Cincinnati - Is Sabalenka’s slump a US Open crisis?

33:06But it wasn't working. And Hodder was actually, OK, it was a tight first set, but Hodder won it. And I felt like he was kind of in charge of the second set as well when he got the break back. I thought he was going to win in straight sets, Hodder. And I thought, wow, like, look at the effect Hodder is already having on players on the tour, that they're feeling like they're having to adjust to him, you know, how quickly that has happened. I saw an interview with Mazzetti this week where he was talking about the advantages of a two-handed backhand. And he was listing great two-handed backhands. And he went with Yannick and Nolle.

33:45And I was expecting Zverev to be the third name out of his mouth. And he went with Hodder. Like already players are putting Hodder in that category. Like people are impressed by him. And Kabalyup was putting in that category as well. I thought, wow, he's struggling here. But the turnaround in the match when he decided to actually try and go back to being more aggressive and getting his forehand into play and taking charge himself was stark. And he did that in the second set tiebreak to win it. And then all through the third set, I thought Caballi was the better player. And he gave some great quotes afterwards, said, I have to remind to myself that I'm really good.

34:25He said, I have to believe on myself. he said I have to make the pressure my friend and not my opponent because I already have a lot of those and it felt like it felt like the match was him gaining belief in the matchup he came into it thinking God this guy is playing so well but actually I think through the match he realised I can live with this guy I can beat him I can take over with my forehand he credited feeling a bit fresher than Hodder as well I do think he recognised that down the stretch that it was a factor but a great turnaround from Caballi. To be able to make a mid-match adjustment like that, I always think is such a good sign for a player.

35:07And he did it and he was excellent by the end. Sticking with good signs from Italians, David asked the big question on the WhatsApp group this week. In fact, how did you put the question about Mazzetti, David? I can't remember it now. I think you said... You asked quite a big question about Mazzetti. Is he quietly getting into form or something like that? Which he is, I think. It's just we haven't tested the upper limits of it at all yet. We need to see Mazzetti against... I mean, look, we have seen it tested against Hodder and it's come up short. But I want to see him against Fritz or Tommy Paul or...

35:53I think Tiafoe is a good starting point there because Tiafoe, ever since this cyst removal surgery that he had a couple of weeks ago, when I saw that post, I thought, gosh, OK, maybe we're going to be in for a bit of a Tiafoe down period as he recovers from that. But he has just been brilliant, really, this week, beating TN and TN in fun exchange at the net afterwards saying, you're not injured, you didn't have surgery, it's all a lie, you're playing so well. And then he kept it going against Orjali Asim, who was poor last night. Orjali Asim, very, very error-strewn performance from him. But Tiafoe looks locked in and engaged and is playing well.

36:37And I think that is a big, big test for Mazzetti, who, as you said, I think the best player by ranking that he's beaten here is Altmaier, who's in the 60s. It's obviously a big jump up now to Tiafoe. But it's the first time that Mazzetti's managed to win three matches in a row since the Australian Open. And that, you know, what happened to him there has obviously just been in his head for so long. And I do think he's starting, as David said, to quietly find some form again. And he's sustaining his level through matches. You know, when he came back a couple of weeks ago, he was brilliant against Hodder in the first set, but he just totally lost it.

37:14I think what we've seen this week is a sustained level through matches. So I'm really looking forward to that one, Mazzetti Tiafa. see also david artifice is it happening well i i am very impressed with him uh i mean i'm really you don't say i mean look obviously i love him but it's more i mean this is his fifth masters 1000 quarter final of the year that is some record of consistency at that level only played the one grand slam tournament and he lost in the second round of that so you can only imagine what his ranking could end up being if he if he can start slotting some grand slams around it and also he wants to start breaking through with these masters 1000s and getting to a final i mean he now needs to make that step but there is there is a real looking of look of security about his game about his ball striking at the moment he doesn't look like he's going to miss he locks into rallies and and people are testing him out you know the dimon or was testing out the forehand like going cross trying to dart it in cross court which is is kind of the playbook on playing feasts you know you make take advantage of that big wind up and rush him and make him take it make him have to react too quickly and eventually he'll shank and he just wasn't shanking he was going toadster and then he was being quite dismissive of of dimenor's game once he'd got the earliest sign of a short ball because his his basic power and work on the ball at the same time as the power it's not that it's going through the air necessarily that much quicker than dimenor's ball but it's got spin on it too and it just ends up bounding up at an opponent and he was playing pretty well at the net too i think he could have even played better his serves getting really difficult to get back on in these conditions he looks really good I mean look he's running to Hodder a couple of times and and got really outplayed in the last one um but yeah I think he's rounding into form nicely and the most important thing is I'm not watching him thinking oh is there a twinge coming you know hopefully there won't be and yet I detect just a note of reticence in your voice, David?

39:39You're not letting yourself unleash with pumpedness about Art of Feast in the way you have in the past or in quite the way I was expecting. Well, I think I'm still waiting to see if the body is sufficiently robust enough to cope with this week after week. I mean, he keeps winning three matches. That's the thing at these tournaments. and that's good for the ranking, but it's quite a lot of tennis and it wouldn't be for normal Artific if he didn't have a big back condition and a hip problem. So I'm just hoping maybe that he's got on top of those things and if he has, then he can be a factor every week and it's about trying to fine-tune the game so that you can deal with a Hodder because it was really interesting watching Hodder outplay him last week.

40:28You know, there's really only Sinner and Alkraus and I've seen a bit of Zverev do it to him when he's taken the wrong tactics, but Hodder really surprised him, I think, with how he outplayed him last week. Look, I think Fises' upper level is a joke. What he is capable of doing, I don't think we've even seen it yet, him put it together on a big stage. I think one day, if he can stay fit for long enough, he can have a moment at a Grand Slam that makes us all lose it. Us all. Yeah. Well, not just me, you know. Yeah, David's losing it for first round wins, but everybody else can lose it. And quite interestingly, I didn't see his first two matches at this tournament.

41:18There's an idea of how, you know, talking about the new normal for Marta Kosciuk, I didn't go seeking out Artife's middle of the night matches this week because I expected him to win them. And one of them was against Giri Lahechka, who's a very good player. Yeah, good wins. He dealt with a second-set tie-break loss and still came back and won the third comfortably. I think he's going to carry on in this draw. I mean, yeah, I don't think we're done yet. It's a big opportunity to reach a final of one of these things. Look, I'm not dismissing Thiago Augustin-Turante, who's got in the quarterfinals today because Turante, you know, he's not just the guy that beat Novak Djokovic.

42:01He's putting together good back-to-back wins here is Turante. He beat Jakub Menchik yesterday. He'd beaten Martin Lander-Luthe before Djokovic. These are serious results from Turante and he's a great watch. I think that'll be a fun match. But it's Tommy Paul against Flavio Caballi to face the winner of that, to face the winner of Turante and Feast. One of those four players is reaching the final here. You've got to say that's a big opportunity for Feast. And in the bottom half, it is Muzetti against Tiafoe at the bottom, winner of that to face Taylor Fritz or Brandon Nakashima. Matt, I think you went for Fritz to win the title.

42:43No, you're giving me too much credit. I wanted to go for Fritz and I thought, no, I'm going to be different to David. And then I overthought it and went, or is your aliasseem? And he's very much gone. Fritz Nakashima is you know in this draw it feels like tough that that's coming in the quarterfinals you know like considering like they're the ones who've been really convincing pretty consistently over this swing I know Fritz had a bit of a hangover post-Washington but here he is again delivering and he's won a title and Nakashima has been there week in week out for a couple of months now. Whereas I feel like a lot of the other guys were talking about the potential of what they might do if they put it all together.

43:29I feel like Fritz and Nakashima are delivering on it at the moment. So for them to meet in the quarters feels tough. They met in the semis in Washington and Fritz got it there. I do think maybe Nakashima is potentially going to hit a wall at some stage. He's coming through a lot of tight matches as well. So I think I would back fritz in that one for the title david you still feeling good about your fritz prediction the sensible pundit in me says yes but i do but i did but i had forgotten that i'd picked fritz for the title and i was about to say out of face and it was only when matt reminded me uh by by pointing out that my guy is still there i thought I can't just go and ditch him.

44:20I actually think Nakashima can continue playing really good stuff. I don't think he's about to go out on fumes. I just think Fritz is better and will probably win. But I think Nakashima could have a really good US Open. It'd be interesting what draw he gets. But no, I'll go Fritz against Fees in the final.

44:42And I might change my mind and give it to Fees. I'll update the people. If we get that final, I'll check in and I'll update the people on Instagram, David, ahead of that final, who you're going for. All right? I'll do a video. He saved three match points against Medvedev, didn't he, Nakashima? Or did Medvedev lose those match points? Who can say? He lost his marbles. I felt like Nakashima saved the match points and then Medvedev lost it from there. Yeah, that was the sequence of events. Last dispatches from me. Raphael Hodder's solution to shoelaces breaking seems to be just to bring a big Santa sack of trainers onto court with him.

45:30I think we need to be doing better than that as a solution, personally. I agree long-term, but I think short-term, I think good that he's done something about it. There was shoo-nanigans against Caballi right at the start of the tie-break. and actually it was very quick. He got the shoes off and on again quickly. Now, we can all have your arguments about whether he should be allowed to do it, but it was quick and that's been my issue, how long it's taken to fix the issue. This has at least helped that element. His luggage situation must be bonkers. It really is just an enormous sack of shoes. No, I've not seen anything quite like that, quite frankly.

46:16Okay, so Matt, you're going with Fritz. David, you're going with Fritz. Fist. Fist. Fist, but reserving the right to change his mind on Instagram. So do give us a follow, folks. Okay, that's it for part two. Some quite big bits of news that we'll be back to cover in part three. Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast. OK, let's start with US Open prize money. We don't have the exact details or the announcement or the figures yet. We are expecting those today, according to John Wertheim. We do have reporting from Tom Kershaw in The Times that the Grand Slams will be collectively announcing the formation of a new player council alongside confirmation of the US Open's 2026 prize money.

47:06and the council has been one of this player group led by Larry Scott. It's been one of their three key demands, but the money we think will ultimately determine if they protest again in New York City. So the understanding we have is that they're going to be pleased about the council, but it's not enough in itself to prevent them from protesting. If the prize money doesn't match what they want or go far enough to meet what they want, they will still consider a protest. That's how I read that reporting anyway. Do you read that the same, David? Yeah. Yeah, I do. And I think this is a good move from the Grand Slams to kind of get together and figure out what their next move is like that.

48:05And yeah, I mean, I think that the prize money will probably, for us looking on, be pretty eye-watering. whether whether it's revenue wise percentage wise enough to stop the players doing anything else about it is another matter but where we wait with bated breath on that price of honey juice isn't increasing for 2026 inflation resistant honey juice holding firm at 23 dollars a a glass but you do get to keep the glass so let's call it a bargain uh it's um like 380 dollars for a grounds pass yeah it is absolutely bananas come to fan week folks it's free and if you come on thursday you get to see us on the live stage back to back with chicago we're on at 1 p.m uh after chicago what a double header no faff with us we'll be faffless we will be on time.

49:06I promise you that. In terms of if there is a protest, what it might look like. Obviously, we've had leaked indications that the protest might come in the form of skipping the mixed doubles tournament. We do have a lineup, well, a partial lineup for said mixed doubles tournament. We have confirmed pairs that are in the draw. This is on the basis of their combined ranking. They are Irina Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic, Elena Rabatkin and Taylor Fritz, mixed double specialists, Diana Schneider and Daniel Medvedev, definitely not a double specialist, Daniel Medvedev, Igor Sviontek and Kasper Rood, last year's beaten finalists, Belinda Bencic and Flavio Kaboli, random, and Amanda Anisimova and Lerna Tien, who did play together earlier this year, didn't they?

50:01So that one's not totally out of left field. We also have wild cards having been confirmed for Alexandra Iala and Felix Auger-Aliassime, Leila Fernandes and Francis Tiafoe, Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev, Gems Life, Alina Svitolina and Guillaume Monfils, although Svitolina did withdraw from Cincinnati this week with an ankle injury. So TBC on that, I would say. And a main draw wildcard for the defending champions, Sara Irani and Andrea Vavasori. There are three more wildcards to be announced. Now, obviously, Serena Williams is not in the lineup, nor is Carlos Alcaraz. The streets are saying that at least a wildcard is being held for Carlos Alcaraz.

50:49Whether that's in partnership with Serena Williams, we don't know. So we're back in that circus, that speculation circus, folks. We will keep you posted. I mean, I would say if Alcaraz is thinking of playing the US Open, the mixed doubles is probably quite a handy little thing to have beforehand, right? Like getting competitive feeling back, being in front of a crowd again without the stress and strain on his body of a best-of-five set Grand Slam match. I think if he plays the US Open, he plays the mixed doubles, I think is what I'm saying. Yeah, it makes sense. Yeah, unless one of these boycotts does happen.

51:37But no, I think it does make sense to just have fun, get out there, be in front of a crowd again, first time in what, four or five months of having that experience. Yeah, I think it'd be great for him. Yannick Sinner, not in the list. Obviously, he didn't play last year, although that was because he got ill in the Cincinnati final. He was supposed to play with Katarina Siniarkova, if you'll remember. I mention that because Yannick Sinner has been leading the line for the boycott stuff. So if the boycott does end up being around the mixed doubles, it's quite hard for him to boycott the mixed doubles if he's not playing the mixed doubles in the first place.

52:19but there are still three wild cards to be announced. And he is very much still a doubt for playing the US Open at all at the moment. In the qualifying competition, yes, Matt, go ahead. Well, you're coming on to it, but I think the qualifying competition is interesting, actually, because I actually think it makes the tournament much more interesting because the qualifying entry was based on combined singles or doubles rankings. So what's happened is a load of doubles players have entered this qualifying. And actually, I think we're likely going to get two proper doubles teams or doubles specialists anyway coming through qualifying.

52:59And then suddenly in the field, we've got three specialist doubles teams with Irani and Babasori in there as well. And that's kind of what we were calling for and asking for last year. I think these are good changes. I think it's been a good move to put that qualifying in. And maybe you can say, oh, it's still unfair that the doubles players have to go through qualifying and wild cards are being handed out to, you know, Bencic and Kabbali. But at least there is now a route into it for them. Two more teams to be announced in the qualifying. But at the moment, we have the world number ones, Katarina Siniarkova and Henry Patton.

53:43We have Gabi Dabrowski and Harry Heliavara. We have Luisa Stefani and Neil Skubski, Alexandra Krunic and Matej Pavic. We have Jelena Ostapenko and Marcelo Aravalo. And we have Erin Routliff and Lloyd Glasspool. Ostapenko and Aravalo winning would be quite funny, I think. I mean, Ostapenko doing anything is quite funny, isn't it? Yeah, notable absence of Serena and Venus in the mixed doubles lineup. Venus Williams has been awarded a singles wildcard. We got the list of those a couple of days ago. Serena Williams not on the list, although there is. There are still a couple of spots TBA. A. There's also a TBA for the men's and Stan Barinka hasn't been awarded one yet.

54:41And you would have thought that as a former champion, he would get one if he has asked for one. Interesting that Guermain Fisse has taken the reciprocal French wildcard. I'm going to get hate for this. I love Guermain Fisse. Nobody was more on board the he only needs one train than me. But he got both a competitive and an entire exhibition event send-off at a home Grand Slam. It doesn't get any better than that. Most players could only dream of that for a send-off. And now he's taking a Grand Slam wildcard from a young player. He would probably have gone to Kwame, I believe, just so he can wave at another Grand Slam and be uncompetitive.

55:29I know he was quite competitive in Montreal, but I don't like it. I really don't like it. I think it's... Kwame should be in the qualifying anyway. Yeah, I mean, sure. If we're... Yeah, it will be better for him. I will follow him closely in qualifying, but I don't like it. There we go. As someone who in the past has put out very gentle, like I don't know whether I'm fully on board Gail Monfils takes praying for you Catherine I'm hoping I have enough like I genuinely do love the guy credit in the bank from 15 years of podcast no one will hold their hands up in apology quicker than me David if this is his one yeah I feel like it's a don't hate the player it's a hate the game situation that you're putting forward here it is but i also feel like he had the opportunity he asked for the world card he knows he knows what he's doing i kind of do i kind of do hate the decision from the player no i think there's players that wouldn't there's players that would think i had i had gale and friends i had that completely bizarre night against ugo gaston at a home grand slam does Does he really need to go out?

56:56He's playing the mixed doubles with his wife. Does he really need to play a first-round competitive match with absolutely no consequence whatsoever? He doesn't need to, but he wants to. Well, I'd like to. Do we all get everything that we want? Well, I know, but you haven't got any record of ever having played professional tennis. I don't think having a record of having professional tennis entitles you to this. well it doesn't but the system allows it and they've said following yeah it allows it it's all allowed I don't like it that's alright and now the internet doesn't like me well that was probably the case beforehand best not to look at the comments anyway

57:44incidentally John Wertheim I saw on Twitter this week calling for or at the very least suggesting but that there should be some parameters, some guidelines for wildcards. And I would certainly be up for that, definitely. Right, we move on to our final story of the day. You've probably all seen and heard about it. It broke yesterday. It is the news that former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios is to be suspended from the sport following a positive test for cocaine. He submitted a sample during the Mallorca Open on the 22nd of June this year that was later found to contain a metabolite of cocaine.

58:33The former World No. 13 Kyrgios has been provisionally suspended since the 4th of August and the International Tennis Integrity Agency said that Kyrgios could appeal the provisional suspension, but has not done so to date. And he has put out a statement admitting to the offence to all intents and purposes. So it seems very plausible that he doesn't intend to appeal the ban, which could be up to four years. But if he can prove he took the drug outside of competition, the maximum ban he would face is three months. Now, under the suspension, Kyrgios can't play, obviously, but he also can't coach or even attend Grand Slams or any events sanctioned by the men's and women's tennis tours pending the outcome of a tribunal.

59:21And yeah, in terms of playing, this ban doesn't feel hugely consequential to me. I don't really think of Nick Kyrgios as a going concern in professional singles tennis anymore. But in terms of his ambitions outside of the match court, this could have a huge impact on a broadcasting career, a podcasting career. I feel like he's dabbled in that, hasn't he? In various different sponsor activities that he's got on the go. This will, I would have thought, significantly damage his commercial and earning potential. Now, there's a lot of interest in this story online. David, what's your view on it? Well, I'm not surprised.

1:00:13It didn't really come as a bolt out of the blue that Nick Kyrgios would have tested positive for cocaine, really. He's been pretty open in the past about, I think, his sort of addictions and and and demons and that sort of thing um i mean like you i i don't think of him as a tennis player anymore and haven't for some time um in terms of taking a view on what he's what he's done and been tested positive for here you know i don't i mean it's on the band list. He therefore deserves the punishments because those are the rules. I don't feel massively strongly about the actual offense itself in the same way as I did in about Dan Evans.

1:01:08I wouldn't like my kids to be taking any drugs and so forth. It's illegal, but equally, you know i i i'm not gonna have a massive issue with him as an individual based on that but what i do have an issue with is the way he reacts to it the same as he's always reacted to anything that he's been found at fault with which is his very well put together lengthy apologies which you know they're kind of word perfect they they they sort of say I don't I don't have any excuses I I've been in a dark place I found everything difficult I found retirement difficult now uh or the end of my impending career and and so forth and I've always you know several times I've had some sympathy for him because I think he he has struggled with with elements of it but it's just the same every time and then you get another occurrence of something like that and so often it's done meanly to others you know he he will he will plead for understanding and forgiveness because of what he's going through and then he will go out of his way to to have a go at others and to sort of throw throw uh aggression in the direction of people and you know the the the irony of the way he he treated those that got uh positive tests in the last year or so yannick sinner yigus viantek um and the way he sort of made out himself to be this sort of arbiter of clean sport and now for him to be testing positive i mean you know i can't take can't take him seriously haven't couldn't take him seriously at the time but he was standing behind the view that yeah but i'm clean well actually you're not turns out you know um so let's just leave that one but i mean thinking back to when he was um charged with or he pled guilty to domestic abuse you know to to a former girlfriend you know at the time he said i i respect the ruling and i'm grateful to the court he says i was not in a good place when this took place and i reacted to a difficult situation in where i deeply regret i know it wasn't okay and i'm sincerely sorry mental health is tough life can seem overwhelming it's the same messaging time after time and then you go out and you do another one or something else to break the rules or something else bad but you also do it with just a real unpleasantness to anybody who calls you out or anybody whose business you don't like.

1:04:10I don't really want to hear much from Nick Curiel. I wish him well. I hope he can find some peace and happiness in his life, but I don't really want to hear from him too much, really. Yeah. Yeah, I don't really want to be a part of the pylon of kicking a man when he's down because that's what Nick Kyrgios has done so much over the past few years and I want to be better than Nick Kyrgios but equally in a world where it feels like karma doesn't always exist anymore and what goes around doesn't always come around and sometimes it ends up you end up being rewarded for it or certainly that's how it feels in the world at the moment I can understand delighting in the appearance of some karma in this situation and yeah look my feelings about Nick Kyrgios are no secret but if he really means that he gets it and he wants to change and be different then let's hear about him spending what I imagine is going to be quite a lot of free time on his hands going and volunteering at a domestic abuse shelter or an addiction clinic or something.

1:05:27Let's go and do that, Nick. We'll see. Anything to add, Matt? No. Karma's a relaxing thought, as you said. Yeah, exactly. Let's hope that take gets clipped up and not my Guillemot-Faith hate. We'll see. Okay, folks, that is it from us for today. We will be back on Monday at the surprising time of 5pm in the UK because Matt's got to go and watch Fulham beat Chelsea. That's the spirit. Well, Fulham are on my sweepstake team and Chelsea famously are not because in my desperation to get rid of them, I had to accept a very bad deal. but some things are more important than a good deal you don't have chelsea on your team anymore exactly my allegiances are not remotely split matt i wish you well at the cottage on monday uh and it is for that reason that we will be back at 5 p.m live on youtube uk time on friday if that time doesn't suit you and you're you know commuting home from work or at work or just living your life it's gonna suit someone better isn't it let's just take that someone out there Matt is absolutely thrilled about this timing yeah and they can always watch on catch up can't they exactly that's what I'm getting to David you can watch and listen on catch up that is the beauty of this medium and now Matt will be in a good mood exactly so Monday is when we will be back folks and then we've got our Tennis Relived episode about the redraw of the US Open 1996 that's coming out on Tuesday and then we're into it from Wednesday our Mixed Doubles show then we have our Draw show Thursday then we have our Media Day show Friday then we have our International Tennis Hall of Fame slash Hype show on Saturday and then it's day one of the US Open on Sunday.

1:07:39I've made Matt feel overwhelmed. It's going to be great, Matt. No, it is great. It's just so quick how it's all come around. Like, right? Like we're talking about will Alcaraz and Sinner play the US Open? Will Alcaraz play the mixed doubles? The mixed doubles starts on Tuesday for him. You need to decide soon, lads. And he's not even in the country. Like, yeah, it's almost like they've been caught out by when the US Open is like us. Yeah, I know. 48 hours from now I'll be on a plane what is going on wow folks we have two mascots for this episode they are Merlin and Serafina what names oh gosh they're friends they're friends oh it's a montage oh my goodness and it's one of our this is all excellent Merlin and Serafina are owned by Lucy Torn who we have all met I've met a couple of times actually she came to our live show in London last year I saw her at Wimbledon this year and she's she's one of the world's good people is Lucy she's yeah what a gorgeous soul she is and Merlin and Serafina are her three year old rescue cats who she's had since they were kittens Merlin likes nothing more than playing with sticks or his favourite little blankie or playing outside and flirting with anyone who glances his way.

1:09:04But at heart, he's a real mummy's boy and loves to snuggle up inside hoodies for maximum cosiness. Serafina is a more refined character, preferring to spend more time sleeping and eating with just a bit of play for balance. She likes to watch tennis with me as it's a guaranteed opportunity to sit on my knee. However, I think she spends most of that time with her eyes closed and not actually watching. Their unofficial middle names are Murray and Serena. Sir Andy. Remember that? Murray and Serena respectively. No prizes for guessing who they're named after. So Merlin Murray and Serafina Serena. That works.

1:09:45Oh my goodness, this picture of them like cheek to cheek. It's killing me. So, so lovely. And we've got a picture of Lucy with, I think that's Serafina. do we think the all black one is Serafina and Merlin is the one with the bit of white the white tuxedo let's go with that and Lucy let us know if we're wrong they are gorgeous and so are you so thank you very much for making Merlin and Serafina our mascots for today and generally for your support of the tennis podcast that goes also for Bodie Maisie and Roger our mascots and for our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Geoff. Matt, let's have some shout outs.

1:10:34We have Chris Buckman from Garden City, New York. Hi, Chris. Hello, Chris. Garden City. Chris says, I found your podcast a year ago and became addicted. It's a must listen. I've been a tennis fan for a long time and the pod is terrific. Tell everybody in Garden City, Chris Let's get some more Garden City listeners We love a recent adoptee Don't we? That's great Going from zero to shout out in the space of a year Is really good going, Chris We like that trajectory Chris has a dog called Max Who enjoys listening too And Chris's favourite players include Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Roger Federer and of the current crop he likes Taylor Fritz, Yannick Sinner, Irina Sabalenka and Coco Gauff.

1:11:33Good taste, Chris. And for that reason, I'm going to say Chris Evert because she's one of your faves. Perfect. Could have gone Wilkinson, but I went Evert. Thanks, Chris. And finally, we have Grace Thomas who is from Cincinnati. Oh. Hi, Grace. Hello, Grace. Like, Peyton Stearns is from Cincinnati, isn't she? And Preston, probably. They didn't make it, did they? No. That's what I thought I'd give you a mention. Nor did Rhys Brunt, what's it, who was supposed to play with, I've forgotten now. Michael Zhang? Wow. Yeah. Unsurprisingly, they didn't make it on the basis of their ranking. Wildcards are still available.

1:12:29I do think she's got a singles wildcard, Rhys, so maybe she's less bothered about the mixed doubles. Anyway, tell us about Grace. Grace says, I became a tennis fan in 2020 and have been a listener of the pod for just as long. I enjoy a good stat and like when I get to inform my family of any fun facts. I love to attend the Cincinnati Open and getting to see some of my favourite players as they warm up for the US Open. Do you think Grace was surprised in 2021 when the French Open took place in May? She's like, but this is an October event. What's this Wimbledon all about? This wasn't on last year.

1:13:10What a time to get into tennis, Grace. Yeah. Do you think she loved the Adria Tour? Do you think that was her gateway drug? no i'm going to give grace more credit than that i think grace is a you know is a purist who in who loves the sport so much that even in those weird atmospheres well no atmospheres she was still hooked by what she saw it's all it's awesome when you get a recent adopter isn't it it's like when when you recommended the west wing to me catherine and then suddenly you said oh you've She's got eight series of joy to enjoy. Yeah. I was so jealous. It feels like a period piece now, the West Wing, doesn't it?

1:13:57Tennis Graces? Well, Grace found Grace Min, a former WTA player with a top singles ranking of 97. I remember Grace Min. I mean, by that, I mean, I remember seeing the name Grace Min in draws. I remember that she existed. Well done, Grace. Thank you for doing our research for us. I would not have produced Grace Min off the top of my head. Grace and Chris, thank you very much for being friends of the Tennis Podcast. We'll be back on Monday, folks. We're part of the Athletic Podcast Network. Thank you for listening. We'll speak to you soon.