Monday Match Analysis

On tales from the booth (day 3), Gill Gross discusses his pick for the final, Daniil Medvedev, going out in the first round at the hands of Thiago Seyboth Wild. Also, Diane Parry brings an awesome play style to the WTA. And Alexander Zverev beat Lloyd Harris, but his level did not inspire confidence. CORRECTION: At 4:40, I meant to say Golden Swing Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

On tales from the booth (day 1 and 2), Gill Gross discusses opening round matches Hubert Hurkacz vs. David Goffin, Leylah Fernandez vs. Magda Linette and Felix Auger-Alissime vs. Fabio Fognini. Plus, the great story of Kayla Day, Sakkari's awful draw, Svitolina's rise, Karatsev's form, Alcaraz's opening match and why Novak Djokovic is suddenly addressing eventual retirement. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

It's the final installment of the 2023 French Open power rankings, an evidenced-based list of Roland Garros men's singles title contenders. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

On this week's Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross dissects Daniil Medvedev's win over Holger Rune in the 2023 Rome Final, giving the Russian his 20th career title, his 1st on clay, and his tour-leading 5th of the year. We'll reflect on Medvedev's career on clay: why was he so bad and how is he so good so suddenly. We'll break down why Medvedev's measured attacking was more reliable than Rune's varied approach, how Medvedev's fitness was the major key in winning set 2, and why Rune's unpredictability can be a positive. 00:00 Intro 01:31 Clayvedev 13:15 Medvedev Measured Attack 27:05 2nd Set Fitness 33:40 Rune Unpredictability Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

On this week's Mailbag, Gill Gross answers your comments, including: is Daniil Medvedev actually good on clay, why have their been so many upsets at the Rome Masters, why hasn't Jannik Sinner won a big title yet, was Carlos Alcaraz losing early in Rome good for Roland Garros prep, are Alcaraz's pace absorption struggles due to racquet technology, an updated men's singles tier list, why does an all-time great need coaching, do tennis players watch tennis, can Medvedev finish year-end No. 1, and does Petr Korda's 1996 Australian Open have an asterisk? 00:00 Intro 01:45 Clay Medvedev 08:21 Rome Upsets 14:57 Jannik Sinner 21:13 Alcaraz RG Prep 24:28 Alcaraz Racquet Tech 27:37 Tiers Update 29:45 Coaching GOATs 32:52 Pros Watching Pros 36:19 Medvedev YE1 37:34 Petr Korda Asterisk Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

On this week's Monday Match Analysis, Gill is joined by Paul Annacone to discuss Fabian Marozsan beating Carlos Alcaraz in an upset of the year frontrunner at the Rome Masters. We'll talk historic comparisons, Marozsan's game, Alcaraz's Roland Garros implications and so much more. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support

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