They can create phony wars, phony viruses, phony drugs, phony allies, phony news… but they can’t create a phony tennis rivalry.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will face off again in the ATP Finals in Turin but the only people who seem to care are a handful of hardcore fans and the establishment media mouthpieces on social media.
The two Nike Rolex champions do play sensational tennis, firing their laser beam shots and darting around the court with speed and agility that can awe the spectator.
However this rivalry may be astounding on the surface, it is completely devoid of any substance, tension, grudge or drama.
What makes a rivalry special is a little bit of animosity and hostility and ego warfare between the two combatants. Like when Boris Becker flirted with Brooke Shields during one of their memorable duels. Or Andre Agassi saying Pete Sampras looked like he swung out of a tree and if they switched lives and lifestyles they both would be miserable. Or the Djokovic vs Fedal wars which everybody knew how much the old guard resented the fearless ambition of the young stud. Seles vs Graf was also a fascinating rivalry because of the contrasting styles, personalities and also because we knew the last thing on earth Queen Steffi wanted to do was to relinquish her throne to Princess Monica.
Carlos and Sinner try too hard to pretend they are phony friends with their phony conversations and embraces which is probably prompted by deep state and sponsor manipulation.
A rivalry has to form and evolve naturally without any external tampering. I won’t watch a point of Sinner vs Alcaraz but I can’t wait to see the ATP Champaign Challenger final Stefan Kozlov vs Murphy Cassone because of how important it is for each player to earn the points and money involved and to generate the confidence and momentum that a Challenger title can instill in a player for the forthcoming new season, not to mention the respect and value it gives to the player’s aura and status.
The best rivalry right now might be Murphy Cassone vs Mitchell Krueger. The two Americans have played three times this year and all three duels were three setters…
Sioux Falls Challenger R32 Cassone 76 36 62
Tiburon R16 Krueger 36 76 62
Delray Beach Q1 Cassone 75 26 76
Carlos Alcaraz · Jannik Sinner · Mitchell Krueger · Murphy Cassone
Steve · November 16, 2025 at 5:45 pm
I have a feeling you’ll be re-watching a lot of old Connors vs. McEnroe matches in the coming years because Fonseca is already well rehearsed in classy sprotsmanship and will be taking the high road with all his post-match interactions. I like this very much but I know a lot fans would prefer some edge. The type of fan that watches hockey just as much for the fights as for the skating, power plays & stick work.
Rune is edgy(hopefully he’ll come back 100%), Medvedev is edgy. Shelton even loudly celebrates his opponents’ errors. We’ll see what they have in store for those that crave more than just stellar play.
Scoop Malinowski · November 16, 2025 at 6:47 pm
Moutet brings a rebel spirit too. There’s a few who have some inner Rios. Need more. Hockey was so much better when intimidation, fighting and enforcing was a integral aspect of the game, each team had two or three fighters/goons. Now that element has been totally wiped out, and there’s just a few circus sideshow type fights which are not part of the ebb and flow of a game. Back in the golden age of hockey 70s 80s, it was about which team would establish the physical supremacy and be “the big man on the block” as Flyers announcer Bobby Taylor once memorable said during a brawl with the Leafs. It was so interesting to see how the teams would deal with each other taking liberties on each other. Now every game kind of looks the same, very beautiful nice sport but fighting and violence is supposed to be a main element of hockey games.
Scoop Malinowski · November 16, 2025 at 6:58 pm
I did not see Carlos Sinner final but I did see some X posts and texts from colleagues… Carlos faked a leg injury to set up the alibi for losing, an injury which vanished. And then Carlos was too happy after losing. This contradicts that time he smashed a racquet in the middle of a close match of a QF of a 1000. Where was that rage for losing today? Kozlov scored a huge win in Champaign IL Chalenger today 76 75 vs Cassone for his first ATP Challenger title in four years. Just a fabulous week, three masterpiece wins and two grind outs vs Blanch in QF and today’s final. He played some of the best tennis I ever saw him play this week, or even better. Much needed win for confidence and momentum.
Steve · November 16, 2025 at 7:23 pm
Just watched the Kozlov Cassone highlights. Exciting match. Kozlov closing in on net quite a bit in the 2st set tie breaker. Cassone trying to quick serve him. Good stuff.
My older brother was a hocky nut during the Golden Age so I saw tons of Islanders games during their dynasty years. Their goalie, Billy Smith, would sometimes swat his stick at players.LOL Of course they had excellent talents like Potvin, Trottier & Mike Bossy. Bob Bourne was super fast & Bob Nystrom weas a good goon. I actually credit ny return of serve skills which I’ve never practiced in my life to my brother who made me play goalie for his slap shots & wrist shots developing quick reactions.
Scoop Malinowski · November 16, 2025 at 7:47 pm
It was a fantastic match, close all the way. Stefan stayed back for most of the set but came forward towards end of set and it worked. But not as well as previous rounds where he did it much more and won many more points, serve and volleying. Cassone was hitting too big to be that today or so it seemed. But when he did do it on big point, he found mostly success. The quick serve did not fool Kozlov, he read it and beat it. Mike C said Cassone was practicing it all week. Mike C does an excellent job calling these matches, he analyzes, reads patterns, predicts, shares details, he makes all matches better. Great distinct voice too. Goalie was a dangerous position I never played it in ball or ice hockey. For sure it helped reflexes. I did a Denis Potvin Biofile https://mrbiofile.com/2022/11/09/biofile-denis-potvin-interview/
Steve · November 17, 2025 at 3:06 pm
Enjoyed the Biofile! Yeah, Mike C is great and he’s covered some crazy Tomic incidents smoothly.
Scoop Malinowski · November 17, 2025 at 4:28 pm
Tomic vs Cruz Hewitt 2R in Sydney will be interesting if they both win first rounds. Yeah Mike C does an excellent job on every match, it’s clear he loves what he’s doing and he thrives. I will do a Biofile with him.
Sam · November 21, 2025 at 2:32 am
Carlos faked a leg injury to set up the alibi for losing, an injury which vanished.
The latest is that supposedly “an MRI showed that Carlos Alcaraz has a muscle edema in his right leg.”
So, do you think this is just another role-playing game by him? 🕹️
Scoop Malinowski · November 21, 2025 at 8:06 am
Sam he looked fine after the ATP Finals match loss, smiling feeling great. It’s possible he never intended to play the ghost of Davis Cup. He did not cancel his NJ and FL exos on Dec 7/8.
Sam · December 1, 2025 at 3:14 am
Scoop, so’s he still on for the two exos?
Some of these players must think everyone out there is just stupid. 😜
Scoop Malinowski · December 1, 2025 at 7:55 am
Yes both are still scheduled.