US Open Day 4 - Is Alcaraz already in title form?

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1:10Matt Roberts: Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast coming to you from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at the end of day four of the US Open here in New York. A day that saw Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion, return to the night session on the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Match number two of his comeback from the wrist injury that saw him spend nearly five months on tennis's sidelines. A four-set win tonight over the talented young Portuguese player Jaim Farrier. 4-6, 6-love, 6-3, 6-2. Matt, you and I watched almost all of this from the media seating. How would you rate the Carlos Alcaraz performance tonight?

1:50Catherine Whitaker: Well, when we were in the media seating with David, about a 5 out of 10. And when David left, about a 10 out of 10. I'm not saying there was correlation there. I've been barished. But I thought he was excellent tonight, Carlos Alcaraz. an okay start by his words. He said he felt like he was fine at the start of the match, had a break point, missed an easy forehand, dragged it wide, and then played a poor game on serve and ended up losing that set against Farrier, who was what I was expecting of him, really. Totally locked in, tough, playing well. And at that point, I was thinking this could be a really tricky night for Carlos Alcaraz, having to win three of the next four sets against a guy who's so max tough right now but needn't have worried he turned it on from that point and okay I think Farrier did dip and his his serve became a bit of an issue for him quite a few double faults but Alcaraz broke him five times in a row and won eight games in a row and generally in sets two, three and four was the Carlos Alcaraz that we've seen many times before.

3:07Catherine Whitaker: Pretty electric, moving brilliantly, unleashing on forehands, bossing points, coming up with great shots at the net. Really, really good, I thought, for Malcaraz, especially to flick the switch like that mid-match and be able to find it and find rhythm. Yeah, if we were feeling good about him after the first round, I think that's only grown after this one.

3:32Matt Roberts: Yeah, that's it, I think. I was pretty blown away by him in sets 2, 3 and 4 and I actually think big picture in the tournament, probably to his benefit, that he did face a bit of competition tonight. He did face some stress and a sticky moment in that match. He knew how talented Faria is, I think, and he was wary of him. It ended up being fleeting, but there was a moment of real jeopardy in this match.

3:59Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, he was also down break point right at the start of the second set. Absolutely, yeah. And saved it with a drop shot.

4:03Matt Roberts: And I think in the context of the tournament, I think that's good news for Carlos Alcaraz, David.

4:09David Law: Yeah, and I think it's becoming a little bit of a trend so far in this tournament of big names starting a little bit slowly and talking about long testing matches as something that they think will help them. We heard it from Alexander Zverev last night after coming two points away from defeat. I'll talk a little bit later about what Ben Shelton was saying, and he felt similarly. And yeah, I think it does sharpen the senses. But the really satisfying thing, I think, from anybody who is an Alcraz fan is that he didn't panic, and he had gears that he could go to, which I wonder even if Alcraz knew he had yet.

4:55David Law: And it was interesting when I did leave the seats and help him along with my absence. I started to watch the TV coverage and there was Mary Carrillo and Jimmy Arias commentating on it. And one thing that Jimmy said was, does he have the service power to keep these guys off him? And within a few points, he'd knocked down back to back 130 mile an hour serves. and that was pretty much the only time he'd done it in the match to that point. And Jimmy's view was, OK, well, that's a big win because I don't think he can win this title without a serve that can do that. And just, he's finding out in real time, it seems to me, Catherine.

5:41David Law: Maybe Alcras knows a lot more than we think he knows about his current state because of how much he's practiced, etc. but I just don't think you can recreate that until you go out there on a grand slam stage and he's kind of passed the test I don't know about you guys

5:58Matt Roberts: but I wasn't thinking about the wrist at all no

6:01David Law: tonight

6:02Matt Roberts: no not at all anxiety about the wrist is pretty much gone for me yeah

6:10Catherine Whitaker: and I think David's point about the gears is one that I felt as well because I thought he could probably win tonight you know but I thought there would definitely be a really long set in there or some kind of tussle I didn't I didn't expect to see him in destructive mode this early you know like he was kind of biding his time a little bit in the first round against the fueling playing within himself here once he hit his stride there was it didn't feel like there was any holding back whatsoever it was absolutely what you would expect and especially with what you say there about ramping it up on the serve a couple of times as well like yeah it's it's amazing how

6:55Matt Roberts: quickly he's got into that mode it was the best tennis i've seen of the tournament by quite some

7:02David Law: distance yeah on the in the men's side i i agree with you and he he spoke in his pretty much conference about wanting to feel free wanting to be himself well he was those two things tonight

7:16Matt Roberts: i thought from set two onwards and he's fresh he's loving it he's savoring i mean look color sakuras always looks like he's loving it that bit more than anybody else in tennis even when he's at his most jaded i suppose but he's at his least jaded right now this all feels like a bonus to him he didn't know whether he would be here he's missed it desperately it's all a total joy to him and nobody else feels that way at this stage of the season even if you're even if you're riding high even if you're happy there's an element of exhaustion there's an element of jadedness there's an element of feeling like oh my god i haven't spent any time with my friends and family in eight months he's not experiencing any of that and i think that's a a huge

8:05Catherine Whitaker: string in his bow for this tournament and you know i saw an interview that he did pre-tournament with sky sports where he said the thing i think tennis has missed and that is that i play with joy you know he kind of knows that about himself that it's this superpower that he's got and that he can tap into on court and you know he wasn't saying in an arrogant way it was it was you know he was just telling the truth really and yeah I I do think that's a factor here that that freshness if if it were Federer we'd be talking about it in terms of canister physical and mental I think at this stage of the season and yeah he's he's in a good place I think.

8:53David Law: And to go with that Catherine he hit one worldie I can't remember exactly which shot it was but I just remember Mary Carrillo laughing when he hit it and then Alcraz walking back to his chair and clearly eyeballing some people in the crowd who were just in awe of what he'd just done and And again, he just started to smile. He just started to find it quite amusing himself, what he'd just pulled off. You know, and who does that? And when he's like that, he's free. He is himself.

9:27Matt Roberts: It does seem like if he is going to do the impossible and lift the US Open trophy in 10 days' time, he is going to do it with his right nipple on show.

9:38David Law: It would appear so. Yeah, that situation wasn't resolved. I mean, sometimes you see when there's a bit of an outcry about something, there's a bit of noise.

9:48Matt Roberts: The outcry is how I'd put it.

9:50David Law: Okay, well, when there's some noise about something, sometimes people can become a bit self-conscious. Or they can think, oh, I'm not doing that again. Where's my other outfit? He doubled down.

10:05Matt Roberts: I think he's aware of it. There's definitely some adjusting.

10:09David Law: Oh, really?

10:09Matt Roberts: going on and people have caught him kind of looking down to see if he's decent or not. But the answer is invariably no, you're not because your outfit doesn't cover your nipples, Carlos. It can only cover one at a time.

10:25David Law: It is what it is.

10:27Matt Roberts: So yeah, we are where we are but it's obviously not inhibiting him. Good luck to you, Carlos. um david we're going to come on to talk about ben shelton but i want to pre-warn you that after we talk about ben shelton i'm gonna ask you if you would like to change your prediction for this us open title okay but i feel like we should talk about ben shelton's performance today first 6357 7675 over hubert her catch what's your assessment of his if his sharing today yeah

11:02David Law: Listen, that is a tough ask in the second round of a Grand Slam on a fast court where you're playing somebody whose serve just takes things out of your hands. And, yeah, he was a handful, her catch today. Shelton won the first set, but then it was the 7-5 second set to her catch. And I think that at that point there's real jeopardy out there. And I think Shelton did really well, actually, to dig in and end up on the right side of that. It was never anything other than hard work and graft and sort of finding the shots when he needed them. And to come back to the point I mentioned at the start about how Alcras had been tested, and Zverev was obviously tested supremely last night, and Shelton was today.

11:54David Law: I asked Ben Shelton in his press comments whether it might end up benefiting him that he had such a hard-fought match. And he said 100%. He was emphatic that that is something he really needed and that there's no way to recreate the sort of gains that he could make today whilst in the heat of battle. He said that's probably moved me on a few steps that I wouldn't have been able to move on had I not been pushed like that. So he was quite bullish, really, and quite satisfied, I felt.

12:32Matt Roberts: Does that mean then that you still think he's winning this US Open title?

12:36David Law: I'm not changing my mind. Look, the tennis that I've seen from Al Kraus is the highest level I've seen from anybody. but he is still coming back from a significant injury and he is potentially going to be rusty at some point. He hasn't been pressured properly yet by one of the best players in the world and that match would be due to play in the quarterfinals. If they both get to the quarterfinals, look, I think Alcraz may well be in sort of Grand Slam winning mode at that point and his best will be Ben Shelton's best. but I think that Shelton would put immense pressure on him relentlessly throughout the match and I'm just not sure that somebody coming off what Al Krause has come back from is going to necessarily be quite ready to deal with that we will find out won't we and we'll find out whether they actually get there at all you know that's Shelton's path has cleared pretty nicely because of the lack of Art of Feast and obviously there's no longer a Novak Djokovic in that half the draw, that would have been a little bit further on.

13:46David Law: But still, it's been helpful for him.

13:49Matt Roberts: It's Denis Shapovalov next for Ben Shelton, and it's Wu Yubing next for Carlos Alcaraz. Lurking in the round after the Wu Yubing match, potentially, is either Tommy Paul or Alexander Bublik for Alcaraz. That would be a step up.

14:05David Law: Definitely. Whichever of those. Definitely. I mean, I saw a bit of Bublik, and he won very comfortably today against Adrian Manorino. and I saw some of Tommy Paul who was brilliant for two sets and then got reeled in by Dino Prismic. He had to come out with one of the shots of the tournament, did Tommy Paul, to get by him in the fourth set. He was sent running wide with an angled dink forehand and very nearly collided with the umpire's chair, guided it between the umpire's chair and the net post with his forehand and then basically sat down in the same process on his chair and then fell over because the momentum carried him on.

14:48David Law: I was a bit worried for him, but it was a brilliant shot. And he was playing pretty well, I think, Tommy Paul. But I think maybe Bublik's the bigger threat there. Maybe tennis-wise, but he's got such a strange psychological thing

15:06Matt Roberts: going on against the top players. He does.

15:09David Law: He does. I do share that, but I still kind of feel like if it was Alcraz-Tommy Paul, I would back Alcraz to win that because he always beats him, really, at these slams. And also Tommy's not playing as well as he has. Bublik's top level is still a problem, I think. Whether you get that's another matter.

15:30Matt Roberts: I would be highly doubtful about whether he would produce that. I think we've got quite a lot of evidence that something very strange happens to Alexander Bublik that you should probably speak to somebody about when he faces those top guys. But yeah, I mean, I agree with you about the tennis for sure. Just quickly before we move on from Ben Shelton, he had a really awkward post-match interview on the court. Awkward on lots of different fronts. I don't think he handled it elegantly. I do think he was a little bit rude to the interviewer. But the bigger issue at hand, the reason that he was pissed off, was because the acoustics are so poor and the setup isn't adjusted at all to account for the poor acoustics.

16:17Matt Roberts: Ben Shelton, I mean, nobody in the crowd could hear the interview. That seems to be a standard state of affairs. But he couldn't even hear the interviewer. And obviously that was extremely awkward and uncomfortable and it just unfolded in this bizarre way. I do think Ben Shelton could have handled it an awful lot more gracefully, but I do understand why he was pissed off. I just can't believe this is the state of affairs that we have at this tournament.

16:44David Law: The worst thing about it, to my mind, is that the viewer at home is hearing both the interviewer and the player perfectly. We can't understand watching why the two people can't hear each other, because we can that's just how tv works where you've got perfect quality microphones into a broadcast versus the acoustics of a 23 000 seat stadium and i agree i think it's it's nonsense that they make them stand apart isn't it don't you think yes it's very covid they do it at

17:19Matt Roberts: wimbledon as well don't they they still do it in the way that was introduced during COVID with the separate microphones and the sort of six feet of social distancing. And that's okay at Wimbledon where it's quiet.

17:32David Law: I mean I still think it's bad at Wimbledon.

17:34Matt Roberts: It's very hard to build up any kind of vibe or rapport with an interviewer or interviewee and that kind of set up is just completely unnatural and those interviews, they're not hard hitting journalism they are about vibe and rapport so I don't I'm sure there are reasons that we're not privy to and we're not giving enough credit to. But for the viewer, it's a crap experience. Moving on to our first big shock of the men's tournament, the 12th seed, Rafael Hodar, losing out to the lucky loser, Yunxiao Kete Bu, who hadn't won a tour-level match all year and had never won a Grand Slam match before today.

18:19Matt Roberts: and he didn't just lose to Yun Shao Kete Bu, he got absolutely thrashed. 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 in an hour and 48 minutes. There was a rain delay midway through the third set. I think a lot of people thought that Hodder would have a chat with his dad or have a chat with himself in the mirror and he'd come out. Maybe it would have been too late to rescue the match but he'd come out a different player. he came out just as anemic and poor and erratic as he had been for the whole match. This was, I mean, it's an alarming result. It's an even more alarming performance. This was really shocking, Matt.

19:01Catherine Whitaker: It was, yes. I did not have this on upset watch at all. You know, he was meant to be playing Kokanakis. He withdrew. He gets the lucky loser. in Boo, and I just thought, OK, we'll probably see the destructive Hodah that we've seen quite a lot recently. But very early on, it was clear that he was struggling to find his range and find his game. He kept changing his rackets and changing his string tension, presumably, and getting a different one, which is always a sign that, you know, not comfortable with their game, a lot going on in the head. The commentators thought that he changed his racket five times, and they were a set in and halfway through the second set.

19:46Catherine Whitaker: I mean, it was chaos, really.

19:48David Law: I've barely ever heard of that.

19:50Catherine Whitaker: No, it was wild to see. And you could see why he wanted to change because he was just making errors all over the place. Really just had no feel on the ball, no timing. Boo did really well and played a nice match and sprinkled in quite a lot of variety, took the ball early, kind of took apart Hoda's set, and serve in a way that we've seen Hodder take apart so many serves himself. He played a nice match and his energy was really good and there was never really a moment where I thought the moment was going to get to Boo and he was going to freeze and let Hodder in. So he did well, but it was also just the look on Hodder.

20:31Catherine Whitaker: To me, he looked ill or he looked just like he was suffering in the heat or the humidity.

20:39Matt Roberts: He looked sort of vacant, didn't he? He did.

20:41Catherine Whitaker: It was bizarre. And look, he has said that wasn't the case in the press conference. He said he was fine physically. But just the impression you got watching was that something was up. But it was a bizarre experience, actually.

20:58Matt Roberts: Yeah, one of quite a few very one-sided matches today. Maybe the real contest of today is who had the most awkward press conference. And Rafael Hodder is definitely a contender, David.

21:10David Law: Yeah, I was really taken aback by that, to be honest with you. I mean, I was taken aback by the performance. The press conference and the on-court performance were kind of similar in terms of just being completely unsatisfactory. And listen, he's a young lad. He's 19. I cut him some slack for that. I don't know why he played like he did today. And one of the frustrations is that he had a chance to tell us why he played like that and give us some context. And he chose not to for whatever reason. He just said he was better than me. And he was answering like that. When you asked him what happened out there today, he just said he was better than me.

21:56David Law: Okay, in what way was he? He was really impossible. He was adversarial from the off. Yeah, he was just being almost obstructive in the way he was answering. And I don't know whether he has been told to behave like that or whether he's been told, just give your opponent credit and don't say anything if you're really upset. Maybe these things, I don't know. I've seen things like that with players before, but I really don't think he helped the situation by being like that. I think you've got to be professional. And I've heard plenty of interviews with Hodder where, you know, he's really good at just trotting out the things he needs to say and making it a decent experience so that everybody gets the job done.

22:45David Law: And he didn't today. And look, maybe he was just really upset. I can understand that. Maybe he was ill. All of these things are possible, but it's very frustrating to just not know.

22:57Matt Roberts: Yeah, absolutely. so Yunchaketebu surprisingly through to a grand slam second round for the first time in his life a few other men's results to whiz you through Daniel Medvedev 6-1 6-3, 7-5 for him over Sebastian Gorsny the draws opening up a little bit he hasn't dropped a set and he hasn't been broken, he's got Arta Rindeknesh next, Matt Roberts is Daniel Medvedev a dormant volcano?

23:28David Law: No. Okay, I'm confused. Why would he not be? He's won this tournament before.

23:37Matt Roberts: Is it Dormant or is it Volcano? It's Dormant that I'm worried about.

23:42Catherine Whitaker: Dormant to me suggests that he might win the tournament. You know, like you've still got that in you. And I just don't think he does.

23:52David Law: No. That's interesting.

23:56Matt Roberts: Fair enough. Yeah.

23:57Catherine Whitaker: Maybe I'm wrong But I've just seen so many Medvedev matches this year Where he's been awful

24:04Matt Roberts: That's what I mean But he also had that spell post-Australia Where he was suddenly really good Which is the telltale sign of a dormant volcano And he might Look, it's been a kind draw so far But we've seen it this year Him suddenly find some form And then lose it again just as quickly But these are the defining features

24:26Catherine Whitaker: of a dormant volcano which is which is honestly i do think of the dormant volcano theory as more

24:34Matt Roberts: of a wta thing yeah but i'm you know i'm i'm expanding your horizons i know i get that i'm

24:40Catherine Whitaker: just i'm trying to figure out in real time why i'm struggling to apply it more to the atp i just it's not a concept that we really have so much in the atp because i think there's just there's that there's less that feeling of someone can just be kind of totally in the abyss and then suddenly play really well and remind you of their level i just think that happens a bit less on the atp and it's generally been gate kept by just like a smaller group of people like sinner and alcaraz and and the big three so i haven't ever applied that concept to the atp and i've just to watch that Carlos Alcaraz play like that and I think, bloody hell, it's going to have to be some eruption from Daniel Medvedev.

25:27Catherine Whitaker: But I do take the point that he did play very well this year. Will you monitor

25:33Matt Roberts: volcanic activity? I will.

25:35Catherine Whitaker: What I will say is that that is a piece of work clash, isn't it?

25:41Matt Roberts: It's a little piece of work section of the drawer. I can't wait for that.

25:45David Law: I want to be courtside for that.

25:48Matt Roberts: It's fun. Francis Tiafoe pretty comfortable some moments of jeopardy against Sakamoto, talented player, thought he navigated this really well Tiafoe 637675 Hayley Baptiste in the crowd good to see Hayley Baptiste enjoying some tennis

26:04David Law: she was shouted out in the post-match interview as well and he was asked Hayley Baptiste is here and he just goes I don't know anybody called Hayley Baptiste and then he goes Then he was really kind about her. And it was just nice to see her smiling. And she's had such a horror injury. And it's probably quite a long process to get back from. But yeah, good that she gets out here and has some vibes.

26:36Matt Roberts: Low-key shock. Brandon Nakashima losing out in straight sets. I say low-key because Alex Mickelson is a really good player and probably should be seeded. Yeah. You know, having to face him in a second round, that is a really rough draw, but still straight sets for Mickelson over Nakashima after the summer that Nakashima's had. There's a question mark for me about whether Nakashima is a player that has another gear for slams.

27:06David Law: I agree with you. I think that's fair. And also, maybe he has expended a lot over the last couple of months. And Mickelson, you're right. I mean, to me, he's got a really high top level and he should be absolutely seeded. He should be top 20, that guy. And I remember watching him against Hodder at the French Open and he should have beaten him. He was really outplaying him. I really like his game. So, yeah, it's... And yet, I didn't pick it. I didn't put that on the predictions. I had the chance yesterday. I think you get so used to someone like Nakashima winning once they start, once they've had a run like that.

27:53David Law: And it's hard to kind of talk your way out of it.

27:55Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, it's funny how quickly your opinion of someone can change. I saw Gil Gross say this today, that like two months ago, Mickelson over Nakashima, you wouldn't have thought, oh, that's a huge upset. You kind of think of them as fairly similar, really, but Nakashima has had a really great summer, and it felt like maybe he'd gone to another level. But maybe it's not entirely that. Maybe he was just in a really rich vein of form, in a good period with his new coach, making the absolute most of that new partnership, absolutely playing well, and maybe improving as a player for the long term. but as you say these slams slams are different i think today has been a good a good revelation of that that these slams are still different things and actually this tournament really with feast hoda nakashima three guys who i think have really done so well on the tour this year but have got to learn to play grand slams and lift their level uh and manage five sets all that kind of stuff um and i think this tournament so far has been a little reminder about that on the men's side as yeah as all of those results have shown yeah really well put uh and just finally on the

29:14Matt Roberts: men's side shout out inathio busse who won winston-salem at the weekend and has come in here and run 6-1 in the fifth today over marcus giron to make it through to round two atmosphere out

29:27David Law: there catherine because that one's right outside our press room um that court that they were playing on and so many Peruvian flags and people just totally engrossed in what he was doing and obviously a lot of American fans too and that's the sweet spot isn't it when you get a player like Boussey who's got maybe slightly outsized enthusiasm from a crowd and then you've got a local and they went hammer and tong those two and yeah I like Boussey I think he's a good watch he is

30:02Matt Roberts: yeah representing the gingers in yannick sinner's absence go on ignatio okay that is it for part one we'll be back in part two to talk about the women's tournament but first we want to tell

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31:01Matt Roberts: With the Discover Cash Back Card, it's payback time when you earn cash back on everyday purchases. Activate and earn 5 % cash back at different categories each quarter on up to$1 ,500 in purchases. That's 5 % cash back at different places each quarter, like grocery stores, on gas, and at restaurants. It pays to Discover. Terms apply. See discover.com slash 5 for details.

31:25Catherine Whitaker: Hi, this is Kim and Penn Holderness from the Laugh Lines Podcast.

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32:04Matt Roberts: That's O-L-L-Y dot com. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast. Time to talk about the women's matches that we've seen today. A mixture of first and second round matches. We finally got round one completed at 7.29pm on day four of the tournament with Eva Jovic beating Magdalena Frech 7-5, 6-3. She'll have to come back tomorrow. Jovic to play catch-up, but she's young. She can handle that.

32:43David Law: Super fit, isn't she?

32:45Matt Roberts: Absolutely. No major upsets on the women's side of things today. In fact, a lot of the top players were very comfortable indeed. Irina Sabalenka 6-1, 6-1 in 53 minutes over Polina Iachenko. Not an awful lot to say about the match here. Kind of a total mismatch in terms of power and game and weapons. But a continuation of the theme that we've been talking about with Sabalenka in the press conference afterwards. a more extreme example even today of her being incredibly tense and combative and taking well-intentioned questions I think in a in a very defensive defensive way and this is after a 53 minute win I just I just think I'm I'm banging the same drum continually here but the picture gets darker and darker I think for what Irina Sabalenka's state of mind is and yet she's still she's still winning comfortably so far it's interesting isn't it because I think there are

33:54David Law: some players out there they almost convince you more with their tennis when they're a bit off in the press conference room I remember Andy Murray was you know journalistic colleagues of ours that have covered him for decades you know I think of the late great Mike Dixon he would say he's got his game face on today and that would mean he's his normally kind of convivial talkative character and curious personality gives way to somebody who's who's not any of those things really and is is just very straight-faced and and just there to do the job um i think i've there are others like that and then you feel as though they get an edge almost when they're on the tennis court playing that's not really her that's we she she may not be the greatest quote in the world but she's always been a bit of a vibe in the press conference room she sort of always bounces in and looks like she wants to be there like she sort of almost enjoys the the little joust and slightly teasing journalists and and having a bit of fun none of that at the moment and i'm i look you may well think oh yeah she's not there to make songs and jokes she's there for business and frankly she hasn't been playing very well but she does look on edge um including in the matches and i don't quite know where you draw that line as to whether whether that's going to end up being beneficial to her or whether actually eventually that'll catch up to her when it gets really stressful in the matches.

35:30Matt Roberts: Yeah, absolutely. There's a potential matchup with Taylor Townsend, either Taylor Townsend or Diana Schneider in round four, which is where things, I think, get interesting for Arina Sabalenka. Yeah, me too.

35:43Catherine Whitaker: That's the round I'm looking at. With all due respect, hopefully, to Rakimova, who she has in the next round, who's done really well, I think, to back up the win over Craig Shikova and get to the Sabalenka match. but I do think both Townsend and Schneider present awkwardness. You know, Townsend, you've got the crowd element which could be a lot for Sabalenka. Also the game, you know, she's front foot player, Taylor Townsend. She'll try and make life difficult in that way for Sabalenka. And then Schneider is the one that Sabalenka fell apart against at Roland Garros, of course, and there could be some scar tissue there.

36:23Catherine Whitaker: and she's a good retriever, Schneider, when she's playing well. She can be a bit awkward and tricky in that sense. Plus, she's got a real puncture of her own. So I agree with you. I think probably Sabalenka gets through the next round OK, but the test of... It's not really even a theory because we've seen her struggling for a while now. The test of the press conference demeanour and also the form I think is going to come in the second week and it might come hard and quickly for her because I think it's been pretty straightforward so far but I think that does all shift in the second week.

37:02Matt Roberts: It was interesting during the Coco-Goff match yesterday during quite a lull period during that the World Feeder commentators which was Mary Carrillo, Andrea Petkovic and Lindsay Davenport which is just the most joyful listening experience. They ended up chatting about Sabalenka and kicking around what is going on with her. what has changed since the Sunshine Double, which she, of course, won both legs of. And Andrea Pekovic had kind of two theories on the go.

37:35Catherine Whitaker: Very David of her.

37:36Matt Roberts: Very David. But they're compatible. It's not a hedge. They're not competing theories.

37:42David Law: That's where you're going, welcome, Pekovic. Have we U-turned this into let's have a go at David's reserve takes?

37:48Matt Roberts: Her two theories were, well, number one, And she said in an interview in Toronto, she saw Sabalenka had said she was trying to go back to basics with her game, which she interpreted as news less variety, which Petkovic said, and I agree with, seems like a strange ploy, given it was the expansion of her toolkit that I think got her to the top of the game. the sort of move away from just being a ball basher, which I'm not sure she ever was just a ball basher, but she certainly has become way less of one than she was at the start of her career. So that struck an alarm bell for Petkovic, but she also said she traces it back to the five match points that she had against Hayley Baptiste in Madrid and lost.

38:38Matt Roberts: She said top players do not lose from match point up, let alone five match points up very often. And she said, I did it quite a lot in my career, but it's different for world number ones to have that experience. And she thinks that was very derailing for her. And certainly the timeline tracks for Sabalenka, that is where the results really started to tailspin by her high standards. I'm sure it's a mix of all sorts of different things, some of which we don't know about, but those are certainly two good theories that have been given credit by some of the best voices in the sport. I mentioned Taylor Townsend.

39:24Matt Roberts: They're 48 minutes for her in the Battle of the Taylors against Taylor Preston. That was the quickest win of the day. There were some contenders for that, though. 56 minutes for Jessica Bagula over Sophia Kennan, 6-3, 6-1. so three minutes longer than Sabalenka was on court. It was quite sad actually seeing that be such a mismatch. You know, Sofia Kenin, a Grand Slam champion, not that long ago, you know.

39:53David Law: Well, absolutely. If you think that Kenin not only won a Grand Slam title but then reached a final of another shortly afterwards, she is not a factor in tournaments like this anymore really. She won a round but when she comes up against the vast majority of players that are in the top 10 or 20 she just doesn't really get close anymore and it just seems all quite sad to watch her at the moment. and I don't know. I don't know what the deal is, whether it's just game-wise, whether she's unhappy in terms of how things are going with her life. I don't know, but it's a recurring theme, isn't it? Yeah, absolutely.

40:45Matt Roberts: That was a tough watch, really. But Pagula really going well in this tournament and, you know, as always, she gets asked about the tough stuff in press conferences because she can handle it. And she was asked about the USTA's Calshi sponsorship that we spoke about on the show a couple of days ago. And she pointed out the irony and the hypocrisy of players being banned from having betting sponsorships or any association with betting companies and yet tournaments, tours, other outlets getting into bed with them. She said players can't do anything off a betting sponsorship, but tournaments profit from it.

41:31Matt Roberts: We get a lot of negativity, we being the players, from bettors. We get a lot of hate on social media. So it's tough seeing them as sponsors. Good for her for putting her neck on the line. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Speaking up. Karolina Mukova, 58 minutes for her. 6-1, 6-love against Katie Bolter. Just a total mismatch. Bolton didn't hold serve in this match. Muković just with so much more game than most players on tour, quite frankly. But it was very exposed in this matchup.

42:09David Law: Yeah, it was one of those where the moment you saw it on the order of play, we were kind of talking about it off the podcast. Just, oh, that could be one-sided. Just because of, well, the form we've seen from Muković anyway this year, but the kind of way she plays, the sort of horrible position she can put Bolter in. And Bolter can be an effective ball striker with a heavy strike against somebody who gives her the sort of ball she wants. And the fact is, Muka doesn't do that. She slides it around, she loops it up, she does all the things. And, well, it was terribly one-sided.

42:50Matt Roberts: in terms of other round one matches that had to be resumed and finished today paula bodossa coming back to complete her victory over daria kasekina 6-1 6-4 which means that it will be bodossa to play coco goff tomorrow night on the arthur ash stadium she's got a good record against coco goff does bodossa this is interesting yeah well she's the one who said very openly a few

43:18Catherine Whitaker: years ago didn't she yeah i just hit it to goth's forehand you know and like relentlessly do that and create those exchanges i do think goth's forehand has got a lot better since pelota voiced that and that's what everyone in the in the locker room was thinking i'm sure that was the playbook going around it probably still is quite high up on the strategy list to to test that out against Coco Goff. But I don't know. I find Paola Berlosa a tricky player to assess where she's at, really, because we know she's battling this chronic back injury and she doesn't play all that often, you know, going deep in events.

44:07Catherine Whitaker: And yet when I do watch her, I do think the level's still pretty good a lot of the time. Today, she only had the one game to win, but it was an epic game. Needed nine match points to get over the line against Kasakina. I do feel pretty... I feel okay for Goff in that. I don't know. Maybe I'm writing Badossa off too much, but I just have a lot of faith in Goff at the moment. But there is a world where the match starts and you think, wow, okay, this does look like a matchup where Bedossa can have some success. So I'm very intrigued by it. I'm just pretty confident for Goff, I suppose.

44:52Matt Roberts: Is Bedossa a dormant volcano?

44:54David Law: No. Was it Bedossa? Did she beat her at the Australian Open? Yes. I recall. And the thing is, where maybe she differs to some other players who might target the Goff forehand is Berossa has a really good forehand. It's heavy, it's very top spun, but it's done so with weight of shot as well. So I can see why that pattern works for her, but she has to be bang on it to pull it off because I don't think Goff's going to allow that to happen as often. I think she's probably going to redirect high loopy balls down onto the backhand side if she starts getting targeted. But no, absolutely fascinated to watch.

45:45Matt Roberts: Marta Kostiuk, 6 '1", 7 '5", comfortable for her against Sloane Stephens. Some great dog action in this match. Yeah. Yeah. Just, you know, she's got two great dogs. They featured a lot in the coverage of the match. That's good directing. Well done, everyone. Lina Svitolina 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 over Maya Joint match Matt you were screening this whilst watching Carlos Alcaraz

46:12Catherine Whitaker: Yes I think it's one of those matches where I come out feeling quite good about both players really it feels like Maya Joint is playing much closer to her top level you know honestly one match against Serena Williams seems to have done her the world of good the whole world writing her off us included thinking oh no she's going to be an absolute nervous wreck in that one and she actually performed so well and it it's good to see her bringing a better level again since then um and did really well to grab the second set of this one against Svitolina and was a double breakdown in the third got it back to a single break and was was really fighting hard and you know it's just Svitolina's three set record is unbelievable so strong you always kind of back her in those situations and and she came through.

47:03Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, Kostiuk as well I was impressed with. She's so upset-proof now, Kostiuk. The last time she lost to someone ranked lower than her was Elsa Giacomo at the Australian Open. Since then, it's taken very good performances. There's this stat going around that since the spring, when she's lost, she's either lost to someone who's gone on to win the tournament. so that was potentially tricky against Joan Stevens because Stevens has been gathering a little bit of momentum and played her tough the other week two very tight sets but she did well to get through this one in straight sets and yeah good to have Kostya as a force I think I suppose part of me is thinking is she going to hit the wall at some stage because kind of what we said about Hoda she's just played so much Nakashima so much more tennis than she usually does because she's been going so deep in all these tournaments.

48:03Catherine Whitaker: But, you know, it still seems to be there, the energy.

48:07Matt Roberts: Last women's result that I wanted to touch upon from today. It was another round one resumption. David, you went out to watch the conclusion of this. Tatiana Maria beating Yelena Ostapenko 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

48:22David Law: Yeah, I barely saw Yelena Ostapenko win a point in the three or four games that I watched. she was just having her brain scrambled by Tatiana Maria's type of tennis. And I think Ostapenko has to be in the right frame of mind to deal with that. And if you haven't seen Tatiana Maria before, what she's doing is she's slicing her forehands and her backhands, keeping the ball incredibly low, just absorbing the power of this huge hitter Ostapenko who just wants to have normal balls to hit the living daylights out of. She doesn't want them scraping along the ground and having to scoop them up. And she just kept on hitting the net and turning extravagantly around to her mother as if to say, why didn't that work then?

49:14David Law: Why did you tell me to do it this way? I mean, I'm just reading body language here. But it was... She didn't have a chance the way she was approaching it all. and you just knew that Maria was thinking oh this is what I wanted so I'll just carry on annoying you shall I and yeah I mean it was a heavy heavy defeat in the end

49:37Catherine Whitaker: Yeah it was those sorts of players of course that Maria beat in succession on her way to her biggest ever title at Queen's you know big hitters who don't want the ball down low she's very good in those situations There is something amusing to me about Ostapenko kind of being trapped in a Tatiana Maria match for 24 hours. Because this one carried over from yesterday, just like thinking about slices coming at her. And, you know, like presumably there was some kind of strategy meeting last night or maybe this morning after, you know, got some data of the match and being like, OK, what can I do differently?

50:16Catherine Whitaker: And the answer is nothing. I've got one way of playing and it's an absolute disaster against this ball that's coming at me I can just imagine there's a lot of thoughts going around in Ostevenko's head for a long time I'm probably relieved to be out of it

50:30Matt Roberts: You think she's having strategy meetings?

50:32Catherine Whitaker: I hope so

50:36Matt Roberts: Okay, that is it for part two, we'll be back in part three to look ahead to tomorrow's order of play and just to discuss some interesting press conference quotes that have just come in from Carlos Alcaraz 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. And with AI agents working together autonomously, anyone in any department can focus on the work that matters most.

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51:51Matt Roberts: Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast. We have a day five order of play to talk through in just a moment. But before we do that, just having a look through the Carlos Alcaraz press conference that's just come in in the last few minutes. He came into press following his victory about half an hour ago. And the last question was about something we were discussing earlier in the show, how tired a lot of players look at this stage of the season and how different he looks because he's had this four and a half, five-month period off, albeit not by choice. And he has said that even though he said, obviously, I didn't want to have this break because of injury, but in the future, I'm going to take some breaks, some long breaks, he says.

52:37Matt Roberts: Maybe not four months, but one month, two months, missing some tournaments because it's impossible to play them all he said i think they're adding more tournaments in in they're making us they're making us play more tournaments he says you can say no you can keep one or two you can decide your calendar but there are some masters 1000 some grand slams and we've been we've been out playing 40 weeks if we have to play every mandatory tournament that the atp require us to play it's impossible he says and we're seeing a A lot of players getting injured. A lot of players getting tired. If they don't do anything about it, we're going to see even more in the future.

53:17Matt Roberts: But for me taking this break because of injury, it wasn't good. But what I'm going to say is that I'm going to be taking some breaks and missing some tournaments in the future for sure. And obviously, on one hand, that's such a shame that we're going to be missing Carlos Alcaraz at big tournaments, not Grand Slams, but some big tournaments in the future. we've seen what tennis looks like without Carlos Alcraz over the last five months and it's a lot less good but big picture, I'm relieved to hear that from Carlos Alcraz because as he has said it is so obvious that it is not sustainable to play the sport how the authorities are trying how the administrators the ATP are trying to require its players to play it Carlos Alcaraz has just said it's impossible surely, surely there will be a response from the ATP David

54:17David Law: well we addressed this a few weeks ago didn't we and we got given a statement and we were told as Carlos has said there that players can make scheduling decisions and not play certain events that is a nonsense that you are encouraging that as a way around this dog's dinner of a format you put together um you just shouldn't have to to make those compromises to your your schedule you need to make them work these things um but look from a carlos our craft perspective i i i say all power to you and whether there will be changes and there will be a response Catherine I just think it's going to take a while because they've got too tied up into too much of this with the longer Masters 1000s I do think there will be a change but it'll probably be two or three years down the track I'd just love in the interim

55:20Matt Roberts: to hear an acknowledgement that there's a problem here and that something needs to change you've got your biggest star saying that acknowledge it reassure the fans that we see there's a problem, we don't want to see our players getting injured, we're going to try and reverse this trend and sort it out.

55:40David Law: There's no sign of it yet. And if you think of the number of players that have spoken out and expressed their concerns, the only thing we've been getting is the statement. The statement that, you know, yes, the health of players is paramount, etc., etc. This was something they all voted on. and agreed with, or at least put through. And there are all these financial benefits that the players are enjoying, the bonus pool, etc., etc. And you can't legislate for every injury that might happen. These are the things that they say. But look, privately, I think that the pressure will continue to mount if people like Carlos Alcrest say these things, and more importantly, take long breaks.

56:34We'll see.

56:35Matt Roberts: Right, tomorrow's schedule, starting on Arthur Ashe Stadium at 11.30am with Naomi Osaka against Katerina Siniarkova. I know you think this could be tricky for Osaka, Matt.

56:47Catherine Whitaker: Potentially, yeah. I think Siniarkova's a good player. She did beat Osaka at a slam. It was a very long time ago, but that has happened. no I do think Osaka will win I just I think I had really thought Osaka's draw was very comfortable and then I saw this and was like oh Sydney Arco can pop up sometimes and be a bit awkward and she's pretty tenacious and she's got flat ball can be and Osaka wasn't great in her first round you know so she's going to have to find rhythm and form quickly I think but I do think she'll win

57:25David Law: She was very nervous, the Saka, she said, after her first match. Just really overcome with nerves at times. Tend to feel like after the first one's out of the way, a lot of these players settle down.

57:37Matt Roberts: It's been such a feature, hasn't it? Nerves and players talking about those nerves. Taylor Fritz against Mattia Bellucci, second on the Arthur Ashe Stadium in the day. Tomorrow at night, we start with Paola Berdosa against Coco Goff, followed by Alexander Zverev against Conte-Alice. We had the stat during the rounds today that no man has ever won a Grand Slam after spending as long on court as he did in his first round. Is that right?

58:05Catherine Whitaker: In the 21st century, that stat was. I think probably because match times is not the data to go all the way back, but there is from the 21st century. Yeah, shout out Je Cet et Mat for that one. They found that.

58:19Matt Roberts: over on Louis Armstrong Stadium tomorrow. We open against Felix Auger, against Karen Hashanov. And second on is Alexandra Iala against Oleksandra Olenikova. I like the making Armstrong, the Iala court.

58:36David Law: Oh, me too. And I'm just so fascinated to see what the Iala fans make of the ball trajectory of Olenikova because they get incredibly excited whenever there's a net exchange. And when somebody chases down a drop shot, that's my experience so far. With Olenakova, the ball trajectory is so unusual that, yeah, I think there could be a lot of oohs and ahs going around.

59:06Catherine Whitaker: She beat Iala earlier in the season, did Olenakova. I don't think she's quite in that vein of form at the moment. She had a tough summer, I think, on Olenakova. And I think Iala has made a lot of strides, as we talked about very quickly.

59:22Matt Roberts: Night session on Armstrong tomorrow opens with Guilherme Monfils against Lerner Tien. That's where the show is. Well, I suppose it's clattering with Coco Goff and Paolo Bedossa, isn't it? That's going to be a good double screen situation. Fun day tomorrow, yeah. Yeah, it is fun. And second on Elena Rabatkin against Jessica Boethos-Monero. A real interesting one, that, because the movement is going to be tested. It is going to be tested.

59:44David Law: Yeah, I haven't done my prediction in the newsletter for tomorrow, or at least finalised it. I've sort of put things in and then crossed them out, Matt, while you were not looking. Because I really think there's an argument that Rebecca is there for the taking with this injury if she's playing against the right sort of opponent.

1:00:10Catherine Whitaker: You said the other day you were above doing that, David, picking on Rebecca to lose for predictions points.

1:00:17David Law: That was then. This is now.

1:00:20Catherine Whitaker: Competition's got serious.

1:00:21David Law: Not even Sloane Stephens won me some points this time. I'm on zero, David. Does that make you feel better? It does, yeah.

1:00:28Matt Roberts: Grandstand tomorrow. Good luck, Nadia Podoroska. I think she might struggle against Iguishvantec. That feels like a bit of a mismatch to me, but we will see. Second on, if you're at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre tomorrow and you want to find Matt Roberts, It's second on grandstand for Lily Taggart against Amanda Anisimova. How about that?

1:00:49Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, look, I will be there. I have to say, I am a little bit annoyed about the potential clash with...

1:00:55Matt Roberts: Iyala Ronnikova.

1:00:56Catherine Whitaker: Well, and Sweeney Mazzetti on the Stadium 17. I just like those seats to watch Mazzetti. You're not going to get that vantage point all that often. You're going to ditch Anisimova. No, no, no. I think Svantec's going to wrap things up quickly, as Catherine said. I'm going to watch Anissim over Tagga and then probably catch the end of Mazzetti-Sweeney on 17.

1:01:19Matt Roberts: Matt is also inexplicably excited about Alex de Minoer against Bertrand van der Zanschel tomorrow. Hang on a minute.

1:01:26Catherine Whitaker: I've been hyping that up for you.

1:01:29Matt Roberts: But you've mentioned it to me a lot today and I'm like, yeah, sure. I feel like it's you that's really into that. I am a bit into it, but I've been into it on kind of your behalf.

1:01:41Catherine Whitaker: I've mentioned it to you because I thought you would be into it.

1:01:44Matt Roberts: Because you're the Burtick guy. I'm a little bit into it.

1:01:48Catherine Whitaker: I think that's a reasonable upset watch there.

1:01:52Matt Roberts: Yeah, so do I. Burtick, the US Open, second round. Lives for it. I think that would be a good... No, OK. She's warm into it now. I'm going to defend myself.

1:02:01Catherine Whitaker: I think that will be a good match. Yeah.

1:02:04Matt Roberts: That's last on Grandstand. Before that, after Taggart and I'm over, is Tristan Schoolkate against Flavio Caballi. Bolly.

1:02:10Catherine Whitaker: That's why you're not into Vertick. Dropped him like a hot potato.

1:02:15Matt Roberts: There is room in my heart for all these players. There's a bit less now I've discovered. Martin Dahm Jr.

1:02:24David Law: He's elbowed a bit of fritz out of your heart.

1:02:29Matt Roberts: No, it's not zero sum. There's room for all. If you're good enough or if you're fun enough. Stadium 17 tomorrow. Madison St. Keyes opens up over there. Dane Sweeney against Lorenzo Mazzetti. Matt's juggling act of that clashing with Anisimovataga. Mira Andreva against Ava Lees. That's a nice match. Third on 17 tomorrow. And Evie Jovic is back to take on Fran Jones, who got her first main draw US Open win today over Magda Lynette after qualifying. So very impressive stuff. Court five tomorrow, David, is where you'll find the drop shot dragonfly. Ooh. If you want to go and try and make that nickname happen.

1:03:08David Law: That's Trunjoletti, by the way, if anybody...

1:03:11Catherine Whitaker: If anyone inexplicably doesn't know.

1:03:13Matt Roberts: How could they not know, David?

1:03:15David Law: He's coached by the actual dropshot dragon, folks. I mean, it couldn't get any better, could it?

1:03:21Matt Roberts: A few wins would help.

1:03:23David Law: Yeah, well, they would as well. The dropshot doesn't work so well in the hard court.

1:03:28Matt Roberts: He's got Alexander Blocks tomorrow. How are you feeling about that?

1:03:30David Law: Not good.

1:03:34Matt Roberts: stroof serendolo before that francisco serendolo i have to specify which serendolo these days uh zachary sarah dubbed saver after that we start with the doubles tomorrow not serena and venus but i imagine they will have to play on friday serena and venus so it'll be very interesting to see what they do with the schedule then okay i think that's it yeah i was just going to say how

1:03:57Catherine Whitaker: interesting it's been to me so far that like i i think of slams a lot of the time as like the first few days it's really the women's draw that has so many of the stories and the it feels like the women have traditionally like owned the first week of slams for a long time and then there was this period in the men's game where like the men kind of owned the end because you you had the rivalries and the matches you knew you were going to get but sometimes there'd be less jeopardy in the first few days to me it feels like this tournament is absolutely the other way around like we've we've led with the men a lot and we've had reason to do that with the return of Alcaraz and we've had Hodar go out Feast go out Nakashima have been in good form he's gone out Zverev was pushed but what's bubbling up in the women's draw is like all the big names there all looking pretty convincing and we're starting to get the orders of play now with those match-ups that you just look at the draw and it's just absolutely stacked and I just feel like the tournament is probably going to shift in the in the next few days and it's going to be the women's matches that are just absolutely you know owning it consider my appetite wetted Matt that sounds

1:05:11Matt Roberts: great uh hello to Leo our US Open mascot who's very much enjoying Matt's stat in the newsletter Good man, Leo. I haven't done one yet today. No pressure, Matt. But Leo is waiting for it. The newsletter is excellent, both for Matt's stats and for pictures of Leo. And indeed for all sorts of other great content. And it's daily during the US Open. Leo has done a newsletter promo for us here.

1:05:36David Law: Well done, Leo. What a hero.

1:05:38Matt Roberts: So if you're not subscribed to it, then frankly, why not? Here is a picture of Leo lovingly gazing at Matt's stats. Love you, Leo. Hello to our mascots, Bodie, Maisie and Roger. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network. And before we go, if you're an NFL fan, the Athletic has something really exciting starting next week. The Athletic Live, presented by Google Gemini, is a brand new YouTube watch-along on NFL game days, featuring the biggest and best beat reporters the Athletic has to offer. You can even become part of the show in the interactive chat on YouTube.

1:06:18Matt Roberts: It all starts from September 8th. So do check that out if you're a fan of the NFL. No shout outs today because we have got a bus to catch and it has just started raining. But we'll be back tomorrow, folks, daily throughout the US Open as always. Thank you for listening. We'll speak to you then.

1:07:02Matt Roberts: We'll see you next time.

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