US Open - The Big Preview

32:18Yes. She said, I haven't seen anything people have written. and I've been made aware that people have said, people have had, people had a lot to say about it. Obviously, you know, agents and so on would have said, look, Naomi, this is, this hasn't gone down well. I think you should think about saying something publicly. She was very worried, wasn't she, about Victoria? Yes, absolutely. And she talked about, you know, the shame she experienced over it and worrying about potential impact it had had on her. Well, because also she knows what that's like. I mean, she was on the other side of it. So I'm sure she would have felt acutely guilty of being seen to be like stealing.

32:54Absolutely. But it is interesting that that is where her mind kept on going. And I wonder if that is proving an unhelpful decoy for everybody to what the real problem is. It's a much harder thing to face up, you know, that the speech thing you can just write up like that. That's got a very sort of clear solution. You know, it's like, well, next time, don't do that. whereas all the stuff that came before it is a lot more complicated and probably is a lot harder to untangle. I suppose for her the hope is that, well, that was the first really big match she'd played in a long, long time. So maybe she can tell herself, well, next time it won't feel so alien, it won't feel so unfamiliar, and you'll be able to handle the moment better.

33:40But what if she plays Coco Gough here and the crowd are against her in a New York way? you know that's but then yeah i mean i guess the hope is that you can apply some of unless it has the negative effect but you'd hope it's like a well you know remember last time and surely they would have talked about well if this does happen again how are we going to approach it i'd hope so i'd hope so unless as you said they are just focusing on the on the speech but she she is really interesting asaka because she she's never if she's got to a quarterfinal of a grand slam she's won it so and and in her comeback she hasn't got to a fourth round i'm really fascinated just to see what happens because i think our sense slightly is like if she can sort of get to that second week which she hasn't been able to do in her comeback then does that sort of single-mindedness kick in you know she's such a she's been an amazing converter to have won four slams from only getting to four grand slam courts finals is is an unbelievable record she had a lot of interesting stuff to say about Thomas Witkorowski today, didn't she?

34:47In both English and well, in the Japanese portion, but she gives the answers in English, so we were able to listen in. It was really interesting. In the English portion she described him as someone who cuts to the chase, which thinking about who her previous coach was, you know, I don't know how Patrick Morotoglu coach is, but he's a guy who's got a lot to say, you know, like generally. I can imagine like it's just a different form of giving the message, I think. She also described him as an encyclopedia of tennis, but it was actually the answers in the Japanese portion of the press conference which were really deeper on Thomas Witkarowski.

35:37She said that she wanted someone with a lot of knowledge. She doesn't like questioning if someone knows what they're talking about. And I thought that was interesting when you look back at her history of coaches. It does strike me that she's someone who goes after kind of super coaches, you know, people who've had a lot of success. It's almost like she's not thinking about what can they do for my game, but like what have they done for someone else's game. And that checks out with how she would talk about Patrick Moratoglu and constantly reference the fact that he coached Serena. Right, and if you go back earlier in her career when she had Sasha Buy in, he had been in Serena's camp as well.

36:18Win for set had obviously had a lot of success before working with Osaka. Whereas I just felt that that's a big contrast with some other players who I know go on kind of really painstaking processes of figuring out the right coach based on chemistry and really based on what you can do for me. I think it was an interesting sort of insight that Osaka gave there in terms of how she likes to pick her coaches. And then she's had a little bit more detail in terms of some of the stuff that they've been doing. She talks a lot about how it's not technical stuff at this point in the season because tournaments are happening.

36:54And he doesn't think that now is the right time to work on technical stuff. So she talks about how it's a lot of tactical stuff, court awareness, picking the right shot at the right time. She explained how he draws little sketches of tennis courts and puts little markers of where she should be hitting her shots. And I think, again, that was something that we did see a little bit of in Canada. We talked about how her movement was a lot better, but also I think her shot selection was better. She wasn't always pulling the trigger. She was building points a little bit better. So I think there have been some, she described it as simple fixes to her game in a short amount of time.

37:36And she said it's kind of been mind-blowing to her how simple some of those fixes have been and how effective they've been. So I thought from that point of view it was a really positive assessment of Witkarowski. And I'm really big on that as a reason why we should be feeling good about Osaka here. I think there is something different about her coming into this tournament. I'm just not going all the way because like you I don't feel like we've had the had the full breakdown of what happened in that Montreal final and that to me is still such a big thing blocking me from predicting her to actually win the tournament here but there are some positive signs even if at times the press conference had a bit of a bit of a sombre mood to it because she was talking so much about the speech and the shame that she felt and how bad she felt.

38:31It wasn't a really upbeat, fun Naomi Osaka press conference, which they can be. It's been a while, though. It has. It has. You know, there were little jokes in there, wasn't there? She was lovely talking about Gaël Monfils. Yes, that was a nice moment. That was really nice and how much she appreciated playing with him because she remembered queuing up to watch him play in Miami I bet that answer made Gail feel old. Except when I was 10. Yeah. More feast and songer. She would go watch at Miami. Yeah, it was a lovely answer. Really lovely. So that was kind of the main runners and riders that came through the main press conference room today.

39:12We also did a few one-on-ones for Tennis Podcast Meets. You haven't mentioned the runner and rider. Who have I failed to mention? Taylor Fritz? Amanda Anissimova My apologies Matt What did we learn? Not that much No well We actually had a chat about what to ask her and you said I'd love to know whether she would like to play Igor Svontek again so I asked her how keen is she to play Igor Svontek again and have a new experience after the Wimbledon final I didn't slightly tread carefully because you don't want to give away a player's draw if they don't want to know it and obviously Shontek is in Anissa Mova's quarter but I thought she'd reference the women and final enough that it felt like it felt like a question I could ask and she said yes she does want to play her again that is something that I think she's keen she said I want to I want to play her when I'm myself which I thought was quite you know quite a good line quite a telling line she's she knows she can trouble top players.

40:21She literally beat the world number one before facing Ygos Fiontech and yes match-ups are a thing but it's not that much of a match-up problem that it was six love six love you know she was she was not herself in that Wimbledon final and she's done a lot I think to try and get over it and learn from it she said that's a the big thing is nerves you know whereas I think in her post Wimbledon final press conference she was kind of keen to downplay nerves she talked a lot about how tired she was here she really mentioned nerves and stress and she said that that final you know hopefully is going to prove to be a lesson in terms of how to deal with those nerves and that stress and playing igosh vjantek would be another way to help try and get over it so you know i've probably done a disservice there to a press conference i think we maybe did learn yeah that sounds really interesting it was an interesting press conference she was relaxed she was loose it wasn't very well attended so I think she was kind of able to open up to the you know to the questions that she was asked so it was a busy time of day wasn't it the area was it was all happening was teeming David was in there with Felix Oje Aliasim I was in there with Avalice I was there with Sitsapas it was funny actually David I saw on the interview list there was The Athletic with Sitsapas Tennis Podcast with Felix Oje Aliasim I was like okay we've both gone down the same route these are two players occupying a very similar space huge in 2018, 2019 now not so much I mean for me they are forever tethered actually because the first tournament I covered on site for Amazon Tennis was Indian Wells 2018 and they both had a bit of a breakout tournament there and everybody got totally giddy on it and started making predictions about how many Grand Slam finals they would inevitably end up playing against one another and it was just sort of sign and seal that that that would be happening and now here they are you know what what room i'm doing inverted commas which doesn't work on a podcast but you know sitzapast wasn't even in the biggest bit of the area no i mean i think one of the most well one of the the elements of the media days i do find interesting is it's a really brutal way of showing where a player's at you know you go from are you in the big interview room obviously that's kind of where everyone wants to be and then it sort of goes I mean tennis is so hierarchical in every way and then before you know it you're in interview room six doing a one-on-one and that's it and Paul Garuna has to draw you a map of how to get yeah I mean that was Sitzi Bass today I had a one-on-one with him though he didn't do a press conference because there wasn't enough interest i mean you know this is a guy who would have previously been you know one of the bigger players and medvedev didn't do any media because presumably he wasn't requested i mean how crazy is that we're talking about a former champion and a former world number one like how quickly you slide into in averted commas irrelevance in you know the eyes of uh the kind of wider tennis community and and it must be you know i'm sure a lot of them are like oh great i don't have media commitments but for a lot of them it must be quite a blow to their self-esteem being like you know so what are my media commitments say yeah none no one's requested you or like no one wants to talk to you like did you ask it about us about i actually did your locale how bummed out are you about talking to me because this is the low point of your career.

44:01The thing is, my sense is whenever I've escorted players in that situation or when I've seen them escorted, their reaction is usually, oh, well, this will be quick then and I can just go about my day. But do you think they believe that? I think in the moment they do believe that, but I think if somebody pointed it out to them, are you aware that this means nobody thinks you're up too much anymore? I think somebody, like, sits a pass. Yes. I think he's noticing and tracking that stuff. I think it depends if it feels like a one-off. Exactly. I think that would be great if you're used to having to do tons of media commitments and then you're like, oh, wow, I've dodged a bit of a bullet here.

44:42If it's a trend that closely reflects your on-court trend, then I think you're noticing it. And we've seen it with players just in the scenario where they are brought into the big interview room and for whatever reason, nobody shows up. That's the worst thing in the world. I mean, some players handle that well, but some of them you can tell it's hurting their ego. And some make comments about it. And you've got the moderator off to the side sort of desperately fluffing them and saying, oh, it's because, you know, the announcement wasn't made or you've clashed with Carlos Alcaraz or whatever. Like, these are egos that notice things, I think.

45:17That's why I liked Ludmilla Samsonova at Wimbledon when she just said, you know, I'm fine. I don't get to find out who I'm playing next on Twitter because nobody's interested in commenting to me. about anything. And Marketa von Droshovin not being upset that we were all she had at Wimbledon. Oh, and even more than that, she was delighted to be in interview room six, two years on from winning the title rather than main interview room as the defending champion. Like, that genuinely suited her personality, I think. But then I feel like someone like Krychikova has maybe bristled a little bit at the fact that even as a Wimbledon champion, you know, there's still not a huge amount of interest.

46:02Will Sitsipas ever get back in the main room, Charlie? That's a good question. I mean, I kind of have to believe that a lot of it depends on the injury, I guess, which he's talked about, this back problem that, you know, he's been carrying for a couple of years. Like, he is, like, the talent hasn't just gone. so I do think he will get back you know somewhere like top 20 maybe even pushing the top 10 but it is hard to see it but that that's kind of the nature of tennis I guess when you have these dips but then things do change incredibly quickly I mean how many times have we seen that this year that you have one good week and I mean then you're suddenly thrust forward you know complete your space in the kind of food chain completely changes so i wouldn't rule out him having i mean even this year he has had like the odd very good week goran said he should be top 10 no trouble zverev said it yesterday about both sitzpass and medvedev that they should get back in the top 10 i mean yeah it's uh i think he will he'll have another hot streak okay that's it for part one we'll be back in part two with some punchy predictions Welcome back to part two of the Tennis Podcast, where I'd like to get some punchy predictions from you all.

47:26David? Haven't I done my bit? I gave you a title yesterday. Yeah, we've got the champions and the runners-up, I think, from David and Matt from yesterday's show, unless you have the right to change your mind on the basis of anything that was said today in the press conference room. No, you're going Shontek, you're going Sinner, Matt. Correct. Sinner to beat Alcaraz in the final. Bold and Shontek to beat Sabalenka in the final. Also Bold. David, just to balance that out, is going for Asaka to beat who in the final? Who did I go? Was it Rabakina in the end? Asaka Rabakina and you've got Alcaraz beating Sinner.

48:12Correct, yeah. Charlie, over to you. Look how serious he takes it. He's not going to go out on a little bit. Normally, Charlie likes to palm his predictions off to his mouth. Yeah, this is a man that used his mum as a human shield in order to not make predictions. That was for the wider predictions. I'm more than happy to make... To be fair, Charlie has made some excellent predictions on this podcast. Absolutely. That's why we want them. Yeah. I was very... Throughout Wimbledon, I was very clear, and before, that Alcraz wouldn't win it. This time, I don't have such a strong sense on that. And given I don't have a really strong sense of it, I think I've got to go for a Sinner Alcaraz final.

48:51But I wouldn't be surprised if Djokovic got there. As the kind of third man, I think he's kind of ready to pick up the pieces if someone takes out Alcaraz. I don't know if it'll necessarily be Djokovic, but I think, yeah, I'll go Sinner Alcaraz. And then on the women's, the thing with women's Grand Sams is they are often illogical. So trying to apply logic is hard, and that's why... It's better to do what I did. Yeah, but that's why I'm going to go Sabalenka to win it, because she should have won one already this year, and she hasn't. And so I kind of feel like now, when she's coming in, and there are more doubts about her than there have been at any of the previous three Grand Slams, and going further back than that.

49:35But really, everyone is suddenly like, wow, she could well end the year without a Grand Slam title, which, you know, that's never been a thought I think anyone really entertained. and it's gradually become, got to the point where it almost feels likely. So I'm going to go her to win it. The runner-up is so hard. I'm going to go Madison Keyes. Yeah, I'm glad Keyes got a mention. She's lurking. She's not my prediction, but she's just nagging. Nagging at my mind. A little bit like last with Pagula getting it. I don't know, I just feel like that could... Yeah. And that would be, I mean, it would be a great story to repeat the Australian Open final.

50:13Nice ring composition to the year. I think I'm going Shontek. I mean, she's just in such a good place. Logically, it should be, but just for her to win two Sams in a row, I don't know, that feels like very rare on the inside. She's not done that yet before, has she? I'm certainly not taking her against the field. When did anyone? Yeah, she won. No, she can't have done because the only other. She won the French in the US. No, not in the row. Yeah, she can't have done it consecutively. I mean, when was the last time anyone won a consecutive? Asaka it would be, wouldn't it? US and Australia 2020 and then 2021 Osaka you say yeah so that we're talking more than four years ago it's very rare I think I might go for Rabakina to take out Sabalenka I think I might go for Shiontek Rabakina final and I'm gonna I'm gonna be bold and go Alcaraz Sinner yeah and who's winning I think I'm going Alcaraz I think Sinner will win I just can't bet against Sinner on a hardcore like until yeah I always go for Alcaraz don't I just whereas I think increasingly Sinner to me feels like the kind of default pick yeah I think you're right actually I think I probably need to revise my policy yeah just feel just like and I know we do over index that Burtich loss but I just feel like he is the more likely to be upset in a way that Sinner is really hard to see don't you think the the point I made a few days ago when and I know Sina was really ill and had to pull out but there was something about Alcaraz that wanted to prove a point I thought that week and I think that that stands now and I don't think that's nothing I think you know how we we talk about he's going to have to go out against Radio Pelka super focused I kind of feel like the whole tournament is that now because it's not gone all his own way he's lost to Wimbledon final and I think that that will focus him no I think that's a really good point and even like the Sinner final in Cincinnati like of course Sinner was really compromised but there are plenty of opponents who Alcaraz could have played who was compromised and he would have started I mean even Zverev yeah before and he would have started two days before he would have started doing missed seven serves in a row exactly but the fact that it was Sinner meant he was locked in enough that he wasn't going to start doing silly stuff so no i do think that's what i mean that's when if you can find a way to kind of get him fully focused then yeah that's kind of that would make him almost unbeatable that's his biggest weakness so that yeah that will be interesting that he's got an element of revenge uh who will be the first top 10 seed to fall in the men's and the women's is Holger Runa top 10 seed no 11 oh because he's got Bertic although Bertic's in form so that's right now that's a problem I think Emma Navarro is vulnerable on the on the women's side she's really struggled for form she went to play this week didn't she rather than play the mixed doubles she went to try and get some matches and some form and that didn't go too well I think she's got Yafan Wong in the first round, but Katie McNally is lurking potentially for her in the second round.

53:35I've been quite, sort of quietly impressed with McNally since her comeback. She played great against Fiontech at Wimbledon, for example. She was the only one to get a set off Fiontech at Wimbledon. So I think Navarro is a definite contender. David?

53:57It's between Mazzetti and Draper. Mazzetti's a good kick, isn't he? Because if we were doing an old-school Wimbledon thing and adjusting the seedings for the surface, he probably wouldn't be seeded on a hard court, would he? I'm going to go Draper because I really do think he is short physically. I mean, Mazzetti jumps off the page to me. The fact even he's got Teshi Pericard in the first round, like I wouldn't be amazed if he lost that I know Teshi Berikard's not in good form um but I mean Hatchinov is the number nine seed I mean I know he's on he does come in off the back of that final but yeah and we've seen so many times this year that the good runner lead in tournament can massively go one of two ways and so it wouldn't be a huge surprise and in the women's Navarro is good logic behind that.

54:53Yeah, Navarro is the one when you look at the 10, she is the one I mean, A, she's the lowest rank, but she's also the one in the worst form. I think I probably would, I mean, and this would seem... Goff, Tomlianovic, anyone looking at that? Goff, you know. You know, Tomlianovic is, you know, she was the one who finally beat Serena when Serena, in her farewell tournament and kind of, you know, was able to handle that Ash crowd I mean this I'm not going to say her but Pagula is in my thoughts in a way and you guys were talking about this the other day like she's suddenly in that place of being like I don't really know what I'm going to get from her which for a player who's stock and trade for a while was guaranteed quarterfinal even if she didn't go beyond it but she was missed consistency as Anstria Burr alluded to in the kind of the note that she wrote during the French Open talking about the women's tour that's kind of been her stock in trade that's gone but i think navarro and mozzetti for me would be the obvious ones david you're down on mirand draver and she's got alicia parks yeah i i was about to joke about jasmine paulini but i won't do that um i i've saved you yeah i i do think and draver's gone from being the player i was the most up on a few months ago to really feeling unsure about, only in this pocket of the season I don't have any long term concerns at all.

56:24She's been injured hasn't she and she's taken a couple of tough losses. I wonder whether she's a little bit burnt out. We forget how many greats, all time greats would get to this portion of the season. Jim Currier would always flame out at the US Open. He had one good run to the final but every other year when he was dominating the tennis circuit he would get to the to this tournament he would just look like he got so little left and yet he he would seem to be the perfectly configured player for this environment and surface and so forth it's a long season and she's had a lot of wins in the in the springtime and i just she just looks like she just looks like she could do with a long holiday to me and start up again in january i mean that's what and i'm looking into this for a piece but what I think is so interesting, even on the men's side, because a lot's been made of the fact that on the women's side there have been lots of different winners, but that's also true of Wimbledon.

57:21Whereas on the men's side, the US Open is a massive outlier in that no one has dominated this event in the last, coming up to 20 years. I mean, Federer was the last man to retain it. That was 2008. That feels crazy. And there have been so many different winners here compared to all the other slams. You think of all those one-time winners, Cilic, Thiem, Medvedev, Del Potro. and so what I think is interesting is you've got the ultimate like chaotic slam meeting Yannick Sinner who is like apart from you know some of the off-court stuff but on court he is so unchaotic and I and like can he be the guy to like tame this major in a way can he finally be somebody who can come along and defend it because you wouldn't have thought kind of chaos and Sinner would go together but maybe he could just block all of that stuff out and just focus surprise package you can have you can either pick a man and a woman or you can just pick one a name that's jumping out to me in the men's draw given what we've just talked about in terms of top seeds who we think are vulnerable we've said Mazzetti, we've said Draper so I'm thinking who in that section might be able to take advantage of it and look it's not an absolutely wild name certainly tennis podcast listeners will be very familiar with the name but like your average tennis fan is not going to know too much about him and that's Diallo I actually I actually think he's in a section of the draw there where he like it wouldn't shock me if he is Sinner's quarterfinal opponent you know Mazzetti interesting public Draper Caballi you know a kind kind of all in that section.

59:05But I think maybe Diallo might come through. I think he's got a game which is just beginning to sort of hurt some top players and just beginning to flourish a little bit. So there we go. 31st seed Diallo. I think that's strong. I'll accept a low seed as a dark horse or surprise package, however you want to put it. David. Well, I put Mboka in the semifinals, and yet I don't feel as though that's anything left field anymore. I will not accept that as a surprise. She was in the main room today, David. It has to be somebody that would be in the area. I did see Diallo in the area, so he's safe. So that counts.

59:55I think he's been more of a building process than out of left field but I do think Caballi could have a heck of a run. You're a big Caballi guy. I do think his top level is seriously scary and I mean in a section of the draw where he's in with Mazzetti I love watching Mazzetti. I love how that's where everyone targets. Where's Mazzetti? That's where the surprise comes from. He's such a beautiful player to watch and he was wonderful at the mixed doubles the other day. Reminders in there, but they're due to meet in the third round on paper. And I'd go into that probably thinking Caballi wins and then he's in, well, he's in the Diallo and Draper section there.

1:00:42He could end up playing against Yannick Sinner, could Caballi in the quarterfinals. And I really wouldn't be surprised if that's what we see. I like it. Charlie? It's difficult, this. I mean, I want to... I wonder if there are so many Americans in both draws, and I just wonder if someone could kind of catch a little bit of momentum, become a bit of a thing amongst the fans. Looking at someone like Ethan Quinn, I mean, he's got a first-round match that he could well win. Then he would play Nakashima. I think, you know, Nakashima's a good player. He's a consistent player, but I think that's one he could come through.

1:01:27He would then have to play Taylor Fritz in the third round, which would obviously be very hard. But even that, I mean, getting to the third round for someone like that. If I'm going on Charlie's American theme, just looking at the women's draw, potentially like a McCartney-Kessler. Yeah. Meredith. Go on, Meredith. But if I do that, I'm underestimating Jasmine Paolini. Yes. because they're due to me in the third round. And we don't do that. Well, we all know Brad Gilbert is picking Aisling Kruger. It's his dark horse. I've seen on ESPN the other day. Pam asked him for a dark horse, and Aisling Kruger came out, and Pam didn't know what to say.

1:02:06I mean, could Paolini be one of those players who we assume will do well? Don't do it, Charlie. No, I just mean from this theme this year, or certainly at Wimbledon it was a theme of have a good lead in event, have a bad Wimbledon. I don't know, just because I thought when we were naming the top ten, when we were going through the top ten, I didn't even consider Paolini really because in my mind I was like, oh, she's kind of immune. She's just had a really good run in Cincinnati. I don't know, maybe that could go the other way. Eva Jovic, I mean, that would be an exciting second round match. Yeah, it would.

1:02:36She's got talent. She packs a punch, yeah. Story, this one's mostly for you, Charlie. Like, the story you'd most like to happen, a story you'd like to write this fortnight. Well, I mean, just player-wise, just building on something David said there, I mean, Mboko going all the way would be pretty spectacular. And I interviewed her today, and there is something incredibly convincing about her. I mean, because she was talking about, you know, I said to her, like, you know, was it kind of weird? You know, you beat all those Grand Slam champions, and, you know, a lot of them, including Osaka, were players that you would have looked up to, did look up to.

1:03:17you know, was that, did you have to kind of rewire your brain? You know, we've heard so much about players, you've seen it, you know, freezing against their idols. And she was kind of like, no, not really. You know, once I'm out there, I kind of, you know, I feel pretty confident, whatever. And then I was just like, like, do you fear anyone? And she was like, no, basically. And I was just like, God, that fearlessness. And, you know, we saw it with someone like Andreescu here. Sometimes that's when you're at your most danger. Like I know it would be a huge, huge shock, but for the first time I thought I wouldn't totally rule that out.

1:03:53You've got someone who is just brimming with confidence, is fearless, isn't going to overthink it. That's a pretty good concoction to have. And, you know, we always assume and generally it is the case that like experience is really helpful and you build and you build and you build. It doesn't always have to be like that. I remember Tracey Austin saying that actually it was really early on in her career, before she kind of had much experience. That was when it was kind of most natural. I like it. So that would be an amazing story. I think people would get so engaged. You know, we saw what happened in Canada.

1:04:31Obviously, that's her home tournament. But I think the US Open will go wild for her if she gets on a run. Final question in this section. And this one's just for you, Charlie, because David and Matt already know the answer. how much does a lobster roll cost in the food court i mean it's going to be high the fact you're asking 35 dollars 39 50 wow i mean new york never ceases to amaze yeah the the price of stuff yeah and yet that did amaze me we all i don't think we're naive about new york prices we we all stopped in our tracks did you get one no not made of money charlie it's almost an entire friend subscription yeah yeah absolutely astonishing i kind of want to get one to know like how big they are how much lobsters in there that's got to be a damn good price per gram yeah uh yeah yeah good bring your wallet if you're coming to the u.s open that's it for part two join us in part three we'll go through tomorrow sunday's day one order of play

1:05:48welcome back to part three of the tennis podcast where we have an order of play to go through in fact we have three orders of play we actually know who's going to be on the main court show courts for both for all three of the the round one days but we'll we'll do this day by day we've got daily pods we've got plenty of time to go through monday and tuesday's order of play so let's stick with sunday and opening the arthur ash stadium on day one of the tournament is ben shelton Big assignment Your mate Ben And he's playing Ignacio Busa How are we pronouncing that Matt He's from Peru He's from Peru He's ranked 136 in the world And that is the extent of my Busa or Bus knowledge I became aware of him This summer I think he got to A semi-final on tour In one of the You know Death Zone or Borschtets.

1:06:45I think it might have been Gestade. I think he might have lost to one Manuel, Sir Rudendolo. But he's been doing a lot of winning on the Challenger tour. Okay. I think he's much more comfortable on the clay. And I'm going to use the words good draw for Ben Shelton, I think. But, you know, like Shelton, I think, would like a vibes-y slot. And first on Ash is not really that. He had that last year in his first round as well, played Dominic Thiem. Which, you're right. God, that feels like... Yeah, I know. I don't know what that feels like, but it's sad. Punch your predictions here, please. We were going Shelton in three?

1:07:27Yes. Yeah. I mean, I just learned of the existence of Ignacio Boussa, so I'm going Shelton in three. That is the first match on Ash Day Session. Second match is Irina Sabalenka against Rebecca Massaro. Grover, Sabalenka in two. Yes. Yes. They've played this year, haven't they, those two? I'm sure I have a memory if I'm going to check that. But yes, I would predict Sabalenka would win that. And night session on Ash. We might get some interesting punchy predictions here. Novak Djokovic starts against Lerner Thiem. And Thien, rather. And I've got Dominic Thiem. Tragedy on the brain. And Jessica Bagula against Maya Sharif is second on.

1:08:12maybe Djokovic loses a set yeah could see that David yeah I'd go the same four that could be that's a fun that should be really fun yeah like I want to watch it yeah the rallies are going to be great I think the crowd would be really into it there'll be lots of shots that TN hits slice backhands etc that make the crowd go oh you know because it's just gone hovering over the net within an inch and stayed in. But I think that that will only last so long. Yeah, Djokovic in four. I'm going Djokovic in four. Because he lost a set in both of his two rounds, the Australian Open, and one was against Basper Reddy, and I remember that.

1:08:55He lost the first set, actually, there. I can imagine it being a similar type match to that. Like, lose the set, but never really in much danger. I think if Basper Reddy and Tien is a real sort of duo, I'll be following them both closely. and Sharif against Pagula? I do think Pagula will win, but yeah, I wouldn't consider it such a foregone conclusion like I might have done previously. She's got a lot of pressure on her final points to defend. It's been such a different year for Pagula. She doesn't feel reliable in the way she used to. And she said in her press conference, which was yesterday, she was one of the first top players in, just like it did feel a bit weird having the mixed doubles so early like she's played she's already played in front of a big night ash crowd and I think she had a slightly weird time with Jack Draper didn't she?

1:09:49I think that would be I think that would be fair to say I don't think I don't think they're you know going out for dinner are they? But yeah like she nodded down didn't she she's like you have that kind of like she's had a high yeah you've had the high you've had the adrenaline all of that and then it's like, oh, then you're back into like cooling your blood pressure, your temperature and you're just like warming up again to get high again. So that is, none of them have ever done this before. Armstrong opens with Emma Raducanu against Ina Shibahara. What do you think about Raducanu, Charlie? I am interested to see how she does here.

1:10:26Like she comes in with kind of more form and more match time than she has done at a major for a long time. so I think she'll win that one and I think she could play Sabalenka in the third round again Rabatkinah oh no Rabatkinah that's it Rabatkinah third round I think she'll get there yeah I think she will yeah she's done I mean that's kind of what she's been doing at the Slams this year and that's I think why she brought on Roig like she's talked about it she's been solid she's been getting to a certain level but it's can she push on beyond that is it potentially Kudematova in the second round for her it's not easy draw even to get to Rebecca I think Shibahara is a player who's obviously more known for her doubles she's really made a thing last year of trying to become a singles player I think even the fact that she's in a slam is kind of a you know pretty good sign for her singles she's gonna throw variety at you she's gonna try and come forward I actually think maybe that's not the worst thing in the world for Adekano I remember seeing what she did to like Vondrosheva at Wimbledon, for example.

1:11:34I think I worry a bit more about Raducanu where there's the big power problem, power discrepancy. I think that's an OK matchup. Emilia Nava against Taylor Fritz is second on Armstrong during the day. Fritz will be fine there, won't he? Yeah, I would have thought so. And Armstrong night session opens with Jasmine Paulini against Destiny Ayava, the Australian. And second on is Daniil Medvedev losing for a second slam in a row to Benjamin Bonzi. He's going to turn the tables. Medvedev's going to win this time. Yeah? Yeah. Punchy set prediction, please. Four. Charlie. I mean, massively on upset watch, to the point where I guess how even big an upset would that be?

1:12:17Yeah.

1:12:22I really struggle with that one. Maybe Medvedev in five? We're going to be here. Well, we're going to be somewhere very late watching Daniel Medvedev look dishevelled against Benjamin Bonzi, aren't we? That's what we get. That's my prediction. Grandstand is Jakub Mensik against Nicholas Jarry. Tennis podcast coded match-up first. What a day session, that is. Although Matt has stopped mentioning Nicholas Jarry. And that clashes with Fulham. Yeah. Alexandre Ayalet and Clara Towson second on grandstand. That's a fun night. That's the match of tomorrow, I think, isn't it? Emma Navarro against Yifan Wong.

1:13:04Wong Yifan is third on Grandstand and fourth on is Jesper de Jong against Brandon Nakashima. Court 17, Shevchenko against Davidovic Fikina. Then Marino, Rebecca Marino against Leila Fernandez, all Canadian clash. Yirida Hetchka against Borna Chorich, who is apparently staying in the hotel that Matt and David stayed in a few years ago, where Matt was checked in as Matt Lobbett. happy memories and I had to check out of that hotel three times and they were confused every time and Belinda Bencic is last on court 17 and playing Zhang Shui which I think is really interesting you know a year ago we were on longest losing streak watch she managed to end that just after the US Open I think she's qualified here and I really thought that her career could be over, you know, this time last year.

1:14:00So it's actually really nice that she's back in the draw here. So, yeah, we're looking forward to that one. Thomas Mahatch is on court five tomorrow. He takes on Luca Nardi. God, remember his last match here. That disaster class against Draper. The egg leg. So bad. And his reward for that is to be scheduled on the court. The Holger Arena posted a map to on his Twitter. Wasn't it court five? Yes, it's actually... It's really close to where we are. It's a nice court. Very easy to get to, Holger. I'll tell you what, he'd be annoyed to be in the area. Yes. Although, I think that's what... He certainly wasn't in the main room.

1:14:42Anyway. I mean, it's quite a busy Sunday day. It doesn't... I mean, like... Do you think? Well, I think they've gone big on the show courts. Like, they've got really good names, like Shelton, Sabalenka, Djokovic, Pagoula, Raducanu, Fritz, Medvedev. To have Djokovic on a Sunday feels very unusual. I remember Australia did it. I'm sure Australia did it with Sabalenka and Djokovic. Sabalenka's always on Sunday. Yeah, but I'm pretty sure Djokovic-Przmich was a Sunday because then Sabalenka played after it and it was really, really late. I think they did like a defending... A defending champions thing.

1:15:21They didn't have a Sunday start at that point. I think that was the first one, wasn't it, in Australia? Anyway, well, my slight issue with the order of play is that they're not using that many outside courts. And I think it's going to be packed. I think it's going to be hard for fans to see the matches they want to see if they're not spreading it out among all the courts. and that's what Australia got wrong the first time they did a Sunday start. I think they corrected it. Just a little bit worried about that. And also with Ash only having two-day session matches, you get that thing where if Ash finishes early, everyone pours out and wants to watch matches on the outside courts.

1:16:10This is something that I feel like we get a lot of messages about people who come to the US Open and experience that sort of fan experience. We're a little bit shielded from that. Yeah, but it's important. It is a thing, and I'm just a little bit worried about that. Yeah, and you do worry that it's not something the organisers are factoring in really at all. Maybe I'm wrong, and the proof will be in the pudding tomorrow. What else have we got? We've got Marketa von Drosheva is on court seven. As is Korintan Mute. As is Korintan Mute, that's where David will be. Town Greekspore against Adrian Manorino.

1:16:44It'll be interesting to see how it feels. It's kind of crazy that this is the US Open's first Sunday start. like yeah feels like they they are the sort of slam that would have been I know one of the front runners the idea that last year the Sunday was like a free day that's just like when does that ever happen and obviously they were like what are we doing there's loads of money to be made we could be making money out of$40 lobster rolls and that is what exactly what they'll be doing tomorrow but not from us we'll be we'll be buying slop in the media centre we'll be very grateful for it we'll of course be back tomorrow with a podcast and each of the next 15 days thank you charlie for your for for playing along with the predictions appreciate it i know it's painful for you no no great to be here it was those big predictions i found like the quarter fight like predicting a quarter final i know is is just so hard yeah it's hard no one said it was easy um as i've hinted at we've been doing Tennis Podcast Meets interviews over the course of the next couple of days and that show where we have collectively spoken to Karen Hashanov, Felix Auger alias Seem, Arta Rindeknesh, Ava Lees Fran Jones and Karolina Mukova, that show will be going up later today for Friends of the Tennis Podcast so if you'd like to become a friend and get the chance to listen to that and it really is worth a listen, there's some fascinating insights from those players in there, then the The link to become a friend will be in our show notes.

1:18:19And the last thing I wanted to mention is that we have a live show in Wrexham, Wales. We've played New York. Now we're going to play the New York of Wales. Correct. Which is what... Everyone calls it. Everybody calls Wrexham. We'll be there on October the 22nd. Our live show in New York this week was truly one of the highlights of our podcasting lives. It was incredibly special and we can't wait to do it again in Wrexham. And that is exactly what we'll be doing on October 22nd. We'll put the link to buy tickets in our show notes and we'll hopefully see you there. Unfortunately, Charlie's got a football cliches live show in Glasgow on the same night.

1:19:08Tis the season for podcast live shows, it would seem. Yeah, absolutely. We're competing for an audience for football cliches. Right. Hello to our mascots. Hello, Phoebe. Hello, Maisie. Hello, Roger. Hello to our executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. Let's have some shout outs, Matt. Are you ready, everyone? Yeah. We have Christine Marlow from St. Helens, Merseyside. Hi, Christine. Hi, Christine. Christine James. Christine Truman, as was. Yes. I used to have a... Christine Everett, presumably.

1:19:46Yeah. Stunned into silence, I'm guessing. I used to have a friend in St. Helens. I got totally ghosted by her. never know what it keeps me up at night still this was a long time ago i'm over it but yeah laura would anyone like to hear more about christine yeah yes please you just don't hear aboutst helens a lot do you it's rugby league yeah hotbed yeah uh what can i say about christine she says in my school days in the 50s wimbledon was the only tennis shown extensively on the TV. Through my working life I always said that if I won the pools, the lottery, I'd apply for a Wimbledon debenture. No success.

1:20:35But when I retired I realised that I could afford to try my luck and with a friend who I'd met as a co-member of the Tim Henman Fan Club I crossed my fingers and applied. We couldn't believe it and we were successful. So she was able to attend the championships every day for the last 15 years. every day? no yes if you have a if you have a debenture you can go every day so cool wow can we hear more about the Tim Hemman fan club? yeah more slash everything the rival fan club to Charlie leading the Greg Rosetsky fan club we used to host the annual well we were hang on we were present at the at the hosting of the annual Greg Rosetsky fan club meeting at the Royal Albert Hall because we worked for the tournament not because we were that bothered about the fan club bit.

1:21:23So, Christine, please let us know everything about the Tim Henman fan club. Thank you. We've also got Daniel Tam or Fam. I'm not sure. Right, Daniel. Daniel Nester. Daniel Evans. Daniel Nester comes out of Charlie Eccleshaire's mouth, the Canadian player. That's so in your wheelhouse. He'd have been winning the mixed doubles if he'd have been allowed to enter. our Daniel is from Sweden and is celebrating his 10 year anniversary of listening to the podcast he says I remember I started at the US Open in 2015 when Catherine was walking into a tree is that 10 years ago? probably or arguing with the bus driver, one of the two what a decade Daniel, hope it's been good for you too, thank you and finally we have Grace Thomas from Mason, Ohio.

1:22:22Hi, Grace. Hello, Grace. Grace says, last year you guys weren't able to think of a tennis player named Grace. After a quick Google, I found Grace Min. She's an American player who turned pro in 2008 and reached a career high of 97. We'll take it, Grace. Thank you very much, Grace. I really appreciate it. We'll take that. And Mason, Ohio, of course, where the Cincinnati tournament actually is. exactly and Grace has been a listener since 2020 I bet Grace has been to Kings Island hope so what a place I think Grace Min has career high 97 I do not Grace thank you very much for your support of the Tennis Podcast thank you Grace, thank you Christine thank you Daniel of Nesta fame we are part of the Athletic Podcast Network do check out Charlie's work and Matt's work and all of the stuff on the Athletic over the coming fortnight it's going to be an awesome fortnight we can't wait, we also can't wait to get out of this wind tunnel though, so thank you for listening we'll speak to you tomorrow on day one of the 2025 US Open