2025 Predictions Pt. 2: More Women, A few Men

00:00:15
Speaker 1: Anyway, we're back, so let's talk about some other cheeky babes Igsciontek. Yes, how is she going to handle all of this newfound fame that she doesn't want?

00:00:25
Speaker 2: So my prediction is that she will struggle in the first month of the season. I think that we talked about it. She's such a nervous, anxious person. I think there will be some residue of all of this in the first month of the year. And I think she will struggle at Australia, which is generally and traditionally hasn't really been the best surface for her because it's quite quick and flat. And I think she will let everything behind her latest by February and we'll start playing really well in the Middle East and win Anian wells again.

00:01:02
Speaker 3: Oh look at you.

00:01:03
Speaker 1: You're just like just letting everyone know. There's the future bets for you everyone out there.

00:01:07
Speaker 2: Yeah, well that's what I think, because I think I thought differently. Put I thought, although she has a new coach, maybe that will give her a new impetus. But I thought that this was going to be the year twenty twenty five where EGA will do really well at the Australian Open, because I know how her brain functions, and I know that she wants to get better at the things that she's not as good yet as she is and others like on Clay, and I know that she has worked specifically in the off season on that. I just think, with her personality, her anxiousness, that there might still be some residue for her in the first month, and that she will shake it off. I hope it's not. I really hope it's not, because there shouldn't be, but I but once she shakes it off, I think she will stop playing really well again. I think that this was also like sometimes when these things happen, I always explain it this way. So the best tournament I've played in my comeback was I won Charleston and then I went on a winning spree. I made the semi finals of French Open in Miami. I had this terrible stomach virus and I was puking for three I'm so sorry, but I was puking for three days and it felt almost like a purging, like a cleansing of the system. And I feel like maybe this whole thing for Ega, the nervousness, the doping, the having to hide it and coming forward with it now, leaving it behind can be something, and to be honest, even before that it was a difficult season for Ega. She's so good that she still did incredible results despite her nervousness and anxiousness. But to be fair, all this anxiousness was there before and everyone's like, is she doing okay? She looks a lot more stressed than she usually does, and I think this season was her purging and cleansing, and she will be great in twenty twenty five, even better than she was this year. I just don't know whether she can already bring it in the first month on a surface that traditionally doesn't suit her well, with all the residue of what happened in the end of the season.

00:03:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's a little bit of the I think it's more of the court in Australia doesn't really suit her until I really slow it down, which I am hearing that they're not this year.

00:03:14
Speaker 3: I think it's still going to be quite fast. I think that's going to.

00:03:17
Speaker 2: Be difficult to correct.

00:03:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, I said house to Court, and I think I think he said it was going to be pretty fast, so which is fine with me. I don't mind that we've had that conversation. You know, it lends itself to people being more aggressive coming into the net, hitting big serves.

00:03:32
Speaker 2: I think we talked about it. I think it's great that they have different surfaces. That's what separates tennis from all the other pussy sports because you have to adjust every single week to other.

00:03:44
Speaker 1: Yeah, those pussy ice hockey players, you know, they play on the same ice.

00:03:47
Speaker 2: Every way for rugby players.

00:03:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm just joking, but hey, take it up with Andrea, not me.

00:03:53
Speaker 2: I just have a problem. We talked about it. When it's like in the middle of the US hardcourt season, Cincinnati is bloody fast and then they go back to something.

00:04:00
Speaker 3: Let's hope that listen.

00:04:01
Speaker 1: We're putting it out and right now, USTA make sure the court surfaces are the same speed over the summer, please. Now, as far as the Australian Open, do I think that Eger can win it? Sure, I'm never going to say that she can't win it. I do think it's interesting, you know, with her, with everything that she's you know, gone through. I like that she put out a couple of statements recently too, and a lot of it was about the fact that, look, she could afford it, right, She could afford to pay for the the investigation.

00:04:29
Speaker 2: She could afford to she gave for example.

00:04:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, and she said, you know, I could afford to pay the lawyers. I could afford to, you know, have the have the best lawyer, have the best this, have the best at And she said, you know, I think she's the type of person that will fight for that. She will continue to talk about it and be like, look, it's not right, it's not right that I could get away, not get away with it. I could get the help I needed, Yeah, to be able to quickly move this along.

00:04:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, and have the lowest impact possible on the on her career, right, Yeah, that's all what these players hope for. It's the lowest possible impact on their career when something like this happens. Yeah.

00:05:04
Speaker 1: And I just feel like with Eager, you know, she's the type of person I think will sort of pick up the you know, pick up the bat in a little bit for other players to say, like, it probably isn't fair because if this happens to somebody else, like a Tara More that couldn't afford to pay for lawyers right away, and you know her at the extent of her suspension was long, you know. I think that's what we need to differentiate though, and we've talked about it already in the pot, but everyone was a little bit different, you know, Hallup, it took a long time for her to find it. I'm a bit surprised with Hallop going hard though publicly. I don't think that's a good look for her. I think she's just she's angry, obviously, yes, but don't be angry at eager, be angry at the system like she's. You know, there's a lot of players have been angry at the player, be angry at the system. It's not it wasn't their fault. They played within the rules. If they didn't, they wouldn't be playing right now. I mean, so, I just that's for me, that's I think.

00:05:58
Speaker 2: No, I think you mentioned it exactly or you said it exactly right. She's angry, she's acting from emotions. She's not making rational decisions, and you can feel the tie turning on her a little bit. I think the one thing that Simona had through all of this was sympathy. People really were on her side, and it's turning this year just because she hasn't let go, And honestly, I don't know if I could let go, Like, I don't know if I could if I had been in her situation, I don't know that I could have let go. And either I have to say because it's.

00:06:27
Speaker 1: I wouldn't have been able to do as well, like if I felt like so emotionally like, I would not.

00:06:33
Speaker 3: But I wouldn't be throwing it on.

00:06:34
Speaker 1: The player, right, I would throw it on the system. I would be throwing it on the I A TA, I'd be throwing on what I'd be.

00:06:40
Speaker 3: I'd be throwing it on everyone else but the player.

00:06:43
Speaker 2: And I think it's because she should.

00:06:44
Speaker 3: Understand if if the tables are turned.

00:06:47
Speaker 2: She would have done the same, like.

00:06:48
Speaker 1: She wouldn't want if if Ego had gone through what she went through, she wouldn't want Ego throwing darts at her.

00:06:54
Speaker 3: That's what I'd understand.

00:06:55
Speaker 2: That's what you mean. Well, I I thought like if Simona had known what If Simona had known right away where the was, she would have done exactly the same thing that Eiga has or Yannick has, and she would have tried to get away with the least impact possible on her career. And I think that's where she's losing people slightly, is because until now it was against the system. It was why am I not being heard? Why is cast taking eight months to get back to me?

00:07:27
Speaker 3: Why?

00:07:27
Speaker 4: You know?

00:07:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the system And that's exactly, and that's and that she's right to talk about this because why isn't she being hurt when her career is on the line. She's not twenty anymore, she doesn't have fifteen years.

00:07:40
Speaker 1: I mean, that's where I think, you know, if anything, really her and Eager could get together and discuss this and actually make a difference because they both can afford to help.

00:07:47
Speaker 2: Maybe you should get them on the podcast and talk to them about it together. That would be amazing, Not even on a podcast, I think on a TV thing like sit down with you moderating the whole thing and then just rationally as rationally as possible, trying to talk things through. How was it for you? How was it for you? Why does just make you angry? You know?

00:08:09
Speaker 1: Hadj Maas come out recently too and talked about it because she felt like she got hard done by as well, and so, you know, I think the system is what we need to change. But anyway, let's not talk about that anymore because it's beating a dead horse at this point.

00:08:23
Speaker 2: So you think that it will be the surface that will refuse Ego the title if it does not the residue of what has happened in the last two months.

00:08:33
Speaker 3: I don't think so.

00:08:34
Speaker 1: I think that she's able to hopefully move on Australia be inviting and welcoming, welcoming for her, There's no doubt about it. The people in Australian part of them probably don't even know what the hell happened, so they were just like, what, no, don't worry about it, mate.

00:08:48
Speaker 3: Ye ja yeah yea.

00:08:51
Speaker 1: But so yeah, So I think it's going to be it's more about but again, new coach, new perspective. Definitely a lot different personnel to Thomas Swikiowski, who's a little demure and a little dour on his good days.

00:09:06
Speaker 2: The man who never smiles, the man who never smiles.

00:09:09
Speaker 1: And I think that, you know, Eger doesn't. I think Egan needs to be far from that personality because she's already pretty uptight and you know, a pretty quiet person in and of itself, and I think you need somebody around there.

00:09:20
Speaker 3: It's going to make this sport.

00:09:22
Speaker 2: Fun Rebeccaa does. She obviously came out firing in the beginning of this year twenty twenty four, she dominated Brisbane, destroyed Arena who was going to win? They just a week later, two weeks later in the Brisbane Final. How do you see her her Australian Open playing out.

00:09:43
Speaker 1: I still there's still some unknowns about her physicality, her mentality, her emotional you know, state.

00:09:51
Speaker 3: State where she's at with all of that.

00:09:54
Speaker 1: If all of those things are aligned and you can tell fairly quickly with her, I think because a late like three four months of the year, she did not look good like, she looked thin, she looked her skin was all messed up, like she was just she was not looking like herself. If I if she turns up in Australia and looks healthy, look out because I think she's going to be the player to watch next year, there is no doubt about it. If she can emotionally get through things, if she can physically handle herself.

00:10:20
Speaker 3: New coach as well, with Goran Ivanissovitch.

00:10:24
Speaker 1: And Goron's such a light guy and he's such a nice guy, and he's so you know, I think he's going to be great for her because he's going to simplify everything. He's not going to be talking to her twenty four to seven like the old coach used to do, and.

00:10:36
Speaker 3: Let her play like of all the players that you don't need to tell what to do half the time, it's her.

00:10:41
Speaker 1: So I think that's going to be a good coaching situation for her, and I think she will be the player to watch if she's healthy and if she's ready and mentally ready to go, and if she is look out, she might be the player to be to this train open if she's healthy.

00:10:57
Speaker 2: So my prediction for her is also that she will play one of her best seasons ever, but starting from March on. I do think just because not because of her tennis. I think, as you say, when she's on, she's right away one of.

00:11:10
Speaker 3: The under her belt.

00:11:12
Speaker 2: No, I think that she needs a bit of security because she's been together with the old coach for so long and she's gotten used to the pattern of constant talking so much that she will just need a month or two to shake it off and trust herself, trust her instincts again, which which Goran Is just said, almost Novak imagine Novak Djokovic coaching Rebaccina. That would be amazing. That would be amazing, which Goran was also. He was also an instinctual play and I think that's what he supported also in Novak, and that's what he will supporting Rebecca. And I just think that type of work needs a little bit of time in getting used to it and finding the trust in Goran and in herself, and then she will be.

00:11:52
Speaker 1: Whoa look out where Yeah, beware, beware, listen.

00:11:57
Speaker 3: And I think she's gonna be sneaky.

00:11:59
Speaker 2: Okay, I think going to be. And she traditionally feels incredibly well at the Australia I mean final between her and Rebecca, between Rebecca and it's one of the best I've ever seen, one of the best women's matches.

00:12:11
Speaker 3: So sabal Anca favorite going in.

00:12:14
Speaker 1: Loves Australia, loves the court there, loves the atmosphere, loves the people.

00:12:19
Speaker 2: So particular about her off seasons and that's what I love about her. There is a reason why she always she there's a reason she always plays her best in Australia. She really is accurate and precise about her off season. She works on weaknesses, she improves her game, she develops her game and that's why she plays so well.

00:12:40
Speaker 3: So we're both in agreement that she's the favorite.

00:12:42
Speaker 2: Is there a player dark horse?

00:12:45
Speaker 1: Is there a dark horse in the tournament that you feel like we're not talking about at all?

00:12:52
Speaker 2: What is with she plays? Yeah?

00:12:55
Speaker 3: I don't know what's not with.

00:12:56
Speaker 1: I think Maria Sakari and we were talking like players that were ranked two and three in the world essentially like two years ago. You know, Bodosa is coming back from injury. She certainly played a great last six months of the year.

00:13:08
Speaker 2: I see her doing making a quarter final. I was just really weirded out, to be honest, with how she played the quarterfinal against Emma na Vara at the US Open. Did you see that?

00:13:20
Speaker 3: Yeah, I commentated the match. She tanked to the last couple of games. That was the worst display of tennis sportsmanship slash.

00:13:27
Speaker 1: I was so shocked, and she didn't even run for the ball on match point, and I was sitting in the stands, fairly certain I could have got over the stands, got on the court and still got to that drop.

00:13:37
Speaker 2: It was not a good rupture.

00:13:38
Speaker 3: It was terrible. She just started walking in an Emma.

00:13:40
Speaker 2: This is her biggest strength, Emma. She reads energies of matches like nobody else.

00:13:46
Speaker 1: I actually called that when it was I think it was five to one in the second sec.

00:13:50
Speaker 3: I was like, ah, this is an ova. It was weird.

00:13:53
Speaker 1: It was like she just because she's polo. Badosa is a type of player that's very easy to read emotionally. You know, where's Emma's not.

00:14:01
Speaker 2: Yeah, she has the stress in her face right away.

00:14:04
Speaker 1: The eyes bobbed, and also she's like looking at her you know, up at her box the whole time when she wasn't doing well, like going five one, five two, five three, and then I got to six five down, she comes off the chair, walks to serve to go into a tie break.

00:14:15
Speaker 3: I mean she can still win to stay. Yeah, she didn't even look at her people.

00:14:19
Speaker 1: I'm like, you haven't been looking at them NonStop for five games, and then now when you're really in trouble, like going.

00:14:25
Speaker 3: To serve for the stay in the match, you're not even looking at them. I was like, I'm so confused by you.

00:14:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you know, I think I told you many times that Paula Badosa is my favorite player under w Tator. I think she's incredibly charismatic with arena. I think the friendship friendship makes total sense. And I played her. I had the questionable privilege to play her twice and matches before I retired, and she was playing well at that time, she was coming at she won her first title when she beat me in the first round of Belgrade. And I was like, and because I was always a very tennis IQ player, you know I didn't I had limitations and talents.

00:15:02
Speaker 3: So I had to wake up for you and your negative Yeah.

00:15:05
Speaker 2: But you know I always was like looking for weaknesses, how can I exploit them? Pala Barosa doesn't have a weakness when she's playing well. The only weakness she has is her emotions. But tennis wise, she has a good forehand, she has a great backhand, She's moving fantastic, she's a great athlete, she has a fantastic serf. There is when she's in a good emotional space, she's a pretty competitor since she's been before. Yeah, okay, but for like, generally from the baseline where she plays normally, she doesn't have a weakness, and then she what she also has is a natural change of rhythm in her ground strokes. Because the forehand is very heavy, the black backhand is quite flat, so she doesn't even have to do any change of rhythm because she has that in her game. But I have to say from favorite player in the w t Ato, when I saw that match, not so much anymore. I was really ticked off by that.

00:15:59
Speaker 1: I was, and I still can't believe she didn't run for that ball on match point. It's still to me to this day.

00:16:04
Speaker 2: It's just what I feel bad because I know it's like this emotional self destruction. No, I don't thought that she's like tanking throwing the match, but the looks.

00:16:13
Speaker 3: I know she tanked that match.

00:16:15
Speaker 1: Like sorry, I mean, I know, we always try and be positive, we always try and err on the side of like we get it where I was a mental midget half the time, but that was unacceptable. If I was her coach, I'd be like, excuse me, you didn't run for the ball on match point to go to juice to get to a tiebreak to possibly get to the semi finals of the US Open. Sorry, unacceptable. And I don't care if you're like feel bad about yourself. I mean, we all know what it feels like to be out there and getting killed, but you're not getting killed. You just played five bad games, but you're still six or five in the second set of a quarterfinal, like unacceptable anyway, speaking of the person she beat lost to, Sorry, Emmaavarro, what do we think her chances are next year?

00:16:55
Speaker 3: Because I'll tell you what.

00:16:56
Speaker 1: I just watched her play here at Madison Square Garden and Jess Pagola, who look at hadn't been playing a lot and was coming back with the knee injury, and she's all good now. But boy, boy, oh boy, she's just got everything.

00:17:10
Speaker 2: She can do everything.

00:17:11
Speaker 3: She's sort of like Jasmine Paulini.

00:17:13
Speaker 1: She's not tall, she's got a beautiful service motion, unbelievable forehand, her fourhand now down the line has improved so much because she used to only really do that buggy with forehand cross care. Now she can go line, she can go across. Her back end's great, she can slice, she can volley, she moves unbelievable, she's incredible shape, like she's.

00:17:31
Speaker 3: Like Jasmine Pauline. So you can't tell me she can't make finals.

00:17:34
Speaker 2: What is her ranking now?

00:17:36
Speaker 1: Her ranking is she is number eight in the world. Yeah, you got Jess Pagola at seven in the world. Emminavara at eight, and you've got Cocoa Gough at three. You've got three Americans inside the top ten.

00:17:47
Speaker 3: Unbelievable.

00:17:48
Speaker 2: I think that she's just a bit behind the best five players in the world right now. But I definitely see her making the quarters and with a good jar, one of the favorites losers early years.

00:17:59
Speaker 3: She can do well in Australia.

00:18:00
Speaker 2: I think so too. I think the thing with her, what her biggest strength is, by far, in my opinion, is what I just said. She reads energies of a game. That's why she keeps beating Cocoa Goth because she it's like a predator in the woods. She smells the nervousness. Well yeah, she smells the nervousness on the other side, and then she just it was the same against Paula five to one. Paula started getting nervous and Emma Navarro just didn't miss a single bond. She went for good.

00:18:26
Speaker 3: Yeah, I see you, yeah, I see.

00:18:29
Speaker 2: She went through the middle of the court, okay, depth, not too fast, not too slow, made a lot of first serves and whoops back to five.

00:18:36
Speaker 3: On whoopsie Daisy, All right, I think you know, I mean.

00:18:40
Speaker 2: That casts for me. Miro Andreva just want to see how she does, just because she beat on Chabel last year and really likes Austra and Open but has to defend some points. So we'll see that she.

00:18:48
Speaker 1: Is sixteen in the world currently and that's pretty incredible her year old.

00:18:53
Speaker 3: She's sixteen, isn't she.

00:18:54
Speaker 2: I mean she's sixteen twelve?

00:18:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, pretty much. If she's sixteen, she's sixteen.

00:19:00
Speaker 1: She's seventeen right now, she'll be eighteen in April, so hell pretty good when you're seventeen in your rank sixteen.

00:19:07
Speaker 2: I'm gonna throw two more words at you.

00:19:10
Speaker 1: Okay words Kova. Carolina Mukova, Oh yeah, can she have one? Okay tennis God's tennis Gods, if you're listening to our podcast, do me a favor. Give Carolina Mukhova twelve fucking months without an injury, please, dear God, tennis god's one year, just one year.

00:19:32
Speaker 3: I want to see how well she can do. Yeah, because that girl can win a Grand Slam.

00:19:36
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course you can. But on the other hand, she hasn't won a title.

00:19:42
Speaker 3: Not one.

00:19:42
Speaker 2: I think she has no nine. Really, maybe she has won, but I'm gonna look it up in the meantime.

00:19:48
Speaker 3: I love that we do that mid mid podcast, like god forbid.

00:19:51
Speaker 2: We yeah, because you always come up with all these names. I'm going to throw two crazy curveballs at you than male Collins. What she has done this year plus Diana or Diana said, I.

00:20:06
Speaker 3: Think's a top twenty player possibility. I don't think that. I don't think she can be top ten.

00:20:10
Speaker 1: I think there's too many players that are week in and week out better than her week in and week out.

00:20:16
Speaker 3: Could she get there?

00:20:17
Speaker 2: Maybe she has won Sorry just about Mukhova. She has won one WT. It was in Europe in South Korea twenty ninety. I wasn't even fifty, so.

00:20:28
Speaker 3: I wasn't even close to fifty. Yeah, Look, she has to get over the hurdle of winning a title. You are that, You were absolutely right.

00:20:36
Speaker 1: She's been to a final of a Grand Slam at the French Open, where she played one of the best matches we've seen in a long time against Eager, So I do think that's possible for her to win a Grand Slam. But winning tournaments, but Petco, she has to be fucking injury less.

00:20:52
Speaker 2: It's the worst to be able.

00:20:54
Speaker 1: To get you know that that confidence like in her body to be able to push herself, to be able to get through. I mean, dear, just tennis God's one favor. If there's going to be one thing you do next year, let her have a twelve months without injury.

00:21:08
Speaker 2: God gave peanuts to people with our teeth. He gave Carolina Muhoa all this talent and potential and just forgot to give her also a body that holds up in the crazy world of changing surfaces and tennis balls. Why God, why why do bad things always happen?

00:21:27
Speaker 5: Anyway?

00:21:56
Speaker 3: Listen? Okay, So that's it.

00:21:57
Speaker 1: I mean, we could talk about twenty more other players, because God knows when it comes to the women's to it, it can happen.

00:22:03
Speaker 3: Let's quickly get to the guys, the fellas, the.

00:22:05
Speaker 1: Blokes, the mates, the lads, the kiddos. Yannick Sinner overwhelming favorite for me too, at least Raina.

00:22:15
Speaker 2: I think the Australian Open is made for him in terms of surface, in terms of ball, in terms of I think he used to struggle there before he got incredibly physically fit and in shape, but now even the temperature doesn't seem to affect him. The only thing I see if we have a forty two degree type of day in Melbourne with the dry heat, he can turn a little ginger in the face as well as his hair.

00:22:40
Speaker 3: Yeah, but guess what, like if it's that hot, they just close the roof.

00:22:43
Speaker 2: Mate, all right, it's all different, yeah, deliver.

00:22:46
Speaker 3: These guys are pussies, let's face it. These a week.

00:22:51
Speaker 2: Well, So I went, I played.

00:22:52
Speaker 3: When I and we saw it was.

00:22:54
Speaker 1: Going to be forty two degrees, we were like and for Americans, that's like one hundred and ten degrees.

00:22:59
Speaker 3: We were like, oh.

00:23:00
Speaker 1: My god, I'll never forget playing one match there. Sorry to interrupt you, no, but there was one match there that I played. And I remember walking out of the locker room outside because we've coursed downstairs in the air conditioning, and then you go out to play the match, and I remember saying to myself, sitting down, taking my racket out of my bag, and I literally said, dear God, please help me today.

00:23:24
Speaker 3: It was so hot.

00:23:25
Speaker 1: And you know, there's no oh, you know we're gonna stop after the second set, or you know, we're not going to play tennis today because it's too hot.

00:23:31
Speaker 3: We're like, too bad, deal, with it. Thank God. I won that match in straight sets, but I'll never forget that.

00:23:35
Speaker 1: I sat down and goes, please, please God, Please God, it was so hot.

00:23:39
Speaker 2: Well. I had also wanted to tell a similar anecdote. I played one time against Magdalena Ribarikova in such a heat that when I touched my bobby pins, my skin got stuck to the bobby pin of the That's how hot it was. So my bobby pin was melting and when I act sent touched it, my skin got attached to the bobby pinuins like, that's how hard it was.

00:24:07
Speaker 4: And I always, I swear to God, I always say, when it's really hard in Australia, we're two degrees away from somebody frying a fucking egg.

00:24:18
Speaker 3: They've done it, They've done it.

00:24:19
Speaker 2: Oh, they always do it.

00:24:21
Speaker 4: Every single Australian broadcast channel fries and egg on the center God to show how hot it is. And it's like, haven't we done that, literally sixteen years in a row.

00:24:32
Speaker 3: Just letting people know how bloody hot it is now Australia.

00:24:36
Speaker 2: I can't wait to be back.

00:24:37
Speaker 1: I am looking forward to actually seeing to how this Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Little situation.

00:24:45
Speaker 3: Yeah, it is also going to pan.

00:24:48
Speaker 1: Out now when you think about the fact that Novak Djokovic, the greatest player of all time, the amount of Grand Slamsy's one tournaments is one all the things, has did not win one tournament last year but the Olympics.

00:25:02
Speaker 2: Yeah crazy, And to be fair, you also played like three tournaments.

00:25:06
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:25:07
Speaker 1: Well, and I want to actually publicly say you were right. He'd only played like twelve or ten tournaments. Yeah, because but the ATP side had him at eighteen. So ATP site and WTA sites, you guys both suck.

00:25:20
Speaker 3: Okayoo the worst you guys suck. You need new social media people because your websites are horrendous because I looked it up.

00:25:31
Speaker 1: It's at eighteen, but he only played I think ten or twelve. Yeah, because you know, somebody wrote to me, Bunch wrote to me. It was like, oh, Petko was right, and I was like, she was and I need to publicly say you were correct. You and the fact that he made the ATV finals only played ten tournaments isn't embarrassing.

00:25:46
Speaker 2: That was my entire point.

00:25:47
Speaker 1: I know, I'm so sorry you anyways, I totally screwed you over there.

00:25:51
Speaker 2: Yeah, but this is it's not your fault, it's the ATP exactly well, both ATP and so back.

00:25:57
Speaker 3: To him winning this Strain and Open.

00:25:58
Speaker 1: Obviously we know that it's the tournament that he plays his best tennis out he plays great everywhere, but he's won that ten times, which is outrageous. I mean, the only person that you can even talk about in the same category is of course Ruffil winning fourteen French Opens. But the fact that he's won ten Australian Opens, which I would argue and say it might even be as impressive, if not more impressive. I probably can't say more impressive because fourteen French Opens is outrageous.

00:26:27
Speaker 3: But everybody plays pretty.

00:26:29
Speaker 2: Well on hardcore, Yeah that's true, you know, whereas when you grow up freshest from the off season.

00:26:34
Speaker 3: I mean, now American can play in clay.

00:26:35
Speaker 1: They kin't even slide, So you're ruling out like thirty percent of people you know, or even Australians or people that grow up playing on hard court barely don't even know what the fuck they're doing on clay, whereas everyone really can play on hard court. You know, even the Europeans have to go indoors. They play indoors on hardcore. So the fact that he's won ten austrain Opens is just mind boggling. Kenny win eleven.

00:26:57
Speaker 2: So my prediction for Novak next year, I don't know why I'm on these predictions. I normally always like and wish you wash you about.

00:27:03
Speaker 3: Everything for someone you're becoming very German.

00:27:06
Speaker 2: I am very German. That's terrible. Well anyways, so my prediction for Novak is that he will not give a flying f about any of the tournaments except for the Australian Open and Wimble Wimbledon, and he will make a huge push with everything he's still got left in that cute forty year old body of his. We'll put everything into winning one of these, try and get to twenty five.

00:27:31
Speaker 3: And then drop the mic out.

00:27:33
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:27:33
Speaker 1: I hope to god he does that. Like I'm not kidding you. If you want see Strain Open, I would like him to drop the mic and then just go. You know what, I've been to Australia for twenty years now, I'm going to go and see the country and I'm going to take my whole family on a holiday.

00:27:45
Speaker 2: Yeah fucking Then he goes on Aya's Rock. Is that things as rockyh.

00:27:50
Speaker 3: Yeah, uhlaru they call it now, but yeah, I would. I would really love.

00:27:54
Speaker 1: To see Novak win one more because God knows, I want that Margaret Court record to be never talked about ever again. Because they changed the goalpost. It was always Stephanie Graff. Steffie Graff.

00:28:04
Speaker 3: Yeah, twenty two Grand slams. Who's going to do that? I mean, who's going to do that at twenty She did that at twenty nine.

00:28:09
Speaker 2: I just have to tell you one of your I know Stephie, isn't that We never talk about her because she won the Golden Slam. Yeah, nobody has achieved that.

00:28:18
Speaker 3: No one will ever do that.

00:28:19
Speaker 1: No, I mean Novak tried bloody close, but he didn't want a gold that year.

00:28:25
Speaker 3: He lost his mind And.

00:28:26
Speaker 2: Actually he didn't want a Grand Slam either.

00:28:29
Speaker 1: No, he ended up losing in the finals of the US Open, but he came very close to winning a Calendar.

00:28:33
Speaker 2: Slam, right, but that year, yes, true?

00:28:35
Speaker 3: Right?

00:28:35
Speaker 2: And I think actually done.

00:28:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, I actually think him playing the Olympics heard him there, ah right, Yeah, because he wanted it so badly. If he'd only known he was going to do it three years later. Yeah, but listen, I think that Novak, it's going to be really interesting because let's face it, and you and I've always talked about you in particular, at a certain age, your body just doesn't allow you to play best of five. That's why him having the luxury, well not the luxury, but the fact that it was best of three sets at the Olympics in Paris, I think really helped him.

00:29:07
Speaker 2: So I think for him to achieve that extra title, which I think he can definitely, he needs to be a bit lucky. And that sounds no, no, he needs to be lucky in the first week to contain energy. You need, you know, he needs to have a jaw where he cruised because if he has tough right, but even but he had terrible people. He didn't play a guy in the top two hundred in the first but that's what. But he didn't He lost a set in the second round against a guy, an Irish guy I ranked three hundred in the world. I call that much. That was weird. But I mean he was injured, he was on one leg. But now he will be fit, he will be at one hundred percent. He will come from off season, he will have trained amazingly. He will have any Murray in his box, and so all the negative energy will be trapped in the playoffs box, not on the court and the persona of any Murray. And and I think he just needs to get a little lucky in the first week. So he contains energy in a sense that he cruises through the first four rounds, let's say, and then can focus on because he might play on Alcaraz, might play a Center or whoever, and then is like at his full powers there, Yeah.

00:30:19
Speaker 3: Because I'm looking at the siege.

00:30:20
Speaker 1: You've got Center, You've got Zverev at number two in the world. Now, I mean we know that he's capable of obviously making the Semis and finals. Look at his best, he is really good. But he has a problem with playing Taylor Fritz. He has a problem playing with you know, against Alcorazes and the Cinners. Now, I don't know if he can win the Australian Open. But you know, then you've got Alcaraz at three.

00:30:45
Speaker 3: We'll see how physically he is.

00:30:46
Speaker 1: And you know, I don't know if you heard this, but he said the Charlotte Exhibition he just did a couple of days ago.

00:30:52
Speaker 3: He said, well, you know, this year was tough and.

00:30:55
Speaker 1: Stevens looked at him as like, boy, what she's like, She's a friend, what are you talking about? And of course Francis Taufo is like, god, I hope I have a hope terrible year like that, But he was more talking about his injuries and there's the ups and downs that he had. So it'll be interesting to see how Carlos responds to that next year, because obviously winning the French Open and wimbleder is just unheard of. It's such a hard thing to do. But he has some question marks about playing on the hard courts against sinners, against Zverevs, against these guys that have really big power, and that's the one knock on there's a couple of knocks that I have on Carlos, and this is you know again, we're talking about at the highest of level.

00:31:36
Speaker 2: Yeah, we're talking about the best players in the world.

00:31:39
Speaker 1: I think he he's not a big guy, right, He's only like my high He's like five ten, five eleven. He needs to develop a little bit of a flatter serve and I think he needs to develop his serf better and he needs to hit his spots better, right, I mean, Roger's not it wasn't a big guy.

00:31:56
Speaker 2: Six foot Roger, but he has such an accurate but.

00:31:59
Speaker 1: He could hit the corners like nobody else. And I think Carlos needs to get his accuracy with his serving better. And if he doesn't hit the corners better, he's not getting free points. Yannick Sinner gets free point after free point. It's very free point after free point with these big, massive serves. So I think Alcarez on a fast court, like a hard court like this Train Open and like the US Open, he needs to get more accurate with the first serve and he needs to develop a flatter, harder serve. I also think he needs to really get just a little bit better at his shot selection, just on the biggest of moments.

00:32:29
Speaker 2: Remember when I said he's a play child and you yelled at me, you said he want more slams than Roger at this time, and now you're kind of ross me.

00:32:38
Speaker 3: Well, no, because I bet you Roger probably was a little bit like that as.

00:32:41
Speaker 2: Well, like a little flashy, a little bit over.

00:32:42
Speaker 3: The top, you know.

00:32:43
Speaker 1: And then he's like, ah, I want to win these matches, so I probably should just hit that fourhand in and cross court.

00:32:48
Speaker 2: Well, that forehand also would create so much power to almost completely straight arm is what sometimes hurts him on these flat, quick surfaces. And he the guy he lost to in Paris was you go in bed, and he said afterwards in the press, corms man. This guy plays the flattest of all and on this quick surface, it's just too quick and flat to me. Basically for me and Austrian openplays similar. The one quibble I have with Carlos is what the others don't have. Zverev doesn't have even a tailor doesn't have. Janick definitely doesn't have a Novak definitely doesn't have. When Carlos is bad, he's fucking horrendous.

00:33:24
Speaker 3: Yeah, he misses, he is horrendous.

00:33:27
Speaker 2: He can't he doesn't have a plan B where he like, you know, like Rafa, just put the ball in on the service line, run it down and wait until the other guy self destructs, because you are still Carlos Alcaraz who's won four slams, but he then can't make a ball anymore. He's double faulting, he's missing, he doesn't even get into a rally. And so when Carlos is bad, he's so bad and this low level he's off.

00:33:49
Speaker 3: That's what a lot of matches to people he should not have.

00:33:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, and in my opinion, at the highest level he's probably the best player. He has a three and zero against Janick Senna, who was by far the best player this season at his best. But the problem is at his low level, he can still lose to Jakob Manzig. Yeah, and to you know, to like not random guys. Those are great players. But a Yanick Sinner would not lose to a Yako Manzig probably. No.

00:34:12
Speaker 1: I mean, you saw Yanix record the last how many matches he hasn't lost a set?

00:34:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, he lost six matches and three of those were too Carlos too, And one of those was against Stephanos Titipas where he actually got cheated on a double fauld of Titsipass and would have been a double break up for one.

00:34:27
Speaker 3: And I know that was such a joke. That was the worst in Monte Carlo.

00:34:31
Speaker 1: Look, I think the bottom line is I think with Carlos, he's so fun and exuberant and joyous on the court that he gets a little bit too exuberant and joyous and a little bit too showy. He's a play child, and that in and of itself is why we love him. But it is the one area that if is really going to lock in and win a lot more. And we are we are again, we are we are so like pulling at little strings here because if but he's young, that part of his game that you're talking about, the play child stuff. I hope he never loses the joy, but that's where he just needs to be a little bit disciplined, because Yannick is so disciplined, which is why he doesn't lose matches.

00:35:12
Speaker 2: And actually it's a really it's going to be an interesting but I think very accurate analogy. You mentioned something about just me and Paulini why she's so good now at twenty eight because she had all the shots at her disposal and she needed a bit of time to put them into perspective. And Carlos, who's obviously maybe the most talented guy I've ever seen play in real life. He will probably play his best tennis in three years, which is shocking because he's already won fource. I know, it's crazy as the number one Norse, so he's going to be the best his kick can be in four years.

00:35:43
Speaker 3: It's crazy. I mean, we are definitely like grasp on it strokes. I know we are, but anyway, so yeah, so that's what we're here for.

00:35:50
Speaker 2: We' Yanick is.

00:35:51
Speaker 3: Definitely the favorite. I think that nobody.

00:35:54
Speaker 2: Do you think about Danie Omeda that if he didn't win a single tournament in this year.

00:35:58
Speaker 3: To be worrying about him? Actually, yeah, me too, and I love him so much. But we'll see. Look, he lost at the Strain Open in the final last year.

00:36:05
Speaker 1: If he plays anything like he did last year, he'll certainly be knocking on the door of the semison finals again. He's such a great hardcourt player. The court will suit him again. The thing and he lost because he ran out of legs last year. The guy was up two sets of love in the final.

00:36:19
Speaker 2: I think with him, I think with Daniel the problem is that he used to so his tennis is so demanding physically, and he used to get a lot of three points on a surf and he doesn't any longer. And the reason for that is I think he doesn't want to say, but I think he's struggling with his back or shoulder. And the reason I say that is at the French Open, I was sitting on on a press conference and he said something. He's so secretive in this, which I honestly appreciate because so many are like just to have an excuse, and he didn't. He just said, you know, I wasn't able because somebody hit him with the stat I don't remember who he was. So he's like, well, you used to win this amount of three points on your first serf and it's dropped to this amount, and he said, yeah, I know that. I'm very aware of this number. I'm trying to work on it. Unfortunately, something kept me from training from practicing the surf as much as I used to. You know, he said that at the French Open, and I think he's ever said anything about it ever again after that, I haven't heard it, and I like to listen or look up press conferences. So that was like almost a slip that he didn't want to say, but he did say it, which makes me think maybe has some physical issue that he doesn't want to talk about that he's preventing him from serving his best. And I think when you play such a physically demanding game, you are just in need, desperate need a few free points, yes, sir, for.

00:37:42
Speaker 1: Sure, especially the way he plays. Oh my god, all right, Well, Taylor Fritz. I really do think that he's going to be a threat at the Strain and Open.

00:37:49
Speaker 3: It's a good court for him. He likes the heat.

00:37:52
Speaker 1: He grew up, you know, in California. It's you know, Melbourne's pretty similar. I think he's going to be a real threat. And I think he really learned a lot about himself and what he's capable of at the US Open. And I don't know, I just I feel, like, you know how, I feel he's got to come into the net a little bit more.

00:38:05
Speaker 3: He's got to finish off those points.

00:38:06
Speaker 1: He's got to improve his volleys, just the finishing shots. But I do think that he is capable of winning a Slam next year. But I think it has everything.

00:38:16
Speaker 2: Has to kind of be right, has to come together. You know.

00:38:18
Speaker 1: That's not the case for Yanick. I think Yanick is able to like fight through those things a particular in hardcourt.

00:38:24
Speaker 3: Look, you know, Caspar.

00:38:25
Speaker 1: Rude, whatever, Rube Lev, you know, Alex Demonor. He'll certainly be, you know, playing great in Australia. He loves playing down there, he loves the support. Grigor Dimitrov is in the top ten again, which is an amazing effort after you know, the last few years.

00:38:40
Speaker 3: I'm really proud of it.

00:38:41
Speaker 2: See if things go right, I see a little semi final for him at this year.

00:38:45
Speaker 1: It's certainly possible. He's played great down there through the years. But anyway, we will wrap it up.

00:38:50
Speaker 3: Who's your dark horse? I know who you're going to say.

00:38:54
Speaker 2: My my dark horse as Ben Shelton. A fashionable dark horse is Jack Jack Draper. I knew it.

00:39:00
Speaker 3: I know it. You like the big serving lefties, don't you.

00:39:03
Speaker 2: I do. So I just hope and I pray that Ben Shelton will come together because what we've had in the double not so much any longer, but we thought the most longest time had on the WTA, we always had one person that hits so big that when a top three player got them in the second round, everyone kind of held their breath. Yea like a Camilla Georgie, you know, or a career.

00:39:26
Speaker 3: Well, Ben's going to be twenty one is the twenty.

00:39:29
Speaker 2: First yes, And I think that's it's always good to have one chaotic player in the draw so that everyone has a second day in the Grand Slam tournament where they go like, oh, oh my god, the work is playing Ben Shelton or you know what I mean. This is not going to happen, obviously because he is a seated player. But still he said it.

00:39:47
Speaker 3: But you're going to get him in the third.

00:39:48
Speaker 2: Round, exactly, third or fourth round. And that's why I think he's so important. I think with Jack, I honestly I just like him as a player and as a personality. I don't think he will do so well at the Austria and Open in a sense of I think he will do fourth round, but not better, because man, this guy cramps every single time. How is he going to do that? Of Melbourne last year? It was really cool? Remember that. Yes, if I ran out of things to wear in day two, which was greatly planned by me, I had planned for summer. If it's the same thing that it just so happens that summer hits later because of climate change. I do think he will get to the second round week. But if it's not and he plays somebody who makes the rallies long, I think he will struggle in the heat of the Australian.

00:40:32
Speaker 1: I agree why I agree on those two duck horses, my big duck hoss, and we'll finish after this is Alex Popprun. I think he's going to have a really good Australian Open. I think he's really starting to mature. He's really starting to become a player that a lot of people don't want to play, huge surf, huge fourhand is going to have the support of the Australian crowd. So I think of all the Aussies other than Alex Demono, I think that look out for Alex.

00:40:54
Speaker 3: I think he could do some damage. And he's had shitty draws there. You know what Novak Drakovic like second round?

00:40:59
Speaker 1: You know, so he's going to be seeded twenty four, so he won't he won't get a seat until like the third round.

00:41:06
Speaker 2: So what about another.

00:41:09
Speaker 3: That's right, he's coming back.

00:41:11
Speaker 2: First, will he actually come back? Will he be able to play? And second, how will he do?

00:41:16
Speaker 1: Listen, if he's fit and he's hitting the ball well and he can move, you can beat anybody.

00:41:24
Speaker 3: But best of five.

00:41:25
Speaker 2: Will still nowadays, now he's not twenty four anymore.

00:41:28
Speaker 1: If he's not training, as they say, time will tell, my friend, time will tell.

00:41:34
Speaker 3: We'll see.

00:41:35
Speaker 2: Well that ends, well, we'll see.

00:41:36
Speaker 1: And you've got to as I said at the start, you've got to hate to lose, and so he has to hate to lose more than he likes the flashiness of winning.

00:41:43
Speaker 3: So we will see does he lose you thing?

00:41:46
Speaker 1: No, I think he loves winning. Nobody likes losing. Okay, there's not one player that goes, oh yeah, I love losing. But you've got to hate losing, like hate it, and I'm not sure he hates it as much as he loves well.

00:41:58
Speaker 2: Does he hate it? Sitting through three days in your hotel room with curtain strawn, eating pizza from three days ago, watching French movies, crying yourself to sleep.

00:42:08
Speaker 3: Wow, so you just outed yourself.

00:42:11
Speaker 1: Thanks for that anyway. All right, well, well listen, we are really pumped. We cannot wait to get down to Australia.

00:42:18
Speaker 2: We will be there for you and we will be together again.

00:42:20
Speaker 3: And we will be together again. We will be bringing you daily hits. We hope.

00:42:27
Speaker 1: It will be as interesting hopefully as it can be at eleven pm sometimes one am in the morning, but.

00:42:34
Speaker 3: Get up with us early. All those people you're gonna be working.

00:42:37
Speaker 1: For Eurosports World Feed or you'll be the World Feed, so you'll get her all over the world that speaks English and of course in America you'll get me on ESPN, so we.

00:42:46
Speaker 3: Really appreciate you.

00:42:48
Speaker 1: We're going to bring all the coverage to you at Melbourne at the Australian Open in Melbourne. Sorry for everybody who's going to be suffering away in the cold of Europe and in the United States, but hey, you can always get on a plane and join us down in Australia.

00:43:00
Speaker 3: Let's trust me, it's worth it. Good day made, good day mate, I'll see you. Say good bye.