How Strong is THIS Era? | Mailbag

[@VARMOT123]

Djokovic and thiem in atp finals 2019 and 2020 were absolutely elite

[@SJ-di5zu]

They weren’t finals but I agree. Also Thiem vs Nadal ATP Finals 2020 is an underrated gem. The level both played at was phenomenal. If we look at other best of 3 matches that come to mind for me: Nadal vs Murray ATP Finals 2010 Federer vs Del Potro Olympics 2012 Djokovic vs Nadal Madrid 2009 Djokovic vs Nadal Montreal 2013

[@Abhi-wh3ik]

​@@SJ-di5zuDjokovic vs Murray Shanghai 2012 beats some of them for me.

[@jacobschmidt2709]

Federer vs. Djokovic Paris 2018 Murray vs. Robredo Valencia 2014 Nadal vs. Djokovic Miami 2011

[@bsrussian]

federer vs kyrgios miami 2017@@SJ-di5zu

[@AleksaB98]

Thank your for putting timestamps, please continue doing them for every video where applicable, they're a huge quality of life improvement for us who don't have time at the moment to watch the whole video at once 😊

[@move3spaces246]

Agree I am much less likely to even watch a video at all without timestamps!

[@ricardomartiruiz8475]

Hey Gil, just wanted to commend you for your incredible stamina and commitment to the sport. It is truly Nadalesque! I also wanted your take on Alcaraz's decision to ask for a medical time out during Djokovic's excessively long break between sets in Cinci. I believe this was a sign of good sportsmanship from Carlitos, done to excuse Nole from having to return before he's able, but nobody has mentioned anything about it. Many thanks!

[@SJ-di5zu]

Yeah I sometimes feel like Alcaraz is being too nice. He probably didn’t need his fingers taped there. He should’ve waited for Djokovic to come out, maybe ask the umpire for clarification on the rules, and hope for Djokovic to get a point penalty or something. Could’ve rattled him a little mentally before the set started. And then if he needed the MTO, take it after the first changeover. Veteran players know how to take advantage of the rules, but it feels like Carlitos is so focused on winning the most sportsmanlike way possible. Admirable for sure.

[@linkinthebio27]

Gill provides such astute, insightful, and precise analysis with such a high level of command of the English language, vocabulary, tennis vernacular and all of its intricacies. In recent times there is only one other sports analyst and mind that I can think of as a close comparison. Gill’s ability to break down tennis is on a doctorate level similar to how Max Kellerman understands and is able to articulate all things boxing. Max started at a young age doing a show called Max on Boxing on a public access channel; very much akin to Monday match analysis. Curious if anyone else has thought of this similarity of Gill talking tennis and Max talking boxing. Both are such Jedi masters of their craft. Thank you Gill for all the great content.

[@rosaliewright4226]

Stef’s father has coached him constantly since he was 12. Stef is 25. Mark left after a short stint this past year and Stef asked him to return because he needed “calm” in order to move ahead and because his dad “needed a break.”Maybe it was Stef who needed the break more? He won at Los Cabos this month. He’s on his way, I believe, as he takes control of his own career away from the distraction his father has been courtside. I believe if Stef is successful in that, these next two years will bring some trophies at the 500 and 1000 level.

[@maciek_d]

Gill, I asked a question on the last mailbag about Saudi money. You said you wanted to get to it but lacked time and you would cover it on the next one. So I posted this question again, but it didnt make it to this edition too. As a member from the very beginning could you at least answer privately to this question? Love your channel

[@veeraa7]

Brilliant answer to the second question! Simply brilliant. And admired the way it was politely and diligently answered!

[@SJ-di5zu]

Around 32:00: Alcaraz could feasibly develop into a prime big 3-level talent and prevent old Djokovic (and perhaps old Nadal) from winning more titles. I mean, if 2011 Djokovic came around right now, what would 2023 Djokovic be able to do? However, even if Alcaraz develops into that level of talent, and does it by next year (which are two massive “ifs”), no player has ever reached a level to where there are no major titles available for others. When Djokovic reached 2011 levels, Nadal still won RG, Federer beat Djokovic and almost beat him again at the US. It’s almost impossible to thoroughly dominate a whole season. There will be off-matches, and there will be injuries. When those happen, Djokovic is clearly above the rest of the field and can take his opportunities. Generally speaking, it takes 2-3 players playing at an extremely high level to prevent a great player from winning. Let’s take Murray for example: he couldn’t win a slam from 2008-2011 even though he was really good. This was because he had three guys stopping him, not just one. If it was only one guy playing a higher level than him, he probably would’ve won 2-3 slams in that span. So a better question would be whether Medvedev or Tsitsipas would be able to win a slam while Alcaraz and Djokovic are playing at this level. Those are the guys who may not be able to find opportunities.

[@lawdogwales5921]

Smart comment.

[@TimelyAdventure]

The drop shot is effective against modern players who often stand far behind the baseline, but less so against players eager to move forward, perhaps why we didn't see the drop shot used as much in the old days when there was a lot more net rushing

[@Grumpykit]

Can't wait for your USO preview! I love them so much, wish you did them for 500s because I love hearing/talking doing anything tennis.

[@joshheinink]

Alcaraz brought major interest to tennis

[@soheiladam7510]

nah he didn't.

[@flpideas1]

He attracted some teen girls, yes

[@rogerreverence4737]

Alcaraz being so young and such a special player with his abilities gave the old 3 fans proud to follow the next winner. Unfortunately there are also Jealous fans commenting rubbish now and then

[@aiylacarson]

Of course Alcaraz has brought new fans to tennis. He’s young and exciting to watch! I mean his tennis speaks for itself! 🔥

[@nicolasmts3264]

I read somewhere Nole saying he doesn't need Alcaraz to motivate himself

[@SJ-di5zu]

He doesn’t need him, but he definitely helps. I feel like Djokovic wouldn’t have fought as hard to come back in that Cincinnati final if it wasn’t Alcaraz on the other side of the net. Although tbh if he was against Zverev, he might’ve won it on accident due to Zverev double faulting 40 times once he gets a match point 😂

[@innosanto]

I think that Djokovic was starting to be very bored and Alcaraz gave him some interest in a boring atp tour without the other of big 3 around.

[@tobiasgoldman]

As a Swedish tennis fan, I sometimes wonder how many GS Titles Björn Borg would have achieved had he not retired at the age of 25. He had 11 GS titles at that point. He had a failed comeback years later when everyone had already transitioned to modern tennis rackets. Can you give your take on that Gil?

[@SamBrown-m8q]

This era’s disgustingly underrated. People don’t understand how talented and well rounded the top 10-100 ranked players are. THATS why there’s so many upsets and inconsistency. Not because the top players are weak🤦‍♂️

[@innosanto]

It is one of weakest eras ever. Alcaraz is first serious guy in some time.

[@jeremyneiderhoff]

​@innosanto you probably think Hewitt is an all time great 🤣

[@got2bjosh]

Re: the WC question, it's about selling tickets. Players with bigger profiles get priority because they have larger fanbases that will fill seats. Venus' legacy speaks for itself. Successfully advocating for equal prize money, 7 GS titles, 4 OGMs, #1 ranking, YEC title, etc. & more prize money than anyone else currently on tour. If Serena didn't choose to retire & wanted to use WCs for tournaments, they'd let her. The Williams name/brand/legacy is huge & their fame has transcended tennis.

[@SJ-di5zu]

I think the weak era stuff is extremely reactionary at times. A couple of weak draws/injuries and people are ready to call the whole era weak. No one was saying “weak era” after RG22, where Nadal, Djokovic, Zverev, Alcaraz, FAA, and Ruud all played a super high level. People called it “weak” after US Open 2022 and AO2023, where there were relatively weak draws due to injuries/vaccines. It’s all about a few fans’ inability to remember what happened 6 months ago. I will say the grass field was exceptionally weak in recent years. Next Gen were/are awful on grass. But this year, Alcaraz, Rune, Sinner announced a stop to this by making a statement for their generation; all made the QFs, Sinner made SF, Alcaraz won the title. This generation seems a lot better on grass than the previous one.

[@gabrielaseveriano8042]

JCF was in Indian Wells this year, but he wasn’t in Queens.

[@tomdixon2064]

The roger vs kyrgios best of 3 was one of the best

[@mikeb2644]

Hey Gil. Loving the show. I'm not sure about the best way to comment. Also, I think I'm a member (I'm contributing monthly in 2 different places anyway). To the point... Been trying to watch The Open on ESPN 2. Starting in the 3rd round, matches started becoming unavailable. By the quarters, all I could get were isolated doubles matches and plenty of juniors matches. Really pissed me off. Wondering if other people have been having this problem.

[@jugoslavnamljidjiu9021]

Hope PTPA soon make some moves to help lower rank players in Tennis, ATP is so criminal bad in comparrison to others sport

[@pencilcheck]

depends on who you ask. different fans will respond differently.

[@thenotorious2226]

This is the strongest era in history of tennis after Nadal/Djoko era

[@RonyGao]

40:00 interestingly JCF was not with Alcaraz in Toronto this year either, where Alcaraz had issues problem-solving on the court.

[@andreagabriella22]

JCF has a young family. He obviously travels with Carlos when he can but I can’t say I blame the guy for wanting to stay home.

[@shafffffff]

But jcf also wasn't there when he won queens

[@tylerbriggs310]

Im a new subscriber. Very enjoyable content. Thanks bro

[@HeavyTopspin]

I feel the question is less "how much does live coaching help Alcaras" and more "how many elite players in the past could have peaked at a younger age if they'd had live coaching". Even if the only help they give is words to calm and reassure the player, as almost everyone is going to be far more emotional in their teens and early twenties.

[@mireafelder8194]

19:53 Of course Alcaraz was the underdog in the Madrid semis 2022 vs Djokovic, ffs he was still only 18 years old! It just baffles me, how people want to forget how young Alcaraz still is.

[@miljann98]

2009 Madrid was a semifinal, the question was about a 3 set final

[@zoranz7147]

I'm sure people also thought 2011 Djokovic was going to be unbeatable, especially after winning that 2012 Australian open final. But everyone has to lose eventually. Same with Carlos, no one will be unbeatable for long, that's why no one has completed the calendar slam. It's incredibly difficult to go unbeaten for that long and sustain that level.

[@黃子譯-r5u]

Agree with what you said but also have to notify that Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer didn't complete the calendar slam because they had to compete each other at their prime level, which are incredible in the tennis history. We all know there are going to have more tactics or game plans on certain great players like Alcaraz and Meddie, but in this era who is going to be flawless enough to challenge their kingdoms.

[@DuchDoby]

Draw is my kink. I allways looking for time when its relesed. Here in Czech Rep there is no site where you can see it early so I go to some tennis forum to see it asap. Draw and final thats highlights for me.

[@shawnberry9335]

Search Wikipedia for the event, e.g. 2023 US Open.

[@seanlennon5986]

Definitely recency bias for Cincinnati final.

[@jokelot5221]

Yup. Still a great match though, but i have seen a few equally if not better than that in terms of quality. The drama was great, but to many UE from both players.

[@shadai2929]

Love your channel and analysis. May u ask Adrian Mannarino why he has no sponsor? Cheers from Brazil

[@Abhi-wh3ik]

Hey, Gill. I have recently started watching your videos and I really like them because I found you knowledgeable and unbiased- which is a rare commodity in tennis journalism/experts. I was wondering why would you let persons like @sandravanhattan- who's been spewing non-stop hatred towards a certain player, get away with their behaviour, and risk the positive vibe and respectful community that you have created. Now, I might be singling out 1 person, but that's the one person that I've found.

[@SJ-di5zu]

Side note: Anyone seen the US Open draw? I swear, Alcaraz and Tsitsipas cannot catch a break. They get the worst draws every slam. It’s bound to turn around at some point, right?

[@aiylacarson]

And Nole gets a cakewalk! Like what’s the point of being number one in the world? Such a joke!

[@rosaliewright4226]

@@aiylacarson Just like Djokovic got against Fed and Nadal. And Carlos at 20 as great as he is, and Tsitsipas, less than great, are paying the same dues.

[@aiylacarson]

@@rosaliewright4226 It’s not about paying your dues. It’s called a cakewalk!

[@SJ-di5zu]

@@aiylacarson Yup. No offense to anyone, but I find it kinda ridiculous how many times in a row Alcaraz and Tsitsipas have gotten nightmare draws, while Medvedev and Ruud at slams keep getting easy ones. It’s not Djokovic’s or Ruud’s fault that Rune is clearly not 100%, but they’re definitely reaping the rewards. Also I feel Djokovic dodged a bullet by avoiding Medvedev in the semis. Tsitsipas in the quarters is also great as Tsitsipas has some tougher matches early on, and has a terrible track record at the US Open. I’m not usually one to complain about draws, but it’s just getting excessive at this point. Djokovic’s RG and Wimbledon were challenging enough I suppose, but Medvedev and Ruud have had plot armor for a while. And Alcaraz… I swear he hasn’t gotten an easy draw in the last two years. Ever since that brutal RG22, Alcaraz has pretty consistently had the toughest draw of the top 4 seeds.

[@aiylacarson]

@@SJ-di5zu I completely agree. And I’m not out here to start world war three with Djokovic fans but I’m just calling it like I see it, he has a cakewalk. And I’m just saying that from the number one seed perspective. Alcaraz would be better ranked second. Even Rafa had a terrible draw as the number one seed at the AO and Nole had yet again another cakewalk. I agree about all the other players. Meddy has an easy draw. But he’s not playing that well and I don’t see him getting past Alcaraz. He needs for someone to knock Alcaraz out in order to make the finals. If Rune was healthy he could test Djokovic but the jury is out on him right now unfortunately.

[@Phil_OG]

3:28 what about RG vs Djokovic?

[@monkeonthee]

Certainly one of the eras of all time

[@l.rongardner2150]

Holy Tsit! Stef is evolving. He's gone from bad bathroom breaks to Badosa, and his next evolutionary leap will be to a better backhand.

[@ayoutuber3116]

Only if he shaves his head.

[@agnieszka2724]

Stefek powiedział,że Badosa mu do szczęścia wystarczy i nie potrzebuje wygranych... przepadł chłop 😢

[@msem6136]

Djokovic and Alcaraz are awesome to watch... ...Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas and Rublev are flawed. However, no need to worry- they have their multiple millions to compensate for that! 🤣

[@scrobertson2]

My bookie had alcaraz as the favorite in Cinci- -200 I believe

[@gurammanjavidze6150]

i think in terms of quality, drama and epicness djokovic vs thiem final of 2020 australian open was better than atp cup djokovic vs medvedev, atp cup match had a very straight forward set 6-1 which dropped the quality a little bit, just curious to know what u think.

[@prohere2177]

Gill u underestimate zverev and med a lot. U should check out meds hard court stats and then only realize. Only issue with zverev is he gets passive and tight at times, but an underdog zverev gets rid of that and becomes hell of a player. You can see his early career matches and vs nadal rg, vs alcaraz rg, vs djokovic oly, vs med atp finals 2021. It wont be any surprise to me if zverev wins us and atp finals this year.

[@SJ-di5zu]

What is he underrating? He said they’re better than Raonic, Nishikori, Dimitrov, and Ferrer.

[@prohere2177]

Not only today, but he tends to de value them. Med is top 10 all time hard court player. And prime zverev is top 10 too. It is not easy to push nadal the way he did in rg. He also eliminated red hot alcaraz there.

[@rublo1]

What happened to the transition game answer? It cut out before you finished

[@angerisdiscipline3913]

Gill you said andy would have won 7/9 majors in any normal era , but Andy got injured in 2013 when he had all the confidence of wimbledon and even more dramaticly his career was finished after destroying his hip in 2017 when he was world number one , without that extreme injury is it likely Andy would bag 4 more slams considering federer and nadal were on the decline and competition was softer than in the golden era ( 2007-2016) ? I trully believe he is too good to not have won wimbledon and one more hardcourt slam again , in terms of his level he was very very good actually underrated nowadays because 3 looks tiny in comparaison with 20+ but for sure it doesnt do him justice

[@jacobschmidt2709]

Absolutely. Murray is a much better player than his 3 slams. It's criminal that he was not able to win at least one AO title with how many finals he played there. Peak Murray(2012- 2013) was no joke and arguably on the same level as the big 3.

[@anthonygiles8941]

In every single sporting event in which performances can be objectively measured over time (I'm thinking swimming, track and field) there is--with the odd freakish Bob Beamon type exception-continuous improvement, and times that would have won you an Olympic gold twenty or third years ago don't get you onto the team now. Better training, nutrition, equipment, whatever. So you have to assume that, on the whole, the level of elite tennis player keeps getting better, whether it seems that way in competition or not. That said, we have recently had, effectively, three Bob Beamons!

[@radilev1996]

The era is definitely nowhere near 2008-2014 with only two real contenders for big titles, but it's also not as weak as 2003-07 or 2018-21. Tennis is safe now.

[@monkeonthee]

2007 was identical to 2008 except the big 3 guy you likely like the least found a lot of success

[@radilev1996]

In 2008 we had 3 different GS winners and Novak won his first atp finals title so I consider the year as stronger than 2007 in terms of competition.@@monkeonthee

[@markoilic2107]

2018-2021 was not weak

[@crocr]

@@radilev1996 Because Fed didn't let the other players win the other slams in 2007. The field in 2007 was the same as 2008 minus Murray.

[@prohere2177]

- 2018 was not weak, fedals were winning that time too - 2019 all big 3 were dominating along with thiem - 2020 covid - 2021 peak zverev and med(never undetestimated), morever nadal was at rg - 2022 and further - alcaraz era Only weak era is 2003-7

[@joshforde698]

Weak era, strong era. This kind of discussion can be very divisive, Djokovic fans (such as GOATovic) will make a point of saying how weak the tour was when Federer was dominating, Federer and Nadal fans can do the same for Djokovic's recent dominance. I actually think the two eras are largely similar, you can compare Medvedev, Tsitsipas and Zverev to Roddick, Hewitt and Safin in ability levels. All top players in their own right, and hopefully this era's guys can all get a slam or two. However, they are all a clear step behind Federer in his dominant period then Djokovic at this point of his career. You could then compare Alcaraz to how teenage Nadal came along to be Federer's rival. Basically, since Federer became the man, we have had three players who have been leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else, then you can put Murray and Alcaraz in a group behind those but ahead of the rest. That doesn't make the rest of the players in either era weak, they're just not the big three or even Murray and Alcaraz.

[@mihaicristi9617]

Well said, people just assume player's are weak because they can't beat the big 3, but this just shows how great those 3 guys were. If Federer did not exist, Hewitt and Roddick would have 6-7 slams, which was the 4th highest number of slams in that period, so it is a great achievement. Same goes for Murray if Djokovic was not there, he would get like 8-10 slams, which is again a great number. There are only 5 players in Open Era who won more than 10 slams, so that feat is not a piece of cake. Any player who actually won a slam by defeating a big 3 member or more should get a higher credit than they deserve.

[@SJ-di5zu]

That KZbinr Goatovic is downright delusional man. If someone recommends me a video by him, I know they’re beyond any sort of discussion lol. He just embodies the most toxic aspects of tennis fans.

[@jeremyneiderhoff]

​@@SJ-di5zuexcept he uses facts and statistics. The only delusional one is you

[@Tesla_Death_Ray]

Rublev hits exactly the same ball all day, and is a top 5 player. That's not encouraging competition.

[@macarenasilva8556]

Alcaraz just won his firts title on grass (Queen's) without Ferrero, so just like you say, I think time will tell that with or without Ferrero in the box, Carlitos still will win most of the matches he plays.

[@patriciosilvarodriguez]

My impression is that people give too much credit to players like Zverev or Medvedev. I don't think Nishikori would lose to Zverev most days. I think Raonic was way more stable in his game than most of these players. I would pick Ferrer every damn day over any of these players. In short, I conclude a thing that many people has said before: these days' players hit bigger than ever before but are less rounded than ever before as well. I've got the impression that we're in a time of decay (tennis-wise to begin with but more than tennis-wise)

[@jeremyneiderhoff]

You're smoking crack

[@danielmacdonald9287]

That first commenter genuinely thinking Zverev and Medvedev would be freaks of nature during the Big 4 era lmao

[@othersideoflifeandearth]

djokovic nadal madrid 2009 match was not a final. It was a semi final

[@SunithaCh-i1q]

These era is definitely very strong .look at the players Medvedev ,zverev , Stefano ,sinner ,alcarz ,rune , rublev ,Casper

[@punns643]

Umm you been a tennis fan for 2 years???

[@ajani7852]

Compared to the weakest era of tennis 2001-2007. You are right

[@SunithaCh-i1q]

@@punns643 20 years

[@Mr.Edd3905]

A better product to look at regarding draw ceremonies is the UEFA Champions League (soccer).

[@MistahhMingus]

God Novak fans asking the SAME question about his motivation with Alcaraz for like the 3rd or 4th mailbag is hilarious, they really get off on hearing praise about their god

[@aasiftak213]

better era than post 2018 till mid 2022....where anderson ,barrettini & kyrgios were wimbledon finalists

[@colethomas903]

@AA agree

[@tcmayes8012]

Alcatraz is amazing and winning 2 slams is amazing but it nowhere makes him an elite !!! He’s a good kid probably with a good future dosent mean he’s the be all be all you fine him way too much praise over the top!!!!

[@aiylacarson]

So if he’s not elite what is he? He has more slams at 20 than Novak and Roger did at his age. And he’s tied for Rafa with two?

[@KA-mh1zr]

Zverev is the most underrated player in the history of tennis.

[@aswinsrikanth408]

that's true for sure, he is hella consistent in the grandslams but he often lacks mental aspect in his game as much as meddy has

[@ja-kl8rg]

Its not weak era Novak is too strong. Fedals didn't beat him 10 years in gs except nadal in rg . Goatkovic channel explained.

[@jbm8167]

Average Djokovic fan comment here

[@jackdaw6359]

​​@@jbm8167I would have usually agreed but Goatkovic just spits stats. I'm a fan of all 3 of the big 3 by the way.

[@jackdaw6359]

Goatkovic really opened my eyes to the stats

[@jokelot5221]

But its true. Admit it. Don't be a sore loser 😂.

[@prohere2177]

Fed being the GOAT is a biggest propaganda run by western media. Surprisingly lost 2011 he basically never won grand slams when novak was around. Only 1 slam from 2011-16 6 yrs! And only won rest in 2017-18 when novak was injured. No matter excuses 1 slam in 6 years is hilarious

[@MrAtaguas]

I definitely dont think this is the strongest era ... I mean in the wake of the best players of the last gen including Nadal and Federer retiring or being injured all yr round which has been Nadals case for the last 4-5 yrs barring a couple of months here or there I'd say most other players in their early to mid 20s have been going through their "awkward teenage phase" getting past some issue like glaring technical issues or bad relationships with coaches etc. I dont think tennis has been as competitive since 2013. I mean remember 2012 when you had 4 different slam champions each of the big4 back then? Who would you have predicted to win which slam back then besides Nadal on clay?

[@aswinsrikanth408]

naah people like you see tennis as a popularity contest. You know tht this era is far better than fed era, that's why weak era term was first introduced. Fed fans know their goat played in a non existent era, but want to discredit novak for doing all the absurd things in his career. Fed is the weakest era player, but dont get me wrong Fed is on the level of Novak and Rafa in grandslams, but roddick,hwitt,nalbandian these players were so bad they lost to qualifiers and unseeded players more than they lost to federer, so that means fed was beating everyone comfortably but these fed era players were so outspoken that they couldn't even go past qualifiers.

[@MrAtaguas]

@@aswinsrikanth408 Popularity contest?! lol I never brought up individual players in terms of the strength of an era. instead I presented quantifiable metrics to determine the strength of a player base instead of who I like to watch or let's face it blindly support. Not to burst your bubble but Novak played in the era of surface homogeneity he wouldn't fare to well if he played the way he played in the era of serve volley tennis for instance against players like Sampras. A point that tennis analysts repeat over and over again and fanboys like you ignore is that all courts slowed down quite a bit in the mid-2000s and beyond so anyone that preferred a baseline style play excelled in those conditions no matter the type of court of time of year. Therefore it is silly to look at wins at slams as a metric to compare across eras. The only thing that matters is the number of top contenders at a given time which were quite high in the pre 2013 time period

[@jacobschmidt2709]

2012 featured all of the big 4 playing at a high level. 2013 had Nadal and Djokovic, but Federer was injured most of that year, and Murray was only at his best for the first half of the year due to injuries.

[@brianmoney410]

Kubler, bad choice, Aussie doubles padded his comp. Still valid point (for him as well), but paints a slightly misleading lower ranked top 100 baseline earnings.

[@TimelyAdventure]

I would say 2 of the big 3 just have so so volleys/overheads and the big freaks like Meddy in the 90s on faster surfaces would get eaten alive by competent serve and volleyers, bring the 90s style players to the slow homogenous surfaces of today and they would lose much more

[@zetristan4525]

Beeg challenge for you to say Veet Kop(rzhr)eeva

[@retrogaminghd3300]

There is nobody quite like Medvedev when he gets going

[@got2bjosh]

Can you get to the questions sooner by omitting filler / summarizing long-winded comments? Encourage people to be more succinct. It would be nice to get more questions per video. And yes, everyone knows the ATP/WTA are experiencing weak eras which is kind of ironic considering the purses have never been larger. Weaker players are making more money. 2000s and 2010s had a much deeper bench of talent.

[@jeremyneiderhoff]

You're smoking crack

[@innosanto]

It is very weak era now which Alcaraz changed and now it is closer to normal but requires one two players to improve

[@kjss4345]

The best way for him to be better is to beat the best players more often 😂 ahahaha indepth analysis by Gil Gross😂

[@abishekramesh1430]

Djokovic Nadal 2009 was a SF

[@italnsd]

Disagree on the take "put any champion of today in a previous tennis era and he will dominate". Maybe if they keep the racquet they use today. Make champions of today play with a wooden racquet or with Jimmy Connors' Wilson T-2000 and they will not be that great, with the likely exceptions of Federer and Nadal on clay. The impression of superiority of this tennis era is due to the improvements in materials science and the scientific approach to training and nutrition. Or, at least, this is my take, which is unverifiable as all others on this type of subjects. In retrospect, I believe tennis should have codified the racquets material, as many sports do with their key tools.

[@ayoutuber3116]

Era of two dominators: Novak & Carlitos

[@kingnole4237]

Age of dominator: Novak

[@blackkitty9054]

Only Djokovoc

[@jugoslavnamljidjiu9021]

Only one dominator Novak, Carlitos is just a kid who cry when he loose, an awesome kid but kid

[@ayoutuber3116]

@@jugoslavnamljidjiu9021 Novak was beaten by a kid in Wimby finals?

[@jugoslavnamljidjiu9021]

@@ayoutuber3116 sure he is amazing kid didnt i mention and when Novak retire i will cheer for him i love him good man

[@fedwrld7617]

Also for tsitsipas, hes 0-10 vs the big 3 in finals

[@edddzw7430]

Nasal Djokovic Madrid is semifinals

[@BIG_Z19905]

Tsitispas 0-10 in atp 500s

[@ajani7852]

Statistically Grandslam draw were rigged, used to favour Fedal alot

[@soheiladam7510]

nice one troll😂.

[@mariepelletier3020]

aka "come to the net"

[@betpow]

whoever thought it was a good idea to let us hear Juan Carlos and Goran, and any other coach, yap non-stop throughout a match should be forced into pickleball coaching

[@innosanto]

He has lost finals to Djok at least 3 times.

[@niksmoret2744]

Borna Coric love the night life bit too much,there you go,there's you answer😉

[@innosanto]

Everyone targets Tsitsipas backhand. And it works because he has no improvement

[@rahulramawat3350]

bro tsitsipas weakness

[@mikekathary843]

Meddy and Zverev worse than Berdych though right?!

[@user-cq5ki9py6u]

If Novak would have played in a different era, he would have won 40 grand slams.

[@stephensurry3416]

But without Federer (and later Nadal) to make him, develop him, he would have faded. Federer was the only one readymade to dominate from 2003-2012. Nadal was a clay court specialist (now there is court homogenization..)

[@stephensurry3416]

You may not remember, but Djokovic was derisively mocked by McEnroe in 08, 09 saying the guy is trying for the “career slam in retirements..” The gluten sensitivity might have been ignored/misdiagnosed 30 years ago...

[@lawdogwales5921]

50 or 60.

[@flyingsaucer8199]

Nobody is amassing even 20 slams in an era of 16 seeds.

[@ajlenze8]

I don't agree that the ATP Baseline Program is a good thing. Why should the more successful players have to support other injured or otherwise down-on-their-luck players? If the ATP wants to offer some kind of self-funding and optional insurance program to cover these players that would be fine, but otherwise it's socialism, which we need less of. (Gil does a good job of describing why the program is limited in effect, which is its best quality.)

[@jimnosnow4484]

Did he really give Murray only 7-9 slams in a different era?? HAHAHAHAH. 🤣🤣🤣 He won 3 in the toughest era of all time! How would he not win at least 20?? He’d win 7-9 Australias alone

[@LakesideProp]

Medvedev’s game would not do well in the 90s era.

[@jeremyneiderhoff]

You're smoking crack

[@Gizo02]

The 90s born players are significantly weaker than the 80s born players. Even if you completely discount the big 3, and then 'allocate' Nishikori to the 90s group (he was born 3 days before the 90s began), and then compared to the best 5, 10, 20, 30 etc. 80s born players against the respective 90s born players etc., the 80s born group would easily come out on top. Apart from Thiem and Medvedev, I'm not convinced any of the other 90s born players were better than Davydenko or David Ferrer for example.

[@jimnosnow4484]

He says Medvedev, Zverev and Tsitsipas are better than Raonic, Nishikori and Dimitrov…. Raonic at retirement stage will probably beat Tsitsipas on Monday lol

[@jeremyneiderhoff]

How did that go?

[@sophieoshaughnessy9469]

Tsitsipas is mentally encumbered. Zverev also suffered under his own mental limitations I think.

[@vivahernando1]

Meddy and Zverev are the evolution of Berdych. Not super special about this era

[@ashleythomas4112]

Meddy's game is quite a bit different to Berdych's I think.

[@ghbnhghjk]

Alcaraz only has a chance of beating Novak if he makes the final and doesn't have another injury. Novak will surely win another 1 or 2.

[@blackkitty9054]

He will win USO and all slams next year. In Cincinatti, Novak was sick and really unwell, he still won. Imagine what will do when healthy. Alcaraz still needs to learn a lot.

[@rasikhalabbee]

​@@blackkitty9054Novak will win 3 slams in 2024

[@sophieoshaughnessy9469]

Blah blah. They are both astonishing and either could win. But I do agree that Novak will make it to 25+ GS

[@rasikhalabbee]

@@sophieoshaughnessy9469 30 + plus,

[@lawdogwales5921]

Nole will win another 7 Majors.

[@PatrickKehoe-j3j]

So far, not very strong.

[@mihaicristi9617]

Neither Federer, nor Djokovic era is weak, those 2 guys were just too good. Before 2004, Federer had the same number of slams as his main rivals. After 2004 he simply surpassed them, then came Nadal, who was young, but that version of Nadal is the best on all surfaces, as he didn't face many tough injuries back then. So, Federer always had competiton, but he was just a bit ahead. From 2020 until 2023, Djokovic competition was Nadal on clay and Medvedev, Tsitipas, Zverev, Berretini. Those guys were also good as they pushed Novak to the brink, but Djokovic tactical improvements helped him keep up with them. In conclusion, no era is weak, there will always be a guy or more who are stronger than the rest of the field.

[@justusbeweel1109]

Young Rafa wasn’t exceptionally good on hardcourts. Between 2004 and 2007 he wouldn’t have won against roger at the USO or AO. That’s where roger got a lot of relatively easy slams.

[@soheiladam7510]

Actually Novak era is a very weak era. No real competition or younger worthy rivals and boring tennis play and players.

[@jugoslavnamljidjiu9021]

​@@soheiladam7510actually bullsh..

[@jeremyneiderhoff]

​@soheiladam7510 you're smoking crack

[@ForrealIam-is6jj]

Djokovic has been farming Slams in this weak era. His numbers are amplified af

[@alpine3931]

I’d say Federer and Nadal were “farming” slams in 2017 2018 when Novak was hurt and the only competition was a 20 year old Zverev

[@ForrealIam-is6jj]

@@alpine3931 Djokovic won his last 4 Slams over Ruud, Tsitsipas, Berrettini and Kyrgios. If that's not farming I don't know what is.

[@alpine3931]

@@ForrealIam-is6jjRuud back to back French Open finalists, played Nadal last year so was that a farm? Tsitsipas is really good at AO beat Nadal and Federer there in recent years and looked in good form there this year, Berretini is a total farm, but Kyrgios is legit especially on grass and played amazing against Novak. Played better than he did against Nadal in 2014 and won that match

[@sonnysantino7849]

​@@ForrealIam-is6jj 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ForrealIam-is6jj]

@@alpine3931 Ruud has never won a set against Djokovic, Nadal or Federer. Nadal won RG 2022 after beating Djokovic. Ruud was the icing on the cake. And don't let me begin with Tsitsipas and Kyrgios lmao..Some real funny names to face in a Slam final indeed

[@MrChillywilly7]

Pretty mediocre! Zverev and Tsitsipas for example where more treating in the beginning of their careers then now! Apart from Federer and Nadal and Medvedev, Djokovic has had no real opposition to collecting Slams! People always go on and on about how weak Federers era was, don't really get that! You have Slam winners in Hewit, Safin, Roddick, dangerous players like Nalbandian, Gonzalez, very good clay players like Guilermo Coria etc.. nowadays what do we have? A whole lot of players, being hyped up for years as the next thing coming! What do they deliver? Next to nothing! If compared to the the big 3! Felix he is going to win Slams, etc well, not really! Shapo good in Slams sometimes, apart from that nothing special, Kyrgios sometimes when he's willing and able, but looking at achievements, what does he have? No masters titles no Slams.. Tsitsipas been realy subpar.. Rune maybe at some point? After winning Paris he's done nothing special! The Americans, Maybe Tommy Paul, but thus far he's yet to win anything big, Fritz he's good but the schooling from Djokovic lets you know, how far of he is in being a treat to him. Sinner i like his clean ballstriking but he's not the most complete player out there.. Rublev to one dimensional, still like the guy! The only one who has delivered is Alcaraz! He's the real deal! And is consistent in his achievements!

[@Andres-qm1xx]

This era is EXTREMELY WEAK. In Nole era he had to fight with Roger, Andy, Wawrinka, Del Potre, Berdych (i dont include Rafa because he has always been a walk in the park for Nole). In this time Carlos has to play against unknwn players, Paul ?? Maroszan ?? Etcheverry ?? Come on... When Novak retires (hopefully in 6 or 7 years) i am done with tennis no roger no sampras no Nole... no interest for me honestly. Carlos wont even make the top 10 in previous era...

[@rosaliewright4226]

You must not be a player who knows the game very well or loves it for itself.

[@jeremyneiderhoff]

Carlos would beat Hewitt Roddick or Safin 6-2 6-1 6-2. You're smoking crack

[@Andres-qm1xx]

@@jeremyneiderhoff lol carlos aint beating roddick or hewitt

[@jeremyneiderhoff]

@Andres-qm1xx not sure if you're trolling or just clueless. If Di Minaur or Schwartzman played prime Hewitt 10 times they'd each have a winning record. I can tell you started watching tennis six months ago

[@Andres-qm1xx]

@@jeremyneiderhoff hahaha you are the one who started watching tennis 10 months ago. I ve seen the entire career or pete Pistol Sampras Agassi Roger and of course the GOAT Nole. The Miñaur and the other guy are nothing for roddick or hewitt come on... They both were NUMBER 1 !! THOSE 2 are hardly top 10 in this weak era. You are one of those spaniards thinking Alcaraz is the next big thinh but trust me he isnt anything special

[@blackkitty9054]

Djokovic will keep winning GSs until he decides to retire, Alcaraz is young and naive and allways will lose to Nole.

[@lawdogwales5921]

Correct.

[@niksmoret2744]

Gross yeeaaa😂

[@ricardoperregil4046]

This generation of tsitsipas zverev medvedev thiem is weaker than the one federer was competing before djokovic and nadal with safin nalbandian roddick last years of agassi Hewitt

[@jeremyneiderhoff]

You're smoking crack

[@sj4632]

It’s a weak era unfortunately…

[@dhananjayringe]

Weak in terms of consistency. But level wise it is one of the best. A top 100 is more capable than ever before. Top players are more in danger of getting ousted by an in form top 100. And it's more to do with the more developed game across the board for players.

[@mrlalalaelmo7454]

Top 3: Weak/mid Top 10: Weak Top 30: Mid Top 100: Strong (in fact very strong)

[@alpine3931]

The top 2 are arguably the most talented players to ever pick up a tennis racquet, how is that weak/mid?

[@mrlalalaelmo7454]

@@alpine3931 i can change it to “mid”. My issue is their unavailability - Djokovic is 36 and has been playing quite little tennis in past 1-2 years, Alcaraz has been playing reasonable amount of tennis but has missed out on key tournaments (limped out of french open, withdrew from AO and atp finals, etc). Otherwise they would’ve been considered strong

[@edddzw7430]

@@dhananjayringe no way people like baghdatis gaudio ljubicic fish Tommy haas are more consistent than rublev zverev and tsitsipas