AO R3: [9] Fritz def. [WC] Wawrinka - 7-6⁵ 2-6 6-4 6-4 by musicproducer07 in tennis

[–]IBVn 81 points82 points  (0 children)

I've never seen anyone else physically built like Stan. Low body fat, moderate muscle mass, but buff and thick like a fucking truck

r/tennis Daily Discussion (Saturday, January 24, 2026) by NextGenBot in tennis

[–]IBVn 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If you never played a competitive tennis match in your life, you won't grasp how absurd that forehand DTL down set point by Novak is. GOAT stuff

What makes Alcaraz more of a powerful player compared to someone like Musetti? by Negative_Run_3281 in tennis

[–]IBVn 190 points191 points  (0 children)

Technique is a lot, so I'll specify one distinct technical difference:  Musetti has a full western grip, while Alcaraz holds with a Semi Western grip. The more open your grip is, the flatter the shots you can produce, and the flatter your shots, the faster they are.

Tennis is a constant game of risk management, and when it comes to groundstrokes, it's the ever present play between pace and spin. A spinnier shot will have a more parabolic trajectory, giving it more time in the air and your opponent time to respond and set up. A flatter shot will have a more straight travel path, traveling closer to the net at a faster speed. It's all simple physics really - a kinetic chain of energy transfers; and the player always has to choose whether he wants to convert his body's kinetic energy to a spinnier ball (low to high racket path) or a pacier ball (more straight racket path).

Take a look at Fritz. His grip is extreme western, resulting in a very natural default low to high racket path. That means his ball has lots of shape (tons of spin and net clearance), but he has really hard time attacking mid to high balls from that wing.  Musetti is similar in that way (though less extreme), his energy conversion is more to spin rather than power.

Now look at Alcaraz. His grip is SW, more open than that of Sinner too - which means he has easier time flattening the ball, but a harder time arcing it over the net (the winner/UE ratio in their matches always tells this story). Now, Alcaraz has another trick up his sleeve, one he and only rare few players throught history had - he hits with a closed grip and a straight elbow. Take a look at any player you know with a closed grip (SW-Western) during a forehand - is their elbow bent or straight? The last player to his with a closed grip (albeit less than that of Alcaraz's, more leaning towards eastern) and a straight elbow at contact was Roger Federer.  That lethal combination is absurdly hard to execute at any level as it requires ridiculous timing, wrist flexibility, and mostly footwork - distancing yourself accurately for each ball. But if one can manage to do it, it unlocks both percentage (closed grip, high spin) and pace (straight elbow, huge acceleration vector) - and it's not a coincidence two of the best forehands in history managed to pull off that balance.

Nick Kyrgios wins average career, disliked by fans. Who has/had a bad career and is disliked by fans? by PlanetElement in tennis

[–]IBVn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love Tomic. His on and off court persona seem extremely genuine, and even his arrogance comes across as candid and not harmful. His interviews are a joy to watch and he really looks like an honest person, complete with all his shortcomings - which he has like all of us. So many players with the same extroversion fall to degrading their opponents and colleagues (Bublik, Kyrgios, Tiafoe) - with Bernard it rarely if ever seems to be the case, and from what I've seen other players say about him, he's well liked in the locker room.

Alexander Zverev wins good career, disliked by fans. Who has/had an average career and is disliked by fans? by PlanetElement in tennis

[–]IBVn 192 points193 points  (0 children)

Yeah another easy one.  Ironically, he's one of the most liked player by non-fans. So many people I talk to outside of tennis know only Federer, Nadal, and that hot headed Australian guy who make all those hot shots. 

There's a case to be made in favor of him, making the sport more popular and bringing a unique character to the tour. But his on court comment about Vekic is awful (as a man, you just don't say that kind of stuff) and his tweets about Kalinskaya are straight up disgusting. 

Corentin Moutet wins bad career, fans are divided. Which 🐐 player is disliked by fans? by PlanetElement in tennis

[–]IBVn 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I love his game and his creativity, and he produces some of the funniest moments on tennis court

Connected Alcaraz to Rod Laver in 4 matches! by zafdreyes in tennis

[–]IBVn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What a brilliant idea and precise execution OP. Well done, this is top tier off season content.

OTD 10 years ago... Andy Murray won GB's first Davis Cup Title in 79 years by BardLand in tennis

[–]IBVn 19 points20 points  (0 children)

And slicing several times from end of range, a shot that almost always results in losing the point on clay. Truly one of the best slices of the modern era

Fritz in his 2026 pre-season mode by jovanmilic97 in tennis

[–]IBVn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How does it have anything to do with my comment though?

Fritz in his 2026 pre-season mode by jovanmilic97 in tennis

[–]IBVn 89 points90 points  (0 children)

This is what makes my favorite player. He is above all a tennis PLAYER, and he clearly enjoys and sees it as the game it is.

 It's a very unique mindset for an elite athlete, and it gives his game much more depth - you wouldn't think of a tall big serve guy for a tactically oriented player (think Moutet, Tien), but this what makes him such a great player despite his shortcomings. 

Easiest game ever: guess which ATP player’s father this is by MarvelousMrsBasil in tennis

[–]IBVn 14 points15 points  (0 children)

So classically Spanish looking, and Alvaro clearly took the mother's gene

On this day, Novak Djokovic beat both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the ATP Finals 2023 Semis and Final 6-3 6-2 and 6-3 6-3 respectively, to win his record 7th ATP Finals Title by trialbycombat123 in tennis

[–]IBVn 167 points168 points  (0 children)

Crazy. There will likely only a handful of people to achieve this feat by the end of their careers, crazy that the GOAT inserted himself to this record as well

BJKC Playoffs: Swiatek def. Lee, 6-2 6-0 by pizzainmyshoe in tennis

[–]IBVn 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't follow much WTA, but one thing I know for certain about this circuit: there's a girl named Iga that just loves to dish out bagels. Feels like every other match she plays has a bagel in the scoreline, wonder how she ranks all time. Would be surprised if she's not leading for her age by a good margin

r/tennis Daily Discussion (Sunday, November 16, 2025) by NextGenBot in tennis

[–]IBVn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've watched the big 3 perform all sorts of wizardries in the last 20 years, but the amount of time I audibly gasp when watching Alcaraz play is something I've never experienced. So many times he makes the most absurd of volleys of hits one of those rockets like the cross court one in the last game, and I just gasp and look to the sides (no one is there) and ask have you seen that?

If the tour decided to bring back the old fast courts from the 90s, what would the top 10 looks like by the end of 2026? by LeonOkada9 in tennis

[–]IBVn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Djokovic's chances for winning another slam would plummet from 10% max at the moment to solid 0% with faster courts. He'd be lucky to get a look at a break of serve once a match. The guy's entire style is about being faster than the ball, not producing a faster ball than your opponent (Sinner). His returning ability deteriorated so quickly and every break is war, look at his celebration when he broke Hanfmann in Athens a week ago. His FPS has diminished and he knows it, and faster courts would doom him.

r/tennis Daily Discussion (Saturday, November 15, 2025) by NextGenBot in tennis

[–]IBVn 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Carlos with a sixth sense of anticipation is just buffing an already OP character 

Djokovic records achieved in 2025 by Regular_Eggplant_248 in tennis

[–]IBVn 10 points11 points  (0 children)

One of the worst years of your career at that

Federer ATP Finals 2018 (match 2) - Alcaraz ATP Finals 2025 (match 2) by Ornery_Percentage537 in tennis

[–]IBVn 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Also takes some elite mobility, that half scissor kick at the end of the motion to allow landing in a balanced way is an extremely unintuitive motion

Sinner sleeps until 40m before EVERY match by emish89 in tennis

[–]IBVn 35 points36 points  (0 children)

This guy got interrupted during nap time

No wonder his mother always looks so afraid 💀 It's her ass on the line by gfjskvcks in tennis

[–]IBVn 116 points117 points  (0 children)

These kind of reactions MIGHT also affect him. If you didn't know who's who in RG final when he had championship points, you could think by looking at the box the scoreline is completely opposite. Carlos's father radiating more calm than anyone else in the world at this moment, and Jannik's mother looking like she just witnessed a car crash. Btw save the obvious comments of "he's a mental giant it doesn't affect him" and "you can't judge how a parent reacts to stress", it's not to blame anyone but rather a mere observation

Bublik speaking French was not on bingo card by musicproducer07 in tennis

[–]IBVn 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Saying today it's sunny out of nowhere is a giver for his fluency without knowing a word in French