[SetSampras]

So what if Sinner improves his service like Alca did (supposed USO wasn't just a one-time serving wonder for Alca, of course)?

I thought heard he was already having shoulder issues? Thats not good and could prevent him for ever developing a great serve

 

[FilipoSVK]

I thought heard he was already having shoulder issues? Thats not good and could prevent him for ever developing a great serve

I've heard the same thing numerous times, but only Sinner himself and his team know where the truth is.

 

[SetSampras]

I've heard the same thing numerous times, but only Sinner himself and his team know where the truth is.

there must be some truth to it judging by his US Open performance basically all tournament. He was the heavy heavy odds on favorite and looked pretty bad honestly

 

[FilipoSVK]

there must be some truth to it judging by his US Open performance basically all tournament. He was the heavy heavy odds on favorite and looked pretty bad honestly

I believe it was just a very bad day at the office. However, if it also continues in Beijing next week, I'll start to be concerned as well.

 

[Nole Rules]

But will it be a thing in the following tournaments as well? Wasn't the USO just a one-time wonder, serving almost perfectly/flawlessly? Only time will tell more.

You mean, will it be like Nadal's USO 2010 serve case? Nadal only stopped serving like that due to pain. Carlos feels no pain when serving, as far as I know. And Nadal fans will tell you that Alcaraz's serve is clearly better even outside USO 2025. He improved the serve this year, but the peak clearly happened in this USO. He needed time to fully master the new motion. It's a fair point still, so we will see what happens. After all, Sinner's serve disappeared strangely too after being reliable in late 2023 and 2024. Luckily for him, he had a good serving day in a big match (Wimbledon final).

 

[Carguar]

You can work on your shots, improve your weapons and your body. In this regard dna and nature play a big role, though. As much as you can train you’ll never change the main structure of your body and certain results are unachievable.

Putting on more mass on some skeletons might increase risk of injuries and worsen posture.

 

[Nole Rules]

So what if Sinner improves his service like Alca did (supposed USO wasn't just a one-time serving wonder for Alca, of course)?

If let's say both serve at 65% during a match, then it's likely a very close match imo, and ROS/baseline performance/clutchness determines the winner on the day probably. It's only logical that it goes that way due to how close they are in most aspects. I feel Sinner's superiority over Alcaraz from the baseline isn't really as big as people make it out to be. Not anymore, at least if Alcaraz keeps playing better % tennis like in USO and not fooling around too much. Alcaraz is clearly fast enough to defend Sinner's deep bombs and occasionally cause him to overhit. Not every time this works, of course, but enough times to stress Sinner and force him to stay as sharp as possible to win. He can also force errors with his FH and use slices to set up something. Both need to play great to win, usually. There are no gifts. That's the bottom line.

 

[FilipoSVK]

You mean, will it be like Nadal's USO 2010 serve case? Nadal only stopped serving like that due to pain. Carlos feels no pain when serving, as far as I know. And Nadal fans will tell you that Alcaraz's serve is clearly better even outside USO 2025. He improved the serve this year, but the peak clearly happened in this USO. He needed time to fully master the new motion. It's a fair point still, so we will see what happens. After all, Sinner's serve disappeared strangely too after being reliable in late 2023 and 2024. Luckily for him, he had a good serving day in a big match (Wimbledon final).

Yes, and no. Nadal's case was different in a certain way, which you mentioned correctly: he felt pain while serving like that. With Alca, it doesn't look like a physical limitation to me either (or at least for now), so the question is more about whether he can keep repeating the same serving level mentally and technically. Serving that well over two weeks at the USO is one thing, but sustaining it through different surfaces, conditions, and pressure moments across the season is another challenge.

Moreover, and this is also something I noticed, the USO courts this year seemed to really reward his serve to an extent I haven't seen before in his case: he was getting a lot of free points, which might not translate quite as directly to, say, slower clay or even some grass courts with a lower bounce. At the same time, though, you correctly mentioned another thing: his service has definitely improved compared to 2024, or even to the first 2-3 months of 2025, and the fact that he committed to the serve motion change and worked on its speed and placement suggests it wasn't just a temporary experiment, but more of a long-term strategy.

However, I think the real challenge for him will be whether he can find a 'solid baseline' version of the serve that holds up, even if the USO performance won't be repeated every week. If he can keep that, it should significantly change the entire dynamic of his game. And like you said about Sinner: serve can sometimes fade or look less effective without a clear explanation, so it's something Alca should be aware of as well.

 

[Nole Rules]

You can work on your shots, improve your weapons and your body. In this regard dna and nature play a big role, though. As much as you can train you’ll never change the main structure of your body and certain results are unachievable.

Putting on more mass on some skeletons might increase risk of injuries and worsen posture.

Interesting perspective and valid. There is only so much one can do to improve their fitness. Genetics play a big role. Some players are just stronger and more athletic. But it's also impossible to know for sure that Sinner did everything he could to maximize his strength. Maybe he can add more muscle and strength without compromising something in his game. Wasn't Murray fairly skinny when he was a teen and got his best results after bulking up and improving his fitness overall? I'm not really sure how many expected Murray to be a fitness freak back then. Same with Djokovic before 2010.

 

[FilipoSVK]

If let's say both serve at 65% during a match, then it's likely a very close match imo, and ROS/baseline performance/clutchness determines the winner on the day probably. It's only logical that it goes that way due to how close they are in most aspects. I feel Sinner's superiority over Alcaraz from the baseline isn't really as big as people make it out to be. Not anymore, at least if Alcaraz keeps playing better % tennis like in USO and not fooling around too much. Alcaraz is clearly fast enough to defend Sinner's deep bombs and occasionally cause him to overhit. Not every time this works, of course, but enough times to stress Sinner and force him to stay as sharp as possible to win. He can also force errors with his FH and use slices to set up something. Both need to play great to win, usually. There are no gifts. That's the bottom line.

Yeah, I agree with this take. If both serve around 65% like you're saying here, it really comes down to the finer details on the day, and that includes shot selection, mental toughness, and who handles the pressure better. And yes, to be honest, I also felt like Sinner's baseline edge isn't as clear anymore, at least in that final, especially with Alca keeping that higher % level and avoiding drifting into lapses he used to before. What makes it interesting is that both can stress each other out in different ways: Sinner with depth and pace, Alca with variety and quick switches from defence to offence. That's the exact reason why their matches have often felt like a coin flip to me recently.

 

[del piero]

Sinner times

 

[Nole Rules]

Yes, and no. Nadal's case was different in a certain way, which you mentioned correctly: he felt pain while serving like that. With Alca, it doesn't look like a physical limitation to me either (or at least for now), so the question is more about whether he can keep repeating the same serving level mentally and technically. Serving that well over two weeks at the USO is one thing, but sustaining it through different surfaces, conditions, and pressure moments across the season is another challenge.

Moreover, and this is also something I noticed, the USO courts this year seemed to really reward his serve to an extent I haven't seen before in his case: he was getting a lot of free points, which might not translate quite as directly to, say, slower clay or even some grass courts with a lower bounce. At the same time, though, you correctly mentioned another thing: his service has definitely improved compared to 2024, or even to the first 2-3 months of 2025, and the fact that he committed to the serve motion change and worked on its speed and placement suggests it wasn't just a temporary experiment, but more of a long-term strategy.

However, I think the real challenge for him will be whether he can find a 'solid baseline' version of the serve that holds up, even if the USO performance won't be repeated every week. If he can keep that, it should significantly change the entire dynamic of his game. And like you said about Sinner: serve can sometimes fade or look less effective without a clear explanation, so it's something Alca should be aware of as well.

We will have to wait and see how Alcaraz serves after USO. That's all we can say atm. It will be interesting to see. He can still have bad serving days and that's normal but the overall quality should stay similar to his USO serve if he wants to win more slams. It would be weird if his serve gets worse like Sinner's for no apparent reason.

 

[Muzzafan]

He looked great at RG overall . Wimbledon I think he would have lost to Dimitrov straight sets. He really looked clueless against variety. He really needs a coach to fix his serve, get more variety to his game, and counter variety. If not alot of guys are going to start deploying variety against him and unlock the key to beating him

No amount of variety from Sinner would have forced his elbow to hit a decent forehand/serve in those first two sets. Confusion over the unknown extent of his elbow injury was obviously preventing him from going all-out on his shots.

Also, what happened to "if if if"? Suddenly it's now written in the Bible that Sinner was going to lose that match? Get over yourself.

 

[FilipoSVK]

Sinner times

If I'm not mistaken, this guy helped Mensik before Miami, and he eventually won the whole thing. Can't be a coincidence 😀

 

[Muzzafan]

Sinner times

You laugh but you're the one quoting that account!

 

[Nole Rules]

Yeah, I agree with this take. If both serve around 65% like you're saying here, it really comes down to the finer details on the day, and that includes shot selection, mental toughness, and who handles the pressure better. And yes, to be honest, I also felt like Sinner's baseline edge isn't as clear anymore, at least in that final, especially with Alca keeping that higher % level and avoiding drifting into lapses he used to before. What makes it interesting is that both can stress each other out in different ways: Sinner with depth and pace, Alca with variety and quick switches from defence to offence. That's the exact reason why their matches have often felt like a coin flip to me recently.

Yes. Sinner frustrates Alcaraz by robbing him of time on the ball with his consistent depth and power (at least off clay). Alcaraz was visibly frustrated by this in Wimbly but in USO he clearly accepted this aspect of the game vs Sinner and tried to stay more positive even after the 2nd set. He prepared well for this aspect, but obviously, it's still consistent pressure, and he can easily get frustrated again when Sinner plays better against him next time. Alcaraz's counter is frustrating/stressing Sinner with being a wall that can return too many bombs, variety (low or very high balls), but also forces errors with his power whenever he gets a chance. Defence to offence transition, as you said. So yeah, both deal with different types of frustration on the court. The serve obviously makes executing their plans much easier so it's a big factor in this match-up.

 

[Nole Rules]

If Sinner wants to be greater, he needs proper strength training and conditioning overall @Muzzafan. There is no other way. Prime Murray would wear him down with no problem (more often than not). Murray just happened to play in a much stronger era against three freaks (also freaks fitness-wise). Alcaraz's fitness is big 4 level. Sinner gotta catch up.

 

[Muzzafan]

If Sinner wants to be greater, he needs proper strength training and conditioning overall @Muzzafan. There is no other way. Prime Murray would wear him down with no problem (more often than not). Murray just happened to play in a much stronger era against three freaks (also freaks fitness-wise). Alcaraz's fitness is big 4 level. Sinner gotta catch up.

I think his problem is being injury-prone, rather than match endurance. He falls and suddenly he has a niggling pain somewhere which affects his tournament-winning prospects.

He's certainly less prone to injury than 2-3 years ago so hopefully he keeps building himself up.

 

[del piero]

You laugh but you're the one quoting that account!

Its just ridiculous name for fan account

 

[R]

If that's too long to read, here is the summary: Alcaraz has big 4 level fitness and strength. Sinner is not quite there yet despite having big 4-type consistency. He needs to put more hours in the gym.

I don't know about this take. Dude had a fine season and even against Alcaraz apart from USO which was seemingly a result of Team Alcaraz doing their homework after Wimbledon. Next time we'll see what Team Sinner have potentially been working on. They are presumably in the lab as we speak, just like Team Alcaraz were after Wimbledon. You don't need any extra breaks but can use these regular breaks. And it would be a weird move particularly now also for the reason that this is traditionally a good part of the season for Sinner. Finished off last year winning Shanghai, Six Kings, Tour Finals and the Davis Cup B2B2B2B. After that you can then continue your development and tweaks also during the normal off-season.