Ground Pass Podcast - A Tennis Podcast

Damn. Martin Landaluce was so close to a massive win. What a match from the kid. Tough but these sorts of matches should only make him better. Hope he get the alt spot, along with Merida at Davis Cup. Spain really has a cool new crop coming in.

Had a sneaky feeling this all American match between Ben Shelton and Alek Kovacevic was going to be tricky. 👀

Completely lived up to the billing. No upset here but damn that was a fun match. Carlos Alcaraz has a winning return to Vienna.

I do find Carlos Alcaraz extremely fun to watch because sir how did we get here 😅 Anyway let’s see how this tiebreak goes 👀

Oh my goodness that drop volley to get to 15-40. Alcaraz 🙂‍↕️👏🏾😮‍💨

Nicely done. Rafa Jodar keeps his name in the mix for Turin with a fairly routine win against Tabilo. Now off to watch the popcorn match of the day 👀🍿

Who is making the ATP Year end Finals? Jack Draper’s New Look! College Tennis drama and a statement from us. Enjoy our late recap of last week on Ground Pass. 🔗⬇️ groundpass.substack.com/p/order-of-p...

Venus Williams playing doubles in Guangzhou, China and Naomi Osaka previews her look for the Tokyo Open. Well I am having an outstanding morning thanks for asking.

Lore! He has been through a lot over the past year with injuries and stops and starts to his return to playing, this has to be the best icing on the cake for Lorenzo Musetti. First title in four years seems like a crime for someone of his talent. Here is hoping he is back to form.

Do you have a player who you just root for, no matter what? That’s Struffy for us. We go all the way back to Madrid 2023. What a match and win against Arthur Fils. Jan-Lennard Struff is back in a final.

Fils and Struff in a deciding set tie break for a spot in the finals. 🍿🍿🍿

Just pulled up to watch the all American clash between Fritz and Paul and guys we are eating today: Medvedev v Bublik (the front row might need helmets) Cobolli v Musetti (in the who is better looking off) Fils v Struff (the battle of the faves)

The badass, cool girl confidence Karolina Muchova has to not chase points in Ningbo and Tokyo, to know the work she put in this season was enough and just let the Finals come to her, is why she will always be one of our faves.

I would like to know what the Maldives has on Tennis Players. Do they know there are other vacation spots AROUND the world?

Just looked up how to watch the Knicks tonight and well friends, maybe it’s not just tennis 😅

We have reached that time in the season where you can almost watch tennis for 24 hrs. Start the night before with the WTA Asian swing, which takes you into the morning & early afternoon with the ATP European indoor swing and then wrap up your day with some Challengers in Texas. It’s all happening.

Awww what a sweet end to a touch battle. This was a real tug of war of a match. Even at the last moment I thought Sonay might turn it around but Maja Chwalinska is a WTA 1000 championship to add to her Grand Slam Finalist. 👏🏾

So when does Spanish Davis Cup team selections drop 😏

😮‍💨 Well that took an age and a half to get the first game done in the 2nd set. Sonay Kartal leads by a set but Maja Chwalinska is fighting back. Grabbing a coffee and settling in. Back to hot today, chilly morning here in 🗽

How quickly the night changes. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina finally wins a title this year and becomes a winning machine. Gets the better of Rafa Jodar in a match that felt like master teaching a kid. Makes sense that he seems to have picked up chess this fortnight ♟️

Weird moment for me to start watching the Nadal documentary but here we are 😭

Bit of a damp squib this match turned out to be but the first set had its moments. And Maya Chwalinska gets to a final after another remarkable tournament where she beat Jovic and Sakkari to get here. Will be a very interesting final against Kartal, have not idea how it will go.

Meanwhile in Wuhan… Maja Chwalinska broke to get things back on serve in the first set, then broke Iga in the next game and now we are at a medical time out. Hopefully she is fine and can continue. It’s been a good match so far.

Vamos! Rafa Jodar in another final. An all Spanish final. 9th in the race to Turin 👀 Can he win the big one tomorrow? Either way his dad is my spirit animal. 🧘🏾‍♀️

Didn’t realise Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was a chess player. What a move to make to get the win over Zverev and make it into the Finals of Shanghai. Can he make it 3 titles this year 👀

Sonay Kartal dashes the hopes of tennis fans looking for an Ostapenko-Swiatek final but damn what a return to the sport she is having. After 6 months off due to a back injury she has stormed through Wuhan beating Bencic, Paolini and Svitolina to make it to the Finals.

Hmm… looks like Novak really wants to make the year end finals.

Ann Li had a great week but the rubber hits the road with Iga Swiatek who is doing that thing again when she looks absolutely unbeatable. I think it’s her title to lose really.

The Lost Boys are really making a case for themselves this late in the season. Daniil Medvedev comes through a 3 setter against Tommy Paul to make it into the semis of Shanghai. Where he will meet… Jodar. 🙂‍↕️🍿

Arthur Gea this year has cracked the top 100, top 50, won his first title, made it to the 2nd week of a slam, entered his first masters and made it to the quarterfinals. It was a no-brainer making him one of our players of the fortnight this week. 📸 by 🙋🏾‍♀️😁

Arthur Gea this year has cracked the top 100, top 50, won his first title, made it to the 2nd week of a slam, entered his first masters and made it to the quarterfinals. It was a no-brainer making him one of our players of the fortnight this week. 📸 by 🙋🏾‍♀️😁

Finally going through the THOUSANDS of photos I took during the US Open, and frankly the whole US Tennis tournament season. Be ready to be sick of me 😅

Most of the WTA Finals spots are locked down, ATP… not so much. Who will join Sabalenka, Gauff, Andreeva, Alcaraz, Zverev and Shelton in the Finals? 👀 Tune in to the pod next week where we breakdown the Road to the Finals.

I was listening to a pod last week, when Qinwen was still in the draw, that previewed the match between Sabalenka & Zheng in Wuhan. I remember thinking - how do you know Zheng will beat Ann Li. And Friends this is why we don’t do predictions on GP. Tennis! 😅 Great win by Ann Li against Sabalenka.

Still one of my most memorable moments in the press room this year. We all weren’t quite sure what we heard. Wishing Gael Monfils all the luck in his new endeavours. Also if you haven’t yet check out the Pablo Torre Finds Out episode about the retired tennis player to Finance pipeline. Pure gold.

Well I know what I am doing at 9pm ET

Are Tennis rules too subjective* Duh 🤦🏾‍♀️

‘People’ say Sabalenka is unsporting because after she loses she breaks her racket sometimes. And today 2 male players, Tiafoe & Fils, smashed their rackets after losing sets and the match. And apparently it’s because they really care. See how that looks.

In other Lost Boys News

Valentin Vacherot loses to Tommy Paul which brings the Cousin Final story to a close. The thing is he took advantage of his ranking this year, got into all the big events and proved he is a great player. Only falls to 32 in the live ranking and if he can hold it will be seeded in Australia.

Not surprised that Mirra Andreeva and Qinwen Zheng are out of Wuhan. Unlike the ATP the WTA has 3 back to back 1000 level tournaments: - Doha/Dubai - Indian Wells/Miami - Beijing/Wuhan If you are not chasing points it’s tough to go deep in one and rock up to the next.

Is Botic Van de Zandschulp the most enigmatic player on the ATP Tour? Yes. Casually defeats Arthur Fils, like it’s nothing. I want to know what his resting heart rate is 😅