Hi, this is Billie Jean King. This is Mary and Bartoli. I'm Matt's Vellander. This is Mary Carillo. This is Pam Shriver. This is Yannick Noah. Hi, this is Ryan Bennett. Nazi Kinnak living in the Central Coast, Australia. And you're listening to The Tennis Podcast. Well, hello and welcome to Flushing Meadows and the penultimate day of the US Open, where you find myself. Catherine Rittgen, Matt Roberts, David Law in the media garden.
Thank you to Ryan Bennett there that you heard in the intro, Ryan from Australia. He says he's been in Avid listener for several years and a returning friend. He wants to sincerely thank the three of us for doing a great job and he always looks forward to the next episode without fail. Keep loving New York, he says and Ryan, we absolutely are loving New York because tonight there has been such an incredibly special night here, hasn't it, David?
Yeah, it has and it really moved me in a lot of different ways really because I felt as though either way this story went, it would have meaning for the sport and it was going to be really emotional for the winner and the player defeated and for the crowd. There was total buy-in from everybody here and eyeballs all over the world, all over this country.
I know there's a lot of other sports that the US Open competes with at the moment because college football came on straight after the final and that was a big game and the NFL is just starting and all these other things but it really does feel like this is a story that has cut through. It feels like Coca-Golf is recognised around this country anyway and now to have won
this title and to have won it the way she did it. All the way through coming from behind in these matches and to do so again today it almost feels like that's her trademark now that it's very recognisable what a what a fighter she is and and the way she just dug that out after a really tough
first set. It was great and the atmosphere was electric. 26, 63, 62 for Coca-Golf over the women that will be World No. 1 come Monday, Arena Savillenca, not the highest quality tennis match you will ever see but Fadrama and for Storylines and for Quote and for Moment it was kind of everything man. Yeah absolutely it was an extremely compelling and stirring match I think. The Arthur
Astadium was I think the loudest it's been all tournament. Certainly the loudest I've experienced this tournament and just a match which I think told you a lot about how hard it is to win Grand Sam Finals. I mean Arena Savillenca has already won a Grand Sam Final and I think I've been expecting that maybe she would use that experience and be able to play like that again but you know Arena Savillenca in big matches since then has has not been Pika Arena Savillenca and I think
that just tells you how hard it is to win these matches and full credit to Coco Golf for kind of forcing that version of Arena Savillenca to come out because after that first set I was kind of thinking what can Golf do here other than tightly tightly up her own game what can she do other
than you know reliance Arena Savillenca starting to miss because it was in Savillenca's control that first set and the maybe the moment of the Grand Sam Final and particularly Coco Golf and her defense brought out the errors from Arena Savillenca and I thought it was just incredible to witness Coco Golf at 19 with all the pressure and expectation on her in New York be able to be the more
poised calm better player out there as that match went on. I've got to give an assist to my mom here in a text that she sent me mid match but because it it made me realize something about what I was seeing it reminded me of an Andy Murray match you're watching it going it doesn't look
right that you're winning these points that you're winning these games that you're winning this match like you've got no right to be doing that again somebody who just is the better ball striker certainly tonight was the better ball striker and you're thinking okay you've just won one unbelievable
scrambling point but that you can't do that for a whole match like that's just not this doesn't add up and yet there she is doing it point after point after point from the second set onwards and there were there were things about her speech as well that reminded me of Andy Murray but
that is what it looked like to me today where you're like how is this working your your defying things about that I think I know about the sport it was look I I never want to give too much credit to coaches particularly when it's male coaches behind a female player but she won ugly tonight
didn't she yeah she she did and she didn't like doing it that way it was really great that she was honest about that in her press comments I don't want to win my grand slams like that I don't want to win I don't want to have to play like that in order to do it I want to be the one hit in
the winners and taking people on and but she knew that the the heavier firepower was coming down from the other end and it was going to be her defense her movement that that could be the difference maker and her and her tenacity and that's those are great comparisons with Andy Murray
I absolutely see that she she just wouldn't let it go and that's when when I said that it's become a trademark I think right back to the French Open when she lost that first set to mirror and Draver in a 7 6 tie break and she's just getting outplayed really by somebody with this
prodigious talent and yet she believed that she'd actually got the upper hand up a set down and that there's clearly such a well-of-believe and I know that it is we've we've touched on how she contributed she copes with in the conditions that we were all suffering and all players were
suffering I mean when she said in a press conference oh this didn't affect me at all this weather this last few days she it was hard to actually believe you're hearing this and yet totally believe her she's she's trained in South Florida for all these years that this is what what she's
used to and she's just hardly come hard into it and what a competitor what a champion she is I mean brilliant to watch that was it made me think of something that Mary Carillo told us a while back about Cocoa golf which is that she used to dominate the juniors because she was just
such a better athlete than everybody else and she could just rely on that not like other area not like the ball striking is bad or anything but it didn't need to be the best in the game because the athleticism was just head and shoulders above anybody else and she's been able to bring
that to bear again this summer I know we've been joking about Brad Gilbert shouting make it physical make it physical but what he's saying is this is what you have on everybody else I don't care who's down the other end of the court and what they're throwing at you you have that make that
the determining factor of this match and she did today I felt like she you know I was watching the opening stages that much fearing awkwardness because I was like how does Cocoa go for make windpoints and less sabbelenca coughs up an era and I felt like she thought the same and when
okay well I got to make Irene Sabbelenca cough up her is then and Sabbelenca played a good first set but there were errors there there were some quite loose areas particularly from the from short short balls she was really struggling on those and I felt like whether consciously or subconscious
he coca-cough did some some math and said okay she's missing one in every six ground strokes so if I just make her play two or three more every point she's going to miss more and that's that's going to be the difference not sure I've ever seen movement like hers I mean we've seen some
incredible athletes Steffi graph was just an astonishing athlete but that was speed this is speed and flexibility and anticipation I'm just not sure I've seen anything quite like what she's got yeah pretty much all the high quality gasp inducing moments of this match was something to do with
Cocoa golf getting a ball back that no one else would get back yeah and just retrieving from the baseline relentlessly and I think if we if we look at the match I I really think a big moment was the very first game of the second set and I said I did say this at the time I was going to actually
just interject and say that matter that you didn't have to but you thought I've just been I sure but I've sounded like a dick he's such a rough night that he needed to get that out there come on then um he did lean over and go but mark that game okay because two of golf's first three serves in that
second set were double faults and she had tailed off at the at the end of that first set she was vulnerable I think in that moment and golf did um Sabelanka did not take advantage in that game she had 1540 and then missed three of her next four returns Sabelanka and that that let go through the
game I thought that was a big moment at the time another big moment was the game where golf broke in that second set she she hit an incredible backhand passing shot and that turned it that got the crowd up that got the crowd with her that was the first moment where I thought okay golf's no
longer just defending in these rallies she's actually either defending well enough to extract an error out of Sabelanka or on occasion she's turning defense into attack she started to do that a lot more as the match went on and she started to change the way she was serving she was really
struggling to hold serve in that first set even though her percentage was good the service weren't having an impact and she started to serve bigger I think in that second set and just get more free points with the serve and you know that's a that's a Billie Jean King champions
adjust line moment really isn't it and I think her her whole approach to this tournament has been as she said she doesn't want to necessarily play like this but she realised that it was the best way of getting her to win this match and it absolutely was the the central question of this it
was can goff's defense extract enough errors from the Sabelanka attack and in the first set that wasn't happening but Sabelanka's attack went from needing to be decent to needing to be really really good because of how well goff got used to it I was thinking of the line you heard in
commentary other day David about taking a set to adjust to pace I think there was a little bit of that as well with goff seem to get used to the Sabelanka ball a bit more it was just an incredibly incredibly impressive adjustment all match from goff particularly you know as we always say
best of three sets it can get away from you quickly and she didn't let that happen it was just so impressive David you were in a Reen Sabelanka's press conference and a recurring theme of it is the phrase it was me against me yeah she she thought that match was on her racket and she
let it go do you agree the thing is I don't know where one starts and one begins because I think that goff did what she needed to do to cause that now you might say well if Sabelanka was good enough she did just hit through it anyway and she wouldn't have wouldn't have allowed that and
I just think that that's a bit like when we were watching Carlos Alcras last night and you're you know they can reach that level but can you reach it and sustain it and do it all the time like maybe Ben Shelton's a better example because I think Alcras actually can Ben Shelton has his
had his moment against Jacović and he was awesome you know and and he he can hit through this incredible retrieving and and so forth but can you do it long enough and Sabelanka did it for a set and yes she did start missing but was that because she was poor or was that because goff
was putting her in horrible positions time after that it's probably both isn't it I just feel like I think she also had a really nice way of she gave credit to goff in that press conference she wasn't just saying that slightly mean spirited thing of well it was only because she only won
because of me he wasn't like that but she did keep coming back to that I think she is going to suffer the next few days thinking about this match because she's got such an appetite she'd so much wanted to underline her status as the new world number one with a grand sam title but she did also
say that that will cushion the blow a little the fact that she is world number one she will lean on that a little bit look I the one thing I would say and I'm curious to know what you two think about is having watched the matches there was no adjustment from her at all and the same
as going on against madison keys now she lost a six love set and she just keeps on hitting that's what she does and eventually against keys it clicked and look that can work that is that is her way of doing it I just think she's a good enough tennis player with good enough racket skills
to do something else when she's missing and she doesn't even try and I feel like that is somewhere that she needs to go back and and adjust yeah I completely agree I think there's there's not a plan B and she's good enough to be able to have a plan B like yes it's not going to be as good as plan A
which is blasting winners but take a leaf out of Gothsport right exactly and she's she's a great athlete sabbelenka you know I think she could use that at theticism in defense more than in attack you know obviously her her main tactic is to use use what she's got aggressively but I feel
like she could maybe use it defensively a bit as well and honestly I think we've probably said the same after every sabbelenka loss at slams this year she's got an incredible record in the majors this year 23 and 3 you know that's outstanding and she's one one obviously but all three of those
losses she was she had match point on mucava and it ran away from her she was a set in a break up on on shibur winmuda and it ran away from her she was a set up today and it ran away from her there's always it's always the same and that's a kind of tough tough thing to reconcile with the
fact that she was so good in Australia but maybe I suppose that is the difference like in Australia she was playing well and was able to keep it going here when she starts going off she can't she can't bring it back in the really big matches I think she's got better at bringing it back
this year because of all the consistency 6th love first set she brought it back yeah but I do think that Madison Keys like match up wise that was there was just so different it was a more against hitters I think the same in with rebacan as she could still co-today she hadn't played
I mean there's no one who can defend like off but as I said yes they she played a lot of hitters in this tournament and I think she's more comfortable in that match up jibur's not a hitter mucava's not a hitter they they can disrupt her a bit go off disrupted her with the movement and
yeah that there needs to be more of an adjustment I think from sabbelenker I wanted to see more resistance from her in that third set I just it felt like she was lacking in fight a little bit there was a resignation about her body language now we were we were quite high up in our seats and
we didn't have a monitor or anything so I could be reading that wrong but it kind of felt like oh none of it's going in I've got nothing else but yeah and you know she played she played the she had a medical timeout didn't she I don't know how tactical that was she certainly said
in press it was nothing major she said I was tight and that made my hamstring feel tight I'm not saying there was nothing going on but that wasn't great it felt like a card to play to be honest I thought that was that was the and I can't know but it felt like the last time it's the only card
you're playing in that situation I don't know and and she was doing that and the and the and the the tactics never changed you just macking away I mean it's a question I wish I asked it then I'm definitely going to ask her the next time I'm in a press conference where there is
have you thought about how do you have a conversation with your coach about what happens if I start missing is is there supposed to be a plan B that you don't employ or do you just never think about that it's such a fine line isn't it for athletes because they're all they're all
about I'm just going to focus on myself and if I play my game I've got I have to believe in myself and I get why that has to be true for the sake of your confidence and self belief and to help you ride out rough patches but tennis is about matchups it a lot of the time it's about what's
coming at you from the other end of the court and Coco Gough look Matt said it Billy Jean King said it first champions adjust sometimes just focusing on yourself and what's going on there isn't enough you need to adapt to the situation and what's coming at you and she's she's still really
young and as exactly as we're saying she's good enough to add this stuff to the game not sure I've ever seen a try any any match and we've seen a foot I mean I know she is young but we've seen it for five years now so it's quite interesting I mean look and when a game is on it's it's so awesome
so I can kind of maybe understand why she thinks well if I just get it back I'm going to knock off the court again but I just think it's a lot of pressure to put on yourself if you're in control of every point come on a mid-late because if you're suddenly starting to feel tight and your
only play is to swing and swing and therefore you're more likely to miss I think it would almost relieve some of the pressure if like she sort of let the other person dictate for a moment just the thing is she's not a bad mover for her side like she's not Coco Gough she never will be
she is not a bad mover though we're not talking about all due respect Petra Cavittavit here like a big hitter that just needs to swing because like she can scramble a bit and retrieve and good hand it's not plan A but it's just well wasn't she well doubles number one certainly both
the well number one team in doubles there's definitely more that could be added to her game even if not technically there just almost philosophically as a tennis player just to accept that set of circumstances and an employee something else the noise inside that stadium and I know
we've had a few messages on Instagram about what people think was disrespectful cheering of arenas abalinkas errors she was pretty dismissive of that in press she said that wasn't really a fact of her tonight she was prepared for it and thought it was justified really I thought it
was mostly fine yeah but it must be really hard when when you're hitting balls in the net unbelievable and that noise is being made like I totally get wider making that noise I don't I don't think I don't think is this the clapping after a fault or is this the make an error and
the crowd erupt noise that one that the one where she's lost a point meaning goffs want a point yeah yeah I was thinking element of it was that goff was behind for so much of that match she was the underdog it's like what we were saying about the dynamic team Shelton and Tiafo like
if you're doing that for the underdog it's not it's not bullying is it if goff were if goff was six love two love up and they're cheering arena sabbelenca's mistakes that feels like bullying feel a bit harsh just sort of giving her any help you possibly can when she's in a desperate
situation it just feels a bit different to me I have massive sympathy with arena sabbelenca and anyone in in that situation but yeah I mean sabbelenca errors are a totally legitimate way for goff to win a point and therefore I think a legitimate thing for a goff fan to cheer I didn't
but it's tough for sabbelenca I didn't feel like it overstepped I thought it was I probably is the loudest that I've seen since well since last year when serena was having a final run here I don't know he's compared to serena because I wasn't in the stadium for I got to watch a little
bit of the cultivate match him in the stadium did get to experience it but not much not like you too did and the reef was on tonight so it was just a total hot hot house of the atmosphere and that was the loudest I've experienced inside it felt massive to me it was massive
but there would be a reason to say it was louder than last year wow it was extraordinary last year for serena yeah yeah there it was yeah 22 more okay okay and actually you know I mean I know your comments dog are about the press conference Catherine but the journey she's been on has been
incredible isn't it when you talk about 22 and and the when she started as a 15 year old I didn't know so much was going on there with her you know yeah I can't believe how much we're going to end up talking about the journey that a 19 year old has gone on to become a Grand Slam champion it's
it's quite rejected I mean it was a fascinating press conference absolutely fascinating she gave us real insight into what's been going on with her recently she soft-launched a boyfriend I don't know if anybody else noticed that it's still reeling good for nobody nobody seems to know about it
so we know that I did and then I was like I definitely didn't and I feel like that answers the question of who she called when she was sad on the I think I think she was doing this setting up the stage which PS takes too long in terms I think she did say that she called one of our brothers
she did but she said he did not settle the last minute oh okay anyway she definitely soft-launched boyfriend didn't that press conference probably quite a good way to do it you know bury that bury that news slightly under the title gave us this incredible insight into how it wasn't
where is me stuff but how tough it's been mentally for her being a teen phenom which of course makes total sense it was kind of absurd what happened to her four years ago people predicting off the back of one Grand Slam run that she was going to be the greatest player of all time I mean that was
happening for real four years ago but she she's so mature and grounded and eloquent that it always felt like she wore it incredibly lightly that it was all under control yeah but what she actually explained to us when when you asked about it was that she said she thought I had a time limit on
when I should win and when I didn't win aged 17 people there was a graphic that went up and said serena serena serena did that so she's missed that now she hasn't achieved what serena I mean what a thing to have to carry around in your head I mean some people that might not bother but she made
it very clear although she wasn't letting us in on that at the time and I think how can you how can you really articulate that when it's going on but in hindsight really really bothered her and and it wasn't the only thing you know there was there was there was a lot going on for her and
she said in her ESPN interview I thought she said it on court at first but I've remembered since that she said it in this ESPN interview she was sat next to Pam Schreiber and their team on the on the desk there she said when I when I lost that French open final I thought the world was
going to end you know and and it's and that's what I kind of asked her about is when did that stop because she she was talking about how now she came into this final and she very clearly had the view that I really really want to win but if I don't that doesn't mean I'm a failure my mom and
dad still love me just the same and it's okay you know and I think that that's freed her up and I mean I guess maybe she's had some psychological help to help her to come to that realization and know her she talks very gratefully about her parents having made it very clear to her that she's
loved regardless and you could see that throughout this tournament yes she wanted to win yes there was pressure but she wasn't carrying it in quite the same way as she describes how she felt before and obviously it helps that she's improved as a tennis player that she's figured some stuff out
the last few weeks but I'm just really happy for her as a person that she she's got to that mindset she said some pretty suck-up on stuff about how during the ceremony at last year's French open when eager shion take was collecting the trophy she made herself sit there and watch eager shion take
lift that trophy and imagine what it was feel like she made herself sit in her feelings what must have been well what she told us tonight were pretty garsty feelings in that moment which you know I think there's I think there's a lot I mean there's a lot of people out there
life's hard I get it but there's certainly a lot of tennis players out there that aren't really feeling their feelings on you know feelings in a box let's you know because it's brutal it's brutal out there and it's too much to deal with but she's she's learning it all in and
becoming a grand slam champion anyway it's it's incredible and then she talked again about experiencing something similar a Wimbledon this year when she lost in the first round she talked she was asked about she was asked about that footage which has been doing the rounds over the
last couple of days of hers and eight-year-old coming here on kid's day great effort for a kid's day well I was gonna and daddy said that because I was debating whether or not to get on my kid's horse the kid's day high horse but like kid's days matter folks yeah everyone should be doing
a kid's day and that's the that's the end of it you know yeah to see her dancing and enjoying it and having fun regardless of whether what the tennis is telling fun and then realizing Kogof is telling you I saw that that could be me yeah and that's why I'm here today she told us
that in plain words that's that's the end of it everyone used to be doing kid's days but yeah she was asked about that that footage of her here when she was eight-years-old and she was asked when she first dreamed of becoming a grand slam champion herself and she talked about
that and she said yeah it probably was when I came here and I started to dream and I've I've always been a dreamer but there have been times recently where that dream died it was really powerful stuff and I hadn't had my hand up for a question it started press conference but
off the back of that I did just put my hand up and I was lucky to get a question because there was quite a queue and I said I just want to follow up on that what if you can what were those moments that the dream died or faded and she said Wimbledon this year that was two months ago guys two months ago that she lost in the first round to Sifirkanin and did not play badly like that was a great match there were errors in there but Sifirkanin played played brilliantly and I thought it was a tough
match up for Kogof you know she's playing a qualifier who had matches under their under their belts like it could so easily have been a defeat that she chalked up to tough draw tough opponent these things happen move on stay on the treadmill next week's another week but she managed to kind of not
catastrophise it but also use it as fuel to do something different and reboot and overhaul totally overhaul exactly and learn how to win ugly and not be a professional perfectionist and yeah it's absolutely fascinating wasn't it and she gave credit to her dad both for the as the person who
continues to give her scouting reports and opponents but who whose idea she said it was to hire Brad Gilbert and when you consider her dad and the mum that they were ever presents in her box there were always there a big part of her coaching as well as obviously being her parents
huge moment isn't it when you when they take a step back and they put her in the hands of somebody else and let's be honest that's now three us open champions that he has been involved with only months after starting to work with them that can't be a coincidence that's 30 years span 1994
front rags see 2003 for Andy Roddick 2023 for Coco Gough and it's no more than six months within with any of them before that happened but it was I did love how she she went bolting up to her dad and there were in tears before they even hugged the two of them it was such a touching moment and
she said she'd never seen a dad crying in a whole life before and and that was that was lovely really yeah the one other thing about the press conference that she said that I was a little insight into somebody I don't know I don't know Coco Gough she says I'm really argumentative she says
I I go on I go and look at the comments and I was looking at the comments last night that was the that was the other Andy Murray comparison she went into she did this on the call and in the press conference because she said did she dedicate the win to people that hadn't believed in her like
to thank all the people that didn't believe it she said she said you you thought you were pouring water on my fire but actually you were putting gas on it and like fantastic good for her but it was she went she was it in the press or was it on on the court where she went into detail she
was like when I won when I won Washington everyone was like oh but it's a 500 that's her limit and then when I won Cincinnati they were like oh but it's a 1000 that's her limit now here I am with the grand sam title then like as I say good luck to it she's obviously an Andy Murray type
character that has a massive streak of defiance in her and is able to use things like that for fuel but fact check I'm not sure people were saying that certainly not after Cincinnati like maybe at points in the last few years but I feel like most of the world is picking Coco Gopter when
this title after she won Washington and Cincinnati she's found a few comments on social media I think generally and sounds like she's gone looking for yeah I mean which Brad Gilbert used to like Andy Murray and is the doctor that told him he'd never walk again and whatever it was.
Brad Gilbert works with Andy Murray in 2006 and I remember he did an interview with him he said look Andy Murray is a natural contrarian if you say one thing he's going to say the other and I mean so there's the comparison again and I dare say if you go back I think probably Angusian Rodic was similar as well and I think that you know I don't know how long it'll last with Gilbert but
Guy he doesn't have to get something out of these people. All I can say Coco if you're a news that a subscriber and you saw I had Sabel Enkring for you are welcome I put a fire in you. She did say she did point it she looked around the room and she said I know all your Twitter handles. Matt was like not I'm not going to get pulled out again. It was a tough scene for Elon Musk that press conference wasn't it she repeatedly
referenced Twitter and not X. It's not happening Elon. They aren't adopting it. Wow you know where I'm going next don't you. I think so. What does it mean? What does it mean? I knew. Well it means first of all we've got a really really exciting grandstand champion who look I'll say I doubt whether she would do this whether she would ever do this a few months ago.
She can have me as one of the people she's she's proven wrong and I didn't think for sure she won't because she's so young she's athletic and I kind of think in the back of my mind I thought she so dedicated and such a good athlete I think she'll probably end up figuring it out but right in front
of my eyes I don't see how it happens something something will have to change because she she looks way off you know when you consider the through the big three as we we've talked about in Shreldeck we're back on and and Sabel Enkring that she just didn't look anywhere near that and with
this liability of a forehand in particular but what does it mean for the future? Well she is not going to be going on a victory lap that's going to last very long I'm sure they'll they'll make the most of it that she has Tony Godstick as an agent they will they will make the most of this as
as they should you know and she will become a massive star she'll be doing morning show circuit in the morning I dare say here in in New York and it'll be fantastic she'll be she'll be bringing the sport to new eyeballs which which is big in itself for the future in terms of what she might
go on to do I still think she has issues with a game that can be improved but I just don't think her her intensity and her desire is going to dip for a moment I think she loves the sport she loves winning and she loves competing and I think she'll carry on trying to do that but I do feel like
this it'll be interesting to see what she does with the offseason you know do they still do they try to take a period of time and actually try and tweak fix do they need to I don't know but I I think she will win more will she play Billie Jean King Cup and WTA finals we we are aware by the way that
that is something that we yet to discuss the announcement that the WTA finals this this year will be going to cancun and mark my words we will discuss it when we when we've got time to to give it give it the time that it deserves just just thinking about golf and that line about how
she felt like she maybe needed to achieve stuff when she was young because that was sort of the pressure that was put on her and you know how how easily you can be defined by the early stage of your career like I wonder now whether whether there's a bit of a pressure release
now like she's she's done it young you know she has she'd already had incredible success as a teenager but she's sort of done now what everyone was expecting or hoping or willing of her and you know now she's sort of able to go on to like the next stage of her career in a way and
she's still young and yet she's got experience which is a combination that I think is very powerful I have to think she wins more majors like I think that's the thing I see so many ways she can still get better as a as a tennis player like exactly as you said this as young as she is this
feels ahead of the curve in terms of her actual game because of things she can still fix and still get better and yet she's learned to use what she has to this incredible effect if she if she gets better and continues to maximize she's she's going to be so so good
she can you know she's already reached the final a grand final on clay so she's got you know multiple surfaces covered as well which is a big element that I look for just you know just you don't lose momentum through the season I always think that's important yeah it's it's exciting
because I don't think the big three is they've been extremely consistent this year and I think there was a time like there was a time went felt a bit like the big three but I don't think that's really a thing and it was a moment in time all right wow we've we've it might come back
put the kai Bosch on the big three one the last two majors so it's kind of tough to say that they're the big three if you know Von Drescher and we got whole half of the slams but you know so therefore I think there's an opportunity as well I'm saying like doesn't feel like
anyone's this players you've got a big hold of this sport egoschfield tech we know Sabelank is now the world number one but there's rum in there as well for cocoa goff to be so consistent and we're major titles and and I think she'll do more of it
can I tell you something else that it means oh yes please it means that if you'd like to see cocoa goff attempt to do the hard court Grand Slam double a a a travel can sort you out yes they can the tennis ball goes throughout the us open if you don't already know is brought to you in
partnership with a travel and as I've said they operate the travel program for the Australian Open they take care of everything for you flights accommodation tickets behind the scene stuff the a a travel lounge which is new for 2024 it's it's the best seat in the house it's air
conditioned it's the place to be there's even walk on experience on to experiences on to actual rod lever arena actual rod lever arena down that walk of champions yeah I love that walk of champions I love your favorite champion tap their tap themselves as they're walking on one of my
moments of last year was all this year rather was said said called a tapping his dad's oh yeah that was a good love that moment and we have a 500 Australian dollar discount code available for a travel lounge packages for all friends of the tennis podcast so that is one of
many reasons right now to become a friend of the tennis podcast illegally alleviating your post us open blues and getting access to that incredible discount code and as you've been hearing about for the last 10 days or so to celebrate the launch of the a travel lounge one lucky tennis podcast
this now is going to win big they're going to win an a o travel premium lounge package for themselves and a friend to visit the Australian open in style this coming January you'll get two return economy flights to Melbourne tickets to rod lever arena over the middle weekend of the open for two
people and three nights accommodation at the five star poolman on the park hotel in Melbourne plus of course two day access to the incredible a o travel lounge you can enter the prize draw today by clicking on the link provided in your show notes you have until Monday the 18th of September
at 11.59 pm new york time to enter terms and conditions apply very best of luck and just while we're on the subject of incentives to become a friend if the tennis podcast you can of course get yourself an intro or a shout out you can introduce the show just like Ryan did today
or you can just become a friend just to get access to more than 50 bonus podcasts boppos boppos yeah yeah Hannah's told me on twitter let's make that happen and the list the list keeps going guys you can take part in a live youtube q&a with us on Monday
at 1 pm new york time that 6 pm UK time and 10 am west coast time in the states and some sort of time in Australia who who can say can't do that math right now um so that is available exclusively for friends just go to tennis dot supporting cast dot fm to sign up tennis dot supporting cast
c-a-s-t dot fm to sign up and become a friend and the link of course is also in our show notes last bit of business while you hear before we do a preview of tomorrow's men's final we also have a live show tomorrow that is Sunday probably today by the time you're listening to this all like
weeks ago if you're catching up uh the live show is at 2 pm new york time on sunday 7 pm UK time 11 am west coast time nailed it and it is on youtube the link to watch is in our show notes it's available to everyone will be answering your questions looking back on this women's final looking
back on the tournament and of course looking ahead to the men's singles final which at that point will be two hours away Hannah's going to be in the chat my mum might make might make a guest appearance again just like she did last time and it's going to be great wi-fi permitting thanks
for that disclaimer i might need it we'll save some material for that preview show of course but thoughts right now on the men's final yeah i'm actually it's interesting because of the shock really of last night dashing the hopes of the the jokavish alchrist match i
didn't fully consider what this final might be like and there's a lot to it to like about it both in terms of the narrative of two years ago mehvedev spoiled in the party he loved that role and he was absolutely amazing last night was his best performance since then and i thought i think
and uh yet you've got jokavish who is stretching his lead now looking to stretch his lead over the others and to also i think to quite a little bit of honest jibber to get a bit of revenge here you know he i think he'd quite like to to take out mehvedev and and put that put that to bed
from two years ago but i just think they're both playing really well obviously they are because they're in in the final but i just they didn't squeak through you know these those were two exceptionally good performances mehvedev suddenly has found his very best stuff i hope he brings it
in the final that's all i hope if jokavish is too good for him well that can certainly happen but i would be sad if mehvedev put in one of those performances like he did at the Australian Open when they met that time or you know just occasionally he he doesn't turn up against jokavish
and quite the way you want him to because i think that their matches can be fantastic yeah mehvedev's got this phrase that he's using that he needs to play better than himself he said that again going into the match against alkarez and he said it that's what he needs to do
against jokavish as well the interesting thing about that i think is that against alkarez that men playing a bit differently making adjustments because of things that have gone on before in that match up he needed to he needed to change things because he i know he'd beaten alkarez once before but
it wasn't wasn't the famous carless alkarez that he beat and we saw that with the way when after his serve and the way he hit his forehand you know i think that really caught alkarez out so you know he needed to change to beat alkarez he knows he can beat jokavish i think playing his own game
he just needs to do it exceptionally well that that to me feels like the difference between his match up against alkarez and his match up against jokavish and i think he's going to do it exceptionally well i think mehvedev is really going to play well tomorrow and thought he's going to
pick him for a second then i think i might pick him i think if he plays like he did against alkarez at that last night didn't i this isn't a bold statement i think if he plays like he did against alkarez he wins and i feel pretty confident in him
showing up i think it is a bold statement the black swan 23 grand style title he's lost a lot of finals here he has three three and six i think he is in his open finals isn't it yeah he's one three lost six i don't i absolutely don't see happening what happened two years ago i think jokavish
shows up i think it could be a classic actually and i do i do look it's a completely different match to jokavish alkarez and i am still mourning the loss of that a bit but i do love watching someone take on jokavish at their own game and really it his own game sorry and really believing
that they can beat him at the game that is one in 23 grand sum titles i do and i love watching jokavish suddenly stop playing his own game and drop-shutting because that's what he's often done against and i remember in the match immediately after the us open final they played in bsc and jokavish
sir boli quite a lot against me which was which was an interesting tactic we are going to need to snack up i think yeah thank you long rallies i've got a comment saying on games we're looking for like i'm i'm ready for four hours in that chair yeah they had an amazing set last or earlier this
year or last year i think didn't they where and then suddenly you never ever retired yeah and jokavish looked in shock he it's been such an amazing set and then suddenly it was over and he looked like he was kind of disappointed about that because i think he was in the zone but i just think
i agree with you kathana i think we're we're in for a classic i think we're in for another Nadal Medvedev time match from here wow okay four years ago that's what i'm thinking okay sign me up that we sat here after that
yeah and we were no we were giddy i remember that night we were with it's the first time i'd ever had a honey juice so obviously i was completely i remember the honey juice and not much else that was the night after i sprinted up to be anchor and rescue's parents and asked for a photo
with their dog that's correct yeah yeah we've got the evidence great concept the only celebrity have ever asked for a photo i think we're in for a rescue's dog um before we leave you for a penultimate time a few other results to whiz you through from today's starting with a maiden
mixed doubles major title for Anna danielena of Kazakhstan and harry harry harry of heliavara of Finland 6364 over the home favorite Jessica bagula he'll be the new in fact both bagula and crycheck her partner austin crycheck they will be their respective doubles number ones
come Monday but they lost out today three and four to danielena and heliavara who met and agreed to partner together literally at the mixed doubles signing desk on deadline that was when they come came up with the idea to to partner up wow imagine that you just get out and call
so i've clicked you're you're the one for me they do say the doubles that you know pretty much instantly i mean lazy and they're kind of cruised through the way they they they had a match tie break in their first round but then after that they didn't didn't drop a set absolute shock
in the wheelchair women's doubles final did it a good not winning wow i still get to say a name they the women's wheelchair doubles final was one well not one it was a walk over for you ekemiji and kajim on chanye the second seeds overdidor a hut and yiska griffin that is a second
grand slam title for kameiji and munchanye they won the front chapern as well didn't it and uh didn't they and reached the winaldon final um so incredible incredible year for them uh we also had a win in the men's wheelchair doubles final for stefanu day 52 year old stefanu
day and to kashisanada is japanese partner they got the better of tom egg burring and ruban spar galen good work look david you're not in a position to say whether that was good work well we'll wait until we get attored by the dutch they won ten seven in the deciding set tie break
what else we had today we've had the junior finals haven't we and uh one american victory one american defeat we had victory for jiao fonseca over lunatie en in the boys final six three in the third for the brazilian fonseca and in the girls final we have a a catherin
oh good a victorious catherin america 18 year old american catherin we beat the you'll be surprised to hear this the young cheque okay a catherin same church church puse i think i think the same church different puse k but we support her work um she beat to raise a valentover the 16 year old
cheque player in the girls final six four six four yes uh the cheque check radio guy who sits next to us in in the press room who i think is the busiest man in tennis with all the cheques i was like maybe i'll be in before him today nope he had a young cheque to watch and he was there's always a
young cheque to watch absolutely conveyor belt of champions uh so we have the wheelchair singles finals to come tomorrow the quad wheelchair finals as well and we'll be previewing our final day of us open action 2 p.m local time tomorrow we hope you can join us on youtube the link to watch
is in our show notes it'll be in the newsletter as well do subscribe to the newsletter today's stat was a banger yeah i used it on the radio also subscribe to newsletter because things are going very well for me i might never top the leaderboard again i might not top the leaderboard at the end
of this tournament but right now in tomorrow's newsletter you will see my name at the top of that leaderboard you have been really kind so subscribe for posterity um screen shut you should also become a friend of the tennis podcast all sorts of boko coming at you next week including
that live q&a for friends we've also got a grand slammer review show requests have gone out for voice notes so that's all in the pipeline lots more still to come for friends of the tennis podcast from new york but for today on a really historic day in flushing meadows that is it
except to remind you about willow a lovely us open mascot our mascots then yet look at your face it's going good then you smile we have to enjoy it while it's happening because it won't last no words um amazing we didn't do so good today we we got the right winner
that we got the wrong number of sets if only we'd put our heads together david got the right number of sets in the wrong winner i think i got closer than you yeah tough scene for dull with amazing i can argue that i was closer because i had the wrong winner ilijin is sponsored by billi
jinking and elana class and that brings me on actually to possibly my favorite moment of the whole day which was koko goth as she was being handed the three million dollar check by the jp morgan person someone from a bank yeah anyway and billi jing was there about to hand to the
us open trophy she she leaned over into the mic and said thank you billi jing for fighting for this and i hunched the air it was an absolutely incredible moment and get on koko goth proactively doing that and not having to be dollied up the question of what a billi jing king and the original
nine mean to you and what they've done for tennis and yeah just she she gets it in a way that so many others don't and that is very very special so thank you to billi jing and elana class we have of course our top folks and executive producers on three one two three jay andrew
and we have shout outs man we start with daemon livy right daemon in the relationship livy say different spelling different spelling oh i don't know any daemon tennis players i'm afraid only only a racing driver hill daemon hill yeah daemon says that his sister Nicole worked in comms
for the atp a little bit around the mid-nauties so may have crossed paths yes i remember i do his daemon surname livy livy right so Nicole livy yes hi daemon hi Nicole thank you daemon yeah we've also got nadeca disayroom oh hi nadeca who is from fargo north de cota
and she says thanks to david for making me addicted to radio tennis commentary whoa love that thank you hang on how many fargos are there in the united states of america because there's fargo the film right and the tv series but i'm thinking the footage is set in minnesota like very famously set in
minnesota is it like faces around lettuce lettuce lettuce lettuce lettuce lettuce no nadeca and thank you very much yeah and particularly thank you for getting into tennis commentary on the radio because
of me i can't believe it shuffed and finally we have lucy perkins who is being gifted a shout out i think as a surprise by her husband oh fantastic surprise hey surprise lucy hi lucy tennis lucy lucy heaven lucy lucy lucy suka suka sorry who is the british wheelchair yes very good perkins well john
there's a johnny perkins in fact this is good lucy johnny perkins is a winbledon employee communications he was formally the communications director and now he is the voice of winbledon his role is under threat yeah matt matt we hope you've enjoyed your day at winbledon the og of that the official voice is that of johnny perkins yeah but watch your back johnny that's coming for you thank you lucy yeah thanks lucy thanks to all our friends of the tennis podcast and if you're a
friend do join us for that q&a show at one p.m. New York time east coast time on monday that one is just for friends it's a q&a show we hope you can join us then our preview show looking back on the tournament and looking head to the men's final that live show on youtube is available to everyone
and that one is at two p.m. tomorrow sunday probably today is your listening to this so please do join us for that join Hannah in the chat join us and most importantly join us tomorrow for one last day podcast from the 2023 us open