There is no doubt that men's tennis has changed a lot in recent years. The rise of young champions like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz who are both able to shoot with brutal force from baseline has forced all other players to adapt.
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Their tennis works perfectly also due to the progressive slowing down of balls and surfaces and it is no coincidence that the Italian and the Spaniard have won the last five Grand Slam tournaments played. In the last twelve months, the 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria has triumphed on the hard courts of Melbourne Park (twice) and at the US Open, while the 21-year-old from Murcia became the youngest player ever to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same season.
The young Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca who has had an impressive rise in recent months also has a style very similar to that of Sinner and Alcaraz.
The 18-year-old Brazilian has already won his first title in Buenos Aires and looks set to compete to win the biggest trophies in a few years' time.
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De Minaur had to change his game
Among the players who have had to adapt to this new reality, there is certainly Alex de Minaur. The Australian ace is going through perhaps the best moment of his career, having had the ability to modify his game to make it effective in these conditions.
Alex has never defeated either Sinner or Alcaraz yet, but he is one of the most consistent players on the ATP tour and his position in the ATP ranking certifies it.
In a recent interview, he explained how much tennis has changed in recent years: "Before there was a player like Rafa Nadal, who played with a crazy top-spin and his shots were really heavy. His ball was different from all the other players, but you had time to strategize against him. There were more long rallies, more different angles and the game was played differently.
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The only important thing now is to hit the ball as violently as possible and I had to adapt so as not to die."
