2025 French Open Draw Breakdown | Andy Roddick & Jon Wertheim Predict the Winners! - podcast episode cover

2025 French Open Draw Breakdown | Andy Roddick & Jon Wertheim Predict the Winners!

May 22, 20251 hr 16 min
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Summary

Andy Roddick and Jon Wertheim dive deep into the men's and women's draws for Roland-Garros 2025. They go section by section, analyzing top contenders like Sinner, Alcaraz, Djokovic, Sabalenka, and Swiatek, discussing tricky early-round matchups and dark horses like Cerundolo. The episode covers key matches and potential upsets in each quarter, culminating in their predictions for who will lift the trophies on the clay courts of Paris.

Episode description

It’s time for one of our favorite Grand Slam traditions — the Draw Special, now for Roland-Garros 2025! Andy Roddick and Jon Wertheim sit down to break down the entire men's and women's draw ahead of the 2025 French Open, analyzing key matchups, potential upsets, and who they think will lift the trophy on the red clay of Paris. Who’s your pick to win Roland-Garros 2025? Which players do you think could pull off the biggest upsets? Which dark horses could shake up the tournament? 🎾 Join the Served Chucker's Club for Exclusive Perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0k_--YLuTNuDvq1Dw4zHmw/join 📩 Sign up for the Served Newsletter here: https://served-news.beehiiv.com/subscribe 📱If you're new to the Served with Andy Roddick, we're happy you're here! Follow us for more:https://www.instagram.com/servedpodcast/https://bsky.app/profile/servedpodcast.bsky.socialhttps://www.tiktok.com/@served_podcast 🎾 Timestamps: 0:00 Welcome to Served 2:30 Men's French Open Draw 44:00 Women's French Open Draw Theme music composed, produced, and mixed by Dan Whittemore. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwhit.wav/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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Jane, Mariska Hargitay's moving documentary feature directorial debut about her mother, Hollywood icon Jane Mansfield. There's something for everyone. Get your tickets now at tribecafilm.com. Welcome to Served, brought to you by our friends at MSN. Prime. It is the French Open draw show. Guys, have you ever just been like laying in bed? And then you look up. It's like four in the morning. And you haven't slept at all. Yes. Yeah. Out of that last night.

And I think it's because of the draw show. It wasn't because you were scrolling Amazon Prime? Well, it was like, it was like, ah, I'm up, the draw show, I'm so excited, can't go back to bed, Prime me. You know, it was like, it was like a vicious cycle of, I was like, I can't be on my screen.

I'm bored. I have to be on my screen. It's because you're excited that this episode is presented by Amazon Prime. You're great at this, Mike. Yeah, no problem. Okay, so the way that we do this, as a reminder... In case there's some new chuckers. The old chuckers know how we do this. It's old hat at this point. We've done it like four times, maybe five. Gosh, it's just great. I haven't seen the draws, so a little different to what you normally see. whatever these are folders says men's on it

And then women's, I haven't seen the draws yet, so we are going to go through section by section. JW here. JW, how was graduation? Your daughter's graduation. Exactly. It's done paying tuition. Elizabeth Banks stole the show. It's all about the graduation speaker. She crushed it. What school was it? This was Penn in Philadelphia.

Did she go to Penn? Smart people. She did. Yeah, Elizabeth Banks did too. Oh, that's awesome. Wait, no, he was at graduation ceremony for Penn, and then you go, did she go to Penn? I'm like, no, actually my daughter went to Loyola Marymount. Yeah, exactly. that's so cool all right producer mike what uh are we doing women's men's first what are we doing um what do you think jw which one should we do first

I think we did women's first last time. You want to just alternate? You want to do men's? Yeah, let's do men's. Great. Let's let it rip. Let it rip. Tater chip. All right. Here we go. The unveiling. I know who's going to be at the top. Sinner Sinner Chicken Dinner is going to be up there. Artur Rinderkanesh, so he's going to have, so he's first, my first thing is like, he's going to get. because he's got Rinderkinesh and then two Frenchies right below him. Atmeng and Richard Gasquet.

So Gasquet's career will end by the third round. Love the old Dickie Gasket, but I think he's going down. Davidovich Vrakina has been playing great in that section. Lahetska Jordan-Thompson is a tough first round. All right, so in the third round, I have Sinner. And I'm going Davidovich Fokina. J.W., you're taking La Hatchka? Through that section, are you going Davidovich, Fokino? I'm assuming you're not picking the center upset.

I'm not. First of all, Arthur Rindergnesh, remember last year? Isn't he the guy who kicked the courtside signage and hurt his foot? which led to his demise. So he's got big shoes to fill. Should we do 10 seconds on Richard Gasquet, tip of the cap? This is a 20-year veteran. Does that, just kind of big picture, Sinner? A lot of time off, that helps. On the other hand, we saw even in the Rome Final maybe a little rusty.

Davinovich Fokina. Tough player. He's already won more than 20 matches this year. Does that give you pause in a best of five match? No, because I think when Sinner... He's going to be in every single service game of Davidovich Fokina. And he can kind of blow. I don't know if he has the gear like we saw with Carlos to switch directions at will to...

go big to blow center off the court. There's no easy points for Davidovich Fakina, and there's no disrespect to him. He's having an amazing year. I think he's top 20 in the race. I love the way that he plays. It's just matchup based. I am not worried about center making the fourth round. I will send him through that thing. And Richard Gasquet.

Some of the best racket to ball skills that I've seen, and he was the guy where you were seeing video clips of him when he was like 12, but he looked like he was a real player already, like he looked like an adult with the way he swung his backhand. I think... In the moment in time that he got swept up in, it was legs and speed took over the game and it was less about maybe racket skills at that moment in time.

But he was so much fun to play. I just, I always liked him. He's kind of shy. Never would show his opponents up. Never did anything to piss anyone off. Went through some pretty tough times with. a suspension that wasn't a suspension because he... You know, made out with someone at a nightclub, which, you know, whatever. He's, you know, 20 in France and I'm pretty sure that's, you know, standard practice. But man, it's cool looking. I have a lot of respect for Richard Gaskin. I hope that he feels

You know, people will look and, you know, they'll talk about him as like what didn't happen just based on flair and talent. But that guy got a lot out of that movement, those legs. And I have a lot of respect for Richard Gasquet. Well put. You're right. This will be his final. I believe this is his final match.

so you go out to the number one player in the world in the second round he'll get nice toes from the French crowd and great career well he's got to win his first round I don't know that I know much about the French wild card but I guess we'll see that's one of the tricky things about slams is

You're getting wild cards, which for you chuckers at home who don't know what they are, it's direct entry most likely from the country that the slam is played in and or a trade. So they have some French person who does not directly qualify. for the u.s open will get a wild card by virtue of a trade-off with the u.s open so it's basically people who haven't qualified on their own ranking or merit

A lot of times it's a young prospect, someone like a Richard Gasquet, who it's like a lifetime achievement award to say goodbye, but pretty fun to see. There's always some conversation around who gets the wild cards, but I hope that he gets that matchup against Sinner, obviously. going out against the number one player in the world would be great. I don't think that he has the weight of shot to bother and make a run at this point.

I hope he's happy. I hope his cup is full. He deserves that to be the case. Props to Richard Gasquet. Next section, it's weird to see Rublev not in the top 16. Seated 17. uh our tour feast is in that section oh one of last year jw's last year pretty good semi-finalists who went out first round the old the old nico jari you got a little You want to take that ride again, or are you going to take Artur Feast in that one?

Yeah, I'm off the Jari train. I think we're going back-to-back first-round losses. You know what they say about Nick Jari. Once bitten, shame, whatever. Hey, by the way, literally no one said that. I'm just seeing this. Now, you know what, one pairing ahead, Zhao Munar, you know what he is? He is the highest-ranked Majorcan player this year. Oh, that's funny. Without Rafa. He's been playing great, by the way. That's not an easy... Like, if Feast has the...

I'm a Frenchman playing in front of a French crowd, and that makes me a little jittery. That Munnar match is not easy. I'm just telling you, that's a tricky match, but I've been on kind of a feast train. I don't know how he's going to react playing at Roland Garros as a player of note, maybe with some expectation for the first time where it's not kind of upside. JW, did you say he hasn't won a match there before? Is that correct?

I don't believe Feast has won a match at Roland Garros yet, no. All right, I'm going, um, I'm going face through that section just because I've been beating that drum for, like, two months already. Um, do you have, do you like rubles through that section? Do you go on upset special Munar or are you going, do we have center and feast in the fourth round?

Yeah, we're waiting for the Safin effect to kick in. That hasn't seemed to have paid dividends yet for Andre Rublev. No, I think, boy, talk about a tasty middle weekend pitting pairing. Yannick Sinner and Arthur Feast. Think that crowd will be into that one. I'm just telling you, as nice as the reception was for Sinner when he had kind of that. soft landing in Rome where he was getting standing ovations by the press when he walks into media. Looks like...

two Frenchmen straight out of the gate. That's a guarantee. And then Artur Feast, he is going to, he's going to hear it. from the French crowd in Paris for the first week of this year's French Open life. He is going to deal with some things coming off of this suspension. It doesn't seem to bother him. He seems like he's able to compartmentalize, but you hear it. You just do. He deals with it better than most, but it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Do we want to walk that out even further? You got center fees. I'm not betting against Yannick center in most matchups for a while. In a rare bit of preparation, a rare lapse into professionalism, I did look up compartmentalization. What do I have here? Compartmentalization is compartmentalized in Italian. Sinner has gotten really good.

starting at the US Open of taking this off-court drama and not letting it impact his tennis. I did a 30-second hot take. I was talking to someone in Europe who said,

The Tour de France was really destroyed reputationally by doping. This is a signature French sporting event. So the French sporting crowds are extra sensitive to... sort of doping and reputation staining, and they expect, as you say, they expect that, even if you weren't facing Frenchmen in three of the first four rounds, that Sinner's going to get some boos, and I don't think that's going to impact him.

I don't know. I mean, I think that the 90 days off is really interesting. So on the one hand, great. It's R&R and you don't have wear and tear on the body and you're sleeping in your own bed. But it also it really takes your rhythms out. Best of five. I don't know, man. three months off and you come and you beat Kasparud 0-1 in the quarters and then you lose to Alcaraz on clay.

I think that was best case scenario for center in Rome. You don't think he ran out of gasoline on that final? I don't know. I don't care. If you go into that tournament and you say you... kill you blitz people all the way to the final and lose to you know the best clay quarter on earth and your first tournament back in three months i actually take the other side of that coin. I think what you're saying kind of

draws a line underneath is how good he is and what the expectation set is to where he loses 6-2 to Alcaraz in the final after not playing a tournament match for 90 days and we're going, I don't know, he looked a little rusty. I'm like, God, I would love that rust. That would have been great. I like Sinner, Sinner. through to the quarters. You with that, JW? Same.

Okay, so I don't have to... Yeah, we're going to... We got to disagree a little today, but so far... I'm going to be disciplined. I'm just going to wait for you to freak out and call some upsets. So I'm just going to stay... I'm just going to grind you down here. All right, I'm ready. Demon at the next section, number nine seed. Ooh, he just missed out on that number eight seed. Okay, I got Daemon. Ooh, Daemon and Menchie.

In that section, Alexander Muller's been playing kind of tough. If Menchique deals with the French crowd a little bit, cue lucky loser for Menchique. I am not. Laszlo Gera is tough, can create a little bit of speed, has kind of those big... Thick legs, he'll be able to, like, accept pace. Play, actually played, served for the first set of...

In Rome, first round against Carlos, I like Demon. Gosh, Demon-Manchique is a tough one. Are you going with Demon-Manchique to the third round, or are you switching it up? Yeah, I think this is a little bit of a soft pocket. Mensek has cooled off a little on the clay, as one might expect of a flat Czech slugger. Yeah, I have those two in the third round, yeah. And who do you like going to the fourth round? I have my pick written, but I'll let you go first.

I will go. Remember Demonor's friend Paul, his mini-me? The French kid who, uh... Watched every match from the first row. I think Paul's gonna be the difference here if Paul is in attendance The you know, it's like a 12 year old kid who says I like demon or I mean, I think you raise a really good point before

the difference between eight seed and nine seed i mean even four or five i mean draper was like 15 points away from getting that four seed that is a huge difference so uh Dimonor, a little bit of bad luck not getting a top eight seed, but I like him to get through to the fourth. I like him getting through also for different reasons. Not Paul. Not Paul. Because he's the fastest person alive. And he doesn't give anything. Men's chic.

Men's Sheik, for a young player, he's like that Ferrer-esque type player where they ask the question, that's a tough ask, three out of five sets. Men's Sheik gets their demon three out of five sets now. We use this too often. That's a statement win to me because that's physically grueling, mentally grueling. That's a different level in a slam to get through demon, but I like demon through...

He asked before we went out if there was any matchup worth saying. I just saw that. Hubie Hercotch and Fonseca. Who are you taking there? I am just going to show my cards right now because that's the kind of poker player I am. João Fonseca, Roland Garros, 2025 semifinal. Let's timestamp this boys. He doesn't want to match in like a month. He's waiting for best of five. Did you say 2026 for seven semifinalists?

Okay, well, I have him losing first round. Well, I wouldn't have, but Hubie Hercoc made the quarters of Rome. He's playing well again. He's actually winning matches on clay. I think he's one of the best. three servers on earth right now. Actually moves okay on clay. Lost a tough one to Tommy Paul in Rome in the quarters. I like Hubie to go to the third round Fonseca

I love Fonseca. I think his energy is great. I think he competes great. I think he does all the things well already that you can't teach. That speed on the forehand. the sliding open stance, what I question is if I see him trying to take Hubie Hercotch's second serve from four feet inside the baseline. and then all of a sudden get stuck scooting backwards for that second ball, I'm going to throw something at the TV.

Like, I saw it time and time again. He lost to the, who's the Hungarian guy that beat Alcaraz? No, no, no. Well, I lost to him too, but I was the, I can see the guy's face. He's a very, very good player. Yeah, Morosian, there you go. He literally, he gets caught, right? The return position, it's...

It's a little bit of coaching malpractice. If you're just kind of fighting off backhand returns and you're trying to force them, then you have all that speed just waiting there on that forehand side. Give yourself four feet behind the baseline and just take a rip, Tater Chip. I still think he's figuring out how to play. I think his back end on the line is really good. I think his rally back in cross court, he misses more than he should. I've gotten to watch him more the last month.

probably than i than i have before i love his upside and he still has to figure out how to be the most effective version of himself given his weaponry um i do not have him going to the semi-finals this year but i will say I'm happy if I'm wrong. Because the roof would blow off of this tournament because he is so electric in the crowds

can feel and see and he's engaging and he's a star before the results have really gotten there. But he is creating interest unlike anyone I've seen maybe since Alcaraz, four or five years ago. So I'd be happy. to be wrong with this but he'd have to go through jw i know i know you don't want like reality getting in the way of a good story he would have to go through her coach he would have to go through oh this is gonna mom feast versus draper second round don't sleep on that one

That's exactly, wait, wait, keep, because I also think, let's do a 30-second Elizabeth Banks valedictory to Gaël Monfils, who in all likelihood might be playing his final Ron Gareth. But no, that's exactly what I see, is Monfils gets the crowd going. draper's had a great year but i'm clay is not his best surface and then he's going to upset special is he doing it upset special I hate that so much less than your Fonseca semis call. I can't. I can't do the upset yet, but that is a...

Monfils, Roland Garros, crowd going. It just Draper creates so much speed on that forehand side. If Monfils is just making back ends, it's going to feed the middle of the court. Draper is going to be able to step back on Gale's second serve and just rip a matchup without all the extracurriculars, which are a big deal. JW might give them more credit than me normally. I think that changes with Mom Feast in Paris. I think that is an absolute factor.

Gosh. So you're taking Draper? I'm taking Draper over Monfils. Draper has maybe the toughest draw that I've seen so far. Um... First round should be fine. Monfius is a nightmare. I think QB Herkoc is a nightmare for him just based on matchup because he's not going to be able to break all the time. QB is going to rush through service games. Um, huh. Isn't Hubie like sub 500 for the year? I think he's playing as we speak. Let's see how he's doing. He's played horrendously this year.

And also, he's won three or four matches in Rome, and he's won at least two matches in Geneva. I have a recency bias that I think matters going into slams. I know he was battling some injuries. Gosh, man, I don't know about this. I don't feel confident. Who do you have here? Yeah, that's a great question. I have a hard time. Draper, Demon, and then the matchup. Demon's so tough, but if Draper gets through that, he's playing well. I guess Draper, the quarters. I don't...

I don't feel confident in that. He could lose to Monfeas, he could lose to Hubie. I don't think Demon is actually a pretty good matchup for him. He rolled him at the U.S. Open last year, and I know he was a little hurt. Zverev and Tien, that's a fun one. So you have Sinner over Draper? I have Sinner in the semis. I meant Fonseca Quarters. Fonseca's not beating Sinner.

I meant to, sorry. I overplayed my hand there. Hey, producer Mike, if you could go back for the last 10 minutes and just tone down my excitement about like 47%. Maybe instead of... Oh, it's a... Oh, we'll still use the clickbait. Yeah, I know you have. I know you will. Okay. Zverev over LernerTN. You getting that itch again?

J.W., I'm, this is like, exactly, this is, it's tempting, but I think, keep in mind, well, we'll keep going on Zverev. I think Zverev gets by it. Lerner Tien, trying to go back-to-back week two of majors. I think he can frustrate Zverev. I don't know if he beats him best of five, but... I can't quite bring myself to call the upset, but it's tempting. Yeah, Zverev is going to hold a bunch. I love Lerner-Tien, but Zverev is going to be able to make a million returns. He's going to coast back.

I think Lerner maybe needs a little bit of help from the court. He has a great slice. He kind of pokes that backhand through. He kind of has that little pop shot forehand like Grosjean used to have. I'm not betting. Vesverev in majors is different also. I know we criticize him for not having won a major, but the guy is at the tail end of almost every major. We can't say he doesn't perform in majors. He absolutely...

performs in majors. He'd maybe not major finals to this point, but the first 13 days of slams, he's there all the time. Beating him three out of five is different. He did say he was sick. Last week, but I think he'll be over that. Jesper De Jong, you mentioned him. He's been playing strangely well on clay. I like Zverev over. Zverev for the third round. For me, FAA and Arnaldi. Okay, I got my first upset special.

Here we go. Yeah. Arnoldi over FAA. Caboli has been like up and down. He's like a heart rate monitor. I have Zverev and Arnaldi in the third round. Who do you like there, JW? What is it? Keep the gun and hold the caboli. Take the caboli. Remember when Felix took... I feel like you're just making things up today. You're judging. 見えます Wait, can we? It's like we're on the verge of sayings.

Remember when FAA took two sets off of Rafa with Uncle Tony in the box? That feels like it was like 1983. This has been a rough go of it for Felix. I got nothing fancy until... We'll go to that next section. Sorundolo, big dark horse potential there. Did you take Arnoldi to the third round, or did you take FAA to the third round?

I took Arnaldi. Okay. I think you're right. I think Arnaldi wins that match right off the bat. I'm close to Arnaldi against Varev. Don't bet against the Italians. Yeah, that's true. Okay, I got my... I got it. I got it. Okay. Sarundalo is my pick for someone to outperform their seed on Tennis Channel, which is a great segment when you haven't seen a draw yet, by the way. I love it when that comes across. Who's going to outperform their seed?

It doesn't matter who who they play, just randomly say shit. I took Sviatek, she was five. I was like, you can't do that. I'm like, you can do it. I can, yeah. I can do whatever I want. I have a podcast. Okay, Greek Spore. Jerome has been playing great. I like Sarindolo. Sarindolo, I'm going to walk him through to the quarters, folks. Wow. Because that Zverev-Arnoldi match is going to be a little tight. I'm just, that's going to be, I think Arnoldi is really good.

Zverev, Zverev, Zverev. Who's got the Google machine? Who's got ChatGPT? Has Zverev ever lost to Zverev? Give me a sec. Ajovich, I guess. Dimitrov. He's 3-0 against Merov. I'm just telling you, Sarindolo. Surundalo to the semifinals. All on clay, by the way. Surundalo to the semifinals. Wow. Yeah, I'm not far away from that call, by the way. Do we have any updates on Novak in Geneva? Is that diesel engine starting to go?

I know. They're 38 years old today. And then once it starts running, it never stops. Exactly. He literally is a diesel engine. He's either not going to start or he's going to drive across the country. I know. I saw that. I didn't know what happened there. Yeah, the draw came out. We're in studio an hour later. I haven't seen it. That's where we're at. Okay, we're going to cruise this next section.

Over Nori, Ruzavori, Stanmorenka. I think Friendly's actually pretty good on Klay. Mehdi through that section. I like Mehdi to the round of 16. I mean, Novak got a good draw, by the way. Great draw. I love Mackie McDonald, but the way that I digest a good draw isn't based on what I think of a given player. It's what I think about the matchup. Novak, someone with that is going to hit balls. The ball flight is kind of straight through the court.

You know, he becomes a game of pong if someone's trying to attack him straight through the court, which Mackey McDonald does well. It's just less effective against someone like a Novak. I'm going to take, so my problem is, with Novak specifically in this moment in time, is if he gets, I want to go Sorondo Lossemi so bad, but if Novak gets through two or three rounds, then he kind of starts morphing into, he's like a transformer right now.

Like if he starts changing, it's like he's this animal who's going to kill you. I like... I like... I don't know who's going to win Novak Medi. I have Novak versus Mehdi. He was more likely to get upset. Kovacev, Edgar Savory, Fernley. Medvedev hasn't won a title since 2023, if any kind. That's okay. He made the quarters of Rome. He's playing a little bit. I guess when we get to that part, it's going to be Novak.

I have Novak in the quarters. And then once he's in the quarters, he's like, Novak again. I was going to say, what's Novak in week two? Remember he, Sarundalo is the player. What? That's what I'm saying. It's like impossible because like Novak, if he would have played Sarundalo. in the round of 32 It's different.

And that's the one that he beat in five and then couldn't play again, right? Like last year? He played him last year in the round of 16 with a shredded knee. So, yeah, and won. So make of that what you will. 38 is a big number. Remember Mackey McDonald, I think, beat Rafa at his last Australian Open? Imagine if Mackey McDonald... takes out Nadal and Djokovic in the span of 18 months. I have Sarandala to the semis as well.

Me too, man. Got it. I can't. So we got sinners. I'm going to feel so stupid when Novak beats him 2-2-2 in the quarters. I should know better at this point. It's just, I don't know what we're seeing. He's lost five first rounds this year. And it's like, I know, I'm going to know if I'm wrong by the third round.

I'm going to be doing a quick serve, and Novak's going to have beaten Mackie and Moutet. Actually, Moutet is going to be... Nah, he doesn't have enough firepower. That's a tough... That could be tricky. You know what's nice about that? We'll do a redraw heading into the course. We'll make fun of ourselves. Wait, who is the trivia? I think I'm right on this, but I don't know. Who is the only player in the draw to have beaten Novak at Roland Garros? Is it not?

lurking potentially in round three. Look at Stan Vavrenka, little tip of the cap, got a wild card. Former champion. Yeah, I love Stan Vavrenka. endlessly admire the fact that he you can see him playing second round of a challenger right now and as his His intensity is the same as if he was playing a semifinal at Roland Garros in 2015. Like, the guy is just dialed. I don't think that he will be a factor in this tournament.

But, I mean, no brainer, wild card. Someone who's won before. All right, flip the page. Musetti, Nakashima section. Musetti is like an animal right now. I don't know. It takes a player of massive caliber to beat him right now. Navone, Opelka. Nakashima. I'm going to take Nakashima Musetti, but Musetti's in my fourth round, JW. Yeah, man, is Musetti having a nice year, that one hander. Remember, this is the guy who had a two sets to love lead.

Novak at this event a few years ago. I like Musetti. I don't see a lot of trouble for him, at least until potentially... Holger Runa. But yeah, I have him through. So that means you have Runa through that section. Baez, Kachmanovic, Nava, Vendazanskulp. Nailed it.

Nailed it. Runa, Runa, RBA, does that give you any pause? No. Little veteran, makes life difficult. I mean, unless Runa just plays an extremely nervous match, which he plays up and down to his competition. He plays someone who's three in the world. and he beats them a lot of the time, and then he has these weird results where he lost to Moutet.

who has not a lot... I mean, he's tricky, and he's a really intelligent player, and he brings you into the gutter, but, you know, he's not someone who's going to affect an Alcaraz on clay, but Runa, like... Mahatcha, you know, I think he is a problem. He retired, if I'm not mistaken, in Geneva yesterday against someone. That's redundant. I've never seen a player with more retirements. Is that right?

Oh my god, yeah. Mahach? Yeah. Durability, not a core strength there. I have Musetti to the quarters. Any objections? Speak now. We're holding our piece. Look at Runa's record. Runa's record at Roland Garros is really strong, but I have to move Setti to the... I was with him to the semis. Holger to the fourth round. You guys both do? Holger to the fourth round. Musetti through.

Francis Safulin, Carino Busta, Comisana, Brooksby. This is a soft pocket here, this Tiafocorda. No one has been playing great. All right, I got your... I got, okay, I got a story for you. I got your story. Who do you like in this section? Maybe we have the same story. How far deeper we go? I mean, there are a lot of nice players. I'm just not sure Clay.

I don't know. You want to play the Sebastian Korda's Bound to Break Through One of These Days card? I'm begging off that one. You take him to the semis of every tournament. I'm begging off that one. He'll make it now. No, I'm going to go... What do you got? I'm going... JW needs a story to write. We're going to get it for him. I'm going Brooks B to the fourth round. What? Love it. Love that. To me, it doesn't matter because I'm taking, you know, I'm taking Musetti to the semis.

So everything else in this section is kind of just foreplay for Musetti getting to the semis. It doesn't really matter. I think he's getting to the semis. Taylor Fritz, Altmaier, that's not an easy first round. Alex Mickelson. That's not an easy first round. I will take Taylor. I mean, this is a great draw. This is all the Americans stacked in one section. There could be someone like...

Tiago Montero could come through this second. This is a weird section. I think Altmaier beat Sinner a few years ago at Roland Garros. Altmaier's got that one-handed backhand. I don't think he's top 50 anymore, but that's not an easy match for Taylor. The problem is Altmaier needs time, the swings are so big, and Taylor's strength is taking time away. He'll be able to just crush balls middle and Altmaier needs that time. This is crazy. I'm going to take Fritz to the quarters, I think.

I like the fact that he's winning a couple of matches in Geneva. I have Musetti going to the semis, and I feel like outside of center, I feel pretty confident in that call. I think he is playing great tennis. until he gets to someone like a sinner, Alcaraz, who is just like one of the Avengers. If he's not losing to anyone that's not an Avenger right now. I have exactly the same. Obviously, Casper, Poprin. Shout out, Psychobun.

Oh, not yet. Okay. We got another semifinalist from last year, Tabilo. You want to ride that train again, JW? Man, Chile really let me down, didn't it? My success rate on those players resembled a map of Chile. It was very... Yeah, we're... Arthur Cazzo, fun little shot maker. This is pretty soft, too, for Casper, huh? I think so. Your Madrid winner got some nice treatment from the draw gods here. I love. So next section, Tommy Paul hatching off. That's a big third round there.

That's a big third round. This is one of those ones where I think I love Tommy Paul. I want to take him to the quarters. I love what he's been doing. But my issue is that I know that Rude is, I'm very, very confident that Rude's going to be in the fourth round and that Hatchinoff matchup is a little tough. So it's like I'm hedging my, it's not, to me, it's not a Paul versus Rude conversation. It's a Paul versus Hatchinoff and then Rude. I'm taking Casper to the quarters, but like

If we get to the point where it's Tommy Paul and Rude straight up, watch out. Paul is becoming really good at taking time away on clay. He's so much fun to watch. He's so complete. He can beat you in a bunch of different ways. Um...

You're going to do it? You're going to move him on? No, I'm taking Rude to the quarters, but it's not because I don't have faith in Tommy Paul. It's just because I'm literally thinking Rude versus Paul in a silo versus Paul versus Hatchinoff and then Paul versus Rude.

It's like, I think Rude's most likely to get through that section. Are you questioning if Tommy's going to make it to the fourth? No, I think that Hatchinoff is a, he's getting to the fourth. I have him in the fourth. But if I miss, I think I'm more likely to miss on Paul to the fourth than Rue to the fourth just based on draw. So I'm kind of like hedging my bet.

When you see Paul Rood, do you not think I love you, man? Kansas City-based comedian. I get it. Do you not see Paul Rudd? I get it. Tommy Paul, by the way, former, I mean, you know, granted we're all like 10 years ago, but... Former boys champion, so he can play on clay. Tommy Paul's kind of just He's gotten so buttoned up and uses that athleticism well and not as a crutch now. He's so athletic. He's so complete. I think Brad Stein doesn't get talked about enough.

He has literally turned his entire career around and credit to Tommy. for completely buying in. He is there every single week now. If only he would make his car payment. Repo man. Exactly. He's a losing record against the credit bureau. Can we make a deal? I don't know. There's no chance that anyone listens to this podcast, but if Tommy makes the fourth round, can he pay off his car?

Yeah, I think he already did. He already did. Does Brad Stein do personal finance along with first-rate tennis tennis? Apparently not. Okay. I'm just going to skip. Alcaraz to the semis. He is a monster. Ben Shelton, Sonico. Sonico has not been playing great. I'm going to go Ben. Tsitsipas, that Ben Tsitsipas is really interesting because that's a bad matchup for Steph. I'm going to go Ben to the fourth round. Um, Morosian. that's true

You have Tsitsipas winning that first rounder. Yeah, I do. Okay. I do. Another big slugger can play on clay. I'm not stopping you from doing whatever you'd like. I have Echeverry. Oh, wow. Blue light special. Do you have him to the fourth round? I mean, you're right. At some level, this is Carlos's pocket, so it's all silly, but I think Carlos beats Ben. I mean, yeah, yeah. I think Carlos beats Ben. Okay. I have Carlos over Roode. I have him over Ben.

Carlos in the semis, Carlos in the final. And I have, let's turn back the clock. I have a center, Alcaraz, final. Winner? Carlos Alcaraz. Buen barrio. Yeah, this is so boring. Can we have like Fonseca in the quarters or something to spice this up? No, I have, I think that Rome final looms large. You know, these guys have won each of the last.

Five majors, right? They've never played each other. So this would be their first major final, right? First major final, obviously, last year. People forget how close Yannick's center was to winning Roland Garros last year.

He had Zverev in the final, but he was two sets to one up, and Carlos like was hanging on in that fourth set and then he was able to turn it but Sinner's like really good on clay it's one of those things where it's like well it's not his best service I'm like he's still like top three in the world exactly Tom, you're taking Carlos final. Okay, here's what we got. I got round of 16. Sinner Feast.

I have Sinner, Sinner, Chicken Dinner over Sinner Feast, Demon Draper, Sinner Draper, Sinner Semis, Zverev, Sarundalo. I have Sarundalo to the Semis, Medi, Novak. I'm so, I hate this Novak of things right now. I hate. I know I'm gonna be a fucking idiot about it God, I just don't know. I don't know if his body is healthy. We just don't know. We haven't seen him in a month. And the last two times we've seen him, he just looked like half Novak, you know?

I could eat shit on that one. That means 19. That means 19-year-old Novak. I could eat shit on that one, but here we are. Either way, I think it's center in the final. Round of 16, I have Musetti over Runa. I have Fritz over Brooksby. I have Musetti getting to the semis. You know it's bad when Techie Sean's shaking his head violently on one of your picks. Just loves. Yeah. What are you upset about over there?

You almost got concussed from that head shake. I'm just surprised you have Brooksby that far. Yeah, me too. I'm not mad at you. Rude Paul. America, baby. I have Rude Carlos, Carlos, Carlos over Mercedi, Carlos over Sinner in the final. Here's your winner, John. Man, this is so boring. With the possible exception of Fonseca in the quarters, I think we have virtually... I mean, you're right about it. Novak is the great... Novak is the big wild card here. 38 years old. Ugh. And...

Can he take two minutes? He won this event. You know, because Novak last year Right here. He last year had the knee injury. He won the match. He won the gold medal. He hasn't lost a role in Garrison years. Exactly. And the player who beat him that year is not in the draw. So I like Nadal to the semifinals. I mean, I think Novak could... lose to quarantine Moutet and it would not be out of character for his results this year and Novak could win this 25th major

vaulting him past Margaret Court, and we'd say, yeah, we were an idiot for picking against him. I mean, the delta on Novak.

Novak's going to lose to Mattel, and this is going to get clipped when it happens. Novak's going to lose to Mattel. Like, I'm going to let Techie Sean kick me in the nuts right now. All right. All right, so you got Carlos or... You know what else I got? I got... same as and i have carlos carlos beating center in a fourth set final to push their head-to-head to seven to four and carlos will have won his

Fifth major. That's what I got. So the only difference you guys have in that is, I think, Fonseca. Yeah. I mean, listen, I'm not in the business of having to write stories. I normally just try to go with discipline and like a lot of people in draw shows try to make the wacky call. This is the most buttoned up I've seen a war time. And there's no marriage advantage or anything in this list. No Chileans. He got married and won four games of UNO.

We've only done the men here. I'm staying away from the Chileans. Andy grabbed an ollie pop and that means it's time for us to take a break. Fine. Support for the show comes from Amazon Prime. You might know Prime for fast free delivery or maybe as your favorite place to stream shows, movies, and sports. But it's also a great way to dive deeper into your hobbies and passions. Into cooking, you can buy new cutleries.

time you watch your favorite cooking show on prime video in the crowd Crime can be your gift. kingdom of yarn and felt. fix those broken drawers a year ago you can find the tool to making playlists on Amazon. Prime helps you go. by this microphone. Mike and Techie. Sean are always... We use Prime for everything. Whatever you're into, it's on Prime. to get more out of whatever you're This week on Unexplainable. I want to tell you about this guy I came across who has tied little leashes.

to butterflies and moths, like little leashes out of fishing line, and taking them for a walk. around his lab and by walks I mean little tiny flights so like imagine a dude with like a real life kite on the other end is a butterfly and he's like walking it around a room Um, okay. Why is he doing this, Benji? Find out on Unexplainable. New episodes every Monday and Wednesday. Okay, welcome back to Serve. This is the French Open Draw Show. First time I am seeing...

The women's draw, no massive calls really on the men's side. We have Carlos over Sinner. But we complain when they're not around, then we complain when they're in the final. I don't know. You tell me. It doesn't seem like there were great options. All right. Sabalenka in the same section as Leila Fernandez. Danielle Collins. Sneaky in there. I have Collins in the third round against...

Sabalenka. I have Sabalenka in the fourth round. It's going to take a lot for me to bet against Sabalenka at a major right now. I'm assuming you have Sabalenka to the fourth round, or do we need to have your head checked? No, I have Sabalenka to the fourth round and well beyond. As you say, she has become very, very reliable in these big events. I have Clara Tawson to the fourth round.

of that next section, which includes Lynette Roos, Kvitova, welcome back, and Anna Samova, the 16th seed. I like Clara Tawson. She's been winning matches. Not the slickest mover out there. I like Anna Samova, who is very hot and cold, can beat anyone, can also take some bad losses. Anna Samova, before COVID, came within a few games of making the final. I like Anna Samova. I don't think anyone's beating Sabalenka, but I'll take, um...

I'll take Ana Samova. I also like Olga Danilovich to upset Leila Fernando. Yeah, I like that lefty. Big, kind of weird, sweeping kicker. She's a really good player. Beat Daniel Collins last year when we thought Daniel Collins. Daniel Collins was on a heater. I like Sabalenka through to the quarters. I'm assuming you're not taking Anna Simova to the quarters? I am not. Okay. Sabalenka in the quarters. Ooh. This is a tough section.

This is a brutal section. I don't know what to do here. Diana Schneider. had Paolini against the ropes in Rome. I have Schneider to the third round. I have Schneider to the fourth round. She's really good lefty. She won four times on tour last year. Peyton Stern. All right, you ready for my first upset special? I know where you're going. All right, what do you got? I have Peyton Stearns over... Quinn one. Whoa! Really? Love that! Because, uh...

The player who just beat Sabalenka won the gold medal at this very same venue. That's an interesting pick. I mean, Peyton Stearns is a really fun watch and a real battler. And she won three straight matches, 7-6 in the third last week. You think that might help your confidence at a career high ranking? New coaching situation, a lot to like with Peyton Stearns. That's a bold pick, though.

One I'm not prepared to make, though it's not Crazy Town, but that's a big pick. Do you have Zhang? I do. And then do you have Zhang or Schneider in the quarters? Zhang. I have Schneider in the quarters. Xiong Chen win. I kind of have calculated upsets. I don't think it's similar to the Missetti thing. I can take Brooksby on a flyer.

Because I don't think anyone's beating Sabalenka in this section. And I know Zhang just beat her last week, so respect for that. It was the first time she had beat her. I think she's 1-6 against her now. But I'll take a flyer if I'm pretty confident someone's in the semis. Letter Reptator Chip. I like Saba. I like Saba Link in the semis. JW? Same. Okay. Ooh, Paolini. She's like one of my new favorites. Oh, she's so good. Paolini.

Fourth round. There's no one that's really informed. Noskova is very dangerous. Can hit it big. But... I have Paolini through to the fourth round, Potapova, Kristea. A lot of really good players, but I don't think anyone that is coming in with heaps of confidence. Do you like Paolini to the fourth round, JW? Yeah, I do. And God, I mean, I think you're right. There's something to be said for the joy she spreads coming off...

Coming off the Rome title, finalist last year, I don't think she's going to play up to her seating, but more on that in a minute. I like her to the fourth round. Okay, I have Vekic and Svitolina in the next section of the third round. I have Svitolina beating Vekic to play Paolini in the fourth round. Why am I wrong? I don't think you are. I mean, I don't think Klay is Vekic's best surface and Caroline Garcia, former top five player. Vekic win... She made the finals of the Olympics last year?

Yeah, you're right. I think she lost in the first round of Roland Garros to Olga Danilovic, aforementioned, and then comes back at the same venue and wins a silver medal. So that's a nice bounce back. Yeah, I think she plays to her seeding and then loses to Svitolina. Paolini and Svitolina, this one's tough for me. I know. Svitolina's been playing great, and obviously so has Paolini. This one's a tough one. This is almost a coin flip for me. What I can't do

is even if I'm wrong, Paolini has made me eat shit on my picks for the last year, and I just need to pay my respects. I have to get on the train. The definition of insanity is what, Mike? Doing something over and over again, knowing the result. Expecting a different result. I have Paolini in the quarters, but that is a, underline that one, circle it, exclamation points. That is a pick-em in my mind. JW, Paolini to the quarters, or he likes Vitalina.

A rare lapse into research, and I see that Spitalina, I think, has won more. Spitalina has won more clay court matches than any other WTA player this year. Sneaky. Married to a, uh, married to a French player. Oh, there we go. Oh, there we go. We got it. And she's still, ah, she's married. I forgot her marriage. What I mean is she gets out of the corners and she can control, rallies, and has turned her defensive style into more of an offensive-minded player. I like to lean it to the...

Spitalina to the semis, actually. Spitalina to the semis. Talking crazy. Oh my goodness. This is great. Oh, I know what you're going to do. I'm looking at the next section. I know what you're going to do. Spitalina also lives across the street from...

So she doesn't live across the street from the French Open. She lives across the street from Roland Garros, but she's playing in the French Open. As much as TNT wants us to say she's playing in Roland Garros, the tournament is the French Open. She's playing at Roland Garros. Charles Barkley is 100% right. So if I went into Google Maps and typed in French Open, it's not going to be like 304 French Open Boulevard. It might. I don't know. How many French Opens has Rafa Nadal won?

14. Okay, great. 14 rolling arrows. 14 rolling arrows. No, he didn't win. How's he fit all the He didn't win the venue. He won the tournament. Yeah. Okay. Anyways, I digress. Branding. Yeah. Rabakina. Okay. Upset special. Benchitz beats Rabakina. Oh, love that. Friend of Love All. Friend of the Love All podcast. Check it out. With clisters and social stuff. Jovich is good. U.S., by the way, if you're over there and you want to see a future star, Eva Jovich.

Young from America, very good. I have Bencic to the third round. Ostapenko. Oh, God, this is great. I know exactly what John's going to do. Ostapenko, Bencic, do you have that in the third round? I do. And I'm assuming you have Austin Penko over Benchich because you want... No. No, of course. No, no. I lost a panko to the quarters.

Okay, so those who are listening who don't have the draw in front of him don't know what he just did yet, so I'll fill it in. So he has Ostapenko to... the quarters, which means that she will be, do you even have Ega to the round of 16? I do with an asterisk, but yeah. What do you mean do with an asterisk? You ever do with an asterisk? Look at Iga's draw. Look at Iga's draw.

Yeah, Kostiuk was my sleeper in the entire tournament. This is a brutal draw. Weirdly, here's where I'm going with this. Sometimes... like knowing that you get a brutal draw kind of locks you in. Like it's, I could argue that she needs to be ready to go from like the word go. I remember one year I had my worst loss ever at Wimbledon, but I lost to Lou, and it was just a gag fest. I fucking just choked my ass off this year after I made the final out on court 27.

But like I had gotten through like Lodger and Kohlschreiber and like all these really good grass court players. And I got to Lou and I was like, A little spent. Euro in the open, I played Henman and then Lubacic first two rounds, which was like brutal, but I was like there from the word go. I'm going to pay my respects. Iga Sviatek to the semis. We have to have some semblance of respect for this, but she has the most brutal draw on.

Either side, men's, women's, I'm not as mad at you as I thought I was going to be when I just thought you were doing the Ostapenko-Sviatek thing. I didn't realize Kostiuk has played Sabalenka tougher. than anyone who, you know, Zhang beat her, but like two tournaments in a row, Madrid and Rome, second set breakers, like really, really great tennis. Kostiak is playing great stuff. She could make a run here, but... I just have to like respect.

the four-time Roland Garros champion, and think that she's going to find something. I'm taking Iga to the semis. Really? That can't be that surprising. I know. The player that's won this event for the last five times is going to get to the semifinals. Crazy.

Wait, let's table this for another podcast, but I think there's actually a really interesting discussion about what you just said. How much of these tournaments is like softening the beach and players get a little, you know, they've got a tough match and then they have a hard time recovering versus.

they play themselves into a tournament and beating Emma Raducanu and Kostiuk actually sharpens you. I think it's a great, just table it now, but it's a really good point for us to discuss. The long matches thing is different because You play a one-week event on the women's side. You're playing five matches in seven days. It's two out of three sets. It's not a tougher mental lift, which definitely has an effect on the physical lift.

But you could argue that physically with a day in between of every match that The physical nature is actually a little bit easier. Now, it's not the same. We can't apply those same metrics to the women's side as the men's side where if you get dragged into a four and a half hour five setter and then have to turn it around quickly. That's a different scenario. The physicality on the men's side with three out of five sets is just way different. And that shouldn't be controversial at all.

At all. It's time spent on the court. It's your body just dragging through. So I don't know that you can apply the same metrics to the women's side of like... If you have tough ones early, but it, it also works. They were like Novak. I want him. Like if you're Novak, you want matches where you can work your way into the tournament. If you're Iga, she's either going to find it or she's not. When she's the best version of herself, she beats these players on clay.

Now can she find it? She's been there. 10 days early. I don't know if that's good or bad. You got something? She was at the draw ceremony and they interviewed her afterwards. And the guy interviewing her was like, oh, you feel like you've gotten a lot of matches in. Do you feel good? And she basically was like,

yeah, I've seen everything in this sport that it's thrown at me. And she's like, I'm 24 years old. She's right. Right. And you're like, you're just like, Oh man, it's what we say all the time. Or what I say all the time. It's like, She's 24. Sabalenka's 27 or 28. She's four years on. She's finally found that cadence.

Now, Iga's working backwards. Our strengths are our weaknesses. She's intense. She is stressed. But that also keeps her in the moment all the time. I don't know. I get why. It's amazing to me. that we're having this conversation where it's shocking that I'm taking Iga Sviantek to the semis. And I get why she hasn't been in great form, but she still made the semis of Madrid. She made the semis of the Australian Open. She's played fine for normies.

There's been a final in 50 weeks now. You haven't made a final in 50 weeks. So you come to this event where you're like the DDD defending champion. You've won this event four times since COVID. You've got this draw, then you're staring at Ostapenko, who apart from the head-to-head... Ostapenko frigging won this event also once. I'm not mad at you for not doing it. I'm just saying I need to plant my flag on the ground and pay some respect. If I go down and I'm wrong...

I can live with myself with the respecting Edith Viantic call because I think that that respect fades too quickly with her. Yeah. No, and by contrast that, I mean, you know, conversely, I don't think picking against her is a show of disrespect. But I don't, I just, it's not bad, bad, bad juju there. I don't think she's, I don't think she's getting to the semis. First time in half a decade, she's been an underdog.

Yeah, which is strange. Sabalenka Iga. See, this is where I'm taking Sabalenka just because I have more faith in her being in the semis. Right. And then, John, who do you have, Sabalenka or Svitolina? I have Sabalenka beating Svitolina in the semis. Yeah. Let's take a quick break. You take a quick break. Welcome back to Served brought to you by Amazon Prime French Open Draw Special. First time I'm seeing...

The second half of the women's draw, I see Mira Andreva up top. Putin Seva. It's going to take a lot for me to bet against Andreva. I'm just going to tell you that right now. Putin, Seva, that's all five. Andreva in the fourth round. JW, any problems with that? Same. Keep going. The next section should be tough, but they haven't been playing great. Ooh, Badosa, Osaka.

That's a tough one. Weirdly, you would have never thought you'd be at the point where it's like Osaka's been playing better on clay than Medosa. I'm going upset special. Osaka over Bedosa. Bedosa has not been playing well in the last couple of weeks. I know you're going to take Kazutkin into the third round. Australia's own. Australia's own. And I love that. Kazutkina versus who in the third round, JW? Um...

Yeah, I think Bedosa's back is the big variable here. If she's 80% or better, she ought to be okay, but... Remember what Osaka did last year against IGA? Actually, you know what? I'm going to change that. I'm going to Osaka.

I think Osaka... How about this? Osaka to the fourth round. How do you like that? I'm with you. And I got Andreva over Osaka in the fourth round. Yeah. One, because I actually think that she'll win and she's playing better. And also, I think she's more likely to get to the... The fourth round. Okay, Mukhova, who has maybe been my worst call of the year so far because I thought she was just going to crush this year. Mertens is actually playing.

Pretty well, soccer-y. I have Mertens to the fourth round. Muhova's health is the big question mark, right? It always is. Yeah. Great player, fun watch, semi-finalist at this event. Coming off back-to-back semifinals in New York, but she can't stay healthy. Mertens just beat someone good. Mertens, I think, beat Pagula, right, in Rome? She wins matches every week. She's just such a pro. Yeah, solid pro. No, I'll go with Muhova.

Alright, I have, and there's a couple points to be made in this next session. Magdalena Fresh, that's really cool. She's seated, plays Anz Jabor. Anz can play on... Surfaces that are slippery, whether it's grass, whether it's clay, she can make it hard for you. Jess Pagula has gotten to the status where...

I look at a draw and I just know, I give her a lot of faith, even if she doesn't have a huge run of form coming, right? Like she has been, she hasn't made a huge run in any of these events. She hasn't made the semi. She lost this week in a warmup. event to Radhikanu. I like Pagula through to the quarters just because she's so proven at this point. I don't think she's going to get phased by much. JW? Yeah. Jesse it's time to cook

Replace that. No, I think you're right. She didn't play this event last year. Look at her results after taking that hiatus in 2024. I think you're right. Just sort of on solid buttoned-upness alone. I like Pagula at least to the fourth round. I have Pagula-Mertens. I have Pagula over-Mertens in the quarters. I have Andre over to the semis. We end up in the same place, a little different route. So you have Mertens over Pakula?

I have Mujava losing to Andreva to get to the semis. Wow. God, you're going from zero to 60 on momentum there. I'm hoping for full health. it's a lot of hope all right next section Maddie keys I like her okay can we we just need to take a second Sophia Kennan Obviously in 2020, I think she was WTA player of the year that year, wins Australia, makes the finals of the weird French Open. That was in October, I think.

We all, it was like she's one of the best players in the world and we all kind of had this expectation that she would stay there and everything in her game looked complete. She had a rough go for years, and she was 150 in the world coming back. She is seated in this event, and I just want to give her props for really putting her head down and getting herself back.

on tour into a seated position. Props to Sophia Kennan. I actually, I like her. Azarenka. Oh, Azarenka's so tough, but I just don't think she has a form coming in. I have Kennan and Keys. It's tough for me to bat against Matty Keys. In that section, what are you seeing there, JW? I love what you just said about Kennet. There's so many players that should look at her as a source of inspiration. Her ranking went deep into the triple digits.

And now she's back to being a seeded player. Azarenka is danger, danger, danger, but it's been a rough, bit of a rough year for her. I think... Yeah, I think you're right. Madison Key is riding the seven major win streak. I think she probably gets that going at least in double figures. I like Maddie.

I like Maddie. I like, I don't, this section of Hadad, Maya, Navarro, it's not full of anyone who has been playing great coming in. So I guess I'll take Emma Navarro to the fourth round. I like keys in the quarters. Hadad Maia, I don't know if you've seen her. She just beat Navarro today. Yeah, big physical player. Lefty.

the game just doesn't really coalesce for her at majors. You sort of watch her practice. She's a lefty. She's got to be like probably 6'1", 6'2". I mean, you watch her practice and you're like, this is a top 10 player. It just never really quite seems to happen. i don't know isn't navarro also the exact kind of player who

loses to the same player once in a row and then exacts for revenge. I don't know. I have keys over at Navarro. Okay, I do too. This next section, it's like, is Barbara Kachikova might be the exception to my thing is like I'd like people to win matches going into majors or I'd like people to at least have some momentum. She could not win a match for two years, and I'm like, oh, she's a threat in the slam. She's done it before. She's won the French Open, and she's won Wimbledon. I love it.

She is such a professional. I just don't, you just never know. Like. Okay, this is going to be the one where I give props, and if this matchup actually happens, then it's... If Krishika, she's like the Novak of this draw. If she gets through her first couple of rounds and finds her form, then she is a real problem for the entire field. I can't bet against Coco. I have Coco in the semis.

But with the caveat of that's because I have confidence in her getting to the fourth ground. If Krachikova gets to the fourth round, that's going to be a real problem for Coco and for everyone else that she plays. If she makes the fourth round, she might as well make the semis.

Check this out. I don't think Krajikov has played. I mean, I totally agree. I mean, look at her record at big events and just all credit to her. She's a Hall of Famer if she quit tomorrow. I don't think she's won a match this year, has she? Doesn't matter. I think the last match she won was in Riyadh. I don't win a lot of matches, but when I do, I win slams. I mean, a back injury also. Do you ever have a back injury?

Yeah, I have one right now. Every day. Yeah, that's... Yeah, it's tough. Krachikov is like the opposite of me. I win a lot of matches all the time and go deep and then just don't win slams and she doesn't win any matches and just win slams. And doubles, too. I mean, don't you think realistically. She played a tune-up this week. I think that was her first tournament of 2025. I don't know if WTA's website's right, but it's saying year-to-date she hasn't played at all.

Yeah, I don't know. I should play this week. I'm just... I'm just... What I'm telling you is that I don't believe it. I'm going to take Coco to the semis. I'm just giving... This is a respect pick of Krachikov out of the fourth round. Just because I think like so highly of her, I just, you know, I have Coco to the semis just because I think she's the most reliable.

You know, Matty Keys is fantastic, but, like, that Kennen matchup bothers me a little bit. In the third round, Kennen is able to accept pace and redirect, and, like, that matchup is not easy. I have Coco to the final. Oh, man. If this were like Crossfire, we would have had a little conference. If this were a classic debate show, we would make sure we were on opposite sides of the bet. I have the exact same thing.

Big limb we're jumping out on here. I have the number one player beating the number two player in the final. So do I. Should we make this like every other sports talk show where we just argue sides that we don't believe in and just raise our voices and act like we know everything and that we're not just guessing? I think Caitlin Clark stinks. Yeah, I'm an expert. My favorite, like, basketball commentary. You have to make that shot when you're in the corner if you're getting picked.

Thank you for that. That was the goal of the shot. Your analysis is you have to make that shot. Generally the goal of all shots are to make that shot. Fucking great. Thank you so much. You gotta be ahead when the time runs out. God, kill me. Or you can turn it into an SNL skit. Yeah. Shabalenka is really good at tennis. Great. Thank you.

We have a lot of differences. You guys have some differences in the fourth round and the quarter. Yeah, we do. There was a little bit, but at the end of the day... We have one versus two. It's like, but it's just, you know, they're the best players in the world for a reason. You know, we don't have a gambling sponsor. Yeah. Oh, we should do a gambling show. That'd be great.

Yeah, my guy. You know what we do have, though? What? A newsletter. Oh, okay. We're going to have a special newsletter come out with this draw special. You know what we might do? We might highlight all of your guys' different picks, and we're going to keep track. Oh, good. We're going to see who's right and who's wrong. I felt better when he picked Tabilo and Yari to the semis, I gotta be honest. Last year I felt a little better. I'm kind of like, when, uh...

What do I get when Seb Korda wins the trophy? Oh, you're going to be devastated. Oh, my gosh. That's going to happen the one time you don't pick him to the final. He's going to, like, I actually now think, like, he's going to run the table. I also, we didn't get to this, but I have Sabalenka over Coco in the final as well. But that's that. That's our live draw show. We'll be wrong. We're going to be doing a ton of quick serves starting on Sunday. Yeah, Sunday night.

We definitely have to do one post Rafa ceremony. Yes. I'd like to nominate myself to jump on that one. Maybe we do one together on quick serve. I don't know. John, you're heading over for TNT, correct? Yep, leave tomorrow. I'll figure it out. Well, if not, we'll get on. But John and I, John and I will be on. John got to send us pictures from the ceremony. That's cool. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We'll be on every day and quick serve doing our recaps. You guys were so generous with your viewership during the Aussie open. So some version of the serve team will be on every day. I will try to be on as much as I can because I'm so excited about this tournament, the French Open. Hold up one of those shoes real quick. We're going to figure out a competition to tune into the quick serves. We're going to start to fill you in on detail on how to enter.

to possibly win these brand-and-not-be-named shoes. God, we've been milking this, haven't we? Yeah, just no better way to celebrate the French Open than to give away some American flag shoes. There's so many. Freedom fries. Oh, God. There's so many. Okay. Okay. So we have Alcaraz, Sabalenka. We got crazy. I kind of like Irresponsible John better. You know, Wimbledon's coming up in a month.

All right, so we'll be doing quick serves every day, so be sure to check back. It's not just our normal Tuesday release. Let us know what you think about our pick. Let us know why we should have gone on a limb. Let us know what we're going to be wrong about. We will do a redraw show. I think we normally do a fourth round quarter or something like that. I think it'll be like Saturday. Midway through. Yeah. We'll give it another one.

I think that's what I saw on the schedule. Might want to let Schneider and Peyton Stern settle first, but we'll see. No, but we'll be on every day, so check back on our channel. We will be here for you throughout the entire tournament at Roland Garros. Thank you for watching. Our served show presented... Amazon Prime. Amazon. AJW, safe travels, buddy. Thanks. Take care. Aplausos. Stream ski films on Prime Video even when the slopes are bare. and getting new gear delayed.

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