I agree with you on this, Gill: If the Saudis are willing to pay to have tennis, they should also be willing to CHANGE in order to have tennis, for its employees, players, sponsors and spectators to feel safe and respected. Chrissy and Martina are on point.
Coaches leaving a bad situation are never gonna say 'Screw this.' It's going to be some sort of corporatespeak about 'mutual agreements to part ways' or 'cannot meet the player's needs due to scheduling problems,' etc. These people want to work again and have their new charges trust them not to dump on them if things don't work out. So no matter how bad it was, they're not gonna tell us just how bad it was.
@@roshanemad-syring3943 Yes! I remember that one. Few coaches have Ferrero's relative candor. I've seen a video where numerous ATP pros are asked who shows up late for practice sessions the most. Almost all of them rolled their eyes and said Zverev. He seems to have little courtesy toward others.
@@charlesfaure1189 yeah even aside from the allegations I've always thought he seemed like an arrogant and disrespectful person. I appreciate that ferrero was able to express his opinion while remaining professional and respectful. Though I doubt there's that level of bad blood between Becker and Rune.
One of Raducanu's ex coaches didn't follow that playbook. Search on Google for "WTA Raducanu coach quit because of 'red flags that couldn't be ignored'".
Great content. One thing I would say is the money, while “life changing” for 99%+ of those on tour, does not really work for at least most of the “six kings” . I think when you are at that level of pretty much endless resources I would say you have a greater responsibility to take ethical considerations into account
Hey Gill, I think what Roddick meant about Alcaraz's serve was just that the top speeds were already there a couple of years back. He referenced some mid 130s bombs Carlitos hit in Miami 2022 specifically, suggesting that there hasn't been enough improvement based on the raw power he clearly possesses. Agree with what you said about it too, especially the stuff about fine tuning the spot serving. It's worth listening to Andy's segment on this, his explanation of different types of servers was really interesting.
Happy belated birthday Gill! Yeah I agree on Rune, I think people have already soured on him because of Alcaraz and Sinner’s sustained success, which has kinda left him in the dust. I always like to remind people that Rune right now looks a lot like Sinner looked in, say, 2021/22. Basically the same age, top 10 player (Sinner was in and out of the top 10 back then due to injuries), durability issues, unpolished game with a lot of room for improvement. I’d even say when Rune is on, he looks better than Sinner did back then too. The maturity will need to come along. That’s one thing Sinner always had over him; he was pretty mature and quiet (though I do remember him taking some losses kinda hard at times). But Rune kinda reminds me of a young Djokovic. It may not be the conventional path for him, but he has so much potential and can definitely piece it together. If I was to give a floor and a ceiling (NBA fans do this a lot), I’d say Rune’s floor is somewhere around Tsitsipas/Zverev, and his ceiling is through the roof; an all-time great.
I find people ridiculously critical of Rune - not even his tennis, which obvs is a work in progress, but the person. He's only 20. What is it he's supposedvto have done since his breakthrough? I watch this guy, I like him& his tennis & Ive seen nothing. (not talking about some pretty average stupid schoolyard type comments made back when he was17)
I take a lot of garbage from the bandwagon Sinner fans who revile Holger, never realizing the Dane is 2 years younger than Sinner. I'm proud to be a Holger fan, who I find exciting to watch. Sinner to me is an emotionless and comically unattractive geek. Holger is hot as hell.
@@lsb9073Agreed. They act like he’s in the same position as Zverev or Tsitsipas already. Those guys are in their mid-20s and haven’t won a slam yet. Rune is just one week older than Alcaraz, and obviously Alcaraz is a once in a lifetime freak of nature.
My mate's first trip to tennis was day two of Wimbledon last year on a ground pass, saw half a set of Bernarda Pera on the court next to Vondrousova, then it rained all day.
I loved your answer regarding the sport-washing of Saudi Arabia. Disgusting that the top players are playing there. And it's really bad that they already have tournaments that players attend, like Doha, Abu Dhabi. You cannot separate sports and "politics".
It's naive for anyone to think that, Tennis or Golf are getting into bed with Saudi to change the so called unsavoury aspects to Saudi culture. And it's disingenuous of tennis players or people involved in the organization of tennis to suggest this is what they are trying to do. It's as usual all about the money. Even if these are the intentions of these sports organisations, and the large amounts of money involved would have to make anyone in their right mind think twice, it is also super naive for any sports organisation to think they would have any influence on a whole culture, that has existed and embedded its cultural behaviours over centuries.
Hey gg - I normally love your content but with all due respect, that Saudi segment was both a bit racist and biased. The "what about this" argument should actually be the core of your discussion. Instead of just singling out one Arab country, this debate should be about whether the tennis community should be taking stands against all human rights and international law abuses. If you care about human rights abuses, why are China or Russia or Israel or the US for that matter not included in this discussion? Israel steals land and detains ppl all the time for no reason other than the victims are born Arab. Their soldiers/settlers are summarily killing Palestinians everyday without consequence both in the west bank and Gaza. Israel is starving millions of ppl and committing genocide right now as we speak with unconditional American funding. That is literally the possible worst crime in humanitarian international law! I live in the US, but you have to understand how brainwashed you sound to the rest of the world by having the discussion framed in this way. Saudi is very flawed but they are actually attempting to reform themselves. If human rights abuses were a reason to prevent a tennis event in a country, then US foreign policy should neccesiate that not another point should ever be played in the states again. Esp given what's happening in Gaza, most ppl internationally consider the US to be the worlds biggest terrorist state for funding a genocide and blocking a resolution. The truth is that the tennis community has not cared about international law/human rights abuses for the most part as long as the abuses are conducted by western countries (or countries that are wealthy enough). And they will never withdraw events from these countries. So to me, this is another attempt by western countries (ie the ones that represent the majority players) to villify Arabs (ie the common enemy). I know you have a great heart and do amazing work so this is not an attack on you but rather advice on how to maybe engage with this topic in the future since it will surely come up again. And personally I'd love to see you initiate a discussion about potentially boycotting Israel for their apartheid regime since it could actually save tens/hundreds of thousands of lives rather than fear mongering with hypotheticals about an Arab state. Anyways have a great day and much love ❤
I disagree with a few of your points on the Saudi Arabia comments. The biggest one is that you want “experts” to come in and “teach” players about the situation but isn’t that assuming there is a right answer that is black and white. Very few things are.
It is my belief that athletes, as public figures with significant influence, possess a unique opportunity to shed light on various societal challenges. By collectively taking a stance against human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia or any other similar context, these athletes can effectively contribute to the larger conversation on the topic. Their actions serve as a moral obligation to utilize their platform in order to advocate for justice and equality.
Do you think they should do the same and take a stance against for example the German or British government for continually allowing and actively covering up the abuse of young girls by men of "interesting" origin?
Thanks to whoever asked the question about 'The Tour' ATP production. I stopped Gill's video to watch it and by the end I was laughing out loud. My favourite part is Rublev with the frying pan going Bweh Bweh 😂😭🤣
I watched it again a few times and it just gets funnier 😂 I love the attention to detail like the story line suggestions in the background of the office where they meet to discuss plots. Novak - amnesia, Roger comeback (CGI), new vegetables for Sinner and a few others 😂🤣Yeah, Andy's deadpan face is brilliant 😅
Happy belated birthday Gill 🙂 Bad luck on the washout at the golf! I've only seen live golf once, i could hardly ever see the ball and was just a lot of walking 😂 Random comment - in the question about the spoof "ATP Tour TV Show", you mentioned "the WTA doesn't do this". I was actually just thinking this the other day... I was watching WTA Abu Dhabi and noticed the HUGE difference in the amount of technical analysis during the match. I'm assuming InfoSys doesn't cover WTA? It's a shame. Btw, i might ask this in the mailbag to see if you want to comment on it. I've watched Andy's podcast, it was fun to see him doing something more long-form. I hope he keeps it up. I had some thoughts on his style, I'll probably leave him a comment. Thanks for the vid as always 👍
Hey Gil! What are you doing in the dirty T? We call it the dirty T but many simply call it Tucson. Try and visit summerhaven up on Mt Lemmon. One of the best drives in the country.
Imo, countries that treat women like crap are the best places to have a WTA tournament Ha, that sounded horrible. I mean the WTA represents an example and role models. However, if the country compels the players forfeit their own rights while there, then that country can suck it.
@@Paperbagman555Fed had a few, yep. Peter Carter, Annacone, Tony Roche, Luthi, Ljubicic. I believe (might be wrong with this!) that he had NO coach for a while too, around the time that Rochey was working with him. Roche didn't travel with Rog for the full year.
@@GlennSyndallius yeah I had heard years ago Fed didn't have a coach for a while at least. From memory (I could be wrong on this) I don't remember seeing any of his coaches in the players box nearly as much as other top players who have their coach in every match at majors. So I wonder how much of an influence they had on him compared to others
You swung and missed on Saudi Arabia... the average sports fan (who are non-media annoying press conference flacks), tennis or otherwise does not care about the geopolitics of Saudi Arabia ... the real fear that we have is that big money tournaments in places like Saudi or China has the ability to draw away top players and fracture the tours. The Saudi's are trying this in soccer, but it costs too much money to build squads, and Saudi does not have the population to support the teams. but sports like Tennis with the smaller number of athletes and central tournament locations, is tailor made for siphoning off the big talent. The Slam Kings sounds like an awesome event. I hope it does well, and maybe it will one day be like a pre-season ATP championship ala Torino.
Yes I kept waiting after the part about their stances and about them buying out the tour in time, taking these players away from tour events creating their own or who knows etc
I wonder why Nole is playing in Indian wells. It would be better to rest well and head straight to clay in April considering the Olympics is at RG this year. He can also make history by winning Monte Carlo or RG this year. No point in playing Indian Wells or Miami other than for ranking points.
Sumthing still isnt right about the Rune/Becker/Luthi triangle. Granted, Rune & Anneke may be inexperienced, (altho availability is so basic that Im not really buying that as it surely comes into the financial side of things & will hv been discussed), but Severin & Boris are NOT inexperienced & both knew fine well they are commited to Davis Cup & Commentary, respectively, so for both of them to hv ommited to bring this up, esp when discussing their fees is absurd.
Can Tomic get his ranking high enough to get direct entry into a slam once again? I see him playing and giving some effort(effort by Tomic standards, I mean).
Kind of a fizzle with the Rune coaching analysis. You conclude that a player who is ranked 7 at age 20 is going o be "fine." Well, FAA fine (ranked 28) or Zverev fine (ranked 6)? None these guys are going to starve, but maybe put yourself a bit more on the line to make a nearer-term prediction. You also never came out and said whether you thought the departure of Rune's top two coaches EACH for reasons of scheduling--kind of a basic issue--was at all a cover for something else. Finally, you mentioned that Rune had also parted ways with Mouratoglou in the past year, but didn't say whether this third breakup indicated anything incremental about Rune's ability to pick and form new coaching relationships.
Predicting a player’s career is hard. You have guys like Alcaraz who just come in running and win slams immediately. It kinda looked like Rune might be that around Paris 2022. Or you have guys like Sinner; showed potential as early as when he upset Zverev at RG2020, but had a lot of durability issues for the first few years of his career, took his time to develop and now looks amazing. Rune is actually AHEAD of Sinner in development. He’s maintaining a position well inside the top 10, something Sinner didn’t really do until last year. Or Rune could follow that next gen mold; guys like Zverev and Tsitsipas. Hit the top 5 early, looked extremely promising and poised to dominate the tennis scene, but years later are still empty-handed at the slam level despite accomplishing practically everything else the sport has to offer. I think these two really gave the tennis world some trust issues especially with Sinner lol. Or he could follow the Thiem/Medvedev path; works tirelessly, makes constant adjustments, right mentality, plays multiple slam finals, and finally breaks through to win one, but doesn’t seem to have many more left in the tank to start a dynasty. Point is, if you want a career prediction, don’t go to analysts. They don’t want to look stupid trying to predict this stuff. You can look to random UA-cam commenters, but they will be reactionary as hell. The best thing to do is have your own internal opinion on where Rune will end up, and see if you’re right or wrong in a few years. I’ll admit I didn’t see it with Sinner; I felt like he’d improve and be a top player but probably be more like a Zverev/Tsitsipas than an all-time great. So far, it seems like I’m wrong; he’s made all the necessary improvements to his game so far. But I’ll also say I was right about Alcaraz. I knew he was destined for great things since his meteoric rise at USO2021, and I felt vindicated by USO2022.
@@SJ-di5zu My only point in referencing rankings was to suggest that merely saying a guy who is ranked #7 is going to be "fine" wasn't saying very much. Of course he's going to be fine. What top-20 player isn't going to be fine? I will say that it seems like you've thought about this stuff a lot more than I have, however.
@@br1729I think by “being fine,” he simply means that this doesn’t really move the needle on Rune’s potential. His potential goes without saying; we know what Rune’s ceiling is. It’s very high. I’m just thinking from my time of watching tennis players’ career arcs. I’m too young to have really seen the big 4 grow as players from their teenage years, and the big 4 really prevented any real all-time greats from blossoming. As it turns out, Thiem, Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Alcaraz, and Sinner have all followed fascinating career paths, and obviously I know the big 4’s past even though I was too young to really witness it, so I just find it’s pointless to overreact to little things like this. I always like to say: what do you think people were saying when 21/22 year old Djokovic had a million retirements from matches, lost 4-6 4-6 4-6 to Kohlschreiber at the AO2009, blew a 2 set lead to Meltzer at RG2010? I guarantee no one was saying that guy would grow into a GOAT, were they? If you said in 2010 that Djokovic would be better than Federer, everyone would’ve laughed at you.
I listen to Gill Gross primarily on Spotify Premium and used to enjoy it. About a few months ago, his podcast started having ads, which were understandable. In this particular episode, however, the number and frequency of ads have dramatically increased to the extent of unbearable. Switching to Andy Roddick who is now offering a similar tennis analysis podcast with much more credibility and almost no ads.
@@Paperbagman555 I was referring to Spotify Premium, not here on UA-cam. This episode of mailbag is no longer than the previous ones which had a lot less ads and the ads only ran at the beginning of an episode. This time, though, multiple ads are running even between two chapters. This is not the way to keep his subscribers especially now someone like Andy Roddick with a lot more credibility is offering something similar.
@@GillGross Yes. Just by skimming the episode again, I've already counted 4 breaks. I'm listing them below so people know I'm not making a false accusation: 0’-0’30”: 2 ads 20’43”-21’30”: 3 ads 50’34”-51’20”: 3 ads 1’08’30”-1’11’06: 5 ads
@@alphabei yeah, so there are two "midroll" ad breaks in the show. That's standard for one hour. You're including pre-show and post-show ads, which of course will also be there. Almost all the podcasts I listen to use that same format and it's the same here on UA-cam. Sorry you feel it's too much. Shorter shows will only have one midroll ad break, so only one interruption during the show. And if I form more brand partnerships, I can take these away. This is the negative tradeoff for doing all free content. I have always refused to go behind a paywall.
You say there should be no whataboutery when it comes to Saudi influence in sport but it's pretty damn hard when you see the tours currently hosting events in UAE and Qatar who have the same issues that you point out with Saudi Arabia (women's rights virtually non-existent, same-sex relationships punishable by death) yet I don't hear the same outpouring of discontent when it comes to those countries. Why is Saudi Arabia different in this regard, just screams of double standards to me
Give any moral lection from occidental countries to some Arab countries it is at least weird. Occidental countries where te state expropiates us more than 60% of our work/wealth (slavery, right?), where the state coercively directs most aspect of our lives through thousands of laws, where, same problem as they have, (here the inmoral state judge you many times acording tou your genders, skin colour and country of origin) Gill you are brilliant and love your content
its clearly not life altering money for nadal and djokovic, they already have hundreds of millions of dollars.. its not the same for someone with no money saying yes to the money, vs someone who is set for countless lifetimes of luxury saying yes to the money
Gill, please, I urge you to re-examine your worldview if you're going to start making value judgements on societies you neither understand nor have ever lived in for a significant period. Just because you and your friends have a set idea of what is right and wrong doesn't mean you can apply that globally. I love your content but you don't need to make moral judgements to discuss a situation unless your intention is to be actively politically bias.
@@pontusschroder8361 I do have opinions, but I'm not making analysis/review/news content and posting on the internet under the guise of being unbiased.
What about the Rune's gimping situation? As a Holger fan I can tell you that ANYTHING of significance he or is mother says is not true. Hard to say that when she was nice enough to email you back, but it is all a smoke screen. Holger is quacking like a Raducanu and he waddles like a duck to boot.😆
Saudi Arabia, or China or elsewhere are their own civilizations. Certain things that people don't like for better or worse may be baked in. But it's not my place. Since I live in the west & since they have the most global influence I would start with that if people want a better world. Also my perception of other places in the world is influenced by entities & oligarchs who own the biggest megaphones that have the most blood on their hands. So I try not to speak of places I have no lived in. & the portrayal of places I've lived have been very inaccurate by corporate media. But certain buzzwords like "Human rights" are usually anything that goes against western values, many of these values are that no one in history shared and no one shares outside of the west to this day. & ironically the biggest violators nowadays of human rights are the west on about every metric: Endless wars, WMD's, Environmental destruction, torturing dissidends & whistleblowers & this barely tickles the tip of the iceberg
Other western corporations and governments do not have issue with Saudis political and social system. Same with different international sport associations, like FIFA or IOC. "On May 20, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud signed a series of letters of intent for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to purchase arms from the United States totaling US$110 billion immediately, and $350 billion over 10 years." Saudia (the airline) owns Airbus (93 Aircraft) and Boeing (51 Aircraft). "The Biden administration on Tuesday approved two massive arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help them defend against Iran (Aug 2, 2022)". All oil exploitation equipment are mostly western (Schlumberger Ltd, Halliburton Company, Baker Hughes Company, Weatherford International plc and National-Oilwell Varco Inc. are the major companies operating in the Saudi Arabia Completion Equipment And Services Market.) Why would ATP and WTA do any different? Or individual athletes. If it is good for USA and EU governments, their Military complexes and Manufactures it should be good for tennis players. NO?
I intensely dislike mixing politics with sport. Doing so is a hallmark of political fanatics. If one would bar Saudi Arabia from hosting an exhibition match, why not bar China and cancel the Shanghai Masters? And then, in the fullness of time, a range of other countries, of whomever falls foul of political correctness. Most people in the West are increasingly fed up of the never ending encroachment of politics and political correctness into our lives, so let's not invite more of it. Keep sports out of politics.
@@pontusschroder8361 True, but at least it makes sense given that nato is in a kind of war with russia. If china would attack a european country, then no tennis matches would be held in china.
OMG Rain that intensity in desert this blow my mind, about Saudia Arabia let say you are top tennis player and they come to you do you want to play exibithion you receive 10 milion dollars what you say hell yes so money move this world around 😂😂
I stopped watching and supporting tennis and the players who do not care about others except themselves.😢 Do not even start talking about the West, it is all relative, sure no country is perfect with it, but hardly you can find a country as rich and as disgusting as SA😢
At first, I wondered why the opposition to playing in Saudi Arabia. I hadn't immediately realised it's related to political correctness and merely thought that in the future, pc activists will seek to ban several countries from hosting tournaments. I ought to have realised that already now it's to do with pc. I think a survey conducted a few short years ago found that some 83% of americans feel stifled by pc in one way or another.
With all the respect, please let's not talk about politics. Because if your point of view is to ignore U.S. imperialism and the founding of multiple wars around the world, you are gonna sound like a hypocrite. Tennis is a common ground we all can enjoy. ❤
And with all respect, this is a tennis story. One of the largest tennis stories of the year. You can’t cover tennis in 2024 and not talk Saudi Arabia. But of course you can always skip it.
I disagree. It is my belief that athletes, as public figures with significant influence, possess a unique opportunity to shed light on various societal challenges. By collectively taking a stance against human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia or any other similar context, these athletes can effectively contribute to the larger conversation on the topic. Their actions serve as a moral obligation to utilize their platform in order to advocate for justice and equality.
@@GillGross that's fine but you cover it with a clear bias as though your western values are inherently better and that you are in a position of global moral arbiter. I bet you wont actively come out against Islam because that's what the Saudi's moral system is based on. Then if you do want to do this then you also need to come out against the British government when Wimbledon is on for the governments complicity in the ab*se of thousands of young girls by men of questionable origins over the last 20 years.
Sorry about my voice! I got sick from the cold and rain at the Waste Management Open!
😂 waste management open 😂😂😂 what kinda garbage did you see? Chokevak? Chokevedev? ChokeAliasime? 😂😂😂
I watch absolutely no golf but "waste management open" was the funniest thing I have heard all day
🤣
Exactly. Tony Soprano would be proud
😂
Gill and his girlfriend look so good together!
I agree with you on this, Gill: If the Saudis are willing to pay to have tennis, they should also be willing to CHANGE in order to have tennis, for its employees, players, sponsors and spectators to feel safe and respected. Chrissy and Martina are on point.
What's unsafe in Saudi Arabia?
Perhaps you should listen to Gill's take on it? @@AA-le9ls
@@AA-le9lsyou can get informed very well without asking to strangers on youtube. I would really recommend you to do it
@@AA-le9ls lol
Happy Belated Birthday Gill.
Coaches leaving a bad situation are never gonna say 'Screw this.' It's going to be some sort of corporatespeak about 'mutual agreements to part ways' or 'cannot meet the player's needs due to scheduling problems,' etc. These people want to work again and have their new charges trust them not to dump on them if things don't work out. So no matter how bad it was, they're not gonna tell us just how bad it was.
Ferrero came as close as they come by saying he thought he and Zverev "have different ideas about what being a professional is"
@@roshanemad-syring3943 Yes! I remember that one. Few coaches have Ferrero's relative candor. I've seen a video where numerous ATP pros are asked who shows up late for practice sessions the most. Almost all of them rolled their eyes and said Zverev. He seems to have little courtesy toward others.
@@charlesfaure1189 yeah even aside from the allegations I've always thought he seemed like an arrogant and disrespectful person. I appreciate that ferrero was able to express his opinion while remaining professional and respectful. Though I doubt there's that level of bad blood between Becker and Rune.
One of Raducanu's ex coaches didn't follow that playbook. Search on Google for "WTA
Raducanu coach quit because of 'red flags that couldn't be ignored'".
Great content. One thing I would say is the money, while “life changing” for 99%+ of those on tour, does not really work for at least most of the “six kings” . I think when you are at that level of pretty much endless resources I would say you have a greater responsibility to take ethical considerations into account
nobody gives af bout ethics
Really mature take about the Saudi Arabia situation thank you for handling such a difficult topic so well
Yes, it was actually brilliantly handled, Gill, given it's a very difficult subject.
Hey Gill, I think what Roddick meant about Alcaraz's serve was just that the top speeds were already there a couple of years back. He referenced some mid 130s bombs Carlitos hit in Miami 2022 specifically, suggesting that there hasn't been enough improvement based on the raw power he clearly possesses. Agree with what you said about it too, especially the stuff about fine tuning the spot serving. It's worth listening to Andy's segment on this, his explanation of different types of servers was really interesting.
Happy belated birthday Gill!
Yeah I agree on Rune, I think people have already soured on him because of Alcaraz and Sinner’s sustained success, which has kinda left him in the dust. I always like to remind people that Rune right now looks a lot like Sinner looked in, say, 2021/22. Basically the same age, top 10 player (Sinner was in and out of the top 10 back then due to injuries), durability issues, unpolished game with a lot of room for improvement. I’d even say when Rune is on, he looks better than Sinner did back then too.
The maturity will need to come along. That’s one thing Sinner always had over him; he was pretty mature and quiet (though I do remember him taking some losses kinda hard at times). But Rune kinda reminds me of a young Djokovic. It may not be the conventional path for him, but he has so much potential and can definitely piece it together.
If I was to give a floor and a ceiling (NBA fans do this a lot), I’d say Rune’s floor is somewhere around Tsitsipas/Zverev, and his ceiling is through the roof; an all-time great.
Great perspective - fully agree!
Great take on the Rune situation 💯
I find people ridiculously critical of Rune - not even his tennis, which obvs is a work in progress, but the person. He's only 20. What is it he's supposedvto have done since his breakthrough? I watch this guy, I like him& his tennis & Ive seen nothing. (not talking about some pretty average stupid schoolyard type comments made back when he was17)
I take a lot of garbage from the bandwagon Sinner fans who revile Holger, never realizing the Dane is 2 years younger than Sinner. I'm proud to be a Holger fan, who I find exciting to watch. Sinner to me is an emotionless and comically unattractive geek. Holger is hot as hell.
@@lsb9073Agreed. They act like he’s in the same position as Zverev or Tsitsipas already. Those guys are in their mid-20s and haven’t won a slam yet. Rune is just one week older than Alcaraz, and obviously Alcaraz is a once in a lifetime freak of nature.
Appreciate you finally talked about the Saudi subject. Thanks for the viewpoint
Good to have you back Gill 🥰
My mate's first trip to tennis was day two of Wimbledon last year on a ground pass, saw half a set of Bernarda Pera on the court next to Vondrousova, then it rained all day.
I loved your answer regarding the sport-washing of Saudi Arabia. Disgusting that the top players are playing there.
And it's really bad that they already have tournaments that players attend, like Doha, Abu Dhabi. You cannot separate sports and "politics".
too bad so sad. move on
Great video as always!
Very wise on Saudi Arabia issue. 👍
Gil I appreciate your thoughts on the Saudi exhibition and your perspectives on personal integrity on same subject.
We missed you too bud!
Hi Gill you look fab in your golf course outfit
It's naive for anyone to think that, Tennis or Golf are getting into bed with Saudi to change the so called unsavoury aspects to Saudi culture. And it's disingenuous of tennis players or people involved in the organization of tennis to suggest this is what they are trying to do. It's as usual all about the money. Even if these are the intentions of these sports organisations, and the large amounts of money involved would have to make anyone in their right mind think twice, it is also super naive for any sports organisation to think they would have any influence on a whole culture, that has existed and embedded its cultural behaviours over centuries.
Hey gg - I normally love your content but with all due respect, that Saudi segment was both a bit racist and biased. The "what about this" argument should actually be the core of your discussion. Instead of just singling out one Arab country, this debate should be about whether the tennis community should be taking stands against all human rights and international law abuses.
If you care about human rights abuses, why are China or Russia or Israel or the US for that matter not included in this discussion? Israel steals land and detains ppl all the time for no reason other than the victims are born Arab. Their soldiers/settlers are summarily killing Palestinians everyday without consequence both in the west bank and Gaza. Israel is starving millions of ppl and committing genocide right now as we speak with unconditional American funding. That is literally the possible worst crime in humanitarian international law!
I live in the US, but you have to understand how brainwashed you sound to the rest of the world by having the discussion framed in this way. Saudi is very flawed but they are actually attempting to reform themselves. If human rights abuses were a reason to prevent a tennis event in a country, then US foreign policy should neccesiate that not another point should ever be played in the states again. Esp given what's happening in Gaza, most ppl internationally consider the US to be the worlds biggest terrorist state for funding a genocide and blocking a resolution.
The truth is that the tennis community has not cared about international law/human rights abuses for the most part as long as the abuses are conducted by western countries (or countries that are wealthy enough). And they will never withdraw events from these countries. So to me, this is another attempt by western countries (ie the ones that represent the majority players) to villify Arabs (ie the common enemy).
I know you have a great heart and do amazing work so this is not an attack on you but rather advice on how to maybe engage with this topic in the future since it will surely come up again. And personally I'd love to see you initiate a discussion about potentially boycotting Israel for their apartheid regime since it could actually save tens/hundreds of thousands of lives rather than fear mongering with hypotheticals about an Arab state. Anyways have a great day and much love ❤
I disagree with a few of your points on the Saudi Arabia comments. The biggest one is that you want “experts” to come in and “teach” players about the situation but isn’t that assuming there is a right answer that is black and white. Very few things are.
lol we have had a lot of rain in Phoenix this month. 😂
It is my belief that athletes, as public figures with significant influence, possess a unique opportunity to shed light on various societal challenges. By collectively taking a stance against human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia or any other similar context, these athletes can effectively contribute to the larger conversation on the topic. Their actions serve as a moral obligation to utilize their platform in order to advocate for justice and equality.
Do you think they should do the same and take a stance against for example the German or British government for continually allowing and actively covering up the abuse of young girls by men of "interesting" origin?
Absolutely. @@Norf.F.C.Zoomer
I lived in Tucson for 5 years. I loved it.
Happy belated birthday Gill happy you’re back 👏👏👏👏❤️🙏
Thanks to whoever asked the question about 'The Tour' ATP production. I stopped Gill's video to watch it and by the end I was laughing out loud. My favourite part is Rublev with the frying pan going Bweh Bweh 😂😭🤣
I watched it again a few times and it just gets funnier 😂 I love the attention to detail like the story line suggestions in the background of the office where they meet to discuss plots. Novak - amnesia, Roger comeback (CGI), new vegetables for Sinner and a few others 😂🤣Yeah, Andy's deadpan face is brilliant 😅
6 kings slam sounds awesome, can’t wait! Hoping for more events in the area.
Happy belated birthday Gill 🙂 Bad luck on the washout at the golf! I've only seen live golf once, i could hardly ever see the ball and was just a lot of walking 😂
Random comment - in the question about the spoof "ATP Tour TV Show", you mentioned "the WTA doesn't do this". I was actually just thinking this the other day... I was watching WTA Abu Dhabi and noticed the HUGE difference in the amount of technical analysis during the match. I'm assuming InfoSys doesn't cover WTA? It's a shame. Btw, i might ask this in the mailbag to see if you want to comment on it.
I've watched Andy's podcast, it was fun to see him doing something more long-form. I hope he keeps it up. I had some thoughts on his style, I'll probably leave him a comment.
Thanks for the vid as always 👍
Hey Gil! What are you doing in the dirty T? We call it the dirty T but many simply call it Tucson. Try and visit summerhaven up on Mt Lemmon. One of the best drives in the country.
Great Stuff Gill. Keep going
HBD Gill
Imo, countries that treat women like crap are the best places to have a WTA tournament Ha, that sounded horrible. I mean the WTA represents an example and role models. However, if the country compels the players forfeit their own rights while there, then that country can suck it.
Holger is taking the Kygrios route, no coach needed
or the Federer route?
@@Hammerton32I thought he had a bunch of coaches
@@Paperbagman555Fed had a few, yep. Peter Carter, Annacone, Tony Roche, Luthi, Ljubicic. I believe (might be wrong with this!) that he had NO coach for a while too, around the time that Rochey was working with him. Roche didn't travel with Rog for the full year.
@@GlennSyndallius yeah I had heard years ago Fed didn't have a coach for a while at least. From memory (I could be wrong on this) I don't remember seeing any of his coaches in the players box nearly as much as other top players who have their coach in every match at majors. So I wonder how much of an influence they had on him compared to others
Hey do not forget to make a video for the atp 250 Marseille final.
So,how is holger training now?alone?
He has a Danish coach: Carlsen, a former player.
Cool you are based in Tucson, i love the place!
Who fo you think plays good in humid conditions? Varillas or albert ramos vinolas on clay?
Perhaps Rune will be the Djokovic of the trio…
6:35 Emma Raducanu has entered the room
You swung and missed on Saudi Arabia... the average sports fan (who are non-media annoying press conference flacks), tennis or otherwise does not care about the geopolitics of Saudi Arabia ... the real fear that we have is that big money tournaments in places like Saudi or China has the ability to draw away top players and fracture the tours. The Saudi's are trying this in soccer, but it costs too much money to build squads, and Saudi does not have the population to support the teams. but sports like Tennis with the smaller number of athletes and central tournament locations, is tailor made for siphoning off the big talent. The Slam Kings sounds like an awesome event. I hope it does well, and maybe it will one day be like a pre-season ATP championship ala Torino.
Yes I kept waiting after the part about their stances and about them buying out the tour in time, taking these players away from tour events creating their own or who knows etc
The Draw link isn’t working for me
Happy Birthday gil
What's your favorite spot on 4th ave?
Khashoggi. That's all I have to say.
I wonder why Nole is playing in Indian wells. It would be better to rest well and head straight to clay in April considering the Olympics is at RG this year. He can also make history by winning Monte Carlo or RG this year. No point in playing Indian Wells or Miami other than for ranking points.
You based in Tucson now, Gil?
Part time
You live in Tucson? I thought you lived in LA?
I also thought it was funny when you said "it was only a 2 hour drive away".
I live both places lol
Sumthing still isnt right about the Rune/Becker/Luthi triangle.
Granted, Rune & Anneke may be inexperienced, (altho availability is so basic that Im not really buying that as it surely comes into the financial side of things & will hv been discussed), but Severin & Boris are NOT inexperienced & both knew fine well they are commited to Davis Cup & Commentary, respectively, so for both of them to hv ommited to bring this up, esp when discussing their fees is absurd.
Can Tomic get his ranking high enough to get direct entry into a slam once again? I see him playing and giving some effort(effort by Tomic standards, I mean).
He has the best forehand in history. Tomic will be world no1 in no time
does Holger Rune have conflicts with the coaches,with people in general?I love him,but ….
Kind of a fizzle with the Rune coaching analysis. You conclude that a player who is ranked 7 at age 20 is going o be "fine." Well, FAA fine (ranked 28) or Zverev fine (ranked 6)? None these guys are going to starve, but maybe put yourself a bit more on the line to make a nearer-term prediction. You also never came out and said whether you thought the departure of Rune's top two coaches EACH for reasons of scheduling--kind of a basic issue--was at all a cover for something else. Finally, you mentioned that Rune had also parted ways with Mouratoglou in the past year, but didn't say whether this third breakup indicated anything incremental about Rune's ability to pick and form new coaching relationships.
Predicting a player’s career is hard. You have guys like Alcaraz who just come in running and win slams immediately. It kinda looked like Rune might be that around Paris 2022. Or you have guys like Sinner; showed potential as early as when he upset Zverev at RG2020, but had a lot of durability issues for the first few years of his career, took his time to develop and now looks amazing. Rune is actually AHEAD of Sinner in development. He’s maintaining a position well inside the top 10, something Sinner didn’t really do until last year.
Or Rune could follow that next gen mold; guys like Zverev and Tsitsipas. Hit the top 5 early, looked extremely promising and poised to dominate the tennis scene, but years later are still empty-handed at the slam level despite accomplishing practically everything else the sport has to offer. I think these two really gave the tennis world some trust issues especially with Sinner lol.
Or he could follow the Thiem/Medvedev path; works tirelessly, makes constant adjustments, right mentality, plays multiple slam finals, and finally breaks through to win one, but doesn’t seem to have many more left in the tank to start a dynasty.
Point is, if you want a career prediction, don’t go to analysts. They don’t want to look stupid trying to predict this stuff. You can look to random UA-cam commenters, but they will be reactionary as hell. The best thing to do is have your own internal opinion on where Rune will end up, and see if you’re right or wrong in a few years. I’ll admit I didn’t see it with Sinner; I felt like he’d improve and be a top player but probably be more like a Zverev/Tsitsipas than an all-time great. So far, it seems like I’m wrong; he’s made all the necessary improvements to his game so far. But I’ll also say I was right about Alcaraz. I knew he was destined for great things since his meteoric rise at USO2021, and I felt vindicated by USO2022.
@@SJ-di5zu My only point in referencing rankings was to suggest that merely saying a guy who is ranked #7 is going to be "fine" wasn't saying very much. Of course he's going to be fine. What top-20 player isn't going to be fine? I will say that it seems like you've thought about this stuff a lot more than I have, however.
@@br1729I think by “being fine,” he simply means that this doesn’t really move the needle on Rune’s potential. His potential goes without saying; we know what Rune’s ceiling is. It’s very high.
I’m just thinking from my time of watching tennis players’ career arcs. I’m too young to have really seen the big 4 grow as players from their teenage years, and the big 4 really prevented any real all-time greats from blossoming. As it turns out, Thiem, Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Alcaraz, and Sinner have all followed fascinating career paths, and obviously I know the big 4’s past even though I was too young to really witness it, so I just find it’s pointless to overreact to little things like this.
I always like to say: what do you think people were saying when 21/22 year old Djokovic had a million retirements from matches, lost 4-6 4-6 4-6 to Kohlschreiber at the AO2009, blew a 2 set lead to Meltzer at RG2010? I guarantee no one was saying that guy would grow into a GOAT, were they? If you said in 2010 that Djokovic would be better than Federer, everyone would’ve laughed at you.
But if it’s peanuts then why do it?
I listen to Gill Gross primarily on Spotify Premium and used to enjoy it. About a few months ago, his podcast started having ads, which were understandable. In this particular episode, however, the number and frequency of ads have dramatically increased to the extent of unbearable. Switching to Andy Roddick who is now offering a similar tennis analysis podcast with much more credibility and almost no ads.
Do creators have control over ads? I thought the longer the video, the more ads UA-cam puts there and uploaders have no say in it
@@Paperbagman555 I was referring to Spotify Premium, not here on UA-cam. This episode of mailbag is no longer than the previous ones which had a lot less ads and the ads only ran at the beginning of an episode. This time, though, multiple ads are running even between two chapters. This is not the way to keep his subscribers especially now someone like Andy Roddick with a lot more credibility is offering something similar.
There should be two ad breaks in the episode. That is the industry standard for 1 hour of audio. Were there more than that?
@@GillGross Yes. Just by skimming the episode again, I've already counted 4 breaks. I'm listing them below so people know I'm not making a false accusation:
0’-0’30”: 2 ads
20’43”-21’30”: 3 ads
50’34”-51’20”: 3 ads
1’08’30”-1’11’06: 5 ads
@@alphabei yeah, so there are two "midroll" ad breaks in the show. That's standard for one hour. You're including pre-show and post-show ads, which of course will also be there. Almost all the podcasts I listen to use that same format and it's the same here on UA-cam. Sorry you feel it's too much. Shorter shows will only have one midroll ad break, so only one interruption during the show. And if I form more brand partnerships, I can take these away. This is the negative tradeoff for doing all free content. I have always refused to go behind a paywall.
You say there should be no whataboutery when it comes to Saudi influence in sport but it's pretty damn hard when you see the tours currently hosting events in UAE and Qatar who have the same issues that you point out with Saudi Arabia (women's rights virtually non-existent, same-sex relationships punishable by death) yet I don't hear the same outpouring of discontent when it comes to those countries. Why is Saudi Arabia different in this regard, just screams of double standards to me
Give any moral lection from occidental countries to some Arab countries it is at least weird. Occidental countries where te state expropiates us more than 60% of our work/wealth (slavery, right?), where the state coercively directs most aspect of our lives through thousands of laws, where, same problem as they have, (here the inmoral state judge you many times acording tou your genders, skin colour and country of origin)
Gill you are brilliant and love your content
its clearly not life altering money for nadal and djokovic, they already have hundreds of millions of dollars.. its not the same for someone with no money saying yes to the money, vs someone who is set for countless lifetimes of luxury saying yes to the money
The Princess kisses the frog to release the Prince.
Rune is the Princess, not the Coach. 😄
Gunter Bresnik seems right for Rune haha.
Gill, on the Saudi Arabia situation, read the news about Jordan Henderson.
I read an article about it, didn't seem very interesting. Was there any juicy detail you were referring to in particular?
Gill, please, I urge you to re-examine your worldview if you're going to start making value judgements on societies you neither understand nor have ever lived in for a significant period. Just because you and your friends have a set idea of what is right and wrong doesn't mean you can apply that globally. I love your content but you don't need to make moral judgements to discuss a situation unless your intention is to be actively politically bias.
I am sure you have opinions also about other countries? What facts was wrong in what he was saying about Saudi Arabia?
@@pontusschroder8361 I do have opinions, but I'm not making analysis/review/news content and posting on the internet under the guise of being unbiased.
Rune’s problem is His mom! Simple, has to go, but parent s ego sometime it’s too big
It's just like with Tzitzipas
@@VesnaLukic-h8w i think it s actually worse than tsitsipas,
What about the Rune's gimping situation? As a Holger fan I can tell you that ANYTHING of significance he or is mother says is not true. Hard to say that when she was nice enough to email you back, but it is all a smoke screen. Holger is quacking like a Raducanu and he waddles like a duck to boot.😆
If you go drunk to the street in Saudi,u go to jail.Nobody will get u out.
Saudi Arabia, or China or elsewhere are their own civilizations. Certain things that people don't like for better or worse may be baked in. But it's not my place. Since I live in the west & since they have the most global influence I would start with that if people want a better world.
Also my perception of other places in the world is influenced by entities & oligarchs who own the biggest megaphones that have the most blood on their hands. So I try not to speak of places I have no lived in. & the portrayal of places I've lived have been very inaccurate by corporate media.
But certain buzzwords like "Human rights" are usually anything that goes against western values, many of these values are that no one in history shared and no one shares outside of the west to this day. & ironically the biggest violators nowadays of human rights are the west on about every metric: Endless wars, WMD's, Environmental destruction, torturing dissidends & whistleblowers & this barely tickles the tip of the iceberg
So if you were living in when Hitler had the power in Germany you would not have had any problems with supporting large tournaments in Germany?
A large contributor to ending apartheid in South Africa was by boycotting SA sports participation in international sports
👍 great comment
Perhaps get an event that pays for someone other than top rich tennis players in the world
Something that the minor leaguers can earn something off
Sounds like It was a really exciting golf event.. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Other western corporations and governments do not have issue with Saudis political and social system. Same with different international sport associations, like FIFA or IOC. "On May 20, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud signed a series of letters of intent for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to purchase arms from the United States totaling US$110 billion immediately, and $350 billion over 10 years." Saudia (the airline) owns Airbus (93 Aircraft) and Boeing (51 Aircraft). "The Biden administration on Tuesday approved two massive arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help them defend against Iran (Aug 2, 2022)". All oil exploitation equipment are mostly western (Schlumberger Ltd, Halliburton Company, Baker Hughes Company, Weatherford International plc and National-Oilwell Varco Inc. are the major companies operating in the Saudi Arabia Completion Equipment And Services Market.)
Why would ATP and WTA do any different? Or individual athletes. If it is good for USA and EU governments, their Military complexes and Manufactures it should be good for tennis players. NO?
The players can always donate some money to good causes.
I intensely dislike mixing politics with sport. Doing so is a hallmark of political fanatics. If one would bar Saudi Arabia from hosting an exhibition match, why not bar China and cancel the Shanghai Masters? And then, in the fullness of time, a range of other countries, of whomever falls foul of political correctness.
Most people in the West are increasingly fed up of the never ending encroachment of politics and political correctness into our lives, so let's not invite more of it.
Keep sports out of politics.
The problem is that political leaders does not keep politics out of sports…like Russia
@@pontusschroder8361 True, but at least it makes sense given that nato is in a kind of war with russia. If china would attack a european country, then no tennis matches would be held in china.
Too much lipstick…
Gil is talking golf now… this channel has fallen a long ways down since GOATdal had surgery…
But raf a is enjoying with Saudi money bags 💰🤗😇 hope he is paying you well for changing jr. Rafa's diapers. 😇 great times for rafa and you brother 🤑🤑🤑
OMG Rain that intensity in desert this blow my mind, about Saudia Arabia let say you are top tennis player and they come to you do you want to play exibithion you receive 10 milion dollars what you say hell yes so money move this world around 😂😂
gender equality its thing what I really want to here from tenis video 🤐
it’s a sign: never see golf
I stopped watching and supporting tennis and the players who do not care about others except themselves.😢 Do not even start talking about the West, it is all relative, sure no country is perfect with it, but hardly you can find a country as rich and as disgusting as SA😢
At first, I wondered why the opposition to playing in Saudi Arabia. I hadn't immediately realised it's related to political correctness and merely thought that in the future, pc activists will seek to ban several countries from hosting tournaments. I ought to have realised that already now it's to do with pc. I think a survey conducted a few short years ago found that some 83% of americans feel stifled by pc in one way or another.
With all the respect, please let's not talk about politics. Because if your point of view is to ignore U.S. imperialism and the founding of multiple wars around the world, you are gonna sound like a hypocrite. Tennis is a common ground we all can enjoy. ❤
And with all respect, this is a tennis story. One of the largest tennis stories of the year. You can’t cover tennis in 2024 and not talk Saudi Arabia. But of course you can always skip it.
I disagree. It is my belief that athletes, as public figures with significant influence, possess a unique opportunity to shed light on various societal challenges. By collectively taking a stance against human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia or any other similar context, these athletes can effectively contribute to the larger conversation on the topic. Their actions serve as a moral obligation to utilize their platform in order to advocate for justice and equality.
@@GillGross that's fine but you cover it with a clear bias as though your western values are inherently better and that you are in a position of global moral arbiter. I bet you wont actively come out against Islam because that's what the Saudi's moral system is based on. Then if you do want to do this then you also need to come out against the British government when Wimbledon is on for the governments complicity in the ab*se of thousands of young girls by men of questionable origins over the last 20 years.
@@joelmvdqp👍 I totally agree
Thank you! @@pontusschroder8361