Wimbledon Week One

00:00:13
Speaker 1: Okay, I don't know how this recording is going to go, but here we are. Guys, we're at Wimbledon. You're gonna hear the sights and sounds of Wimbledon behind us. But we have decided to do a little podcast here on the player's restaurant area, so it could be anyone could walk by here and anyway. Welcome to the Renee Stupstenters Podcast. I am joined by my good friend and, let's face it, the person I like to see the most when it comes to being at a tennis tournament or in life, Andrea Pekovich.

00:00:42
Speaker 2: Hi, babe, how are you hate?

00:00:43
Speaker 3: It's so nice to see you.

00:00:44
Speaker 4: We've been trying to do this all week long, but we've been so busy.

00:00:48
Speaker 1: Don't talk softly like your courtside like normally.

00:00:51
Speaker 4: Yeah, I will talk normally, but I don't want people overhearing how we criticize all the players who have lost this first week.

00:00:57
Speaker 3: Now, I would never do this.

00:00:58
Speaker 4: The only thing I am on after the rebakkena kalans Kaya, which is five ' three in the first time, I'd have to run, what is your next thing?

00:01:05
Speaker 1: I'm after the demonal match on court one, So we don't have a lot of time, but we want to do why we did see each other, which is being rare here at the tennis this tournament because we've been rather busy. The two of us, excuse me, keep it down in the background, is we want to just.

00:01:22
Speaker 2: Give a quick wrap up of the first week.

00:01:24
Speaker 1: So I guess we have to start on the women's side with the loss of eager shon Tech to put In Savor.

00:01:30
Speaker 2: I did that match.

00:01:31
Speaker 1: I called that match just I don't know what your thoughts were about it.

00:01:34
Speaker 4: Well, I was calling exactly at the same same time another match, So I just saw the highlights and the low lights.

00:01:42
Speaker 3: And the low lights.

00:01:42
Speaker 4: To me, it just seemed like IgA lost her intensity during the second set at one point, and yes, Putinzieva played technically a very sound match and was very disciplined from after her nerves settled and she accepted kind of oh okay, I'm on center court. Tennis is still the same court. I'm sorry, the lines are still the same, the balls are still the same. After she settled in, she played a really, really, really good match, and I think huge amounts of respect for somebody who has been deemed as clay court player for the longest of times and now has just found.

00:02:17
Speaker 3: Her her way on grass, and so yeah, I think.

00:02:21
Speaker 4: She played a really tactically sound match and a good match, but Ega kind of lost that intense You know what I love about EGA's game the most is when she serves and gets a short ball, how quickly she moves up to these short balls, and you can really see her footwork.

00:02:36
Speaker 3: Going like tic tictic. I felt like there was a bit.

00:02:42
Speaker 4: Less dynamic in those little steps that make her the best player in the world right now, and I felt like there was one step less or just a bit less.

00:02:52
Speaker 3: Dynamic in it.

00:02:53
Speaker 4: And I think that that cost her in the end, and that's why she missed so many forehands, because it's all footwork. Then you stand up, then you move back with your upper body, and that's when when the misses comes, especially when you have quite an extreme grip on the forehand.

00:03:06
Speaker 1: It's interesting that you say that, because I was doing the match and I did notice. You know, when you get a little passive, or she actually said in the press conference after she felt a little flat and you could tell, and that's what you're saying, and then you go from being flat to being anxious. I feel like with Eager, it's kind of like she goes from being a little bit like oh, gets a bit nervous, gets a bit flat, and then all of a sudden because she's not able to adjust as easily on grass, you know, like that was a clay court match, she would be like, Okay, just calm down, you're gonna get back.

00:03:37
Speaker 2: You can grind these points out.

00:03:38
Speaker 1: But on grass, all of a sudden, somebody can just rip a winner and push her back. Very different to what they can do on hardcourt, on hardcourt, or on specifically on clay. But I have to say put and Saber made three unforecederous and third set, I mean, and in the second set, I don't think she made more than that either. So she didn't miss a ball, and therefore Eager has to hit winners. And when you're not comfortable or you're not dynamic, as you're saying with your feet, you are going to miss.

00:04:04
Speaker 2: And she did that. And then in the third set.

00:04:06
Speaker 1: One thing that hurt her as well, she went off the court and the second set and she took forever to come back on the court, and the crowd did not appreciate that. So when she came back on the court, there was a couple of booze and anytime put in saber one a point after that, the crowd went nuts. And you know, the English crowd are always very fair, but on this occasion you could tell that they were a little perturbed. So that might be something for her to think about. You don't want to piss off the crowd as well, because she took a long time to come back on the court.

00:04:31
Speaker 2: But you know, I'm sure she had to change your clothes and everything.

00:04:33
Speaker 1: Maybe obviously she wasn't doing it deliberately, but got to be aware of those things. Especially when she came back on the court, you could tell the crowd was definitely not on her side. But you know, overall, I think she just has to learn to figure out a way to adapt on grass because her game, you know, come with more slices.

00:04:51
Speaker 2: You know, she's got to hit her forehand down the line better. On grass. She has to figure out a way to get.

00:04:57
Speaker 1: Out of the way of the ball and have her body momentum going through the ball more on the forehand side, and on.

00:05:03
Speaker 2: Clay you can get away with that, on grass you cannot.

00:05:05
Speaker 1: So we'll see she was serving well, she didn't serve well great in the second or third.

00:05:09
Speaker 2: She wasn't hitting her spots as well as she was in the first.

00:05:12
Speaker 1: But I think overall, put and Sava, who won a tournament coming in here playing really good on grass, probably deserve to win in the end. But just an overall feeling of the women's draw, Petco, now that we're through this, obviously, the big loss of Eager, the big loss of Sabalanca before the tournament started. I picked a rebaki Ina to win the tournament before. She's looking really good right now, Just your overall thoughts, Coco last night, Emma Navarro, those are the big stories in my opinion, what about you?

00:05:40
Speaker 4: Well, So, I think the big, big story of this women's strive is that every single person seems to be in the top half that has played the great season.

00:05:49
Speaker 3: Right.

00:05:49
Speaker 4: We have a Danielle Collins there, we have yell and Aasta Penko there, we have Rebukkina there, she's playing colins Kaya, who meet the final in Berlin. So everyone seems to be put In Sieva who won the tournament the year before. So it seems the sorry the week before. It seems like every single person who has a shot Swittolina, last year semifinalist, who has a shot that this title is in the top half. So they will kick each other out and there will be somebody in the final. You know what a sneaky crazy story to me is Jasmine Paulini could end up in two major finals back to back. She's the highest seat left in the bottom half.

00:06:25
Speaker 3: I do think that Emma Navarro.

00:06:26
Speaker 4: She can keep up the great level of play she showed against Coco and also against Naomi Osaka. I think she is the strongest player right now in the low bottom half, in the bottom half. However, she hasn't had that much experience yet in these latter stages of Grand Slam tournament, so let's see that. But I think it's very loaded top half and kind of fallen apart bottom half.

00:06:49
Speaker 2: Kind of.

00:06:50
Speaker 1: I have to say, before the tournament started, the top half of the draw is, before the tournament started was stronger just be with all the people in it, and the bottom half of the draw was the weaker one.

00:07:01
Speaker 2: And now it's very much so.

00:07:02
Speaker 1: But having said that, look you've got Donna Vicket, she's playing really well. He's always played well on grass. Getting through finally to the courters here, which she deserves because she is a really really good grasco player and she's been through Helen back with her injuries. So you know, you and I are friends with.

00:07:17
Speaker 2: Her, so it's great to see her in this part of the drawer.

00:07:21
Speaker 1: She has a real chance to make the finals. Definitely, Emma has the most I think.

00:07:25
Speaker 4: Sorry to interrupt you, but I just because you bring Donna up. I just met Iva Majoli in the locker room. She's the Billy Jean King Cup captain and she said to me, just now, I have a feeling Donna can make the finals. She's different than usually. She has had the experience of choking and big occasions at major stages. She got herself a mental coach and she seems completely changed. And I haven't spoken to Donna here, but if that's true. And Eva, as we know, she knows tennis just as well as anybody out there. If that's true, I think that's a great call because she has the ground stokes and to serve to play big here on grass, and she will play under the roof now.

00:08:03
Speaker 3: Because she has played all the outside courts with the terrible win and a terrible raid.

00:08:08
Speaker 4: She her and Paula Badosa went on court yesterday at eleven thirty and I think she finished at seven thirty.

00:08:15
Speaker 1: Now they came off the court three times, and where it's brutal. Yes, But having said that she had played, she finished a match on court one, she went to play her. She finished her match before. But Doosa on court one. It's escaping me. Who she played and took any Stremska and won that match. And I think so she's had experience on court one. She likes playing on court one. She beat Sloane Steven said last year she beat Yestremska. So I think that court's really good for her. I think she's, you know, with the experience. I think she's probably the player to beat in that section of the draw.

00:08:45
Speaker 2: But Emma looks great.

00:08:46
Speaker 1: I mean, God, she just doesn't let anything over all her at all. I mean, remember we had this conversation about Emma Navarro. She yeah, but she played no not and in Wells. After she played in this exhibition that her dad, you know, provided and helped in Charleston when the pandemic was on and they invited a lot of the American players to play because there was no tennis going on. And I was down there with Ginni Bouchard, So it was Ginnie Bouchard, Sloan Stevens, Maddie Keyes, you know, uh, Fernandez. You know.

00:09:16
Speaker 2: There was a lot of really good players. To the point it was three years ago that Jessica Pagoula wasn't even in it.

00:09:22
Speaker 1: They invited her, but she couldn't get in quote unquote because they already had enough players. So you think about what jess has done since Anna, that was a little bit of motivation.

00:09:29
Speaker 2: Fuck you guys.

00:09:31
Speaker 1: But Emma Navarro was playing because her dad, you know, helped provide put the tournament on. And I remember watching her. I was, who's this kid? Like where she come from? They're like, oh, she's you know, Ben's daughter, And I was.

00:09:42
Speaker 2: Like, yeah, but she's really good.

00:09:44
Speaker 1: She's super talented, she's a little bit heavier, wasn't quite as fit as she is now. And then you played her about five months later in Cincinnati in qualifying in qualifying, and and you came off corner. So she's good, right, but she wasn't as fitish she is now. She certainly hasn't had experience, So give me your thoughts when you played her the first time, well.

00:10:03
Speaker 4: I mentioned it a few times, I commentated on a few of her matches. To me, the most amazing thing about her is really her how she has evolved and how she has improved. When I played her in Cincinnati, it was a bit of a quicker court on court nine always plays quicker in Cincinnati, and she had a hole in the forehand. The whole is a strong word, but if you manage to play with a good depth and good pace into the forehand, she would either miss or give you a short ball. She doesn't do that anymore. She's improved her forehand tremendously. On slower courts and on clay, she had that heavy forehand, so it was not as easy to push her and to get her there. But on a quicker court, I felt like, oh, if I can just hit one really good one in the forehand, I get a short one. And this is a quick court, not quick in the same sense as a quick hardcore, but it's grass court. You know, if you have issues on your forehand or on a stroke, you will feel the worst. As we saw with Ega on the grass courts and Emma yesterday, she took her forehands early. She won almost all cross court rallies with Coco yesterday and the and the and the longer rallies, and she was what impressed me the most. She stuck to the baseline, like I mean, yes, she controlled the baseline like Flee from the Red Hot Chili Peppers controls the baseline.

00:11:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was impressive. I mean her back end it's so good too. She can hit it down the line so well, and she has sneaky power. Very good serf. So if everyone out there that wants to teach a kid, you don't have to be super tall to have a great serf. Jasma Paulini has one of the best sos on the tour because it is a beautiful motion at what five foot three, So don't tell me you can't serve well if you're little. Okay, same with Emm Navarro. Very good technique, question mark. Just the last thing on the women's who's your favorite?

00:11:49
Speaker 4: Before the tournament, I called Sinner and Rebuccina to win, so I'm gonna stick with that. I will put a dark horse, how do you say a little star of a dark horse on Danielle Hollins.

00:12:00
Speaker 3: Just because I would love that.

00:12:02
Speaker 4: I would love that storyline. But I think I called Sinner and Rebakkena before the tournament.

00:12:07
Speaker 3: I'm gonna stick with it.

00:12:08
Speaker 1: Well, I called Alcaaz and Rebakina before the tournament. So I think we're looking pretty good right now, either one of those, because Alcaaz or you know, will probably win the tournament. Maybe we'll see. But just before we leave the women's and I know you've got to go soon too, just a little thing on Cocoa golf, Like you know, the stress on her face and the anxiety all coming from just the lack of clarity on what to do with her forehand.

00:12:33
Speaker 2: I mean, what are your thoughts on that?

00:12:35
Speaker 4: My thoughts, I've expressed them so many times. I don't think And this will sound completely crazy, I know, but bear with me. I will try to explain it. I don't think it's a bad stroke. And the reason I say that, hold on before you, before you, because I already saw your face. The reason I say that, I think her forehand could really work for her reason being it's completely different to her backhand, and I've practiced with her so many and the most uncomfortable thing against Coco is the once choke comes at you with so much power and self flat and the other jumps out of your strikes on above your shoulders, so you have to constantly adjust. So just with how she plays, she has a natural change of rhythm in her game. And I think if she could just make it a safe shot, I think she wouldn't have to worry about anything. And I think here on grass, she wants to hit winners off the forehand, and that's when she gets into problems because that's when she misses.

00:13:28
Speaker 2: Okay, So then take me through this though.

00:13:30
Speaker 1: If she's hitting a little bit like higher with spin and loop like you are suggesting she does, and actually how Brad wants her to play a little bit, how do you deal with that?

00:13:40
Speaker 2: On grass?

00:13:40
Speaker 1: When someone steps in and crushes a high back end back to that forehand, what are you going to go back high to the back end again? I mean, at some point someone's going to come in and some point you are not going to hit one solid and you are going to be in trouble, which is what happened yesterday. And so I think, okay, So the flip side is I think she needs to be able to correct the forehand on the court, hit the high loopies, not make the error on it, and then wait, for the back end or come in. But if you start to miss basic fourhands, which she did throughout the entire match, you've got to have the basics to be able to go back to. But it looks like she doesn't know what to do if it starts going short, and that worries me. That's why technically she needs to work on it.

00:14:22
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean one hundred percent needs to work on it. I think again, what we've said also multiple times on the podcast, I think she always does the same thing.

00:14:32
Speaker 3: She decelerates the risk.

00:14:34
Speaker 4: She falls back with her upper body, and that's always comes through when she's stressed, when she's anxious. They need to work on accelerating the risk no matter what, because if you fall back, but you accelerate with your arm and your wrist, you will still get away with it. It might fall short, but you will at least put it in and then you can find the rhythm eventually.

00:14:53
Speaker 3: And I do think she needs.

00:14:54
Speaker 4: To accept as Ega needs to accept that on this surface, it will always be hard and that's how it and that doesn't mean.

00:15:01
Speaker 1: Well, it will always be hard if you don't change technically something with the forehand too.

00:15:05
Speaker 2: And I also think her footwork, grip.

00:15:06
Speaker 4: You can change the grip now, she's one of a major tournament, she's twenty two years old. You would change her grip now, that would cost.

00:15:13
Speaker 3: Her a full year.

00:15:15
Speaker 2: I don't know if I would change the grip. I would.

00:15:17
Speaker 1: I would certainly do certain things with the grip the way it is right now that would be different. And if if it didn't change it, then maybe I would experiment a little bit. But I think if the grip is going to stay the way it is, I think she has to be a lot more aggressive with the legs. I think her footwork is not talked about enough on the back. On the forehand back and it's fantastic on the forehand, I feel like she gets very stagnant with her feet well, And that's.

00:15:40
Speaker 4: A really good point that you're making, because I feel like Cocoa when she is running into the forehand, she hits a lot better actually than when somebody keeps her in the forehand, and she kind of has to make those small adjustment steps that Eger does so well when she's playing well.

00:15:53
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:15:54
Speaker 1: And the reason I say it too is because with the footwork and with the accelerated mine was similar because I had a big swing on my forehand, so and she has a very big swing on her forehand, so I think if she can shorten the forehand swing up, it will make it quicker on the way through.

00:16:07
Speaker 2: So there are a little things.

00:16:08
Speaker 1: But you know, I hate to see it because you hate to see her like looking stressed and anxious on the court like that, because that's.

00:16:13
Speaker 2: Not usually how she reacts.

00:16:15
Speaker 1: Okay, I know you got to go, but look, just give me a little you got a little time of good good.

00:16:20
Speaker 2: The men's what is going on.

00:16:22
Speaker 1: Novak is just like winning match after match after what he went through like three weeks ago with the surgery. It's pretty incredible what we're seeing.

00:16:29
Speaker 2: But just you know, your overall thoughts on the men, well, my over all.

00:16:33
Speaker 4: Thoughts on the man I actually might be controversial. But the best guy has been Zaschazrev by far, he's looked impeccable from for I'm working for a German TV station here actually for Amazon Prime.

00:16:45
Speaker 3: They bought the rights for Germany and Austria.

00:16:47
Speaker 4: So we are watching him closely and we've done his matches and his forehand looks incredible. He's coming to the net, he's serving seventy five eighty percent first serfs around at an average one hundred and thirty.

00:16:59
Speaker 2: Miles per sees his next opponent.

00:17:01
Speaker 3: He's playing Taylor Fritz.

00:17:02
Speaker 2: Now, what do you.

00:17:03
Speaker 1: Think about that match up? Because I think Taylor wins that much.

00:17:06
Speaker 4: I mean, I I think he definitely can, especially on grass.

00:17:09
Speaker 3: But the end I know for a.

00:17:12
Speaker 4: Fact because Misha, Sasha's brother, is part of our team, part of our experts and pundits team, and he has said that Sasha doesn't like playing Taylor Fritz and he feels uncomfortable playing him because he is why he has this flat backhand down the line into Sasha Zverev's forehand, which he really doesn't like playing. But the way he's been playing, I honestly think he's gonna win in three or four sets, because I've been so surprised.

00:17:35
Speaker 3: Let's see how it goes.

00:17:36
Speaker 4: He's in the loa in the bottom half where Nova where injured. Novak is the only one that's there, so we'll see Novak has as it always is the problem and the mistake we make.

00:17:49
Speaker 3: We use the same standards for Novak.

00:17:52
Speaker 2: As we use for other people, and it's not normal.

00:17:54
Speaker 3: Novak is not a mortal person.

00:17:56
Speaker 4: He's an immortal person, and we can't use the same standards. That's absolute insanity. And so I think you're absolutely right. The top half we will have if everything goes right, a center Alcara semifinal.

00:18:09
Speaker 1: Okay, but I'm looking because I just saw Tommy Paul walk By. I think Tommy has a real shot at abating Alchaaz.

00:18:14
Speaker 2: Why. I think he loves grass. He hasn't lost a match on grass coming in here. He won Queens.

00:18:20
Speaker 1: He comes in here super confident, and he's beaten Alkoriz a couple of times.

00:18:24
Speaker 3: Yes he has.

00:18:25
Speaker 4: And I will say one thing though, I have never seen a tougher draw for a world number one as Jannick Sinners. It's absolute insanity. He played second round Manteo Berrettini. He played yesterday Ben Shelton in the fourth round on grass under a roof, motherfucker. And now he's playing media dev And he would have played Dimitrov or Medvedev.

00:18:47
Speaker 2: I think he would have played Demitro.

00:18:48
Speaker 4: I thought Gregory would have won that match, the same thing if you hadn't got injured. So now he plays media def to play al Karaz too. Possibly played Djokovic I mean, has there been a tougher draw for a world number one in the world.

00:18:59
Speaker 2: No, he's probably think, guys, put me back to three. I prefer being number three. It seems I have a better draw. Yeah. No, he's had the worst draw ever.

00:19:07
Speaker 1: But if he wins this tournament, that will prove him as truly the best player in the world because if he gets through those players, and he's been pretty comfortable he went. He almost went four sets with Ben Ben. I mean credit to Ben getting through three five setters in a row.

00:19:24
Speaker 2: And then having to go up against Yanick Sinner. Good luck.

00:19:27
Speaker 1: But yeah, it's it's been an amazingly tough tournament for Yannick. But you know what, he takes it on his stride. That's why we love him so much because he doesn't make excuses. He goes out there. The match against Bertini was incredible. It could have been a semi final, it was so good and I'm happy to see Mateyo.

00:19:42
Speaker 3: Play well Tory. Colin Skaya is retired.

00:19:45
Speaker 1: So I have to run all right, Well, guys, that's the end of our podcast.

00:19:48
Speaker 2: Kalin Skaya.

00:19:49
Speaker 1: That's sad speaking of Cinner, and don't worry that you've got time.

00:19:53
Speaker 2: But she's run off. She's running off, and by Jesse.

00:19:59
Speaker 1: Guys, I'm sitting here on my own now in the players restaurant, and anyway, it's been a great first week of the tournament and we are going to be here for the next week. I hope you enjoyed the coverage on ESPN, of course, PETCO on Amazon Prime in Germany. And yeah, a lot of tennis and hopefully not as much rain this week because it's been a bloody nightmare.

00:20:18
Speaker 2: But that's wimbleding for you everyone. Okay, thanks for joining us with

00:20:22
Speaker 1: This little wrap up of the first week, and continue watching and listening to us, and thanks a lot, all right, fathe