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Week 25, 2024
Gill Gross & Ben Ornstein
June 25, 2024
Everyone stay safe out there. Grass is slippery. Here’s what we found interesting this week:
Kyrgios’s Hometown Newspaper Publishes Bombshell Exclusive
Why It’s Interesting: He ruptured a significant tendon in his right wrist. The continuation of his tennis career looked doubtful until a miracle surgery. Now he’s on the grinding path of full tennis recovery. His longtime physical trainer says “I’ve never seen him this dedicated.”
Soon: We’ll be hearing more from Nick himself shortly. He’ll be on commentary duty for the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon.
UK Tennis Taxing Themselves Out
Why It’s Interesting: It’s not just prize money that players get taxed on when they enter the UK. This is an interesting look at one possible reason why Halle is out-drawing Queen’s Club.
Quibbles: On the WTA side, the Berlin versus Birmingham comparison is skewed by the fact the former is a 500 and the latter a 250. It is also of note that Berrettini asked for a Queen’s wildcard and didn’t receive one, according to The Tennis Podcast.
The Storyline of Grass Season? Maybe Jack Draper
Why It’s Interesting: Tumaini Carol does a nice job contextualizing his career up until this point and detailing the changes he’s made in his game. Draper said his “belief system changed” after winning his maiden title in Stuttgart.
More: Gill focused on Draper’s aggressive 2nd serve returning against Alcaraz in the debut of a new series called The Point.
Youngest Invitational Doubles Participant Ever?
Why It’s Interesting: These sideshow events usually serve to give grounds-wanderers something to watch on outer courts later on in the tournament and give legends a chance to enjoy some nostalgia. It’s a win-win, but not usually a driver of viewership or buzz. This one might be different - the most hyped invitational doubles we can remember.
Confusion On Murray’s Wimbledon Status
Latest Reporting: See here
Gill’s Journalism Take: Most original reporting doesn’t happen without leaks. There is nothing inherently unethical about reporting leaked info. However if the info isn’t correct, that's on the journalist, especially if they only had one uncorroborated source.
When your private medical details are leaked to the media by someone you thought you could trust. So disappointing.
And - FYI - not ruled out yet.— judy murray (@JudyMurray)
11:10 AM • Jun 24, 2024
Billy Harris Making It Through The Trenches
Why It’s Interesting: We’d love an in-depth feature on the Harris story, but this AP write-up covers the basics. For subscribers to The Times (UK, not NY), this might do. Harris is the feel-good story of grass season.
Djokovic’s First Comments From Wimbledon
Coaching Is Not Allowed In Olympic Tennis
On this week’s Monday Match Analysis, Gill analyzes two first-time grass title winners from the ATP 500s this week. Jannik Sinner eclipsed Hubert Hurkacz in Halle for his 4th title of the year. Gill also touches on Hurkacz’s potential improvements & Wimbledon chances. Gill touches on Tommy Paul’s win over Lorenzo Musetti in Queens. He dissects the critical 2nd set tiebreak where Paul found advantages over the Italian.
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