Carlos Alcaraz Reminded Us Yesterday That He's The Greatest Entertainer In All Of Sports
DIMITAR DILKOFF. Getty Images.It hasn't been the easiest of years for Carlos Alcaraz, but man is it so good to see him back out there doing his thing on a regular basis again. A wrist injury in tennis can be a death sentence, but him and his team decided to rightfully act extremely cautious in the summer, missing multiple slams to make sure they got this right. Sucked in the immediate, but the reward? We get to see him do shit like this.
I really think pound for pound he's the greatest entertainer in sports today. Stephen Curry can still do it on his best day, but let's be real, he's 38 years old. Pains me to say but Steph is obviously out of his prime. You watch an Alcaraz match and you're almost guaranteed to be wow'd. You don't even have to like tennis and he'll find a way to drop your jaw. The angle on that shot above was pretty much impossible yet his found it in the biggest of moments. Just watch the reaction of other players waiting in the warm up area for their match.
Forget winning this match, just forcing a third set with the way Fritz was playing on these fast courts with his serve was silly.
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In Carlos' early years on tour (he's still just 23 somehow) he would hit crazy shots and give a look to his team almost like "did you fucking see that?"
This was one of those. He's the best, man. Just the best. The joy he plays with combined with immense talent, speed, power, creativity, without feeling an ounce of fear. It's unmatched. There's nobody who can do it like him, not even Jannik. You can make the case on the right surface and speed Sinner can be more consistent than him, but when it comes to the peak of their powers Carlos sits atop the mountain.
I was always jealous of people who got to see prime MJ during their adult life. I got Curry and boy has it been a treat to see him do the whole time. LeBron of course too. The tennis version of that is Federer, but I was 10 when he won his first slam and definitely was't close to the tennis fan that I am today. Being able to see Carlos burst onto the scene and become this guy has been so cool. As long as he keeps that wrist in a good place I feel comfortable saying we'll have watched an all-time great athlete when it's all said and done.
P.S. Gut-wrenching for Fritz who just needed to win that match to qualify for the ATP Finals next week. Obviously so easy to say this behind my keyboard, but you gotta put that ball away at the net on the fly. The match was there to end.
Give Carlos a sliver of a window and there goes the whole match and the rest of your season.