DiscoverMonday Match Analysis
Claim Ownership
Monday Match Analysis
Author: Gill Gross, Bleav
Subscribed: 91Played: 6,872Subscribe
Share
© Gill Gross
Description
The most in-depth tennis analysis on the internet. Draw previews, match breakdowns, breaking news, comment mailbags and more. Gill Gross is a broadcaster for Tennis Channel, US Open Radio, Cracked Racquets and UC San Diego. He graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/monday-match-analysis/support
418 Episodes
Reverse
On the Mailbag, Gill Gross overviews Madrid men's singles storylines such as the avalanche of injuries, Rafael Nadal's best run since 2022, Jiri Lehecka's breakthrough and an Andrey Rublev vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime final. Then, he answers your comments, including: has Andrey Rublev peaked, how do players qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, how do I rank the top teenagers such as Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik, is play quality down in Madrid, how should Nadal increase his fitness, what are the new expectations for Casper Ruud, is Jannik Sinner ready to break through on clay and is Corentin Moutet entitled to coffee?
00:00 Intro
03:35 Madrid Overview
14:37 Rublev Peak
20:43 Olympic Qualification
25:55 Youngster Rankings
30:55 Showing Injuries
34:22 Madrid Play Quality
35:50 Rafa Fitness Plan
37:15 Ruud's Goals
44:50 Sinner Clay
46:25 Etcheverry Progress
48:43 Country Stereotypes
51:42 Moutet Denied Coffee
Subscribe to The Draw, your one-stop-shop for the best tennis content on the internet every week: https://www.thedraw.tennis/subscribe
37-year old Rafael Nadal drew 16-year old Darwin Blanch in the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open. Gill Gross breakdown and analysis...
Subscribe to The Draw, your one-stop-shop for the best tennis content on the internet every week: https://www.thedraw.tennis/subscribe
On Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross previews the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open ATP 1000. The top-seed is Jannik Sinner looking for his first big clay title, Carlos Alcaraz is the back-to-back defending champion opposite the draw, Daniil Medvedev and two-time Madrid champion Alexander Zverev round off the top seeds. Rafael Nadal opens against Darwin Blanch. Novak Djokovic withdrew from the event. Gill gives his quarter-by-quarter preview with dark horses, upset alerts, popcorn matchups and predictions.
00:00 Intro
03:21 Sinner's Quarter
08:45 Medvedev's Quarter
16:20 Zverev's Quarter
21:30 Alcaraz's Quarter
29:20 Final Weekend
Subscribe to The Draw, your one-stop-shop for the best tennis content on the internet every week: https://www.thedraw.tennis/subscribe
On Monday Match Analysis, Gill covers Casper Ruud's breakthrough victory at the ATP 500 in Barcelona, where he reversed his previous result against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. We'll then move to Munich, where Jan-Lennard Struff beat Taylor Fritz for his first career title. Then, we'll take on Rafael Nadal's comeback effort in Barcelona, where he lost in the 2nd round to Alex De Minaur. Finally, Gill delivers the first intsallment of the 2024 French Open Power Rankings.
00:00 Intro
00:55 Ruud d. Tsitsipas
03:40 Ruud Aggression
12:10 Ruud Passing
16:13 Ruud Returning
18:26 Tsitsipas Performance
21:06 Struff d. Fritz Munich
27:30 Nadal in Barcelona
31:18 French Open Power Rankings
Subscribe to The Draw, your one-stop-shop for the best tennis content on the internet every week: https://www.thedraw.tennis/subscribe
On the Coach' Mailbag, Thread of Order author Hugh Clark joins Gill Gross to answer your questions about professional technique and various tennis topics. We'll start by discussing Stefanos Tsitsipas's one-handed backhand in response to the recent video by Intuitive Tennis claiming it's "not bad." Comments include: an argument that Casper Ruud's big match struggles are technical not mental, is it true peaking Carlos Alcaraz better than peaking Jannik Sinner while average Sinner is better than average Alcaraz, should coaches and players focus on strengths instead of fixing weaknesses, why do Americans serve bigger on average, what are the changes Alcaraz is making to his serve technique, what we would do if we were tasked with coaching Novak Djokovic, and much much more.
00:00 Intro
03:56 Tsitsipas Backhand
10:40 Ruud Mental vs. Skill
18:28 Peak Alcaraz & Sinner
21:45 Sinner Easy Power
24:30 Focusing on Strengths
30:25 American Serves
33:05 Alcaraz Serve Technique
37:10 Weird ATP Forehands
40:09 Stop Double Faulting
43:38 Footwork Importance
46:41 Coaching Djokovic
On Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross dissects Stefanos Tsitsipas’s commanding win over Casper Ruud in the 2024 Monte Carlo final. We’ll talk about how the event has shaped the narrative of Tsitsipas’s career, why Ruud should be upset with his performance, who’s forehand is better between the two, what to make of the Norwegian’s finals record and why, although it’s uncomfortable to acknowledge, a poor lines call possibly cost Jannik Sinner a spot in this championship match.
00:00 Intro
00:30 Tsitsipas Monte Carlo
04:22 2nd Serve Domination
13:10 8/8 Break Points
20:25 Tsitsipas Backhand
21:38 Forehand Comparison
24:18 Tsitsipas Patterns
26:16 Ruud Finals Record
30:45 Sinner Controversy
Subscribe to The Draw, your one-stop-shop for the best tennis content on the internet every week: https://www.thedraw.tennis/subscribe
Gill Gross breaks down two high-billing quarterfinals from Friday's action at the Monte Carlo country club. Jannik Sinner faced Holger Rune in a rematch from last year's semifinal at the event. Plus, Novak Djokovic took on Alex De Minaur looking to reverse the result from this year's United Cup. At the end, we'll preview the semifinal lineup of Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic vs. Casper Ruud.
On Monday Match analysis, Gill Gross talks Ben Shelton’s title in Houston, Matteo Berrettini’s win in Marrakech and previews the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters quarter-by-quarter. First, we’ll discuss how Berrettini breaks the conventional wisdom of needing matches to play well, and we’ll analyze why he has three titles on grass and clay, but none on hard court. Then, we’ll cover how Shelton is the closest thing there currently is to Rafael Nadal (forehand!) and talk about the improvements he is quickly making. We’ll get a quick word in on Estoril and Hubert Hurkacz before going to the Monte Carlo preview. Novak Djokovic is the top seed, followed by Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.
00:00 Intro
01:00 Berrettini Marrakech
08:56 Shelton Houston
24:15 Hurkacz Estoril
26:25 Monte Carlo
27:23 Djokovic Q
34:47 Alcaraz Q
40:03 Medvedev Q
43:45 Sinner Q
48:50 Final Weekend
Subscribe to The Draw, your one-stop-shop for the best tennis content on the internet every week: https://www.thedraw.tennis/subscribe
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
On this week's Monday Match Analysis, Gill Gross recaps his experience going to Las Vegas for the first ever Netflix Slam with Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. We'll start by going over the match itself and why just the two taking the court was a victory. Then we'll get into the roadtrip to Vegas, the city itself, hotels, gambling and all the sort. As we transition to Sunday, Gill talks about his experience inside the arena. Lastly, we'll cover the long-term viability of this event as an annual exhibition.
00:00 Intro
01:40 Match Analysis
17:55 Vegas & Day Before
26:18 Match Experience
30:25 Netflix Slam Future
Gill Gross answers your comments, including: is Frances Tiafoe correct that tennis is the hardest sport in the world, can Daniil Medvedev repeat last year's Sunshine Double success, why do Czech Republic and Russia produce so many stars, should there be a January Masters 1000, has Medvedev's career already been a success, what can Gilles Simon add to Medvedev's team, how can lower ranked players earn a better living in tennis, are sparse crowds in Middle East tournaments a problem, why have Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka's nerve management gotten worse with age, why has Lorenzo Musetti struggled recently, should Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu be taking wildcards and who is most likely to win the Sunshine Double?