By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, August 27, 2015
"The level Fed played in Cincinnati is as good as I've ever seen him play," says ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert.
Photo credit: ESPN
NEW YORK—During his days coaching Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray, Brad Gilbert had a habit of wearing sunglasses in the coaching box to conceal the churning emotional ebbs and flows a coach feels from his players.
The ESPN analyst will be armed with bagels, bread sticks, a paint brush and canvas when he returns to the US Open next week.
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Gilbert stars in six Voya-produced videos designed for social media and online syndication. It's the second installment of the "Gilbert's Glossary" video series that began during Wimbledon with the former world No. 4 explaining some popular tennis terms using his unique sense of humor and some appropriate props.
Voya’s sponsorship of ESPN’s coverage spans the entire duration of the US Open and will air over two weeks — from Aug. 31 through Sept. 13 — across ESPN networks. The agreement features a number of media rights including live Voya “Bench Talk” segments with accompanying graphics and audio mentions, and the debut of 360-degree “freeD” replay technology with Voya on-screen branding.
The first set of videos during Wimbledon generated more than 4 million views.
This second set also features Gilbert’s unique personality and style as he explains tennis terms such as Paint the Lines, Bagels and Breadsticks, Moonball, Flatliner, Fearhand and Dead Let Court.
We caught up with Gilbert after today's US Open draw for this interview.
Gilbert spoke in Twitter shorthand before Twitter even existed. Voya hopes to capitalize on his conversational style in the campaign. - See more at: http://www.tennisnow.com/News/2015/June/Voya-Serves-Up-Sponsorship-of-ESPN-s-Wimbledon-Tel.aspx#sthash.3jDx09n9.dpuf
Tennis Now: Brad, who got the best draw on the men's side?
Brad Gilbert: Djoker got a great quarter. If Roger is playing the way he played in Cincinnati, I don't think the draw matters. I do think the bottom half of the men's draw is stronger than the top half. Djoker got the best quarter.
Tennis Now: What do you make of a potential Novak vs. Rafa quarter? Could Coric upset Nadal again?
Brad Gilbert: That's a tough starting point for Rafa and he can get through it. But it's almost like you know Djoker is gonna be there in the quarters for sure.
Tennis Now: The Murray vs. Kyrgios first-rounder generated buzz. It's the third time they'll meet in a major this year, Murray has never dropped a set to Kyrgios. How do you see it going?
Brad Gilbert: Even before all of that drama with Kyrgios happened, even if I didn't know what happened, I'd still say I don't like the match-up at all. I don't think Kyrgios matches up well at all with Murray. Andy returns serve too good, he absorbs the pace too well and I think it's a great match-up for Murray.
Tennis Now: If Roger Federer can reproduce the level of tennis he showed in Cincinnati, is it good enough to reach the final here?
Brad Gilbert: Yeah. Because the difference in the draw this year, the first round is not over three days. So he could play four matches in the first week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and then three the second week. If Roger plays the way he did in Cincinnati he can reach the final. It's been six years since he's been in the final of the Open, to play back-to-back matches if we get rain and weather issues can be a challenge. The level Fed played in Cincinnati is as good as I've ever seen him play. And if he can play that level at the Open, he can do it [reach the final].
Tennis Now: It's almost unreal all of the top American women are in Serena's quarter. How do you assess Serena's draw?
Brad Gilbert: Serena's got a brutal draw, there's no doubt about it. But one thing's for sure: A lot of times you can look at a brutal draw on paper and it can play out as a brutal draw or the draw can totally open up sometimes and things don't play out the way you think. With Bencic in there and Keys and Sloane and Venus on paper it's a brutal draw. But I'll say what I said at Wimbledon: As long as Serena's in the draw, they're all playing for second place.
Tennis Now: We talked last time you were in New York taping the Voya ads. I didn't realize how popular those spots are on YouTube. What's the response been like?
Brad Gilbert: It's been so much fun. They're such a great company, I had fun doing the videos and it's amazing how many people have seen them. I've had people stop me on the street "Are you that dude on YouTube?" In the past when people have stopped me, it's been about my coaching. Now its "Are you that YouTube dude?" and it's been great to have that connection.
Tennis Now: You had a good interview with Novak in Montreal. You asked him about his comment to Carlos Bernardes during the match that he smelled weed. He told you it was the second day in a row he smelled weed courtside. Is that a local custom? Did you smell it too?
Brad Gilbert: He said he smelled it during the doubles. I wasn't out on that court. I was on the other side of the court. I didn't smell it on that side. I was at the AC/DC concert in Paris and so was he and you could [smell it] there.
Tennis Now: Of all the US Open night matches, you've played, coached or commentated on, what's your most memorable night match in New York?
Brad Gilbert: For selfish reasons, anytime I was coaching or playing and it was a win, it was a great night. Unfortunately, maybe the most memorable match was one of the toughest. It was the 2001 quarterfinals. Watching Andre lose that four-tiebreaker match to Sampras—the level of play was outrageous.
Tennis Now: Must have been a six or seven beer night trying to get over that one?
Brad Gilbert: Beers couldn't fix that.