US Open [Men] 2026 - Grand Slam

[Front242]

Can't believe Carlos lost. So how exactly did this happen? Ben Shelton is one big server. Congrats to him. I feel for Alcaraz though he's a nice guy. I hope he comes back and wins something.

Me too. Maybe a challenger in Kazakhstan.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Me too. Maybe a challenger in Kazakhstan.

lol

 

[don_fabio]

All that said, we cannot assume he'll have the health and/or longevity of the Big Three. He might, but he could also burn out younger. He's also more erratic than, say, Sinner. Where Jannik will have the occasional dud match, Carlos has spells of a month or two where he plays below par, so we shouldn't confuse a lull with decline - not at 23. I expect him to return to his full powers and be one of the Big Two for years to some. Lets just hope the wrist doesn't prove to be a recurrent problem.

He said it himself that he wants to have successfull career for the next 10-15 years. This is one of the reasons why he was more cautios with the wrist and took longer break. He had seen what it did to the likes of Thiem and Del Potro.

I believe he is hungry enough and has the drive to break the current slam count record, but I do not expect him to ever be as consistent as Sinner and rack up other titles as the the Italian does. He will be choosing the tournaments more wisely in the future and try to peak for the slams. Season is too long and game has become super physical, which means player's bodies will be breaking more often. Choosing how much and where to play will be increasingly more important, especially for someone like Carlos.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

lol! Seriously??

I am sorry but it is what it seems like

a top player should have no problems tearing through draws and winning 2-3 slams a year at this age. Only then he would be able to win close to 24 slams. It's just what it is.

It is what Roger did, Rafa did.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

I don't see Roger like dominance from either Alcaraz or Sinner. They cancel each other off besides.

 

[Federberg]

I am sorry I am being out there and direct. But seriously. Yes. It's what breaks men during their prime. Any mystery in that?

I'm just surprised you're basing your observation on one data point. Frankly if Carlito had won this tournament it would have been an indictment of the men's tour. For that reason, even though I'm a Carlos fan I'm actually glad. It gives a bit more gravitas to the ATP tour. You need to be in it to get the reps to be able to reach championship level. Everything about his return confirms to me that Alcaraz is that GUY. And frankly I'm ready to put him as favourite for Melbourne right now because of how he played. Now if he just disappears until the Australia and doesn't play anymore to get himself back to his best then you might be on to something. I just don't see any sign of deterioration at all. None..

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

I'm just surprised you're basing your observation on one data point. Frankly if Carlito had one this tournament it would have been an indictment of the men's tour. For that reason, even though I'm a Carlos fan I'm actually glad. It gives a bit more gravitas to the ATP tour. You need to be in it to get the reps to be able to reach championship level. Everything about his return confirms to me that Alcaraz is that GUY. And frankly I'm ready to put him as favourite for Melbourne right now because of how he played. Now if he just disappears until the Australia and doesn't play anymore to get himself back to his best then you might be on to something. I just don't see any sign of deterioration at all. None..

I too hope I am wrong. He is a great talent. I have been following him for some time. And like I said that biceps and that forehand. Plus he's a nice guy in general. I have no details on his personal life and have no business having any either. But, I just hope he has some good off court lifestyle and habits. I have seen a lot of men get thrown out because of alcohol and sex. Just saying. I hope our Carlitos isn't into that. He seems muted on the court tb really honest. Even in the round prior to his loss he didn't seem like Carlos 100 one hundred percent. Let alone one hundred percent not even 80%. He just seems mute and the stuff that I mentioned above, that does that to you when you are a young boy.

 

[Federberg]

I don't see Roger like dominance from either Alcaraz or Sinner. They cancel each other off besides.

well you'll get no argument from me about that! Those kids are good, but they've not reached Big 3 level dominance yet in my opinion. They're far too early in their careers to have even been forced to seriously change their games. So far they've both been adding tools to their belts but not really been forced to change fundamentally how they play, which each member of the Big 3 had to do multiple times. But that has nothing to do with Alcaraz deteriorating. If anything we've seen signs that others are starting to come to the party which is an entirely different thing. For sure, Zverev has stepped up. And now we can hope that Big Foe and Shelton are stepping up. But that's just hope for now...

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

I hope he proves me wrong, comes back and wins Australia though. Spain deserves it.

 

[Federberg]

I too hope I am wrong. He is a great talent. I have been following him for some time. And like I said that biceps and that forehand. Plus he's a nice guy in general. I have no details on his personal life and have no business having any either. But, I just hope he has some good off court lifestyle and habits. I have seen a lot of men get thrown out because of alcohol and sex. Just saying. I hope our Carlitos isn't into that.

well if that was a concern - and I wasn't aware it was - his coming back and showing this sort of level should have completely eliminated that. He got beaten by an in form player who just might be elevating in front of our eyes. That's nothing to do with Alcaraz taking a step down. That's someone else stepping up...

 

[Fiero425]

I feel Alcaraz is on a decline. He seems older than he should be at this age. God knows what he does in his free time.

I've been saying, players won't last as long as past champions! The days of 20+ yr. careers are over! Back in the day, you did well to go a decade, m/b 12 yrs. at the top B4 decline! The comp is so tough, the elites will break down physically & mentally well B4 their expiration date! I have little to no sympathy for them as they complain about the schedule, but don't eliminate lucrative exhibitions, flying great distances unnecessarily! It all adds up & will cost today's players!

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

well you'll get no argument from me about that! Those kids are good, but they've not reached Big 3 level dominance yet in my opinion. They're far too early in their careers to have even been forced to seriously change their games. So far they've both been adding tools to their belts but not really been forced to change fundamentally how they play, which each member of the Big 3 had to do multiple times. But that has nothing to do with Alcaraz deteriorating. If anything we've seen signs that others are starting to come to the party which is an entirely different thing. For sure, Zverev has stepped up. And now we can hope that Big Foe and Shelton are stepping up. But that's just hope for now...

kind of agree with a lot of that post

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

well if that was a concern - and I wasn't aware it was - his coming back and showing this sort of level should have completely eliminated that. He got beaten by an in form player who just might be elevating in front of our eyes. That's nothing to do with Alcaraz taking a step down. That's someone else stepping up...

yes we can always view things in a positive light no no I totally believe he is going to come back and win some majors. I just said I hope he has the discipline to make it big in tennis like 12+ slams.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Plus this is not a field that you can entirely dominate. That is a fair point. There are great players everywhere. No one is giving you a free pass. Can't be harsh on Sincaraz. They are already doing as well as they could. This is a strong era. It isn't a weak era. Lots of landmines on the go.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

The reason we keep comparing is that in our sport we have a culture of comparing players based on their numbers. It shouldn't be that way all the time.

 

[Federberg]

Plus this is not a field that you can entirely dominate. That is a fair point. There are great players everywhere. No one is giving you a free pass. Can't be harsh on Sincaraz. They are already doing as well as they could. This is a strong era. It isn't a weak era. Lots of landmines on the go.

well... the jury is still out on how strong this era is. I think a lot of the recently retired players have described it perfectly. The top 50 - 100 are much stronger than before, but the top 10 - 15 I think are a bit suspicious compared to about 10 years ago

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

well... the jury is still out on how strong this era is. I think a lot of the recently retired players have described it perfectly. The top 50 - 100 are much stronger than before, but the top 10 - 15 I think are a bit suspicious compared to about 10 years ago

yeah kind of agree with that

 

[the AntiPusher]

Haha, well, my gut told me Shelton would pull it off, even as my head struggled to go against Carlos. Happy for Shelton, though.

I think Sinner not being in the tournament put a lot higher expectations on Carlos too. You and I talked about that Sinner is a tougher out for the rest of the ATP players than facing Carlos in the finals. When Carlos makes it to the finals, unless it is Sinner.. its almost a guarantee but not an absolute.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

I watched the roger vs roddick match. funny thing roddick still can't find a way against Roger. Haha. He lost to Roger like 1000 times when they played.

Roger was nice and composed on the court just like his old days and graceful too like he always was

 

[Kieran]

Alcaraz lacked killer instict in some of the opportunities in the 5th, sort of like Ruud, like some kind of a nice guy. There is no room for that in the arena.

I think these things can take a few more matches to really grease his wheels, mentally and physically. I wasn’t able to watch the match cos I was too lazy to get out of bed but when I woke and he’d easily lost the second and was down a break in the third, I thought he did great to take it to five. But even in the fifth, despite his great record, he was in a place he hasn’t visited in a while. This match will do him good..