What’s happened since the US Open?

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1:19Matt Roberts: Well, hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast. We are back in all senses of the word. We are back home in the UK. We are back in the land of the living, broadly. David, how are you doing?

1:36David Law: I'm great, thanks, yeah. I'm back into the sort of watch Albion in the afternoon and get down and then watch Seahawks in the evening and get cheered up, hence why I'm wearing a Seahawks hoodie.

1:50Matt Roberts: It's great having a backup team in a backup sport. That's right. Yeah, our friend Sam in New York is a Man United fan and that's not going well at the moment. But he's picked a backup team. Great idea, you might think. Unfortunately, that backup team is Coventry, which is absolutely, totally missing the point of having a backup team. But anyway, misery loves company. Matt, how are you doing? Sorry to mention Man U. I hate Man U it's the same thing every season but you know we've got a point and now we've got an international break for three weeks where I don't have to fret about Fulham so that's probably a good thing but I'm well thank you Will you not fret about Fulham Matt?

2:40Matt Roberts: That's really not what you were saying on the group chat last night You were saying I'm anxious about the specifically you said you were very anxious about the fixtures immediately after the international break. And I did look up the train to Ipswich. It's only an hour from London. It's quite tempting, actually. Yeah, I know. Crazy. Gosh, is it really? Yeah. Liverpool Street to Ipswich. An hour and five minutes. Is Ipswich like the John Kane Arena? Not quite as far away as you think it is. It's far more accessible from the media centre than you think.

3:17David Law: But you never actually try.

3:20Matt Roberts: sounds like Matt might be about to try okay keep us posted on that Matt um incredibly we have quite a lot of tennis to talk about uh because tennis never stops folks we have tennis news to talk about we have tennis matches to talk about we're going to start with the matches we have been playing well not us personally we you know the royal we of the tennis world have been playing Davis Cup qualifiers this weekend. We've had home and away, old school ties going on all over the shop this weekend. There have been some glorious scenes, some proper atmoses. It's been really cool to see. I think we all had to kind of dredge ourselves up from the depths of jet lag to force ourselves to watch tennis.

4:09Matt Roberts: But actually, once we did, it was well worth it. There were some really good vibes to be had out there. And we now know the line-up for the Davis Cup Final Eight in Italy later this year. We obviously knew that Italy were going to play as the defending champions, but we can also add to the list Czechia, South Korea, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Spain and Austria. Let's start with Czechia and their qualifier against the USA, which promised quite a lot on paper because of the strength of the teams. and delivered, Matt, really, really delivered this one. One by Czechia, three robbers to two over the USA, played at the O2 Arena in Prague.

4:55Matt Roberts: Incredible crowds, incredible atmos, incredible matches. Everything you want from the Davis Cup. Yeah, Czechia really have the US's number at the moment in Davis Cup. That's the second year in a row that they've met at this time of year and second year in a row that Czechia have won. Last year, it was actually in the US that they got the win and now they got to play them at home and they did the same thing. And what a tie this was. As you said, the one that popped off the page in terms of the number of top players playing. And if ever you needed a reminder of how good Davis Cup can be when it's staged properly home and away, this was it.

5:41an absolutely packed house for both days of this tie. And you really didn't know which way it was going to go. It went down to the wire. And credit Ben Shelton, I think, for playing. You know, he went for the US and having just lost in the US Open final and had that pretty exhausting run there, I think no one would have been surprised if he pulled out. But actually it was Fritz and the other top Americans that pulled out and Shelton still played. Perhaps there's an argument to be made that it might have been better for the team if he hadn't played. He definitely wasn't at full pelt and he ended up losing both of his singles matches.

6:27But I do still just credit him and think it's a hell of an effort to go and play and try and win. But yeah, he lost to Lehekschke. He lost to Mensik. TN got a win over Mensik, as he always seems to. He's now 3-0 in there, head-to-head. The US won an incredibly thrilling doubles with Christian Harrison and Austin Krycek coming through, saving four match points in a final set tie break. It was absolutely incredible stuff. And that put the US 2-1 up. And you were thinking that maybe they were then going to go on and win it. with Shelton and Tien to follow in the singles. But Shelton lost, as I said, and then it all came down to Tien against Lahetska.

7:11And, well, Lahetska was a man on a mission. He just had a real look in his eye. I think he's got a great connection with Thomas Burdick, the Czech captain. And he played really well and got pretty tight trying to serve it out. Needed a few match points to get over the line. But I thought he really stepped up his game in a way that you sometimes see people do in Davis Cup in that environment with the crowd backing him. And yeah, it's another Davis Cup finals that's going to go by without the US participating. And Czechia have got an outside chance, I would say, of trying to win it, even though there's some pretty strong teams there.

7:55Matt Roberts: And that is a shame, isn't it? Like as much as it was great for the qualifiers and this weekend that these two titans met at this stage of the competition. It's a shame that it meant that one of them wouldn't be featuring at the finals. And fair and square, the USA aren't there again. But it is just a shame for the competition, isn't it? And it's a shame for the competition that it's lost some star power there. I think the format changes were largely aimed at ensuring star power of the tournament. And it has lost some there. But that's draws, isn't it? I suppose you've got Austrian-Belgium facing one another in these qualifiers.

8:45Matt Roberts: Two relatively weaker teams. You've got quite a few ties like that. And then you've got Czechia in the USA. say that's that's kind of how the cookie crumbles but it is it's kind of a shame and not isn't it

8:57David Law: david yeah uh and i mean ultimately it's sport um but it's it is like you say it's draws you sometimes just get these incredibly high profile matchups earlier than you might want them to be but this was everything that i want out of davis cup and team international competition You know, silence when Ben Shelton and Lerner Tien are winning points and absolute roars every time the home team do anything. It was a reminder just how great it is, actually. And actually, all the ties were. There were no sparsely attended qualifiers, really. It was just all brilliant. And it was just, yeah, this is what it's all about.

9:44David Law: And I would have thought for a guy like Ben Shelton, really gutting to not win, but probably just makes him think, God, I want to do this again. I want to go back into the lion's den and win next time. And I want to experience the home nation thing one time. I mean, that O2 Arena in Prague, I mean, what is it, 12 ,000, 14 ,000, something like that? and it was packed and it's so loud they're so into it how could you not want to play in that you know and it's and i think i would have thought anybody was watching those ties obviously if you're american you come out of it and you you'd be down about the result but if you were one of the other american players i bet you who hasn't put their hand up i bet you'd be looking that and thinking

10:33Matt Roberts: oh i wish i'd played i hope so i really hope ben sherton doesn't think oh well that wasn't worth the effort why did I why did I bother putting myself through that after after the US Open I really hope that's how they how they come away from it that's the key thing though isn't it David what you were saying if they were watching like let's hope they managed to find out where it was on you know like that that that remains my big frustration I feel like we finally got a okay It's by no means the perfect week for the Davis Cup to take place just off the back of a Grand Slam. The other round of qualifying happens just after the Australian Open earlier in the year.

11:15It's not ideal, but they are at least Davis Cup weeks. There's no other tour events going on. We're going to talk about the Billie Jean King Cup later and there's tour events happening. They still haven't carved out a bit of the calendar for themselves on the WTA Tour. At least that has happened with the Davis Cup. But the next big step is making it easier for people to watch and like have there been more cross promotion with the ATP tour and everything.

11:43Matt Roberts: I had so many texts from people at dinner about you saying, how do I watch? And I didn't. I sent so many people on wild goose chases with fake news about how they could watch the Davis Cup.

11:54David Law: In the UK, I spent three days trying to find the live matches between America and Czechia. i found i mean gb because we're in in the uk was on tennis channel international found that lots of the uh the world group the lower group matches below the qualifying level were on the world's uh tennis app which was which was good when it worked um and um but but i couldn't I couldn't seem to get access to the non-GB tires. And it was just, and I may be missing something. I looked high and low. And then the brilliant highlights, I've watched all the YouTube highlights today and they do a great job on there, really, of giving you everything.

12:42David Law: But I'm just thinking, crikey, if you want to watch this, make it easy, please, folks. Come on.

12:50Matt Roberts: Yeah, there's too much competition for people's time and attention in the world to be making it this hard to watch tennis. You just can't be making it this hard. I'm sure that's the reason that Taylor Fritz might not have been watching and not the fact that he seems to be on Twitch 24-7 at the moment.

13:10David Law: Gaming, right?

13:12Matt Roberts: Gaming, yes. And that is the extent of my knowledge of what happens on Twitch. So let's leave that there. Canada and France, David. Vibes, vibes, vibes. Felix Auger-Eliassime could not get enough of representing his country. Played and won both his singles rubbers, also played the doubles, lost that but then came back to win the decisive singles rubber against Artur Indekanesh. So two points on the board for Felix and one for Liam Draxel, who apparently David has takes about.

13:48David Law: Well, I've kind of only discovered him this weekend, if I'm honest. I was aware of his name from his previous Davis Cup matches because he's now unbeaten in singles. I think he's 3-0 in singles, and he hasn't lost a set so far in the Davis Cup. The guy has never broken the top 100. And he's played a lot of college tennis. He made his sort of Grand Slam main draw debut this year at the Australian Open, I think it was, but then lost in the first round to Damage Jumma there. Honestly, Catherine, if you watched him, he kind of gives you a bit of the Alcaraz vibe of just clearly being thrilled to be there and engaging with the crowd and making everybody smile.

14:39Matt Roberts: He's always trying to sell me players by comparing them to Alcaraz.

14:46David Law: Yeah, I mean, look, the game's not...

14:48Matt Roberts: You did it with Sonogo. You're always trying to do it with Sonogo. I'm just never going to be a Sonogo guy. And I think you need to accept that.

14:59David Law: I said he was a Poundland Alcaraz, didn't I? And then he got two points away from beating Zverev. And Matt and I were jumping around the room and getting excited. And it was all great. But then he didn't. But anyway, Draxel.

15:13Matt Roberts: So we've got, if Sonogo's Poundland Alcaraz was Draxel.

15:19David Law: he's the vibe of Alcres. Okay. Sleeveless shirt, comes out. He's up for it. He looks like he's absolutely chuffed to be there. And put it this way, he takes on Rindiknash, who's Mr. High Knee Celebration Muhammad Ali Shuffle guy, who likes to be the vibe, and he didn't get a look at that in this. I mean, admittedly, Canada obviously were at home, but the joy on this guy's face when he was doing stuff he was like he was giving it the full did you see what i just did then i mean he was playing out of his mind stuff um crowd will go in with him you could just tell he's one of those guys you put him in this situation and he becomes five times the player um and he won handily i mean he's he's a spectacular player he's athletic he's tries things but the crowd just adored him you know he was i mean i think he's the number four canadian player because shapovalov didn't put his hand up for this i don't think diallo got injured in the summer so he couldn't play but you know this guy was there he was there yeah he was very much part of the vibe wasn't he yeah yeah um but this this guy um he helped them get into this situation by winning his singles earlier in the year um but god he really set them up well i mean And it's interesting, you know, you talked about how into it Felix Sojali-Hassin was.

16:51David Law: He's got such an interesting relationship with Davis Cup because he basically won it for them a few years ago, played the best tennis we've seen from him really to win the Davis Cup. Then he didn't play. And, you know, he pulled out a couple of times, so it just didn't, he had other things that he wanted to do. I mean, there was a charitable thing that I think he'd committed to and stuff like that. And I know it's really difficult, but it's just great to see him back out there looking like he's loving every minute of it. You know, being the guy in Canada, being in Quebec and just vibing off all of this.

17:28David Law: And that's the thing. You just want to make enough room in the calendars so that these people can experience this completely unique experience within tennis.

17:38Matt Roberts: Good for their mental health, I think, as well. so often you know see Matt's book it looks you know it looks pretty miserable largely and to just there's a lightness about that even though they're carrying sort of the weight of representing their country they look lighter for it somehow so so many of them which is great to see I've remembered by the way David it's Oliver Tarvit you've tried to sell us off the back of an Alcaraz comparison Matt please note that down for the end of year quiz What do Liam Draxel Lorenzo Sonego And Oliver Tarvit have in common

18:14David Law: Tarvit is challenger Carlos

18:21Okay

18:22Matt Roberts: It sounds like you've lowered your expectations For Oliver Tarvit's career

18:27David Law: It's like student Matt, grad Matt And now proper Matt You've got to work your way up

18:35Matt Roberts: Okay, have we workshopped proper Matt? How do you feel about that?

18:43Matt's fine.

18:50Matt Roberts: Okay. That's you told, David. South Korea mean that there will be two representatives from outside of Europe in the Davis Cup finals. They join Canada in that representation. They beat India 3-1 in Seoul this weekend. Sunwoo Kwon and Hyun Chung with the points for Korea. What a blast from the past that name is, Matt. Like talk about a forgotten gem from the ATP tour in Hyun Chung. Yeah, I mean, just Google Heung Chung 2018 Australian Open and you'll see that in consecutive matches he beat Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic. And he was the coming guy off the back of the Next Gen Finals the previous year and his career has just been decimated by injury, really.

19:54And yeah, it's Davis Cup where I've seen his name most often, to be honest, over the last few years. He's kept popping up. And now Sun Woo Kwon as well is a name who might be familiar to a lot of people. But his career stopped with mandatory military service. And 18 months, I think that went on for. Him and BTS both. he's been able to play in Korea and in Asia and he's he's played Davis Cup amazing for South Korea to be at the Davis Cup finals as it would have been for India had they got through this was always the tie this was the anti-Czechia USA tie you know this was this was the one where whoever one it was it was going to be amazing for them just to be there um and yeah let's like i hope some wu kwon can you know kind of return to the tour and get back to where he was because he you know he's a very decent player um and for hyung chung you just hope that the injuries are past

21:01Matt Roberts: him yeah so muc one was for a while there he was a player that was just sort of always there wasn't it? Like just reliably there, somebody that would never beat themselves maybe a ceiling to their game and then sort of he was not there Great tennis analysis there from me, he was there and then he was not there, well done Great Britain beat Ecuador 3-0 at the Copper Box in London this weekend some new names on the winners roster for Great Britain. Cameron Norrie was injured. He was there with the team, but not able to play. So step up Toby Samuel and Arthur Ferry. Arthur Ferry has also been compared to Carlos Alcaraz, I feel like.

21:49David Law: Not by me. Yeah, that was by Matthew.

21:51Matt Roberts: That was Matthew. Okay. Our resident Arthur Ferry guy who, did he watch this? Did he watch the Davis Cup? No, he couldn't find it on telly.

22:04Matt Roberts: I wonder if he'll tune into the Labour Cup now that Ferry has been named as an alternate. I tried that this morning. He didn't seem that into it.

22:17Matt Roberts: Pretty cool for Arthur Ferry, though, isn't it? Kind of really like cementing. I mean, it feels like every week is cementing his new status in the sport and like a new experience. But leading the line for GB in a Davis Cup tie that gets them to the finals is a really big deal, I think.

22:37David Law: Yeah, and doing a good job of it as well. You know, this was a tie that they should win. But, you know, it's Ecuador that Britain should have beaten on paper in, I think, 1999. And, I mean, admittedly, they did have Nicolas Lepenti back then and brother Giovanni Lepenti, who announced his name.

22:58Matt Roberts: Yes.

23:00David Law: So they were problematic for GB back then and beat Britain.

23:05Matt Roberts: That was another Bryce Nakashima situation where suddenly there was another Lepenti.

23:11David Law: Yeah. And it was Giovanni B's Harvin Palmer in the final rubber to send Britain into relegation. And then Lepenti Jr. kind of never really got it going after that. You know, he was 17 at that time and he played for years, but he didn't actually manage to break through really on the tour.

23:30Matt Roberts: Which one was, Giovanni was junior?

23:32David Law: Yes, yeah. Nicholas was a top 10 player. He managed to get to the tour finals, you know. Was there an expectation after that?

23:40Matt Roberts: This has turned into Tennis Relived, but this is right in my sweet spot. Was there an expectation after that? Did people think Giovanni was going to be a thing?

23:48David Law: I did.

23:49Matt Roberts: Off the back of a win over Arvin Palmer?

23:52David Law: Well, yeah. I mean, you know, Palmer was a top 100 player at the time, and this kid was 17, and, you know, he was on grass at Wimbledon, and, you know, it was quite a performance, you know. It was really surprising to me that Giovanni Lepenti didn't quite break through after that. Nicolas Lepenti was the one who reached the, as I said, the Masters Cup, as it was then, played Andre Agassi and Agassi was memorably dismissive of Le Pente as I can't let anybody get away with slicing forehands to me the actual quote a very good player though you know he's one of those really you know just real work horse of a player anyway this time I they didn't have a Le Pente level player right but then Britain didn't have Jack Draper obviously they you know Evans is retired um they they'd lost Cameron Norrie right on the eve of it I mean this was Toby Samuel's first ever tie um and he lost the first set you know of the first rubber it's it's quite a moment really for a young lad like that but he's made real strides this year you know he's come from really not somebody we even knew about to to a regular at least grandson qualifying level and he fought back, won this tie.

25:18David Law: Then Arthur Ferry plays a pretty close contested first set against the Ecuadorian number one and edges that and then really took flight and played really well after that. And Britain won it 3-0. And I think that's a really good professional win. You're supposed to win, but they're inexperienced and they got it done. So good for them. And that's a few years now that they haven't played in the final eight, so good for them. Yeah, and if Norrie can get fit,

25:50Matt Roberts: it's all in the draw, isn't it? But they're strong in doubles, GB, which could be critical for them.

25:59David Law: Yeah, this was Patten and Skubski, and they did look good.

26:03Matt Roberts: Absolutely. Germany beat Croatia in Halle, not on the grass. It was an indoor hard court. Zverev with two points in that win over Dino Prismic and somebody called Matej Dodig. Is that a relation of Ivan, David? Is this a Lopenti situation?

26:22David Law: I'm not aware of a sibling relationship.

26:27Matt Roberts: Is Dodig a common name in Croatia?

26:31David Law: Not that I'm aware of. I only know the two. Those two.

26:37Matt Roberts: Okay, well, now that I've put it out there in the universe, I'm sure people will let us know if the two Dodigs are in fact related. Austria beat Belgium 3-1 in Vienna on outdoor clay. And Spain beat Chile 3-0 in Santiago. Daniel Merida and Rafael Jodar with the singles points over Alejandro Tabilo and Christian Gareen. and then Jaume Munar and Pedro Martinez with the doubles points. So we will see Spain, Matt, at the Davis Cup finals. And presumably they would be favourites with the situation currently that we don't know that Yannick Sinner will play. I guess if Sinner plays Italy, then become the favourites.

27:31Matt Roberts: But given Sinner didn't play last year, It feels like at the moment, given what we know, Spain, the favourites for the title. And it's, look, with all due apologies in respect to Chile, it's cool that Spain are going to be there. Yeah, it is. And it was one of Alcaraz's stated goals at the start of the year, wasn't it? when he said he wanted to win the Davis Cup. Obviously, I think his injury was a factor as to why he wasn't playing this week. But I think if he's fit, he will be there at the end of the season. And what an exciting team Spain have, kind of all of a sudden. You know, if you think last year, we didn't know so much about Hodder.

28:20We didn't know so much about Merida. We didn't know so much about Landaluthe. And they're all in the fold now. And obviously with Alcaraz, that's a young team. That's a squad of players who can keep improving and maybe threaten this Italian dynasty that there's been at Davis Cup in the last few years. And I think for Sinner, you know, my sense is that maybe the time off that he's had makes him a bit more likely to play just because he might want some more matches at the end of the season. Who knows? I think if he goes really deep in the indoor events and Turin, maybe that will be too much load.

28:59He's obviously going to be worried about that, given what happened to him earlier in the season when he really pushed it. So I do think his participation is a question mark, but we'll see. But then also... It's going to be a very interesting decision,

29:11Matt Roberts: that from Sinner, I think, actually. Yeah. Especially as he got a deathbed hammering from Nicola Pietrangeli for not playing last year. I mean, not that I think that would impact his decision-making, But, you know, he did get a hammering. Yeah, I mean, I think he can point to the times he has played and help them win it. So, you know, it's look, I'd love to see him play. I hope he does. I think you also have to put Germany in there as among the favourites with very, very much committing to it this year in a way that he hasn't in the past. And he talked about that this week, saying he feels like it's an opportunity to capitalise on.

29:52He also went from the US Open final and did his thing and won his matches, which was very impressive. And they've also got a very strong doubles team in Kravitz and Putz who have got a great record in Davis Cup. So I think those three really do stand out, especially if Sinner plays as being the strong forces. But, you know, then you've got Czechia and Canada have got a pretty strong team as well. It makes for an exciting finals, I think. I just hope that as many of the top players play as possible.

30:29Matt Roberts: The draw for the finals takes place in Bologna on Tuesday. Bologna, of course, the venue for the Davis Cup finals. So we'll know more about who plays who in that final eight come Tuesday. A few more bits and bobs of tennis news from the Davis Cup. We'll deal with that in part two.

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33:24Matt Roberts: Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast. Outside of the finals qualifiers, there were other world group ties. In fact, ties at every level of the Davis Cup going on this weekend, including one for Denmark, which saw the return of Holger Rune to professional tennis. Finally, after rupturing his Achilles almost a year ago, we've had so many false starts with his comeback. He was, or certainly either he or his mum has been threatening to come back since Monte Carlo of this year, since all the way back in April, which always seemed wildly improbable. You know, every medical professional I've ever heard from says there's kind of no shortcuts with an Achilles rupture.

34:18Matt Roberts: And it was always going to be kind of minimum nine or ten months. And here we are, ten and a half months later, with Runa finally making his comeback to the tour. And a winning comeback. He had to fight pretty hard for both these matches, including one over Grigor Dimitrov. I'm not sure how great Dimitrov will feel about losing to Runa in his second match after a 10 and a half month hiatus. But look, I think he's a pretty chaotic human being, but I do like Holger Runa's tennis. And I'm pleased to see it again, David.

34:56David Law: Yeah, I'm pleased for him just on a human level as well. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen anybody as quickly back on their feet trying to hit tennis balls as he was after an injury like this. You know, you could tell how just devastated he was to be in that position and how unaccepting really was of, and totally understandably, of the fact that he'd got to go through this. and he was trying to sort of shortcut it all the way and short-circuit it and kind of find a way to just not be off for 10 and a half months. And I totally understand that. In the end, I think he's probably ended up still on the short side of what the layoff could have been.

35:44David Law: And to come out playing like this, I think is bloody impressive, really. You know, to have an injury like that and to not... I was sort of watching him move. I watched some of this, the first rubber he played, and watching him hurthle into balls and come screeching to a stop. My heart was in my mouth watching him do that. I've just seen an NFL player, Jaden Daniels, who dislocated his elbow late last year, and they've made a documentary about him, and he's just done it again, you know, like last night. And it's so horrible to see these things happen. and I was just sort of, yeah, hoping for the best that Runa, you want him to be able to trust his body.

36:26You sometimes see these returning players kind of cautiously tiptoeing up to things

36:31David Law: or half hitting a serve and again, you totally understand why but I didn't think Runa was doing that. I thought Runa was playing pretty full on.

36:41Matt Roberts: He looked explosive, didn't he? Which is what his game needs him to be.

36:47David Law: absolutely and I'm sure he's got to be a little careful and there's no there's no telling whether there'll be significant bumps in the road yet you know this this is a great start and hopefully he feels okay today waking up but wow what a what a what a nice scene to see him back out on a tennis

37:07Matt Roberts: court because it clearly means so much to him incredibly emotional scenes in Brazil in Rio de Janeiro with the tie between Brazil and Switzerland which Brazil won three rubbers to one but it was João Fonseca's win over Dominic Stricker in three sets that elicited some incredibly emotional scenes from Fonseca I mean he was sort of heaving with with tears into his towel after this and I think indicative of you know obviously it's a tremendous privilege to to carry the weight and the support of a of a whole nation on your on your back as a tennis player um but it is a weight um and i think joel fonseca is a kid um who's adjusting to a lot and i think he's a sensitive kid adjusting to a lot and I think he's feeling it at the moment.

38:09Matt Roberts: I get the impression he is really, really feeling that. And I'm so pleased he got that win. Sorry, Dominic Stricker, who is a talented player. I don't quite understand why Dominic Stricker just isn't a thing at all. But yeah, this wasn't easy for Fonseca, I don't think. and I'm pleased that he got that win and I hope we can all give him a bit of space really to figure all this out because it's a pretty unique situation that he's in and I know Matt you've talked a lot about this crop of players we have in tennis at the moment that are kind of solo representatives of large countries with vociferous support.

39:07Matt Roberts: You know, obviously, Alexandre Ayala is the prime example. You've got Janice Chen from Indonesia, and João Fonseca isn't totally alone. There are other Brazilian tennis players. Luisa Stefani, of course. But, you know, in terms of being the talisman, he is very much it. and I don't think the way Alexandre Iala is able to to cope with the situation she's in I don't think that's the norm and I don't think that should be necessarily expected of of everybody and I I yeah I hope that I hope that Fonseca has some space and support to sort of process it all because it's so much and he's a kid um yeah and it goes both ways I think that doesn't it like having that much support can be an amazing thing and can be a real help, but it can also be a pressure and a burden.

40:07And I think it can probably make the wins feel bigger than they are and it can make the losses feel bigger than they are. I imagine it's really hard to keep the right perspective when everything is just this massive deal every time you play. And also he's had injury problems as well, hasn't he? like a young career trying to get started and he's kept having those, those little injury setbacks. And yeah, it did feel like, like just a release of a lot of, a lot of pent up emotion when he, when he managed to, to get that win. And yeah, I, I, he, he's one of those people who, who's so explosive you sort of just think, wow, he could, he could do something incredible at any moment, but he also I think needs time to develop.

40:53It's, it's, It's a bit of a juxtaposition.

41:00Matt Roberts: Finally on the Davis Cup, Matt, we had the Netherlands winning their World Group tie with Colombia in Denbosch this weekend. And we had Talon Greekspor winning both his singles and his doubles matches and winning, quote, of the week, hands down, knockout, not even close. What happens to Talon Greekspore at the Davis Cup to make him just an incredible quote machine? Yeah, I mean, first of all, the Dutch team back together, seemingly, you know, Jesper de Jong was there as well. I'm a bit gutted about that. I like the egginess there. Me too. And we didn't get Greek Spore de Jong just off the back of their beef earlier in the year, which I was hoping for.

41:57David Law: Just to say, though, just because you're on the same team doesn't mean you get on. Look at Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham for Manchester United. They were an amazing partnership, and yet they couldn't stand each other and never spoke.

42:10Matt Roberts: But the fact that they're now teammates again suggests that... I don't know. I would be surprised now if there was aggro in subsequent singles matches, you know. I'm sure they'll be very grown up about it. And, you know, for the sake of... Is Greeksport capable of being grown up, though? I don't know. That's a very good point. Very good point. And anyway, back to the main matter at hand, which is Greeksport's quotes about the US Open final. He was asked about it and he said he wasn't surprised by Zverev's win. Quote, I expected it against Shelton. The precedents were obviously already clearly in favour of Zverev.

42:59And then he said, I found the match rather mediocre. Shelton played very inconsistently and gave away two or three free points per game. You see what a first slam final can do to a player. And then he said, Zverev wasn't exceptional, but he served really well. the second set tie break was crucial asked whether he watched the final he said there were other sports going on and I simply have a hard time watching Zverev especially in this tournament where he bounced the ball 400 times before every serve it was really extreme but it obviously helped him, maybe I should do the same I just

43:39Matt Roberts: have absolutely no notes on any of that yeah, it's pretty great I do love that there is someone out there just not giving a shit about what people think of him in the locker room, you know.

43:57David Law: But then he put out a tweet. Did he? He did put out a tweet, yeah. He said, normally I don't react on here, but this is getting out of control. Just said it was tough to watch because of the never-ending bouncing. nothing but praise for Sasha for what he's done throughout the year in one of these heart emojis

44:22Matt Roberts: viewers on YouTube will have just seen something extraordinary come out of Matt's chest

44:29David Law: but does it work on YouTube when it comes out? Let's assume it does but anyway for listeners it was actual hearts because Matt did a heart shake amazing katherine's trying now and it's not working

44:44Matt Roberts: that oh the just oh that really the i hate the follow-up softening tweet that doesn't really take back anything you said it's just i'm trying to have it both ways and have said the punchy

44:59David Law: thing but also not piss anyone off i quite like the fact that he did also just insert the punchy thing again though all i said was i have a hard time watching the ball we all heard that talon

45:11Matt Roberts: say it again

45:15Matt Roberts: okay that's it for your davis cup roundup uh there were wta events happening this week i mean there were wta events happening before before the u.s open had even finished i don't think i mean Certainly by the time we were packing on Monday, Bianca Andreescu was losing a tennis match. I think I was in the cab on the way to the airport updating you on Andreescu's loss to Christina Bookshire. So tennis never stops. We had the WTA in Guadalajara and Evie Jovic defending her title there. She beat Peyton Stearns in the final. Obviously, when she won this title last year, it was real like, wow, this kid's come along and announced herself and won these 500 points.

46:03And what does this mean?

46:04Matt Roberts: Is this a flash in the pan? And now it's like, right, yeah, Evie Ovitch should absolutely, looking at the field, be winning this title. And she isn't somebody that has many, like, letdowns extraordinarily, given her age or kind of. yeah she's an incredibly consistent player all of a sudden and it really does not surprise me at all David that she has defended this title.

46:31David Law: No she feels like such a reliable competitor at the moment you know she's made that transition from tiptoeing onto the main circuit and now being this ever-present who delivers you a level um and you you're really surprised if she doesn't and she just she carries herself as a champion in every way when she's at this sort of thing you know she looks absolutely pumped even though she's come off a pretty tiring run at the US Open she plays extremely well she she wins handily she is thrilled about it you know it's not just sort of matter of acceptance of a trophy she looks like this is a big deal which is exactly what you want them to look like the only thing i feel with watching her is i just hope she puts the right and the people with her plan the right schedule schedule for herself because it'd be very easy to just enter everything to get carried away by ranking points and prize money and and maybe even appearance money you know and just just want it all now you know oh maybe the maybe the tour finals is on the horizon in the next 18 months i'm gonna play everything i don't i don't want to see that from her because i think burnout could be a real danger for somebody with her work ethic and and i i don't see any signs of that by the way i just i just think she's doing really really well and I hope they get the balance right because she's such a cool story.

48:08Matt Roberts: There has also been a WTA 250 event in Sao Paulo this week, but they have had to delay the final, I think, due to rain, Matt. And that final will be between, and prepare yourselves for a blast from the past here, Nadia Podoroska, remember her? I mean, she's been kicking around since that French Open semi-final, but certainly not reaching any further French Open semifinals. But here she is in a final and she'll pay Caitlin Quervado in that final. So we'll let you know how she gets on or how they both get on in our next show. We'll be back in part three to talk about the big news that the WTA finals have found a new home in North Carolina.

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50:15Matt Roberts: Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast with the big news that dropped this week, that Charlotte, North Carolina has been chosen as the new home for the WTA finals on a three-year deal that will start in 2027. Obviously, the 2026 edition of the WTA finals is going to be held in Indian Wells. That is after the WTA ended prematurely its partnership with Riyadh Saudi Arabia, which had been hosting the finals for the last couple of years. There was a mutual end to that contract. Indian Wells stepped in to host this year's finals. It was unclear whether that partnership would extend beyond this year, but we do now know that that will be a one-year arrangement before the finals go to North Carolina for a three-year deal.

51:12Matt Roberts: Valerie Camillo, the WTA chair, says the WTA has always owned the WTA finals, but now we're going to operate it too. We are not going to do everything ourselves, but we are taking control of this event, of the creation of the revenue and the controlling of the expenses. And that allows us to control our own destiny. The finals, which involve the best eight singles players and doubles teams of the year, will be staged at the Spectrum Centre, which is where the Charlotte Hornets play their home NBA games. Now, the basketball season will be in full swing next November, which is when the WTA finals are happening.

51:53Matt Roberts: And because of the frequency of home games, the finals will be reduced from eight to five days, which will likely affect revenue for the tournament. Camilo says the WTA has already started exploring alternative formats with the players. But if the round robin element of the tournament survives, the finalists would need to play every day. Matt, what was your reaction to this news? I think on the whole, positive. You know, I think the WTA finals has needed a settled home in a place with a guaranteed fan base where they know that people are going to show up and watch tennis and make the event feel as good and as big as it can be.

52:51You know, like the way it's moved around in the last few years has been quite chaotic, really. And they hit upon some gems like Guadalajara and it was amazing. But then they had some real duds, like suddenly having to host it at Fort Worth where no one was there. And, you know, it wasn't particularly well attended in Riyadh the last couple of years. So I think, you know, seeing what stability has brought to the ATP finals and allowing that event to grow and become so big in locations with fan bases like London and Turin, I think it makes sense to me that the WTA wants to host it, you know, in America and over three years.

53:39I think that's a good amount of time. I'm really pleased about that, generally, I would say.

53:48then you get the wrinkle of, oh, but it's having to fit in amongst the NBA season. And suddenly it all feels a little bit small time again. Look, I do think there is a world where that might make the event a bit livelier and a bit fresher. And look, I think all of us have talked about not loving Ram Robin. And if they did come up with a format that got rid of Ram Robin, I think I would kind of be in favour of that. But at the same time, I do think there are some advantages for the finals of having round-robin in terms of being able to guarantee when players are going to be playing. And I think that does help to sell tickets and that kind of thing.

54:36So I'm not quite sure what to make of that, really. I think if they do keep the round robin The finalists having to play every day At the end of the season That sounds like a real grind For me And it pretty much rules out

54:50Matt Roberts: Being able to play singles and doubles Doesn't it

54:53David Law: You could remove semi-finals And that would Give you an extra day back So Just have winners of the groups Go through to the final Yeah that's one way to slightly make an allowance yeah look who knows what they'll do but I I don't love that they're having to change the format and take a hit to revenue there but let's see what they come up with I suppose before I before I take a real view in these ever elongated tournaments I don't mind it I don't mind the idea of just compressing it into something more dramatic.

55:43Matt Roberts: Yeah, look, probably as a viewer, David, I agree with you. Like, it might make the experience better. It might improve the tournament. I really do resent and find it quite depressing, the reasons for that format change. I really do find that quite bleak, actually, that the WTA finals is having to literally make itself smaller to fit.

56:17Matt Roberts: Yeah, I find that quite bleak. But yeah, it couldn't, you know, maybe, you know, the utilitarian way to look at it is if it improves the product. But I mean, the reduction in revenue is a pretty significant factor. This news is off the back of the news that Simon Briggs broke in the Telegraph during the US Open that the WTA is in a very tough spot financially. And if it were to remain on its current course, it would end up in a dire financial situation, potentially bankruptcy financial situation within the next couple of years. Now, the WTA is insisting that, while that might be true in principle, it's forecast very much not to remain on that same course.

57:05Matt Roberts: And obviously, this new plan for the WTA finals is very much part of that. And clearly, revenue-wise, there is great significance to the fact that the WTA are taking ownership, as was detailed in that statement by Valerie Camillo, controlling the creation of revenue and the expenses. Exactly the details of that are pretty hazy. But yeah, certainly reducing revenue days from eight to five can't be a good thing. I don't know. They beat out this report that Charlotte beat out Gdansk, Poland, Las Vegas and Sacramento. those were the other significant bids in the process and without knowing what they were offering what they were proposing maybe all of those bids had major sacrifice involved as well or maybe they were offering loads less money like we don't know what we're comparing this to but i do as a matter of principle you know i do find it quite depressing i don't think they'd be choosing

58:20David Law: this unless it was the best option um and well hang on a second they chose saudi arabia and our judgment of what was the best option there no i understand that they judged that that was the best option and we wouldn't we didn't agree with that i'm sure but i'm i can't see a like for like here or any or anywhere close i mean i i can't say i know the ins and outs of the charlotte hornets and that bid. I know that it's not, John Wertham was saying, it's not linked to Ben Navarro, who was at one stage looking at moving the Cincinnati tournament to Charlotte before continuing in Cincinnati. So it's not that organisation.

59:01David Law: I do feel a lot of it comes down to, and listen, the WTA say they remain on course for their goals that they set in 2023 of equal prize money for the combined events in 2027. we'll see whether they can hit their 2033 goals after that but so much of it to me is well what does it feel like when it happens you know if this if this place is buzzing and full and makes women's tennis feel elevated and get the atmosphere it deserves i'd rather it was five days than eight And if it's less money in the pockets of somebody, I'd prefer that too. But it's less money in the pockets of the WTA that really, really need the money to promote the sport.

59:53Matt Roberts: And, you know, like that, I don't think that's nothing.

59:59David Law: No, it's not nothing. But they say that they, I mean, listen, maybe they would say this, but they're saying that the WTA finals is a big part of the fact that they are now that it has this settled place that it is going to be a temporary shortfall in revenue for the next year but that this is a big part of the reason why they're going to get back on track basically and that their long-term prospects are more healthy yeah which is good I just I find it

1:00:28Matt Roberts: pretty sad given the strength of the product that that let's assume that we would agree if we did have access to all the bids we would agree that this was the best available bid i do find it pretty sad that the best available a bit bid involved cutting itself i get the point by nearly

1:00:45David Law: 40 i just feel like you know we've we've lamented the lengthening of tournaments for greater revenue and tennis making itself longer and bigger at all these combined events why are we why are we saying

1:01:00Matt Roberts: that it's a problem to compress it and make it more because as i say like in i see what you're trying to do there david as i say like the actual practical outcome might be good but the wta i guarantee the wta had had north carolina been offering the full eight days they would have wanted that this is this is women's tennis making itself yeah i get it i just think that to fit a a world that can't accommodate it too often the world should be able to accommodate it

1:01:34David Law: sure but the the people that are organized in tennis are getting so many of the things they want and they're all ending up being long and meandering and i think men's tennis is getting an awful lot more of the things it wants than women's tennis quite possibly but but uh women's tennis is going to end up better i think as a result of this not having these endless days of doll tennis. Hope so. I think it depends what they do with the format, personally. I think if it's five days and it's only eight players and it's round robin and they do have semifinals, I think that's too much. I think that's too much the other way.

1:02:23I think that would be crazy to be playing five straight days at the end of the year. I think you risk actually causing injury to your top players. I think that would be bad. I think if it's eight players and it's knockout, that's going to feel really slow because it's five days and you sort of think, oh, come on, get on with it. There's not enough matches. I mean, you go back in time, you look at the WTA finals, they had 16 players and they played knockout. I actually think that could work in this format. It would involve a radical change. But I think you've got enough good players on the WTA tour now that a 16-player knockout over five days where you play the last 16 over the first two days, I guess.

1:03:03I just don't know whether the venue's big enough to have enough courts that you could do that. Are they planning to just have one main court? Right. So I just can't imagine that happening, but I think that would be a good format. So I find it hard to judge this before we know what the format's going to be. I think there is a world where what David's describing absolutely happens and it's fantastic and it's way better than it has been, even with the, I agree with you, Catherine, even with the rather depressing sacrifice that the WTA is having to make. Yeah, I don't think we're disagreeing, David.

1:03:39Matt Roberts: Like, I agree with you. It could end up with the best possible outcome. It's just the fact of the circumstances that have brought it about are depressing, I think. um but yeah you got me with cut the faff I simply cannot argue with with that statement gets me every time even if it's accidental

1:04:06David Law: even if tennis doesn't mean to do it but it's just oh well look we've managed to cut the faff

1:04:11Matt Roberts: wow if the page if the patriarchy results in faff cutting where does that leave me oh rocking a hard place um a couple of other bits of tennis news jack draper is shutting down his season not a shock but we have had confirmation he says i'm taking this time to reset and heal so when i return i'm 100 ready to go tennis is my purpose and passion and so when i step back on court i want to make sure that there's nothing holding me back from where i want to go managing so much change adversity and pain has helped me to grow massively in many areas of my life but has also made me feel a level of fatigue i'm glad he recognizes that um and it's it's rinse and repeat isn't it with everything we've said before i hope hope this does do the trick um and we wish him we wish him well so well uh we've also had uh the news this week once semi-surprise, one not, that Joe Salisbury and Rajiv Ram, obviously former very successful doubles partners, are both retiring from the sport.

1:05:26Matt Roberts: Salisbury is Britain's most successful doubles player of the Open era with six major titles, including three consecutive US Open men's doubles titles with Rajiv Ram. They were the first pair ever to win it three times in a row and Ram also won six majors in his career and made it to world number one. I know Joe Salisbury had taken a hiatus at the start of this year for mental health reasons. So hope he's OK and at peace with this decision. We wish them both very well in their retirements. This week, we have the Billie Jean King Cup finals in Shenzhen, China. the schedule looks like this we started on Tuesday with Czechia against GB go with God GB is what I have to say about that certainly on paper quite a mismatch I mean look most teams would experience that against Czechia but wow that's tough yeah I mean that feels like you know you're talking about it in terms of over and under a number of games GB might win I mean, we saw Mukava-Bolter at the US Open, didn't we?

1:06:42And that was, well, pretty ugly from a GB perspective. And then you've got Noskova, like, oh, it's a brutal draw. Yeah, and it's... You never know.

1:06:53David Law: You never know, folks. With the Billie Jean King Cup, the Davis Cup, you can get a Liam Draxel. You never know.

1:06:59Matt Roberts: What percentage chance are you giving GB in that tie, David?

1:07:05David Law: 15. god that's high i think they'd sign for that yeah i'd go yeah the the team photo for czechia is terrifying is it what is it who's in it yeah it's like a it's like a brazil all-time 11 or something yeah it's like it's like even if you get it to the doubles Siniak of us there. Yeah, it's an absolute nightmare.

1:07:34Matt Roberts: Yeah, so good luck. Then on Wednesday, there's Spain against Kazakhstan. No Elena Rabakina for Kazakhstan. She and Marta Kostiuk have both withdrawn from the event, which is a shame, which means that Ukraine will be led by Alina Svitolina. They will play Belgium on Thursday and will also have China against Italy. we'll have Zheng Chin Wen leading the line for China, Jasmine Paolini for Italy. So look, some misses there in terms of the star power, but some strengths as well. And I hope Jasmine Paolini can get some good vibes from the week. It's been a tough year for Jasmine Paolini and some Billie Jean King Cup vibes, I think, are just what the doctor ordered, Just what she needs and just what the tournament needs, I think.

1:08:29Well, you say that, but then she'll be playing Junxun Wen, presumably. And I don't know, that'd be pretty great for the tournament, I think. It would be. If Junxun can do her thing at home. So, yeah, I guess whoever wins that tie is going to hopefully power the event with vibes. I mean, the prediction is Czechia, isn't it?

1:08:51Matt Roberts: Yeah, it would be insane to predict anyone other than Shakir. David?

1:08:57David Law: I think I could probably be convinced about that. Mind you, Italy are very good, aren't they, at this competition? Let's be honest.

1:09:05Matt Roberts: They are.

1:09:06David Law: Yeah.

1:09:07Matt Roberts: Is that a prediction?

1:09:09David Law: And I tell you what, I actually think, no, I think China are going to beat Italy. I think China are going to win it. There you go. okay not czechia no at home china i think they are tough now that's young chen

1:09:29Matt Roberts: wins back playing this sort of tennis okay fun prediction uh the wta also has an event in singapore this week uh really strong fields uh matt and i i think we're standing at baggage claim at heathrow when we saw amanda inisimova posting content from singapore we were like What's that flag? Why is she there? Oh, there's a 500 event in Singapore next week, which has Alice Amova, Alexandra Iala, Mira Andreeva, also Barbora Krejcikova, Maya Felinska, Leila Fernandez, Donna Vekic, Maria Sakari and Joanna Garland has qualified for the main draw.

1:10:12David Law: Catherine's pumping her fist. I'm so pleased for her.

1:10:17Matt Roberts: and and she's playing doubles with sue she is she oh she's scored herself a heck of a partner experience isn't it yeah gosh that's really cool um so yeah great field in singapore as we say this every year it's such a i mean you said it earlier in the show it's such a shame that the billy jean king cup has to clash with other strong wta events and it doesn't have a carve out in the calendar it's women's tennis eating itself but you know that's how it is for the time being there's also WTA 250 in Seoul South Korea which has Yelena Ostopenko who hasn't won it when did she last win a tennis match she could do with a good week in Seoul Kim Birrell Robin Montgomery almost said Colin Montgomery there Robin Montgomery um johamaya joint sophia kenan eva lise and magdalenette all in the draw in seoul and in terms of the atp this week uh because the atp do have a carve out in their calendar for davis cup which we support uh it it does mean that this is the time of year when all the atp events get totally out of sync and start finishing on a wednesday which we very much don't support so we have Chengdu and Hangzhou both 250 events starting and finishing well starting on a Wednesday and finishing on a Tuesday or maybe a Wednesday finishing midweek next week anyway great thanks for that

1:11:51David Law: we'll update you next week

1:11:52Matt Roberts: yeah we'll let you know what's going on there and then we have the Leiva Cup in London the return of Disco Sorundolo Team Europe is Carlos Alcaraz There's Alexander Zverev, Flavio Caballi, Rafael Hodder, Jakub Menchik and Kasper Rude. With Arthur Ferry coming in as the alternate. And Team World is Alex de Menor, Taylor Fritz, Lerner Tien, Brandon Nakashima, Alexander Bublik and Disco Sarundolo. With Nakashima there replacing Ben Shelton at the last minute. Who is the alternate for Team World? Do we know that yet? I do like finding out who the alternates are. Okay. All right. He was available, clearly.

1:12:42He was slogging it out in Davis Cup this week in Peru.

1:12:47David Law: Goodness me. I wonder if Agassi's just like, oh, you know who we should bring in? I wonder if that's our one.

1:12:57Matt Roberts: Maybe. Anyone want to make a Lever Cup prediction? I mean it's Team Europe isn't it they're quite mismatched those teams I would say Team World have been winning it the last

1:13:12David Law: few years haven't they they've won three out of the last four I think David stats

1:13:18Matt Roberts: you've got Labour Cup stats

1:13:21David Law: that was incredible I mean it might be wrong

1:13:24Matt Roberts: Andre Agassi definitely cares a lot more than Yannick Noah I think sort of captaincy wise in terms of getting greater than the sum of their parts I would maybe back world but the parts are definitely better on Team Europe that's my analysis anyway do join us next week to find out how all of that plays out folks we have the return of pet mascots we have Thor, what a great name Thor is owned by Dana Prosser. Dana says, we got Thor three weeks after we got his brother Shorty back in 2012 from a family that couldn't keep him. He arrived with a spiked collar and a leash that said, bad to the bone.

1:14:19Matt Roberts: We chuckled at both and figured we'd change his name. Excellent call, Dana. Well, 14 years later, his name and command of the universe remains he is 16 pounds he's the 16 pound boss of our other two dogs who are anatolian shepherds both 150 pounds oh my 150 is that a typo 150 pounds it's nearly as heavy as me that's wild um and he thor being a half chihuahua and a half smooth hair fox terrier he's so gorgeous wow uh He's doggy DNA tested because giving mutt to inquiries seemed like a disservice to him. And he is 100 % of both breeds, following rabbits into their dens and providing a home alarm service in the form of tapping.

1:15:09Matt Roberts: He loves to eat, boss around the big dogs and cuddle when he feels like it. The closest he comes to tennis is laying on the couch with me when I watch. He's a good boy and I love him very much. Oh, he does look like a good boy. He looks very wise. Yeah, what a lovely, bad to the bone. Incredible. Thank you, Thor, for being this week's mascot. And thank you, Dana, for bringing Thor into our lives. Thank you and hello to Bodhi, Maisie and Roger. I feel like I'm on a rough predictions run for Bodhi. I don't think I get any points for predicting Czechia, but maybe some respectability can be restored by my bold Czechia prediction.

1:15:59David Law: Maisie, if China come off, we can retire.

1:16:03Matt Roberts: Hello to our top folks and executive producers Greg, Chris and Geoff. And it's over to Matt for some shout outs. And we have Carlos Grubler in Dallas, Texas. Hello, Carlos. Like Alcaraz. Like Alcaraz. Very good.

1:16:28Matt Roberts: And Juan Carlos Ferreiro, who is teasing the world with his return to tennis this week. Have you seen that?

1:16:37David Law: Yes.

1:16:38Matt Roberts: Speculation rife about who he's going to be coaching. Would anybody like to make a prediction on that front? Well, everybody's saying, oh, it's Sinner, because he did say he would be up for coaching Sinner, and there's always speculation that Darren Cahill is, he's threatened to not quit Team Sinner but take a step back from coaching for kind of sanity purposes, hasn't he? That would be hilarious if he did. We'd be in emergency pod territory, I think, wouldn't we? I think so, yeah. It'd be great.

1:17:15David Law: That would almost be Andy Murray coaching Jockney.

1:17:18Matt Roberts: I think it's more likely to be Hodder, don't you think? Hodder's probably the most likely prospect. But for the plot. I can't see Sinner doing anything that reality TV, you know?

1:17:35David Law: Oh, go on. Go on, Yannick, do it.

1:17:41Matt Roberts: Do we know anything about Carlos?

1:17:43David Law: I just want to look at Carlos Alcraz's face when he finds out the news. A bit like that face when he thought they'd scored a goal and then they didn't.

1:17:53Matt Roberts: It might bring a bit of... I love that they're friends, but I also do like a spicy rivalry. And seeing as we've lost Jesper de Jong and Talon Greeks, Paul, potentially, you know, I wouldn't mind there being a touch of edge between Alcaraz Sinner, you know? Wouldn't hate that. Anyway, back to Carlos. Like when Danny Valvedu joined Thomas Bird and played Murray and we got the explicit content. That's what we want.

1:18:25David Law: David Felgate joined Xavier Melisse and played Tim Hemman at the US Open.

1:18:30Matt Roberts: Yes.

1:18:32David Law: See, Catherine likes it when pets are friends, but she doesn't want Alcraz and Cinder to be friends.

1:18:37Matt Roberts: No, I do like them being friends. I do like their vibe, but just a bit of edge, you know.

1:18:43David Law: Do you want pets to have edge as well?

1:18:46Matt Roberts: No.

1:18:47David Law: No. No. Never.

1:18:52Matt Roberts: Anyway, back to Carlos. Carlos has a dog named Rocky and two rescue cats. Are they friends? They have edge. I'm going to assume yes. Lovely. What if Rocky has a bad to the bone collar? Thank you Carlos And finally we have Jesus Jimenez Hello Jesus We know Jesus We know Jesus And he is now also in Dallas, Texas But lived in New York for a few years Is that a coincidence? Too Dallas based Don't know, I think a coincidence unless Vicky's chosen them deliberately. Yes, Jesus, very nice. And he wants the US Open to have a nightly curfew because it always ruins my sleep, he says. No one wants to play tennis at 2am.

1:19:53Matt Roberts: Yes, Jesus. Tennis Jesuses? Come on, Matt, our Spanish representative.

1:20:03I've got anyone.

1:20:05Matt Roberts: Great. Jimenez? Jimenez? Nope. All I've got is Raul and that's going to put David in a bad mood.

1:20:14David Law: Correct. Move on. He plays for Wolves. Wolves beat Albion. I don't want to talk about it.

1:20:19Matt Roberts: Okay. Well, glad that came up. Thank you, Jesus, for that. Hope you're good. Hope to maybe see you somewhere down the road. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network, folks. We will be back on Monday of next week to talk about all the things that have happened or will have happened over the course of the next seven days. There is a lot of bonus content available for Friends of the Tennis Podcast at the moment if you haven't checked it out. There is our US Open review show which features voice notes from Pam Shriver, all of the athletic folks, Charlie Eccleshare, Matt Futterman, Ava Wallace, an incredible voice note from Hannah Wilkes as well and a marvellous, as always, contribution from Mary Carrillo, which includes the word chucklefox.

1:21:09Matt Roberts: There is also the US Open, the happy hour. And Briggs. Don't forget Briggs. Oh, my gosh, I forgot Briggs. Briggs with another movie comparison? With a really, really excellent movie. He's going to be gutted. Oh, I'm so sorry.

1:21:26David Law: No, he's got his own special segment, though. It's all worked out.

1:21:31Matt Roberts: I'm sorry amazing movie comparisons

1:21:33David Law: he kicked off he kicked off the show

1:21:35Matt Roberts: I promo'd I promo'd his work earlier in the show yeah he's doing great work yeah it's swings and roundabouts for for me and Briggs um and there's also Vicky's Happy Hour which is compilation of our apparently best well kind of best and worst bits from the US Open uh which is marvellous to listen to Vicky does incredible work I don't know how she puts those things together so quickly. But it is available now for Friends of the Pod. You can find out how early in the tournament David uttered the words, Rebecca is probably just going to go and win it now. That was a great moment. I enjoyed coming across that.

1:22:16David Law: Which, surprisingly to me, ended up being better than my Ben Shelton's going to go all week.

1:22:24Matt Roberts: It was great to relive the he's ill, though he's from Brazil moment. Do you know, when I heard that, I really understood why you thought I said he's ill. Did you not in the moment? No, because I said he's from, so I knew what I said. But this is my first time hearing it. OK, right.

1:22:47David Law: Your word Brazil collided with somebody else saying something else. It got swallowed up and all that was heard was ill.

1:22:55Matt Roberts: And in the security, the very long and arduous security queue at JFK Airport, Matt and I, there was a man with a lovely dog behind us that obviously I befriended. and I was crouching down petting the dog and listening in to the owner have a chat with, the dog was very popular, she was gorgeous, and the owner was having a chat with somebody else behind us in the queue and I stood up from the floor and said to Matt,

1:23:32Matt Roberts: oh, she's ill. And Matt looked very alarmed and said, oh gosh, no, what's wrong with her? And I said, no, she's going to Brazil. And it was such a waste of a really sophisticated joke, I thought. You were playing with my good heart. I was concerned for the dog. I thought we were on a wavelength, Matt.

1:24:00David Law: And if Matt doesn't get it, nobody was going to get it either. Exactly. I won't be trying that again. If the dog was ill and I'd burst out laughing, you would have been horrified.

1:24:13Matt Roberts: anyway if you want to relive all of that it is available now for friends of the tennis podcast if you'd like to become a friend the link is in our show notes we are part of the athletic podcast network and we will speak to you next week

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