Wrapping the Australian

00:00:15
Speaker 1: Well to night you're still in Australia for a short period of time. It's a shame there was no men's champion, but we have lots to talk about with the other events A Rhenish Sablanca.

00:00:28
Speaker 2: What do you mean?

00:00:29
Speaker 3: What do you mean there's no men's went on because you didn't get up and watch it.

00:00:33
Speaker 1: I just don't recognize the match that took place. I don't recognize it. So I instead wanted to talk about the things that I was excited about, which is pretty much everything else. That said. If you feel like you need you not me, but you need to have some commentary on this our Australia Open recap episode, then I you know, I'm not going to stop you.

00:00:57
Speaker 2: Listen, here's the deal, like you gotta where it's credit is to you.

00:01:02
Speaker 3: And the fact that Novak Djokovic and everyone was like, you know, who's the favorite? I'm like, are you guys smoking crack? I mean, there's only one favorite going to this strain and Open. I mean, let's face it, like the French Open is owned and will be owned by Raffia and Nadal until he breaks a leg or you know, has a hip operation, which you know it doesn't look good for him going into this year's French Open with what's going on. But you know, Novak just came down here with such vengeance to win everything one Adelaide one Melbourne again, his tenth Grand Slam title. It's unbelievable. The guy's are backboard. He doesn't miss a ball under pressure. I mean two tie breaks that were just absolutely hollacious from Stefano Sits a pass when he had a chance to get back in the match, particularly the second set. I thought maybe if he wins a second set, we might have a match on our hands. It was like a football arena. The entire match was crazy with the fans. The only thing I'll say about this Serbian fans is that I have been in the crowd at the austral And Open next to Serbian fans when he was playing, and it is not a fun environment.

00:02:09
Speaker 2: And I say that, and I don't want to take.

00:02:11
Speaker 3: Away like their enthusiasm for him, and I don't want to take away the enthusiasm for it being there paying money to watch him play. But it's so loud, and it's every point and it's NonStop, and you know it was when he played Andy Murray and it was that time that Andy Murray was getting so pissed with them. But it's like, guys, like you have to understand, like I love the enthusiasm for your player, but you have to understand there's other people around you too that it's just like, oh, just trying to enjoy a tennis match.

00:02:38
Speaker 2: And then so that's the only one thing I want to say about it. I don't want to take.

00:02:42
Speaker 3: Away the fact that they love the guy and they support him, and he's, you know, going to go down as.

00:02:46
Speaker 2: The greatest player of all the time.

00:02:47
Speaker 3: This guy is going to win twenty seven or twenty eight Grand Slams, there's no doubt about it. And he was just phenomenal last night under pressure, and you got to give credit where it's due. The guy just locks in and doesn't miss a ball under pressure, and it's an unbelievable thing to watch.

00:03:04
Speaker 1: To be honest, I totally think you're right. I think a couple of things. I think part of the Serbian energy is this siege mentality, and I think this idea that you're under siege, your culture is under siege, you're under attack, you're surrounded by enemies. You know, it's a really useful motivator for Novak Djokovic, and it has been for the better part of his career, playing at least the first chunk of it, while two other of the Big three were dominant and he was sort of seen as the enveloper. Right now, there's no doubt his head to heads against both of those other guys was never particularly compelling to make the case that they could have held a candle to him, just in terms of, you know, overall win, overall success rate, you know. But I think the siege mentality is also what makes so much of this so ugly, with the father posing in the crowd with putin and war shirts, which is why everybody's talking about what a battle he's been through these last couple of years. Well, it's a battle that he created because he wouldn't follow the rules, right Like, I don't have a lot to say about his tennis, which is unimpeachable. I mean, he was better than the field by several lords of magnitude, full stop period. I didn't think Jeff was going to give him a match. Step didn't give him a match. I didn't wake up for it. And I don't love my matches, you know, lopsided and non compelling, which is what I find a lot of the times when there's not anybody who can really step to Novak. But having done a couple of projects, notably a documentary film about the Serbian genocide against the Bosnians, the idea that the Serbian victim mentality has permeated into Novak Djokovic's narrative is something that I just wholly am not interested in as a dynamic in tennis. So people can love him, people can enjoy him, and that's just not for me. I also do think, especially because we're going to have I think you're right, probably seven or you know, maybe eight more Slams that he can win in the next few years before age predictably will catch up with him. You know, I don't know that we want to think of the greatest of all time as the person who's won the most slams. Are they the greatest of all times at winning slams?

00:05:18
Speaker 2: Sure?

00:05:19
Speaker 1: Are they the greatest of all time at winning all the tournaments? Maybe that's Martine de Radalova, who's won all three categories of tournaments by such a wide margin when that mattered more, you know, So for me, like the goat race. The slam race has never been that fun, and I don't particularly want to watch him catching up. But I was really disappointed in the men's side that nobody really could make it much of an effort. My guy, my pick Sinner, didn't do much. Runa pulled out with an injury. Steph had an otherwise good tournament but kind of couldn't get it done. Medvedev has completely disappeared, so it's sort of like the guys who have been able to push him didn't really show up to the tournament. And unless I'm missing somebody, I don't know.

00:06:00
Speaker 3: Guy that was ranked number number one going into tournament. And Alcarez, I mean, of course, I think I think the only player that really can go toe to toe with Novak in these situations. And it would have been really I've got to tell you, it would have been really great to see Alcarez like at his very best at the train and Open, because I think he has the hutzpa and the and the you know, the cajones, like go on the court with Novak and actually say, all right, bro, I know you're the best. I know you don't miss under pressure, I know all this other of stuff.

00:06:28
Speaker 2: And I am youthful and enthusiastic and I will bring it.

00:06:31
Speaker 3: I mean, it would have been nice to see someone like a Rune, for example, like get through and maybe test him at least in a set or two, because these young guys like Rune and Alcarez.

00:06:39
Speaker 2: Actually believe that they physically can.

00:06:41
Speaker 3: Match Novak now because of their youth and their enthusiasm and there and their ability to play tennis. I mean, look those two, those two guys in particular, really, I think Sinner will get there. I really believe that Sina will win a Grand Slam in the next few years. I think he's so good. I think he's just got to get that mongrel bit pissed off at attitude sometimes on the court because he's such a nice guy.

00:07:01
Speaker 1: So yeah, and he did look a little soft, but his game is totally there, And you're right, Alcarez would have been an electrifying presence in the draw. And I think for me, I'm just I've been so over the big three for so long that I'm especially Novak, who's tennis like, I just don't enjoy it's it's it's perfect, it's it's very safe. In terms of his percentages, it's extremely adaptable. He goes from offense to the defense unimpeachably. It just doesn't really do much for me. And then you add on all the other malarkey with, you know, the unforced errors of all of his decisions and his coterie and his politics and all this stuff, and it's just like, no thanks, I will change the channel and watch all of the other amazing tennis, which we had so much of that it was so easy to ignore the men's snoozefest of a draw because after the first week in any Murray being out and Nadal being out, and Bartini and the young guys not getting it done. The women, we didn't need the a men's draw because the women brought it. They brought it, Renee, this was the final I wanted. This was the winner I chose, But the pathway that they both took to get there.

00:08:04
Speaker 2: You did pick Sabalanka.

00:08:06
Speaker 1: I picked her because I thought maybe it was her time. And I am so delighted to have been right. And you know what, you don't want to know why I'm so delighted to have been right, because now everybody with her batshit photo shoot poses on the gondola, her crazy hysterics, her just all of it, her joy, her drama has now been amplified to the rest of the world, and now everyone can join me in appreciating her. Because what I love about her is not only her fearless tennis. I love the fact that she's in a lot of ways, Yolena Yankovic's spiritual inheritor, don't you think.

00:08:42
Speaker 2: With a bigger game and a bigger serve. Yes, I do agree with that, Like, yeah, you're right, Like that's sort of the edgy crazy sort of like here I am, I'm gonna wear like I'm going to be a model, although I'm a tennis player. I want to be.

00:08:57
Speaker 3: I mean, she said it on the pod with me that she would like to do modeling and all this sort of stuff. So she's embracing all this whatever comes with fame. She loves every bit of it. She's got the TikTok, she's got the you know, the Instagram, she's got the model posts.

00:09:12
Speaker 1: She's I mean, she's posing in her like cheap how with the Chinese swords. Her crazy photo shoot where she's on the gondola with her dog and she's in this pink and the heels and the stuff. I mean, if anybody has not seen it, who's listening to this, do yourself a favor and google Arena Sablanca Australian Open Trophy shoot. Because the photo shoot from this, I'm thinking about having it commemorated in plates like they do with the Royal wedding, and you get China like I want this as I want this around my house. I want a painting of this. It's so extra and nuts and it's what I thought was in her heart all these years watching her play fearless, big time scary tennis. And I mean that in both ways, scary to be inside her head, but also maybe scary to be on the other side of the net and hearing her on the podcast you did with her. She's just so much. She's so much of everything.

00:10:00
Speaker 3: And I love that She's I think the best word to describe her, as you just said, is extra. She I gotta tell you, Okay, So I want to go back to the match a little bit. I sitting, as you know, courtside covering the match for ESPN, and I said, on a couple of occasions, and I remember in the third set, I sat there and I said, guys, I've sat here for many many matches at the Austrail Open.

00:10:21
Speaker 2: I've seen it all.

00:10:22
Speaker 3: I've seen the last decade plus final women's finals on that court, and this is the biggest hitting match I've ever seen in my life. And you know, of course we had big hitters. We had the lenars who could you know, pop the ball pretty good. Of course, Kim Kleister's Maria sharapovers you know as a Ranco heard her very best.

00:10:42
Speaker 2: But you know, of course Serena and Venus and all these lindsay all of them.

00:10:48
Speaker 3: But for me sitting courtside, I've seen the ones that I mentioned win the tournament and oh my god, like it was like the both of them, Rebakina and Sabalanca, both of them, just if you laid the egg short in the court, it was crushed.

00:11:02
Speaker 2: It was scrambled, egged in like one second.

00:11:05
Speaker 3: There was nothing that you could do if the ball landed short. They just there was no mercy, There was no I'm going to choke this, I'm not I'm not going to hit it. They just like seaball hippo. It was like, as our great friend Mary Carrillo coined and I used it on the coverage, big babe tennis, both of them at six foot tall. Saberlenca I think six and Rebuking is like feels like six to one. I mean, they were just they started the match with seven aces in the first two and a half days.

00:11:36
Speaker 2: I was we were like, what do we watching fucking like sampress and like.

00:11:41
Speaker 1: You know, yeah, totally.

00:11:43
Speaker 2: It was unbelievable.

00:11:44
Speaker 3: They were clocking the ball one hundred and eighty something case you know, which is almost one hundred and you know, fifteen to twenty miles an hour, that their groundstrokes were heavier and harder than the average of sits a pass and Djokovic.

00:11:57
Speaker 2: We showed that stat We have such a and and the thing that I loved there was no choking.

00:12:04
Speaker 3: They just went for it from first point to last point, even the last point when Saberlenka finally like I was sitting next to Barbara Sheep, oh god, the.

00:12:14
Speaker 1: Last couple observes with the double faults, and everybody was on the edge of their seat knowing where she's been.

00:12:19
Speaker 3: But we're sitting there, I'm sitting literally courtside with Barbara shap because she was covering it for Eurosport. Next to her was Laura Robson covering it for the World Feed and TA and next to her was Casey de Lack.

00:12:30
Speaker 2: We're covering it for the Australian Network.

00:12:32
Speaker 3: And we're all looking each other after the third match point loss and we're all like, oh my god.

00:12:36
Speaker 2: We're all starting to sweat because.

00:12:38
Speaker 3: We've all been there, right, We've all been there in situations where we're like, oh my god, oh my god, you can't lose the match now, surely, you know. We're all like can she Is she gonna do it? Is she gonna hold serve? And we're all like pretty confident. We're like, yeah, yeah, she's gonna do it. She's gonna do it. And then she starts out the you know, I think, remarking a hit like a screaming winner on the first point, and we're like, oh shit, you know. And then she gets the match points and loses the match points and can't get a first serve in under pressure, and we're like, oh my god, we're all having hot. We're all in like hives started breaking out in all of us because we all felt, i mean, none of us are served for a Grand Slam Singles title, but we all know what it feels to have that moment of panic, like, oh my god, it I can't lose now, I've had match point on my serve. And then and I'll tell you a funny story. So where we see it is right with the photographers, and every time she had a match point, there was a ball kid that.

00:13:28
Speaker 2: Would run on the other side.

00:13:30
Speaker 3: So they had one kid on one side, one kid on the other and of course all the photographers were yelling at the ball kid, bulkhead, go to the other side, go to the other side, because they wanted like that clear shot for the you know, the champions pose. And every time on match point, bull kid in front of them, and they were screaming and yelling. I've never heard any of it was so hilarious.

00:13:50
Speaker 2: Right, and then sure enough.

00:13:52
Speaker 3: She gets to the fourth I believe it was the fourth match point, and sure enough the ball kid goes on the other side. So there's this clear shot. And I said to them, all guys and girls, get ready. And I also was filming the match point, and I decided not to film the last one. I said, the bubbsy, you film it and just send me the footage. And I said, this is it. You finally got your clear shot. She's gonna win this point, right, And sure enough she did. But she hits the serve. It's perfect serve, nails it down the tee and Rebakeina smashes it back on her weaker side on the forehand hits the back of the line and we're all like, we thought it was going out no.

00:14:29
Speaker 2: Call because they're electronic.

00:14:31
Speaker 3: I'm calling, and we're like, oh my god, she makes the backhand. I don't know how she made.

00:14:35
Speaker 1: That incredible, incredible picker.

00:14:37
Speaker 3: That was such I mean, her strength is unbelievable. Then Rebeccina hits her predictable forehand cross court and sabs runs over and hits an amazing forehand cross She could have choked that forehand because of what you know transpired just before and the fact that she's probably thinking, you're fucking kidding me.

00:14:53
Speaker 2: I've just played the.

00:14:54
Speaker 1: Best perfect serve.

00:14:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly everything you know, and she hits it great.

00:14:58
Speaker 3: And then Rebeccina missus beforehand, and you know, we saw the joy and.

00:15:02
Speaker 1: She was palpably joyous in a way that was so wonderful.

00:15:06
Speaker 2: To say it, Caitlyn, I said it on the on the pod. I said it on the coverage.

00:15:09
Speaker 3: I finally got to be able to say it, you know, at some point, and I said, this girl lost her father four years ago. You know, it was just not not not that removed from when I did the podcast with her, and her dad was a big influence in her tennis life. He's the one that brought her her first racket and took her first tennis courts and was really her influence in getting into tennis. And I thought, when is that going that moment going to hit her that he's not there, you know, to experience this. And we saw it when she won the match and started crying, and then when she walked towards her player box and she looked up and there's a great photo. I believe it might be on her Instagram and she said she she didn't acknowledge him in the speech, but she acknowledged him in her in her Instagram feed and said, my dad would have been really proud of me. And there was that moment when she's walking and she looks up to the sky and you know that she was thinking about her father in that moment and everything she went through last year she couldn't hit to serve in the courts serving under Am twelve months ago and to step up there and serve for the match and win her first grandson title, it was just it was an I'm like still speechless forty eight hours later. It was one of the best and most incredible performances I've ever seen in my life as a reporter, as a journalist, as a court side person, and as a tennis fan. And I was so happy for her. Incredible and Rebakena give her her flowers. Man, what an amazing match she played as well. And you know, she got screwed last year not getting the points from Wimbledon, and now hopefully she's going to be seated where she's supposed to be seated because she's literally one of the top three players in the world.

00:16:43
Speaker 1: When we saw that matchup, and I think everybody who watched the tournament as closely as you and I did, in terms of the field that these two had to go through to get into the finals, I mean, it could not have been a higher caliber, could not have been. Rebacchina alone beat three former champions of the event, sorry, three former Grand Slam champions and Sebolenka you saw in that semi final. Even though Magdal Lynette really only pushed her for a set. It was not an easy set, and that is the exact moment that four times she has wilted because with her great, fearless sort of total id style play comes with and also like a submission to that id and the baggage that her motions can seize her in a bad way too, just the way that she can, you know, be in this like incredible headspace where she's fearless and hitting you know, the biggest baalsiest shots you can imagine. And so for me to see her relax her shoulders after that semi final win, you could see it. She was past that hurdle. You could sort of what you were describing with her looking up to the sky. When she won match point hitting that inside out fourhand against Lynette, she pumped her fists and then let her shoulders relax because you could tell she's carrying that because when she came onto the scene a couple of years ago, I remember you and I talked about her then. This was kind of when she was in the middle of her tear, it seemed inevitable that she would be raising so many Grand Slam trophies over her head and then just kind of the mental blockage that kept her and obviously to your point about the serve kept her from really being in that late stage of slam tournaments. Was really beautiful to see her process, and I think for me watching not only the pathways they took, the quality matches they had up to that point, the incredible tension in a good way tension filled final that was just about who seized the point first. To me, you could show that match to people who don't necessarily follow tennis and watch them be amazed by it. And that was on TV where your commentary was excellent. I thought the final commentary was unimpeachable, and in fact, I learned so much about why both of them were having a little harder time with their serves because they liked to kick the ball out wide on the second serves, which goes into both of their strengths with is their high backhands, so they were both limited on what they could do with the second serves. Like I really enjoyed and kind of hung on a lot of the words that you guys were saying, which was so illuminating, and I really feel like you could use that as a lesson and like this is tennis at its finest. I would have loved to have been there just to understand how much abuse these tennis balls got, because it looks unbelievably ferocious in a way that it exceeded my expectations. And I had really high expectations. You know.

00:19:42
Speaker 3: I was pulling foot as a rank hit to win, and for one reason, I wanted to see a different matchup in the final. I want to see a player that could make a lot of balls and a player that would go for it. So I liked the contrasting finals. I like the retrieving person that's not going to miss a lot against a big hitter, you know that.

00:19:59
Speaker 2: You know, I love when I say a Sabolenka would play.

00:20:02
Speaker 3: I was Niaki for example, because you're getting that contrast and you're always going to get good points for example.

00:20:06
Speaker 2: Right.

00:20:07
Speaker 3: So I was a little bit like, oh, this is not this We're not going to have a rally over two shots.

00:20:11
Speaker 2: This is going to be a bit of a tough watch. I mean, I'll be I'd admit it. That's kind of what I was thinking.

00:20:15
Speaker 3: And then the first couple of games, I was like, oh no, oh, this is just going to be freaking this is going to be, like I said it, big babe, tennis.

00:20:23
Speaker 2: They're just going to.

00:20:24
Speaker 3: Clock the ball and this is going to be who's going to be standing at the end, And it was.

00:20:29
Speaker 2: It's exactly what it was. And I have to just refer to two things.

00:20:32
Speaker 3: One, Sabolenka hit the scene really a bunch of years ago, and the biggest match that she played, the first really big match she played was on Rod Labor against Ash Buddy about five years ago. And she was when Ash was making her come back and she played against Sabolenka and Sablenka had this you know, enormous grunt and it was a bit over the top and she was, you know, like she's now, but even worse, like really crazy and screaming and yelling and carrying on like a bit.

00:20:58
Speaker 2: Of a pork chop.

00:20:59
Speaker 3: And the crowd and I was caught side for seven, the seven network in Australia, and the crowd were relentless against her, like kind of you know, mimicking the Grant and you know, kind of giving her a hard time. It was a bit embarrassing as an Australian. I was like, come on, guys, I mean, she's just a tennis player. She was probably like seventeen at the time, like or eighteen, and it was just a lot and they gave a lot of shit and Ash sort of said something about it in the postmatch interview that I did with her where you know, so so I felt really badly for her, but that was her first real big match, and you know, come to think of it, like, what is it five years later or whenever it was.

00:21:34
Speaker 2: She ends up winning the tournament with great support too.

00:21:38
Speaker 3: The crowd was so interesting because they didn't really have a favorite to pull for because they kind of were just like enjoying the and it was so nice to actually sit there, particularly after the year before watching you know, Ash Party play Danielle Collins, where it was like Ash would win a point, it was like.

00:21:53
Speaker 2: Major clapping and cheering and.

00:21:55
Speaker 3: Just over the top support, which, look, she's a nausey trying to win Austrain Open for the first time in a hundred years, right, not one hundred years, but a long time. And then daniel Collins would play the most amazing point. It was like crickets. There was like seven people clapping for her in the box, so it was like this really weird, you know, like cheering, no cheering, cheering, no cheering. And then so in the final, it was like every point was cheered because they were so enamored with how good the tennis was from both of them, Like honestly that there was no who's pulling for who? Even in the last game, I mean, everyone felt sorry for Sabalanca at some point, probably thinking hopefully she wins, but their flip side was they wanted more of the tennis.

00:22:32
Speaker 2: So it was such an enjoyable yeah.

00:22:34
Speaker 3: And the last thing I want to say, the first point of the match, she steps up to the line, she wins to toash, she says, I'm going to serve, right, think about this, this girl could not hit a serve in the court twelve months ago. She goes up to the line, she's served so well the whole tournament double fault, and the whole crowd literally, Caitlin, it was just this, Yeah, fifteen thousand people just go oh and it.

00:22:57
Speaker 2: Was so funny. Turns around, God love her and gets the ball and starts.

00:23:03
Speaker 3: Laughing because she's just like, oh my god, what a way to start the final.

00:23:07
Speaker 2: Way to go, Arena kind of attude, get up, yeah, and then.

00:23:10
Speaker 3: She gets the ball steps up the line and goes bang with an ace like you just and then I think she aced like two or three times in that game, and you and I said on coverage and we're talking about maybe is it going to come back to Honda, and I said, and I know she double folded a bunch, but I think it was because she was trying not to hit that kick.

00:23:27
Speaker 2: Serve and totally it's trying to go for a little bit more.

00:23:29
Speaker 1: And all looks like a problem kick serve. It looked like she had to go for a lot because she knew the return was going to be so good, which is a totally different thing. And I know we keep hoping on this, but for anybody who has not played competitive level tennis, having the yips on any one of your shots is a natemare. It's a living natemare. Having the yips on your serve is hard to describe the depths of mental anguish that it is, especially if it is your weapon, as it is for Arena Seblinka, as it was for you, and honestly as it was for me. Not being able to serve, not being able to know that you're going to go up there and at least be able to get it in and have a slow decline of just fault after fault with the serve taking an adventure is it's gut wrenching in an almost literal sense, and it's hard to imagine coming back from that in any way, much less the way she has done.

00:24:15
Speaker 3: I had nightmares. I didn't have the yips on my swing. I had the yips a little bit on my ball toss for a period of time. And I can tell you the night before my Wimbledon, first wimen and final, I was having nightmares about it like that I wasn't going to be able to get a serve in on my you know center called at Wimbledon. I managed to do it. It was fine, But you've got to fight through those things. So yeah, it's pretty incredible to what she's been able to do and in.

00:24:36
Speaker 2: But one thing.

00:24:37
Speaker 3: Sitting beside Barbara Schett and you know, we share information sometimes when we're sitting there with each other because we're, you know, both so tennis orientated and we're true analysts. She said, you know what, the good thing about her serve being so shit, you know, and so unpredictable last year is it made her a better player because she couldn't rely on the free points on her serf, so it actually made her play better tennis from the baseline.

00:24:58
Speaker 2: And I was like, you know what, You're right, and that is so yeah.

00:25:01
Speaker 1: I mean, she's still finished top five in the in the world and made the Tour finals despite the fact that she had double digit an average of double digit double faults in a in matches, like it's hard to imagine game away. You're giving half the game away every single time, Like it's crazy. So I feel like for me, the Arena seven Lanka story was just so so wonderful and I loved Geary. In our newsletter this week, talked about how she visited a biomechanical specialist and kind of to your I want the person. How can I get this guy from my forehand. I need that I watched.

00:25:37
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, that could take a year or two's time.

00:25:40
Speaker 3: I guess he worked on I can tell you in Cincinnati when I was there with Sam, when I was on the side courts, you know, off off a site, there's an off site practice site. She was over there working with him, and I mean they were tinkering with their hand position, with their elbow.

00:25:54
Speaker 2: Position, with the ball position.

00:25:55
Speaker 3: That was unbelievable how much because she was just like, what can I do to make this better? And was not in Australia and I don't think she's working with him anymore, but you know, because there's only so much he can do paralysis by analysis, and you know, the one thing that's notable is that her second serve kicker, which she never had before. She would just go for a slower or a little bitsally, and.

00:26:17
Speaker 2: That that has really helped.

00:26:18
Speaker 3: That really helped her, you know, get the serve in the court and feel like she could do it. So anyway, I just want to praise Arena Sabalanca and she's finally through that nightmare semi final couple of losses to be able to step up in the greatest of ways and play one of the greatest matches I've ever seen by two players. I want to give Rebarkina her flowers as well. Just incredible a match from her. She's young, She's only going to get better. Her forehand needs to improve. She really struggles hitting it down the line, so it's a you know, it's a work in progress with this young woman, and she's.

00:26:54
Speaker 1: Really excited to see her backing up her Wimbledon win, which was deserved with a really really incredible tournament. Like I love so much when players are able to put it together that way and continue to improve and get that experience under the belt, because what to me results is you get good tennis. Like one of the things I was so disappointed about it was phenomenal to watch Ans Gibber last year. Phenomenal. My Syrian family were losing their minds that a player from the Arab world was you know, just all the reasons. She's compelling, she's fun, she's awesome. I do think her not having played a final for a Grand Slam before going into that Wimbledon final really hurt her because she freaked out mentally and it took her a set to even show up against Ega in the US Open. You know, she got out played in the US Open. I don't want to take anything away from Ega, but to me, Anz's lack of experience in those Grand Slam finals was a result. The result was nerves and her inability to kind of show up and really play her best tennis. And I think what I like about rebakin it and now hopefully Sablanca is just this idea that they've been there, and so what we get as a treat as viewers is we get to see better tennis. Nothing is more dispiriting to me than watching one player just be like fall apart. It's tough. It's really tough to watch. I do want to point out also, because we were talking about Novak Djokovic and Serbian nationalism at the top, I think it's awesome that fans travel, they're loud, they support their guy. I have never loved the nationalism angle in tennis. I don't love it. Most of these players live in Florida or Monaco or you know, Switzerland or someplace that's sort of neutral anyway, and the idea that like you would cheer for a player. And again, I know Ashbarty having not delivered an Australian Open title since Yvonne Goolagong is a huge deal in front of a home crowd. So I'm not at all saying Australians shouldn't have their favorites or US Open. It shouldn't be you know, sort of American centric. I get that French whatever, but I do think, like, what's amazing about a final like we just had and the women's side is, like you said, people are cheering for great tennis, and that, to me is really the best part imaginable. It's you can't believe that you're watching this match and these two players are just competing to see who can play better and who's going to come up with better shots, and that to me is like the actual absolute pinnacle of what our sport can be and do. And it doesn't have anything to do with the flags that are next to their name or you know, you know how loud the crowd is, you know what I.

00:29:15
Speaker 2: Mean speaking of parochial crowds.

00:29:17
Speaker 3: Yes, there was no I mean, the sabal Anca story and match and everything was worthy of the story of the tournament. But for me, the story of the tournament was the absolute crushing of every top men's doubles team by a team from Australia that have never played together before. Okay, a twenty one year old Australian kid in Rinky Dinky Doo, Okay Rinky Hitchikata playing with Jason Koobler, who has gone through helen back with injuries, was a really talded young player and he's starting to play really good singles again and join up and get into the Australia Open, I believe on a wild card and win the tournament.

00:30:02
Speaker 2: And they beat everybody, and they thrashed everybody.

00:30:05
Speaker 3: And if you don't like watching Rinky play, you are there's something wrong with you, because this kid brings more electricity.

00:30:12
Speaker 2: He was returning the.

00:30:13
Speaker 3: Ball down the line, cross court, wherever you want me to hit it, I can hit it. I've never seen a kid play so good. And can we just go back and if you speaking of you know, go back and watch this and that, go back and watch the match point of the men's doubles. It was the most crazy, ridiculous point I've ever seen to win a Grand Slam.

00:30:32
Speaker 2: Rinky's on his ass, hitting fourhands. Jason's like reflexing balls.

00:30:37
Speaker 3: Back that he should have already won the point on a volley on top of the net.

00:30:40
Speaker 2: It was unbelieva.

00:30:41
Speaker 3: And then to lose the match, the guy hits the worst foehand chipper I've ever seen.

00:30:46
Speaker 2: Long That match, to.

00:30:48
Speaker 3: Me, was unbelievable, and that match point was truly one of the greatest match points to win a Grand Slam I've ever seen.

00:30:55
Speaker 1: I'm going to see something a little bit unscharitable here because I feel like we've given him lots of love, like some some deserved feedback. Nick curious pulling out of the tournament. Sure he's injured, he played an exhibition anyway, whatever. I kept telling everybody that he's the only Bob Popcorn draw in tennis and da da da da and being a like clout cheerleader for Novak Djokovic is really deeply uncool. Seeing another Australian pair win it this year was so sweet and satisfying because it just got for me an introduction to new I mean, Rinky want to set off Nadal a couple of years ago and everyone was sort of introduced to him. So I'm not trying to act like he's not on some people's minds. But having that big, amazing moment in front of a home crowd with Koogler, to me, that was one of the best stories in the whole tournament. I'm so glad you watched it. I'm glad that you are calling it out to me. You know dd Degreut winning in wheelchair singles, you know her ninth straight slam, Like, there was just so many amazing stories like that to me that were so.

00:32:01
Speaker 2: And I want to just also put a little light on the.

00:32:04
Speaker 3: Mixed doubles because Stefani. Luisa Stefani from Brazil and her Brazilian partner.

00:32:11
Speaker 2: Won the mixed doubles.

00:32:13
Speaker 3: Well done, beating Sonia Mersa in her last ever Grand Slam appearance. Sonya Mersa has been a great player for a long time and so it was nice to see her back in another fight. It was kind of similar to what Sam Stosa was doing the year before, making you know, the Strain Open, Grand Slam Final.

00:32:27
Speaker 2: And mixed and Wimbledon mixed doubles.

00:32:29
Speaker 3: But Luisa Stefani did not play the women's doubles because Katie McNally pulled out at the last minute, so she was unable to find a doubles partner. So when you're a doubles only specialist, you rely so heavily on the money you're making a Grand Slam, and so when her partner pulled out at the last second, there's a lot of drama going on on that day and we actually Sam Stows and I ran into Luisa Stefani when it happened. She was really sad, I mean really sad, and felt so sorry for her.

00:32:59
Speaker 2: To go to win the mixed doubles was such a great story. There's little things like that that people don't know about. So to win her first Grand Slam title, she's such a nice kid.

00:33:09
Speaker 3: She had ACLS surgery a year and a half ago, or maybe going at the US Open when she tore it in the women's doubles and I think the quarters of the women's doubles, and then was out an entire year and came back last year, and there's won a couple of tournaments. She's a great kid, great doubles partner play out. So for her to win the mixed doubles, well done to her.

00:33:27
Speaker 2: And of course Krajikova and Shinyakova, I mean, come.

00:33:31
Speaker 1: On, so dominant those check women are not who I'd want to see in a dra shout out. I should say it was very fun to see Shuko Ayama and Ana Shubahara in the final against them, But I mean, when you get to the finals of the women's doubles slam match, you do not want to see those guys across that review because if there's little check flags her name, you don't have much of a chance.

00:33:56
Speaker 3: I mean, obviously I know a little bit about playing with you know, just predominant partnership you just they're so in tune with one another. The way they play. They're very strategic. They played the same point over and over and no one's worked out how to break that code. And they remind me a little bit of back in the day of Pablo Soirez and Virginia Runna Pasqual who were the first real doubles team that combined from the back of the court. I remember Lisa Raymond and I played them for the first time and we're like, oh, wait, they played back. They got no chance, like we to kill them, you know, And then we realized, oh no, they.

00:34:34
Speaker 2: They're actually really good from the back of the court.

00:34:35
Speaker 3: They use the lob, they do all these sorts of things, and of course they dominated and they won many, many many Grand Slams during my time, and they were the.

00:34:43
Speaker 2: First to really do it.

00:34:44
Speaker 3: And these guys play very similarly to them, but in a little bit of a different way. But yeah, kudos to them. This is just incredible run there. They're going on the last few years and doubles, and they've been playing doubles together since they're about thirteen.

00:34:56
Speaker 1: So for them, they're like in the same brain. I mean, yeah, make sense, Like they have such a wonderful Yeah. So wait, we forgot to ask, and then I'll let you go because I you got a flight to catch back to America here in another little bit of time, and I've got to go put somebody to bed. Who won the old fots, who won the exhibitionion doubles?

00:35:19
Speaker 3: Count who wins and loses? Caitlin, We just count who didn't injure themselves? The most I know, they give a trophy. They gave one to Danielle. I had to cover at Agno Suga rod Ruanska. But what people need to do understand is that we play on a we play on a time line. So for example, they say you've got to be off the court by x, so you know who has a winning at that time, you kind of throw a couple of games to make sure we're off the court.

00:35:42
Speaker 2: Did you get it? No?

00:35:44
Speaker 3: My shoulders stuffed still. But I had a good time. I got to play mixed doubles with the Pooh with Filipoosis against one of my you know, I loved Marcus Bagdatas and so to play against him and you know, play again. Being back on the court with my old double partner car of Black is just I don't know.

00:36:02
Speaker 2: We just when we've let the competitive.

00:36:04
Speaker 3: Spirit and the you know what, we all went through playing together and playing against each other and we just love seeing each other. So it was just a great couple of weeks for all of us to hang out and play some tennis together. So anyway, listen, it was an amazing Austrain Open. It was so great to have all the crowds back. It's the most people that have come into the Strain Open ever in history and it is the most attended, the most attended Grand Slam in the world, okay ahead of all of the others, which I know you find incredible, But Tennis Australia have done so many amazing things. You would love it down here, Caitlin. You should bring Peter down. They have this thing called the Kids Ballpark where you have you know, they go, They have water slides, they have like, you know, the climbing trees.

00:36:47
Speaker 1: It's gonna say, if there's anything you could call a splash zone, you've got them solved. And splash zone is all I need to hear. That kid loves.

00:36:52
Speaker 2: Splash zone climbing zones.

00:36:54
Speaker 3: Like it's just like a fun park for kids. So you can bring your kids. They can watch a bit of tennis, then they can go and have a bit of you know, you can go to a bar at beach that they've set up. I mean, it's just the Tennis Australia people and the Australian Open in and of itself have done an amazing job to make this not just a tennis event but an actual carnival of fun.

00:37:15
Speaker 1: Well, I do want to tell you you did a really phenomenal job. Your comentary was exquisite. Hearing you, particularly in the women's final was a treat and they were appreciated. And you're a missed here. So get back on a plane and get back here so we can raise a glass.

00:37:30
Speaker 3: Oh well, got to get back to my show, The Power Out, which you hosted incredibly well for a week and I appreciated that I was getting up at five point.

00:37:37
Speaker 2: Fifteen in the morning to host it from here the second week.

00:37:40
Speaker 3: But I loved every bit of it because nobody loves tennis like you and me, Ma Caitlin. So sure, everybody, thanks for tuning into us. I hope you all aren't going to be too sad. We've got about a few more months to get to the French Open, which is Caitlin's favorite. And we will be back on the Red clay. But we will be back, of course, in the next few.

00:37:56
Speaker 2: Weeks to tell you more stuff. Maybe I'll get a couple of interviews. No thanks for joining, so everybody

00:38:02
Speaker 1: All right, Bye bye,