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How Carlos Alcaraz ‘pushes his opponents to the limit’ | ATP Tour

Understanding

How Alcaraz ‘pushes opponents to the limit’

TDI ‘Insights’ emphasizes the dominance of the Spanish base

September 13, 2024

Peter Staples/ATP Tour

Carlos Alcaraz is third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.
Written by Grant Thompson

Carlos Alcaraz produces a fearless and exciting stroke that makes him one of the most exciting players to watch on the ATP Tour. Still a young 21-year-old, the Spaniard may play his part in a high-risk, high-reward role, but key metrics confirm that Alcaraz’s electrifying hitting is what fueled his strong 2024 season, keeping him going. they qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Alcaraz is second in both forehand (8.62) and backhand shot quality (8.24) this season, according to Tennis Data Innovations, in partnership with TennisViz. Shot Quality is calculated in real time by analyzing each shot’s speed, spin, depth, range, and impact on the opponent.

“I think I always push my opponents to the end. “I try to be aggressive all the time, to play different shots,” Alcaraz said recently. “I think I will speak badly about my opponent, they will not know what will come next. They should be aggressive. They have to be well protected if they want to live on point.”

Data and court results are consistent. Alcaraz won two of the four titles of the season and this year’s ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells. The only player ahead of Alcaraz in forehand and backhand quality is rival and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who has captured both of the court Slams this season. [Click here to read our feature on Sinner’s baseline domination in 2024].

Forehand Shot Quality (2024)

Backhand Shot Quality (2024)

Alcaraz’s firepower rarely goes down, no matter what division or where he is placed on the court. His front speed of 78 mph is 3 mph above the Tour average and his front rpms are 3208 vs. The average travel of 2708 rpm reflects his shooting weight. His top backhand speed of 73 mph is 5 mph faster than the Tour average and his topspin backhand rpms is 2005, above the tour average of 1775.

In return, the 15-time tour level list is third in return quality (7.78), behind runner-up Daniil Medvedev (7.78) and Sinner (8.04).

Closely behind the Spaniard in all three categories is the same man directly below him in the PIF ATP Rankings: Novak Djokovic, who has claimed 99 tour trophies throughout his illustrious career.

The Serbian defeated Alcaraz in the Paris Olympics gold medal match to capture his career ‘Golden Slam’ — winning all four majors and an Olympic gold medal. In a tough fight, Djokovic produced his best match of the season just weeks after defeating Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final for the second consecutive year.

Restore Gun Quality (2024)

The traditional thinking may be that so far this season, the best servers in the game will also be among the Top 10 in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, in a good position to secure a place in the Nitto ATP Finals. But at the TDI shot level he works for the leaders, only one of the Top 5 players is also Top 10 in the race: 6’6″ Zverev.

In fact, this year’s Roman champion is the only player included in all four lists for shooting quality.

You May Also Like: Top 5 on serve and return, Zverev is double trouble for his opponents

The Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, tall at 6’8″, stands above all others with his shooting quality (9.38). The 21-year-old enjoyed a great season, as he won his first title in Lyon and later reached. the fourth round of Wimbledon At the All England Club, he upset the 20th seed Sebastian Korda in the first round, when the coach Perricard hit 51 aces.

And among the top leaders is Milos Raonic, who is far behind (9.32) Coach Perricard. Reilly Opelka and Hubert Hurkacz are in the Top 5.

Serve Shot Quality (2024)




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