Jannik has gonna through a lot this year off court (case, the passing of his beloved aunt). I'm quite surprised how he's still managed to stay calm and focused on court. His talent is unquestionable, and nobody can take it away from him. Although he's achieved so much success at a young age, he is humble, down to earth, respectful, loyal, old-school discipline, hardworker, and intelligent. Good example to others ❤
I really love Alcaraz and Sinner. It's the rivarly in tennis that excites me the most, even more than previous ones, because I'm so impressed by the character they have at such a young age. Pure souls, very kind, both extremely humble. I think all the big 3 had bigger egos at that age, so I am really impressed by Alcaraz and Sinner. Amazing role models. I did not like the period when it looked like Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas might dominate, for the same reason, too many toxic emotions there.
Black Kitty did you drink a big cup of delulu this morning? Jannik is not that dominant. You act like the guy has 99 slams. Reality check he only has 2! Carlos has 4.
Six kings slams as a fan event was great. To see Nadal and Novak last dance despite the level of tennis was great and emotional. And to be able to see Sinner vs Alcaraz, all in 3 days it was a great show for fans despite being an exhibition.
Praying dimitrov can make another paris final and win it this time. Would love to see him back in the atp finals. Paul, rublev, de minaur all have plenty of time, grigor is getting on. Come on tennis gods, shine the light on baby fed.
I disagree, Gill. The six king slam winner is Sinner, so you might not be viewing this as a turning point for something significant. Imagine if Rune were to beat Alcaraz, then Nadal, and then Sinner or Djokovic to win the title - we’d all be wondering if this was the pivotal moment in Rune’s career. Sinner and Alcaraz have already experienced several key moments in their careers, which might make this seem less significant by comparison, but it still is.
@@divyanshujha9766 If Rune did that Id probably be even more dubious of the result, since it would track so far off of what has been happening in your events.
@@GillGross Gill is so obvious that you always try to downplay SInner's successes as if you have something personal against him. You are a very good tennis analyst but sometimes not very objective.
I don't think we can simply throw everything that happened in this tournament into the void. The world number one (around whom there is a cloud of pressure and criticism) defeats the No.5, No.4, and No.2, back to back, to win the biggest prize in the history of tennis.
I agree that the most important gain on Sinner’s part was psychological. He had started to get stiff even after he won the first sets because instinctively, he started to expect Carlos to catch up. Carlos came back in this match too, even at the first set but Jannik got over it this time and maintained the focus. He needs to get used to that and learn to handle it. I think in this match he took an important step. For Carlos, I think it might give him an extra motivation for future matches, though he is always extra motivated with his matches against Jannik. Ferrero might consider putting a cardboard maket of Jannik in trainings to motivate him😂😂 But overall, I love watching them against each other and keep friendly on and off the court. Both talented and most importantly lovely guys. I wish both all the best👏🤘
Carlos is about to receive the same treatment as Medvedev, Jannik will obliterate him at least 6 matches in a row. One year from now, nobody will be talking about this so-called rivalry because Sinner will squash Alcaraz.
I strongly believe Alcaraz wanted to win the Six Kings Slam more than everything else even though t's not an ATP tournament and not just because of the prize at stake. Yes it did go the distance but in the second and third sets Alcaraz never looked like the one who was going to win. Last but not least Sinner had to beat the three current best players whereas Alcaraz before the final got two easy walk in the park matches against a Rune in deep crise and an ex tennis player who can barely move. True you can only beat who is in front of you. With that said Alcaraz remains a phenomenal tennis player as ever.
Alcaraz may want to win it, bit he knows he doesn't have any chance on fast hard courts . He always fails on this surface, same will happen in Paris ATP finals, Davis Cup and Australia. With his poor serve, he can't possibly expect to go far. Sinner will win all these tournaments.
@blackkitty9054 I agree. Sinner will dominate till IW. Alcaraz will dominate Sinner all over the clay season and we should see an epic Wimby 2025 final between them both
@@tonyh4807 Tennis is not as simple as that. We don't know how good Carlos can be when he plays his best at AO. Sinner has improved considerably on clay (taking Carlos to 5 sets at RG), so you can never guess what could happen in that rivalry
I’m a long time listener and I don’t comment very often, so I’m sorry if one of the few comments I make is a bit of a criticism. I love the way you analyze tennis matches, head-to-head match ups and tennis playing styles. I’m not so keen on these long discussions of whether exhibitions are important. They’re not. We all know it. Some people might feel differently, but I’m not sure it’s really worthy of that much dissection. Otherwise keep up the good work. I’m a huge fan. My only recommendation is not to get too bogged down because of a few commenters disagree with you.
OK, thanks for your perspective on the Sinner-Alcaraz match. But I think it's a bit of a strange perspective because I don't think it would even occur to anyone to put that match on a par with key matches in the careers of these players, like some of the ones you mentioned (some against each other, some against others). So it's a strange reference point. But there are a lot of matches that are not that different for tennis fans (I don't mean formal rules), like the final in Beijing or Indian Wells. These players will play many matches and only some will be epic and the rest will be just another of their matches. So I think there is no need for these distinctions.
Hi Gill, I think I just decided ATP 500 tournaments are my favourites. Right now GS are just too tiring and I don´t feel like I am 100% invested in 2 weeks of thousands (obvious exaggeration) of best of 5 matches, in which these last years it felt quite anti-climactic sometimes like Musetti this year in Wimbledon, Ruud in Roland Garros, Tsitsipas/Berrettini making some SF but don´t standing a chance, or some unexpected appearances that never really played some tier 1 tennis like FAA/Kyrgios/Norrie/Khachanov/Paul/Shelton/Fritz. Then M1000 are the same because they are as long, the same players win it, but they don´t have the same enthusiasm, prestige or rewards, plus it is very unfair that there are 32 byes. Just boring. But the ATP 500 are something elsem they seem so much different that you already feel invested. I´m from Valencia where we used to have a 500 and the local crowd loved to support our local player Ferrer or to see how this tier 2 players like Murray in 09 or Youzhny or Dolgopolov fought for some of their biggest titles in those times. And I recall plenty memories like this with Nishikori in Tokyo, Murray in Queens, Thiem in Vienna, even Griekspoor in Rotterdam. I feel like there is a lot more crowd support. I just watched how Schwarzler in Vienna, and remember about Fonseca in Rio, but it didin´t seem the same as what I saw with Landaluce in Madrid, or Blanch in Miami. It feels like every match is important and the crowd are there for it, not like in M1000 that first round matches are played in court 7 added outside the stadium just for that first round and for tourists to enjoy, those just seem soulless and dispensable. They just seem like a condensed, high-level tournament where you have constantly new champions, plus some of the best matches of each year have been in these tournaments like in 2024 Bublik-Rublev in Dubai, Paul-Musetti final in Queens, Zverev-Fils in Hamburg. But also Alcaraz-de Miñaur in Barcelona, Musetti-Alcaraz in Hamburg etc... What do you think about this? I think that 500 tournaments are most of the times as enjoyable as GS for most of us hard core fans.
Gill i would like to switch your first argument: what if RUNE beats Alcaraz first and Sinner second in the 6KS? Doesn't it change a little bit the consideration for Rune? You made good examples but they were moments where both Alcaraz and Sinner still needed to prove something, so those matches were surely much more significant.
How does this make any sense? Of course, it would be a consideration for Rune because he's been playing poorly and has been hyped up as the next big thing along with Alcaraz and Sinner. On the other hand, Sinner is #1 and has beat Alcaraz in the past, he is also known as the indoor hard court specialist so why would it be significant? If anything, there are signs that Alcaraz can dominate on Hard court and once he improves on his weaknesses, he only has to gain and therefore pose more of a threat/challenge on this surface in the future.
Reapectfully Gill, I disagree with your premise that the 6 Kings Slam doesn’t contribute to the broader tennis storyline in the way the tournaments you listed do. Maybe if Alcaraz had won after going through a Rune who no one thought deserved to be there and a geriatric Nadal who had already announced retirement, I would feel that way. But for Sinner to go through Medvedev, Djokovic, and Alcaraz en route to winning the largest cash prize in tennis history in what has already been a dominant season, and in doing so making Medvedev rethink how he sees Sinner, remaining undefeated against Djokovic this season, and finally securing a win over Alcaraz this season, this felt like a signature win for Sinner, and one that will be talked about as a statement of his dominance in 2024. (And especially if he does get banned for any amount of time, we’ll be talking about, “Good thing for him he got that huge payday from the 6 Kings Slam.”)
I agree that it will give Sinner some confidence or at the very least, some relief. He's been "crowned" the fast hard-court specialist and would have been kind of embarrassing for him to lose this one. I disagree however that it shows that he has Carlos figured out or anything like that. He lost on other surfaces to Carlos (also as expected) and both are super talented and closely matched players. If anything, Alcaraz held his own pretty well this is his supposed worst surface and hopefully gives him the confidence that working on his weaknesses gives him something to build on for future hard court match ups
@@cgvoice-l1o I never meant to imply that he suddenly has Carlos figured out. But I think it very well could have been a storyline from 2024 where people say, “Sure Sinner’s #1, but Carlos beat him every time they played, so who’s REALLY the best player in the world?” Now there’s an easy retort to that.
@@harrdeeharr Well well, 2 years ago when Sinner was at the same age as Carlos is right now, Sinner was still only world No.13 and lost to Carlos in the US Open QF's. Meanwhile Carlos won 4 Grand Slams, is still 2 years younger than Sinner, and Sinner at 23 years only became consistent in 2024.
@@mireafelder8194 Boris Becker won Wimbledon at the age of 17. Does it mean Alcaraz is not really good at all in comparison? Everyone has his own path to success.
I think all what people are saying is that this match is more memorable than other exhibition matches, that's all, nobody is comparing it to official matches, I don't know where Gill got this from
your arguments are always excellently argued. Bravo. however Saturday's match was a real match, and could, according to your reasoning, be a turning point, because Sinner could have found a key to beating Alcaraz
I still don’t understand why the comment of this doesn’t matter. Players and fans look at matches, regardless of commentators and official stats will show. Every match has an impact on the future matches. Saying this doesn’t matter and living that far in the future feels disrespectful to players and fans! Just stay in the present and don’t come off as if you are discrediting players matches that give them confidence and such. It’s negative.
Gill, this match just happened on Saturday. What if this win changes the head to head for Sinner vs Alcaraz? Or gives Djokovic more fuel knowing he can still push Sinner (taking him to 3, and broke him multiple times). This can still happen with this tournament, so I am not clear on your point.
Pretty insane, to continue say "Alcaraz didnt care if he won or lost". You think he is prouder of Beijing 500 final than this? Maybe RG SF, 100%, but not this...
I think you and other Sinner fans are discounting that Sinner is the "hard court king", especially indoors so why is him winning this so special? It was expected. If anything, I think Alcaraz showed a very high level and it's obvious what he needs to improve on. Once he does, it's going to be even more competitive.
I see the makings of an all time legend in Sinner. Every single year he makes marked measurable improvements. If you take a look at his tournament performance timelines it’s crazy. When he decided to risk playing djokovic again in the ATP finals last year it showed me his desire to face the best and prove himself. And then this run of insane form in the midst of controversy, as if to say some choice words to his haters. Going back to back to back to back to back in finals shows his mental fortitude, not many could handle this schedule without taking an easy way out at least once. I see a psycho tennis killer. It wouldn’t surprise me honestly if he did cheat, I think he wants to be the best that bad.
Sorry, but I find your last line derespectful and completely wrong in my opinion. I'm shure that if there hadn't been this whole thing about doping, Sinner would not have achieved all of this year's milestones (in such a short time). I think that he concentrated the maximum effort in any match just to demonstrate he doesn't need to cheat to be the best, and so that the accusation of volunteer doping (in such low quantities, what's more!) is simply sensless
Speaking about the Saudi, I hated the purple colour of the court that made the ball hard to see and my God the birdseye view of the camera angle in the first day! It was insane and too frustrating, I dropped watching the matches the first day, luckily words got out and the camera angle was improved.
Credit to Gill for trying to pronounce Jiří correctly. Just lengthen the second syllable (and keep practising that challenging ř that several of the Czech players have in their names)
does Laver cup carry that weight considering it’s an official match on record? if we’re being very charitable the players may say it slightly impacts their mentality. it’s more an indictment on laver cup for me, but i wouldn’t nullify 6KS, you never know. i’m thinking of when agassi caught on to edbergs tongue tick on the serve. one less match in the matchup, maybe he doesn't pick that up and use it to his advantage
@@acor538 Laver Cup matches also carry no weight for me. Special moments sometimes, but zero historical impact as far as the actual results. I hate that it counts on official H2Hs.
But contrary to your argument the match between Sinner and Medvedev clearly had a great effect on Medvedev… Nevertheless generally agree that exhos don’t matter.
Still think Dimitrov is the better player. Tommy Paul played a great tournament, he is a great returner and has a lot of variety in his game, but he simply had a lot more energy for this match than Grigor. And when Grigor is tired he almost never serves well.
I mean it’s just money. When you’re already super rich does it really matter? I mean I’m sure Jannik is happy for the cash cause doping ain’t cheap! Those lawyers are steep I’m sure!
Lehečka looked really poor in the second set, was wondering whether he was injured or just completely demoralized by RBA's game. I forgot they'd played in Davis Cup, probably that's why Jiři gave up.
I’ve brushed off exhibitions and practice sets since Day 1. Always have , always will. Don’t give a damn who wins. Did I cover Laver Cup when Alcaraz carried team Europe on his back? No I did not.
@@GillGross firstly you covered Nadal Alcaraz in Vegas on a full UA-cam clip so don’t even start lol. I think it was 30min long. Anyway that’s not the point…
The point is SixSlams has a lot of meaning in tennis for a few reasons: 6M on line biggest prize money, the best players on planet and great tennis. If you don’t see where tennis is headed … I wouldn’t be surprised if more of these big new slams came about in future
It won't be forgotten it is just not significant. Like how I remember the German Slam Cup when a 19 yr old Sampras won a million dollars in 1990 dollars.
It's funny you did not dedicate the whole video to the Six Kings Slam. You say it is not so important. At the end of the day it is you channel, you do what you want but I totally disagree with you.
99% of matches in ATP 500 and ATP 1000 tournaments are not history defining and therefore according to your definition forgettable. Finals between Sinner and Alcaraz in Indian Wells and Beijing are equally forgettable, but never is this emphasised when discussing these matches, right? So I think there is a bias going on against the 6 kings slam in your approach. Which is fine and maybe warrented, but why not tell us that you feel that way and why? Instead of doing these mental gymnastics with a newly used definition of forgettable and a very subjectice set of arguments why Rotterdam ATP 500 is history defining (was it really?) to decide that a non ATP event in Ryiad with the best players battling for the highest payout could never ever achieve this.
I agree that it does have significance, but what I think Gill is saying is that it only holds significance for the players, and obviously the fans. But in the formal significance of it changing official results (points, H2H, title), it doesn't have any significance and in the long term will most likely be forgotten when all is said and done. There will be bigger, more important matches they will play in the future that we'll all be talking about in years to come (compared to this one).
In my Cousin Vinny, Pesci's opening statement during the trial is applicable here to your statement about the Riyadh tournament.. For the first time I think you are biased and clueless here.
And I say keep stalling the Saudis--and yes Sinner wanted to win and beat Carlos. He wasn't playing for fun, he was playing to show that he's number 1.
He already is #1. I think he was playing to avoid embarrassment. I think next year will be Sinner's chance to prove bigger things by trying to beat Carlos at IW, French open, Wimbledon.
@@cgvoice-l1o yes, I know he's no. 1. And he wanted to show and prove that he is not no. 1 for nothing. I hope you're right about next year, that would make me very happy. It will be fun to see Alcaraz & Sinner playing each other and trying to counter each other's play to prove who is the better player. Two young greats--let's hope it all goes well for them.
@@mariepelletier3020 I agree. While I slightly prefer Alcaraz personally (find him more entertaining to watch), I don't mind Sinner staying #1 as long as it doesn't mean him winning everything from now on. While that would be impressive, it would be rather boring for us tennis fans. Both of them pushing each other is a win-win for us fans!
@@cgvoice-l1o Oh yeah and I don't think he will. Alcaraz is definitely fun to watch, such innovation and movement. Sinner is definitely more Djokovician in his approach. But his turn on the grass in Halle was a marvel and he enjoyed showing off his own highlight reel play. And when Machac did his fly thorugh the air forehand smash move Sinner reproduced it a few plays later. Cause boys will always be boys and want to show off. S'ok I don't mind as long as I like the player whose showing off--slight bias there, I realize.
Gil's saying Six Kings doesn't matter partially because Sinner won in dominant fashion. He's on one of THE best runs ever but is being downplayed by Gil/others due to the drug issue and other factors(boring personality). Just imagine what Gil would be saying if Alcaraz had won Six Kings. "This was a TURNING MOMENT for Alcaraz, an amazing performance... blah blah blah".
@@sleong No chance. If Alcaraz won my opinion would be exactly the same. Did I cover Laver Cup? Did I say it mattered when Alcaraz carried team Europe on his back? I don’t think so. Because it was an exhibition. Keep dreaming.
2:04 Why would Sinner's loss to Alcaraz in the 2022 US Open QF's have prevented him from achieving the same level of success Alcaraz had in the first half of 2023? Tbh, Sinner only became this consistent in 2024, following his Australian Open win. And let’s not forget that Sinner is already 2 years older than Alcaraz, yet he's only won 2 Grand Slams in 2024, while Alcaraz, two years younger, has already won 4. This is just another example of why Gill is such a Sinner fanboy.
@@mireafelder8194 all the negative comments in this comment section are calling me a Sinner hater and here you are calling me the opposite. The truth is that I’m neither. And your interpretation of what I said here is way off- I barely understand the point you claim that I’m making.
@@GillGross Gill, I'm following you since way back in 2022 when Sinner won his only clay title over Alcaraz in Umag. Again, I'm asking you: Why would Sinner's loss to Alcaraz in the 2022 US Open QF's have prevented Sinner from achieving the same level of success Alcaraz had in the first half of 2023 as you said in this video? Sinner only became this consistent in 2024, following his Australian Open win. And you always forget to mention that Sinner is already 2 years older than Alcaraz, yet he's only won 2 Grand Slams in 2024, while Alcaraz, two years younger, has already won 4. This is just another example of why you, Gill, are such a Sinner fanboy.
@@mireafelder8194 I appreciate you watching for so long but I do not appreciate you insulting my integrity. I never said what you’re claiming I said in this video. So I’m gonna leave it that.
@@GillGross How did I insult your integrity? Again, my main question to you was: Why would Sinner's loss to Alcaraz in the 2022 US Open QF's have prevented Sinner from achieving the same level of success Alcaraz had in the first half of 2023 as you said in this video? Sinner only became this consistent in 2024, following his Australian Open win. And you always forget to mention that Sinner is already 2 years older than Alcaraz, yet he's only won 2 Grand Slams in 2024, while Alcaraz, two years younger, has already won 4.
i do think the exhibition was not needed.. but you know they put 6 mil on the table to attract those players and they had what they wanted.. those are a lot of money 😅..the rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz is fascinating and i can sum it like this: Sinner is more consistent and his average is better than the Carlitos one..Sinner won't never (maybe) lose against top 10 players beside alcaraz.. but alcaraz can lose against ANYBODY.. the guy is too much inconsistent.. but his ceiling is higher than the sinner's one. just a great rivalry cause you can never know what they are gonna bring to the table. we lucky🦾
Once Sinner defeats Alcaraz 6 times in a row, nobody will talk about this rivalry anymore . Sinner will do to Alcaraz the same thing he did to Medvedev, Djokovic, and the rest of the tour.....prepare to see Sinner breaking every single record in the coming years.
@@blackkitty9054 Settle down troll. In the meantime, it's going to be fun for all of us to watch. I wouldn't bet on predicting the future, however. Sinner has a tendency to get hurt and having hip problems this young isn't a good sign for the long term. It's going to be an average of neck-to-neck battles for years to come, something you and all of us should want! How boring would it be for Sinner to dominate everything moving forward. What does that do for anyone (boring as hell)?
@@blackkitty9054 I didn't say he is boring, I said winning every match is. What made the big 3 exciting was the rivalry. If it had been the big 1 only, I think tennis viewership would have dropped and been bad for the sport overall. I don't get this wish to have others fail. As mentioned, while I don't hope he gets injured, there are some worrying signs for Sinner this year, especially the hip issues that could come into play and change your prediction. I hope that's not the case because it would be BORING to have Alcaraz dominating without a Sinner.
Jannik has gonna through a lot this year off court (case, the passing of his beloved aunt). I'm quite surprised how he's still managed to stay calm and focused on court. His talent is unquestionable, and nobody can take it away from him. Although he's achieved so much success at a young age, he is humble, down to earth, respectful, loyal, old-school discipline, hardworker, and intelligent. Good example to others ❤
I bet the big factor in his playing is him wanting to prove that he's currently the best and no doping scandal will change that
I think doing what he knows best is the one thing helping him not to feel sorry for himself and just get on with life
@@dariusz_darson_8968thats what I keep saying in my comments all the time as well. Trying to prove the haters that he is Jannik Sinner
His mental game is on elite level at such a young age, truly remarkable! We are so blessed to have these two
Because he is innocent. That’s why.
I really love Alcaraz and Sinner. It's the rivarly in tennis that excites me the most, even more than previous ones, because I'm so impressed by the character they have at such a young age. Pure souls, very kind, both extremely humble. I think all the big 3 had bigger egos at that age, so I am really impressed by Alcaraz and Sinner. Amazing role models. I did not like the period when it looked like Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas might dominate, for the same reason, too many toxic emotions there.
One year from now, this rivalry won't exist, Jannik will obliterate Alcaraz the same way he did to Medvedev.
@@blackkitty9054not on clay or IW
@@blackkitty9054 😂
@@blackkitty9054😂
Black Kitty did you drink a big cup of delulu this morning? Jannik is not that dominant. You act like the guy has 99 slams. Reality check he only has 2! Carlos has 4.
Six kings slams as a fan event was great. To see Nadal and Novak last dance despite the level of tennis was great and emotional.
And to be able to see Sinner vs Alcaraz, all in 3 days it was a great show for fans despite being an exhibition.
Seriously no one in Six King Slam (beside poor Nadal) played like it was an exhibition. Both Sinner and Alcaraz wanted to win 😂
Praying dimitrov can make another paris final and win it this time. Would love to see him back in the atp finals. Paul, rublev, de minaur all have plenty of time, grigor is getting on. Come on tennis gods, shine the light on baby fed.
Gill! That was you commentating the Rublev match!! Congrats…I said “I know that voice” lol
Good to see Bautista still winning. There is only a few of that generation left now.
I disagree, Gill. The six king slam winner is Sinner, so you might not be viewing this as a turning point for something significant. Imagine if Rune were to beat Alcaraz, then Nadal, and then Sinner or Djokovic to win the title - we’d all be wondering if this was the pivotal moment in Rune’s career. Sinner and Alcaraz have already experienced several key moments in their careers, which might make this seem less significant by comparison, but it still is.
@@divyanshujha9766 If Rune did that Id probably be even more dubious of the result, since it would track so far off of what has been happening in your events.
@@GillGross Gill is so obvious that you always try to downplay SInner's successes as if you have something personal against him. You are a very good tennis analyst but sometimes not very objective.
@@GillGross thanks. Agreed.
Tommy Paul has been playing some exceptional tennis!
I don't think we can simply throw everything that happened in this tournament into the void. The world number one (around whom there is a cloud of pressure and criticism) defeats the No.5, No.4, and No.2, back to back, to win the biggest prize in the history of tennis.
I agree that the most important gain on Sinner’s part was psychological. He had started to get stiff even after he won the first sets because instinctively, he started to expect Carlos to catch up. Carlos came back in this match too, even at the first set but Jannik got over it this time and maintained the focus. He needs to get used to that and learn to handle it. I think in this match he took an important step. For Carlos, I think it might give him an extra motivation for future matches, though he is always extra motivated with his matches against Jannik. Ferrero might consider putting a cardboard maket of Jannik in trainings to motivate him😂😂
But overall, I love watching them against each other and keep friendly on and off the court. Both talented and most importantly lovely guys. I wish both all the best👏🤘
Carlos is about to receive the same treatment as Medvedev, Jannik will obliterate him at least 6 matches in a row. One year from now, nobody will be talking about this so-called rivalry because Sinner will squash Alcaraz.
@@blackkitty9054 please… this is just trolling so I will not reply seriously.
@@blackkitty9054 ti piacerebbe, vero? Ma non sarà così. Sono due numeri uno e si daranno sempre battaglia. Ed aggiungo, fortunatamente.
I strongly believe Alcaraz wanted to win the Six Kings Slam more than everything else even though t's not an ATP tournament and not just because of the prize at stake.
Yes it did go the distance but in the second and third sets Alcaraz never looked like the one who was going to win.
Last but not least Sinner had to beat the three current best players whereas Alcaraz before the final got two easy walk in the park matches against a Rune in deep crise and an ex tennis player who can barely move. True you can only beat who is in front of you.
With that said Alcaraz remains a phenomenal tennis player as ever.
More than anything? You're delusional, my friend
Alcaraz may want to win it, bit he knows he doesn't have any chance on fast hard courts . He always fails on this surface, same will happen in Paris ATP finals, Davis Cup and Australia. With his poor serve, he can't possibly expect to go far. Sinner will win all these tournaments.
@blackkitty9054 I agree. Sinner will dominate till IW. Alcaraz will dominate Sinner all over the clay season and we should see an epic Wimby 2025 final between them both
@@tonyh4807 Sinner will also win Wimbledon.
@@tonyh4807 Tennis is not as simple as that. We don't know how good Carlos can be when he plays his best at AO. Sinner has improved considerably on clay (taking Carlos to 5 sets at RG), so you can never guess what could happen in that rivalry
I’m a long time listener and I don’t comment very often, so I’m sorry if one of the few comments I make is a bit of a criticism. I love the way you analyze tennis matches, head-to-head match ups and tennis playing styles. I’m not so keen on these long discussions of whether exhibitions are important. They’re not. We all know it. Some people might feel differently, but I’m not sure it’s really worthy of that much dissection. Otherwise keep up the good work. I’m a huge fan. My only recommendation is not to get too bogged down because of a few commenters disagree with you.
Not few actually
@@TennisStefRogJan
It is few
@@malekat8539 nope, many reacted hence Gill had to clarify his statement
I really like MMA on tournaments of lower tier, so many good players take part at 250s
Gil Great- Thank you for pointing out that Sinner and Carlos haven’t made it as far in the same number of tournaments this year!
OK, thanks for your perspective on the Sinner-Alcaraz match. But I think it's a bit of a strange perspective because I don't think it would even occur to anyone to put that match on a par with key matches in the careers of these players, like some of the ones you mentioned (some against each other, some against others). So it's a strange reference point. But there are a lot of matches that are not that different for tennis fans (I don't mean formal rules), like the final in Beijing or Indian Wells. These players will play many matches and only some will be epic and the rest will be just another of their matches. So I think there is no need for these distinctions.
Hi Gill, I think I just decided ATP 500 tournaments are my favourites. Right now GS are just too tiring and I don´t feel like I am 100% invested in 2 weeks of thousands (obvious exaggeration) of best of 5 matches, in which these last years it felt quite anti-climactic sometimes like Musetti this year in Wimbledon, Ruud in Roland Garros, Tsitsipas/Berrettini making some SF but don´t standing a chance, or some unexpected appearances that never really played some tier 1 tennis like FAA/Kyrgios/Norrie/Khachanov/Paul/Shelton/Fritz.
Then M1000 are the same because they are as long, the same players win it, but they don´t have the same enthusiasm, prestige or rewards, plus it is very unfair that there are 32 byes. Just boring.
But the ATP 500 are something elsem they seem so much different that you already feel invested. I´m from Valencia where we used to have a 500 and the local crowd loved to support our local player Ferrer or to see how this tier 2 players like Murray in 09 or Youzhny or Dolgopolov fought for some of their biggest titles in those times. And I recall plenty memories like this with Nishikori in Tokyo, Murray in Queens, Thiem in Vienna, even Griekspoor in Rotterdam. I feel like there is a lot more crowd support. I just watched how Schwarzler in Vienna, and remember about Fonseca in Rio, but it didin´t seem the same as what I saw with Landaluce in Madrid, or Blanch in Miami. It feels like every match is important and the crowd are there for it, not like in M1000 that first round matches are played in court 7 added outside the stadium just for that first round and for tourists to enjoy, those just seem soulless and dispensable.
They just seem like a condensed, high-level tournament where you have constantly new champions, plus some of the best matches of each year have been in these tournaments like in 2024 Bublik-Rublev in Dubai, Paul-Musetti final in Queens, Zverev-Fils in Hamburg. But also Alcaraz-de Miñaur in Barcelona, Musetti-Alcaraz in Hamburg etc...
What do you think about this? I think that 500 tournaments are most of the times as enjoyable as GS for most of us hard core fans.
Gill i would like to switch your first argument: what if RUNE beats Alcaraz first and Sinner second in the 6KS? Doesn't it change a little bit the consideration for Rune? You made good examples but they were moments where both Alcaraz and Sinner still needed to prove something, so those matches were surely much more significant.
I agree
How does this make any sense? Of course, it would be a consideration for Rune because he's been playing poorly and has been hyped up as the next big thing along with Alcaraz and Sinner. On the other hand, Sinner is #1 and has beat Alcaraz in the past, he is also known as the indoor hard court specialist so why would it be significant? If anything, there are signs that Alcaraz can dominate on Hard court and once he improves on his weaknesses, he only has to gain and therefore pose more of a threat/challenge on this surface in the future.
Reapectfully Gill, I disagree with your premise that the 6 Kings Slam doesn’t contribute to the broader tennis storyline in the way the tournaments you listed do. Maybe if Alcaraz had won after going through a Rune who no one thought deserved to be there and a geriatric Nadal who had already announced retirement, I would feel that way. But for Sinner to go through Medvedev, Djokovic, and Alcaraz en route to winning the largest cash prize in tennis history in what has already been a dominant season, and in doing so making Medvedev rethink how he sees Sinner, remaining undefeated against Djokovic this season, and finally securing a win over Alcaraz this season, this felt like a signature win for Sinner, and one that will be talked about as a statement of his dominance in 2024. (And especially if he does get banned for any amount of time, we’ll be talking about, “Good thing for him he got that huge payday from the 6 Kings Slam.”)
I agree that it will give Sinner some confidence or at the very least, some relief. He's been "crowned" the fast hard-court specialist and would have been kind of embarrassing for him to lose this one. I disagree however that it shows that he has Carlos figured out or anything like that. He lost on other surfaces to Carlos (also as expected) and both are super talented and closely matched players. If anything, Alcaraz held his own pretty well this is his supposed worst surface and hopefully gives him the confidence that working on his weaknesses gives him something to build on for future hard court match ups
@@cgvoice-l1o I never meant to imply that he suddenly has Carlos figured out. But I think it very well could have been a storyline from 2024 where people say, “Sure Sinner’s #1, but Carlos beat him every time they played, so who’s REALLY the best player in the world?” Now there’s an easy retort to that.
@@harrdeeharr Well well, 2 years ago when Sinner was at the same age as Carlos is right now, Sinner was still only world No.13 and lost to Carlos in the US Open QF's. Meanwhile Carlos won 4 Grand Slams, is still 2 years younger than Sinner, and Sinner at 23 years only became consistent in 2024.
@@mireafelder8194 Boris Becker won Wimbledon at the age of 17. Does it mean Alcaraz is not really good at all in comparison? Everyone has his own path to success.
Nice to see a match between Paul and Dimitrov again. They haven't played since 2020 and this was only the 3rd time they faced one another
I think all what people are saying is that this match is more memorable than other exhibition matches, that's all, nobody is comparing it to official matches, I don't know where Gill got this from
your arguments are always excellently argued. Bravo. however Saturday's match was a real match, and could, according to your reasoning, be a turning point, because Sinner could have found a key to beating Alcaraz
I still don’t understand why the comment of this doesn’t matter. Players and fans look at matches, regardless of commentators and official stats will show. Every match has an impact on the future matches. Saying this doesn’t matter and living that far in the future feels disrespectful to players and fans! Just stay in the present and don’t come off as if you are discrediting players matches that give them confidence and such. It’s negative.
I think the sinner Djokovic match at six kings was significant with the multiple times Djokovic broke sinner serve and getting close to winning.
Novak game more fight against Sinner than Alcaraz. Sinner is at least two steps above these two.
@@blackkitty9054 Are you getting paid to troll?
Gill, this match just happened on Saturday. What if this win changes the head to head for Sinner vs Alcaraz? Or gives Djokovic more fuel knowing he can still push Sinner (taking him to 3, and broke him multiple times). This can still happen with this tournament, so I am not clear on your point.
Pretty insane, to continue say "Alcaraz didnt care if he won or lost". You think he is prouder of Beijing 500 final than this? Maybe RG SF, 100%, but not this...
Not everyone worships Jannik. I am thankful Gill is neutral. It’s why we watch him.
@@cleorobyn Not really neutral. He def supports Carlos, but it's OK.
I think you and other Sinner fans are discounting that Sinner is the "hard court king", especially indoors so why is him winning this so special? It was expected. If anything, I think Alcaraz showed a very high level and it's obvious what he needs to improve on. Once he does, it's going to be even more competitive.
@@Paolofsarno12 Well I mean doesn’t everyone like Carlos more than Jannik? He’s the most boring player watch.
I see the makings of an all time legend in Sinner. Every single year he makes marked measurable improvements. If you take a look at his tournament performance timelines it’s crazy. When he decided to risk playing djokovic again in the ATP finals last year it showed me his desire to face the best and prove himself. And then this run of insane form in the midst of controversy, as if to say some choice words to his haters. Going back to back to back to back to back in finals shows his mental fortitude, not many could handle this schedule without taking an easy way out at least once. I see a psycho tennis killer. It wouldn’t surprise me honestly if he did cheat, I think he wants to be the best that bad.
Sorry, but I find your last line derespectful and completely wrong in my opinion. I'm shure that if there hadn't been this whole thing about doping, Sinner would not have achieved all of this year's milestones (in such a short time). I think that he concentrated the maximum effort in any match just to demonstrate he doesn't need to cheat to be the best, and so that the accusation of volunteer doping (in such low quantities, what's more!) is simply sensless
Speaking about the Saudi, I hated the purple colour of the court that made the ball hard to see and my God the birdseye view of the camera angle in the first day! It was insane and too frustrating, I dropped watching the matches the first day, luckily words got out and the camera angle was improved.
Credit to Gill for trying to pronounce Jiří correctly.
Just lengthen the second syllable (and keep practising that challenging ř that several of the Czech players have in their names)
does Laver cup carry that weight considering it’s an official match on record? if we’re being very charitable the players may say it slightly impacts their mentality. it’s more an indictment on laver cup for me, but i wouldn’t nullify 6KS, you never know. i’m thinking of when agassi caught on to edbergs tongue tick on the serve. one less match in the matchup, maybe he doesn't pick that up and use it to his advantage
@@acor538 Laver Cup matches also carry no weight for me. Special moments sometimes, but zero historical impact as far as the actual results. I hate that it counts on official H2Hs.
But contrary to your argument the match between Sinner and Medvedev clearly had a great effect on Medvedev…
Nevertheless generally agree that exhos don’t matter.
Exactly! Meddy look traumatized after the match 😆 Gil should just watch it.
Still think Dimitrov is the better player. Tommy Paul played a great tournament, he is a great returner and has a lot of variety in his game, but he simply had a lot more energy for this match than Grigor. And when Grigor is tired he almost never serves well.
An easy question is if a player would rather win a masters title or the 6KS
Well, why not all? Sinner won 4 masters and the 6 Kings slam this year, he can win everything.
@@blackkitty9054
Then why hasn't he won all 9 masters and all 4 majors
For $6M USD prize money, all players would say Six Kings I'd wager
I mean it’s just money. When you’re already super rich does it really matter? I mean I’m sure Jannik is happy for the cash cause doping ain’t cheap! Those lawyers are steep I’m sure!
Lehečka looked really poor in the second set, was wondering whether he was injured or just completely demoralized by RBA's game. I forgot they'd played in Davis Cup, probably that's why Jiři gave up.
Do you guys in the chat think that Gill wouldn’t be talking about this 6King will be forgotten if Alcaraz would have won it?
100% not. He has no covered Alcaraz's loss in Shanghai...and given this 6 kings, 2min in his analysis.
@@Paolofsarno12 I’ve covered every Masters 1000 final for the last 5 years and I’ve covered zero exhibitions except for Laver Cup once 🤦♂️
I’ve brushed off exhibitions and practice sets since Day 1. Always have , always will. Don’t give a damn who wins. Did I cover Laver Cup when Alcaraz carried team Europe on his back? No I did not.
@@GillGross firstly you covered Nadal Alcaraz in Vegas on a full UA-cam clip so don’t even start lol. I think it was 30min long. Anyway that’s not the point…
The point is SixSlams has a lot of meaning in tennis for a few reasons: 6M on line biggest prize money, the best players on planet and great tennis. If you don’t see where tennis is headed … I wouldn’t be surprised if more of these big new slams came about in future
It won't be forgotten it is just not significant. Like how I remember the German Slam Cup when a 19 yr old Sampras won a million dollars in 1990 dollars.
congrats for tommy paul for the title winning👏👏
Grigor just could't recover after the late three setter the previous round. His tank was empty.
It's funny you did not dedicate the whole video to the Six Kings Slam. You say it is not so important. At the end of the day it is you channel, you do what you want but I totally disagree with you.
Why are we talking about an exhibition?
Because it certainly did not feel like one
99% of matches in ATP 500 and ATP 1000 tournaments are not history defining and therefore according to your definition forgettable. Finals between Sinner and Alcaraz in Indian Wells and Beijing are equally forgettable, but never is this emphasised when discussing these matches, right? So I think there is a bias going on against the 6 kings slam in your approach. Which is fine and maybe warrented, but why not tell us that you feel that way and why? Instead of doing these mental gymnastics with a newly used definition of forgettable and a very subjectice set of arguments why Rotterdam ATP 500 is history defining (was it really?) to decide that a non ATP event in Ryiad with the best players battling for the highest payout could never ever achieve this.
I said the same. This match is the same as 90 percent of other matches for most of tennis fans.
I agree that it does have significance, but what I think Gill is saying is that it only holds significance for the players, and obviously the fans. But in the formal significance of it changing official results (points, H2H, title), it doesn't have any significance and in the long term will most likely be forgotten when all is said and done. There will be bigger, more important matches they will play in the future that we'll all be talking about in years to come (compared to this one).
In my Cousin Vinny, Pesci's opening statement during the trial is applicable here to your statement about the Riyadh tournament.. For the first time I think you are biased and clueless here.
And I say keep stalling the Saudis--and yes Sinner wanted to win and beat Carlos. He wasn't playing for fun, he was playing to show that he's number 1.
He already is #1. I think he was playing to avoid embarrassment. I think next year will be Sinner's chance to prove bigger things by trying to beat Carlos at IW, French open, Wimbledon.
@@cgvoice-l1o yes, I know he's no. 1. And he wanted to show and prove that he is not no. 1 for nothing. I hope you're right about next year, that would make me very happy. It will be fun to see Alcaraz & Sinner playing each other and trying to counter each other's play to prove who is the better player. Two young greats--let's hope it all goes well for them.
@@mariepelletier3020 I agree. While I slightly prefer Alcaraz personally (find him more entertaining to watch), I don't mind Sinner staying #1 as long as it doesn't mean him winning everything from now on. While that would be impressive, it would be rather boring for us tennis fans. Both of them pushing each other is a win-win for us fans!
@@cgvoice-l1o Oh yeah and I don't think he will. Alcaraz is definitely fun to watch, such innovation and movement. Sinner is definitely more Djokovician in his approach. But his turn on the grass in Halle was a marvel and he enjoyed showing off his own highlight reel play. And when Machac did his fly thorugh the air forehand smash move Sinner reproduced it a few plays later. Cause boys will always be boys and want to show off. S'ok I don't mind as long as I like the player whose showing off--slight bias there, I realize.
Only major tournaments matters .For me and many others
Gil's saying Six Kings doesn't matter partially because Sinner won in dominant fashion. He's on one of THE best runs ever but is being downplayed by Gil/others due to the drug issue and other factors(boring personality).
Just imagine what Gil would be saying if Alcaraz had won Six Kings. "This was a TURNING MOMENT for Alcaraz, an amazing performance... blah blah blah".
@@sleong No chance. If Alcaraz won my opinion would be exactly the same. Did I cover Laver Cup? Did I say it mattered when Alcaraz carried team Europe on his back? I don’t think so. Because it was an exhibition. Keep dreaming.
What about the Karen’s run?
La mitad se lo quita el fisco italiano.😊
Creo que vive a Monaco 😂
@@aarishpatel7405 Bueno mejor para él se lo ha ganado con el sudor de su frente.😉🇪🇸
2:04 Why would Sinner's loss to Alcaraz in the 2022 US Open QF's have prevented him from achieving the same level of success Alcaraz had in the first half of 2023? Tbh, Sinner only became this consistent in 2024, following his Australian Open win. And let’s not forget that Sinner is already 2 years older than Alcaraz, yet he's only won 2 Grand Slams in 2024, while Alcaraz, two years younger, has already won 4. This is just another example of why Gill is such a Sinner fanboy.
@@mireafelder8194 all the negative comments in this comment section are calling me a Sinner hater and here you are calling me the opposite. The truth is that I’m neither. And your interpretation of what I said here is way off- I barely understand the point you claim that I’m making.
@@GillGross Gill, I'm following you since way back in 2022 when Sinner won his only clay title over Alcaraz in Umag. Again, I'm asking you: Why would Sinner's loss to Alcaraz in the 2022 US Open QF's have prevented Sinner from achieving the same level of success Alcaraz had in the first half of 2023 as you said in this video? Sinner only became this consistent in 2024, following his Australian Open win. And you always forget to mention that Sinner is already 2 years older than Alcaraz, yet he's only won 2 Grand Slams in 2024, while Alcaraz, two years younger, has already won 4. This is just another example of why you, Gill, are such a Sinner fanboy.
@@mireafelder8194 I appreciate you watching for so long but I do not appreciate you insulting my integrity. I never said what you’re claiming I said in this video. So I’m gonna leave it that.
@@GillGross How did I insult your integrity? Again, my main question to you was: Why would Sinner's loss to Alcaraz in the 2022 US Open QF's have prevented Sinner from achieving the same level of success Alcaraz had in the first half of 2023 as you said in this video? Sinner only became this consistent in 2024, following his Australian Open win. And you always forget to mention that Sinner is already 2 years older than Alcaraz, yet he's only won 2 Grand Slams in 2024, while Alcaraz, two years younger, has already won 4.
One who failed doping test twice lol
i do think the exhibition was not needed.. but you know they put 6 mil on the table to attract those players and they had what they wanted.. those are a lot of money 😅..the rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz is fascinating and i can sum it like this: Sinner is more consistent and his average is better than the Carlitos one..Sinner won't never (maybe) lose against top 10 players beside alcaraz.. but alcaraz can lose against ANYBODY.. the guy is too much inconsistent.. but his ceiling is higher than the sinner's one. just a great rivalry cause you can never know what they are gonna bring to the table. we lucky🦾
Once Sinner defeats Alcaraz 6 times in a row, nobody will talk about this rivalry anymore . Sinner will do to Alcaraz the same thing he did to Medvedev, Djokovic, and the rest of the tour.....prepare to see Sinner breaking every single record in the coming years.
@@blackkitty9054 Settle down troll. In the meantime, it's going to be fun for all of us to watch. I wouldn't bet on predicting the future, however. Sinner has a tendency to get hurt and having hip problems this young isn't a good sign for the long term. It's going to be an average of neck-to-neck battles for years to come, something you and all of us should want! How boring would it be for Sinner to dominate everything moving forward. What does that do for anyone (boring as hell)?
@@cgvoice-l1o who cares if he is boring? He is going for the records.
@@blackkitty9054 I didn't say he is boring, I said winning every match is. What made the big 3 exciting was the rivalry. If it had been the big 1 only, I think tennis viewership would have dropped and been bad for the sport overall. I don't get this wish to have others fail. As mentioned, while I don't hope he gets injured, there are some worrying signs for Sinner this year, especially the hip issues that could come into play and change your prediction. I hope that's not the case because it would be BORING to have Alcaraz dominating without a Sinner.
Seriously no one in Six King Slam (beside poor Nadal) played like it was an exhibition. Both Sinner and Alcaraz wanted to win 😂