1 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:06,920 Hey guys, welcome to What's the Call the podcast where sports 2 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:09,120 meets side eye. We're here to breakdown the 3 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:12,040 matches, the meltdowns and the moments that make us pause and 4 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:14,480 say, what was that call? I'm Theo. 5 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:16,880 I'm Andrea. And we're glad you're here. 6 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,080 Whether you're sports obsessed or just here for the drama, 7 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:22,800 there's a seat for you courtside, so let's dive in. 8 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:27,640 Hi guys. Welcome back to another episode. 9 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:32,000 We have an exciting 1 today. We have Tamara Pren back with 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,200 us. So yeah, welcome back. 11 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:37,800 Thank you so much, it's such an honour to be asked back. 12 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:40,200 I'm hoping this can be a regular thing. 13 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:41,680 Definitely. Of course. 14 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:47,960 So do we want to jump into the Australian Open and everything 15 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,360 that we've just witnessed over the last two weeks, but also 16 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:55,040 three days, if that makes sense. I feel like the tournament was 17 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:58,320 really boring up until then. Yeah, basically. 18 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:02,560 And I think that the final three days were so interesting that it 19 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:07,600 has just completely almost obliterated things that I found 20 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:13,520 somewhat interesting beforehand when it was like, I feel like I 21 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:18,320 had a lot of things to say about those things maybe on Thursday 22 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:21,280 night. But the moment I wake up on 23 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:23,760 Friday, all of those things began disintegrating and 24 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:26,520 disintegrating. And now I I can't even remember 25 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:28,480 who the other players at the tournament were. 26 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:31,120 Yeah, we feel the same way, right, Andrea? 27 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,200 Like we launched this podcast what, like 3 weeks ago now. 28 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,640 So I mean, we weren't grasping at straws. 29 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:40,240 We, we covered like some like all the like jokes around the 30 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:42,400 tournament, but there was nothing but like no results 31 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:44,920 results because there were no big upsets. 32 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:49,320 And but I guess that sometimes that makes for those really 33 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,480 interesting final rounds, right? If it's just like your routine 34 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,200 wins in the first few rounds. Totally. 35 00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:00,480 I feel like that's something that I have been thinking over 36 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,680 the past few days because it's about what you're willing to 37 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:07,760 kind of sacrifice. I think when I think back to 38 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:10,840 when we last spoke after Wimbledon, that was like the 39 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:15,680 absolute bonfire of the seeds. And there were so many upsets. 40 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:21,680 And it brought out some really rich new storylines and allowed 41 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,160 us to think about players maybe in ways positive and negative 42 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,200 that we hadn't thought about them before in the build up to 43 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:34,440 what was, you know, ultimately compared to these men's and 44 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:36,720 women's finals. I mean, obviously it was hard 45 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,800 for Sinner Alcaraz to match the French Open just before. 46 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,800 And the less we say about Triantek and and Nessimova, the 47 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:50,160 better. But the concentration of the top 48 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:54,880 seeds all being exactly where the draw really wants them to be 49 00:02:54,960 --> 00:03:00,840 in those final rounds did make really compelling match ups. 50 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:05,400 But it did come at the expense of several days of us thinking, 51 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,240 you know, look at this incredible upset or, you know, 52 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:12,960 we're seeing a new side of a player maybe in the top 30 doing 53 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:14,720 particularly well. At the start of the season, 54 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,560 there was there was such a scarcity of that. 55 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:22,880 And it's like, would I give up the final four days that we saw? 56 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:25,920 Maybe not. But I'm ready for a break and 57 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:29,640 some upsets at the French Open. 100%, yeah, I think. 58 00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:31,280 But I think that's what makes tennis interesting. 59 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:32,720 Like it could go either way, right? 60 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:37,440 Do you think the last few days of the tournament, the semi 61 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:42,600 finals and the finals made-up for the first week and a half of 62 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,000 the tournament was more boring I would say. 63 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,520 I think definitely because on both men's and the women's 64 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:55,680 straws, it presented one or two enormous talking points that 65 00:03:55,720 --> 00:04:02,240 almost well satisfy us for the rest of the season or even the 66 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,520 next few seasons. With the example of Sablanca, 67 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:12,040 such a consistent world #1 And you see that she you know, she 68 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:17,440 can be broken down and she can be outsmarted by a player who, 69 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:21,800 although they both share like in like the most bombastic hitting, 70 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:26,600 was able to be her exact opposite in terms of the game 71 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,760 plan and the coolness. And when she was able to take 72 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:34,000 advantage of of things that are normally positives for 73 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:38,600 Sabalenka, her energy, her emotions, her confidence, 74 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:43,640 Someone who reaches as many Grand Slam finals and wins as 75 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:48,320 many Masters as Sabalenka be really unpicked is, I think, 76 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:51,880 super interesting. I feel like like last year, 77 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:54,600 we're going to get multiple Grand Slam winners on the 78 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:56,640 winners women's side of the draw. 79 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:01,360 I think Sabalinka absolutely can win a Grand Slam this year, but 80 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,760 I think she will be one of four women who do. 81 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:09,120 So that's the interesting thing for the women and for the men's. 82 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:15,880 I feel like it would be really unfair to not talk about Alcaraz 83 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:20,000 making history, but you know, the Djokovic of it all was a 84 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,320 huge sort of re understanding for me. 85 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:29,480 And when I was watching his semi final against Sinner I was like, 86 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:34,840 this is the best. I feel like I've seen him play 87 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:38,600 since he was winning sets in the 2023 Wimbledon final against 88 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,720 Alka as that like incredible epic. 89 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:48,680 So to have both of those huge new considerations that I hadn't 90 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:53,600 really had at the front of mind before going into the semi 91 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,880 finals and finals is like it was worth it. 92 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,480 I'll take it. Totally 100%. 93 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,880 When I was watching the semi final match, my sort of take 94 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:05,880 from it was like, wow, this is really good for tennis. 95 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,920 It adds a really interesting story to the tournament. 96 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,000 I think it was amazing. You know, no one counts them 97 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:13,960 out, but I don't think people were really. 98 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:18,200 Predicting that, especially given his route to the final he 99 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:23,480 definitely has, is so impressive and has made his own luck in his 100 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:25,880 career. But like he did get quite lucky 101 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:29,560 on the road to the final with the retirement and the 102 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:32,560 withdrawal. I feel like such a fool, but I 103 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:38,040 was almost like afraid that we were going to see a really 104 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:43,080 dispiriting but perhaps totally predictable defeat to Sinner. 105 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:46,720 Or I thought he was going to retire in the final and we had 106 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:52,520 worst case scenario for that. And to have played the sets that 107 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:56,800 he did in both of those matches where he was at his height, it 108 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,080 becomes just the rudest thing to have thought in the Intel world. 109 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,040 Like the disrespect that I've shown. 110 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:05,080 I must scroll on my hands and knees it's so bad. 111 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:07,720 But it's insane. Well, I remember you texted me 112 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:11,520 because you were like after the Alka Zverev semi. 113 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:14,920 You're like, oh, did we just witness the most insane semi 114 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:16,360 final? It's going to be followed like 115 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,200 by the least interesting semi final. 116 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,240 And I felt the exact same way. I was like, oh, it's going to be 117 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:25,800 like a demolition. But no, it ended up being like, 118 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:29,560 from what I've sort of been reading, like one of, if not the 119 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:33,200 like most insane men's semis day ever. 120 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:34,960 Thank God we're also not that old. 121 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:39,320 We don't remember that many. It was super compelling and it 122 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:49,440 was also a huge credit to how exciting the Grand Slam 5 set 123 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,800 format is. And you have these like drag out 124 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:57,240 battles between Alcaraz and Zverev. 125 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:01,360 There is obviously quite a significant chasm in terms of a 126 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,760 ceiling. But in a Masters match, it's 127 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:07,680 like Alcaraz wipes the floor with him and they move on. 128 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:16,040 But the ability for Zverev to take advantage of his opponent's 129 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,880 physical weakness, drag himself back into the match and allow 130 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:23,440 for a really punchy decider and, you know, keeping perhaps in 131 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:29,000 vain hope alive just for a few more hours was super 132 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:34,880 exhilarating for the spectators. Because it feels like suddenly 133 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,440 the chance is anyone's it's the person who is kind of the most 134 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:40,880 courageous on the day. And you think the the 135 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:44,760 physicality of A5 set match really allows for that because 136 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:48,800 you are just seeing the energy, the muscle conditioning just 137 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:52,080 drain out of these players. And in that first match, you 138 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:54,440 know, by the first set, it's fair of who is completely 139 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,200 incapacitated because he's the only one who's been playing for 140 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:01,680 the last hour and a half. But that physical aspect also 141 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:05,800 made it more dramatic in both of the matches. 142 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:10,240 And that's something that I think Australia is always one of 143 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,880 the most likely slams to bring that because of the elements 144 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:17,120 coming into play and because of the the extreme heat. 145 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:20,400 I'm not saying I want these players to be tortured for my 146 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:25,760 own enjoyment, but I do think it adds another interesting wrinkle 147 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,520 into the match up. And, you know, potentially that 148 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:34,040 is a major factor, particularly if you're facing Yannick Sinner. 149 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,920 You know he is not someone who deals with difficult conditions 150 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:40,640 well. Which we saw earlier on in the 151 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:42,160 tournament. Exactly. 152 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:46,480 And if you're going up against, you know, tennis perfection and 153 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:50,000 that's actually something that you can wake up and you can 154 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:54,440 check the weather and be like, OK, this is it might kill me 35° 155 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:57,360 or whatever, but it's definitely going to be something that he's 156 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:02,240 going to hate as well. How can I take advantage of that 157 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:06,640 to use it as like a weapon for myself? 158 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:11,960 So that physical dimension I think also really added to the 159 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:16,160 semi finals drama. Andrea and Tamara, what are your 160 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:20,520 takes on medical timeouts for crap? 161 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:25,440 So I'm biased obviously, but apparently he threw up twice, 162 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:27,040 right? And so if they're worried about 163 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,680 a heat stroke, then he is allowed to take a medical 164 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:31,200 timeout. You mean Sinner? 165 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:32,920 No, sorry, I'm talking about Carlos in. 166 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,120 The semi final, Yeah, sorry. OK, yeah, for cramping. 167 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:37,120 OK, I didn't realize. Oh, it was. 168 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:41,080 It was post Puke Alcoraz, to quote our favorite tennis 169 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:43,640 podcast because we already give you credit where credit is due. 170 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:46,520 Yes. So obviously you're not allowed 171 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,440 to take a medical timeout for cramps, right? 172 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:53,480 And you know, he says he didn't know if they were, if, you know, 173 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:54,920 if what he had was a cramp or not. 174 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:56,600 Whether that's true, I don't know. 175 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:00,880 But Carlos doesn't really like deploy gamesmanship in matches. 176 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,480 That's not his thing. I don't think so. 177 00:11:03,560 --> 00:11:05,280 I believe him like freak. Out. 178 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:07,960 Freaked out. He was shouting at in German, 179 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:11,880 hard, like the tournament referee or whoever that was. 180 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:15,840 I was like, jeez, relax. Like there there's the argument 181 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,840 that they favour Alkaraz and Sinner. 182 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:21,440 I don't know if you guys have thoughts on that. 183 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:27,360 I think that when someone is a sort of charismatic and likeable 184 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,880 a player on and off the court as Alcaraz, he is someone who is 185 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:35,880 less likely to chew out a referee or, you know, not fess 186 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:38,440 up to a double bounce. He he's a good sport. 187 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:43,200 That being said, I think the cramp occupies a really grey 188 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:47,440 area. Cramp has a as a symptom of a 189 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:52,240 heat illness is treated at the discretion of the physio. 190 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:56,560 So that is above board and if you've been yakking into your 191 00:11:56,560 --> 00:12:01,080 towel then that's a incredible like example of someone who is 192 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:08,160 suffering from dehydration. But I think there was some 193 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:14,600 question over he wanted the specific massage on the thigh 194 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:18,520 and he said in his press conference after I didn't know 195 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:23,400 if it was maybe a more severe injury in that particular area. 196 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:24,680 Right. I was like, oh, that's it. 197 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:28,480 He has a tear in his like hamstring or something, or his 198 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,800 quad. But then clearly it wasn't that. 199 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:32,240 I do think he thought it was that. 200 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,680 I don't want to turn him into more devious character than he 201 00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:39,520 might be, but I don't want to assume that he was being totally 202 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:44,800 above board because I think players generally will look to 203 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:49,080 see what they can get. I'm 90% sure it's cramp, but if 204 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:52,960 I get this particular massage and you know, it actually is a 205 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:56,120 worse injury and I'm being checked out and they can sign 206 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:58,800 off on it, then fine. If I can get away with it, I 207 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:03,040 will. I think he was quite angry 208 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:06,280 during the final about what was happening with the closing of 209 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:09,280 the roof, which felt like a bit of a halfway house for me 210 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:12,520 because the roof was open about a, you know, centimetre. 211 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:16,840 And it's like, are you in or are you out on this roof debacle and 212 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:23,240 maybe pushing there and being like an injustice has happened 213 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:24,840 against me. It needs to be clarified. 214 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,600 This isn't very good. Maybe that gets the blood 215 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:32,880 pumping in a way, maybe thinking I've got away with a little bit 216 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:36,560 of a massage here where it's not strictly speaking what I'm 217 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:38,880 supposed to be doing. All of those things are things 218 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:42,360 that players are going to try and aim for, rather than being 219 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:46,440 like I'm going to exactly follow the rules and maybe my opponent 220 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,000 isn't doing the same. I also just always have to crack 221 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:54,720 up at the massage situation. I know like it's very. 222 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,080 In there, it's like voyeuristic. I feel like I'm watching 223 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,560 something I shouldn't be watching and it's happening. 224 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:05,760 I'm like, look away. So that story did really well 225 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:10,840 for us on the website. That kind of oh, massage 226 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:13,760 cheating storm kind of way of of selling it did really well. 227 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:17,320 So it went as the the kind of biggest story on the site. 228 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,840 And when that happens, you get a little text kind of beneath it, 229 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,280 classic Daily Mail, sort of shouty capitals, usually some 230 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:25,960 kind of pun. And I loved the one my editor 231 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,880 put on it, which was, don't shoot the massager, like the 232 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,600 massager. And I was like, that is with a 233 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:36,840 picture of, like, Zverev screaming here and then the leg 234 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,000 being worked on there. And I was like, this is poetry. 235 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:42,520 This is news poetry. Yeah. 236 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:44,360 I mean, they always deliver. OK. 237 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:50,040 So just like back to Novak, do we think he's going to win 25 238 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:52,760 and what would it actually take now? 239 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:59,640 I feel like that was a pretty good chance and those kinds of 240 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:04,040 chances do not come around all the time. 241 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:11,000 I didn't necessarily think he was going to win 25 before and 242 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,040 then after. I also don't think he's going to 243 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:15,400 win it, but for a for a different reason. 244 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:19,400 I was on Sunday, I was like he could and that felt good to 245 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,760 feel. But I think that it's hard for 246 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:27,280 him because he is so clearly head and shoulders above 247 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:32,040 basically everyone else out there except for Alcaraz and 248 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,880 Sinner. In terms of his body, his 249 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:40,800 lifestyle, what he wants to do at 38 versus what a 24 year old 250 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,800 wants to do. He doesn't want to play loads of 251 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:47,920 tournaments. He will, I'm sure, consistently 252 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,280 turn up to Grand slams, the occasional Masters. 253 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:56,680 But I know he's such an outlier and, you know, with barely any 254 00:15:56,680 --> 00:16:00,320 time on court compared to his opponents over the past two 255 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:04,680 weeks, he still managed to play incredible, you know, super 256 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:07,360 competitive tennis in the final was. 257 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:10,240 I was like, shocked. I was like, that's it, he's got 258 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,440 it, but he clearly can't sustain the level anymore, which. 259 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:17,000 Yeah, and I think it's going to be really hard turning up 260 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:22,400 because he didn't play warm up tournaments for the Australian 261 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:26,160 Open. And normally he does it's, it's 262 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:31,640 unusual to go straight in, you know, really, really cold with 263 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,840 very few warm up tournaments. So how many times can you do 264 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:38,760 that and reach the final? He's still going to want to play 265 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,360 the big tournaments. It's going to become harder and 266 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:46,280 harder to get through the 1st and second weeks of those 267 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:50,680 tournaments if you're not regularly playing, even if you 268 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:56,600 are the great Novak Djokovic. So it does put him in an awkward 269 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:01,080 position where he's going to want to keep pushing for that 270 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:06,640 elusive 25, but it becomes harder. 271 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:10,400 It just becomes harder for him every week, I think. 272 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,240 Yeah, I, I agree. I also, I, I do think that he 273 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:18,720 believed that he could do it this time and that it was the 274 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:21,359 opportunity. I mean, we've gotten some hate 275 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:25,640 for our stance on Djokovic on this podcast already, like from 276 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,200 week 1. But anyways, and we've also said 277 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,000 like, there's no doubt, like statistically he is the GOAT, 278 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:34,640 like whether you like it or not. And all respect to him. 279 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,440 And I loved his speech. I mean, he also said he had a 280 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:38,920 winning speech and a losing speech. 281 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,040 And he was like, let me just get the losing speech out. 282 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,160 So he clearly like, I mean, you obviously always go in thinking 283 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,320 you can do it and winning. But I, I do think that he 284 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:50,160 thought he could like, really bring this one home. 285 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:54,360 I was surprised he wasn't more upset when he lost. 286 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:58,200 I guess because I'm so used to seeing players be super, super 287 00:17:58,200 --> 00:17:59,560 emotional. In my mind, I'm like, OK, this 288 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:03,000 is one of his last chances to win a Grand Slam. 289 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,280 He didn't seem that defeated. Or maybe it's because he doesn't 290 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:08,520 think of this as, you know, one of his last opportunities. 291 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:11,520 He probably now, because he beat Sinner in the semi finals, 292 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:14,440 thinks he can he can win. I don't I think that was his 293 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:16,240 first time beating Sinner in five sets. 294 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:20,080 I think so best of five. But yeah, I was like I was I was 295 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:22,400 shocked that he wasn't more upset. 296 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:25,760 But I guess I think that shows that he probably does believe, 297 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:27,480 you know, he can win another one. 298 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,200 He can win the 25th this year, I'm sure. 299 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:33,560 OK, so we make a call. Is he winning it or is he not? 300 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:38,640 My call is not, but with a bit of sadness attached to it. 301 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:41,560 Yeah, I do feel bad. It must be tough because like to 302 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,840 give up on that mission if that's what it comes to for him 303 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:48,080 it it's hard, but I also think not. 304 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:50,800 Yeah. I don't think he's given up. 305 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:53,240 No, but I don't think he's. Going to do it that. 306 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:54,800 Way, I think. I think Wimbledon. 307 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:57,640 Wimbledon is probably his best chance of doing it for sure. 308 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:06,400 OK, Should we talk about Carlos? Because ultimately he is the 309 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:09,880 winner here and we love Carlos, all three of us too. 310 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:14,360 He completed the career slam, which is really impressive and 311 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:17,840 he was the is now the youngest person to ever do it and he did 312 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:23,640 it with Rafa in the crowd. Who was the person who was 313 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:27,000 holding that record? It's completely amazing and I 314 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:32,080 was doing some very basic maths which I don't think is 315 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,640 necessarily the way to track Grand Slams. 316 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:40,160 But at this sort of current trajectory, in terms of the time 317 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:45,560 that he's actually spent playing top level tennis, he matches 24 318 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:49,760 Grand Slams. By the time he's like 33, if he 319 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:56,120 stays fit and firing and who knows how long a career if we 320 00:19:56,120 --> 00:20:00,560 are seeing with Djokovic, could this 38 year old grizzled 321 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:07,560 veteran when #25 in 10 years, I think we're going to be talking 322 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:09,880 about careers lasting even longer. 323 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:14,480 And there are going to be more top players and even players in 324 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:18,200 the Top 40 who is still in the mix a little bit older just 325 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:21,000 because of how athletes are treating their bodies. 326 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:25,720 So this is someone who could really shatter all records. 327 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:29,360 And I think what? Is crazy about that youngest 328 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:35,880 career slam when is he's so much younger than Nadal and Nadal was 329 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:41,640 freakishly young when he won it. And for someone to have chopped 330 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:45,520 it even further, you just think how long is he going to have 331 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:49,520 that record? It's an insane record to have 332 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,200 made. I I think personally what it 333 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:58,520 comes down to, and I think this is applicable to any career, but 334 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:02,680 if you really, really love what you do, it doesn't feel like 335 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:04,800 work. And like, I feel like he's just 336 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:07,120 like the embodiment of that. He looks like he's just having 337 00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:10,240 fun all the time. Like he can laugh off a missed 338 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:13,240 shot, a missed opportunity. And he doesn't like take 339 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:16,840 everything so seriously. And like, to me, I think that's 340 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:18,520 what it is. You have to like live, breathe 341 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:19,960 and just really love what you do. 342 00:21:20,360 --> 00:21:23,080 Sort of like Roger as well. He never really looked like too 343 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,760 fatigued after all, like sweaty. I don't know. 344 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,520 I, I think there's definitely a part of that to it. 345 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:32,360 I mean, he obviously also has a crazy amount of talent and then 346 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:36,080 also dedication. But that's sort of what I think 347 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:37,920 it kind of comes down to. I don't know. 348 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:44,640 I think if anyone in any field has that kind of ability to keep 349 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:51,680 those energy levels and project even the illusion of enjoyment 350 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:56,760 and passion and be able to, you know, smile their way through 351 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:03,120 things, they are going to be able to draw upon that in more 352 00:22:03,120 --> 00:22:11,200 challenging times. His five set record is 15151. 353 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:16,480 And it's and it's Mateo. It's Mateo, Yes, yes, the. 354 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:19,440 Hammer will return in 20. 26 the hammer. 355 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,800 Let's go with the clap. Come on, Matteo. 356 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:28,920 And so that I think is part of the reason there are a lot of 357 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:35,440 reasons why he's been able to absolutely make a long 5 setter 358 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:39,280 and something another thing that Cinna has not yet added to his 359 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:40,960 game. It's really these like 360 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:46,560 incredibly long drag out contest he is challenged by. 361 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:52,200 But if you are down and out back end of the fourth set really 362 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:59,760 struggling and you are able to still feel genuine enjoyment in 363 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:04,520 your shot making and you can draw upon the crowd and you can 364 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:07,920 smile your way through it. That has got to be helpful at 365 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:10,400 digging you out and getting you over the finish line. 366 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:14,360 So in terms of things that are good for tennis, he is really 367 00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:18,840 good for tennis in a way that I think other players who would be 368 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:23,960 as consistent as him might be. But I don't think anyone is 369 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:32,040 upset to see him at another Grand Slam because he plays such 370 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:38,760 an inventive and varied game that is just super interesting 371 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,320 to watch. The absolute bag of tricks and 372 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:45,440 the drop shot and the forehand's incredible and the serving gets 373 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,560 better and better. And you think this is someone 374 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:52,720 who's so watchable? It's not just about results, 375 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:57,680 It's really charismatic, Dennis. So do we think that Carlos is 376 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,760 going to surpass Tchaikovich 25 slams? 377 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:06,040 For sure. I think barring like a major 378 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:12,840 injury, because Djokovic has had a comparatively injury free 379 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:19,040 career compared to top level athletes in any sport and 380 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:24,360 obviously that would be super disruptive, but I don't know. 381 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:28,680 I'm also I'm so bad when it comes to recency bias. 382 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:31,520 I might. He's never going to lose again. 383 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:35,320 I think we all are because he's just like what do you like Pull 384 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:39,840 has pulled off in like the last 2 1/2 years is crazy. 385 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:44,640 But as you say, I think barring any injury, any major. 386 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:46,840 He's there. He's there, but I think he can 387 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,880 get to 30. I Yeah. 388 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:53,080 I'm sorry I say really crazy shit, but like I. 389 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:54,640 We're we're jinxing him right now. 390 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:56,600 We need to. Knock on away manifesting for 391 00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:01,520 him it's all like very positive. How many does Serena have? 392 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:04,600 Serena has 20. How many does Margaret Court? 393 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:06,480 I mean, 24. Count her 24. 394 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:07,600 OK. Oh, wow. 395 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:08,280 OK. Yeah, they're. 396 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:11,240 All on 24. I need to look into the 397 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:15,520 specifics of this, but my, I was talking to my boyfriend, he was 398 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:19,360 like, I think 24 and one set puts him ahead of Margaret 399 00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:21,720 Court. And I was like, I'm not sure how 400 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:25,120 that really works. But I think Djokovic would be 401 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:29,520 thrilled to know that you have officially named him the GOAT 402 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:34,600 for that one set that. He PSA, Novak, PSA. 403 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:38,760 I'm dead. That is very good point. 404 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,520 And yeah, going back to Carlos, do we think he's going to 405 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:44,080 complete the Calendar Slam this year? 406 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:48,760 Calendar Slam is winning all four slams in one year, just for 407 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:53,440 those who don't know. I think it's really hard to 408 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:59,760 imagine and I don't doubt that. And defeat to Djokovic will have 409 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:02,680 given Sina serious food for thought and. 410 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,600 That's probably Sina's out here scheming like. 411 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:11,600 He's going to be taking that out on opponents from Dubai to Miami 412 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:15,040 to Rome. Is there going to be just shells 413 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:19,560 of players left crying on the courts as he works through being 414 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:21,840 beaten by a 98? Year old in his press 415 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:23,960 conference. I was like damn. 416 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:26,120 I mean, that was a big loss for him, yeah. 417 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:28,240 And I get it. Very big. 418 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:29,720 Loss. So do we think they're going to 419 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,360 split the Slams again? Well, maybe Djokovic wins 420 00:26:32,360 --> 00:26:33,560 Wimbledon. I don't know. 421 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:38,160 I think they are going to split the Slams again unless Djokovic 422 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:44,880 wins Wimbledon, just because everyone else does look so far 423 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:47,320 away from being able to. The gap is. 424 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:52,560 Crazy. The gap is sort of making me sad 425 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:59,440 when I compare it to the top 10 on the women's side. 426 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:03,240 And I think it will be good in the long run that we have had 427 00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:07,240 just one break from a final between Alcaraz and Sinner. 428 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:11,240 You'll just wanted a bit more. And This is why we're all crying 429 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:14,600 out for the third man. Who is he going to be? 430 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,360 It's the old third man has come back. 431 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:21,400 He's the he's tennis's perennial third man. 432 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:24,440 Is he going to be the third man in 10 years like he joked about? 433 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:31,120 But we do need a a proper third man to consistently take, you 434 00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:36,960 know, one of them out so that we can have some kind of challenge. 435 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:43,840 And I think that without that the the ominous dud slam that we 436 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,560 experienced before the semi finals is going to be a more 437 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:51,000 regular thing because we are just going to be like when is it 438 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:53,080 time for Sinner and Akaras to play again? 439 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:54,880 Which? Like Andrea said, is not 440 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:58,040 necessarily good for the sport. Like it's a bit of variation. 441 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,040 No, we need more intrigue. Even when the big, you know, big 442 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:05,040 three were around, at least you know Vavrinka could beat them at 443 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:06,360 any point. I feel like there was way more 444 00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:09,480 competition for sure, despite all of them for the most part 445 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:12,240 dominating Chilich. When a slam, you know it's this 446 00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:14,960 level of domination is a bit boring. 447 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:17,600 Yeah, we're going to need everyone to step it up, please. 448 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:20,240 Rest of the field, Yeah, Here, us. 449 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:25,200 Maddie, this is who we're appealing to you directly, 450 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,560 please. I wrote something just before 451 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:33,800 the Australian Open being like, if we can't have a true like 452 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:37,640 challenger, can we have some sort of like holy fool pretender 453 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:43,960 who can just come and disrupt and give us something fun and 454 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:47,040 unexpected? And obviously I was like, that 455 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:51,240 needs to be Danielle and Bublik. They are the Oh my. 456 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:55,000 God, we love them. And I think both of them 457 00:28:55,960 --> 00:29:00,840 obviously back end of the year and that's where Bublik has 458 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,000 built up a load of points at Wimbledon. 459 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:09,360 He has nothing to defend. There are still chances for him 460 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:14,880 to sort of go in and and disrupt, I feel, and I would 461 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:21,160 love for him and Medvedev to just be sprinkling discontent 462 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:26,120 amongst the top ten players because even though they are 463 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:30,560 both very talented, they're both in different ways surprise 464 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,520 packages. And I think Medvedev's 2025 was 465 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:36,360 very rough. I think he does deserve a little 466 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,840 bit of a comeback in 2020. 6 And he's just so entertaining. 467 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,120 You need like the clown sort of troll energy. 468 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:50,040 I briefly lost it with him after the US Open because I was like, 469 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:51,720 too far. You've taken it too far. 470 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:56,120 You've terrorized A Frenchman. All he did was be better than 471 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:58,080 you. You've terrorized an umpire. 472 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,760 You know, you've used Riley and Palka as a useful source. 473 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,080 I don't think that's helping. That's not good for tennis. 474 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:09,120 But since then I had a little pause and I I am unfortunately 475 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:13,000 back on the Med of a dev. Yeah, I mean, he is just too 476 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,680 humor, honestly. It's so good. 477 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:23,080 Should we discuss the women's final and just the result there 478 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:27,160 and that whole story? Because there's a lot there 479 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,080 which I don't know. We don't want to get too deep on 480 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:35,840 it because it's quite heavy and this is meant to be fun, but 481 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,800 also it's very, very important. Also, Congrats, first of all, to 482 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:42,280 Elena Rabackina. She is. 483 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:50,040 So talented and I think it was a bit of a an aberration that she 484 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:53,720 hadn't won a Slam since she won Wimbledon. 485 00:30:54,840 --> 00:31:00,280 But it's something that I want to think a bit more about and 486 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:05,560 maybe write about is both of her experiences winning a Grand Slam 487 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:09,680 have kind of she's been victim to like off court stuff as well. 488 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:14,320 So for 2022, that was all of the Russian stuff and the 489 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:16,200 Belarusians and Russians not playing. 490 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:20,680 And was she going to be used as a political pawn as if someone 491 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,440 can control if they're used as a political pawn, they are 492 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:25,640 literally a pawn in that scenario. 493 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:34,360 And then with this win, it was a year on from her coach being 494 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:39,000 banned from the sport. It was the similar time of the 495 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:44,360 year and the Australian Open offers a prize for coaches. 496 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:49,120 So whereas he had been ostracized last year, this year 497 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:54,520 he is literally being applauded by the stadium and collecting a 498 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:56,560 plate. And that's just like almost a 499 00:31:56,560 --> 00:32:03,760 comedic contrast between where he is in, I guess, kind of 500 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:08,760 public consciousness. It's a challenging thing for the 501 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:15,000 sport and fans to kind of grapple with because Rebecca has 502 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:20,680 made it really clear that she is a really unhappy with the WTA 503 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:27,120 investigation into claims that he was displaying abusive 504 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:30,520 behaviour towards her. And she's been really, really 505 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:32,880 angry about that. You know, she won the WTA 506 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:38,720 Finals, but there was a photo op and she shunned the possibility 507 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:42,640 of posing with the CEO. And, you know, it's not a happy 508 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:46,200 relationship that she has with her own tour at the moment. 509 00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:53,200 And that is a bit of a challenge for the sport and for the fans 510 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:57,080 as well, because you you want to believe her that she's happy and 511 00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:00,600 she's certainly playing, you know, the best tennis of her 512 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,160 career if she's won another Grand Slam. 513 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:08,160 But, you know, they were very serious allegations from a lot 514 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:11,080 of different sources. And you kind of think, well, 515 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:14,200 that's really hard to imagine too. 516 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:19,800 I feel like last time I was on the podcast, we talked about the 517 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:25,960 fan account that people think is her coach, Stefano Bukov, just 518 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:28,800 pretending to be a fan since her win. 519 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:32,120 Obviously there is a lot of congratulatory content geared 520 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:34,960 towards her, but there's a lot of like, can't believe people 521 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:37,840 said Bukov was a bad coach. And I'm like, it is very 522 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:41,480 interesting. He's so invested in a coach. 523 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:48,360 It's very rare that coaches do have such vocal fans, but not 524 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:50,760 just because I'm not a I'm not a master tactician. 525 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:54,760 So maybe This is why it doesn't spring to mind for me to lay all 526 00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:56,480 of the praise at the feet of the coach. 527 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:58,280 But a? 100%. 528 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:01,120 Yeah, No, I think you're right to be a little suspicious of 529 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:03,320 that. Be like in tennis, the coaches 530 00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:06,800 are not not a big thing at all, no. 531 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:09,159 It was a great final, I thought it was. 532 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:12,239 And she was, she was a. Genius with how she kind of 533 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:13,760 worked out. She was. 534 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:17,600 How she was going to play. I think also just like her 535 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:20,880 celebration or non. Yeah, her non celebration is 536 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:23,800 wild to me, but she's always been that way. 537 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:27,000 She has, Yeah, I don't think so. It's not just this tournament. 538 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,080 It's also an interesting contrast to Sabalenka because if 539 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:34,199 Sabalenka had won, it would have been the classic, you know, 540 00:34:34,199 --> 00:34:37,880 dramatic moment, which I mean, we're here for Sabalenka. 541 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:40,760 We like her, but like I did, she cracks me up as well. 542 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:43,880 Like, I mean, obviously it was really sad for her not to win, 543 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:46,800 but I do think Rebecca, obviously she totally like what 544 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:49,360 you said, like so impressive that she went and just took it 545 00:34:49,639 --> 00:34:53,440 after like losing the second set and then just like locking in in 546 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:56,360 the third. But Sabalenka at the end, like, 547 00:34:56,360 --> 00:35:00,320 you know, they they had like the non celebration of Rebecca and 548 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:03,160 then they like cut to Sabalenka just like under her towel and I 549 00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:06,480 just it cracked me up. But like sad for her, but it it 550 00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:08,320 just cracked me up. She just looked like a ghost and 551 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:11,440 I was just like and like clearly like she just obviously players 552 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:13,080 do that a lot. They hide behind their towels, 553 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:15,320 but it's just the way the contrast I was. 554 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:18,160 Just like the contrast. Opposite players, opposite 555 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:21,200 personalities, Very, very different. 556 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:26,800 But then she cried in her press conference, so she does show 557 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:29,080 some emotion. Yeah, I think she's just doing a 558 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:31,120 big introvert. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 559 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:32,600 And it's. Probably, you know, it takes a 560 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:35,160 while for the emotions to come out, but. 561 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:37,960 Totally. And I think if you're capable of 562 00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:41,240 doing that on court and using it as like a real position of 563 00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:43,960 strength to be like, I'm going to keep cool, I'm going to be 564 00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:45,520 composed. You're right. 565 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:48,040 It must take actually quite a long time if you're doing it as 566 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:52,480 such a big moment in such an intense way for that to kind of 567 00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:56,200 break down and the kind of shoulders to slump even a little 568 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:59,360 bit. I cannot imagine being able to 569 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:05,000 be so level and just like. Yeah, crazy. 570 00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:08,440 OK, so another storyline that sort of came to light over the 571 00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:12,760 weekend was that Craig Tiley, tournament director of the 572 00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:16,240 Australian Open, who he is rumoured to be leaving the 573 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:19,040 Australian Open and maybe be going to USTA. 574 00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:22,240 So maybe it was just a bit of a like mic drop moment. 575 00:36:22,240 --> 00:36:27,320 Like he floated a few ideas for the future of the tournament 576 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:31,280 rather over the weekend and like 5 sets for women from 577 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:34,640 quarterfinals stage onwards was one of them. 578 00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:38,280 What are you guys as thoughts on five sets for women? 579 00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:48,240 OK, silence, silence, silence. OK, maybe that is the answer and 580 00:36:48,240 --> 00:36:49,320 we don't even need to talk about it. 581 00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:53,640 I do. I do love that he has left that 582 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:58,040 for Yeah, he's like, yeah, he's. Just like, bye, I'm going to 583 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:00,280 drop a bomb and you guys deal with it. 584 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:04,200 And it's like that is a very worthwhile idea to explore, but 585 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:06,800 the headache that is going through the player consultations 586 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:08,760 for that one, someone else can handle that. 587 00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:11,160 That's that's absolutely fine by him. 588 00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:15,440 I think if it's going to happen, and I wouldn't be against it 589 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:21,000 happening in later stages, but I think it becomes much more 590 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:26,520 valuable if that is the position and format taken up by all of 591 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:28,560 the Grand Slams. No, it has to be. 592 00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:32,480 Denigration maybe if the other slams. 593 00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:35,880 Something I was thinking about the other day was, you know, the 594 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:40,880 kind of transformation of the US Open mixed double S into much 595 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:44,560 more of a kind of, you know, star-studded match up, but maybe 596 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:48,400 slightly less prestigious, whatever that means for, you 597 00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:52,200 know, mixed double S Journeyman, if they exist at Grand Slams. 598 00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:56,440 And I was thinking even less of the Australian Open mixed double 599 00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:59,880 s than I did before because I'm thinking about the US Open and 600 00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:03,600 how it's kind of a bit, it's, you know, borderline exhibition. 601 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:07,040 And I think this is what happens if they're all kind of schisms 602 00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:11,240 in how like Grand Slam, you know, main events rather than 603 00:38:11,240 --> 00:38:14,040 like fan events or exhibitions before operate. 604 00:38:14,480 --> 00:38:18,760 You're going to start thinking, OK, well, maybe this part 605 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:22,760 doesn't matter as much, or like what makes this a real Grand 606 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:27,080 Slam title because I work way harder for what I want in 607 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:31,880 Australia than what I'm doing in in France. 608 00:38:32,080 --> 00:38:34,080 I agree. I think it would have to be like 609 00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:36,840 a clean sweep across the board if they're all like they will 610 00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:39,280 have to do it or none of them do it because otherwise it. 611 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:41,560 Yeah, like exactly what you just said. 612 00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:43,000 Yeah. Andre, what do you think? 613 00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:46,480 I, you know, obviously I'm not a player, a professional player by 614 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:50,200 any means, but I do think it would be kind of weird to play 615 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:53,080 best of three up until the quarterfinals. 616 00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:57,520 I think momentum is everything. And yeah, I, I can imagine it 617 00:38:57,520 --> 00:39:01,720 being a little bit jarring, like preparation would be different 618 00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:04,000 suddenly, you know? Yeah, it's, it's a, it's a 619 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:06,760 different, it's a very different game to be playing best of five 620 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:09,000 versus best of three. So I don't know. 621 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:11,880 I'd be interested to hear what players think about that. 622 00:39:12,240 --> 00:39:17,440 I don't know why I was when after she went out so early last 623 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:21,160 year at Wimbledon, I was in a the press conference for Jessica 624 00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:24,000 Pegula and someone asked her about 5 sets for women. 625 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:28,160 She was so funny about it. She was like, I think the men 626 00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:30,800 should play three sets. I don't know what you're talking 627 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:32,840 about. You know, they have too much 628 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:36,400 time over 5 sets. They can mess around. 629 00:39:36,640 --> 00:39:40,520 There's far less jeopardy. Three sets is far more exciting 630 00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:42,880 because you have to get it done quicker. 631 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:46,440 You don't have this time. And I feel like the reputation 632 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:49,520 of Alcaraz, you know, having his five set record and being able 633 00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:52,600 to just kind of think about whatever, where am I going for 634 00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:57,320 dinner in sets two and four and not having to deliver the hammer 635 00:39:57,320 --> 00:40:00,840 blow. Is she she she made a very kind 636 00:40:00,840 --> 00:40:06,840 of 21st century tech comment where she was like, we want to 637 00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:09,560 try and get people into tennis. It's too long and too boring. 638 00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:11,080 I don't really watch 5 set tennis. 639 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:15,200 And I was like, that's crazy. I think it's absolutely insane 640 00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:18,280 as well. Like I love watching 5 setters. 641 00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:23,960 A good a good five setter is incredible. 642 00:40:24,720 --> 00:40:27,200 But the general public thinks it's too long. 643 00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:29,400 But I don't know. Do you have to just be like a 644 00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:31,400 die hard tennis fan to enjoy five sets? 645 00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:36,760 Like like, I don't know. I think the men's semifinals 646 00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:43,560 day, Alcora Sinner, Roan Garros, these are incredible because 647 00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:47,160 they and they are not your average 5 setters. 648 00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:51,400 Just the possibility that they can exist is maybe worth sitting 649 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:56,040 through five sets of Medford dev against Benjamin Bonzi, which 650 00:40:56,040 --> 00:41:00,320 I'm sure you know, save for 6 minutes screaming at the umpire 651 00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:03,960 is probably not the most scintillating clash of all time. 652 00:41:04,320 --> 00:41:07,640 But I think there would be a lot of people who are like, I don't 653 00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:11,400 think it is worth it waiting around for maybe 3 or 4 * a 654 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:15,840 year, an epic match when actually it's prolonging two 655 00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:19,480 players who maybe should have just got it done a little 656 00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:26,400 earlier. The Hilo. 657 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:31,240 I love a good WAG story. Did you see the story of Morgan 658 00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:34,440 Riddle, Taylor Fritz's girlfriend, out earning him in 659 00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:37,480 the Australian Open? She's an influencer. 660 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:40,040 It's just, yeah, it's wild. It's wild. 661 00:41:40,840 --> 00:41:46,240 I thought that was so fascinating because I've always 662 00:41:46,240 --> 00:41:54,080 been like, oh, it could really fuck up their money flow, like 663 00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:56,520 the Wags money flow because they've planned, you know, 664 00:41:56,520 --> 00:42:00,120 content for a tournament or maybe they want to do 2 weekly 665 00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:02,880 vlogs of a Grand Slam rather than one. 666 00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:06,520 Or maybe they have content opportunities later on in the 667 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:09,360 week. And it's so dependent on, you 668 00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,000 know, how their partner progresses in the draw. 669 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:14,120 So I always thought that was a little unfair. 670 00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:16,960 You know, Taylor, why aren't you thinking of content when you're 671 00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:18,880 flopping in the third round or whatever? 672 00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:24,160 But I think that clearly what it does with that added precarity 673 00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:29,640 is Wags then have the ability to kind of front load their content 674 00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:34,960 and be like, I know I'm going to Wimbledon, so I'm going to book, 675 00:42:34,960 --> 00:42:38,880 you know, these brand deals that I can shoot before the 676 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:42,520 tournament even starts or I can attend these events or whatever. 677 00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:46,560 So they can really hedge their bets rather than relying on the 678 00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:51,080 tournament to help them kind of extend the content that that 679 00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:54,640 they can get. But I think that generally the 680 00:42:54,640 --> 00:42:59,960 precarity in how much you can make from a tennis tournament is 681 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:03,240 super interesting. Obviously for a top player like 682 00:43:03,240 --> 00:43:07,240 Fritz, nobody is like, oh Boo Hoo, you missed out on an extra 683 00:43:07,480 --> 00:43:12,120 100 grand by going out around earlier than you thought you 684 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:14,800 would. But something that made me think 685 00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:19,400 about this recently was during the one point Slam, when the 686 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:24,720 final was for that $1,000,000 check, was between the ordinary 687 00:43:25,080 --> 00:43:29,880 guy who had played a bit of college tennis who won it, and a 688 00:43:29,880 --> 00:43:33,440 player just outside of the top 100 called Joanna Garland. 689 00:43:33,440 --> 00:43:37,080 And she was like, this money is going to be life changing in 690 00:43:37,080 --> 00:43:39,920 terms of what I can do on tour in a year. 691 00:43:39,920 --> 00:43:44,120 And it's like, yeah, I think for a lot of the players who are 692 00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:49,040 maybe in, I don't know, outside of the top 70 who are still 693 00:43:49,680 --> 00:43:52,840 going to slams, but maybe going out in the first rounds or so, 694 00:43:53,040 --> 00:43:56,240 you're grateful for the check. But it's kind of you're like, 695 00:43:56,240 --> 00:43:59,360 OK, I've got to go somewhere else quickly because this really 696 00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:03,080 makes a huge difference in my season that I haven't made the 697 00:44:03,080 --> 00:44:06,480 second round. Yeah, it's, it's a very tough 698 00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:10,280 sport if you're in the top 70, which is, you know, still an 699 00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:15,560 amazing ranking to have, but it's just financially, right, 700 00:44:15,560 --> 00:44:17,000 It's not really that sustainable. 701 00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:20,240 It's super tough and you can see you can see why some of them are 702 00:44:20,240 --> 00:44:23,800 like wanting to emulate Morgan Riddle, like they're wanting to 703 00:44:23,800 --> 00:44:29,360 have a really great social media profile and expand their revenue 704 00:44:29,360 --> 00:44:33,800 streams from beyond just kit sponsors and for sure make it a 705 00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:35,800 tennis tournament. They're going to be, you know, I 706 00:44:35,800 --> 00:44:37,800 saw that Zizu Bugs is now big on. 707 00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:40,880 Tick tock is like always on my front page. 708 00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:45,360 I'm like Zizu like he's he posts like 3 * a day. 709 00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:49,200 I feel like I don't know. But honestly like people shit on 710 00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:51,560 Morgan. I like respect. 711 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:55,360 I respect her so much. Like I'm a very big fan and when 712 00:44:55,360 --> 00:44:59,840 you look at what she has to do or has to OK, has to do is maybe 713 00:44:59,840 --> 00:45:03,040 a bit far. But the way she sets up going to 714 00:45:03,040 --> 00:45:06,800 Wimbledon or you know, I she loves the Australian Open. 715 00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:12,200 So going to the Australian Open and there are just tie insurance 716 00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:17,000 and events and you know, these sponsored posts and whatever and 717 00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:20,840 you're like, this is really big. And Wimbledon for a couple of 718 00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:26,320 years doing the Wimbledon threads little fashion show that 719 00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:31,360 she did the year before last when she was still doing 720 00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:35,760 Wimbledon threads. She really outlasted Taylor in 721 00:45:35,760 --> 00:45:38,160 her time. No, she did she in the complex. 722 00:45:38,240 --> 00:45:40,880 She Yeah, because when she partners with the tournament, 723 00:45:41,280 --> 00:45:44,400 like, they keep her there the whole time, which is crazy, 724 00:45:44,680 --> 00:45:46,240 honestly. But like, you know, I was 725 00:45:46,240 --> 00:45:49,520 thinking like, oh, would you want to shape your career around 726 00:45:49,520 --> 00:45:53,520 your partner? To me, like that was always a 727 00:45:53,520 --> 00:45:58,800 bit of a maybe not because it can end badly, but you know 728 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:01,560 what, credit to her. Like she's just done it. 729 00:46:01,560 --> 00:46:05,000 She's like done it for herself. All the people in the past may 730 00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:13,560 have missed a trick. But no, I mean, honestly, like 731 00:46:13,560 --> 00:46:15,760 she's done so well. And what what I will say, like 732 00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:18,800 her main mission and she says this is to bring more visibility 733 00:46:18,960 --> 00:46:22,000 to tennis because especially in the US, like we've discussed 734 00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:27,000 before, it's like not really one of the top sports unless it's 735 00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:29,840 like the US Open, people don't really talk about tennis that 736 00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:32,200 much. And I do think that she's like 737 00:46:32,200 --> 00:46:36,160 brought more especially like younger audiences and female 738 00:46:36,160 --> 00:46:39,960 audiences to the sport, which is also something that we're trying 739 00:46:39,960 --> 00:46:42,440 to do. So you know, Morgan, call us. 740 00:46:43,280 --> 00:46:46,600 And I think she's she's inspired other Wags to do the same. 741 00:46:46,680 --> 00:46:50,200 So you know it has this knock on effect which is. 100% something 742 00:46:50,200 --> 00:46:54,920 popped up on my explore page over the summer and it was this 743 00:46:54,920 --> 00:46:57,800 girl being like when your boyfriend a tennis star, 744 00:46:57,800 --> 00:47:02,280 whatever, and pictures of her in Monaco and he's like hitting 745 00:47:02,280 --> 00:47:03,520 shots. I was like, not to be 746 00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:06,400 derogatory, but which player is she talking about? 747 00:47:06,480 --> 00:47:08,080 I remember this. I remember. 748 00:47:08,080 --> 00:47:12,360 This I was like Click. I was like Valentine Vasharo, 749 00:47:12,360 --> 00:47:13,120 like. Are you? 750 00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:17,320 Like, oh, the guy who always gets into Monte Carlo Masters 751 00:47:17,320 --> 00:47:21,080 just because he's like their only homegrown player, actually 752 00:47:21,080 --> 00:47:24,440 born in Monaco, but you know, he's their homegrown player and 753 00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:29,240 then boom, he is one of my favorite players now, now. 754 00:47:29,560 --> 00:47:32,680 Yeah, the whole. Captivated by that whole story 755 00:47:32,680 --> 00:47:37,120 is just absolute catnip to me. And I was so happy to see him. 756 00:47:37,120 --> 00:47:39,600 I think he reached the third round and I was like what a 757 00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:45,040 great suitable consistent result for you at your like first main 758 00:47:45,040 --> 00:47:47,200 draw Grand Slam. So I was, I'm very proud of 759 00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:49,680 that. But I was also like, you go, 760 00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:54,120 Emily, you were hustling when your boyfriend was 210th in the 761 00:47:54,120 --> 00:47:55,960 world. I'm sure she has another job, 762 00:47:55,960 --> 00:47:58,800 something else to do. But like, why not be like, this 763 00:47:58,800 --> 00:48:00,480 is my life. This is what's going on. 764 00:48:00,680 --> 00:48:03,520 Cultivate a little brand. And then, Oh my God, suddenly 765 00:48:03,520 --> 00:48:09,400 he's in the, you know, he's in the top 25 and you would there 766 00:48:09,400 --> 00:48:13,760 in the trenches and now you are looking for a spot at the WAG 767 00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:16,560 top table. Totally, and I think own it like 768 00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:21,320 I think also a lot of the, you know, girlfriends wives feel 769 00:48:21,320 --> 00:48:24,280 like they shouldn't over shadow their partner in a way, right. 770 00:48:24,520 --> 00:48:26,600 The whole spotlight should be left for them. 771 00:48:27,200 --> 00:48:31,120 And you know what? Nah, they should be right there 772 00:48:31,120 --> 00:48:33,000 with them if they if they want to. 773 00:48:33,520 --> 00:48:37,040 It's a team effort also I think for a player, right, your 774 00:48:37,040 --> 00:48:40,120 relationship, your stability at home is really important, so 775 00:48:40,120 --> 00:48:42,480 important to your game. So, you know, they're, they're 776 00:48:42,480 --> 00:48:44,640 part of the team as well. Yeah, and they need something to 777 00:48:44,640 --> 00:48:47,120 do while they're sitting courtside clapping. 778 00:48:47,480 --> 00:48:50,200 Yeah. And just to be completely Craven 779 00:48:50,200 --> 00:48:54,760 and capitalist, but like it's also valuable to the player in 780 00:48:54,760 --> 00:48:57,120 terms of how they want to market themselves. 781 00:48:57,120 --> 00:49:00,960 Like if you create an attractive little little power couple, 782 00:49:01,400 --> 00:49:04,480 that's that's pretty interesting. 783 00:49:04,480 --> 00:49:08,360 I, I mean, I, I do really like Fritz. 784 00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:12,960 I would love to see Morgan Riddle, you know, kissing that 785 00:49:13,200 --> 00:49:16,320 Wimbledon trophy. But you know, in terms of 786 00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:21,400 watching his game, it is as consistent as his strong 787 00:49:21,400 --> 00:49:22,280 results. There is. 788 00:49:22,720 --> 00:49:25,560 I don't think there would be much putting him, you know, on 789 00:49:25,560 --> 00:49:29,440 the cover of the New York Times style section if, you know 790 00:49:29,440 --> 00:49:32,520 genius marketing morgues hadn't dragged him kicking and 791 00:49:32,520 --> 00:49:34,280 screaming into a totally different. 792 00:49:34,280 --> 00:49:39,480 Side of tennis OK, so we just have a couple more questions, 793 00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:43,960 but we just wanted to understand like on a day like Friday, which 794 00:49:43,960 --> 00:49:51,400 was insane, how do you manage like reporting and writing live 795 00:49:51,400 --> 00:49:53,360 when everything is kicking off like that? 796 00:49:53,360 --> 00:49:57,640 Like, and how do you manage like the emotional detachment of like 797 00:49:57,640 --> 00:50:02,400 being a fan, but then also like, you know, having to write your 798 00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:06,160 pieces? Yeah, there have been many times 799 00:50:06,160 --> 00:50:09,160 when I've had to sort of tuck fandom in the back pocket. 800 00:50:09,160 --> 00:50:11,480 I'm a very emotional person as well. 801 00:50:11,480 --> 00:50:15,120 So there have been one or two live blogs when I'm like weeping 802 00:50:15,120 --> 00:50:18,000 whilst typing and I'm like, you must keep going. 803 00:50:18,360 --> 00:50:23,920 But in terms of like covering the Alka where I was Vera of 804 00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:28,080 things unfolding on court is is really fun because you start 805 00:50:28,080 --> 00:50:30,560 with one thing and then for online, you can just build it 806 00:50:30,560 --> 00:50:34,280 out and add in these interesting little details where you see 807 00:50:34,560 --> 00:50:37,800 moments elsewhere. And unfortunately I was not down 808 00:50:37,800 --> 00:50:40,080 under. So I think the most important 809 00:50:40,080 --> 00:50:47,320 thing when you are doing a story like that, so for example, you 810 00:50:47,320 --> 00:50:50,000 know, you're writing about what someone was saying in German. 811 00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:54,920 And so I had first seen the argument on a little clip on 812 00:50:54,920 --> 00:50:56,520 Twitter. And you don't know if the person 813 00:50:56,520 --> 00:50:58,840 who has captioned that is just taking the piss. 814 00:50:58,840 --> 00:51:01,960 They hate Zverev and they want to make him look like he's being 815 00:51:01,960 --> 00:51:04,920 a diva when actually he was saying, you know, can I go to 816 00:51:04,920 --> 00:51:07,040 the bathroom now just in a really aggressive way or 817 00:51:07,040 --> 00:51:09,000 something like that because I don't speak German. 818 00:51:09,360 --> 00:51:13,000 So I think the important thing about working quickly in the 819 00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:17,600 moment is making sure to like multi source things and really 820 00:51:17,600 --> 00:51:22,600 make sure that the accuracy falling for something that 821 00:51:22,600 --> 00:51:26,600 you're not able to verify. And so things like, you know, 822 00:51:26,680 --> 00:51:32,920 working out had Alcaraz vomited or not the glamour of my life. 823 00:51:32,920 --> 00:51:36,720 You're like, OK, let me see if I can find, you know, a commentary 824 00:51:36,720 --> 00:51:40,800 clip rather than just a stale image or, you know, because it's 825 00:51:40,960 --> 00:51:44,240 there are so many that are luckily not professionally, but 826 00:51:44,240 --> 00:51:48,120 there are so many made-up things online that I've just fallen 827 00:51:48,120 --> 00:51:49,680 for. I am so gullible. 828 00:51:50,560 --> 00:51:52,640 So I think, I think all of us, yes. 829 00:51:53,240 --> 00:51:57,440 Always check and double check and triple check your sources 830 00:51:57,440 --> 00:52:02,480 and your quotes and make sure that you're, you know, you're 831 00:52:02,480 --> 00:52:06,960 finding the, the German site that has taken the quotes, for 832 00:52:06,960 --> 00:52:10,160 example, and then translating those rather than just being 833 00:52:10,160 --> 00:52:12,480 like, Oh, whatever they say on Reddit is true. 834 00:52:12,480 --> 00:52:19,200 And so I think it's the ability to be like, I know I have to do 835 00:52:19,720 --> 00:52:24,840 different things at the same time, but I can't let that quest 836 00:52:24,840 --> 00:52:30,960 for being the fastest and having the quotes first be at the 837 00:52:30,960 --> 00:52:33,720 detriment of having the right quotes. 838 00:52:34,160 --> 00:52:40,440 So my first real jobs in journalism were live blogging 839 00:52:40,600 --> 00:52:43,640 and actually the Winter Olympics. 840 00:52:43,640 --> 00:52:46,040 So I'm like, oh, it's my four year anniversary of getting a 841 00:52:46,040 --> 00:52:47,480 job. I'm so happy. 842 00:52:47,880 --> 00:52:51,880 I still quite like the thrill of doing live written coverage 843 00:52:51,880 --> 00:52:55,040 because it's almost comforting how limited you are. 844 00:52:55,040 --> 00:52:59,120 You're like ione, I'm a person with a pair of eyes and some 845 00:52:59,120 --> 00:53:01,240 hands and I I, you know, if I miss something, I miss 846 00:53:01,240 --> 00:53:04,160 something. But it's like looking for the 847 00:53:04,160 --> 00:53:09,960 little detail that keeps people interested in live text coverage 848 00:53:09,960 --> 00:53:13,960 that is like maybe a little bit of context that they missed or, 849 00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:18,600 you know, at finding a video that's, I don't know, maybe only 850 00:53:18,600 --> 00:53:21,640 going around tennis Twitter and not on the mainstream yet or 851 00:53:21,640 --> 00:53:24,800 whatever. And so like, I quite like 852 00:53:25,000 --> 00:53:27,360 working quite quickly and looking through things quite 853 00:53:27,360 --> 00:53:31,080 quickly. So it means that hopefully I'm a 854 00:53:31,080 --> 00:53:34,800 little better at putting my emotions on the back seat and 855 00:53:34,800 --> 00:53:38,520 not being like, I can't believe Zvera was complaining. 856 00:53:39,360 --> 00:53:41,800 He's what a what? A diva as opposed to? 857 00:53:41,800 --> 00:53:44,520 That's what I would. Know Sarah being a diva, that's 858 00:53:44,560 --> 00:53:46,280 a. That is a legitimate complaint. 859 00:53:46,280 --> 00:53:48,320 You've got to. You've got to be like, OK, what 860 00:53:48,320 --> 00:53:51,520 if Alcaraz was doing this? We can't just baby girl Alcaraz. 861 00:53:51,520 --> 00:53:55,600 We have to apply fair. Yeah, objectivity. 862 00:53:55,920 --> 00:53:57,240 Fair. Objectivity. 863 00:53:57,360 --> 00:54:00,120 Well, respect, because I wouldn't be able to to maintain 864 00:54:00,120 --> 00:54:02,920 that objectivity. No, no, me neither. 865 00:54:07,800 --> 00:54:10,000 OK, so should we do our final call? 866 00:54:10,280 --> 00:54:13,640 Let's do it. What is 1 storyline that we're 867 00:54:13,640 --> 00:54:18,800 excited to follow this season? I think the storyline I am 868 00:54:19,280 --> 00:54:23,040 looking forward to, but also a little nervous about is the 869 00:54:23,040 --> 00:54:29,040 return of Jack Draper, who had the most amazing front end of 870 00:54:29,040 --> 00:54:33,680 the year and, you know, won his first Masters. 871 00:54:33,760 --> 00:54:40,600 And does to me still seem like one of the more realistic 872 00:54:40,640 --> 00:54:45,280 candidates, the non public and Medvedev candidates to challenge 873 00:54:45,520 --> 00:54:50,320 that top two set up that we have at the top of men's tennis. 874 00:54:51,160 --> 00:54:55,880 And he has been out for a really, really long time. 875 00:54:56,120 --> 00:55:00,920 And I think it's become more and more concerning with every 876 00:55:01,440 --> 00:55:05,080 opportunity or planned comeback that he has had over the past 877 00:55:05,080 --> 00:55:07,600 few months that he's just said, Nope, I'm not ready yet. 878 00:55:07,840 --> 00:55:12,440 So he didn't make it to the Australian Open, but is, I 879 00:55:12,440 --> 00:55:19,000 believe, still on track to make his return at the Davis Cup next 880 00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:22,000 week. So it will be really exciting 881 00:55:22,000 --> 00:55:25,880 having seen how well he did at his peak. 882 00:55:25,880 --> 00:55:32,440 At his fittest, he has a lot of points to defend but he is super 883 00:55:32,440 --> 00:55:35,040 exciting and very, very good for British tennis. 884 00:55:35,040 --> 00:55:38,920 So his absence I think is really deeply felt and it will just be 885 00:55:38,920 --> 00:55:43,120 interesting to see how he gets on after being out for such a 886 00:55:43,120 --> 00:55:45,600 long time. For sure and I also just I think 887 00:55:45,600 --> 00:55:49,240 it's worth saying like good for him for staying out and wanting 888 00:55:49,240 --> 00:55:52,440 to like be 100% before he comes back because otherwise it could 889 00:55:52,440 --> 00:55:55,120 set him back a whole lot more on my end. 890 00:55:56,320 --> 00:56:00,400 Mine is going to be who he's going to fill that third man 891 00:56:00,400 --> 00:56:04,320 spot. That's what I'm excited to see. 892 00:56:04,320 --> 00:56:06,240 Whether it's going to be like, I don't know. 893 00:56:06,520 --> 00:56:09,320 I would like it to be like a roster of different people and 894 00:56:09,320 --> 00:56:11,400 make it fun rather than just one. 895 00:56:11,680 --> 00:56:13,280 But who knows? We'll see. 896 00:56:14,080 --> 00:56:18,360 What about you, Andrea? Mine is I want to see whether 897 00:56:18,360 --> 00:56:21,080 Amanda and Esmova can can win a Slam final. 898 00:56:21,440 --> 00:56:25,400 She made it to two last season, so let's see what happens this 899 00:56:25,440 --> 00:56:26,880 this season. Obviously the women's game is 900 00:56:26,880 --> 00:56:30,280 always a bit more interesting in that sense, right? 901 00:56:30,280 --> 00:56:33,080 It's it's more up in the air. I hope for her she can. 902 00:56:34,400 --> 00:56:37,120 Yeah, we'd love to see it. Also like the variation of 903 00:56:37,280 --> 00:56:41,040 winners on the women's side, given all we just discussed. 904 00:56:41,360 --> 00:56:42,720 Yeah. OK. 905 00:56:42,720 --> 00:56:45,120 So that concludes this very exciting interview. 906 00:56:45,200 --> 00:56:48,080 Thank you so much tomorrow for coming on. 907 00:56:48,360 --> 00:56:51,800 We would love to have you back anytime. 908 00:56:52,120 --> 00:56:54,120 It's such a pleasure. Thank you so much for having me. 909 00:56:54,160 --> 00:56:59,080 I will come back anytime. And yeah, everybody listening, 910 00:56:59,080 --> 00:57:06,160 don't forget to like, follow, subscribe wherever you get your 911 00:57:06,160 --> 00:57:10,560 podcasts and on social media, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, 912 00:57:11,080 --> 00:57:13,640 we're there. Thanks to all our new listeners 913 00:57:13,640 --> 00:57:17,920 for tuning in as well. And be sure to come back next 914 00:57:17,920 --> 00:57:22,920 week because we have a very big episode dropping with a pretty 915 00:57:22,920 --> 00:57:26,760 big name in tennis. So yeah, can't wait to see you 916 00:57:26,760 --> 00:57:30,600 then. Thanks for listening. 917 00:57:30,840 --> 00:57:34,400 That's it from us this week. If you enjoyed the episode, make 918 00:57:34,400 --> 00:57:37,200 the call, follow rate and share it with someone who loves the 919 00:57:37,200 --> 00:57:38,680 drama as much as the. Sports. 920 00:57:38,880 --> 00:57:42,200 Send us your voice notes, hot takes, and soft launch sightings 921 00:57:42,320 --> 00:57:45,640 at What's the Call Pod. Until next time, what's the 922 00:57:45,640 --> 00:57:46,120 call?