Aus Open Day 11 - Djokovic dream still alive, or is it?

It's that time of year again for taxes. We all know the stress of the old way of filing. You send your documents off and then absolute radio silence. You're stuck refreshing your inbox and sending awkward just checking in texts, wondering if they've even started. But with TurboTax Expert Full Service, I know my TurboTax expert takes taxes fully off my plate and updates me every step of the way so I don't have to worry.

That way, I can get back to the things that matter to me, like going on vacation in the spring or enjoying the NFL offseason. So stop chasing updates. It's time to switch to the modern tax filing solution with Intuit TurboTax.

The best part, you can get experts progress right on your phone while you go about your day. So go for a run or grab a coffee, you'll know your dedicated expert is handling it, looking for every last deduction to get you the best possible outcome and every dollar you deserve. File with confidence. Visit TurboTax.com, only available with TurboTax full service experts. Real-time updates only in iOS mobile app. Hi, I'm Mark Bittman from the podcast Food with Mark Bittman.

I am not a sentimental person, but I am a romantic, and my plan is to cook my beloved a beautiful meal on Valentine's Day. If you're doing the same, let me recommend Whole Foods Market as the place to plan the perfectly indulgent and romantic evening at home. And don't forget flowers. Taste the love all month at Whole Foods Market.

Well hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast coming to you from Melbourne Park on day eleven of the twenty twenty six Australian Open or The Dud Slam, as we've decided to rename it, because the damp squibs just keep on coming. In hindsight, Flavio Caboli's watery shits in the first match of the tournament were potentially an omen and in the words of Matt Roberts during a particularly low moment earlier on this evening, we used to get washouts that were better than this.

'Cause you at least got replays on the big screen. Of classic matches. Yes. The watery shits were our high points. Matt was in such need of a win uh a couple of hours ago that he went up to the media reception. to make inquiries about whether the winner of the guess the number of M M's in the jar competition had been We needed a win. And instead I just got looked at like I was some kind of absolute joke.

We are still going to work. We are still awaiting the outcome of that competition. So there could be a win around the corner. In fact there could be many wins around the corner. We could be in for a barnstormer of a climax. to this Australian Open. Matt could win the one point slam tomorrow and the M M's in a jar competition. He could do the double. It's all still to play for, folks, but There's no hiding from the fact that today was a bit of a bummer. Yeah, and I...

The thing is I I always want to remember that there are some players who won some matches. not all of'em, but some of'em who played exceptionally well. And you know, Alan Ribakina for instance, fantastic performance. Um Jessica Bagula, brilliant. Yannick Sinatonite, very good.

Okay, Novat Djokovic, not your best, but y you're through anyway. But The the the bottom line is we've we've we've been without any upsets and real drama throughout this tournament and the payoff to that is that you get all the big names clashing and therefore you get classics at the end of the tournament.

What have we got? Four days left? Um you know, it's not happened again. And after last night's Coca Gough, three games she won, you know, we've had A series of blowouts tonight really in terms of one sided matches and then one that was genuinely looking like it could be gripping or at least a big story is ruined by an injury and it's just such a shame. Yeah, four days ago seven out of eight matches were straight setters in the singles. Three days ago

Six out of seven were straight setters and we had a walkov that day. Yesterday three out of four were straight sets and today four out of four including a retirement.

Which is where we should start. I think, with Novat Djokovic progressing through to the semifinals here despite being Two sets to Love Down and in his own words, on his way home to Lorenzo Mazzetti. Four s four six, three six. He was three one up in in the third set but

w well, not even really up for debate to be honest. I mean Novak Djokovic is not shying away from the fact that he was absolutely losing this match before Lorenzo Mazzetti was forced to retire with a what he's pretty sure, even before having scans, is a tear to his hip or groin or upper thigh area. It wasn't really close for those two sets. Novat Djokovic was being comprehensively outplayed, and in his words, in what was

a an uncle interview so bizarre that it was I found it quite irksome actually to see the greatest male player of all time and and look I don't think anybody did anything wrong in this in this situation. I think it was well handled. mm by the interview by Novak Djokovic, it was just such an odd situation. that you ended up with the greatest male player of all time who's just reached a Grand Sam semi final doing a comedy routine about how bad he was today.

and how little chance he stood of winning. You know, y e he ended the final question with a joke about how crap his overheads were today, it uh it really made me feel very odd. And obviously before that I'd felt Extremely sad for Lorenzo Mazzetti, and even sadder when I saw him walk into the press conference room and grab at his. grab at his groin just to get up onto the platform where the desk is that the players sit at in the press conference room. It was a a really upsetting

A really, really upsetting scene. I think Novat Djokovic was upset by it, even, and we're left with this. incredibly bizarre situation where Novak Djokovic in his last two matches has won zero sets. I mean one match didn't take place'cause he He went through via walkover, Jakob Menchik pulling out, and now today he was two sets to love down to Lorenzo Mazzetti. It's an incredibly bizarre situation.

Yeah, pr pretty unheard of. Uh I think I remember him having one route through maybe a little bit like this, um several years ago at a US Open perhaps. Yeah, the twenty sixteen US Open, he had a walkov and two retirements en route to the final. That that that stood out to me and and that was a weird tournament. Ended up being won by Stanvarenka. Um But yeah.

Simultaneously the best case scenario for him because his thirty eight year old body has not been put through the ringer and here he is in the semifinals with a full tank, you would assume, to be able to go out and take it to Yannix Cinner, which he'll need to do. But on the other hand, i he suddenly doesn't appear to have any form at all, and he hasn't had any match play really. Okay he had a couple of sets today, but he lost them both. He he looked

good in the first couple of rounds of this tournament, but that's that's not enough preparation for Yannick Sinner on paper. Certainly not ideal, is it? Um and he seems in A terrible mood, really. Um I mean I d I do I agree with you. I think he handled it as well as he possibly could on course. I I'm I'm glad he sort of m joked at his own expense a little bit and and the line about the the sort of self awareness about the overheads which people do make fun of him about was was good.

But you know, he came into the press conference and I I wasn't there but from what you've told me he he was irritable. Um and and I think he's just And look I do think he's sad for for Mazzetti and I think he's also feels a bit awkward about it. But it's you know, it's the sport but he's gotta find a way to get himself going again now and it

Today at least I think that's tough. Yeah, he was incredibly irritable in press. He kinda picked a bit of a fight, actually, um with someone asking a question w the the fact that they didn't state in the question that he had won twenty four grand sum titles, Djokovic took issue with, he sort thought that should have been sort of bit of a tete tete and look I get it, I I do that sometimes, um, but it's not always an indicator of a of a great headspace, right?

Um, and I think this is an incredibly awkward situation for Novat Djokovic. I honestly think he's been kind of humiliated out there today by Lorenzo Mazzetti, who himself came into press and said actually he played through the entire second set with this injury. It was worsening Rydyn ni'n dod yn ôl i'r sefnod o'r sefnod o'r sefnod. Rydyn ni'n dod yn ôl i'r sefnod o'r sefnod o'r sefnod o'r sefnod o'r sefnod o'r sefnod o'r sefnod o'r sefnod o'r sefnod o'r sefnod o'r sefnod o'r sefnod.

And I honestly think uh look, I think there's a lot of things going on in Novat Djokovic's brain and he is the greatest male player of all time. He will believe somewhere in there that he has a chance against Yannick Sinner. But I also think somewhere in there is the feeling of Shit, I might get humiliated again. You know, you don't often i get the chance to be humiliated twice in a tennis tournament.

Oh, round robin. Right. Maybe we should turn the Australian open into round robin. Maybe that would make it better somehow. Um Yeah, look, I mean it's f it's very hard to

describe the degree to which he was being outplayed in those first couple of sets. And you know, when we thought that Mozetti was fit I was very much framing this match as uh a real moment in Novak Djokovic's career where what's happened suddenly is he's not caught up to Yannick Sinna or Carlos Alcaraz or they've not come back to him, but actually he's come back to the field or the field have caught up to Novat Djokovic'cause you know Mazzetti is absolutely one of the contenders

to be the third guy. Third is up for grabs and Mazzetti is in that conversation and he was totally outplaying Novad Djokovic in those first couple of sets. He was brilliant, Mazzetti, like so good. doing so much damage with his forehand. serving well, retrieving and putting up these lobs to force Djokovic into those smashes that he joked about, using the slice backhand effectively. Like he had it all going on.

And Novat Djokovic, by contrast, was error strewn and tryna end points in ways that weren't really on and missing a lot and flat and seemed to just have no real timing or conviction in his shot. And then of course we get we get the very, very sudden retirement. So I imagine Novad Djokovic Given the the praise he was heaping on Mazzetti and the and the

pretty defeatist attitude that he had afterwards, thinking that the match had kinda gone. I imagine he was almost processing in real time as that match was happening. Okay, maybe there's a chance I can get back into it, but also Well, this is this is hitting me hard here, I'm heading I'm heading home, in his own words. And then suddenly to have to flip that and realise that he's gonna have to face Yannick Sinna in a couple of days time. It's just an unprecedented situation for him, you know. Um

And look, today was day session and it was windy and those are not conditions that generally suit Novat Djokovic. It's still been a very, very long time since he actually lost here in the night session. He does tend to play his best tennis under the under the lights here on the Rodlever Arena. But he's gonna have to up his level by so much in order to not make it a bit hum you know, just in in in order to just get through it.

in a couple of days' time against Yannick Sinner. If he plays like he did today and Yannick Sinner plays like he did today, it will not be close. Mm and it wasn't even Pete Yannick Sinner today. In fact there was some speculation that he was a bit ill, maybe we'll we'll come on to him in a moment. Pretty ugly looking blisters, Djokovic, David. I mean I tried not to look at the screen when they were

Doing the close up on the blisters'cause it just wasn't what today needed. Uh but they the the split second that I unfortunately was subjected to looked pretty gross. Made me win. Um he'd already got wrapping on on his feet and he said it was to protect them. Um, you know, some pretty heavy padding there. Um but he wanted it reapplied. He wanted a new a new fraction. application of that understandably if it's if it's sore and they took off the one that was there and it was like, oh my God.

I mean f tennis players' feet are gross anyway. They're give they're battering them in in the way they move about, you know, but that I was thinking crack that That must be horrible to move on. But he didn't seem overly concerned about it in in in in the transcript. He he he said, Look, I'm basically probably as healthy as I've been at this stage of a tournament in a long time.

And and that's just because he hasn't had the physical toll on his body, you would imagine. But then that isn't solely what's required in order to try and take this. I still have and it might just be nostalgia um in my brain the recollection of what he did at in the Olympic final. That was best of three sets, of course, um, against uh Carlos A. I have what he did here twelve months ago against Al Kraus whilst injured, playing out of his mind and actually overcoming Al Krauz.

in the quarterfinals before again having to pull the plug the next round. So until I see it with my own eyes that he can't do it and again I'm always gonna believe that he can. um if he finds the timing, because I've seen him find that timing in so many matches when I've thought he wouldn't. And then when when he does, it's eyes bulging out of my head watching what he's capable of doing. But that may be the past. That may just be the past now.

Most likely it is. But I I definitely wanna see it again on in a couple of days time because I'd love to think that he could just find it, turn it on. push Yannick Sinna, make him do something beyond his standard game even, um which is is a hell of a game in its own.

And it wasn't that long ago that we were talking about his form being good. You know, I know it was against a standard of opposition that is not even close to Sinners class and I think we've seen enough of their matches now to know that Cinners ball speed and his movement just

means that Djokovic is unable to do some of the things that he can do against a Pedro Martinez, you know, at this stage in his career. But it's not like a completely wild idea to me that he comes out with better form in a couple of days. you know, we've been talking about all these sort of lucky escapes that Yannick Sinna has had at at various slams in the past and gone on to win them. If Djokovic can get in the mindset rather than oh I'm gonna be humiliated again, but actually

Oh, maybe maybe the stars are aligning, maybe this is my chance. If he can just sort of grab onto something like that and get a bit inspired, then then maybe he's got some kind of chance in this. But Yeah, it is it is very, very

difficult to see that given what we saw from both of them today and their most recent matches. Um there's just one moment today from Jokovics I did want to shout out, which was an amazing moment of sportsmanship.

um he actually ended up losing the game where this happened, sort of making it even even more notable I suppose where basically everyone thought that he'd won the point and the score was called and Djokovic said, Oh hang on a minute, I I'd touch that ball with my racket um rather than it going out.

and he he conceded the point to Mazzetti and I don't think anyone in the stadium, umpire included, thought that thought that he had touched um touched the ball with his racket there. So it was and it was a really important moment. It was like the final game of the second set. Uh so yeah, I just wanted to to mention that'cause it's it's not you know, it it that was a genuine moment of real class On Musetti, we've seen a lot of sad Lorenzo Musetti. We've seen sad Lorenzo Musetti clutching a panda.

after losing the Chengdu final, this was a new level of sad Muzzetti in both walking off court and in the press conference earlier he said there's no words to describe how I'm feeling right now how tough this injury is in this moment. O honestly I never imagined the feeling of playing like that and being in that position.

and then having to retire. He said that, you know, although this is a body part that has broken down before and broken down in key matches before, he said They did he and his team did extensive testing before the start of the season and n nothing showed up in terms of weakness there he he wasn't worrying about or trying to protect that part of the body. Um but he also said I know my body and even though I haven't had a scan or anything, I feel pretty sure that this is a test.

Um, and tear is a it's a bad word. Like this could keep him out keep him out for a little while. you know, and and obviously coming up to clay season he's gonna have an awful lot of awful lot of points to defend and for a guy that was looking in pole position to take that number three spot that's up for grab It's obviously devastating for him, I feel so sad for him. I feel sad for men's tennis.

Yeah, and this I mean it's another yeah, it's another blow for the for men's tennis and especially as he's starting to make things happen in his career beyond where he was a year ago. He's made advances, but that's three of these in a year of of similar sort of body part that has that is broken down. So that's a concern and

Yeah, I mean I'm afraid generally speaking men's tennis is massively predictable right now. Um no matter how much you you search for for potential for jeopardy, for opportunity. Fair play to the top two, they just slam the door shut. And we'll have a we'll have a another couple of looks at that in a couple of days time. Yeah and look maybe we'll get a Syncharaz final for the ages and that's all we'll remember from this tournament and that's all anyone will remember and everything will feel fine.

Um and we'll end up having that debate again, right? Like is is it enough? are there is their rivalry enough to sustain to sustain men's tennis. Um Yannick Sinner today, six three, six four, six four over Ben Shelton, finished a little while ago. Pretty routine, quite honestly. I mean to use your word David predictable, really. Well he's now won twenty two sets in a row against Ben Shelton, which Is a s is a staggering level of dominance. And look, a lot of those sets have been closed.

there've been a lot in the past where there've been a tie break and you thought, okay, maybe if Shelton can can win that and make it physical and try and impose his advantage that way then maybe maybe it could be a really interesting match, but it never happened Cinner always either wins the tie break or gets the crucial break at the crucial point and that's a massive sample size now. Twenty two sets in a row to to suggest that this is a pretty serious

mismatch and matchup problem and look, that's the other side of it, right? Like, okay, we've got some we've got some really bad injuries to the young players, the chasing pass They're also all like constantly trying to improve and I I don't really doubt any of their mindsets or intentions in that regard, you know. Shelton, Mazzetti, Draper, Fever. Even Runa, like th these are guys who are who are hungry and are are are constantly trying to improve.

The problem is they're also trying to catch up to people who are also improving because Yannick Sinner has Carlos Alcaraz to go up against and he's getting better all the time and Alcaraz has Yannick Sinner to go up against. And n it just feels like no matter what the others are doing, the gap is not closing at all and

Sinner rushes Shelton in a way that no one else does. There's that quote from Shelton in the past, isn't there, about when I've when I'm playing Yannick Sinner, it's like I'm playing on double speed.

and he just extinguishes any hope that Shelton really has in in the matchups, you know, in that first set, eighteen winners, four unforced errors. I mean, pretty unplayable. And yes, he had a little physical wobble, I would say, at the end of the second set, start of the third, where he suddenly looked pretty exhausted and pale and he wasn't he wasn't quite walking right, sinner.

Um but he weathered it and finished the match pretty strongly as well, albeit helped out by a pretty loose game from Shelton to to surrender his serve at the end. Um Yeah, haven't really got a lot more to say about this one. I feel like Shelton's had a good tournament and has impressed me, but you come out of it feeling ultimately the same about him in terms of his his sort of overall place mm relative to Cinnamon Alcare.

And look, it means we've got the top four seats in the semifinals. How big is the mix? Because Well for me the mix is two. And and f f for anybody that that doesn't know, new listeners, whatever, our definition of the mix is players that you would not be surprised to see when the title We have the top four seeds in the semifinals and I think the mix is too.

Which is pretty crazy. Yeah, yeah. I mean at at this stage I would be surprised if either Zverev or Djokovic won it. Yeah. Because of the magnitude of their opposition. Um and I think actually Zverev is playing as well as I've seen him play, really. Um it It's possible that he might catch Al Kras out, but then he'd also you know, the chances of him also getting sinner, most likely, if he plays him w I think are slim.

Um and yeah, it's uh I I just on Ben Shelton I was pretty high on him after the first three rounds, less so after his win over Casparud, which was a night session match, the same as the and and something different happens off his racket, I feel, in the Rodlave Arena in a night session, to how it does in a day session when when it's springy. Um that said I still you know Cinnat Sinna and Alkraz have shown the last two nights.

that they are different when they get to this stage of the tournament. And it's not surprising they don't even play any lead up tournaments. They don't even bother. They just play the early rounds and get some sets in. Um And then by the time they get to the latter stages you might have a Lorenzo Mazzetti breaking down physically, you might have a

uh Novat Djokovic who's ex expended some energy. Um Taylor Fritz who's playing all the time, he's falling apart physically. And they're just they're just coming into their prime. Mm. Yeah, they're they're able to not play warm up events or play fewer warm up events sort of later in the year leading into the slams because they're so good they can use the opening few rounds to to settle into the tournament.

And by doing that it increases the advantage they have over the rest of the field. Like it's it's it's an absolute dream scenario for both of them and a and a nightmare really for everyone else and I think is A big part of the reason why we're looking on track for a fourth consecutive slam final between them. Certainly feels like it, doesn't it? Uh only time will tell. Okay, that's it for part one. Join us in part two when we'll talk about the women's damp squibs on day eleven.

But first, we want to take a moment to tell you about our proud sponsor for this episode and the whole Australian Open. It is, of course, Steve Fergle's International Tennis Tours, the premium hospitality and experience. provider and keen listeners of the tennis podcast will know that twenty twenty six marks fifty years of tennis experiences of a life Fogels. fiftieth anniversary and to celebrate that anniversary they are offering exclusive savings to tennis podcast listeners

on all sorts of tennis trips of a lifetime. Just head to their website tours four tennis dot com forward slash podcast. That's tools, the number four tennis dot com forward slash podcast. And you can have a little explore of everything they've got to offer. Whether you fancy going to a Grand Slam or Indian Wells, whatever you want, Steve Fergles As you covered, celebrate the past, plan the future, and experience tennis the way it's meant to be.

It's that time of year again for taxes. We all know the stress of the old way of filing. You send your documents off and then absolute radio silence. You're stuck refreshing your inbox and sending awkward just checking in texts, wondering if they've even started. But with TurboTax Expert Full Service, I know my TurboTax Expert takes taxes fully off my plate and updates me every step of the way so I don't have to worry.

That way, I can get back to the things that matter to me, like going on vacation in the spring or enjoying the NFL offseason. So stop chasing updates. It's time to switch to the modern tax filing solution with Intuit TurboTax. The best part? You can get experts' progress right on your phone while you go about your day. So go for a run or grab a coffee.

You'll know your dedicated expert is handling it, looking for every last deduction to get you the best possible outcome and every dollar you deserve. File with confidence. Visit TurboTax.com, only available with TurboTax full service experts. Real-time updates only in iOS mobile app. Hey, this is U.S. Olympic gold medalist Tara Davis Woodhall. And I'm U.S. Paralympic Gold Medalist Hunter Woodhall. As athletes, our lives are about having a clear path. And a team that you can absolutely trust.

So when it came to getting the best mortgage, we chose Pennymac. Pennymac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you. Learn more at pennymac.com. Pennymac Loan Services LLC, Equal Housing Lender, and MLS ID 35953, licensed by the Department of Under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act, conditions and restrictions may apply.

Welcome back to part two of today's Day Eleven Australian Open podcast, where we turn our attention now to the two women's quarterfinals that we had today. Two quarterfinals, one in straight sets by Jessica Pagula. over Amanda Anisimova and Elena Robatkina over Igor Schwiątek. And those two results mean that for the first time in Matt Roberts' young-ish lifetime, all four of the women's semi-finalists

Should I be concerned that I've gone from young to youngish? Well, in the words of my dad o on a FaceTime call the other night, you two are really ticking off the decades, aren't you? Ha ha ha ha. It comes for us all, Matt. Yeah, here I am. Yeah, look, it's a pretty remarkable stat. I believe it was the 1995 French Open the last time that happened. And it's kind of goes to what David said earlier, right? Like your You're absolutely

desperate to praise these incredible feats, you know, like Sabalenka in the last couple of rounds has clicked into gear and played brilliant tennis. Pagula has been brilliant all tournament, quite frankly. We're back in a so impressive today in particular, I would say, and then Alina Svitellina hasn't lost a match all season, having won the title in Auckland before the Australian Open started.

So like these four women have been amazing and deserve all the praise. It's just that w what does that say about like the bigger picture of the tournament? And I think

we're so we're so used to on the women's side having so many good matches and I think we've probably been a bit spoiled by that over the last few slams. And this one has just been extremely notable for as good as those four players have been they've been head and shoulders above everyone else really, and we've not had the close matches, the jeopardy that we're looking for and hoping for and expecting up until the semifinals and

Hopefully that'll change. That's the thing about this tournament. Like there's so m th the bit there were so few upsets that there were so many good players still left in that every day you've been able to tell yourself, Okay, well tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow will be better'cause look at that line. and day after day it just hasn't really got better. But women's semifinal night is so often one of the best nights in in tennis and

I don't know if my hopes are high but but I'm I'm gonna try and get them high before tomorrow night. The um the most competitive and intriguing and high quality set I think played today was probably the second set between Jessica Begula and Enamanda and a Samova, the crowd were really into this. This was the second match of the day on

on the Rodlever Arena and the the first set had been a mismatch. Anissa Mova was a bit of a no show in that in that opening set. It was very windy conditions and Jessica Pagula just dealt with them so much better than Well it turned into a match that really felt like it was going three for a while there, um and Anessamover ended up. Well, absolutely distraught, quite frankly, in the press conference, it's just been so eclipsed by Lorenzo Mazzetti's level of distraught that

It was it was sad. I think there's been stress and tension in her matches right from the start here, quite quite honestly, that that wasn't really there in in quite a lot of her grandson matches in the second half of last year. Uh I would say the only real max this tournament where she sailed through without any distress was the Peyton Stearns one on the really hot day when I just think she just

did such a good job of just focusing on on the match and and she played really well. But in all her other matches there have been little alarm bells in terms of her her on court demeanour and and how she was letting stuff get to her and so early in this match. you could see on her face that she was that she was pretty stressed out. I do wanna

Give full credit to Pagula for the match generally, but especially that first set. I thought it was some of the smartest tennis you can possibly play. She exploited all of Anisimova's little weaknesses, you know, hitting with such depth to constrict Anisimova and kind of force her to over hit and make some errors. She was using the sh short slice to really target the movement forward.

She was going into the forehand. You know, we've we've seen those videos of Pagula being asked who she thinks has the best backhand on tour and instantly saying Amanda and Isimova. Like she she's aware of the game down the other end and she just

absolutely executed her game to nullify Anisimova in that first set. It was such a clean set from Pagula. She won basically double the amount of points as Anisimova, thirty one to sixteen. It was a it was an absolute beat down really in that first set and and is some overheld in the opening game of of the second set from from breakpoint down and that made it a match and then in

in the second set you had this pattern developing where Nissimova was getting through her service games okay to begin with, but couldn't really break through, couldn't really do some damage. Her return game just wasn't really there for the start of it, but she did eventually get the braid.

But then the opposite happened and her serve fell to pieces and she ended up hitting numerous double faults in that second set, including three in one game, and that that handed the break back to Jessica Bagula. It went in... to a tie break after Pagula had failed to serve it out. But Pagula absolutely ran through that tie break seven one.

playing it very, very solidly and consistently and it it did feel like Pagula came back down to earth after that extraordinary first set level and maybe the chances were there for an isomova, but Pagula was still playing really, really well. and hitting with such authority but without much risk, you never thought she was gonna miss.

in a way that Anisimova didn't really have her her A game today. There was a lot of a lot of miscued shots off both wings, forehand and backhand and She was getting she was getting pretty sort of worked up by it all and I think she knows that that is

uh sort of the last remaining thing really that she does needs to still improve, you know, like the shots have improved, the resilience has improved, the movement has improved, but Getting getting stressed by either by her own level or her opponent's own level that maybe she can't do anything about.

is still something that you do feel like is affecting her in in some matches and I think we've seen that in a lot of her big matches over the last nine months or so. But you know, I I think the perspective of twelve months, the fact that she's pretty disappointed to have gone out to Pagula in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Tells you everything because she'd have bitten your hand off for that this time last year.

There was actually a a great line from Pagula in her press conference. She's she's she's so often a brush breath of fresh air, isn't she, in a a grown up in the room Pagula and sh she was asked about the things that she's worked on and whether she's been working particularly hard on anything she says she said uh I actually don't think I've worked

harder. If is she said, if anything, maybe I've worked less hard but I've worked smarter and I've really honed in on the specific things that can make me better. And that's so unusual to hear, isn't it? Usually it's a boasting competition about who's working the hardest and a lot of I think a lot of players and probably us as well think just'cause just'cause players aren't posting videos of themselves in the gym doesn't mean they're not.

in the gym, you know, like that they're all they're mostly all working about as hard as you can work. Um'cause but I thought that was great line from from Paguda and w I thought there was an incredible contrast today'cause Rabakina and Anisimova are quite similar players in lots of ways, a similar kind of ball that comes at you. And Sriontek with the Rabakina flat power into her forehand.

She couldn't handle it, it was totally exposing with that big swing on the forehand. Whereas the way Pagula handles pace into her forehand and pings it back. it she does an even better job of it somehow when she's on on the m on the move, on the stretch on the forehand side. It's an incredible skill and a really underrated one. Yeah, she can both retaliate with with flat power off off that Stroke, deflect it back, or she can caress it back and soften the power and blunt.

Yeah uh so many times Anisamova was having to play four big shots to finish a rally that she would normally finish uh in one, maybe two. And that's a great testament. I've always thought Pagula is is one of the great anticipators on the tour and She retrieves more balls than the vast majority of players. She just doesn't waste points. And I think you're looking at a matchup problem now. That's four and out.

She's got against Anisimova. And I don't think that that is something to overlook. I I know that that the other three were when Anismova wasn't this version of herself. But that p that was a And and I know Anisimova came back into it, but she had to play lights out to get to a break up in that second set before letting Pagula or Pagula forcing a way back in and winning it on a tie.

I c for instance, I can't I'm not exactly sure what the play is for an Isamova to get wins against Pagula right now. I'm sure there is one, I'm sure she's capable, she's that good, but she looks stressed when she first came out because of the way Pagula moves and plays and asks questions of her

Um and a and just on the the subject of Piguda being a grown up in the way she talks about her own game, same thing s stood out to me, but also the way her coaching teams talk to her, the back and forth they At the end of the first set, Pagula went over to to them whilst Anisimov was off the court, having a bit of a well, going to the bathroom, having a reset, whatever whatever. Um and

Mark Merkline said to her, Look, she's gonna come back at you in this you know that. There's this second set's gonna be back and forth. He said it's gonna go back and forth and you've just gotta be okay with and and and kinda ride it out. And and it happened exactly as he said it would. But there was just sort of an appreciation of

Of it not all being up to you and you've got to just play the long game in the r in the set really. Um I think she's playing some of the best tennis I've ever seen her play, Pagula right now.

Me too and it'll be Elena Rabakner in tomorrow's semifinal. Rabakina taking care of Shontek seven five six one. This was One sided for a back in a Is that how you read it? Once she got past the first few games, yeah. Shuantech started well, she got an immediate break of serve, and then in fact there were several breaks of serve around there. But once Rebakinred got settled

She was hitting so smoothly and powerfully. And I know that they've got a very different demeanor generally and they've got a different approach to the sport of tennis, but Schwantek looked Stressed, rattled. Um hurried.

She was trying to f she was still trying to finish things and then missing by the width of a tram line the tram lines. You know, it was There was there were a couple of really good opportunities that she had where she just blew a shot that you normally expect her to put away and I think that that's because she knew well if I don't put it away, that gives her a shot and she's gonna put it away.

Um yeah, and then the second set was an on event because Rebecca once she'd put the foot down and got comfortable, I mean yeah, there wasn't there was no contest at all. And once again a big difference maker between the two was the certain you know, like the most devastating shot on the court was Elena Robatkin's first serve. She didn't she didn't land it a huge percentage of the time, but when she did get it in, she was winning almost all of the points behind it.

Whereas Eagos Fiontek we've talked a lot about how a serve has gone up and down in the in in the last year or so and she's had really good serving tournaments like Cincinnati or like Wimbledon, which really does help her, and she's had far less good serving tournaments and less good serving days when she can't rely on it and She can be in trouble and I just think the constant pressure of

not having a reliable serve and knowing that you could get broken and also, well, she's serving so well that's putting even extra pressure on my service game eventually kind of comes out in the wash and I think ends up with the kind of second set that we had today. Um because I actually thought for the first set

did quite a good job off the ground. I I I I actually thought like she was tryna give herself some time and trying to not rush all the time. Um but that that went away in the as the match progressed and you know, Rabakina was also absolutely incredible in that second set. So clean.

sweeping winners off off both wings and yeah, it was it was pretty pretty one sided to to kind of finish the match. Um and look I thought Sviontek would would probably win this one just because of the general trend in her head to head against Rabatkinum over the last year or so and the fact that Maybe it's t changed a bit today, but I haven't up until now fully trusted Rebecca at slams, just considering her record over the last couple of years compared to on tour. But for Schviontek now

She is losing most of her matches now against her biggest rival. She lost her last two against Rabackina. Her last two against Pagula, her last two against the Nisimova, her last two against Andreva, her last two against Sabalenka, You know, like her last four against Goth. Like these are her biggest rivals and they've got the edge now in the head to head and Sviontek still has a remarkable consistency on the tour but when she comes up against these players

They're getting the better of her and they're and they're exploiting weaknesses in her game which which have developed and I think she has lost a bit of a water, Sfiante. Like I think players used to go onto the court against Sfiante fearing a bit of a threat. You know. Right. And now I think they're actually sensing that if you can if you can keep it close, actually you might be able to impose

a a heavy score on her. It's a very, very different dynamic to her matches. Um But then I was quite encouraged by the way she spoke in the press conference afterwards Sviantek.

Yeah, she was much more matter of fact and upbeat generally, more energetic. Um I I don't think that's any great surprise. I mean the l the the last press conference we had at a grand time was the end of the year and she just had such a lot of tennis over several weeks. She's more aware of of changes she can now make. I mean I think that there are the the the attempt has been the intention has to be being to make changes along the way.

And she said a year ago I had sort of a Eureka moment with Wim for Set and s and it and the and the things I was working on happened. This time they haven't quite. I'm still trying to get there. She didn't completely elaborate on everything, but it's it's still about balance I think between this all out attacking game and not and trying to find that um and the serve and all of these things.

But she's really keen to get that right. And it was put to her, Well, the problem is how do you do that in this crowded schedule that you have in professional tennis? And she's talked in the past about how impossible it is with the way the the lengthened one thousand events are

How can you do it? You've got to play them, she would say, because they're mandatory. Well she's had a shift of approach with regard to that now, and she said, No no, I'm You're not allowed to do it in terms of the rules, but I'm going to do it because that's what I need to do, so I will be missing some one thousand events.

She didn't say which ones, but I think that that's quite important really, both for sort of freshness and coming to events feeling up for it, like she did this fortnight, um, but also to give her that chance to work on things. Yeah. And I do wonder you know what the w w whether hearing things like that will make any impact on

on the tools in this one thousand situation. I mean probably not. Well the thing is that it ought to. Catherine, at some point they're gonna have so much of the field just not there. Because this isn't gonna go and blow back from the tournaments that are paying the price tag that they're paying for the the sanction fees to be the top tier tall level events and you know, th what they're guaranteeing their sponsors that are that are paying all that money to be associated with top tier

Yeah. I mean Br Jack Draper warned us about what would happen. Um and it had already started to happen. But I think players like Svontek who'd kind of you know, she was doing it anyway, even though she didn't agree with the sh the schedule, she was still playing them. I just think more and more they're gonna look at their peers and they're gonna say, Well, he's not playing, she's not playing, I don't have to play then.

She she also was one of the many players that was asked today and was prepared to talk about the issue of players surveillance for content purposes that was obviously shown up by uh Coco Goff's moment yesterday smashing her racket in the ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud â'r ymwneud. She didn't realise was filmed, was filmed. She thought she was having a private moment to let off some steam after her

Defeat. It was filmed, it was shown live. I've seen it being run on the Channel 9 news today over and over and over. I dunno, I guess they've got the content is out there, they're thinking, you know, it's nothing to lose by showing it. On the other hand you could think, pfft, maybe just keep your head down a bit. But uh all the players are speaking out on this about how you know, as Shirotek described it as feeling like animals in a zoo. Um

Pugula described it as really invasive and she pointed out that there have been incidents even before this blow up with um with the Coco Goff moment. There was somebody they were able to zoom in on Carlos Alcraz's phone, weren't they? And it look it was harmless what was on there. It was th y he was looking at Yannix in his Instagram story, whatever. But like in principle that we should all be uncomfortable with that, I think, and

I as as as we discussed last night, I really see it from both sides. Like content is king, that is the world that we live in and given what players are putting uh uh given What players are putting on their own content channels? To justify the amount of money that broadcasters are paying for rights and it is that money that in quite large part pays prize money. So this is part of what pays the players' wages in effect.

in order to give them value they do need this kind of stuff right the old the you know the old-fashioned stuff that they used to get doesn't cut it anymore a gwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud invaded and there has to be a middle ground, I think. And it it's a strange, um

It's a strange tension here because I always think of this slam as the one that pri prioriti prioritizes players above all else. And it feels like this is a real d collision of two very powerful forces, you know, TV T V and T V money and player power. Um and it's interesting, I I share what you said last night David, I don't think these sorts of genies go back in bottles. But then equally the players have been pretty forthright and they do have a lot of power particularly here.

Yeah, and the more I thought about it the more I think there is a middle ground here that they can find a solution to this because I don't think that they need to stop cameras being cameras and having them everywhere. But I think that they could provide a second space for them. I think that they need to provide somewhere else that players can meet entourages and go that the cameras don't go.

I don't know how big, I don't know where, but I think that that is necessary. Somewhere that they can smash a racket in private. Somewhere that they can go and have a a conversation in a way that they don't want to be filmed. That should be achievable. They have player lounges. They should have something that is not too far away from wherever they've got to go with regard to the locker room or where the courts just provide somewhere else.

Yeah, and I could definitely imagine them them doing that, given what you said about how they do typically cater to the players so well here and I think the fact that so many players have spoken up about this it would be It'd be a tough look to completely ignore it, even if they're not gonna go back on it altogether. It it does just strike me that The Australian Open might have slightly reached the point on a lot of things of just going a little bit too far.

Like it's it's remarkable the event that gets put on here, but Things like this in terms of turning everything into content. Like great idea that you had. And it's just gone a little bit too fun and and there's now no privacy. In terms of getting more and more people through the gates and turning it into a festival. Again, absolutely wonderful.

But given the issues with the crowds that we've had and people not being able to get on court and all all that kind of thing, a lot of personal experiences we've heard from people about what it's like. has that just gone a little bit too far, you know? And that's just the sense I've got from the Australian Open this year. Um and I don't know whether

as you said, whether they go back on these things. Like, they're so pleased with their record numbers. Like they're gonna want to keep breaking those records. But there comes a point where You've got to value quality over quantity. Tweaks can be made. I think so, and I trust them to make them. As as much respect as I have for Craig Tiley, I do believe he loves a record. And by the sounds of it, he may not be here. Yeah. That almost makes it you know, someone else is gonna come in and

to take the attendance records thing, the absolute last thing they're gonna want is new regime, crowds are down. But they're gonna be even more motivated than Crater leads to But their win could be we've decided we want to make the experience a little better for those that are coming through the gates. I hope so, but that is qualitative rather than quantitative and I fear that you know it's harder to boast about qualitative.

start wins. Yeah, I I I tell but I the the truth is I think following Craig Tylie uh as a as somebody who's a visionary and an entrepreneur I think is a pretty impossible to in terms of bettering what he's done, because he He's an incredible mark. an operator. But I think there are other things that maybe I don't agree with him so much on. I think those qualitative things.

And a and a lot of them I think he has got right, you know, in terms of the way he's treated players and the way they've felt, welcomed and looked after. And we're incredibly well looked after. Absolutely. You know, as the media. But at the same time, I do think there are some things I don't comp I would have done differently, and we're talking about a couple of them here, and I actually think you could.

You could feed off those if you are following him by saying this is the feedback we had from the players, we're listening. This is the feedback we had from the crowd, we're listening. Okay, that is it for part two, but don't go anywhere because sensation of the day today is a special one.

It's that time of year again for taxes. We all know the stress of the old way of filing. You send your documents off and then absolute radio silence. You're stuck refreshing your inbox and sending awkward just checking in texts, wondering if they've even started. But with TurboTax Expert Full Service, I know my TurboTax Expert takes taxes fully off my plate and updates me every step of the way so I don't have to worry.

That way I can get back to the things that matter to me, like going on vacation in the spring or enjoying the NFL offseason. So stop chasing updates. It's time to switch to the modern tax filing solution with Intuit TurboTax. The best part, you can get experts progress right on your phone while you go about your day. So go for a run or grab a car.

you'll know your dedicated expert is handling it, looking for every last deduction to get you the best possible outcome and every dollar you deserve. File with confidence. Visit TurboTax.com, only available with TurboTax full service experts. Real-time updates only in iOS mobile app.

If you're an HVAC technician and a call comes in, Granger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product, fast and hassle-free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat. With Granger's easy-to-use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800Granger, clickGranger.com, or just stop by. Granger, for the ones who get it done.

Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast, where sensation of the day is here to bring the vibes. Now there are some contenders. In fact, there are some contenders still on court. Uh, Kim Burrell and Talia Gibson, former winners of course of twenty twenty six Sensations of the Day, uh they're still on the Rodlaver Arena in women's doubles quarter final action. Uh so look if they win they they would certainly get honourable mentions.

Just like uh Olivia Gadecki and John Pierce, honourable mention for them. They beat Taylor Townsend and Nikola Mektich today, thirteen eleven in the match tie break to reach the mixed doubles. final. Incredible performance from them. That's back to back Finals for Gedecki and Piers here. And just incidentally on Taylor Townsend that really tough day for her cause she and Katerina Siniakova the top seeds and defending champions lost.

in the women's doubles quarterfinals today to Danalina and Kruenich. Six love final set, that's a real shot. Uh but back to sensation of the day. Um Gedecki and Piers, strong contenders, potential Kimberle and Tullia Gibson strong contenders. But unfortunately the race was run when I arrived at my desk.

Bydd wedi'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i'i And it was a beautiful, like beautifully bound book called Wine Dogs of Australia. I kid you not. Um it's literally just a book full of pictures of dogs making wine. I can't believe it's real. It's just beautiful. It's bound like a children's fairy tale book.

Gorgeous, thoughtful, lovely thing to do, and it could not have arrived on a more perfect day, Meg. Trudged back from the Mazzetti retirement, sat at his desk, heaved a big sigh, and just leaned over and grabbed the book and started flicking through it. Um it's an absolute joy and just the loveliest thing and Meg is our sensation of the day. Are we all happy with that? Absolutely.

We needed that book. Yeah. We needed that book. Thank you, Meg. So lovely. So nice. Um just while we're on the doubles quickly, Gabby Dobrowski and Luisa Stefani David. Uh they beat Shane Ostepenko six one seven six. You were out there watching. Oh it's amazing. It's amazing. I mean listen, um should we should remind that uh Dabrowski and Stefani have kind of become the team of the tennis party. this year um because of suddenly

My fandom of Luisa Stefani and Mats of Debraski. And they've teamed up this year. Um and and I mean what a team they look as well. I mean they were leading this this match. I was watching the whole thing on my laptop whilst in the Rodlave Arena watching I can't remember which one I was on at the time. Yes, that's right. And I should probably say the Pagula one. That's right. And um Debrowski and Stefani were six one, three love up, against last year's runners up, Ostepenko and Shea.

Um and I mean look they they are a a more classical athletic doubles team. from yesteryear because they're all over the net. They're they're they're they're attacking the net on nothing balls. N th there's no attempt to play the perfect approach chart. It's get in, trust your volleys, knock them off. We're at the net you're not. Whereas Ostepenko and Shay would serve and stay back, both of them.

right on the baseline and kinda trust their ability from the baseline and and the thing is at six one three love that wasn't working at all. The the the Brazilian Canadian duo just just W w look it was like they were got sixth sense already and they were they were just knocking off the volleys. I thought this was gonna be over in ten minutes. To be honest, I didn't speak to them afterwards, but I got the sense maybe Stefani and Dabrowski were

w were relaxing a little bit. Um and then suddenly Sha Shay and Ostapenko just exploded into action. Ostepenko was hitting the most ferocious ground strokes at the volliers at the net and Shea lifted two perfect top spin lobs over their heads. They they're they're a very unusual looking combination in terms of style.

But it makes them quite formidable and they fought all the way back, got it to the tie break, and eventually Debraski and Stefani won the tiebreak. But the a the nice thing is that was the best set of tennis I think I've seen in the tournaments in terms of just

the crowd being really into it. I mean maybe Leonatian against Zverev was a really good second set. Uh that one went to a tie break. But I don't know, the the the women's doubles particularly I find the men's doubles more difficult to get into'cause it tends to be a lot more served. serve dominated, um but this was this was special and now they're into the semifinals and they face the conquerors of the top seeds and defending champions. So that's gonna be very interesting to find.

In the wheelchair events today, it was first round uh action in the wheelchair events and all of the big names and top seeds. have regressed through pretty comfortably Alfie Hewitt, Kito Oda, uh Sam Schroeder, Niels Vink in the uh quad events, Yui Kamiji

uh Annique van Koot and Dida de Hout, the unseeded Dida De Rout and that means that she now faces the second seed, Annique Van Kout, in the second round. Um which is a real test of where De Rout is at because she she hasn't quite been the same since that hip surgery she had after the the Paris Olympics didn't play the Australian Open last year and hasn't been past a Grand Slam singles quarter final since the surgery. Um she's had a she's had an off season and this is her

big comeback it feels like but you know we'll we'll find out a lot when she takes on when she takes on Van Koot. So um the wheelchair events is a big part of tomorrow's order of play of course in terms of the singles action It is all night session tomorrow's the Rodlave Arena kicks off in the day session with some some legends. Then you've got men's doubles semi-final action, you've got Jason Kubler and Mark Pullman's.

Taking on Luke Johnson, is it? L Johnson? Yep. Luke Johnson took a big swing there, paid off. I think that was a flat out guess from me. I needn't have confessed to that, but there we go. Luke Johnson and Jan Zelinsky. That's uh men's double semifinal. Then we have a women's double semi final between Danilina and Kronich and Dabrowski and Stefani. Rydyn ni'n ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud ymwneud.

And then it's Jessica Pagula against Elena Rabakina. The second court tomorrow starts with Alfie Hewitt against Gordon Reed, top seed Hewitt against his doubles partner, his longtime doubles partner. Gordon Reed, of course, then it's some legends doubles, Mollick and Stozer against Kerber and Petkovich. Uh, then it's men's doubles semi finals, Grinoya Zabios against Niels Kubsky and Christian Harrison. And then in the night session or rather the kind of twilight session on the second course

Uh women's doubles semi finals action. Mertons and Zhang against the winners of the match currently on court. Sheba Harans Vonoreva are a setup.

on Kim Birrell and Talia Gibson. Kia Arena tomorrow is wheelchair event central, Sam Schroeder in action first, then it's that match between De Hout and Van Koot and then uh you've got Tequito Oder third on uh and then you've got some quad wheelchair doubles and some men's wheelchair doubles Um and that final match of the day, the men's wheelchair doubles, is Hewitt and Reed against Fernandez and Oda.

So that's good. And then you've got uh lots of juniors, lots going on around the grounds tomorrow. You've got wheelchair action over on court number five as well. So do check that out if you are coming tomorrow and on court seven.

In fact, so lots going on, including at eleven a.m. the media one point slam. Unfortunately not open to the public. That was a question that Matt asked. at the same time as asking about the M and M competition. Are are we included in public, Catherine, or are we allowed to go? I th I'm hoping our accreditations will allow us to be there in a support capacity. I've bought I'm hoping so I've bought permanent markers for this, David.

I've planned a sign. There's very sophisticated in jokes on there. It's a great sign. It's gonna be great. How are you feeling, Matt? Terrible. I've got a real dilemma in the morning because uh the Team Athletic have arranged a 9am hit which they've invited me to. Nine AM. But that means less sleep. So do I need the practice more or the sleep more? Is the question. What you're looking for? Well you know what I'm gonna say.

I and I think I need to sleep more. You know, I've played a I've played a couple of times this week. I've gotta I've gotta trust my game. Yeah. I b I've I've playing on the wrong surface. I've been playing on Astro we'll be playing on a hardcore tomorrow. But I think I need to prioritise the sleep. I think the game's there, Matt. And look, I'm

I'm very close to doing a Alejandro Davidovich Fakino and putting out a statement about an eleven AM start, given given we always work the night session. I I f I'm feeling at a disadvantage. Sounds like you just put one out. We're gonna do our best. I've bought my shorts. Yeah, he's got. He's got shorts. He's got the paraphernalia. The whole thing is making me anxious. I I like to know

Like to have the information about what's going on. We only just learnt where it is. I don't know how many are in it. We don't know what the drawer is, we don't know who's gonna be there. Small mark. I'm gonna re grip my racket, I've bought shorts, there's gonna be a sign. I've bought him Matt. What a nightmare. I'm I I'm I'm basically gonna play probably gonna play one point, shank a forehand, and we're all gonna go home. Matt, if I'm coming you get a pep talk. That's true.

And we get to see David Heck all the opposition. That's that's the bit I'm most excited about. We don't we don't know how allowed that is yet, but um Oh. I don't care if it's allowed or we will deal with the consequences of the heckling. Imagine if you got disqualified from the one point slam for your mate on the sidelines. The other thing is we can kind of team athletic appear. So we can definitely go off into the night. They've gone for an early night.

I think your game is there, Matt. What's most important is that you're mentally fresh. Right, yeah, agreed. Because I think interpret I I'm sensing that your main your main issue here is the mental side of things. Your your biggest opponent is yourself. Yeah, I agree. Yeah. I agree. And potentially Bear Henley. Hopefully you're on the opposite side and somebody else takes her out. She's so goodly. Maybe she'll do a double false. You're good.

It's gonna be great. I'm looking forward to it. Imagine if he won it. Oh, I have been a manager. We don't even know what the We need this, David. We haven't won the MNF competition. No, well until un until told otherwise, I'm assuming it's a million dollars. I mean we would have assumed so, wouldn't you? Mm. Yeah. Yeah. Why would it not?

Exactly. Uh do head to our Instagram for one point slam update. Because that's why I'm going. And to support you, Matt m as I've said in this pod, content is king. Uh so please please give us a follow and make it all work. Oh god yeah, my is my am I gonna be on camera? Am I gonna be streamed on AO Bruzo? Oh my god. I cannot wait. I really cannot wait. It's gonna be great. Uh folks, lovely lovely goss is looking at me with her tongue out, with her

With her paw propped open, I've seen so many beautiful wine dogs today. They're my new absolute favourite. Uh and and Gus is right up there. Thank you, Gus, and thank you, Renee, for continuing to send the wonderful content. Uh thank you and hello to Bodie, Maisie and Roger. I remain on zero point. In fact, you now Spodie's debut in the in the predictions. You're now starting to curse people. Yeah, that's starting to be considered as a as a factor,'cause I had Mazzetti today.

We we ride again, Bodie, we ride again. Uh hello to Chris, Greg and Jeff, our top folks and executive producers. Uh Matt, let's have some shout-out. We have Eliza Nieset from Hello Eliza. At Atlanta, Georgia. Hi, Eliza. Eliza says I've loved tennis my whole life, but I didn't start watching it regularly until I graduated college. I went to the US Open last year and got to see Vondrosheva Rabatkina which was amazing. Oh, do you remember what amazing tennis matches were like?

Can't say I do really Eliza says I'm really glad I have this podcast and the barge because otherwise my friends would have to hear me talk about tennis even more than they already do. She's on the barge, I love it. Uh I've put Eliza into WTA website and they've given me Eliza Panda. From the US, they've given me Eliza Rocha from Brazil, and they've given me Eliza Restandar from Indonesia. Cool. So there we go. Thank you, Eliza.

We also have Brendan Raymond Yacubian. Hello, Brendan. Hi, Brendan. Who is from Alaska. Woo! Wow. And this is a surprise shout-out from his wife, Julie. Oh I love a surprise shout out. Well done, Julie. Julie says Brendan loves to listen to the pod on long drives into Anchorage with about a million pauses for discussion and debate. or around the fire pit in the backyard or while camping. I can't hear fire pit without thinking about the traitors.

Or Love Island. Or Love Island. Brendan like Brendan Evans, the uh American tennis player who was a big next big thing type and uh didn't really happen. But he got loads of sponsorship deals for a while. We see a new balls please guy. No, he didn't he didn't get on that he wasn't that good. Uh Brendan and Julie,'cause that's a lovely thing for Julie to do. Thank you ever so much. That's pretty great. Hope I hope you feel surprised.

And finally we have Seagal Shaharabani. Hello, Seagal. Hi, Seagal. Who is in Israel? And Sigal says, Ilanit Fridman, who played wheelchair tennis in the Beijing Paralympics, was my neighbour when we were growing up. Oh, that's so cool. That is incredibly cool. They have um Guy Sassin as well, don't they? Ready wheelchair tennis player playing here, I think. Um Seagal, thank you very much indeed. Thank you to Seagal, Brendan, Julie.

And Eliza. Thank you all for being friends of the tennis podcast. If you'd like to become a friend, then the link is in our show notes. We are part of the athletic podcast network. We're not We're not gonna promise great tennis. We're w we've been burned one too many times, but we'll promise that we'll be back to hopefully bring you great entertainment, no matter what the quality of the tennis. Thank you for listening, we'll speak to you tomorrow.

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. Try it at progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates Potential Sings will vary, not available in all states. Thy ticket, Lady Jennifer of Coolidge. Well many thanks, good sir.

Heareth my discover card. They accept Discover at Renaissance fairs? Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Geteth with the times. With the times? You're playing the Yeah, and it sounds pretty good, right? Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.