BJK Cup Finals Preview - A new era in Shenzhen begins

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1:16Matt Roberts: Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast. We are back. The Grand Sam season might be over, but that does not mean that the season is over. Oh, no, no, no, no. That is not how tennis works. not by a long shot. We are very, very pleased to be back with you. Is it Carlos Alcaraz or is it Matt Roberts? He's had a haircut. Thank goodness Carlos Alcaraz has dyed his hair blonde or else we wouldn't be able to tell them apart. Hello, Matt. Hello. What can I say? No misunderstanding with the machine. I'm just one haircut behind Carlos Alcaraz. Keeping you on your toes, isn't he? maybe you're keeping him on his toes you're playing a weird game of haircut hair hair do chicken uh david same hair same guy very pleased to have you back what a comeback

2:11David Law: yeah sorry about the hair i was uh you know i could have been a bit more creative than this but the standard short back and sides mostly gray getting grayer that's basically me and it will be probably for the next however many years I'm afraid don't please don't change your hair Dave

2:28Matt Roberts: I feel like if you I don't know it would the the foundations of my universe would shake and crumble if you changed your hair do you know what I mean things would get weird some things need to stay the same just for the sake of everybody's sanity have I had any difference in my hair since you've known me in the last 17 18 pandemic hair oh yes that was extreme yeah that's when it that's when I did have an accident with the machine because somebody other than a hairdresser was handling it we all had a year of accidents with the machine or lack of access to the machine as was the case in a lot of people's situations.

3:18Matt Roberts: But anyway, very pleased to have you back. Very pleased to be back. I talk such a big game about how the season needs to be shorter and there's too much tennis, but I do miss it. I do miss it when there's nothing on and we've got nothing to podcast about. So, yeah, I'm very, very pleased to be back and to have so much to talk about. You know. Likewise. what do we have to talk about we have got the events that have been happening this week two wta events one 500 event won by a very exciting 17 year old we've got davis cup qualifiers that have been taking place over this weekend some very weird and wonderful holger runa stuff has been happening uh we will get on to all of that over the course of this show but we're going going to start with the Billie Jean King Cup finals.

4:10Matt Roberts: They begin tomorrow in Shenzhen, China. In fact, in what, around about 12 hours time. As we come to you right now, they start on Tuesday. It is eight teams down from 12 in previous years. I think it has been as many as 16 in some past years. They've been tinkering with the format. And I do think eight teams feels like a big improvement on where we've been before. So we start on Tuesday, going straight in at essentially the quarterfinal stage with Italy against China, of course, the defending champions against the hosts. Then on Wednesday, we have Spain against Ukraine. Thursday, it's Kazakhstan against the USA, followed by Great Britain against Japan.

4:58Matt Roberts: And then on Friday, we have the first semifinal, Saturday is the second semi-final and Sunday is the final. So basically it is now incredibly similar to the format, Matt, that we've had at Davis Cup finals for a few years now and has been proven broadly to work. It's kind of bringing the two in line, isn't it? Which feels like a sensible move, I think. yeah that's it a final eight which has definitely worked for the davis cup in the last few years and it's i think it's next year when we get the full mirroring of the format throughout the season you know earlier this year in the billy jenking cup we had those sort of round robin ties to determine who ended up at this final eight next year we're getting we're getting home and away ties again in the billy jenking cup but yeah this is the billy jenking cup finals I think in its correct format now finally after we've, as you said, we've had round robin in the finals we've had the knockout with 12 teams last year now we've got the straight knockout with the 8 teams and look, it's been a lot of change to the Billie Jean King Cup finals this is now the 5th edition of it we've been in Prague, Glasgow, Seville, Malaga and now we're in Shenzhen I think for the next 3 years at least so it did feel like it needed a home it needed a base in the way that the Davis Cup had in had in Malaga for a few years um I know there's obviously a lot of questions and some concerns about where they've landed in in Shenzhen given certainly women's tennis's recent history with China um but it's there and it's in this new spot in the calendar as well it's obviously been squeezed into November along with sort of everything else over the last few years but it's now got this spot which actually has sort of developed into a little team competition spot in the season we've just had Davis Cup we've got Lever Cup this week as well and Billie Jean King Cup so I think it's been a lot to get your head around a lot of change over the last few years but hopefully we'll now see some some stability come over the next few years for this competition which, you know, we're big fans of the Billie Jean King Cup.

7:23So we want it to be as good as it can be.

7:27Matt Roberts: Yeah, I think given what a mortal blow Venus Williams dealt my get rid of wild cards campaign during the US Open, which is still brewing. I'm just putting it on the back burner. You know, you've got to read the room and pick your moments for these things. I think maybe my campaign, which I will choose to forefront at the moment, is get rid of round robin. Round robin is crap. I think we know that, right? We know that. I'll do my best to get excited about it during the finals, but it's crap.

8:05David Law: Oh, for goodness sake. Yeah, this has been my thing for a while. I used to, when I was an early tennis fan, discovering that there was tennis outside of Wimbledon, let alone the Grand Slams. And I found the ATP finals. I remember, I think 1992 was probably the first time I really took notice of it. And Boris Becker won it. And it was in Frankfurt. And it was an amazing atmosphere. And I kind of was on board with the idea of, oh, you get to see the best players at least three times. I thought, oh, that's good. and then I stumbled across the calculations to try to make it to the semi-finals and I thought, okay, well, I don't like this and that's 33 years ago and that feeling has only deepened since then and it's got worse in many ways and it was at its worst, I think, a year or two ago when the Billie Jean King Cup and the Davis Cup were doing it I just couldn't be doing with that at all especially when you get occasional dead rubbers and and all this sort of thing I I I just I never thought there was a need for it and now I think that they've proved it because they've found a way to get knockouts and um you'll you'll feel the difference yeah I think so I think so and look

9:27Matt Roberts: when it was announced that the Billie Jean King Cup had secured this spot in the calendar I was really pleased for them and it felt like a good good thing like november's full i mean look the whole year is full quite frankly there is no space anywhere but but this this this felt like this felt like a good move especially given where in the world it has moved to it sort of being part of the the wta asian swing seemed to make a lot of sense and i had pretty high hopes for the the fields that they would be able to attract as a result of that. And look, there are really good players playing in the Billie Jean King Cup finals.

10:09Matt Roberts: Alina Svitolina and Marta Kostiuk are there for Ukraine. Jessica Bagula is there. Emma Navarro for the USA. Taylor Townsend, Hayley Baptiste. These are really exciting, sort of a mixture of really established big names and also kind of exciting players that you really want to go out of your way to try and see. Jasmine Paolini and Sara Rani are back. Like, that's really exciting. Elena Rabatkin is there. She always shows up for Kazakhstan. But there have been withdrawals too, some really, really disappointing withdrawals, the like of which I hoped that the moving, the moving in the calendar might prevent more of, and maybe it will in future years.

10:55Matt Roberts: But like, it was a blow to see Madison Keyes become McCartney-Kessler. and for Amaradokanu to pull out. That one was obviously particularly disappointing. Xinqin Wen, it's a massive blow because China are the hosts, but she's had surgery, she's not fit. That's not a huge surprise. But Radokanu, Osaka, Keys, there's no getting around the fact that this event would be massively boosted by them being there and their loss will be felt, Matt. Yeah, big time. I think in Osaka's case, obviously, she went very deep at the US Open. Obviously, it would be a much better event if she was there. I think Japan are the weakest team on paper at these British Inking Cup finals.

11:45I think it would really, really lift the event and that team if Naomi Osaka were part of it. Raducanu's was the one that was a real shame to me, I must say. I don't want to be harsher on Raducanu than I am on other players. I want to see all the players play the Billie Jean King Cup if possible. I just didn't really understand why M Raducanu is not playing, to be honest. I know she's playing a tour event instead and she will point to rankings points and trying to get seeded for the Australian Open and all of that kind of thing, which I do understand. but I think there was also a pretty big appearance for you going her way to play that tour event in Korea as well I think it would have been brilliant if she'd been part of this team remember remember Bolta Carnu at Queen's how we all got excited about that and the prospect of them playing doubles together at the Billie Jean King Cup she wrote long live Bolta Carnu on the camera and you know it was it seemed to be just what was that just the one thing and look it was the doubles last year where britain fell short you know like they were in with a chance of winning this competition and that was partly because of remorade canu playing really really well you know indoors last year in malaga but they fell short in the doubles and it felt like bolton redacanu were maybe going to try and get something together for the billy jenking cup finals and then to pull out so late you know just i don't know how just 10 days or so before the competition started must be a massive massive blow to captain and kiothevong who you know no doubt had planned to have emiratokanu as her number one player and make make a real attack on trying to win this thing you know they're in a they're in a you know little group of teams that with emiratokanu as part of it they absolutely would be contenders to win it and i'll be gutted

13:51Matt Roberts: probably I don't know she'll be a lot of things I think don't want to put words in her mouth but she'll definitely be gutted put it that way yeah I just look all of those reasons are totally valid aren't they rankings appearance fee would we you know like it's a lot of money being dangled in front of we can all be very judgmental about. Look, I am too. She has a lot of money. It's a tough scene, isn't it? Because all of those motivations are valid, but ultimately they only outweigh representing the Billie Jean King, representing Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup finals if that only has limited value to you.

14:41Matt Roberts: And this decision clearly shows the limited value that emma adekani perceives in in playing this competition which which really disappoints me it really disappoints me and i think it's short-sighted because i think it could be so good for her so good for her and has been good for her in the past but well if you if you i'm

15:05David Law: probably one of the more protective people in the media of emma adekano i'm by by no means the only one. And I wouldn't say I give her a free pass all the time, but I've given her a lot of passes because I think she deserves them. And I think she warrants time and without judgment and all these sort of things. And I was definitely, I saw it more from her perspective than I did from Andy Murray's when that whole scene occurred around Wimbledon, you may remember. And we differed on that at the time I struggle with this I really struggle with this um and I and I just think I I also wonder what her teammates make of it you know that and how do you come back in I mean I'm sure you can you can build those bridges and and she is still an excellent player and she would elevate things in the future and it isn't you know it is an annual event so you can do it again but I I'm reading um I'm reading a book by John Feinstein about the Ryder Cup at the moment with that on the horizon and reading about what that event became and how people would just put everything aside for that, if it mattered enough to them.

16:19David Law: And they were talking about how for Tiger Woods it didn't matter enough. And so she's by no means the only one who feels like that, but I find that pretty disappointing that she's prioritised a relatively minor tour event by comparison to not play this event and and I think she should be playing.

16:43Matt Roberts: Fran Jones has come in to replace her in the GB squad and that made me think of the interview I did with Fran Jones in New York for Tennis Podcast Meets that that friends of the pod will have had the chance to listen to and she was brilliant she's I love Fran Jones she's a brilliant interview but one of my final questions was about the Billie Jean King Cup and specifically about the camaraderie of Billie Jean King Cup and she very specifically talked about the camaraderie between her and Emma Raducanu she said she basically said no it's not all of GB Billie Jean King Cup I've got a thing going with Emma Raducanu and I do wonder if Fran Jones had been in the team, whether that would be, she's, she's coming to replace Amir Adekarni, ironically, but I do wonder if that would have been some sort of extra character.

17:30Matt Roberts: I mean, it shouldn't, it shouldn't matter, but that is, I do, I do wonder if that's, that's a factor. And you're right, like reintegration into that team is, I mean, I think Anki Othvang would welcome her back with open arms, but in terms of the vibes within the team that I know An has worked very, very hard on over recent years, it's not going to help. Something like this is not going to help at all. Let's talk about who we do have. So the ties are two singles followed by doubles. And as we've seen, so often the doubles is decisive, as Sara Arani and Jasmine Paolini know all too well. They are, of course, the defending champions, along with Lucia Bronzetti and Elisabetta Cotcioretto.

18:22Matt Roberts: Like, Matt, I don't even look at who's picked for Italy. Like, they're such a, like, it's just them, isn't it? It's like David's haircut. I can't imagine an Italy Billie Jean King cup team that isn't these four players. Do you know what I mean? Like, they're so set in stone. So does that mean that Martina Trevisan was the brief period during COVID when David had a more severe haircut? when she came into the team had a had a really nice week to get the final right yeah um but yeah i'm being harsh but you know what i mean i think you know what i mean oh i definitely know what you mean and i think that i think that reliability and that togetherness that they have you know does does really help them you know i think it's i think it helps the number two player to come into that environment and know that jasmine paolini is always going to be there and paolini and irani are going to be there and i feel like that's why we've seen the italy number twos actually perform really well over the past few years you know whether it be cociaretto or trevisan or bronzetti you know they're coming into a team that's secure and steady whereas you've got some other you've got some other teams here i think particularly like the us are a big one they've got so many players the u.s but you never really know what combination of players it's going to be and there's kind of there's not that settled nature to the u.s team whereas there is this really settled nature to the italian team and um you know i think obviously jasmine paolini is the key um and she's perhaps a little bit less reliable this year than she was last year i'm going to be interested to see how she's playing because you know playing the hosts up first you know if they play the if they play the number two singles first and let's say China get a win there home crowd suddenly it's kind of all going to be on Paolini and then Paolini and Irani to to get Italy over the line I think they're definitely favorites to do that but that would be an interesting element to that to that opening tie if if China can grab the number two singles and then you know Paolini you'll have to do what she did last year and kind of take over.

20:36Matt Roberts: Do you expect Bronzetti to play it too? She's not really backed up last year's Billie Jean King Cup quite as well as I thought she might, you know. And I think if I think of the outstanding result that the Italian number two has had this year, it'd be Cocciaretto over Pagula at Wimbledon. You know, that was an incredible performance. It might be her. I don't know. I haven't really got a feeling. Maybe they run back last year's that got them to the title and go with Bronzetti. But I think Coccioretto is very capable of coming in as well. And having that element of surprise is quite useful for a team as well.

21:21You don't know who you're going to be playing until an hour before or so.

21:27Matt Roberts: So China obviously depleted by not having Zhang Qimwen. Look, they would have at least known about that well in advance. As I say, it's not any kind of surprise that they don't have Zheng Chenwen. They've got Xin Yu Wang, Zhiyu Wang, Zheng Shui and Yuan Yui. It's a very kind of, it's a very even keeled kind of a team, isn't it? There's no massive superstar in the way that there would have been David had Zheng Chenwen been in that team. It would have, the kind of chemistry of it would have been totally different, I think.

22:03David Law: Yeah, it always fascinates me about team competition in tennis, the way some teams are built around a single player who is going to get them more than one point. And it's them against every even team of good players, but without a great player and without a sort of real flag bearer who is just the banker. I do love that about the competition same with Davis Cup I think it's a real strength of these competitions and it actually it makes it interesting to me particularly because Italy have Paolini as their clear number one who's been at the sharp end of Grand Slam tournaments and who's going to step up and is that combined team spirit we'll come on and talk about Davis Cup later about how many teams were greater than the sum of their parts when they worked together and they ended up getting big results in away ties there.

23:03David Law: And so, you know, I wonder whether you might even manage to get more out of the team as a whole because Jung Chin-wen would have taken up all the oxygen, frankly, in that arena. Everybody would have been looking to her. That isn't going to be the case here. This is just, this is going to be a team effort. But I love the fact that Jung Shui is on the team, you know, given how many troubles she's had over the last couple of years. You know, and she's been around playing for a while now. Some people are looking more thrilled to be there than others in that photo, aren't they? For everybody with us on the YouTube.

23:44David Law: Talking about being thrilled to be there, Catherine, I was watching earlier on on the Billie Jean King Cup YouTube page, the shorts on there. There was one video feature with the Italian team and they were asking the players, where were you in 2009? And, you know, one of them's two years old. Paolini's saying, I was a ball girl at the Fed Cup final. And Irani's saying, I was winning the Fed Cup. It's just a great scene. And, you know, if Vibes alone are going to win this thing, they're going to defend their title, I think. that's tough isn't it because

24:24Matt Roberts: Italy are a vibe like Italy have been a vibe at the Billie Jean King Cup for a long time like Paulini is a vibe on her own but the Italian team are a vibe and you kind of want them to stay in but you don't want to lose the hosts in the opening round especially you know I really hope that this is this event in Shenzhen is well attended for all ties no matter who is playing but there's always the worry that the the ties involving China will be well attended and it won't be the same for others. So I just have anxiety around China being heavy underdogs in this opening tie and the situation where they do go out on the very first day of the tournament.

25:07Matt Roberts: That would be a shame, I think, undeniably. Wednesday, Spain against Ukraine. Spain are captained by Carlos Suarez Navarro now, which is fun. I saw Carlos Suarez Navarro. Nobody's ever had a bad word to say about Carlos Suarez Navarro. No. I was so happy to see her in New York. No.

25:34David Law: Although, you know, that would be good. But seeing her in New York, she walked past me and I suddenly thought, crikey, I've not seen Carlos Suarez Navarro for a long time. she is retired isn't she I'd just remembered um I think I last saw her in the photos of Garbine Muguruza's wedding yes now talking of vibes I mean she can bring vibes on her own can't she you're right about that I think so everybody loves her yeah really she'll be a galvanizing presence I think um

26:12Matt Roberts: I was surprised, Matt, to see Paola Bedosa in this team. I mean, I'm pleased. I hope that the fact that she's in it means that she's fit. But I was surprised that she seems to be fit. I mean, great news for Spain. And it does mean that Suarez Navarro has some decisions to make now. But she's coming in as an unknown quantity, given how little fitness she's had recently. yeah hasn't played a match since Wimbledon and she was clearly not right during that grass court season you know um so I think she said today that you know I think she's been resting she's had this as a return date in mind and it does make sense for her to sort of continue her season here starting here going into the Asian swing I mean they've got options Spain you know with Bookshire, who's just reached the fourth round at the US Open.

27:12Matt Roberts: She's a decent doubles player as well, Bookshire, isn't she, I think? Yes, absolutely. And Boutas Monero had a really nice summer, last 16 at Wimbledon, quarterfinal in Montreal, last 16 in Cincinnati as well. She's put together some really nice results. So I think I've found out here Spain are one of only two teams to have three top 70 players, the other team being the USA, whereas Ukraine are one of only two teams to have two top 30 players, the other team being the USA. So this sort of Ukraine-Spain clash is a real clash of singles depth, actually, because Ukraine have got Svitolina and Kostyuk, who, you know, at their best are a couple of the best players at this event, I would say.

28:08So this is a really, really interesting tie, I think, on Wednesday. Probably the quarterfinal tie I'm most looking forward to, actually, Ukraine against Spain, especially, you know, Ukraine with how much it means for these Ukrainian players to play for their country, especially at the moment. and they haven't ever reached the semifinals of the Billie Jean King Cup. So if they win their quarterfinal tie, they will be already doing their country's best ever performance at this event. So it's kind of a lot on the line and I think it's going to be a really good one with the unknown, as you said, of Paola Badossa who could come in and when she's played, she's had a really good level this year.

28:50It's just that, you know, she's been so absent for so long and so many injury problems we don't really know. But yeah, this is a really, really good tie, I think.

29:01Matt Roberts: She has struggled since her comeback to Selena with tail ends of seasons, hasn't she? She's struggled to kind of hold her body together. She lost, I think, first round in New York, didn't she? She and Monfils both went out early. And I do just worry about her being on fumes and being held together by sticky tape a little bit. But on paper, that looks such a strong, even team, Svitolina and Kostiuk. And they beat Poland to get there, didn't they, to the finals? So they've got to be sort of bookmarked as potential favourites. Then on Thursday, we have the two remaining quarterfinals. So it's Kazakhstan against the USA.

29:49Matt Roberts: Kazakhstan have Elena Abakna and Yulia Putin-Sever. What do we think the photographer's direction was with these team photo shoots that you're seeing if you're with us on the YouTube right now? I think he was encouraging people to inject personality, wasn't he?

30:11David Law: I think that's a fair assessment. Yes. Lots of V signs.

30:19Matt Roberts: yes victory people respond very differently to that it's like when you're asked when um university challenge contestants have to introduce themselves sort of how much do you editorialize is there's always a bit of an insight into the person isn't it um kazakhstan in usa who's the favorite for this time i would have said the us just I think so I think they've got the edge in the doubles I would say I know that Kazakhstan have Dalinina she can play good doubles but the US have got Townsend and Pagula is a very good doubles player as well Pagula has a winning record over Rabatkinner if they were to meet Pagula is 3-1 against Rabatkinner with all of those meetings on hard courts, although none in the last couple of years, it has to be said.

31:20I just think I fall into a bit of a trap with the US. I feel like every year I come into the Billie Jean King Cup finals and think, well, the US have the best team. They should win. But I don't know. They don't get it done recently. I know they've won the event more than any other country, but they've only won it twice since 2000, the most recent one being in 2017. and look, they haven't got their biggest hitters here. Goff's not here, Key's not here, Nisimovas is not here, but still got a good team. It's just something about, I feel like, as I said before, those other teams with the more settled squads, maybe it's a bigger deal for some of the other players and the other teams.

32:01There's maybe a bit more cohesion to the groups. I think it would be a big achievement if Lindsay Davenport can get this group to win you know their first their first title since 2017 but they've there's a tricky draw against

32:17David Law: Kazakhstan because of Rabatkin being there she was talking pretty bullishly I thought Davenport and you'd expect that wouldn't you as the captain but I sense that she's really got buy-in from the people that are there and the one question I have for you Matt based on the fact that you've been at these events several years in a row, tail end of the year, and often jammed against the other events as well, is the fact that Pegula is playing and she isn't going to be on fumes necessarily. She didn't go all the way at the US Open. She's a pretty top player, and yet she's not... I just already remember her playing at the tail end of the WTA finals and just looking absolutely out on her feet that one year.

33:08David Law: And that shouldn't be the case this time. Yeah, I think that's a really good point, actually. Some of their most important players have had to do that cross-world trip, you know, from one event to another, getting there really, really late for the Billie Jean King Cup finals in the past. Look, still, you know, her and Townsend. I think Townsend was right there at the end of the US Open, had an event for US Open obviously I think there will be some fatigue there but yeah I think it could be something that helps them, I have felt like the US team have been fatigued at this tournament the last few years and I feel like they're on much more of a level playing field now

33:56Matt Roberts: Is Is the doubles team there Townsend-Pagula, do you think? Like, are we expecting Pagula to play singles and doubles here?

34:09I think that would probably be their strongest. But yes, that is a lot on Pagula. Kessler can probably play some doubles.

34:22Matt Roberts: Maybe Taylor Townsend will pick who she plays doubles with. Right. I'd love to know how much that goes on, by the way. Like when you've got one fantastic doubles player. If I was a captain, there's a reason why I'm not. But if I was a captain, I would say to them, who do you want to play with? And I think that probably does happen, but not all the time. I don't know. What's your feeling about how often that happens? Or if you've got one incredible singles player that is better Other than all of your doubles players anyway, I'd just say, right, you just...

35:02David Law: What would you like? I think that back in the day, Andy Murray used to pick who he fancied playing with. I would have thought he would have had a good say in it. Or they would have guessed who he might have liked. Something like that, I don't know. I mean, but yeah, the US is an interesting one because Taylor Townsend is just such an obvious pick as the first one.

35:30Matt Roberts: Final, quarterfinal will also be on Thursday. It'll follow the Kazakhstan-USA tie. It'll be GB against Japan. Probably the two weakest teams on paper. We're looking at Team GB here. Fran Jones not in the photos because she is coming all the way from Mexico where she was in the semifinals. This is quite a haul for Fran Jones, isn't it? Which is an interesting one because on form, she might be in line to play, even though she's kind of the alternate that's come in to replace Emma Raducanu. That GB team does not have a lot of form to speak of. Katie Bolt has been in a real trough recently. Jodie Burrage is still working her way back from injury.

36:20Matt Roberts: Soné Cartel has sort of not played very much since Wimbledon. It doesn't, I mean, I think Bolter is going to play at one, regardless of form. Sorry, it's Brazil, isn't it, that Fran Jones is making her way from. It's Sao Paulo where she reached the semifinals. But I don't know, like, I don't feel like the number two pick is particularly obvious for GB, David.

36:43David Law: But Cartel played well to help get them there. She did. And I wonder how big a factor that might be. You know, it's and she was really good at Wimbledon. I know that it hasn't gone well for her since Wimbledon. And maybe she should have played some smaller events as well on top of what she also played. But I mean, the fact is, I do think it's quite a big deal when you've been part of the team that has got you to this thing. and there's a feeling that, well, they're probably going to bring out their best stuff again. I'm not sure who surface-wise. I mean, that was on clay where they were playing in the qualifiers and her game just seemed to stack up really well on there with the heavy topspin forehand.

37:34David Law: I'm not sure on this surface which of the other players, I mean, definitely Katie Bolter. I think it really suits her, but I'm not sure about the others. well Fran Jones loves clay as well doesn't she um yeah I don't know I think I think if Fran Jones is

37:54Matt Roberts: recovered well and they do have until Thursday if she recovers from that sort of cross-global trip and and she feels comfortable on the surface I think she's in with the chance of of playing at number two just just because of form but but they have they have such a doubles problem GB, don't they? I was going to say, they probably need to get it done in the singles. You know, Japan are not strong in the singles. They've got, well, their only top 100 player is Uchijima, although she'd lost 10 matches in a row going into the US Open, did manage to get a win there. They might be winning the photo shoot competition though, Matt.

38:33Matt Roberts: These are some vibes. Absolutely, yes. everyone's got different poses. They all look thrilled to be there. Like, I don't know, if Japan end up winning the Billie Jean King Cup, we'll, we'll go back and go, well, we should have known because the photos. Right. Yeah. And look, they've got Shibahara, Aoyama, you know, they can, they can play doubles. So Britain, I think are definitely going to have to win it in the singles. I'd be pretty surprised if it's not Bolter and Cartel, personally. I know Jones has just done well in Sao Paulo. It wasn't a particularly strong field with all that travel. I think she'd go with the team that she's got there, getting used to the conditions now, sharpening them up, ready for Thursday.

39:32As David said, Bolter and Cartel were instrumental so I'm getting Britain here. I think that's what she'll go with. But yeah, it's definitely the weakest of the quarterfinals, but kind of intriguing because they're both in a similar situation. If one of them was up against a really strong team, it would kind of feel like we know who's going to win. But because they're both in quite a similar situation here, Japan and Britain, it does actually lead to quite an intriguing quarterfinal tie.

40:04Matt Roberts: Why is there no Aoi Ito?

40:10Matt Roberts: That is a blow. It's who the people want to see. Yeah. Sorry, Uchijima, Hibino, Shibahara. We want Aoi Ito. We do. We want her in all events. Yeah. Yes, please. More Aoi Ito, please. OK. Who's winning this thing? I want to know who you think is going to be in the final and who is going to win it.

40:42I think I'm going to go Italy.

40:45Matt Roberts: Bold pick from Matt. The prospect of Italy-Ukraine in the semis is fascinating because Paolini has had a bit of a Svitolina problem this year. She's lost her a couple of slams, hasn't she? And if you can beat Paolini, then that goes a very long way to beating Italy. But I don't know, just vibes, Paolini, good number two, good doubles. Just finding it hard to look past Italy.

41:18David Law: I think we're going to get a US-Ukraine final.

41:27um and i'm gonna go i'm gonna go for the us oh he's he's fallen into the trap i do this a lot do you know matt i'm gonna fall into it as well

41:42Matt Roberts: yeah i understand it yeah i'm gonna go us italy final that can happen right yeah right um it's always such a blow when you pick a prediction that turns out literally can't happen within the confines of the draw that's a new low yeah I'm going to go US Italy with US to win

42:12yeah which I don't think

42:14Matt Roberts: counts as underestimating Jasmine Paolini but who could say anymore I think that's exactly what you're doing well David hasn't even got her in the final

42:25David Law: well that's standard for me isn't it yeah never changed david i've told you it's these are my pillars i overestimated jasmine powerlini during the us open yeah you did got burned against marketer and rosso yeah that that's because you broke the golden vondroshova rule

42:45Matt Roberts: yeah the golden vondroshova rule is more powerful than any other rules yeah it's the most powerful rule. No on-votech predictions. Beat the other bit. It is weird not having check here, isn't it? Yeah. Is that your segue to the Davis Cup? It wasn't going to be, but it absolutely can be. Let's talk Davis Cup. No, just before we talk about Davis Cup, a reminder of our schedule over this Billie Jean King Cup finals week. We will be back with pods on Thursday to review the quarterfinals, Saturday to review the semifinals, and then we'll have a live show on Sunday, 8pm UK time, same as this, live on YouTube, to review the final and the competition as a whole.

43:35Matt Roberts: And in the meantime, you can obviously check out results and everything on the Billie Jean King Cup website, stories as well, and check out their socials for everything else, quite frankly, including fun photo shoot content. The photographer is obviously having a right old time out there. In terms of how and where to watch it, there's a list on the Billie Jean King Cup website depending on where you are in the world. I know it's being shown on the Tennis Channel in the US and Tennis Channel here in the UK and you can get that through Amazon Prime as well. And I know that Great Britain ties are also being shown on the BBC.

44:17Matt Roberts: so BBC iPlayer or the BBC Sport app. So that is how to watch the Billie Jean King Cup finals. We'll be doing just that and we'll be back with our next pod to talk about it on Thursday.

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46:38Matt Roberts: Right, the segue that Matt has beautifully set up for me. Let's talk about the Davis Cup. This weekend saw seven home and away qualifiers taking place, determining who joins Italy at the finals, which are now in Bologna in Italy in November. some pretty wild results in these qualifiers. There was only one home team to win, and that was Spain, and they had to come from 0-2 down overnight to beat Denmark 3-2. Holger Runa had a match point to win the tie in the fourth match. This was drama. unexpected Davis Cup hero of the weekend, Pedro Martinez. Who would have thought it, Matt? And I'll say, like, what a heroic effort.

47:37He played basically six straight hours on the second day, winning the doubles alongside Munar. Most people, myself included, assumed that Munar would then come in to play the singles against Runa. but oh no they're obviously so impressed with Martinez's performance in the doubles in he comes for the singles wins the first set against Runa 6-1 and then eventually beats a cramping tantrum laden Holger Runa in those in those final stages after more than three hours in a final set tie break I mean Runa did a did an underarm serve which of course didn't go down well with the locals that was that was fun you could see holgeruna's mom in the background flexing her biceps at one point um there was a there was a there was a bad nod up call by the umpire at one

48:35Matt Roberts: point it was all happening runa didn't shake the umpire's hand did he and he had some choice words to say about the spanish fans it was it was classic holgeruna is a 12 year old behavior which we already know but confirmation that that remains the case spain captain david ferrer still trying to you know claw back some respectability as captain after his after his exploits in malaga last year he was very annoyed here didn't he and i think he has he's got it he's got it right he doesn't mind being called david ferrer right he's he's he's He's a bolder captain than he is or was a tennis player. It's kind of fascinating.

49:24But he was very upset that Roona got treatment for cramping. It was all going on. It was absolutely classic.

49:31Matt Roberts: Was it dastardly, in both your opinions, was it dastardly, that treatment for cramp? Because technically you're not allowed to.

49:42Matt Roberts: I mean... you can have a you can have the you can have a little a little rub yeah I think look I think Runa was trying everything I think he was he was struggling the tie was slipping away from him he was you know he was he was trying to trying to do what he could it was it was desperate Holger as seen in women's DMs the world over

50:12Matt Roberts: it was low hanging fruit folks I couldn't I couldn't resist I went there but look for Spain to win without Alcaraz without Davidovic Fikina without Granos as well great great doubles player that's that is a good effort and it keeps alive the possibility of Carlos Alcaraz playing in the finals you know which would be big for the event. You know, the possibility of a sinner Alcaraz in Italy is absolutely tantalising as a way to finish the year. So let's hope that Alcaraz does play. Yeah, it's suddenly the Davis Cup finals now become about can we get Carlos Alcaraz to play? And the look of his...

51:04Matt Roberts: I think he will want to, but he's also signed up for an awful lot of exhibitions, hasn't he? So we will see. David, let's get into all the away wins that we saw this weekend. Let's start with Czechia beating the US. This tie was in Delray Beach, Florida, somewhere that I've been many times for the Champions Tour event they used to have there over the opening weekend of the main tour event. Jakub Menchik and Yuri Lahechka were the heroes bringing home the points for Team Czechia. USA were depleted. They didn't have Ben Shelton. They didn't have Tommy Paul. And it hurt them big time. This was incredible from Czechia.

51:48David Law: Yeah, it hurt them. But also a reminder of just how strong that Czechia team is. The fact that they can have Mensik and Lehechka as singles players. They've got Mahac as a doubles player. I mean, this is a strong team. And we have not seen this level, Mensik, since he won Miami. This is a little reminder. You know, when we're sometimes talking about who... Sorry?

52:14Matt Roberts: Is he a Florida specialist?

52:16David Law: Maybe he is. Maybe he is. I mean, I think it's been quite a surprise the way he's dropped off, the dramatic way he's lost some of these long matches at Grand Slams. He's looked quite immature as a sort of match player in these situations. Whereas his top level is never in doubt. And he showed that by winning Miami, by beating Djokovic in the final there. I just think actually he is a player that when we're talking about who might upset the Sinner-Arcara's run to a Grand Slam final one day, I could imagine him being one of the ones that does it because of his game just being so big and just having a hot day and just taking it out of one of their hands.

53:05David Law: And it was interesting watching how up for it these guys were. I'm not saying that the US weren't, but I think that they would probably, even though they would know that Czechia are dangerous and they're really good players, they would still assume that they would win, I think, if they played well, if they played to their ability. You know, you basically got here a Taylor Fritz who's lost one of his two rubbers. Tiafoe won 10 games in four sets. I mean, he is in a slump. And that was a tough scene to witness. Now, at the same time, I don't want to take anything away from those Czech players because they were just way better than he was.

53:52David Law: But that is a bad, bad day or couple of days at the office for Francis Tiafoe. And having been in his press conference at the US Open, I would have assumed that the Davis Cup was just what he needed. You know, something to get the guys together, to represent your country. And he just couldn't get it going at all. and it was very similar. Watching him just get ousted like this was very similar to the way he got just knocked off the court by Jan-Lenard Stroof at the US Open. Big hitting guys who take the play away from him. He ends up looking reactive and, yeah, bad, bad losses. And as usual, they provide a good doubles team.

54:38David Law: And these days that means Rajiv Ram is part of it. and they come up, produce the goods. But 2-1 up, 2-1 up going into the final day to not win, that is a rough one for the United States. But I love how all the away teams that we're going to talk about here just went in relishing the home and away element again. You can see France having missed it all these years of not being a play, proper home and away. a team that loves Davis Cup. Belgium, who've always sort of punched above their weight. You know, these away teams just going into the lion's den and just grabbing it. Fantastic drama all the way through.

55:24Matt Roberts: Yeah, Belgium beat Australia 3-2. This is dramatic as well in all sorts of ways. Raphael Collignon, who frankly I hadn't heard of before the US Open, before his breakout run there. And now he's doing all the things. like Davis Cup hero now taking out Australia, who were such mainstays at the finals. I do think it's going to be weird to have a Davis Cup finals without Australia. But then Belgium bring a lot of support with them, don't they? I do wonder if that will be a boost for the competition to have the Belgium fans back. But yeah, Raphael Collignon beat Alex de Menor despite cramps so dramatic looking.

56:07Matt Roberts: he was literally convulsing, lying on the court convulsing. And he came back to beat Alex de Menor. And then he beat Alexander Vukic in the decisive match, Matt. Yeah, extraordinary tie. You know, the two others we've talked about, you know, we had Spain's comeback from 2-0 down. We had Czechia beating the US, which was 1-0 after the final day. and this one took a different route to going down to the decisive match. Belgium were 2-0 up after the first day. It felt like maybe they could even close it out in three. So they've got a good doubles team as well of Belgium. But Australia came back at them and Alex de Manor got the win to take it to the decisive match and he was giving it one more, one more.

57:01The crowd was up for it. It looked like there was going to be this big comeback for Australia. but Collignon brilliant in that decisive match to beat Vukic. And yeah, that's a real shock. You know, Hewitt has been such a sort of prominent critic of the new format. And one of his gripes with the format has been that Australia, they rarely get to play in Australia. He's actually been desperate for this moment, this home tie. And they finally get it. and they get beaten by Belgium. And suddenly Australia, who've been runners-up in this competition a couple of times recently, won't even be at the finals.

57:44So real, real shock. And yeah, as you said, Australia always good value in that finals because, you know, Dimonor is always great. But I think Belgium will bring a lot of fans and there is a big European flavour to this final. You know, seven of the teams are European. not going to have to make big trips. You know, I'm hopeful that there'll be good support. And also it'll mean a lot, you know, for Belgium, it'll mean a lot to be in the finals, as well as Czechia, who we've already talked about. France are back, you know, Austria are there. You know, it's going to be just a lot of countries who this is important for, I think, at the end of the year.

58:25Matt Roberts: Yeah, Leighton Hewitt, the Australia captain, also punished this week for pushing an anti-doping official. So tough week for Leighton Hewitt and that anti-doping official, although I think that happened a while back. So no Australia, but we will have Belgium in Bologna. We will also have France, David. They beat Croatia 3-1. This will be France's first time playing the new look Davis Cup finals since 2019. they have been a glaring omission from this revamped finals format. And Yaman Mute was the hero.

59:09David Law: Who'd have thought it? Not me. Stepped up. Stepped up. And that's the interesting thing. I mean, he is a curious character, isn't he? I sort of think of him as the guy who will play incredibly well when he's got his own fans behind him in France and a Rolling Arras or a Paris-Bercy or somewhere where they're chanting his name and all the French chants. And actually, when you think of some of his other wins, he has gone into some pretty hostile environments. I think of him playing Nicolas Jarry in Chile and just taking everybody on. I've been quite happy to do that. and he played Marin Cilic in the one that got them over the line in this and that takes some doing really I wonder whether it was a little bit of a full storm with Cilic at Wimbledon when he beat Jack Draper and he looked so good that day I mean at the US Open I remember picking him to win to kind of cause an upset there and he was just nowhere near and he's lost both his matches in this one as well and it's tough because I was watching some of the highlights of when Croatia won the Davis Cup a few years ago and he was winning the thing at the end there and it's...

1:00:38David Law: Look, everybody gets old but it's great to see at the same time Mute just stepping up and really having a year this year that has elevated him in everybody's kind of attention. He's not just the fun guy. He's actually getting big wins. He's stepping up and winning matches like this when everything's on the line. It's pretty cool.

1:01:03Matt Roberts: Incredible Quarantan Moutin, incredible Artur Rindeknes. It's a real mental readjustment for me with these players. And of course it was Rindeknes who got the other win for France. such a David coded team there. And look, France, you know, indoors they can add Humbert. You know, I think indoors is Humbert's best time of the season, isn't it? And, you know, maybe they could throw in a Manorino or whether... Bring in Monfils. A Monfils. Is Fils going to be fit? Like there's a lot of... France have got a lot of potential options now that they're there. They just needed to get there for the first time in a while.

1:01:47And yeah, also great anthem. So always great to have France in a team position.

1:01:56Matt Roberts: To the Davis Cup. Yes, please. Argentina will be the lone non-European representatives. Also great to have them back in the Davis Cup finals too. They beat the Netherlands last year's finalists, of course, 3-0. The Dutch were without Greeks poor, which was always going to be tough for them. that's the first time Netherlands have lost a home Davis Cup tie since 2014. They've been so good, like sneaky good in this competition, the Netherlands for quite a while. But obviously Koolhoff has retired and they didn't have Greekspore and suddenly they're a lot weaker. And Argentina back in the finals like they were last year.

1:02:39So yeah, really impressive from them.

1:02:44Matt Roberts: Austria, back in the finals, they beat Hungary 3-2. Yuri Rodionov, the unexpected star, he beat Fabian Marijan and then Martin Fuchovic in the decisive match. So Austria are going to be the real kind of wildcard nation, I think, of those Davis Cup finals. And we've got Germany. They comprehensively beat Japan 3-0. Ströf, Hamfmann and then the incredible doubles team of Krabbits and Putts, just far too strong. So Germany, Austria, Argentina, France, Belgium, Czechia, Spain and Italy is the Davis Cup finals line-up for Bologna in November. Fun! Yeah, really good. Yeah, I am excited. A couple of other Davis Cup stories from the weekend.

1:03:42Matt Roberts: There were qualifying ties happening at lower tiers, a lot of them to gain the opportunity to try and qualify for the finals. Next year, we had Brazil beating Greece in Athens. Joel Fonseca beat Stefanos Sittapas to clinch victory. So Brazil will have the chance to play in the qualifiers next year. Novak Djokovic was watching. Certainly the Fonseca sit-to-pass match. I think Maria Sakharie was there as well. Apparently, Djokovic now lives in Athens.

1:04:16David Law: Yes, that's what I heard. I saw the scenes on Matchpoint, by the way. As you can imagine, absolute bedlam as Fonseca. I mean, that was close as well. 7-5 in the third, I think it was in the end. Big win for him. and you know wouldn't you just love to see Brazil in the qualifiers next year get a home tie

1:04:41Matt Roberts: I'd just love to see that yeah that'd that'd be incredible I think it's it's quite a sort of low-key big story actually this this Novak Djokovic thing I know it's been going on all year i know he was i know back in australia he was sending out messages um in in support of student protesters back in serbia and there's been a real djokovic serbia government clash i i by no means know the whole details but a lot of reports this week that um yeah he's enrolled his children in Greek school and is moving towards a kind of new life in Greece. Definitely something to keep a bit of an eye on, I think. Makes a lot more sense why he was so keen on playing the Athens tournament.

1:05:36Yes, and why they've moved that license from Serbia to Athens.

1:05:41Matt Roberts: Very interesting. Final Davis Cup story to mention. India got their first win on European soil since 1993. they beat Switzerland. Sumit Nagal winning both his two singles matches. So India will play in the 2026 qualifiers. Okay, that's it for the Davis Cup. Join us just around the corner and we will talk about other results from the tour this week. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into. That's why it's no surprise that more than 85 % of the 14500 use the ServiceNow AI platform. While other platforms duct tape tools together, ServiceNow seamlessly unifies people, data, workflows, and AI, connecting every corner of your business.

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1:06:45Matt Roberts: Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie. And one thing I've learned is that you buy a house, but you make it a home. Because with every fix, update, and renovation, it becomes a little more your own. So you need all your jobs done well. For nearly 30 years, Angie has helped millions of homeowners hire skilled pros for the projects that matter. From plumbing to electrical, roof repair to deck upgrades. So leave it to the pros who will get your jobs done well. Angie, the one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find a pro for your project at Angie.com.

1:07:20Matt Roberts: And those results start in Guadalajara with the WCA 500 event with a field, let's be honest, not necessarily reflective of what you might expect from a WCA 500 event, But an exciting victory nonetheless for 17-year-old American born to Serbian parents, I believe, Eva Jovic. She beat Emiliana Arango in the final 6-4, 6-1 to win her first WTA title. She was a very prominent, exciting junior, was Eva Jovic. She's halved her ranking with this victory to number 36 in the world. like that is what 500 points can can do for a player um and I don't want to take anything away from her but like this this inflation this inflation of 500 events worries me a little bit like I want that to mean something an event being a 500 and it did feel this week like it like it kind of didn't really um but if you pick and

1:08:32David Law: choose well you you can end up getting a bit more bang for your buck can't you you know um and at the same time it's an exciting story also because she's been in grandson draws having some some wins and or at least you know putting in creditable performances even if she hasn't been winning matches um and and it does seem like she's a really exciting player for the future and this just catapults her into the main draws of of all the big events doesn't it but i know what you mean it's um when you look at the the the standard of the opposition you you can you can make some hay really against players that are perhaps easier to beat than at other tournaments.

1:09:18Matt Roberts: I see what they're trying to do. They're trying to boost these events the weeks directly before and the weeks directly after slams by increasing their rankings price tag and making them more enticing to players. But it feels like a sort of intervention in the market, which just has more unintended consequence than consequence, to me at least. WTA event in Sao Paulo was a 250. That was one by, bear with me here, folks, I've practiced this. I hope she's going to end up being a big thing and I'll be saying this in my sleep before long. But at the moment, it's still something I'm working on. the 19-year-old Madagascan-born French player.

1:10:12Matt Roberts: Tienzoa Rakotamanga Rajona. And if I'm getting that horribly wrong or if I'm getting it wrong at all and anybody is able to confirm, then please let me know. She also has Sarah as one of her names. I think a lot of people are going to go with Sarah. That's what she says on the WTA website when they do the, you know, that all have to pronounce your name. She says, we call me Sara. Sara, okay. Sara Rakotamanga. We call me Sara. I love that. Yeah, I really enjoyed we call me. Okay, Sara Rakotamanga. Thank you, Sara, for helping me out there. She beat Janice Chen, another exciting young player who a lot of people would have learned about at the US Open, won through that opening round.

1:11:03ended up playing Emirati Kanu, three and four for Rakota Manga

1:11:07Matt Roberts: to win her first WTA title. She's not a player I'd heard of. Usually young players from Grand Slam nations, like young prospects, talents, you tend to hear about them because they tend to get wild cards and they tend to get talked about around the time of that Grand Slam. She's not somebody that I had heard anything about, but she is somebody that I'm now very much going to be watching out for.

1:11:38David Law: Yeah, and a lefty I saw as well in the highlights of this match. It's a good watch. It's great seeing. And also because Janice Chen has this really heavily top spun forehand with the slice backhand and then you've got this lefty kind of just darting the ball down the line. So it made for actually some interesting rallies in it. And yeah, more players to watch out for the future. Absolutely great stat from the WTA is that teenagers are 7-0 in WTA finals this season with the two winners we've just had. And then Andreva's won a couple, Joints won a couple and Mboko as well. So, you know, I feel like at the start of the year we were really talking about what an outlier Andreeva was, you know, and I think she still is in terms of her ranking.

1:12:33You know, she is she's way ahead. She's way more accomplished than than the other teenagers. But there is a little little group of them who've actually made some real waves this season, which has been fun. And they've all they've all delivered in those finals.

1:12:48Matt Roberts: That was a great stat. So in terms of what we have coming up on tour, the WTA have a 500 event in Korea. Igor Shiontek is leading the field there. They also have Barbora Krejcikova, Emma Radikarni, of course, Clara Towson, Deanna Schneider, Dario Kazikina and Beatriz Hedajmaier. So a draw worthy of a 500 event for sure in Seoul this week. There are also ATP 250 events in Chengdu, which is where Lorenzo Muzzetti will be playing after... Do you see him waving the chequered flag at the MotoGP this weekend? I did indeed. Good for you, Lorenzo. There's a 250 event in Hangzhou featuring Andrei Rublev, Daniel Medvedev, Alexander Bublik.

1:13:38Matt Roberts: And those all, folks, start on Wednesday and finish on Tuesday.

1:13:47Of course they do. I forget every year that this happens I don't think I forget

1:13:54Matt Roberts: I just think I I think I presume that was an aberration everyone will realise that was terrible we won't need to worry about that for next year but then I forget I always just assume the worst I never think people will fix that well they haven't So you assumed absolutely right. There is also the Leiva Cup in San Francisco. It's basically Alcaraz and friends, isn't it, this year? The fields have been rather depleted. They really need Carlos Alcaraz not to pull out of this thing. Team Europe is Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Holger Runa, Kasper Rude, Jakub Mensik and Flavio Kabali. I'm obviously being a little bit facetious, but there's only one Grand Sam champion in this whole field, and that's Carlos Alcaraz, which given what the Labour Cup has been in the past in terms of fields, this is a depletion.

1:15:02Matt Roberts: Team Wild is Taylor Fritz, Alex de Menor, Francisco Serangelo, Alex Mickelson, Joel Fonseca and Riley Apelka. you know any team with Riley Apelka in it it's not giving well it's not giving anything I'm particularly excited about but no Mickelson and Apelka came in late didn't they yeah Deminor came in late a lot of these people came in quite late yeah

1:15:37David Law: I am interested to see Noah and Agassi as captains there's a certain curiosity that I have about hearing them

1:15:45Matt Roberts: and Henman and who's the other vice Rafter Henman and Rafter as vice

1:15:50David Law: somewhat less excited about those two

1:15:52Matt Roberts: is that the easiest money available in tennis being vice captain of a Labour Cup team

1:15:57David Law: it's right up there

1:16:04Matt Roberts: I think Tim Herman and Pat Rafter are going to have a free and lovely week in San Francisco.

1:16:10David Law: Oh, they're going to have a great time.

1:16:12Matt Roberts: Yeah. Yep. Yeah, look, we'll be watching. There'll be cool moments for it, won't there, on social media. We might get to see Al Graz against Fonseca. Like, fun things will happen. It's just unfortunately... It is a content machine. It's going to count towards ATP head-to-head, and that is an absolute joke. Yeah. Right. I can't wait to be sort of equal parts excited and grumpy about it on upcoming podcasts. So a reminder, our next show is this coming Thursday when we'll be talking mostly Billie Jean King Cup, which will be at the semi-final stage by then. So do join us for that. And we're back next Sunday with our next live show, Sunday 8pm UK time on YouTube, just like this one.

1:17:03Matt Roberts: So do join us for that if you can. We have a mascot for this episode. That mascot is Mocha and Mocha is owned by Charlie Metzger. Mocha is a red mull miniature labradoodle. What a refined breed that sounds. And a returning mascot for 2025. I definitely recognise Mocha. Like all tennis podcast listeners, Mocha lives in New Jersey. Hey! In the Jersey City Heights with her parents, Kristen and Charlie. Mokka's favourite toy is a tennis ball. Any tennis ball will do, but she has an ancient tennis ball she especially loves. Mokka's favourite place in the world is her local dog park, where her parents have spent hundreds of happy hours listening to the pod while throwing Mokka's ball for her.

1:17:55Matt Roberts: Mokka, unfortunately, does not have any interspecies friends. of her own choosing or? So far. But aspires to be friends with the squirrels. Oh my God, Billie Jean didn't even stir. Aspires to be friends with the squirrels who live in the tree outside her living room. The squirrels are not as enthusiastic about this idea. I feel you, Charlie. This is real squirrel season, isn't it? This time of year. They're all collecting their nuts for the winter. And it's like they're taunting Billie Jean. because she really wants to be friends and they are not into it. Mocha is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.

1:18:37Matt Roberts: What a vibe. So thank you, Mocha, for coming back for another year. Thank you to our mascots. Thank you, Maisie, Phoebe and Roger. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Geoff. Matt, it's time for some shout outs. And we start with Gillian Dobson from North Yorkshire. Hello, Gillian. How specific?

1:19:03David Law: Hi, Gillian.

1:19:04Matt Roberts: Specific and yet not.

1:19:05David Law: I think we might have found a name that there are no tennis references to. Well, never say never until, you know, Pam's been in touch or Nick Imerson. If anyone could find Gillian.

1:19:21Matt Roberts: there's jills

1:19:25David Law: jill cravers i think you're reaching there yeah well

1:19:30Matt Roberts: jill teichman while we come up with jills jillian has got a a lovely story about how she got in well no the first live tennis match that she that she saw was at the sydney olympics 25 years ago tommy harr's beating max murney in the quarterfinals. And Gillian says that she only got those tickets because they were a second-tier Olympic sport. And to get the track and field first-tier tickets that they wanted, they had to get a certain number of second-tier ones. So tennis got put down. But she did also see Denise Lewis and Jonathan Edwards win gold. So pretty epic stuff from Gillian.

1:20:19David Law: Tommy Haas on his way to his silver medal Gosh Beat Roger Federer on the way Federer right yeah And lost to Evgeny Kofelnikov in the final Federer then lost to Arna Di Pascal For the bronze medal And that was when I was desperately trying to make Roger Federer this guy called Roger Federer Happen and nobody was having it

1:20:42Matt Roberts: Isn't that when he met Merker

1:20:45David Law: Yes so every cloud

1:20:51Matt Roberts: incredible stuff Gillian I hope that the delving into the depths of David's memory makes up for for us not having any Gillians for you I think we're going to struggle generally with our names today to find tennis players just as a little little warning we've also got Luminita Vasilica we know Luminita we know Luminita and we've failed previously to come up with any Luminitas

1:21:18David Law: she can be her own tennis reference as far as I'm concerned if we ever get another Luminita I'm going to reference this Luminita Luminita is from Montreal and has been listening to the pod since the beginning and loves Tennis Relived see

1:21:35Matt Roberts: I wonder if Luminita would accept Lulu's son let us know Luminita it's just a sort of tangential I don't know is it same church it's sort of out in the graveyard isn't it it's sort of on the on the plot of land but not in the building yeah I mean Luminita you're one of a kind and excellent thank you for your continued support and finally we have Laura Kotzeva, who is originally from Sophia, but now lives in Sydney. Ah, home of the 2000 Olympics.

1:22:19David Law: Like Sophia Kennan. Yes. Who, incidentally, Sophia Kennan today beat Laura Siegmund in a match that was about 7-5 in the third. And I just thought, I got the feeling that finally Siegmund has had a taste of her own medicine there somehow. I didn't watch it, and yet I kind of assumed that to be the case.

1:22:44Matt Roberts: So you can join the You've Been Siegmunded gang. Laura? Laura was that? It's L-O-R-A. Laura. Okay, Laura. Nice. A little bit like Laurie McNeil. Laurie, Laura. You can see why I've gone down that road. also in the graveyard that one and Laura would like to give a shout out to her friend Yuri and his now wife Amy to congratulate them both on their wedding and their new baby boy and says that Yuri will forever be the person who gave me the gift of tennis introducing me to the sport that he himself grew up with back in our home country Bulgaria a sport which has brought me enormous joy and purpose over the years that is lovely dedication and of course it was an all Bulgarian boys final at the US Open this year the Bulgarians are coming and they did well in the Davis Cup this weekend Bulgaria they won they're in the qualifiers next year yeah there we go the Bulgarians are coming folks thank you ever so much for listening to this podcast for joining us live on YouTube if you did for joining in the chat with Hannah and Vicky it's been a fun old time I've missed these shows and we'll be doing another one of these shows on Sunday, we'll be back twice before then so like tennis, we just never go away no off season just always there thank you for listening, if you haven't listened to or want to listen to our US Open review show that is up now for Friends of the Tennis Podcast and it features some incredible voice notes.

1:24:34Matt Roberts: And if you'd like to listen, then the link to become a friend is in our show notes as always. Thank you ever so much for joining us. We hope to see you next Sunday live on YouTube and we hope you'll be listening to our coming shows because if you don't, there's no point in us doing this. So thank you for listening. Great to see you all. We'll speak to you very soon.

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