So gutted Berrettini lost, since Wimbledon is his best Slam by far. If he had a better seed, he wouldnt have seen Sinner in the 2nd round. But being ranked like 60th right now is tough, you're going to get touch 2nd and 3rd round matchups being seeded that low
I had an inkling this could be a tough match based on this one exhibition on grass where Tiafoe crushed Charlie, so to save my mental health I opted to just distract myself and skip the match.
Like a coward.
iām jealous. as a carlos fan who was nervous about this one pre-match, it was excruciating to watch myself be validated and think carlos was going out for sure
And in addition to that, their head to head was 1-1 before today, a straight sets Tiafoe win in 2021 Barcelona, and the 5 set Alcaraz win in 2022 US Open of course.
And now today of course, for all that Alcaraz may have been in iffy form for parts of it, it does seem like Tiafoe might genuinely be a difficult opponent for him.
š Iām right there with you! I couldnāt bring myself to watch. Then I caved and tuned in just to see what was happening and Alcaraz was down 2 sets to 1. Turned it off immediately and resigned myself to accept the inevitable that Carlos was done. What an incredibly pleasant surprise when I saw the results for the first time in this post! š Ā”Vamos Carlitos!
for real, i truly thought he was cooked then. and iām an enormous alcaraz fan. just seemed like he didnāt have it today. then he turned it on, proving me wrong yet again
It's also an indication that he is a slow starter and unstoppable when he gets in the rhythm. Also, saw so many times in crucial stages he ups his aggressive game and goes for a killing rampage.
?? He doesnāt have many in general, and most of them actually happened in 2021/22. This year itās been 3, against Sinner Zverev and Tiafoe. Last year only one, the Wimbledon final vs Nole.
Tennis gods really smiled on us. Thought we were going to be stuck with Zverev, Tiafoe and clowns after Roger, Nadal, Novak retired but we get 2.0 version of the GOATS
I feel like if he finally wins a Slam people will be mad for a bit but everyone saying they "won't watch tennis anymore" will be back by the next week lol
If guys like Kobe and Ronaldo with comparatively credible allegations exist as superstars without cutting into the fanbase of their sport then I don't see Zverev who even with 1 Slam would be a far lesser superstar than either of them relative to the pack ruining the sport for everyone
You know, Iāve thought about this a lot. And my conclusion is really that there really arenāt many super stars in tennis, not like other sports, and the ones that are on top, a lot of them are **really damn nice and wholesome**.
For example, in American football, youāve had your ray rice, Aaron Hernandez, AB, Watson, AP, and so many other huge huge huge names that have turned out to have done terrible things. These players are/were literally the best in their positions.
With the the top 10-15 players are filled with relatively to very wholesome and well behaved players with close to 0 controversy.
The contrast between them and Z is just enormous
Also, tennis has been blessed with almost 2 decades of dominance by 4 of the most non controversial players. So when you get a Z on top, itās an enormous contrast.
Iām not really defending or attacking anyone. All Iām saying is that I think thatās why the outcry is so big here in tennis versus other sports.
I'm not even sure how that would have been handled lol
Mods definitely hate Zverev as much as most of us do with them refusing to put him on banners even when he wins tournaments
Would they go as far to delete any discussion about the final if he won?
IMO that would be a *heavy* overuse of mod power(Ronaldo is accused of rape and nobody bans posts about his goals and stuff on r/soccer) but it's Reddit mods after all and we were one of the subs that shut down during that bizarre API protest thing so there's precedent for trying to take a stand in some misguided way
Not right but bravo joke still around.
Korda Wimbledon favorite still around.
Same as many others jokes/quotes .
Why should this one treated differently?
From his childhood fandom, Alcaraz got Federer's drop shots and aggressive playstyle.
From his birthplace, Alcaraz got Nadal's ~~grunts~~ determination on court.
From his lego hair, Alcaraz got Djokovic's 5-set inevitable win in hindsight that looked tense as fuck for a bit.
This just made me realise how badly Novak needs a hairstyle update. Federer realised he needed an update early on and ditched the long hair, and Nadal had no choice because his hair started vanishing at like 23. Alcaraz needs to take fedās stylist.
To be fair - in the vast majority of them he is clearly the better player and has uncharacteristic dips making a 5th set necessary in the first place.
He had no business losing the first set from 4-2 up here for example. Served for the 3rd set in the RG final and collapsed. So itās impressive, but usually because he fails to take care of business earlier.
Iād even argue the same is true for the Djokovic Wimbledon 2023 match where Carlos was the superior player overall, but played a nervous first set which he lost 1-6 and a terrible 4th set when Djokovicās level wasnāt that high. Alcaraz is interesting because when he plays his best, he reaches levels that no one can really touch, and he really just takes the opponentās racket out of their hands with his variety mixed with power. But he has nervous moments and terrible sets that he gives away which makes all of his matches dramatic.
Having ups and downs lies in the nature of five setters. The vast majority is a huge exaggeration, they include beating Sinner twice, Zverev, Djokovic in a Wimbledon final, Cilic and Tiafoe in great form when Alcaraz was a teenager etcĀ
Yeah thatās really just sports in general tbh youāre almost always going to have ups and downs. And itās exaggerated when youāre out there for a long period of time like best of 5 tennis matches. People forget that this also was the case for the big 3 when they played each other (aside from rare cases like Wimbledon 2007 and AO 2012 where both players played at insane levels for 5+ hours)
I feel like Alcaraz and Tiafoe are cut from the same cloth, they'd rather go for the flashy shot rather than the smart one. They're both entertainers. Alcaraz's fundamentals are better than Tiafoe's though.
During that tiebreak, I was reminded of Novak entering ālockdown mode.ā Thatās the mark of a champion. They elevate when they need toāand theyāre never *really* out of it until the match is over.
How do you play the shittest tennis of your life for a year straight, then rock up to Wimbledon and take the defending champion to 5 sets? Credit to Tiafoe for hanging in there as well as he did tbh
As someone who had open heart surgery 3 weeks ago, this match was not good for my health. Glad Carlos dug in and found a way to win though! Its truly amazing how clutch he is when matches go 5 sets.
I think Tiafoe is one of those guys kind of like Kyrgios that motivates himself for big matches against the top players but can be sloppy/unfocused against other guys
He needs to find a way to lock himself in for grinding early rounds
Even the "clowns" comment everyone is freaking out about is indicative of this lol
Sort of, but he has consistently gotten to the quarters or better in most of his recent slams so Iām not sure that is actually that true any more. He doesnāt play as well as he should but he absolutely does get through
Even worse, Tiafoe said in a recent NYTimes interview that he only tries hard at USO, Wimbledon, and a few US hard courts. He doesn't even care or get up for RG and AO...
If we think Djokovic's motivation issues are a problem, Tiafoe seems much worse
Further pushes my narrative that Bublik and Tiafoe are similar players with similar quotes (the former being worse in both regards really), yet Bublik is a fan favorite here while Tiafoe is hated. Funny how that works.
He looked really good at key moments in this match. It was clear by the 4th his knee was bothering him though.
He played some great tennis despite the shaky start to the first set and hopefully he can continue to work on this level of his game.
Is it me or center court is also getting damaged way too fast. Must be all the long matches. Not sure how many hours have been played in it at this point compared to last years.
Tiafoe was just simply incredible for most of today. His touch on some of the shots was amazing.
But goodness when Alcaraz gets to late in 5 setters he turns it on.
The Z as a Th is kind of how it is pronounced in Spanish that is spoken in Spain if Iām not mistaken. So that might actually be how Alcaraz himself would say it, though Iām no expert here.
Yeah I just removed that because I looked into it and apparently thats how it's supposed to be pronounced, but I think this was the first time I've heard it pronounced that way
What an enjoyable match! Frances said heād ācome after himā and he actually did! Only, Carlos kicked it up a notch and the former couldnāt catch up anymore. Kudos to him for pushing the defending champion to play better and better. Be proud of todayās match, Frances. āØ
On to the next one, Carlitos! šŖš»
That's because he had the game plan to beat him. And the luck too. For 3 sets and a half he coul literally not miss, and was serving like Zverev lol. Then on return he was rushing Alcaraz like crazy, which is fairly easy to do because of the Spaniard's serve.
That's why Alcaraz is indeed a bit weaker on fast surfaces, he can get rushed by the opponent and I suspect Tiafoe knew this coming into the match, and he exploited that very well until he ran out of gas and/or became tight.
Alcaraz's next level up is just honing in on when to go for it, and when not to, I think.
He's obviously generational talent. But probably has more dips than "necessary".
Like he's 12-1 in 5 setters but I almost think some of that is partly due to turning some matches that should be done in 4 sets into 5 sets by having those dips.
People going to clown on Tiafoe for his comments, no pun intended, but I think he genuinely had a great performance against the defending champion considering his form. Taking Alcaraz to 5 sets is no small feat, and I doubt many people had him doing this before the match started.
Hope this propels him to regaining his own form, but I'm sure a lot of people will choose to have disproportionate outrage for a comment that is like the mildest of mild trash talk. You would think that he killed someone's family based on the some of the responses around here, although the memes are pretty funny and I hope they keep coming.
I think some of it is to do with the fact that people already didn't like him and now they have a legitimate reason to validate their dislike, so they're just going to shit on him. I'm not saying that's everyone, but he already had some "controversy" for his celebrations and general attitude on the court. Plus, I know during Federer's last match, some people didn't like Tiafoe for treating Federer like a broken-down old man and just throwing the match to help him win, which is the stupidest reason ever.
Maybe people thought he was the typical arrogant American or something, but I've even seen a couple people in one of the "name a tennis player you dislike" threads say that they don't like Monfils for his celebrations and propensity to put on a show, so that's why Tiafoe gets similar criticism?
I still think the reaction to his comments was blown out of proportion on this sub, though I don't know how it was received elsewhere.
That 4th set tiebreaker and then the impending turbo mode from Alcaraz in the 5th set was unstoppable.
Tiafoe can now be happy he didn't lose to a clown.
Either way good play from both, and a great cleanout from Alcaraz after finding himself being 1-2 sets down.
Man Carlos can look lost for so much of a match, and then just lock into gear and you won't come close to him again. That 4th set tiebreak he just turned it up a notch. Really strong performance from Foe and I hope he can find this level at the US Open.
being a carlos fan is not good for my already poor gut health, those first 3 and a half sets almost put me in the ERā¦ great performance from tiafoe, he really did come for him
Heartbreaking loss from Tiafoe. He definitely had some chances in the fourth before it went to a tiebreaker, but every (especially after that fall) felt like the match was slipping away from him until it did. Even in the final game, I donāt think Tiafoe did anything wrong on the return. He did pretty much everything right that game, and Alcaraz was just way too good.
As far as Alcaraz goes, being able to weather the storm of a someone playing possibly the best match of their life and still come out on top is what makes a real champion. Both players should be proud, but I imagine Frances will take the loss a bit hard.
Alcaraz played way below his usual level, and even so, he managed to win. I think you can book the semis between Sinner and Alcaraz, unless something very very unique happens.
Great to see Tiafoe play a great match again. Itās the best tennis heās played since the 2022 U.S. Open semis.
He should be happy with his performance. He frustrated the hell out of Alcaraz the whole match but was outplayed in the 5th set. His volleys and net game were superb. His first serves had phenomenal placement and effectiveness against Alcaraz.
Great match from both players. As a fan, I was delighted haha
Alacarz needs to have a consistent peak throughout the match.
He peaks at various intervals. It was the same during his RG matches against Zverev and Sinner.
This shouldn't have been a 5 setter.
Tough loss for Tiafoe but I hope it gets him back in the right mindset! He should be challenging the big dogs everything he goes out.Ā
Great mental win from Carlos. Really weathered the storm there and stepped it up when he needed especially that tie break.Ā
Tiafoe did great today I hope he keeps this up in the future. Alcaraz was so clutch and he dominated that fifth set. That match was much more exciting than I thought it would be.
I started watching the match live at the beginning of the third set and I just about passed out at view of the scoreboard.Ā Oof!
Carlos has been my number 1 guy going on two years now and I've come to realize that a mild heart attack from me, mid match, is par for the course. He definitely keeps us on our toes. Plus, I was shuddering at the thought of all the potential posts that would talk about clowns had this match gone the other way.
Never giving up on my pickle juice man, though. VAMOS siempre!Ā
what a great match. Tiafoe played fantastic, but you can tell he lost energy in the 5th while carlos stepped up. Hopefully Francis will take a lot of positives out of this match and it helps him the rest of the year
tiafoe played far better than anyone anticipated and proved a lot of people wrong, but (for lack of a better phrase) will continue to get clowned on by r/tennis. rough
Probably a controversial opinion in this sub right now but I like Tiafoe and I think he's really fun to watch when he's playing well. It seems like his arhythmic style of play troubles Alcaraz and makes for a fun dynamic on the court. I'm glad he showed he's still capable of playing top tier tennis and I hope that next time these guys meet, it's in the second week of a slam.
I love watching Alcaraz grow into an all-timer in real time. He gets punched in the mouth in the first set and responds with a dominating second set. Third set both guys upped their game and just one break of serve determined the set. Tiafoe was trying to use that momentum to take it in 4, but Alcaraz held on to the tiebreaker and just went took off in a way that reminds you of Federer or Djokovic. Pedal to the metal, full flight, etc etc. Just incredible ability to raise his game.
It's almost like Alcaraz is on a mission to give all his rivals scar tissue. Another 2-set-to-1 comeback that his opponent will have trouble forgetting next time.
I wasn't sure Alcaraz was gonna pull this one through with how tight that 4th set. But he played weathered the storm and played that tiebreak flawlessly.
Credit to how well Tiafoe played as well. He was rushing Alcaraz a lot and played with good variety.
What a great match. Tiafoe played the best I've seen in a while against a great player, but in the end as we've seen time and time again, mental strength was the biggest X factor.
I knew that if Alcaraz won the tiebreak he would win the match. Every time I've seen Tiafoe go to 5th sets he gasses out (WB 2022 vs Goffin, USO 2022 vs Alcaraz and now in WB vs Alcaraz again). Has he ever won a 5th set?
You could see that his serve was already dropping in quality by the end of the 4th, If he was to win this match it had to be on that tiebreak. His movement in the 5th was nowhere near the same as in the other sets, the break point right at the beginning where he could have reached to volley that ball but he chose to hope the ball would go out and got punished made it clear he was tired.
It was still a great performance from him, played some amazing points and was serving massively for the majority of the match, Carlos had no chance on his serve in the 3rd set and most of the 4th.
Tiafoe is elite when heās on top of his game, he has no consistency though. I applaud his ability to be game against top opponents though, we donāt see that often from the current American tennis players.
I was shouting at the TV to stand back on the second serve return because he was missing it so much
Stands back in the 4th set tiebreak and never looked back. Why did it take so long to make the adjustment.
Tiafoe should be very proud of his performance and the level he brought into this match. Hopefully a return to form from him moving forward.
I think he probably, and probably should, feel some bitter dissapointment at the outcome and his level in the fifth set. He didn't capitalize in the 4th set when he had the chance(s). He was the better player that set and the win could have been his. There's no shame in losing a tiebreak. When Carlos got the immediate mini break on a specularaly played point everything changed and Foe reverted right back to the level we've seen lately. He let a single point defeat him and that is quite dissapointing.
Carlos level stayed the same throughout much of the match. It was only once the match was already out away that Carlos found a heightened level. I think it will be healthy for Foe to reflect on that 5th set and the dissapointment and recognize that he was still in that match and he gave it away. Carlos is an amazing player but he wasn't his amazing play that made the difference in the 5th, it was Tiafoes sudden and shocking drop in quality.
Absolutely heartbreaking. I only hope this leads to more great things for Tiafoe as the rest of the year unfold. He CAN compete with the best and it's good to remember that.
Good luck to Carlos! Not his best match but I think he'll come out in the next one looking like his normal dominant self.
Just when you think he could lose he turns it on. Tiafoe peaking in sets 1 and 3 and then Alcaraz kicked it into the highest gear in the 4th set tiebreak and just maintained that intensity.
Nor surprised. Carlito starts slow in many matches and Tiafoe was playing out of his skin. He couldāve won had he not lost steam on the 5th set. An incredible match to watch
Good showing by Tiafoe, Alcaraz with that forehand drop shot in the fifth set was ice cold, though.
Finished the match with a backhand drop shot too š„¶
Alcaraz has now won 12 of his 13 career 5th sets. Absolute killer
Carlos in a 5th set only fears Berettini.
Berrettini is the real real deal.
You guys both almost spelled it right!Ā
So gutted Berrettini lost, since Wimbledon is his best Slam by far. If he had a better seed, he wouldnt have seen Sinner in the 2nd round. But being ranked like 60th right now is tough, you're going to get touch 2nd and 3rd round matchups being seeded that low
Hahaha thanks. I have somehow always spelled his last name that way. I had to google it to make the correction.
How does one just peak at set 5 like he is unreal
He messes around until he figures out he canāt mess around no more. š
Slackerā¦ that kid is going to give me a heart attack
I had an inkling this could be a tough match based on this one exhibition on grass where Tiafoe crushed Charlie, so to save my mental health I opted to just distract myself and skip the match. Like a coward.
iām jealous. as a carlos fan who was nervous about this one pre-match, it was excruciating to watch myself be validated and think carlos was going out for sure
After the Draper match I have reservations against lefties on grass as well so if Humbert wins tonight I might have to make some plans for Sunday.
Save yourself in the future. Always record him and watch later. Better for your mental health. I never watch him live. My heart canāt take it lol
Donāt you like the entertainment of suspense and thrill? Compared to boring straight sets
Yes, I love watching it backā¦but after I know if he wins! š
And in addition to that, their head to head was 1-1 before today, a straight sets Tiafoe win in 2021 Barcelona, and the 5 set Alcaraz win in 2022 US Open of course. And now today of course, for all that Alcaraz may have been in iffy form for parts of it, it does seem like Tiafoe might genuinely be a difficult opponent for him.
š Iām right there with you! I couldnāt bring myself to watch. Then I caved and tuned in just to see what was happening and Alcaraz was down 2 sets to 1. Turned it off immediately and resigned myself to accept the inevitable that Carlos was done. What an incredibly pleasant surprise when I saw the results for the first time in this post! š Ā”Vamos Carlitos!
When he was down 0-30 in the 4th set at 4-4 I was questioning why I even watch this
for real, i truly thought he was cooked then. and iām an enormous alcaraz fan. just seemed like he didnāt have it today. then he turned it on, proving me wrong yet again
I know! I always think imagine what Ferrero or his family are thinking in those moments.
Insert gamer meme that leans forward in chair when it's time to get serious
This. Like me when I have a deadline approaching.
Oh shit here we go again, 5 set now I really have to kill it
Better stamina than most other players on the ATP. More freshness = less mistakes.
There's a lot of mental toughness envolved as well. He has an ability to turn it on
Cause when youāre up 2 sets to 1 you start becoming more tense, and Carlos pounces on those nerves.
The Novak special!
That tiebreak in the 4th set though š¤š¼
He was a different person seconds before that tiebreak I was truly shocked, he is just mental
Interestingly he doesn't lose in 3 sets much (in bo5), so the most of his losses are in 4 setsš¤
Similar to Nadal
The last time Alcaraz has been straight setted in a Slam was Wimbledon 2021 when he just turned 18.
Berrettini š
Clutch factor is strong with this one
It's also an indication that he is a slow starter and unstoppable when he gets in the rhythm. Also, saw so many times in crucial stages he ups his aggressive game and goes for a killing rampage.
Call him *Carlo5* āŗļø
Especially vs Djokovic in the 5th set of Wimbledon Final - has to be one of the most difficult challenges in all of sport
Heād probably have zero 5 setters played if he could figure out how to keep his level consistent
?? He doesnāt have many in general, and most of them actually happened in 2021/22. This year itās been 3, against Sinner Zverev and Tiafoe. Last year only one, the Wimbledon final vs Nole.
Tennis gods really smiled on us. Thought we were going to be stuck with Zverev, Tiafoe and clowns after Roger, Nadal, Novak retired but we get 2.0 version of the GOATS
It's probably for the best that Tiafoe lost. Probably would've had to quarantine the sub if he beat Carlos.
I'm an Alcaraz stan, but I'm also a drama lover, so I was a bit torn.
same LMAO me also with liking iga but wanting the penko match up in r4š
It would've been far worse had Zverev won against Carlos at Roland Garros.
Nothing would have been worse than that. Zverev is r/tennis's pantomime villain.
Is pantomime the right word here? I am confused
Thatās Medvedev (iykyk)
I feel like if he finally wins a Slam people will be mad for a bit but everyone saying they "won't watch tennis anymore" will be back by the next week lol If guys like Kobe and Ronaldo with comparatively credible allegations exist as superstars without cutting into the fanbase of their sport then I don't see Zverev who even with 1 Slam would be a far lesser superstar than either of them relative to the pack ruining the sport for everyone
You know, Iāve thought about this a lot. And my conclusion is really that there really arenāt many super stars in tennis, not like other sports, and the ones that are on top, a lot of them are **really damn nice and wholesome**. For example, in American football, youāve had your ray rice, Aaron Hernandez, AB, Watson, AP, and so many other huge huge huge names that have turned out to have done terrible things. These players are/were literally the best in their positions. With the the top 10-15 players are filled with relatively to very wholesome and well behaved players with close to 0 controversy. The contrast between them and Z is just enormous Also, tennis has been blessed with almost 2 decades of dominance by 4 of the most non controversial players. So when you get a Z on top, itās an enormous contrast. Iām not really defending or attacking anyone. All Iām saying is that I think thatās why the outcry is so big here in tennis versus other sports.
I think r/tennis users wouldāve been curled up in a ball for a week at least
I'm not even sure how that would have been handled lol Mods definitely hate Zverev as much as most of us do with them refusing to put him on banners even when he wins tournaments Would they go as far to delete any discussion about the final if he won? IMO that would be a *heavy* overuse of mod power(Ronaldo is accused of rape and nobody bans posts about his goals and stuff on r/soccer) but it's Reddit mods after all and we were one of the subs that shut down during that bizarre API protest thing so there's precedent for trying to take a stand in some misguided way
I hope we never find things like that out
The clown jokes would be insufferable. It is already a borderline beaten dead horse
Not right but bravo joke still around. Korda Wimbledon favorite still around. Same as many others jokes/quotes . Why should this one treated differently?
ootl. What are the clown jokes?
Foe called some people he lost to āclownsā
Berrettini remains the only player to have beaten Alcaraz in 5 (Australian Open 2022)
From his childhood fandom, Alcaraz got Federer's drop shots and aggressive playstyle. From his birthplace, Alcaraz got Nadal's ~~grunts~~ determination on court. From his lego hair, Alcaraz got Djokovic's 5-set inevitable win in hindsight that looked tense as fuck for a bit.
Lego hair lol
This just made me realise how badly Novak needs a hairstyle update. Federer realised he needed an update early on and ditched the long hair, and Nadal had no choice because his hair started vanishing at like 23. Alcaraz needs to take fedās stylist.
Federer's main problem was not letting his curls run wild. That straight hair haunts me.
Federer with a Jon Snow hairstyle wouldāve been too perfect
Novak still has a hairline intact
Didnāt Novak have a bit of a Bieber fringe when he was younger?Ā But agreed, Djokoās hair is pretty bad. Bublikās just pure awful.Ā
Why bring bublik into this?
Djoko Bieber is not something I ever want to expose myself to, that sounds terrifying. Bublik needs to wear a hat
What is bad about it? What hairstyle would you go for if you were Djokovic?
> What is bad about it? It looks like he takes it off and puts it on his bedside table before he goes to sleep
Pretty accurate š
Nadal's grunts hahaha
Alcaraz is now 12-1 in 5th sets having won 9 in a row. Like he just finds another gear in 5th sets. Wild to see
To be fair - in the vast majority of them he is clearly the better player and has uncharacteristic dips making a 5th set necessary in the first place. He had no business losing the first set from 4-2 up here for example. Served for the 3rd set in the RG final and collapsed. So itās impressive, but usually because he fails to take care of business earlier.
dude loves tennis so much, he's tanking earlier sets to play longer matches
Gettin some more practice in
Always thinking about the audience
The joy of 5 set matches. The better player might lose focus and drop a set but they come back because theyāre stronger.
Alcaraz doing Nishikori stuff
Iād even argue the same is true for the Djokovic Wimbledon 2023 match where Carlos was the superior player overall, but played a nervous first set which he lost 1-6 and a terrible 4th set when Djokovicās level wasnāt that high. Alcaraz is interesting because when he plays his best, he reaches levels that no one can really touch, and he really just takes the opponentās racket out of their hands with his variety mixed with power. But he has nervous moments and terrible sets that he gives away which makes all of his matches dramatic.
I wouldnāt even call his dips uncharacteristic, happens all the time
Having ups and downs lies in the nature of five setters. The vast majority is a huge exaggeration, they include beating Sinner twice, Zverev, Djokovic in a Wimbledon final, Cilic and Tiafoe in great form when Alcaraz was a teenager etcĀ
Yeah thatās really just sports in general tbh youāre almost always going to have ups and downs. And itās exaggerated when youāre out there for a long period of time like best of 5 tennis matches. People forget that this also was the case for the big 3 when they played each other (aside from rare cases like Wimbledon 2007 and AO 2012 where both players played at insane levels for 5+ hours)
He definitely lacks focus at times, thatās something heās very likely to improve over his career which is kind of scary in a way
I feel like Alcaraz and Tiafoe are cut from the same cloth, they'd rather go for the flashy shot rather than the smart one. They're both entertainers. Alcaraz's fundamentals are better than Tiafoe's though.
Also incredible how often he comes back from being 2-1 down in sets. Done it against Sinner and Zverev as well.
Was touch and go for a while there
He really performed when it mattered in that tiebreaker!
During that tiebreak, I was reminded of Novak entering ālockdown mode.ā Thatās the mark of a champion. They elevate when they need toāand theyāre never *really* out of it until the match is over.
Tiafoe was playing well, but in the TB Carlos just found his top gear.Ā
0-30 down at 4-4 in the fourth set, I was worried it was over.
Tiafoe had some stretches of unplayable serving wow
Alcaraz was making it hard on himself taking the returns so far up at first, Frances puts too much heat to do that safely
My 5 set king
Fr the man's as fit as a bull
If you canāt beat Carlos in 4 sets, prepare to lose in 5
How do you play the shittest tennis of your life for a year straight, then rock up to Wimbledon and take the defending champion to 5 sets? Credit to Tiafoe for hanging in there as well as he did tbh
With you, I don't like the guy but you can't deny he played well
As someone who had open heart surgery 3 weeks ago, this match was not good for my health. Glad Carlos dug in and found a way to win though! Its truly amazing how clutch he is when matches go 5 sets.
Hey Take care and hope you are feeling better now.
Thank you! Recoverys been alright so far, helps that I got lots of tennis to kill the days with :)
Yea!!!! Tennis keeping us all busy. Enjoy the matches
Hope you're feeling better, and good luck with the recovery. Best if you avoid watching Novak/Alcaraz/Sinner games live I guess.
I thought Frances had no chance in this match. Maybe *I* was the clown all along. Hope he builds on this and is back to form soon.
I think Tiafoe is one of those guys kind of like Kyrgios that motivates himself for big matches against the top players but can be sloppy/unfocused against other guys He needs to find a way to lock himself in for grinding early rounds Even the "clowns" comment everyone is freaking out about is indicative of this lol
coincidentally, i think carlos is the same lol
Sort of, but he has consistently gotten to the quarters or better in most of his recent slams so Iām not sure that is actually that true any more. He doesnāt play as well as he should but he absolutely does get through
Even worse, Tiafoe said in a recent NYTimes interview that he only tries hard at USO, Wimbledon, and a few US hard courts. He doesn't even care or get up for RG and AO... If we think Djokovic's motivation issues are a problem, Tiafoe seems much worse
Djokovic has motivation issues? Thatās news to me.
Further pushes my narrative that Bublik and Tiafoe are similar players with similar quotes (the former being worse in both regards really), yet Bublik is a fan favorite here while Tiafoe is hated. Funny how that works.
He looked a lot better than i expected as well. The ending of the match was what i thought wouldve happened
He looked really good at key moments in this match. It was clear by the 4th his knee was bothering him though. He played some great tennis despite the shaky start to the first set and hopefully he can continue to work on this level of his game.
Maybe clows are the friends we made along the way.
VICTORY BELONGS TO THE MOST TENACIOUS! VAMOS!!!!!
Sir, this is Wimbledon.
No! This is Patrick!
āVictory belongs to the best serve-and-volleyerā
Insanely insanely clutch from the tiebreak on
Tiafoe had zero break chances after the 3rd set
30th 5-setter of the tournament 5 more to match the record, 6 more to stand alone as the Slam with the most 5-setters ever
Is it me or center court is also getting damaged way too fast. Must be all the long matches. Not sure how many hours have been played in it at this point compared to last years.
The final will practically be clay
Alcaraz down 1-2: Time to peak. 12-1 in the 5th set.
Clown comments aside, that was the most dialled in Iāve seen Tiafoe and he didnāt slack. I wanna see more of it moving forward.
Tiafoe was just simply incredible for most of today. His touch on some of the shots was amazing. But goodness when Alcaraz gets to late in 5 setters he turns it on.
The Z as a Th is kind of how it is pronounced in Spanish that is spoken in Spain if Iām not mistaken. So that might actually be how Alcaraz himself would say it, though Iām no expert here.
Yeah I just removed that because I looked into it and apparently thats how it's supposed to be pronounced, but I think this was the first time I've heard it pronounced that way
What an enjoyable match! Frances said heād ācome after himā and he actually did! Only, Carlos kicked it up a notch and the former couldnāt catch up anymore. Kudos to him for pushing the defending champion to play better and better. Be proud of todayās match, Frances. āØ On to the next one, Carlitos! šŖš»
Bizarrely low level from Carlos through 3.5 sets You can always bet that he'll turn it up when he's in actual danger though
Sometimes I think he's powered by jeopardy.
idk iād argue heās probably never watched an episode but thatās just me
That's because he had the game plan to beat him. And the luck too. For 3 sets and a half he coul literally not miss, and was serving like Zverev lol. Then on return he was rushing Alcaraz like crazy, which is fairly easy to do because of the Spaniard's serve. That's why Alcaraz is indeed a bit weaker on fast surfaces, he can get rushed by the opponent and I suspect Tiafoe knew this coming into the match, and he exploited that very well until he ran out of gas and/or became tight.
Alcaraz's next level up is just honing in on when to go for it, and when not to, I think. He's obviously generational talent. But probably has more dips than "necessary". Like he's 12-1 in 5 setters but I almost think some of that is partly due to turning some matches that should be done in 4 sets into 5 sets by having those dips.
People going to clown on Tiafoe for his comments, no pun intended, but I think he genuinely had a great performance against the defending champion considering his form. Taking Alcaraz to 5 sets is no small feat, and I doubt many people had him doing this before the match started. Hope this propels him to regaining his own form, but I'm sure a lot of people will choose to have disproportionate outrage for a comment that is like the mildest of mild trash talk. You would think that he killed someone's family based on the some of the responses around here, although the memes are pretty funny and I hope they keep coming.
Agree 100%. Tiafoe played really well and his (extremely mild) trash talk has been blown well out of proportion.
It's crazy what riles people up in tennis versus other sports lol
I think some of it is to do with the fact that people already didn't like him and now they have a legitimate reason to validate their dislike, so they're just going to shit on him. I'm not saying that's everyone, but he already had some "controversy" for his celebrations and general attitude on the court. Plus, I know during Federer's last match, some people didn't like Tiafoe for treating Federer like a broken-down old man and just throwing the match to help him win, which is the stupidest reason ever. Maybe people thought he was the typical arrogant American or something, but I've even seen a couple people in one of the "name a tennis player you dislike" threads say that they don't like Monfils for his celebrations and propensity to put on a show, so that's why Tiafoe gets similar criticism? I still think the reaction to his comments was blown out of proportion on this sub, though I don't know how it was received elsewhere.
That 4th set tiebreaker and then the impending turbo mode from Alcaraz in the 5th set was unstoppable. Tiafoe can now be happy he didn't lose to a clown. Either way good play from both, and a great cleanout from Alcaraz after finding himself being 1-2 sets down.
Sinner, you can't let Alcaraz get to a 5th set in semis š
Man Carlos can look lost for so much of a match, and then just lock into gear and you won't come close to him again. That 4th set tiebreak he just turned it up a notch. Really strong performance from Foe and I hope he can find this level at the US Open.
being a carlos fan is not good for my already poor gut health, those first 3 and a half sets almost put me in the ERā¦ great performance from tiafoe, he really did come for him
Heartbreaking loss from Tiafoe. He definitely had some chances in the fourth before it went to a tiebreaker, but every (especially after that fall) felt like the match was slipping away from him until it did. Even in the final game, I donāt think Tiafoe did anything wrong on the return. He did pretty much everything right that game, and Alcaraz was just way too good. As far as Alcaraz goes, being able to weather the storm of a someone playing possibly the best match of their life and still come out on top is what makes a real champion. Both players should be proud, but I imagine Frances will take the loss a bit hard.
Alcaraz was conflicted between losing or winning and becoming a clown
Carlitos avenged all clowns today! š I like Tiafoe but that comment was not cool
I tuned in on the final game and idk what happened earlier but one of the cleanest games to close it off I have ever witnessed.
Best Tiafoe has played in like a year, need him to turn this into some momentum going forward
Alcaraz played way below his usual level, and even so, he managed to win. I think you can book the semis between Sinner and Alcaraz, unless something very very unique happens.
Great to see Tiafoe play a great match again. Itās the best tennis heās played since the 2022 U.S. Open semis. He should be happy with his performance. He frustrated the hell out of Alcaraz the whole match but was outplayed in the 5th set. His volleys and net game were superb. His first serves had phenomenal placement and effectiveness against Alcaraz. Great match from both players. As a fan, I was delighted haha
Alacarz needs to have a consistent peak throughout the match. He peaks at various intervals. It was the same during his RG matches against Zverev and Sinner. This shouldn't have been a 5 setter.
HE CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS
Tough loss for Tiafoe but I hope it gets him back in the right mindset! He should be challenging the big dogs everything he goes out.Ā Great mental win from Carlos. Really weathered the storm there and stepped it up when he needed especially that tie break.Ā
Tiafoe did great today I hope he keeps this up in the future. Alcaraz was so clutch and he dominated that fifth set. That match was much more exciting than I thought it would be.
I started watching the match live at the beginning of the third set and I just about passed out at view of the scoreboard.Ā Oof! Carlos has been my number 1 guy going on two years now and I've come to realize that a mild heart attack from me, mid match, is par for the course. He definitely keeps us on our toes. Plus, I was shuddering at the thought of all the potential posts that would talk about clowns had this match gone the other way. Never giving up on my pickle juice man, though. VAMOS siempre!Ā
Frrr. The embarrassment would have been too much
Now I seriously think that Alcaraz's best strength is his endurance.
5 set carlitos is unstoppable VAMOS
what a great match. Tiafoe played fantastic, but you can tell he lost energy in the 5th while carlos stepped up. Hopefully Francis will take a lot of positives out of this match and it helps him the rest of the year
What a fire match š„ always enjoyable with these two but Alcaraz in 5 sets is another level
Love Foe. He looked like he did last year up to the US open āhang upā match vs Shelton. This is progress for him.
props to big foe for playing as well as he did. anyone else on the other side of the net and he would've taken it
Another match where carlitos dominates a tiebreak, breaks their spirit, and cruises the rest of the match
So worth the handful of hours to watch, esp if youre a carlos fan. Sports entertainment at its finest
Tiafoe played great most of the match. Alcaraz was just lights out in the 4th set tie breaker and 5th set. The man is clutch
I must not talk about clowns. I must not talk about clowns. I must not talk about clowns. I must not talk about clowns. I must not talk about clowns.
ā¦ā¦
tiafoe played far better than anyone anticipated and proved a lot of people wrong, but (for lack of a better phrase) will continue to get clowned on by r/tennis. rough
That was the most mild trash talk too! Meanwhile in Copa America these guys are trying to kill each other lol
Probably a controversial opinion in this sub right now but I like Tiafoe and I think he's really fun to watch when he's playing well. It seems like his arhythmic style of play troubles Alcaraz and makes for a fun dynamic on the court. I'm glad he showed he's still capable of playing top tier tennis and I hope that next time these guys meet, it's in the second week of a slam. I love watching Alcaraz grow into an all-timer in real time. He gets punched in the mouth in the first set and responds with a dominating second set. Third set both guys upped their game and just one break of serve determined the set. Tiafoe was trying to use that momentum to take it in 4, but Alcaraz held on to the tiebreaker and just went took off in a way that reminds you of Federer or Djokovic. Pedal to the metal, full flight, etc etc. Just incredible ability to raise his game. It's almost like Alcaraz is on a mission to give all his rivals scar tissue. Another 2-set-to-1 comeback that his opponent will have trouble forgetting next time.
My favourite Alcaraz series are against Sinner and Tommy Paul. Tiafoe is a contender to make it to top 3
Donāt think the clown jokes can really be made after that match. Tiafoe played well enough to back his statement
If he wasnāt on camera the whole time I wouldāve thought they swapped in a different Alcaraz right before that tiebreak
Weāre all clowns today
Man, I'm getting too relaxed when Carlos goes to 5 sets. One day this is gonna come back to haunt and depress my ass
Clownlitos man, why make this so hard? Anyways, I don't know what will happen if we get the Sincaraz SF but Sinner is DEFINITELY taking the 1st set.
Vamosss! **Vamooooos!** \[as Carlitos might say\]
I wasn't sure Alcaraz was gonna pull this one through with how tight that 4th set. But he played weathered the storm and played that tiebreak flawlessly. Credit to how well Tiafoe played as well. He was rushing Alcaraz a lot and played with good variety.
Carlito only knows to play marathons.
Alcaraz about to set an all time record for 5th set matches. He is better in the 5th set than he is in the 3rd. Insane fitness levels like young Rafa.
What a great match. Tiafoe played the best I've seen in a while against a great player, but in the end as we've seen time and time again, mental strength was the biggest X factor.
Alcaraz is a 5th set God, the only time I can remember him losing one is to Berrettini back at the 2022 AO.
Bloody relieved I felt. Somehow Tiafoe was reading Alcarazās shots very well.
The one thing Alcaraz seems to lack a lot of the time is ruthlessness, but in fifth sets it just comes to him.
I knew that if Alcaraz won the tiebreak he would win the match. Every time I've seen Tiafoe go to 5th sets he gasses out (WB 2022 vs Goffin, USO 2022 vs Alcaraz and now in WB vs Alcaraz again). Has he ever won a 5th set? You could see that his serve was already dropping in quality by the end of the 4th, If he was to win this match it had to be on that tiebreak. His movement in the 5th was nowhere near the same as in the other sets, the break point right at the beginning where he could have reached to volley that ball but he chose to hope the ball would go out and got punished made it clear he was tired. It was still a great performance from him, played some amazing points and was serving massively for the majority of the match, Carlos had no chance on his serve in the 3rd set and most of the 4th.
Tiafoe is elite when heās on top of his game, he has no consistency though. I applaud his ability to be game against top opponents though, we donāt see that often from the current American tennis players.
Big big big prors to Tiafoe. That serve was a killer this match! Couldāve gone either way, awesome tennis from both of them.
Carlitos is becoming a 5 setter comeback monster like Novak
Bigfoe put up a big challenge.
I was shouting at the TV to stand back on the second serve return because he was missing it so much Stands back in the 4th set tiebreak and never looked back. Why did it take so long to make the adjustment.
Tiafoe should be very proud of his performance and the level he brought into this match. Hopefully a return to form from him moving forward. I think he probably, and probably should, feel some bitter dissapointment at the outcome and his level in the fifth set. He didn't capitalize in the 4th set when he had the chance(s). He was the better player that set and the win could have been his. There's no shame in losing a tiebreak. When Carlos got the immediate mini break on a specularaly played point everything changed and Foe reverted right back to the level we've seen lately. He let a single point defeat him and that is quite dissapointing. Carlos level stayed the same throughout much of the match. It was only once the match was already out away that Carlos found a heightened level. I think it will be healthy for Foe to reflect on that 5th set and the dissapointment and recognize that he was still in that match and he gave it away. Carlos is an amazing player but he wasn't his amazing play that made the difference in the 5th, it was Tiafoes sudden and shocking drop in quality. Absolutely heartbreaking. I only hope this leads to more great things for Tiafoe as the rest of the year unfold. He CAN compete with the best and it's good to remember that. Good luck to Carlos! Not his best match but I think he'll come out in the next one looking like his normal dominant self.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Just when you think he could lose he turns it on. Tiafoe peaking in sets 1 and 3 and then Alcaraz kicked it into the highest gear in the 4th set tiebreak and just maintained that intensity.
I'm sure this thread will be full of well reasoned takes on the matter at hand.
Who does he play in R4? Or the winner of what match
he'll go on to win it now
Wtf Carlos
Honestly I never doubted Carlitos
Is anybody really surprised that this went the distance after the 2022 US Open?
Nor surprised. Carlito starts slow in many matches and Tiafoe was playing out of his skin. He couldāve won had he not lost steam on the 5th set. An incredible match to watch
Carlos demonstrating why he prefers bo5