Aus Open Day 1 - How did post-Ferrero Alcaraz look?

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Well, hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast, coming to you shortly after 11pm on a... perfect melbourne night at the tail end of day one of the australian open we are all three present and correct to talk through everything of note that's happened today and to look ahead to tomorrow and of course to give out the real prize at Melbourne Park, sensation of the day, the big...

return. That prize will not be going to Adam Walton, who was just moments ago left the Rod Laver Arena after a straight set's defeat to career slam chasing Carlos Alcaraz, Alcaraz's first professional match, not under the tutelage of Juan Carlos Ferreiro. He seemed pretty chuffed with his own level today, judging on what he just said to Jim Currier in the post-match on-court interview.

Do you agree, Matt? Did we learn anything about Carlos Alcaraz today? And will we learn anything about him potentially before the final? Well, we learned that he's spent his off-season playing board games. Getting ready for the Australian Open that way, as he told Jim Currier just then. Yeah, the question was, tell us how hard a day in the life of Carlos Alcaraz during the pre-season is. And he said, well, I play a bit of tennis and then I...

Then I play some board games at home, which, you know, I'm sure he's playing it down, but that sounds fine. Sign me up. I learned some stuff about Adam Walton. Like, that guy did not miss a serve for... So much of this match, his spot serving was very impressive and sort of kept Alcarez at bay, I think, sort of stopped Alcarez from fully being able to... just build up a lead as he did a little bit in that final set but it took until that third set for him to be able to do it

No, I don't think so. To answer your question, what did we learn about Carlos Alquez? If you two did, I'd be interested. But I'm very wary of falling into the...

trap of reading everything through a Juan Carlos Ferrero lens and sort of examining every little detail and thinking, is that because Juan Carlos Ferrero is not here? I think he just played a... good match today against a player playing really well and there were some moments where I think he could have been a bit you know less erratic with his game but generally I thought he was he was very good it didn't sort of

bowl me over in the same way that the first round of the US Open did against Opelka, where it was notable how on it he was straight away. But I think that's the difference between the US Open and the Australian Open, isn't it? Especially for Alcaraz with his lack of matches.

coming into the Australian Open, he is reliant on these first few rounds to sharpen up a little bit, whereas he was sharp right from the off at the US Open. So whether that can feed into... the final stages because you know he's going to need to be fully sharp to beat Yannick Sinner if he does play him in the final gosh we're already talking about the final on the on the day one podcast but I sort of have faith that he's going to

sharpen up as this as this tournament goes on and and that was a nice start yeah i thought it was a a great start taking account of inevitable rust at it being the first match of the season and yeah it just Juan Carlos Ferro was not asked about by Jim Currier during that post-match interview I suspect he will be asked about again during press conferences but I would be surprised

given how Alcaraz was responding to such questions a couple of days ago. I'd be surprised if we get much more. There's clearly a party line there. He doesn't want to give... anymore so unless he has a moment of really letting his guard down I don't think we're going to learn anything and I I wonder if his and Sinner's level is so much higher than everybody else that it's just going to be this question hanging over the whole tournament that we might not get an answer about until the final, David.

Or the semi-final. I set you up for that. You're welcome. I appreciate it. Look, despite the fact that I have...

raise that as something that I think could happen, i.e. Al Kraz runs into Daniel Medvedev and comes unstuck. The logical... conclusion is that this is going to end up the same way as all the others have recently and that actually their roads to the final are pretty inevitable and feel inevitable at the moment you know there's no reason to think much other than the simple fact that Juan Carlos Ferreira has left the building

He went to break down in the second set. I didn't actually see that break. I looked up on the TV screen and within about 28 seconds he got the break back. There was never any real peril. in this match for our crowds whatsoever, despite the fact that Walton played well. I think there was that jeopardy on paper against Opelka.

at the US Open and I think that heightened senses and as you said he'd just come off playing a hard court season and loads and loads of tennis before that whereas he's had this as Jim Currier said to him nine weeks without playing a tournament that's a long time i was trying to think i can't think in the years i've been watching tennis many players just coming in and having their first match of the season at the australian open it's that feels

pretty unusual to me that him and Sinner do that. But I think it is also a measure of the fact that they are so far and away above the majority of the field that they... I mean, I think Al Kraza was experimenting with stuff out there today. You know, he was choosing which shot to hit. He wasn't executing all of them perfectly. There were quite a lot of shots going long, I thought, you know. But I...

I would expect that, really. I maybe don't expect to see as many of those from Sinner, because they are different players in that regard. But, no, I mean, perfectly acceptable day's work for Carl Southcrest today. Yannick Hanfman. for him in round two a good player but I expect room for experimenting there as well me too yeah and potentially in every match until the final

We shall see. Semi-final. Shall we stick with the men's and shall we row all the way back to the first match of the day on the John Kane Arena? We come into day one of any Grand Slam, particularly the first Slam of the season. We come in full of hope. We come in full of joy. We come in fresh. I came in for the first time, my first Grand Slam as a Kabbali guy. How was it? A fresh new look at life. He had the shits, David.

The watery shits. He had as bad a case of the shits as I think, well, I mean, who knows what was going on behind the scenes, but in terms of what was evident front of house. A really, a really acute case of the shits. And this isn't just guesswork on our part, is it? No. No, the trainer was out after the first game. And the first word I... was able to tune into in that discussion was diarrhea. And the first question poor old Flavio was asked by the trainer was, are you watery?

I didn't catch the answer, but on the basis of what unfolded, the answer was yes. He did one of those. It's one of my favourite moves in tennis. It's a bit like the fist bump apology or the apology fist bump. He did the rally into jog off court to the toilet. Like, there was no... Yeah, I don't think that Ferry's shot had bounced twice and he was already off to the loo after losing the first set. I feel so sorry for him. Yeah, he... That's horrible.

was in a bad way and I could give you takes about how I do think his sort of resistance even in the circumstances looked a little feeble. to me like if you're gonna stay out there i don't know like i i guess i'm i guess i'm even though i'm micklebolly guy now like he hasn't quite earned the total benefit of the doubt from me in terms of flakiness, I suppose. There was a set and a half there where he, well, certainly a set where he might as well have thrown in the towel.

And just gone and sat on the loo for all of our sakes. But I'm not going to go too far down that road because we've all been there. And I don't want to kick a man when he's down. But it is. Bloody awful for him. I mean, what a horrible stroke of luck. Well, when we listened to this conversation, we just looked at each other and just said, just imagine.

You've got a best of five set match ahead of you in high 20 degrees Celsius. Best case scenario. And you've got diarrhoea. And you've got Arthur Ferry, who's... Not really giving up anything and is a really good player. OK, there's probably a ceiling to that game in terms of the weaponry that he's got. But he was so impressive today, Matt.

He was very good, yeah, and ruthless. He didn't allow Caballi to get any hope in this match, really, whatsoever. And I think he'd been very impressive in qualifying as well, hadn't he, Ferry? He's having a really nice run here. Even this match aside, getting into the main draw was a big deal for him. But it is...

It is gutting for Caballi and also for the bigger picture of men's tennis as well. If you're coming up with a list of players that you're excited about and for in 2026... obviously you're now a cabali guy katherine i think a lot of people became a cabali guy during that

incredible tie break against these Zubergs at the end of last season and obviously we know how hard it is to end one season and pick up another one with that momentum but Caballi had shown enough last year with that Wimbledon quarterfinal as well for I think

He was probably on a lot of people's lists in terms of, OK, I don't think he's as good as Sinu and Alcaraz, but can he get into the top 10? Can he make a jump? And obviously there's still a big... long season ahead and he can still do those things but this was this felt like a chance a moment for him because

You know, like he had a bad start to last year, didn't he? He just couldn't win matches at the start of the season. And this was a chance to really only earn points. You know, he's not going to be losing points for a while. It's all upside. He's got this stomach issue and just takes him out in round one and before the tournament's even really got going. It was a real bummer, actually. Yeah, not even midday, was it? And he was popping some...

quite serious pills and looking a beaten man out there on John Kane. Not even midday on the Sunday of the Australian Open and you lost to Igor Shiontek in your... one-point slam match, your one and only one-point slam match. It's been a rough trip to Melbourne for Flavio Caballi and it's tested me.

But I will stick with him. I would say there was far less disgrace in Kabbaldi's one-point slam exit than a lot of people's. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I'm just saying, is he happy with how Melbourne's gone? No, he's not. He's leaving a sad, sad man. He was also exposed to the world. He doesn't really know how to play rock, paper, scissors. That was a bad moment as well. Hang on, I'm struggling to remember who he was against. He also had a devastating defeat at the United Cup.

I remember I was courtside for the women's match that followed it and he was sat in front of me eating the saddest plate of plain rice you've ever seen it was like he was punishing himself in fact i think this this has been a devastating trip To Australia for Flavio Caballi. You better not desert him, Catherine. That would finish him off. He's on my fantasy team. I've got him until the next transfer window at least. No, don't worry, Flavio. I'm sticking with you.

brackets for now. Alexander Zverev was in a touch of peril. Today, David lost the first set on the tie break to Gabriel Diallo of Canada. Then fairly straightforward, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Overall, how much upside, how much... downside for Zverev in this match because he was very ropey for quite a lot of it but actually used it to find some form it looked like I think that sums it up if I was Zverev and I think

He said this on court. I think he leaves that court feeling pretty good. Pretty good about himself. Because after the first set, I genuinely thought he could well be going out. Because...

He just had no feel on the ball whatsoever. I mean he was sort of like trying to find the strings. I mean so many of his shots looked as though they weren't really in... in the sweet spot of the racket so i mean the backhand yes but on the forehand which is the one that goes off he was missing all over the place 4-1 down against Diallo who's six foot seven big server

was going for his shots, was causing him all sorts of problems, but Diallo just let him back into the set, in all honesty. I think there was a 40-love game that he got broken in, and he ended up at 4-all. goes to a tie break Diallo wins the tie break 7-1 Zverev all over the place angry smashing rackets I thought he's he's exactly in the sort of position that I remember him being against

Arthur Rindeknesh at Wimbledon. It feels a little bit like that against a big server. And Diallo, I mean, I've got to be honest, I think he was appalling.

after that really for most of the match um he went he lost the next four games in about 15 minutes he he really just didn't play a a solid match at all i mean and i realize you you want to go for your shots but he was all over the place but at the same time zverev serve was was kind of keeping him in his own games in his own service games to get to that tie break even when he was struggling with the rest of his game and then the rest of the game started to follow.

the serve and and by the end the last two sets he was actually hitting his forehand I thought really well it was coming out of the middle of the racket he was hitting it with aggression and assertiveness as well and you know he's

He's talked about how he just hasn't had matches. I mean, he had two matches, I think, at the United Cup, including that loss to Hubert Hercatch. And again, this similar... kind of profile of player today somebody who can make rhythm difficult to find but I think by the end of it he played himself into some form now it'll be fascinating to see whether that continues because he's he's gonna have a

a tough match on paper in the second round whoever it's against in Alexander Muller who's beaten him before and Alexey Poprin who's dangerous but who's Verev's always beaten in the past but you know these are not great first and second round draws. I mean, he said he wasn't happy when he saw Diallo was his opponent. He was worried about it. But I would have thought he'll be pretty pleased, not only to have come through, but to have found some form.

Interesting, yeah. Muller or Popper in next, that'll be decided tomorrow. There's quite a lot of matches, winners that we'll talk about today who don't know their next round opponents because of the way the round ones are... staggered over three days and it leaves us all at sea about

figuring out what side of the draw everybody's on but by the end of this week folks we'll we'll have it all all straightened out in our minds um staying with kind of runners and riders in the men's side of things i feel like Maybe we should go to Alexander Bublik next, given that he's a top 10 player. And he put in a very mature, can't believe I'm saying this, disciplined... Performance today to beat Jenson Brooksby. A break per set, 4-4-4.

Is this a new Alexander Bublik, David? It's quite interesting. He was kind of asked that in the little media huddle he had upstairs afterwards. And... It was not asked by me because it was not sort of framed with the kind of underarm serve element in mind That was sort of brought up and I sort of thought, oh my word, I've gone down this road. This is not going to end well, you know, because he tends to get pretty prickly about those types of questions.

And he didn't. He said, yeah, I do play the odd one now and again, but, you know, not very often. He was much more serious in his approach on the court and also in the interview.

And actually, the fact that you brought him up as sort of the third main player we're talking about, I think says something, and he's aware of it too. You know, I asked him... do you feel different coming here this year than you have in the past because here he is a top 10 player and he said yeah probably because i mean for a start

This is the first time in seven years that I haven't been playing at 11 o'clock in the morning on a side court in the middle of nowhere. He's on a decent court, on a sort of good slot of the schedule.

And he's a big deal, really. I mean, he's not Al Krasin a big deal or top five in the world, but he's being taken notice of. And he says, look, that makes it easier as well. When you start getting these... better court assignments that helps you know he pointed out that's an advantage that the top players have so i think he's taking the benefits of that and and And I think he feels pretty bullish about his chances of a run here. Whereas at Wimbledon, I got...

He never seems convincing before the tournaments in the press conference. He didn't like the pressure that came with winning that Halle title and beating Sinner en route. Did it seem to have the opposite? effect on him to to apparently what reaching the world's top 10 is is having on him right here i do wonder if he's getting a taste for it all like yeah that feeling of reaching the top 10

Give me more of that. And he said, you know, I'm not here to sightsees as I used to do that and things like that. He goes, I'd rather be at home with my family, but I'm here to do a job. I'm here to do a job. And I thought, okay, this sounds pretty serious business. Okay. Pretty serious business from Alexander Bublik.

It is a brave new world, just not for Flavio Caballi. Cameron Norrie. I'm scraping the barrel here of who to talk about on the men's. It's been a bit of a soft launch today, hasn't it? I mean, it always is. It always is. You dilute the order of play if you...

Put it over three days. That's the nature of it. I mean, look, they've had record crowds here today. I think, what, 100,000 people in total in the day and night sessions combined? Yeah, it has been busy. Astonishing numbers of people, so it's very popular. pillar that they're certainly making plenty of money out of it um but i mean yeah nori and bonzi is is a match that i said to matt that could be long beforehand

And then about 15 minutes later, Norrie had won the first set six love. And I thought, OK, that was a good prediction. But it did end up going five. Matt described Norrie as possessed after the first set. He has these moments, Norrie, doesn't he? He does. He has something about him and he really gets his teeth into his match or seems to be out for an opponent. He's a bit...

He's a bit spiky like that sometimes, Norrie. He can also be the opposite. And he can sometimes be a bit nothing. And it strikes me that today he was... He was his better self and he was pushed here because Bonzi really turned it on and took her two sets to one lead and Norrie had to come back and win it in five.

That's a good win in the end, I think. And look, he could become relevant because he's a potential third-round opponent for Alexander Zverev. And he's challenged him before here, in fact, came... very close to beating him here a couple of years ago. When I became a Norrie guy for about 15 minutes.

What a night that was. Because he played like Jimmy Connors in the 1991 US Open. He was rushing the net. He was hitting left-handed, inside-out, back-hand winners. It was amazing. It felt like we'd entered...

the parallel universe on that pod. Oh, fun. Should we talk about Michael Zheng? Yes. Wasn't expecting to be talking about Michael Zhang. It is absolutely OK if you're listening to this and going, who is Michael Zhang? Not many people do know. He beat his countryman, Seb Corder, today. He came back from... ahead. He led by two sets to love, 6-4, 6-4, lost the next two, 3-6, 6-7, and he came back and he won the fifth.

He is a senior at Columbia University in New York. And that... stat leads more that fact rather leads me to a stat that came through from the brilliant Greg Sharko who I know you know David back from ATP days he's working here for the tournament as a researcher and stats and facts guy for the World Feed commentary team. And he came through with the stat this morning that there are 25 players in the men's main draw at this year's Australian Open who have played college tennis.

one of which, of course, is Zheng. And that is the most since the Australian Open in 1989, when there were also 25. It's an interesting trend, and Michael Zheng looks like a... Great advert for going to college. Yeah, and he very much intends to go back there after this tournament. He's not planning on going pro. He said, maybe if I beat Carlos Alcaraz, which is a potential third round opponent, I might go pro. But he has actually got to go.

past Karantamute in the second round first, so let's... One at a time. He's a lovely fella, 21 years of age, and actually, I mean, the fact that he's here doing this is pretty astonishing, because when he was 700 in the world, just... sort of seven or eight months ago. He had to win some challenges even to get into the...

The qualifying here, which he successfully did, came through three rounds of that. There was one match against Lucas Klein that he was leading 7-1 in the deciding set tie break. and yet he found himself match point down, 9-10 down, before eventually winning it 12-10. So, you know, he's had a hairy ride to get here. He's 6'2", according to the ATB website, but he doesn't look that. He looks very slight. Very compact strokes.

Nothing much is going wrong with that game, I'm telling you. And a heck of a pair of wheels. Yeah, and he needs it. You know, this guy has not got a big serve. You know, he was playing Corder today, and I think you're in the deciding set. Corder's hit 21 aces. Zheng's hit four. Four. aces in five sets you know you're not getting many free points there but as you said he can move

His backhand looks like it's tucked into his body with the two hands, and he can just direct it very easily. It's so precise, like watching a computer game, really, seeing him play tennis. Made me feel for Sebastian Corder a bit, you know, to think a few years ago he was the coming guy and a lot was expected of him and he's had that horrible wrist injury.

It's so difficult to come back from those things. But Scheng is, you know, it's one of the nice things about the sport, I suppose, is that, from our perspective at least, is that new people come along. And I really liked his demeanour. He seemed pretty unflappable, which I think is going to be interesting when he faces Mute in the next round, right? He aims to flap people.

Yeah, I mean, today... In fact, that's his whole game. I mean, today he finished off Tristan Schoolkate, who I now have to pause and... think about how to pronounce his name before saying it every single time. There was a credible professional Australian radio journalist in our working room. earlier on today, he was doing a radio report and said Trisha's school, Kate. And my internal monologue said, you're pronouncing it wrong. Thank goodness I didn't say it out loud.

Well, Mute finished him off today, despite being unable to move. I mean, that is an aspect for that match. He hurt his leg quite badly while he was up. two sets to love and three love Mute and it sort of allowed School Kate back into that third set but anyway eventually Mute did get over the line and he finished it with an underarm serve and of course got booed and of course loved it so that's the environment jeng will be going into when he faces him but then you know

I have not watched a lot of US college tennis, I must say, but everything I read about it and hear about it, those are the kind of environments that he will be used to. He's a two-time NCAA champion.

jeng and i think it's interesting because i do think we often have a a mental image a picture of people coming out of college tennis and they're in my mind anyway they're a bit more in the ben shelton mold in terms of real energy and character and trying to impose yourself on a match whereas Zhang is you know I've only watched him today but today he was very much not like that he was he was quite serene and I quite enjoyed that

that element to his game and yeah he's got quite a loose arm on the forehand skinny frame nimble nifty great retriever And he came up with some great shots down the stretch to close out Gorda. So, yeah, he was a classic Grand Slam.

opening week day one match that where I'm actually I did not have my eyes on going into it did not know about Michael Zheng before today and he ended up really sort of improving my day and i had a great time watching him he still doesn't know if he's going to be allowed to keep the prize money yeah um it's been an ongoing subject hasn't it it's not as cut and dry as it used to be it used to be simply you

If you don't turn pro, if you're remaining at college, you can't keep the prize money. It's more complicated than that now. We were hearing about it with Oliver Tarvit. at Wimbledon last year, who sort of tied himself in knots a little bit in a press conference about how his accountant was going to find a loophole in the system. You can claim a lot of...

Expenses, I think. Yes. And accountants are good with expenses. Certainly Oliver Tarvitz accountant apparently was good with expenses. We'll put Michael Zhang in touch. Yeah, Matt Futterman's written in his write-up of this match. It's possible he can't accept that money as a college player except for covering his tennis-related expenses, but there may be some wiggle room since he's a second-semester senior.

He said he'd have to check with his coach. I don't want to get into trouble, Zheng said. That is a more sensible answer than the one Oliver Tov gave. at Wimbledon last year. By the way, one line I saw in an ATP website piece written about Michael Zhang that I liked was that he said he thinks his studies help his tennis. in as much as he's kind of almost become capable of managing things. Because he's having to do both, it's making him a more kind of...

I'm paraphrasing here, but a more complete person in that he's able to juggle things and not just be obsessed with tennis all the time. I remember Nathan Chen, the figure skating, the great... figure skater and rainy Olympic champion, he said the same. He was a student at Yale and kept on getting asked about whether he was going to drop out because he was so good at ice skating and he would always give a...

A very similar answer, and he got his Yale degree and got an Olympic gold. That's cool. Very overachieving. Yeah, I cannot wait for Zhang Mute.

In a few days' time. It'll be a couple of days' time, won't it? Yes. It'll have to be after Tuesday. Yeah. Okay, last result, I think, to touch upon from the men's side of things. Francisco Surundolo with the straight sets went over Jung Jejean 637663. Fairly straightforward for... but a really... Touching tribute from him to Guillermo Salatino after the match, David. Yeah, Guillermo, a colleague of ours, a media member.

For many, many years, somebody that I've known throughout my career without really knowing him because of the language barrier, but somebody that would unfailingly walk past, smile, say hello.

you know, share greetings and clearly love... being here and at the sport and he retired just three years ago from the sport and we were really sad today to hear that he'd passed away and there was a An email written by a colleague of his and a colleague of ours, Sebastian Fest from Clay Magazine, from Argentina, and Sebastian...

summed this up he said Guillermo's stature in Argentina and much of Latin America extended beyond the world of tennis and even journalism he was a figure known and admired by millions of sports and news enthusiasts and basically was the voice of tennis in Argentina. And clearly that has not been lost on Francisco Sarundolo, which I think is a wonderful thing. Good on... Sir Underlow for recognising him and yeah, as he wrote, Sebastian, may you rest in peace. Absolutely, a really, a really...

classy, moving tribute from Francisco Sarangelo. And that's it, I think.

for a roundup of the men's results from today. Join us in part two when we'll turn our attention to the women and how a bad day got worse for Matt Roberts. But first, a quick word from our wonderful sponsors of this and every episode of the Tennis Podcast throughout the Australian Open. You know it. It is, of course, the wonderful Steve Fergal's International Tennis Tours.

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Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast from day one of the Australian Open and we will talk about the two-time champion Arena Sabalenka. We'll talk about Jasmine Paolini. We'll talk about the incredible uplifting story of... Zeynep Sonmez. But I feel like given I trailed it at the end of part one, we should get Matt's terrible, the tale of Matt's terrible day out of the way. Matt.

How did Venus Williams make a bad day worse for you? Well, it started at 2am when I woke up for Fulham. And we lost in the 91st minute to Leeds. I had gone back to sleep by that point. I could see the direction that the match was going and thought, sleep is going to be better for me here. Then I optimistically... watched the Bills in the playoffs, and they lost in overtime in devastating fashion. And then... You were multi-screening that with...

With watery Kabali in the media workroom. Yeah. And then we had Venus Williams. I mean, who didn't want Venus Williams to win today?

Olga Danilovich. Olga Danilovich. That's about it. Her family. And that's about it. But you put extra stakes on it by making her your prediction. I did. You needed this. I had 95 points on the line, which is just a brilliant place to be at the end of day one of a slam. And I was feeling good about that. I was feeling like I had called this.

uh because Venus Williams was up for love in the deciding set having played the most wonderful opening set like brilliant this was a really good match in the first set and venus had set points they were coming and going and finally on her fourth one it's just this back and forth rally between uh venus and and danilevich and it's like who's gonna

Who's going to pull the trigger down the line first? Because they were both just going big, but up the centre of the court. And Venus was the one who did it, took the set. The John Kane arena is going mad. for her she has a bit of a lull in the second set venus williams loses it and comes out though and builds that four love lead in the decider and honestly

I thought it was done. I really thought Venus was going to get this done. She was playing so well. I think what happened was that she got a bit tense and a bit tentative at 4-love-up and I think... Credit to Dinovic because she played really well from that point, really didn't really miss a ball from that point onwards. And it got to 4-0 and this was the crushing game.

because she just had chance after chance, Venus, to get 5-4 ahead, stop the run of games against her, and yet every single time she had a... game point she just could not find the first serve as hard as she was trying it just would not go in and Olga Danilovic was taking advantage of the second serve, getting it back to Deuce, and then eventually Danilovic managed to get the break in that game and then serve it out. And in the end, it was six games in a row from her to win the match.

And look, it was a very special performance from Venus Williams, even in defeat, you know, 45 years old, playing like that, like absolutely wonderful. But I was just... Desperate for her to get the win. Yeah, so that's my tale of three heartbreaking losses. At least you're not Flavio Caballi. Yeah, but we are pleased, Roelga Danilovic and her family.

Sure. Yeah, have had a great day. Yeah, I mean, look, she's, we've said it all before, it remains true. It becomes truer every time she plays and is competitive in matches like these. Venus Williams is a marvel. I mean, that was astonishing. It's two and a half hours, and she's running around this court, smashing winners all over the place at 45.

I haven't seen that. I mean, we were talking, I can remember Martina Navratilova winning a match at that sort of age. I can't remember exactly what age, at Wimbledon. back in, what, 2004. But in this era, I mean, yes, we talk about Roger Federer got to 40 and Novak Djokovic is 38 and Serena Williams. But, I mean, Venus is...

Five, six, seven years older than all of these. And she's got an autoimmune disease, let's not forget. It's staggering to me. This is way better tennis than she's played for years.

as well yeah absolutely and hopefully we will we will get to see her again The two-time former champion last year's beaten finalist, Irina Sabalenka, she opened the Rod Laver Arena night session tonight. They've got a new kind of walk-on ceremony.

thing going on it's been created by a sort of theatrical set designer she's done lady gaga set she's done a lot of very famous work in the theatre and she's created this kind of um water sort of parting of the red sea type vibe in the in the tunnel and then the players whereas they used to get to the entrance to the court wait there to each be announced on one after the other. They now disappear to separate corners of the court and are announced on, and they arrive via different tunnels.

For each of these ceremonies, there's one at the start of the day session, one at the start of the night session. The roof is closed and the visual of the roof opening and the light. gradually emerging like a spotlight onto the Rod Laver arena is all part of the show. And it is that the roof opening and the light shining down like something biblical is really visually spectacular. But is it better than the roof just being open? Open the roofs.

Open the roofs. Anyway, Irina Sabalenka comes out in her, it's not a custom Nike kit, but it's a custom colourway of the Nike kit that... If you're watching this year's Australian Open, you're going to get very familiar with it. I think the women's ones are really cool. I wasn't a huge fan of Carlos Alcaraz's, but relative to Yannick Sinners, he looked splendid. And 6461 for Sabalenka over Sarah Rakitamanga Rajana, who I think really showed what she can do.

Tonight really, really did. She is a lovely player. I really believe in her talent. If she can stay injury free, continue to get physically stronger. beef up the serve a little bit obviously in particular the second serve that Irina Sabalenka was predictably all over she's got beautiful dexterity a lovely backhand but not a weak forehand at all. I think she's got the tools and she showed it tonight. Yeah, she was very impressive in that first set. Sapelanka had to work hard to win that.

She was sometimes taking the ball early on return, but a lot of the time she was stepping back and actually hitting with quite a lot of shape and height and giving Sabalenka not much pace. She was getting Sabalenka moving. not giving her the same ball, not giving her rhythm, using a drop shot. You know, she was...

Didn't seem intimidated. She was really composed. It was great to see, actually. But I mentioned the drop shot. It was actually a Sabalenka chasing down a drop shot that changed the whole kind of... feel and I guess trajectory of that first set and ultimately the match because she chased down the drop shot Sabalenka and had to whip it from so low and only really had one option, and that was to go straight at Rakutamanga. And boy, did she. Like...

went straight at her head. It was a totally legitimate shot. It was the only shot she had. Matt made a big noise in the working room. Jumped out of his skin a bit. Yeah, like I thought... wow like that's such a bold shot to hit but it was the perfect shot and it helped to win that point win that game and ultimately the set and the match it was a

Yeah, it was a real moment. And Sabalenko then was much more comfortable in the second set. But yeah, kind of one of those matches where both of them come out having kind of impressed, I suppose.

plays by Jujuan in the next round who beat Anastasia.

Pavlyi Chenkova on the Kia Arena this evening. You watched a bit of that, David? Yeah, only the end. It was one of those that was kind of the fourth match going on because at the time we'd got Venus Williams, we'd got Carlos Alcaraz, Emma Raducano had just started. But this match was well... to its third hour and was just kind of chugging along and I kind of just thought I'll pick up the result and then next thing I know they're starting a 10 point tie break at the end

And then I'm engrossed. And it was so dramatic, you know, the battle going on because there were a lot of... Fans by Chinese fans in the stadium with flags flying, a lot of noise. She was having chances. She had a couple of match points before she got over the line. And when she finally did, I mean, just fell flat on her back and roaring, come on. That was a good win because...

Pavlichenkova still hits such a... clean sweet ball and and has real power you know it's kind of traveled with her through the generations in a way you know where some some players it kind of get can get left behind she she hasn't but by stood up to it You know, she's really tenacious. And I mean, I suspect Samalenka's power will be another level altogether. But, you know, it's another kind of another new name to me, really. And certainly in terms of somebody I've not...

watched before. And yeah, I enjoyed it. Tricky start for her against Mananchaya Sawankhiau of Thailand, who hits a really impressive ball. And Raducanu was sluggish to start this match. I imagine nerves were a big, big factor here. You know, she has not had the ideal preparation for this tournament at all. But she...

I felt like she was in some proper trouble in the midway point of this first set. She was a breakdown, so Ankeau looked pretty composed out there and there was just a flash of panic in Raducanu's... That forehand was looking unsettled and she really dug in and found a game, found a way through. She was hitting lovely backhands by the end of it. I kept on. I kept on tapping Matt's arm and saying, just checking you've seen this one. And of course he had. He's got a weird radar.

for when there's a good backhand happening. He's got Carlos Alcaraz live in front of him, and yet he just sort of knows when there's a beautiful backhand down the line happening on a screen in his vicinity. Of course, yeah. It's my sixth sense. Fair dues. OK, Jasmine Paolini, a winner, one and two, over the apparently not at all tricky Alexander Sasnovich. Not for Jasmine Paolini.

Anyway, turns out I underestimated her. Who would have thought it? Who would have thought it? And her draw has opened up today because I think the next couple of matches we're going to talk about, like... They were in her section, the seeds that have lost. So a doubly good day for Paolini. She did her job and some other people might have helped her out a bit as well. Yes. Now the next few matches on the agenda are...

buckle up folks you've got a wild ride ahead for the next few minutes where would you like to start matt well i'd like to start with elsa giacomo go for it you like her I became a bit obsessed with this match. It was 24 hours ago that I was confusing her with Kiri and Jacquet. Now Matt's a Giacomo guy. Take it away. She's, in my mind, I'm formulating a take that she's a bit like a far less good WTA Medvedev.

You know, like, she's all arms and limbs. There's so much limb. Yeah, she wears these shorts that are like diapers. She's just all leg. And got very long arms. She's got funky technique, really funky technique. She's not afraid of a back and forth with her box. Like that was a running theme throughout it. And she fights extremely hard, you know, like these are all sort of things that I would describe Medvedev as and she was bringing them to the court. And honestly...

Look, she's up against one of the informed players, Marta Kostiuk, having impressed everyone with her run in Brisbane to the final, where she beat three top ten players in a row. You know, I was very much intrigued by what Kostiuk could do at this tournament. I really thought... She was capable of having a run, you know, to the second week. And yet she was not convincing today at all. She got over the line in the first set but made hard work of it.

And then she went to serve for the match in the second set and played a terrible game and ended up in another tie break and lost it. And then the third set was just absolutely wild. The better player, really. She was holding serve easily and kept generating break points, but she could not take them. She ended up not taking 17 break points in the match, seven of them in the deciding set.

It just became a bit comical, you know, like chances were coming and going. There were shanks all over the place. Occasional brilliance, but a lot of the opposite. I was just finding it really, really funny. It was just a good time. But then, unfortunately, with Kostiuk serving to take it into a tyre break, she rolled her ankle. badly took a fall and it was one of those where you thought it was bad in the moment and then you saw the replay and David we're in the

in the press room together, and everyone wince, didn't they, when they saw the replay. Yeah, I mean, in unison, several of us just went, oh, no, you know, it was just... Took your breath away and I thought her season could be over with it. It looked so horrible. Fortunately, she, I mean, clearly knocked the wind out of her and was a shock.

terrible shock um but she got it taped up and actually she she performed really well considering didn't she to to finish the match but was unable to unable to win it Yeah, exactly. So it went to this tiebreak and, look, the tiebreak was messy, to be quite honest, from both players. But in the end, in the end, Giacomo gets... And there's a stat here that it's the fifth women's match at a Grand Slam in the Open Era to end with three tie breaks.

You know, this was 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, a very rare scoreline. Only the fifth. There have been three in the last five years. And then you have to go back to the US Open in 1985 for the first one, which, sorry Pam, was Graf beating Shriver. 7-6, 6-7, 7-6. So, Elsa Giacomo. in that company today. I'm excited to wake up to a message from Pam with some crazy memories from that match.

Carlos Alcaraz on his way. It is Yulia Putin's saver next for Elsa Giacomo. Oh, my word. Where is that happening? That's her award. Putin's saver. Beep beep.

Beatrice Adagmeyer today. 367563. On court six, the bar court. It's also perfect, isn't it? Which did turn out to be perfect scheduling. I mean, it was... packed to the brim with Brazilian fans in full voice. I mean, it was just... Wonderful atmosphere out there. But of course, Yulia Putin-Saver, fuel to her fire. When she won this match, she did a...

She did a sort of provocative dance, took a bow in the direction of the most vocal Brazilian support and sung Vamos à la Playa at them. Which is not Portuguese. No. no it wasn't uh but it was goodness knows what she was thinking but she yeah let's just say she took a lot of pleasure in that victory yeah Yes. And upset a lot of people. Yeah. Right in her sweet spot.

In a few days' time and really consequential tennis matches for the actual outcome of this tournament and its latter stages are happening that we might need to report on, Matt will be... dedicating his day to Giacomo against Putin's saver. I will. I will. And actually today wasn't the first time that Giacomo had unexpectedly been sort of...

match of the day early on at a slam because of course she had that match against Lois Boisson at the French Open last year. Which I actually do remember because I'd randomly made Lois Boisson my pick. my prediction for the day she brought me home some sweet sweet points which I can take no credit for because I did that was a shot in the dark but I was paying attention to that match as a result because I

I had something riding on it. And it was... It was wild. God, it was chaotic. Yeah. She is chaotic. Absolutely chaotic. If you want a fun time, honestly. Imagine if she gets in the head of Putin's saver. I am imagining. Okay, next up, let's take you to the 1573 arena and on paper, the biggest upset of the day.

Step aside, Flavio Gaboli, the 11th seed, crashed out in the women's draw. Ekaterina Alexandreva. to Zeynep Sonmez, the world number 112 from Turkey. Not necessarily the highest... quality match. It certainly had its moments. Zeynep Somers really had her moments. But just the most incredible atmosphere out on 1573 Arena. 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. this match Alexandra having led three love in the deciding set David you got a whiff of the vibes and came out to watch some of the deciding set and

Had you not been six foot seven, you wouldn't have been able to see any of it. It was only because you were able to look over the layers and layers of fans who were... Not only in the stadium, but queuing to get in. I mean, we know about the Greek fans. in melbourne we know about the croatian fans you know the the serbian fans the turkish fans are so fantastic they i mean look

It doesn't necessarily fill my heart with joy to find out that I'm commentating on Ekaterina Alexandreva. She's just good luck to her. She's just not necessarily my bag. But I had... So much fun commentating on that match today because those, I mean, Zeynep Sonmez is a really cool story and goodness me, she's a tenacious, dogged. poised tennis player I really enjoyed her tennis but mostly I just enjoyed her riding this wave of support and seemingly being in dialogue with the

with the fans out there. They would give her something and then she would give something back to them and they were sort of sustaining one another for the two and a half hours of this match. I think that's the magic of Grand Slam tennis generally. I think particularly this one. this this tournament when a player from a country that maybe hasn't got that many players or is just so passionate generally they come out in force here they always have

Right back to when Sweden had all those players. Croatia. Marcus Bagdatis, think of him. I remember the Lebanese player last year that I was amongst all of their fans. And yeah, I mean, this was... Red and white flags everywhere you looked in that arena. And when I arrived, it was literally to try to get the last few minutes of it. And there were people circling that arena all the way around.

four or five deep, just queuing up to trying to get into a stadium that was full. They're not getting in, right? So they were just craning their necks, trying to look around the corner, see if they could... watch what was going on well i'll tell you what you could hear what was going on um and that's part of the beauty of week one of this tournament and um yeah i i i feel a bit for alexandra because i end up

hoping that she would lose that match because I want more of that atmosphere. Yeah, and look, she's tough, Alexandra. She doesn't give you much to get your teeth into in terms of really kind of... feeling for her or willing her on because she just looks so... She's a real moper. And I know what you're portraying outwardly can so often not be a reflection of what's going on.

inside I really do know that but it is tough when you're watching somebody and she's just so quick to be dejected you know there were periods of this match where she'd suddenly hit her stride And OK, she's middling the ball. She's the 11th seed against...

the world number 112 and you're like, right, you found it now. All you need to do is not just drop off a cliff. And she'd miss one and she just slumps and... disappeared for for several games she's so streaky never dials it in does she she's still going after shots when maybe she's not in form yeah and in a very kind of

What certainly appears from the outside to be a kind of patternless way that it doesn't look like there's an awful lot of thought behind it. It's just, it looks like ball bashing. Yeah, she's thrashing the ball around. Yeah. And if it's... If she's having a good day, it's irresistible. If she's not, it's an unforced air of fest. It was hot out there, wasn't it? It was apparently. I don't know how or why, but 1573 is the hottest.

court at Melbourne Park and it's one of the least sheltered as well, gets quite a lot of breeze like conditions are I've commentated a few matches over there and conditions always seem to be Big topic of discussion. I've also shepherded Katerina Alexandreva out of this tournament in round one now for three consecutive years. Oh, goodness me. To Laura Siegmund.

two years ago. In three hours of my life, I'm never getting back. Last year to Emma Raducanu and this year to Zeynep Sommers. But it was a joy. I really loved it. And Sonmez is cool. I don't know how far she can go, but she's being mentored by Hans Jabir a little bit while Jabir's on maternity leave and Jabir's lent her her coach for a little while.

So it'd be fun to see what she can do, and she's a real trailblazer in Turkish tennis, which is cool. Alina Svitolina, a winner today comfortably over Christina Bookcher, 6-4, 6-1. Hayley Baptiste, also a winner, not though, over Marketa Vondroshova. Vondroshova pulled out.

this morning with the shoulder injury that she's been plagued by for so long. Just such a bummer to get the news that Bondroshova was pulling out of the tournament, that she's, you know... she's still struggling with this, that we wouldn't be getting Baptiste against Vondrosheva, which was a match we'd all circle to play. pay close attention to today we ended up getting townsend baptiste which was also fun um and baptiste winning through in three sets okay that is it for part two but

Don't go anywhere, folks. Part three is a look ahead to tomorrow and, crucially, our Sensation of the Day segment. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company & Affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

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Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast, where it is, of course, the long awaited return of sensation of the day. And today's very easy, I think. Oh, it's a slam dunk. Yeah, it's got to be a slam dunk, hasn't it? There was a period of about four and a half minutes where Adam Walton... tried to make it a conversation, but I'm afraid one break of the Carlos Alcoraz serve does not a sensation of the day make. When you've got someone who's won a full tennis match. Exactly.

You know, I think if you were putting up against winning a full tennis match versus taking a set off Carlos Alcares, taking two sets off Carlos Alcares, then we can have a conversation. But a little flurry in the middle of the second set. Sorry, Adam Walton, as well as you served and as well as you played, you're not sensation of the day. No, sensation of the day is Talia Gibson. She beat Anna Blinkova and apparently she was awesome.

Now, I wouldn't exactly know because there was a lot going on and I didn't think to pay huge attention to Talia Gibson. But luckily, we have a correspondent. We do. Teach Trez. who is out here in Melbourne, was watching the Channel 9 coverage. Had no choice. They had Gibson on, so that's what he was watching. He said he was a bit sceptical.

But ended up loving it. Described her as playing fearless tennis. And she, in her press conference, compared herself game-style-wise to the likes of Savalenka and Rabatkinner. Whoa! In terms of...

Big hitting, liking to be aggressive. She wasn't saying she was as good as them, but that's her aim, you know, to play a bit like them. And it sounds like she absolutely... did that front foot tennis against against blink of a got got a bit tight in the second set it was a very convincing lead she had got pegged back but but managed to win it uh yeah congrats on your big sensation of the day title. You know, I saw today the radio reporter that first called an Australian player a sensation.

today. Who was the original sensation again? John Millman. Right. Of course it was. I see him around too and I give him... Such a fond smile and he must think I'm so odd. It's meant with nothing but love. I promise you that. Yeah, Talia Gibson, the only Australian winner. day one and look that they it was interesting the scheduling today because she wasn't necessarily favorite to be Anna Blinkover and none of those Australian none of the four Australians scheduled today really

we'd necessarily been expected to win. It's interesting they didn't think, right, let's get this Australian charge going strong on day one. But obviously they've got Alex de Manor tomorrow, they've got Emerson Jones. a Vogue sensation, a Vogue designated sensation. Would Alex de Manor be allowed to be a sensation? No, look, we've discussed this before. Would he have to win the Australian Open? The problem is Alex de Manor is not a sensation. No, he's not eligible. Because he's not ironic.

in any way he's too good he's too good yeah um but it's going to get to the point where he's the only can look cross that bridge when we come to yeah maybe maybe a sensation is going to have a sensational run

Absolutely. That's the point. I hope so. That'd be fun. So fun. Yeah. Right. Tomorrow, folks, the day two order of plays been out for ages. They released it very early, didn't they? Rod Laver Arena is opened. by Coco Gough. Tomorrow, she ticks on Camilla Rakimova, one of the formerly Russian players now representing Uzbekistan. Second on Rod Laver Arena, Mackenzie McDonald. Now, this isn't the name we were expecting here. It was...

supposed to be Matteo Berrettini taking on not sensational Alex de Menor. We had the news yesterday that Matteo Berrettini has had to withdraw. The curse continues just so sad for Berrettini. It does mean that Mackenzie McDonald comes in as a lucky loser. And it probably means...

A bit of a sigh of relief for Alex de Manor, quite frankly. Yeah, there's less threat on paper considerably against McDonald, who's a very good player, but he just doesn't carry the firepower that Berrettini... does and yeah as sad as I am for Berrettini I'm equally sad for myself because my fantasy team has now lost Vondrosova and Berrettini and neither one of those things could have been predicted Mm.

Can't predict diarrhoea either, David. The night sessions tomorrow, the two night sessions on the two main courts, both have the women's matches up first, followed by the men's. You love to see it. On Rod Laver Arena, it's Yuan Yui, the qualifier. the Chinese qualifier, taking on Igor Svantec. And that is followed by Pedro Martinez of One Point Slam fame, taking on Novak Djokovic, the fourth seed and 10-time champion.

Second court tomorrow starts with Daniel Medvedev. I wonder if he asked to be first on. just to prevent getting into any kind of sort of stuck in a late night rut cycle. Because that happened last year, didn't it? His first match, no, two years ago, his first match finished at...

Yeah, against Roussevori. At two o'clock in the morning. And then it was unfair to schedule him in the day session from that point onwards because it would be diminishing his recovery time. So he just got stuck in this nightmare of... late finishes. That's the one that got you, isn't it? The Roussevori match. That's the one that made Matt kick off with that rant. Picture of a broken sport.

No, no, no. No, that was Medvedev last year. That was Medvedev last year against TN. Two years ago it was this tournament called Wimbledon. It's always Medvedev. Yeah. Well, he's got Jesper de Jong tomorrow, so... Who knows what's coming from Matt Roberts. Following that, big day for Matt Roberts on the second court tomorrow. Simona Voltert from Switzerland is the first round opponent of Amanda Anisimova.

In the night session on the second court, we open with Donna Vekic against Mira Andreva. And second on, it's Matea Bellucci. Matea Bellucci. Almost said Monica against Casper Rude. They're booby-trapping me because they only put the initial on the order of play. M Bellucci is a stitch-up. Irresponsible. Yeah. Thank you. It's Ember Lucci against Kasper Rude. The John Kane Arena tomorrow starts with Nuno Borges against Felix Auger-Eliassime. Then it's...

Jessica Pegula against Anastasia Zakharova. I think I'm going to be commentating that match. The Twilight. She has a funky serve, Zakharova. Yes, she does, doesn't she? Hmm. Okay, now I want to watch this because I haven't seen that. The night session, the twilight session on John Kane is Yulia Starobdubceva, the Ukrainian qualifier, taking on Isla Tomljanovic, making a play for Sensation of the Day and then also making the same play.

Alexey Popperin against Alexander Muller. Last on John Kane. That's going to be long. Yes. Kia Arena tomorrow. Storm Hunter. The qualifier. Taking on Jessica Bouthas and Monero, she's had a great start to the season, was brilliant at the United Cup, that win over Coco Gough, of course, but she's taking on a sensation. Good match there. I think so.

Mateo Analdi against Andre Rublev, second on. Laszlo Gerrard against Stan Marenka playing his final Australian Open. That one's on the Kia Arena, which I think should be fun. Atmos-wise. And then finally, Barbora Krejcikova against Deanna Schneider. Very good match. 1573 tomorrow is where you'll find Emma Navarro, Jordan Thompson.

They haven't put them on the bar court. No, hang on. I get these things confused. It was the Sitza bros that complained about the bar court and it was Jordan Thompson that complained about... The people moving during points being too woke. Is that right? That is exactly right. As ludicrous as that sounds, that is exactly right. Yeah.

Well, he's second on 1573 tomorrow. Third on 1573 is Emerson Jones against Victoria Mboko. Yes, please. Actually, now I look through the schedule, it's a huge day for sensations. Oh, they're everywhere. I think we're going to have to reserve quite a big segment of the show tomorrow for debate about sensation of the day. I'll bear that in mind. We've got Kenan against Stearns on the ANZ arena. Priscilla Hon. against Marina Stokusic. Alexander Vukic, OK, it's sensation central tomorrow.

Absolutely jam-packed with sensations. Today we were grasping around. Yeah. It was a soft launch today. Now we look through the schedule, it really was a soft launch today. But look. If you found stuff to talk about, Elsa Giacomo, thank you very much. It has been a fun day, but I am looking forward to tomorrow. We have Gus, our mascot. We're resplendent in orange today, like Maria Zachary.

She won the first match on the second court today, hit a round-the-net post winner. Oh, that was an astonishing shot. Sort of forehand slice, knifed with right-to-left... bend that just clipped the sidelines unbelievable yeah shot of the day for sure and Gus is channeling Zachary in that orange outfit today so that's that's brilliant stuff Gus you're you're meeting the moment like any good

Slam mascot should. We have Bodie and Maisie and Roger, our mascots, of course. Hello to you. Hello, Bodie. Hope you're enjoying your first slam as my mascot. Hello to Greg, Chris and Jeff, our executive producers. Matt, should we have some shout outs? We have Caroline from South Buckinghamshire. Hello, Caroline. Hi, Caroline. Who says that she loves listening but is still missing Rafa. Lots of people, we get that quite a lot, don't we? Yeah, that generation of players.

It takes a little while. People, I think, do bounce back and find somebody else to like. But it's a tough absence. Yeah, if you've been really... I don't think I've ever been through something like that, being so attached to a particular player, just because we view the sport differently. But I can imagine that is hard to just sort of move on and find somebody else. But it will happen eventually, Caroline. Time heals. Like Caroline Dollarhyde. Yes.

I've got a memory of David once going quite big on Caroline Dollarhyde. Really? That's not fair. I feel like you had a Cameron Norrie moment where you watched her... Hit a ball hard and thought, ooh. That does sound possible. Did she beat Danielle Collins at the US Open? Quite possibly. Did you watch it and think she was good and talk about that on the podcast? I don't...

Exactly. No, I've said a lot of nonsense over the course of time. I think that might have happened. There you go. Caroline Dollarhyde. Who's next, Matt? Chelsea Giller. Hello, Chelsea. Hi, Chelsea. From Washington, D.C. Nice. And Chelsea says, I got my boyfriend into tennis this year, largely with the help of the podcast. We went to the French Open together and he made me a picture frame board.

with open frames for the other three majors. Can't wait to fill it out over the years. That's so cool. That really is cool. Oh, Chelsea like. The football club. Chelsea's definitely had that before, though, hasn't she? Well, I'm going to mention Dominic Thiem, who's famously a die-hard Chelsea fan, isn't he? Inexplicably.

Can't have everything, can you? Couldn't have said it better. Yeah. Chelsea, that's lovely. Thank you very much. And finally, we have Anna from California. Hi, Anna. Hello, Anna. Anna says, like most listeners, I love listening to the pod while I walk my dog. Thanks for keeping us company. I've played tennis all my life, but never been to a professional match in person.

Where should I start? Well, there's plenty of options in California to choose from. So maybe start local and expand out from there. Like Anna Bondar. Yes, or Anna Ivanovic. Anna Kalinskaya. Yeah, there's plenty. Anna Chakvitadzi. From the tennis world. I said, I thought of Anna Chakvitadzi the other day. Why? Because I was asked for an Anna, a tennis Anna, and that's what came to my mind as well. Okay. And she's...

That's a legitimate answer. Anna, Chelsea and Caroline. Thank you very much. Caroline Dollehy did play Daniel Collins at the US Open when we thought that was Daniel Collins' final US Open. That's why I remember it. Your involvement in it is still TBC. I might have made that up.

I've made that up. Anyway, Caroline, Chelsea, Anna, thank you ever so much. We consider yourselves shouted out. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network. This has been day one of the Australian Open. We're going to walk home now. Jib in the Philippines edits the show. Big day for Jib tomorrow. Alexandre Arla in action. We love Jib. We wish.

We wish him well with the edit and we wish Alexandra Ayala well with bringing joy to Jib's life. Thank you for listening. We will speak to you tomorrow on day two, the Australian Open. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching your insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy.

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