2025 ATP General News

[MargaretMcAleer]

Hmm...I'd write Rome off. While it sounds like a minor injury, it will still require at least 2-3 weeks of rest, then he'll have to build back his strength. If I'm Carlos, I'm thinking about RG and nothing else.

Lets see, when they stated 'small tear' we dont actually know how small, also there are reports saying he did some damage to his left foot, which I am trying to get further details on and confirmation, I am not writing him off as yet playing Rome., though if the reports are true with his left leg, yes he wont be playing Rome or would be 'mad to'.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Madrid Update:
OUT: Alcaraz
IN: Majchrzak ( LL gets a first round bye, will play against Bergs or Diallo)

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

This is the current update on Carlos Alcaraz,
"Alcaraz says he is believes he will be ready for Roland Garros and he is aiming to be ready for Rome in 2 weeks.. He will have another medical test on Monday. The separate left leg issue appears to be in his hamstring.
( source sports tennis journalist Tumaini Carayol @ tumcarayol)
Well the report earlier regarding his left leg issue is confirmed, well he would be 'mad' to push playing in Rome full stop!

 

[mrzz]

Fonseca made light work of Moller. Paul got his hands full...

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Fonseca made light work of Moller. Paul got his hands full...

I saw most of his match, well done to Fonseca

 

[kskate2]

Lets see, when they stated 'small tear' we dont actually know how small, also there are reports saying he did some damage to his left foot, which I am trying to get further details on and confirmation, I am not writing him off as yet playing Rome., though if the reports are true with his left leg, yes he wont be playing Rome or would be 'mad to'.

He doesn't need anymore prep. He played consecutive weeks making the final of both. I say rest, recover and then practice when allowed: serve, rally tolerance, patience.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

He doesn't need anymore prep. He played consecutive weeks making the final of both. I say rest, recover and then practice when allowed: serve, rally tolerance, patience.

Seeing he has this separate issue now with his foot which has been confirmed, he needs to rest and get treatment, playing Rome would be 'suicidal"

 

[mrzz]

He doesn't need anymore prep. He played consecutive weeks making the final of both. I say rest, recover and then practice when allowed: serve, rally tolerance, patience.

I agree, and also agree that unless someone sweeps Madrid and Rome, he will be favorite still. But... it has never been like that is his tournament to lose, and with zero more matches from here to RG... let us put it like this, he will still be the favorite given how far from that position the rest of the field is.

 

[kskate2]

Just like Navarro for the WTA, Lerner has to develop a better serve. It's such a liability right now. He will never be a servebot, but he can definitely get more consistent and better placement

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Mrzz
Just getting back to the Fonseca v Moller match
Moller does have a very good backhand, his main problem to me is the extreme grip he has on his fhand, hits loopy,shaky fhand and has no big serve, his serve has to be worked on going forward for starters.Fonseca far too good in all departments.

 

[Jelenafan]

Roland Garros could theoretically return to its traditional role as a haven for one-Slam wonders and clay specialists. From 1989-2004, 12 different players accounted for 16 Roland Garros titles...only Bruguera (2), Courier (2), and Kuerten (3) won it more than once during that time.

Realistically, it will likely return to something more like the 70s and 80s, when you had a mixture of guys like Borg (5), Wilander and Lendl (3 each) with a mixture of one-time winners. Rafa created an unusual context that we're unlikely to see again for any Slam. I could see Carlos winning it several times, but more like the Wilander/Lendl (3 each) to Borg (5) level.

The point being, we're likely to see some "non-great" Roland Garros winners. But of course this is true of the other Slams, as well. The Big Three had them on such lockdown from 2004 to 23 - a full 20 years - that it is hard to imagine anything different, but really that was an anomaly. I would argue that for a time at least, the Connors-Borg-McEnroe-Lendl era had similar elements of dominance, but not quite to the same extent or length.

You may turn out to be right, my mild divergence if I read your post correctly is that despite being on slow red clay, I don’t opine the French will be any more prone to produce “one slam wonders” than the other 3 slams going forward.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Just like Navarro for the WTA, Lerner has to develop a better serve. It's such a liability right now. He will never be a servebot, but he can definitely get more consistent and better placement

You know he dosent use his left serve to its full advantage especially on clay, needs to use more top spin for starters

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

We have to remember Alcaraz had fore arm injury in 2024 causing him to withdraw Madrid and Rome, just unfortunate he picked up these injuries in the final, Barcelona., then went onto to win the Channel Slam in 2024, in my opinion the hardest double to win!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I am calling my dark horse for Madrid, The Dangerous One, his game is made for clay, as long as his fhand dosent go AWOL like in Munich UGH!
Also with the withdrawal of Alcaraz his side of the draw has really opened up

 

[El Dude]

I am calling my dark horse for Madrid, The Dangerous One, his game is made for clay, as long as his fhand dosent go AWOL like in Barcelona UGH!
Also with the withdrawal of Alcaraz his side of the draw has really opened up

You know, I had the same thought but was afraid to voice it. Now when he goes out in the third round, we can mock you and not me.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

You know, I had the same thought but was afraid to voice it. Now when he goes out in the third round, we can mock you and not me.

From now on I will remain silent, loose lips sink ships

 

[El Dude]

You may turn out to be right, my mild divergence if I read your post correctly is that despite being on slow red clay, I don’t opine the French will be any more prone to produce “one slam wonders” than the other 3 slams going forward.

I think you're mostly right in that ALL Slams were dominated by three players (with a bit of others sprinkled in). It is very unlikely that Sinner, Alcaraz, (maybe Fonzie etc) will be as dominant.

But...I think Roland Garros is a bit different because of a combination of factors:

• It was dominated mostly by one guy who won 14 of 18 of them from 2005-22
• In the preceding era (1989-2004) it was more prone to "one Slam wonders," with no player winning it more than three times (Kuerten) - compared to greater "ATG dominance" at the other three Slams (see below).

Let's look at 1989-2004:

AO (9 winners): Agassi 4; Lendl. Becker, Courier, Sampras 2 each; Korda, Kafelnikov, Johansson, Federer 1 each
RG (12 winners): Kuerten 3; Bruguera, Courier 2 each; Chang, Gomez, Muster, Kafelnikov, Moya, Agassi, Costa, Ferrero, Gaudio 1 each
WIM (9 winners): Sampras 7; Federer 2; Becker, Edberg, Agassi, Stich, Ivanisevic, Krajicek, Hewitt 1 each
USO (9 winners): Sampras 5; Edberg, Agassi, Rafter 2 each; Becker, Federer, Roddick, Hewitt, Safin 1 each

So the other three had 9 unique winners, the French Open 12. But more importantly, only one of those RGs were won by an ATG (Agassi), while 11 AOs, 12 Wims, and 11 USOs were won by ATGs.

Meaning, at least in that era, RG was far more prone to have lesser players win it than the other three Slams. I think a key difference, obviously, is there is less of a gap between clay and other surfaces these days ,which also meant that there were more clay specialists back then (and before...think guys like Clerc). I'm not sure we can equate someone like Cerundolo with Albert Costa...maybe Cerundolo would have been more of an RG threat in the 90s and Costa less of one today. I mean, Casper Ruud probably would have been Thomas Muster and won a bunch of clay Masters and a Slam or two.

Probably what we'll see is similar patterns as AO/WIM/USO in all four Slams today...mostly won by greats (Alcaraz, Sinner, and whoever joins them), but with a handful of lesser players winning Slams - and more than the 2004-23 era. No Rafa, of course.

 

[kskate2]

I am calling my dark horse for Madrid, The Dangerous One, his game is made for clay, as long as his fhand dosent go AWOL like in Barcelona UGH!
Also with the withdrawal of Alcaraz his side of the draw has really opened up

No, don't jinx him MM. I luv D, but he is not ready mentally. Still a bit green in the head. Like some of his South American brethren he needs to see a shrink.

 

[Jelenafan]

I think you're mostly right in that ALL Slams were dominated by three players (with a bit of others sprinkled in). It is very unlikely that Sinner, Alcaraz, (maybe Fonzie etc) will be as dominant.

But...I think Roland Garros is a bit different because of a combination of factors:

• It was dominated mostly by one guy who won 14 of 18 of them from 2005-22
• In the preceding era (1989-2004) it was more prone to "one Slam wonders," with no player winning it more than three times (Kuerten) - compared to greater "ATG dominance" at the other three Slams (see below).

Let's look at 1989-2004:

AO (9 winners): Agassi 4; Lendl. Becker, Courier, Sampras 2 each; Korda, Kafelnikov, Johansson, Federer 1 each
RG (12 winners): Kuerten 3; Bruguera, Courier 2 each; Chang, Gomez, Muster, Kafelnikov, Moya, Agassi, Costa, Ferrero, Gaudio 1 each
WIM (9 winners): Sampras 7; Federer 2; Becker, Edberg, Agassi, Stich, Ivanisevic, Krajicek, Hewitt 1 each
USO (9 winners): Sampras 5; Edberg, Agassi, Rafter 2 each; Becker, Federer, Roddick, Hewitt, Safin 1 each

So the other three had 9 unique winners, the French Open 12. But more importantly, only one of those RGs were won by an ATG (Agassi), while 11 AOs, 12 Wims, and 11 USOs were won by ATGs.

Meaning, at least in that era, RG was far more prone to have lesser players win it than the other three Slams. I think a key difference, obviously, is there is less of a gap between clay and other surfaces these days ,which also meant that there were more clay specialists back then (and before...think guys like Clerc). I'm not sure we can equate someone like Cerundolo with Albert Costa...maybe Cerundolo would have been more of an RG threat in the 90s and Costa less of one today. I mean, Casper Ruud probably would have been Thomas Muster and won a bunch of clay Masters and a Slam or two.

Probably what we'll see is similar patterns as AO/WIM/USO in all four Slams today...mostly won by greats (Alcaraz, Sinner, and whoever joins them), but with a handful of lesser players winning Slams - and more than the 2004-23 era. No Rafa, of course.

I dunno, I just think in today’s game, there are more chances that a HC flash in the pan would win the AO or the USO; on any given fortnight I could envision far more HC players peaking. My reading is there is a larger pool of opportunities for a HC “specialist”.

Red Clay specialists perse who can win the FO? TBH I think that pool has shrunk. Red Clay is not quite as slow relative with the added firepower these days, and it was Rafa’s unique topspin that gave him that exceptional edge, personally none of the traditional clay counters stand out to me.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

No, don't jinx him MM. I luv D, but he is not ready mentally. Still a bit green in the head. Like some of his South American brethren he needs to see a shrink.

I can arrange a shrink on a Two for One Basis, there are a couple of my Italian players eg Lorenzo Musetti that also needs a shrink