Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka win the Sunshine Double, a feat harder than winning a Grand Slam title!

Recency bias would have us believe Sinner is now the front-runner for the Year End No.1 battle. Not so fast: Alcaraz is still the champion of three of the last four majors, and clay is his best surface (maybe?)

Sabalenka on the other hand, is the dominant factor in the WTA Tour. Rybakina has come close to three big final wins in a row, with a match point at Indian Wells, but Sabalenka took that win, and saw her off in straight sets in Miami. If the current World No.1 continues to win as consistently as she does, it will be hard for Rybakina, or anyone, to dethrone her - but it might get really interesting soon.

Other players left their marks, either in a good or bad way: Fonseca, Zverev, Swiatek, Eala are all interesting players to follow during the clay court swing. And, of course, what will Novak Djokovic produce, now at almost 39 years old? Seems like we can't ever count him out - he was the World No.3 until recently, after all.

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Like Djokovic in 2016, Carlos Alcaraz accomplished something massive this year in Australia.

And this might have taken a bigger toll on him that maybe he would have liked to admit - and it might be time to admit it.

Mentally, Alcaraz had to go through a very tough battle to achieve the Career Grand Slam. What if his performances at Indian Wells and, most importantly, Miami, mean that he's just lacking some motivation and energy to compete at the highest level? That, and the fact that it really does seem like he plays "Roger Federer" at every round, might be too much pressure, and he needs some time off to decompress.

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Scrambled to get this up as soon as I realized that the João Fonseca vs Carlos Alcaraz #1 match would be TODAY (Friday) not Saturday.

Anyway, this match will likely be AMAZING. Incredible hot shots, cat-and-mouse points, Alcaraz testing Fonseca's forehand and movement, Fonseca drawing all the energy he can from the crowd.

Wait and see, will also see if I'll make a video after all is said and done for this crazy instalment.

Tell me what you think!

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