Tennis Thread

[Goldstar88]

Pretty dominant performance by Alcaraz. Wow.

Yeah, it was. Alcaraz has now won 4 majors. If he wins 2 per year for the next decade, he will tie Novak for 24 at the age of 31. If he can stay healthy, I think Alcaraz will pass Djokovic. I feel like Carlos is the most talented tennis player to ever play the game.

Still don't quite understand this many male players winning 20+ major single titles, but I don't follow tennis closely like I used to.
Seems like Connors, McEnroe and Borg busted their gut to win 8, 7, 11 majors respectively during the 70's/80's era.
I've never sat down and looked closely at the numbers and I'm sure the more recent guys have simply played more years.
Just doesn't seem like enough titles to go around. Impressive.

Players started going pro earlier. Think Rafa, Roger and Novak all went pro when they were 15/16 and they were winning majors while still in their mid 30?s.

[Goldstar88]

Djokovic will face Alcaraz Sunday morning at 8AM ET for basically the only accolade that he doesn?t have, a Gold medal.  Should be a good one.

[Neurotic Guy]

Djokovic will face Alcaraz Sunday morning at 8AM ET for basically the only accolade that he doesn?t have, a Gold medal.  Should be a good one.

Is this on anywhere?  With all the Olympic coverage this morning you?d think one of the channels would have this. Can?t find it.

[Goldstar88]

Djokovic will face Alcaraz Sunday morning at 8AM ET for basically the only accolade that he doesn?t have, a Gold medal.  Should be a good one.

Is this on anywhere?  With all the Olympic coverage this morning you?d think one of the channels would have this. Can?t find it.

I?m watching on Peacock, but you should be able download the NBC sports app on your smartphone or streaming device and watch it there as well.

[Goldstar88]

Bad match by Alcaraz. Hit a ton of errors. Played passive. Novak went for it and deserved the win.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Bad match by Alcaraz. Hit a ton of errors. Played passive. Novak went for it and deserved the win.

I think we watched 2 different matches.. Alcaraz was not passive at all, in fact, he had almost the double of winners that Novak had.

The fact is that both players were returning just about everything, and Novak was slightly more opportunistic than Alcaraz, who had numerous opportunities but didn't manage them.

Now Novak joins Andre and Nadal as the only Golden Slam career winners for men singles. Very happy for him.

[Goldstar88]

Bad match by Alcaraz. Hit a ton of errors. Played passive. Novak went for it and deserved the win.

I think we watched 2 different matches.. Alcaraz was not passive at all, in fact, he had almost the double of winners that Novak had.

The fact is that both players were returning just about everything, and Novak was slightly more opportunistic than Alcaraz, who had numerous opportunities but didn't manage them.

Now Novak joins Andre and Nadal as the only Golden Slam career winners. Very happy for him.

He played passive on big points. Novak went for it and was ripping his forehand. Thought Alcaraz also played safe on his serve and wasn?t going big. Carlos had 76 errors, Novak had 49. Way too many errors for Alcaraz.

[Neurotic Guy]

Bad match by Alcaraz. Hit a ton of errors. Played passive. Novak went for it and deserved the win.

I think we watched 2 different matches.. Alcaraz was not passive at all, in fact, he had almost the double of winners that Novak had.

The fact is that both players were returning just about everything, and Novak was slightly more opportunistic than Alcaraz, who had numerous opportunities but didn't manage them.

Now Novak joins Andre and Nadal as the only Golden Slam career winners. Very happy for him.

He played passive on big points. Novak went for it and was ripping his forehand. Thought Alcaraz also played safe on his serve and wasn?t going big. Carlos had 76 errors, Novak had 49. Way too many errors for Alcaraz.

Thanks for the synopses - and thanks GS for the advice on how to watch (though I couldn?t get it).  Sounds very different from their last match.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Bad match by Alcaraz. Hit a ton of errors. Played passive. Novak went for it and deserved the win.

I think we watched 2 different matches.. Alcaraz was not passive at all, in fact, he had almost the double of winners that Novak had.

The fact is that both players were returning just about everything, and Novak was slightly more opportunistic than Alcaraz, who had numerous opportunities but didn't manage them.

Now Novak joins Andre and Nadal as the only Golden Slam career winners. Very happy for him.

He played passive on big points. Novak went for it and was ripping his forehand. Thought Alcaraz also played safe on his serve and wasn?t going big. Carlos had 76 errors, Novak had 49. Way too many errors for Alcaraz.

Nothing you indicated there was a player playing passive in the match. Yes, on the points that mattered, particularly in the tie-breakers, sure. But otherwise, what you're saying there points to an Alcaraz that was more aggressive than Novak... more winners and errors usually an indicator of that. As I said, Novak was more opportunistic though. But in the end it was a well played match from both, the rallies were long and good, with some very good shot making because otherwise both were returning everything.

[Goldstar88]

Bad match by Alcaraz. Hit a ton of errors. Played passive. Novak went for it and deserved the win.

I think we watched 2 different matches.. Alcaraz was not passive at all, in fact, he had almost the double of winners that Novak had.

The fact is that both players were returning just about everything, and Novak was slightly more opportunistic than Alcaraz, who had numerous opportunities but didn't manage them.

Now Novak joins Andre and Nadal as the only Golden Slam career winners. Very happy for him.

He played passive on big points. Novak went for it and was ripping his forehand. Thought Alcaraz also played safe on his serve and wasn?t going big. Carlos had 76 errors, Novak had 49. Way too many errors for Alcaraz.

Nothing you indicated there was a player playing passive in the match. Yes, on the points that mattered, particularly in the tie-breakers, sure. But otherwise, what you're saying there points to an Alcaraz that was more aggressive than Novak... more winners and errors usually an indicator of that. As I said, Novak was more opportunistic though. But in the end it was a well played match from both, the rallies were long and good, with some very good shot making because otherwise both were returning everything.

Not going for your shots in the tiebreak is playing passive. Not going big on your serve when you can hit it 130mph+ is being passive. Novak went for his shots during crucial points and that ultimately decided this match. Carlos has the ability to take the racquet out of his opponents hand when he dictates with his power. It?s a big part of why he has 4 majors at 21 years of age. He didn?t do that today.

[Roy H.]

It's wild that Djokovic can go out there at age 37, coming off knee surgery, and beat an excellent opponent in straight sets.

[Goldstar88]

"It?s a little bit different," Alcaraz said of the Grand Slam matches compared to Sunday's Olympics final. "I mean, I was playing for the gold medal, I was playing for Spain and it is not the same. I have played four Grand Slam finals and in the difficult moments, in the tough situations, I increased my level, I played really great tennis.

"And today probably I felt more the pressure. Maybe other players are not playing in the same way or feeling the pressure about playing for his flag, for his country. Pobably myself, I felt the pressure in those situations that I couldn?t play my best tennis so I could feel the difference about playing Grand Slams and playing the final of Olympic Games.

"I thought that I let all the Spanish people down a little bit, in some way," the world No. 3 admitted. "I know that most of the Spanish people were waiting for my gold medal. And myself as well, I worked for it, I went for it [and] it couldn?t happen so that?s why I got emotional at the end because I couldn?t make all the Spanish people proud."

[BudweiserCeltic]

Bad match by Alcaraz. Hit a ton of errors. Played passive. Novak went for it and deserved the win.

I think we watched 2 different matches.. Alcaraz was not passive at all, in fact, he had almost the double of winners that Novak had.

The fact is that both players were returning just about everything, and Novak was slightly more opportunistic than Alcaraz, who had numerous opportunities but didn't manage them.

Now Novak joins Andre and Nadal as the only Golden Slam career winners. Very happy for him.

He played passive on big points. Novak went for it and was ripping his forehand. Thought Alcaraz also played safe on his serve and wasn?t going big. Carlos had 76 errors, Novak had 49. Way too many errors for Alcaraz.

Nothing you indicated there was a player playing passive in the match. Yes, on the points that mattered, particularly in the tie-breakers, sure. But otherwise, what you're saying there points to an Alcaraz that was more aggressive than Novak... more winners and errors usually an indicator of that. As I said, Novak was more opportunistic though. But in the end it was a well played match from both, the rallies were long and good, with some very good shot making because otherwise both were returning everything.

Not going for your shots in the tiebreak is playing passive. Not going big on your serve when you can hit it 130mph+ is being passive. Novak went for his shots during crucial points and that ultimately decided this match. Carlos has the ability to take the racquet out of his opponents hand when he dictates with his power. It?s a big part of why he has 4 majors at 21 years of age. He didn?t do that today.

Again, you're moving the goalpost from what you said initially. You said he was passive in the match, now you're narrowing down to those crucial points in the tiebreaker... which was the point I was making in the first place.

[Goldstar88]

Bad match by Alcaraz. Hit a ton of errors. Played passive. Novak went for it and deserved the win.

I think we watched 2 different matches.. Alcaraz was not passive at all, in fact, he had almost the double of winners that Novak had.

The fact is that both players were returning just about everything, and Novak was slightly more opportunistic than Alcaraz, who had numerous opportunities but didn't manage them.

Now Novak joins Andre and Nadal as the only Golden Slam career winners. Very happy for him.

He played passive on big points. Novak went for it and was ripping his forehand. Thought Alcaraz also played safe on his serve and wasn?t going big. Carlos had 76 errors, Novak had 49. Way too many errors for Alcaraz.

Nothing you indicated there was a player playing passive in the match. Yes, on the points that mattered, particularly in the tie-breakers, sure. But otherwise, what you're saying there points to an Alcaraz that was more aggressive than Novak... more winners and errors usually an indicator of that. As I said, Novak was more opportunistic though. But in the end it was a well played match from both, the rallies were long and good, with some very good shot making because otherwise both were returning everything.

Not going for your shots in the tiebreak is playing passive. Not going big on your serve when you can hit it 130mph+ is being passive. Novak went for his shots during crucial points and that ultimately decided this match. Carlos has the ability to take the racquet out of his opponents hand when he dictates with his power. It?s a big part of why he has 4 majors at 21 years of age. He didn?t do that today.

Again, you're moving the goalpost from what you said initially. You said he was passive in the match, now you're narrowing down to those crucial points in the tiebreaker... which was the point I was making in the first place.

I feel as though he played passive With his serve the whole match and in the critical moments.You can disagree with that if you want, but Carlos stated that the pressure got to him. That he wasn?t able to raise his level during the match and that he didn?t play well in the critical moments. So it was a bad match by Alcaraz, which is what I had said to begin with.

[Goldstar88]

Djokovic and Alcaraz were both eliminated in the earlier rounds of the US Open. Novak didn?t win any majors this year with Sinner beating him at the Australian and Alcaraz winning both the French and Wimbledon. I don?t think Djokovic will win any more majors.