Live from Wimbledon Day 9 - Sabalenka survives Siegemund, can Anisimova stop her?

0:10Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast live from Wimbledon on night nine of the championships in our incredible position here overlooking court 18 where mercifully a Legends doubles match has just finished split seconds ago. I'm Catherine Ritico alongside me as always David Law Matt Roberts it is a stunning summer's evening here at SW19 I texted the group at midday today saying I just had an excellent interaction with the dog coming through the gates here and it was definitely going to be a great day and I think I was right David yeah I think you were it was beautiful weather great crowds everywhere people in a good mood we had Miran Draver going out to support Conchita Martinez in her invitational doubles.

1:00And we had some good matches. And, I mean, some incredible performances and some great shows of grit and courage. And I kind of feel like some good winners as well to really set up the next few days. Matt? Some good winners? Who could you possibly be talking about? Are you enjoying being brunette four more days? I am but I'm I'm also hoping I'm not in a way yay I have to say also shout out Catherine for your incredible uh invitational doubles confidence should I say that that match was not going past 8 o 'clock yeah they'd been told to play till 8 o 'clock Mansell Barami is 70 years old they weren't playing past 8 o 'clock and he knows what he's doing yeah absolutely I mean they had a full they had a full court 18 they were lapping it up it was brilliant i like i know we've seen it all before and we're totally jaded and boring about it but it's they're still signing autographs now yeah good on there've been some there've been some good legends scenes today and we will be giving mir andreva and conchita martinez all the love that they deserve later on in the show don't you worry about that i do feel like we should start with arena sabalenka and laura siegmund and the two hours 44 minutes of sabalenka's victory 4-6 6-2 6-4 hauling herself over the finish line to make it through to the semi-finals and it it was a haul david and a fantastically entertaining match.

2:41Yeah, it was. It was Laura Sigmund bringing everything she can bring. And she was tactically so clever and her execution of those tactics as well, in terms of just putting balls in horrible places, putting Sabalenka off balance. And she did it continually throughout the match. You know, she mixed up sudden darting shots that rushed Sabalenka with drop shots and returns that were halfway up the court dragging her in you know just stuff that Sabanenka clearly doesn't play against very often and obviously being on grass you get to to kind of make that sort of style a bit more effective than you would on a hard court for instance it just wouldn't have the the the effectiveness on there um and it and it really did look like she was going to lose at times in this match there were moments when I really doubted and then there were others when when just her champions quality came through.

3:40And I think in particular, just a couple of points in the middle of the deciding set, which I think Laura Ziegman will be thinking about tonight when she's resting her head. Yeah, it was a fascinating match. There was definitely a part of me coming in that thought that Sabalenka might just stamp her authority on this match and kind of hit Siegmund off the court. I thought that was a possibility coming in. After 10 minutes, I was like, that is not happening. She is not going to be able to win this match easily. She went down a double break, did Sabalenka, right at the start of this match, 3-0. And Siegmund was doing all those things that David's just described perfectly.

4:31And actually, I thought the opening set, I thought Siegmund played wonderfully well. I thought she was brilliant. You know, I know we talk about kind of dark arts and that kind of stuff. And there was some of that. You know, she was banging her shoes out as though she was on clay. She was taking forever. She was taking an extra racket to the back of the court and not using it. She, you know, she was redoing her hair after points. You know, all these sorts of things. She was late to return Sabalenka's serve. All these things were there, but actually I thought her tennis was just sublime. And I thought she totally outplayed Sabalenka in that first set.

5:08A lovely mix of being aggressive, but also throwing in these slice shots and short shots and just messing Sabalenka up. I thought she was brilliant. Second set looked a lot more like how I thought the match could go. Sabalenka mostly in control of it. She still had to fight and save a break point at 4-2 and did so with an incredible backpedalling smash. That was a big moment, I think, in the match. If Siegmund had got back in it there, that second set could have been tighter. The third set, I have to say, I thought was a bit of a mess on both sides. I didn't think Siegmund was playing anywhere near as well in that final set as she had done at the start, but she managed to stress Sabalenka out.

5:49She took a 10-minute break after the second set, Siegmund. She just disappeared. But she came back and she just stressed Sabalenka out in that set. And there were some massive moments. At 3-1, Siegmund's up a break. Sabalenka goes down love 15 and smashes the net with anger with her racket. She is on the edge at this point. I think Siegmund will regret that game, the 3-1 game. She should have been more clinical. There were some really poor misses there from her. but then Sabalenka got the break back but then just a huge mess of a game and Siegmund ends up 4-3 in front with a break and honestly I'm thinking and Andrini Samova was starting at this point and I was like I need to get out there to court one but I can't leave this match Irina Sabalenka might be about to lose I cannot leave and the tennis that Sabalenka played I thought in the last three games really, really smart.

6:51She suddenly started slicing her forehand and she said in her press conference that she'd been scared to do that because she didn't want to give Siegmund time on the ball. Great analysis from Sabalenka in that press conference. But actually, it was absolutely the right play. Siegmund doesn't necessarily want time on the ball. She wants you to just hit errors off her shots. But if you can slice that ball back at her, suddenly she's got to think and do something else with it. And she came up with that shot right in the nick of time, did Sabalenka, trusted that her movement and her athleticism would cover the court if they ended up in some long rallies by the end and dug herself out.

7:29And she was stressed today. There were some similarities with the French Open final in terms of how much she was kind of hating the experience. And yet she didn't get sort of horribly down on the experience. She fought through, came through it, and ends up reaching a women's semi-final for the third straight time she's played this tournament. You know, she's had two absences in that period as well. But she's back in the semis and, you have to say, is the favourite to win it from here. But she had to pass this enormous, unique test. I couldn't believe the way she just found the tactic like that from a breakdown in the third set.

8:10It was like, oh, a slice forehand. And kind of the humility of being prepared to do that for the biggest hitter in women's tennis to go, no, I'm not going to belt my enormous weapon of a forehand. I'm going to do something completely different. I'm going to admit that this slice and dice game that you're junking at me is actually pretty good. And I'm going to meet you with it. I thought that was really, really impressive from Sabalenka, who really wanted to distance herself from the term annoying game in association with Laura Siegman. There was actually quite an awkward on-call interview afterwards with Lee McKenzie, who I thought did a great job and asked really great questions.

8:59But Irina Sabalenka is so sensitive and wary of saying anything that could possibly remotely be construed as ungenerous or mean or unsporting towards her opponent that even the use of the term annoying game in the question, Sabalenka was moonwalking away from that as awkwardly and quickly as she could. Irina, I'm going to say it for you, and I fully believe that Laura Siegman will take this as a compliment. It is the most annoying game in tennis. Like, Irina Sabalenka was so annoyed today. That is Laura Siegman's game plan, to annoy her opponents. She would take that as a compliment. And the fact that she kept her head, I thought, was amazing.

9:47And she said in press afterwards, I probably wouldn't have won that match if I didn't have the experience of the French Open final. Yeah, that doesn't surprise me that she feels like that and that it is a factor. It's kind of how I felt going into the Raducanu match and then coming out of the Raducanu match. I thought she's got over that hurdle now and actually she might end up better for all of this. and perseverance today was the absolute key. It's interesting, you know, Zygmunt is keen to say that this is just how I play. It's not about the opponent, it's about me. I don't believe that. But it's how she plays because of what it does to her opponents.

10:33So those two things are not separate. I can't believe she's not aware of how it impacts her opponents. David, she's aware. Yeah. And look, it's in the rules. She bends them, she pushes them. Sometimes she goes over the line and she gets penalised. Did she get penalised enough today? She got a time violation. One time violation. Yeah. And I think that got, I think that got cheered. She was, there was one point where Rina Sabalenka was ready to serve, you know, in position at the baseline looking up the other end. and Siegmund turned her back on her. Turned her back and strutted to the back of the court.

11:13I mean, how has Sabalenka managed to resist just serving anyway? Annabel Croft said in commentary on BBC Radio that she's a wind-up merchant. That's what she is. She's on a wind-up. And not only with the time-wasting, but also her game is so unconventional. And good for her. You know, good for her that she can make that work and almost get her to a Wimbledon semi-final. Absolutely extraordinary to think that she's done this. I never thought it would be possible with her game in this era. I love this match. I absolutely loved it. I just think it was two hours worth of enjoyable tennis match extended to two hours 44 with a load of faff.

11:57She left the court for 10 minutes. I went to get a coffee at the end of the second set because I absolutely knew Laura Seaman was going to leave for 10 minutes. Came back, saw the scoreboard not moving, thought, yeah, I know what's up here. Yeah, and look, I think definitely some umpires could enforce the shot clock when Seaman's serving stronger. I definitely think everyone should be firmer on the delay of game when her opponent's serving that's the one that really annoys me because I you know that is kind of going against the rules you know speed of the serve and I think she I think she pushes that and goes over the line there quite often just on the on the Sabalenka thing of you know really distancing herself from the word annoying like I totally I totally understand why she's done that and I think the...

12:56But I do think it illustrates a point that we've kind of hinted at that while I think Sabalenka was a bit out of order with some of her comments after the French Open final, not about her own game. I have no real problem with sort of self-criticism. I didn't love it in the trophy ceremony. I didn't mind it at all in the press conference, but it was the little jabs at Goff that I didn't like. I thought they were over the line. but there is also a point that the reaction to that reaction was completely disproportionate and I think it would be a great shame if Sabalenka feels completely unable to to sort of speak her mind now as a result of what the reaction was to those comments which and given the way she's talked a little bit this tournament it has felt like she's been a bit restrained and I totally I totally understand it so soon off the back of that hopefully with time it will kind of come back and so I kind of think you know there's two things there like yes Sabalenka could have shown more grace to Coco Gough but then she did apologize and she did own it and it just really it just really felt like that that reaction has affected her and I understand why it has but it was it was way out of control the the way those comments became the entire talking point of that French Open final, particularly on those American talk shows.

14:22Yeah, when I saw that on-call interview, I wrote down in the notes, Sablenk is never going to say anything interesting ever again. Obviously, that's an exaggeration. She did give a brilliant press conference with some great analysis, but I share your concern about her hyper-sensitivity to saying anything about opposition. Now, that might go out the window if she loses. it will be interesting to see but I do feel like she has I really didn't like what she said after that French Open final I really stand by all of our takes in the moment Yeah, it was extremely critical but I really feel very satisfied by the way she's owned it and continues to own it this isn't a fluff apology she's done or a, you know I apologise if I offended anybody she really seems to get it and understand what was wrong and I trust her to learn from this and we do all need to move on and let her put it behind her for that reason because I don't want her to be feeling like that and it's no good for tennis because you know a bit of egginess bring it on just not taking 10 minutes between sets please there is there is a difference.

15:40I do wonder whether Sigmund will be thinking about the couple of points at 3-1 in that third set when she was, I think, up love 15. She played a great point and netted a volley. That would have put a love 30. Then the next point, she absolutely plays a masterclass of a point, moving Sabalenka all over the place and has the killer shots, finish it off. That would have put a love 40. She missed it. She's 30-15 down. And Sabalenka held. and I just thought that feels like a turning point. I know it wasn't over there, but... Yeah, double break there would have been a real difference maker, I think.

16:19Now, at the time of Rina Sabalenka's press conference, her semi-final opponent wasn't yet decided. Amanda Anisimova was, in fact, two match points up on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova midway through the press conference. Obviously, she didn't take either of those, ended up going to a nail-biting tie break. We'll come on to that. But obviously, she was asked about potential semi-final opponents in press. And she said, look, neither of them slice. So I'm feeling good about it. Which obviously isn't great news for Amanda Anisimova fans. I asked you at dinner, Matt, earlier while you were basking in post-Anisimova glow, what's Anisimova's slice like?

17:02Does she have one in the locker? answer not good no I'm always like why have you done that when she hits a slice you know it so rarely for her feels like the right shot what's the point? it's such a reduced in quality shot compared to her great ground strokes look I mean we're going to talk more about it but Anissa Mova somehow has to turn that into a baseline hitting contest because as great as Sabalenka is from the baseline if it's just a baseline contest, I'm obviously deluded, but I truly believe Amanda Anisimova is the best in the world at that. Look at the players she's beaten. She's done it before.

17:43Well, look at the players she's beaten this year. Ostapenko, Alexandra, Pavlyuchenkova, Azarenko, Kudomatova, Towson, Noskova, Jung, these are all big hitters. She can handle them. And that's what Sabalenka used to be. She used to be, you would say, just a big hitter. But the problem I think that Anissimova's got is that Savalinka has developed. Since Anissimova had all that early success against her, she is no longer just a big hitter. She's a brilliant mover. She's able to get angle on her shots and get Anissimova moving. She is able to throw in the odd slice, the odd drop shot, and some of that variety.

18:21And that, I think, in most of the last few meetings, particularly the one at Roland Garros, for example, just a few weeks ago, has been a little bit too much for Anisimova to handle. There have been moments in these matches where it's been a hitting contest and Anisimova's come out on top. But I think Sabalenka's just got so much in her game now that that head-to-head is a little bit misleading. It's not that Anisimova can't beat Sabalenka, but I think you look at that head-to-head and you think, wow, she might be the favourite. This is like a really good draw for her. it's turned that head to head and it's turned as Sabalenka has turned into the champion that she is and despite my total belief in Amanda Nisimova's game Sabalenka make no mistake about it starts as the favourite in that semi-final.

19:11How was your belief your total belief in Amanda Nisimova's game going into the second set tie break here after Amanda Nisimova had led 6-1-5-2 she'd served for the match she'd also had two break points on the Pavlyuchenkova serve which were match points sorry match points on the Pavlyuchenkova serve 15 40 how were you feeling then not great no no the match up to 6-1-5-3 was a total dud really flat not particularly high quality Pavlyuchenkova was struggling with her arm I think today she was shaking out a lot stretching it out she just wasn't playing that well and Anissimova was was just better frankly and looked looked to be kind of coasting to victory but from that point onwards the the last half an hour or so of this match utterly compelling as Anissimova got really quite tight and nervous and stressed we were tight nervous and stressed about Matt David and the so there was the match points like she went for it on those shots, she clipped the neck cord with four hands.

20:21Okay, that can happen. The ones that really got me was Pavlyuchenkova serving 5-6. Anisimova got to love 30. So she's only two points away. And then she just completely lost all range on her ground strokes. Missed, I'm going to say it, missed some backhands terribly. Like just completely miscued them. Routine backhand returns from nothing serves. They just weren't like the Anisimova backhand at all and I thought oh god like she's really struggling here and then it so then it goes and then then you know when she went when it went to a tie break sort of sunk to her knees and she was just clearly so stressed and at that point I really did think wow Pavlyuchenkova could could absolutely nick this set and and make it make it a third set but the tie break was just brilliant wasn't it it was it was unbelievable drama um Pavlyuchenkova was 6-3 up Nisimova came back and got it to 6-all um and then at 8-all Pavlyuchenkova nailed a forehand actually I can't remember if it was a forehand or backhand but a return up the line and then Nisimova had to full stretch on the backhand side dig it out and just got over the Pavlikschenkova then came to the net to the Onisimova backhand and she rifled a winner cross-court past her that still wasn't enough because still Pavlikschenkova came back at her and then it was only on her fourth match point that finally Amanda Onisimova got over the line but it was so pleased for like the court won crowd that it became compelling in that sense because actually it had been a real to the damp squirre of a match really for a quarterfinal but it became something that everyone could really get into and yeah it was it was amazing she she collapsed on her front yeah on the grass didn't she and then there was some absolutely adorable scenes with her nephew it turned out yeah jackson yeah very very cute child who took a little toddle around court one didn't he and it's his birthday on women's semi-finals day oh Matt was very worried when she went to pick up Jackson yeah I was like don't do your back I thought you were going to be worried that she might drop him but no it's the back yeah it was incredibly cute and a lovely moment for her obviously not her first Grand Slam semi-final but this just feels like a new career it feels like a different career frowning him over than the one she had when she reached that first Grand Slam semi-final in Paris?

23:02Oh, well, she's a totally different person, isn't she? I mean, six years on, in that time, you know, you think she's lost her father, who was also her coach, incredibly involved with her tennis career. Pandemic? The pandemic. She's had a mental health break from the sport. She's described being around tennis tournaments as unbearable. her ranking has dropped to such that she was losing in qualifying here last year just just 52 weeks ago she's now back as a top 10 well she's going to be a top 10 player for the first time after this tournament this year she's been playing the most consistent tennis of her career the best tennis of her career i would probably say as well um she's changed her team there's brilliant article by Matt Futterman in The Athletic overnight interviewing Shady, her new physio who came on only a few months ago and just I think so important like she recognizes that it's important for Anissimova to have a woman on her team because you know she understands Anissimova and what she's going through and she tailors her program sort of very specifically for Amanda Nisamova she's noticed that she's got a kind of weakness on her left side this is all in Matt Futterman's article so specific exercises to help that side knowing when to practice and when not to practice improving all her core strength you know all this kind of thing everything is done now through the physio in a way that for a long time in her career it just that attention to detail clearly wasn't there and we're seeing the rewards in terms of how much better she's lasting in tournaments, on tour, how much better she's lasting in matches.

24:51I've talked a lot about her resilience this year. I think that goes hand in hand with feeling better on the court. She's able to last longer in matches and bring her best level for longer. And even today, if she lost that second set, having had all those match points, I think Amanda Nissimov over a couple of years ago is just losing that third set. Public style. Right. I think today she would have fought and she would have very possibly still won it in three. That is the kind of improvements we're talking about there. So a lot of work from her and her team over the last year. And yeah, here we are in the semis.

25:30What do we make of the fact that she seems to have dyed her hair extra brunette midway through the tournament? Is it a direct response to your pledge? What's going on there? yeah she made a tiktok which was just like just can't stop going darker and darker um yeah does look doesn't change it doesn't change anything i'm very aware of the fact matt matt flutterman was like you're aware she's not blonde right yes i am aware he's going to go more blonde when she's right yes exactly yeah yes we're talking full bleach she's brunette now i'm i have brown hair like it would be a ridiculous thing for me to just go more round.

26:11I mean, it's just not a thing. It's just not a thing. So, you know, it's the dying rather than the colour. I could just do nothing, but I've said it live on air now. You're absolutely not doing nothing. I'm absolutely not doing nothing, no. I did... You did? I did do a human resources private check with Matt that he didn't feel railroaded into this and he was comfortable. We're safe, David. Maybe I could do it anyway. And he was railroaded. That's fine. I just wanted to make sure. It's like when you predict Fonseca to win the Franks Open, isn't it? You've just got to go with it. Yeah. Yeah. The in-the-moment things are the best things.

26:48It's like I watched that tie-break just outside the main press conference room there because Sabalenka came in and then there was about a 10-minute gap before Taylor Fritz came into the main room. I suspect that's because Taylor Fritz was watching that tie-break. He was delayed. So there was a lot of journalists standing in the communal area outside the media centre where there's lots of screens watching that tiebreak together. And Matt Futterman said, she just needs difficult backhands that she has no time to think about. The more difficult and instinctive the backhand for Anasimova, the more likely she is to make it.

27:20And actually, I thought when she was 6-3 down in the tiebreak, she just started to relax. Yeah. Because, oh, this set's gone. Yeah. Boom, boom, 6-5. And that was a feature of her match against Sabalenka at Roland Garros. She played her best tennis when she was down in the score that day. You know, she reeled off an incredible sequence of games to get the opening set back on track for her. And she kept denying Sabalenka match points, if you remember. Like, it was just... Like, she needs to figure out a way to kind of do that from the start, do that when the score is level. And I do think, in some sense...

27:56Personally, I think she had a better chance of beating Siegmund. I know that the game style would have been difficult, but I'm sorry, Laura Siegmund in a Wimbledon semi-final, you are signing for that. I think that was who would have been better for her to get through to the final. However, I think she's actually got a better chance of playing better against Sabalenka. I'm not sure anyone's playing well against Laura Siegmund. You've just got to grit your teeth and get through it. Exactly. It would have been stressful, it would have been horrible and she might well have lost that way. I think against Sabalenka, if she does lose, she's going to lose going for it and playing well, letting it fly, as David would say.

28:35And that gives her a chance. It's all we ask for. A chance. She looks misty-eyed. She's going to have to serve better. Under 50%, I think, today she was on the first serve. And actually, Savalinka's returns have not been great this tournament. No, I mean, today they were ghastly. I mean, maybe she should try the Siegmund 72 mile an hour first serve because Sabalenka was hating that for portions of the match. She kept on netting the return, didn't she? And she did it against Raducanu as well, on all those set points in the first set. So I always think, again, in that match-up, Sabalenka serve and return has got the edge, but she's going to have to, I think they're both going to have to step it up.

29:17Sabalenka on return and Nesimov on serve. Oh, I can't wait. Can you tell? OK, that's in two days' time. The other two women's quarterfinals tomorrow, of course, and then all of them come back and play the semis on Thursday, so less recovery time for the women playing tomorrow, although it'll be the same on both sides of the net. Turning our attention to the men's quarterfinals from today, let's start with Carlos Alcaraz, David. 6-2, 6-3. 6-3 against Cameron Norrie, who, I mean, was he there? Like, was he on the court today? I didn't notice him. He tried his best, but he did not stand a chance today.

30:04And they were playing a different sport to one another. And that's not throwing shade at Cam Norrie. He did fine. But he was playing... He was playing close to Ciner French Open final level, Alcaraz, at points in that match. and also serve bot from Queen's level, Alcaraz. Every time he got into a bit of strife, boom, serve goes down. I mean, he lost three points on his first serve in the first set. 17 out of 20 he won. And that was whilst being love 40 down in his first service game. You know, and he just served his way out of that. No trouble. Won the set 6-2, two breaks a serve. Everything was flowing.

30:49he could have won a lot more easily on the scoreboard because he actually missed some opportunities and because he was clearly feeling so great he was going for the most audacious power on a couple of shots that went flying long you know just shots that are just a bit silly you know that you don't you don't need to hit it quite that hard but he was just feeling it and so he was going for crazy stuff and his drop shots were just working to perfection the number of times he left Norrie just oh I wasn't expecting that on his heels it was a tough scene for Norrie I mean I also think that I'd have been very interested to have seen that match on court number one just to see if it was any different at all because it was almost you took Norrie's favorite scene away and you gave Alcaraz his favorite scene and and I would have just been interested to see if it made any difference at all to see the opposite um my guess is not if Alcruz plays like that he just there was the crowd never had a you know the crowd were trying to get behind the Brits and there were a couple of tennis podcast listeners right in front of me who who were cheering Norrie you know British people who were cheering Norrie and it was so quiet and then there was massive appreciation for stuff that Alcruz was doing but he just he just shut the door on that match so quickly it's it's very interesting how the same thing has happened here has happened at queens right where first few rounds you're thinking oh the outcryst serve isn't isn't looking very good and you know he's incredibly vulnerable here on serve in the first few rounds but at queens it was the moon arm actually wasn't it after that he then went out and practiced his serve and he he had it absolutely firing in the in the semi-finals and final there and here in the in the last two rounds and particularly today it's just gone up a level again it's it's kind of what we say about being able to move through the gears in a tournament and he seems to have seems to have unlocked that on his serve in in this grass court season it's like he needs to have a rock bottom serve performance to knuckle down he's he's a he's a goals deadline player isn't he gets gets better throughout a tournament gets better throughout a match usually more than ever it feels like you've got to get him early now yeah like Baltic did yeah you know um like Djokovic kind of got him fairly early um I know quarterfinal but you know I think if if he'd have got through that he might be unbeatable yeah um we're and look I know there's still a couple of matches to go but he's getting better yeah there was a an incredible moment for me when I was I was in the Taylor fritz press conference earlier and carlos alcaraz was midway through his match against cameron nori and i had it up on my phone just in my lap and uh taylor fritz was asked about his potential he was also about his potential semi-final opponents i mean alcaraz was a set and a break or maybe even two sets up at this point and he did the the obligatory well i don't know who it is yet but then he he's you know he knew they wanted an Alcaraz quote so he goes but if it is Carlos and he said look I think he's a great player but the way I played in sets one and two today um he said the way I played in sets one and two today I would back myself against anybody and as he said that Carlos Alcaraz did something absolutely ridiculous on on the court that absolutely nobody else on the planet could do.

34:37And I thought, anybody? Taylor, anybody? There's anybody and there's Carlos Alcaraz playing like this. And look, I love that he's talking like that, Taylor Fritz. You've got to. It's definitely better than playing tennis with his son ahead of time. I really like it. But there is anybody and then there's Carlos Alcaraz playing like he did today. Yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, grounds will be closing in around 15 minutes please make your way to the exit gates and make sure you take all your belongings with you we hope you've enjoyed your day here at wimbledon and wish you a pleasant and safe journey home thank you where was i he said i just want to get the quote right actually he said i know the way i played for two sets today there's nothing anyone in the world can do.

35:32Okay, well, I'm sorry, that's not true. Yeah. I mean, I get your point, and I was commentating on the match, I was in the corner of the court, I'm where the ball kid is, right, behind a glass. I can see how good this stuff is, and he is serving out of his mind, Taylor Fritz, but he's playing Karen Hashinov, who's a very, very good player, but who didn't really bring it in the first two sets, I didn't think. He played sort of standard Karen Hashinov level, he needed to redline more than he was. and Fritz played within himself. He's better than Khachanov. He's very similar, but he's better. His serve was hitting the spots and he was rolling through this match very, very comfortably.

36:13He was three love up within about eight minutes. And look, he was very good. And if he plays like that, he can absolutely stay with a good Alcaraz to a tiebreak. And he can probably win a couple of sets against Alcaraz as if he's bad. Or if he's not his best. I really think he could beat him if Alcaraz isn't there, if Alcaraz is like he was earlier in the tournament. There is a chance that he puts in a misfit performance and Fritz takes advantage. But sorry, Taylor, if Alcaraz of today turns up or Alcaraz of the final last year turns up, you ain't winning. No, I tend to agree. I suppose the question is, is there anything that Fritz can do to make Alcaraz play poorly, or is it entirely on Carlos Alcaraz?

37:10Absolutely. Players don't play well in isolation or play badly in isolation. It is impacted by your opponent. And Fritz is capable of serving really well and keeping scores close. That's it. And he's capable of hitting to a great length, which can stop you being creative. That will test Alcraz's patience and his ability to deliver on his own serve and to keep his own good length in order to create opportunities. But the same applies the other way. Taylor Fritz is saying, nobody could live with me if I play like I did today. Yeah, but Karen Hatchinov was not asking you the questions that I think Carlos Alcaraz will ask you.

37:54So all of these things are factors into what will unfold on Friday. My guess is that Carlos Alcaraz will play bloody well and have too much for him. He says Graz can be an equaliser. Yeah, I mean, the other guy's quite good on it. and he said he was asked about the stress and the pressure of playing a Grand Slam semi-final and how much he wants this, he wants it so much and he said nothing can be more stressful than facing Francis Tiafoe in New York for a spot in the final and that's another thing you see when he played that was stressful, I get the point and he can probably feel freer than he did that night but I do remember after that match in the press conference he made a believe around me the way he spoke about playing sinner you know he said i like playing his game he talks and i look good for him you know that he talks himself i remember him coming up in the in the knock-up before that match he was absolutely hitting haymakers and making you think crikey he's really going to take it to him here it didn't really happen no he didn't he just didn't play anywhere near as well as he wanted to and part of that was because yannick sinner is already one of the greats and is and was able but a handcuff.