Casper was very aggressive in his mind. Casper played confident tennis he hit backhand well. He also returned well broke Stefanos serve three times. Casper said he was hungry to win above the 250 level. I am proud of Casper he is a gentleman. Nice guys can win big.
The "never give up" attitude of Ruud is remarkable. Any player who faced inexorable set backs like him would have thrown in the towel. But he relentlessly persisted with grit and determination and has been finally rewarded for all his efforts.
I watched oth Monte Carlo and Barcelona finals. IiBarcelona I finally saw Casper looking like someone who believes he could win. In Monte Carlo it was almost like he knew that he had to play through the match to get the second place prize. Very nice and well deserved trophy for Casper. Hopefully the first of many more bigger trophies, especially on clay.
@Gill Gross Quick correction: Sinner has one RG QF appearance: 2020 RG, in fact, that was his 1st Slam QF appearance. He did lose to Nadal that year although he did served for the 1st set
I hope this shuts down the “Ruud has no weapons” gang. Ruud has always had all the shots to pull it off, and I genuinely believe it was his mentality that prevented him from bringing the firepower to big matches. He has a forehand that’s genuinely on the same level as Stef’s, a decent serve, a good backhand, decent slice, decent hands, even a solid return though inconsistent. Hopefully this helps him turn a corner and bring a better fight to the top guys. Win over Djokovic, win over Stef on clay, 500 title… it’s been a huge clay season for Ruud so far. And usually he doesn’t even get himself going until Rome. Let’s pray for a favorable RG draw lol.
I am no longer a long-suffering Ruud fan :') so glad I tuned in for the match yesterday, it was so worth it. I'm so happy to see all the work he's done on his backhand the past few years also paying dividends; some of the crucial points were won on his backhand.
Sometimes nice guys do finish first. The stars were definitely aligned for these three players: Casper Ruud 🏆👏Jan-Leonard Struff 🏆👏Marton Fucsovics 🏆👏. What a wonderfully unpredictable weekend in tennis. You love to see it!
Gill, you are amazing... Your analysis of the Fritz vs Struff match, that I didn't see, is so vivid that I actually feel and believe that I did see it :) I watched Tsitsipas vs Ruud match... happy for Ruud to win, just wish I heard more of the commentators than Tsitsipas' parents throughout the match. He must be aware that this year, with Alcaraz being absent, he missed a "life time opportunity" to finally win Barcelona...
Hi Gill, when I was watching the Final, I thought Casper Rudd must have your previous video regarding Monti Carlo final , he did go for down the line backhand as you suggested, so well done 👍🏻 Gill
Thanks Gill. As a Ruud fan it was good to see this video explaining the specifics. I did a certain analysis of the entirety of the match and saw that Ruud of all backhand ground strokes sliced 24% of the time (of course this includes a lot of on the runs and stretches but normally it never comes nearly as high for most top players). That's very high for a two-hander. The usual figure on clay is around 10% or less.
brilliant analysis of Casper's match...he's also a great athlete...Casper has all the ability in the world and used it. The other super performance was that of Jan Struff who is one of my favourite players to watch...
Yes agree about fatigue for Stef, and although they both came off a MC final, the thrill and excitement for Stef must have made it difficult to come down from. His post match presser pretty much summed up what most of his fans knew all week! Great for Casper at last!
Aww Gill - no mention of Fucsy? Bucharest, Fucsovics' first title in 6 years... that one's on a Karen Khachanov-Grigor Dimitrov level of drought for me! I really like Marton so I was looking forward to a bit of fun analysis.
Thanks, Gil. Great analysis but saying Nadal is healthy and then not putting him in the power rankings is interesting 😄 I guess it's because power rankings are based on recent performance, but you did include Berrettini...
It's great that Martin was able to win, but the Tiriac Open had a pretty abysmal draw, with no top-20 players and a seed actually going to a player ranked 60th. Not as pathetic as some of the early South American clay-swing events, but it really has little bearing on the overall tennis landscape.
@@mireafelder8194 Indeed!! If he keeps this up throughout the whole year, he has a wicked shot at being top 4/5 at the end of it. He's giving himself a good buffer for if he doesn't make the French Open semis/final.
As much as I love Nadal and i get that its hard to let go of something you've been doing successfully for 20 years. But I feel its time to stop and say goodbye. No shame in that. 22 GS is plenty and i cant think of a single player who will maybe come close to that (that or Joker's 24). I just hate to see him lose and RG are 3 winning sets. I just don't see him being able to keep up esp. with that weak serve atm. I could be wrong of course. On top of that, the 'fear' factor is gone. Younger players know he's not the same. I forsee joker do much better for the rest of the year. I guess we'll see.
Couldn't agree more with all of what you said. Especially with Gill emphasizing so much Nadal only lost to a "in-form" ADM (who never was that great of a clay court player in the first place, let's be honest). I hope Nadal get's this one last big win he's hoping for, but I truly doubt it. He just can't let go which is understandable of course. Let's just hope he doesn't get bagled like Roger in his last match in Wimbledon against Hurkacz people are still making fun of.
I wasn't convinced by Tsitsipas's level this week, thought Ruud was playing better and fancied he would win this final. Probably emotional fatigue as opposed to physical after Monte Carlo, probably the least he should have been doing with this draw is make the final.
What would Casper and/or Stef have to do to break into the top 3? I mean, Casper already beat Djokovic and they have been the finalists in both big clay tourneys so far.
The wildcard system does seem unfair to players from smaller tennis nations, as it often favors players from the host country. This can limit opportunities for talented players from less prominent tennis nations to compete in prestigious events like Grand Slams and Masters tournaments.
Two things: 1. Did anyone else know that this was Ruud's first atp 500 title and his highest?! 2. Title says "Nadal returns healthy" ... maybe. It's a shame but a a guy who'se been out with injury most of the season last two years shouldn't have pre-announced a full year of competitive farewell tour. Instead he should have done some exhibition matches to sign things off. I really think he should still return for some competitive doubles matches if not exhibition matches. Something light on his body
@@GillGross Looks like your finalist pick, Tsitsipas, is already out. Seems your recency bias got the better of you again. You missed Struff as a dark horse, despite his Munich win and last year's finalist status. As an Alcaraz fan, I'm more concerned about facing Struff since I watched the draw. If Alcaraz gets past him, he's set for the finals.
Terrible serving from Stef! His serve used to be a major weapon. With this serve you can't beat strong opponents. He also looked flat and not at all determined from the start. I am a fan but we never know what to expect from Stef!
The power rankings are basically the top 10 I mean good for you. I thought that you’d make like a little more interesting thing OK so the power rankings I think they should be like what you do you think you’re gonna win you know you just said it wasn’t like a prediction that’s weird, so yeah, I don’t get the power rankings
Not to be too critical but I think what confuses people about the power ranking is that you make it sound like it’s about present form but the rankings do not really reflect that (i.e. if it’s about form, why is injured Alcaraz ahead of back to back clay tournament finalists Tsitsipas and Ruud?). On the other hand, your power rankings DO actually make sense to me if you were just ranking who you think is most likely to win the tournament. But maybe that’s more what you’re going for and I wasn’t listening closely enough to your explanation.
That’s okay. It’s not just recent form. Last year matters, career stuff matters, even hard court stuff matters. It’s just weighing the full picture of what we’ve seen. Meaning, I could have a prediction that Ben Shelton is going to breakthrough this clay season, but that wouldn’t influence the power rankings.
That makes total sense. I think using that kind of information is just how I tend to make my own predictions so I was a little bit confused what the difference was but it makes sense that someone with more knowledge of the game like yourself would be factoring in other levels of analysis when making predictions.
Why you being disingenuous about GOATdal’s health? Sure he didn’t limp off the court, but He can’t run or hit fully. Anyone can plainly see there is so much reservation in his motions. And that is because… he’s not healthy. Duh… believe me, if he wasn’t hurt, demenaur would NEVER beat GOATdal. GOATdal would have won Barcelona so easily if he was not hurt.
Why are you smiling like a kid that got some candy when you announce Ruud win a 500?!? The dude should be a grand slam champion and you’re you’re so proud of a 500? if Donald young won it, sure. But Ruud? I’m deducting a lot of points on your grade Gilly boy
Well, Casper has previously severely underperformed at 500 level and above tournaments, so it is nice to see a good guy like Casper finally overcome the hump! Perhaps this is the confidence boost Casper needs to finals Masters 1000’s and maybe even win a grand slam after all these finals results!
So happy Casper won his first ATP 500! 🇳🇴🎾🏆 He really is brilliant on clay! Two finals in two weeks!
Looks like he’s in “could win RG” mode
Me too.
So happy for Ruud and Struff! So deserved!! Congrats to Fucsovic on his 2nd title as well!
Casper was very aggressive in his mind. Casper played confident tennis he hit backhand well. He also returned well broke Stefanos serve three times. Casper said he was hungry to win above the 250 level. I am proud of Casper he is a gentleman. Nice guys can win big.
The "never give up" attitude of Ruud is remarkable. Any player who faced inexorable set backs like him would have thrown in the towel. But he relentlessly persisted with grit and determination and has been finally rewarded for all his efforts.
I watched oth Monte Carlo and Barcelona finals. IiBarcelona I finally saw Casper looking like someone who believes he could win. In Monte Carlo it was almost like he knew that he had to play through the match to get the second place prize. Very nice and well deserved trophy for Casper. Hopefully the first of many more bigger trophies, especially on clay.
Jannik actually does have a French Open quarterfinal to his name. It was back in 2020 tbf but he does have one.
@Gill Gross Quick correction: Sinner has one RG QF appearance: 2020 RG, in fact, that was his 1st Slam QF appearance. He did lose to Nadal that year although he did served for the 1st set
Very important win for Casper, super happy for him.
Glad to see Struff finally win his 1st ATP title and also to Marton Fucsovics who won his 2nd ATP title in Bucharest.
I hope this shuts down the “Ruud has no weapons” gang. Ruud has always had all the shots to pull it off, and I genuinely believe it was his mentality that prevented him from bringing the firepower to big matches. He has a forehand that’s genuinely on the same level as Stef’s, a decent serve, a good backhand, decent slice, decent hands, even a solid return though inconsistent. Hopefully this helps him turn a corner and bring a better fight to the top guys. Win over Djokovic, win over Stef on clay, 500 title… it’s been a huge clay season for Ruud so far. And usually he doesn’t even get himself going until Rome. Let’s pray for a favorable RG draw lol.
I am no longer a long-suffering Ruud fan :') so glad I tuned in for the match yesterday, it was so worth it. I'm so happy to see all the work he's done on his backhand the past few years also paying dividends; some of the crucial points were won on his backhand.
Sometimes nice guys do finish first. The stars were definitely aligned for these three players: Casper Ruud 🏆👏Jan-Leonard Struff 🏆👏Marton Fucsovics 🏆👏. What a wonderfully unpredictable weekend in tennis. You love to see it!
Gill, you are amazing...
Your analysis of the Fritz vs Struff match, that I didn't see, is so vivid that I actually feel and believe that I did see it :)
I watched Tsitsipas vs Ruud match... happy for Ruud to win, just wish I heard more of the commentators than Tsitsipas' parents throughout the match.
He must be aware that this year, with Alcaraz being absent, he missed a "life time opportunity" to finally win Barcelona...
Hi Gill, when I was watching the Final, I thought Casper Rudd must have your previous video regarding Monti Carlo final , he did go for down the line backhand as you suggested, so well done 👍🏻 Gill
That was my thought too! Even his demeanour was strikingly different right from the start.
Exactly what I said, when I was watching the match
Thanks Gill. As a Ruud fan it was good to see this video explaining the specifics. I did a certain analysis of the entirety of the match and saw that Ruud of all backhand ground strokes sliced 24% of the time (of course this includes a lot of on the runs and stretches but normally it never comes nearly as high for most top players). That's very high for a two-hander. The usual figure on clay is around 10% or less.
brilliant analysis of Casper's match...he's also a great athlete...Casper has all the ability in the world and used it. The other super performance was that of Jan Struff who is one of my favourite players to watch...
Congrats to Casper! Well deserved win 🎉
Yes agree about fatigue for Stef, and although they both came off a MC final, the thrill and excitement for Stef must have made it difficult to come down from. His post match presser pretty much summed up what most of his fans knew all week! Great for Casper at last!
Perfect timing. Was just about to sit down and eat food and I needed something to watch!!
Hi Gill, great content as always. Just to be pedantic, Sinner does have a RG quarter final to his name admittedly from a while ago in 2020. 🙂
Great for Casper! 😊 He is one cool dude!
Aww Gill - no mention of Fucsy? Bucharest, Fucsovics' first title in 6 years... that one's on a Karen Khachanov-Grigor Dimitrov level of drought for me! I really like Marton so I was looking forward to a bit of fun analysis.
Sorry, just had too many other things in this show to prepare. Happy for Fucsy!
@@GillGross all good Gill ! Unbeatable content as always, regardless :)
Enjoying the newsletter !
Thanks, Gil. Great analysis but saying Nadal is healthy and then not putting him in the power rankings is interesting 😄 I guess it's because power rankings are based on recent performance, but you did include Berrettini...
No one sent the note to JLS that the conditions do not favor attack tennis 😂. If he can conserve that form, he will be a force in Madrid again 💪
You are absolutely spot on! 👍👏😊❤️
Top analysis as always Gill
super happy for Casper. Remember - he is hot on hardcourts. Already in two finals this year. More to come.
What about Fucsovics' title?
It's great that Martin was able to win, but the Tiriac Open had a pretty abysmal draw, with no top-20 players and a seed actually going to a player ranked 60th. Not as pathetic as some of the early South American clay-swing events, but it really has little bearing on the overall tennis landscape.
Casper is quietly having a blinder of a year so far!
Not so quietly anymore with this win. 🤗 Super happy for him, well deserved win.
@@mireafelder8194 Indeed!! If he keeps this up throughout the whole year, he has a wicked shot at being top 4/5 at the end of it. He's giving himself a good buffer for if he doesn't make the French Open semis/final.
As much as I love Nadal and i get that its hard to let go of something you've been doing successfully for 20 years. But I feel its time to stop and say goodbye. No shame in that. 22 GS is plenty and i cant think of a single player who will maybe come close to that (that or Joker's 24). I just hate to see him lose and RG are 3 winning sets. I just don't see him being able to keep up esp. with that weak serve atm. I could be wrong of course. On top of that, the 'fear' factor is gone. Younger players know he's not the same. I forsee joker do much better for the rest of the year. I guess we'll see.
Couldn't agree more with all of what you said. Especially with Gill emphasizing so much Nadal only lost to a "in-form" ADM (who never was that great of a clay court player in the first place, let's be honest). I hope Nadal get's this one last big win he's hoping for, but I truly doubt it. He just can't let go which is understandable of course. Let's just hope he doesn't get bagled like Roger in his last match in Wimbledon against Hurkacz people are still making fun of.
If Casper carries this mentality forward, he is a real threat in RG. Really curious to see how he matches up with Sinner and Alcaraz on clay.
Skipping Madrid and playing Rome is a very good decision. Madrid''s clay is different from Rome Clay. Rome's clay is similar to FO surface
I wasn't convinced by Tsitsipas's level this week, thought Ruud was playing better and fancied he would win this final. Probably emotional fatigue as opposed to physical after Monte Carlo, probably the least he should have been doing with this draw is make the final.
I have the feeling that Zverev has a very very good chance at RG this year. He is very very good on clay
Jannik’s first slam QF was in French in 2020… yes it was in fall, not during normal time of the year, but still… Rare unforced error 😜.
Lets goo casperrr!!!
Congratulations Casper for his first ATP title! 🎉
Sinner has a RG quarterfinals
Just the one, all the way back in 2020. Awesome first big run from him.
What would Casper and/or Stef have to do to break into the top 3? I mean, Casper already beat Djokovic and they have been the finalists in both big clay tourneys so far.
The wildcard system does seem unfair to players from smaller tennis nations, as it often favors players from the host country. This can limit opportunities for talented players from less prominent tennis nations to compete in prestigious events like Grand Slams and Masters tournaments.
2 good for stefs level at the moment from casper. Stef keep fighting
Two things:
1. Did anyone else know that this was Ruud's first atp 500 title and his highest?!
2. Title says "Nadal returns healthy" ... maybe. It's a shame but a a guy who'se been out with injury most of the season last two years shouldn't have pre-announced a full year of competitive farewell tour. Instead he should have done some exhibition matches to sign things off. I really think he should still return for some competitive doubles matches if not exhibition matches. Something light on his body
Having Berrettini over Shelton is a brave move for the power rankings.
I don't have a problem with that. Shelton, FAA and Fils are my least favorite players
he likes to post his masters 1000 previews after the tournaments begin, I dont get it 😂
Madrid will be out before first ball! A couple hours
@@GillGross Looks like your finalist pick, Tsitsipas, is already out. Seems your recency bias got the better of you again. You missed Struff as a dark horse, despite his Munich win and last year's finalist status. As an Alcaraz fan, I'm more concerned about facing Struff since I watched the draw. If Alcaraz gets past him, he's set for the finals.
Terrible serving from Stef! His serve used to be a major weapon. With this serve you can't beat strong opponents. He also looked flat and not at all determined from the start. I am a fan but we never know what to expect from Stef!
Utterly hilarious that Nadal is going to have to face Demon again in Madrid.
The power rankings are basically the top 10 I mean good for you. I thought that you’d make like a little more interesting thing OK so the power rankings I think they should be like what you do you think you’re gonna win you know you just said it wasn’t like a prediction that’s weird, so yeah, I don’t get the power rankings
Nadal should at least be in the Next Out power rankings for Roland Garros
Not to be too critical but I think what confuses people about the power ranking is that you make it sound like it’s about present form but the rankings do not really reflect that (i.e. if it’s about form, why is injured Alcaraz ahead of back to back clay tournament finalists Tsitsipas and Ruud?). On the other hand, your power rankings DO actually make sense to me if you were just ranking who you think is most likely to win the tournament. But maybe that’s more what you’re going for and I wasn’t listening closely enough to your explanation.
That’s okay. It’s not just recent form. Last year matters, career stuff matters, even hard court stuff matters. It’s just weighing the full picture of what we’ve seen. Meaning, I could have a prediction that Ben Shelton is going to breakthrough this clay season, but that wouldn’t influence the power rankings.
That makes total sense. I think using that kind of information is just how I tend to make my own predictions so I was a little bit confused what the difference was but it makes sense that someone with more knowledge of the game like yourself would be factoring in other levels of analysis when making predictions.
I think the L for Tsitsipas was mostly a fatigue issue
What happened to spoiler alerts?
Power ranking
1.Carlos
2.Djokovic
3.Stef
4.Sascha
5.Sinner
6.Casper
7.Rune
8.Rublev
9.Dimitrov
10.Demon
Update
1.Carlos
2.Djokovic
3.Sinner as of rn ? If he will play RG
4.Casper
5.Sascha
6.Stef
7.Rafa
8.Rublev
9.Rune
10.Medvedev
Soon we will get the retirement
Why you being disingenuous about GOATdal’s health? Sure he didn’t limp off the court, but He can’t run or hit fully. Anyone can plainly see there is so much reservation in his motions. And that is because… he’s not healthy. Duh… believe me, if he wasn’t hurt, demenaur would NEVER beat GOATdal. GOATdal would have won Barcelona so easily if he was not hurt.
lets goo
Why are you smiling like a kid that got some candy when you announce Ruud win a 500?!? The dude should be a grand slam champion and you’re you’re so proud of a 500? if Donald young won it, sure. But Ruud? I’m deducting a lot of points on your grade Gilly boy
Well, Casper has previously severely underperformed at 500 level and above tournaments, so it is nice to see a good guy like Casper finally overcome the hump! Perhaps this is the confidence boost Casper needs to finals Masters 1000’s and maybe even win a grand slam after all these finals results!