Rafael Nadal admires Tiger Woods for the look the American golfer has at the moment of hitting a decisive ball. Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the two tennis players who, with numbers in hand, are the best in history, have started from the advantage of being the most complete in the situation scanner.
World tennis is divided between homogeneous professionals, who are the majority, and crossed ones.. The first ones agree the dominant eye with the executing arm. Sergi Bruguera or Guillermo Vilas are clear examples.
These have a better backhand than forehand, they are great long-term workers, they take fewer risks on the court… Alcaraz is crossed. He is right-handed and his dominant eye is the left.
It has all the qualities that match that profile: His forehand is more natural than the backhand, it is more creative, more skillful and more aggressive. On the track quickly look for winning points. Sinner is the prototype of homogeneous.
This is how Ferrero describes the Italian’s tennis, in addition to his evolution: “Jannik has improved in his variety. Before he played more shots, he made few climbs to the net and few drop shots.”
For Jofre Porta, Carlos Moy’s mentor, “depending on the type of work, the psychological parameters can be modified. The best example is Nadal and what his uncle did with him.”
Rafa has a homogeneous mentality because he is right-handed and right-handed, but since Toni Nadal changed his racket to his left-handed one when he was four years old, the Spaniard is technically a crusader. That is perfectly seen when Nadal hits his most natural backhand. He doesn’t take too much of a side. And, on the other hand, the right one sticks forward, a typical feature of a homogeneous to have a better vision of the track.
From his formative stage until today, he has been recycling his tennis to be more aggressive. All the great champions in the history of tennis have responded to these characteristics, from Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe to Roger Federer. Even Manolo Santana, pioneer of the national Navy, was a crusader.
Jannik’s echoes
Alcaraz had heard a lot about Sinner, just as Nadal had heard echoes of a French tennis player named Richard Gasquet in his day. who dominated the world in lower categories.
The rivalry between the Spaniard and Gasquet never existed because this is reflected in their face to face: 18-0. Richard once beat him in a challenger in Saint Jean de Luz due to an injury to his opponent. Yes, there is a latent rivalry between Carlitos and Jannik.
They have crossed paths up to eight times on the circuit, with a tie of four wins. The Roland Garros semi-final will tip the balance towards one of the two sides. The Murcian had a first confrontation with the Italian in the initial round of the Alicante challenger, which was played at the Ferrero Tennis Academy.
Sinner was 319th in the world and Alcaraz did not yet have a ranking. The tennis player from El Palmar won, 6-2, 3-6 and 6-3.
Against number 1
“Jannik had just won three tournaments and he was aiming to excel and he did. It was a first contact. Carlos was in full construction. The day before he had won the academy’s junior tournament” , remembers Juanqui.
Carlitos talks a lot with his coach about the Italian’s change to professional, which has allowed him to leave Paris next Monday in first place in the ATP ranking.
“I can’t be the favorite here because he is number one. Thanks to him, I have improved. I really want to play with Jannik. It’s the game that everyone wants to see“says the tennis player from El Palmar, who took refuge yesterday in the tranquility of the Jean Bouin complex, far from the noise of Roland Garros.
With the Big Three about to step aside in full, the new Big Two, aged 21 and 22, is ready to delight Philippe Chatrier.
