have made an appearance by now with Carlos winning
I hope she is okay

 

[Federberg]

Sinner had match points to have swept Alcaraz in major finals last year, so yeah, he needs to get better. One point better

P.S. Forgot about the USOpen final. He was a match point away of getting to 3x1 in majors.

lol! Missed my point

 

[El Dude]

Obviously the tour is super top-heavy right now, with an enormous gap between Sincaraz and the rest, with only a decrepit Novak a serious threat to steal away a Slam. I have also gone on record in hoping that we see players emerge who can challenge them, or at least make things interesting. Meaning, in the context of the Big Four, something more than a Tsonga or Berdych, if not an Andy Murray, to play the foil on occasion. Medvedev is not what he was and Zverev is, unfortunately, still what he's always been. The top younger candidates--Draper, Rune, Shelton--all have issues that have prevented them thus far. Fonseca is probably a year or two away, if and when he gets good enough to really challenge.

But...tennis is almost always dominated by a small handful of all-time greats, so this isn't particularly new. There have been periods in which the "masses" broke through the gates of dominance by the few, but there really hasn't been more than a few years at a time when there wasn't a clear reign of greats. From the beginning of the Open Era, there have almost always been great players in their primes - overlapping over the years. From Laver/Rosewall to Sincaraz, and everyone between. Even during the late 90s to early 00s, Sampras and Agassi were winning Slams, and then 2003 saw the baton passed to Federer and later, Nadal.

I suppose the question is two-fold:

1) Of established players, who is most likely to upset Sincaraz and/or still has room to grow to at least make things interesting? As I said, Draper, Shelton, and Rune are probably the top candidates - but all have big question marks.

2) Which prospects and young players have the upside to challenge? Right now it is only Fonseca - and he's a ways away, and may never get there. Tien looks good, but more like a future 2nd tier type - and we've already got a host of those guys. There are some younger guys worth watching, but we're still a long way from knowing if any of them have serious potential, not to mention them actualizing it.

Surprises always happen, but I think we're in a period of at least another two years (through 2027) that any non-Sincaraz Slam title will be a huge upset, or require very special circumstances. I wouldn't want to speculate about 2028 until we see how young players like Fonseca develop over the next year or two.

 

[kskate2]

It's Alcasin, especially since Chuck D is #1 right now.

 

[Fiero425]

Obviously the tour is super top-heavy right now, with an enormous gap between Sincaraz and the rest, with only a decrepit Novak a serious threat to steal away a Slam. I have also gone on record in hoping that we see players emerge who can challenge them, or at least make things interesting. Meaning, in the context of the Big Four, something more than a Tsonga or Berdych, if not an Andy Murray, to play the foil on occasion. Medvedev is not what he was and Zverev is, unfortunately, still what he's always been. The top younger candidates--Draper, Rune, Shelton--all have issues that have prevented them thus far. Fonseca is probably a year or two away, if and when he gets good enough to really challenge.

But...tennis is almost always dominated by a small handful of all-time greats, so this isn't particularly new. There have been periods in which the "masses" broke through the gates of dominance by the few, but there really hasn't been more than a few years at a time when there wasn't a clear reign of greats. From the beginning of the Open Era, there have almost always been great players in their primes - overlapping over the years. From Laver/Rosewall to Sincaraz, and everyone between. Even during the late 90s to early 00s, Sampras and Agassi were winning Slams, and then 2003 saw the baton passed to Federer and later, Nadal.

I suppose the question is two-fold:

1) Of established players, who is most likely to upset Sincaraz and/or still has room to grow to at least make things interesting? As I said, Draper, Shelton, and Rune are probably the top candidates - but all have big question marks.

2) Which prospects and young players have the upside to challenge? Right now it is only Fonseca - and he's a ways away, and may never get there. Tien looks good, but more like a future 2nd tier type - and we've already got a host of those guys. There are some younger guys worth watching, but we're still a long way from knowing if any of them have serious potential, not to mention them actualizing it.

Surprises always happen, but I think we're in a period of at least another two years (through 2027) that any non-Sincaraz Slam title will be a huge upset, or require very special circumstances. I wouldn't want to speculate about 2028 until we see how young players like Fonseca develop over the next year or two.

I have to agree that overall the men's tour has always been top-heavy; the top 4 or 5, then all the rest! What made them vulnerable in the past was court surface specialists & the difference each event made it's own! Homogenizing the courts just made it easier for the past Big 3 of Fedalovic to dominate like no other trio in tennis history! We have some very good talent below you listed above in Draper, Rune, & Fonseca, adding Menšík, Shelton, then a few others, but they'll probably never dominate; m/b just convert an upset here and there! Alcaraz is still vulnerable to upset, probably b/c he's over-talented & shows out to his detriment, exercising his need to make a highlight reel! How he loses to someone like Cam Norrie I'll never understand, but it still happens to this day! Sinner will have issues w/ his own health; so spindly, you just need to keep him on the court for a while! Conditioning can't make up for him being so wispily thin!

 

[Moxie]

BTW
Where in the hell is Moxie?'
I thought she would have made an appearance by now with Carlos winning
I hope she is okay

I did make a brief cameo appearance in the SF Alcaraz v Zverev chat, to mention I was traveling. Mad busy several days, but I lurked around to see what you all had to say, and watched as much of the final as I could. I saw the first set, in which Djokovic utterly turned back the clock, and Alcaraz seemed very tight. (Not at all the chill dude in the video that @Federberg posted above.) And then the 2nd, which fortunes changed...and then the 5th set and the trophy ceremony. Thrilled for Alcaraz. He really is a singular player. So glad you got to see it all live and tell us what it looked like up close.

 

[Moxie]

Obviously the tour is super top-heavy right now, with an enormous gap between Sincaraz and the rest, with only a decrepit Novak a serious threat to steal away a Slam. I have also gone on record in hoping that we see players emerge who can challenge them, or at least make things interesting. Meaning, in the context of the Big Four, something more than a Tsonga or Berdych, if not an Andy Murray, to play the foil on occasion. Medvedev is not what he was and Zverev is, unfortunately, still what he's always been. The top younger candidates--Draper, Rune, Shelton--all have issues that have prevented them thus far. Fonseca is probably a year or two away, if and when he gets good enough to really challenge.

But...tennis is almost always dominated by a small handful of all-time greats, so this isn't particularly new. There have been periods in which the "masses" broke through the gates of dominance by the few, but there really hasn't been more than a few years at a time when there wasn't a clear reign of greats. From the beginning of the Open Era, there have almost always been great players in their primes - overlapping over the years. From Laver/Rosewall to Sincaraz, and everyone between. Even during the late 90s to early 00s, Sampras and Agassi were winning Slams, and then 2003 saw the baton passed to Federer and later, Nadal.

I suppose the question is two-fold:

1) Of established players, who is most likely to upset Sincaraz and/or still has room to grow to at least make things interesting? As I said, Draper, Shelton, and Rune are probably the top candidates - but all have big question marks.

2) Which prospects and young players have the upside to challenge? Right now it is only Fonseca - and he's a ways away, and may never get there. Tien looks good, but more like a future 2nd tier type - and we've already got a host of those guys. There are some younger guys worth watching, but we're still a long way from knowing if any of them have serious potential, not to mention them actualizing it.

Surprises always happen, but I think we're in a period of at least another two years (through 2027) that any non-Sincaraz Slam title will be a huge upset, or require very special circumstances. I wouldn't want to speculate about 2028 until we see how young players like Fonseca develop over the next year or two.

I'm catching up on the thread, and I did see @kskate2 say there were "no players on the horizon," and wondered if you'd chime in on that. Surely Fonseca is "on the horizon." Not to pile too much expectation on him, but he does look like an up-and-coming real deal, at still 19. And there are other hopefuls to keep it interesting, as you say. As has been discussed in the predictions for 2026 thread, this still looks like another year in which Sincaraz/Alcasín may still dominate, however.

 

[Jelenafan]

1) Of established players, who is most likely to upset Sincaraz and/or still has room to grow to at least make things interesting? As I said, Draper, Shelton, and Rune are probably the top candidates - but all have big question marks.

2) Which prospects and young players have the upside to challenge? Right now it is only Fonseca - and he's a ways away, and may never get there. Tien looks good, but more like a future 2nd tier type - and we've already got a host of those guys. There are some younger guys worth watching, but we're still a long way from knowing if any of them have serious potential, not to mention them actualizing it.

Surprised you haven’t listed Musseti as one of the contenders…

As to Fonseca, I dunno, IMO if he doesn’t make a significant jump YE by this year it may never happen

 

[El Dude]

Surprised you haven’t listed Musseti as one of the contenders…

As to Fonseca, I dunno, IMO if he doesn’t make a significant jump YE by this year it may never happen

I'm not exactly sure why, but I see Musetti in a similar category as Fritz and Ruud: Solid "second tier" guys, but not true elites, or even lesser elites like Medvedev and Zverev in their primes. I could be wrong, but Musetti doesn't seem to have the "it" factor needed to take down a player like Alcaraz or Sinner, at least not on the biggest stage.

As for Fonzie, I take seriously what Roger said, that "he's probably going to take a bit of time to develop, like I did" (in paraphrase). And remember where Sinner was at in the year he was Fonzie's age (2021): still two years from his first big title, three years from his first Slam. Similarly with Roger. As I said elsewhere, Fonzie is the same age as Roger in 2002, Sinner in 2022 - still a couple years from everything coming together.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I'm not exactly sure why, but I see Musetti in a similar category as Fritz and Ruud: Solid "second tier" guys, but not true elites, or even lesser elites like Medvedev and Zverev in their primes. I could be wrong, but Musetti doesn't seem to have the "it" factor needed to take down a player like Alcaraz or Sinner, at least not on the biggest stage.

As for Fonzie, I take seriously what Roger said, that "he's probably going to take a bit of time to develop, like I did" (in paraphrase). And remember where Sinner was at in the year he was Fonzie's age (2021): still two years from his first big title, three years from his first Slam. Similarly with Roger. As I said elsewhere, Fonzie is the same age as Roger in 2002, Sinner in 2022 - still a couple years from everything coming together.

I agree with you 100% regarding Musetti when he starts to be able to win a title and have consistent results and he said this year he needs to concentrate on his physical training more and he can still be a Headcase
The injury he sustained in the Qf v Novak he won't be back until IW

 

[Fiero425]

I'm not exactly sure why, but I see Musetti in a similar category as Fritz and Ruud: Solid "second tier" guys, but not true elites, or even lesser elites like Medvedev and Zverev in their primes. I could be wrong, but Musetti doesn't seem to have the "it" factor needed to take down a player like Alcaraz or Sinner, at least not on the biggest stage.

As for Fonzie, I take seriously what Roger said, that "he's probably going to take a bit of time to develop, like I did" (in paraphrase). And remember where Sinner was at in the year he was Fonzie's age (2021): still two years from his first big title, three years from his first Slam. Similarly with Roger. As I said elsewhere, Fonzie is the same age as Roger in 2002, Sinner in 2022 - still a couple years from everything coming together.

Who is this phantom player, Fonseco? I never see him! We keep talking about him, but I haven't seen him on the court in ages! I literally can't remember the last time I actually saw him playing a match! I don't watch as much as I once did, but he's about as missing as Tommy Haas way back when! I've seen more pics of Marat Safin in the last month or so!

 

[Murat B.]

First time I really watched Carlos was 2021 Us Open against Tsitsipas and after he got bagelled in the 4th set I texted my aunt in New York, who is also a tennis nut , and told her I did not know who was going to win the fifth set but I know that this Carlos kid is a future number one. I am sure a million others saw the same thing. I know I am not special. It is easy to see the complete package that just needs a few tweaks to get there. It is also not so difficult to see (in my opinion) who will always be a solid pro that will give the top guys a bit of a headache but will never be a great player.

What is so frigging difficult to see is which good player will take the necessary steps to become a GREAT player.

I have been wrong so many times on that front. I did not see Sinner was going to be where he is. I thought he was not consistent enough. Now he is a frigging wall. I thought Stefanos had it. Nowhere near. I thought Medvedev was going to be near the top for a long time. Maybe he will be back but I am not holding my breath. I have been away a bit from the game and have not watched Fonseca enough to form an opinion but I am sure when I do, it will be wrong .