US Open Day 12 - Anisimova vs. Sabalenka - repeat or revenge?

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Hello and welcome to the tennis podcast on what was... Day 12 of the US Open, but is now somewhere very deep in the twilight zone. It is 3am. We are back at Tennis Podcast Towers, New York, trying... desperately to process what we witnessed on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In short, two mesmerising victories. One for the world number one, Irina Sabalenka, and one for the eighth seed, Amanda Anisimova. The evening's entertainment finishing just shy... of one o'clock in the morning when a roll of thunder echoed around the Arthur Ashe Stadium just as Amanda Anisamova was clinching her victory, her dramatic comeback victory.

over Naomi Osaka, it made the moment feel almost biblical in its heft, and even more so for me once I turned to Matt Roberts and witnessed a face of pure rapture. What an intro. I can't believe we're here again. Back-to-back Grand Slam finals from Andra Nisimova. What a night. I mean, we talk about... Women's semi-final night.

at the US Open, don't we, being one of the very best tickets in town. And it's actually quite rare that both matches go three sets. Both matches have such quality, such drama. It's a very, very special evening. And yeah, get me to the hair salon. Yeah, it's so special that even the ever magnanimous... David Law, whose prediction went down in flames tonight.

can appreciate and enjoy it and look back on it i think fondly oh it was fantastic it was amazing and actually that roll of thunder was really quite comical and it was all i could do to stifle the laughter inside because it was such a surreal situation, you know, multiple match points coming and going for the first time, really seeing.

obvious nerves for Amanda Aronissanova, who had played, well, we'll come on to it, some of the most explosive tennis I've ever seen. And suddenly... on her heels a little bit trying to just get over the line the way the way you have to do it's very rarely easy um but yeah given her journey and Your journey. How could I possibly be anything but pleased for you both? It's so hard. Who on this earth can deny Matt Roberts joy? And by extension, deny us joy, because my God, do I want to...

go to that hair salon on Saturday evening. And it's a city that never sleeps, so I feel sure we can find a sort of late night. I'm not sure what sort of establishment it'll be, Matt, but I feel like we'll be able to find somewhere. That'll be all the more amusing. dodgy place my thoughts exactly we can all get tattoos while we're there Oh, there's an idea. Who knows what could happen. That's what I was going to do for Zarko. Not anymore. There was some suggestion of head shaving.

David sort of Alcaraz-style head-shaving. I wanted David to dress up as a labubu. Right, okay. That would have been good. I could have done all three. In celebration of learning what a labubu is. Well, sadly it won't happen now. Every cloud, David.

Let's get into the match. The most surreal of matches in so many ways. 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 for Anisimova over Naomi Osaka. Let's be honest. Lots of this felt a little bit strange, kind of always enthralling, like you couldn't take your eyes off it, but it was bitty for long periods, particularly those that were the first set and a half, really. It felt...

It felt bitty. It felt a little bit odd. I mean, first of all, it started late because the first match was a thriller, went three sets. Then there was a ceremony. And look, it was a Venus Williams-related ceremony, so I didn't hate it quite as much as I usually hate them. But there just wasn't space for it in the schedule.

lovely ceremony for venus williams it felt a lot like a retirement ceremony they sort of ran a retirement vt for her when she's not retiring but like there wasn't space for it there there was not space if you want to do that and i said Support them doing it. Make space in the schedule. Advertise the ceremony at 6.30. Matches to start at 7. Lovely ceremony for Venus Williams at 6.30. Lots of people would have shown up for that. Anyway.

The match started late. The crowd thinned out after the first match. A lot of people would have felt like we've had our evening's entertainment. A storm is forecast. Suddenly they're rolling out a red carpet. I'm out of here.

You know, we've got work to go to tomorrow. So the crowd thinned out a little bit. And it was also, I felt, crowd-wise a little bit strange because they weren't... quite sure who to cheer for I felt like Osaka had the edge tonight but they didn't want to go too hard for Osaka because that was cheering against the American like it just felt a little bit odd for a long time this match I thought yes and from an Anissimova perspective she started really poorly

She won the first two points, but then she lost 11 points in a row and went down a break and really looked sluggish, I thought. Wasn't moving with the same... explosive nature that she was against Fiontech. And frankly, she just didn't have her range on her shots. She was hitting long a lot. And very quickly, I felt like the... the sort of pattern, the battleground for this match developed, which was that...

Anissimova had the far greater potency of strike and greater penetration through the court. I was really struck by how much more she had than Osaka. You know, we talked yesterday about these two players being players... that can hurt you off both wings, and some of the best ball strikers from the back of the court in the world, which they absolutely are. But it was notable to me, frankly, the quality of Inissimova's strike was so much...

cleaner and purer than Asarcus tonight, and she was able to knock her back and get on top in rallies. However, she didn't have her range, as I said, so what ended up happening was an awful lot of Anissimova misses. forced errors in the first half of this match. And that was coupled with Osaka doing some of the things that have been really notable about her.

run here in particular I thought her movement was absolutely outstanding once again getting behind the ball defending in rallies and I couldn't quite tell whether Osaka was not hitting through the ball because of nerves, because of the fact that she couldn't, because Anissimova's ball was so big, or as a tactic to...

Let Anissamova miss a little bit, you know, like be contained yourself and let Anissamova miss. I never really figured that out for the match, to be honest. I'm still not entirely sure I have a clear picture of what... of what happened there. But yes, there was just this, this stress, this tension to Anissa Mova in this match, which she's, which she's spoken about in her press conference. We haven't been to that press conference. We decided we needed to.

get the media bus or... We decided we needed to be not stranded at Flushing Meadows all night. Well, exactly. Hoping for an Uber that might never come. Yeah, so we got the bus, we've read the transcript, and she is talking about... stress that she felt and feeling like the match was going to slip away from her for a lot of this because she didn't quite have her game really because of nerves and stress and you could feel that you could see it on her face you could feel it in her shots

But she kept digging deep. She kept fighting. And as the match went on, end of that second set and the third set in particular, I felt like she freed up and she started hitting. just the most incredible shots and this some over started moving better and we saw the absolute best of her but she she had to find it tonight it wasn't there from the start and that's kind of what made it So, so fascinating. On the Osaka of it all, what Matt's touched upon there, the...

The resistance to being aggressive. There were moments where she went for it and Thomas Witkarowski was encouraging that at times. David, you watched a lot of this on the screen where you had access to what the coaches were saying, which is really useful. But we went to a press conference, we watched the whole match. I'm still at a bit of a loss why she looked... Quite so contrasting to Anissa Mova in terms of approach and in terms of power and ball strike out there.

It did really surprise me how defensive a player she ended up looking. Yeah, I wasn't entirely sure in the moment what the tactics were, and I'm still not entirely sure. I did find it very interesting when it was put to her that... She and Anissima are quite similar, and what is it like to play somebody who's an aggressive baseline like yourself? And she didn't agree with that assessment. She said we're total opposites. I actually am often watching my opponent and trying to block the ball.

And I think I see that. It's that get behind the ball and redirect it, especially when you've got that sort of power coming at you. I think what I was seeing in the first set is somebody who was trying to get a high percentage of first serves in, hit a lot of unreturnables, which she did.

make very few unforced errors. I think she got her first 11 returns of the match in off the first serve. That was a stat that came up, whereas Anissa Mova got three out of the first nine in, and that's why you ended up with that. that break in the first set. And I think she was trying to play a clean match with very few unforced errors.

probably move Anisimova which is an obvious tactic for somebody whose strength is not movement and I think that she thought that that would get the job done and let's be honest on the scoreboard Very nearly did. She won the first set. She came very close in the second set. And yet I still didn't think we were seeing anything like the best of her. Towards the end of the second set, we were messaging back and forth and saying,

Actually, not enjoying this very much. This is not the classic that we thought it would be. It's close on the scoreboard. It sounds... Like a classic, 7-6, 6-7. It didn't feel like one, watching it. It was nerve-ridden. It was angst-ridden. Whilst the shot making of Anissimova was absolutely breathtaking, I thought for the first set and a half it was quite panicky and desperate almost, as though she was just trying to hit winners that...

are not sustainable. That's what I was watching. I was watching something thinking, I think Osaka's going to win this in straight sets because this isn't sustainable. And I think she was doing that because the movement... wasn't there for that period of the match the way it had been yesterday against Fiontech. She was pulling the trigger. Osaka's talked about that, hasn't she, about how with her improved fitness, she's making better decisions on the court. Well, I felt probably like...

Anna Samova was pulling the trigger earlier than was ideal because she knew she was... a step slower than she was yesterday because of that stress. And there was also this pattern that kept emerging for Nissimova where she would break and then just get broken straight back. It happened for the first time she managed to break, so she couldn't...

She couldn't keep it up. If she did find a nice pattern, it just disappeared as quickly as it came. And that was a lot of credit to Osaka digging in. And you could tell Osaka...

making such a big effort as well with the body language again. It was a frustrating match for both players. It wasn't one where it was easy to give... the positive body language and Anisimova I think found it particularly difficult at times but Asaka was really trying but just neither of them could just quite get in their flow and I think that that stat of Anisimova getting broken back so often

kind of told a really, really big story there. But once we got to the end of the second set, it suddenly became the match. that I think we hoped for. It became dramatic. It became epic. And then suddenly you had a player just take it away in Anissa Mova. The shot she hit in that tiebreak...

I'd have to watch them back to believe what I was seeing. And there were some absolutely incredible stats coming through from the TV broadcast where we had Mary Carrillo, Chanda Rubin, and Andrea Petkovic. And they'd got... stats on the Anissa Mova backhand, which obviously we constantly talk about, but they've got statistical evidence to back this up, that her average backhand...

speed for the tournament was 77 miles per hour and that that is the fastest in the tournament man or women and and that the next one is sinner at 76 and below that is alcaraz at 73 And Sabalenka's at 71. So she's hit an average speed of 77 miles per hour. Get that on a t-shirt, Matt. It's unreal. It's extraordinary. And in this match itself, she was hitting the height. She was at average 76 miles per hour to Osaka 61. You know, this is the differential. And I did feel...

And I think we saw Osaka try to correct this as it went on. She didn't go for it enough. She didn't go. I know it seems like a massive power differential, and I think there is a power differential to some degree, because I don't think any, well, you see the stats there. Nobody hits the ball as hard as this woman is hitting the ball. But I don't think Osaka was meeting fire with fire. I think her tactic might have been a little different. But mainly, I think she was shocked.

Even though we watched back the highlights of 2022 Australian Open and... Matt does that every day, David. It was a great watch. We just joined in this time. We joined in. It was as though I'd edited the highlights. Yeah. Because it's mostly just some overhitting winners. But Osaka played well on that, mate. And Osaka had talked then about how fast the ball is coming through.

you I think three years on she was shocked again I think even though she knew that it was still a shock to the system and a very good point made by Andrea Petkovic in the commentary early on is that she just hasn't played any player remotely like that in this tournament. She's played Daria Kasikina, you know, a nice, slow-balling, spinny player. She's played Karolina Mukova, who's all style.

She just hasn't played that type of player. Koko Goff is not a power hitter like Unisimova or Sabalenka or Rabakina. So the ball, I think... Just took her by surprise. And she was getting forced back and becoming a little defensive. And yet she still nearly won. And I think a lot of that is just how nerve-wracking it all was. I wrote down towards the end of the second set.

Because I really didn't think it was ending in two. Anissimova is kind of the better player, stroke-wise, but Osaka's head and movement are going to win this. And the fact that Anissa Mova stopped that happening is a testament to just how incredible a shot making was. 50 winners from that racket tonight. And there was so... much that she was dealing with that just...

Even a few weeks ago, I feel like, would have derailed Anisimova or would have risked derailing Anisimova. And she's kind of confirmed this in the press conference by talking about how different a player she feels, even since Wimbledon. She says... I feel like the last few weeks, it's been a different feeling. I feel like when I was at Wimbledon, every single match was kind of a surprise to me. I was shocked with every match that I won. But here...

I feel like I believe in myself. And I feel like that manifests in, well, just, I mean, the very fact that she won this match. We didn't believe, did we? Not even Matt.

But we all thought, even when I think it was on serve, sort of two thirds of the way through the second set, we all thought it just felt like it was ending in two. And somehow she turned that... chip around and the crowd were cheering against her she did not have the crowd tonight an American in a in a semi-final of the US Open and okay it's Naomi Osaka she's an exception it's not personal etc but

We've seen how a crowd can get to a player in Naomi Osaka in Montreal. That could very easily get to somebody. The speed with which Naomi Osaka was playing. Alisa Mova was being rushed getting into the return position. There were actually quite a few times when she held up Osaka. And inadvertently, just because Osaka was wanting to play so quickly, it was kind of remarkable. Matt kept on remarking on it in the first set and we couldn't quite tell whether we were just sort of more dialed into it.

or whether she was deliberately maybe deploying that as a tactic. And then there was a very bizarre moment where she received a time violation. Like, the shot clock was... Barely starting for most of her points. You know, she was so quick. And to me, it did feel like some kind of tactic to just keep the pressure on, not giving us some over.

breaks you know bits of recovery but then out of the blue she suddenly ran the clock down a saga and got a got a time violation it really did did surprise me and Yeah, I find it pretty extraordinary that Anissa Mova has gone from the level she had at the start of the match to the level she had at the end. Like, that was... Kind of the worst version of herself right at the start. You know, sluggish as I said.

not really in control of the ball. And by the end, I know there were nerves in that final game, and she double-faulted on a crucial point at the end, and it did seem like maybe Osaka was going to get it back. through most of that third set, she's just had total control of the ball and what she was doing while also hitting the living daylights out of it. And Asaka said that it was kind of amusing at times.

How is someone able to strike the ball like that? And I just don't think Anissa Mova of certainly a year ago, even back in the... you know, previous part of her career where she was reaching Grand Slam semi-final. And I just don't think she was able to turn matches like that. You know, you kind of knew what you were going to get and then Amanda Nissimo over quickly, you know, like...

you knew you were going to get in one of her matches, whether it was going to be, oh, she's got it today, she's feeling it, or she doesn't really have it today. But that resilience that she's built up this year through so many matches, and now she's got the belief of... Beating Savalenka in a Grand Sam semi-final. Overcoming the...

Double Bagel Demons against Fiontech, it has created this player who's capable of doing what she did today. And David, I know you were more across the exchanges that she was having with her team, but I liked the sound of those as well when... They were telling her, stop complaining. Stop getting so down on yourself. Osaka's played a good return game there. You've got to accept that and lock back in. That dynamic seems...

Seems like it's working as well with the team. And yeah, it's all come together. And here we are. Sounds like they're not afraid of her. They're not afraid to tell her the truth. No, I think that's right. That actually... And this Samova reminded me a lot more of Sabalenka.

tonight both in terms of the way she went about playing because normally I think of her as a more reactive player because she's got such smooth strokes she doesn't need to muscle the ball and go after you in quite the same way she can almost almost just retaliate destroy you. This time she was trying to take the racket out of the hand of Osaka the way that Sabalenka does. But then she was also...

getting really wound up the way that Sabalenka does when it doesn't go in or when the scoreboard goes against her. And she was looking for a fight, really, with a support team. I mean, it's venting, isn't it? You understand it. They understand it.

it but they weren't having it and they just wanted her mind to rick his her coach just just said stop trying to pick a fight with me you know focus on the next point stop complaining let's go get on with it you know it's kind of she's played a good game it's fine um and and look that's exactly what happened and and she went out and did the job and and i dare say she loves them to bits because they they're telling her what she needs

needs to hear properly even if it's not very nice in the moment for the best reasons and yeah I just can't think of too many players that have have gone for it quite that much over such a long period of time and kept on pulling it off. It was Wawrinka-like, if you think about it, the way he did it against Djokovic in that French Open final. It was like Madison Keyes-like.

The way she just wrestled matches out of Svantec. It was Keys, Australian Open. And it's that sort of firepower we're talking about. What a night. Yeah. I just can't believe that losing a grand slam final, six love, six love, is probably going to end up being the making of her. You know, there's a lot more to it than that, but I really do think that we're seeing a woman that has turned that.

into a positive quickly more parallels with keys there aren't there really absolutely these are well-adjusted people with perspective on themselves and the sport. And yeah, I'm in awe of her. It's the most incredible story. It continues to be.

Very emotional. A bit worried about the turnaround, personally, just because it's such a lot, isn't it? Yeah, and she spoke at Wimbledon, didn't she? I know that she's sort of... in the weeks that have passed, admitted to nerves a lot more in the final there at Wimbledon, being the big factor. But at the time, she spoke a lot about exhaustion. That's the bit I'm worried about. And that's the bit I'm worried about. You know, this is...

Two matches in a row that have just taken a lot out of her, I think. I think maybe some of the reason for the slow start today was all the emotions of yesterday and overcoming Chiantic. Well... Okay, she's got the day off, but it's going to be an incredibly late finish. She's going to be thrown out of her rhythm. And she had to dig, in her own words, so deep tonight. Like, somehow, someway.

She's going to have to be able to find that again because Sabalenka was bloody good today. Bloody impressive. And she's as determined to... end this season with a major title you know like it's going to take all that anisimova's got and if she's diminished in any way i think it's going to be very very difficult so that that element is is a big one

Looking ahead to the final, I think. But then the fact that she's been through it before so recently helps massively. Yeah, I think so. I mean, just the way she was talking in press, you know, she's... She said, I've deleted everything from my phone. I've quietened all of the messages. I'm locking in. I know it's a tight turnaround. I'm going to be in it this time. I'm going to be in it. So we'll see. We will see. We need to talk about Sabalenka. We will do that in part two.

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Welcome back to part two of the Tennis Podcast, where it's now after three o'clock in the morning. How are we doing? Great. Pumped. Great and pumped. Me too. Do we think Irina Sabalenka is asleep? I hope so. She beat Jessica Pagula in a thriller. 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, two hours and five minutes. This one moves along at a clip. As well. It really was a scintillating match. The first match of the night, of course. And it is Arena Sabalenka that reaches a third consecutive US Open final.

Sixth consecutive hardcourt major final. Yeah, I enjoyed this match a lot more. personally, and I think it was a higher quality all the way through, much cleaner match, a lot fewer errors, less... anxiety on both sides of the net, I thought. And actually just a really interesting... kind of narrative behind it all because obviously they'd played in the final a year ago and and Pegula had led in the sets and it was really close but there were two sets seven five seven five this time

She goes 4-2 down and it really feels as though, wow, Savalenka's power is just too much. And then she just threw in a terrible game. Savalenka, awful, loads of errors, gets broken back. Bagula wins four games in a row to win that set 6-4. And it was just really interesting to watch her go ahead in this match and to think that, wow. She could be about to take out the world number one. And I wonder whether Sabalenka having...

Had a walkover in the previous round. Maybe he's come in a bit undercooked here into this match, whereas Pagoula's just timing the ball beautifully. And then in both sets, two and three... Pegula just went an immediate breakdown, and that was her problem. She was playing really well. Sabalenka was a little... in and out in terms of the shots, but when she really needed to step on it, she just got what she needed. Yeah, I mean, I feel like this match came down to one loose Pegula service game.

at the start of the third set. I don't think she lost a point on serve after that. She lost four points in that game to lose serve, didn't lose a point on serve for the rest of the set, whereas she was... constantly putting pressure on the Arena Sabalenka serve. I know that's reductive to say that it came down to that one game and tennis just isn't as binary as that, but this felt kind of as close to...

isolating it down to one game as you possibly can, really. Charlie Eccleshire from The Athletic said that Sabalenka's performance in that third set was like watching vintage Pete Sampras, because he would sort of just not give away games, but he... He wasn't winning points on loads of return games, but he'd get one and then he'd serve it out. Have you got a sort of human Google Alert set up for when somebody you know...

references Pete Sampras. Absolutely. I'm there in a second. It's very often Charlie Eccles. We bond over Pete Sampras. Well, I think Pagula... absolutely perfectly sum this up by posting a picture of herself drinking what I think is a honey deuce with the caption when you lost four points on serve in the third but you lost the match

Right. You know, like... Come on, we know a honey juice when we see one. That's a honey juice. I see the melon balls. Hand-carved, those. Have you seen the video? I've not. Every single melon ball is hand-carved. That's why they cost $24. Get a machine to do it. Reduce the price. She also came into the press currents with a lollipop.

which I think was, again, something to just try to cheer herself up. So, look, I thought Pagula did a brilliant job in that first set of passing. I mean, Sabalenka found herself... at the net quite a lot, and Pagula was whipping passing shots past her. She also did a brilliant job of just redirecting the Sabalenka pace and absorbing it. She was hitting the ball sweetly, Pagula, really high quality.

Sabalenka, I thought, did a great job at the start of the second sec, just changing it up a little bit, a bit of variety, threw in some drop shots, helped to get that early break. And kept her emotions in check, Sabalenka. You know, we've seen her play a lot of big matches this year where stress has overtaken her and her game has suddenly disappeared.

I thought she was teetering at times tonight. She was on the edge, but she stepped up when she needed it, and none more so than in that third set, because having got the break right at the start... What then happened was every single Sabalenka service game was just a mini battle within the overall battle. It was absolutely astonishing at 2-1, 3-2.

4-3, and eventually then at 5-4, Pagula was applying so much pressure. She was just... in every single return game putting returns back on the baseline and forcing Sabalenka to come up with her best stuff and she did she played world number one tennis when she was down Sabalenka you know whether it be with a huge backhand or a huge serve or whatever it was she just stepped up and I I'm not sure Pagula did a lot wrong

on those break points and on those mini chances and all those service games, Sabalenka just steadied herself and delivered in a way that a lot of times this year we've seen her... Not do that in the very biggest matches, but it was a reminder of when the full force of her tennis is on display, she's the best in the world. You know, she can...

She can overwhelm you with power. She's a brilliant mover. And when she brings it all together, it's kind of like, what can the opponent do? And that was my read on that final set because I thought Pagula was... brilliant other than just that loose service game at the start but she did everything she possibly could to get back into it and Sabalenka just would not allow it it was it was so compelling

So compelling, this match. Just on the movement of Sabalenka, we... We watched, actually midway through the Anisimova match, Matt wanted to provide evidence of the best forehand slice Anisimova had ever hit.

dropped a little YouTube link in the chat. He did that just because I dared say that I'd seen the best forehand slide she's ever hit. And within... half a second you've got evidence of why that wasn't the case not creepy at all to have that at your fingertips Matt don't worry so you've even got the time stamp so there we were sitting in the media seats and I was watching a highlights package of Asimova against Sabalenka from...

2019 Australian Open. And obviously I was watching out for this incredible forehand slice, which was indeed incredible. It just sort of lofted and dipped into the sidelines. for a winner. But I was absolutely dumbstruck by how different...

How different is an athlete and a mover Sabalenka looked compared to then just the way she stalks around a... tennis court now and looks so nimble is just worlds away from from what she used to be i know we're always saying it but she's just so much more than a power hitter and just on power hitting It's almost become a bit of a cliche in tennis, you know, Pugula's deceptive power. She's more powerful than you think she is. You hear commentators say that a lot and they're absolutely...

Right, she is more powerful than people give her credit for generally. And I thought this was as good a piece of evidence for that as you'll ever see because you have... The barometer of power, you have the direct comparison to Irina Sabalenka in a cape. She was kind of absorbing the Sabalenka power too, but she was... pretty much matching her. And I think a lot of it with Sabalenka is the way she produces her power.

just sort of blinds people, A, to the other dimensions of her game, but also to how she doesn't totally sort of stand apart in women's tennis. And that really struck me. tonight watching from where we were watching, that, yeah, Peguila was... Paquilla was kind of matching her stroke for stroke. She was using her against her and timing it back. Her timing was immense, wasn't it? A refusal to be pushed back from the baseline. Not many can...

can do that, can really hold their ground on the baseline. That takes power and core strength, but also dexterity to make the micro adjustments. She's a lot more than... than people give her credit for, I think, Pagula. And that's one of the fascinating parts of the final match-up that we've got, because Anissa Mova can do that as well to Sabalenka. When David talks about...

Anissimova not necessarily going out there and completely sort of dominating players with her power, but sort of using it back on them.

turning it back on them. That's what I think she does so well against Sabalenka. She uses Sabalenka's pace and injects her own into it, and Sabalenka is rocked by that. It's like an experiment to see what you can blow up.

I am fascinated by her tactical approach in the final, in that regard. Does she go out and try to do what she did tonight and just seek and destroy? Or does she... settle back into that belief that she can time it and look we've been talking a lot about the Sambalenka return you know maybe not quite being at its peak at the moment

And that is potentially something that you look at in that third set that she played tonight against Pagula. I know she got the break at the start, and I know in that sense it kind of was classic Pete Sampras, get the break and then just hold. But she got nowhere near the Pagula serve for the rest of the set. She lost 16 points in a row on return, Sabalenka. And I don't think that she was holding...

easily enough or confidently enough to just be tanking those return games. I know she was desperately trying to win those points and just not managing it. Right. And that, I think, is a bit of a worry for Sabalenka. going into the final. Because Anissa Mova, everyone is saying it, pretty much as dangerous a returner as you can possibly get. She is going to have looks at the Sabalenka.

She's going to be hurting it with her own return. So Sabalenka needs to be getting into the Anissimova service games herself. And there will be times probably when Anissimova is not serving her best and Sabalenka will be able to get into them. If Anissimo can get in the kind of serving rhythm that Pagula was in, like, Sabalenka's going to have to step up on her return game. I know she was generally brilliant tonight, and I thought...

She made a bit of a statement because she was really impressive. But that is an area where I think Anissa Mova going into this final will be feeling like she might be able to... to exploit. She has to serve while Sabalenka, doesn't she? I mean, Anna Samova, she's just crushing second serves. Yeah, off both wings. There's nowhere to go. No, if you, most people stop.

second serve is into the backhand you can't do that so they mix it up but then she's able to just shuffle around it and hit a big forehand as well like it's a problem it's a big problem It's a great final, isn't it? I know we were in a situation where we'd be saying that regardless of what was set up tonight. We were in a good position. There were no bad scenarios. It's all great. Whoever wins, it'll be...

a great story, a great champion, but I really am excited. Well, the good news is typically their matches are really good. Even the one-sided ones are really fascinating because... You've got two really pure ball strikers, and they just match up well. I think it's a great sight. It's a little Sinner and Alcaraz-like, seeing these two... incredibly imposing figures with such enormous power colliding. It's like a Marvel final. Do you think it's going to happen?

I do. I mean, I thought it was at Wimbledon as well. You might have been in the early stages of a fever at that point. Thank you. We can introduce that onto the record. What's your excuse this time? Well, it's 3.30 in the morning. Look, I think the thing we just talked about, the recovery from this tonight, particularly for Anissa Mova, is going to be a lot.

I don't know, there is kind of more of a Madison Keys feeling about this, right? You know, she's just come through two incredibly tough matches. We were saying that about Keys, you know, can she do it again in the final? Keyes had had previous experience, and Nissimova's now got previous experience, and I think that's all helpful. I think Nissimova's best tennis wins it.

I don't think Sabalenka can do to Anissa Mova what Fiontech did on a grass court and with her movement and with the angles and spin. It's a more straight up and down game. I also don't think Anissa Mova's... going to be paralyzed the way she was at Wimbledon. Look, I'm not saying she's going to come out not feeling any nerves and tension and being free as a bird, but it's going to be a different player. And also, look...

Maybe Sabalenka comes out and plays an extraordinary match. But Sabalenka's not got... the finals record that Svantec has. You know, like, Sabalenka gives you games. She throws in a bad game or just lets you get a little bit of momentum, lets you settle, I think, in a way that Svantec just... Absolutely did not with her absolutely ruthless, brilliant performance in all of her Grand Slam finals, but particularly that one, of course. So just think the match-up is helpful.

One more important question before we move on to look ahead to tomorrow. And there'll be more time to preview the women's final in tomorrow's show. But will Bruce come? We're doing our best. I don't quite know what that is. What is our best? We're sending texts to people with more influence. We're manifesting. Both spiritually and practically. We're hoping. I'm not sure our...

I think we're even more than three degrees of separation from Bruce. Oh, we're so far away. We're so far away. He has been to US Open. If anybody out there has any strings to pull... It's the only way Saturday can get better. They come from the same place. This is why it should happen. Freehold, New Jersey. Freehold, New Jersey. Okay, right. Gotcha. Yeah. That's why he needs to be there.

It would be the coolest. Oh, it would be awesome. I mean, it's not going to happen, but it would be incredible. If we can't get Bruce there, will Jeremy Allen White come again? Probably. He seems to have a season ticket. Fake Bruce. Yeah, he's been four days in a row. He cannot get enough. Look, maybe they could come together. They've got a film to promote.

Bruce has got an album to promote. This is win-win. It is. Taylor Swift managed it last year. Exactly. Please happen. She had to watch Taylor Fritz. Bruce could watch a mandarinis him over. Freehold, New Jersey. She didn't even know I was five years ago. He could play Jersey Girl. Oh. Okay. Everybody collectively manifest. That's it for part two. We'll be back in part three to look ahead to tomorrow's men's semifinals.

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Welcome back to part three of tonight's tennis podcast. I had the men's doubles semifinals today as well. The men's doubles final will be between Marcel Gronoyes and Horatio Zabias.

beat the unseeded American pairing, ended the run of Robert Cash and JJ Tracy. And Grenoza Baez will take on Joe Salisbury and Neil Skubsky. They beat Yuki Bambury and Michael Venus. So that men's... doubles final will be Saturday the women's doubles final is tomorrow ahead of the two men's singles semi-finals so the women's doubles final starts at midday

on Ash it is Katarina Siniarkova and Taylor Townsend the top seeds taking on the third seed Gabby Dabrowski Matt's favourite doubles player against Erin sorry Gabby Dabrowski and partner Erin Routcliffe then Not before 3pm, it is Novak Djokovic against Carlos Alcaraz. What's going to happen? Do you know, we watched... Some more highlights earlier today, or I did anyway, repeatedly of the Australian Open match that they played. What is it now? It's eight months ago.

And I was astonished at the level of play that Novak Djokovic found that night to mount his comeback. You know, it's very easy to forget. Just how good he was and how difficult Alcaraz found it to hit through him. he was turning the tables on him. So it really did give me pause for thought and the fact that it's a 5-3 head-to-head record for Djokovic and he's won the last two, I think. Certainly the Olympics and the Australian Open.

It's a big mental challenge this for Alcraz to not worry about any of that and bring out what he's been doing for the last kind of 10 days onto the court. But I think he will. And I think you're winning four. Matt.

Yes, I feel the same as David, really. I think Djokovic can hurt Alcaraz, he can spook Alcaraz a little bit, and I think there will be real moments of... stress here for Alcarez but ultimately I think he'll come through I think the tennis he's been playing the way he's been serving and just honestly like his general physicality over Djokovic right now like I think the route to victory for Novak Djokovic just

feels like it's going to be something like in Australia. Like, if that doesn't happen again, I don't really see how Djokovic wins. Like, I don't think he can outplay Alcaraz in three. I don't think he can beat him over five. maybe could get him in four if Alcaraz loses his head a little bit or something like that. But I think Alcaraz has got more paths to victory here. Really don't want to make it sound like the US election.

which I realised I just did a little bit. But that's my feeling. I think Alcarez finally is going to get a win over Djokovic on a hard court.

I think this could look, could feel a little bit like Sinner's victory over Djokovic in the French Open semi-final. Three... competitive sets Djokovic playing really well but ultimately just being overwhelmed and Alcaraz being dialed in throughout and being a better player when he is Dan Djokovic Sinner made it feel like actually the game has suddenly moved on a bit in those matches that he played at the French and Wimbledon and because particularly because

Djokovic actually played well in that French Open match. But we haven't really seen Alcaraz do that to him, apart from in that Wimbledon final. And I always... I feel like there's a little bit of an asterisk because Djokovic had just had knee surgery. So he kind of needs one of these. And really, I feel like the level now, the way he and Sinner have separated themselves.

It should be there. And given what we've seen so far, I believe it is. If he can't do it now against Djokovic, you know, months older than he was the last time they played on a hard court, he's... 38 now. And with Alcaraz, as I say, you know, I think he's been rehearsing for this match all tournament. As dialed in and playing as well as he's ever been, certainly on a hard court.

If he can't do it now, then when? Yeah, that's fair. Night session, 7pm, Yannick Sinner against Felix Auger-Aliassime. Do you think if you polled the Arthur Ashe Stadium tonight, 24,000 people, anybody would have predicted a Felix Auger Aliassime win? Can anybody provide a modicum of hope for Paul Felix? No paths to victory. I'd be astonished. I think he's got more chance than Mazzetti had, but Mazzetti was so overwhelmed.

last night that, I mean, having a better chance than him doesn't sound like the greatest compliment in the world. Listen, I think... Felix had a brilliant tournament. I still have just in the back of my mind what he did to him once before, but it's so long ago now that... I can't really see it. I mean, at least he's got weapons. He has got a big forehand. He has got a good serve. I do wonder what would happen if he could keep it close in order to grow into the match.

I suspect it's more likely that he'll just go and break down very early on and then it becomes really tough to get into the match at all. Is the single most likely scenario that it's a blowout? Like a real blowout? Like not competitive? Yes, I think there might be a competitive set. I could see like 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. Or, you know, something like that. Maybe a couple of competitive sets. I fear the first one might be one-sided because suddenly Felix is just faced with Grand Slam Yannick Sinner.

which is a formidable, frightening prospect. I just don't think there's anything that Orgelia does better than Yannick Sinner. I would not trade a single... Orgelia seemed trait for a sinner one. There was a... quite a good moment in the Felix Loggiali scene press conference a couple of days ago which I was in when he was asked to explain what's different with Sinner now from when he faced him those years ago when he beat him and he just he just went through this

chopping list of things that he's improved basically everything he's changed for the better and at fair play to Felix he had a you know he was smiling by the end of it as well we were all giggling because it was such a long list but it's it's he's well aware of how good this guy is yeah like If he has a phenomenal serving day, or shall I see him? And he can keep sets close, as you said. You know, we've still got this... I'm not even sure if it's a thing anymore. But, you know, the...

Sinner not winning long matches thing is still there, but how do you get it to the three-hour 50 mark? I would still be backing Sinner if we got to that point, but... I'd be astonished if we even got there, but that's a tiny, tiny thing that he might be able to latch on to. I just think Sinner is going to overwhelm him. Orgelio seems playing a lot better than he was a few weeks ago, but he lost six love, then he won two games, then he lost six love again.

to him the other week in Cincinnati it was as one side of the match as you can get and I just think Sinner targets that backhand the ball speed that he's got he's This is sounding really depressing for us. He's had a brilliant tournament. He would have absolutely signed for this every single time. But I think this is...

This is one-way traffic. It's the end of the road. Well, continuing the theme of today's podcast, go with God, Felix. Folks, that is it for today or tomorrow or this morning, whatever this is, whatever time of day you call this. I call it 20 to 4. Yeah, wild times here in New York. But fun times, definitely fun times. Hello to Phoebe.

My mascot, hello to Maisie. David's mascot, hello to Roger. Matt's mascot. There was an extraordinary moment when we arrived in the lobby about an hour ago. The universe sent me a dog. One just miraculously appeared with its owner in the lobby and like it had been possessed. Broke free of the owner. It sensed my presence. Went hurtling towards Catherine.

It was remarkable. It was. It was. It was like Carlos Alcraz running into the arms of one Carlos Ferreira. But I didn't even give this little dog any encouragement. It just looked at me and it knew. It was special. It was a real meeting of minds. So sorry, Billy Jean and Phoebe for cheating on you, but I needed it. It was lovely. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff, and particular hello to Chris. because Chris brought us snacks.

When we most needed them. He just appeared. He appeared. Like an angel. Yeah, truly. Continuing the theme again. Truly like a snack angel. Yeah. Sort of worn all in the deciding set. Yeah, like... Of the second match at 12.30 in the morning. We were stressed. We needed snacks. They were both sweet and savoury snacks. It was... Incredible work. And then poof, he was gone. Truly like an angel. Chris, we thank you. Greg and Jeff. Angels too. Angels too.

We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network. Folks, thank you ever so much for listening. We'll, of course, be back tomorrow or later today or whatever it ends up being to talk about those men's semifinals. Look ahead to the women's final on Saturday. and bring you up to date with Operation Bruce we'll speak to you then New products to launch, new people to develop, new goals to crush. Workday Go is designed for small and mid-sized businesses.

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