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Well, hello and welcome to the tennis podcast from Flushing Meadows, the Billie Jean King National tennis center on day 14 of the 2024 US Open introduced perfectly there and aptly by Josh from Kansas City, Missouri, who says in his little blurb. I'm from Kansas City.
Also known as the city of the two time running Super Bowl champions, the chiefs and the team of Taylor Swift's boyfriend, who was here today with Taylor Swift to watch Yannick Sinner become a two time grand slam champion and beat Taylor Fritz, who I would rather suspect they were cheering for, but we'll never know.
Oh, they definitely were. Yeah, maybe we do know. But yeah, I'm sure they were impressed with what they saw from Yannick Sinner today. If you would like to get an intro to the tennis podcast, if you'd like to introduce one of our shows, and that is one of the options available to you as a friend of the tennis podcast as a friend, you will get access to the barge, which is our community platform.
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I think to become a friend of course is in our show notes. We've got to talk about Yannick Sinner beating Taylor for it 636475 becoming a two time grandson champion, a first time US Open Champion, confirming himself as the world number one and all the other jiggery popo that is gone along with the Yannick Sinner story over the last few weeks. I'm Catherine Mitzker, I'm joined by David Law and Matt Roberts in quite a chilly media garden.
I've got my extra layer on here and the wind is gusting all around us. I don't think it was like this during the match that windy in the woods. This is really cold and blowy. This would be tough to play in. I mean the media garden is a wind tunnel. I have to say around the corner where I've just been saying hello to a couple of old friends, it isn't windy. So I do think we are in a bit of a wind tunnel.
But the air temperature certainly is cool. It is positively autumnal. Catherine's got her woolly jumper on from Wimbledon and she's also wearing a leather jacket. Looks cool. But it looks like it's more functional. Because this is my entire autumn wardrobe. Yeah, very bad day for me to wear shorts. Do you know when when we left the flat this morning almost say anything?
You sure about that, but I thought that would be far too maternal. This is definitely too much information, but it is out of necessity because I have two pairs of trousers in the wash and I tried to put on my third pair of trousers today and discovered that the zips broken. So it was either shorts or walking around with my flies and on all day. You were in a sort of Simon Briggs FK underpants situation.
Yes, we have all been there at Grand Slam's folks. Just before we get into the pick of it, if we aren't already, wait frankly, a word from our partners for this US Open. What wonderful partners they have been, AO Travel and experiences your one stop shop for Australia Open. And as I was telling you about yesterday, they've got big, fat removal news for everybody.
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That is TpUpgrade at checkout. Don't worry. The full details are in on newsletter and show notes. So Yannick Sinner, Taylor Fritz, David, the story of the match. You know, when Taylor Fritz came out, I was really encouraged for this to be a really close match because we'd had what he'd said in the press conference after his whenever Francis TpUpgrade, when he'd been really bullish and confident-sounding, not cocky, not arrogant, but just how I would want him to sound.
So I was really surprised by the fact that he was leaving that his game matches at Well Against Yannick Sinner, that he is going to take on from what he's left off against Francis TpUpgrade and put on a real good show here. Then he comes out of the entrance onto the court. And he's done his pre-match interview, which I heard. And again, I thought he was convincing.
He was really kind of a sound nervous. And he came as the court, smiling. There was a little bit about the Jessica Begula about him. He was making the most of this moment. He's got a full crowd in the palm of his hand. Everybody's on his side. Incredible celebrity list, including Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey. And so he comes onto the court. And in the knockup, the warmup, I should say, for American friends.
He's absolutely belting the ball. He's really looks, his arm is loose. I almost thought that he's trying to send messages to Sinner. He was hitting winners in the knockup. Not obnoxiously. But he was making sure he finished the rallies. Then he missed a couple. But in our generally thought, OK, he looks absolutely ready to go. And then he got broken immediately. And he looked shocked by that to me. He looked a little bit like he looks against Novak Djokovic sometimes.
And I thought that actually, OK, we've got we've got Grand Slam Final Yannick Sinner here. We've got top player peaking and asserting himself as an opponent. And we've got a newcomer who wasn't expecting that. That's what it looked like. I thought Taylor Fritz just, oh, hold on. This isn't quite the Yannick Sinner I've played before. That's how it looked to me. And he was constantly fighting a rear-guard action to find his game.
I mean, he kind of found it eventually. But even so, even when he did play well, I don't know what you two thought, that I thought even the parts where Fritz played well, Sinner played well too, or pretty close to his best at times. And it's easier to forget how good that is because we just haven't seen it very often throughout this championship.
Yes, exactly that. I had this feeling last night and this morning, like, how Novak Djokovic's Yannick Sinner going to be today, because he's not played a great tournament. Djokovic 9-0 against Taylor Fritz, by the way, I looked it up during the first set because that occurred to me suddenly. And honestly, I was thinking less about the direct head to head against Taylor Fritz, and more just like Sinner has made his way to this final by being good when he needed to be.
But by no means playing his peak level, which is a very Novak Djokovic thing to do. And then so many times we've seen Novak Djokovic dial it up in the final and play pretty much at that peak level. And I just wondered whether Yannick Sinner would do that. And I think he pretty much did. Look, I've seen Yannick Sinner play better than he has today, but only when he's really had to, I thought he was excellent today, Yannick Sinner, way better than he has been all tournament.
Yannick won unforced there in the hole of the second set. He was just in that mood where he was hitting hard and deep, but not missing, and not having to necessarily go for the lines. His pace was just overwhelming for it generally. And he's a much better mover than Taylor Fritz, especially out of the corners. And all of that just combined to make it kind of like a routine win, really, which is kind of crazy, because this was only Yannick Sinner's second grand slam final.
And yet it already kind of feels like he's that good that it's almost like I'd seen this before. Like I wasn't very comfortable with it. I wasn't shocked by it. He was comfortable. And that speaks to, okay, Taylor Fritz, not having his best day, for sure, we'll get onto that.
I think it mostly speaks to just how assured Yannick Sinner was and how kind of ahead of his experience he feels. Like, because this, as I said, only his second grand slam final, and yet it seemed like he'd been doing that for years today.
Yet, comfortable is a word that kept on coming to my mind while watching the first two and a half sets of this match. And then on the chat that we have with Hannah, she used the phrase armchair tennis, which I just felt perfectly summed up everything that I'd been feeling throughout those first two and a half sets.
Total inability from Fritz to take Yannick Sinner out of his comfort zone. It was a pretty unremarkable match, mostly to be quite honest, honest. Sinner was just better in every department. Notable ones for me that really jumped off the court with the movement, every time Fritz was dragged out wide on the forehand, he got there, but it was a compromised shot. It was a defensive shot. When Sinner was dragged out there, he managed to hit pretty much a full-pelt shot.
Not just about speed, it's about how unbalanced you are when you get there. Sinner's just, for a very streaky guy, this is not the same physique as a Colosseil prize where you can see where all the strength is coming from. Yannick Sinner has a remarkable ability to be balanced on a tennis court, because he's quite a nobly chap.
He can see the skier in it, can't you in those corners? Absolutely. That injection of pace as well, like Taylor Fritz is not a light flimsy hitter of the tennis ball, but he just didn't have the explosivity that Sinner just has in his locker to throw in when he needs it.
He didn't need it all the time because it was comfortable on chair tennis. I thought Taylor Fritz was fascinating with his analysis of the match in his press conference. In his very first answer, which is just a general thoughts on the match.
I thought he gave really interesting insight into, I know he came in saying he liked Yannick Sinner's ball, but actually he kind of explained why there's a bit of a match-up problem there in that, because he said plan A for him is to go after the ball, and the problem is, Yannick Sinner does that better than probably anyone right now.
That wasn't working for Taylor Fritz. Plus he wasn't that accurate in the ball. Tiling was a big thing for him. He wasn't feeling the ball like he wanted to onto his string.
He kind of thought, I need to go to plan B. However, plan B for him, he said was to kind of reign it in and be passive and not make errors. And he said against most players, that works. You can outlast them a bit. Can't do that against Yannick Sinner. All you're doing there is allowing him even more time to tee off on the ball.
He was stuck between a half place. He kind of had nowhere to go. If he'd been playing his absolute peak level, I think he thinks that maybe Yannick Sinner would have won. He said it wouldn't necessarily have changed the result, but he'd have given himself a shot. He wouldn't have been wondering as he is now. That's the thing that he's disappointed by. In that first set, he was down in the 30% for Serves. Again, another very narrow at Yannick Sinner.
Guy comes in, barely lost Servel tournament, loses Serves three times in a set. That's what Yannick Sinner did to him. I was so jokovician. I think we'll come on to that a bit later because it was kind of jokovician within the match and in very macro ways as well. We'll talk about that in a few minutes. You write that answer about the plan A and plan B from Fritz. I felt like saying, I hope you don't start a podcast mate because you're coming for our jobs.
That was such good analysis from him. He's really helpful actually to understand the match that he played. He was unpacking it for himself, I think, in the press conference. I felt for him that he clearly just didn't have timing as Yannick Sinner has just popped out of the door and I think he's realised that he's called back.
Yes, it was like that Simpson's Giff. I saw a glint appear over your shoulder, David. It turned out to be the US Open Trophy but by the time he turned around it was sort of gone. He's sort of back of the red hair. He's retreated. I felt like Taylor Fritz was gutted that he didn't have his timing on the ball today and he's really wrestling with that in his mind. I think that might be Yannick Sinner going out to his PNTV and the few fans that have stayed around.
What was interesting about that there, David, is that he said he didn't feel like he'd played his best tennis all fortnight. Yeah, that was fascinating. I wonder what it was. He said I feel like I've only been solid this fortnight and then he elaborated further and gave an incredibly honest and revealing answer about big names losing early at this slam, basically lowering the bar.
He said I didn't play my best tennis this fortnight but the bar was lower and being solid was enough and I'm thank goodness for that because the bar has been so bloody high for me my whole career.
And he's developed a lot of scar tissue, IE the 90 against Jokovic. I think that's where he's going to try and take his encouragement from because by the time he got to the end of the press conference his conclusion seemed to be well I got to the final without my best tennis so imagine what I can do with my best tennis.
Now obviously he may not get that window in quite the same way if Jokovic and our crafts are there in the future but unlike Jessica Bagoula who you got the feeling in a day's time would be okay with her performance because actually it was significantly better than Taylor Fritz. He's going to be lying awake. And I think he'll be lying awake because of what happened at 3 all in the third set as much as anything because suddenly we had a match on our hands.
It turns out very very briefly but at the point the Taylor Fritz broke for a 4-3 lead in that third set and the stadium just absolutely erupted obviously my eyes were locked on Taylor Swift and she was just going bananas. And I felt like going to Taylor Fritz just lets... Yeah I really didn't want to be the fun police but I was also like guys it's one break. And Matt texted us and said I wasn't prepared for fun and I don't know how to deal with it now it's here.
We sort of resigned ourselves. It's easy to forget now because it was over so quickly you know he served for the set he lost serve, he ended up losing serve again twice in succession it was a disappointing end to that third set and consequently the match from Taylor Fritz but for a brief moment there let us not forget there was some fun. And he led that set 5 4 30 all and he unleashed Taylor Fritz a 133 mile an hour serve.
Imagine unleashing a serve like that landing it and not winning the point and I think that is actually a great testament to sinner mostly because I feel like Fritz did what you do in that situation he put the hammer down.
Let's see if I can win a quick point here and I've got set point instead it comes back and you could see the panic rising in him as you tried to wail away and hit it even harder and it's still coming back and not sort of defensively and eventually he got exposed I think that must be an extent who's gone to see the fans out there.
But honestly that the movement element I can't get out of my mind he really was made to look quite lumbering by comparison and I think that it's only two or three players it's basically the top three that can expose that everybody else he can hide that weakness and obviously works on it and he's not terribly slow. And he's got way better way better made to look slow by the guy over the other side of the yet slow and just a little bit awkward yeah like on athletic.
If you were to give him to use the descriptor that Matt wants used to describe a famous tennis players gold swing to his face. And very on athletic swing you've got there pretty much what I used to describe Tommy Paul once when actually in terms of appearance when actually he's a really athletic guy he's got way better.
Yeah yeah yeah physically I think you know if you gave this might be completely wrong and unfair but it just my sense is that if you gave Taylor Fritz you know like a golf club or. A cricket bat or you know that's unfair he's not going to be able to swing a cricket bat he's a American or baseball bat like I don't think like I don't think he would look that natural I don't think he's a natural.
Who could just pick up any sport because I think some of them are absolutely and that in a way is a is to his credit like he has worked so hard on his movement and has got so much better that he can now hang with.
Zverev we've seen him beat two times this year at slams and you know like he can hang with most of the best players in the world but I think David's right I think sinner with his extra pace on his ball Alcaraz with the way he can take him off the court and use drop shots and all that and Jacović just because never Jacović he can kind of do everything I think that's where Fritz gets gets exposed that part of it get that part of his game gets exposed and.
Yes he didn't have his best tennis today but I just have to think that even if he did. Sinner ultimately would have exploited. Those weaknesses. It was an interesting celebration for me and it wasn't it was an interesting speech he gave on the court and press conference he gave just now in terms of how proactively. He mentioned and embraced and always lent into the wider story of the doping scandal that he's been embroiled in privately at first and publicly for the last three weeks.
The first question in the press conference was from maybe the second question was from Russell Fully or colleague at the BBC David kind of asking him to compare this victory with the Australian open his first major title earlier this year.
So I was saying he can't really compare and talks about the relief of getting over the major hurdle with his first one but then he also just of his own accord started talking about the cloud that's been hanging over him for the past four or five months and why that makes this one feel different. And he continued to talk about it in pretty much every answer if his press conference.
I feel that he's been traumatized over the last half of a many months by it and his way of getting through it has been to be surrounded by the people that he believes believe in him and he believes he well he has a clear conscience in his own mind I feel.
And he's able to therefore handle it and function as a result and he's being cleared obviously that helps but I think I think though he's not talking to the Italian journalist Guy Picardi earlier from Carrera Delasera and she was saying he's just made his world incredibly small in the last few.
I mean it happens anyway happens to every top player I've ever come across has shrunk their world in order to make sure they're surrounded by people they trust and I think in his case it's that's amplified because of the specific case.
But at the same time it's not like some players I think just are able to banish this stuff they don't have any kind of guilty conscience even though then he genuinely believes he's got nothing to sort of feel bad about because he knows he didn't in his mind he didn't do anything wrong but he knows that people are talking about it.
He knows and I think that that has that is a cloud that's staying with him and who knows how long that will last because and I do get that I do get that if you questioning yourself at all should I've done something different what do other people think of me and he's trying to try very hard not to think like that.
And so yeah that's a bit of a coping mechanism I think is to talk about it. Yeah he said people that knew me over the last five months knew that something was wrong even was it didn't know what was going on. He said it wasn't the same walking on court I was different and obviously we didn't really detect anything or not anything that raised alarm bells that something more was going on than we were aware of but it's really interesting.
It's really interesting press conference from center and I think when he talks about the positive results he's obviously very much presenting it as a sort of struggle for himself and there will be some people out there who will say well hang on a minute he's he's you know been allowed to play when maybe others weren't and maybe he's in some sense.
In some sense had it easy compared to others. I think we all kind of just have to make a judgment in a case like this and we probably won't ever fully know but personally I've been pretty convinced by the way Yannick's dinner has spoken here I've been convinced by people who really know the doping world better than I do and you know I kind of end up believing Yannick's dinner and.
His version of events and what happened and obviously that's been believed and he's been cleared and so that's kind of where I'm going so. I do sort of sympathize with him quite a lot and yeah for a for a winning press conference of a grand sam title that was a downer like he was.
Didn't seem that happy and I think also part of it is you know what you're saying there about making his world really small and there's clearly someone who is in that world and is very important to him is his aunt is clearly not well at the moment and I think that's I think that was affecting him a lot as well you know he he spoke in the press conference about how he would travel with his aunt to skiing events when he was younger and she was such an important part of of his life growing up.
And I imagine when you're making your world smaller and someone within it is not feeling well and clearly is struggling for real health right now that is going to take quite a big toll on you and the other people in that world and when you're in a kind of bubble you maybe do get a little bit more wary of the outside and.
Almost feel like you've got something to prove and yeah like there's a lot going on right now for yanax in and he's he's done incredibly well to to cope to to end up as we've just said winning this grand sam tournament in routine fashion in the final despite being six to one love break down against McKenzie McDonald and right what in a way that was the.
Maybe the biggest moment of jeopardy and the whole tournament yeah you know stepping on stepping on to the stage from that right stepping on to our fresh stadium for the first time since since the world knew about what he's been going through I think that was the biggest moment of.
Of jeopardy in a way and since then he said that it's always been in his mind but he did also say that this tournament has has maybe helped to find himself a little bit more and so I think he and his team have just used this tournament to try and move on even though it's it's still going to be there. I agree with you about the general atmosphere of that press conference and generally the the victory ceremony afterwards there was no triumphalism was there.
I think partly the the general speeches and tone of that ceremony were bit odd there was some more elements to it some odd turns of phrase but obviously you know there's more going on and yeah I felt like there was immense pride from yanax in I feel like there he goes got a court another glint of the trophy he's holding it in the one hand by side the trophy as a flex isn't it.
Just hold holding it like it's a briefcase pop this in my check in you know I felt like he kind of objectively recognized it as an incredible achievement incredible bigger than Australia. But that that wasn't translating into happiness it might not ever translate into happiness you know motions can be very very different they're rarely pure I think we've seen a few of those great achievement from grandson champions and we I mean.
Oh more often than not it's not happiness no certainly not pure happy. I think of Andy Murray's first one here and his first one. We think of no that jock of it. So a few times when when he's he's obviously had a lot of stuff going on around and then you'll find a way to win. And I do think that's why I find arena sabote link is victory photo shoot very seductive because she's just so happy and so embracing of the just yeah check me out.
I want a grand santa title and I'm friggin delighted about it because yeah I totally you know I wouldn't I definitely don't think I would be a purity of emotions. And but I kind of wish I was I think everybody probably wishes that that's how they felt. Winnie at grand santa title but that I think that's actually what sin has gone out to do there can see the flash bulbs going is doing his champions photo shoot I don't think he's wearing a red dress as a arena sabote link was.
I also haven't seen a jacket or anything like that with any sort of embroidered number of words. So early with the logo David's well I think the jacket with two was the heck had one with one on that's for world number one. That was for world number one. We took it down. We didn't agree with it. She had one trophy the number one and 30 for her number of titles. Yeah. Yeah. But a jacket for your second grand santa title. That's not a thing.
He's coming back to live commentary on the jacket. Let's see. Well that was a quick photo shoot. It's cold. It looks like a card. He needs an extra layer. Yeah. He's really gone in there sharpish. When it comes to travel bags and backpacks colorful and unique options are hard to come by. Luckily baboon to the moon has you covered baboon to the moon's bags are made for going places near and.
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Investing involves risk. Meryl Lynch, Pierce, Fener and Smith Incorporated, registered broker dealer, registered investment advisor, member SIPC. Winning a grand slam title in these circumstances, the way that he did both tennis wise and non tennis wise is the most jock of it she and thing anybody that's not jock of it has ever done, I think. Yeah, I mean, sort of this is this might be the most eventful period of his career in terms because.
I think he hopes so, David. You know, jock of it sometimes taps into this type of thing to draw extra strength. I mean, he's won so many of them when he's backspin against the wall in that way. I could imagine sinner winning some grand slam titles very serenely. If you got a draw like this, if you didn't have to play Alcorazor or if you know, I mean, he's also that good.
I mean, he is really bloody good. And and that would suit him down to the ground, I think, because he is low key. He is he's not boring as a talker. He's interesting actually. I haven't quite I got I like the way he talks. But yeah, there wasn't he won't there won't be shenanigans for the sake of them. No, which is incredibly well adjusted and objectively great thing, but sometimes I do like a shenanigan.
Yeah, I mean, that that was a low key grand slam final generally. And I think it would have been fascinating if Fritz had got that third set. Because we still have this big unanswered question of what happens if you take Yannick sinner deep in a match and I checked with Matt on the stats of what happens when he goes over four hours. And actually it was Matt reminding me it was he's never want to match that's been longer than three hours and 50 minutes.
He's zero and seven. And I mean, I don't know whether Taylor Fritz knows that. And I don't think he could have done anything different to what he did. He tried his heart out to make the thing last as long as he could. But how do you won that third set and made it physical given we know that Fritz doesn't really fade. That would have been a test for center that we didn't get to see. And one one of these days, he's going to have to find a way to come through one of those.
And that'll be an interesting moment. What you're saying, David is we need sinner and alchor as to play a grand slam final sharpish neither of them have ever lost a grand slam final. They've split the slams this year. First time all four major titles in a year have been one by men 23 and under since 1993. Courier 22, Brigara 22, San Chris 21 and San Chris 22 also happened in 1974. But it's extremely rare.
And I think what is so interesting about that is for so long the talk was, oh, well, it's the big three big four year. Once they go, it'll be a free for all. And people will be able to win grand slam titles and one big thing has happened in that no joke of it has gone on so much longer winning grand slam titles so that it's kind of allowed this generation of sinner and alchor has to come through.
Like if like if Jacović should stop winning grand slam titles at a more normal age, think what the last few years might have been like before our presence in a emerge. But Jacović has gone on so long now sinner and alchor as a here. And okay, there's still lots to be proved in terms of like will they have the consistency of Jacović Nadal and Federer. But there's no doubt about it that they are head and shoulders I would say above everyone else right now.
Sinner particularly on a hard court with his just incredible relentless hitting just suits the hard court so well and the balance and the movement that he has of course as well. And then alchor as you know he's obviously won a US open.
But the ways played on those natural surfaces through the summer with his variety he just suits that time of year really well as well so you kind of got the situation now it's like where is the window for Taylor Fritz etc. And you know I do think there will be chances because there's only there's only two of alchor as in a way that there was three of the others that does make a difference I think.
But it really feels like they've got a grip right now and it's up to the others to try and live up to their level because as I said like they've just they've just taken on kind of where Jacović has left off and I wouldn't rule out no Jacović from getting another one I should say. I tell you what I mean imagine when Australia Australia is tantalized story on the men's side we've got Alchor as going for the career slam trying to become the youngest man ever to complete the career slam.
We've got Sinner who's won both hard court slams this year will be defending the Australian open title. No fact Jacović I mean I think what we're going to be saying going into that is if he's going to have a chance of winning one more Australia is his best bet realistically is most successful slam. Probably the first time I mean I suppose he wasn't the favourite necessarily when he had his alba surgery and he lost to a young chung that time but when I mean what's he won ten of them?
When was the last time you really didn't feel like the favourite going into the Australian open apart from when he was injured? He's so good there yet I think it's unlikely that he will feel like the favourites when he goes into that given what you've just listed there. And the fact of Sinner and Alchor as never having lost a grand slam final I'm just desperate for them to meet in a grand slam final knowing that something has to give. And they're going better.
And yeah Alchor has with his five set records Sinner with this question mark hanging over him still over the long matches which could turn out to be absolutely nothing. Absence of evidence is not evidence no other way around evidence of absence is no. Absence of evidence. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. But yeah I just get me to Australia especially add on everything we were saying yesterday about Sablenka and Shiontech and all of those story lines as well.
And just while we're on Sablenka the symmetry of Sinner and Sablenka both Australian open champions both having won the two hard court slams in one year both the Cincinnati champions. You know we talked about this chaotic grand slam but actually really the favourites of one. There was a match that about that record wasn't there earlier in the week that you did for newsletter.
Yes so the only two times in the open era when the Australian open and the US open have been on hard courts that they've had the same winners in the same year. It was 1988 which was graph and Matt's for lander and now the second time is Sablenka and Sinner like it's incredibly rare. You know it's kind of amazing to me that Serena and Federer maybe didn't do it or you know. Samperous.
Right like it's incredibly rare and I think that's right like not unexpected winners you know Sablenka and Sinner but we shouldn't forget the path.
And the journey to get there like I still think this was a bit of a wild slam you know with the with the middle weekend when we when we lost Alkarez and Jokovic and then got followed not not shortly after and we had you know some unexpected players reaching the latter stages and we had all the American success you know there was a lot of good story lines at this slam even if they weren't necessarily amazing matches all the time.
But yeah like you do inevitably end up remembering the champions the most and and those ones were you know kind of kind of predictable.
We'll be able to give more considered takes with the benefit of just a little bit of breathing space and reflection time and our US open review show which will be recording later in the week once we're once we're all home from New York and once all of our voice note contributions are in which are always a brilliant jumping off point and often a new perspective on what we've spent two weeks kind of totally locked in on.
But just kind of in terms of hot takes on the US open has it been how good's it been has it's been a good slam. No. Do you become a friend and tune in for the review show though. No it's been it it's been intriguing it's been interesting I enjoyed it in a weird way when when the shocks happened and it opened it all up. I enjoyed the journey through it and I enjoyed that I actually enjoyed the two story lines at the end with the American up against the really high seat.
And I think that I'm talking myself into it being quite a good good slam here but there were moments that I will remember fondly I really loved the women's final two sets but two really pulsating ones. Disappointing men's final as a contest in the end. I think the main thing is there were just very few really barnstorming matches where you're on the edge of your seat both players playing well at the same time.
I don't know there were a lot of flat one sided low quality matches and I just I think that is players being jaded being fried mentally. It was like an O2 an end of year finals set of matches for a lot of it where everybody's just tired and you can't play your best when you're mentally tired. I learn physically tired but just when you just don't have quite the alertness and reserves of emotional energy that maybe you would have when you're feeling fresh. Olympics.
I haven't got much to add I feel the same as David I think so many things can go into what you're answer there in terms of what you view as a good slam. Like personally just on a very personal level like it's been so nice to have a slam with good weather like really nice weather like compared to Wimbledon and the French Open this year where it was just raining so often.
And the US Open here last year was just horrible and the tennis was bad here last year in a different way was sweaty was survival tennis here it was just a bad unforced error tennis. I think as David's described that that's a Olympics hangover like this has been a very good illustration for the next time someone says where should the fifth slam be?
No we do not need a fifth slam like we don't like we're there's enough tennis in a year we don't need to be adding another huge event like we'll do it for the Olympics. I still think that the tournament the tours in an ideal world should restructure a little bit in an Olympic year but there's enough tennis that these players are going through.
Look I know it's not direct correlation in terms of every player that went deep here not having played the Olympics or not having played many Olympic matches but our two champions didn't play the Olympics. And they look fantastic. It's not an accident. There was a great article we all read by Gary Nathan in second serve and he talked about the sort of barming impact of Karen in the MOOC of his tennis.
Because it was so required this feel good tennis just to watch it and feel soothed by it amongst all this rubbish really that was that was being served up else so many garbage plates. Yeah. What were the best matches? I enjoyed Tiafogans Shelton. I really like I said I loved the women's final. I would watch that back you know I tell my daughter what she didn't stay up for but I said watch that back that's a really good match.
I fear that the best match was Jung Vechage which took place in the middle of the night with no one watching. I think that might have been the most gripped I've been by tennis match obviously we've got the Pam factor which makes us feel extra invested but still I think we were objective enough that we can still judge what's a good tennis match in spite of that. It was totally gripped by that.
You know as we discussed at the time a very guilty pleasure kind of way here comes Janek Sinner again just can't leave us alone. What if you that body? He looks a bit fed up man isn't he's carrying it like a hold off. He's just been away for a last weekend.
I was thinking about our conversation yesterday about best of three versus best of five and look this is a small sample size because obviously over the over the course of history there have been some incredibly memorable five set matches and that's what most people point to in terms of like why we should keep it.
But actually thinking back on this year if I have to think of the matches that I've enjoyed the most this year they've all been best of three I would say Shiontech a Salker at the French Open. I'd say Paulini Vechic at Wimbledon. I'd say Djokovic Alcras and the Olympics final know you know that was two sets but it was brilliant. Shiontech Sabolenke Madrid.
It also comes up like we just haven't had that many great five set matches this year like they've obviously always good ones in like the early rounds of Grand Slam which I felt I can't really say because I'll never watch one of those from start to finish I'll dip in and enjoy it.
But in terms of like latter end matches big matches at tournaments I think the they just hasn't been that many good best of five ones this year and that might be a quirk and an anomaly because as I said there's plenty over over the course of time but yeah this year I think has been a real well we've all felt it I think best of three has really sort of gone up for us this year.
Yeah I wasn't expecting to go on this journey towards being a proponent for best of three tennis across the board but here I am this is where tennis has led me not sort of unequivocally I still feel sadness about being there but I do think I do think I'm there at the moment could could change.
When to know now Chris by belting five set was three and a big five set tennis at all costs yeah we have missed Alchoraz haven't we men's tennis I'm a big fan of Yannick sinner but men's tennis I do think not everybody loves him the same but I do think men's tennis is quite dependent on Carlos Alchoraz at the moment.
Yeah he brings a buzz I listen this and this is a personal view he is the most exciting player for me to watch and quite possibly the most exciting player I've ever watched it's only a small sample size of a couple of years so we'll see how that evolves but yeah he does he's one of those players that he brings the unknown he brings possibility in every way he's seen.
He's seen in every match and joy he talked about like joyless feel of today and again I don't blame Yannick sinner for that he is who he is I don't want him to try to be someone he's not and what we really need going forward is him and Alchoraz to collide because they do have the goods I know that the French open one was a bit of a bit of a dark really easy
dark really even though it went five sets it wasn't that good but they they have the goods between them and I think I look back at the French open now and I'm like well Alchoraz was still feeling his arm a little bit you know that was a big talking point through that tournament he hadn't played much tennis he won the French open without his best and we know what Yannick sinner was now going to look back on that time differently now like it's it's all a bit more explicable like sinner was never bad this season.
Never but there were times when he was better and that was at the start of the year and kind of like today really so absolutely like I think Alchoraz just that's a great way of putting it brings the unknown and with his game style it just means you're always going to get a fun match like we had two players today who are quite similar into the sinners way better whereas I think you never would get someone who's similar to Alchoraz he always stands. Yeah, it's a mix doubles for us.
In desperately sad news no I've got nowhere to go with Matt's punchy predictions despite the fact that WTA Guadalajara match notes have just landed in my inbox. I'm choosing to ignore that yeah choosing to ignore that but Matt's punchy predictions is such a runaway success I can't leave the people wanting. So how about a Matt's punchy prediction of how many rounds some titles Yannick sinner will win in his career. Three two one 11.
Like it. That's quite a lot. It's a lot. It's the same number as beyond ball. More than John McInero, Ivan Lendor, Andre Agassi. Another punchy prediction for you. Well what's quite interesting when you look at the men's Grand Slam all time list is they're actually aren't that many in that 11, 10, 11. There's a lot at sort of 6, 7, 8 and then there's three who've gone crazy 20 plus there's only really sort of Borg, Lava, Emerson, Sampress in that. For the men's. For the men's.
So I'm putting him in that middle category of all time greats and I think some of it is circumstantial in terms of like I think him and Alchoraz are going to be winning a lot over the next few years. When he's going to win these 11 given Alchoraz is going to win the next 12. Bullticman is an assortment. One more punchy prediction I demand of you. Will Taylor Swift ever come back to a tennis match? No. She absolutely will not.
Yeah, she stayed for the full presentation. She stayed through all the speeches which was very sweet. What she must have thought leaving. It's look, I know. I know. I know I'm a big tennis fan. I know I'm a big Taylor Swift fan so I'm a bit biased but it's a big coup for this sort of it to have got her and Travis Kelsey here today. Big big coup. Well, well done. US Open. Well done.
No, no. Well done. US Open. Well done. Yannick Sinner. I was almost said well done. Taylor Swift. I mean, well done. Taylor Swift generally. I mean, your life's work and your contributions to culture and music which leads me to our last bit of business. An enormous thank you to Bruno. Are you. US Open mascot. Bruno. To mascot Bruno has been epic. I hope that being our faithful US Open mascot has alleviated some of your anxiety Bruno.
One last David law pep talk for Bruno. Keep going Bruno. You can do it. It's going to be okay. Believe in you. It's going to be okay. Thank you Alyssa for Bruno's mascot. It has been a wonderful pleasure for all of us particularly me for all of us. Hello to all of our mascots. The dearly departed Darwin for me. Francis for David and Hyder and Somotha. I don't think any of us. In fact, I don't think anybody today scored points today. Sinner and three was the only score I'm nobody went for.
But I should say a lot of people were tactically making predictions. Yes, our singledons. I would have gone Sinner and four. So I would have got it wrong. Yeah, we are a collective disgrace. Yes, that much is certain. Me more than those. Not so our top folks in executive producers Greg Chris, Jamie and Jeff. Hello and thank you to you. Hello to Billy Jean. I'll see you this week. Billy Jean. It's squirrel season. They're collecting their nuts.
Question is does Billy Jean know about Ziggy? And is she jealous? Who's Ziggy? Ziggy is Matt Fusserman's dog. All right. We went to breakfast bagels with team athletic. That's what Billy Jean was texting me about. It was a lovely morning. It was a lovely way to start our day. And I was at a send Matt an apology earlier. I said, you know, thanks very much. Having us over. Sorry, I was over familiar with your dog.
We knocked on the door. Kevin said, there's no bark. There's no bark. The dog's not here. And then Matt opened the door and Ziggy was there. Turns out she's just better trained than Billy Jean. Lovely dog. Lovely way to start the day. Sorry, Billy Jean. You asked all my favour and I'll see you this week. Did I say she's sponsored by Billy Jean King and Alana Klos. No. Well, she is. There you go. I've mentioned Greg Chris, Jamie and Jeff. Thank you to you. All that's left Matt is shout outs.
We have Bob Seaford in Bob Boston. Hello, Bob. I feel like maybe we know Bob. I think we've given him a shout out before. Yeah, I think so. What do we know about Bob? Bob Brian. Very good. We know that Bob is recently retired and playing a lot more tennis. Good work, Bob. That's the thing to do in retirement, isn't it? As the US Open is constantly telling us, healthiest sport in the world. There was a new line about that earlier. Wasn't there about how healthy the sport is.
From Brian. Brian that does the speeches. Yeah, Brian that does the speeches. Yeah, he said it was something like the journey of life or something. Yes, he a journey for the good of life. That's the badger. Can't believe I forgot it. Bob's on board. Words to live by. Yeah, thank you Bob. But Bob Brian, did we do? We said Bob Brian. Bob, great Bob. There we go. And Boston, well, I've been to Boston.
Yeah, me too. And Matt and I drove to near Boston to see Bruce Wayne's team last year. Thank you, Bob. Cheers, Bob. We've also got Sue Humphrey. I see. We definitely know Sue Humphrey. Sue enjoys our work on Instagram. Hey. Hello, Sue. Well, not surprised. Your work on Instagram. Can I say it's been fantastic. Cosine. Yeah. What do we know about Sue? Sue lives in Vancouver. Lovely. And she's slowly but surely, surely adding to her to her list of tournaments.
Having now been to Montreal, Miami, Charleston, Indian Wells, Rome and Billie Jean King come. Wow. I tell you what, that's a good list. That's a great list. Really good list. Sue, you've picked well. Yeah, she wants to go to just fairly an open list. Sue sounds like a bit of a connoisseur. Proper tennis. Yeah. You're doing things right, Sue. Yeah. Like Sue Barker. There we go. She do things right as well. Yeah. Thank you, Sue.
And finally, we have Anna Bendo in Dublin, Ohio. Oh, little curveball for you at the end of the year. Yeah, big time. Yes. Okay. Like Anna Callinskaya. Yeah, who was in the support team today? Did you just slightly awkward kiss with the annex in it? Yeah. Sort of like, oh, you're all sweaty. No, I thought it was all this is a bit complicated. We're on camera.
Oh, well, it could have been either or both. And not only relevant because of Anna Callinskaya, but Anna says and obviously wrote this little intro a few weeks ago. And so I'm coming to London to see Taylor Swift when you're coming to the US for your live show. Nice. Hope to catch the next one. And we hope to see you there, Anna. We really do hope to see you there. That is absolutely lovely. Anna, thank you. Bob, thank you. Sue. Sue, thank you.
Thank you to all of our friends of the tennis podcast. You truly are why we're here. Thank you to Josh, who introduced the show today. And if you do need or if you're looking for a push to become a friend, then of course we have that Q&A show tomorrow. And we have our USA Open Review Show. And I can tell you that while we've been recording, Pam Shriver has preemptively sent her voice note in. How many of us yet? She said, I preemptively sent my voice note one take. I went on a PS rant.
So exciting. Me too. Yeah. So that is coming up along with the other voice notes from the great and the good of the tennis world in our US Open review show that we'll be recording later this week. Our Q&A show tomorrow is live 3 p.m. New York time 8 p.m. UK time. And of course it will be available as a podcast or to catch up on on YouTube as well. So that's all for friends of the tennis podcast. You also get access to the barge and our back catalog of bonus friends episodes.
We'll be back with another weekly podcast next Monday because the tennis globe keeps on a turning. Guadalajara match notes in my inbox as we speak. We're going to go and try and get the bus. One last media bus. We're going to edit on the bus. We're going to go out for dinner to Tony's. It has been quite some US Open folks. Thank you so much for coming on the Grand Slam journey with us for 2024. We'll be back in 2025. And we can't wait. We'll speak to you soon.
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