Flink on Sinner & Medvedev at Australian Open 2024 (Part 1) | Monday Match Analysis

[@aviberezovskiy7633]

Gill you are transforming us to real addicts with all the great content coming out lately😂 keep up!

[@LB-lyft]

100%

[@aggiotaggio4119]

Hello Gill and Steve, I think another great turning point (more of a KO point) was Sinner's ace on 2nd serve in the 5th set. That was a remarkable statement: "Hey Meddy, I'm here, confident, ready to finish you".

[@savanahdigiacomo7363]

Medvedev is remarkable. He changed his game, really changed his game, to play Sinner and avoid the outcome of their previous matches. Then he took Christmas off but he must have studied the videos of their previous matches because he was moving to where Sinner was going to hit BEFORE Sinner hit. He is really remarkable. The topic of Medvedev's tennis IQ came up and the Sinner coaches said that he really is the 'chess player of tennis'

[@overgme]

The biggest change I see from Sinner in the past 6 months is his patience. I think he finally realized that when he's in a "neutral" extended rally, his neutral groundstrokes are pretty much the most powerful on tour. Meaning that even when he's playing a safe shot, it tends to be deeper, faster shot than almost anyone else can offer. I think this truly hit home with him the first time he beat Medvedev, because if he can more than hold his own in a neutral rally with Medvedev, who couldn't he hold his own with? And then he translated that to his matchups with Djokovic. He's no longer trying to force winners so early in points, and is much more comfortable going for a "good shot" instead of a winner (something both Djokovic and Medvedev are both brilliant at). His good shots open up subsequent better shots, and eventually he's got a relatively easy shot for a winner or forced error. Add in his better serving, his increased emphasis on going down the line off both wings, better endurance, and a greatly improved net game, and you've got a guy sitting at the top of some current Elo rankings and wreaking havoc with his fellow top-5 players. But his patience seems to be the key to hanging with and now regularly beating Medvedev and Djokovic.

[@gae5076]

absolutely

[@joannemoore3976]

Very good point, I have noticed this too.

[@fedwrld7617]

You guys cure my post slam depression 👍

[@ajaybaines7654]

Awesome show men!! I 💯 agree with you guys. The Davis Cup semi will go down as the turning point moment for Sinner. The confidence he gained, and to do it by pulling a “Djokovic” versus Djokovic there, was incredible.

[@joshforde698]

Flink is spot on about the match changing in the second set, it felt as though the momentum was with Sinner in a strange way. The 2022 final played out similarly, Medvedev dominated Nadal in set one, but seemed to hold on in set two. If they're Masters 1000 finals, Medvedev has two straight set final wins.

[@redreliever]

Just wow. The video I craved since Sunday. Not that I was expecting it. I have been actively searching for it for days. Totally agree with you about Sinner and Alcaraz.

[@notturno3448]

Thank you Gill & Steve for another fabulous analysis/assessments. I am impressed with Jannik's level of maturity and mental strength. I am a Novak's fan, and of course wanted him to win his 11th AO, but whatever the reason was that Novak didn't play like his usual himself, Jannik's play throughout the whole tournament was amazing and he totally deserved to win. With Jannik & Carlos, after Novak retires, the future of tennis looks very promising.

[@annsridh]

Great finals & fantastic conversation from Gill & Steve! Loved Steve’s deep dive on Meddy & his analysis - I’d be really thrilled to see Meddy win a slam, but have to agree with Steve that it’s a huge uphill now…. And Steve’s prognosis on Sincaraz was amazing 😊!

[@LB-lyft]

How excellent to have you both on here ! I have also shared with many of friends and they are so happy to be listening to your technical reviews. Superb work ! Fun idea / mash up is to invite Nick K on Gill. So different from you and yet he commentated very well on Eurosport during AO - one for the future !

[@grimson]

Great show guys! I do think the big 3 have skewed expectations, and casually expecting both Alcaraz and Sinner to rack up 15 Slams…it’s just not that easy. Novak and Meddy aren’t done winning Slams, Rune will get a couple, there will be some one-and-dones from guys in the 5-15 range, just like in the days before Fed. I don’t think the math works for them together to win 30 Slams. But we’ll see!

[@МихаилШапир]

Thanks. This AO had your best coverage work ever. Keep up, much appreciated!

[@camdawg1984]

I think it is premature to predict double digit majors for Alcaraz and Sinner. We need to consider the recency bias of being in the golden era of the big 3. It's entirely possible that Alcaraz and Sinner may get 5-8 majors each. There are other players contending for majors and rising stars as well.

[@michael8597]

What an insightful, persuasive, and interesting conversation which eloquently summarised the exciting final , its twists and turns & the intriguing strategies and groundbreaking tactcs adopted by both the players to outfox one another. Also, most will agree about the tremendous potential of Sinner and Alcaraz to dominate tennis once Novak leaves the scene. I wholeheartedly agree with Flink as to why Sinner is a better percentage player than Alcaraz and might eventually win more grand slams than the latter.

[@Nat-le4um]

Totally agree that Sinner is more disciplined and precise. Yes, Alcaraz might have more "spectacular " shots, but if they don't win him matches..? I allso like Sinner's quiet personality more, and he doesn't look at his coach every point to ask what to do, as Alcaraz usually does. Looks like not having JCF really hurt him, but player has to be able to figure out the strategy for themselves, that's tennis

[@ZacharyShahan]

Same

[@manojarvind6528]

Sinners more matured than him hes been in the atp tour 2 years more than him Alcaraz has just crossed 20 give him 2 years and see his mentality soar. Hes done more in last 2 years than many players in their lifetime couldn’t do!!

[@SJ-di5zu]

@@manojarvind6528This is a point people are already forgiving. Alcaraz isn’t a finished product at all. Look at Sinner when he was 20; there were plenty of criticisms about his game. If Alcaraz can get better tactically, get better at pace absorption, more consistent on serve, we can see him reach another level, which is scary considering he already has 2 slams and 4 Masters to Sinner’s 1 slam and 1 Masters. Obviously though, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Theres plenty of time for either of them to pull away from each other, and there will be swings throughout their careers. Look at the big 4 and how Djokovic and Murray were on the same level early on, or how far ahead Federer and Nadal were from Djokovic for a while.

[@joyrichards1419]

If Medvedev keeps watching and listening to Gill, he'll manage to win a few more!

[@indiaivory]

Looking forward to the newsletter! 🥳🎾

[@lsb9073]

Love the newsletter idea!! Cool Gill❤

[@pawewlodarczyk6200]

17:55 the one I would add (Improvements for Sinner, last was serve, second serve and consistency on the FH

[@scottsmith6602]

Always look forward to hearing your thoughts. Keep up the great work! I really enjoy the three as well

[@martianmatters]

Smart about peeks and lows

[@ZacharyShahan]

I definitely think getting broken at 5-1 in the second was the key place where Medvedev lost the match. Though, I didn’t know until another commentator noted this under another video that Sinner’s coach told him (in Italian) that was the time to try something different. If it worked, it worked; if not, he tried at least. So, Sinner changed things up there, which may have been what threw Medvedev off. And that’s where Jannik started to get his groove. Though, I also think that if Medvedev had been able to keep up his hyper-aggressive game style, he could have won it. Not sure if he dropped that more for physical or mental or strategic reasons, but it was probably some combo and I think that did him in. Maybe he thought he’d finish the match in his normal style, not accepting that Sinner was going to be stronger than him in that style of play.

[@danielnicolas5737]

Also 2019 USO for Medvedev was also alot like that. just two three setters. Still remember that match against Feliciano Lopez.

[@jonathanchen1026]

Instead of thinking might be another era of a new big 3, Alcaraz, Sinner, Rune…There’s a chance it might just be another rivalry similar to that of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, with Alcaraz and Sinner. Rune might just get left out in the GS collecting competition between the two.

[@SJ-di5zu]

I’m interested in seeing how long Sinner can maintain this level. The way he’s playing right now, he’s just running through the hard court opposition. Can he take home Indian Wells? Miami? Both? I don’t know. He’s won 4 in a row on Medvedev, 3/4 against Djokovic, last two against Alcaraz, 10 of 11 against top 5 players. By US Open will we be looking at a dominant force, or will he get knocked down to the same level as Djokovic, Alcaraz, Medvedev? Surely he can’t keep taking down top 5 players the way he is right now? I think right now, Sinner looks nearly flawless on court, and no one really knows what the game plan is against him. But soon, the top 5 players will start making adjustments. I can see ways for each of them to play first strike tennis and not allow him to get any rhythm. After all, Medvedev took 2 sets off him doing that, Djokovic played very aggressive behind the serve at the ATP Finals, and Ben Shelton beat him in Shanghai. Or we could maybe see a drop in Sinner’s baseline consistency; he’s in a great rhythm right now, but will he start missing a little? I also want to see him on clay. Last season, he had a slump that coincided with the clay season, but I think it had more to do with his physical state than the surface. His game should theoretically work quite well on the clay, but I suspect Djokovic, Alcaraz, maybe even Zverev or Tsitsipas can get the upper hand on him. I hope we see him play a big marquee RG matchup against one of the top guys.

[@JasonIBasri]

Double digit slam predictions is such an overreaction and downplay of what Djokovic has accomplished since the game evolved due to racket technology and overall fitness improvements. In 10 years they would have to win half of all of the slams each year. Neither are Claydoll nor King of Grass like Nole so slam dominance will be tough. The game is deeply talented - pump the breaks. Novak has some fuel left in the tank of the best car the game has ever seen.

[@misos4342]

Congrats to Sinner on his first GS title. He was the best player in the tournament and the title was well deserved. Novak played bad and didn't deserve to win. Sometimes it is as simple as that. Fell a bit bad about Med as he was the best warrior out there, henplayed his heart out.

[@seanl6885]

Sinner served poorly in the first set and early second set. He didn't choke but the nerve made him tight, especially on the drop shots. Lots of his serving game started with 0-15 in the first two sets. Fortunately he was back on track for the third set and on.

[@jake5134]

Medvedev just ultimately had way too long on court. 4 5 setters is insane. Including 3 in a row

[@rayintheforest]

Medvedev deserves to win at least 3 or 4 slams in his career. He is one of a kind I feel.

[@shawnberry9335]

Roger Federer was a human highlight reel like Dominique Wilkins, an offensive juggernaut. But that didn’t help Roger in his 14 Major finals against Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Even though the plurality, 6, were played at Wimbledon, Federer won 4 and lost 10 for a 28% winning percentage. Carlos Alcaraz better learn what works when or he will similarly have a losing record in Major finals against Jannik Sinner, who plays so much like Djokovic, and any other rising talent who plays like Novak. Junior players and their coaches already stress Play aggressive baseline tennis like Novak, not hyper offensive like Roger. Coaches and parents will soon say Play like Jannik, not like Carlos. At least if you want to win.

[@derekwhite8196]

Grinds my gears when people call Daniil Daniel

[@thomasoberhofer7403]

Speaks Vagnozzi not vagnosi sorry guys 😀the zz is the key here…

[@aggiotaggio4119]

I know Gill is committed to pronounce players correctly. The double z could be easily seen as a double "ts". And for the "gn", more like "kn" in "known, knew".

[@joyrichards1419]

It's pronounced VA NYO TSEE with emphasis on the NYO (closest phonetic equivalent) And 'gn' in Italian is like in gnocchi, not really like in known, knew.

[@joyrichards1419]

Alas, poor Jannik! Being schlepped around Rome ... looks like he's wishing he'd rather be facing Meddy's aggressive shots. If the Sinner-mania overwhelms him, he'll politely say no thank you, as he did to the San Remo Music Festival. Sono un semplice ragazzo.

[@notturno3448]

Totally agree. Jannik is so intelligent and "down to earth"...just like you said...Sono un semplice ragazzo :)

[@pawewlodarczyk6200]

27:52

[@anonymous4711_]

5:20 crazier scripts have been written

[@baharatay9956]

Hello Gill I'm working on a deep learning model to predict tennis match outcomes and player patterns. I would really like to get your insights and expertise on a few things. Please reply to my comment if you'd be open to having a chat. Thanks! Bahar

[@pawewlodarczyk6200]

11:20

[@dennyghim]

Wow 10+ slams for both Sinner and Alcaraz, predicted by Steve Flink. Too early in my opinion.

[@anthonydecastro6938]

in the next five years (from FO 2024 to AO 2029), 20 slams will be contested. to say then that they will be double digit slams would mean, in the best case scenarios, that they will split the 20 so that Alcaraz will have 12 slams and Sinner will have 11 slams. i find this highly unlikely. Djokovic is not finished yet; who knows how many more slams he will win. and would Nadal succeed in wining one more RO??? but then there are the others as well. and then there are the upcoming ones... of course, in five years time, Alcaraz and Sinner will still be in their 20s, so yes, perhaps in the next 10 years, they will still have many chances of winning those slams to achieve double digit numbers as they move into their early 30s as the Big Three did...

[@hksrm4172]

Medvedev should hire Del Potro to fix his forehand. All he has is technical issues not mental nor physical. No easy forehand points for Daniil when he has a passive ball close to the net. He just can't finish the point and eventually lose the control of the rally to his opponent. His forehand take back is low, racquet head is down and so he makes an unnecessary topsin when he is close to the net which ruins all the hard work he put in the rally.

[@giannibeltramelli3687]

😊😊 42:04

[@alexg7836]

Medvedev goes into goalkeeper mode where he drifts back in court and hits the ball super soft

[@mrjbiggs12]

Finally

[@theostrachan7501]

Why beehive tho ? We ain’t Beyoncé fans . Omg Gill

[@ordenanzm]

Not sure i agree with Steve’s assessment of Carlos….. if he doesn’t continue to be an improver he is not going to win a lot of titles, especial grand slams

[@harmelbrar6083]

All experts in chaos after first 2 set of ao 2024 when meddy winning it bcz they all said sinner win the final 3 or 4sets😂

[@mortenstigpoulsen6452]

Somebody buy Steve Flink a new microphone.

[@janetterceira4201]

Sinner has won more matches H2H against Carlos.

[@seaks00]

Immediately clicked out when I heard this part isn’t about Novak or Carlos. 😂

[@groupflix]

Very nice video Gill, however, you didn't discuss what is happening to Alcaraz. He hasn't been himself or, more likely, other players have figured him out. I would have appreciated a discussion on this.

[@krishnaramachandran7722]

Carlos played well against Miomir and also against Rublev and Medvedev at Turin.

[@MrChillywilly7]

That will come! He said that in the beginning.. in part 2, I don't know when he will upload it..

[@OshoLee]

I'll save you time....Medvedev was exhausted, he is 3 times better than Sinner. Also Djoko beat himself, he was sick and Sinner got an easy draw.

[@tijgertjekonijnwordopgegeten]

Medvedev was definitely not 3x better, and he was tired because he wasn't good enough over the rest of the torunament. Medvedev or Djokovic in no way had an easier draw than Sinner, it just looked that way because Sinner blasted through his opponents. And you know why Djokovic beat himself? Because Sinner put so much pressure on him that he tried to hit everything big and failed (very similar to how Djokovic beats almost all of his opponents).

[@infinitedivisibility]

A bit grim for someone to lose 4 times in a row if they’re 3 times better 😂

[@thomasoberhofer7403]

What crab is this and by the way he beat 3 russians 👍💪🫶🏻

[@albertocorvo2858]

@OshoLee In the coming months and years, you will realize who is stronger, don't worry... 

[@LUCA-vr9es]

I'll save you time, you don't have a good eye for tennis

[@pawewlodarczyk6200]

36:42

[@pawewlodarczyk6200]

21:10