If the player hits the running trick shot to save the breakpoint, but later breaks from 3 forced errors and double obstacles, is it a good tennis? For Carlos Alcaraz, definitely.
He provided an example of tension signaling that sprints through the documentary series “My Way,” as Netflix released its trailer. Alcaraz was vibrating between sublime and court absurdity against Daniel Altomeier of Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco, but the streaming company has released a snapshot of the series on YouTube.
Ask some basic tennis questions. How much do you need for a star? How much should greatness be sacrifice? And is there a route to greatness that doesn't require all of the players who want it?
Against Altmaier, Alcaraz reduced 30-40 in their first service game of their match. The German feathered a drop shot just above the net, dragging Alcaraz forward…
He responded with a sharp, cross-coat angle…
…However, Altmaier read the shot, moved across the court, sending the other line deeper into the back.
Alcaraz, who was running diagonally to the left, had to hit a shot on his leg. An easier option was to bring the ball back to the cross court. Altmaier officially moved to cover the shot. Alcaraz probably didn't hit it.
Instead, he levereted the ball to the line and scrambled the backhand corner. The German managed to get the ball back into play again, but Alcaraz waited for the backhand flat to crush the same corner.
It is an example of divine inspiration, the otherworldly skills and joy that Alcaraz has brought to court and brought him to the upper tennis hierarchy.
“It's beautiful to play such a point,” Alcaraz said, looking at the shot later. “I'm trying to do a show to entertain people. That point… just to reflect, what will happen to my game?”
That wasn't the case for the rest of the match.
After saving that breakpoint, Alkaraz missed out on the daily first class behind his serve. He saved four more breakpoints in the game and held the serve 1-1. He then broke Altmaier to lead 3-2, hitting three forced errors and double obstacles, and heading straight back in the next game.
That was the pattern of the first set, vibrating between brilliant points and everyday mistakes, Alcaraz broke again at 5-3 and 6-3.
The second set was more routine, with the Spaniards ultimately winning 6-3, 6-1, setting the quarter-final against No. 12 Seed Arthur Phil.
“I want to do it my way,” Alcaraz, in the series trailer, recounts his goal of becoming the best player in the world. That ambition interacts with opinions from Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
“To achieve what Novak (Djokovic), Roger, or I have to feel that sacrifices are worth it and that they are rewarded.”
With 66 Grand Slam titles between the three best men of all time, there is little argument that they have been rewarded for achieving. What Alkaraz appears to ask is whether he will be rewarded in other ways.
The 21-year-old Alcaraz already has four Grand Slam titles. He was the youngest to win majors on all three surfaces, and he had two more opportunities at the Australian Open in 2026 and 2027, becoming the youngest to win all four majors.
If he wins the title in Monaco, he will become the actor again, behind only his closest rival and players who share Jannik Sinner, the player who shares the best mantle in the world, and the second spot in the men's rankings.
His style of play is so idiosyncratic that both his victory and his losses can manifest like they are from another world.
When he loses, whether it's a set or an entire match, he tends to lose badly. Creativity looks like naive, and shotmaking looks like futile — and it tends to happen for lesser ranked players. He has had 16 losses and one retirement due to injuries since his start in 2024, but only six of them have come against the top 10 players. Two of these six participated in one tournament, the 2024 ATP Tour Finals. During that time he was suffering from illness. His opponent's average ranking at 10 other losses is 32.
He is mentally and technically adjusting his serve and his backhand, especially. He changed the former move and the latter's racket takeback. So, mistakes flow like water at times, but it also reveals one of the hardest things to do with the tough tennis schedule: dedication to improving the fly.
Alcaraz explains the challenges of that schedule for the trailer, highlighting that he can spend time at home to meet his family. If he wants to dominate the sport as Djokovic, Nadal and Federer did, that time is limited.
Retired Nadal and Federer can know if they are ultimately worth it, as Netflix suggests a role as a talking head.
Along the way, there are Tweeners.
There are also errors.
(Photo above: Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images)
