Fans Slam Roger Federer for Claiming Court Speed is Kept Slow to Benefit Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner – “Sour Old Man”

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz played five times this season, and they will clash again if they both reach the Shanghai Masters final.

Fans Slam Roger Federer for Claiming Court Speed is Kept Slow to Benefit Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner – “Sour Old Man”

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Roger Federer (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ, Wimbledon)

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Roger Federer was in San Francisco for the Laver Cup, which concluded on Sunday (September 21), in Team World’s favor. Carlos Alcaraz played four matches, losing only his first singles match to Taylor Fritz.

Federer also appeared on Andy Roddick‘s live Served podcast during which, along with several other topics, the Swiss maestro made a comment that did not go down well with Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner‘s fans, especially the latter’s. In recent years, there have been a lot of complaints about the speed of courts, particularly from the top players.

World No.3 Alexander Zverev and former World No.1 Daniil Medvedev have been quite vocal about the court speed, often expressing their dislike of it. Now, Federer, during the aforementioned podcast, claimed the tournament directors intentionally increased the slowness of the surface to benefit Sinner. He implied that those players who can hit the shots more aggressively can only challenge the Italian, and as a result, Alcaraz and Sinner face each other in the final.

Back in the day, only 12 tournaments counted. So everybody would play on their favorite surface, and then they wouldn’t sometimes meet, and those were the best matches, when you have the attacker against the retriever. And now everyone plays similar. It’s because the tournament directors have allowed, with the ball speed and the court speed, that every week is basically the same.

This season, Sinner and Alcaraz faced each other five times on all three surfaces. After beating Sinner at the Italian Open and the French Open, Alcaraz lost the Wimbledon final. He was then handed a walkover by the World No.2 in Cincinnati, before he clinched his second US Open title with a four-set win.

Obviously, I understand the safety net that the tournament directors see in making the surface slower. It’s for the weaker player…he has to hit extra amazing shots to beat Sinner, whereas if it’s quick, he can only maybe blast a few and, at the right time… and he gets past. So that’s what the tournament directors are like: ‘I kind of like Sinner-Alcaraz in the finals, you know?’ It kind of works for the game.

Roger Federer added

Federer also blamed himself after complaints of slower courts at the Laver Cup. He said he was involved in the decision-making process about the courts’ speed.

Fans claim Roger Federer hates Jannik Sinner after his comments on the slow court surface

Now, such a theory coming from someone like Roger Federer, for sure, stirred a lot of conversation. On social media, fans said Federer’s comment did not make much sense, saying that tournament directors turning the courts slower is not a new trend, and that it was also the case during his playing days.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (3)
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

Check out their reactions here:

Alcaraz competed at the Laver Cup for the second time in his career. Although last year, his win over Taylor Fritz helped Team Europe clinch their fifth title, this season, the tournament ended in Team World’s favor.

Alcaraz lost only his singles match to the American, for whom it was his first win over the six-time Grand Slam champion in his career after three back-to-back defeats.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will only meet if they reach the Shanghai Masters final

Both the China Open and the Japan Open will be held on September 23. Alcaraz clinched the latter last year by defeating Sinner, but this year, instead of Beijing, he will play in Tokyo.

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image vIa X/Jannik Sinner HQ, Carlos Alcaraz 4K)

The 22-year-old will lock horns with Sebastian Baez to make his debut at the Japan Open. Sinner will play in Beijing. After the ATP 500 events, both will be in Shanghai for the ATP 1000 event and will only face each other if they both reach the final.

Also read: Alexander Zverev laments about a back problem after Team Defeats Team Europe at the Laver Cup