Maybe my definition of a one slam wonder is different. I think a one-slam wonder is someone who wins a slam and then we never hear from them again. Medvedev is not a one-slam wonder.
The Alcaraz over-reaction is pretty amusing. It's not like the guy is getting beaten by random journeymen at the start of majors. Since his breakthrough at the USO in 2021, he's been beaten by top players like Medvedev, Djokovic and Zverev x 2. He's reached 7 QFs in 12 majors played with 4 SFs. That's an incredible start to a slam career. People need to calm down a bit.
That’s the crazy part is Alcaraz hasn’t taken a bad loss at slams since Wimbledon 2021 when he was an 18 year old qualifier and lost to Medvedev. USO21 he made QFs, upset Tsitsipas, retired against FAA. AO2022 lost a tight match to Berrettini as the 31 seed; Berrettini went on to make semis. RG22 lost to on-fire Zverev. Wimbledon 2022 lost to Sinner who finished the year top 10. USO2022 he won, AO2023 he was injured and didn’t play, RG2023 lost to Djokovic, Wimbledon he won, USO2023 lost to Medvedev, AO2024 lost to Zverev. No one else can boast this consistency over the last few years, and he isn’t even 21 yet. Do people not realize how rare it is for a 20 year old to be this consistent? And by the way, equally good on every surface? It’s never been seen before.
Thank you for the timestamps Gill, I know they're a bit annoying to set up, but it's such a quality of life improvement for us who don't have time to watch a long video in one go!
First time I have ever seen Djokovic doubt himself. He really wanted to win Davis cup yet Sinner beat him. I think this put a serious dent in his confidence when it comes to Sinner!
Regarding WTA vs ATP dominance. I heard a good explanation from Darren Cahill. Since women don’t have a big weapon like the serve to cruise to finish a match and hold serve. They usually have to play every point wich adds more variability. Men can hold serve easier and be more consistent.
Wow, that’s exciting news that Roddick is starting a podcast! I’m definitely gonna subscribe to that, and I’d love to see you two collab as well. It would be really fun if you guys sat down and analyzed one of Roddick’s matches together, as an idea.
Great stuff Gill. I think one thing that's overlooked in the consistency of the top WTA players is the fact that men are faster than women, but the court size is the same, especially since women and men can have similar groundstroke speeds (the difference is more in the RPMs). The top men are good movers and defenders, so when facing a red-lining big hitter, they still find solutions to win. However, if a good WTA mover faced a hot Ostapenko, there might not be anything she can do. There's too much court to cover relative to their speed. It's a big reason why Gauff has been pretty consistent in her performances because her movement is so elite that it can overcome a big hitting player.
Hey Gill I love your channel and respect you heaps. I want to add my opinion about Djokovic and his motivation compared to last year and going forward. So, last year he had so much to play for and prove to himself and the world, starting with the AO. In 2022 he was deported for not taking the covid-19 vaccination and then his greatest rival won the title, this gave him high motivation, when he won he collapsed in his coaching box and started crying with his team from relief and happiness because the win meant so much to him. At Roland Garros Rafa was out and he had his chance to win more slams than any other male player who ever lived, one of his greatest achievements could finally be reality and that was to get more slams than the other big 2 and with the RG win he got his 3rd CGS. This gave him high motivation There was less motivation at wimby however equalling Feds 8 record was there. Considering he already won the last 4 tournaments that were played I would say he had less motivation to win wimby compared to RG or AO. He certainly had more motivation to win the US open, largely because he had not won for the previous 4 years and he was disqualified in 2020 and not able to play again for not receiving the ccovid-19 vaccination in 2022, he again had high motivation to win. This year however is very different, he has less motivation to win slams, he still has motivation but much less, if you couple that with these young rising stars and Novak's ageing body he will inevitably slow down. No, we are not in a new era yet, it won't happen this year, I still see Novak winning 1 maybe 2 slams this year, his best chance is wimby. However, next year will be very interesting to see. Novak can still win a slam next year but there is no way he will be on the same level next year as 2023, hopefully I don't come across as arrogant, but I feel like the year 2026 will mark the end of the era of Novak dominance if not next year.
Novak came up against a player who had the ability and was confident he could beat him. He knew he couldn't afford to give time to Sinner so tried hitting harder than he is comfortable with. So more errors and out of his comfort zone, he lost to the better player !
Great point Gill re the advantage of a deep 2nd serve return position when you have a big forehand and great movement. Nadal is a case in point. He’s #1 among active players in 2nd serve return % won and he characteristically adopts a deep return position - especially on clay - backed up by his excellent footwork and huge forehand. Alcaraz would do well to give the deeper return position a shot.
Norrie's new offensive play was really refreshing to watch, even if it was mostly about the players he was facing, it would be fun to watch him do that on the grass.
Love your takes. 1) Sinner will be a force, but it's too soon to predict 3+ slams. Pressure is huuuge; 2) Love Medvedev, that guy will at least fight in 1 or 2 slam finals; 3) 5 sets has A TON of impact. It's not just the phisical aspect, but mental. Dude wins easy 2 sets and than start giving points away. Horror film immediatly starts playing in his head. The greats thrive in this moment
Yeah Djokovic wore black against Davydenko in a WTF back when Djokovic played with a Wilson Blade. I thought he was trying out for the PIttsburgh Steelers.
My favourite outfit is the Federer white and pink outfit. A modest blend of pink on an overall white outfit, even the wristbands and the shoes. An overall classy outfit.
Just adding a different perspective on Alcaraz's slump. In Spain, there are rumours that he has lost focus on tennis. Even JC Ferrero (high own coach) said "If he wants to be the best, he needs act like the best and be more professional all year round"., "not resting as much as he would like"(November 2023) Of couse, he can get back to the top and I think he will eventually
That doesn’t sound like he’s “lost focus on tennis,” sounds more like he is a bit immature which is normal for a 20 year old who is having to carry himself with the professionalism of a top 3 player. The way this comment reads (especially the whole “getting back to the top”), you’d think Alcaraz is down to like #8 in the world, or even outside the top 10. Alcaraz is still #2 man! He’s fine. He lost in the quarterfinals to a generational hard court player (Zverev) serving 85%. Be patient; Alcaraz will have some good results during these next few months, build some confidence, and should get himself in a good position to peak at RG and Wimbledon. Also Alcaraz has a big advantage over the field in that he’s basically equally good at all 4 slams. The field is generally a touch weaker on clay (although players like Tsitsipas, Ruud, and Rune are more dangerous so I don’t know how true this is), and much weaker on grass, so that gives Alcaraz better chances at RG and Wimbledon compared to the hard court slams.
Dude, Alcaraz is still at the top. He made it to the US Open semis and ATP tour semi finals as the youngest player since Nadal in 2006 (18 years ago!). The overreaction concerning Alcaraz is simply ridiculous. The kid is just doing fine.
While I may be a bit concerned with Alcaraz’ performances of late, I’m also aware that he has been trying to live up to everyone’s expectations, especially after that magnificent run to the Champion’s title at Wimbledon last year. However, I’m recalling how Roger Federer struggled after he had beaten Sampras at age 19, and only settled into his promise of greatness around age 21-22 years. There is too much hysteria surrounding Carlos’ ‘slump’ at the moment. One tennis legend by the name of Panatta I think recently took Carlos to task for his performance at the AO 2024, because he lost in the qrtrs. How unfair! Everyone needs to back off, and allow this boy a chance to develop into whomever he is supposed to be on the tennis court, and in life. At least Jannick has had the chance to develop his game, because Carlos and Rune came along briefly and took the spotlight from him.
Exactly, let's not forget that Jannik is already 2 years older than Carlos. Carlos made it to the US Open semis and ATP tour semi finals as the youngest player since Nadal in 2006 (18 years ago!). The overreaction concerning Alcaraz is simply ridiculous. This kid is just doing fine.
Congrats to Bhopana, but he isn’t actually the oldest Grand a slam winner. Martina Navrátilová won the mixed doubles at the 2006 US Open, just short of her 50th birthday.
Regarding Alcaraz, we can’t forget the GOAT herself Serena Jameka Williams won her first major in 1999 very young and then had a couple years refining her game before winning her next slam(s) in 2002 after 2.5 years. So let’s have some perspective with these last couple months for Alcaraz people.
Why do we need to?! He is not doing bad at all. He is just not winning every tournament, which you are not supposed to. Those people who made those comments or show concerns are generally having a narrow perspective in their own lives, if you ask me.
@@Piedpied951 Exactly. He made it to the US Open semis and ATP tour semi finals as the youngest player since Nadal in 2006 (18 years ago!). The overreaction concerning Alcaraz is simply ridiculous. This kid is just doing fine.
Have one question, men's play best of 5 and women's play best of 3. It means that the men have to do more work and play for more more hrs than women, still women's get the same prize as women. It seem ridiculous. Aryna Sabalenka played 1hr 20 mins, and took the same prize money as Jannik Sinner who was in the court for more than 4 hrs. Where is the equality here? If women's want equal prize money, they should also play best of 5. What's your thoughts?
It is called collectivism/socialism, inmoral and inefficient. But hey the state is the one to set different rules/laws according to the person (gender, skin colour, etc) instead of their actions (as we all do in a free world/market)... Sadly, It is getting worse In this case it is not about working/playing for 1 or 10 hours, as always, it is about what the value of what you produce, if wta were more intense and interesting for more people female player would earn more (not just because of their gender), the same way in many jobs women tend to earn more than men
Nadal looked great in Brisbane, he just ran out of steam a little bit against Thompson, but still had a great chance to win. If he stays healthy he will be competitive without a doubt.
We can’t pretend to have the arrogance of knowing what would’ve happened. 53:52- Great statement Gil. I’m not gonna pretend to have the arrogance to know how much more interesting all sports commentary would be if all the sports commentators had this same view- but I’d like to think it would be a lot better - or a lot shorter!
How much of the Djokovic slump could be possibly due to issues with / resentment from his wife? It's rare (and perfectly justifiable as well) for a wife of any top player to not accept that her world and schedule simply revolves around that of her spouse. Issues like why does the wife need to bear the majority of the responsibility of parenting, ferrying the kids to and from school, taking care of them when they're sick, etc.
This was definitely an issue during his slump a few years ago. Jelena was very candid about her discomfort with being a “tennis wife” on Graham Besinger in a way that reminded me of how Gisele Bundchen used to speak about her marriage to Tom Brady before she finally divorced him. Djokovic has lately been alluding more to his “off court responsibilities” & I think his marriage generally comes across as being a little more complicated than that of the other Big 4. He mentions his children & his parents & brothers a lot more than his wife & tends to prioritise other family members & his team when getting emotional after victories.
Rune should have a great clay season and is pretty good on grass. His struggles on outdoor hard are somewhat concerning, but if he can get himself into a rhythm he’ll keep his top 10 spot. His top level is too good and he has a real shot at winning a clay Masters. Tsitsipas is just too talented to take out. He’s still a great clay courter who also should have a strong clay season, and he has the talent to make a slam final or win a Masters. He’ll put together enough good results to stay in; the man has been a consistent top 5 or near top 5 player for years now. Nadal is a crapshoot right now. He could finish as high as top 4 or he could finish outside the top 50, no one really knows. He could feasibly come back in clay season and win RG, Monte Carlo, and Rome, or he could have a disappointing season full of early losses. Leaving him in or out is just a judgement call that’s impossible to make, as you have to predict his durability.
@@SJ-di5zu Fully agree on Nadal. Rune has been stagnant for some time and I do expect him to follow the footsteps of Auger-Alliasime a bit. Tsitsipas is somewhat a wild guess like Nadal, has the game but everybody is exploiting his BH and he is still not working on it, workes on his serve which works the best...
@@MA-rq6ieRune hasn’t been stagnant for that long, and his career honestly looks similar to Sinner’s at the same age. Clearly has a high top level, not many weaknesses in his game, but needs to polish certain things and his durability isn’t good enough. Anyways, FAA’s trajectory was fluky and weird, because he actually was doing all the right things, made a GS SF at USO2021, cracked the top 8 in 2022, then inexplicably fell off. He didn’t really stagnate ever. Tsitsipas is still talented enough to beat the lower ranked players behind serve and forehand, but he has weird lapses and doesn’t play the top players well. Should be able to keep a top 10 spot, but he needs a big clay season. If he has a weak clay season, I think he’s toast. He’s historically really bad during that stretch from Wimbledon-NA hard courts, indoors he’s decent but not groundbreaking.
Rather than Novak improving since 2019? Surely he has been winning due to lack of big Three opposition (in 2019 he was out played by an ageing Federer) Now we have Sinner and to some extent Alcarez / Medvedev etc. Who believe they can bear him, so he is starting struggle. Age is an issue for him now.
36:11 THISS! Im brazilian and a usually go to original/english/american broadcasting cuz brazilians are too much. But tennis... my goda. Alcaraz rips an impossible down the line one hand backhand while juggling plates on a rope and they go 3o seconds after "well that wasn't bad at all". F this. Brazlians are like QUE QUE ISSO ALCARAZZZ OLHA O QUE ELE FEZZ!!!
Regarding the outcome of the Rafa/Zverev FO 22 match had Zverev not been injured? I don't know. I think the one thing you CAN predict in tennis is that Rafa would have won that match. He was a up a set as it was. And it's the French. Let me say it again: It's Rafa at the French.
It's early days Gill but I've now listened to the first two Andy roddick served podcasts and compared to your work, it's boring as... if he is competition, he ain't got nothing on you! We will see how he progresses, obviously being a high profile former player, he should be able to get interesting guests but from what I've seen I'd have to say underwhelming so far. You will remain my go to along with Coffee break tennis when he does episodes. Thanks heaps for all your hard work.
Re: Tennis Media, I vibe with the anonymous comment. So, I just watch matches without commentary, despite the endless replays. And I think they can hire someone who can provide more knowledge and depth while the “personality” yaps on and on, as many youtube channels do that feature teams.
Did Medvedev adopt new string technology for more power, sacrificing some accuray, hence hitting fewer backhands down the line in this tournament? This is certainly my impression. I missed those laser backhands on or close to the line.
sorry to correct, but Gill was not high on Sinner in his predictions of the start of this season. Right Gill? You predicted a dip after a run of the tail of 2023. Not as deep as FOA in 2023, but dip never the less. personally I'm happy that you've been wrong and I guess you are too. Sometimes being wrong is a good thing, right?
23:28 ...that's already happened in turin vs djokovic, with sinner already #4...the answer has been: 1)killing djokovic, winning by himself the davis cup, 2)killing djokovic and beating maddy in a comeback, winning the AO
52:05 I think sometimes the talk of “pressure” and “mental strength” gets a little too rigid, and not to call you out at all Gill because you’re usually good about this. But like, just because Djokovic has come through 10 times doesn’t mean he’s invincible to pressure. He’s human. Sure, he will be better at dealing with pressure than anyone, but this Sinner match was hyped up like crazy and maybe Djokovic just had a letdown. Maybe he did feel strangely nervous. Or maybe even the recent defeats to Sinner weighed on his mind. Sure, Novak has had many similarly hyped matches to this one. Look at AO2019 final, AO2021 final, RG2023 SF, all instances where his opponent was hyped up to beat him and Djokovic came out strong with a great performance. But sometimes you just don’t have it and the pressure gets in your head. This is where I kinda think Djokovic fell apart. There’s no way Novak was that off physically to shank his way down 2 sets. I really think it was mental, that the task felt too big to complete for him.
Gill, Medvedev is awful on clay (loses 50% of his matches). Roddick was as good as Meddy on hard courts, but way better on grass (regarding best one slam player).
That doesn’t really matter. Results>surface versatility. If a guy wins one slam on each surface and another guy wins 20 slams on one surface, the latter player is still better. In this case, Medvedev has been so dominant on hard courts, made 6 GS finals, put up great fights in most of the ones he lost. Not to mention he has an ATP Finals trophy under his belt. Also Medvedev has a Masters on clay (granted, it was a very weird tournament) and a Wimbledon SF. Roddick is obviously better on grass, but I don’t really recall Roddick’s most notable achievements on clay to be honest. I don’t think he won a Masters ever and he definitely didn’t make an RG final, although he was playing in an era where Nadal was crushing everyone on clay.
Maybe now people will stop disrespecting Nadal and Federer by saying Alcaraz is a combo of both and changed tennis forever 😂 I always knew these commentators were clueless. Nadal and Federer are one offs. They changed the game completely : Fire and Ice.
Look at his height. He’s not tall and doesn’t naturally get the leverage to hit with power. Look at de menaur… just a pusher… Alcaraz got buffer to improve his power and it helped him to win slams. Look at his body 2021 vs 2022 and look at his game. He needed that muscle mass.
@@goldwolf0606 Yes, but the injuries he's getting are connected to that, I guess. I bet he also takes nutritional supplements and what not, which is never good for your body.
I have a lot of experience with Reddit. It’s become a place that pushes divisive and sensational stories. I like the Reddit concept, but how about a Reddit clone that’s 100% no fee, with all of Reddit’s features. No moderators. Instead, each user has tools such as being able to flag questionable content. There will be a code of conduct shared across all subreddits. The user will be timed.
Best 1 slam winner is Andy Roddick. Only The great Federer stopped him. Chokevedev just choked to A skinny carrot top 😂😂😂. Delpo was a close second, injury derailed him, but he competed against prime Federer GOATdal and Weakvak…
1hour in; why do you call a it drive volley? it is not a drive shot. it is highly topspin shot most of the time. swing volley would be ok with me, but drive? I have never seen it hit flat (as a drive), so this terminology doesn't sit with me very well. it is a topspin volley 99% of times. it is not that it doesn't exist, you can hit drive volley out of a high ball when you you are close to the net and you can't hit an overhead, then you can and should drive it, but in the context of what you were talking about, I see no drive at all. what do you think?
ChokoGil doesn’t know why ranking matters 😂😂😂 it’s called intimidation factor 1>2>3>4… duh… it only doesn’t matter in two instances. 1) If your name is GOATdal and everyone is afraid of you no matter what ranking you are except when injured. 2) If you are number 1 and your name is Cheatvak Chokovic, weak guys like stanimal Murray sinner and Chokevedev pimp slap you and even make you cry anyways 😂😂😂
Doublefaultovic has worn black… but he always got whooped in it so no one remembers 😂 😂😂😂 they remember him crying from the whooping 😂 don’t believe me? Go watch him doublefaultovic away the 2012 French open and cry on the podium. 😂😂😂 the French dude had to pat him on the back saying “there there” 😂😂😂 try to say it with a French accent 😂😂😂
Why don’t you call that new mailbag the chokoletter since you’re such a ChokoGil now 😂😂😂 your efforts would be better put into DeChokofying this show 😂😂😂 I miss the old days man. When you were a Federer and Ferrer fan. All your Chokosquirrely behavior has taken away from a once great show.
Gillybob, you got a wife. Make her put make up on you 😂😂😂 it will hide the dark circles in her your eyes that you got when you took a tennis ball to the face 😂😂😂😂 You know I’m djoking right? 😂😂😂😂remember when chokevak took one to the face ? 😂😂😂 all seriousness though, make up hides dark spots
Clearly Sinner got lucky playing a sick Novak and an exhausted Medvedev. But his guy tries to be likeable and PC....which is more important to him than facts
![ARGENTINA vs. BOLIVIA [6-0] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 10](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/C3wPtKNbAOA/mqdefault.jpg)
So happy to hear that Andy Roddick is starting a RUclips channel! I always liked his commentaries.
Maybe my definition of a one slam wonder is different. I think a one-slam wonder is someone who wins a slam and then we never hear from them again. Medvedev is not a one-slam wonder.
Exactly....Thomas Johansson!
Neither was Lendl
@@MrBjorn6 Lendl won 8
Can Thiem be consider a one slam wonder?
@@1Caru no, thiem was a contender and made finals all the time.
Always excited to grab a coffee and listen to Gill Gross
The Alcaraz over-reaction is pretty amusing. It's not like the guy is getting beaten by random journeymen at the start of majors. Since his breakthrough at the USO in 2021, he's been beaten by top players like Medvedev, Djokovic and Zverev x 2. He's reached 7 QFs in 12 majors played with 4 SFs. That's an incredible start to a slam career. People need to calm down a bit.
That’s the crazy part is Alcaraz hasn’t taken a bad loss at slams since Wimbledon 2021 when he was an 18 year old qualifier and lost to Medvedev. USO21 he made QFs, upset Tsitsipas, retired against FAA. AO2022 lost a tight match to Berrettini as the 31 seed; Berrettini went on to make semis. RG22 lost to on-fire Zverev. Wimbledon 2022 lost to Sinner who finished the year top 10. USO2022 he won, AO2023 he was injured and didn’t play, RG2023 lost to Djokovic, Wimbledon he won, USO2023 lost to Medvedev, AO2024 lost to Zverev.
No one else can boast this consistency over the last few years, and he isn’t even 21 yet. Do people not realize how rare it is for a 20 year old to be this consistent? And by the way, equally good on every surface? It’s never been seen before.
@@SJ-di5zuand how has he done since then?
Thank you for all you do, no other tennis channel comes close 🙏🏻
Would love to hear you and Roddick together!
Thank you!!!
Thank you for the timestamps Gill, I know they're a bit annoying to set up, but it's such a quality of life improvement for us who don't have time to watch a long video in one go!
Thanks to the one and only GOLDWOLF… when Gil listens to the all mighty, his show gets better 😂 when he is a ChokoGil, it gets whacker 😂😂😂
First time I have ever seen Djokovic doubt himself. He really wanted to win Davis cup yet Sinner beat him. I think this put a serious dent in his confidence when it comes to Sinner!
Regarding WTA vs ATP dominance. I heard a good explanation from Darren Cahill. Since women don’t have a big weapon like the serve to cruise to finish a match and hold serve. They usually have to play every point wich adds more variability. Men can hold serve easier and be more consistent.
Medvedev is without a doubt the GOAT of press conferences. Think most big tennis fans say this. He is phenomenal.
Wow, that’s exciting news that Roddick is starting a podcast! I’m definitely gonna subscribe to that, and I’d love to see you two collab as well. It would be really fun if you guys sat down and analyzed one of Roddick’s matches together, as an idea.
Tell him I sent you :)
@@GillGrossGot you bro!
@GillGross already did!
I also watched it and my first thought was, he needs to get Gill on 🙂
Nice of Gill to give these smaller RUclips creators a shoutout, really looking out for Andy Roddick
The pause at NikGroz killed me 😂
Why 😂😂😂
@@rublo1 😂 you know why. He almost said it quickly then he caught himself
Gill!! Thanks so much for the shoutout! 🙌🙌 so appreciate you!
Great stuff Gill. I think one thing that's overlooked in the consistency of the top WTA players is the fact that men are faster than women, but the court size is the same, especially since women and men can have similar groundstroke speeds (the difference is more in the RPMs). The top men are good movers and defenders, so when facing a red-lining big hitter, they still find solutions to win. However, if a good WTA mover faced a hot Ostapenko, there might not be anything she can do. There's too much court to cover relative to their speed. It's a big reason why Gauff has been pretty consistent in her performances because her movement is so elite that it can overcome a big hitting player.
Hey Gill I love your channel and respect you heaps.
I want to add my opinion about Djokovic and his motivation compared to last year and going forward. So, last year he had so much to play for and prove to himself and the world, starting with the AO. In 2022 he was deported for not taking the covid-19 vaccination and then his greatest rival won the title, this gave him high motivation, when he won he collapsed in his coaching box and started crying with his team from relief and happiness because the win meant so much to him. At Roland Garros Rafa was out and he had his chance to win more slams than any other male player who ever lived, one of his greatest achievements could finally be reality and that was to get more slams than the other big 2 and with the RG win he got his 3rd CGS. This gave him high motivation
There was less motivation at wimby however equalling Feds 8 record was there. Considering he already won the last 4 tournaments that were played I would say he had less motivation to win wimby compared to RG or AO. He certainly had more motivation to win the US open, largely because he had not won for the previous 4 years and he was disqualified in 2020 and not able to play again for not receiving the ccovid-19 vaccination in 2022, he again had high motivation to win.
This year however is very different, he has less motivation to win slams, he still has motivation but much less, if you couple that with these young rising stars and Novak's ageing body he will inevitably slow down. No, we are not in a new era yet, it won't happen this year, I still see Novak winning 1 maybe 2 slams this year, his best chance is wimby. However, next year will be very interesting to see. Novak can still win a slam next year but there is no way he will be on the same level next year as 2023, hopefully I don't come across as arrogant, but I feel like the year 2026 will mark the end of the era of Novak dominance if not next year.
Novak came up against a player who had the ability and was confident he could beat him.
He knew he couldn't afford to give time to Sinner so tried hitting harder than he is comfortable with. So more errors and out of his comfort zone, he lost to the better player !
Glad to hear that the three podcast will continue. Ive been wondering about that same question for a few months now
Great point Gill re the advantage of a deep 2nd serve return position when you have a big forehand and great movement. Nadal is a case in point. He’s #1 among active players in 2nd serve return % won and he characteristically adopts a deep return position - especially on clay - backed up by his excellent footwork and huge forehand. Alcaraz would do well to give the deeper return position a shot.
gill 🐐
Norrie's new offensive play was really refreshing to watch, even if it was mostly about the players he was facing, it would be fun to watch him do that on the grass.
Love your takes.
1) Sinner will be a force, but it's too soon to predict 3+ slams. Pressure is huuuge;
2) Love Medvedev, that guy will at least fight in 1 or 2 slam finals;
3) 5 sets has A TON of impact. It's not just the phisical aspect, but mental. Dude wins easy 2 sets and than start giving points away. Horror film immediatly starts playing in his head. The greats thrive in this moment
Yeah Djokovic wore black against Davydenko in a WTF back when Djokovic played with a Wilson Blade. I thought he was trying out for the PIttsburgh Steelers.
I'd like to see him in black outifts, not a fan of Lacoste
My favourite outfit is the Federer white and pink outfit. A modest blend of pink on an overall white outfit, even the wristbands and the shoes.
An overall classy outfit.
Goodness. The content has been pumping non-stop. Take some time to rest in this Post AO period Gil
Vacation time now 😂 off to NY 🙌
@@GillGrosswhy didn’t you come play me when I was in LA about 2 weeks ago? You said you would…
Undoubtedly.....not undoubtably....otherwise, as usual - AWESOME POST and THANK YOU!
Nadal had an incredible all black USO kit in 2010 too which I was a huge fan of. But I do think we’re all biased towards majors they’ve won…
Yes that gear was incredible
Just adding a different perspective on Alcaraz's slump. In Spain, there are rumours that he has lost focus on tennis. Even JC Ferrero (high own coach) said "If he wants to be the best, he needs act like the best and be more professional all year round"., "not resting as much as he would like"(November 2023)
Of couse, he can get back to the top and I think he will eventually
That doesn’t sound like he’s “lost focus on tennis,” sounds more like he is a bit immature which is normal for a 20 year old who is having to carry himself with the professionalism of a top 3 player. The way this comment reads (especially the whole “getting back to the top”), you’d think Alcaraz is down to like #8 in the world, or even outside the top 10. Alcaraz is still #2 man! He’s fine. He lost in the quarterfinals to a generational hard court player (Zverev) serving 85%. Be patient; Alcaraz will have some good results during these next few months, build some confidence, and should get himself in a good position to peak at RG and Wimbledon.
Also Alcaraz has a big advantage over the field in that he’s basically equally good at all 4 slams. The field is generally a touch weaker on clay (although players like Tsitsipas, Ruud, and Rune are more dangerous so I don’t know how true this is), and much weaker on grass, so that gives Alcaraz better chances at RG and Wimbledon compared to the hard court slams.
Dude, Alcaraz is still at the top. He made it to the US Open semis and ATP tour semi finals as the youngest player since Nadal in 2006 (18 years ago!). The overreaction concerning Alcaraz is simply ridiculous. The kid is just doing fine.
Great answers
geeking out with Gill.. love it !
While I may be a bit concerned with Alcaraz’ performances of late, I’m also aware that he has been trying to live up to everyone’s expectations, especially after that magnificent run to the Champion’s title at Wimbledon last year. However, I’m recalling how Roger Federer struggled after he had beaten Sampras at age 19, and only settled into his promise of greatness around age 21-22 years. There is too much hysteria surrounding Carlos’ ‘slump’ at the moment. One tennis legend by the name of Panatta I think recently took Carlos to task for his performance at the AO 2024, because he lost in the qrtrs. How unfair! Everyone needs to back off, and allow this boy a chance to develop into whomever he is supposed to be on the tennis court, and in life. At least Jannick has had the chance to develop his game, because Carlos and Rune came along briefly and took the spotlight from him.
Exactly, let's not forget that Jannik is already 2 years older than Carlos. Carlos made it to the US Open semis and ATP tour semi finals as the youngest player since Nadal in 2006 (18 years ago!). The overreaction concerning Alcaraz is simply ridiculous. This kid is just doing fine.
Yes, exactly. Going off the radar for a while was the best thing that could have happened to Sinner.
42:30 "Djokovic, Rafa, and even Novak retire" you mean Dennis Novak? 😁
how do you feel about djokovic’s 2008 australian open outfit? a lot of blue but overall has that black shirt vibe. i’d say it’s a nice candidate
The Nadal and Paire example was good haha 😂
Congrats to Bhopana, but he isn’t actually the oldest Grand a slam winner. Martina Navrátilová won the mixed doubles at the 2006 US Open, just short of her 50th birthday.
Regarding Alcaraz, we can’t forget the GOAT herself Serena Jameka Williams won her first major in 1999 very young and then had a couple years refining her game before winning her next slam(s) in 2002 after 2.5 years. So let’s have some perspective with these last couple months for Alcaraz people.
Why do we need to?! He is not doing bad at all. He is just not winning every tournament, which you are not supposed to. Those people who made those comments or show concerns are generally having a narrow perspective in their own lives, if you ask me.
@@Piedpied951 Exactly. He made it to the US Open semis and ATP tour semi finals as the youngest player since Nadal in 2006 (18 years ago!). The overreaction concerning Alcaraz is simply ridiculous. This kid is just doing fine.
Have one question, men's play best of 5 and women's play best of 3. It means that the men have to do more work and play for more more hrs than women, still women's get the same prize as women. It seem ridiculous. Aryna Sabalenka played 1hr 20 mins, and took the same prize money as Jannik Sinner who was in the court for more than 4 hrs. Where is the equality here?
If women's want equal prize money, they should also play best of 5.
What's your thoughts?
ChokoGil is afraid to answer that question 😂😂😂 he knows you’re right but he doesn’t want to offend any feminists 😂😂😂
It is called collectivism/socialism, inmoral and inefficient. But hey the state is the one to set different rules/laws according to the person (gender, skin colour, etc) instead of their actions (as we all do in a free world/market)... Sadly, It is getting worse
In this case it is not about working/playing for 1 or 10 hours, as always, it is about what the value of what you produce, if wta were more intense and interesting for more people female player would earn more (not just because of their gender), the same way in many jobs women tend to earn more than men
If you want to argue women should be paid less, it should be because they don't generate the same amount of revenue, not because they don't play bo5.
@@goldwolf0606 he never answers real question, such a pu
@@stef_v men's tennis is more competitive than women, everyday
Funny that you say you can't picture Novak in black. He was most iconic in black back in the day and thats always how I still see him in my mind.
Nadal looked great in Brisbane, he just ran out of steam a little bit against Thompson, but still had a great chance to win. If he stays healthy he will be competitive without a doubt.
Meddy will win more slams, just a few more tweaks are needed.
We can’t pretend to have the arrogance of knowing what would’ve happened.
53:52- Great statement Gil.
I’m not gonna pretend to have the arrogance to know how much more interesting all sports commentary would be if all the sports commentators had this same view- but I’d like to think it would be a lot better - or a lot shorter!
The women vs men debate on dominance comes down to holding serve. Women have less dominant serves so the margins of victory shrink.
How much of the Djokovic slump could be possibly due to issues with / resentment from his wife? It's rare (and perfectly justifiable as well) for a wife of any top player to not accept that her world and schedule simply revolves around that of her spouse. Issues like why does the wife need to bear the majority of the responsibility of parenting, ferrying the kids to and from school, taking care of them when they're sick, etc.
This was definitely an issue during his slump a few years ago. Jelena was very candid about her discomfort with being a “tennis wife” on Graham Besinger in a way that reminded me of how Gisele Bundchen used to speak about her marriage to Tom Brady before she finally divorced him. Djokovic has lately been alluding more to his “off court responsibilities” & I think his marriage generally comes across as being a little more complicated than that of the other Big 4. He mentions his children & his parents & brothers a lot more than his wife & tends to prioritise other family members & his team when getting emotional after victories.
Exactly.. some of the omissions of his wife in trophy ceremony speeches are especially conspicuous.
Sorry to step on your toes for that question lol, I felt the need to defend women's tennis from the 'low quality' allegations as compared to men's
It is lower quality. Equal pay for less work. They try to embed more with the ATP because they know they can feed off the men’s tour
The only logical choices to take out of top 10 are Tsitsipas, Nadal and Rune but who knows, otherwise great top 10 list
Rune should have a great clay season and is pretty good on grass. His struggles on outdoor hard are somewhat concerning, but if he can get himself into a rhythm he’ll keep his top 10 spot. His top level is too good and he has a real shot at winning a clay Masters.
Tsitsipas is just too talented to take out. He’s still a great clay courter who also should have a strong clay season, and he has the talent to make a slam final or win a Masters. He’ll put together enough good results to stay in; the man has been a consistent top 5 or near top 5 player for years now.
Nadal is a crapshoot right now. He could finish as high as top 4 or he could finish outside the top 50, no one really knows. He could feasibly come back in clay season and win RG, Monte Carlo, and Rome, or he could have a disappointing season full of early losses. Leaving him in or out is just a judgement call that’s impossible to make, as you have to predict his durability.
@@SJ-di5zu Fully agree on Nadal.
Rune has been stagnant for some time and I do expect him to follow the footsteps of Auger-Alliasime a bit. Tsitsipas is somewhat a wild guess like Nadal, has the game but everybody is exploiting his BH and he is still not working on it, workes on his serve which works the best...
@@MA-rq6ieRune hasn’t been stagnant for that long, and his career honestly looks similar to Sinner’s at the same age. Clearly has a high top level, not many weaknesses in his game, but needs to polish certain things and his durability isn’t good enough. Anyways, FAA’s trajectory was fluky and weird, because he actually was doing all the right things, made a GS SF at USO2021, cracked the top 8 in 2022, then inexplicably fell off. He didn’t really stagnate ever.
Tsitsipas is still talented enough to beat the lower ranked players behind serve and forehand, but he has weird lapses and doesn’t play the top players well. Should be able to keep a top 10 spot, but he needs a big clay season. If he has a weak clay season, I think he’s toast. He’s historically really bad during that stretch from Wimbledon-NA hard courts, indoors he’s decent but not groundbreaking.
well, at least we got 2 mins of mentions about great doubles stories lol
Rather than Novak improving since 2019? Surely he has been winning due to lack of big Three opposition (in 2019 he was out played by an ageing Federer)
Now we have Sinner and to some extent Alcarez / Medvedev etc. Who believe they can bear him, so he is starting struggle. Age is an issue for him now.
36:11 THISS! Im brazilian and a usually go to original/english/american broadcasting cuz brazilians are too much. But tennis... my goda. Alcaraz rips an impossible down the line one hand backhand while juggling plates on a rope and they go 3o seconds after "well that wasn't bad at all". F this. Brazlians are like QUE QUE ISSO ALCARAZZZ OLHA O QUE ELE FEZZ!!!
Regarding the outcome of the Rafa/Zverev FO 22 match had Zverev not been injured? I don't know. I think the one thing you CAN predict in tennis is that Rafa would have won that match. He was a up a set as it was. And it's the French. Let me say it again: It's Rafa at the French.
It's early days Gill but I've now listened to the first two Andy roddick served podcasts and compared to your work, it's boring as... if he is competition, he ain't got nothing on you! We will see how he progresses, obviously being a high profile former player, he should be able to get interesting guests but from what I've seen I'd have to say underwhelming so far.
You will remain my go to along with Coffee break tennis when he does episodes.
Thanks heaps for all your hard work.
anyone have a link for roddick's new channel?
Re: Tennis Media, I vibe with the anonymous comment. So, I just watch matches without commentary, despite the endless replays. And I think they can hire someone who can provide more knowledge and depth while the “personality” yaps on and on, as many youtube channels do that feature teams.
Did Medvedev adopt new string technology for more power, sacrificing some accuray, hence hitting fewer backhands down the line in this tournament? This is certainly my impression. I missed those laser backhands on or close to the line.
sorry to correct, but Gill was not high on Sinner in his predictions of the start of this season. Right Gill? You predicted a dip after a run of the tail of 2023. Not as deep as FOA in 2023, but dip never the less. personally I'm happy that you've been wrong and I guess you are too. Sometimes being wrong is a good thing, right?
Predicted him to finish the year 3 in the world start of the season. But yeah didn’t think he’d win the AO.
Didn't take my Raducanu question, Gill 😭💔
Call him ChokoGil and get his attention 😂😂😂
19:41 At AO 2012 he wore black, but I don't think he has had a black outfit with Lacoste.
30:36 No way. In 2022 Alcaraz was no.1 with little over 6000 points. In 2003 Roddick had 9000 points to end no.1
23:28 ...that's already happened in turin vs djokovic, with sinner already #4...the answer has been:
1)killing djokovic, winning by himself the davis cup,
2)killing djokovic and beating maddy in a comeback, winning the AO
I feel pretty strongly that Zverev would lose that match against Rafa actually
I know Novak wore black in one WTF I think in 2012. It was Uni Qlo and not Lacoste tho.
Medvedev 2024 👑💪❤
Where's Otto?
52:05 I think sometimes the talk of “pressure” and “mental strength” gets a little too rigid, and not to call you out at all Gill because you’re usually good about this. But like, just because Djokovic has come through 10 times doesn’t mean he’s invincible to pressure. He’s human. Sure, he will be better at dealing with pressure than anyone, but this Sinner match was hyped up like crazy and maybe Djokovic just had a letdown. Maybe he did feel strangely nervous. Or maybe even the recent defeats to Sinner weighed on his mind.
Sure, Novak has had many similarly hyped matches to this one. Look at AO2019 final, AO2021 final, RG2023 SF, all instances where his opponent was hyped up to beat him and Djokovic came out strong with a great performance. But sometimes you just don’t have it and the pressure gets in your head. This is where I kinda think Djokovic fell apart. There’s no way Novak was that off physically to shank his way down 2 sets. I really think it was mental, that the task felt too big to complete for him.
Gill, Medvedev is awful on clay (loses 50% of his matches). Roddick was as good as Meddy on hard courts, but way better on grass (regarding best one slam player).
That doesn’t really matter. Results>surface versatility. If a guy wins one slam on each surface and another guy wins 20 slams on one surface, the latter player is still better. In this case, Medvedev has been so dominant on hard courts, made 6 GS finals, put up great fights in most of the ones he lost. Not to mention he has an ATP Finals trophy under his belt.
Also Medvedev has a Masters on clay (granted, it was a very weird tournament) and a Wimbledon SF. Roddick is obviously better on grass, but I don’t really recall Roddick’s most notable achievements on clay to be honest. I don’t think he won a Masters ever and he definitely didn’t make an RG final, although he was playing in an era where Nadal was crushing everyone on clay.
Maybe now people will stop disrespecting Nadal and Federer by saying Alcaraz is a combo of both and changed tennis forever 😂
I always knew these commentators were clueless. Nadal and Federer are one offs. They changed the game completely : Fire and Ice.
Alcaraz looked really beefy first half of 2023 and had lots of power , then he lost weight and power ?
I noticed that too. Haven't seen it mentioned too much.
Has Alcaraz overdeveloped his muscle mass? It doesn't go well with tennis, I'm told.
Ehhh I’d say 2010 Nadal was similarly built if not bigger.
No
Look at his height. He’s not tall and doesn’t naturally get the leverage to hit with power. Look at de menaur… just a pusher… Alcaraz got buffer to improve his power and it helped him to win slams. Look at his body 2021 vs 2022 and look at his game. He needed that muscle mass.
@@goldwolf0606 yup!
@@goldwolf0606 Yes, but the injuries he's getting are connected to that, I guess. I bet he also takes nutritional supplements and what not, which is never good for your body.
I have a lot of experience with Reddit. It’s become a place that pushes divisive and sensational stories. I like the Reddit concept, but how about a Reddit clone that’s 100% no fee, with all of Reddit’s features. No moderators. Instead, each user has tools such as being able to flag questionable content. There will be a code of conduct shared across all subreddits.
The user will be timed.
How about Thiem for one slam? Pretty comparable resume to Medvedev it seems?
Medvedev has sustained a top 5 level for considerably longer
FAA will have Cazaux’s number ……😅 hoping he can finally get a win. They’re both French!
FAA is canadian
From Quebec. French Canada. Well, at least where French is spoken.
Christ almighty, well it wouldn’t be a Gill gross mailbag without a “Djokovic Motivation” question
you can easily skip it if it hurts yo b ass so badly
Best 1 slam winner is Andy Roddick. Only The great Federer stopped him. Chokevedev just choked to A skinny carrot top 😂😂😂. Delpo was a close second, injury derailed him, but he competed against prime Federer GOATdal and Weakvak…
Weakvak forgot his Steroiderade 😂😂😂 don’t make no excusovic for him being Weakvak except saying he’s Weakvak 😂😂😂
1hour in; why do you call a it drive volley? it is not a drive shot. it is highly topspin shot most of the time. swing volley would be ok with me, but drive? I have never seen it hit flat (as a drive), so this terminology doesn't sit with me very well. it is a topspin volley 99% of times. it is not that it doesn't exist, you can hit drive volley out of a high ball when you you are close to the net and you can't hit an overhead, then you can and should drive it, but in the context of what you were talking about, I see no drive at all. what do you think?
ChokoGil doesn’t know why ranking matters 😂😂😂 it’s called intimidation factor 1>2>3>4… duh… it only doesn’t matter in two instances. 1) If your name is GOATdal and everyone is afraid of you no matter what ranking you are except when injured. 2) If you are number 1 and your name is Cheatvak Chokovic, weak guys like stanimal Murray sinner and Chokevedev pimp slap you and even make you cry anyways 😂😂😂
Doublefaultovic has worn black… but he always got whooped in it so no one remembers 😂 😂😂😂 they remember him crying from the whooping 😂 don’t believe me? Go watch him doublefaultovic away the 2012 French open and cry on the podium. 😂😂😂 the French dude had to pat him on the back saying “there there” 😂😂😂 try to say it with a French accent 😂😂😂
Why don’t you call that new mailbag the chokoletter since you’re such a ChokoGil now 😂😂😂 your efforts would be better put into DeChokofying this show 😂😂😂 I miss the old days man. When you were a Federer and Ferrer fan. All your Chokosquirrely behavior has taken away from a once great show.
Gillybob, you got a wife. Make her put make up on you 😂😂😂 it will hide the dark circles in her your eyes that you got when you took a tennis ball to the face 😂😂😂😂
You know I’m djoking right? 😂😂😂😂remember when chokevak took one to the face ? 😂😂😂 all seriousness though, make up hides dark spots
One and a half hours!?!🤨😐 Too long for a Grandslam wrap-up. Won't be watching. Keep it to 30 and you'll gain more viewers
No one agrees with you lmao
Please familiarize yourself with some functionalities of RUclips. Nobody orders you to watch a 1.5-hour video in 1.5 hours. Watch smartly -:)
I watch most mailbags at 1.5 speed, try it out
@@RyL3011 😂
To all the patronising low-IQ responses,you totally missed the point 🤦🏻♂️
Novak. You can not run from age.
cringe
Clearly Sinner got lucky playing a sick Novak and an exhausted Medvedev. But his guy tries to be likeable and PC....which is more important to him than facts
Weakvak wasn’t sick 😂😂😂😂 he’s a Fraudovic 😂😂😂😂 Wes dudes win slams on his clock 😂😂😂 GOATdal and Roger would never let that happen 😂😂😂😂
@@goldwolf0606 you sound mentally challenged...
Thanks for stating the obvious but unspoken truth.
Glad someone understood what that sentence means. @@lawdogwales5921