Monday Match Analysis

On this week's Mailbag, Gill Gross answers your comments, including: did Madrid water the clay courts to give Carlos Alcaraz an advantage over Jan-Lennard Struff, how much influence does Juan Carlos Ferrero have over Alcaraz's success and how have they used on-court coaching, is Struff a contender at Roland Garros, how are American commentators different from European ones, why has Felix Auger-Aliassime struggled in 2023, responding to data-driven arguments that Roger Federer is a weak era champion, examining recent fields at the NextGen finals, should Roland Garros have an asterisk, what are the differences between clay surfaces, advice to young tennis media, why Stan Wawrinka fared better against Novak Djokovic than Federer and Rafael Nadal. 00:00 Intro 00:56 Madrid Alcaraz Favoritism 05:38 Juan Carlos Ferrero 12:12 Jan-Lennard Struff 15:59 American vs. European Commentary 18:55 Felix Auger-Aliassime 23:52 Federer Weak Era 32:00 Next-Gen Finals Fields 36:00 Asterisk Majors 40:30 Clay Differences 42:44 Advice for Aspiring Tennis Media 47:14 Wawrinka vs. Djokovic Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

On this edition of Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross previews the 2023 Italian Open in Rome, the final Masters 1000 of the European clay court season ahead of Roland Garros. Novak Djokovic, fresh off a Madrid withdrawal, is the defending champion and the No. 1 seed, followed by Carlos Alcaraz, who has won two consecutive titles. Daniil Medvedev continues to look for some traction on his least favorite surface as the 3-seed, and Casper Ruud the 4-seed is desperate for a big run. Monte Carlo finalists Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune also loom large. 00:00 Rome Intro 04:42 Djokovic Quarter 13:57 Ruud Quarter 24:36 Medvedev Quarter 32:34 Alcaraz Quarter 38:40 Final Weekend Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

On this week’s Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross breaks down Carlos Alcaraz’s 3-set win over Jan-Lennard Struff which secured the Spaniards second straight Madrid Open title. We’ll talk about why Struff proves a tricky opponent for Alcaraz, how Alcaraz overcame the shortcomings of his serve, why his return strategy was ideal and we’ll praise his underrated lobs. After that, we’ll talk about how Madrid and Tournament Director Feliciano Lopez put on a clinic in what not to do to manage bad PR (public relations). We’ll start by going over how the extended 2-week Masters format is already having a profound impact. 00:00 Intro 01:10 Two-Week Masters 05:50 Struff vs. Alcaraz 08:19 Alcaraz Serve Strategy 15:33 Alcaraz Return Strategy 20:40 Struff Serve Struggles 24:55 Alcaraz Lobs 28:28 Madrid Mistakes Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

After defeating Borna Coric, Carlos Alcaraz is one match away from defending his Madrid title. The last man in his way is Jan-Lennard Struff, who became the first lucky loser to ever reach a Masters 1000 Final with his revenge win over Aslan Karatsev. Gill Gross preview and prediction... Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

On this week's Mailbag, Gill Gross answers your questions, including: why isn't anything being done in Simona Halep's doping case, why Russia-Ukraine tensions are more prominent on the WTA Tour, will Daniil Medvedev be a contender at Wimbledon, who is the next Stan Wawrinka, is Dominic Thiem showing promise again, is it easier to beat Carlos Alcaraz in earlier rounds, why was Aslan Karatsev struggling before Madrid, is the two week Masters format good or bad, would tennis be improved if there was only one serve, why has Denis Shapovalov stalled, how has Stefanos Tsitsipas changed mentally, how do you become a ballperson, should there be Best of Five at Masters, are college tennis players disadvantaged by hard court exclusivity? 00:00 Intro 00:39 Halep Doping Case 06:34 Russia-Ukraine on Tour 08:59 Medvedev at Wimbledon 11:24 Next Stan Wawrinka 14:29 Thiem Madrid 16:39 Round 1 Alcaraz 19:10 Aslan Karatsev 27:55 Two-Week Masters 30:29 One-Serve Tennis 33:35 Denis Shapovalov 39:47 Stefanos Tsitsipas 41:43 Becoming a Ballboy 42:49 Bo5 in Masters 43:55 Hardcourts in College Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

On this week's Mailbag, Gill Gross starts with offering post-match thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz and Emil Ruusuvuori's 2nd round match in Madrid, then answers your questions, including: what are ways Coco Gauff's forehand can be fixed, has Novak Djokovic's backhand declined, what are my favorite American sports pundits, top-10 forehands and backhands, is Rafael Nadal's backhand one the greatest ever, does Reilly Opelka make a good argument to remove doubles, what tension do most professionals string at, what to make of Nadal's Roland Garros seeding, why does Emma Raducanu get so much online hate, how do players choose their schedules, who are five underachievers on the ATP tour. 00:00 Intro 00:57 Alcaraz vs. Ruusuvuori 13:43 Gauff Forehand 16:18 Djokovic Backhand 19:40 American Sports Pundits 24:02 Top-10 FH and BH 30:10 Nadal Backhand 35:33 Opelka on Doubles 41:48 Pro Racquet Tension 45:14 Nadal RG Seeding 49:12 Emma Raducanu 54:27 Choosing Tournaments 56:50 Top-5 Disappointments Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

On this edition of Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross previews the 2023 Mutua Madrid Open Masters 1000 quarter-by-quarter, with dark horses, upset alerts, popcorn matches and predictions. Notably, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Rafael Nadal have all withdrawn from the event, leaving Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas as the top seeds. Holger Rune and Andrey Rublev are both looking hold onto momentum after back-to-back finals. Felix Auger-Aliassime and Sebastian Korda are returning from injury. 00:00 Intro 05:29 Alcaraz Quarter 16:01 Ruud Quarter 27:06 Tsitsipas Quarter 36:41 Medvedev Quarter 44:20 Final Weekend Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

On this week's Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross breaks down the three clay court tournaments from this week's ATP slate. Novak Djokovic lost early to Dusan Lajovic in Banja Luka, and then pulled out of the Madrid Masters 1000. We'll discuss what this could mean for Djokovic's Roland Garros preparation and why it's an overall bummer. Lajovic went on to win the title. We'll break down where Carlos Alcaraz took advantage of Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Barcelona final, plus Holger Rune's miraculous comeback victory against Botic van de Zandschulp to defend his Munich title. 00:00 Intro 01:25 Djokovic Status 06:27 Dusan Lajovic 08:53 Alcaraz def. Tsitsipas 28:15 Rune def. van de Zandschulp Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

On this week's Mailbag, Gill Gross answers your questions, including: who has more room for improvement between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, what can we expect when Nick Kyrgios returns in 2023, is Milos Raonic ever coming back, will Andrey Rublev start winning big titles regularly, what is the next step for Casper Ruud, what are the shortcomings of live tennis commentary, why don't English speakers pronounce Alcaraz's name correctly, will Alcaraz shorten his swing path to improve pace absorption, can a player succeed with two types of backhands, why Medvedev and Sinner can win without slice backhands, what would happen if Novak Djokovic coached Nick Kyrgios, my relationship with predictions, why hasn't Sinner won a big title yet, will Coco Gauff Jessica Pagula or Ons Jabeur win their first slam first, should Alcaraz move back against Sinner, why does Holger Rune play so many forehands down the line, has Thiem's forehand gotten big again, are WTA 500s broken and what are some inexplicable lopsided head to heads? 00:00 Intro 01:28 Sinner & Alcaraz Development 04:47 Nick Kyrgios 09:16 Milos Raonic Status 10:19 Andrey Rublev 15:00 Casper Ruud 18:40 Tennis Commentary 22:37 Alcaraz Pronunciation 26:55 Alcaraz Injuries and Swing Shortening 32:55 Both Backhands 37:14 Medvedev and Sinner Slices 40:55 If Djokovic Coached Kyrgios 48:15 Making Predictions 52:35 Jannik Sinner 54:22 Gauff, Pegula, Jabeur 56:30 Alcaraz Court Position 57:30 Rublev Runarounds 1:00:11 Holger Rune 1:03:03 Dominic Thiem 1:03:41 WTA 500s 1:04:39 Weird H2Hs Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

On this week’s Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross analyzes the biggest win of Andrey Rublev’s career; a come from behind three set triumph over Holger Rune in the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters Final. We’ll discuss why this is one of the feel good stories of the season, how Rublev used his experience against the younger player, how the three sets played out individually, why Rune had to change a winning a strategy, Rublev’s supreme backhand performance, Rune’s double faults and the sequence that decided the match.00:00 intro01:08 Rublev Reflection03:55 Mental Battle07:55 Match Summary13:34 Rune Strategy Change22:31 Rublev Backhand27:35 Rune Double Faults30:55 Attacking Mistakes Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support