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23 award information, visit JD Power dot com slash awards only at a sleep number store or sleep number dot com. See store for details. Hi, this is Billie Jean King. This is Mayan Bartori. This is Bianca and dress school. I'm Matt Vellander. This is Mary Carillo. This is Pam Shriver. This is Janik Noah and you're listening to the tennis podcast.
Hello and welcome to the tennis podcast. I'm Catherine Whitaker. This is Matt Roberts. This is David Law. You will notice our locations. If you are joining us live on YouTube, we're in slightly unusual locations today. Mine is is the least exotic of them all. I'm in my parents dining rooms. If you hear some faint dog barking in the background, it is Rosie and Billie Jean desperate to muscle in on the action.
Matt is in his plain old usual living room with lovely soft furnishings David, though. Where are you David? I'm in actual New York City. The big apple. Love in it. Jet lagged. Don't care. Sunny outside already been out for hours and have come back to do this live show. And then I'm off out again.
Where you are out too later? Don't know. Wherever the city takes me. Never sleeps here, apparently. Except I think my family might be. I'm getting the sense that you're not in charge of the holiday agenda. I have nothing to do with it whatsoever. Although I have to say, that is really enjoyable in itself. I'm not in charge. I'm also here for the first time. This is my, I first came here 21 years ago for the tennis tournament.
I've never been a tourist at all. I'm having such a good time already because I'm just wandering around with no time on me at all apart from obviously needing to get back and talk to you guys. Which is fine. But yeah, basically I've got a week of just doing this. It's awesome.
Fine. It's how David feels about being here tonight. Everyone. I'm sure you all feel very loved and appreciated. Matt, how are you doing? I'm very well. Thank you. It's exciting that David's in New York. Because not only is David in New York, he's in the apartment that we're going to be staying in when the US Open is on.
So it makes it all feel very real. Like I recognize that backdrop. And yeah, like we've got a fun week here planned. Catherine, we've got lots of good things happening over the next few days, but also excited to get out to New York. Yeah, Matt and I are having a party at home this week. Well, David's having a party in New York and juggling it all, of course, with watching Caroleen and Plesska Ver against Victoria to move her in Cincinnati, which is the top of everybody's agenda at the moment.
Of course, we're here on a Tuesday because the concession that tennis makes to the Olympics in its schedule is to move everything back by one day. So the finals in Canada took place yesterday on a Monday. And these Cincinnati finals will also be taking place next Monday. So our next live show, our next weekly show, which will also be live on YouTube, just like this one will also be Tuesday from that point onwards.
Normal service will resume just while we're on the subject of New York, which I think we will be rather a lot over the coming weeks. A week on Thursday, I can't believe how soon it's coming around a week on Thursday. We will be live off Broadway. The tennis podcast is live in New York on Thursday, the 22nd of August.
And that live show is supported by AO travel and experiences. So it'll be our first live show in New York to a live audience. Tickets sold out in a few hours. Incredibly, incredibly first draft as that was like tickets have just about sold out last few available.
But no tickets sold out in a few hours, incredibly. And to everybody that has got a ticket, we cannot wait to see you there. If you weren't able to get a ticket in person, you can get a ticket to stream the show online, produced by a host at the green space in New York. It's a really professional production. They've got like six cameras in there. There'll be someone producing and directing it. It's a whole.
It's a whole thing that we're very excited about. So those virtual tickets are available to buy now. They're $10 each or $5 for friends of the tennis podcast. The link to buy them is available in our show notes or podcast description on the device that is currently playing this podcast.
So a very big thank you to AO travel and experiences for supporting the live show and helping to make it happen and helping to make everything that we will be doing at the US Open Happen as well. Go to osopentravel.com to book yourself a dream trip to the Australian Open. Just while I'm on the subject of New York and the US Open, one final important bit of business pertaining to fan week, David. Oh yes, fan week, where I will be next Monday. And I cannot wait.
Six days from now, the kids excited. Yeah, they're quite as excited as I am. But then I know what it's like. I guess they don't they don't really have a reference point for it. They've got no idea what to expect. No, I mean, they've been to the Queen's tennis tournaments in London. Now they're began to the Queen's the tennis tournament in Queens, New York. But I mean, they couldn't be more different. They've never been to Wimbledon.
They've never been to hardly any tournaments. Really, they've been to Davis Cup. But I think US Open will be right up their streets and you know, qualified will be going on practice. And you know, there's loads of stuff that they put on for fan week. So I can't wait. Yeah, August 19th, which is when David will be going. So if you go on Monday, August 19th, there's the chance of running into the laws as well. So bonus goes all the way through to August 25th.
So exciting featured events with tickets for those starting at $30. You can see top players like know about Jacović, Venus Williams, hit the court as stars of the open presented by Chase is back to benefit the USDA foundation. You can also check out the US Open's premier food event flavors of the open presented by Doble to Keeler.
And don't miss the newest events US Open mixed madness presented by IHG hotels and resorts where top stars like Coco Gough and Ben Shelton team up in a mixed doubles competition for more info visit us open.org forward slash fan week. Ben Shelton is on the Cincinnati order of play today folks playing actual real life, Riley a pelker. He's a tennis player again folks. I wonder if they'd ever come across each other before probably not. I don't think their paths.
They're professional. I mean, maybe socially, but I don't think they've ever been pro tennis players at the same time. World's colliding. Right, let's get into Toronto into Toronto just before we do if you are enjoying what you're watching, please hit like and subscribe. I've missed saying that it's like Wimbledon all over again. Please do hit like and subscribe.
So moving on to Canada, let's start in Toronto. We're Jessica Baguille defended her 1000 title. She be Amanda, Anisimover the backhand herself 63661 in the final. Anisimover was playing into her first WTA 1000 final ever. She be Emma Navarro, Arena Sabilek and Dario Cazakina along the way to get to that final and Matt presumably you were watching every single moment of that run on the edge of your seat.
Goes without saying. Yes, this has been a really big week from Amanda and this Amoevo. She started her comeback from her mental health break from the sport back at the start of the year and actually had quite a good run in Australia where she got to the fourth round and lost to a
champion Sabilek and the signs were quite good but she didn't play again until the clay and it was tougher on the clay and the grass. She didn't win that many matches. She actually won four in Washington including a couple in qualifying and this week she's won five in Canada all the way to the final.
It's just such a joy to see Amanda and Anisimover playing well. I obviously have a particular fondness for her game because of that backhand but I think everyone generally can appreciate just the incredible clean ball striking and the fact that she was such a young talent breaking through the same time as Coco Gough and she's a very similar age to Eugish Fiontech.
She's of that generation and yet she hasn't been able to have the career that they've had for numerous reasons. Her father died when she was very young and she's found being on tour incredibly difficult and she's making this sort of journey back into the sport and it was just fantastic to see her playing so well in Canada.
What I was impressed by was that she had to overcome quite a lot of adversity and I mean that in the fact that she was suffering with blisters in her semi-final and final match and also it was really windy in Toronto which I know is the same for everyone but those are not conditions I would always associate with an Isimover playing all that well in in that you've got to have really precise footwork normally and that's not always an area of her game that is that good to be honest.
And yet she dealt with that all really well and played her wonderful brand of tennis and completely dismantled Arena Sabilecka who she's now beaten a handful of times. She does quite like that match up. She can turn Sabilecka's power back on her not a good performance from Sabilecka.
I think maybe still some some worries about her shoulder potential she comes back from injury. There's a lot of double faults, a lot of errors just generally she didn't look quite right but an Isimover was fantastic and we can talk more about the final but just a really really positive week by far her her best run certainly since the Rona Gara semi is in 29 well certainly since the Wimbledon quarters in 2022
and possibly even the Rona Gara semi in 2019 and yeah I was really thrilled watching her with her new coach as well and yeah just some really good signs generally for her. And new coach that you've got no connection to whatsoever having to start from scratch with this guy. Rick Vleeshowers I'm coming for you. No I'm not.
Sorry to do this question to you Matt but like what does this mean because I've watched you go out to watch all of Amanda Rona semobas matches this year at Grand Slam's and obviously tuning to all of her other matches at tall levels on the TV and you know I've always wanted to win not not quite as much as you but I've always wished her well you know I love her back end in a normal way.
And you know I like her and yeah I wish her well I generally do kind of want her to win but it hadn't really occurred to me that it was ever going to amount to anything like this quite honestly and I know that it has you know quite significant run I don't quite know what that means for her career and future.
Like did you did you think this was it was only matter of time before something like this happened and do you think it will continue happening not you know every week but yeah what do you think? The most important thing for a Nessom over was that she found a way to be comfortable with tour life again and from what she's been saying this year those signs were there like I think she she has been coping with with tour life better and just enjoying it more.
And that always gave me some hope because kind of as she says and like her tennis is always there like she always knows that she can rock up on a tennis court and hit the ball well okay she has to work a lot on her physicality and her movement and all that side of things maybe the side of the sport that she doesn't like quite as much but if those two things are there like she's always going to be a threat because she does hit the ball so well she can take the racket out of anyone's hand
but I didn't necessarily see this coming this this this week I think we have to probably caveat our whole can of the discussion by the fact that it was definitely a weird tournament you know I think we found the transition It was a weird week guys we're about to talk about Alexey Popper and becoming a master's 1000 champion weird week
Right like I think we can we can say it's a weird week and yet these players can still take something from it and like she still had very legitimate wins like okay it wasn't peaks Abalankas still rena sabileanka and Kassakina and Emma Navara who's been playing well like so there was definitely something that she can take from that but we do I think as I say have to just recognize that there are a lot of players missing and also the transition from the Olympics on a physical level going from from
Clay to Hard and Europe to the US you know that was all tough on the players but also I just think mentally and emotionally a lot went into the Olympics for these players so look I don't think an isomov is going to suddenly be this really consistent force on the tour who's doing this all the time she never has been that's unlikely to now suddenly be her career path but her rankings back up again she's she's up inside the top 50 I think now just so she's going to be getting into these
events that was part of the problem over the clay and grass she was having to play qualifying and you know it's not easy but a big breakthrough like this gets her into events and like I know the level is there that she can pop up and do this every now and again as long as she feels sort of comfortable enough on the tour but I'm really encouraged just quickly before we move on to talk about the champion Pagula that sabileanka match now we've seen anisomov beat arena sabileanka lots of time
before sabileanka has an anisomov a problem unquestionably and one of my favorite things about tennis is quirky head to heads like that but I was a bit shocked at how dharma match it was from from sabileanka like there was a clear play against and a man to anisomov and it is not just hitting hard into her hitting zone because she can handle pace what she can't handle is being pulled out of position like there was no
use of angle or width or and seemingly no intent to do that it didn't seem like a case of poor execution to me it seemed like what are you doing and maybe she's frazzled maybe the fact that she's carrying this injury is just putting her in a in a dodgy headspace I don't know do you do you cut her some slack for that performance David
I don't know if you watch this feel free to go in if you did yeah I saw quite a lot of it yeah so quite a lot of it and it actually felt like there are the matches more where because I know sabileanka did get a win over anisomov quite recently but you know that's more like peak sabileanka and returning anisomov
when they've played each other for the most part anisomov is just dominated that head to head and it and and I I do think that sabileanka's view generally is I can out it and I will out it anybody any time and the truth is I think when she's playing her absolute best she can do that to pretty much anybody but you better get the ball away from anisomov
because if you feed her power into her hit in zone she has the sweetest back end we've ever seen and and that was and her forearms not buddy you know just in terms of the purity of the ball strike I don't the there aren't many coming close if it's right there where she wants it to be
I noticed I watched the Jessica Bagoula match just after I'd got here and she she was waxing on about the back end of anisomov in her own court speech you know she said I'm jealous I wish I'd got that and obviously she won the title and she's got other things and you know of course you complimentary about your opponent but that was made up those weren't platitudes this was somebody right at the top there who recognizes somebody who who could be all these things
if if life hadn't gotten the way and maybe they still will be incredible things but it's a reminder of just how tough tenises I think and you have a normal life behind it as well but no it's great to see her back and and show what she can do yeah Jessica Bagoula hype up the anisomov
a back end like I do I've seen videos of stuff like you know build your perfect player and she instantly goes to the anisomov a back end like she gets it and I think I think that makes it a tough match up for anisomov
like Bagoula is so aware of the threat and what you were saying that by start contrast to Savile Enquatch she played a really smart match didn't she Bagoula exactly like she really did play the angles well like that was really notable how well she was she was pushing anisomov off the court look first set anisomov had an absolutely horrible returning day that she barely made a return and Bagoula was just easing through service games and anisomov wasn't able to apply any pressure whatsoever
there was a there was a moment where really looked like oh my god I never want to speak of this match again it looked like it was going to be an absolute disaster with anisomov a set down and love 40 down and it looked like it's like shall I text Matt she's okay no it's one o'clock in the morning I'll leave him be but then anisomov did find her her game and started middling the ball and ran through the second set quite quickly
but then I was really impressed with with the smart set that Bagoula played in that final set look again anisomov has level dropped off it wasn't one where they played well at the same time really but Bagoula was hitting great shots on the run and was using the angles and yeah she was she was absolutely fantastic and she was the first woman to defend Toronto since Martina Hinges so it's defend Canada since Martina Hinges in 2000
I think it's a really hard thing to do you know clearly no one's done it in 24 years but like having to defend the title in a different place with the fact that they switched between Toronto and Montreal okay the conditions are similar but a little bit different and yeah I think it's really really impressive from Bagoula and kind of needed as well she hasn't had her best year she was down at 20 in the race she's up to 11 now so puts herself right back in the conversation to make the WTA finals
and yeah like she was she was impressive it wasn't like the toughest route through because of what I said before about the players missing but you know Danna Schneider that's a very good win in 2024 and then anisomov who was playing really well as well so yeah props to Bagoula she was the better player in the final Schneider was the one that took out Coco Gough you know this was an American dominated tournament they were Americans everywhere you looked in this draw right into the latter stages
and Coco Gough wasn't one of them and I don't really know what to read into that because I really felt like she should have been but then you know there were really valid caveats you know she was turning around after the Olympics which would have been a big upheaval
emotionally and physically and logistically and Danna Schneider is bloody good nobody's tooting that horn harder than me but I also am just a bit worried about Coco Gough I don't know where do you come down on this man I think you should be by the way
yeah I do listen she's still got plenty of time to turn this around but she hasn't had great results recently not really and let's not forget last year she turned it around quickly after a very disappointing Wimbledon loss I know there's less time here and it's another surface change etc but yeah
this isn't just she got beaten I mean she got beaten by a very good player yes but she got absolutely hammered I mean 6461 that's not a good score line at all and I think that there is a lot of work to do for Coco Gough to feel confidence you know this isn't she was she kind of reset didn't she a year ago and and and one at ornament and then one another one and then she goes to the US open it's all upside really it all felt like it was good news and right now it all feels
a bit stressful to be honest she didn't deliver at the US at the Olympics at all and and here we are now she's defending she's defending and that's a different mentality who's going to have a better US open Gough or Pagula that's a good question good question I would I think it might be Pagula David
you never back Pagula well I've never had much reason to ever let's be honest she's she just keeps on bombing out in quarter finals you know you you we had a chat about it a couple of days ago you said are we going to get a weird US open and I know that we the last time we had that sort of conversation was ahead of the friendship and wasn't it and it ended up being anything but weird for most of it but then it then I suppose it did get weird with no that chocovist getting
injured and things like that but I do think it's going to be a bit weird so maybe this is Jessica Bagole's opportunity well the thing is Pagula has got that quarter final block hasn't she that that is going to be a big hurdle for to overcome that problem but I think that probably is kind of the story of this like post Wimbledon period like we we have been talking all year about this solid group of top WTA players that there are right now it feels like there's question
marks against kind of all of them at the moment that we that we are traditionally putting in that group like okay Shiontech I still think is the US open favourite and we haven't seen a player since the Olympics but there is that question mark of how she will bounce back from the Olympics we're back in her so many just health issues at the moment and hopefully we're going to see her in Cincinnati but there's a question mark there Sabalenko the game hasn't
looked good and then Coco Gough she's lost her last four matches against players ranked in the top 50 like she's been she's been getting wins against players who she absolutely should be beating and as soon as she's put under a little bit more pressure she's she's losing and her game is breaking down a bit and it's been like that for a few weeks now I do think sometimes players get to a place where they've had success before and the good feelings can come
back and that crowd can help Coco Gough in New York and she's just so tough to actually put away and beat that I think she could get through the first week with kind of her legs and her athleticism and her defence and the crowd behind her and you know I think she could build so I would probably
still back off in New York but it's tough to say that you're like predicting her to defend her title right now just because of the state of her game but I think I think she can make a better showing of it than she has done in in the past few tournaments. Did you know one and two women were the wrong foundation? Magic foundation is hard but Ilmakiage makes it easy. Take the power match quiz to find a better match in seconds customized for
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So moving from Toronto on to Montreal where as I hinted at earlier Alexie Popper and one the biggest title of his career by some distance beating Andre Ruebleve 6 to 6 4 in the final he also beat best prayer in the world Thomas Mahatch Ben Shelton Grigel Dimitrov he but her catch
Sebastian Corder who'd been on a heck of a run had called her kind of made himself the man to beat in that mini little couple of week Elimpicky period Ruebleve of course having the Yannick Sinner in the quarterfinals will talk about Sinner and that kind of angle on it all in a
minute I mean I just want to defend defend my comment about this result being weird to anybody in the chat that that thinks this isn't weird like Alexie Popper and okay one two titles before this both 80p 250's in pretty limited fields in Singapore in 2021 and in UMAG last year good tournaments
both of them great performances extremely different kettle of fish to this he's 25 he's been around a long time we know who Alexie Popper in is he's never been in so he's had fluctuations in his rankings he's never been inside the
world's top 35 he's spent a lot of time ranked around 70 and 80 in the world in his career yes he has had moments where he's really looked like he can he can play with the big boys for a match or two you know David you were you you picked him being a test for no match of it should the Australian
Open this year you had that big win over Taylor Fritz at the Australian Open last year I think it was he has had moments but he's never shown any signs of stringing it together at this bigger tournament against okay we're not talking about Al Krasov or Djokovic here because four of 1000 given the Olympics it was a slightly depleted field but this is a massive outlier of a result for Alexie Popper and he now has as many masters 1000 titles as Dominic team
it is it's wild it's really wild and look at and I do feel that there is that asterisk against this particular tournament in a way that there just isn't against any other big masters 1000 event because the you any other Olympics every four years and it has been really compromised by it that has been
said and I do I do agree with you that that Alexie Popper has not done this to date and therefore this is a surprise I would also say this is what should have been happening already with this guy I feel like I've Backed him to do things that he hasn't done in the past in the last year or
two remember the Davis Cup last the late last year and stuff like that he's got a huge game I mean his server he's six five he's got a huge serving moves well for a guy of his size he's got a massive forehand and I just think he's really dangerous and I just think he should be hurting more people
more often and making more of more waves in his career and I remember when he won a mag last year I watched that final and and Stanford Reacon was desperate for that title and Popper and just didn't let him have it and it was quite emotional ceremony afterwards where Popper and just revealed to Stanford Reacon that he just he'd idolized in v years and he couldn't believe that he was on the court with him and I just thought I really like the way this guy
comes across and he's got a pretty high profile coach in setup one of which is Xavier Malice former semi-finist at Wimbledon and I just have kept thinking well why does this guy who seems so dangerous not translate it into us talking
about him all the time because he's unavoidable the truth is he's not unavoidable enough he's avoidable and I think I mean I when we won this title I mean I realized he's I don't know that much about him but I remember that Pat Cash worked with him for a short period so I message Pat this morning
and and just asked him about him and and he said that he'd worked with him for six weeks when Popper and qualified for Wimbledon and you know it was sort of coinciding with that so he was able to help him with that side of his game and and he said you know really I was brought in to kind of re re-structure and reconstruct his game a bit technically and to to work some things out and he I mean he mentioned his age 25 it's finally seems to have he's got his identity
as a player he's got a massive serve and he's got a big forehand and and he's got to be dominating if not with the serve then with the forehand straight after it and that's that's his game and and there were a couple of points where he he went for broke against Rubelev and he made Rubelev's forehand look puny by comparison just the sheer violence with which he can hit the thing and how he can sort of open his body up he's got a very loose arm and a loose body in
terms of getting everything going into it and and Pat said his back hands he's always going to be that shot that he has to kind of keep working out and protecting but he's getting there he's getting there with who he who he is as a player and this is not not totally isolated I mean it is in terms of winning a title at this level but he's been having some significant runs and results all year he's at the highest he's been so I just look at him and I think well why
not why wouldn't you be doing this and finally he is now the next thing is can he do it in tournaments where everybody's there because he may well run into bigger names earlier on but I mean this is a this was a good run in itself you know there there are a lot of big names that he went through I mean you know certainly very decent players were no duffers on in his route to this title at all and I think what most impressed me about the group of players that pop
are in beat was that the majority of them did not go to the Olympics so they were actually sort of targeting this period of of the season you know Shelton and Corda and Dimitrov and Rubelev and her catch did neither but that was that was because of injuries I think her catches is still coming back
and maybe wasn't quite a full pelt but I mean her catch was supposed to be out until 2025 he's he's put a pair of tights on and miraculously is fit to play sort of yeah apparently there's some sort of arms race on the ATP tour who can have the most miraculous recovery from from an injury going on right now and her catches is currently making his case but like you know that was there's five top 20 players that popper in beat and as I said all of them sort
of primed for this whole court period of the season was popper in popper in was at the Olympics and did make that make that trip over so I think that's an incredible turn around I think when I've watched popper in in the past I've often thought he gets very tight and I think I think that was a big
difference this week as well because he was down in a lot of these matches and yet he he came up with the goods he saved match point against Dimitrov I think multiple match points actually and he was three four love 40 down in the
third set against her catch and suddenly stepped it up and it did seem like he was playing better in big moments and I think we maybe saw a little sign of that at the back end of last year that David mentioned the Davis Cup and I remember being in Malaga when latent Hewitt drafted him into the team
quite late you know I think Kokonakis was meant to play but had a bit of an injury so popper and came into the squad but actually Hewitt then put him in the team like in the actual lineup and it was a it was a little show of faith I think that Hewitt had seen something that okay they've got Dimitrov he's going to be their number one but like just to get in above like Jordan Thompson who'd kind of been his reliable guy in the past you know he went with Popper in and I so
I think kind of the signs were there from Hewitt's point of view last year and and yeah it's it's all come together in this incredible week and this will get him seated at slams now he's taking a massive ranking jump so that's a significant thing I must say though when I was watching this run and saw Popper in when the title my first thought was presumably Andy Murray is thinking oh my god I retired too soon I beat this guy at Queens is there ever been a steeper
trajectory than being the last ever victim of the remains of Andy Murray to Masters 1000 champion in two months literally I think Goran even is a which might might say that when he lost to Christine and he Murray day and it's Goran we're more than after losing Christine Garatty was
in the world I actually brought him up in conversation to Goran the other week and he still talks about it all the time absolutely crazy and like I think of Popper in a somebody that should be decent on grass I know that's probably a bit lazy you know big serve and everything
but he's got I did notice in the match yesterday and I do think this is an effective weapon against Andre Rubel over he's got a nice slice backhand that's he proper nicer than I had previously given him credit for I think good watch you know I actually really quite I mean I
mentioned that when I thought he might cause Jacović problems at the Australian Open I just feel like he matches up well against everybody to be a bit of a nightmare and there's not that many that you could say that about hmm yeah absolutely um under a rublev he he I saw some clips from him in press
conferences we talked about the mental health struggles that he's had this year periods of depression yeah I actually thought he articulated given you know second language well second language and just just generally being a a young male athlete which doesn't necessarily always go hand in hand with you know expressing emotions or processing emotions really well although that that does seem to be changing he talked about how you know he's had intense periods of depression and how he would be
absolutely fine off the court but all the emotion would come out on the court it's like that was the outlet the more he kind of repressed it in life the more it seeped out onto the tennis courts like that was his sewage pipe if you will and I thought that was really you know that's that's that's that's really good I don't know if you've seen a therapist or something but that's good self-analytics emotionally there and I'm not saying you know suddenly
cured and we're never going to see an uncomfortable outburst from him again but I was I thought that was encouraging hearing him talk like that yeah that that is to me and I just it does sound like he certainly spoken to somebody who's helped him understand things maybe a little bit more
what I did like as hard as it was to watch that most recent outburst when when he just was repeating he smashing himself in the leg at his racquet was was how disgusted he was with himself afterwards and how it felt like he kind of hit rock bottom with it emotionally and mentally just for he looked
ashamed of it he looked really really embarrassed and and I'm glad I mean I feel for him I've never not felt for him because clearly he's going through a horrible time when he's when he's experienced in these moments but this actually made me wonder whether whether he might be able to do
something about it so I wish him wishing well and look another good run for him you know this is pretty much come from nowhere for him hasn't it given the the form he's been in a flight so so well done to him that's it like his his profile as a player has kind of changed a bit this
yeah like he used to be super consistent you know constantly getting to latter stages of tournaments not suffering bad losses but you know you wouldn't necessarily back him to have the big wins well he's actually the only guy this year to have beaten Alcara's and sinner
and he's won a title in Madrid and he's reached the final here in Canada okay like both tournaments maybe didn't have the absolute strongest fields but he had to go through Alcara's and sinner to get to where he did and it's just the he's found the consistency really hard this year but
like he rouble of reaching the final of Masters 1000 events feels like something that rouble is should be doing but he actually hasn't done all that much of it so for him to do it twice this year is is in a year that's been really tough for him is kind of hard to get your
head round but also really impressive it just makes you like I feel like rouble of used to be a really easy guy to predict whereas now to me he's become really really hard to predict another one who is hard to predict is everybody seen the it came up a few weeks ago now
as everyone's seen the ATP social video of rouble of a mevvedev it's supposed to be a jaunty jaunty little you know bromancey piece and there are sports you'll wish for one another a mevvedev very poignantly says I just want Andrei to be happy and it's the site it's sort of too sad and profound to
you sort of want to hear the jaunty music fade out fade out for some strings or something it was sort of beautiful but heart-wrenching all at the same time um we're all pretty worried about yannick sinner right this the hip situation is it's a worry I mean he didn't sound that worried he
he put it in terms of it sort of flared up because he hadn't been able to do that much physical work because he'd been ill he'd he'd had to miss the Olympics because he was ill and then he's back on on a hard court and it sort of flared up he says he doesn't think he'll necessarily be at his
best in Cincinnati but he is very much targeting New York and and thinks he'll be okay there I guess like just big picture I'm a little bit more worried about the fact that well we've said it all year repeatedly he's getting these little well maybe not little quite quite
significant physical issues that seems to be costing him matches and tournaments look he's had an amazing year he's reached the quarter finals of every single tournament he's played he's won some he's broken through like he's a slam title this now he's the world number one
like so I suppose in that sense big picture I'm not that worried but like this is a this is a common occurrence that it was the hip earlier in the years the hip again there've been some cramping issues like I think that's the side of his game that maybe hasn't quite caught up to
how good like the rest of his game has got I still think there's probably quite a lot of physical work that that he needs to do you know given that record he's got on not winning a match over four hours things like that like his body is slightly breaking down and that is a bit of a worry but I also just back sinner and the people he has around him that I think they will do that work if it if it is work that needs doing and unless it's something much more
concerning and something sort of chronic I don't think we're quite there yet but like it's a concern but I just think sinners so good at making the making kind of the right decisions for his career I think he'll get it I think
he'll get it right but yeah like we definitely have to factor it in going into the US open that's you know doesn't feel quite physically that strong right now especially in New York those conditions and five sets well that's that's that is one thing I would say about that as well
I know that there is a concern about the hip and you're right Catherine when I saw the video clips I didn't see the whole match but when I saw the clips of him trying to manipulate his hip and and turn himself and and raise his
leg as if it was a problem and he was referencing his to his coach that there's an issue and and so forth you never see Darren Kay Hill stand up and say well if it's a if it's a real problem go and stop you always seem stand up saying come on mate come on so you kind of suck it up
get on with it is I get I get a lot of that from Darren Kay Hill's body language out there and and when I look at the last 18 months I think we see that a lot from Darren Kay Hill I think he feels that and and isn't it maybe there's a serious problem there that that is a concern and I'm not I'm not trying to suggest that there isn't and I'm not suggesting that sin is making it up but I think he feels he feels a lot out there he he cramps a lot he he's often looking like there's something wrong
and you and I get the sense that Kay Hill's just trying to stop him thinking about those things and get on with it so yeah and I mean I am interested that that Senator hasn't made a big thing of it afterwards as well so hopefully it is just one of those surface change things and he might often
use to have that didn't he if he would change services I mean a lot earlier in his career not not not since he's been having all the major issues you know he was always one with with certain need joint joint issues and things like that I think he got a congenital
because it conditioned handy so hopefully these things can be managed and and just loosened up for him to be properly competitive um in hard hitting journalism news there were reports this week that Sinner Skyer might have broken up I'm here to tell you that Matt and I are keeping
a close eye on the situation they do still follow one another on Instagram that was to the contrary that was the sole piece of evidence suggesting that they might have broken up now they have got a bit less diligent with liking one another's posts I would say but they might just
you know transitioned out of the honeymoon phase of their their they might just be feeling really secure and not needing to do that I don't know just letting our listeners know that we are across the situation and doing hard hitting journalism on your behalf and checking
daily whether they still follow one another you're welcome David's on the edge of his seat for our updates I do I do sort of wonder what what how'd you get into that proc situation how'd you get out of it that kind of I've liked yours but you haven't liked
my post I mean maybe you just need to say listen just so that we're clear I'm not going to be liking all your posts right so don't take it in a bad way if had happened to not you do what you like well yeah they may have the big issue is how do you get out of a relationship
how do you get out of a relationship on tour that's I'm always mind-boggled about that I mean how can that not be messy is this a ghost someone if you're seeing them in the locker room can you is this all just a big segue to the Stefano Sit-to-Past section of the pod
well Matt thank you very much for that we move on to the other big break up of the week or rather the only big break up of the week and this one really is on confirmed by the man himself in fact all from the man himself there was video footage of Stefano Sit-to-Past last week in Montreal following
his defeat to Canesha Corey in the year 2024 I mean look fantastic win for Canesha Corey but not the sort of results that Stefano Sit-to-Past is aiming to be having and a mix-own interview with him straight off the court where he blames his dad basically
and he's asked you is that a situate is that a coaching situation you're going to look at then and he goes yeah maybe and then a couple of days later the following statement comes out on social media from Stefano Sit-to-Past this is translated from Greek he says it is with a heavy heart
that I inform you that my collaboration with my father as a coach has come to an end I prefer to keep my my father in his role as a father and only as a father brazier self-fix philosophy teaches us that wisdom comes through understanding our limits
and acknowledging our mistakes in my case I realized that I was wrong to talk to my father the way I did tennis is not just a match a hit or a performance of a few seconds it is a long journey full of emotions pressure and expectations in that moment of frustration there were many
mistakes and errors on the part of my coach and father as an introvert I tend to hold in my emotions and build them up until I reach a bursting point I consider myself patient so the fact that I reacted this way left me shocked my behavior on the court was unacceptable and I feel
disappointed that I got to a point where I showed a dark side of myself when I feel just disrespected judged or emotionally attacked I tend to lose control women if you hear that well women or men if any if any man ever says that to you just note it down as a red flag
I tend to lose control of what comes out of my mouth which goes against my values as a human being I lost control and could not see clearly in front of me my father has been trying for the last few weeks for the last few years to train me raise me the right way and provide me with knowledge and
wisdom both on and off the field I thank him for that I thank him for the sacrifices pain and suffering he has to endure to make this endeavor a success from now on his role will remain within the confines of the father role and that alone my father will continue to travel with me
and be there to support me and provide assistance off the field as I've always wanted I trusted my father with a coach over so so many years I'm not sure who will take his place I'm not in a position to decide yet what I do know is that it is time to let this chapter and this phase close
and try to write a new one we've both agreed to that and I hope to focus on our human side first then the rest have to have to admit I'd forgotten how long that was when I embarked upon reading it and I didn't realise there was a scroll down and realised there was several more paragraphs to go
but anyway I I started so I finished and for me the key line in that is my father's going to continue to travel with me like thus mitigating any benefits that there might be of changing the situation I think while this father continues to travel with him and is there it is going to be impossible
for any other coach to come in and have a meaningful impact and I think I think a post-alos needs to step aside and say this isn't about me I know it's about it saying this is what I want but a post-alos needs to say no for your own sake I need to step aside here and let you let you be
you and figure this out on your own I'll always be here to support you as your father but that doesn't mean being here to to mop your brow off the practice court or whatever it is you might be doing that's my feeling about it I mean I have lots of other feelings about it it's
it just sounds tremendously messy yeah yeah we hope because I mean look if if this was certain other coaches or fathers maybe there are modes maybe there's a mode that you can be off and a mode that you can be on but he can't stop talking it's it's it's a run in joke how he just can't
stop talking and everybody knows it and and since the past knows it so it's not going to stop I don't think and so what's to be gained really from saying he's no longer your coach if he's traveling with you all the time I don't know I mean the tour is tough we've talked about that it's
not easy to travel on the tour but come on there's got to be another way now if this is really what you want or is it or is it actually you just sort of saying that for another reason I don't know but it doesn't make me feel that he's just made a big decision that is going to transform his
professional world step on us it's a pass no yeah it's it's going to be interesting to see like what it practically looks like like Will the Posterlos be in the box doing matches or will he not even be there like is he going to travel but not sit in the box like that I suspect he will be
there like so how does he fight that instinct to not as David says constantly talk I think I think since the past has got the Greek Davis Cup captain and the and the limpick tennis guy within this week and Cincinnati as sort of helping out as as I guess the coach but like this this
is more substantial and sort of consequential I think than what's its pasted last year which was when he said that his father was taking a break from being his coach and he had Mark Filippo says in there as well but I think Mark Filippo says found coming into that environment pretty
tough to to be in and I don't see how this is going to be different for for a new coach just because they're not sharing the role with the father like if the father's still there he's going to be having an impact he's going to he's his voice is going to be heard okay maybe not on the match call but it's he's going to be there he's going to be a presence and yeah I agree like as long as that element's still there and he's traveling I don't really see how this
is the significant change that probably needs to happen. In Cincinnati this week which is very much already underway. Jockovich isn't playing Alcaraz is he's back he could have to play the Alexi Popper in his first match incredibly in terms of the women's tournament. Nomea Sarka lost in qualifying to Ashlyn Kruger and then she put up a very interesting post on her Instagram a short while ago you know a long notes post and I panicked when I saw it I thought oh my god is
this a some sort of retirement post or something dramatic but no it was just a kind of hey this is where I'm at post and she talked about not feeling in her body in a way that she could only compare with how she felt immediately postpartum after giving birth to a daughter which I found very
interesting and you know she said I don't have any answers to it other than you know just to keep working and I know it's a very tennis player or athletey thing to say you know enjoy the process trust the process process not outcome but it is good to hear Nomea Sarka talking that way because
I don't think she has always enjoyed the process so to hear has say I'm leaning into enjoying the process and trying not to get hung up on the outcomes because in her own words the results aren't resulting right now I think that is overall good but I do want the results to start resulting
I don't want to be watching her losing qualifying to Ashlyn Krueger all that much like she's too good to be to be suffering results like that and I don't I did think it would be clicking more than it has by now I did yeah not surprised I mean if somebody had told me when she came back that
she would seem to be as committed as she is and seemingly in quite a good place to continue being committed and to have had one moment where we all got very very excited in that match against Igor Shfiantec and really not a lot else and really no results on hard courts hard have been
amazed at the start of the year you know we were I remember one one and I remember it was a friend's Q&A show we were talking about how many grand slams is Nomea Sarka gonna win now that she's come back and I mean I said one I think but I remember thinking but if she really gets going
that she could start really them off because she I think her at the top of the list and dress goo a little bit lower down they just feel like grand slam champions who can just turn it on or who will find their sweet spot and they'll all just start happening but it's not that simple is
it no no apparently not it's it's a stronghold field in Cincinnati this week isn't it Shfiantec's back Junqin Wen Jasmine Paulini Donna Vekits she's on playing right now Matt yes playing the aforementioned Ashlyn Kruger in fact and not finding things easy she's been a
breakdown she's back on serve but but facing break point Pam is there maybe maybe Ashlyn Kruger will win the title I have to take back all of Maya Sarka takes about what a disaster of a result that is for her Rebecca is back as well whatever whatever that means no Daniel Collins no
Ones Jabur no Bob or Krig Chikavet and no Maria Sackery so it's a it's a decent field but there are some emissions in Cincinnati Jabur's having a tough time isn't she just cannot get going yeah shoulder injuries she she's excited this time yeah it just feels like if it's not one thing
it's it's the next thing isn't it um I know there's still a lot more business to be done in terms of lead up tournaments and everything but do do you think we're in for a while do you us open on either the men's women's side or or both yeah yeah I mean the Olympic how wild I
I'd actually quite like to I've never done this I'd quite like to go back and have a look at some us opens after Olympic tournaments to find out what happened I was thinking about that though and like certainly on the men's side it hasn't affected the last few us opens in in Olympic years really
but then like we were in a generation where they were they were never affected by anything well they they just sort of won everything I suppose it would be just you get a little bit of the Olympics a bit stand one of us open after Olympics yeah but like it's well it's not wild is it
we're drinking winning a third slam and jokavits in the final like if if like the fifth ranked player in the you know if it's like Medvedev one I wouldn't say it was wild us open like I think would have to be after we someone I mean to ask one slam the us open 2021 was maybe a bit wild
on the women's side yeah yeah on the women's side for sure I think we could be in for wild women's US open not men's if as David pointed out earlier like we would we were there earlier in the year and all those guys showed up and and and got to the business end like and there's kind of fewer doubts
about them now I would say I'm not going to say that never jokavits isn't in the mix again but in that way but I am sort of curious to know like he's just going to come in not having played at all this is extraordinary how great is he going to be feeling yeah yeah yeah absolutely yeah I'm
worried about sinner worried about that hip it sounds sort of chronic the hip sounds like he's just sort of managing a low key chronic injury which I don't love that don't love the sound of that I'm a bit worried about him but it but do you think that there's been a link by the fact that
it's it's flared up when he hasn't played you know like that used to be the case with Nadal's foot didn't it right and that's why it was so bad after after COVID yeah I mean that yeah that is interesting it can can be the case with with chronic things like movement movement can help but
I don't know look I'm speaking beyond my medical and knowledge of Yannick's in his anatomy brief but it is an area of concern for me both his hip and his relationship status with Anna Kallen's guy I will keep an eye on both for the sake of the podcast and its listeners
you are welcome folks I'd like to say hello to our mascot for this episode it's a familiar face or it's certainly used to me because I have the faces of all our mascots etched into my brain it is lovely Cooper Cooper is back for another year 15 year old Beagle or around 15 Cooper
was a stray so owner Rob isn't precisely sure how old Cooper is he was adopted as Australian New York City moved with them to Milan in Italy after that lived in Ferni Voltaire in France Geneva Switzerland for a period traveled to almost 20 countries moved back to the states
and currently in Durham North Carolina but they're moving back to New York City in June we officially think that Cooper is our most world traveled ever mascot if anyone thinks I'm wrong about that and would like to take me up on it then then feel free to
write in but I think Cooper takes the biscuit his only interest these days are eating and being old fair enough Cooper I reckon good good luck to you he's lovely I'm going to put a picture of him on our Instagram and there we picture him in our newsletter as well thank you Cooper for
coming back for more mascot fun we love that hello to our mascots the dearly departed Darwin Francis Hider and Soma Billy Jean King in a Lana class sponsors a course of Billy Jean who hasn't been pouring at the door to be led in astonishingly hello to our top folks and executive
producers Greg Chris Jamie and Jeff and Matt let's have some shout outs we have Catherine Willetton or Catherine hello Catherine same church same pew and Catherine W wow love that what what else do we know about Catherine she's from Mersey
side and a long time listener of the part oh thank you Catherine so we're talking C C Anna and an I any we are briefly forgot how to spell my name there which is a worrying moment Catherine you've got an excellent name thank you very much and you're going to like the next name
as well because we have Nina oh what has that a shout out and Nina writes as in Nina Stoyanovic of potentially losing out on Olympic bronze because of no at Yoke of itch fame and as in Nina Catherine's nice oh I saw Nina today she's on great form oh it's great that Nina Stoyanovic
isn't the first Nina that I think of when I hear the name Nina anymore not I've got nothing against Nina Stoyanovic but I've there's a new Nina in town now for me and another new one now thank you Nina do we know do we know anything else about Nina Nina is from the Netherlands but
currently living in California by way of France and Japan wow and her grand sam champion wish list is on jibber and carolina mucava yeah I'm with you Nina also France Japan and California is this moat three past present and future Olympic host cities yes very good thank you Nina
I'll be sure as I'm ever going to win a grand sam no don't think so no feel yeah sorry thank you Nina and finally we have Peter Swenson in Corvallis Oregon oh Peter hello Peter not the great Peter Matanamara yes and Peter Sampras I assume he's a Peter
it was when when it came out of Greg Resetski's mouth that's what he used to call him to his face that didn't go down I have actually seen that happen in the flesh yeah and I've seen it go down badly in the flesh you've never seen anybody bristle like Sampras would what else do you know about
Peter in Oregon what else do we know that he will he grew up in Pennsylvania in fact and his his dad his swing state yes his dad used to run a tennis ladder so one of those excellent people that organizes tennis events for people to play in I believe the capital of Oregon is Salem
and I've always wondered if that's Salem of which trials fame Peter let us know oh we could go glit you could just look it up if you've always wondered I'm surprised you one day I haven't had the urge yeah I'm gonna go glit now actually Peter Peter thank you
thank you to everybody that has joined us live tonight thank you to is that a Billie Jean chemio oh Billie Jean come on then stamp do you want to do the thank you so I just grab grab Billie Jean who we thank him that we are definitely thanking Hannah in the chat
oh yeah for being excellent and also woolly who I believe is is doing a log people love the logs and often want to know who who does all the doodles well it's woolly and it's always an exciting moment when the log pops up in what's that Hannah has just pointed out in the chat that the
Salem which trials were in New England I think she's absolutely right there but maybe there are salums all over the place like Winston Salem anyway now you know I've got Billie Jean is a diversion now so I think Hannah will probably forgive me thank you all for joining us live thank you
to Hannah for being in the chat thank you to everybody that's keeping the barge rocking if you'd like to be a friend of the tennis podcast and get yourself on the barge in time for the us open then the link to do that is in our show notes folks we will be back on Tuesday again thank you tennis
and we'll be live at 8 p.m. on YouTube once again and it will be available as a podcast as per usual David will have been to fan week it'll be able to tell us all about it and we'll be able to tell you about everything that's happened in Cincinnati folks then a pleasure we'll see you soon
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