Cincinnati - Is Sabalenka’s slump a US Open crisis?

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1:47Matt Roberts: Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast. It is Thursday morning and Cincinnati has stutteringly and noisily reached the quarterfinal stage. In the past 24 hours, the draws have lost both top seeds. Alexander Zverev and Irina Sabalenka are out, which means on the men's side, there is only one Masters 1000 champion left in the field. That is my guy, Taylor Fritz. And on the women's side, by stark contrast, we have all but one of the remaining eight title contenders being former champions at 1000 level. And that one is Sarah Baleck. And it is with her that we will start today and her straight set 7-6, 6-4 victory over the world number one arena Sabalenka.

2:40Matt Roberts: Good morning, Matt Roberts. Please tell us the story of this match. Good morning, everyone. I feel like I'm at school. Look, it was a dramatic match. I actually thought that Sabalenka had got quite fortunate with her draw in Cincinnati. She avoided Vekic early on, who's beaten her multiple times before. She avoided Alexandrova because she was beaten by Belek. And I thought, OK, that's probably a stroke of luck for Sabalenka looking to find form heading into the US Open. But actually, I underestimated Belek. And if we remember, she won the title in Abu Dhabi at the start of the year, the 500 there.

3:28And she beat an awful lot of big hitters along the way. Towson, Ostapenko, Alexandra again. and I want to get out in front and give her a lot of credit at the start of this show because I'm sure we're going to spend a lot of time talking about Sabalenka because that's the big story. But Belek is well set up to play big hitters. Actually, she scurries along the baseline, defends brilliantly, plays a lot of variety.

3:52Matt Roberts: There's something a little bit Coco Gauff-like about her. This match-up in its sort of peak drama moments reminded me a bit of Sabalenka-Goth in a great way. And it's quite interesting. There are a couple of other like diminutive lefties on the tour right now, Fernandes and Iala, who play a bit alike. They take the ball early. They try and take time away from you. Belek, although similar in stature and a lefty, is quite different. She's happy to hang back and retrieve and defend, mix up the heights of her shots, play with some slice, everything that can actually disrupt a big hitter like Sabalenka.

4:30And I thought she was brilliant through the match. She had a great attitude as well. like really focused and intense so she deserves an awful lot of credit and she hung in there because Sabalenka was twice up a break in the first set and gave it back and then Sabalenka had a 5-1 lead having saved a set point actually but had a 5-1 lead in the first set tie break and at that point we saw what has been happening to Sabalenka a lot recently and she doubles down on her power game and going after the ball and loses all composure in some big moments. And 5-1 very quickly became losing that first set tiebreaker.

5:15A lot of forehands, long, missing shots that you just expect her to make. And then she's suddenly a set down and in all sorts of trouble. She then builds a nice lead in the second set and goes 4-1 up. And kind of the same thing happens again. She's once again in a winning position and blows it. And we see a lot of unforced errors. We see a lot of frustration. Bailik is playing really well and digging in. And there was a lot of rallies where Bailik was doing that thing of making extra balls and making her hit extra shots. And yet still the rallies were ending on Sabalenka errors. So you kind of had Bailik doing everything she needed to be doing, but also Sabalenka still having the chance to win the point.

6:02and just not being clutch in those big moments to finish it off. And kind of the story of her last few months, really, where she just cannot get over the line in tight moments and tight matches. And it feels more like the Sabalenka of before she came a Grand Slam champion, where she's got all the power in the world and all the game in the world, but can't put it together in the biggest moments. And I don't know whether we want to use the word crisis, but it feels a bit like it because, you know, she just isn't doing any of the things that we expect from her. I think I would only use that word post-US Open.

6:47We still have a Grand Slam to go. She's won that tournament before a couple of times, but a lot of uncertainty right now around Sabalenka.

6:59Matt Roberts: crisis pending for uh for rena arena sabalink and matt roberts has you on watch yeah it's tricky isn't it because she's not suddenly a disastrous tennis player or a shadow of herself like we're talking about the difference between the form she's in now and the form she was in six months ago is probably you know 10 15 points per match realistically but that is the sport this is a sport of such fine margins, isn't it? You know, this is the famous Roger Federer quote about how he only won, what was it, 52 % of, maybe 53, 4 % of the total points he ever played. Like, it feels harsh to be talking about a slump or a crisis for Irina Sabalenka, but when the bar is as high as she has set it over the last couple of years, David, that does feel relatively like where we're at here now.

7:53Matt Roberts: I mean, in our last part, I asked you both, who needs a big Cincinnati? And you emphatically said Sabalenka. Well, she hasn't had that. And while Matt doesn't want to use the word crisis, how do you feel about it?

8:08David Law: Yeah, I would actually take a slightly different angle to Matt in that I think that this is a crisis now for the US Open. This is a Sabalenka slump. and it would take a pretty dramatic turn of events for her to find the sort of form that would win her the US Open now. I feel like she could continue that slump at the US Open and that she could deal with the fallout and the disappointment of one year of this and smooth out the edges of the game and be okay in the future. I sort of look at it like that, really. I wouldn't be worried for Sabalenka long term, but short term, in terms of her being a contender for the US Open title, this is not what I had in mind when I said this is a big tournament for Sabalenka, not losing to Sara Bailik as well as she played.

9:04David Law: She was brilliant. But I'm sorry, you should not be losing to her when you're twice a break up in the first set and you're 5-1 up in the tie break and you lose that set. If you told Sabalenka that that was going to happen at the start of this year in any tennis match, I don't think she would have believed you. And it's been a recurring theme, her really falling off a cliff, really, in matches and just looking a bit bereft and flailing and spraying the ball all over the place and just looking a bit lost. And it seems that, I know it's a fine line when you're as intense as Sabalenka is, and she needs the intensity, and it's part of her aura and part of her champion spirit that she just is up for it, and she just wants to throw down and have a fight out there, and she believes she can take on anybody and beat them in that sort of tennis, and she can when she's playing well.

10:04David Law: But when you're not playing well, you've surely got to be able to rein that in. and stop being so uptight and so on edge. And I know it's easy for me to say, and I don't want to change who she is as a person because I actually love that element of her, but I think it's working against her at the moment. You see it in those press conferences that the fury that's bubbling down just underneath the surface, that she's trying to keep under control so that she doesn't have a PR disaster again like she had after Coco Gauff in the French Open and one or two others. she knows she's not supposed to do that so she sort of says certain things but she's so on the edge a lot and and i think i think it's costing her i think she's got she's lost control of the

10:50Matt Roberts: tennis ball yeah i stand by my theory that i put to her at wimbledon and that she shut down but i but that i would like to put to her again in the trying to eliminate the uh the the The wildness, the emotional wildness that has cost her some big matches has eliminated some of the emotional edge that has won her some of her biggest matches and titles. I think maybe that's a balance that she will be able to strike with enough work on it. I don't know. well, maybe this is, you know, the double-edged sword and you have to take both edges of it and you can't have, you know, your biggest strength and your biggest weakness are the same thing.

11:38Matt Roberts: The two sides are the same coin. How many metaphors can I shoehorn into this theory that I've got? You get what I'm saying. Yeah, and I think maybe part of it is that something like this run of form was perhaps inevitable at some stage for Sabalenka because she's been so consistent for so long. And yet through that time, she has also, as David described, they've been playing on the edge. And maybe you just can't keep that up. That final quality that has turned her into a Grand Slam champion and a dominant world number one is also maybe the first thing to go if for whatever reason you're tired or fatigued or slightly lacking motivation or something has happened this season.

12:28And it's just taken away that age that she's had for so long and maybe she can get it back. But right now it's missing. And players, I think, are sensing how vulnerable she is in big moments. And even when she's winning points at the moment, She seems like she's got that fury and isn't fully in control of everything that's going on. It's a very stressful watch at the moment, Sabalenka. And I think people, players are canny enough and good enough to sense that and sort of cause her problems. And yeah, I suppose the reason I would, I agree with David's take, by the way. It feels unlikely at this stage that Sabalenka is going to win the US Open and therefore a whole season without a Grand Slam, losing her number one ranking by her standards, that is a crisis.

13:26I just can't go fully there yet until she hasn't won the US Open because I do think there is still a chance that she can work her way through that tournament and win it. To me, she's still in the mix. going into the US Open because of just how great we know she can be. But it feels a very different picture going into this hard court slam than it has done for a number of years with her.

13:54Matt Roberts: Obviously, they're completely different personalities and characters, but there are similarities with Svante, aren't there? I mean, there are signs that she's coming out the other side, but, you know, that playing on the edge and sort of flirting with the danger of that and it being your greatest strength and your greatest weakness. And when it starts going wrong, the symptoms being, you know, losing from winning positions and just hitting harder and harder and harder and more and more aggression to try and kind of hit through the issues. There are similarities. There are similarities as well.

14:30I think Sabalenka's serving has been way below her standards.

14:36Matt Roberts: Big time. as you said she's likely to lose her world number one ranking is Sabalenka so the situation now is that Elena Rabachner is two wins from world number one she will take the world number one position next week if she reaches the Cincinnati final the quarterfinal lineup looks like this is bare-lipped to face Madison Keys all no two of these these first two quarterfinals are tomorrow Friday and the second two are today so we have Bailik Keyes tomorrow Coco Goff against Marta Kostiuk tomorrow and then today we have Amanda Enesimova against Jessica Begula and Iga Sviontek against Elena Rabakina repeat of the Toronto final Matt yeah and if those quarterfinals in the bottom half look or sound familiar to anyone you're thinking where have I seen that before That is the line-up from the Australian Open earlier this year with the exact quarterfinals.

15:36We had Anissim over Pagoula. Pagoula won. We had Shviontek, Rabatkinner and Rabatkinner won. And then obviously Rabatkinner beat Pagoula to make it through to the final. And that would be enough for Rabatkinner to get to world number one if she can repeat that this year. It's a stacked, stacked bottom half. Well, and top half, to be honest.

15:57Matt Roberts: This match takes place later on today. so I'm throwing you a right hospital pass by asking you both about it because these takes are going to... Well, look, you could end up looking amazing. The stakes are high here. How similar do you expect Fjontek Rabakina to look to the version of it that we saw less than a week ago? Or no, was it a week ago? It was a Thursday final, wasn't it? My God, a week ago, David.

16:27David Law: I would have thought it would be closer. I like the fact that if Rebecca is going to get to world number one that she's actually got to reach the final of this tournament I like that and if she were to beat Svantec these are the sort of results that just feel sort of narrative wise correct you know but I do think we still are in and I think credit to Rebecca for getting to these portions of the tournaments when I don't think she's playing that well yet I think there's loads of room for improvement for her She's kind of doing what Sabalenka isn't. She's getting there even though. Whereas Svantec is playing seriously good stuff.

17:08Matt Roberts: She's playing the best tennis, isn't she? I think so.

17:11David Law: I would go Svantec to win that, but I think it'll be closer. And Isamova, I mean, I think she seems to have really found something. We're coming on to her, David. I'd go Pagula in that one. Because of the record, because of the match-up? Yeah.

17:26Matt Roberts: Matt always does a sharp intake of breath when he sees Pegula in the Anisimova section.

17:32David Law: It's a certain style of player, isn't it?

17:35Matt Roberts: But then, Matt, you also do a little sharp intake of breath when you see Noskova in the Anisimova section. And Anisimova absolutely beasted her yesterday. She does tend to still beat Noskova. It's just a struggle. And she's 0-5 against Pogula. She can't usually do it without facing a break point, though, does she? Matt is keeping his feet on the ground about this uptick in Anisimova form. He did compare her to Roger Federer yesterday.

18:10We all saw the way she served it out. I mean, where have you seen that before?

18:15Matt Roberts: I'm being unfair here because actually I was the one getting quite carried away watching this Anisimova performance yesterday. Matt was saying, hold your horses, Catherine. and let's not jinx things. I thought she was awesome. And I also, there was something about her demeanour. I just felt confident in it. It felt secure. I really like what I'm seeing from Amanda Inisimova. This field is so stacked that I don't, you know, she could be in Grand Slam winning form and still lose in the quarterfinals today, quite frankly, because that Pagula matchup is hard. And yeah, the field is so stacked, but I really like the form that I'm seeing from Manu Samova, Matt.

19:02Matt Roberts: This is a different player to the one we've seen all summer. Yeah, she found it against the Arla. I mean, she started that match not playing particularly well. And again, the forehand looking like it was spraying a lot of errors. And, you know, she's become as famous for her memes as her backhand has Manu Samova. And the memes were memeing in that match against Iala. You know, the facial expressions, the frustration, the disgust. I think she might be better than me at facial expressions. You know, I feel a bit threatened. David, can you adjudicate on that?

19:40David Law: The top three in the world is Yelena Rosopenko, Catherine Wittiger and Amanda Nismore.

19:45Matt Roberts: In that order? OK, I'll accept that. Thank you. You've made my day.

19:53David Law: sorry Matt Matt Roberts is number four I like how she sees the funny side of it you know she posted a she's in on it isn't she she posted a reel on Instagram with you know fans tweets about the match and everything and there was this big what is Amanda Nissimova drinking halfway through that match is is she chugging a beer mid match

20:18Matt Roberts: I so wanted it to be a beer Simon Briggs of the Telegraph message maybe. Probably better for you than Red Bull to be honest. Was it a beer or? It was Red Bull. I think it was Red Bull. Yeah. But look, it worked. But it was the way she was being so furtive about it. She'd concealed it behind her towel. It was like Djokovic doing a puke. She'd created a towel modesty screen for her. It was fantastic. Anyway. But yeah, as that match goes on, she finds her form. And I actually really like those conditions for Anissa Mova. I always think those sort of late night conditions where actually the crowd has thinned out.

21:01You know, you think of what she did to Osaka.

21:03Matt Roberts: It's thinned out, Matt? From what starting point? You can't thin out. Does Simon mingle with Garfunkel? Like what? I mean, it was... Where were the people? it wasn't the Iala experience that we've seen oh sorry you're talking about the Iala match I was talking about the Iala match right sorry I was talking about the Nozkova match which was oh no there was no one there at all the entire time it was worse attended than you know a Matt Roberts training session I mean I think rain had something to do with that I imagine like people thought the rain was coming and the rain obviously came mid mid match and people didn't didn't stick around.

21:42I don't know what was going on. It was curious. But I'm talking about the Ayala match when I'm talking about those conditions. When she won Doha, every match she played was late. And something about it getting cooler and you think of what she did to Osaka at the US Open last year. I think those matches just become... She's a Twilight Session gal. They just sort of become about ball striking. I can't really explain it, but it seems like that's what happens. and she was awesome down the stretch and then she did the thing she hasn't been able to do all year which was back up the tough win with a really dominant display and she did that against Noskova.

22:18She won her first 21 points I think on serve in that match. She won the entire set without dropping a point on serve. The flow was there. The strike on the ball was brilliant all match. I've missed it. I've missed that tennis but we saw it and now she's got a chance to do something she's never done before, which is beat Pagula. Pagula...

22:42Matt Roberts: How much of a chance do you give her? I actually give her a shot. I would have to go with the head-to-head, but Pagula was very unconvincing against Castella. She really could do with a win against Pagula, couldn't she? Like, having a Pagula problem, it's not great. Like, losing to Pagula is fine. She's a great player, but having a specific Pagula problem, I think is she's not someone you want to be fearing landing in your section in the draw. No, because chances are she'll get there herself. Yeah, exactly. The thing is, like, I think three of them actually have gone to deciding sets. She led by a set in Dubai earlier this year where she was really good in that first set in Isomova and showed that she can beat Pagula, you know, in a set, trying to do it in a match is obviously different but Pagula yesterday she had a bit of the Sabalencas going on, whenever she got in a winning position against Castella, everything fell to pieces, she was coasting in this one, let it go, she was up a set and a break, let the break go, Castella upped her game and got into her rhythm and then the final set Pagula was twice up a break, twice gave it back, served for it, got broken, needed multiple match points, was going after the ball on match points and missing dramatically.

24:11She didn't really have it together yesterday per Gula. And Anissimova, if you just compare the two performances, was way more convincing. So I do think this is a shot for Anissimova to actually end that run. To hell with it. I'm going to predict it. I'm going to predict Anissimova to end the Pagula dominance.

24:34Matt Roberts: Too long didn't read. Matt is not feeling great about his long-range Pagula to win the US Open prediction.

24:44David Law: He was hoping you wouldn't have remembered that.

24:49Matt Roberts: Who do you think's winning it from here? You have the right to change your predictions from the last show, which I have forgotten. Somebody went for Svantec, somebody went for Gough, I think. Matt, you went for Goff? No, other way around. Other way around. David, you went for Goff.

25:06David Law: Yeah, I'll stick with that.

25:08Matt Roberts: Stick with Goff. She's got Kostiuk next.

25:10David Law: Yeah, I mean, again, I'm impressed with Kostiuk for fighting her way through, because I think she's had a big year, you know. But yeah, I think this is where Coco Goff starts to come into her own.

25:29Matt Roberts: Matt? I like the goth half of the draw. You know, like the other half is just so stacked. It's a good test for Shiontek, actually, because I know we saw her beat Rebecca Kinner in Canada, but she's going to have to, you know, string wins together here against big, flat hitters who traditionally have been tricky for her. She's just looked good to me. I think Rebecca Kinner will benefit from having a bit more rest than she did in that Canada final. I do think that was a factor there. I think she was very depleted going into it. So I do expect that match to be tougher for Svantec. But look, I will stick with Svantec.

26:12I always expect Goff-Kostiuk to be great. And yet I feel like sometimes it isn't. I have that Australian Open quarterfinal match, which was just a disaster lodged in my brain. They've played some other ones that have been less like that.

26:27Matt Roberts: It was about 45 degrees, wasn't it, that Australian Open match? It was, it was. But, you know, Goff usually still plays well in those conditions. Kostiuk has said all tournaments she's not been feeling that great. But the level, the surge she found against Andreeva, albeit Andreeva who completely fell away in that match attitude-wise and did all of the worst Andreeva things. But Kostiuk's surge was terrific. So I'm hopeful that this is the goth Kostiuk that really delivers. This Kostiuk that we're seeing at the moment, this Kostiuk that's not in peak form and is winning a bit ugly and a bit scrappy, it's confirmation for me that this is a new normal with Marta Kostiuk and that what we saw earlier in the summer wasn't just a purple patch of form whereby she will revert to the mean afterwards.

27:23Matt Roberts: I feel like we're seeing the floor, maybe not the floor, but we're seeing her not in a purple patch anymore, but she's still a fantastic player that's reaching the business end of big tournaments, even if she's not necessarily winning them. I feel like Kostiuk is a top 10 player now, and I feel quite good about that.

27:48David Law: Yeah, I agree with that. It's good for tennis, it's great.

27:50Matt Roberts: She also beat the Williams sisters in doubles, Marta Kostrick and Peyton Stearns, the Wilson double act. They beat Serena and Venus Williams 10-8 in the match tie break. We will be talking more about Serena and Venus Williams later on in the show. That is it for part one. We'll be back in part two to talk about the men. Hello, folks. This is Catherine from the Tennis Podcast. and as you might know creatine is one of the most researched and effective supplements available. I personally have been taking a creatine supplement for a while now. I have a chronic back condition that means I am always looking for ways to build sustainable strength in my body but I have noticed that as this supplement category has exploded most brands have focused on flavours, formats and marketing instead of actually making the creatine itself better.

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31:47Matt Roberts: welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast where we turn our attention to the atp draw in cincinnati now and start once again with the defeat for the top seed alexander zverev beaten by tommy paul from match point down david tell us about tommy paul's big moment

32:08David Law: yeah it wasn't one I saw coming once Zverev had turned this in his favor I have to say this this was neither player at their best Tommy Paul's going through a tough run at the moment you know he he lost early at Wimbledon when you know he would have been hoping for a lot on grass and he lost heavily to Lerner Tien the other week and it's just just looked really short of confidence generally um in this match he's got a good head-to-head against Zverev he'd won two of the three matches although Zverev had won their most recent one um and I thought well I do think that Paul has a game to cause Zverev trouble generally because he's just such a talented guy and he's able to take time away with his hands and and his movement so good but he was making a lot of errors i mean the forehand just didn't look reliable zverev didn't look really that good his service percentage was quite a lot down in the first set on what it normally is but once he got himself ahead in the match i really thought this is going to be a straight set's win for for zverev and it's just going to come about fairly quietly which is a bit like what's verve's done all the way through this tournament he beat terence atman in the previous round in two tiebreak sets you You know, just not that convincing.

33:30David Law: He's getting the job done. But once he turned it in his favor, Zverev, and he got himself a breakup in the third, I mean, Paul did well to sort of level it and take it into a decider. But then once Tommy Paul went a breakdown in that third set, I thought, there's no way back in this. And he immediately broke back. He saved a match point. And he did play some good stuff. But I generally think this is more that Zverev hasn't got much feel, hasn't got much timing, doesn't look really honest at the moment, not the way he did in the spring and throughout the period of, obviously, French Open and Wimbledon.

34:14David Law: And it just takes my mind back to the US Open last year. I remember him, Zverev, beating Jacob Fernley in an early match, but he didn't look that convincing. And I remember him saying to Fernley at the net, you played out of your mind and I'm thinking well actually I think you're you're sort of bigging yourself up almost artificially here as well you're you're off at the moment um and players that shouldn't really be beating you because Tommy Paul in form I think is a threat and yet I don't think he's in that great form right now and and yet he's very have still sort have allowed him back into the match.

34:53David Law: Tommy hit a wonderful one on the backhand that's been doing the rounds. He hit some really aggressive stuff late on. So, you know, this may be the switch for him. This may be the moment that turns Tommy Paul's year around and makes him a factor at the US Open. But I don't feel there's enough evidence for that. I feel like the bigger evidence is that actually Zverev's high peak, he's come down from that. and he's got a lot of work to do. I think he's the sort of player who can probably work his way into a US Open and maybe find it. But I think probably more likely he could be there for the taking because of the timing issues he seems to have at this time of year.

35:36I'm dying to ask you whether you think Zverev is in the US Open mix,

35:40Matt Roberts: but even for me, I think that question is unfair at the moment just because we don't know who's playing the US Open.

35:47David Law: I think he's in the USOPA mix, personally.

35:50Matt Roberts: Regardless of who plays.

35:52David Law: Yeah, I just, well, I think right now, because we can't know who's going to play, so I therefore think he's in the mix.

36:01Matt Roberts: And I suppose the fact that we're in a who's going to play situation means that even if they both, we're talking about Al Kraz and Sinahir, even if they both do play, they're such unknowns.

36:12David Law: Absolutely. Fitness-wise. But I would also look at, I don't feel like you should look at Zverev in those other two grand slams, the way he was playing, and think he should get to the final of those two. And he did. He did his job. He did really well. I don't feel as confident about that right now because I don't think he's playing very well by the standards he set himself this year. So I think there are other players out there, like Hodder, like maybe fees um there's a few that are playing some good stuff that may just

36:50Matt Roberts: think oh i can take this guy what about the guy that beat hodda david you're forgetting flavio caballi bloody good comeback he was awesome matt to beat hodda yesterday i mean the gap between good Caballi and bad Caballi is absolutely absurd.

37:15David Law: One of the many reasons you love him. I mean, it is becoming a bit of a trademark, isn't it? Like he'll just have a run of tournaments where he's not at the races and then suddenly he gets a spark and finds his level and becomes really dangerous, kind of in the story of his season. and it was a really interesting match. I love it when, you know, two young people meet like this and we don't really know what it's going to look like. And actually what was interesting at the start is I was thinking, I was actually thinking Hodder was in Kabbali's head. I was thinking that Kabbali has decided he needs to change up his natural game here to try and counter Hodder because Kabbali was hanging so far back behind the baseline and Hodder was on the attack and it felt like a tactical move by Kabali to try and use his legs to try and win the match that way.

38:15But it wasn't working. And Hodder was actually... OK, it was a tight first set, but Hodder won it and I felt like he was kind of in charge of the second set as well when he got the break back. I thought he was going to win in straight sets, Hodder. And I thought, wow, like, look at the effect. Toda is already having on players on the tour, that they're feeling like they're having to adjust to him, you know, how quickly that has happened. I saw an interview with Mazzetti this week where he was talking about the advantages of a two-handed backhand and he was listing great two-handed backhands and he went with Yannick and Nolle and I was expecting Zverev to be the third name out of his mouth and he went with Toda.

38:58Like already players are putting Toda in that category. Like people are impressed by him. And Kabbali was putting in that category as well. I thought, wow, he's struggling here. But the turnaround in the match when he decided to actually try and go back to being more aggressive and getting his forehand into play and taking charge himself was stark. And he did that in the second set tiebreak to win it. And then all through the third set, I thought Kabbali was the better player. And he gave some great quotes afterwards, said, I have to remind to myself that I'm really good. He said, I have to believe on myself.

39:38He said, I have to make the pressure my friend and not my opponent because I already have a lot of those. And it felt like the match was him gaining belief in the matchup. He came into it thinking, God, this guy is playing so well. But actually, I think through the match, he realized, I can live with this guy. I can beat him. I can take over with my forehand. He credited feeling a bit fresher than Hodder as well. I do think he recognised that down the stretch, that it was a factor. But a great turnaround from Caballi to be able to make a mid-match adjustment like that, I always think is such a good sign for a player.

40:16And he did it and he was excellent by the end.

40:21Matt Roberts: Sticking with good signs from Italians, David asked the big question on the WhatsApp group this week. In fact, how did you put the question about Mazzetti, David?

40:33David Law: I can't remember it now. I think you said...

40:36Matt Roberts: You asked quite a big question about Mazzetti. Is he quietly getting into form or something like that? Which he is, I think. It's just we haven't tested the upper limits of it at all yet, right? We need to see Mazzetti against... I mean, look, we have seen it tested against Hodder and it's come up short, but like I want to see him against Fritz or Tommy Paul or, you know, a really... I think Tiafoe is a good starting point there because Tiafoe, ever since this cyst removal surgery that he had a couple of weeks ago, when I saw that post, I thought, oh gosh, okay, maybe we're going to be in for a bit of a Tiafoe down period as he recovers from that.

41:21But he has just been brilliant, really, this week, beating Tien. And Tien, a fun exchange at the net afterwards saying, you're not injured, you didn't have surgery, it's all a lie, you're playing so well. And then he kept it going against Orjali Asim, who was poor last night, Orjali Asim. Very, very error-strewn performance from him. But Tiafoe looks locked in and engaged and is playing well. And I think that is a big test for Mazzetti, who, as you said, I think the best player by ranking that he's beaten here is Altmaier, who's in the 60s. It's obviously a big jump up now to Tiafoe. But it's the first time that Mazzetti's managed to win three matches in a row since the Australian Open.

42:03And that, you know, what happened to him there has obviously just been in his head for so long. And I do think he's starting, as David said, to quietly find some form again. And he's sustaining his level through matches. You know, when he came back a couple of weeks ago, he was brilliant against Hodder in the first set, but he just totally lost it. I think what we've seen this week is a sustained level through matches. So I'm really looking forward to that one, Mazzetti Tiaffo.

42:31Matt Roberts: See also, David, Art of Feast. Is it happening?

42:39David Law: Well, I am very impressed with him. I mean, I'm really... You don't say. I mean look obviously I love him but it's more to I mean this is his fifth Masters 1000 quarter final of the year that is some record of consistency at that level only played the one Grand Slam tournament and he lost in the second round of that so you can only imagine what his ranking could end up being if he can start slotting some Grand Slams around it and also he wants to start breaking through with these Masters 1000s and getting to a final i mean he now needs to make that step but there is there is a real looking of look of security about his game about his ball striking at the moment he doesn't look like he's going to miss he locks into rallies and and people are testing him out you know the dimon or was testing out the forehand like going cross trying to dart it in cross court which is is kind of the playbook on playing feasts you know you make take advantage of that big wind up and rush him and make him take it make him have to react too quickly and eventually he'll shank and he just wasn't shanking he was going toadster and then he was being quite dismissive of of dimenor's game once he'd got the earliest sign of a short ball because his his basic power and work on the ball at the same time as the parents.

44:08David Law: Not that it's going through the air necessarily that much quicker than Demenor's ball, but it's got spin on it too and it just ends up bounding up at an opponent. And he was playing pretty well at the net too. I think he could have even played better. His serve's getting really difficult to get back in these conditions. He looks really good. I mean, look, he's run into Hodder a couple of times and got really outplayed in the last one. um but yeah i think he's rounding into form nicely and the most important thing is i'm not watching him thinking oh is there a twinge coming you know hopefully there won't be and yet i detect

44:43Matt Roberts: just a note of reticence in your voice david you're not you're not letting yourself unleash with pumpedness about artifice in the way you have in the past or in the quite the way i was expecting well i think i'm still waiting to see if the body is sufficiently robust enough to

45:05David Law: to cope with this week after week you know i mean he keeps winning three matches that's the thing at these tournaments and good that's good for the ranking but it's quite a lot of tennis um and i'm and i'm wouldn't be for normal artifice if he didn't have a big back condition and a hip problem so I'm just hoping maybe that he's got on top of those things and if he has then he can be a factor every week and it's about trying to fine-tune the game so that you can deal with a Hodder because it was really interesting watching Hodder outplay him last week you know there's not too there's really only Sinner and Alkraas and I've seen a bit of Zverev do it to him when he's when he's taken the wrong tactics but Hodder really surprised him I think with how he outplayed him last week um i look i think feces upper level is a joke what what he is capable of doing i don't think we've even seen it yet him put it together on a big stage i think one day if he can stay fit for long enough he can have a moment at a grand slam that makes us all lose it um by just us all yeah well not just me you know David's losing it for first round wins but everybody else can lose it and it quite interestingly I didn't see his first two matches at this tournament there's an there's an idea of how you know talking about the new normal for Marta Kostiuk I didn't go seeking out Artifices middle of the night matches this week because I expected him to win them and one of them was against Giri Lahechka who's a very good player and he dealt with a second set tie break loss and still came back and won the third comfortably um I think he's gonna carry on in this draw I mean yeah I don't think we're done yet it's a big opportunity to reach reach a final of one of

46:59Matt Roberts: these things don't look I'm not dismissing um Thiago Augustin Taranti who he's got in in the quarterfinals today because Taranti you know he's not just the guy that beat Novak Djokovic he's He's putting together good back-to-back wins here is Durante. He beat Jakub Menchik yesterday. He'd beaten Martin Lander-Luthe before Djokovic. These are serious results from Durante and he's a great watch. I think that'll be a fun match. But it's Tommy Paul against Flavio Caballi to face the winner of that, to face the winner of Durante and Fies. One of those four players is reaching the final here. You've got to say that's a big opportunity for Fies.

47:40Matt Roberts: And in the bottom half, it is Muzetti against Tiafoe at the bottom, winner of that to face Taylor Fritz or Brandon Nakashima. Matt, I think you went for Fritz to win the title. No, you're giving me too much credit. I wanted to go for Fritz and I thought, no, I'm going to be different to David. And I overthought it and went, or Jailia Seaman, he's very much gone. Fritz Nakashima is, you know, in this draw, it feels like tough that that's coming in the quarterfinals, you know, like considering like they're the ones who've been really convincing pretty consistently over this swing. I know Fritz had a bit of a hangover post-Washington, but here he is again delivering and he's won a title.

48:25And Nakashima has been there week in, week out for a couple of months now. Whereas I feel like a lot of the other guys were talking about, you know, the potential of what they might do if they put it all together. I feel like Fritz and Nakashima are delivering on it at the moment. So for them to meet in the quarters feels tough. They met in the semis in Washington and Fritz got it there. I do think maybe Nakashima is potentially going to hit a wall at some stage. I mean, he's coming through a lot of tight matches as well. So I think I would back Fritz in that one.

49:03Matt Roberts: For the title, David, you still feeling good about your Fritz prediction? Yeah.

49:09David Law: The sensible pundit in me says yes, but I had forgotten that I'd picked Fritz for the title and I was about to say out of face. And it was only when Matt reminded me by pointing out that my guy is still there. I thought, well, I can't just go and ditch him. I actually think Nakashima can continue playing really good stuff. I don't think he's about to go out on fumes. I just think Fritz is better and will probably win. But I think Nakashima could have a really good US Open. It'd be interesting what draw he gets. But no, I'll go Fritz against Feast in the final.

49:51David Law: And I might change my mind and give it to Feast.

49:55Matt Roberts: I'll update the people. If we get that final, I'll check in. And I'll update the people on Instagram, David, ahead of that final, who you're going for. All right?

50:05David Law: I'll do a video.

50:07Matt Roberts: He saved three match points against Medvedev, didn't he? Nakashima. Or did Medvedev lose those match points? Who can say?

50:15David Law: He lost his marbles. I felt like Nakashima saved the match points and then Medvedev lost it from there.

50:22Matt Roberts: That was the sequence of events. Last dispatches from me. Rafael Hodder's solution to shoelaces breaking seems to be just to bring a big Santa sack of trainers onto court with him. I think we need to be doing better than that as a solution. I agree long term, but I think short term, I think good that he's done something about it. There was shoo-nanigans against Caballi right at the start of the tie break. And actually, it was very quick. He got the shoes off and on again quickly. Now, we can all have your arguments about whether he should be allowed to do it, but it was quick. And that's been my issue, how long it's taken to fix the issue.

51:09This has at least helped that element.

51:13Matt Roberts: His luggage situation must be bonkers. It really is just an enormous sack of shoes. No, I've not seen anything quite like that, quite frankly. Okay, so Matt, you're going with Fritz. David, you're going with Fritz.

51:30David Law: Feast.

51:31Matt Roberts: Feast. Feast, but reserving the right to change his mind on Instagram. So do give us a follow, folks. Okay, that's it for part two. Some quite big bits of news that we'll be back to cover in part three. 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 Fortune 500 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. And with AI agents working together autonomously, anyone in any department can focus on the work that matters most.

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52:20Matt Roberts: In 2023, a source sent me a tip. It tied baseball's biggest star to a vast, illegal sports betting operation.

52:31David Law: Shohei Otani! But then someone surprising confessed to me, his best friend. I'm Ipe Mitzahara, and you do have permission to record me. From 30 for 30 podcasts, this is The Betrayal of Shohei Otani. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

52:54Matt Roberts: Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast. Okay, let's start with US Open prize money. We don't have the exact details or the announcement or the figures yet. We are expecting those today, according to John Wertheim. We do have reporting from Tom Kershaw in The Times that the Grand Slams will be collectively announcing the formation of a new player council alongside confirmation of the US Open's 2026 prize money. And the council has been one of this player group led by Larry Scott. It's been one of their three key demands. But the money, we think, will ultimately determine if they protest again in New York City.

53:38Matt Roberts: So the understanding we have is that they're going to be pleased about the council, but it's not enough in itself to prevent them from protesting. If the prize money doesn't match what they want or go far enough to meet what they want, they will still consider a protest. That's how I read that reporting anyway. Do you read that the same, David?

54:07David Law: yeah yeah i do and uh i i think i think this is a a good move from the grand slams to to kind of get together and figure out what their next move is like that and yeah i mean i think that the the prize money will probably for us looking on be pretty pretty eye-watering whether whether it's revenue-wise, percentage-wise enough to stop the players doing anything else about it is another matter. But we're right with bated breath on that.

54:43Matt Roberts: Price of honey juice isn't increasing for 2026. Inflation-resistant honey juice holding firm at$23 a glass. But you do get to keep the glass. So let's call it a bargain. It's like$380 for a grounds pass. Yeah, it is absolutely bananas. Come to Fan Week, folks. It's free. And if you come on Thursday, you get to see us on the live stage, back to back with Chicago. We're on at 1pm after Chicago. What a doubleheader.

55:18David Law: No faff with us. We'll be faffless.

55:21Matt Roberts: We will be on time. I promise you that. in terms of if there is a protest what it might look like obviously we've had leaked indications that the protest might come in the form of skipping the mixed doubles tournament we do have a lineup well a partial lineup for said mixed doubles tournament we have confirmed pairs that are in the draw this is on the basis of their combined ranking they are Irina Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic. Elena Rabatkin and Taylor Fritz, mixed double specialists. Diana Schneider and Daniel Medvedev, definitely not a double specialist, Daniel Medvedev. Igor Sviontek and Kasper Rude, last year's beaten finalists.

56:09Matt Roberts: Belinda Bencic and Flavio Caboli, random. And Amanda Anisimova and Lerna Tien, who did play together earlier this year, didn't they? So that one's not totally out of left field. We also have wild cards having been confirmed for Alexandra Iala and Felix Auger-Aliassime, Leila Fernandes and Francis Tiafoe, Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev, Gems Life, Alina Svitolina and Guillaume Monfils, although Svitolina did withdraw from Cincinnati this week with an ankle injury. So TBC on that, I would say. And a main draw wildcard for the defending champions, Sara Irani and Andrea Vavasori. There are three more wildcards to be announced.

56:56Matt Roberts: Now, obviously, Serena Williams is not in the line-up, nor is Carlos Alcaraz. The streets are saying that at least a wildcard is being held for Carlos Alcaraz. Whether that's in partnership with Serena Williams, we don't know. So we're back in that circus, that speculation circus, folks. We will keep you posted. I mean, I would say if Alcaraz is thinking of playing the US Open, like the mixed doubles is probably quite a handy little thing to have beforehand, right? Like getting competitive feeling back, being in front of a crowd again without the stress and strain on his body of a best-of-five set Grand Slam match.

57:45Matt Roberts: I think if he plays the US Open, he plays the mixed doubles, I think is what I'm saying.

57:50David Law: Yeah, it makes sense. Yeah, unless one of these boycotts does happen. But no, I think it does make sense to just have fun, get out there, be in front of a crowd again, first time in what, four or five months of having that experience. Yeah, I think it'd be great for him.

58:09Matt Roberts: Yannick Sinner, not in the list. Obviously, he didn't play last year, although that was because he got ill in the Cincinnati final. He was supposed to play with Katarina Siniarkova, if you'll remember. I mention that because Yannick Sinner has been leading the line for the boycott stuff. So if the boycott does end up being around the mixed doubles, it's quite hard for him to boycott the mixed doubles if he's not playing the mixed doubles in the first place. but there are still three wildcards to be announced. And he is very much still a doubt for playing the US Open at all at the moment. In the qualifying competition, yes, Matt, go ahead.

58:49Well, you're coming on to it, but I think the qualifying competition is interesting, actually, because I actually think it makes the tournament much more interesting because the qualifying entry was based on combined singles or doubles rankings. So what's happened is a load of doubles players have entered this qualifying. And actually, I think we're likely going to get two proper doubles teams or doubles specialists anyway coming through qualifying. And then suddenly in the field, we've got three specialist doubles teams with Irani and Babasori in there as well. And that's kind of what we were calling for and asking for last year.

59:28Matt Roberts: I think these are good changes. I think it's been a good move to put that qualifying in. And maybe you can say, oh, it's still unfair that the doubles players have to go through qualifying and wild cards are being handed out to, you know, Benchic and Kabbali. But at least there is now a route into it for them. Two more teams to be announced in the qualifying. But at the moment, we have the world number ones, Katarina Siniarkova and Henry Patton. We have Gabi Dabrowski and Harry Heliavara. We have Luisa Stefani and Neil Skubski, Aleksandra Krunic and Matej Pavic. We have Jelena Ostapenko and Marcelo Aravalo.

1:00:13Matt Roberts: And we have Erin Routliff and Lloyd Glasspool. Ostapenko and Aravalo winning would be quite funny, I think. I mean, Ostapenko doing anything is quite funny, isn't it? Yeah, notable absence of Serena and Venus in the mixed doubles lineup. Venus Williams has been awarded a singles wildcard. We got the list of those a couple of days ago. Serena Williams not on the list, although there is still a couple of spots TBA. A. There's also a TBA for the men's and Stan Barinka hasn't been awarded one yet. And you would have thought that as a former champion, he would get one if he has asked for one. Interesting that Guermain Fisse has taken the reciprocal French wildcard.

1:01:10Matt Roberts: I'm going to get hate for this. I love Guermain Fisse. Nobody was more on board the he only needs one train than me. But he got both a competitive and an entire exhibition event send-off at a home Grand Slam. It doesn't get any better than that. Most players could only dream of that for a send-off. And now he's taking a Grand Slam wildcard from a young player. It would probably have gone to Kwame, I believe, just so he can wave at another Grand Slam and be uncompetitive. I know he was quite competitive in Montreal, but I don't like it. I really don't like it. I think it's...

1:01:55David Law: Cuomo should be in the qualifying anyway.

1:01:58Matt Roberts: Yeah, I mean, sure. If we're... Yeah, it will be better for him. I will follow him closely in qualifying, but I don't like it. There we go. As someone who in the past has put out very gentle, all like i don't know whether i'm fully on board gail monfils takes praying for you catherine i i'm hoping i have enough like i genuinely do love the guy credit in the bank from imagine if this was his podcast no one will hold their hands up in apology quicker than me david if this is his one yeah i feel like it's a it's a don't hate the player it's a hate the game situation that you're that you're putting forward here.

1:02:46Matt Roberts: It is, but I also feel like he had the opportunity. He asked for the world card. He knows what he's doing. I kind of do hate the decision from the player. He wouldn't do that. No, I think there's players that wouldn't. There's players that would think, I had Gale and friends. I had that completely bizarre night against Ugo Gaston at a home grand slam. does he really need to go out and he's playing the mixed doubles with his wife does he really need to play a first round competitive match with absolutely no consequence whatsoever doesn't need to but he wants to well i'd like to get everything that we want

1:03:30David Law: well i know but you haven't got any record of ever having played professional tennis he

1:03:35Matt Roberts: i don't think having a record of having professional tennis entitles you to this

1:03:40David Law: Well, it doesn't, but the system allows it and they've said fine. Yeah, it allows it.

1:03:45Matt Roberts: It's all allowed. I don't like it.

1:03:49David Law: That's all right.

1:03:50Matt Roberts: And now the internet doesn't like me. Well, that was probably the case beforehand. Best not to look at the comments anyway.

1:04:01Matt Roberts: Incidentally, John Wertheim, I saw on Twitter this week, calling for, or at the very least suggesting, but that there should be some parameters, some guidelines for wildcards. And I would certainly be up for that, definitely. Right, we move on to our final story of the day. You've probably all seen and heard about it. It broke yesterday. It is the news that former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios is to be suspended from the sport following a positive test for cocaine. He submitted a sample during the Mallorca Open on the 22nd of June this year that was later found to contain a metabolite of cocaine.

1:04:51Matt Roberts: The former World No. 13 Kyrgios has been provisionally suspended since the 4th of August and the International Tennis Integrity Agency said that Kyrgios could appeal the provisional suspension, but has not done so to date. And he has put out a statement admitting to the offence to all intents and purposes. So it seems very plausible that he doesn't intend to appeal the ban, which could be up to four years. But if he can prove he took the drug outside of competition, the maximum ban he would face is three months. Now, under the suspension, Kyrgios can't play, obviously, but he also can't coach or even attend Grand Slams or any events sanctioned by the men's and women's tennis tours pending the outcome of a tribunal.

1:05:39Matt Roberts: And yeah, in terms of playing, this ban doesn't feel hugely consequential to me. I don't really think of Nick Kyrgios as a going concern in professional singles tennis anymore. But in terms of his ambitions outside of the match court, this could have a huge impact on a broadcasting career, a podcasting career. I feel like he's dabbled in that, hasn't he? In various different sponsor activities that he's got on the go. This will, I would have thought, significantly damage his commercial and earning potential. Now, there's a lot of interest in this story online. David, what's your view on it?

1:06:28David Law: well i'm not surprised um it didn't really come as a bolt out of the blue that nick kyrgios would have tested positive for cocaine really um he's been pretty pretty open in the past about i think his sort of addictions and and and demons and that sort of thing um i mean like you i i don't think of him as a tennis player anymore and haven't for some time um in terms of taking a view on what he's what he's done and being tested positive for here you know i don't i mean it's on the banned list he therefore deserves the punishment um because those the rules i i don't feel massively strongly about the actual offense itself in in the same way as i didn't about dan evans i i i i don't i wouldn't like my i wouldn't like my kids to be taking any drugs and and and so forth it's it's illegal but equally you know i i i i'm not gonna have a massive issue with him as an individual based on that but what i do have an issue with is the way he reacts to it the same as he's always reacted to anything that he's been found at fault with which is his very well put together lengthy apologies which you know they're kind of word perfect they they they sort of say i don't i don't have any excuses i i i've been in a dark place I found everything difficult I found retirement difficult now uh or the end of my impending career and and so forth and I've always you know several times I've had some sympathy for him because I think he's he has struggled with with elements of it but it's just the same every time and then you get another occurrence of something like that and so often it's done meanly to others you know he he will he will plead for understanding and forgiveness because of what he's going through and then he will go out of his way to to have a go at others and to sort of throw throw uh aggression in the direction of people and you know the the the irony of the way he he treated those that got positive tests in the last year or so Yannick Sinner Igor Svante and the way he sort of made out himself to be this sort of arbiter of clean sport and now for him to be testing positive I mean you know I can't take can't take him seriously haven't couldn't take him seriously at the time but he was standing behind the view that yeah but i'm clean well actually you're not turns out you know um so let's just leave that one but i mean thinking back to when he was um charged with or he pled guilty to domestic abuse you know to to a former girlfriend you know at the time he said i i respect the ruling and i'm grateful to the court he says i was not in a good place when this took place and i reacted to a difficult situation in where I deeply regret.

1:10:00David Law: I know it wasn't okay. And I'm sincerely sorry. Mental health is tough. Life can seem overwhelming. It's the same messaging time after time. And then you go out and you do another one or something else to break the rules or something else bad. But you also do it with just a real unpleasantness to anybody who calls you out or anybody who whose business you don't like i i just i don't really want to hear much from nick i wish him well you know i'd be a i'd be confined some peace and happiness in his life but i i don't

1:10:37Matt Roberts: i don't really want to hear from him too much really yeah yeah i don't i don't really want to be a part of the the pylon of kicking a man when he's down because that's what nick curious has done so much over the past few years and i want to be better than nick curious but equally in a world where it feels like karma doesn't always exist anymore and what goes around doesn't always come around and sometimes it ends up you end up being rewarded for it or certainly that's how it feels uh in the world at the moment i can i can understand delighting in the appearance of some karma in this situation.

1:11:20Matt Roberts: And yeah, look, my feelings about Nick Kyrgios are no secret. But if he really means that he gets it and he wants to change and be different, then let's hear about him spending what I imagine is going to be quite a lot of free time on his hands going and volunteering at a domestic abuse shelter or an addiction clinic or something. Let's go and do that, Nick. So we'll see. Anything to add, Matt? No. Karma's a relaxing thought, as you said. Yeah, exactly. Let's hope that take gets clipped up and not my Guillem-en-Fiez hate. We'll see. Okay, folks, that is it from us for today. We will be back on Monday at the surprising time of 5pm in the UK because Matt's got to go and watch Fulham beat Chelsea.

1:12:23That's the spirit.

1:12:26Matt Roberts: Well, Fulham are on my sweepstake team and Chelsea famously are not because in my desperation to get rid of them, I had to accept a very bad deal. but something's more important than a good deal you don't have Chelsea on your team anymore exactly my allegiances are not remotely split Matt I wish you well at the cottage on Monday and it is for that reason that we will be back at 5 p.m live on YouTube UK time on Friday if that time doesn't suit you and you're you know commuting home from work or at work or just living your life it's gonna suit someone better isn't it let's just take that someone out there matt is absolutely thrilled about this timing yeah and they can always watch on catch up exactly that's what i'm getting to david you can watch and listen on catch up that is the beauty of this medium.

1:13:26David Law: And now Matt will be in a good mood. Exactly.

1:13:30Matt Roberts: So Monday is when we will be back, folks. And then we've got our Tennis Relived episode about the redraw of the US Open 1996. That's coming out on Tuesday. And then we're into it from Wednesday, our Mixed Doubles show. Then we have our Draw show Thursday. Then we have our Media Day show Friday. Then we have our International Tennis Hall of Fame slash Hype show on Saturday. and then it's day one of the US Open on Sunday. I've made Matt feel overwhelmed. It's going to be great, Matt. No, it is great. It's just so quick how it's all come around, right? Like we're talking about will Alcaraz and Sinner play the US Open, will Alcaraz play the mixed doubles?

1:14:10The mixed doubles starts on Tuesday for him. You need to decide soon, lads. And he's not even in the country. It's almost like they've been caught out by when the US Open is like us.

1:14:20Matt Roberts: Yeah, I know. 48 hours from now I'll be on a plane what is going on wow folks we have two mascots for this episode they are Merlin and Serafina what names oh gosh they're friends they're friends oh it's a montage oh my goodness and it's one of our this is all excellent Merlin and Serafina are owned by Lucy Torn who we have all met I've met a couple of times actually she came to our live show in London last year I saw her at Wimbledon this year and she's she's one of the world's good people is Lucy she's yeah what a gorgeous soul she is and Merlin and Serafina are her three year old rescue cats who she's had since they were kittens Merlin likes nothing more than playing with sticks or his favourite little blankie or playing outside and flirting with anyone who glances his way.

1:15:21Matt Roberts: But at heart, he's a real mummy's boy and loves to snuggle up inside hoodies for maximum cosiness. Serafina is a more refined character, preferring to spend more time sleeping and eating with just a bit of play for balance. She likes to watch tennis with me, as it's a guaranteed opportunity to sit on my knee. However, I think she spends most of that time with her eyes closed and not actually watching. Their unofficial middle names are Murray and Serena. Sir Andy. Remember that? Murray and Serena, respectively. No prizes for guessing who they're named after. So Merlin Murray and Serafina Serena.

1:16:00Matt Roberts: That works. Oh, my goodness. This picture of them, like, cheek to cheek. It's killing me. So, so lovely. And we've got a picture of Lucy with, I think that's Serafina. Do we think the all black one is Serafina and Merlin is the one with the bit of white, the white tuxedo? Let's go with that. And Lucy, let us know if we're wrong. They are gorgeous and so are you. So thank you very much for making Merlin and Serafina our mascots for today and generally for your support of the tennis podcast. That goes also for Bodie Maisie and Roger, our mascots, and for our top folks. and executive producers Greg, Chris and Geoff.

1:16:49Matt Roberts: Matt, let's have some shout-outs. We have Chris Buckman from Garden City, New York. Hi, Chris. Hello, Chris. Garden City. Chris says, I found your podcast a year ago and became addicted. It's a must-listen. I've been a tennis fan for a long time and the pod is terrific.

1:17:13David Law: Tell everybody in Garden City, Chris. Let's get some more Garden City listeners.

1:17:18Matt Roberts: We love a recent adoptee, don't we? That's great. Going from zero to shout out in the space of a year is really good going, Chris. We like that trajectory. Chris has a dog called Max who enjoys listening to. and Chris's favourite players include Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Roger Federer and of the current crop he likes Taylor Fritz, Yannick Sinner, Irina Sabalenka and Coco Goff. Good taste, Chris. And for that reason I'm going to say Chris Evert because she's one of your faves. Perfect. Could have gone Wilkinson but I went Evert. Thanks, Chris. And finally, we have Grace Thomas, who is from Cincinnati.

1:18:12Matt Roberts: Hi, Grace. Hello, Grace. Like Peyton Stearns is from Cincinnati, isn't she? And Preston, probably. They didn't make it, did they?

1:18:26David Law: No. That's what I thought I'd give you a mention. Nor did Rhys Brant, what's it, who was supposed to play with, I've forgotten now.

1:18:37Matt Roberts: Michael Zheng? Wow, yeah. Unsurprisingly, they didn't make it on the basis of their ranking. Wildcards are still available. I do think she's got a singles wildcard, Rhys, so maybe she's less bothered about the mixed doubles. Anyway, tell us about Grace. Grace says I became a tennis fan in 2020 and have been a listener of the pod for just as long. I enjoy a good stat and like when I get to inform my family of any fun facts. I love to attend the Cincinnati Open and getting to see some of my favourite players as they warm up for the US Open. Do you think Grace was surprised in 2021 when the French Open took place in May?

1:19:19Matt Roberts: But this is an October event. what's this Wimbledon all about this wasn't on last year what a time to get into tennis grace yeah do you think she loved the Adria tour do you think that was her gateway drug no I'm going to give grace more credit than that I think grace is a you know is a purist who in who loves the sport so much that even in those weird atmospheres, well, no atmospheres, she was still hooked by what she saw.

1:19:56David Law: It's awesome when you get a recent adopter, isn't it? It's like when you recommended the West Wing to me, Catherine, and then suddenly you said, oh, you've just got eight series of joy to enjoy.

1:20:07Matt Roberts: Yeah, I was so jealous. It feels like a period piece now, the West Wing, doesn't it? Tennis Grace's Well Grace found Grace Min a former WTA player with a top singles ranking of 97 I remember Grace Min I mean by that I mean I remember seeing the name Grace Min in drawers I remember that she existed Well done Grace thank you for doing our research for us I would not have produced Grace Min off the top of my head Grace and Chris Thank you very much for being friends of the tennis podcast. We'll be back on Monday, folks. We're part of the Athletic Podcast Network. Thank you for listening. We'll speak to you soon.

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