That Djokovic shot is one of the greatest shots EVER! The stage, the opponent, the history in making... this match had it all, and Novak did something unimaginable. Great pick Gill!
Djokovic olympics run takes it for me. The greatness and the pressure, desire and last chanceness of it, beating the king of clay and the overwhelming favourite that crushed him a few weeks prior, given the knee surgery, and he still does it, without dropping a set! At 37 going back to clay from grass after the injury.. come on, how is that not the greatest run ever!?!
@@FraudkovicIt all depends on which version of Alcaraz shows up. His level can be all over the place. A good version of Alcaraz showed up in the Olympic final, not the best version. He was too nervous. 0 breaks for either player in 2 sets at RG? Really?
Thank you Gil for this excellent year of coverage. I enjoy the annual Tour so much more than I already did purely because of your insight, commentary, and good vibes. Enjoy the 1 month vacation and I wish you more success for next year!
Maybe we should add a "mistake of the year" just for sh*ts and giggles. Like jannik losing a point to tsitsipas in monte carlo when it was in, or tiafoe vs tabilo with the no line call. Something that was a horrendous error from Hawkeye or the umpire.
I think for me even more emotional for Andy were those crazy come back matches with Dan Evans at the Olympics, and then the final loss, there were tears in the BBC commentary team who were at the pool.
Best comeback would be Cilic imo. He was gone 2 years, old, and everyone thought long retired. He turns up out of nowhere end of the season and wins 1st tournament back. That’s a more stunning comeback than Berrettini coming back from an injury.
Barely 15% of the year is played on grass but gives us so many iconic moments, think about some of the best points this year or best matches in history and grass is massively over represented, lets get more grass tournaments.
I understand why you picked Draper for most improved, but I think for me it’s Taylor Fritz. He made his first major semi this year after falling multiple times in the quarters stage. He beat Zverev for the first time, and then again three other times I think. He made his first grand slam final. He has been Top 10 for a while, but he took it a step further.
how about the shot Sinner made against Marozsan again at Halle where again Sinner did the roll on the grass shot then moved into the court and hit Marozsan's shot at mid-court ad side for a winner. That was on helluva of a series of shots.
Wonderful video, great reasoning, I loved it. 1 observervation... I was surprised by the fact that on Murray you closed with Wimbledon...he did reach the quarters at the Olympics in doubles with Evans, that was really his final event, and an eventful one, even if he got that farewell in London as you very well described.
Interesting reasoning (and valid enough) for picking Beijing final as MOTY but for me it will always be the Olympics gold medal match. Considering the form, injury, what at stake and people forgot HOW WELL Alcaraz was playing on the day. It was a great great match from start to finish.
Nobody is even mentioning Alcaraz had a forearm injury since Miami and missed most of clay season. It was a miracle how he even won Roland Garlos with that little preparation on clay.
I think Gill wanted to pick Djokovic Olympics for tournament run of the year and the gold match for Match of the Year, but it would hog three different categories then. I agree though that the Olympic final was much higher quality than Beijing as well as higher stakes.
4:52 To me Sinner's shots against Marozsan was better because he managed to recover after rolling and then hit a backhand pass while moving backwards to win the point. De Minaur's volley is still my no.1 pick though.
Shot of the year, if you ignore circumstances, is Moutet at Hangzhou Open for me. Try this shot with the ball in front of you. Then try it behind your back!
@@jonathanvitelli3059 @GillGross will not mention Zverev in a positive way or acknowledge anything by him unless he really has to. He doesnt seem to like Zverev/isnt able to be objective. You can SOOO tell who he likes and who he loves to bash.
I agree with all ypur picks,Gill,but for me ,story of the year is Djokovic finally wins gold in his 5th Olympics,and ,what makes it sensacional it happened in a year that was very bad for him.Most didn't give him a chanse.Retirement of Murrey and Nadal was important,but it kind of fade away because,for Murrey,it happened early in the tournament,and for Nadal,in Davis Cup,where not many audience could attend,nobody was there,not even his uncle so it was very weird.
Jannik’s comeback was not impressive. Medvedev was so tired he could barely move. I mean didn’t he play the most hours on the way to a grand slam final ever. Seriously if you’re gonna pick a match it could have been literally any other one besides this year’s AO Final.
It was still a young player, playing his first major final against a much more experienced player who started leading 2-0. Which comeback you think was more impressive?
Was torn between the Olympics and Beijing final for match of the year however the Beijing final was just amazing. Some of those shots were otherworldly and it seemed like it took tennis to another level. That final set tiebreaker was absolutely incredible. It lives rent free in my head!!
Was curious about what your MOTY pick would be and you did not disappoint. I also think Sinner vs Zverev was incredible as well. I actually have both these matches above the Olympics final
Should have done some women shout out matches but great chooses. I think it’s amazing that serve can be number 2 without a slam win that’s crazy point stacking
2:52 I disagree with this selection, personally. For me, the shot of the year would have to be Zverev's running around the net FH against Fritz at the US Open
@@al1976-v7m If significance is involved, then i suppose, but taking that out, having the diving shot of both Sinner and Demon above Zverev's shot is ridiculous
@@malekat8539Look at the clip uploaded by the U.S.O, in terms of height it is definitely above the net and it's either right above the post or slightly besides it. Also the De Minaur shot is more special and difficult to pull off in my opinion (I have almost never seen anything like it) while a shot like Zverev's is made relatively often. I think Nadal probably has 10+ that are at least as good and others this season have also made passing shots from outside the doubles alley. But it's definitely still a really good shot.
I would say as far as pure quality, Olympic final was better than Beijing which was more up and down. But I agree with having the Olympic final as performance of the year and Beijing match of the year. Or I’d take the choice of Alcaraz Wimbledon final as performance of the year and Olympic Gold final as match of the year.
I'd pick GMP over Mensik based on results - style points to Mensik. While I agree with ATP final blocks out random players. A Slam can have random winners akin to the Olympics . Korda Muster Johanson
Match comeback I feel should have been Paul vs Tabilo in Shanghai. That was a crazy match with Paul saving like 5+ match points. While sinner vs medvedev feels like it was never in doubt.
I thought a pretty cool shot was how Tsitsipas handled the backspin volley from Bergs at AO in January. But i agree with your take, that running forehand was huge and the match was the highlight of the year. And i say this as someone who never watched OG tennis prior to that. Novak was super impressive.
My guesses... Djokovic Olympics 2nd tiebreak 2-2 winner shot OTY, Berrettini CPOY, Sinner AO Final comeback match OTY, Draper most improved, Alcaraz Roland Garros run OTY, Nardi-Djokovic upset OTY, Alcaraz Wimbledon F performance OTY, Olympics Final match OTY, and Sinner Player OTY.
@@malekat8539 Why would I care that much about "being right" about Gill's awards that I'd fake genuine predictions? I missed several and skipped two others. Weird energy.
I don't think much explanation is needed for Player of the Year. It's obvious it's Jannik. His run this year by stats is among several most historic years.
As some said in the comments: Zverevs banana shot at the US Open was insane, but obvoiusly Gill will go out of his way to mention Zverev in a positive way, right @GillGross?
I think my match of the year was Zverev vs Alcaraz vs Bee's Indian wells that was wild to watch live and fils vs zverev in the humburg final was a very spicy match and high quality with a cramping fils winning
Not sure I agree on Alcaraz’s RG run being tournament run of the year, although you make a good case here. I feel like his Wimbledon was a bit more impressive considering he beat Tiafoe, Humbert, and Paul, all of which felt like tough “trap matches” on grass so to speak, and then he looked dominant, basically untouchable vs Medvedev and Djokovic. Whereas the Sinner RG match was pretty rough, Tsitsipas played horribly against him, and the final was just decent quality but nothing astounding from Carlos. But my real pick would be Djokovic Olympics. Beating an on-fire Alcaraz and getting the title that he’s been missing for so long, also how unexpected it felt considering the year Djokovic had. It wasn’t an easy draw either really. But yeah I figure you chose not to go with this one because you chose Djokovic at the Olympics for other categories
That Djokovic shot is one of the greatest shots EVER! The stage, the opponent, the history in making... this match had it all, and Novak did something unimaginable. Great pick Gill!
You should include a "rally of the year" category additionally to "shot of the year"
Totally agree! It takes two to rally and we had some great ones this year.
Or just do “point of the year”
Wow, top liked comment 😳
@@Tuzzz94 yup, and it's a great idea. Another one could be "best recovery point"
Djokovic olympics run takes it for me. The greatness and the pressure, desire and last chanceness of it, beating the king of clay and the overwhelming favourite that crushed him a few weeks prior, given the knee surgery, and he still does it, without dropping a set! At 37 going back to clay from grass after the injury.. come on, how is that not the greatest run ever!?!
King of clay was struggling against nobodies outside the top 50 . You have a warped view of that title run
@@FraudkovicIt all depends on which version of Alcaraz shows up. His level can be all over the place. A good version of Alcaraz showed up in the Olympic final, not the best version. He was too nervous. 0 breaks for either player in 2 sets at RG? Really?
That Djokovic shot is Legendary 🙌🏽
My award for "Best Tennis Podcast of the Year" goes to you, Gill! Congratualtions on another successful season, and I hope 2025 treats you well!
Thank you Gil for this excellent year of coverage. I enjoy the annual Tour so much more than I already did purely because of your insight, commentary, and good vibes. Enjoy the 1 month vacation and I wish you more success for next year!
Maybe we should add a "mistake of the year" just for sh*ts and giggles. Like jannik losing a point to tsitsipas in monte carlo when it was in, or tiafoe vs tabilo with the no line call. Something that was a horrendous error from Hawkeye or the umpire.
they’re adding hawkeye to all your events next year so fingers crossed crossed we won’t have so many
Draper one is worse than
I think for me even more emotional for Andy were those crazy come back matches with Dan Evans at the Olympics, and then the final loss, there were tears in the BBC commentary team who were at the pool.
sad to see him go
Best comeback would be Cilic imo. He was gone 2 years, old, and everyone thought long retired. He turns up out of nowhere end of the season and wins 1st tournament back. That’s a more stunning comeback than Berrettini coming back from an injury.
31:24 Really glad you mentioned Popyrin’s Canada Masters win. That was the first answer that came to my mind when this award came up.
I have to say that one handed backhand from Carlos that clipped then net at RG lives in my head rent free! I’ll never forget that glare from Sascha!
Hit the tape so not as impressive
@ It’s not the shot itself it was the glare from Sascha! I’ll never forget it.
Sascha’s unforgettable😂
and the pan to the trophy; it was movie like stuff
@@cybernetennis Cinema at its finest!
Barely 15% of the year is played on grass but gives us so many iconic moments, think about some of the best points this year or best matches in history and grass is massively over represented, lets get more grass tournaments.
Gill you're the best and have been watching your videos for years, thanks for all you do for tennis. You're the best tennis content creator
GMP up there with Mensik
I understand why you picked Draper for most improved, but I think for me it’s Taylor Fritz. He made his first major semi this year after falling multiple times in the quarters stage. He beat Zverev for the first time, and then again three other times I think. He made his first grand slam final. He has been Top 10 for a while, but he took it a step further.
Good case
Great video, Gill. Thank you so much!
how about the shot Sinner made against Marozsan again at Halle where again Sinner did the roll on the grass shot then moved into the court and hit Marozsan's shot at mid-court ad side for a winner. That was on helluva of a series of shots.
That's a lovely video mate. Thank you!
Man that Djokovic performance - what a HISTORIC match. For me - that was the match of the year.
Wonderful video, great reasoning, I loved it. 1 observervation...
I was surprised by the fact that on Murray you closed with Wimbledon...he did reach the quarters at the Olympics in doubles with Evans, that was really his final event, and an eventful one, even if he got that farewell in London as you very well described.
Thank for Great Analysis as Alway. !!!!!!
Interesting reasoning (and valid enough) for picking Beijing final as MOTY but for me it will always be the Olympics gold medal match. Considering the form, injury, what at stake and people forgot HOW WELL Alcaraz was playing on the day. It was a great great match from start to finish.
Nobody is even mentioning Alcaraz had a forearm injury since Miami and missed most of clay season. It was a miracle how he even won Roland Garlos with that little preparation on clay.
I think Gill wanted to pick Djokovic Olympics for tournament run of the year and the gold match for Match of the Year, but it would hog three different categories then. I agree though that the Olympic final was much higher quality than Beijing as well as higher stakes.
Thanks Gill. A great video to summarise and cap off a very eventful ATP tennis year.. All the best for 2025
The streets will remember Medvedev-Zverev over Sinner-Medvedev 😢
Not the Italian streets 😅
4:52 To me Sinner's shots against Marozsan was better because he managed to recover after rolling and then hit a backhand pass while moving backwards to win the point.
De Minaur's volley is still my no.1 pick though.
Yeah both were very impressive. Sinner Marozsan (halle) was about as impossible as you can get, same with de minaur
Shot of the year, if you ignore circumstances, is Moutet at Hangzhou Open for me. Try this shot with the ball in front of you. Then try it behind your back!
zverev's passing shot vs fritz at uso was phenomenal and shot of the year imo
I was waiting for that shot to at least be mentioned, not that the others weren’t great.
@@jonathanvitelli3059 @GillGross will not mention Zverev in a positive way or acknowledge anything by him unless he really has to. He doesnt seem to like Zverev/isnt able to be objective. You can SOOO tell who he likes and who he loves to bash.
Just as Zverev loves to bash his women.
I think the Halys-Heide one deserves an honorable mention !
@@aviberezovskiy7633that was the best by far
We need to add a “slam of the year” category!
25:10 should’ve been mpetshi
Think so too
Thanks for another great year of tennis coverage Gill! Can't wait for next season!
Articulate, well argued, convincing. One of the better videos from Gill this year.
The olympic final match will be talked about generations after generations.
Lol barely anyone will talk about it in 6 months . Only little nolebots . And no one takes them seriously anyways 😂
Best performance:
2024 - Novak
2023 - Novak
2022 - Novak
2021 - Novak
Great video after another great year of tennis.
I agree with all ypur picks,Gill,but for me ,story of the year is Djokovic finally wins gold in his 5th Olympics,and ,what makes it sensacional it happened in a year that was very bad for him.Most didn't give him a chanse.Retirement of Murrey and Nadal was important,but it kind of fade away because,for Murrey,it happened early in the tournament,and for Nadal,in Davis Cup,where not many audience could attend,nobody was there,not even his uncle so it was very weird.
Thank you so much for this story. 👍
best run for me goes to JS at the atp finals. The dominance he expressed is something rarely seen in the history of the sport
You are the BEST in the BUSINESS. Knowledgeable, fair, articulate. Thanks for this!
Dan Evans come back from 5-0 down against khachanov at us open for me, given the length and physicality of the match. That one takes it for me.
Agree with all your picks!
FINALLY ITS HERE
Alcaraz is almost in each award category🎉
Great run but Alcaraz was on the list of favorites if not expected. I'll go wirh Poppy man
Excellent awards Gill
Picking up Karue Sell for player of the year just because of his samba skills is just insane Gill
Jannik’s comeback was not impressive. Medvedev was so tired he could barely move. I mean didn’t he play the most hours on the way to a grand slam final ever. Seriously if you’re gonna pick a match it could have been literally any other one besides this year’s AO Final.
It was still a young player, playing his first major final against a much more experienced player who started leading 2-0. Which comeback you think was more impressive?
@ It was not impressive at all. Carlos winning Beijing was way more impressive than Jannik beating a clearly exhausted Medvedev.
@@andieolivia agreed about Carlos v Jannik Beijing being the match of the year - they took it to another level
@@pacific559 Yes it was a brilliant match! It was definitely the best of year!
Agree
I don't know about awards, but with your shirt... easily godfather of the year ;)
Lol
Funny you described the Fils Tokyo run as under the radar - when I clicked on this video I was actually expecting that to be your pick lol
Interesting choice for newcomer, I would have said JC Shang, but Mensik is a good choice I somehow missed
Dimitrov had a great season, extremely proud of him.
Was torn between the Olympics and Beijing final for match of the year however the Beijing final was just amazing. Some of those shots were otherworldly and it seemed like it took tennis to another level. That final set tiebreaker was absolutely incredible. It lives rent free in my head!!
GILLY BOY IS BACK BABY!!!
One more thing... Alcaraz vs Botic was not the 3rd round, it was the second round. Djokovic fell in round 3...
The best shot in my opinion is Monteiro's tweener lob. No shot comes close to that.
Hurkasz "no look smash" was incredible as well.
Was curious about what your MOTY pick would be and you did not disappoint. I also think Sinner vs Zverev was incredible as well. I actually have both these matches above the Olympics final
Isn't there a category for best rally? (couldn't find it in the index). I'm thinking one between Shelton and Musetti that really impressed me.
What about the Halys sitting forehand winner for shot of the year? Crazy shot and so unique!
Forgot about that one... really nice call!
Should have done some women shout out matches but great chooses. I think it’s amazing that serve can be number 2 without a slam win that’s crazy point stacking
2:52
I disagree with this selection, personally. For me, the shot of the year would have to be Zverev's running around the net FH against Fritz at the US Open
Where he went into victory pose afterwards? It wasn't really impactful though. I agree with Gil's take, that running forehand was huge!
Wasn't really around the net though.
@@al1976-v7m
If significance is involved, then i suppose, but taking that out, having the diving shot of both Sinner and Demon above Zverev's shot is ridiculous
@@tijgertjekonijnwordopgegeten
Idk about that. It looked around the net
@@malekat8539Look at the clip uploaded by the U.S.O, in terms of height it is definitely above the net and it's either right above the post or slightly besides it.
Also the De Minaur shot is more special and difficult to pull off in my opinion (I have almost never seen anything like it) while a shot like Zverev's is made relatively often. I think Nadal probably has 10+ that are at least as good and others this season have also made passing shots from outside the doubles alley. But it's definitely still a really good shot.
Surely the most unusual rarely seen winning shot was Tsitsipas 'over the net' shot v Berg at AO?!
I would say as far as pure quality, Olympic final was better than Beijing which was more up and down. But I agree with having the Olympic final as performance of the year and Beijing match of the year.
Or I’d take the choice of Alcaraz Wimbledon final as performance of the year and Olympic Gold final as match of the year.
Always the best tennis analyst on any platform.
I'd pick GMP over Mensik based on results - style points to Mensik.
While I agree with ATP final blocks out random players. A Slam can have random winners akin to the Olympics . Korda Muster Johanson
Gmp for you player
What about the Halys-Heide one Gill!!!
Forgot about that one!
How is Mpetshi Perricard not the newcomer of the year and how is Fils in Tokyo not the run of the year
Match comeback I feel should have been Paul vs Tabilo in Shanghai. That was a crazy match with Paul saving like 5+ match points. While sinner vs medvedev feels like it was never in doubt.
I think the importance of a slam win takes priority over the other match
Its not Mensik, Its Menšík.
Best Retirement Ceremony?
I thought a pretty cool shot was how Tsitsipas handled the backspin volley from Bergs at AO in January. But i agree with your take, that running forehand was huge and the match was the highlight of the year. And i say this as someone who never watched OG tennis prior to that. Novak was super impressive.
My guesses... Djokovic Olympics 2nd tiebreak 2-2 winner shot OTY, Berrettini CPOY, Sinner AO Final comeback match OTY, Draper most improved, Alcaraz Roland Garros run OTY, Nardi-Djokovic upset OTY, Alcaraz Wimbledon F performance OTY, Olympics Final match OTY, and Sinner Player OTY.
@@SidelineFilmz
You definitely must've just skimmed through the video...
Nice predictions!
@@malekat8539 Why would I care that much about "being right" about Gill's awards that I'd fake genuine predictions? I missed several and skipped two others. Weird energy.
Alcaraz pass on RG final.
The shot of the year was obviously halys shot
What on earth is the word for Sue Barker's job if it isn't presenter?!
We don't use that word in the US haha... it's either broadcaster, announcer or reporter.
Why you didn't mention about Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship award?
This is the MMA awards, Gill's brand 🙂
I think Novak braced for the olympics from the very start of the season and directed all efforts towards this.
I don't think much explanation is needed for Player of the Year. It's obvious it's Jannik. His run this year by stats is among several most historic years.
As some said in the comments: Zverevs banana shot at the US Open was insane, but obvoiusly Gill will go out of his way to mention Zverev in a positive way, right @GillGross?
I'll still take the FO; Wimbledon and a Olympic Silver over Oz the US and misc titles.
Most improved player(correct answer): Tomas Machac
I think my match of the year was Zverev vs Alcaraz vs Bee's Indian wells that was wild to watch live
and fils vs zverev in the humburg final was a very spicy match and high quality with a cramping fils winning
Fils winning Hamburg was crazy good
Doper of the year 2024 - sinner
💩💩💩💩💩💩
Zverev Sinner cincy was match of the year 😅 at least deserves a mention… world #1 was happier to win this than AO/USO combined …
Yeah I have
1) Beijing final
2) Cincinnati semifinal
3) Olympics gold medal match
Not sure I agree on Alcaraz’s RG run being tournament run of the year, although you make a good case here. I feel like his Wimbledon was a bit more impressive considering he beat Tiafoe, Humbert, and Paul, all of which felt like tough “trap matches” on grass so to speak, and then he looked dominant, basically untouchable vs Medvedev and Djokovic. Whereas the Sinner RG match was pretty rough, Tsitsipas played horribly against him, and the final was just decent quality but nothing astounding from Carlos.
But my real pick would be Djokovic Olympics. Beating an on-fire Alcaraz and getting the title that he’s been missing for so long, also how unexpected it felt considering the year Djokovic had. It wasn’t an easy draw either really.
But yeah I figure you chose not to go with this one because you chose Djokovic at the Olympics for other categories
As best upset I'd prefer Naldi vs Djokovic, not only for a greater ranking difference between them.
sorry...Sinner ???? he was cought dopping and you still are talking abut his best season??? you disapponted me Gill
Steroid Sinner is your player of the year! The Italian Clostebol legend himself! 🤣
Benoit Paire, the most useless,wasted talent on tour? Everybody's beating dat maphuqa🤣
Bernard Tomic
@@josep9599 Thought he died or something
Dimitrov had a great season, extremely proud of him.