US Open Day 8 - Czech Volcanoes erupt in New York, but not Machac

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1:18Michael McEwan: Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast coming to you shortly before midnight from the Media Garden of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre on day eight of the US Open. A huge day for Matt Roberts and his dormant volcano theory.

1:37James Gray: It's happening. There's volcanic ash all over the Arthur Ashe Stadium right now because Marketa Vondroshova is erupting and Barbora Krojcikova is a dormant volcano as well and she has erupted. They're here and they're dangerous and they might be in the mix.

1:59Michael McEwan: I'll say yeah volcanic ash everywhere around the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre. Barbora Krojcikova and Marketa Vondroshova have stolen the show here today kind of from under everyone's noses. They both played the two matches of the day they've probably put in the two performances of the day, although Carlos Alcaraz and his behind-the-back trick shot is probably going to have something to say about that. But, yeah, for me, David, those two, can't believe I'm saying this, have stolen the show. They've erupted.

2:33James Gray: Yes, and maybe we're going to have to have a dormant volcano list to go with your backhand list at some point. Anyway, it's only a two-person list, apparently. But it's bang on, because the performances they put on pretty wildly different in terms of the manner in which they enfolded. Krishigivas was so dramatic and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, whereas Marketa van Drossova, I think that was a virtuoso performance tonight. I was just remarking to Matt before we started recording that I don't really think I've ever watched her play at her best in person before. I was around at the Wimbledon final that she won, but I don't think I was close up.

3:18James Gray: I was probably watching it on TV. I wasn't commentating on it. I really took a close interest in this tonight, both on TV in the first set and a half and then courtside with you both later on. The way she played tonight made your heart sing. For a start, it was really quick between the points. They're flying between the points. It's snappy tennis. It was wonderful to watch. I was actually keeping an eye on the shot clock when they went up to serve. There was always 10 seconds minimum left on the shot clock when Rabakina and Vondrosseva served. But, you know, Vondrosseva just... She found shots today of every type, whether they were power, passing shots, lobs, drop shots, serves, absolutely the lot.

4:04Michael McEwan: Yeah, we just come from that match on Arthrasch Stadium, so we're all a little bit high on it, and maybe there's a bit of recency bias, but I loved this Marquetta von Droshova performance so much. She's such a clever tennis player, Matt.

4:21James Gray: So clever. And, you know, if she were around more, I truly think she would be very close to the top of my list of favourite players. Like, when she plays like this, it's just such a joy. She makes me want to play tennis. That's how I feel watching her. I'm like, oh, I want to try that. Obviously, I can't do it, but I just want to try it. It's just so cool watching her play. The way she constructs these points, and, like, I don't want to necessarily, like, compare players to players, but I guess the point I'm making here is tennis is so much about match-ups. Because we saw at Wimbledon, Emre Adekarnu beat Marketa Vondrosheva pretty comfortably.

5:01James Gray: We saw the other night, Emre Adekarnu look kind of with no answers of how to play Elena Rabatkinner. and then today we see Vondrosheva come up against Rabatkinner and decode her and nullify her and bring out errors that Raducanu just wasn't able to extract. You know, that match we saw the other day of Rabatkinner was hitting up and down the court and Rabatkinner does that, I think, better than anyone and has played all of that match against Raducanu on her terms like that. But today, you just can't do that against Marketa Vondrosheva. Firstly, Marketa Vondrosheva has turned into a serve bot this tournament.

5:46James Gray: She did it against Jasmine Paolini, absolutely served her off the court. And today, in crucial moments, particularly that final game, 15-40 down, just literally served Elena Rabatkinner off the court. And when you think of the Vondrosheva serve, you think of the lefty slider out wide. but it's not necessarily that. It's the big one down the tee which has been so effective.

6:10Michael McEwan: 13 aces to Rebecca in his five. Incredible. I just learned that stat from the Czech journalist sitting next to us who was shaking his head in disbelief.

6:21James Gray: But then in the rallies as well, the way she was able to get Rebecca moving side to side, give her different looks, whether it be a slice, whether it be a lob defensive shot, whether it be taking a return and getting whips on it just to just to get Rebecca out of her strike zone she had it all going on and I think the the portion of the match that impressed me the most was the two games she played from one love down in the third set because at that point despite everything that Vondroshofer was doing it seemed like Rebecca might have a level that was just too good. Like, even in spite of all this wizardry shot making from Vondrosheva, Rabatkin was kind of like, well, my power is going to win out here.

7:08James Gray: And she just entered a zone of hitting the ball so cleanly. Backhand took over the match. And she went, I think she won nine points in a row, end of the first set, start of the second set. And it looked like, OK, she's going to take over here. But then Vondrosheva, having played all the shots in the book except the drop shot all night suddenly pulled out the drop shot had a couple of them right at the start of that second start of that final set and won both points one with a forehand pass after the drop shot and one with a lob after the drop shot and that just seemed to change the momentum back in her favor and then she went about unpicking Rebecca Cano again it was superb

7:46Michael McEwan: I found that absolutely incredible how she did that because it wasn't it wasn't really a tactical change because she put the drop shot away after that it wasn't like oh i'm not going to win from the back of the court i need to start slicing and dicing and drop shotting rabatkinna it was i'm going to do this to disrupt this to get you off this ethereal plane that you've ascended to which she absolutely did and from from that point onwards she changed the temperature of the match she changed the whole course of the match with those two points it felt like to me. It was wizardry.

8:21James Gray: Would you believe it? When I was watching those particular rallies that you referenced, my mind went back to a match I commentated on at Wimbledon many years ago between Gisela Dolko and Maria Sharapova, where Dolko did exactly that to Sharapova. She just suddenly chopped down on the ball a handful of times, brought her in, passed her, and eventually discombobulated her and knocked her out of the tournament. And, you know, it's hard to believe when you see the sweetness of the strike of Rabakina, particularly the way she played against Raducanu the other day. And she did bring that form into tonight for the most part.

9:02James Gray: I thought such a high quality all the way through. It was one of those where you just kept feeling good about what you're watching, like really uplifted because so many of the rallies are finishing with women.

9:13Michael McEwan: And so much of the crowd stayed. It was a decent crowd for that match. I know helped along by the fact that the Djokovic match was really quick and a lot of people would have wanted some more tennis for their high ticket price tag. but it was a really good atmosphere in there and those aren't two tennis players that would be considered huge names here in New York or that necessarily are known for their auras but they held the attention of the crowd tonight in a really noticeable way. I thought Giri Nathan, the fantastic tennis writer who we had on the show a couple of weeks ago promoting his Alcaraz Sinner book, Changeover, which is excellent.

9:55Michael McEwan: And he wrote piece yesterday in the second serve, part of it describing the experience of watching tennis on Ash and that loud murmur that you get throughout the tennis, no matter kind of what match is happening. The sort of distracted sort of low level, not even low level, like mid and loud level sometimes just thrum of New York City happening and seeming to not particularly be paying attention to the tennis. And OK, it wasn't a full crowd, totally full crowd in for this match, but it was pretty quiet in there. They were quite spellbound, I thought, by that match. It really captured the attention.

10:46James Gray: And I think that was particularly important because one of the lines that Geary had in that piece is, what good is tennis without its tennis sounds? And one of the best things about being in the stadium for a Rabatkinner match is the sound the ball makes off the strings. And we were able to hear that tonight. People were engaged, they were in this match, and that just added to it. It's such a good line, that, because when you're in the stadium, you do notice the sound of Rabatkinner's ball is different to other players. I don't know if I can quite describe how it's different but it goes through you a little bit it's a purer sound it's louder, quite frankly, than other strikes of a tennis ball

11:33Michael McEwan: and the flight of the ball looks different as well particularly from those seats that we sit in side on you can see the arc of the ball over the net and it just looks different to me, to anybody else

11:44James Gray: and as David said, yes there were a lot of Rebecca Errors today There were also a hell of a lot of moments Where her ball striking was incredible Like top level But the errors Feels like an absolutely classic Going back to our big conversation we had in the summer Unforced errors and Errors and is there even an unforced error Because none of those misses That Rebecca had today were happening In isolation You know they were happening because Vondrosheva had extracted them out of her by manipulating the ball as she did in a way that Rabatkin just hadn't faced in this tournament so far and wouldn't face against anyone else, really.

12:28James Gray: It was quite something to witness.

12:31Michael McEwan: And she will now face Vondroshova-Arena Sabalenka, the top seed and defending champion in the quarterfinal. And you might think, well, brilliant news for Sabalenka, that Vondroshova has taken Rabatkin out. And maybe it is good news just. but Vondrosheva is not great news for Sabalenka, is she? I mean, she's really, really troubled her in the past. I know they met in Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago and Sabalenka was quite a convincing winner but it's five and four, the head-to-head and I don't think Vondrosheva fears Sabalenka at all and I think the match she's played tonight will be really great preparation for that quarterfinal.

13:12James Gray: Yeah, I think she'll view herself as a player that if she's on form, she causes trouble for people because she has answers. And she does hurt people. I thought it was a very convincing performance, though, from Sabalenka tonight against Christina Bookshare. I mean, I think you would expect it to be. But my big takeaway from the day of those two matches that we've referenced apart is big names turning up and meaning business. This is where most of the top players just drew a line and they looked different. They looked what they are. They looked top players. And I think Karina Sabalink is part of that group.

13:57Michael McEwan: Von Drosha incidentally she was quite tearful in the on-court interview wasn't she with James Blake you don't often see that from her and it's just a reminder of what a rocky road it has been I think two surgeries since she won Wimbledon and really long periods in the wilderness and I'm sure lots of doubt and lots of low moments and another example of a player that just because they're not necessarily emoting on the court doesn't mean they don't care. So, yeah, I'm really thrilled for Marketa Vondroshova. And as much as when the draw came out, I was hyped about Rybakina Sabalenka, I'm potentially more hyped for Vondroshova Sabalenka.

14:46James Gray: It's really interesting, isn't it? Because Sabalenka does have some stuff that Rybakina doesn't have. I think she's a much better mover, I would say. I think she'll be less bothered by the side-to-side nature of the rallies against Vondrosheva. She also plays a bit more spin to counter Vondrosheva's own spins. I think the spin's quite important. Not only that, but clearance over this net. Because if you hit this net, the ball comes back. It doesn't dribble over. Yeah, there's very few. And I think that that hurts players like Rebecca, who aren't giving much of a distance between the ball and the net.

15:29James Gray: Yeah, so I could see it being a match where at the end of it we're talking about the little variety elements that Sabalenka's added. You know, I think there'll be times where she hits through. She hits through everyone. Like, she can just overpower you. She can do that. But I think she'll need the subtleties in her game as well. and I know that head-to-head is very, very close. You do have to go back to, I think it's Indian Wells 2018 for Vondroshofer's last win on a hard court against Sabalenka. I think she's tended to have success on clay and grass against her. So it just seems to me that the surface might favour Sabalenka here in that match shot.

16:20Michael McEwan: Sabalenka, incidentally, very comfortable 6-1, 6-4 in the final match of the day on Armstrong today. It was just one big order of play on Armstrong today. No day session, no night session. Sabalenka was the fourth and final matchup. I heard from Sky Sports in the UK, their coverage this morning, that Sabalenka had been offered the choice of either the second match on Ash night session or that fourth slot on Armstrong. And she elected for the fourth slot on Armstrong, anticipating it to be, I guess, that bit earlier going on than the final slot on Ash, which proved to be the case.

17:02James Gray: She did not have faith in Thomas Mahatch, and she was right.

17:05Michael McEwan: She was absolutely right. Yeah, look, not much to report from Sabalenka against Bookshare. exactly the match you would have expected, apart from Christina Bookshire unexpectedly whipping up the crowd. That was my one unexpected moment from this match.

17:22James Gray: Well, she did tell me, didn't she, that she was looking forward to a night session and she made the most of it.

17:28Michael McEwan: She embraced it. Staying on Armstrong and the other match of the day, Barbora Krejcikova erupting to beat Taylor Townsend 1-6, 7-6, 6-4 in three hours and four minutes, 15-13 in that second set tie break. She saved Krojcikova eight match points at the end of that second set, seven of them in the tie break, and only one of those was a Taylor Townsend error. I mean, those are the headlines that by no means tells the story of this match, which was absolutely extraordinary. but it does tell you quite a lot about Barbora Krojikova.

18:13James Gray: Yeah, she does not hold back when she's under the gun and in fact she played her very best tennis when she was in that position and I think that that isn't that much of a surprise today because this is a woman who's won two Grand Slam titles. You don't do that unless you've got the goods when you're under pressure and the back's against the wall and the fact that she found the lines was was pretty extraordinary i mean those eight match points included being six three down um and in that second set tie break three match points in a row um the two of them were on uh critique of a serve and then when she saved those i i remember turning to you bad and i said i think towns and better win this one you know i still didn't think she would get quite as many more chances as she got if she didn't get that one and there was the one most memorable shot of the lot from Kritikiva which I think was an inside out backhand winner down the line which caught the very last lick of paint on that line and the crowd thought it was out and Townsend thought it was out and then she looked at the umpire and the umpire put the palm downwards to say that it was in and and the the atmosphere the mood inside that stadium i mean i think people still thought even then that it would end up being towns and winning i did but my goodness that that was an extraordinary moment and yeah she she took it on did critique of her when it really mattered and she made those shots the kids with their giant tennis balls thought it was over didn't they?

19:56James Gray: It was incredible.

19:57Michael McEwan: It was like a landslide, it was like a mudslide seeing all of these children run, rush down the aisles with their enormous tennis balls to get in position to get an autograph at the end of the match. They thought their moment had come and they'd been unleashed. I've actually never seen anything quite like that before and then when they finally realised the match hadn't finished and we would be going on. They all had to sort of plop to the floor at the same moment. There was nowhere meant to go.

20:30James Gray: And the tie-break went on for so long.

20:33Michael McEwan: That point was... They were sat there in the aisle, clutching their giant tennis balls.

20:38James Gray: That point was at 6-7. That was that match point. And then it ended up being 15-13. They were like David kneeling down during that really long tie-break at Queen's regarding Ivenicevic. all those years ago suddenly caught out. But yeah, I've written down here inside in forehand winner, inside out forehand winner, Townsend miss forehand passing shot, Townsend miss backhand wide.

21:04Michael McEwan: I think that was the unforced error. The unforced error.

21:06James Gray: The passing shot, forced error, I would say. Actually didn't quite hit it cleanly, but I'd say forced error. Wrong footing backhand winner onto the line is the one we've talked about there. I think maybe the most extraordinary of the lot, the backhand volley winner that she hit at 10.11, Kraychikova, because I think she slightly hesitated and didn't really know how to hit the volley. She was sort of in no man's land, just behind the service line. It was a really awkward spot to have to hit a volley from. And she just caressed it with perfect control, back behind Townsend and short and out of reach.

21:47James Gray: It was a brilliant shot. I don't think many players in the world would have had that control to be able to hit that. She then hit a forehand return winner on the seventh match point and then an unreturned out wide serve on the eighth. Like, it was brave tennis in the biggest moments from Krejcikova. And what made it all the more dramatic was that in this incredible, what was it, 28-point tiebreak, we've talked there about these remarkable moments of I'm going to use the word clutchness from Craig Cheekover that were just sprinkled in there the odd moment where she had a shocker like she'd suddenly get a short backhand and dump it in the net or not quite be able to control it and that sense of drama like it was generally an incredibly high quality tie break but there was enough just moments of oh my god what's she done there

22:43Michael McEwan: that you just had no idea what was coming It was thrilling. I love that feeling. I said in one of our many group chats that Krojcikovice showed us her floor and her ceiling all in one tiebreak, albeit a very long tiebreak, but it was everything. It was the full spectrum and it was full heartbreak for Taylor Townsend, who personally I think did well to make that deciding set as competitive as she did. I feared for her sitting down at the end of that second set. it was actually Krajcikova that went off court and Townsend just stayed on court, wrapped herself in a towel and had a lot to think about.

23:22Yeah, like, I...

23:26James Gray: Like, you're going to have regrets, aren't you? Because you've had eight match points, you're going to be thinking about them. Kind of as we've described, I don't think she did too much wrong in those moments. I do put this down massively to Krajcikova stepping up. Like, yes, there's the backhand she missed. Yes, maybe she would have liked another, I think, on one of the ones that was on her serve. I think she might have missed the first serve. But there wasn't that much that she did wrong. I think if she's going to have regrets about that second set, it came earlier in the set. She was up a break.

24:00James Gray: She was leading this match because Craig Chicova was so flat at the start. She needed to take advantage while she was dormant. Right, exactly. And stop her erupting. Because once Krajikova gets into a match, she does not let it go. This is it.

24:16Michael McEwan: She's both a dormant volcano in the macro sense and a dormant volcano in matches. You were calling it all along. I was saying, my God, Krajikova looks sluggish and slow and flat. And you were saying, yeah, for now, you've got to put the hammer down while she's like this because she will wake up eventually.

24:37James Gray: And initially she did. I mean, 6-1 first set. and that was a pretty dramatically one-sided match, but it's pretty similar to what happened against Emma Navarra in the previous round. And in the start of that second set, Craig Cheekhover just started to get into the Townsend service games and she held a couple of them and that was impressive, but the 3-1 game, I pinpointed this, 15-all, she had a backhand drive volley on top of the net, did Townsend, and she just dumped it in the net and she ended up losing that game. And okay, it wasn't like a pivotal point in the game, it wasn't like a break point, but it did lead to a break of serve.

25:15James Gray: And it just seemed a little bit careless. It seemed a little bit like she wasn't quite fully aware of just how ready to be a volcano Kraychikov was, how ready she was to erupt in this match. She had to kill it there and then. She ends up in the second set tiebreak getting all those match points. She still could have won it. And in the third, when she went down a break, I thought that was it. But then she broke back immediately and had a game point to level it up. And Kraychikova hit David a backhand return winner down the line into the postage stamp to save that game point. And then eventually Townsend didn't win another game after that.

26:00James Gray: Kraychikova just stepped up in those biggest moments. but devastating for Taylor Townsend. And, like, the crowd were obviously so with her, like, so with her. Like, Craig Cheek was coming up with these ridiculous things and it was pretty quiet in Armstrong. She had one guy, didn't she? Yeah, one very loud guy. And yet whenever Townsend was doing some incredible stuff, and she really was, they were so with her. And, you know, it's a shame to lose that vibe, that buzz, that energy that she's brought to this tournament. I am glad that at least, like, she went out in an epic match. You just don't wish that much heartbreak on anyone.

26:47James Gray: Like, that was brutal. And seeing how upset she was was really tough to take.

26:54Michael McEwan: Yeah, she was extremely upset. By the time she came into press, she was obviously still upset, but she metabolised it remarkably. And I always have mixed feelings about that. I'm in awe of it, and it's obviously very impressive, and in some ways very healthy, but there's always a part of me that's like, it's okay to feel your feelings. I do think sometimes they're wary of being criticised for complaining when they're multimillionaires, they get to travel the world for a living. Like, it's really fine to be devastated, but I do understand why there might be that wariness of how sort of feeling your feelings and being upset would be perceived.

27:36Michael McEwan: I'm not saying that's what's going on with Taylor Townsend, but I do, I always have mixed feelings when a player comes in and seems so, to have so much perspective. I thought it was Ben Shelton the other day. Like, I'm really upset, but don't worry. I know that I live a charmed life and I'm blessed and everything. Like, that doesn't mean you're not allowed to have feelings.

27:56James Gray: Well, I was in that press conference for Taylor Townsend, and by the time she got in there, she was, yeah, she was in control. And she explained it as if, in terms of her coach and her had agreed, have a policy that you're allowed to sulk and feel sorry for yourself for three minutes and that's it

28:17Michael McEwan: and she said I decided wouldn't be enough for me she said I decided to extend that to 10 for this

28:22James Gray: one um and you know there were a few laughs and and so forth but it was a very philosophical press conference she wasn't in there full of regrets she was giving props to critique of her for taking it. I think where I struggle a little, the question I asked her was remembering how Krachikova was in her position several years ago as the world number one doubles player who wanted a singles career and was ranked too low to play the same tournaments as she could get into for doubles. And, you know, Townsend is in the 140s in the world. She's now going to go up to 111. but if you look at her year most of the time she's playing qualifying in singles and she's playing the doubles tournaments and and I said do you do you think maybe you'll switch your focus a little bit going forwards and change the way you do things and she said no because she thinks she plays better singles when she's playing doubles and she gave me all the reasons why and I think they're all very compelling um and she's absolutely convinced in her mind that that she's on a trajectory to get to top 20 top 10 in the world and be competing for Grand Sam titles at the age of 29 now the level she's shown this week I think she's shown she can live with top players and beat them which is great but you've got to be able to get that ranking up and be able to do it all the time or at least be in a position to compete and if you're in the qualifying for these events and get a couple of losses there you just don't make any progress yeah it's it's a little bit of

29:58Michael McEwan: catch 22 isn't it with the ranking being where it is. She's now got Jessica Pagula has Barbora Krojikova in the next round. Pagula is so comfortable against Anne Lee in the first match of the day on Ash. One and two, 54 minutes. Not a whole lot to report from this one other than Pagula was fantastic. Super solid. No second set wobbles. You know, we talked about that being kind of the pattern that her matches had followed. She was, you know, foot to the floor the whole way here. Krejcikova's won their last two matches. Obviously, the crowd will be with Pagula here, but Krejcikova really doesn't mind that.

30:40Michael McEwan: She really doesn't. Like, I asked her about that in her post-match press conference today. What's it like emotionally, even if you know it's not personal and you know they're not anti-you, they're just pro the opponent like emotionally what is that like to experience and she was like honestly I don't mind at all I kind of like atmosphere is atmosphere I I really love it and I do think she's the kind of character where that really is true I don't think she's going to be bothered by the Arthur Ashe crowd being being against her at all and I don't know I think Pagula might have a match on her hands, unless Krojcikova hits the wall.

31:23Michael McEwan: I think that's the risk here. This is two matches in a row that have been pretty exhausting, particularly today, emotionally and physically. Three hours and four minutes. She hasn't had runs like this in her legs for a long time. That's the big question, I think.

31:40James Gray: Three Americans in a row.

31:42Michael McEwan: Yeah. I think she's a contrarian, Krojcikova, isn't she? I think she's enjoying being the American killer.

31:50James Gray: Yeah, I think so. I think it could be a really good match if she's not tired because Pagula has suddenly hit the sort of form she wants and is just dismissing people quickly. That's her kind of thing. So I hope we get a good critique of her because I think then we get a good match.

32:09Michael McEwan: And just incidentally, Krochikova knew that she was playing Pagula. None of this don't-tell-me-who-I'm-playing nonsense. Got to ask her proper questions today. Thank you, Barbora. OK, that's it for the women's. Come back for part two and we'll talk about the men.

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34:54Michael McEwan: Welcome back to part two of the Tennis Podcast where we turn our attention now to the men's results we've seen here in New York on day eight of the tournament. And let's start with Carlos Alcaraz and Artur Indekanesh because he played his part today. 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 for Al Karaz. Kind of exactly as we predicted, Rinder Kanesh putting in a really good account of himself and actually making the scoreline a lot closer than perhaps we feared for him. But Al Karaz was unreal. And this is now the first time that he has made it to the quarterfinals of a slam without dropping a set.

35:33James Gray: Yeah, and that goes with the eye test. what we've been witnessing from him because he's just looked, to me, he's looked the best player in the draw so far in this tournament, in the men's draw. And I actually thought in the first set it was a bit dicey because Rinderkinesh was serving so well and he said in his tunnel interview just before he came out, I'm going to go for it. And he had such clarity in his eyes about that because he knows. He knows the only way he was going to make any impact in this match was to was to go for his shots and try to hurt Alcraz and and actually keep the score close you know try to get that scoreboard pressure and he achieved that there were there were moments where you thought oh Alcraz has got to 30 all in a game but then boom boom game and he's staying with him um I mean it's it's one of those where I mean Alcraz got the important points at the end of it and yet all you can think about is the one moment where he hit the behind the back shot which I watched several times on a slow motion replay from different angles straight afterwards and and with each shot it it became more and more astonishing because he's he's running across he's he's he's been brought in he's running across the the court and the ball clips I think the top of the net and just wrong foots him and so he overruns the ball and rather than sort of panic he just kind of put his racket behind his back half volleyed the ball behind the back straight out of the middle of the strings with feel to to to put it at the knees of Rindikanesh at the net absolutely absolutely astonishing it was a feel behind the back half volley and even he couldn't quite well I think he could believe it but his first instinct was to turn around to Juan Carlos Ferreira with the smile of did you see what I just did there and and then we just kept getting these replays and honestly Rinder Kinesh was smiling the crowd were all looking at one another as if they'd just seen a ghost and it will be one of the most memorable shots of the championships for sure.

37:55James Gray: Is it his best behind the back shot on Arthur Ashe Stadium?

37:59Michael McEwan: There's the one against Sinner.

38:01James Gray: The one against Sinner in that semi-final. I think I prefer the one against Sinner because it's a more fun rally and it ends with a winner and it's in a crucial moment.

38:10Michael McEwan: It annoys me that Rinderkneesh got a racket on this.

38:14James Gray: We're watching that when we get home to compare. I think this one might be a tougher skill level because his reaction time is so minimal here. And as you said, it's the half volley nature of it that he puts out of the middle of his strings. That's hard to do not behind your back. That's really hard to do a half volley off the middle of your strings.

38:38Michael McEwan: It looks quick in slow motion.

38:39James Gray: It's one of those. It's crazy. I think just as an aesthetic, if we could just use AI to get rid of Rinder Kinesh. Yeah, he ruined it. Getting a racket on it, it would be perfection. Really annoyed for him. Whereas the Sinner one, because it ends on a winner and it's been a big moment in the set, it's probably more satisfying. But this one might be technically better, is my take.

39:03Michael McEwan: Fitness check, the knee's fine, isn't it, David?

39:06James Gray: The moment he got into...

39:08Michael McEwan: Little hug, little leg rub, knee's fine.

39:10James Gray: Yeah, and a bit of reassurance. As we said the other day, you know, the eight-year-old grazing his knee. You're all right. It's all right.

39:16Michael McEwan: Just get up. You'll be fine. Rindy Kinesh hit a terrible underarm serve, I hear.

39:21James Gray: Yeah, that wasn't a vintage moment. At least he had a go. But it was interesting. The thing is, his level didn't really drop. He kept on doing what he'd been doing. It's just that Alcois got better and more clutch and just started absolutely ripping the ball. It was a joy, really. And Alcaraz is exactly where he wants to be. There have been no mental letdowns. That's the difference.

39:49Michael McEwan: And Charlie Eccleshare asked him in his post-match press conference about his reputation for being inconsistent, relatively, for a top, top player. And he said, look, you've reached finals of the last 11 tournaments. seven I think it is seven maybe I misheard 11 did sound like a lot but maybe it was a different stat anyway a sort of 7-11 mix-up yeah he quoted a stat very much supporting the Alcaraz is in fact now really quite consistent theory and he put that to Alcaraz he said do you think that that is an underrated area for your game and I found his response fascinating because almost always in English Alcaraz in response to a question says well and then takes a few moments and considers what he wants to say and I guess translates it in his head as English is pretty remarkable now like how much it's improved and he can express himself really well and he understands everything but, you know, you need a bit of time, don't you?

40:57Michael McEwan: There was no well in response to this. He said, yeah, straight away. He was pleased to get the question. He was pleased to be able to say, in his totally charming, disarming, light Carlos Alcaraz way, yeah, thank you for noticing. I am actually really quite consistent now. And one loss to Bertic van der Zanschorp does not a mess of a tennis player make? That was what I read into that answer. And I thought it was a really great moment. And yeah, I mean, there was a lovely question where he was asked, because he was asked in his previous press conference about his English improving so much. And he said he'd made a real effort with it and watched lots of English TVs and movies.

41:46Michael McEwan: And he was asked today what they were. And you could see, he was like, oh God, it was like, you know, I've got to name a woman. I've got to name a film.

41:56James Gray: Yeah, because he'd said in the previous one, series. And then today... Yeah, he went, there were no series. Actually, it wasn't a series.

42:02Michael McEwan: He couldn't think of a series. But he could, he panicked for a bit and then came up with Pulp Fiction. Then he said Good Will Hunting, which I found a very wholesome moment because I love that film so much. And I wouldn't have thought that Carlos Alcraz was a good will hunting guy. I like it. There you go.

42:23James Gray: I mean, Pulp Fiction's a bit of an interesting choice. I like that.

42:26Michael McEwan: That surprises me less.

42:27James Gray: Oh, I think it's awesome.

42:29Michael McEwan: And Shutter Island was the other one he mentioned. Haven't seen it. They're good films and good recommendations from Al Garaz. Who knows what series he's watching, though?

42:41James Gray: Nothing he wants to admit in a press conference, anyway.

42:45Michael McEwan: He's got Yuri Lehechka next, Next has Alcaraz 7664-2662 Fila Hetchka over Manorino. Did Adrian Manorino win the third set of this match just so Taylor Townsend and Barbora Krujcikova could play their match shadow free?

43:03James Gray: That would be very considerate, wouldn't it? And when he did win that third set, he jogged back to the chair. I thought, right, here we go. Adrian Manorino, the comeback from two sets to Love Down is on. And he went two love up. Yeah, but he was jogging back to the chair to get treatment. Blumming medical time out. And I thought, oh, OK, maybe this comeback isn't happening. He then did go to Love Up. And I thought, OK, the same guy doing the massages to Alcaraz has worked wonders on Manorino as well. But no, he was done. And I think Lehekshka, I didn't watch every ball of this, but my sense was that those first two sets were obviously very tight in the score.

43:48James Gray: Like, I think Le Hetschke was having to concentrate hard, was having to not let himself be frustrated by Manorino. And after getting those first two sets in the bag, there was just a bit of a drop-off. It just, it was like his focus went, he stopped being so patient, and that allowed Manorino back into it. and suddenly, you know, he's only two sets to one up and he's a breakdown in the fourth, but he did well to get it back and I think the Manorino physical fade did play a part in that.

44:20Michael McEwan: Yeah, although Jimmy Arias in commentary of this match said he thought that Adrian Manorino expends so little energy playing his style of tennis that he'll be able to play into his 60s.

44:32James Gray: Because he doesn't swing.

44:34Michael McEwan: He's not really hitting the ball, his arm is just there.

44:37James Gray: It puts the racket there and the racket does all the work. It allows the strings to do their trampoline thing. Yeah.

44:44Michael McEwan: Unbelievable. So we have Lehechka and Al Coraz, a quarterfinal that's been set up today. And we have Djokovic against Fritz. Take 11. Is this Taylor Fritz's time? No match Djokovic beat Jan-Leonard Ströf 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in the first match of the night in Arthur Ashe Stadium. In terms of a tennis match, this not all that much to report. I thought Janne Nudstrøv nothing like the player that we saw beat Francis Tiafoe and Holger Rune back-to-back. And I think maybe those back-to-back wins and the fact that he's 35 and it's all been a lot kind of physically and emotionally maybe played a part tonight.

45:22Michael McEwan: Because he looked pretty flat, didn't he? And just not really able to get anything going. His first serve percentage was pretty low. So Djokovic was once again playing beautifully, but looking totally miserable and seemingly in physically quite a bad way.

45:43James Gray: Well, he was needing to get little neck rubs from the trainer. I think there is something there that's bothering him. He went full of up in this match, and it was the kind of form that he's been waiting for. He was just all the things that have made him the great champion that he is. Then he got broken back, and, you know, I think that irritated him. I think there were just one or two moments in the match that irritated him about things. But generally, I mean, look, his record before this was 7-0 against Struff for a reason. And you're right, I mean, Struff's big game needed to be absolutely perfect to cause him trouble, to even keep the score close, like Rinderknecht did with Alcrast.

46:28James Gray: And he just wasn't close. All the way through, it was pretty comfortable for Djokovic. I asked Djokovic in his press conference, I thought, you know, it's probably a bit early for this question, but I said to him, given the age you are now, 38, and all that you've done in the sport, and given what you'll have to get through, if you win this thing, would it be your greatest ever achievement? And he said could be. And then he listed all the reasons why it's too far away to think about, which is fair enough. You've still got to get through a quarterfinal against Taylor Fritz. But he was bullish about his form.

47:12James Gray: I think he's reassured about his form. But I remember thinking that a couple of times around Wimbledon and stuff like that, and then the canister was suddenly half empty. so it's going to be interesting you ask is it his time Fritz it's definitely his best chance and I found it very interesting the way Fritz said you can discount the first seven he always says that

47:38Michael McEwan: I think it's fair enough he's so compelling Taylor Fritz I really I really love the way he talks himself up ahead of these big matches despite all the evidence suggesting he doesn't have much chance and that he should be carrying huge emotional baggage and tennis scar tissue into these matchups I do believe that he is going to step onto court against Novak Djokovic actually with fairly minimal scar tissue carried in his head given the fact that he's 0-10 against this guy I still think he's going to lose but but I I really do love the way he talks himself up and And coming away from that press conference, I really did have to remind myself of how he talked about the matchup with Yannick Sinner ahead of the final last year and how compelling I found that and how that match ended up panning out.

48:35Michael McEwan: Like, words are words and tennis is tennis. He had a very compelling breakdown of Thomas Mahatch's game as well, Matt. Oh, yeah? Yeah, 4-3-3 for Fritz against Mahatch. He said, he made some mistakes at some good times for me. He can fluctuate quite a bit. His top level is super scary, but he can have some bad days. He's nailed him, hasn't he? He's nailed it.

49:08James Gray: Yeah, no notes. I'm going to put it on the record. Tonight changed my mind a bit about Thomas Mahatch. not that I don't still think that his top level, as Fritz is saying there, is amazing. I do. And I love watching it. But I might now be a bit more where you two are in terms of level of trust or feeling that he can bring it in big matches. Prove it and then we'll talk. Yeah. And to be fair, that's kind of what he said. I went to his press conference, Mahatsh. I got in there a little bit late. I wasn't sure what the first question was. It was slightly awkward. But I asked him about, like, I said, the Draper match here last year, the Djokovic match in Australia.

49:59Michael McEwan: That came with receipts.

50:02James Gray: And this one. I said, they've all had a similar feeling. You've come into them in red-hot form, playing brilliantly through the first few rounds. And then big match, big court. You've lost easily. I said, has there been a... Brutal! Maybe on reflection it was too savage. But I found his answer not very convincing. He just talked a lot about how well the other players played and needing experience because they've all got much more experience than him. And I wanted to say, Jack Draper didn't have more experience than you, but I really didn't want to say that in the press conference. No. I mean, Fritz did find his game tonight.

50:44James Gray: He's been in a similar position to... He served incredibly well. Quite similar to Djokovic in as much as he's been a bit miffed that he's been having to scrap his way through. Tonight, he played like Taylor Fritz of 2025. But Mahatch was really disappointing. Yeah, missing loads of backhands. There's no way of getting away from that. Yeah, he freezes a bit. on those big stages against the best players. He's at his best when he's tucked away on an outside court. Or at a smaller tournament. Or at a smaller tournament, and it's the kind of expressive, creative, explosive tennis that he's able to play.

51:31James Gray: He doesn't look anything like that when he plays these sorts of matches. I know you're nodding at me like, yeah, Matt, we know this. We've seen it before. Why has it taken you so long to realise this? I've just been in denial I suppose because the tennis is so good but well until it isn't

51:46Michael McEwan: we'll have more time to preview Djokovic against Fritz tomorrow because that match will be played on Tuesday but I feel like there's two questions there's can Fritz do something he's never done before and beat Novak Djokovic and the second question is well if he can't how much can he drain from his canister or how much will he drain from his canister in the process of losing because of what you said, David, about having felt this way about Djokovic before in recent slams and then in getting to face a Sinner or an Alcaraz, here it would be Alcaraz in the semifinals. Well, A, being outplayed because they're just that much better than him, but also just not having enough in the tank at that point, having played five best-of-five set matches.

52:34So those are kind of the two facets to this match, I think.

52:39James Gray: I would be fascinated to know, and I think I mentioned it really early in the tournament, what would happen if Fritz could drag him into a fifth set and take it deep, use his youth, his physicality, and test the Djokovic physicality. I think he's got to be, at the very least, thinking like that. I mean, he was talking about how he doesn't want to just hang with these guys and wait for them to miss because they don't. he was saying I've got to take it from them which I understand and I agree but and that's in a sort of micro sense in a macro sense I think you've got to be able to to think about trying to drain his canister for your benefits not for anybody else's down the line because if you can get him into a fifth set it's a big question mark these days about Djokovic he used to be right you played right into his hands.

53:35James Gray: My sense is that Djokovic has found the form he needs now. But I'm certainly not as convinced as I used to be. I think this is a live contest.

53:47Michael McEwan: OK, we'll talk about it more tomorrow. Join us in part three and we'll talk about tomorrow's order of play. 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. Learn how ServiceNow puts AI to work for people at servicenow.com.

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55:03Michael McEwan: Welcome back to the tennis podcast and part three of today's show. And I'll look ahead to tomorrow. Well, today's order of play. It's 37 minutes past midnight. Here we are. Sabrina Carpenter's ringing out around the place. Not sure whose benefit that is for. But here we are. Tomorrow, what do we have? We start in the Arthrasch Stadium once again. At 11.30 with Felix Auger-Aliassime against Andrei Rublev. Oh, thrash. Yeah.

55:35James Gray: Quite pleased for them. You know, it's going to be interesting to see which one of them grabs it. Yeah, I wonder if it would be one of those matches where just, like, the weight of the opportunity is just hanging over it. It could be bad. I think it could be quite bad. I think it could be long and bad.

55:55Michael McEwan: Because he married Safin. It might not be. It might not be. It'd be cool to see Marit Saffin on our threat. You might not recognise him, but he will presumably be there.

56:03James Gray: Yes. Yep, he'll be there.

56:07Michael McEwan: Second on Ash in the day session, as we maybe thought it would be, Naomi Osaka against Coco Gauff. And that'll be on ESPN, ESPN1 here in the US. Whereas had it been a night session match, it would have been relegated to ESPN2 because I presume football, if some kind is happening, some other American sport must be happening that takes precedence over the tennis. So I very much do understand that scheduling and the place is going to be absolutely electric for that. I think I know what David's prediction is.

56:41James Gray: Yeah, it is for Naomi Osaka to win as she mounts her challenge for the title that she will end up holding.

56:49Michael McEwan: Matt, which way are you going to go?

56:52James Gray: I heard Mary Carrillo predict Naomi Osaka to win today as well. I'm going to go golf. Far be it from me to go against Mary Carrillo and David, but I set myself up there to sound like an absolute idiot. Why did I do that? But I am going to go golf. Just... She's so good at winning tennis matches. I thought David put it really well in terms of where the battleground is here. And, you know, I just think... I think Gough's in good enough form for her not to get blown away here. And therefore, I think she comes out on top in the big moments. Can Osaka handle the big moments? Yeah.

57:42Michael McEwan: In the night session on Arthur Ashe on Monday, We start with Yannick Sinner taking on the only man other than Carlos Alcaraz to have beaten him in 2025. Alexander Bublik hasn't had his serve broken all tournament, Bublik. David, hasn't faced Yannick Sinner, but still.

58:01James Gray: No, I mean, it will require Bublik to play as well as he can to do what I think he might well end up doing, which is win.

58:13Michael McEwan: Hang on, you think Bublik might win?

58:15James Gray: Yes. Yeah, I think... Blimey. If he comes out and plays... Because I'm not 100 % convinced at the moment by Yannick Sinner. Now, it's very possible that Sinner comes out and does what Djokovic did today and what Fritz did and Sabalenka and says, right, quarterfinals, new tournament, this is where we separate the real champions from you lot, right? That could well happen for Yannick Sinner tomorrow. But the way public's serving, if he plays like that, he's going to keep it close and he's a nightmare to play against. And this is not Clay. You know, this is going to benefit his big power game. I know he likes Clay, but still.

58:58James Gray: And I think he might just ambush him. Wow.

59:03Michael McEwan: I feel ambushed. Wasn't expecting that.

59:07James Gray: Yeah, tournament turning on its head tomorrow, says David.

59:10Michael McEwan: What says Matt?

59:13James Gray: I'm going to go Sinner I'm more convinced I'm not reading as much I don't think into that Shapovalov match

59:28Michael McEwan: David is so shook by the world number one losing a set to Denis Shapovalov it did shake me

59:34James Gray: and also it reminded me of Dimitrov and then I think well hold on Bublik's got more foul power than either of them I think Bublik is the this might be a controversial take I think he's the second most likely player in the draw to beat Yannick Sinner I think this is a dangerous match I think I would I feel yeah I feel like given the circumstance of the draw if he was playing Novak Djokovic tomorrow I'd give Novak Djokovic more chance than Bublik but given that he's going to face Novak Djokovic after after Djokovic has had to come through Fritz and then probably Alcaraz, I think Sinner would do what he's done to a depleted Novak Djokovic kind of all, well, in their last several meetings.

1:00:21James Gray: Bublik, though, with his big serve, his unpredictable game, is very, very tricky. Sinner is going to have to play well tomorrow. He's going to have to play better than he did in the first half of the match against Shapovalov. I do agree with that. I just think he will. and I just think he'll be able to win the big moments and stop Bublik from doing all the things he can do because Bublik needs to be loose and he needs to be comfortable, I think, to be able to do some of those things and I think Sinner might stop him feeling like that.

1:00:58Michael McEwan: Final match on Ash tomorrow, Mandarine Samova against Beatrice Haddad Shemai. Your level of confidence, Matt, in one word, in Amanda Onisimova? High. High. Like it. Armstrong tomorrow. It's another one of these four-match sessions all in one. Incredible ticket on Armstrong tomorrow. Leandro Reedy against Alex de Minot is first up. Then it's Ekaterina Alexandre against Igor Sviontek. Sviontek's first outing on Armstrong tomorrow. Interesting. That?

1:01:31James Gray: I mean, I think she'll be pleased it's day session. You know, I wonder whether there was any kind of you know similar thing put to her as you described as being put to Sabalenka

1:01:44James Gray: big eyes emoji on that though I do think that's dangerous and actually it's annoying the schedule tomorrow that three women's matches are all going to be on at the same time we're going to have you know likely you know we don't quite know how long all the matches will go but that might clash with Osaka Goff and then there's Mukava Kostiuk on as well and it I don't know, I want to be able to watch all of those. But yeah, it's a very interesting slate of matches tomorrow on the women's side, especially.

1:02:13Michael McEwan: The good news for you as a Lorenzo Mazzetti fan is that his match against Jaume Munar is likely to clash with Intentionally Blank.

1:02:20James Gray: On the Arthrush Stadium.

1:02:21Michael McEwan: On the Arthrush Stadium, yeah. That is good. You'll be free to watch that. And finally... He's in the Mahak slot. Finally, on Armstrong tomorrow, possibly the biggest draw of the day over there for Armstrong ticket holders and grounds pass holders that can get onto the upper tier on that court as well. Venus Williams and Leila Fernandes in doubles against Ekaterina Alexandreva double dipping on Armstrong tomorrow.

1:02:46James Gray: Coming back on Armstrong. And Jung Shui. Yeah, incredible.

1:02:50Michael McEwan: And that means, that schedule means the fact that they've put the Venus Williams double on Armstrong means that a singles match has to be relegated to grandstand. And the one they've chosen is Marta Kostiuk against Karolina Mukovo, which will be fantastic on Armstrong, but it is a shame and a little bit of a burn.

1:03:11James Gray: Yeah, they're being sort of singled out. I mean, I think if I had to pick a singles match tomorrow...

1:03:19Michael McEwan: It's Dominore Reedy, isn't it? I think it's that one.

1:03:22James Gray: I mean, potentially it's Mazzetti-Munar. Yeah, it's one of those. Yeah, I think it's probably one of those two. I guess they want the two best of five on Armstrong is my assumption. I'll tell you what, Muka will be pleased about it from a court-playing perspective because she really enjoyed it the other day, I think, against Noskova. That's the court she was on.

1:03:49Michael McEwan: We'll see. That is all to look forward to tomorrow. We've had the news today that Daniel Medvedev has jettisoned his whole team, split with coach Gilles Savara, his coach of more than a decade that he's had pretty much all of his success with. I think it's no huge surprise, but it is still like a big decision for Daniil Medvedev to have made. I'm sure we'll have more time to talk about that at another point, either in this tournament or in the many, many podcasts that we have to come for the rest of the year and beyond. For now, though, hello to our mascots, Phoebe Mazie and Roger. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff.

1:04:29Michael McEwan: We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network. We're leaving shout outs because we've got a bus to catch. You've heard that before, haven't you? I'm going to go and have an argument with an American bus coordinator.

1:04:46James Gray: With a climate change denier.

1:04:48Michael McEwan: Yeah, it was a bit of a tough scene a couple of nights ago. let's hope for a smoother journey home tonight. Thank you for listening, folks. If I don't get my accreditation confiscated tonight for getting into it with a climate change denier, we'll be back tomorrow.

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1:05:59James Gray: When your time to lead arrives, you need a vehicle that rises to meet it. The Range Rover Sport. Exclusive offers available now. Explore further at RangeRover.com.