US Open Day 2 - Alcaraz shows tennis what it’s been missing

16:03Matt Roberts:I think his opponents do too.

16:05David Law:Yeah, and Nuna Borgias is not that at all. He's very easy to like and get along with. I'm not saying that Ferreira is not easy to like from a sort of spectator standpoint. It's very easy to get into his matches one way or another, either support him or cheer against him. But I think he might try and get in Alcranza's kitchen a bit, and just make it show some intensity down the other end. Sifulin is a lovely player, but he doesn't show any intensity at all. And he doesn't. He's just sort of this matter-of-fact tennis player. Lovely to watch him hit balls, but getting into his matches is a struggle because he doesn't give you much in the way of connection.

16:51David Law:Faria will do that. And I'm curious to see what he's like on a big stage. I haven't seen him play on a big stage before. I've seen him beat Grigor Dimitrov in Roland Garros qualifying, and that was a pretty big stage back then, a lot of fans, and he won through. Seen him in lots and lots of matches upsetting opponents, but this is different, you know? So, yeah, another test, another step up, really, for Alcraz.

17:16Matt Roberts:It'll be interesting to see what they do with that schedule-wise as well, because obviously Alcraz, same half the draw as Shelton, he's going to be in competition with Ben Shelton for the night session. I assume they'll both want it. ESPN, will they favour Shelton slightly? They did today. I don't know. It's going to be interesting to see how that shakes out.

17:34David Law:I would have thought they'd mix that up. I could see some alternating going on between those two.

17:40Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, it's kind of got easier for them with Novak Djokovic going out. Absolutely. I would say. There were three guys probably wanting that spot when he was in.

17:49Matt Roberts:Big time. That'll be in two days' time. So Wednesday, next time we'll see Carlos Alcaraz. We had a big shock today. The Cincinnati champion Artifis is out, defeated by Stefanos Tsitsipas. 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, 6-4. He led Did Artifis by a set in 5-2. He had points for 4-love in that second set. In his own words, losing from that position was almost unprofessional. David, you are both the world's biggest Artifis fan and also the guy that kind of saw this coming.

18:24David Law:Well, I certainly thought there was danger. I saw danger in terms of his opponent, in that Stefanos Tsitsipas is still in his 20s, late 20s, and he has been to finals of Grand Slam tournaments. I don't think Art of Feast is anything like the finished product yet, mentally, experience-wise. He used the right word. It was unprofessional, what he did. from 6-4, 5-2 up, he managed to lose that match. And he didn't just lose it. He didn't lose it in five, you know, from two sets up. He lost the set that he was winning 5-2. And it just felt barely conceivable when you watched that first hour and a bit of the match.

19:14David Law:I thought the match would last an hour and 20 minutes. Art of Feast had won all five of his previous matches against Tsitsipas. The last one he won 6-1-6 love against him in Miami. And this one he's leading 6-4, 3-love, points for 4-love, double break, doesn't take them, but goes 5-2 up. And then he doesn't serve it out. He loses the tie break. He loses the third set 6-1, which, I'm sorry, is unacceptable. And it wasn't like Sitsipas was playing lights out of his mind tennis. He was playing increasingly better tennis. He's got Patrick Morotoglu in there, who I think is not my favourite person in tennis, but I think he's a good motivator, and I think he's good at making players like Sitsipas believe they're the best player in the world.

20:08David Law:And giving them one or two little tips. I saw him telling Sitsabas to step up to the ball on his backhand and just sort of flat-bat it almost with his backhand rather than trying to take these big swings. I think he did a good job of taking Fies' time away, but I'm sorry, the third and fourth sets from Fies were unacceptable, and where I saw it coming, or at least what thought the danger was, was that this is a guy who hasn't been beyond the second round of this tournament before. It's the first time he's come in having won a massive tournament and being expected to do stuff at a Grand Slam. We were all thinking, you know, this guy is supposed to be having a deep second-week run having just won Cincinnati, because everybody does.

20:52David Law:If you win Cincinnati, you're the guy.

20:54Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, first time since Stefan Edberg in 1990 that the men's Cincinnati champion has lost in the first round of the US Open.

21:02David Law:Yeah, and that's pressure. It may not be the... I think the biggest thing, it was pressure in his own mind. It looked like it was having no effect on him, Catherine, I mean, it's 6-4, 5-2. He looked like he's playing within himself. He looked like it was easy, frankly. I think he got a bit stressed and a bit nervous. He thought about it. And then he exhausted himself with the nervousness in the moment. And it's not good enough.

21:27Matt Roberts:Look, it was an impressive press conference, I thought, in that he totally owned that defeat. He was pretty disgusted with himself, I think, but also at a bit of a loss to explain it. He said he doesn't feel like it was pressure. He said he felt like if it was pressure, he'd have played poorly from the start. He said he felt a real energy dip at the end of the second set and he was unable to get it back from that point. And he doesn't know why. He was at a real loss to explain why that was. He said the hip and the back, perfect. I very specifically asked him, so absolutely no pain in the hip or the back.

22:11Matt Roberts:He said, no, they're perfect. You know, taking total responsibility for that defeat, as I say, he called it borderline unprofessional. Look, it's very difficult to delineate what's pressure and what's not, right? It's not as clinical or binary as that, but I also do think if he felt like... I felt like he would have owned it if in his heart he was feeling like the pressure had got to him a bit, But, I don't know, it can affect you in kind of insipid ways that you're not necessarily explicitly aware of.

22:45Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, and look, big picture. Artifee saying, my hip and my back felt perfect a year ago. We'd have absolutely taken that. And even a few months ago when he couldn't play again. I guess my question is what do you think is next in his development in terms of trying to improve this Grand Slam record because like is it just a case of putting himself in this position again where he's playing well on tour and he's going into a slam with some pressure on and just experiencing it and dealing with it naturally the improvements will come I mean I was totally shocked by this loss totally shocked i i thought he'd done the prep for this slam and he was ready do you know what i mean i i didn't i didn't see this coming at all well i think the thing is

23:41David Law:he's played so few grand slams in his career you know he's built this ranking of what fifth or sixth in the race and 11 in the world in the rankings without even playing two of the other three Grand Slams this year and only winning one. He's won one Grand Slam match in 2026 and he's 11 in the Worlds. So he's not used to Grand Slams and I'm not trying to give him an excuse or a pass here but he needs to learn from this specific experience and I actually think it will make him better because I think he'll be embarrassed by this. He was. I don't think he'll let this happen again. I think he'll now listen to people like Goran who will tell him in very blunt terms, what's what.

24:29David Law:But I think the one thing he mustn't overlook is he might get better from it, but he might not get a better chance than having Sinner not in the draw and Alcron's returning and Djokovic out of the draw. You know, he's missed out on a massive opportunity here. I think he'll have many others. He may play way, way better than he did today, but not get the results because of who he ends up facing. But that's the way it goes. You know, it's done now. He's got to wait months for another chance at a Grand Slam. In the meantime, he's got to try to get back on the horse, really, work hard, try and get a position in Turin because he's got a chance.

25:11David Law:You know, he's right there in the race and he's never experienced that event before. So he should be trying to do it and break new ground at every turn.

25:20Matt Roberts:Just before we get into the women's results from the day session today, a few more significant men's results. We've just seen the end of the Grand Slam career as Stan Werenka. 7-6, 7-6, 6-love. The third set for Matteo Berrettini over Werenka. Probably should have won the second set here, David, and made a bit of a match of it. He had the vibes, he had the crowd, he had the game going for a bit, but can't sustain it anymore, and that's why the career is coming to an end.

25:49David Law:Yeah, and he had the scoreline too. He was serving for that second set at 5-3. He was the better player in that second set. Had set points, didn't take them, and then just lost his way in the tiebreak. I think he was just running out of gas a bit emotionally, physically, whatever, but an amazing atmosphere. Grandstand court is pretty big. There's a lot of seats out there. You couldn't find one anywhere. The stairway leading up to it was full of people trying to get in on the one-in-one-out sort of system, and there were people sort of craning their necks around other people to get a look at standing room only.

26:31David Law:To get a look at the shirt, probably. Yes, he was wearing a fully buttoned, from top to bottom shirt, almost like one of those sort of Hawaiian shirts you might care.

26:41Matt Roberts:Like a darts player? Yes.

26:44Catherine Whitaker:it was giving already retired yeah

26:48Matt Roberts:this is what I'm going to be wearing for the next 40 years

26:52David Law:it's funny seeing him after I'd watched Sitsipas earlier all credit to Sitsipas maybe he can find a way back and build something in his career again but my mind did go back to that French Open match that you stood on the edge of the court for magical clash between Vovrinka and Sitsipas what, seven or eight years ago now. Stan at his kind of peak and Sidsapas with it all before him and, you know, time moves on. But I've loved that Stan has had his chance to get out in front of this crowd. I think he's, he deserved that wildcard and he's vindicated.

27:32Matt Roberts:Last men's result I wanted to pick up on from the day session. The world number 731, Sebastian Gorsny from the US, one of the US wildcards, saved five match points to beat Raphael Collignon in a fifth set tiebreak. David, you went to his little press huddle afterwards, Gourgeny, learned a bit about his story, and it's a pretty incredible one.

27:56David Law:Yeah, he walked into this little huddle freezing cold, shivering with goosebumps, because he'd just come straight out of the ice bath after those five match points that he'd saved and that incredible win he'd had. but yeah it doesn't take much research on Gorsney to discover a pretty extraordinary story which he elaborated on in this press gathering that seven or eight years ago when he was just 15 16 years of age at Kalamazoo the junior tournament he played a match and woke up in the middle of the night feeling really bad and his mother took him to hospital and it they believe he would he'd been bitten by a mosquito which had given him a brain infection and and a kind of meningitis and he was put into an induced coma for four days and he was given by the doctors a five percent chance of surviving and thankfully he did survive and was able to make a full recovery and a full comeback but his friends set up a GoFundMe they raised more than$30 ,000 for his medical bills you know which would have been extreme and he gradually worked his way back into the sport he says he doesn't really remember too much about it because he was in this coma he doesn't you know he said I had to have some sort of non-seizure medication for a while but he was able to get straight back into training, more or less, and has been at the University of Texas playing college tennis, one of the top players in that system.

29:36David Law:He's really proud to have been able to come through that system and end up at a Grand Slam level. He earned his wild card in the playoff that they have in the USTA to get into this main draw, and he's got a win over Collignon. Absolutely fantastic stuff, and he's sort of 6 '3", 6 '4", big strapping lad who likes to be at the net. And, yeah, it's a great story.

30:05Matt Roberts:I don't know whether you could hear that, by the way, while David was talking those eruptions of cheers, but we think that that is Stan Mourinka getting his final send-off over on the Grandstand Court, presumably doing his trademark thing where he points to the four stands demanding cheers from them, a bit like a sort of musician on the stage. Yeah, really cool to see and hear that one last time. Last men's result I wanted to mention, or event from the men's draw I wanted to mention today, Giovanni Mpeshi Perikar lost a six-love set to Yuri Rodionov.

30:45David Law:I mean, what is he, six foot eight with the biggest serve in the world? How does that happen?

30:49Matt Roberts:How does that happen? No one can say because nobody watched it, but just the scoreline is worth commenting on. On to the women's draw. Rina Sabalenka getting her title defence off the ground today. 6-2, 6-4 against Camilla Osorio in the first match on Ash. Not a whole lot to report from this match. It was an absolute peak. Sabalenka didn't need to be peak Sabalenka. I mean, there could be a certain amount of confirmation bias going on here because I really have my doubts about where Sabalenka is at with her game and her mentality at the moment, all of which is, of course, linked. But she didn't seem to be having a whole lot of fun out there, Sabalenka.

31:36Matt Roberts:It seemed like she was battling herself. It took a while for the break to come in the second set. And I was thinking, well, it's going to come. You know, you've got so much more game than her, but she seemed really frustrated and annoyed with herself that it wasn't coming. But, you know, 6-2, 6-4, comfortable enough. But again, Matt, in the press conference room, it's this combative, thin-skinned, defensive Sabalenka that we're seeing. That, you know, tennis is a brutal sport. you're entitled to rough days where you're not as charming as you might be. We all are. But it's what it's indicative of in terms of where she's at, kind of confidence-wise and mentality-wise.

32:27Matt Roberts:And it just all feels off to me, Matt, really, really off.

32:34Catherine Whitaker:Yes, because usually her press conferences maybe don't have the most depth to them, I would say. But they're normally a pretty good time, a Sabalenka press conference, certainly when she's winning and playing well. Today she was asked about all the off-court stuff that she has to do before the US Open. And I totally understand why players are potentially a little bit defensive about that, because, you know, doing off court stuff doesn't necessarily mean not concentrating on tennis. And I think women especially suffer that in terms of people just assuming that just because they're doing a fashion shoot, they're not they're not focusing on their tennis.

33:20Catherine Whitaker:But that was not the way the question was phrased. It was very well phrased, I thought. and it was quite obvious the point that was being got at. And, yeah, she sort of got a little bit defensive about the suggestion that she wasn't focusing on the tennis and that everything she'd been doing had been some kind of distraction or getting in the way. And I just think Sabalenka, at her peak, just wouldn't have reacted like that. And, look, maybe we're reading too much into it, but it does feel different.

33:53Matt Roberts:yeah all I can say is that's how I am when someone's touched a nerve maybe maybe it's indicative of something different for her but yeah that's what

34:04David Law:it she's sensitive she's a bit vulnerable I think she's feeling a little bit vulnerable by her standards and she's she's thinking about things maybe rather than just it flowing in life and yeah I get I get it very

34:20Matt Roberts:different vibe in Amanda Anisimova's press conference Matt let me tell you birthday girl Amanda Anisimova 6163 for her against Aisling Kruger today there was a bit of a she came early to press hot off the heels of Carlos Alcaraz and there'd just been an exodus out of the room after Alcaraz and she arrived before her name had been announced so she arrived to an empty room it was just me pretty much because I was slow to leave the room after Alcaraz and she was like oh well this is embarrassing she said i don't want to sit at the desk and twiddle my thumbs waiting for people to arrive so she sat off to the side and just chit-chatted with people as they were drifting into the room and then was with was faced with some quite not not difficult questions but some quite hard-hitting questions early on about Rick Vlisau is her current coach and her former coach so she was with Rick Vlisau as the Dutch coach throughout her hugely successful year last season she split with him early this season had a period of time with Sebastian Sachs over the summer very unsuccessfully I think it's fair to say that that was that was not a match absolutely lots of aspects of her game seem to They kind of fall apart under Sebastian Sachs.

35:44Matt Roberts:And then before the hardcourt season, she got back together with Rick Vleeshowers. And she never really told us at the time where she split with Vleeshowers. And this was the first time she'd really been asked about getting back together with Vleeshowers. And she didn't exactly say what happened. But here's what she did say. She said, I feel like there were a lot of things that I did wrong towards the end of our partnership earlier in the year. And maybe at times I was a bit too hot-headed. So I feel like I've been able to reflect on that and work on myself, not necessarily only towards him. She said, I think it was just my whole demeanour going into the year with tennis and results.

36:25It sounds like it was a lot for her at the start of this year

36:31Matt Roberts:to try and back up what she did last year. It was a completely different complexion on 2026 to 2025. and it sounds like maybe she panicked a little bit when the results weren't quite resulting and there was a lot of stress there, which we saw on the court, and it sounds like maybe Vlis Howers was a victim of that, but very impressive to go back with what sounds like maybe tail between the legs and say, I was a bit rash there, what we had worked, but also let's not just get the band back together and resume what we were doing, but like let's try and be better and do this differently and all you know hold hands and

37:14Catherine Whitaker:learn and grow yeah and good from everyone involved I think as well like good from Vleeshowers to not be like no you ditch me yeah I'm never going to work with you again like I think they probably both knew that they were onto a good thing there and it was very different for Nisimov approaching this year with expectation I'm sure she was putting on herself that there was outside expectation because she didn't she didn't really play a slam last year where people were expecting a lot of her and i even say that about the us open because she just had that experience at wimbledon losing six love six love in the final i think everyone thought oh that might take her a little while to get over so kind of both finals were a bit of a surprise in the way that they ended up happening but then she started the year in australia and all eyes are on her because she'd been so good in 2025 and you know this is someone who found tour life very difficult for a very long time and it sounds to me from that quote that she just maybe got out of some of the the routines and rhythms that had helped her enjoy life on tour and it had all got a little bit too much and it she almost took it out on on Vleeshowers and that partnership thinking that that was something that needed to change when actually that was probably the constant that needed to remain and it was dealing with the pressure and the expectation that needed to change.

38:36Catherine Whitaker:And, yeah, she also had a little time with Nick Saviano over the summer, someone who'd worked with her previously and, you know, I think helped get some of that forehand technique back that had very much gone over the summer at Wimbledon. And the game is just in a much better place now. I think there's still a long way to go in terms of getting back to the absolute peak that she was at last year she's not had many tournaments really where she's just strung it together but the signs are good and I

39:08Matt Roberts:saw you getting rushed very excited Matt well you know me she crushed Kruger today

39:15Catherine Whitaker:the backhand winners were flowing the return winners were flowing even little moments of pressure that there were she dealt with well and and didn't get stressed I do like that matchup for her though like someone someone who's just kind of an inferior version of her, really, and she was very comfortable in it, but great start to the tournament.

39:35Matt Roberts:A couple of other results to touch on from the day session before we wrap up part one, because Matt's getting upstaged by the Arthur Ashe Stadium pre-game show, I think, over there. Tell us a little bit about Jung Chinwen beating 16-year-old Christina Lutova, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

39:56Catherine Whitaker:I loved this match and I don't know whether my takes are really influenced and biased by the fact that I had what I think to be some of the best media seats in tennis. Those ones on court 17 that we're so lucky to sit in down in the front row where you're kind of lower than the players. You know, like it's those seats a little bit sunken below the court. But I've never sat there and thought this match is bad. When you're that close to the players, you just have an appreciation, I think, for how good they are in terms of their ball striking and their movement and their intensity. And this one was awesome.

40:37Catherine Whitaker:Lutova, the 16-year-old who won Memphis in her first tour level event, carried it through qualifying and meeting fellow qualifiers, Jun Chin Wen. And Lutova takes the first set. And honestly, I was blown away by her level. She's 16, but she's such a different profile to what you might expect from a 16-year-old. I think you might think someone is really dangerous with a lot of weapons, but maybe a little bit hot-headed and not quite able to manage a match. You know, that's something that I expect from 16-year-olds. But she's not like that. She's pretty composed. She doesn't have a big weapon, but she has amazing control on her shots.

41:19Catherine Whitaker:She's able to move the ball from side to side, go down the line with such ease. No real weakness in the technique, I don't think. She was able to handle Jung's loopy balls and heavy topspin balls by taking them on the rise. I thought she was brilliant and she was giving Jung all that she could handle for two sets, really. Those first two sets were very, very competitive. But I must say I was very encouraged on Jung's behalf as well. This is someone who has played on the tour all year, really, but it's just not been happening, the comeback from injury. She hasn't been able to get much going, but she qualified here, and she had huge support on court 17.

42:02Catherine Whitaker:I felt a bit for Lyutova. I felt like telling everyone, she's going to be an American citizen probably soon. She's going to naturalise. But she's got no flag next to her name. At the moment, she's representing Russia, and it was full of Chinese fans, and they were really into it for Zhang and she grew into this match. She was overheating a little bit at the start but found her range and, yeah, dare I say, she is one of those dormant volcanoes, Zhang Xinwen. I'm not saying that she's going to erupt here and win the tournament or anything like that. She's in a tricky section of the draw.

42:38Matt Roberts:But you're saying she might. But I'm saying that...

42:42David Law:You're telling me there's a chance.

42:44Catherine Whitaker:I'm saying that that level, I've missed seeing it on the tour. Yeah, me too. And there was a little bit of it today, the intensity, the aura that she has, the heavy topspin forehand. There's no one else like her? No, and I think one of Lutova's relative weaknesses at the moment is probably movement out wide, and Jung with the heavy topspin can exploit that and kind of did as the match went on. it's exciting to at least see the level because she was forced to produce it today against a really good opponent, two and a half hours on court and the first thing Jung did in her on court interview was credit Lutova.

43:26Catherine Whitaker:She wasn't even asked about her and she said I just have to say how well she played and there was a lovely moment of respect and handshake and hug at the net after Jung hugged her.

43:36Matt Roberts:And a real recognition there from Jung I think who sometimes catches some strays, or in the past has caught strays from other players on tour who have found her a bit cold. Personally, I've always really felt for Jung over that. I think that's...

43:51Catherine Whitaker:Been an other player problem.

43:53Matt Roberts:Yeah, exactly, and a sort of misreading of Jung. Yeah, I've really felt for her. But Jung, I think, really understood this is a 16-year-old that's never been in the situation before, will feel like she should have won this match.

44:08Catherine Whitaker:Because she left the court in a kind of mix of tears and...

44:12Matt Roberts:Sort of smiling, maniacal tears. Yeah, there was a lot of emotion going on there. And Jung, and this was a huge moment for Jung. She might be an Olympic gold medalist, but I actually saw a clip of her match point and celebration after she won through her final round of qualifying the other day. And it was a bigger, more emotional celebration than when she won the Olympic gold. She has been through it, Jung. it has been a tough old time trying to just make a go of things back on tour so this was a huge moment for her and Fred to still recognise and have the empathy for what was going on with Lutova I thought was lovely really special

44:51Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, great match, so many like epic games in it and just when you think Jung had Lutova and she was going to race away with it Lutova's resistance to the usual pulls of momentum were amazing for a 16-year-old. Yeah, it was a really, really good match.

45:08Matt Roberts:Yeah, so Jung carrying on in the tournament, as is Linda Nozkova, looked a bit dicey. It was a less good match. Weird match. Very weird. Dicey for her in the opening set, but the Wimbledon champion threw in straight sets against Katie Volinets. Mukova, very comfortable, the Wimbledon finalist. She beat Sinja Kraus for the loss of just three games. Sara Bejelik, another name to go today. She lost out 6-1 in the third to Christina Bookshire. So the rumours of a tennis podcast meets curse do still linger, I'm afraid. And on that note, we'll wrap it up for part one. We'll go and watch the night session and we'll be back to tell you all about it in part two.

45:47Matt Roberts:But before we do that, folks, you will have heard us talk at length about beautiful Indian Wells for years. We are always going on about it. It's panoramic mountain skyline, the beautiful weather and the wonderful tennis watching experience. And now for the first time, you could be going to Indian Wells for the second time in a year. And this time to watch the eight best singles players and the eight best doubles teams in the world at the WTA finals. It's being held between the 8th and the 15th of November. And Steve Fergal's International Tennis Tours can organize an incredible experience for you at that season ending event.

46:26Matt Roberts:complete with fabulous hotel accommodation and hospitality options. Plus, we can offer 5 % off using the code DEUCE5. That's D-E-U-C-E, the number five at checkout. Just go to toursfortennis.com forward slash podcast. That's toursfortennis.com forward slash podcast to find out more. Welcome back to part two of this tennis podcast coming to you on day two of the US Open, or rather day three of the US Open as it is now. It is just a few minutes before one o 'clock in the morning. Play has just wrapped up on the Louis Armstrong Stadium. Francis Tiafoe finally getting the victory over countryman Martin Dahm.

47:08Matt Roberts:Three hours and 48 minutes, five sets, six, four in the fifth. Tiafoe with the win and over on Ash, just minutes before Naomi Osaka winning over Anastasia Zakharova, 7-6, 7-6. What are we doing? One o 'clock in the morning. I can't even remember what time it was last night. What is this sport? Is it going to be one o 'clock in the morning every night? I mean, things are getting out of hand.

47:41Catherine Whitaker:They've been out of hand for a while, I would suggest. But yes, I sort of realised that tennis is the only sport that thanks its fans for staying. It's like you've paid money, you've planned to come, and yet we're inconveniencing you so much that everyone, commentators, players, always feel the need to thank fans for staying.

48:10Matt Roberts:What a concept. Yeah, it is absolutely bonkers, isn't it? And tonight has been a bit bonkers, hasn't it? Like it's been quite a lot of the tennis we've all watched together has been quite bad or at the very least sort of quite weird. But it's been a very compelling night.

48:31David Law:Yeah, I think there were moments where we thought, oh, well, if Naomi Osaka goes a breakup in this set and Francis Tiafoe goes a breakup in that set, we could probably start the podcast, really, because nothing particularly eventful is likely to happen. And yet both matches just kept drawing us back in. And, I mean, that is the beauty of it. Yes, it wasn't the greatest quality from anybody on show at all. They all tried their absolute hearts out and made it compelling. And, yeah, I've enjoyed it. I mean, I would probably have preferred to have enjoyed it about three hours earlier, but there we are.

49:10Matt Roberts:No one tried their heart out more than Martin Dahm. No. Whose name we've been mispronouncing for the entirety of his career. And you've been mispronouncing his dad's name for several decades, it turns out.

49:21David Law:Yes, that's not an exaggeration. It is nearly 30 years that I've been pronouncing Martin Dahm Senior's name incorrectly. Now I'm doing it right, so all's fair. But the moment of the night, maybe the moment of the day, was when his son celebrated towards the end of the third set, was it?

49:44Matt Roberts:He was winning the third set after a marathon game to serve it out where he had to overcome some nerves. Shall we put it that way? I'll say. It was a choked and won anyway, or certainly won the set anyway. it was it was a nervy old affair finally got over the line and of course the crowd are there for tiafo and you know quite rightly so tiafo's given plenty of evidence to new york crowds that he's he's the guy to buy a ticket for and to show up for and and to support as a potential contender for this title but martin dham was like i'm american i'm a bit of a hot shot i i can confirm I'm a Martin Dahm guy, it turns out.

50:29Matt Roberts:And so he wins the third set and he not only puts his finger to his ear, but he does it in a sort of stooped position towards the crowd. And he says, I can't hear you. I loved it so much. Just, I was in. I'm in now. I'm a Martin Dahm guy. Catherine's one point slam moment. in Martin Dahm terms. He's, everything about him is unexpected. You do not know what is coming off his racket. He seems crap at the easy stuff and brilliant at a lot of the hard stuff. Can't make a second serve return, but he's picking up Federer-esque half-vollies off his tippy toes, you know, routinely. Certainly was tonight.

51:22David Law:It's very Catherine, really, isn't it? can conduct live TV with no script and massive pressure, but then drop a coffee down a shirt.

51:30Matt Roberts:Yes, thank you. Yeah, it was very on brand for me to become a Martin Darm guy and then for him to proceed to lose.

51:37Catherine Whitaker:Yes, you haven't yet seen him win a set as one of his guys. No. After that third set, he then did lose the next two sets. Maybe it's you. But yeah, he's a big serving lefty. and he takes a lot of risks. I mean, they brought up the stat on the ESPN coverage that in the first couple of sets, he was taking 30 % of his shots inside the baseline. In the third set, he upped that to 80%, a jump, a huge jump in a set. And he kind of seemed to maintain that for the rest of the match.

52:13Matt Roberts:He's returning sort of 80 mile per hour second serves.

52:16Catherine Whitaker:Stepping way back.

52:17Matt Roberts:From basically in the stands. it's a yeah it's a swashbuckling brand of tennis he's rough around the ages

52:25Catherine Whitaker:but tricky he's awkward to face and a heck of a competitor

52:31David Law:and a heck of a competitor to Yafo as well because he was in trouble there and as he's been telling us he's not been feeling his best I mean he's got an injury he had a surgery to remove a cyst the other week but there's there's a bit of an injury there and he sort of pulled himself over the line and maybe he can loosen up and feel better as it goes along i hope for his sake he can because he does he does bring something really sensational to these tournaments really interesting day for the american men

53:05Matt Roberts:because i mean look that they've all all the main all the main ones have got over the line Tiafoe and Ben Shelton who we'll talk about but it's Tiafoe and Ben Shelton who have struggled this evening whereas Tien, Nakashima, Mickelson all incredibly comfortable convincing winners and okay maybe none of those are contenders for the title although who knows quite frankly at this point but yeah it's Tiafoe and Shelton that we're all looking at and they've they've been a bit ropey

53:38Catherine Whitaker:this evening yes and i think tiafo because probably of this physical issue that he's got and an opponent who played very well against him and really brought it shelton i think was nerves big stage nerves he's the night session the main guy the headline act and he completely laid an egg in the first set one of the best serves on tour he got broken three times in the

54:08David Law:opening set and huge surprise that to me you know that he we were talking about how he'll stride out there and be the guy and love being the guy and i don't doubt that he may well end up feeling like that as it goes along but to come out like that and freeze i wasn't expecting that at all yeah he is his game plan was first strike tennis only you know he's pulling the pulling

54:34Catherine Whitaker:the trigger on shots and had absolutely no rhythm, no consistency, no discipline in his game. He was really all over the place. Fortunately for him, he was playing Talon Greekspore, who often plays his worst tennis when he's in a leading position, and then proceeded to do exactly what Ben Shelton had done in the first set and the second set, and lose all sense of control of his own game. You know, Greekspore in the first set had done just a nice job of getting the ball in play and letting Shelton beat himself. But the role was completely reversed in the second set. And, you know, the two sets were over in a flash and neither of them had played well at the same time.

55:16Catherine Whitaker:It was hard to gauge where the level was. It picked up a little bit in the third set because it was closer and there was some scoreline intrigue to it. But it still wasn't a particularly compelling match. You know, the games were zipping by and, you know, The rallies weren't all that compelling, but Shelton did improve a lot because in the first set, he was terrible. And I think there was a world there where he didn't get it back, you know, and he let the evening and the occasion consume him, but he steadied and he did look more like himself as the match went on. But I don't think he ever hit his top level tonight, but he managed to get through it.

55:58Matt Roberts:How much does that worry you from a Shelton perspective that he, not that he felt the nerves, but that they manifested like that, especially in the context of what happened to him in Paris and at Wimbledon.

56:15David Law:Yeah, I do find that a little bit jarring because I just didn't expect it. And maybe that's me being naive and actually having heard Jessica Bergula describe her first round nerves that she always has. and it sounded like it's a real job to get through them, really, and to be able to perform at all. Maybe it's just a little unfair to just assume people can just walk out there cold and be okay when they've got... Especially when Shelton, this is kind of the first time he's been the guy and actually not just the guy for American tennis, but he's kind of one of the favourites for the whole thing.

56:54David Law:There are people, idiots like me, who are saying he can win the thing and he hasn't even started yet. So it is a lot. But I also think now he's got this out of the way, I think it gets easier on that score. Maybe the challenges get harder, but actually I think he'll handle the occasions more easily now.

57:15Matt Roberts:So that match finishes on Ash. Then there's some faff. And, okay, it was faff with Roger Federer. So Federer fans are going to come at me, but it was faff, folks.

57:26David Law:It was lovely. It just shouldn't have been held. between two competitive tennis matches when the other one featured two players backstage who've been waiting for hours and are now going to have to go on at 10.25 rather than 10.

57:39Matt Roberts:Yeah, it's 10pm and they're rolling out a carpet and putting up a lectern and introducing six separate people onto the court for this Roger Federer. It was sort of an extension of the Hall of Fame induction And it's a lovely thing that they make that part of the US Open and it's giving him the ring and I know that's a big deal. Like, as you say, no issue with that thing happening, but there was three hours of intentionally blank in the day earlier when it could have been happening or it could have happened at 7pm before the start of the night. There's just so many ways it could be done that aren't that.

58:20Matt Roberts:It felt disrespectful to Naomi Osaka and Anastasia Zakharova. where it felt disrespectful to the viewers, really. I don't know. Like, it just... And Federer had to rush it.

58:33David Law:Yeah. I mean, I think he was conscious of... And probably the tournament, by that point, we better just... We've said we're doing this now, but we better do it pretty swiftly. Remember the same happened maybe a year or two ago. Last year, yeah.

58:46Matt Roberts:But it's like everyone's surprised by tennis taking more than an hour and a half. Tennis almost always takes more than an hour and a half. It quite often takes five hours. Like, that's not unusual anymore. Like, tennis acting surprised when things take two hours or two and a half hours is just bonkers.

59:11David Law:The Australian Open do a lot of these things before a night session, as I recall. You know, they'll often have people lined up and do a presentation,

59:19Matt Roberts:and that works, you know,

59:21David Law:but you maybe just don't eat into the actual playing time.

59:25Matt Roberts:I suspect TV is part of it, but yeah, it just doesn't, it seems nonsensical to me. But anyway, out comes Naomi Osaka and Anastasia Zaharava, and this is a really bitty match. Again, kind of compelling, but there's no rhythm to any of it. Naomi Osaka is having a bad time playing Zaharava, who, much like my guy Martin Dahm, what a competitor. What a gritty competitor. She was never ahead in this match, was she? But she just would not lie down. She was a real pest to Osaka. And it was very much two players with one mode of playing tennis.

1:00:11Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, a lot of seaball hitball going on. And Osaka, I think, felt rusty anyway because she hadn't played for a few weeks, having chosen to take Cincinnati off. So she probably wanted a match to try and find some of her rhythm.

1:00:33David Law:And this was this was not that by any means.

1:00:37Catherine Whitaker:She was a breakup in both sets and got pegged back and ended up in tie breaks and did play a very good second set tie break. You know, having failed to serve out of the match, she then regrouped, I thought, really well and served well in the tie break to close it out. But yeah, she didn't seem comfortable out there. But I do expect her to improve as the tournament goes on. She's got a slightly tricky next match, I would say, actually, against Siniarkova. You know, that's that's someone who who can again have great competitors in the archiver and. Just can be a bit awkward, I think. But we did talk about Osaka being in a good section of the draw, generally big picture.

1:01:27Catherine Whitaker:So there is an opportunity for that for her to work her way into this tournament.

1:01:31David Law:Can I just ask, what did you think of the Osaka outfit today when she walked out?

1:01:37Matt Roberts:um yeah dramatic it was she was styled by law roach wasn't she yeah i mean i don't know who

1:01:46David Law:that is but i don't know who any designer or fashion person is he's famously zendaya's oh

1:01:52Matt Roberts:i think he does other bits and bobs but he basically full-time zendaya's stylist so that's and he's become that her styling is a big thing and he's become a big fit thing she does this

1:02:05David Law:method dressing you across that no no i'm only across whatever naomi osaka's doing when she walks out onto the court but this is probably the first time that i've really watched her come out of the tunnel and actually go and do the the coin flip you know with with the outfit on i thought it looked really cool but i don't know what the hell i'm talking about but i mean it's

1:02:26Matt Roberts:fashion isn't it it's it's avant-garde fashion so i don't think it's about i think it's whatever you whatever you want it to be isn't it it's her form of self-expression i i do i do like her iteration of the nike basketball kit there are some iterations of it that that are less successful i think um but i thought she looked really cool in that in her playing kit yeah she said nike said

1:02:54Catherine Whitaker:they're going to do basketball and she said well i'll show them basketball then and she's really styled herself on Allen Iverson and really pulled off that look, I think.

1:03:05Matt Roberts:Yeah, agreed. So Osaka safely through Shviontek. We should probably touch upon Shviontek. 6-2, 6-3 against the world number 80, Wong Ziyu. Matt, you had eyes on this.

1:03:19Catherine Whitaker:Yes, and she played well, Shviontek. It was the kind of matchup that I thought she'd be comfortable in. Wong Ji-Yu, a lefty, plays with heavy topspin, and that just suits Iga Sviantec, because she's able to play in the way she wants to play, with hitting spin herself and constructing points and not being too much under pressure. She served well, Sviantec, 74 % of her first serves in tonight. I, yeah, there wasn't much jeopardy in this one. It was comfortable, but I think it was Svantec playing in the right way and kind of what we've seen really throughout the last couple of events. So yeah, more good news for Svantec, but much, much bigger tests to come, I would say.

1:04:14Matt Roberts:Okay, that is it for part two and your wrap on results for day two of the US Open. We'll be back in part three to look ahead to day three. Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast. Now, just before we get into a look at tomorrow's order of play, a bit of news that dropped earlier on today from the USTA, the US Tennis Association, announcing a new brand partner of the US Open, Kalshi, who you may or may not have heard of. They have been unveiled as the official prediction market partner of the US Open, the first ever prediction market partner. It's an exclusive multi-year deal. What is a prediction market?

1:04:59Matt Roberts:I hear you ask. Well, I didn't really know either. I did quite a lot of research into this today. A prediction market is a platform on which users can trade on the outcomes of future events. Anything really from election results to baseball games to what the subject of an Elon Musk tweet is going to be, what the content of a Donald Trump speech is going to be. They've become very, very popular very quickly and they are a very controversial alternative to traditional sports betting. It's a binary thing where you bet yes or no on a certain thing happening, essentially. Calci are the largest prediction market company in the US.

1:05:47Matt Roberts:They're currently valued at$22 billion. dollars. The USTA CEO Craig Tiley said in the press release about this announcement, we're relentless about keeping tennis at the cutting edge of global sports innovation and fan connection. Partnering with Kelshi gives us an opportunity to pioneer that next generation of fan engagement while ensuring the integrity of the sport, of our sport rather. And mentioning the integrity of the sport is quite a bold thing to do because, I mean, look, tennis and sport has had a complicated and grey and often very troubling relationship with sports betting full stop for a long time that raises a lot of questions about the integrity of the sport.

1:06:38Matt Roberts:But prediction markets are particularly controversial. They are, Kalshi are currently being sued in 20 states, red and blue states, over whether they should be subject to state betting regulations. Last month, 44 states in the US signed a letter attacking the platforms, Koushi, and their rival prediction markets as, quote, a new form of casino preying on young people. So currently they're not subject to state regulations as betting companies are. And that is a state of affairs which is promoted by President Trump, who has declared that he wants prediction markets to thrive under his leadership without state oversight.

1:07:28Matt Roberts:And Kalshi hired Donald Trump Jr. as an advisor in January last year. And his compensation included more than$300 ,000 in Kalshi shares, which have mysteriously multiplied in value since then. And this is all from reporting by The New York Times, who have done very significant reporting on this for many months. There have been multiple cases of insider trading on the Kaushy platform. A White House teleprompter operator recently won$100 ,000 by betting on what Donald Trump would say in his speeches. and in April three political candidates were found to be betting on their own races and a number of politicians have been given lifetime bans from the platform.

1:08:22Matt Roberts:John Wertheim, our colleague, called this partnership a moral failure. He was incredibly punchy about it on Twitter earlier. He described it as a platform predicated on profiting from insider information, being welcomed into a sport with a known match fixing problem. And of course, beyond that, a problem with players, particularly female players, receiving extensive abuse from people on the wrong end of the betting industry. And this is an extremely opaque, anonymized way of doing betting, which will only, I think, provide a hotbed for more of that kind of activity. The ITIA, the International Tennis Integrity Agency, was asked for comment by John on this new partnership, and it was a surprisingly weak statement.

1:09:17Matt Roberts:I suppose they're playing the political game on this, but they said they are working closely with our funders, of whom the USTA is one. They said we're working closely with our funders on the identification and management of the risks. I mean, look, maybe my issue here is with capitalism, late stage capitalism, rather than with any particular symptom thereof. But this feels like a particularly bleak, ethical development to me, David.

1:09:50David Law:Yeah, they just don't feel like an appropriate fit. And yet they are paying money. and yeah I came across John earlier today and he was giving me a little bit of understanding of what Calci are and what they do and I didn't know too much about them but he was really bothered by this and that comes across in his tweets he said it was an irresponsible decision lucrative sure but totally devoid of soul content and integrity. I mean, that tells you exactly how he feels, and he cited the point you made about players, and particularly women, receiving death threats and all this sort of abuse from the betting, you know, from people who bet on tennis matches and getting into bed with these sort of organisations.

1:10:52David Law:It just doesn't feel right to me. and I'm concerned too.

1:11:01Matt Roberts:Yeah, pretty bleak stuff, quite frankly, and the timing of that press release doesn't feel accidental.

1:11:10David Law:Yeah, right in the middle of the tennis when everybody's attention, and maybe just coincidental, of course, but it doesn't really feel coincidental. It feels like it might have been put there so that people won't bother be talking about it too much.

1:11:24Matt Roberts:And I did request or at least see if the USTA wanted to provide comment in response to the criticism. And they pointed me in the direction of Craig Tiley's statement in the press release. OK, on to tomorrow's order of plays, starting at 11.30 on the Arthrasch Stadium with Madison Keyes, the 22nd seed at this tournament against Alina Korneva, the very talented young Russian who's been starting to put together some impressive results as a senior after really struggling with injury upon her transition from the junior to the senior game. So that's an interesting one. Similar dynamic in the next match with a well-established player against a very young player, but I do fear for Darwin Blanche when he takes on Tey de Fretz.

1:12:20Matt Roberts:He is still at a very early stage of development, Darwin Blanche, and I hope it's not a chastening experience for him because sometimes those wildcard experiences can be, so wishing him well. The night session on Ash tomorrow is Coco Gauff first up, a women's match first on. Coco Gauff against Zeynep Sonmez. Should be maybe a good match, that one, Matt?

1:12:46Catherine Whitaker:Yes, I think so. Sommez is a nice player. I don't know how she's punching holes, really, in Goff's game. I don't think she's quite got the weapons. I think she'd have to hope for Goff to have a bit of an off day. But, you know, like maybe Goff will be nervous as well. You know, we've seen nerves be a bit of a factor today. Gough is more experienced. She's a major champion. But, you know, those Arthur Ashe night sessions are no joke. So I'm looking forward to that one.

1:13:24Matt Roberts:Second up in the night session, Alexander Zverev against Lorenzo Sonnago. What percentage chance do you give Sonnago there, David? 20.

1:13:36David Law:Look, Zverev should win. but it'd be interesting to see what would happen if Sonego got into it because when he gets into a match he becomes a better player because of an atmosphere because if he gets into it the crowd will get into it they'll get into him and I don't recall him having a real moment of that type at this tournament and that would be very interesting and then to see how Zverev reacted to it but you know you would expect Zverev to win

1:14:06Matt Roberts:Armstrong tomorrow opens with Flavio Caballi against Francisco Comissania. I won't ask anybody for any Caballi-based predictions. That would be too much for hospital bars. Be prepared for anything, folks, including watery shits, as is Flavio's way in round one of Grand Slams sometimes. Second on Armstrong tomorrow, Miran Draver, the reigning French Open champion, against Janice Chen of Indonesia. that should be a good match excited for that one

1:14:38Catherine Whitaker:yes they played very recently in Cincinnati and first set was a bit of a blowout but second set was a tie break and Andre for one hit in straight sets but Chen got into that and kind of learned a little bit about the matchup I think so you'd hope for her sake that she takes that into this match

1:14:59Matt Roberts:yeah she's a nice player Gael Monfils playing what could very well be his final Grand Slam match First up in the night session on Armstrong tomorrow, he plays Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, who got himself involved in some controversy at the French Open earlier this year. Following on from those two, it is Alex Ayala. I've been hearing some things about how much tickets for Alex Ayala tomorrow night on Armstrong are going for on the ticket resale platforms. And it's a lot, unsurprisingly. She takes on Mary Stoyana, the American qualifier. Grandstand tomorrow is Thea Froden. Am I pronouncing that right, Matt?

1:15:48Matt Roberts:Froden? Froden? Depends how French she's feeling. She takes on Elena Rabachner, who is very much on injury watch tomorrow. And Thea Froden, she is the girl, who the act, well, actress, are we calling her actress? Double? She certainly got an IMDB profile. She played young Serena Williams in King Richard. Oh, right. David. That's very interesting. The film for which Will Smith won a very famous Oscar.

1:16:23David Law:Yeah. Yeah, that's very interesting. And I do think the most interesting story of the day really is going to be Elena Rebacchner. seeing, you know, this is a woman who could become world number one if she reaches the semifinals of this tournament. Can she even get through a match based on what I saw from her a week or so ago in Cincinnati? It's hard to believe that you can make a recovery from that as quickly as she would need to, but, well, eyes will be on her, that's for sure.

1:16:57Catherine Whitaker:I think we should say she did the tennis scenes in King Richard. She wasn't doing... Yes. The acting beyond that.

1:17:05Matt Roberts:I do think she still has an IMDb profile. Yes, I think so.

1:17:09Catherine Whitaker:Yeah. Maybe. I suppose she will, but yeah. She's not an actor.

1:17:14Matt Roberts:Right. Yeah. Okay. She was just being herself playing tennis.

1:17:18David Law:A bit like Dom Inglot in Wimbledon. That's very good, David. When he was Paul Bettany for the day.

1:17:27Matt Roberts:That was before Dom Inglot was a thing, wasn't it? Yeah.

1:17:30David Law:It was before Dom Inglot was Dom Inglot. Yeah.

1:17:34Matt Roberts:Second non-grandstand tomorrow, Arthur Ferry taking on Lorenzo Mazzetti. Stylish match that. Ivi Jovic and Magdalena Frech third on. And Alex de Mino is fourth on against another Italian that I've not heard of, Andrea Guerrieri. The Italians just...

1:17:53Catherine Whitaker:I know, there's always another one.

1:17:55Matt Roberts:Just overflowing with Italians. They are... Talk about depth. Extraordinary. Putin Seva Bencic first on court 17 tomorrow Kazikina Bedosa Rafael Hodder third on 17 tomorrow against Sanasi Kokkinakis and Marcus Girone and Ignacio Busse Ignacio Busse the Winston-Salem champion is last on court 17 lots of other fun stuff elsewhere too Biotic van der Zand's group last on court 5 if anyone fancies that that is no nobody okay Basavredi school Kate school Hattay Court 11 Tatiana Maria against Yelena Ostapenko that's an indie pick isn't it lots of fun stuff happening tomorrow and we will be here at the end of it with our day three tennis podcast let's say hello to Leo who was ready for some al-charazmataz today weren't we all Leo Leo is our US Open mascot and apparently he knew primetime at the US Open called for something special.

1:19:02Matt Roberts:So he traded his tennis balls for a sparkling green bow tie and brought his most dapper look to the tournament. Unlike so many of the players today, I think today has been net an absolutely shocking day for tennis kit. Shocking. Notable exceptions, but overall, dire. So well done, Leo. Of course, this level of sophistication required some serious negotiations, which were paid entirely in his favourite grilled chicken. Leo knows how to live, that is for sure. So hello to Leo. Hello to our mascots, Bodie, Maisie and Roger. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. We salute you and we hand over to Matt for some shout outs.

1:19:51Catherine Whitaker:we start with bobby connor and luke murray from new jersey who are three brothers who love tennis

1:20:01Matt Roberts:oh that's so lovely how great's that bobby connor and luke yes and they say our dad is always watching tennis or listening to your podcast too oh but they didn't want to include him in the shout out just in just in the little extra bit bobby reynolds conor nyland and luke jensen incredible work wow i was going to say and their surname is marry by the way so sorted Samantha Murray Sharon I was going to mention Darwin Blanche having two I think two brothers that also play tennis one of whom I know is called Ulysses and I've just googled them and the other brother is Dali and then there's a sister called Crystal so sort of tenuous link three brothers there you go Connor Luke and Bobby Yeah.

1:21:06Matt Roberts:Thank you ever so much. We love that.

1:21:09Catherine Whitaker:And finally, we have Ash Jamieson. Hello, Ash. Who is from New York via Sydney. Oh, Ash. And Ash says, I was at Roland Garros this year with some friends and we saw David hustling over to court Simone Mathieu for Mickelson Hodder.

1:21:26David Law:That's right, yeah.

1:21:28Catherine Whitaker:Ash says, it was like seeing a celebrity in the wild. Yes, he really is that tall.

1:21:38David Law:yep don't know how to answer that but it was lovely to meet you Ash and yeah I remember that day very well love that Ash like Ash Barty

1:21:46Catherine Whitaker:yes and Ash would also like to shout out Ash Sabalenka's cute puppy

1:21:52Matt Roberts:oh Ash you beat me to the gosh I've lost my powers you forgot the dog I didn't go dog first wow

1:22:03Catherine Whitaker:We know Ash Barty lives rent free. Yeah, absolutely. And the what could have been.

1:22:11Matt Roberts:So we have New York and New Jersey today for our shout outs. We do. Very appropriate. Ash, Bobby, Connor and Luke and your dad, thank you ever so much for being friends of the Tennis Podcast and for listening. Thank you for listening. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network and we, of course, will be back tomorrow. We'll speak to you then.