BJK Cup Finals Preview - A new era in Shenzhen begins

34:48This is quite a haul for Fran Jones, isn't it? Which is an interesting one because on form, she might be in line to play even though she's kind of the alternate that's come in to replace Emma Raducanu, that GB team does not have a lot of form to speak of. Like Katie Bolter's been in a real trough recently. Jodie Burrage is still working her way back from injury. Soné Cartel has sort of not played very much since Wimbledon. It doesn't, I mean, I think Bolter is going to play at one regardless of form. sorry it's Brazil isn't it that Fran Jones is making her way from it's Sao Paulo where she reached the semi-finals but I don't know like I don't feel like the number two pick is particularly obvious for GB David But Cartel played well to help get them there She did And I wonder how big a factor that might be and she was really good at Wimbledon I know that it hasn't gone well for her since Wimbledon and maybe she should have played some smaller events as well on top of what she also played.

35:59But I mean, the fact is, I do think it's quite a big deal when you've been part of the team that has got you to this thing. And there's a feeling that, well, they're probably going to bring out their best stuff again. I'm not sure who surface-wise, I mean, that was on clay where they were playing in the qualifiers. and her game just seemed to stack up really well on there with the heavy topspin forehand. I'm not sure on this surface which of the other players, I mean, definitely Katie Bolter, I think it really suits her, but I'm not sure about the others. Well, Fran Jones loves clay as well, doesn't she?

36:43Yeah, I don't know. I think if Fran Jones is recovered well, and they do have until Thursday, She recovers from that sort of cross-global trip and she feels comfortable on the surface. I think she's in with a chance of playing at number two just because of form. But they have such a doubles problem, GB, don't they? I was going to say, they probably need to get it done in the singles. You know, Japan are not strong in the singles. They've got, well, their only top 100 player is Uchijima, although she'd lost 10 matches in a row going into the US Open did manage to get a win there. They might be winning the photo shoot competition though, Matt.

37:28These are some vibes. Absolutely. Yes. Everyone's got different poses. They all look thrilled to be there. Like, I don't know, if Japan end up winning the Billie Jean King Cup we'll go back and go, well, we should have known because the photos. Right. Yeah, and look, they've got Shibahara, Ayama. You know, they can play doubles. So Britain, I think, are definitely going to have to win it in the singles. I'd be pretty surprised if it's not Bolter and Cartel, personally. I know Jones has just, you know, done well in Sao Paulo. it wasn't a particularly strong field with all that travel I think she'd go with the team that she's got there getting used to the conditions now sharpening them up ready for Thursday as David said Bolter and Cartel were instrumental in getting Britain here I think that's what she'll go with but yeah it's definitely the weakest of the quarterfinals but kind of intriguing because they're both in a similar situation.

38:45You know, if one of them was up against a really strong team, it would kind of feel like we know who's going to win. But because they're both in quite a similar situation here, Japan and Britain, it does actually lead to quite an intriguing quarterfinal tie. Why is there no Aoi Ito?

39:04That is a blow. It's who the people want to see. Sorry, Uchijima, Hibino, Shibahara. We want Awe Ito. We do. We want her in all events. Yeah. Yes, please. More Awe Ito, please. OK, who's winning this thing? I want to know who you think is going to be in the final and who is going to win it.

39:36I think I'm going to go Italy. I think I'm going to... Oh, bold pick from Matt. The prospect of Italy-Ukraine in the semis is fascinating because Paolini has had a bit of a Svitolina problem this year. She's lost her a couple of slams, hasn't she? And if you can beat Paolini, then that goes a very long way to beating Italy. But I don't know, just vibes, Paolini, good number two, good doubles. Just finding it hard to look past Italy. David I think we're going to get a US Ukraine final

40:22and I'm going to go I'm going to go for the US he's fallen into the trap I do this a lot do you know Matt I'm going to fall into it as well I understand it Yeah, I'm going to go US-Italy final. That can happen, right? Yeah. Right. It's always such a blow when you pick a prediction that turns out literally can't happen within the confines of the draw. That's a new low. Yeah, I'm going to go US-Italy with US to win.

41:07Yeah. Which I don't think counts as underestimating Jasmine Paolini. But who could say any more? I think that's exactly what you're doing. Well, David hasn't even got her in the final. Well, that's standard for me, isn't it? Yeah. Never changed, David. I've told you. These are my pillars. I underestimated Jasmine Paolini during the US Open. Yeah, you did. Got burned against Marquette of Androsa. Yeah, that's because you broke the golden Vondrosheva rule. Yeah, the golden Vondrosheva rule is more powerful than any other rules, David. Yeah, it's the most powerful rule. No Vondrosheva predictions.

41:48It's one bit beat the other bit. It is weird not having Czech here, isn't it? Yeah. Is that your segue to the Davis Cup? It wasn't going to be, but it absolutely can be. Let's talk Davis Cup. No, just before we talk about Davis Cup, a reminder of our schedule over this Billie Jean King Cup finals week. We will be back with pods on Thursday to review the quarterfinals, Saturday to review the semifinals, and then we'll have a live show on Sunday, 8pm UK time, same as this, live on YouTube, to review the final and the competition as a whole. And in the meantime, you can obviously check out results and everything on the Billie Jean King Cup website, stories as well, and check out their socials for everything else, quite frankly, including fun photo shoot content.

42:46The photographer is obviously having a right old time out there. In terms of how and where to watch it, there's a list on the Billie Jean King Cup website, depending on where you are in the world. I know it's being shown on the Tennis Channel in the US and Tennis Channel here in the UK. And you can get that through Amazon Prime as well. And I know that Great Britain ties are also being shown on the BBC. So BBC iPlayer or the BBC Sport app. So that is how to watch the Billie Jean King Cup finals. We'll be doing just that. And we'll be back with our next pod to talk about it on Thursday.

43:26Right. The segue that Matt has beautifully set up for me. Let's talk about the Davis Cup. This weekend saw seven home and away qualifiers taking place, determining who joins Italy at the finals, which are now in Bologna in Italy in November. Some pretty wild results in these qualifiers. There was only one home team to win, and that was Spain, and they had to come from 0-2 down. overnight to beat Denmark 3-2. Holger Runa had a match point to win the tie in the fourth match. This was drama. Unexpected Davis Cup hero of the weekend, Pedro Martinez. Who would have thought it, Matt? And I'll say, like, what a heroic effort.

44:25He played basically six straight hours on the second day, winning the doubles alongside Munar. Most people, myself included, assumed that Munar would then come in to play the singles against Runa. But oh no, they're obviously so impressed with Martinez's performance in the doubles. In he comes for the singles, wins the first set against Runa 6-1 and then eventually beats a cramping, tantrum-laden Holger-Runa in those final stages after more than three hours in a final set tie break. I mean, Runa did an underarm serve, which of course didn't go down well with the locals. That was fun. You could see Holgeruna's mum in the background flexing her biceps at one point.

45:18There was a bad nod up call by the umpire at one point. It was all happening. Runa didn't shake the umpire's hand, did he? And he had some choice words to say about the Spanish fans, it was classic Holger Riener is a 12-year-old behaviour, which we already know, but confirmation that that remains the case. Spain captain David Ferrer still trying to, you know, claw back some respectability as captain after his exploits in Malaga last year. He was very annoyed. He made some big calls here, didn't he? And I think he's got it right. He doesn't mind the big gauld, David Ferrer. Right. He's a bolder captain than he is or was a tennis player.

46:08It's kind of fascinating. But he was very upset that Runa got treatment for cramping. It was all going on. It was absolutely classic. Dastardly, in both your opinions, was it dastardly that treatment for cramp? Because technically you're not allowed to.

46:30i mean you you can have a you can have the you can have a little a little rob yeah i think look i think runo was trying everything i think he was he was struggling the the tie was slipping away from him he was you know he was he was trying to trying to do what he could it was it was desperate Holger as seen in women's DMs the world over.

46:59It was low-hanging fruit, folks. I couldn't resist. You went there. I went there. But look, for Spain to win without Alcaraz, without Davidovic Fikina, without Granais as well, great doubles player, that is a good effort And it keeps alive the possibility of Carlos Alcarez playing in the finals, you know, which would be big for the event. You know, the possibility of a sinner Alcarez in Italy is absolutely tantalising as a way to finish the year. So let's hope that Alcarez does play. So, yeah, it's suddenly the Davis Cup finals now become about, can we get Carlos Alcaraz to play? And the look of his, I think he will want to, but he's also signed up for an awful lot of exhibitions, hasn't he?

47:56So we will see. David, let's get into all the away wins that we saw this weekend. Let's start with Czechia beating the US. This tie was in Delray Beach, Florida, somewhere that I've been many times for the Champions Tour event they used to have there over the opening weekend of the main tour event. Jakub Menchik and Yuri Lahechka were the heroes bringing home the points for Team Czechia. USA were depleted. They didn't have Ben Shelton. They didn't have Tommy Paul. And it hurt them big time. This was incredible from Czechia. Yeah, it hurt them, but also a reminder of just how strong that Czechia team is.

48:43The fact that they can have Mensik and Lehechger as singles players. They've got Mahatch as a doubles player. I mean, this is a strong team. And we have not seen this level Mensik since he won Miami. Yeah, this is a little reminder. You know, when we're sometimes talking about who... Sorry? Is he a Florida specialist? Maybe he is. Maybe he is. I mean, I think it's been quite a surprise the way he's dropped off, the dramatic way he's lost some of these long matches at Grand Slams. He's looked quite immature as a sort of match player in these situations, whereas his top level is never in doubt. And he showed that by winning Miami, by beating Djokovic in the final there.

49:29I just think actually he is a player that, when we're talking about who who might upset the Sineraq has run to a grand slam final one day I could imagine him being one of the ones that does it because of his game just being so big and and just having a hot day and just taking it out of one of their their hands um and and it was it was interesting watching watching how up for it these guys were I'm not saying that the US weren't but I think that they would probably, even though they would know that Czechia are dangerous and they're really good players, they would still assume that they would win, I think, if they play well, if they play to their ability.

50:14You know, you basically got here a Taylor Fritz who's lost one of his two rubbers. Tiafoe won 10 games in four sets. I mean, he is in a slump and that was a tough scene to witness. Now, at the same time, I don't want to take anything away from those Czech players because they were just way better than he was. But that is a bad, bad day or couple of days at the office for Francis Tiafoe. And having been in his press conference at the US Open, I would have assumed that the Davis Cup was just what he needed. You know, something to get the guys together, to represent your country. And he just couldn't get it going at all.

51:02And it was very similar. Watching him just get ousted like this was very similar to the way he got just knocked off the court by Jan Lennard Stroof at the US Open. Big hitting guys who take the play away from him. He ends up looking reactive. And yeah, bad, bad losses. And as usual, they provide a good doubles team. And these days that means Rajiv Ram is part of it. And they come up, produce the goods. But 2-1 up, 2-1 up going into the final day to not win, that is a rough one for the United States. But I love how all the away teams that we're going to talk about here just went in relishing the home and away element again.

51:52You can see France having missed it all these years of not being a play proper home and away. A team that loves Davis Cup. Belgium, who've always sort of punched above their weight. You know, these away teams just going into the lion's den and just grabbing it. Fantastic drama all the way through. Yeah, Belgium beat Australia 3-2. This is dramatic as well in all sorts of ways. is Raphael Collignon, who, frankly, I hadn't heard of before the US Open, before his breakout run there. And now he's doing all the things, like Davis Cup hero. Now, taking out Australia, who were such mainstays at the finals, I do think it's going to be weird to have a Davis Cup finals without Australia.

52:38But then Belgium bring a lot of support with them, don't they? I do wonder if that will be a boost for the competition, to have the Belgium fans back. But yeah, Raphael Collignon beat Alex de Menor despite cramps so dramatic looking. He was literally convulsing, lying on the court convulsing. And he came back to beat Alex de Menor and then he beat Alexander Vukic in the decisive match, Matt. Yeah, extraordinary tie. You know, the two others we've talked about, you know, we had Spain's comeback from 2-0 down. We had Czechia beating the US, which was one all after the final day. And this one took a different route to going down to the decisive match, you know.

53:28Belgium were 2-0 up after the first day. You know, it felt like maybe they could even close it out in three. So they've got a good doubles team as well, have Belgium. But Australia came back at them. and Alex Dumanor got the win to take it to the decisive match and he was giving it the one more, one more. The crowd was up for it. It looked like there was going to be this big comeback for Australia but Collignon, brilliant in that decisive match to beat Vukic. And yeah, that's a real shock. Hewitt has been such a prominent critic of the new format And one of his gripes with the format has been that Australia, they rarely get to play in Australia.

54:16He's actually been desperate for this moment, this home tie. And they finally get it and they get beaten by Belgium. And suddenly, Australia have been runners up in this competition, you know, a couple of times recently, won't even be at the finals. So real, real shock. And yeah, as you said, Australia, always good value in that finals because of, you know, Dimonor is always great. But I think Belgium will bring a lot of fans and there is a big European flavour to this final. You know, seven of the teams are European, not going to have to make big trips. You know, I'm hopeful that there'll be good support and also mean a lot, you know, for Belgium.

55:00it will mean a lot to be in the finals, as well as Czechia, who we've already talked about. France are back, you know, Austria are there. You know, it's going to be just a lot of countries who this is important for, I think, at the end of the year. Yeah, Leighton Hewitt, the Australia captain, also punished this week for pushing an anti-doping official. So, tough week for Leighton Hewitt and that anti-doping official, although I think that happened a while back. So no Australia, but we will have Belgium in Bologna. We will also have France, David. They beat Croatia 3-1. This will be France's first time playing the new look Davis Cup finals since 2019.

55:46They have been a glaring omission from this revamped finals format. And your man Moutet was the hero. Who'd have thought it? not me stepped up stepped up and that that's the interesting thing i mean he is a a curious character isn't he i i sort of think of him as the guy who will play incredibly well when he's got his own fans behind him in france and rolling our ass or a paris bessie or somewhere where he where they're chanting his name and and all the the french chants and and actually when you think of some of his other wins, he has gone into some pretty hostile environments. I think of him playing Nicholas Jarry in Chile and just taking everybody on.

56:38I've been quite happy to do that. He played Marin Cilic in the one that got them over the line in this. That takes some doing, really. I wonder whether it was a little bit of a full storm with Cilic at Wimbledon when he beat Jack Draper and he looked so good that day I mean at the US Open I remember picking him to to win a to to kind of cause an upset there and he was just nowhere near and you know he's lost both his matches in this in this one as well and it's um it's it's tough I mean because I was watching some of the highlights of when Croatia won the Davis Cup a few years ago and he was he was winning the thing at the end there.

57:26Look, everybody gets old, but it's great to see at the same time Mute just stepping up and really having a year this year that has elevated him in everybody's kind of attention. He's not just the fun guy. He's actually getting big wins. He's stepping up and winning matches like this when everything's on the line. It's pretty cool. Incredible Quarantan Moutin, incredible Artur Rindeknes. It's a real mental readjustment for me with these players. And of course, it was Rindeknes who got the other win for France. Such a David-coded team there. And look, France, you know, indoors, they can add Humbert.

58:14You know, I think indoors is Humbert's best time of the season, isn't it? and, you know, maybe they could throw in a Manorino. Bring in Monfils. Is Fils going to be fit? Like there's a lot of, France have got a lot of potential options now that they're there. They just needed to get there for the first time in a while. And yeah, also great anthem. So always great to have France in a team position. To the Davis Cup. Yes, please. Argentina will be the lone non-European representatives. Also great to have them back in a Davis Cup finals too. They beat the Netherlands last year's finalists, of course, 3-0.

58:58The Dutch were without Greeks poor, which was always going to be tough for them. That's the first time Netherlands have lost a home Davis Cup tie since 2014. they've been so good like sneaky good in this competition the Netherlands for quite a while but obviously Koolhoff has retired and they didn't have Greek Spore and suddenly they're a lot weaker and Argentina back in the finals like they were last year so yeah really really impressive from them Austria back in the finals they beat Hungary 3-2 Yuri Rodionov the unexpected star. He beat Fabian Marijan and then Martin Fuchovic in the decisive match.

59:46So Austria are going to be the real kind of wildcard nation, I think, of those Davis Cup finals. And we've got Germany. They comprehensively beat Japan. 3-0. Struff, Hamfman and then the incredible doubles team of Kravitz and Putz are just far too strong. So Germany, Austria, Argentina, France. Belgium, Czechia, Spain and Italy is the Davis Cup finals line up for Bologna in November. Fun. Yeah, really good. Yeah, I am excited. A couple of other Davis Cup stories from the weekend. There were qualifying ties happening at lower tiers, a lot of them to gain the opportunity to try and qualify for the finals.

1:00:41Next year, we had Brazil beating Greece in Athens. Joel Fonseca beat Stefanos Tsitsipas to clinch victory. So Brazil will have the chance to play in the qualifiers next year. Novak Djokovic was watching, certainly the Fonseca-Sitapas match. I think Mariusz Sakhari was there as well. Apparently, Djokovic now lives in Athens. Yes, that's what I heard. I saw the scenes on Matchpoint, by the way. As you can imagine, absolute bedlam as Fonseca. I mean, that was close as well. 7-5 in the third, I think it was in the end. Big win for him. and you know wouldn't you just love to see Brazil in the qualifiers next year get a home tie I'd just love to see that yeah that'd that'd be incredible I think it's it's quite a sort of low-key big story actually this this Novak Djokovic thing I know it's been going on all year i know he was i know back in australia he was sending out messages um in in support of student protesters back in serbia and there's been a real djokovic serbia government clash i i by no means know the whole details but a lot of reports this week that um yeah he's enrolled his children in Greek school and is moving towards a kind of new life in Greece.

1:02:14Definitely something to keep a bit of an eye on, I think. Makes a lot more sense why he was so keen on playing the Athens tournament. Yes, and why they've moved that license from Serbia to Athens. Very interesting. Final Davis Cup story to mention. India got their first win on European soil since 1993. they beat Switzerland. Sumit Nigal winning both his two singles matches. So India will play in the 2026 qualifiers. Okay, that's it for the Davis Cup. Join us just around the corner and we will talk about other results from the tour this week. And those results start in Guadalajara with the WTA 500 event.

1:03:08with a field, let's be honest, not necessarily reflective of what you might expect from a WTA 500 event, but an exciting victory nonetheless for 17-year-old American born to Serbian parents, I believe, Eva Jovic. She beat Emiliana Arango in the final 6-4, 6-1 to win her first WTA title. She was a very prominent, exciting junior, was Eva Jovic. but she's halved her ranking with this victory to number 36 in the world. That is what 500 points can do for a player. And I don't want to take anything away from her, but this inflation of 500 events worries me a little bit. I want that to mean something, an event being a 500.

1:04:04and it did feel this week like it kind of didn't really. If you pick and choose well, you can end up getting a bit more bang for your buck, can't you? And at the same time, it's an exciting story also because she's been in Grand Sam Draws, having some wins or at least putting in creditable performances, even if she hasn't been winning matches. And it does seem like she's a really exciting player for the future. And this just catapults her into the main draws of all the big events, doesn't it? But I know what you mean. When you look at the standard of the opposition, you can make some hay, really, against players that are perhaps easier to beat than at other tournaments.

1:04:58I see what they're trying to do. They're trying to boost these events the weeks directly before and the weeks directly after slams by increasing their rankings price tag and making them more enticing to players. But it feels like a sort of intervention in the market, which just has more unintended consequence than consequence, to me at least. WTA event in Sao Paulo was a 250. that was one by bear with me here folks I've practiced this I hope she's going to end up being a big thing and I'll be saying this in my sleep before long but at the moment it's still something I'm working on the 19 year old Madagascan born French player Tien Tsoa Rakotamanga Rajona and if I'm getting that horribly wrong or if I'm getting it wrong at all and anybody is able to confirm, then please let me know.

1:06:01She also has Sarah as one of her names. I think a lot of people are going to go with Sarah. That's what she says on the WTA website when they do the, you know, they all pronounce your name. She says, we call me Sarah. Sarah, okay. Sarah Rakotamanga. We call me Sarah. I love that. Yeah, I really enjoyed we call me. Okay, Sara Rakotamanga. Thank you, Sara, for helping me out there. She beat Janice Chen, another exciting young player who a lot of people would have learned about at the US Open one through that opening round, ended up playing Emerita Kanu, three and four for Rakotamanga to win her first WTA title.

1:06:50She's not a player I'd heard of. Usually young players from Grand Slam nations, like young prospects, talents, you tend to hear about them because they tend to get wild cards and they tend to get talked about around the time of that Grand Slam. She's actually, she's not somebody that I had heard anything about, but she is somebody that I'm now very much going to be watching out for. yeah and lefty I saw as well in the highlights of this match and it was good it's it's a good watch it's it's great seeing and also because Janice Chen has this really heavily top spun forehand with the slice backhand and then you got this lefty kind of just darting the ball down the line it so it was it made for actually some some interesting uh rallies in it um and yeah more players to watch out for the future absolutely great stat from the wta is that teenagers are 7-0 in wta finals this season with the two winners we've just had uh and then and draver's won a couple joints won a couple and mboko as well so you know i feel like at the start of the year we were really talking about what an outlier and draver was you know and i think she still is in terms of her ranking you know she is she's way ahead she's way more accomplished than than the other teenagers but there is a little little group of them who've actually made some real waves uh this season which has been fun and they've all they've all delivered in in those finals that was a great stat uh so in terms of what we have coming up on tour the wta have a 500 event in Korea.

1:08:38Igor Shviontek is leading the field there. They also have Barbora Krejcikova, Emma Raducanu, of course, Clara Towson, Deanna Schneider, Dario Kazakina and Beatriz Hadajmaier. So a draw worthy of a 500 event for sure in Seoul this week. There are also ATP 250 events in Chengdu, which is where Lorenzo Mazzetti will be playing after... Do you see him waving the checkered flag at the MotoGP? this weekend? I did indeed. Good for you, Lorenzo. There's a 250 event in Hangzhou featuring Andrei Rublev, Daniel Medvedev, Alexander Bublik. And those all, folks, start on Wednesday and finish on Tuesday.

1:09:26Of course they do. I forget every year that this happens. Well, I don't think I forget. I just think I presume that was an aberration. Everyone will realise that was terrible. We won't need to worry about that for next year. But then I forget. I always just assume the worst. I never think people will fix that. Well, they haven't, so you assumed absolutely right. There is also the Leva Cup in San Francisco. go. It's basically Alcaraz and friends, isn't it, this year? The fields have been rather depleted. They really need Carlos Alcaraz not to pull out of this thing. Team Europe is Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Holger Runa, Kasper Rude, Jakub Menchik and Flavio Cabali.

1:10:24I'm obviously being a little bit facetious, but there's only one Grand Slam champion in this whole field and that's Carlos Alcaraz which given what the Labour Cup has been in the past in terms of fields this is a depletion Team Wild is Taylor Fritz Alex de Menor Francisco Cirungelo, Alex Mickelson Joel Fonseca and Riley Apelka you know any team with Riley Apelka in it's not giving well it's not giving anything i'm particularly excited about but no mickerson and apelka came in late didn't they yeah deminor came in late a lot of these people came in quite late yeah i am interested to see noah and agassi as captains there's a certain curiosity that I have about hearing them.

1:11:25And Henman and... Who's the other vice captain? Rafter. Henman and Rafter as vice captain. Somewhat less excited about those two. Is that the easiest money available in tennis, being vice captain of a Labour Cup team? I'd say so. It's right up there.

1:11:44I think Tim Henman and Pat Rafter are going to have a free and lovely week in San Francisco. Oh, they're going to have a great time. Yeah. Yep. Yeah, look, we'll be watching. There'll be cool moments for it, won't there, on social media. We might get to see Alcaraz against Fonseca. Like, fun things will happen. It's just unfortunately, it's going to count towards ATP head to head, and that is an absolute joke. right I can't wait to be to be sort of equal parts excited and grumpy about it on upcoming podcasts so reminder our next show is this coming Thursday when we'll be talking mostly Billie Jean King Cup which will be at the semi-final stage by then so do join us for that and we're back next Sunday with our next live show Sunday 8pm UK time on YouTube, just like this one.

1:12:43So do join us for that if you can. We have a mascot for this episode. That mascot is Mocha and Mocha is owned by Charlie Metzger. Mocha is a red mole miniature labradoodle. What a refined breed that sounds. And a returning mascot for 2025. I definitely recognise Mokka. Like all tennis podcast listeners, Mokka lives in New Jersey. Hey. In the Jersey City Heights with her parents, Kristen and Charlie. Mokka's favourite toy is a tennis ball. Any tennis ball will do, but she has an ancient tennis ball she especially loves. Mokka's favourite place in the world is her local dog park, where her parents have spent hundreds of happy hours listening to the pod while throwing Mokka's ball for her.

1:13:35Mocker, unfortunately, does not have any interspecies friends. Oh. Of her own choosing or? So far. But aspires to be friends with the squirrels. Oh, my God. Billie Jean didn't even stir. Aspires to be friends with the squirrels who live in the tree outside her living room. The squirrels are not as enthusiastic about this idea. I feel you, Charlie. This is real squirrel season, isn't it, this time of year? They're all collecting their nuts for the winter. And it's like they're taunting Billie Jean because she really wants to be friends and they are not into it. Mocha is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.

1:14:17What a vibe. So thank you, Mocha, for coming back for another year. Thank you to our mascots. Thank you, Maisie, Phoebe and Roger. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. Matt, it's time for some shout outs. And we start with Gillian Dobson from North Yorkshire. Hello, Gillian. How specific? Hi, Gillian. Specific and yet not. I think we might have found a name that there are no tennis references to. Well, never say never until, you know, Pam's been in touch or Nick Imerson. If anyone could find Gillian. There's Gills. Jill Krabas I think you're reaching there Jill Teichman While we come up with Jill's Gillian has got a lovely story about how she got in, well no, the first live tennis match that she saw was at the Sydney Olympics 25 years ago, Tommy Haas beating Max Murnie in the quarterfinals and Gillian says that she only got those tickets because they were a second tier Olympic sport and to get the track and field first tier tickets that they wanted they had to get a certain number of second tier ones so tennis got put down but she did also see Denise Lewis and Jonathan Edwards win gold so pretty epic stuff from Gillian Tommy Haas on his way to his silver medal gosh beat Roger Federer Federer right yeah yeah and lost to Evgeny Kofelnikov in the final Federer then lost to Arna Di Pascal for the bronze medal and that was when I was desperately trying to make Roger Federer this guy called Roger Federer happen and nobody was having it isn't that when he met Merker yes so every cloud

1:16:31incredible stuff Gillian I hope that the delving into the depths of David's memory makes up for for us not having any Gillians for you I think we're going to struggle generally with our names today to find tennis players just as a little little warning we've also got Luminita Vasilica we know Luminita we know Luminita and we've failed previously to come up with any Luminitas she can be her own tennis reference as far as I'm concerned if we ever get another Luminita I'm going to reference this Luminita Luminita is from Montreal and has been listening to the pod since the beginning and loves Tennis Relived see I wonder if Luminita would accept Lulu's son let us know Luminita it's just a sort of tangential I don't know is it same church it's sort of out in the graveyard isn't it it's sort of on the on the plot of land but not in the building yeah I mean Luminita you're one of a kind and excellent thank you for your continued support and finally we have Laura Kotseva, who is originally from Sofia, but now lives in Sydney.

1:17:56Ah, home of the 2000 Olympics. Like Sofia Kennan. Yes. Who incidentally, Sofia Kennan today beat Laura Siegmund in a match that was about 7-5 in the third. And I just thought, I got the feeling that finally Siegmund has had a taste of her own medicine there somehow. I didn't watch it, and yet I kind of assumed that to be the case. So you can join the You've Been Siegmunded gang. Laura? Laura was that? It's L-O-R-A. Laura. Okay, Laura. Nice. A little bit like Laurie McNeil. Laurie, Laura. You can see why I've gone down that road. also in the graveyard that one and Laura would like to give a shout out to her friend Yuri and his now wife Amy to congratulate them both on their wedding and their new baby boy and says that Yuri will forever be the person who gave me the gift of tennis introducing me to the sport that he himself grew up with back in our home country Bulgaria a sport which has brought me enormous joy and purpose over the years that is lovely dedication and of course it was an all Bulgarian boys final at the US Open this year the Bulgarians are coming and they did well in the Davis Cup this weekend Bulgaria they won they're in the qualifiers next year yeah there we go the Bulgarians are coming folks thank you ever so much for listening to this podcast for joining us live on YouTube if you did for joining in the chat with Hannah and Vicky it's been a fun old time I've missed these shows and we'll be doing another one of these shows on Sunday.

1:19:50We'll be back twice before then. So like tennis, we just never go away. No off season, just always there. Thank you for listening. If you haven't listened to or want to listen to our US Open review show, that is up now for Friends of the Tennis Podcast and it features some incredible voice notes. and if you'd like to listen then the link to become a friend is in our show notes as always thank you ever so much for joining us we hope to see you next Sunday live on YouTube and we hope you'll be listening to our coming shows because if you don't there's no point in us doing this so thank you for listening great to see you all we'll speak to you very soon