Hey guys, welcome to What's the Call the podcast where sports
meets side eye. We're here to breakdown the
matches, the meltdowns and the moments that make us pause and
say, what was that call? I'm Theo.
I'm Andrea. And we're glad you're here.
Whether you're sports obsessed or just here for the drama,
there's a seat for you courtside, so let's dive in.
All right, so AO has begun. Are we excited?
So excited. I feel like there's so much
content. Today's Monday so it's day 2 and
I have just been like, I feel like living on Melbourne time
and I'm just like get me to Australia now.
I feel like you are like just about there.
Oh yeah, I'm in Hawaii. I'm only four hours.
I think there's only four hour time difference from here.
We should get boots on the ground.
Yeah, and a short flight, only 10 hours, I could fly direct to
Australia right now, so. My God.
Yeah. Would be tempting, but.
I know, I know. Next year maybe, but honestly?
Like the vibes have just been so good.
Tennis is so back or so excited. And I feel like, yeah, they
don't call it the happy slam for nothing.
Yeah, I was going to say, I feel like it's really living up to
its name. 100%. People just love.
It, yeah. And there's just like so much
going on and I just wouldn't have it like any other way.
I've said this before, but I really do think the AO is the
best Slam for so many reasons. Sort of first big tournament of
the year. Players are like pumped, ready.
They want to prove themselves. I feel like the whole city or
even like the whole country, just like gets involved and like
backs the tennis. And three like Aussies are just
the best. I have a bit of a weird
obsession with Australia. I love it.
They're also just like always like looking to innovate.
Like they've done a few things this year, like they've
introduced, which I thought was really interesting.
What I saw from watching obviously on TV, they have like
introduced these super cool like courtside seats, which like cost
an arm and a leg obviously, but it's sort of trying to replicate
like the NBA courtside seating. And it looks awesome when you
like, I mean you get like player transportation to go to the
site. You get like, I don't know, a
full like omakase sushi meal. And then you get like a whole
tour of Rod Laver Arena and like the walk on of the players.
And then you literally sit like on the court, which is awesome.
God, that's the dream. That's my literal.
Dream one day, one day yeah and then in the like player walkout
that I just mentioned, I feel like at slams they always have
this like each slam has like a very definitive player walk on
on the main like center court and they've like yeah completely
revamped it and it's it looks like they're like walking
through the ocean when they come in and now they have the two
players coming in from different sides, which is cooler Usually
they come out the same door anyway.
This is all a very nerdy stuff that probably no one cares
about, but I noticed it and I really liked it.
And they also have this new system so that you get like, a
visual when the ball is out, that the net bleeps red and like
a line on the umpire chair that it like flashes red because now
that they've gotten rid of linesman, you no longer have.
Like, usually you would see the linesman's hand, right, call out
because they, like, move it to the side.
And obviously now that's gone because the linesman RIP.
So now, yeah, if there's an outcall, it flashes red, which
is cool. Yeah, I think that's better.
And then also the AO you can watch on TNT Sports, they RIP
you off. It's £30 a month, but you know,
got and had to invest in that for this month.
But they have this new like multi, multi screening thing
where you can have all the quotes at once.
And yeah, it's just honestly like, helped me so much.
Usually I. Have the TVI have the iPad, I
have the laptop and then I have the phone so.
You're like a proper tennis journalist.
I'm really like. I'm a real freak.
Yeah, literally. No.
But this this time I just you just switch on the multi view
and you get all the chords and then you just choose which one
you want the audio from, like the one that you're most
interested in. So yeah.
So that was pretty cool. That is cool.
I don't know how many people are
using that feature like you are, but.
Yeah, just me probably. But anyway, so those are things
I thought for interesting. And then obviously they had we
we mentioned this last week, but the one point slam.
I'd love to this. It was so good content gold who
won it was an am amateur player Jordan Smith $1 million
Australian dollars, but still take it.
And yeah, I mean, I think, I think it's honestly that was the
best possible outcome for this like EXO to have because like if
a pro had won, it would have been a bit like.
Yeah, I I almost like, I wonder. I mean, obviously like the pros
weren't playing like their full capacity, like they were still
like trying to a certain extent. But yeah, I'm like, did they let
him win? No.
I don't think so. I, I don't know.
I I don't. I didn't watch it, I just
watched the highlights though. I watched like like a replay of
it and no, they they were like on the sidelines, like getting
like really pumped for each other.
So I think they were pretty into it, like, and I just love to
like watch those like player interactions.
I know on the. Sidelines.
I know you rarely see it. They were being so funny, the
two of them obviously like the bromance is very much alive.
Yeah, they just like Carl's going came on last and just
like, you know, beelined cianic to like say hi and like, you
know, give him a little slap on the butt.
I'm like, are you guys good anyway, they're.
Playing it up for the cameras. I love it, but yeah, sorry you
said Kaboli. He was so funny, like his face
the entire time he was stressed he was.
Very stressed, very stressed his.
Reactions were so funny A. 100% I think definitely a massive win
for the tournament. Like, yeah, not that they needed
more wins, but they they're doing so well for themselves.
Yeah, I think it was so good. Even Taylor Fort Fritz didn't
participate. And then he tweeted like massive
L for me for not participating. This looks like so much fun.
Something like that. 100% I think those that didn't didn't
make it were bombed for sure. Yeah, yeah, I think it's good
for tennis. I feel like they're trying to
attract a younger audience, which is great because you know,
that's what they need. Absolutely.
And I mean, the US opened at the Mixed Double S exhibition last
year. And I'm, I'm curious to see if I
feel like they won't follow suit like Wimbledon certainly will.
I mean, no, they might surprise us, but too traditional and
Roland Garros, I don't know. Let's see.
We'll see. Yeah, let's see, let's.
See, we'll see if they follow, but unlikely.
Also a first one, isn't the Euro hire me as like their chief hype
man? Because honestly, they're just,
I just, I'm loving what they're doing.
You're loving it. I'm.
Loving it because also they put on the first ever opening
ceremony for a slam this year, which you know, was sort of
meant to like, you know, in the SIM in a similar vein to an
Olympic opening ceremony. They, you know, they had like
all the these like ball kids walk out with all the flags that
were being represented by the players.
And then they had like a big like musical performance.
And then they brought out some legends to play some fast 4
double s, which was kind of fucking hilarious.
They had two Aussie, former Australian number ones, but also
world number ones as well as previous like slam winners.
They had Pat Rafter and Leighton Hewitt who are like a big deal
in Australia and in the tennis world in general.
And then they had, I mean, literally the love of my life
and legend Roger Federer come out and play, play with Andre
Agassi, who also is just like, I mean, an icon, honestly, he's
hilarious. Like I, I just like, I loved it.
And also, I mean, they were obviously all miked up.
So it's just jokes because you could hear them like breathing
heavy after like 2 points. These poor guys.
It was just like, like, you know, through the Mikes and
they, I mean, it's honestly it's quite challenging because they
have to like obviously play well and they put on some good,
really good points, I will say. But then they're also talking
through it, right, To make it entertaining.
So yeah. And they were, they were giving
some good jokes, I will say. And I mean, like Roger and Andre
are just such an iconic pairing. Yeah.
And then to give Andre or, yeah, to give Agassi some respite,
they brought out Ash Boddy after the second set or in the second
set. And obviously it was three sets.
So I do think some of that is like a bit staged like, but that
way, you know, you get the most out of it.
But yeah, Ash Boddy stepped in, gave Agassi a bit of respite,
which was quite funny. And obviously Ash Boddy is a
huge deal in Australia too, and no one was expecting that.
So no, yeah, I feel like she hasn't been involved in tennis
at all since she retired either. She's just kind of been doing
her own thing. Yeah.
It was, it was pretty good and like honestly, there was some
really, really great rallies. And then afterwards they sat
down like all five of them and did like a session with Jim
Courier, who I honestly think is just like the best interviewer
ever. Like in the sport for sure, like
it generally, as great as the rivalries are, it gives me, it's
like so heartwarming to see all of them sit down and they just
have so much respect for each other.
Like no ego. Yeah, I don't know, I feel like
nostalgic when I watch these things.
Like me too, honestly. My childhood My first tennis
match was Federer versus Agassi at the US Open.
Really. I think.
Federer won in five sets, which is yeah, yeah.
Yeah, that's amazing, I think. I think, yeah.
I mean, honestly, all this RF content, like whenever he like
comes out in public, I just like it takes over my whole day.
I'm like, I just go into like a hole of like finding like the
footage. I just love him so much.
I mean, Federer's to me. What Nadal is to you.
But we both also really like the other.
Exactly. I get a little bit sad because I
miss them so much on tour, but it's still lovely to see them.
I know. Yeah, it is, It is.
It is lovely to see them. And like Roger was, you know, he
came with his whole family, but his parents, his four kids, his
wife obviously. And like, they were like sitting
and it was sort of a bit of a farewell thing for him as well
because they, he didn't get to have that in Australia.
Yeah. They also, he had this like,
iconic moment back in the day where he hit like a shot like,
to the side and the ball kid, like ball kid, like, really
seamlessly just like caught the ball.
And they brought that same guy back and he was like, you know,
20 years older. And they like, recreated the
moment. It's quite funny.
The guy's like, the guy's not like 30.
And he's, like, back in the spot, like, kneeling on the side
of the net and like, yeah, I just thought it was like, you
know, a bit cheesy, but also, you know, works.
But yeah, I just, I just love Roger so much.
If I haven't said it already, Like, I was reposting a million
things about Roger this weekend, and people were like, shut the
fuck up. But anyways, you know, if you
don't appreciate it, like, what's wrong with you?
He's just the definition of aura, definitely, yeah.
And then obviously also he had to plug his little Labour Cup,
his tournament, which is coming to London, back to London
actually this year. So we need to try and make that
happen. That would be.
We're going, we're going. That'd.
Be awesome, yeah? So should we talk about the
outfits? Let's talk about, let's do a bit
of a fit check, pulse check on the fits, because honestly,
there's quite a range out there. Yeah, I think it's a fun thing
to comment on and like weigh in on because honestly, some of
them are really beyond hideous. We got to start.
We got to start with the number
one who has, who is actually the world #2 but he's been done
fucking dirty and given the world number one.
Worst outfit I've ever seen. Ganic Sinner Yannick Sinner
looks like he's shot himself in his outfit.
The color is giving diarrhea. Really like it makes me sad for
him because honestly like what are they?
Are they trying to take the piss?
I don't understand. He's probably pissed or what the
fuck. 100% I mean, yeah, it's not lucky.
It does not like that little like then it's like this like
green patch on the shorts. I'm like, what's going on?
It's so bad. It's so.
Bad because how does this work? Like do the players approve the
outfit? So of how well, I think each
player has a different contract and depends who you're with.
But I think like big, the big guns like Nike and Adidas, like
you do get your own collection, but like I think you have to
have won like multiple slams. And I mean it all depends on the
contract. But basically what they do is
they'll do certain styles and they'll do different colorways
like Carlos and Yannick. Like they will have the same,
it'll be the same style, but same a different colorway from
all the rest of the field that wears Nike, for example.
Or Stabilenka has a special colorway of the outfit that all
the others wear too. So yeah, I mean, honestly, like,
yeah, Nike, definitely not my pick this tournament.
But yeah, Carlos is also not great.
He just looks a bit like a mishmash of like a highlighter.
And then the women's, the style's not bad.
Yeah. It's just it's all a bit
fluorescent for my liking. Radukano was also with Nike, but
she's also clearly fed up of the fits, to be honest, because I
was reading some rumors that she's got a relatively big Utico
deal in the pipeline and that that's going to come out Indian
Wells. So let's see another one who is
doing really nice outfits, I'd say.
Oh, Wilson, their outfits are pretty like honestly, like
everyone should go check them out because like they're very
nice, like burgundy and like pink.
Marta Costio because like a really nice, like cute pink
dress with like cut outs. But she she actually already
lost. So yeah, hardly.
The outfit is also lost. I know.
Shame. And then Adidas.
Adidas nailed it this year. And like, they often don't let
me tell you, there's been some real hate crimes committed by
Adidas in the past. But no, honestly, they all look
great. And like it like brings out the
players tans. It's like this orange Peach
thing, like paired with white, right?
So yeah, I'd say they're doing good for themselves.
Yeah, I mean, they're definitely winning on court, but off court,
not so much. Did you see Steph's cheetah
print? Sweat set.
Yeah, I did. No, no comment on that.
But other than that, Adidas has really done him dirty with that
one. Jesus Christ.
Yeah, I'm confused about the crop slightly like flared.
I mean, I would have put a full veto in, but yeah.
Yeah, it's, it's, it's an interesting look for sure.
It is not their best outfit probably.
One of their worst yet not. If not, their worst.
Yeah, it's honestly not not a good look on anyone.
So I I don't get that. But anyway, it made them goes a
little bit viral and I'll just leave it at that.
Lacoste, in other news, has some sick activations going on in
Melbourne. They have this like barge with a
tennis court on it that's like floating on the Yarra River.
And they did like a whole event with, you know, their, what are
they called players. Obviously the players they have,
they have like a pretty strong roster, honestly.
They've got Dimitrov, they've got Medvedev, our fave, they've
got Ivelisse, and they have, obviously Novak Djokovic.
I mean, yeah, we touched on him last week.
And maybe it's just, it's worth saying maybe that, you know, by
the numbers he is the undisputed GOAT.
But that doesn't mean that we aren't entitled to our opinions,
right? He's not the people's goat.
He's not the people's goat, but I will say I do have the utmost
respect for the man and like how he competes, but that doesn't
mean I need to necessarily support him.
And yeah, that's what makes being a tennis fan more
interesting. Definitely.
And they also have Venus Williams Lacoste, which, you
know, is also pretty cool. We'll talk a bit more about her
later and how she's fared at the at the AO.
But I also heard that she is apparently going to enter into a
pretty blockbuster deal with Lululemon at Indian Wells
because they're also the tournament sponsor of Indian
Wells. So, you know, I've, I told you,
I've been in the trenches. So yeah, I've.
I love all this stuff. I just find it so fascinating.
Everyone else is really like snooze.
So, yeah, if we still have your attention here, we're not going
to move on to the next and actually speak about the
tournament. OK, so let's get into the actual
tennis of it all. But Sunday start new, I think
since last year in Australia, usually slams start on a Monday,
but I think Roland Garris also starts on the Sunday actually.
But it's relatively new in Australia.
And I find it, yeah, it's sort of a double edged sword for me.
I like it because it sort of spreads the chaos.
You know, the tournaments like it, they make more money because
they have an extra day of ticket sales.
Good for them. But somehow I feel like it sort
of dilutes the order of play. It does.
And I think it kind of just drags on, yeah.
Like I I'm kind of lost at this point.
I'm like, oh, someone's having their you know, Carlos played
yesterday and some people are playing their first round match
tonight. Like it's just very.
It's a yeah. It's a little disjointed.
And like usually what it is is you have Monday you have one
side of the draw, and then Tuesday you have the other side
of the draw, and then it just keeps alternating days.
But with the three days of Round 1, it gets confusing because
it's all like, jumbled. But yeah.
So all that to say, it is now Monday night.
So we are 2/3 through Round 1. So we can't talk about it in
like a complete way, but we can talk about what's happened so
far. So shall we jump in, Carlos?
Should we start with Carlos? He won his first round match.
Solid win match the solid win. First match without on Carlos my
side, I think he. Played really well.
And also like, I mean, everyone loves Carlos, but he was playing
against an Aussie Walton who put up a good fight.
But, you know, I feel like he didn't really stand a chance,
let's be honest. And yeah, I think Carlos just
like proved himself. And I feel like he's probably
also like extra motivated because he's like probably so
over the storyline of like JC FS out the picture, like how's he
going to fare without him? And he's like, you know what,
bitches? I got this covered, I think.
Yeah, yeah. He's used to having the crowd on
his side and it didn't rattle him, so I think that's a good
sign. And also, I mean this tournament
is so important to him. He said that he would take a win
in Australia over a win in any other and like two other slams
this year, so. Because yeah.
Hopefully him. Winning here gives him the
career slam, yeah. Yep, he'd be the youngest person
to ever win the career slam. Crazy.
So, yeah. And that record is currently
held by Rafa. So party was like, I don't want
to, but no, I do. Of course I do.
But yeah, yeah, you want. To keep smashing those records.
Yeah, but 22, which is just insane.
Let's see if he can do it. Let's see, on day one we also
saw Arena Sabalenko went on. Yeah, Rod Laver Arena.
She did. Well I feel like OK, you might
be confused by this because like I didn't love her at first but I
feel like 2025 has seen me become a bit of a Saba fan.
OK. Weirdly.
What's changed your mind? I just think she is like
unapologetically herself, just actually doesn't care.
Like people might find her annoying on social media.
I actually think it's quite like jokes.
She literally takes no prisoners with her, like tick tock dances
and all of that. I'm like, OK, good for you.
Honestly, she's killing it with like the sponsorship.
She's like every sponsor under the sun at the moment.
I feel like she's happy with her boyfriend.
Good for her. And then also she is just like,
you know, she totally was like completely starstruck because
Federer and Levo were watching her match.
They were like front row. And she was like, Oh my God, can
I have a selfie with you guys? And then at the end she like
went up to them, took a selfie with them as they were sitting
in the crowd. And in that way, she's like all
of us, right? We'd all be like freaking out.
She actually, she lost the her opening service game.
After that, she just like cruised through.
So bit of like first round nerves.
But yeah, I think she's pretty. She's pretty solid, honestly.
Yeah, yeah, I think she's going to win the thing, but.
I think so. I think so.
Going back to Venus, Venus played day one as well and I
watched that whole match because I am a big Venus fan.
She is actually the first and I think only player whose
autograph I got. I too was I think four or five.
And I went up to her with my like Wimbledon program and she
signed it and I still have it. And she was just really nice.
And I'm obsessed with the Williams sisters, obviously so.
Yeah, same. I just find it's so impressive
that she is still going at 45. Like context, like Federer
retired at 40 and he retired late.
Like most players retire in their 30s and she's 45, has an
autoimmune condition and it's just still grinding.
And it was a roller coaster match.
Like she was very competitive. Like, she did end up losing
sadly. And it made me, yeah, it made me
really sad because she was like so close.
Like first set tie break, like she was, there was some crazy
points. She won it.
Then she dropped the 2nd and then she was up for love in the
third, had a double break, lost the double break.
Then there was like a really like marathon game of like 4 all
which I was just like, I was like shouting at the TV.
And then ultimately, yeah, she lost it 4/6 and the third.
But I feel like she's doing really well.
She just got married. Her new husband was like in her
box, like cheering her on. She's got the potential new Lulu
deal. She's a life.
So I'm happy for her, honestly. Some people are a bit annoyed
that she's that she gets like wild cards for these tournaments
because the argument is she should be making way for younger
players. What's your yeah and say what's
your take on that? I think she's like earned the
right to get those wild cards and she's clearly still
competitive. Like, yeah, she lost in the
first round, but she could have very easily won that match.
So, you know, I, I, I disagree. I disagree.
I think I understand why she's getting the wild cards.
And yeah, she's an icon, so a. 100% she talked about Emma right
O'Connor. Emma.
She also won day one. I watched her like pre match
press conference and she sort of set 0 expectations for herself
because I think she she was a bit injured right?
And like she also just came straight from Hobart New Zealand
and had to play nice session on day one.
She did win. She was a bit annoyed about
having to play the night session.
I think because it is kind of, I don't know what time what like
the exact time. Second match on after a men's
match. So the night session starts at
7:00 PM local time or 730 I think on the show courts.
So if you have a 5 setter, men's five setter that could have give
you like a midnight *. That is, I don't understand
that. Like that sucks.
And also I imagine a lot of the spectators would leave after a
long men's match, like a kind of puts, yeah, whoever would like
male, female. But it's I guess now it's like
they're scheduling the women's matches after the men's.
Like it just puts them in a terrible position.
I can't even imagine like having to prepare right, because
they're all these routines that they have before the match where
like they have to eat a certain amount of time before the match.
Like, obviously there's always a bit of uncertainty, but yeah,
it's not an easy position to be in.
I think like having to potentially start playing at
midnight. I don't.
I don't know how that's allowed. But equally, there's the other
side of the argument that I guess has always made that if
they were to schedule a women's match earlier, they say it's not
fair and the women aren't getting, you know, the prime
time slot and blah, blah, blah. Yeah, and they're kind of like
an opening act for the men's matches. 100% Yeah, exactly.
But that's that then. I mean, we're not going to get
into this today, but like the whole debate about men playing
five sets, like that's ultimately the issue here
because if they were playing three sets, obviously the match
wouldn't last as long. But equally I mean I love A5
setter. Yeah, same.
I will always want there to be the best of five in Grand Slam
tournaments. A. 100% yeah.
There were also a few chaos moments on day one.
The throwback to on day one, the Putin saver, who I don't know if
you know much about her, but she's got some attitude this
this girl. And she always gets into it with
the fans. And basically at the Aussie
Open, there's one court, I believe it's Court 6, it's a bar
court. So there's actually a bar like
in the stands and everyone's just rowdy AF.
And she was, she absolutely lost it with them yesterday screaming
and then shut up. You know, they're just trying to
have a good time and I get it. And it's sort of like, like, I
do think again, tournaments do need to innovate and make it
like a bit more fun and less serious because I understand
that. Like, I think the only place
that gets away with it is Wimbledon because that's just
like what Wimbledon is. Yeah, like the tradition, the.
Silence and all of that. But like, yeah, it's bar court
is really like, yeah, raising some brows among the players.
But I think last year, last year was the first year already was
like causing some chaos. So that was quite funny because
she also has, I mean, whoever decided to schedule Putin savor
on that court was asking for it. Honestly, it is quite funny.
What else is funny is I don't even know if you talk about it,
but like poor Kaboli, and I like Kaboli a lot.
He got defeated. He's world #20 and he got
defeated by a Brit actually called Arthur Ferry, ranked 186
in the world. But yeah, Kabali was really
going through it with his stomach.
Let's just say he. Had to run to the bathroom.
Yeah. I mean that sucks.
Like playing in that. Really sucks.
And it was like, like the the medics like asking him and it
was so obvious what was going on because they were like, is it
watery? And like the mic was picking it
up. I'm like, come on, guys.
Like do it discreet anyway. So yeah, that must be a
nightmare for him. Leave bomber man.
I know. And then I guess we move on to
day 2. Today I feel like was far less
eventful. Stan, Stan the man, I love him.
I think he's great. He's on his sort of farewell
tour this year. I don't know, actually.
What are your thoughts on Stan Vavrinka?
I just as a Rafa fan. Yeah.
OK. And I wasn't always the biggest
fan of his. I think he I mean, because he
always played really well against Rafa.
Like, I think he he was one of the like, few players who knew
how to beat him. So I was never rooting for him.
But I mean, you know, I think he was an amazing player.
It's a shame for him that he was kind of overshadowed by, you
know, the big three, Big 4. But.
Yeah, he has won. I think he's won a couple slams
and he. Was yeah.
He was 2016 champ here. Booty beat Yeah.
Rafa, yeah, it's, I mean, it's sad.
I always feel sad when players retire.
Yeah, especially like that generation of players because
it's like we, we grew up with them in a way.
And so, you know, it's sad to see them go A. 100 percent, 100%
someone who also won is our boy to Neil.
Let's go. Usually he's like breaking it
and like in the five setters until like 3 in the morning in
Australia. So honestly, I think he was
like, fuck that, we're just going to go in and get it done.
Simple. Yeah, this is his first first
round win in a Slam since 20244. Yeah.
Also he has motivation to play well here because I heard he
wants to keep up his stat for like not defending titles and
always only winning new titles. So this would be a new one for
him to pick up. I think he obviously was very
scarred from that defeat that you mentioned last week.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and I was also going to
say he has a new hair cut, which is way better.
He looks just less messy. Yeah, yeah, a little.
Bit more together. Like, come over.
He looks younger. Yeah, he looks good.
He does. Look good.
Hopefully he goes far. Hopefully, fingers crossed.
He is one of our picks, right? One of our like.
Yeah. Dark horse?
Can you call him a dark horse? I don't know.
Yeah, I think you can. Anyone's a dark horse on the
men's side If it's Bionic or Carlos, I guess so.
And then just touch on, I guess Deminor.
He won today, right? And sad Andre and I really like
Mateo Berotini and Deminor is scheduled to play Mateo, but he
had to withdraw last minute, which is really sad.
I actually also really like Alex Demonora.
I think he's really sweet guy, so I'm happy for him to have
won, but I just wish Mateo had had the chance to, like, go out
there because yeah, I feel like his career is just kind of, I
don't know. Floundered.
Yeah. Yeah, like he's always, there's
always something. It's like cursed, especially at
slams. He always has to withdraw last
minute and it's like always a question mark on his health and
like the ABS and like always like rupturing.
I don't know. So.
Yeah, no, I really feel for him. He seems like a lovely man.
But I also wonder if he's just one of those players who, like,
doesn't have as much internal motivation as others.
You know, who was, like, willing to give it all or to make it
make tennis his entire life? I don't.
Think he he also just knows he can just make money as a male
model. Yeah, yeah.
But it's just like such a tough. Like, I'm also, I'm totally
kidding. You do.
I'm totally kidding. Like that's definitely not what
I'm thinking, but it is. It's so tough.
It's really like you need to
like live and breathe it. And that's exactly in any, in
any, when you do that with anything, it's exhausting.
But I feel like, yeah, in tennis particularly, it's the only way.
Yeah, it really is. OK.
So as we always end, we're going to do our final call.
Let's do it. Who's the player we can't stop
watching? I think for me, and as we said,
like you probably can find this rogue, but you know, I've made
the switch, so I'll say Arena Savalenka and that's not on a
like predictions level. I'm just like liking her vibe
and her energy right now. She's sort of like, in that sort
of like untouchable era and just doesn't care.
It's like enjoying it and wants to have fun.
So I like that. Yeah.
What about you? I'm going to say our man
Medvedev, I feel like she's in a different headspace.
I'm sorry. I'm laughing, but I just like
the fact that we've done such a 180 on him.
I know is so bizarre. Like imagine us saying that five
years ago. I know.
Never, never. A girl can change her mind.
What about a moment that sort of really already sums up the AO
for you? So far I think from day 2, from
day 2, I don't know. I thought not from day.
Two, but like on day. Two on day 2, I think back to
the one point slam and just like even how like Kaboli through
throughout the tournament, just like freaking out and he gets so
seriously and so stressed, but it's just like so many viral
moments like that. Really.
Yeah, that sounds sums up like the vibe of the tournament.
But also like, yeah, it's so fun, but people still take it
very seriously. I love that.
What about you? Mine's so predictable, but it's
going to have to be just like Roger and Oz.
Yeah, I'm just, like, happy that he's got his, like, little
farewell. And, like, I don't like when
players become like, complete ghosts in retirement.
So, yeah, I think Rafa needs to, you know, come out of the
woodworks a little bit. And I'm sure it's more recent
for him, so. And he's in dad mode now, so,
you know, yeah. But I, I really like that.
And it just like, I don't know, when he was like walking around
and like, they put him on like this podium, I was just like,
oh, like, that's sort of what's defined it for me.
So, so far, it's still a long way to go.
What's the most Australian Open thing that's happened?
This is a good question because like I said, I feel like I'm
like chief PR officer for the AO right now, but like you got to
combine some of the great moments with some chaos.
So I would say it's just a very Australia thing.
Actually. They're all dehydrated as fuck,
Kabali included. Like you've got the all kids
fainting and Kabali, you know, dealing with whatever he was
dealing with. So I mean, I guess we don't need
to revisit, but that would be my moment.
What about you? Mine is Putin Seva telling the
crowd to shut up and also winning.
And also winning pretty. Pretty great.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, guys.
So that's all for this week. No major upsets yet, but who
knows what tomorrow and the rest of the week's going to bring, so
stay tuned. Thanks for listening.
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