Grass-court tennis and nostalgia are two sides of the same coin. And when somebody pulls out old-world trickery with success on Wimbledon Centre Court on final Sunday, the Doordarshan tennis fans feel an immediate connect.
The drop shot has been part of Carlos Alcaraz's arsenal from the day he had started making his mark in 2021. But on Sunday, serving for the match a t 5-4 and down 0-15, when the Spanish wonder kid played a beautiful drop shot on his forehand to draw Novak Djokovic in and then lobbed him with equal expertise, the tennis world went into a tizzy.
It was like a trip down memory lane, when our very old Ramesh Krishnan used to employ that shot against powerful opposition in crucial Davis Cup ties on grass-courts of India.
1/10:Carlos Alcaraz: The whiz kid
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2/10:Carlos Alcaraz
<p>When he claimed a maiden Slam at the US Open last year, Alcaraz became the youngest champion of a men's major since Rafael Nadal at the 2005 French Open. </p>Getty Images
3/10:World No. 1
<p>Alcaraz was also the youngest man to ascend to the world number one ranking.</p>Getty Images
4/10:Multiple majors
<p>Alcaraz is now just the fifth man in the modern era to win multiple titles at the majors before turning 21 after Mats Wilander, Bjorn Borg, Becker and Rafael Nadal.</p>Getty Images
5/10:Big Three
<p>Of the 26 Grand Slams played since the start of 2017, the "Big Three" of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal have gobbled up 22.</p>Getty Images
6/10:Positive record
<p>Alcaraz can also boast a positive record against all of his top 10 rivals. </p>Getty Images
7/10:The stranglehold
<p>Against both Djokovic and Medvedev, Alcaraz is now 2-1, has a 5-0 stranglehold on Stefanos Tsitsipas and is 3-0 against Casper Ruud. </p>Getty Images
8/10:Alcaraz on top
<p>Alcaraz also has beaten fellow 20-year-old Holger Rune over three matches and is 3-3 with Jannik Sinner.</p>Getty Images
9/10:Motivation
<p>Federer, Djokovic and Nadal often talk about the motivation each gave each other as the bar was pushed higher and higher. </p>Getty Images
10/10:Positive impact
<p>Hopefully, Alcaraz's meteoric rise will have a positive impact on those around the same age group, just as Federer and Nadal inspired Djokovic to become the player he is. </p>Getty Images"A drop shot is played to bring the p layer up to the n et so that a pass can be set up. When I was playing it, the shot wasn't that big a variation because players, as it is, were looking to come to the net. But as the game started to become more baseline oriented, the importance of the drop-shot became more pronounced," Ramesh told TOI.
According to the Indian touch artist, it is Alcaraz's ability to play the drop shot on his forehand with such effortless ease that makes it so special.
"Normally on the forehand, players tend to play over the ball and look to generate power. The Alcaraz drop shot becomes interesting because he has the courage to impart under-spin on his forehand side, which is not so common," Ramesh added.
But Ramesh, who was a junior French and Wimbledon singles champion, feels that it is Alcaraz's variety on his forehand that makes the drop-shot such a weapon. "He can generate tremendous power with the forehand, and also can play the loopy forehand. So there are three options for him and the opposition doesn't exactly know which one is coming. And the fact that he can push the opposition way behind the baseline with his power makes it so potent. I remember Sergio Bruguera and Jim Courier (both former French Open champions) playing it very well. Rafael Nadal also plays it brilliantly, just that it may not be as frequent," Ramesh said.
That brings us to the point of over-using the shot and Alcaraz, at times, has a habit of doing it.
"Don't forget, even in the 10th game of the fifth set, he missed the drop-shot on the first point before getting it right in the second. And now with the hard-court season coming, the shot will be under scrutiny. It does work on hard courts as players move from side to side, but it is probably not as effective a weapon as it is on grass. I will be watching Alcaraz with a lot of interest now that he goes to Flushing Meadows as the No. 1 favourite," Ramesh said, echoing the sentiments of millions of tennis fans across the globe.
