US Open [Men] 2026 - Grand Slam

[Shivashish Sarkar]

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..

He will be ok. He will be back in good shape. These patches happen. Nothing to worry about mostly.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Alcaraz used to be the best player on natural surfaces during this era. I want to see him back there.

 

[Kieran]

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

You know, Roger has grown on me a lot more since he retired, and largely because he’s such a lovely man, humble, humorous and generous, but also because he faces such denigration from fans online, of Djoker mainly, but even Rafa fans, as if Roger’s career was somewhat lame and filled with blooper reel matches where he proved himself the wimp of the bunch by losing after having had match points, or being “owned” by both Rafa and Novak.

None of these charges stand up to scrutiny, and facts tell us that we have them players because he had him, and we had him cos we had Pete, etc, going all the way back to days long before Bjorn Borg even had hair. I think he’s as great as anyone who ever played the game, and also that you can be great in different ways and still be just as great as anyone..

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

He beat Novak back to back in 2023 and 2024. And this when I was thinking "what an enormous talent from Spain". Novak was old but I still think to beat him at any age back to back requires a lot of talent and skill.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

You know, Roger has grown on me a lot more since he retired, and largely because he’s such a lovely man, humble, humorous and generous, but also because he faces such denigration from fans online, of Djoker mainly, but even Rafa fans, as if Roger’s career was somewhat lame and filled with blooper reel matches where he proved himself the wimp of the bunch by losing after having had match points, or being “owned” by both Rafa and Novak.

None of these charges stand up to scrutiny, and facts tell us that we have them players because he had him, and we had him cos we had Pete, etc, going all the way back to days long before Bjorn Borg even had hair. I think he’s as great as anyone who ever played the game, and also that you can be great in different ways and still be just as great as anyone..

To use any disrespectful words towards any of the holy trinity Roger, Rafa, Novak is a disgrace to the person saying it, to tennis and to the trinity. A no other member of the trinity would endorse that as such. I believe they have respect for one another. These people don't deserve to watch these players play. Shame.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Look no one owned someone else. Everyone had their day once in a while. Roger also "owned" Rafa 6 times in 2015-2019 period. Ah, I can't forget that AO 2017 match where Roger won that long rally and eventually beat Rafa. I don't endorse words like owned or other pejorative words. They are just players who go out there and try to put up a show for our fun and amusement which we enjoy with friends and family. They put on that show for their livelihood and also for the fact that we love them so much. End of story.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

For me, it works out like this, Rafa is the king of clay and raw sportsman spirit, Roger is the king of class and elegance and humility, Novak is the king of records. I can't pick between Roger and Novak as to who I like more (but I am like splitting my soul 50-50)

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Pete Sampras also an American who many of us seem to have forgotten was also an extremely sharp player on grass. He never lost a Wimbledon final.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

As far as elegance is concerned, I believe it's Roger. He is my GOAT in the domain of elegance. The man was a poetry in motion. If you look at older players, I would say John McEnroe was another player who I think was so elegant but only after Roger.

 

[the AntiPusher]

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.

Ben just outplayed Carlos from what I saw..its was vintage Carlos as far as his movement and ball striking. It reminds of when Del Porto played Roger at the US Open..sometimes you have to give the other guy credit. Remember we saw Stan defeat Novak several times in his prime. Ben moved fantastic and kept his level high but Carlos went into a zone the 4th set. Ben regain his level in the 5th set. That's my two cents worth.

 

[the AntiPusher]

As far as elegance is concerned, I believe it's Roger. He is my GOAT in the domain of elegance. The man was a poetry in motion. If you look at older players, I would say John McEnroe was another player who I think was so elegant but only after Roger.

Roger was poetry in motion. no doubt.. If your family life depended on it who would be the one player that you would trust the most. Roger, Rafa or the all time slam leader Novak. I always said for me its Rafa because he played like someone was trying to take food from the Nadal family table. Its all about preference. If it was a female I would choose prime Serena SLAM Serena. I still say that the greatest competitors I have ever seen ever was Jordan, Tiger, Serena, Kobe and Rafa. I think when its all said and done when it actually kicks in everyone's psychic, knowing Nadal played with a dying bone in his foot since he was a teenager will be who is thought of in Godlike terms.

 

[Federberg]

Ben just outplayed Carlos from what I saw..its was vintage Carlos as far as his movement and ball striking. It reminds of when Del Porto played Roger at the US Open..sometimes you have to give the other guy credit. Remember we saw Stan defeat Novak several times in his prime. Ben moved fantastic and kept his level high but Carlos went into a zone the 4th set. Ben regain his level in the 5th set. That's my two cents worth.

I got the sense that every other part of his game was working well apart from the Alcaraz serve. Was he serving well here? Shelton is not known as a great returner. It's possible that his serve is what stressed the wrist in the first place

 

[Federberg]

Roger was poetry in motion. no doubt.. If your family life depended on it who would be the one player that you would trust the most. Roger, Rafa or the all time slam leader Novak. I always said for me its Rafa because he played like someone was trying to take food from the Nadal family table. Its all about preference. If it was a female I would choose prime Serena SLAM Serena. I still say that the greatest competitors I have ever seen ever was Jordan, Tiger, Serena, Kobe and Rafa. I think when its all said and done when it actually kicks in everyone's psychic, knowing Nadal played with a dying bone in his foot since he was a teenager will be who is thought of in Godlike terms.

I would agree with Rafa on clay. I would agree with Novak on modern surfaces. I would agree with Roger/Sampras on the old grass courts and I would agree with Roger on fast hard courts. People forget that Roger was still tuning his trinity brothers on fast hard well into his mid-30s. The 3 belong together. But I think of the 3, Roger is the one most likely to be able to feast no matter the equipment, no matter the era. One could easily say Roger represents the past, Rafa the present, and Novak the future.

 

[El Dude]

Sinner has been a more dominant player than Alcaraz since 2024. Same number of Slams, but overall better results:

2024-26:
Sinner: 5 Slams, 2 Finals; 2 ATP Finals; 9 Masters, 20 titles overall
Alcaraz: 5 Slams, 1 Final; 0 ATP Finals; 4 Masters, 14 titles overall

Meaning, +2 ATP Finals, +5 Masters, +6 titles. I do agree that Carlos is able to reach higher highs in a given match, but Sinner has just been more consistently great. And I'm not sure if the highs we've seen from Sinner this year aren't equal to Carlos (I really look forward to their next Slam final). If Carlos's very best is still better, it is just by a hair and might depend upon context.

As for comparison to all-time greats, I think Sinner's 2024-26 run is comparable to the peak years of pretty much everyone except for the Big Three, or Laver, if we fold in his pre-Open Era career. He's been comparable to Borg in 1978-80, Lendl in 1985-87, or Pete in 1993-95 -- maybe better, as Pete was far worse on clay. Neither have had a truly incredible season yet - ala Novak's 2011 or '15, or Roger's 2004-07 run, or even Rafa in 2008/10/13, Mac in '84 or Laver in '69. But his best years are probably slightly better than Pete's, and comparable to Lendl and Borg, or even Rafa's best years.

Carlos was more consistent in 2025 than other years, but needs to back that up. He's obviously got the ability, and may even have better years in the near future, but we have to see it first. Frankly, he may be too much of a "chill guy" to have that single-pointed focus to play at his very best level for a full year. If he does, look out tour.

Comparing either to the Big Three is premature. First of all, they haven't quite reached their peak dominance level. Secondly, they haven't done it over two decades. Meaning, the Big Three's greatness is a combination of peak level (best years) and sustained dominance (career). Sincaraz is close to the former, but still a bit shy. Carlos in 2025 was also close, but not quite there. If we're going to see a peak level like the Big Three, we probably need to see it in the next few years. But the career question will take another decade to answer.

 

[El Dude]

I have a chart of the top 200 seasons of the Open Era (it started as a top 50, expanded to top 100, but I looked at about 250 seasons). I was thinking of sharing it here at some point as a blog series, but am still dabbling with the formula. Anyhow, as of this writing, Jannik's best two years (2024 and 2025) are #17 and #27. 2026 will probably be in the top 30-50 range. Carlos' 2025 is #20 and he has three other seasons in the 50-100ish range.

Players with seasons that I rank better than Jannik in 2024 (#17): Roger with 4, Novak and Rafa with 3 each, Borg with 2; Laver, Connors, Mac, and Lendl with 1 each. Sampras' best in 1994 is #18, so just behind Sinner in 2024, but ahead of Carlos in 2025.

I'm still dabbling, so some of this might change a bit. But the larger point is that the very best year of Sinner or Alcaraz would be, at best, the 4th best year of one of the Big Three, not as good as the best year or two of a few others, and about as good as Pete's best. Don't be disappointed if they end up more in the Connors/Lendl/Mac/Borg/Sampras range, than the Big Three range. No shame in that!

The larger question is whether the Big Three set new precedents for aging by greats--maintaining dominance into their mid-30s--or whether they were historic anomalies. We just don't know yet. In some sense they are a return to historic norms before the "youthening" of tennis in the 80s-00s. It may be that training regimes finally caught up to the faster and harder game of the 80s and beyond. We probably won't know for certainly until Sincaraz go deep into their 30s, 8-10 years from now.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Sinner has been a more dominant player than Alcaraz since 2024. Same number of Slams, but overall better results:

2024-26:
Sinner: 5 Slams, 2 Finals; 2 ATP Finals; 9 Masters, 20 titles overall
Alcaraz: 5 Slams, 1 Final; 0 ATP Finals; 4 Masters, 14 titles overall

Meaning, +2 ATP Finals, +5 Masters, +6 titles. I do agree that Carlos is able to reach higher highs in a given match, but Sinner has just been more consistently great. And I'm not sure if the highs we've seen from Sinner this year aren't equal to Carlos (I really look forward to their next Slam final). If Carlos's very best is still better, it is just by a hair and might depend upon context.

As for comparison to all-time greats, I think Sinner's 2024-26 run is comparable to the peak years of pretty much everyone except for the Big Three, or Laver, if we fold in his pre-Open Era career. He's been comparable to Borg in 1978-80, Lendl in 1985-87, or Pete in 1993-95 -- maybe better, as Pete was far worse on clay. Neither have had a truly incredible season yet - ala Novak's 2011 or '15, or Roger's 2004-07 run, or even Rafa in 2008/10/13, Mac in '84 or Laver in '69. But his best years are probably slightly better than Pete's, and comparable to Lendl and Borg, or even Rafa's best years.

Carlos was more consistent in 2025 than other years, but needs to back that up. He's obviously got the ability, and may even have better years in the near future, but we have to see it first. Frankly, he may be too much of a "chill guy" to have that single-pointed focus to play at his very best level for a full year. If he does, look out tour.

Comparing either to the Big Three is premature. First of all, they haven't quite reached their peak dominance level. Secondly, they haven't done it over two decades. Meaning, the Big Three's greatness is a combination of peak level (best years) and sustained dominance (career). Sincaraz is close to the former, but still a bit shy. Carlos in 2025 was also close, but not quite there. If we're going to see a peak level like the Big Three, we probably need to see it in the next few years. But the career question will take another decade to answer.

Sinner's mentality is very similar to Rafa and somewhat Roger. Carlos is very similar to Novak's who can have periods where he can get into his feelins. Not as moody or looking for crowd gratification as much but more of showman which is very good for the game of tennis which needs a REAL personality no offense to Jannik who keeps to himself like Pete Sampras.

 

[El Dude]

Sinner's mentality is very similar to Rafa and somewhat Roger. Carlos is very similar to Novak's who can have periods where he can get into his feelins. Not as moody or looking for crowd gratification as much but more of showman which is very good for the game of tennis which needs a REAL personality no offense to Jannik who keeps to himself like Pete Sampras.

Alcaraz is very charismatic and likable. I'd say Jannik is also very likable, but he seems more of a "strong silent type" so doesn't that Carlos smile. I really like the contrast in their personalities; you have to be a real shmuck to actively dislike either.

In a way, Sinner is like a nicer version of Lendl, but he also reminds me a bit of Borg, in terms of on-court demeanor. He never seems to get flustered or angry, very rarely upset. Carlos reminds me of an overgrown boy.

 

[the AntiPusher]

You know, Roger has grown on me a lot more since he retired, and largely because he’s such a lovely man, humble, humorous and generous, but also because he faces such denigration from fans online, of Djoker mainly, but even Rafa fans, as if Roger’s career was somewhat lame and filled with blooper reel matches where he proved himself the wimp of the bunch by losing after having had match points, or being “owned” by both Rafa and Novak.

None of these charges stand up to scrutiny, and facts tell us that we have them players because he had him, and we had him cos we had Pete, etc, going all the way back to days long before Bjorn Borg even had hair. I think he’s as great as anyone who ever played the game, and also that you can be great in different ways and still be just as great as anyone..

Good point .. I think it was folks like our good friend @DarthFed, @Front242 who berated our champion Rafa made us defend our guy which took away from our opportunity to appreciate the pure genius of Roger. Later some of them pushed Novak down out throats which made us choose between the lesser of two EVILs for lack of a better word. Today, there is just mutual respect for both Sinner and Alcaraz which is proper. So brother blame the radical Fed fans that destroyed our admiration for Roger.. Jajajaj

 

[kskate2]

I got the sense that every other part of his game was working well apart from the Alcaraz serve. Was he serving well here? Shelton is not known as a great returner. It's possible that his serve is what stressed the wrist in the first place

Were we watching the same match. The majority of his groundies were poor. So many FH's and BH's in the net, I lost count. At one point he went on a 9 game losing streak. I'm sure some of that is fitness and conditioning related. He's not used to being out there for that length of time yet. The only shot he executed supremely was his volley. Taking nothing away from Ben who played the match of his life, but that's the kind of effort it was going to take. I hope he has another 1 or 2 matches like that left on his dance card, because that's what it will take to claim the title.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Were we watching the same match. The majority of his groundies were poor. So many FH's and BH's in the net, I lost count. At one point he went on a 9 game losing streak. I'm sure some of that is fitness and conditioning related. He's not used to being out there for that length of time yet. The only shot he executed supremely was his volley. Taking nothing away from Ben who played the match of his life, but that's the kind of effort it was going to take. I hope he has another 1 or 2 matches like that left on his dance card, because that's what it will take to claim the title.

The young Carlitos definitely got thrown into the Lion's Den. As for the mental part of his game, it may take a while before he can reach being GS tournament tough. I thought he played well . It was B level tennis from him but he did compete the best he could.