Carlos up and running!
Australian Open R128: 🇪🇸 Carlos Alcaraz (2) def. 🇫🇷 Richard Gasquet 7-6(5) 6-1 6-2
Post-Match ThreadHe just told McEnroe he rather go viral chasing a highlight reel than win 6-0 lmao
truly a gen Z player
Tbf in this type of match he can afford to do it, and the crowds love him for it since even a one-sided match ends up being entertaining.
He sometimes does this in close matches against tough opponents even while just a break up ☠️
Even against Djokovic. I remember Djokovic telling him after cincy "man, you don't have to chase down every ball like that"
He’s gotta stop though. Youth doesn’t last forever and the best thing you can do in slams and best of 5 is be efficient. Can’t go rolling into a final or later rounds haven’t spent more energy and time on court just for fun.
Maybe he will start thinking about that after turning 21.;) Let the kid just have some fun out there, there's really nothing wrong about that.
im just like him fr (except i end up losing the match)
He was definitely playing with his food lol
His team staring stone faced daggars at him while he smiled like a puppy was so funny
First set was two minutes longer than t he next two combined.
30/32 seeds in R2? Only Bublik and Jarry lost right? Anyone remembers the last time this happened?
It has never happened before, record before was 29
Whoa. Move over Big 3 era, now THAT'S consistency 😍
Wow, thanks
Which GS was it with 29?
It's actually happened five times: US Open in 2001 and 2015, and Australian Open in 2005, 2009 and 2014
I’m unsure, Lester and Kyrgios mentioned it in commentary but they didn’t say which slam
On the contrary, 12 of the 32 seeds lost in women's singles. Most since 2016.
Included the Wimbledon Champion
Jarry only barely lost too. Poor bublik
Yeah but tbf a lot of seeds needed 5 sets, wouldn't surprise me if in the next round we have 10 seeds eliminated lol
As an Indian dude dating an Italian, I'll take those two seeded players being knocked out for my boy Nagal & Cobolli with his first AO win.
Neat.
Sometimes carlos needs to take chill pill maan . Not every rally needs to end with winner . Not every second serve return need to be winner
I mean he's 20, he'll learn with experience.
Plus Juan Ferrero isn't travelling with him this time around
He just had surgery
I really don’t think it’s going to change that much. This is his style. It has brought him success. He will keep it going until the wheels fall off
Yes, it is his game style and hopefully he will keep it to some degree when he matures. Still, he's only 20 and of course he will calm down a bit when he grows older.
Carlos is a put-on-a-show kind of boy.
He's like a firecracker. He makes it hot.
Really think he's tweaking his game right now against opponents when blowing them off the court.
For example, since wimbledon, he hasn't been hitting the second serve returns as aggressively/consistently.
The only way to get better at that is to practice both in and in matches. Once gasquet was reeling after the first set, there's no issue in going for those shots
Agreed. Doesn't seem to matter as long as it's not with the big guys though haha.
I mean it's working for him a lot of the time, no? And he's still young, he'll learn
Nah. At this stage it's part of his brand and behooves the creation of his legacy.
Being this level of great athlete involes a lot more than just being good at the sport.
Viral moments, reshared clips on social media, etc all mean more money in his pocket and more power.
Once it starts affecting his tennis and prospects I'd agree
He's still in the freak athlete / entertainer / hotshot stage of his career. He's only 20. He doesn't need to reel in his showman instincts for another couple of years at least.
And he already has two slams, its not like this style is costing him success.
and he still hit 53 of them in a relatively quick three-setter 😭
Good start for Carlitos. I don't get the hate on his crazy winner chasing. It's a 1st round, he had the match in the bag after that TB, if he doesn't play and experiment now, when would be the time?
I don't think it's hate, I think people are just concerned that he'd so easily snap a hamstring when winning is essentially a given
Countless promising young players have picked up a couple injuries and tarnished their career, Carlos looks like, if he stays healthy, he could win several slams
He’s already won several slams if he stays healthy I see a world where he gets to 15
Is 2 considered several 🤔
No one says several and means 2 lmfao
He's already won 2, he's have won several if he's gets to like at least 4. Imo it goes:
1
A couple
A few (2-4)
Several (4-7)
What if someone wins exactly 4 slams? Is it a few or several?
For simplicity, you say "at the approximate nexus between few and several, but definitively exceeding a couple and fewer than a lot."
Or as Gen Z abbreviates it, ATANBFASBDEACAFTAL
Well it's more than 2 and less seven so it's in the several window, it's a few is generally 2 or 3
So it's a cusper of a few, definitely several
For the record, I literally googled whether 2 counts as several and numerous articles say I'm right - maybe I come across as a twat in my answer or something, but it's genuinely accepted that "2" isn't several yet I'm downvoted lmao
Wtf were those match points
Trouble with Carlos is he can be very streaky even within a match, even within a set. I'm not sure why, whether it's a concentration issue or nervousness or whatever.
For me that's his number one problem that he needs to fix.
On the other hand, he's only 20, has 2 GS, 4MS, 12 titles overall, single handedly brought back the dropshot, doesn't really get surprised a lot by lower ranked players. I don't see a lot that needs fixing other than that he seems to lose focusor run out of steam during the season, which I can understand after a monster wimbledon final.
He often plays a hyper-aggressive game. It tends to lend itself to streakiness. Both risk and reward go up, but it allows you to take the match out of the other player's control and live or die by your own shot-making. With the huge shift to "high percentage tennis," the only real way to beat someone better at it is to not let them play it, by being extra aggressive and going for lower percentage shots and hopefully you land them more often than jot. Alcaraz is only 20 seems to be still learning how to dial the appropriate balance of aggression vs patience to develop a point to get to the winner.
Some players are just like that
Alcaraz now 12-0 in GS 1st rounds.
When Carlos is on fire there are no current players on the tour who look more cool.
This sub would find it cool if zverev or seyboth-wild were on fire im sure
?
How are those two related to Carlos and his match? His tennis IS cool an that’s just not my opinion
I think it was a joke about their off the court issues. He wasn’t discussing tennis at all.
A slow start in the first set but looked great afterwards 🔥
Yeah and even first set he had like 9 breakpoints but didn't capitalize, he was never in trouble
I can't believe Gasquet is still around. Surprised to see he's only 37. In my mind I always put him in the Nalbandian/Federer/Roddick era
No he started out very young, like Rafa. I remember vividly that he beat Federer at a clay court Masters and gave Rafa some problems on clay as well. I think it was 2005 Monte Carlo. Back then, the newspapers were hyping him up as the next big thing and the Rafa - Gasquet rivalry as the fight for the ages. They met at RG that year and Rafa destroyed him in that highly anticipated clash with 64 63 62 IIRC.
19 years and 16 matches later it's 18-0 Nadal and Gasquet never really fulfilled the potential that was attributed to him, which, in fairness, was a bit overrated. I think he turned pro when he was like 15 years old too. He had a good carreer, was top 10 for a while but never reached higher than 7th.
damn, did you write all that from memory haha
Haha yeah back in the day I was watching tennis very closely. Before I had a job and a kid ;)
Thank God sleeveless Alcaraz is back. The looks suits him - not sure why he doesn't go for it more often
Also great match - people are sleeping on alcaraz for the title. I think he has a pretty significant shot if he keeps it up. I would love if RG turns out to be the last slam he gets for his career slam.
yes and yes. he stopped wearing it bc of the rafa comparisons but glad he's doing it again and hope he wears it more throughout the seasons
Wow, a career slam at 21 would definitely be a record for eternity.;) I think Rafa holds the record for youngest career slam at 24.
Carlos looks good to go but the rustiness was there.
I genuinely hope both him and Sinner meet at the final. No offense to Djokovic but it would fit the theme of this tournament to end on a good new gen rivalry.
A Sincaraz final would be the best thing to happen to tennis rn
This is the final I WANT. Unfortunately I think Djokovic will have something to say about it.
Nah, I'd rather have Djokovic win, I personally enjoy seeing him play more than those two combined (unpopular opinion)
Edit: Sorry, but I'd rather watch a GOAT over two kids any day
Interesting. May I ask why? Novaks play style is so sterile and composed.
I just love seeing his strategy and wits in action
Buddy tried extending the match on match point lmfao, tryna end it with a highlight reel. This habit needa die man, it's what got to him in Cincy vs Djokovic.
Lmao what bullshit excuse is this. What got him at cincy is that novak schooled him at the end
5-7 7-6 7-6 is schooled now? okay
2nd set loss was clearly due to Alcaraz focused on hitting winners thinking the match was done. But Djokovic bided his time and came back. 3rd set was a tough contest with both players raising the level, but Djokovic was ahead there and Alcaraz was still upset at the missed opportunity in the second set.
Novak schooled him at the ATP Finals, not Cincy
Schooled him in terms of tennis in atp finals and in terms of mental in cincy final.
First set was just rust because he didn’t play any lead up tournaments he’s still a big threat to Djokovic imo
Gasquet is cooked and probably done.
Won't be surprised if he retires this year.
At RG or Paris 1000 imo.
Feels like people have been saying this since 2019 lol. I doubt he will as long as he stays in the top 100. Did Verdasco and Gulbis ever formally retire? Kevin Anderson retired and then came back, but no idea what he's up to now. Seems like a lot of players don't simply don't retire.
he's out of the top 100
I can't find it right now, but when he fell out of the top 100 he said explicitly he doesn't see himself playing low-level tennis anymore and that he'll retire if he can't come back to the main toor quickly.
Lmao, you got that from him playing the world number 2?
I got that from following tennis over the last 20 years, he’s meeting a lot of indicators you’ll see of players on their last year of competition
- declining physicality
- points falling off (now #127, meaning he’ll have to qualify or take WC to even get into 250s)
- inability to sustain intensity
- commentators stating rumors about this being his last AO
Last year, it seems like he managed to get in to tournaments just off of his points from his unexpected win at the Auckland 250 in January 2023. Those points just fell off and dropped him out of the top 100.
If he has any desire still to actually compete, he may be able to get in to 250s on very busy weeks or try his hand at 125 level challengers. I don't see him being able to build up enough points again, though, to break the top 100 again unless he has another unexpected win somewhere.
Fair. He definitely is up there in age but he’s done well to stay in the top 100 for so long. Players seem to leave and come back into the top 100, some still hang on playing and losing early like round 1 of slams, but yeah I don’t know. Maybe he feels he still has a run in him
I think he’s gonna give it this year but wouldn’t be surprised whatsoever if he retires at Paris or maybe RG 2025. Either way I think it’ll be very very tough to get back to the top 100.
My takeaway from this match is to never use le coq sportif to play a match. Richard looks like he took a swim every other game
idk where else to post this but did anyone else see that carlos shaved (or waxed) his armpits? 😭 are other players who are rocking sleeveless doing the same thing?
Clearly the tiebreak was to help sharpen himself up going deeper into the tournament, huh?😁
Yes, the Iga and Elena playbook
Why wasn't JCF in his box?
Arthroscopic knee surgery - he's back home in Alicante healing up. His current coach, Samuel Lopez, worked with JCF and also works at the academy, currently coaches Carreño Busta who's out with an elbow injury, so he's taking over for Juanki. He's worked with Carlos before - he was the head coach during his South American swing last year.
And when he won Queen's too.
Recov from knee surgery
2 missing replies
Alcaraz just wanted to have some fun for the last few minutes with the soggy frenchman. I swear there was a shot of him smiling when he lost a match point.