Carlos Alcaraz Feels Inevitable
Three tournaments in vastly different conditions produced another enthralling week on the ATP Tour. The top story this week is quite simple: Carlos Alcaraz continues to separate himself from the pack.
Carlos Alcaraz Is Setting the Standard
Carlitos feels inevitable. The world No. 1 dismantled Arthur Fils in the Doha final 6-2 6-1 in 55 minutes, marking his 12th match win in a row to open the season. Alcaraz surrendered only one set all week, in a comeback win over Karen Khachanov, who had to produce near-perfect tennis just to make it competitive.
There’s not a surface Alcaraz struggles with, but it is really hard to find a way through against him on a slow hardcourt. He tracks down balls that most players can only dream of getting a racket on, and he has the explosive power to hit through the court without much trouble.
Sinner, Mensik, and the Question of Separation at the Top
Jannik Sinner was also in Doha this week, but he bowed out in the Quarterfinal to Jakub Mensik. The young Czech played some high level tennis on the day, but it was still jarring to see Sinner overpowered on a hard court. In my eyes, this loss is not a major warning sign for Sinner. However, for all the talk there has been about who is going to join Alcaraz and Sinner at the top of the game, there hasn’t been much talk about one of them completely separating from the other. It is still too early in the season to know, but the indications are that Carlos is further separating himself from Sinner and everybody else in men's tennis.
Rio’s Battle of Endurance: Etcheverry Earns His First Title
The lone ATP 500 of the Golden Swing took place in Rio this week. The South American stretch has a unique energy on the tour, and unfortunately for the organizers, it also has a unique climate. The backend of the tournament was ravaged by rain delays and heat delays. It became a pure test of endurance, and Tomas Martin Etcheverry was the last man standing. The World No. 33 got the better of Vit Kopriva in the semi-final, and later that day beat the ever dangerous Alejandro Tabilo 6-4 in the 3rd set to win the title. The Argentine is one of the most physical players on tour, and was absolutely worthy of winning his first career title.
Fonseca’s Struggles and Other Breakthrough Stories in Brazil
It would be sacrilegious not to bring up the young sensation from Brazil: Joao Fonseca. The young Brazilian defeated Thiago Monteiro in round one before falling to Ignacio Buse (???) in the second round. It is another bad loss for Fonseca, who has not found form since a back injury popped up in the middle of last year. The early diagnosis was that it was a chronic injury, but one he is playing through. An ominous situation for a 19 year old with all the tools to become an absolute superstar.
My two favorite players of the week were the aforementioned Kopriva and Buse. Kopriva is a tiny man with a whipping backhand and a consistent laser focus. He is not powerful enough to win by force, so he has to use angles and speed to outlast opponents. It is glorious to watch. Buse, by contrast, has got some power to his game. A big serve and forehand carried him into the sem-finals this week. I don’t know how high his ceiling is, but it's cool to see players from non-traditional tennis nations having breakthroughs at tour level. The Peruvian looked right at home on the South American clay all week, beating Berrettini in addition to Fonseca on his way to the final four.
Korda’s Statement Win in Delray Beach
In a draw that included Fritz, Tiafoe, Ruud and Tommy Paul, it was Sebastian Korda who came away with the title in Delray Beach. Korda is often an afterthought among the American men, and rightfully so, injuries have sidelined or significantly impacted his level over the past year. But he is one of the best pure ballstrikers on tour, especially on the backhand side. It seems like the ball always finds the center of the strings. I thought he would find some trouble with the windy conditions in South Florida, but he handled them beautifully. His footwork was just as on point as the ball strike as he moved through Michelson, Ruud, Cobolli and Fritz to win the title.
My other note from this tournament is a warning: watch out for Rafael Jodar. I am yet to watch a full match from the 19 year old, but he dog walked Ethan Quinn and gave Fritz all he could handle. There’s already a lot of hype surrounding the young Spaniard and he laces them up again next week in Acapulco.
The Next Stop Before the Sunshine Double
Dubai and Santiago join Acapulco as the three tournaments that headline the last week before the sunshine double. What a time to be alive.
