Talk About Tennis 2.0

I guess indoors is just not where Alcaraz feels most comfortable.

Wonder why. It is not as if he does not have speed, and his strokes are fast.
But the evidence sides with your statement.

Friday 01 November, 2024 (Day 7)

Court Central
Starts at 2:00 pm

A. Zverev (3) Vs (10) S. Tsitsipas
Not Before 4:00 pm
H. Rune (13) Vs (9) A. de Minaur
Not Before 7:00 pm
J. Thompson Vs (15) U. Humbert
Not Before 8:30 pm
G. Dimitrov (8) Vs K. Khachanov

Court 1
Starts at 2:00 pm

R. Bopanna/M. Ebden (3) Vs (6) W. Koolhof/N. Mektic
Followed By
N. Skupski/M. Venus Vs (Alt) A. Behar/R. Galloway
Followed By
L. Glasspool/A. Pavlasek (Alt) Vs (WC) S. Doumbia/F. Reboul
Followed By / After Suitable Rest
H. Heliovaara/H. Patten (8) Vs (4) M. Purcell/J. Thompson

a bit puzzled to understand why Alcaraz loses on really fast courts to people he normally beats easily - Humbert here at Bercy, Machac at Shanghai..
one hypothesis is he needs to be able to set up the play, take time to do it, which he doesnt get on a fast court.. nothing in his stroke production that takes too much time.. maybe he just needs more experience..
anyone have thoughts on this?

You know my opinion. You always make your predictions based on court speed. I say that is the least of factors. The brand for the balls will be much more of a factor than any difference in speed, within the parameters of the surface.
We are now in the habit of analysing every loss by Carlos or Sinner. Because when R/R/N lost, we were so unable to grasp it. Carlos lost because he is a HOF, he is good for 12-16 slams when he will be done, but he is not any of those three monsters. And Sinner will eventually come down to earth too.
Carlos lost to a fine player, like they all are in the ATP. Look at your prediction: Paul and Alcaraz lost earlier than expected. And it really means very little, both about your prediction skills (you are as good as everybody else) or them as players (they are still very good).

There is still a clear trend in which kind of places Alcaraz is more likely to lose and in which Sinner. Those are not identical.

Of course. Sinner is really at his best on hard courts. That would be my assessment. Alcaraz seems to be more at home on outdoor clay and, for some reason that I don't know, he is damn good on modern grass.
His "weak" surface is indoor hards. One more shared trait with Rafa.

Alcaraz is clearly better on slower courts, including Wimbledon, which has slowed a lot over the years .
No, I don't consider court speed to be more than 10% at most but it can make the difference between two equally good players .which is why I am surprised at Alcaraz losing to Humbert..they are not equally good...

One of the key factors in the match was second serve points won - Alcaraz was kicking his serve into Humbert's forehand, and Humbert was punishing it.

I have a feeling that despite his already spectacular resume, Alcaraz has some learning to do. Specifically - the patterns how to play against lefties. They are different and require some repetitions in match situations.

Saturday 02 November, 2024 (Day 8)

Court Central
Starts at 11:30 am

N. Skupski/M. Venus Vs (6) W. Koolhof/N. Mektic
Not Before 2:00 pm
H. Rune (13) Vs (3) A. Zverev
Not Before 4:30 pm
K. Khachanov Vs (15) U. Humbert
Followed By
M. Purcell/J. Thompson (4) Vs (Alt) L. Glasspool/A. Pavlasek

Sunday 03 November, 2024 (Day 9)

Court Central
Starts at 12:30 pm

F
W. Koolhof/N. Mektic (6) Vs L. Glasspool/A. Pavlasek
Not Before 3:00 pm
F
A. Zverev (3) Vs U. Humbert

Karen Khachanov told Ugo Humbert at the net to show more respect:

“I told him at the net to show more respect. He has no idea how to behave. I’m always about fair play. I will congratulate him if he behaves like a normal person. That’s all I can say. You can be with the crowd. I have no problem with that. Did you see me celebrate yesterday? Grigor was exhausted. He wasn’t injured at the end, he told me. Did you see me jumping and screaming ‘Come on! Allez!’ After every point.. do you think it’s okay? You can celebrate after with the crowd no problem. You can do whatever you want. But while you see injuries are part of the game… to do it while you see the guy is on the ground? Okay, see you next time.”

(via
@ZiggoSport)

I watched highlights of the match, and I'm not sure when Khachanov injured himself, but he clearly couldn't play the final game properly.