US Open Day 13 - Will Djokovic ever win No.25, or is that it?

17:08Catherine Whitaker:Yeah I know but He says all this about best of three he says it and I do believe him because I believe that's where he thinks he might be able to get the odd win over Alcaraz and Sinner you know he's putting his losses down to physicality when push comes to shove I'm just not sure he is all that into playing best of three tournaments like a lot of them are over two weeks he's made his his case pretty clear that he doesn't really fancy playing those i think he can pick some off and potentially get over federer's number what's he on now he's on

17:49Matt Roberts:100 right 100 right so three behind but i remember when federer got to 103 and i was presenting for amazon at the time and we did a big feature on it i think i think it must have been indian wells time 2018 2019 something like that and i remember all of the pundits predicting that he would break Conor's record. And of course, you know, that's recency bias and you don't know what's lurking around the corner and all the rest of it. I'm not going in on them for predicting that, but that felt achievable for him at the time. You know, I'm looking at the ATP calendar here. I can pick out some events for Novak Djokovic.

18:29Catherine Whitaker:Well, he's picked out Athens, which was actually news to me that that's on the calendar. He's got Athens on the books.

18:35Matt Roberts:I'm backing him there. Montpellier, end of January.

18:40Catherine Whitaker:he's not going to Montpellier

18:43David Law:well look if he sets that as his goal I just can't believe he cares enough

18:47Matt Roberts:Bucharest

18:48David Law:I don't think he cares I think yes I could imagine him wanting to get ahead of Federer I'm sure he'd love that but I don't think I mean look he's already won 24 majors he's won more Masters 1000s than anybody ever has he's been world number one for longer than anybody ever has

19:05Matt Roberts:Almaty

19:09David Law:I just think he's got an opportunity here to kind of go out on his terms in 2026 I just think a year long goodbye tour

19:18Matt Roberts:just being sustained by the crowd cheering from him is a long time

19:23David Law:I don't think he would just be there because I think he would be competitive he talked about today the second set he enjoyed competing with Alcaraz and pushing him and I just think it becomes a little easier if you set yourself an end point where you can just throw yourself at it, know that you haven't got to do it the next year, and talk to your kids, tell them, no, I'm not here this week, but you can come with me and we'll go for it and have a great time.

19:50Catherine Whitaker:It is interesting how we've come full circle on Djokovic, isn't it? When he came through for so long, he was number three. And then he pushed through that, overtook Federer, overtook Nadal, had a period where he was just on his own as the man. You know, that 2023 season, I know Alcaraz was pushing him and beat him in a Wimbledon final, but finally it was like Federer's gone, Nadal was injured, it was his time, and now at the end of his career, he's back to being three again. He's going to bookend his career with third wheeling.

20:31David Law:Even said, I'm used to this. God, it is fascinating, isn't it?

20:38Matt Roberts:I mean, he's lost in straight sets today, and here we are, can't stop talking about him.

20:42Catherine Whitaker:And the other thing as well that I picked up today is that his tiebreak record, he's got a negative tiebreak record for the season, and he's got a really poor tiebreak record in the majors, three and eight now. You know, and you think, you know, last few years that's been his calling card, you know, That element has declined as well. I think he's not quite the guy in the big moments that he was. He is in the first few rounds, but even today he's got the level to get it to a second set tie break. But then Alcarez took over and we've seen Sinner do similar to him as well. I think there's also the injury question.

21:32Catherine Whitaker:I know he's fit enough to play these slams and then suddenly he's running into physical issues in the semifinals, but what if he gets a more serious injury? If he wants to chase titles, he's going to have to play more. That risk increases.

21:51David Law:He could easily have a Federer moment where actually something goes and that's that. The age he is, particularly.

21:57Matt Roberts:What about Carlos Alcaraz here? How much does this performance today shake your confidence in this new professional, dialed in, consistent, reliable Carlos Alcaraz?

22:14David Law:I did think he would perform better than he did today. And it seems a bit harsh given he's just won in straight sets. I thought he would play better. But then now that he hasn't, and given what I was noticing about the lack of feel and given who he was against, I'm not that surprised actually in hindsight. So it doesn't shake it because I think that he now wipes that slate clean. There's a slightly different pressure because it's Sinner next and the last time he bled him, he lost to him. I personally think he will be ravenous and he has been all tournament long and I think now he's managed to take care of Djokovic, which is the real one that's to me more in his head.

22:57David Law:I think now he can come out and be free. And also, like I said, he got the job done. Even though he's going to have bad days, players have bad days. Sin has had a couple this tournament, relatively speaking, and he's still got the job done. That's what sets these players apart now to maybe what they were doing in the past. Certainly Alcaraz, when in the past he would lose to players like Medvedev. and he would obviously Bottic last year but there have been others and doesn't feel like those sort of things are happening at all and are going to happen so I feel very bullish about him Matt?

23:39Catherine Whitaker:I think similar to David I think I can put today's performance down to the Djokovic factor I think throwing it forward to Sinner which I know I'm sure we'll do in more depth later and tomorrow as well. But just on this specific point, it's funny because I think the narrative over the last year or so has been Alcrest shows up against Yannick Sinner. He had that streak of winning a load of matches against him. I do think Sinner's outplayed him in two Grand Slam finals this summer. Now, Alcrest sprinkled stardust on that Roland Garros final and won it back. and pulled off an absolute miracle there and ended up winning it.

24:26Catherine Whitaker:He's capable of doing that. But it did seem in the Wimbledon final, and I know Hanna is very big on this, it did seem like maybe Sinner was a little bit again in Alcaraz's head then, you know, when Alcaraz was talking about, I can't beat him from the baseline, I can't beat him from the baseline. That was very visible and obvious during that Wimbledon final. But I don't think he has the same freak out against Sinner that he's had against Djokovic. I think he's going to show up. I think he's going to bring it. I think he's going to play well. And I'm not thinking that he loses to Sinner because he has a really bad day and he doesn't have feel and his mind's going all over the place.

25:07Catherine Whitaker:If he loses, I think it'll be because Sinner outplays him rather than because he doesn't show up. But I've actually shifted my feel on the final a little bit as this tournament's gone on. I was sinner at the start of the tournament. I've started to go towards Alcaraz and today hasn't actually shaken that feeling.

25:27Matt Roberts:Does that have anything to do with Alcaraz disclosing that he's got big hair plans for the scenario where he wins this title? Haven't we all, Carlos? Well, exactly.

25:40David Law:A kindred spirit. Maybe we have the same hair plans.

25:42Matt Roberts:Well, see, this is it. So he disclosed in press today that... So I think the question he was asked was, will you keep the hair if you win the US Open? And the answer was, oh, no, I've got something new planned for the hair if I win the US Open. And everybody was sort of looking at him like, there's nowhere to go from here. Carlos, what is a wig? Like, what are we doing? And then Matt pointed out, colour. bleach is where you can go from here because Matt's obviously got bleach on the brain

26:18David Law:so imagine maybe he's an Amanda and Isomova lad as well

26:22Matt Roberts:imagine if Matt and Carlos take the plunge in the same weekend

26:26David Law:maybe he's got his own backhand list

26:28Matt Roberts:maybe he'll bring Victor out and he can another come and get me plea tonight's podcast Victor the barber

26:39Catherine Whitaker:I think we've got more chance

26:42Matt Roberts:It's not going well with Bruce, folks. OK, well, I feel like we can't go much further down the Alcaraz road and kind of talking about the final and Matt and Carlos going blonde together before we talk about the second semifinal. So that's it for part one. We'll be back in part two to talk about Yannick Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime. But before that, we want to take a moment to throw forward to next year for anybody thinking of taking a big tennis trip in 2026, which is us. Yes. Highly recommend. Friends of the Tennis Podcast get an otherwise ad-free version of the Tennis Podcast, as you know, but we do reserve the right to mention the offerings of our longtime sponsors and Steve Fergal's International Tennis Tours has supported us this show for several years and we're very grateful for that.

27:34Matt Roberts:They provide packages at all of the world's biggest tennis events and they really don't come any bigger than Wimbledon.

27:42David Law:That is true. There's this tournament.

27:45Matt Roberts:It's called Wimbledon. It is the most prestigious, historic and meaningful event on the tennis calendar for a reason. It truly is a bucket list destination for any sports fan. We can all vouch for that. And I really can't imagine anyone regretting a trip to SW19 unless you get drilling in your hotel room at 9am. Doesn't happen there. But I'm pretty sure that Steve Fergal makes sure that doesn't happen. They can sort out debenture tickets for the tennis, along with debenture lounge access, premium hotel accommodations, no drilling, and also private transportation. Plus, there's the option to really max out on the experience with a luxury yacht trip through Croatia.

28:27David Law:Oh, well, now we're talking my language.

28:28Matt Roberts:Absolutely. Sounds great. If it sounds good to you too, and you want to check out what Steve Fergal's have to offer, Just head to toursfortennis.com forward slash podcast to find out more and book your trip. Welcome back to part two of the tennis podcast, where we turn our attention now to the second of the two men's singles semifinals that we saw under the lights on the Arthur Ashe Stadium tonight. and maybe we all owe Felix Auger Aliassime a huge apology because he might have helped to deliver the men's match of the tournament on the Arthur Ashe Stadium tonight. There have been great outside court matches, but I do think this is a contender, albeit not in a particularly crowded field, for the best men's match that Arthur Ashe has seen this fortnight.

29:17Matt Roberts:beaten by Sinner or Geliassim 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and it was a great match David

29:25David Law:it was, it was everything that I have always wanted to see from Felix Ogiassim in the past few years since he was world number six and reaching the semi-finals here four years ago and winning the Davis Cup and beating Yannick Sinner 6-1, 6-2 in that match in Madrid that I'm always thinking about because I just happened to see it There was hardly anybody in the stadium. It was not on the main stadium court. And I always remember seeing it and thinking, well, why on earth can't you do what he's doing? You're not that different. That's what I always feel. Like when I line the two of them up next to one another, the same sort of height, the same sort of movement, a huge forehand, both of them, big serve.

30:09David Law:OK, miles better backhand that Sinner's got. But why is Sinner so much better now than Felix Ogi-Eliasim? It's never really made sense to me. And yet the results tell their own story. One guy is competing for Grand Slam after Grand Slam and the other guy was 27 in the world. I don't really know what happened to Ojeeli Asim. But this fortnight, he has shown that actually, raw materials-wise, he has got it. He might not be as good as those two. He's not. Look, he's not. He's not as talented. He doesn't have the feel that they do. He doesn't have, I think, the mental strength that they have. and like I say, an inferior backhand relatively speaking.

30:49David Law:But he's come into this tournament, he's beaten Zverev handily on the comeback from a set down. Then he's backed that up, which would have been very easy not to do. And then he's come out today being, I actually think, quite competitive in a set. He lost 6-1 in the first set and it would have been very, very easy for him to just get dispirited by that. And instead he came roaring back. I think he had the crowd pretty mesmerised by his own movement, his athleticism. He let everything go. He saw his features relax. I love the way that his face was just enjoying it. You could see that he was loving the moment and the competition.

31:29David Law:And I don't understand why that wouldn't be repeatable in the future, this level of tennis from Felix Algiali Asim. I can't believe it's only two weeks ago that I had a chat with him about trying to get back to what he did three years ago and, you know, what's different. And here he is, he's done exactly that. And huge credit to him. He pushed Sinner today. I think he worried Sinner. I think something physically was going on with Sinner as well. He went for a medical timeout off court. He says that's not going to be a problem. But my word was he pushed by Ojalia Seem today.

32:06Matt Roberts:Do you agree, Matt, that this is the start of something for Felix Orgele rather than a blip on the radar?

32:18Catherine Whitaker:I hope so. I guess I think so as well because that level was so good and as David said not only beating Zverev but backing it up by beating Rublev and Dumanor I think showed a real steal to him and then And, you know, there have been, I think I've been a bigger doubter about his top level over the last couple of years. You know, I've just wondered whether this tennis was in there. But my word, he was brilliant. Really, really good. Like, great coming forward. Had a lot of success at the net tonight. That forehand, you know, if it's doing that damage to Sinner, it can do damage to anyone, I would say.

33:01Catherine Whitaker:The backhand, yes, it's the weaker wing, but it held up well enough. He put pressure on with the serve and he had some swag to him. He had the crowd going, you know, like they were really into this. I went out into the media seats about halfway through the match and he was roaring and playing with intent and conviction and the crowd went with him, which was brilliant to see. And the start of that fourth set was probably the most fun I'd had watching a men's match on Ash this tournament, you know. He was bringing out the best in Sinner because I have to give a shout out to a shot that Sinner played to save a break point in that fourth set where I think it's up there with Alcaraz's behind the back for men's shot of the tournament.

33:53Catherine Whitaker:It wasn't as fun, it wasn't as extravagant, but it was equally mind-blowing, because the ball was basically behind him, and it was on his baseline, and Auger Alessim had whacked a forehand down the line, and yet Sinner managed to just sort of bend down and hook it with two hands, the backhand, onto the opposite line, cross-court, like the outside of the line, and it was a clean winner to save the break point.

34:23David Law:Everybody was looking at it, including Argelia Singh, going, well, that's not in, is it?

34:26Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, how have you done that? Like, that is not possible. That was past you and you've hit it for a winner. Like, what?

34:34David Law:It was extraordinary. I assumed it was a miss hit. And then you look at it and it's come right out of the centre of the strings. Yeah, it was a joke.

34:41Catherine Whitaker:And there was a series of shots around that time in the match. They were both bringing it. I was having a lot of fun. yeah he was he was to me you know you can kind of say you can look at this and it bears a similar sort of trajectory or resemblance to the Shapovalov match you know a few rounds before to me something about those Canadians to me Orjali Asim was a more dangerous opponent today I didn't I didn't trust Shapovalov I actually thought Orjali Asim was going to keep bringing it and it would be up to Sinner to raise his level and I think he did in the crucial moments I think he really stepped up fended off break points and and hit some spectacular shots down the stretch but it was it was it was briefly really under threat today from Orgelia Seem and you're right I owe him an apology I thought even if he brought his best he wouldn't be able to to hurt Sinner like he did Same.

35:39Matt Roberts:So you both think the competitiveness of this match was all about Felix Orgelia's team and not about a drop-off from Sinner? Are there any Sinner concerns?

35:52David Law:Oh, I think it is twofold. I don't think it's in isolation. And as I look over your shoulder there, Matt, at a huddle around, I think, Yannick Sinner.

36:04Matt Roberts:No, I think it's actually Simone Vagnosi.

36:05David Law:Oh, OK. Can't even see him. There are so many Italian journalists.

36:09Matt Roberts:I think they're using him to fill the time before Yannick Sinner comes to press.

36:15David Law:Well spotted. But what I noticed, the serves weren't going in. The serves. I didn't see the percentage, but it was not. 53 for the match.

36:24Catherine Whitaker:That's too low. And that has been a bit of an issue all tournament. It's been a bit of an issue this summer, actually, I would say, for Sinner. and when I look at Alcaraz and Sinner matching them up in the final, we know that they can both, you know, extend each other to their limits in rallies and all that kind of thing. And actually maybe we've reached a phase with the matchup where they're both such good shot makers, they're both such good movers. I think the serve is going to be an absolutely crucial element and I think Alcaraz is serving better than Sinner. And he didn't at Wimbledon in the final there, did he?

37:05David Law:Exactly. He was way down.

37:06Catherine Whitaker:A big difference. And look, maybe we said that going into the Wimbledon final, that we expected the Alcrest serve to help him and show up, and it didn't. And it may well not again on Sunday, but based on how they've been serving this tournament and with that little ab issue that I know he's played down there, but it's in the back of my mind, and that would affect the serve, I think. that could be a difference maker and I think Sino is going to want to get that percentage way up, you know 10 % up on where he currently is.

37:39Matt Roberts:If I was over there in the huddle with Simone Vagnosi and I'm glad I'm not

37:45Catherine Whitaker:As you're Italian It's a lot of people I hate huddles, huddles David loves them I do.

37:52Matt Roberts:No woman would ever come up with the idea of a huddle because it's so favours that the bigger and taller and the more space you take up, the better you're going to do in a huddle. Anyway, if I were risking my life over there in that enormous huddle, I would be asking Simone Van Yossi what on earth's Yannick Sinner's obsession is with white towels. Yes. That would be my big journalistic question.

38:17David Law:There was a comical moment where he sent for towels and they came back with a year's supply and they were all folded up.

38:25Matt Roberts:Pristine white towels, because they had towels on the court, but they're the US Open towels, you know, which have the big logo on and stuff. He wanted, a bit like me from the hotel laundry, he wanted pristine white towels.

38:41David Law:Boy, did he get them.

38:41Matt Roberts:And he got them, but I didn't know he was such a pristine white towel fanatic. But now I do, and unfortunately I have missed the huddle, so I've missed the chance to ask.

38:52David Law:Yes.

38:53Matt Roberts:I think he's meticulous, isn't he?

38:54David Law:I think that is true. These are the things you miss if you're in the media seats. You see, Matt, we were watching on telly. Yes.

39:02Catherine Whitaker:I didn't have a clue what you were talking about. I've really missed out. I thought I had quite a good sense of the match, but I've missed out on the towels.

39:09Matt Roberts:But you miss Simone Vignosi stalking. He had to sort of stalk his way down to court level with this pile of towels.

39:18Catherine Whitaker:I'm sure the internet will help me.

39:19Matt Roberts:Yeah, I think the internet's got you. That's the final of all four slams. in 2025 for Yannick Sinner. That's pretty badass.

39:27David Law:And, you know, the fact that almost at the first time of asking in their real rivalry, Sinner and Alcaraz are playing each other in the final. When you think of the decade and a half that Nadal and Federer spent missing one another.

39:42Catherine Whitaker:And, yeah, this is it. This is uncharted territory. It's the first time in the open era that three men, you know, we had the stat on the start of the tournament, didn't we, that three men have played three slams against each other in the same season. You know, none of the big three combinations managed it. Even, as you said, when Federer and Nadal had a grip on the sport, you know, they were so clearly one and two in 2005, six, seven, eight. They didn't manage it. You know, there was a deficiency for one of them. At that time, it was often Nadal here, wasn't it? not getting to the US Open final.

40:24Catherine Whitaker:But so quickly, we've gone from a year ago, Alcaraz and Sinner hadn't played a grandstand final against each other. Now, they've played three in a row. It feels like, how are they not going to play all the grandstand finals against each other for the next five years? They won't. Things will happen. But it's so hard to see it right now.

40:43David Law:But it is interesting as well that because at the moment there isn't that third player, that, I mean, this could keep on happening. I mean, this could be Chris Everton, Martin and Avratilova stuff, this rivalry.

40:57Matt Roberts:That is incredible, isn't it? All four, just for Sinner individually, the final of all four slams in a year that he served a ban. I mean, maybe it's because, not in spite of, or Putton, not entirely because, but...

41:12Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, it's been somewhat helpful for him to have

41:16Matt Roberts:But it is still pretty remarkable.

41:19Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, I mean, the company's in is what, Leyva, Federer, Djokovic and Sinner on the men's side.

41:25Matt Roberts:Not even Nadal. OK, well, I mean, you can give me early predictions for that final if you want, but you don't have to. And if you do give them, you have the right, you've got 24 hours to change your mind.

41:41David Law:I'm going to give myself 24 hours to have a good think about it. I mean, I did pick Al Kraz at the start of the tournament. And I do think he's been fantastic all the way through. A little bit shakier today, even though he won in straights against the great Novak Djokovic. But I'm just going to give myself 24 hours to have a think and watch some highlights of those great matches from the past. Maybe we'll see that 2022 match here. That I missed, just like Geary.

42:14Matt Roberts:let's get it on so that we can absolutely yeah i don't i don't need any encouragement matt

42:22Catherine Whitaker:well i hinted at it that i've moved towards elk raz over the course of this tournament i think given what i saw in their grandstand finals and given the general hard court record that that sin has had i i felt like Sinner was going to win this at the outset of this tournament. The serve, as I've talked about, is an element where I think Alcaraz has had the edge this tournament. I'm just a little bit more convinced by Alcaraz, I suppose. I just think he's playing closer to his absolute best, maybe. And as David's been talking about, given he lost the last one, I think he's going to be desperate to win this one.

43:07Catherine Whitaker:And I just, maybe the Alcaraz Magic's going to be back on Sunday, I suppose, is kind of what I'm thinking. At the moment, that's where I'm at. But maybe I'll have gone, swung back to Sinner in 24 hours' time. It's tight. It's kind of this thing where you've got this real, like, six rounds of the men's draw, feel like we know what's going to happen in terms of like Alcaraz and Sinner are going to be there. like the big picture is not that fun at the moment but if you do get the payoff and you get Sinner and Alcres in the final it's like the most fun like it's on a knife edge we know they match up well it's this is the payoff worth it for you at the moment yes at the moment we're we're young enough into this rivalry you know and we had Paris I've still got the memories of Paris how can I have watched that and say oh it's not worth it because that was literally one of the best things I've ever been at in my life like it was extraordinary and the prospect that it might happen again or something close to it might happen again at this stage is enough for me ask me in a year's time if they've played I will be doing just that yeah you know if they've played all of them and I'm waiting for other guys to step up you might you might start to tire of it but right now and also I I look at these slams as a big picture and the women's draw offers so much of what the men's draw doesn't you know jeopardy throughout and I can I can get a lot of pleasure from just that element of it you know like if I was only a watcher of men's tennis sure I might be I might be a bit bored through two weeks but but I'm not

44:58David Law:I do remember when I was very young that I used to find the rivalry of Everton and Navratilova. And I only really saw Wimbledon, but I saw several finals in a row between the two of them. I used to find the tournament a bit boring until they would meet because they would beat everybody so one-sidedly. I mean, it was different to what we're seeing now. Right now, I mean, to me, it's up to the rest. I don't want these two to just fall over and then somebody else to come through or something like that. I want somebody else exciting to gatecrash. That's what you want long term. Otherwise, let them get on with it.

45:42David Law:They're such a wonderfully diverse rivalry. They're so different to one another. They bring such unknown and unpredictability to what actually ends up happening when they do meet. That I always feel like, well, OK, if there are no shocks and you end up with those two, the job's a good one.

46:05Catherine Whitaker:You feel differently, Catherine?

46:07Matt Roberts:I feel the same way as you, Matt. That because I'm seeing the sport, I take an holistic approach. To quote Amelie Maresmo to the sport. And you actually do. And I've got men's and women's that I can get from the women's tournament what I'm lacking in almost all of the men's apart from the final. But just taking the men's in isolation. I love Cine Around Cres. It's absolutely nothing to do with me not loving that as much as you two or as much as anybody. I live for it. But how many matches are there in a Grand Slam?

46:54David Law:Quite a few. It's a long wait. Hundreds.

47:01Matt Roberts:I don't think it's a great state of affairs at the moment. The whole tournament being about one match. Grand Slam quarterfinals everywhere apart from Wimbledon. this is such a sort of enlightening eye-opening moment when Matt pointed out this element of it all they are they're the only singles match happening at the time that they are happening there's nowhere else to look if they're a dud you kind of start watching them and there's a lot of duds yeah

47:33David Law:I still think that had he not suffered a stress fracture his back that Art of Feast would be edging his way to gatecrash in the party.

47:42Matt Roberts:We are suffering that sort of injury because there's too much tennis.

47:45David Law:Yeah, definitely.

47:47Matt Roberts:And, you know, we're potentially... Yeah, that's a whole other discussion, but...

47:53David Law:Get well soon, Arta. Come on, get in there!

47:55Matt Roberts:Do you actually think that Arta could be the great gatecrasher?

47:58David Law:Yeah. I don't think he's as good as them yet. Certainly not yet. And may not be potentially, but I actually just look at his physicality and his ground strokes and his serve and think, wow, he can live with them. You know, the way he played Alcraz so close in Monte Carlo should have beaten him that day. I know he got heavily beaten in Barcelona when they met shortly afterwards. But just, yeah, I think that if he could get himself back fully fit and get back to where he was and then move on again, I do think he could. Well, that would be fun and very welcome. I mean, not all the time. He's not going to suddenly start sharing the Grand Slams out with them, but I think he could do a Del Potro or he could do a Wawrinka.

48:47Matt Roberts:OK, we'd be here for that. David, you get another 24 hours before your prediction. Matt, you have the right to change your mind. That's it for part two, but do join us in part three for a few other results from day 13 and a look ahead to Matt's big day in New York tomorrow. Welcome back to part three of the Tennis Podcast, where just before we get on to our big predictions for tomorrow's women's singles final, a few other results from today here at Flushing Meadows. The women's doubles title was won by the Canadian Kiwi duo of Gabby Dobrowski and Erin Routliff, 6-4, 6-4 over Katarina Siniarkova and Taylor Townsend.

49:32Matt Roberts:And it's the second US Open doubles title. They have won as a pair and an incredible journey. They have been on, obviously, Gabby Dabrowski in particular, having, you know, this time a year ago, she was undergoing treatment for cancer. Like, this is the most wonderful, uplifting comeback story. And they are, in the words of Matt Roberts, quite a pair, Dabrowski and Routliff. And Gabby Dabrowski in particular, what a player.

50:05Catherine Whitaker:I've always thought she was good. She really is a brilliant doubles player. And I think these two complement each other really, really well. Routelift's got a bit of a funny serve, but quite a big serve. Dabrowski's got great reactions at the net. Routelift's really solid at the net. They're just a really, really strong pair. and any doubles team that beats Siniarkova and partner, let alone Siniarkova and Townsend, you've got to be a very strong pair to beat them. I think this tournament was a lot for Taylor Townsend. I think, you know...

50:47Matt Roberts:Yeah, she came to press drinking a honey juice, didn't she?

50:50Catherine Whitaker:Right. Which I loved. Yeah. But I think maybe did point to... Just maybe ran out of gas a little bit. It looked like this was going to be more one-sided. There were 6-4, 3-0 up, Dabrowski and Routliff, and then Townsend and Sineacov had a bit of a surge, got back into it. Great crowd on Ash, really good to see that. But they just couldn't quite complete the comeback, and Dabrowski and Routliff deserving winners, I think.

51:19Matt Roberts:Townsend was incredibly generous about Dabrowski and Routliff, but she also said the shadow was a problem. for her today. So the shadow made it hard to pick up the ball coming from certain directions, and it was very quick adjustments that we had to make when we changed sides. Say it, Taylor.

51:40David Law:Yeah.

51:41Matt Roberts:The women's wheelchair doubles was won by the third-seeded Chinese pair of Zhao Wee-Li and Ji-Ying Wong. They beat Dida de Routes and Zhu Zhenzhen, 6-4, 7-6. Any victory over Dido de Rout is very impressive. Although she's on the comeback trail, isn't she, from surgery, de Rout. But very impressive for the Chinese pair. The men's wheelchair doubles title was won by Gustave Fernandez and Tiquito Oda over Alfie Hewitt and Gordon Reid. 6-1, 2-6, 10-6. Poor old Alfie Hewitt just seeing Tiquito Oda at the other end of the court in these finals is just absolutely brutal for him, isn't it? And the quad wheelchair doubles final was won by Guy Sasson and Nils Vink, 6-1, 6-1, over the unseeded pairing of Chilean Francisco Keulef and Argentinian Gonzalo Enrique Lazarte.

52:40Matt Roberts:So an incredible tournament for that unseeded pair. But Sasson and Vink, the eventual champions tomorrow. Tomorrow, we have arrived at day 14 of the US Open 2025. Saturday, the 6th of September, we start with the men's doubles final. Marcel Granoez and Horatio Zabias against Joe Salisbury and Neil Skubsky. And then, not before 4pm, the women's singles final. Irina Sabalenka or Amanda Anisimova. David, your prediction please

53:20David Law:Oh dear, dear, dear He's looking at me right now I mean look I do love matches between these two over the rivalry I enjoy the way that San Blanco she knows no other way than to bring it and attack an opponent but Anisimova is that rare player that can counter-attack and actually deflect it and make it worse for Sabalenka that she's attacking. So absolutely fascinated by it. I remember the match they played at the French Open. And that was Sabalenka, despite a sort of brief period of response and resurgence from Inesimova. And then, of course, the Wimbledon semi-final, which I always felt that Inesimova was going to get the better of.

54:10David Law:But that one I did feel that she, I remember I think I was commentating on it or I certainly watched all of it and she always felt like she was the better player in that match. This one, with all the build-up that Anissa Mervis just had and the long matches that I do think will have taken a little bit out of her and so forth, I think she'll still play it and push her really close and have her moments, but I feel Sabalenka's going to get the job done in three.

54:44Matt Roberts:Matt. Well, obviously you know what I'm picking.

54:51Catherine Whitaker:Can I tell you the sort of things I'm thinking about? Yes, exactly.

54:54David Law:If you took the blonde hair out of it, what would you really say?

54:58Catherine Whitaker:Now, I think you could describe it, and I was talking about this with Pam earlier, as a little bit of a sort of baggage Grand Slam final. You know, like we've talked a lot about the remarkable job that Amanda Onisimova has done to come back from that double bagel in the Wimbledon final. Like, extraordinary that she's back in the very next Grand Slam final, that she's beaten the opponent. But, like, has... It's kind of like she's come back, but has she come all the way back? because now we're going to see her in a Grandstand final again. And I know it's not Wimbledon, I know it's not Svante, but she's got to meet that moment and respond to that moment again.

55:44Catherine Whitaker:And that is an element here. I think she will, but it's something that you could maybe say is in Sabalenka's favour going into it. The flip side of that is that Sabalenka's got her own Grandstand final baggage herself, I would say. I know she's won three of them, but that whole thing of Sabalenka constantly playing on the edge and teetering, I think is heightened in these Grand Slam finals. And we've seen it here against Coco Gauff. We've seen it at the French Open against Coco Gauff. To a lesser extent in Australia, I don't think it was because she played badly in that final. I think Madison Keyes ripped it from her.

56:29Catherine Whitaker:but I think Amanda Nisimova can rip it from her as well so maybe that kind of evens it up the biggest thing I think in Sabalenka's favour is the potential fatigue that Nisimova's going to be feeling physically, emotionally, mentally from the last few days which I think have been an extraordinary effort to beat Shviontek and then to come back and beat Osaka at one o 'clock in the morning last night. Is that going to take its toll? She talked about feeling exhausted in that Wimbledon final, off the back of the semi-final. Hopefully they've learnt as a team and they've got a different approach and all that kind of thing.

57:20Catherine Whitaker:And again, I'm banking on that happening because my pick is Amanda Nisimovar in three sets. Savalenka's not lost in straight sets at a slam since the COVID US Open. She played over 100 matches at slams in that time and not lost in straight sets. She always wins a set. Now, you know, that stat will probably be broken at some point, but I don't really feel like it's going to be here. I think if Anisimova's going to do it, it's going to be giving every last drop of what she has in a third set. and I think those ground strokes are going to come up, come on strong and get her over the line and she's going to win her first Grand Slam title.

58:05Catherine Whitaker:That's my prediction. My entirely rational, logical prediction.

58:15Matt Roberts:Matt's planning to get a haircut tomorrow morning.

58:18Catherine Whitaker:Can I disclose that to the people? I was planning that, but we've got a lovely bagels appointment.

58:25Matt Roberts:Yeah, we've got a dog and bagels appointment.

58:29Catherine Whitaker:All around Matt Futterman's.

58:31Matt Roberts:Yeah.

58:31Catherine Whitaker:And that's, you know, it's not... We can't miss that. We want to go to that. The haircut would require getting up early. We were woken up this morning by drilling, as you've described.

58:43Matt Roberts:Orgelia, seam extended our evening longer than...

58:46Catherine Whitaker:There's a lot of factors from when I had planned the haircut. So maybe we're just going to do it all in one go. Okay. But just to be clear... And then die all in one go. So, absolutely categoric,

58:59David Law:if Amanda Anissimova wins the US Open tomorrow night, you are dyeing your hair blonde in tribute to the fact that Anissimova... Is not blonde. Is not blonde. It's on record. It's on a podcast.

59:14Catherine Whitaker:It's got to happen. It's been on record for a while. I'm not going to go back on it.

59:19Matt Roberts:I know where all the hair salons are in midtown Manhattan now after some googling it's gonna be great it's gonna be so great uh wow what's your prediction

59:38Matt Roberts:I am genuinely leaning towards Anissa Mova I know I was at Wimbledon and that is well maybe not leaning towards but I gave her a good chance at Wimbledon um I actually can't remember what I predicted, but I certainly didn't predict Love and Love to Sabalenka.

59:56Matt Roberts:But I just feel so differently about Anna Simova now in a way that makes me realise how much I didn't give enough weight to the sort of, you know, being the first Wimbledon final and recovery and exhaustion and all of that. I don't, I'm giving significantly less weight to all of that this time because she's been there and because of how positively she's channeled all those experiences and turned them into strength. All we've seen from Anissa Mova is evidence of how everything that she went through at Wimbledon has made her better and more resilient and more able to cope with these things. So yes, I do have a worry and a question mark about how late it went last night and how physical it was.

1:00:55Matt Roberts:You know, just the getting to bed late. Like, all jokes aside, we went through all of that and we're hoping to bounce back strong tomorrow, but today's been tough.

1:01:05David Law:And we don't have to run about.

1:01:06Matt Roberts:Right, and today's not sort of a crucial, day in our preparations for a Grand Slam final so I'm not giving no weight to that I just think that having been through something so similar at Wimbledon she she's going to find a way to metabolize all of that and I back her tennis well and she likes the Sabalenka ball

1:01:29David Law:yeah she didn't she'd never experienced the Svantec ball and she ended up hating it in that environment she just could never get going at all and I she's not going to have those sort of balls to chase, I don't think.

1:01:41Catherine Whitaker:It was a double unknown, wasn't it, in the Wimbledon final. It was the first Grandstand final and first time facing Svantec. Now, it's the first US Open final, but she's been in a Grandstand final, she's faced Sabalenka, she's beaten her.

1:01:56David Law:Winning record.

1:01:57Catherine Whitaker:Right. There's just a lot more reason to believe if you see what I did there.

1:02:03Matt Roberts:See what you've done there. What have you done there?

1:02:06Catherine Whitaker:I've named a Bruce Springsteen song. Have you?

1:02:12Matt Roberts:hoping for glory days oh my god

1:02:16David Law:even I know that one

1:02:19Matt Roberts:on that note hello to our mascots Phoebe, Maisie and Roger hello to our top folks and executive producers Greg, Chris and Jeff should we have some shout outs Matt?

1:02:31Catherine Whitaker:Yes I think we should considering we don't have a bus to run for no and we've been we haven't done shout outs for a few days So let's bring them back. We have Sam Woodside from Christchurch, New Zealand. We know Sam.

1:02:46Matt Roberts:We know Sam. Right, Sam. We've met Sam in Melbourne.

1:02:51Catherine Whitaker:Yes, we have.

1:02:52Matt Roberts:Did Sam buy us drinks?

1:02:57Matt Roberts:Maybe. Maybe. Thank you, Sam, if you did.

1:03:00Catherine Whitaker:He certainly attended our Melbourne live show. And he watched 10 minutes of The Best Player in the World with David on court 1573.

1:03:09David Law:What an experience. I remember Sam. Yeah, he was wearing a Tennis Podcast t-shirt and Mahatch was playing against... Was it the Apelka match? No, it wasn't the Apelka match. He was playing Sumit Nagal.

1:03:23Catherine Whitaker:It was Sumit Nagal. And I went and got... You went and sat with all the Sumit Nagal fans. Yes, I did.

1:03:28Matt Roberts:I got some amazing seats right on the front row with them. It was fun. It was fun. It's good on those medium-sized courts in Australia, isn't it? That is a great thing about Australia. Oh, Australia. Sam, thank you for whetting my appetite for the next Grand Slam.

1:03:47Catherine Whitaker:Cheers, Sam. We've also got Stephen Wright.

1:03:50Matt Roberts:Hello, Stephen.

1:03:51Catherine Whitaker:Hi, Stephen. Stephen completed the Fan Slam at the 2023 Australian Open Finals. Stephen says, I saw the Avengers superhero matchup of Sabalenka Rabatkinner.

1:04:04Matt Roberts:Wow. That was a heck of a mess. A great match.

1:04:07Catherine Whitaker:That was very cool And Stephen also says I will be first in line If and when Hannah writes an adventure novel It would be so laugh out loud And not put downable

1:04:19Matt Roberts:Anything Hannah writes Is laugh out loud and not put downable Just seeing that we got a WhatsApp from Hannah My pulse races a bit Like oh this is going to be good

1:04:29Catherine Whitaker:So true

1:04:31Matt Roberts:Stephen with a V or a PH

1:04:34Catherine Whitaker:With a PH Like my middle name.

1:04:38Matt Roberts:Like Matthew Stephen...

1:04:43Catherine Whitaker:Matthew Harry Stephen. Harry Stephen.

1:04:45Matt Roberts:I knew it was posh. I just couldn't remember.

1:04:48Catherine Whitaker:It was definitely posh.

1:04:49Matt Roberts:Matthew Harry Stephen Roberts. There you go.

1:04:52David Law:Like Stephen Shaw, a British tennis player from the 80s.

1:04:56Matt Roberts:There we go. Thank you, Stephen.

1:05:00Catherine Whitaker:And finally, we have George Blomfeld from Brisbane.

1:05:05Matt Roberts:Hello, George.

1:05:08Catherine Whitaker:George says, my partner Eliza got me onto the tennis podcast. Well done, Eliza. We frequently have tennis battles where she usually beats me 6-3. What a specific scoreline.

1:05:21David Law:Single break, that's enough, serve it out.

1:05:25Matt Roberts:It's very Pete Sampras.

1:05:26Catherine Whitaker:Oh, and George says, I think she's met some of the crew at the Australian Open with her friend Maddie. I've met Eliza and Maddy, definitely. I think outside an Amanda Nissam overmatch, in fact. Well, chances are quite good. Yeah.

1:05:43Matt Roberts:OK, right.

1:05:47David Law:Tennis Georges.

1:05:49Matt Roberts:Yeah, if it's not clear, I'm struggling with... George Lufthard.

1:05:53David Law:Oh, my word, Matt Roberts. It's going to be a good day tomorrow. Oh, my God, I've got another one.

1:05:58Matt Roberts:He's going forward. George Bastl.

1:05:59David Law:George Bastl.

1:06:00Catherine Whitaker:Very good.

1:06:01Matt Roberts:Ended the Wimbledon career of Pete Sampras.

1:06:03Catherine Whitaker:Yes. I probably should have come up with that before Lofthorpe.

1:06:06Matt Roberts:I don't know. One of them's active.

1:06:12Matt Roberts:George, Analyzer. That's lovely stuff. Thank you. Love, Brisbane. Thank you to all of our friends of the Tennis Podcast if you'd like to become a friend. As always, the link is in our show notes, as is the link to subscribe to the newsletter. Get access to Matt Statt. David made a slightly odd noise when he was reading your stat in the draft newsletter. Sign up to the newsletter

1:06:35David Law:if you haven't already.

1:06:37Matt Roberts:Every day Matt comes up with a new stat. I mean, we produce like

1:06:41David Law:100 newsletters a year and he always has a new stat. I don't know how.

1:06:46Matt Roberts:It is incredible stuff. Link in the show notes, folks. Folks, we are part of the Athletic Podcast Network. We'll be back tomorrow and you won't want to miss it. We'll speak to you then. We'll be right back.