[Nole Rules]

Raz you legend. I love you. Unreal performance. Freakin legend!!

 

[Nole Rules]

It's insane this was indoors and Raz still managed to put on this masterclass.

 

[Nole Rules]

Let's respect Sinner. He has autism and did well in both RG and Wimbly. Although some shady tactics sometimes (but nothing more than Nadal or Djokovic tbf).

 

[Nole Rules]

If Sinner grows a beard and speaks more German, I will decide to lower the frequency of the jabs I throw at him (it's ultimately for fun; he is too good, you want to see him challenged). I listened to him speaking German the other day. He sounded cooler than him speaking in English or Italian. A beard and a fresh cut might do wonders, though. He would gain more fans. Or if he starts to curse out of nowhere, too. That would be interesting lol

After the battle in RG, it's hard not to respect his willingness to win. That must be said. Great season for him regardless.

 

[Nole Rules]

Volley of the year hands down

 

[Nole Rules]

weaksauce trolling

@Muzzafan literally said he has it. Not my idea. Nothing wrong with being autistic. Messi is one, and he is the greatest ever.

 

[Nole Rules]

Sinner has autism? Really? I had no idea

He gives me autistic vibes sometimes, but I'm not a psychiatrist tbf. Raz gives ADHD vibes, but we don't know if he is for sure.

 

[Nole Rules]

Similar heights, pinpoint server too IIRC, and generally proven results as a coach (helped Djokovic improve his already improved serve thanks to Becker). Plus given his recent flop stints with Rybakina and Tsitsipas, each of who have their own issues related to champion consistency, I think Sinner should ASAP scoop him up. It could decide the next few years of greatness because I don't buy this Alcaraz has higher peak than Sinner really (or not by that much). Alcaraz is the scarier player but Sinner has a ton of room to perfect his serve, along with net play. Shot variety options is the only real thing I'd put Alcaraz has having a much higher ceiling in, and that's mostly for natural surfaces.

Forehands are in a different class too, let's be honest. It's the big elephant in the room that keeps getting ignored in this match-up. In most matches, Raz manages to hit double the winners count of that wing and forces a lot of errors, too. That's big. In addition to his incredible defence and speed, that's why the "higher peak level" argument exists. It's like comparing Federer's and Djokovic's forehands. Federer would make more UEs, sure, but his FH is still clearly a tier above Djokovic's. And you see that he has a higher peak level according to many. It's based on something despite a negative H2H. In this case, however, the one with variety and "higher peak" leads the H2H so far, so there is a stronger argument for Raz here compared to Federer's, if anything.

That said, nothing is set in stone yet. Sinner could improve and prove you right. We gotta wait and see.

 

[Nole Rules]

This match revealed to me that Sinner's defence isn't that special if he faces someone who can really put him on the back foot. He can defend really good but certainly not Big 3 level or even Raz level. Luckily for him, in this current field, only Raz can put him on the back foot somewhat consistently. FAA did it for a set and some games. But the trouble will be if more players manage to do it in the future. In that case, he has to improve his serve to keep his advantage.

Physically, he probably can't afford to play elite defence for long stretches. He isn't as athletic as Raz. Better (and maybe more varied) offence is his only answer.

 

[Nole Rules]

When did I say that? I never said this. And if I did, it was a bad joke. Sinner does not have autism. Lol.

I swear I've seen it before when you tried to analyze his personality in some thread, but it's okay. Maybe my memory failed me here. I have ADHD. In any case, it's not that serious. Sinner fans shouldn't be too upset in general, even after this L. He won two slams this year after all. He could have lost in the R1 here, and it would still have been a great year.

 

[Nole Rules]

Whether Sinner was subpar or not is irrelevant. You don't lose 7 of the last 8 meetings to someone unless there's something larger at play than having a "bad day". If Sinner was playing anyone else in the Final other than Alcaraz, he would have defended his US Open title and people would be anointing him the new Hardcourt King. It was amazing Alcaraz who spoiled the Sinner party, not Sinner himself.

For years Alcaraz made a name for himself with his out-of-this-world ground game and athleticism. But an average serve was holding him back from even greater accomplishments. Losing Wimbledon was probably the best thing that ever happened to Carlos as it lit a fire under his ass to improve his serve. Now that Sinner no longer has the benefit of facing Crap-Serve Carlos, fixing the H2H is going to be even more challenging. And with Jannik and Carlos continuing to push each other to improve, my condolences to the rest of the tour.

Not to mention how superior Carlos's FH is and how much it affects this match-up. No FH on tour puts Sinner in as much trouble. It's honestly crazy how Sinner fans refuse to admit that Raz has a higher peak level so far. Winning 7 out of the last 8 meetings isn't just dumb luck, as you said. If Sinner has a higher peak, he gotta prove it first at least, not only vs the field but against his main rival too. Having only better rally tolerance and more consistent flat ball bashing isn't enough for Sinner to beat Raz anymore if Raz is serving like this. But as you said, that Wimbledon loss was something he needed badly to improve. It was a big reality check that Sinner was truly the best player at the time. Carlos proved he has the hunger to be the best and works very hard. What a legend. And I'm sure Sinner will train harder now too.

 

[Nole Rules]

I do suspect Sinner was somewhat compromised physically (which probably caused the serve issues), and it's classy he didn't make a big deal of it. He probably realizes that even if fully healthy, he would have needed to play perfectly to beat this Alcaraz, so there is no point in discussing any injury. He just gotta improve his game. That's the right mentality.