If Alcaraz, a shortish 6’0” by today’s ATP standards, had any slight weakness in the past, it was his serve. It wasn’t a liability, but it didn’t win him as many free points as his taller opponents. That began to change this year, especially during the grass season, and reached its fruition today. It’s a weapon that Sinner is going to have to account for from now on.
“This change, it comes from the Australian Open,” Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, said on Sunday. “I think this past December we decide to change a little bit his movement of the serve. During all Cincinnati and also during all US Open, I think the serve is one of the keys to win the tournaments.”
Which takes me back to the evolution question. Even if this match was decided in a traditional way, we did see a step forward on Sunday, and Alcaraz took it. Whenever he plays Sinner, he goes back to the tape and assesses what he did well, what he did poorly, and what he’ll try to do differently the next time. It helps, he says, that he’s a fan of Sinner’s game.
“First of all, because I love watching him play,” Alcaraz says of why he watches so much of Sinner. “I think it is unbelievable what he’s doing. Secondly, it’s because I love to study him, how he plays, how he feel on the tournaments just to [see] if I played him in that tournament, just to have feedback how he’s been playing.”
