#sncrz

ooh yeah this is a fantastic point actually, and really interesting both in terms of what they choose (or are more easily able) to obfuscate, and also how these struggles are perceived and characterised by commentators, viewers, etc. this kinda goes back to how both the stoicism and the bravado are two sides of the same coin - of performing intimidation to the opponent. and perhaps for carlos its just a little harder to keep that act up when he is feeling really out of sorts/lost on court in the tennis. but i'd say this happens with sinner too, it just tends to cause less discourse (sorry carlos) and isn’t seen as something which causes him to lose matches

regarding the physical side of things, i think alcaraz's athleticism is just so self-evident and widely-praised - for good reason - that it kind of trumps when injury or these types of struggles rear their head. and in the same way sinner's athleticism is kind of downplayed i feel, perhaps because of his build and the way his movements aren't kinetic to the eye how alcaraz's are, although i find them just as impressive and they're almost equal in their ability to span the court and retrieve any ball. alcaraz vs sinner's comebacks from their injury/cramps at ao are a good example of this, skating past the mto and heat rule controversy they were embroiled in lmao.

some tags from @alluratron on the prev post:

#also interesting to note how carlos struggled with the heat in australia pretty much as much as jannik did#in that they both had one (1) match jeopardised by heat induced cramps that they both ended up winning#but with jannik it has really fueled this ‘can’t handle the heat’ narrative#you’re constantly hearing it brought up by comms or he gets asked about it by journalists or podcasters bring it up#but nobody brings up carlos’ cramps and making matches very physical in the heat as a way to beat him#just that if you destabilise him and disrupt his rhythm you can really get in his head#meanwhile i actually think jannik’s ao loss was a mental one#but nobody thinks his mental game is ever anything less than 100% iron#but neither of these things are even significantly bigger problems for them than they are for any other player!

obviously the ao instances aren’t exactly a one-to-one in that the exact nature of carlos’ situation wasn’t confirmed, but i think cramping is still a rlly good example of this, as both sinner and alcaraz have previously noted that there can be a psychological aspect to it (the third quote is from moreno, carlos' physio, they are both speaking about him cramping when versing djokovic at rg23):

so while they've both pointed to the mental factor leading to cramping, people are a lot quicker to blanket assign sinner's difficulties solely to physical conditioning, and alcaraz's as outliers in an otherwise untouchably athletic game. and yeah, i remember watching the ao semifinal and the number of times they brought up the sinnerderella stat that jannik hasn't won a match once the clock strikes 3h40 or whatever was extremely funny. and i think (particularly for casual viewers), the emphasis on that, especially after the heat debacle, really shaped how that loss was perceived. but i'd agree that it was much more a case of mental flagging and being outplayed tactically (lets not talk abt the bps again) than due to any kind of physical fatigue or deficiency.

i think...that for people who appreciate both jannik and carlos together and separately, it is easier for them to project sadness or graciousness onto them, when often they're actually really pissed lmaooooo.

i noticed this post turin where people were like "wow carlos is okay with losing/so gracious" and i went "oh really? he seems irate to me lmao". and i noticed this again post-ao sf when people were like aww jannik seems so sad, i was like, "oh really? he seems furious to me". but anger is such a like...i think a really weird emotion for people to reckon with their faves having i think, because it's just quite harsh? idk.