Monday Match Analysis

On the Mailbag, Gill Gross unpacks Novak Djokovic’s split with Goran Ivanisevic, including the media coverage, the reasons for the breakup, who might be next and what value that person should bring to the 24-time major champion. We’ll answer your comments, including: how do we rank events in order of court speed, why Nuno Borges got robbed in Estoril, why Iga Swiatek can struggle against relentless power aggression, how Jannik Sinner will fare on clay, will Medvedev overcome his limitations, has Stefanos Tsitsipas’s forehand declined, what are the ideal surface speeds, can stats help explain errors, what to make of Dominic Thiem’s admission that his wrist still limits his power? 00:00 Intro 00:30 Djokovic x Ivanisevic 10:30 Novak’s Next Coach 18:09 Court Speed Tiers 22:33 Borges Robbery 28:50 Swiatek vs. Power 43:37 Sinner on Clay 38:40 Medvedev’s Limitations 45:08 Sinner vs. Alcaraz Movement 48:35 Tsitsipas Struggles 51:50 Ideal Surfaces 55:58 Explaining Errors 1:00:13 Thiem’s Quote Things I forgot to say… Regarding punishment for umpire mistakes; their performance is constantly being evaluated, so the punishment generally comes in the form of doing smaller matches. Regarding Tsitsipas’s first serve percentage; I am still perplexed by his desire to experiment with the pinpoint footwork given the effectiveness of his serve relative to other areas of his game. Subscribe to The Draw: https://www.thedraw.tennis/subscribe

Note to audio listeners: 6:25 to 19:29 is pretty heavy on visuals; I try to describe what I'm showing as much as possible, but if you wish to skip that part my analysis shifts away from film study thereafter. On Monday Match Analysis, Gill breaks down Jannik Sinner's dominant 2024 Miami Open performance. The Italian took over the #2 ranking with a 6-3 6-1 win over Grigor Dimitrov in the final. We'll cover why Sinner is on a path to number one, how his defense left Dimitrov without answers and what his strategy was in baseline rallies and on serve. We'll also both finalists performance as a whole. 00:00 Intro 03:05 The Draw 04:05 Dimitrov's Chance 6:25 Sinner's Defense = Breaks 19:29 Finding Dimitrov's Backhand 21:35 Sinner Serve Strategy 24:40 Performance Conclusions Subscribe to The Draw, your one-stop-shop for the best tennis content on the internet every week: https://www.thedraw.tennis/subscribe

Top-seed Carlos Alcaraz looked to keep his Sunshine Double chances alive facing Grigor Dimitrov in the 2024 Miami Open quarterfinals. Gill Gross breaks down that result, and previews the semifinals featuring Alexander Zverev and a AO Final rematch of Daniil Medvedev vs. Jannik Sinner. 00:00 Intro 00:25 Alcaraz vs. Dimitrov 17:40 ? vs. Zverev 22:50 Sinner vs. Medvedev

On The Mailbag, Gill Gross answers your comments, including: rating the WTA's one-slam winners of the last decade, my favorite matchups on tour, what could separate Carlos Alcaraz from Jannik Sinner long-term, why is Serena Williams considered the GOAT when Steffi Graf has statistical advantages, what improvements has Daniil Medvedev made this year, how do Alcaraz and Sinner stack up on clay, what is the potential of TopSpin SK25 the video game, how players manage themselves during rain delays, why my old videos are deleted, why is Dominic Thiem still struggling, how will the proposed Super Tour effect lower ranked players, should catching tosses be legal, why am I wearing a hat? 00:00 Intro 1:15 WTA 1-Slam Winners 8:15 Favorite Matchups 13:35 Alcaraz Advantages vs. Sinner 21:00 Serena vs. Steffi 25:25 Medvedev Adjustments 29:05 Alcaraz vs. Sinner Clay 33:35 TopSpin SK25 38:17 Rain Delay Management 41:40 Old Videos 43:45 Dominic Thiem 49:31 SuperTour Effects 54:45 Catching Tosses 57:15 The Hat

With Novak Djokovic’s uncharacteristically sloppy performances against Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open and Luca Nardi at Indian Wells, it is time to take stock of his future. He is, after all, 36 years old. Is Djokovic in decline? While it won’t take long to get an answer, Gill Gross argues it’s still far too soon to know for sure.

On Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross gives his quarter-by-quarter predictions for the 2024 Miami Open, featuring upset alerts, dark horses and popcorn matchups. Defending champion Daniil Medvedev, Indian Wells champion Carlos Alcaraz and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner are deserved top-3 seeds. Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud are among the many looking to break the mold. 00:00 Intro 01:30 Alcaraz Q 08:52 Zverev Q 15:05 Medvedev Q 21:12 Sinner Q 28:00 Final Weekend

On Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross discusses Carlos Alcaraz's massive week at Indian Wells. How he found found his best tennis to snap Jannik Sinner's 19-match win streak and then beat Daniil Medvedev in the final for his first title since Wimbledon. We'll also cover takeaways from the Phoenix Challenger and Gill will share his personal experience in commentating it. 00:00 Intro 01:15 Alcaraz Improvements 05:52 Alcaraz d. Sinner 15:45 Alcaraz-Medvedev Serving 18:50 1st Set Tiebreak 22:00 2nd Set 24:18 Alcaraz FH Stats 28:56 Phoenix Takeaways 40:08 Commentary

On this week's Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross goes over some high-profile Sunday matches at Indian Wells. Carlos Alcaraz had no trouble defeating former #6 Felix Auger-Aliassime. Jannik Sinner blitzed past Jan-Lennard Struff. Andrey Rublev was overpowered by a redlining Jiri Lehecka. Gill explains his tweet about Coco Gauff's deciding set impressiveness. 00:00 Intro 03:30 Alcaraz d. FAA 22:40 Sinner d. Struff 27:33 Lehecka d. Rublev 33:05 Deciding Set Stats

On this week's Mailbag, Gill Gross reacts to the cancellation of Netflix's tennis docuseries Break Point and dissects the Simona Halep ruling that paves the way for her return to tennis, before answering your comments: should Rafael Nadal have withdrawn from Indian Wells earlier, are the courts in Palm Springs faster this year, why do Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev have very different feeling towards clay despite their similar styles, did the ATP admit that Andrey Rublev shouldn't have been defaulted, why are Holger Rune's indoor HC results so much better than outdoor, what would Gill do as commissioner of tennis, how has Alex de Minaur improved and what would it take for Gill to cover more doubles. 00:00 Intro 01:22 Break Point 04:50 Halep Ruling 16:10 Nadal Withdrawal 25:48 Indian Wells Courtspeed 29:27 Medvedev vs. Zverev Clay 32:00 Matteo Arnaldi 35:42 Rublev's Appeal 42:10 Rune Outdoor HC 45:15 Commissioner of Tennis 49:50 Alex De Minaur 52:58 Doubles Analysis

On Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross previews Indian Wells with quarter-by-quarter predictions, dark horses, upset alerts and popcorn matchups. Top-seed Novak Djokovic returns to the California desert for the first time since 2019, two-seed Carlos Alcaraz defends his title, three-seed Jannik Sinner looks to stay perfect this season and four-seed Daniil Medvedev is the reigning finalist. Rafael Nadal returns from injury against longtime adversary Milos Raonic. After the final weekend prediction, we’ll chat with Tennis Channel analyst Nico Pereira to debrief on the Golden Swing of South America. We discuss the Cinderella runs, Sebastian Baez’s growing collection of titles and the calendar trends that could affect tennis in South America. Lastly, Nico explains how the Players Council works. CORRECTION: Baez has won six titles, not five as stated.   00:00 Intro 02:30 Djokovic Quarter 12:03 Medvedev Quarter 22:12 Sinner Quarter 30:40 Alcaraz Quarter 36:27 Final Weekend 39:18 Nico on Golden Swing 42:52 Calendar Changes 49:27 Sebastian Baez 54:37 Players Council