Miami - Are Sinner & Sabalenka getting even better?

33:51and like, okay, hell of a match, save four match points. It means nothing when I take the court two days from now. You know, I don't get a lead in the next match, especially against someone like Wojcicki, who was playing the best tennis of his life. Because he had, and he has been very focused for several months about trying to not just play consistently, but to practice more consistently. he was so good Le Hetschke he hadn't dropped serve coming into the final and then Yannick Sinner breaks him in his second service game you could write the script couldn't you I think Matt made a joke in our WhatsApp group he said I've just coming back from La Manga checking back in on the tennis world saying I've just seen that Le Hetschke hasn't dropped serve during the tournament he's going to get broken by Sinner in the first game isn't he and okay it wasn't the first game but it kind of followed that script.

34:53And his forehand fell apart a little bit in that final. And that's not happening in a vacuum. That is the pressure that Yannick Sinner was putting on his forehand, him feeling like he had to go for it and go for it, go for it. If you drop it remotely short or put a bit more cover on it to give yourself that safety, then you're just going to get punished. but up to 14 in the world now, Lehechka, a career high and not somebody that anyone is going to want to face, I don't think. So fantastic fortnight for him. The doubles in Miami was won by Simone Bilelli and Andrea Vavasori, the only champions not to have completed the Sunshine Double.

35:40Just the Sunshine Single. just the sunshine single for Bileli and Vavasori they beat Harry Heliovara and Henry Patton 6-4-6-2 ok that's it for part one in part two we'll move on to talk about the women but before we do that a quick word from our wonderful sponsors Matt join in if you know the words at Steve Fergal's International Tennis Tours the premium hospitality and experience provider Thank you, David. Steve Fergals can sort out official US Open tickets and they really can sort out everything for you. Tickets with brilliant viewing positions, premium hospitality and amazing luxury hotel accommodation as well.

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37:25Okay, part two of today's tennis podcast and our second double, sunshine double. If you're doing the tennis podcast double drinking game, then you're probably having a good time by now. Arena Sabalenka, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the final against Coco Goth. Lovely Ash featuring in the trophy ceremony. I love a dog in a trophy ceremony. Big sucker for that. Big fan of Ash. Arena Sabalenka now 26-1 for the season. Her rankings lead at the top over Elena Rabatkin in the number two position is 2 ,917 points. And that is with only, I say only, that is with only one Grand Slam title to her name, David. So I ask you the same question that I asked you about Yannick Sinner.

38:22Is Irina Sabalenka terrifyingly getting better? I do think she's adding a little more to her game generally speaking but I also think because she's under such threat at the moment particularly from Elena Rivakena that I think that she probably is getting better I think when other people play better and bring more to the table if you're going to win you've got to respond and you've got to be better I think it's pretty significant that she's now beaten Rybakina back to back. Not necessarily to Rybakina, because I think she's going to respond. But I think for Sabalenka, she kind of needed this little run.

39:06You know, she's had the number next to her name for a long time now, and yet has not dominated when it's really mattered at the Grand Slam. She has won one. She's been incredibly consistent getting to the finals. Now she's having a little period where she feels like the one again. And, yeah, doing them both, I think, is big. And beating, well, certainly two of her main contemporaries along the way is huge. A good final, I thought. A really, really enjoyable final. I was pleased to see Coco Gauff bringing it the way she did. And because it would have been very easy, I think, after that first set for it not to have been competitive.

39:49Yeah, Matt, I don't know what you think. I think it was massive that she beat Coco Gauff and she beat Coco Gauff in a final. And she did it in a match that Coco Gauff managed to turn into the kind of match that she wanted. After that first set, the second set was just Tex but Gauff. It was, you know, it was not quite the French Open final all over again with all the chaos of that. But she turned it into the Coco Gauff scrap, didn't she? And after that second set, I was potentially giving the edge to Coco Gauff because of what I've seen in the past in matches like that between those two. And I found it really significant that Savalenka found a way through that and found a way through the kind of match that she doesn't enjoy.

40:42You know, Koko Gough has a way of turning matches into the sort of situations that she's just not not here for, you know. And I thought it was tremendous. And what you thought watching watching in the stadium. Yeah, I thought that she's I mean, to David's point that Sabalenka is getting better. I mean, yes, I think the tennis is definitely improving. And I think that stats and the results sort of bear that out, especially this year. I mean, she's lost one match. Um, but, you know, she's just so good at handling, handling pressure now, um, and handling difficulty. And I don't want to say that was like a hostile environment because it wasn't necessarily hostile, but like, but it was a big crowd, 45 minutes from where Coco lives.

41:37that was, you know, in her corner and was loud and getting louder as soon as Coco gave her reason for them to get loud. And that was something that, you know, that made Arena crumble a couple of years, a few years ago. Might have made her crumble in Paris because I think that was a very partisan crowd for Goff as well. Goff's very popular in Paris. I mean, Goff's popular in most places. But, you know, she really sort of just like went off court after losing her serve and came back and, you know, deep breath and was like, okay, third set, let's do this. I know how to do this. It's really interesting.

42:27one of the things she said, I think it was after the semifinal, about how she deals with key moments. And, you know, she said, well, she's like, well, the trick with me was like, I was getting to the point where I don't really think there are key moments anymore. You know, it's not like I want to play differently or play better or, you know, pump up the volume or whatever expression you want to use when it's four all 30 all and she's serving or another pressure moment, a tiebreaker. She's like, I have a game plan. I have a strategy. I have abilities. I just need to execute those things just like I do when it's 15 all in the first game.

43:14It's like, that's all it is. Yeah, it sounds so simple. It's like completely impossible to do unless you practice it a lot. And if that's your goal and you have techniques to deal with it, I mean, it can be a pretty good, pretty good superpower. I mean, much and much, much different from what Rebecca said, which was like how her journey has been, you know, her team telling her that like in the key moment, she's got to trust herself and really go for it. And, you know, that's one way. It's obviously given her a tremendous amount of success. But it's not the way, it's not the formula that Sabalenka has used.

43:56And I think that's why she's, that's why I would say she's absolutely getting better. She's somewhat rated, I think, as a tactician, Sabalenka. Like, I felt like there was a notable sort of increase in her use of angles in this match to get Coco Gough, you know, out of position, which is damn difficult to do, to try. And she was like, I'm not going to let her retrieve all of my shots that should be winners. She's like, I don't need to hit everything as hard as I can. I can focus on just getting things out of her wingspan. And she changed up her return position, I think, very effectively over the course of this match.

44:41Like, I know you hear this a lot with, I mean, I suppose you get it in all sporting analysis, right? where the constant narrative about somebody is that they're underrated and it's like, well, if everybody's always talking about them being underrated, they're actually just being rated, aren't they? And I think Sabalenka is sufficiently rated, but I think there are elements of her game that are underrated because the power is just so kind of eclipsing of everything else. But there's a lot to eclipse, and I feel like it's those elements of the game that are improving. She just feels like she's always got somewhere she can go or always got something she can fall back on now in her game, David.

45:31Yeah, a couple of years ago, I would not have expected to have seen this type of touch and, as you say, kind of reactions to what the opponent is doing, like having an answer that isn't just blast the ball. And she's so good at reacting now to what an opponent does. And it's pretty mind-boggling to me because I thought she was just the absolute prototype ball basher for so many years. And there's so much more to her than that. I don't even think she was expecting to find out that she'd got all this ability. I'm still waiting for a chance. I'd like to do it at the French Open, is to ask her the moment that she realised, maybe a little bit like how Yannick Sinner said he needed to add variety at the US Open.

46:23What was the moment? Was there a sort of line in the sand? I need to be more than what I am. Because, honestly, she sometimes just throws this stuff in aggressively as well. Sometimes it's reactive because she's forced into positions where just hitting it as hard as she can isn't going to do. But also sometimes she aggressively plays angles, as you say, and drop shots and suddenly throws in a forehand slice down the middle of the court. Why are you doing that? Well, I think there's a reason. She's thought it through. She's feeling what's right in the moment. But there must have become a point where she decided to add and change.

47:04And we do so much talking about the things that Iger Svantec has tried to add over the last year. And actually, I think Sabalenka's done that far more fluidly, you know, without all the upset. She's not questioning herself. Yeah, and this attribute of adjusting to what's coming at you, that is exactly what we're talking about, Shantek, not having, right? They've gone in completely opposite directions in that regard. The soft curling forehands that were breaking the sidelines in the final. I'd never seen her use those so consistently and effectively. And it was kind of genius because you could imagine her and her team sitting around and watching old matches and seeing Coco just like chase down the balls in the corner and her struggling to hit it through and get it behind Coco.

48:11And then somebody, maybe Arena, maybe a coach, whoever, but whatever, they all agreed that like, well, why don't we make her run diagonally? Because Coco is so fast running sideways and she's so fast at getting drop shots. it's a little harder you know like running diagonally it's a little bit of a different skill um and you know especially when you're not used to it and you could see like there was just no way you know golf could get those balls and they were really high percentage shots because she was putting so much spin on them i mean they're high percentage shots for her they wouldn't be high percentage shots for for mortal um but like for her she just so easily was just like okay I know this is a short ball and you think I'm going to try and bash this through the back of the court but like no I'm just going to curl it and I'm going to find I it was like when Djokovic would find the spot that like on the court and he still does it that like nobody really thinks about like that and yeah it was I thought that was really really impressive Yeah, I'm kind of always particularly impressed when really alpha power players are prepared to deploy plans B, C and D.

49:35Like I've heard so many times in press conferences, those sorts of players be like, I'm just going to focus on I'm just going to focus on me. You know, like my my game, it's an aggressive dictating game. And any any wavering from that is kind of an admission that it's not good enough. You know, this kind of really.

50:01I don't know like I feel like I've heard that a lot from that kind of a player and it's not it's not an admission that you're you're not good enough like tennis is a two-person sport your ball is literally being delivered to you by by someone down down the other end And she, Irina Sabalenka, David, wants the French Open, right? It feels like that's the, I mean, I know she wants Wimbledon too, but given what happened in last year's French Open final, given the kind of, I think in Irina Sabalenka's mind, there are French Opens that she should have won and didn't. I think she feels like she's overdue a French Open so she's, for her this is, she needs to continue I mean obviously but she needs to continue this into the clay court season right she needs to make sure this isn't peaking at the wrong time I suppose I think Irina Sabalenka's general approach to the sport is that whenever she plays she needs to be at a peak she she's now scheduling herself really carefully by not not overplaying you know she's prepared to pull out of the Middle East tournament she pulled out of some in the in America last summer and I like that I like the fact that she she's absolutely wanting to peak at the biggest tournaments but I just feel as though that every time she goes out she thinks she can dominate and she thinks she will win that if she plays her best tennis wherever it is she expects to win which i love i think that's a fantastic quality and and kind of position to have when you're the world number one i think that that's really cool um it's quite interesting though going into the clay season and thinking of her at ronan garros because i think she's absolutely a contender for the title and probably I'd say she was maybe the favourite overall, but I really don't think it's anything like it is anywhere else.

52:13Every other tournament, I really feel like she's the one to beat and I don't feel like that going into clay. I feel like she's one of three or four, but I still would never want to count out Iga Sviantek. I think it's Coca-Golf's best surface. I think I've had enough of writing off Elena Rebacca now. And so, you know... Just throw Jessica Begula in there. Absolutely. You were awesome. But I just feel like it's just so... Every year the clay court season feels like it's the perfect season in as much as there's a good run-up, there's a good lead-up, there's big tournaments, there's not just been a grand slam the way there is on the grass that you kind of get in that out of your shoes.

53:03People aren't exhausted the way they are in the summer. This is the one that narrative-wise is perfection, this change of surface. And there are so many storylines. And I think the fact that Sabalenka hasn't won the French Open yet is a glorious thing going into it, given how well she's playing. Mm. Coco Gauff hitting some form at just the right time. I thought there were, I mean, obviously just the fact of reaching a final feels like a massive breakthrough for Coco Gauff in the context of the last few weeks and months and this project she's working on with the technical changes with Gavin McMillan.

53:48But I thought there were signs of improvement on the serve. I thought there were definite signs of improvement on the forehand And I kind of judge Koko Goff's foreman by how much my heart is in her mouth when I see her sort of doing the backswing about to hit it. And I felt like that that measure was a little lower over the course of over the course of this fortnight. I feel like I feel like this might be the start of something for Koko Goff. And it really struck me how I mean, I know she, you know, as you said, she lives 45 minutes down down the road. It's her home tournament. You'd expect her to be comfortable and relaxed.

54:29But equally, she'd never reached a quarterfinal there before. Like that hasn't been the case in the past necessarily in terms of results. I was so struck by how chilled and happy she seemed in all the interviews. She did that interview where she, I mean, I know she just loves any question about heated rivalry. But like she was, I don't know, like she was just by leaning into everything, prepared to like take take the bait. You know, she she gave she gave. There was a clippable stuff from from Coco Goff this week that I they really enjoyed. And I don't know, I feel if I'm buying stocks and shares in tennis players, I'm buying Coco Goff right now.

55:16How do you feel? I mean, I feel the way, you know, the better Matt feels about her is that like we always mistake, you know, that she's never as high as you think, never as low as you think she is and how low, low she is. And I mean, what she had been saying is and was very honest about was like, this was a freebie for me. Like my team didn't want me to play, but like I was at home and there was a tournament going on 45 minutes from my house. Like, what's the big deal? I rock up. I'll play some tennis. If I lose, I'll come back home and make some dinner. And like, you know, it's it was fine. I mean, it's a terrible surface for her.

56:03I mean, it's really fast. And so, you know, she had zero expectations. Her goal was to win, you know, that second set in her first match, basically. And, like, you know, after that, like, she was just sort of, you know, match by match, whatever. And if I lose, like I said, I go home and make some dinner. It won't be, it's not going to be like that the rest of the way. She knows that. Like, you know, she did well. As long as going on to Clay, there will be bigger expectations. She will feel that. The trick for her, like mentally, is going to be, you know, can she keep the joy and keep the sort of light feeling about this?

56:50Because she's pretty honest about, I think, you know, with the serve and everything, the game had really started to wear on her the last few months. I think it felt a little bit like a job and a burden, and she wasn't getting, wasn't seeing progress necessarily. But I mean, you know, tennis is one of those sports where you, where, you know, you do, you do work in October, and sometimes you don't see the, the payoff until May. But you have to tell yourself, you have to reassure yourself that like it's worth it and it will come eventually. So I think that's sort of where she is as she's heading into the clay.

57:35I think it's great. Yeah, I think, you know, how could it not be, how could it not be anything but positive for her to make a final for the first time since China and to feel good about doing it. The thing I noticed about her serve is that she had more options. She was using more options. I mean, she all of a sudden seems to have a nasty kick serve out wide. That was, I mean, Sabalenka had no answer for it. And she was hitting the line on it repeatedly. and it's clearly a much safer serve if you're putting a lot of spin on it, just keeping her chin up more, she's staying higher. Those are sort of obvious things that even a kind of technical dummy like me can notice when she's not putting the ball in the middle of the net on her serve.

58:31So I think that's great. And on her forehand, the big thing, even against Sabalenka, is she's not hitting what I think is just a, you know and we talked about this in Australia I think about that that awkward forehand she hits off her back foot um that she sort of looms back it's kind of like this flamingo motion it's kind of I hate comparing people to animals but it's sort of like their nickname it's sort of like this flamingo jump that she makes into it and uh it's it just looks weird and it often creates like an easy put away shot because it loops high and the opponent now knows just step in and hit it just doesn't get away with it anymore and she's she was doing this thing with her knees this week that forehand she's hitting like leaning forward and low on her knees it's kind of a defensive shot it's a bit of a short hop um it was really effective and i hadn't seen that in a while And I think that moving forward into the shot instead of moving backwards seems to be a real focus for her, as it should be.

59:47And she's got a dilemma now. She's got a baseball cap dilemma because she has said she doesn't like the baseball cap. Matt Futterman has also told her he doesn't like the baseball cap. But she's played really well wearing the baseball cap. I have to interrupt you right there and just say, like, I really regret saying that. That was like a bad move by me. It was wrong. I shouldn't be commenting on people's wardrobe choices or appearances, especially not young women. And so, like, I'd like to have that one back. I felt that way, you know, pretty soon after and heard about it from one of my adult daughters.

1:00:30And, you know, made sure the next day when I saw we were walking in the hallway and I saw Coco. And I was like, hey, Coco, I'm really sorry about saying that yesterday. And she was I mean, she was like, what are you talking about? Like, you know, she was like, she was like, it was funny. And she had just come off the Tennis Channel set where they, where Steve Weissman and Chris Eubanks were giving her a hard time about it. So, and then she came right into press and that's sort of how it came about. That sounds like I'm making an excuse, but, you know, she was generous and accepted the apology, thought it was kind of silly, but it wasn't silly.

1:01:08It was important to me that I say that. So, and she explained that it was all about, as every, a lot of people and a lot of women can relate to, she was like all about her hair, which had been, which she said had been a mess lately. And she just didn't, she was just feeling like she didn't want to manage her hair. And so she just put a hat on, which I think a lot of, I think men and a lot of men and a lot of women have resorted to that. Hard relate. Yeah. But yeah, she doesn't like it. She said she didn't like the way she looks in the hat. And I don't think you're going to see it. It was a real lesson or a reminder to me to be more Coco Gough, because it reminded me that someone slid into our DMs.

1:01:54I think it was, in fact, I know it was during Roland Garros last year. Somebody who's generally lovely. Like, I can't remember who it was, but somebody who's generally lovely and positive, comments positively on our Instagram stories. But I posted a picture of, it was us at dinner, and I was wearing a baseball cap and somebody commented, love this pic, but Catherine ditched the hat. And I was not Coco Goff gracious about it. I was sass-tastic about it and I don't think that person has messaged us since. Anyway, is Clay Goff's best surface? Just picking up on you saying, you know, Miami actually doesn't suit her at all.

1:02:45Are we going in now to the most... I mean, obviously she's about to... Well, not about to. She will soon be defending a French Open title. But is this the most important part of Coco Gauff's season coming up, David? I do think, put it this way, I think in years to come, we will look back on it as her best surface because I think she's got everything she needs. I think it's just sad in a way that there's not a bit more of it. You know, obviously you've got a couple of great 1 ,000 events, but it's all so congested. It's like, can you play all that lot? And Madrid also doesn't feel like quite such a...

1:03:23It doesn't feel like Monte Carlo does, for instance. And obviously Stuttgart's a brilliant tournament, but that's indoor clay. I just think it highlights her movements. It gives her a bit more time on the forehand. She's able to use the spin. I'm very interested now to see how well this kick serve that Matt references serves her on clay. Because there it should really take off, I would have thought. I just feel like the problem she's always had until the last year is she always would run into Iguish Viontek, who was the best in the world on clay and one of the best I think we've seen really on clay.

1:04:04And even she couldn't cope with that. but recently she has been able to and I just feel like her game is perfectly set up for the surface and yeah, love watching her play on it. In the doubles, pour one out if you're doing the drinking game, Katerina Siniarkova and Taylor Townsend completed their sunshine double. They beat Sara Rani and Jasmine Paolini 7-6, 6-1 in a final that was delayed, interrupted by rain, 5-4 in the first set. The rain came. They had a three-hour delay and the match was then resumed on the grandstand court. The match was moved from the main stadium court to grandstand court because of that delay so that the men's singles final could start on time, which is a decision I understand in the circumstances, But it is bad optically to be moving a women's doubles match midway through to make way for men's singles.

1:05:12I feel like, you know, given the forecast, perhaps that scenario could have been could have been foreseen and prevented. I don't know. Taylor Townsend didn't seem didn't seem too bothered about it. They were chuffed to bits with their doubles, Sunshine Double. They're the first women's doubles team to do the double. People are getting very drunk. To do the double since, wait for it, Irina Sabalenka and Elisa Mertens in 2019. So Irina Sabalenka has now done the Sunshine Double in singles and doubles. People are getting very, very drunk now. And just a final nail in the coffin for people's sobriety.

1:06:04This is the first triple-double since 2016, which is also the last year that the double-sunshine double was done by Novak Djokovic and Irina Sabalenka. It was Nicolas Mahou and Pierre-Hugues Herbert that won the men's doubles title in India Moles of Miami in 2016. But there was very nearly a quadruple Sunshine Double in 2016 as well, because Bethany Matic Sands won both doubles titles, but it was with different partners. so that's a sunshine 3.5 triple and a half yeah we need Catherine to spend more time in America because you're stumbling a little bit over the phrase triple double which is like such a standard phrase in American sports because in basketball a triple double what's a triple double?

1:07:08it's points, assists and rebounds isn't it? It's as if you've got 10 of each of them in basketball. I mean, it's a jump pass in figure skating. Yeah, if you get the double digits in each of those, that's a triple-double, and it's like a measure of true greatness and all-around play. And LeBron James has like 10 ,000 triple-doubles or something like that. So, yeah, it's funny to see it adapted to tennis. adapted badly by me to tennis his fans are very drunk right yeah it's the triple-double sure there it is well congratulations to all winners of the triple-double that is it for part 2 in part 3 we will talk about some interesting news from the tennis world and from the coaching carousel so welcome back to part 3 of today's tennis podcast.

1:08:09Some news from the tennis world. Let's start with the WTA finals, which, as reported by Ben Rothenberg in his substack Bounces, is set to leave Saudi Arabia after this year's edition. They signed a three-year contract to host the WTA finals three years ago. So this is the natural end of that contract. However, it does look like Saudi Arabia do not wish to renew that contract. or certainly that the two parties don't wish to renew that contract. Charlotte, North Carolina, Ben Rothenberg reports, is one of the cities reported to be interested in bidding.

1:08:53This is a complicated one because, you know, I rejoice at the prospect of these WTA finals not being held in Saudi Arabia. I think it's been a tremendous tragedy, really, to see the finals being held there for the last three years. But it also confirms something which I kind of always suspected, which was that Saudi Arabia and the Public Investment Fund always were using the WTA as a stepping stone, as a badge of respectability in order to get what they, or in part in order to get what they really wanted, which was a permanent fixture on the ATP calendar. It feels like they've used the WTA for that kind of official badge of honour and now they're assured of getting the ATP Masters 1000 event, which we know that they are, we just don't quite know when it's going to be in the calendar.

1:09:59they're like, okay, that served its purpose. Let's move on now and forget women's tennis. Maybe not, but there we go. What do you think about Charlotte, North Carolina, Matt, as a potential host city? Yeah, vibrant tennis scene there. And, you know, big city, love sports. I think it's, you know, they've done some exhibitions there that have been very well attended. So, you know, that could be a great possibility. You know, I guess my big concern is, like, you know, once again, they're going to take this tournament and they're going to put it indoors, and there's all these places where you could put it outdoors.

1:10:50And I realize why they do that and they have to do that. But, look, I'm always going to want to be... I'm always going to want to be... You and I were very aligned on this, Matt. Right. I'm always going to want to be back outside in Guadalajara. And until I see... You and none of the players. Right. Until I see anything close to the enthusiasm and the magic that they had there, I think it will come up slightly short. I would, if it is going to be, continue to be indoors. You know, there was a lot of interest from the Chacks a few years ago. It'd be interesting to see if they come back in. Yeah, I mean, if ever there was a country that would support, that clearly supports women's tennis, it's the Chacks.

1:11:42So, you know, will they come back in? You know, and I just think about it in terms of the travel schedule of leaving North America, going to the Far East, and then coming back to North America. It's a little awkward, especially if you have all these European players. So we'll see. But Charlotte, I can drum up a lot of enthusiasm for a lot of different kinds of sports. So if it is there and the arena is managed properly, then by all means, I think they'd be successful. It does feel like this event, like I know the point of the event is to move around and be a bit of a roadshow for elite tennis, both on the men's and women's side.

1:12:39It does feel like for a while at least this tournament needs to find a home and establish itself there for, you know, like minimum five years. I think like that's what this that's what this event needs. I mean, I I fear for where it'll end up because recent history has proven that the WTA have just gone with the biggest check. But maybe the Mercedes deal is sufficiently changed things for the WTA. I do get the impression that that Mercedes sponsorship deal has put the WTA in rather a stronger bargaining position in a number of negotiations. And maybe it means they don't just have to go to whoever's waiving the very biggest check and forsake all other considerations.

1:13:27We will see. We've had the news this week. Fairly surprise news, I would say. I was certainly surprised by it that Amanda Nisimova has split from her coach of a couple of years, Rick Vlieshowers, with whom she's obviously had tremendous amount of success, number of titles, two Grand Slam finals. Of course, last year, she did a very warm goodbye Instagram post to Rick Vlieshowers this week. my instant reaction and it chimed with a lot of other people's reactions I was interested to see was oh she's she's making a play for Winforsett or has already made a play for Winforsett who has obviously suddenly come onto the market with with Igor Shontek being free David you didn't you didn't have that reaction or was were surprised that I had that reaction no I can definitely see why you would have it because he is high profile he has got a number of people over the line to Grand Slam titles which is what she's obviously looking for I mean the biggest reaction I had was one of shock like you that she was actually separating from Vlis House because it seemed like that was going really well I know she's had a bit of a rocky start to 2026 but let's not forget it's not long ago She was in back-to-back Grand Slam finals and having a great year.

1:15:01And the vibe seemed really good. So, listen, maybe what you're saying is it, that she's seen Facet come on the market and she's thought, OK, I'm going to move quickly and go sort this out. I mean, maybe that is what's happening. I have no idea. But my main reaction was one of surprise. Unless there's been some sort of breakdown in relations there, I think you've got a good thing going there, really, I would have thought, and it should have carried on. Just to bring you Matt Roberts' reaction from the chat here, because what is an Amanda Onisimova segment without the input of Matt Roberts? He said that he did not see it coming.

1:15:48He said, maybe Vlis Howes has been the perfect guy for her transition back to playing on tour again. And now someone else can come in and push her on even more. Matt, we do have a pretty fascinating and unique situation right now where two of the world's very top tennis players, Amanda Anisimov and Aniga Svantec, are without a coach and we presume actively looking, or if not having secured their new coach without having told us about it. And we have someone who is considered to be one of the world's best tennis coaches on the market. And we also presume actively looking for a new client. It's frustrating that, you know, we'll kind of never know all the, you know, all the sliding into DMs and so on that's going on behind the scenes, all the machinations of this.

1:16:47But I imagine there's quite a lot of machinations going down right now. Yeah, I think any time Wimfuset is available, there are machinations that go down. There are even times that machinations go down when he's not available, you know, like which... Is he that much in demand? Oh, yeah, absolutely. Like him coming back on the market, like, we don't know if this is what's going on with Anisimovic, but is it plausible to think that someone like Anisimova would ditch her coach with whom she's had a lot of success because someone like Fissette has come on the market and you think, I've got to go for this.

1:17:29I've got to go for this now. I mean, I don't think it would have happened if Amanda Anisimova had made another Grand Slam final and had exhibited the form in the first three months of this year that she exhibited from June on last year. But she hasn't had those results, and they've been frustrating. And I do also think in her most recent losses, she was not just beaten, She was also kind of exposed in pretty substantial ways. And, you know, you could see her frustration. And I think she's aware that, like, she needs more. She's going to need more if she's going to match what she did last year.

1:18:26And she doesn't want to just match what she did last year. She really, like, she thinks she should win one more match. and she has every right to believe that she should win one more match. And she knows these guys well enough now that what messages that they're delivering for her. And it goes back to the old John Kerry line about when you're wrong, the trick is to get right as soon as possible, right? Like, you know, there's no use. Do you feel like she has been wrong? Well, just I think she thinks that her results have not been what she expects of herself and what she expected of herself this year.

1:19:23I think she would have expected to have won something, you know, big at this point. and be on that right track. And I do think also her main person remains Shadi Soleimani. And Shadi was put into this team after those guys were involved. And she's become the sort of main person. so it might be someone who works more effectively with her. And she was also a collegiate tennis player. She's different from, say, Coco Gauff's physio and body person who is not an accomplished tennis player. She knows the game well. So there's all sorts of dynamics within these teams that, you know, things, everybody sort of has to be clicking on the same page.

1:20:31Yeah, I'm pretty fascinated about who, well, Anasimova and Shiontek, but yeah, watching that space very, very closely, and I'm sure updates to come on future tennis podcasts. In terms of this week, the WTA has a 500 event in Charleston, Charleston, the Charleston Open. Top two seeds are Jessica Bagula and Ekaterina Alexandrova. Anissa Mova was due to play Charleston, but has pulled out of that event. The WTA also has a 250 in Bogota, where the top seeds are Marie Brzkova and Jessica Boutas-Monero. The ATP has 250s in Houston. Top seeds Shelton and Tiafoe and Morocco. Top seeds Darderi and Greeksport.

1:21:21and in Bucharest where the top seeds are Gabriel Diallo and Adrian Manarino. Very quick, I feel like at this juncture in the season every year we do a very quick preview of the clay season ahead. There's something so satisfying at the clay season because the French Open is the only Grand Slam that feels like it has this perfect build-up to it. It feels like the season has been crafted perfectly to yellow brick road style lead into its Grand Slam. Slightly less so since the extension of the Masters 1000s to two weeks, which has ruined everything. But that aside, we have a beautiful few months ahead.

1:22:08So just a few key clay court questions for you both that I'd like punch your answers to. Matt I think it was at this point in the podcast last year that David predicted Joel Fonseca to win the French Open so whether you treat that as a cautionary tale or not is up to you Okay I want to know who each of you thinks is going to be the men's top seed going into the French Open please I think Sinner will be the top seed won't he just because the sheer way the points are working like he's gonna he's got nothing to defend so you think he will definitely take over number one probably i would have thought just because and keep it i i mean i'm not exactly sure but that you know i don't i think i think it would be pretty hard work for alcaraz to do it given that he won everything last year.

1:23:11Matt? Yeah, I think, I mean, I would, I think Sinners, yes, has that points advantage also. You know, Alcaraz has gotten hurt at some point in the clay court season the last couple of years. Is it two out of the last three years or his last two years? I've sort of lost. He's pulled out of Madrid, didn't he? He's pulled out of Madrid the last two years. Pulled out of Madrid last year and the year before he was wearing, I mean, he still won the French Open with it, but he was wearing the sleeve, wasn't he? Yeah, so I guess I, you know, I mean, and he, you know, he is someone who we've seen is, you know, can be, you know, vulnerable to niggles, maybe a little more than Sinner, someone, although Sinner has pulled out of tournaments during clay before as well.

1:24:03But, you know, I guess just the combination of points and the complications of Alker as managing that schedule and where he won last year. And Sinner's, oh, by the way, serving really well right now. Who do we think will be the third guy on clay this season? Novak Djokovic is just, we've heard that he's pulled out of Monte Carlo. Lorenzo Mazzetti felt I think like the third guy over the course of the clay season last year but he's got significant injury doubts David I can feel you itching to say are to Feese this is your chance listen I think I think Feese can have some very significant results if he stays fit on clay this year but I think it's hands down Zverev I mean for a start Zverev is ranked number three with a bit of a gap and he's playing so much better than he did a year ago and clay is probably his best surface so i think he's going to be a handful for as long as if he continues the way he's going and he is playing the sport the way frankly he should have been trying to play it for years um if if he carries on like he is he's going to be he's going to be a handful for everybody um but yeah, so he's going to go into the French Open as number three, I'm sure of it.

1:25:29Matt? Yeah, I would go Zverev as well. I hate to be boring, but I would put an asterisk on that because I think at the French Open, Novak Djokovic is the third guy. I would put him, or 3A, right even with Zverev still. So, you know, I mean, I think he showed last year. You think he's the third in line sort of thing? You think Djokovic is the third most likely to win the thing when you get there? Yeah, I think if there was some strange world where one of Alcaraz or Sinner loses, I mean, he's the one to, or both, you know, he's the most likely one to pick up the pieces. I haven't seen anything I didn't see anything last year That suggested otherwise If you had to pick your women's French Open champion Right now Who would you both pick?

1:26:33The men's champion No, women's Oh sorry, the women's I would go Sabalenka So you're going Sabalenka and Alcaraz Yeah Matt Sviyantek who do you think her next coach will be it was one of your was one of the phone calls about that do you have intel tell us everything I'm dying to know I am dying to know who the phone call or her coach her coach okay

1:27:14yeah I'm dying to know her coach as well, but I wouldn't be surprised. It's such a tight-knit Polish team. And I'm always of the theory, it's very big on the NFL that you hire one guy and then that doesn't work. And then you just hire the other guy. The opposite of that, you go between the disciplinarian and the quote unquote players coach. So the pivot for her would be to me is like, let's go back to a Polish coach. And so I'm not saying Thomas Wickerowski, but I don't know. But I just like have faith in the great athletes on the slippery stuff. Like, and, you know, it's a long time from now to Paris.

1:28:13Like, she's got a lot of time to work some stuff out. And it's going to be a while before I bet against Ego. I don't bet, actually. But I'm going to have to see a lot of data before I start going against Udo Sviantec on red clay. Her schedule management is going to be interesting as well. I mean, in the past, we've seen her not really do schedule management. She's, you know, just kind of wanted to play everything that she's technically supposed to play. But we have seen signs with her skipping Dubai that there's a shift there. So that'll be very interesting to see. as well. And what was the last tournament she went into with like zero expectations?

1:29:02Wimbledon? Yeah, worked out pretty well for her, didn't she? But the thing is, she doesn't have zero expectations because it's Igor Svantec on clay, Matt. I agree with you. I think the expectations thing is really significant for Svantec, but I don't think that applies here in the same... Maybe not. Wait, you've just predicted her to win the French Open. Sure. This is not no expectations you're right yeah but but maybe she can trick herself into into thinking that in her own mind that she doesn't have expectations right yeah assuming she's not listening to this podcast well i'm i'm i'm gonna turn it off in a minute david don't you worry you're not good enough to have expectations she said right right yeah so uh i'm not turning anything off before we talk about moxie our mascot for today's episode are you gonna like this one matt matt is matt's a big dog guy having when i met him been a self-declared not a dog guy this is your kind of dog matt this is Moxie.

1:30:11Moxie is a Corgi, clearly. Look at those ears. And Morgie is owned by longtime listener and supporter Rishi. We know Rishi. Rishi says, my wife Kelsey and I got Moxie when she was an eight-week-old puppy back in 2016. And she's been the greatest companion and friend ever since. She's turning 10 in July. And like many Corgis, she has a ton of personality. She's extremely smart, affectionate, goofy, and will do absolutely anything for food. She's also well-travelled within the continental US. She moved with us from Denver to Minneapolis and then back to Denver again, and she's accompanied us on dozens of flights and road trips from coast to coast.

1:30:56I'm so envious that you can take dogs on flights in the US. Billie Jean will never taste foreign soil.

1:31:09Apparently Moxie's even made a handful of trips to Indian Wells. Sadly, she's not the biggest tennis fan, probably because her dad tends to scream during exciting points how many his favourite players win important matches. This is the first time Moxie has been a tennis podcast mascot, although she did feature on Catherine's COVID Pet live stream show back in 2020. David, what was my COVID Pet live stream show? Did things get so weird that I just went live and talked about dogs? I think so.

1:31:49Rings a bell.

1:31:53Wow, COVID. What a time, folks. But Rishi says we chose this year in particular to make her a mascot because she's been feeling a bit neglected lately because Kelsey and I welcomed a baby girl to our family back in November 2025. I assume he means a human baby girl. It's not specified, but that's what I'm going to assume. While Moxie is not having the best time right now, we know that in due time she'll become a wonderful big sister, particularly when our kiddo starts eating solid food and dropping things on the ground for Moxie to clean up. That is definitely my experience of Billie Jean going to stay with her niece and nephew.

1:32:33It gets better as they get older. Don't worry. And Vicky says, lovely Vicky, who's been in the chat today and managing all the wonderful things that you've seen on the screen, including this beautiful picture of Moxie. Vicky says, we've seen a photo of Rishi's baby, because he sent one in not long after she was born, and she is also gorgeous. So thank you, Rishi, for Moxie. Congratulations belatedly for the birth of your lovely baby daughter. And I can confirm that Moxie is an absolute joy. We have our mascots, Phoebe, Maisie and Roger. Hello to you. Hello to our executive producers and top folks, Greg, Chris and Jeff.

1:33:20Matt, thank you ever so much for your takes and your time on today's show and your background that people in the chat have been obsessed with. Oh, thanks. They should come to Morningside Heights, see it in real life, or IRL, as the kids say. I've done that. Yes, and thanks so much for having me. Thanks for inviting me along. It was fun. No, it's great to have you, Matt. Thank you very much. I'll be nervous to wear a baseball cap around you next time I see you. yeah I'm not going to I'm not going to talk about women in their hats anymore he's learned his lesson he's learned his lesson it's all good right David thank you I know you have to be here but thank you it's been great thank you yeah thank you all for listening thank you to everybody that's joined us live tonight if you have and as contribute to the lively chat as always we'll be back next Monday hope with a fit and raring to go and raring to brag about his golfing game, quite frankly, as he has been doing in our group chat over the course of the weekend.

1:34:32Yeah, hopefully Matt Roberts is back to full fitness this time next week. We'll be back with another pod next Monday. It's a two pod week next week. Thank you all for listening. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network. We will speak to you soon.