US Open Day 3 - Gauff survives, but for how long?

0:10Well, hello and welcome to the tennis podcast on day three of the US Open where you find us in the media garden approaching 11pm with, of course, a tennis match just getting underway on the Arthur Ashe Stadium and one having just finished a three hour thriller. between Coco Goff and Isla Tomljanovic won eventually, and at times excruciatingly by Goff, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5, a real museum exhibit of a Coco Goff match. I feel like, David, if your grandchildren, your future grandchildren one day ask you, what was Coco Goff like as a tennis player? You might just be able to stick that match on whatever YouTube exists at this point in the future and over the course of three hours they will come to understand.

1:03Yeah, it's summed up everything that she is really, the good and the bad. I mean, mostly good because she's one of the great competitors I've ever seen pick up a tennis racket. She's one of the great athletes I've ever seen pick up a tennis racket and yet she remains a top player who plays more bad tennis than I think any that I've ever seen really. And I mean really top player. And I don't mean that in a disparaging way, and I'm sure that some might take it that way. But the truth is she has glaring weaknesses in her game that she's just been unable to iron out of it to this point. And she's had another one rear its head on the eve of this tournament.

1:53She's talked in the aftermath of this match kind of about the stress and the exhausting nature of trying to deal with it in her on-court interview there. But the bottom line is she's got the job done yet again. And how many times have we said that? We've seen her win two Grand Sam titles where that has been the kind of feature element of the journey. And here she is again getting through somehow. Yeah, we'll talk about the nitty-gritty of it all. and obviously a lot of focus and attention on Coco Goff's serve tonight. But just kind of big picture, Matt, how different was tonight or not from Coco Goff to the winning ugly that we've seen Coco Goff do en route to Grand Slam titles in the past?

2:44I think that's a really good question because I went into this match really expecting it to be a bit different because of all the talk about the serve. I was thinking, what is that serve going to look like? I felt like I'd be thinking about the serve the entire match. And that was very much the story of the opening stages of this match, where in her first service game she got broken. She didn't hit her first serve at over 90 miles an hour. There were a couple in the 70s. She was just rolling it in. and I thought, wow, okay, we could be in for a very, very difficult night for Coco Gauff on serve.

3:24But actually, as the match progressed, her serve speeds remained down, quite significantly down, but she only hit 10 double faults across three hours. This was a very, very long match. Compared to some of the numbers we've seen of double faults, it was relatively fewer from Coco Gauff tonight. The serve wasn't really a weapon like it can be. It does look like she's in a sort of intermediary stage with it where she's just trying to make it and work through it. But there were other elements that were very much like past Coco-Goff matches where, you know, the forehand would sometimes break down. But then at other times she was having incredible long exchanges with Tom Janovich and the forehand was holding up.

4:17there were very traditional Coco Goff elements of the movement, getting her out of trouble and coming up with blazing winners on the run, including, you know, fantastic backhand down the line to actually win the match. You know, these were very Coco Goff things. I think what was perhaps a bit different from Coco Goff tonight was that she didn't play all that well in some big moments. You know, like the end of the second set, I really felt like when she had 5-6 love 30, I really thought she was going to close the match there. She played a really poor second set tie break. These were things I wasn't expecting from Coco Gauff and maybe are illustrative of the fact that she's having to think a lot on court at the moment.

5:01Mary Crillo in the World Feed commentary was doing her excellent Nick Politieri impersonation and saying what he would used to say is, don't think. you know like thinking is such an enemy for tennis players and I think Goff's got a lot in her head right now something that she's chosen to take on the week before the US Open she's very aware of what she's doing here with Gavin McMillan but she said in that on-court interview she hinted at kind of the stress and the the frustration I think that is in her mind at the moment because she's having to think about a lot and maybe just in some of those big moments there was a lot in her mind.

5:38I thought Tom Janovich played a pretty good match considering where her form has been for a while now. It was a dangerous opponent for her. So lots of traditional Coco Gauff things as you said but just that really big moments in the second set surprised me. I thought she was going to wrap it up in two and even in the third when she was a breakup it never really felt like she had the match under control. She was always vulnerable so I don't know if I've answered your question there but those but that was definitely elements of traditional Coco Gauff matches we've seen but with some with some slightly new things as well did we and by we I include Mary Carrillo in this because I know you watched with her with her commentary lucky you I I had my own dose of Mary Carrillo commentary earlier in the day and it it's going to sustain me for the rest of 2025 it was it was that good um did did we see any technical changes to the service motion other than that she was obviously not hitting full pelt she was obviously taking in a cautious conservative approach to to serving that was the main one i noticed I think trying to stay a little more upright but I think that was you know she was doing that as a result of the fact that she was kind of rolling it in a little bit more she wasn't collapsing on it because she wasn't going for it quite so much which we can only assume as it stands at the moment Gough hasn't come into press obviously when she does we will let you know news of that we were deciding whether or not to wait until after a press conference to do this pod and Matt said there are plenty of pods so if there's anything urgent I'll put it on her Instagram obviously whatever she says we'll cover it in tomorrow's podcast but yeah I mean look you can see from the stats that she was taking massive pace off that server

7:39Jannik Sinner:her average speed did increase a bit over the course of the match dipped in the second set did end up up at 96 miles per hour, her average first serve speed. She upped the pace a bit in that deciding set, but that's way down on where she would usually be. So she's obviously sacrificing the highs to protect herself from the lows as an interim measure, David, on serve to stop the hemorrhage, you know, stem the flow of double faults, which seems sensible, but it's obviously not the sustainable long-term solution that she's brought Gavin McMillan onto the team to do. Yeah, I think it's probably just not the tennis she wants to be playing.

8:25But it is a way to get herself into rallies without clocking up double faults. I mean, as you said, 10 in the match. But over three hours, I mean, she's been putting not far off 10 in sets at times, sometimes more than that on really bad days. and a baseline game is still absolutely world-class yes there is there is a forehand issue at times but yeah that she was sustaining those forehand exchanges against a player really going after her forehand and trying to break it down and for the most part it was standing up so i guess the view is well make sure you get into rallies because you're still a brilliant baseliner but to have to go three hours with not one of the very best players and only just squeak it out and having made such a fundamental overhaul of her backroom staff in the week before the US Open because of a specific issue and like the most important shot in the game in many ways she wasn't trying to hide the stress she was feeling in that interview on court I felt for her.

9:36This has clearly been a lot. She's exhausted already. The reaction, the immediate aftermath of the match was fascinating, I thought, because she celebrated like she'd won the US Open. That was the Coco Gauff we know. And it was a very dramatic match point, wasn't it?

9:53Jannik Sinner:And obviously it felt right on a knife edge right up until the very last moment. She'd already tried and failed to serve out the match, went back to five all. she broke again and had a second bite of the cherry which she did eventually take but it really was in the balance right up until the very end and she roared huge huge moment when she leapt into the air and I know Mary gave it the big one in commentary it was a huge moment and then so quickly she looked sad like in that on court interview which was a good interview, good questions you know the crowd were with her the crowd were into it she looked concerned and sad very very quickly and you saw some backstage images of her getting onto the the exercise bike in the gym backstage as she seemed to continue to look pretty sad yeah she she's made it very clear in all the interviews we've done with her over the years in press conferences we've seen her after a lot of sad defeats and she doesn't hide how much it means to her I just think her performances and her success and her career you know she puts such a lot into it and she's at kind of one of the the biggest tournaments in the world for her maybe maybe maybe the biggest and certainly the one that she won two years ago and everybody's looking at her and she's come out here and she's she's tinkering in this manner with her game and and she obviously just hates that feeling that's what it feels like when you listen to her and I was struck by what you said about how she seems a bit exhausted maybe mentally because I had this feeling throughout this whole this whole match like can't believe this is only round one you know the sense of occasion that there was tonight the intensity of the match, the nerves I think on display, the quality at times.

11:51It felt to me like a middle of the tournament, maybe even second week match in terms of stage. I found it enthralling, I loved it. I really want to get that across, that I had a great time watching this match. But then to see that Goff is feeling like that at the end, that's another point that it didn't feel like the first round it already feels like she's done so much work like tonight in the in the build up to the event I just in terms of like where this leaves Coco Gauff I just don't know how many more times she can do that I mean like I know that she's got an incredible quality to be able to get out of these sorts of matches but when she's playing like that she does tend to eventually lose yeah I don't know I find it compelling and also like there's this whole thing isn't there with Goff where I don't think she necessarily wants the night session slot you know like I think she'd be pretty happy playing in the day she always says she likes playing in the day and you use her physicality in the heat not that it is that hot at the moment but you get more off the ball probably and that kind of thing And yet she's so obviously the biggest star of this tournament, the biggest, you know, player for the USTA.

13:11She's primetime. They call the night session primetime. Right. And she's that. And they want her in that slot. And yet it comes with a heightened feeling. Every 7pm night session slot on Ash is heightened. And, you know, I suppose in some ways there's parallels to when she played that opening round night session match against Siegmund a couple of years ago and ended up coming through it, but it was a bit of an ordeal. And then... It always is with Siegmund. Asked Anna Schneider. As the tournament went on, okay, she didn't always play her best tennis in that tournament, but it wasn't like that again.

13:50So maybe that will be the case again here, but it feels like she's battling something a bit different this time. Yeah, as always, Coco Gauff, compelling. Yeah, utterly, utterly enthralling. Yeah. All of it. Absolutely all of it. She's going to get asked a big question and a different question in the next match, isn't she, against Donna Vekic, who has power that Tom Ljanovic doesn't and weaponry that Tom Ljanovic doesn't. She's a great absorber of pace, Tom Ljanovic. She was dealing with the depth and heaviness of Goff's shots really well.

14:29Jannik Sinner:I think she's a very up and down player. She wasn't having a lot of ideas out there. Donovekic doesn't move as well, but she's going to be able to go hard into the goth forehand, which is what Tomljanovic was desperately trying to do at the end there. You know, there were no secrets to the tactic. It was just, she wasn't trying to move her. She was just hammering into her forehand hitting zone. and Donna Vekic is going to be able to do that with a bigger, flatter hit. And also with the ability to then switch it and go down the line, which Tom Ljanovic clearly felt uncomfortable doing. She tried a few times, but that's not her game.

15:11Her game is more backhand heavy, but such was the onus on going into the golf forehand and probably the safest shot for her was the cross-court forehand. She kept doing it. Vekic likes nothing more than to stand in the middle of the court or maybe a little further to her left so she can run around it and hit the big forehand and just bludgeon either way, frankly. And that's danger times for Koko Goff. I think Goff has the ability to move her. And if she gets her on the run, she's going to have a massive advantage there. But a good Donna Vekic is a problem for Koko Goff in this form. And she'll love the stage.

15:54She'll love the occasion. and I don't think she'll be bothered by the New York crowd being against her at all. Like, I expect Donna Vekic to show up and come to play for this match. And I know she's coming in here unseeded. She's not had half the season that she had last year. She's kind of got no form at all. But I do think today's win over Jessica Boutas-Monaro is pretty significant for Vekic to feed off in terms of confidence going into this match. I can't wait for it. it's going to be night session isn't it two days from now I'd have thought so yeah it's a mouth-watering match when you consider exactly what you've just described in terms of what Vekic is capable of there big win for her over Bufas Monero I thought Bufas Monero would win that Pam I know went out and saw the closing stages of that and was impressed with what she saw from Donna Vekic and, yeah, that word you use, stage.

16:54Like, you know, we know Goff likes the stage, but Vekic, I think, will get up for that. And, you know, we might see a much better Donna Vekic than we've seen this year, and that's, yeah, that's dangerous. I suppose the only competition for that women's night session slot might be Naomi Osaka, who, David, you watched win tonight on Armstrong in the night session slot on Armstrong, 6-3, 6-4 over Gruet Minnan. in a sparkly red dress. My word, what an outfit she came onto the court with. Actually, orange, I would say. It's interesting what the TV can do to the look of an outfit. I've seen this a couple of times, and in person, to my eye, it looked orange.

17:38But one of the most spectacular outfits I think I've ever seen a tennis player walk out onto the court with, because she actually had a sort of... I mean, you might have to help me out with the terminology here, But basically she had a hairpiece as she walked out with a huge ponytail and a shimmering crystal orange montage on top of it that she then removed ahead of the knock-up and then carried on. and she had a sort of crystal bow in her hair, orange crystal bow, and crystals in sort of patches on the dress, which, I mean, it was spectacular. And she said afterwards that, I mean, most of the press conference was about the outfit and she actually wore the entire ensemble to the press conference, the hair and all.

18:28But she said it had been a year in the making, that outfit. I really liked that it still looked like a tennis dress. Like that it was prime time and razzle-dazzle and theatrical, you know, good luck to her, that's cool, and it brings attention to the sport and all the rest of it. I didn't love the big bow situation last year. No, no, I know what you mean. But I thought this was cool. Yeah. I thought this was really cool. She did touch on something that I have to say goes through my mind a little bit when I know she, because she's been talking about this dress for a little while, that my dress is going to be fire.

19:10I can't wait to wear it at the US Open. She meant literally. Yeah. That was a Taylor Swift Easter egg, wasn't it? What happens if you then lose first round? Like Zverev in the knee-high socks in 2017. That would have been a tough scene. And I've got to be honest with you, I don't think she played that well, really, tonight. I mean, started off, Griet Minnan hits a massive ball in terms of playing assertive tennis. She's a good doubles player, and there was a lot of that sort of leaning on the ball, trying to take it early, hitting slice backhands, trying to basically finish the point on her own terms.

19:46And she got Osaka to three all and there were one or two nervy moments there for Osaka. Then she just sped off into the distance, wins the next six games and you think, oh, this match is over. Then she gets broken back and it gets nervy really in the second set as well. And it felt more on a knife edge than 6-3, 6-4 sounds. And I think she's still some way, she's not playing like she was when things were going well in Canada yet. But she said I was nervous and you just want to get your feet wet by getting into the tournament. The issue she has is that she now faces Hayley Baptiste, who is a very accomplished player.

20:26She's kind of Greek Minim and then some because she's got the slice and the awkwardness. She can make life difficult. They had a really close match in Miami earlier this year, which Osaka won. But this is going to be a big test for Osaka and for my prediction. How do you feel about the prediction after watching tonight? Well, she didn't look like the champion, but I have to say I think it's in there. I still believe that level that I have predicted will come out is in there. it's just that a bit like how she beat Ludmilla Samsonova in Canada she now needs to do that against Hayley Baptiste and I think if she could she'd be off and running.

21:09Baptiste has not had the greatest of summers she had a wonderful spring had a great run at the French Open but she's she's lost she's not really gone beyond the second round in any of the matches she's played and I just dipped in on her press conference on the way out of Osaka's and she said that, you know, I haven't been winning as many matches as I'd like, but, you know, she's also really pumped to be here at the US Open and getting a lot of noise from crowd members, realising who she is and going for the American anyway. I don't want to create inter TTP aggro, but Matt, as a big Baptiste believer and an early Baptiste adopter, do you Do you think she's got a good chance to beat Osaka in a couple of days' time?

22:02I do, yes. I mean, I would make Osaka the favourite, but it was actually the Baptiste-Osaka match in Miami earlier this year that David referenced that really put me on to Baptiste. I remember watching that and being so impressed with her game, the changes of pace that she has, the shot-making ability that she has, just really liked her vibe on court. And then she played a great match against Svitolina and then in Rome, and I was just all in on Baptiste after that. She said today, I think in the on-court interview, that she wasn't quite feeling herself. I think maybe she was a little bit under the weather.

22:42But, you know, even taking that into account, I think that's a pretty good win against Sini Arcavo. It was back and forth. Sini Arcavo probably should have won the first set today. And Sini Arcavo gets quite stressed on court. gets quite down on herself and with Baptiste is much more on an even keel you know she's just pretty cool on court I think Baptiste but to go back to the matchup with Osaka, Baptiste has an ability to take the backhand early and rush Osaka, she has an ability to change the pace, she has an ability to hit hard on the run and she can do a lot of things I think that can mess the Sarka up a little bit but it's it's not it's not there all the time for Baptiste it has come and go in these matches I honestly I can't wait for it you know ever since the draw came out I've been wanting to see Baptiste Sarka there's a world in which they make this the night session in Gough Vekic the day session especially if Gough is requesting day session yeah yeah I think that's possible and I certainly think it would it would it would carry the night session as a match and an occasion I mean this is Naomi Osaka tells us her night dress she says I'm hoping I can wear my day dress in the next round but well I guess we'll have to wait and see I mean she was really pleased with her own serve today but my reading was that her backhand was world-class for most to the match her forehand was spraying and loose and losing losing herself a lot of points in in kind of clusters um but yeah she she talked about and i think this is a little bit of a a nod to what happened in that final in canada she said the the main thing i was concentrating on was my attitude and to try to you know not give myself a hard time um and uh and i think overall she achieved that?

24:48Yeah I think I don't know how much of a big deal Baptiste is like I get the feeling that she's not that well known still I mean she was on court 17 today like I don't think she can like carry that match on her own necessarily here but I think Osaka is a big deal this was Baptiste's first US Open win today kind of feel like it is an opportunity to to give Baptiste the stage but that might be that might be an advantage for Osaka yeah you know like Baptiste really unfamiliar with that setting having the you know having the support can go both ways it might be useful but it might also be a lot you know I kind of think the bigger the stage the bigger the court here favors Osaka a little bit if they go all in and make that the match just because I know she's not been that used to it recently and we saw what happened in Montreal it's a concern but there's an experience gap there that she's got the advantage over Baptiste.

25:55Ash opened with Iga Shontek beating Milia Arango 6162 in exactly an hour if Osaka's press conference David was dominated by dress chat then Shontek's was dominated by Taylor Swift engagement chat and she seemed to love it she seemed to be perfectly happy to spend her time in the press conference room talking about Taylor Swift's engagement news that was broken to me by Mary Carrillo and me in commentary that's pretty epic isn't it it was so perfect um yeah I was I sustained a deodorant related eye injury and so I wasn't able to open my eyes for a couple of hours this morning uh so I couldn't look at my phone I was late to the news but there was Mary Carrillo for me in my moment of need.

26:44Even I was quite pumped. Yeah, I mean, this is what an in-form Shvantech does in opening rounds of slams, isn't it? Frankly, it's what an out-of-form Shvantech does too. Like, she doesn't lose early at slams. Typically, she, I know she doesn't like this, but she dishes out bagels and breadsticks. Like, she's a machine in these sorts of matches and that's exactly what she was today.

27:13Jannik Sinner:While she was playing on Ash, Amanda Enesimova was over on Armstrong and of course that's where Matt was. One down, six to go on the road to Bleach. We're back. We are so back. And we've got the blonde haired eye with us, right? We do. Right, good. Although we also live within a sort of 200-metre radius of about eight different pharmacies selling all manner of different blonde hair dyes. So we are catered for. Well, Anissa Mova said today that she's put some blonde highlights back in. You know, so she's leaning in to the blonde. It's all coming together. and our friend and colleague Itamar sent me some very detailed instructions of what I should be doing so you know, we are so back I think given our location you know, everything at our fingertips here in the Big Apple I think we can stretch to a professional job if it comes to it That would be great And a relief but anyway the tennis the tennis um seven out of ten i would say today but absolutely enough look kim birrell is truly one of the nicest tennis players on the tour but every time i watch her i do think what is there in that game you know to be able to like harm any any top players really.

28:54I think Kim Birrell is a pretty dream opening round draw. She hits a nice ball, she doesn't really have any weapons and it was just obvious immediately that Anisimova was going to win this match. I think she was very comfy in the match-up. A different energy to a lot of her Wimbledon matches when she was stressed I think because her opponents were causing her a lot of problems. Yeah, she was very very comfy in this one. It took a little while for her to find her level but once she did, very very comfortable. Maya Joint next, which is uncomfortable for you. It is two members of the backhand list and you know I have a I don't know sort of crisis of is the list even a thing when I see someone else's backhand against Amanda and Nissimovas.

29:44Isn't it just fascinating though to watch the backhands against one another? Not when it's Anna's Mover, I don't think. I'd love to see it. Yes, you're right. It should be. What's your problem? But for some reason, it isn't. For some reason, I've seen a lot of those matches and I've not liked them. Well, you're going to see another one. I'm pumped for it. Maybe he boycotts one. It's going to be interesting because Joint is the... It's quite an impulsive decision of me to put her on the backhand list. I've enjoyed the backhand. I stand by that it's absolutely correct. She's not done much since, has she?

30:25It's absolutely correct that she's on the list. You're not regretting it? No, I'm not regretting it, but I'm interesting to see it in the elite company of the Anisimov backhand. It's going to be a good test of it. Will you wear the T-shirt? No. I won't be wearing it. Because you're a professional. I'm a professional. You're a professional talking about how you're going to dye your hair blonde when the man of Anisimov wins the US Open. I have standards and boundaries. It is a great T-shirt. thank you Ethan for making the t-shirt with the list on it but Matt's got credibility to try and claw back I'm not going to be wearing it with my accreditation around my neck will you wear it whilst the dyeing is happening sure yeah we'll wear it in the salon yeah sure a few other women's results from today

31:10Jannik Sinner:Aisling Kruger won a three setter against Saphir Kenan 576462 I watched the very end of this and it was some of the worst professional tennis I've ever seen from Sophia Kennan. I'm aware that there was a lot of matches before that during which, or at least during some of which, she must have played well. But my God, did she end the match badly. It was, I mean, we often talk about the gap between ceiling and floor for players. Like Kennan's got to be, have one of the biggest gaps. Got to be a contender for that. Yeah, when it goes, it goes. It was so gone. And it was so gone. Like, it was kind of a vibeless match.

31:50You know, I think the people on grandstand didn't really know what to do with this match because there weren't many rallies. They were both American. So it wasn't like a clear and obvious favourite. Honestly, I kind of hated this match. It was interesting because of the scoreboard. Like, it was close. I didn't really know which way it was going to go. That kept it interesting. but stylistically they didn't match up in an interesting way against each other. And yeah, it ended. Kenyon probably should have won it in straight sets, but once she didn't close that second set, third set was a struggle and it just ended in a whirlwind of Kenyon unforced errors, which was tough.

32:33It was happening at a time when all sorts of fun things were happening. Well, fun, I mean, Jenna Schneider wouldn't call them fun. She was getting Siegmunded on court six. 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 for Laura Siegmund. She's at it again. Every time I looked up at the screen,

32:51Jannik Sinner:Diana Schneider had a very familiar face of desperation and despair written all over her. I mean, this is a pretty extraordinary Grand Slam season that Siegmund's putting together here. She beat Jung in Australia, didn't she? She made the Wimbledon quarterfinals and played a really good match against Sabalenka. And now she's just beaten Schneider coming off a title a couple of days ago in Monterey. Like unseeded in her mid to late 30s and just causing havoc and embracing it. Totally. It is a hell of a season. Just her outfit today, even that was distracting. Right. David went out to watch. It was standing room only on court six.

33:41Only David was able to rock up and watch because David can stand at the back and see over the sort of six deep crowd that were there to watch Laura Siegmund. And we bumped into David. We were coming away from Grandstand. We bumped into David coming away from Schneider Siegmund after the second set had finished. St. David said, you won't be surprised to know there's quite an extensive delay in between sets. So I've decided to leave them to it. And the last two points that Sigmund had lost to level that match, she was in such a stinking mood. I don't know what language she was speaking, but I know she was swearing when she was walking towards her team because you could just tell by the look of her as she was delivering these words.

34:28Jannik Sinner:And it was on the adjacent court to Eva Lees winning the Tennis Podcast Meets Derby. Six loves, seven five against Fran Jones. A great battle, turned into a great match actually in the end. But Lees just, she's a lovely player to watch. Lovely, smooth, smooth player. She's in a good section of the draw. I think she'll be, you know, perhaps not backing herself, but having designs on perhaps doing, equaling what she did in Australia. and Marta Kostiuk as well. Good section of the draw for her. Four and four over Katie Bolter in the first match of the day. Okay, that's it for the women. We'll be back in part two to talk about the men.