US Open Day 9 - Comeback Queen

16:14Matt Roberts:You can buy the David T-shirt in the TTP merch shop and it says pumped in unsubtle lettering across the back. And it's wonderful. but Pumphead might be even better.

16:29David Law:Yeah, because that's what Jung Chin Wed said in her press, in her encore interview that she felt.

16:34Catherine Whitaker:Yeah.

16:34David Law:And I loved it.

16:35Catherine Whitaker:And I also just love the way someone pointed this out on the bar, which I love the way she, like the mic's there on its stand and yet she's still holding it like she's about to do karaoke.

16:48Matt Roberts:I know. I thought, is she gonna? Is she?

16:52Catherine Whitaker:She has famously sung on encore before, hasn't she has she yeah what she sang

16:57Matt Roberts:I can't remember

16:58Catherine Whitaker:what she sang but it was after winning a tournament it was in China I believe yeah oh wow that's cool yeah

17:06Matt Roberts:it sort of became her thing yeah Marta Kostrick does a backflip Jung Chin Wen sings karaoke will we be seeing it on Saturday can she

17:16Catherine Whitaker:who's she got well I do I do think Elena Rebecca says hi

17:23Matt Roberts:that is it she plays in the next round. Elena Rabakina,

17:27Catherine Whitaker:She was bloody good.

17:29Matt Roberts:who beat Naomi Osaka today 6-1, 6-4, and is now one win, one Jung Chin Wen win away, not only from the US Open semifinals, but from confirming herself as the world number one. She was bloody good today. Rabakina, wasn't she?

17:45David Law:Yeah, impervious really, impenetrable. I don't think Naomi Osaka had a good day by any means. I think she was 100%, but I'm not sure that would have mattered anyway. I think Elena Rabakina, who came in with these fitness concerns, well, okay, I've said a couple of times I'm not going to think about that again, but I still end up thinking that somebody will expose that, won't they? And then you see her play like today, and she was just awesome. She looked like the best player in the draw today. She looked like the world number one.

18:19Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, this was a clinic from Rebecca 6164 over Osaka and Osaka just had no answer. You know, it was one of those where Rebecca at her best makes the sport look so damn easy. It's like everything in her body is calibrated to be able to just fire the perfect tennis shot. You know, like her long leavers, everything was flowing, perfect timing, crushing the ball, but not looking like she is and serving brilliantly. It was just an unbelievably good performance, like so, so satisfying to watch someone play tennis that well. Like, as David said, Asaka was struggling with her calf, Achilles. I'm not exactly sure, but she had it looked at late against Mertens in the round before.

19:26Catherine Whitaker:And she came on with the strapping today. And there was a couple of games where Asaka gave up her serve with double faults and clusters. It seemed like she was struggling maybe to push off a little bit. and I think she was struggling to move in the way that she has improved her movement and she was just standing on the baseline and trying to hog the baseline but all it did was meant that Rabatkin was taking her time away and she looked so rushed out there and there was never a moment where I didn't think Rabatkin was going to win once the match got underway and started she was just so in control and it was, yeah, it wasn't much of a contest I was excited for this because we'd seen it the other week and it had been really gripping.

20:11Catherine Whitaker:I thought it could be a great match. There's a packed house in Armstrong. You know, I think a lot of people had Ash tickets and moved over to Armstrong because they wanted to see that one. And it was disappointing as a contest, but as just a tennis performance, it was a joy from Rackina.

20:30Matt Roberts:Yeah, it was one of those where I watched it and I was like, Like, gosh, I mean, never have my takes aged so quickly and so badly as my entire week of Rabatkinner takes from, well, up until today or maybe a couple of days ago. Understandable, though, I think. Watching her, I was like, well, yeah, she looks like the best player in the world and she's probably about to become officially the best player in the world. Of course, she looks like it. How, why didn't you think?

21:01David Law:Well, she didn't look like it two weeks ago.

21:03Matt Roberts:Well, no, and I felt slightly validated by her press conference afterwards where she did confirm that, like, she's really surprised that she's playing like this and she's as pain-free as she is. She said she didn't play for a full week, you know, gave lots of credit to her medical team. She's got a doctor permanently on call. They were taking it bit by bit. She didn't expect the injury to have recovered like this.

21:30Catherine Whitaker:And I think now I'm going to be going into her matches expecting her to be fine. But we should say she does still have the strapping on. And that was the situation she was in in Cincinnati before it happened. She played a match with the strapping. Then she plays the match against Fiontech and it goes. So it's possible, I suppose, that something like that could happen again, like could derail her in that way but it doesn't feel like she's coming onto court now protecting it you know uh she's she's coming out playing normally looking fine so i really really really hope it doesn't just go because that will just be horrible but that's somewhere in the back of my mind that that might happen because because we saw it in cincinnati and she's still got the strapping on but the tennis is right where she needs it to be the biggest question for me with

22:26Matt Roberts:that matches the stress of the world number one thing. I think the world number one thing is really big for Rebecca. I mean, of course, reaching world number one is big, but she's not doing the Sabalenka thing of like, oh, it's not on my mind. I'm not thinking about it. She's thinking about it. She wants it. She knows this is her chance. I think that is going to be a feature of the next match. I think stress will come into it. I do.

22:56David Law:Yeah, it'd be fascinating because I suppose the only comparable stresses that I've seen for her have been Grandstand Finals. And she's been in a couple of those. I think she's handled them well. And I actually back her to be able to withstand it. I don't think it's nothing. She said, you know, she said on the court, of course, anybody would want to be world number one. It's a big deal. I back her to be able to handle the occasion and compartmentalise. I think she's good at that. I think it's whether Jung Chin-Wen can get to her and, well, maybe whether Rebecca does have a bad day, maybe because of stress, and the fact that they've had close matches.

23:40David Law:Their last three have gone three sets, and one of them, Jung Chin-Wen, has won. So, you know, it's an interesting head-to-head.

23:49Catherine Whitaker:And they've played twice this season, haven't they? And I remember those matches being the ones where I saw Jung and thought, oh, OK, there's something here. Like she can mount a comeback. There's a seed there that can grow. And it just didn't really happen. You know, it was I think one of them was in the Middle East and one was Madrid. And they were kind of false dawns. You know, I thought, oh, Jung is going to be back soon. And it's taken until now for us to see it. So there's definitely enough, I think, in the matchup for Zhang to know that she can play Rebecca in a close. I think the thing that comes to mind for me when I think about Rebecca and stress is that she can, I think, handle it better than a lot of players because of her serve.

24:39Catherine Whitaker:You know, you see Shvontek today. She just doesn't have a release with the serve. It's a pressure valve, isn't it? If she can just get that going, which has been firing, that will help her, I think, settle. But the flip side of that is we do see sometimes the forehand go. It looked so secure today. You think, how does that shot ever break down? But it does. So, yeah, it's a tantalising matchup with the stories.

25:09David Law:Could be for some spectacular rallies as well. I think they will like each other's ball, the way it's hit. Yes, I know what you mean. Pretty, piercing and flat. That's quite a similar ball strike on both sides of the net. I think it could look incredible if they're both on.

25:23Matt Roberts:Just on Osaka quickly before we move on, I went to a post-match press conference and didn't really know what to expect. And, you know, we have seen her be disconsolate after losses. And I do, you know, I always worry about that scenario. This was not that. This was the opposite end of the spectrum to that. She was totally fine. She was like, she said, I'm not disappointed. I'm not sad. And I think maybe part of that was the injury. You know, she felt like there was no world in which she was going to win today. Injury and just how good her opponent was. And look, I was really relieved that she, how okay she was.

26:09Matt Roberts:But it also, I was also struck by, and I've felt this before, how rarely she seems to find a middle ground in defeats, particularly Grand Slam defeats, between either total devastation or, well, I'm fine, I don't really care. Obviously, I would rather for her mental health it be how we found her today. But I do think there is like a healthy level of caring and sadness that you're able to process and channel positively. And it strikes me that she's kind of seems like somebody that can only do the extremes.

26:52David Law:Maybe it's self-protection in a way. Just out of interest, how did that compare to Svantec? because you went into that one as well.

27:01Catherine Whitaker:No, Matt went to Svantec. Yes, I went to Svantec and look, she was sad, clearly. I think the TV cameras showed her leaving the court in tears and there was corridor scenes as she left the Arthrasch Stadium and she was very, very upset with the way that matcha got away from her. By the time she got to the press conference, she was sort of in control but she was quite subdued i would say but very happy to analyze and and was doing so um there was one moment where she got a little bit frustrated with the line of questioning about the about the five love and and she said you think that's crazy i think you can lose a set from any score there's there's nothing that special about it and i did think that that seemed a little bit of self-protection probably um in the aftermath of of that because there's the thing is as magnificent as young chin when was there's just no way that igas fiontek of well pick a year really 2022 2023 2024 loses that set you know she was she was the best front runner the sport had seen in many years and she just would have won that set and as young started coming back today you felt it was possible for her to win it because of the fact that it's igasjvontek in 2026 now down the other end of the court and yeah we're now facing a grand slam season for the first time since 2021 where igasjvontek hasn't won a slam she's very possibly not going to qualify for the wta finals unless unless she goes on a remarkable run at the end of the season we're just in a in a different place now with igas fiontech and i personally find that quite sad because she's been so dominant at times and it's just sad that she's not there right now but then i suppose does one loss like this undo a month of good work that we've that we've seen her put in and i would suggest probably not and hopefully she's on some kind of path back to where she was but there's no doubt that this was a tough one and and she was feeling it and she said it every u.s open since she won it here in 2022 it always feels like she comes out of it feeling pretty disappointed by the way it's gone you know whether it be the loss to osteopenko or the very quick loss to pagula a few years ago like it it's it's felt like she's had this tournament there for a few times and suddenly it's all just gone a bit dramatically wrong and and there's been the real sort of end of season vibe almost to it even though there's still a couple of months of the season to go.

30:02Catherine Whitaker:So, yeah, tough times for Sri Yante.

30:05Matt Roberts:So Rabakna against Jung. Can't wait for that one. The other quarterfinal that was set up today is Coco Gough against Mira Andreeva. Gough beating Eva Jovic. Fellow American 6-1, 6-4, described it as the first time she'd been out of breath on court in a long time.

30:21David Law:Yeah, the one rally was just epic, really. and it is quite something to see her puffing a bit at the end of a rally. Credit to Jovic for managing to make that happen and, crikey, it took till halfway through the second set for it to get anywhere at all, really, didn't it? Because Goff was in total command.

30:43Matt Roberts:Yeah, I mean, I thought Jovic played pretty well tonight and that tells you, I think, how good a Goff performance that was and she was pleased with it, wasn't she?

30:52Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, I mean, Jovic broke in the opening game, but then it was six straight for Goff in the first set. And as David said, it was really the early stage of the second set and the middle portion of that where Jovic was really in it. And she was. But Jovic was having to play absolute top level just to hang with Goff, really, I felt. And once Goff weathered that, she was very impressive in the closing stages. And yeah, there were some amazing rallies in this one. It wasn't the sustained brilliance of Jovic Jiala from the other night, but I just think Jovic couldn't quite sustain the level that she needed to to live with Goff.

31:46Matt Roberts:Very different route through to the quarterfinal for Mira Andreeva. Quite a dramatic three set of her against Anastasia Potapova. 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, but ending on a very tough scene out on Armstrong.

32:02Catherine Whitaker:Yes, in the final game of the match, Potapova appeared to hyperextend her knee and immediately went down and there was real concern and Andreeva went over to her and she had some treatment, Potapova, and could finish the match but couldn't move, which was a real shame because it felt like maybe there was a bit of drama left in this one because it had been such a dramatic match to that point. Potapova had won the first set. Just, I felt, getting the right side of her aggressive tennis, putting the trigger at the right time. but Andreeva it's rare that Andreeva's the calmest person on the court but she was in this one and Potopova was getting quite het up by the situations and Andreeva was just sticking in it enough and just drawing enough errors to mount the comeback and win the next two sets, 6-4, 6-3 it was quite a scrappy match it was neither of them playing their best tennis but a nice win for Andreeva who came into this tournament without too much form to speak of since the French Open, of course, and has worked her way in really nicely and now gets another shot at golf and that's always been a hard match for her.

33:27Matt Roberts:You said she spoke to her psychologist, her sports psychologist, midway through the US hard court swing, did Andreeva, because she was struggling with the stress of being a Grand Slam champion and how that changed things mentally for her. She said she was taken to the court just feeling stressed that she wasn't before that French Open. And the psychologist talked her into approaching that French Open win as just another trophy. You've won titles before. It is just a title. Just think of it as another tournament win. I know that sounds, you know, sort of easier said than done, but it seems it worked.

34:06David Law:yeah and i do like the fact that she's been open about that and and has told us and i think doing that probably helps you know just that kind of speaking this concern of yours into into the world like that perhaps helps with it and she's she did have her hands full today i mean we were watching that one here katherine while matt was over there and and just she just seemed as though she wasn't quite on it you know and you've you've and potapova has shown this year how dangerous she can be in like flurries sometimes she can be awful and yet she's had a couple of spells where she's been pretty extraordinarily good and and i thought this was this was another one and and credit to andreva for hanging in there and kind of figuring it out to turn around impressive composure and

35:00Matt Roberts:And she'll need that against Coco Gough because this is a tough head-to-head for her against Gough. It's 5-0. And some of those matches have been very competitive, but it is still 5-0 for Gough.

35:14Catherine Whitaker:Yes. I remember a few of their matches.

35:22Matt Roberts:Four of those have been on clay. one was at the US Open but three years ago which was very early in Mir Andrava's career

35:32Catherine Whitaker:yes and I think they met I think the same year at the French Open that was the match where Andrava won the first set and it was you know I think Goff said afterwards well I lost the first set

35:46David Law:but that's when I won the match

35:47Catherine Whitaker:that's when I won the match

35:48David Law:because it was like a tie break set and she exhausted Andrava

35:52Catherine Whitaker:totally and I think that's harder for her to do now with well and draver being you know three years on and more developed as a player but you know it's one of those matches where they both prefer their back hands to their forehand so they're kind of always trying to maneuver the points to to get their backhand into play which is always a an interesting match to watch i think there's something about you know and draver being younger than Goff. Goff's got a very good record against players who are younger than her. And I think... Including today against Jovic. Right. I think there's... I think Goff still, in a way, kind of feels like she's the...

36:34Catherine Whitaker:She's the young up-and-comer on tour and the one of her generation. And I think she really steps it up and raises her game when threatened by these other incredibly young, talented players. I think she's aware of that dynamic when they play. Yeah, I can't wait for it. I do think Goff's not only got the head to head, but I think she's also in better form than Andreva. And, you know, so, and with the crowd, like I think that's a tough occasion for Andreva, but if she can focus and block all of that out and just play her game, we know how talented she is and how dangerous she would be.

37:14Matt Roberts:Can't wait for those two quarterfinals. We're in very good shape with the women's draw. We're going to talk about the men's draw and the matches that we've seen today and the ones that have been set up in part two. But just before we head into part two, folks, we want to share a word and a special offer from our sponsors and our friends at Steve Fergal's International Tennis Tours, the premium hospitality and experience provider. Now, if the Miami Open is on your tennis bucket list, it's on yours, Matt, is it not?

37:45Catherine Whitaker:It is, yes. I've done one half of the Sunshine Double it would be good to complete the Sunshine Double Absolutely

37:54Matt Roberts:Well, Steve Fergels can sort you out with the trip of your dreams in March 2027 if you're in the same boat as Matt if it's not on your bucket list it should be it is one of the biggest combined men's and women's events outside of the slams it's got a really cool vibe about the venue in the city is super fun and vibrant it's really got a bit of everything So if that takes your fancy, then you should definitely check out the packages that Steve Fergels has to offer, especially if you want a faff-free experience. They can sort you out with awesome tickets, premium accommodation, plus VIP hospitality at the 72 Club.

38:33Matt Roberts:Just head to tours4tennis.com forward slash podcast. That's tours4tennis.com forward slash podcast. Click the Miami Open banner and use the code DEUCE5. That's D-E-U-C-E-5 for 5 % off your choice of official travel packages. Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast. Alternate title for this part of the show, the Bertie van der Zanschulp Apology Tour.

39:04David Law:Not on our behalf.

39:06Matt Roberts:I forgot him when I was going through the order of play on last night's show and he took that personally.

39:14David Law:I'll show that, Catherine Whittaker.

39:17Matt Roberts:Didn't feel like he was showing me at two sets to love down when I'd just seen him lose the second set tie break, seven points to nothing.

39:25David Law:He just wanted to give you a bit of drama, a bit of bang for your buck as a boated guy.

39:30Matt Roberts:He sure did that. Five hours and 13 minutes from two sets to love and match point down to beat lucky loser Artajea, Bartogéia, 366767664. I got you both out to Grandstand by the end of this. That's how vibes-y it was.

39:51Catherine Whitaker:It was. I actually ran, well, marched over from Armstrong and the end of another five setters tonight with tennis podcast listener Nadia, who found me on Armstrong. We marched over to Grandstand. It's quite a long walk from Armstrong to Grandstand. We were committed, got there, and it did not disappoint.

40:12Matt Roberts:With all the other jolly cum ladies that were flooding in. Just joining in for the final stages.

40:18Catherine Whitaker:We weren't there for five hours. Nor was I, to be clear. To be clear. I wonder how many were. Raymond Slater. There's a lot of people in Dutch football shirts. There were, but I tell you what, end of the second set,

40:31Matt Roberts:it was pretty sparse out there.

40:35Catherine Whitaker:Tumbleweed. The thing is, we have been watching on the screen and Jaya, when he had that match point, he should have won it there and then he had a volley and didn't put it away and Burtick passed him.

40:47Matt Roberts:And in the words of Burtick, Jaya played a sloppy match.

40:52Catherine Whitaker:Such a crazy thing to say after five and a quarter hours. Just rub it in a bit.

40:58Matt Roberts:So Burtick and the media seating where David and I were and our friend Andrew for the very end of the match, there was the woman there, the steward sort of guarding that, not guarding, being helpful at that gate and when Bortik van der Zansgroep finally clinched it on match point, she yelped oh my god, I get to go home

41:31Catherine Whitaker:tennis stewards everywhere will relate

41:33Matt Roberts:yeah, incredible so it will be Bortik against top seed, Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals, or certainly the remains of Bortik van der Zanskiel. I don't know how much he's got left in the tank after back-to-back five setters. Zverev, straight sets for him tonight over Luciano Darderi, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6. Was lucky not to be dragged into some elongated drama there in the third set, Zverev. But by and large, certainly for the first couple of sets, this was business-like locked in Zverev.

42:08David Law:Yeah. And even in the third set, I mean, Darderi kind of came alive a bit, but I never really felt like he was going to win that set. There was one really long point in the tiebreak when the score was close and he was hitting the ball really, really well. Zverev absorbed it all and eventually Darderi hit the net. And that was kind of his chance gone. He lost the next two points against the serve. um and yet Zverev's level has just improved out of sight from those first two rounds and in fact throughout the summer he's not been good and but in the first two sets of this one 6-2-6-2 total business he just he is owning this nighttime slot because he's been second on for all four of his matches and whilst that is a you know a negative in some senses that you're finishing in the middle of the night these other lads come out and they've never they haven't done any of that so that i don't think they're quite ready for it to billow and and tonight darderi they just didn't look really tuned in until they were halfway through and they're already a set and half down um botick i mean that's a big ask to come out after back-to-back five set matches and and try to be competitive against Verev.

43:30David Law:So he's got the game to do it, I think, if he had a really good day and if he was fresh enough because he hits the ball so incredibly well. But I think it's a big ask.

43:42Matt Roberts:Yeah, even your biggest Bortick fan thinks that's a big ask. Not an impossible ask, but a big ask. Sorry, Bortick. Just seen, by the way, a reminder that they've changed the schedule a bit this year. And there is only the night session on Wednesday. So it's three day session matches on Wednesday and one night session. So the Wednesday night session will just be the Zverev-Van de Zanskopp match. They could do with that not being a blowout.

44:19Catherine Whitaker:Wow. How French open often.

44:21Matt Roberts:Well, exactly. Dynamic pricing, though, could come back to bite them there.

44:27Catherine Whitaker:Is that so the women who have to come back the next day have a bit more time?

44:33Matt Roberts:Yes, so both women's matches are in the day session. Right. So we'll let you know how much those tickets are going for tomorrow. The other quarterfinal from this top half of the draw that will be played in the day session on Wednesday They will be Karen Hashanov against Alexander Blocks. I'd say dynamic pricing wise, they're lucky that they've got those two women's quarterfinals to prop up that order of play. Yeah, I mean, you say it will be played.

45:03Catherine Whitaker:I think there's a chance it won't be.

45:09Matt Roberts:I mean, there is definitely a chance there won't be. I mean, Alexander Blocks has told us pretty much there's a chance it won't be. Alexander Blocks somehow beat Francisco Sorundulo today in four sets, despite dabbling quite very seriously with retiring in the third set. He basically said if he hadn't won that third set, he was going to retire. He had an issue. He said it was his rib. It looked like it was his whole kind of right side up to the shoulder.

45:42David Law:It was almost sort of rib on the right side up to the armpit. And he was getting that manipulated after about three games of the match. Very early.

45:51Matt Roberts:He had it before the match. He said he took pain medication before the match, during the match. It was described as magical medications. After the match, he told Gil Gross on US Open Radio shortly after the match that even though there's a lot of pain meds in my body right now, I still feel the pain. and he says, yes, he is worried about the next round. And he also said in his on-call interview, to be honest, I was just holding on at the end, which is a bit of a blow for Francisco Sarangelo. I mean, extraordinary effort for him to come through that, but it's a big worry for that quarterfinal.

46:37Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, it is. I must say like he an extraordinary effort to come through also like if you were just watching some of the points you you probably wouldn't have known that he was in that much pain you know there was some there was some slow moments to this match but there were some incredible highs as well I mean one one thing that instantly comes to mind was an absolutely outrageous running forehand that blocks hit at one point like just remarkable pace on it. And he kept up a pretty good level throughout, especially when, you know, he was feeling like this. And I think Surundalo just struggled on the big points.

47:21Catherine Whitaker:Blox played them a lot better, a lot tougher than Surundalo did and managed to get over the line in four. But yeah, like it's a definite concern for the match to even be played, I think. And there's also a concern about, you know, if he gets a set in and he's down a set and he's not got the foothold in the match that he had today. Yeah. Might he retire? You know, like that's a concern, I think.

47:53Matt Roberts:I think my prediction on my newsletter prediction on Wednesday is going to be Karen Hashinov in three sets. Put it that way. Hashinov beat TN, learner TN today to make that quarterfinal. Five sets for Hashinov. 7-5, 4-6, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4. He trailed by two sets to one. This was Lerner Tien's first ever five-set defeat. Did he let this slip away?

48:21David Law:I think he did in as much as I don't think he had his form today, Lerner Tien. I think he was pulling rabbits out of hats to stay in it for the majority. And I think he got a bit lucky to go two sets to one up. he was very passive in the early stages of the match. He realized he needed to step on it because Khachanov was bossing it, really. He was bullying him. And when he tried to step on it and retaliate, he was hitting out. And then suddenly it clicked into gear and he won the second set and he just started to look like himself. The third set, he had the upper hand, but he didn't seal it. and then when they went into the tie break Hachinov led 5-3 and had a backhand cross court into an open court having dragged TN out of court and he pulled it wide you and I you were both sitting with me when that happened and it was just a terrible terrible shot it would have put him up 6-3 and given him three set points to go two sets to one up Hachinov instead he's 5-4 ahead and the whole thing just tailed away from him i mean tian does come up with some extraordinary shots his ability to kind of get out of situations is the sort of thing that makes a crowd just rise hashanov doesn't really have that he's a relentless guy but once they went into to the decider again it was just it was wizardry from tn to stay in it and eventually kind of rode his luck one too many times and and hashanov deserved that win today you know they he won the fourth set really easy that's happening too too often for tn he's he lost a 6-1 set against menschik he lost a very one-sided set here um but he's young he's really young he's new to this and he's going to keep getting better i mean i love watching him but i do also think this was one that's got away from him i think he should have won this match like on when they came into

50:34Catherine Whitaker:it i thought he would win yeah and i think he felt that like right at the end of the match he was you could tell he was furious with himself that he that he'd lost this he actually he actually sort of swiped his racket away right at the end he he sort of very consciously chose a point where i think he knew there would be no one around he did it very low but he sort of threw the racket into the side of the court with pure frustration and just sort of hung back at the baseline before going to shake hatchenoff's hand he was he was really annoyed that that he'd lost this one because he was up a break in the in the fifth early on and he he had chances down the stretch as well but david's right he he didn't he didn't have the sweet timing on the ball that i've seen him have in the past you think of how he destroyed medvedev at the australian open like everything he was touching was just turning to gold that wasn't happening today he was pushing the ball quite a lot and having to come up with brilliance to to live with hakshanov but he is a player i love watching and he can he can kind of hit a winner from anywhere you know there was one of those sort of sky hook smashes out of the sky right right at the end and we saw him do a kind of nadal like forehand pass down the line at the end of the third where the gap's so small and he He manages to find the winner from so deep in the core.

52:07Catherine Whitaker:It's a joy to watch him play. But Hakshinov was more consistently good tonight and has got more experience of winning these sorts of matches. And credit to him because he was unseeded at this slam for the first time in a while and out of form. He's had a tough year, hasn't he? He's had a tough year, but he looks just like the current Hakshinov that we've known for so long. It's impressive.

52:33Matt Roberts:Tough year, but still played his best at the majors, which is his trademark.

52:38David Law:He didn't win a match between Wimbledon and the US Open. He lost first round of both Canada and Cincinnati, and he entered a challenger, and he lost 6-4, 6-2 to Bernard Tomic. So he'd really not been in any form at all coming in, but suddenly he's found it.

52:54Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, and I saw Gil Gross reporting that he's changed his racket just before the tournament. He's tinkered a bit with that. I think he'd been using a newer model of a racket. He's gone back to something a bit more in between. And yeah, he seems to have the sort of feel back.

53:09Matt Roberts:And a heavy favourite, given what we're saying about blocks, you'd have to say to reach the semifinals. Okay, that is it for part two. We'll be back in part three to look ahead to tomorrow's blockbuster order of play. Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast. Looking ahead now to tomorrow's order of play, the quarterfinals getting underway on Tuesday. We start, as usual, at 11.30 on Ash with the top seed and defending champion Irina Sabalenka against Linda Nozkova. Who's going to win?

53:45David Law:I think Sabalenka's going to win. But I don't say that with massive confidence. I love the fact that we have this lineup of matches is for which i i can't confidently pick winners you know they're they're all belters and um yeah i i think sabalenka her force of nature and and and sort of champion like qualities and sheer frustration at not having won a grand slam this year will come to the fore will she implode that's the big question will she sort of combust and Noskova in her quietly devastating way upset the odds again. But I don't know. I think Sabalenka.

54:31Matt Roberts:Matt?

54:32Catherine Whitaker:I think I'll go Noskova. I think I'm sort of running out of Sabalenka matches for her to lose, I suppose, and I keep thinking she's not going to win this tournament. Now she's up against the Wimbledon champion, who I do think has the, you know, the demeanour to stay calm and just deliver the tennis while whatever's going on with Sabalenka goes on. But kind of what we said about Taylor Townsend, which didn't end up coming to the fore because of how sort of one-sided that match was. But if Sabalenka can get through this one, I'll be really thinking about her as perhaps even the favourite for the title.

55:19Catherine Whitaker:I think this is such a big test.

55:22Matt Roberts:Yeah, I agree. Absolutely. Second on Francis Tiafoe against Alex Mickelson. Anyone going Mickelson there? Looking at you, David?

55:32David Law:No. I think it's going to be close, but no.

55:37Matt Roberts:Going Tiafoe, Matt?

55:39Catherine Whitaker:Going Tiafoe, yeah. Yeah, incidentally, David and I saw him hitting on the Arthur Ashe Stadium today. I think he's going to practice again in the morning. Like, he's not been playing there, you know. It's weird to think that Tiafa kind of needs practice on the Arthur Ashe Stadium. But I do think that's a factor. If this was on Armstrong, I'd feel a lot better about Tiafa. But at the same time, you sort of think, well, how's Mickelson going to respond to Ashe as well?

56:05David Law:That's a big factor. I do wonder whether this might be the first time that Tiaf has played on Arthur Ashe since that heartbreaker against Taylor Fritz a couple of years ago when he lost in the semifinals.

56:19Matt Roberts:I think it is because he lost on grandstand last year. Yeah, he lost pretty early last year.

56:23David Law:So I just, you know, he does need to get used to it again. If you've never been in these stadiums, it's hard to explain just how different they are, how enormous the Arthras Stadium is compared to Louis Armstrong, which is, you know, it's a big, steeply banked, well-populated court, but the footprint of it is tiny by comparison. You know, suddenly you just, it seems to go on forever, the Arthras Stadium. And I would have thought just your sort of perspective as you're trying to work out the dimensions of the court look different to you.

56:59Matt Roberts:And he's such an expressive tennis player, Francis Jeffo, isn't he? He's such a unique, quirky tennis player. And he's very clear about Armstrong is where he feels at home and comfortable and most able to express himself. I do think there's a significant difference there.

57:17Catherine Whitaker:And I do think the pressure is more on Tiafoe. Big time. He's the one everyone will know. He's got fewer shots left at this because he's older. Like he's going to be feeling that. And I think maybe for Mickelson to have the Ash experience as an American where he's not the American, maybe that will be helpful for him and will allow him to play. But I do ultimately think Tiafoe is playing well enough for him to handle all these external factors.

57:47David Law:Just a quick note on a piece I saw in The Athletic, because Tien and Mickelson are both great mates. and the point was made that they've got lots of time, you know, because of their age, and yet it feels like they'd better make the most of it now because they've got this chance. And you almost saw it in Tien's body language.

58:05Matt Roberts:It's like, oh, I was right here.

58:07David Law:You might not be in this position in a year's time for whatever reason.

58:11Matt Roberts:Night session, 7pm, Jessica Bagula against Emma Navarro. Anyone going for the upset there, Navarro? Obviously not you, Matt.

58:21Catherine Whitaker:I'm not going to go for it, but again, it's a tricky, tricky match.

58:27David Law:She won't beat herself, Navarro. Some players, I feel like Pagula can play solid tennis and the other person can just lose it. And I don't think that will be the case today for this one. I think Pagula is going to have to take it, and I think she will.

58:44Matt Roberts:And then the big one, the last match of the day, Ben Shelton against Carlos Alcaraz. anyone going Shelton?

58:54Catherine Whitaker:No, I'm going Alcaraz.

58:56Matt Roberts:Yeah. Oh, David's tempted.

59:00David Law:Well, I've said Shelton will win this tournament. So I can't really...

59:05Catherine Whitaker:You are allowed to change your mind.

59:06Matt Roberts:Yeah, and you should change your mind based on evidence. You said that, you know, there's a lot more evidence and data now than you have been.

59:14David Law:Yeah, I am surprised at how well Alcaraz is playing this quickly. I think he's going to win I think he's going to win but it's going to be not nail biting I don't see this being five sets but I see it being close sets certainly two of them I said the other day it reminds me of Roddy Confedera so I'm going to go 7-6, 7-6, 6-2

59:37Matt Roberts:giving us a score prediction what a man thank you very much David okay that is it we'll be back I think we're going to stay probably to the end of that one aren't we on site And we'll be back in the aftermath of Shelton against Alcaraz to bring you tomorrow's daily tennis podcast from the US Open with our US Open mascot, Leo. My goodness, dog. Cool dog, isn't it? Here is Leo at the laptop, checking in on predictions, apparently, to make sure everything is in order. No, it's not in order, Leo. I had a stinker today. Why didn't I go for Bortix?

1:00:18David Law:Who did you go for?

1:00:19Matt Roberts:Then a TN.

1:00:20David Law:In four.

1:00:22Matt Roberts:Two sets to one and up. It was all looking... Oh, yeah.

1:00:24David Law:I thought you had it. Then I copied and pasted yours as well. Yeah.

1:00:29Matt Roberts:He's on a very chic leopard print cushion, which I do like. Apparently, I missed Puppy Day at the US Open a couple of days ago. Pam didn't tell me about it. And there was a puppy called Billie Jean. Yeah. There was another Billie Jean.

1:00:45David Law:Pam's in trouble. Pam didn't want to disappoint you by inviting you To somewhere that you didn't have the accreditation for

1:00:51Matt Roberts:But I think I did have the accreditation for it

1:00:52Catherine Whitaker:Yeah there was some Would you have been more annoyed I think, this is a good question Would you have been more annoyed if you'd been Denied

1:01:02David Law:Oh yeah that would have been terrible I think Pam was really kind

1:01:05Matt Roberts:If I'd gotten to some kind of barricade That I knew the puppies were on the other side of

1:01:10Catherine Whitaker:And there were dogs that you could reach out and almost touch

1:01:11Matt Roberts:And there was an officious security person Denying the access Yeah, that would have been a disaster. I'd have ended up with my accreditation revoked.

1:01:19Catherine Whitaker:Yes, that's what I was going to say.

1:01:20Matt Roberts:I'd have got myself in a situation.

1:01:21Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, absolutely, 100%. Pam was saving us all from that. Because we need your accreditation.

1:01:29Matt Roberts:Thank you and hello to our mascots, Bodhi, Maisie and Roger. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. Jeff, we're still waiting for you to show up. Right, Jeff. Shout-outs can wait tonight. apparently they'll be back tomorrow but of course we are part of the Athletic Podcast Network and a quick reminder before we go that if you're an NFL fan the Athletic has something super duper exciting for you starting next week it is the Athletic Live presented by Google Gemini and it's a brand new YouTube watch along on NFL game days featuring the biggest and the best beach reporters that the Athletic has to offer you can even become part of the show in the interactive chat on YouTube I think you might find David Law there.

1:02:14David Law:Every time you read that out, I do think, ooh, I wouldn't mind having a go at that.

1:02:18Matt Roberts:Yeah, Seahawks fans unite. Yeah. It all starts from September 8th, so do check that out if you fancy it. Folks, thanks ever so much for listening. We'll, of course, be back tomorrow, and we'll speak to you then.