Year in Review

00:00:01
Speaker 1: Hold on to your fucking hats.

00:00:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's nice.

00:00:03
Speaker 1: It's coming.

00:00:16
Speaker 2: One to one too, all right, we're rolling, Caitlin rolling, We are rolling, and I don't mean a joint. I rarely mean a joint. I can't smoke weed.

00:00:29
Speaker 1: It's too potent for you. I have you do CBD oil.

00:00:33
Speaker 2: I do CBD oils. It's still relaxing. Yeah, yeah, I don't need to be in my own head.

00:00:36
Speaker 1: Talk about that a lot on this podcast.

00:00:38
Speaker 2: It's a theme, it seems to be. It seems to be mostly you though CBD. Well, yeah, it's because I am highly anxious. Yeah, I'm an anxious person. We it's not good for me. Cocktails, however, great, great for you.

00:00:51
Speaker 1: Great cocktails with CBD.

00:00:53
Speaker 2: In it all the time? Why not?

00:00:56
Speaker 1: I'm not trying it? Should I try it?

00:00:58
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's very relaxing. You may like it a lot. We had cocktails on the last podcast when we were doing our intro to your Fantastic interview with Kama Murray.

00:01:07
Speaker 1: Well, where since having that interview things have changed in his life.

00:01:10
Speaker 2: Well, that's a really interesting place to sturvet for today because we're going to be talking a little bit about the off season. All the coaching changes that have happened, and then we're going to sort of spring forward and talk about twenty and eighteen, which is sort of upon us. So, yeah, let's get into it. Kamal Murray, coach of Son Stevens. They're on a brick, Yeah, run a break.

00:01:28
Speaker 1: What does that mean taking a break?

00:01:30
Speaker 3: I'll be one hundred percent honest, unlike a lot of people in the world these days, and tell you that I really don't know.

00:01:36
Speaker 1: To be honest, I know that was being discussed.

00:01:38
Speaker 3: When I was with him, just about you know, the potential in the future, but I haven't spoken to him since, so I honestly don't know where it's coming from, whether it's coming from her or from him needing a break. But you know what, sometimes it's a good thing as well. You know they've been together for about three years on and off Sloan. You know, kamalby the first to tell you that he's very intense on the court. Sloan can be at times difficult. It should be probably the first one to admit that as well. So sometimes you know, you just need this breakaway and to app either appreciate each other or realize that maybe you can do it without that person comeal certainly, you know is a I'm sure quite highly sought after coach now from what he's done with Sloane. So listen, The one thing I can guarantee you in women's tennus is that if you've had a successful coaching job with one player, you are guaranteed a job for life.

00:02:25
Speaker 1: I mean, we've already had that discussion.

00:02:28
Speaker 2: I mean, unless hey, listen, this will be a good test for in a lot of ways to also recognize.

00:02:35
Speaker 1: Is it a good test to see.

00:02:37
Speaker 2: Minority coaches and women coaches and how much they get kind of moved around like I'm white men coaches or in general. I mean, we've seen the flip flop of women for set and one to the other, to the other to the other, and you know, the list is long of coaching. Can people who are not white men trans verse or sort of transcend working with just one player? Can they be as in demand as some of these guys have been? Your Michael Joyce's your Whimpis that's that kind of thing? Is that the point you're thanking? Yeah?

00:03:11
Speaker 3: No, I think in some respects just the fact that you know, how how racists and how sexist can tennis plays be as well.

00:03:21
Speaker 1: I mean, that's just that's some point it out there.

00:03:24
Speaker 2: I'm guessing pretty pretty unbirth accounts.

00:03:26
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, no, I don't think they I don't think they mean it. I don't think there's a conscious effort to wake up and be like, I don't want to hire a.

00:03:32
Speaker 1: Black coach because of X and Y, or I don't want to hire a woman coach because of X and Y.

00:03:37
Speaker 3: But they wake up going, oh, who's the male white guy that's available before they think about a female.

00:03:45
Speaker 1: Coach or a black coach.

00:03:46
Speaker 2: Well, I think a lot of things in the world, and my experience is rooted in media the way that yours is rooted in tennis. It comes down to access. Right, If you don't see examples of success, you only think that they look a certain way if you And a lot of times that's because doors have been shut to certain people on doors have been opened for others. And so the nice thing about what's happened and you, guys, in your interview with Camal touched on this is just the idea that being a woman coach, being a non white coach is now an example of success. You know, certainly thinking about the revolving door because you just mentioned a bunch in a flurry there. So we got wym Faset, who Kerber declined to work with again this year, which is interesting because she won a Wimbledon with him this year and now he's working with Victoria Azarenka. I am pumped that Azarenka has got, you know, a credible coach with whom she's worked before, because I would love to see her make a run in twenty nineteen. And we'll get to that.

00:04:40
Speaker 1: But can we ask the question of why this keeps happening?

00:04:42
Speaker 2: Why does this keep happening?

00:04:43
Speaker 1: Yeah, what's going on?

00:04:44
Speaker 2: I mean, listen, word on the street is that the demand for money, it.

00:04:51
Speaker 1: Gets quite obvious. Yeah, it gets brought up, That's what I'm hearing.

00:04:58
Speaker 3: I don't know the factual things with Angie per Se, but I know that that's sort of out there.

00:05:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, well it would be explained why if you've had a lot of success with the coach you would not just stick with him and it maybe that's a factor.

00:05:11
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that, you know, the price gets quite demanding from him from what I've heard, But then again, I honestly don't know for sure.

00:05:20
Speaker 1: It's just sort of like rumors that I've heard, but yeah, I mean.

00:05:25
Speaker 2: Well that's not a factor. For another one of your very good friends with who we've had on the podcast, Darren Cahill. Yeah, he and simonahub after a very successful time working together so far as we know. And I don't think he would have any reason to be disingenuous about it. They just have working together because he's done for now. Is that the case.

00:05:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think, look, I know how he feels. Again, I haven't had a conversation with him about it, but I'm assuming that. You know, look, he's very busy with ESPN. I get that he has other business interests that he's got going on.

00:05:57
Speaker 1: And you know, with Simono, it's a full time job.

00:05:59
Speaker 3: You know, when you're with a co when you're with a player as a coach, it is full time.

00:06:03
Speaker 1: It is long hours. It is making sure they're okay. It is eating with them.

00:06:08
Speaker 3: It is often having breakfast with them or lunch and then training and then going to their fitness workouts. And I mean, if you're a really engaged coach, that's what it is. And you know, with a lot of the top players you are with them are Ton of the.

00:06:21
Speaker 2: Time, and you know, he has you know, teenage kids that he wants to spend more time with and seeing them perform, you know, seeing them play tennis and you know, do what sports that they're doing, or just be around them a little bit more. And you know, obviously with Vicky's wife and you know, when you're on the road, as much as that he is already without even the coaching dynamic put in it. You know, I think that he probably just you know, as he said, he needed more family time and I get it.

00:06:49
Speaker 1: And look, he doesn't he doesn't need the money.

00:06:52
Speaker 2: You know.

00:06:52
Speaker 1: I'm sure he's done very well.

00:06:53
Speaker 3: He does very well working for ESPN, So I would assume that, you know, again, it could be a situation Caitlin where it's a month twelve month thing and he just takes some time away and Simona, you know, Simona feels like she really needs him back.

00:07:05
Speaker 1: I'm sure that he'd be willing to go back at any time.

00:07:07
Speaker 2: But you know, well, let's talk a little bit about you. I mean, you are going to be working again with Carolina Carolina Police cler. You had a very from what I would say, not only because you're my friend, but you know, objectively, You guys had a very good run together. Yeah, when you took over full time in the middle of the summer, obviously leading to her making a semi final appearance at you know, Singapore at the Tour finals. What does the sort of next couple of months look like for you guys? How intense is it? I know you've got two bags. We're sitting here in your apartment. You got two bags I filled to the brim coaching gear, broadcasting gear. You know, some casual clothes in there as well, because you're gonna be on the road for about eight weeks.

00:07:43
Speaker 1: Fairly a lot of casual clothes.

00:07:45
Speaker 2: Listen.

00:07:45
Speaker 1: I'll be the first to say that I take quite a big wardrobe with me.

00:07:48
Speaker 2: You're a bit of a clothes horse.

00:07:49
Speaker 1: I am a bit of a clothes horse. I like to look good.

00:07:52
Speaker 3: But I also have, you know, two weeks worth of ESPN clothing with me, which is a lot of dresses, yes, and which is not something I wear on a daily basis. So I have all my casual gear and then I have my tennis gear. So I'll be working with Kaya in Carolina Pushkovs. I call her Kaya, or her friends call her Kaya. It's not Kaya Kneppi, but anyway, but Kaya, I'll be working with her in Brisbane and leading up to the Aussie Open, and then I hand the reins over to Conchitita Martinez who will take over the coaching role with her at the austral And Open because of my time with ESPN and not trying to have conflict there and you know, putting my time and effort into doing my commentary work and working for ESPN, and then I going to the Middle East with her Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami. So again, because you know my work with ESPN, I don't really work for them until Wimbledon again, so you know, it's a bit of a conflict, and it's you know, obviously an ongoing situation that we're trying to work around and work with. But you know, all the players know that I listen. I love all the players, I love to interview them.

00:08:52
Speaker 1: I love to commentate tennis.

00:08:53
Speaker 3: But you know, when I've always talked to all the players about their tennis. If they ever wanted to ask my opinion about something, I'm not shy and.

00:08:59
Speaker 1: Telling them how I feel.

00:09:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I've seen you casually talk tennis with Vika Azarenka when we were talking in Wimbledon and she walks up and you were asking her about her serve and.

00:09:08
Speaker 1: So on and so forth, to be a noisy nelly.

00:09:12
Speaker 2: Well you did it to me the first five minutes time was on the tennis.

00:09:14
Speaker 1: Well you needed it.

00:09:15
Speaker 2: It helps, Yeah, I hope I want some more of that. I you know, you've got a top ten coach player.

00:09:21
Speaker 1: We've got to work on that.

00:09:22
Speaker 2: I know you gotta deconcernt my forehand in twenty nineteen. Well, one of the things I think is so useful about you in particular as a coach is and it helps me understand coaching generally, which is you can give somebody like Victoria Azarenka the keys to the kingdom in terms of you should be doing this on your serf, you should be doing this with your feet, whatever, even if you work with one of her rivals. But really, tennis is more about unlocking your individual potential, isn't it. I mean, yeah, sure, you have matchups where you're gonna say, now, really attack that backhand, or she doesn't like patterns where you mix it up with a short ball. But for the most part, you know anything you say to another player, it doesn't necessarily hurt Kaya's chances, And in any individual tournament, you're probably working with her more to try to be the best version of herself on any given day.

00:10:08
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, lessen, I see so many, so much potential in so many players. Obviously, I don't want to go up too.

00:10:13
Speaker 2: Many of them now because they asked you know, will be a rival at hers in big matches.

00:10:17
Speaker 1: But at the same time, you know, you have to implement that.

00:10:19
Speaker 2: And you have to you have to work on it, and she may players may listen to what I have to say and go and work on it or not. It's not really up to It's really up to them.

00:10:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I've always just.

00:10:29
Speaker 3: Had a really open dialogue with all the players and everybody, and so I think that most of the players still would recognize and understand that I want the best for them. I just maybe, you know, in the individual matchups, like when Kaya was playing Caroline was Antaki, you know, first matchup in Singapore, it was like it was hard, and she played you know, Sam Stowsan.

00:10:49
Speaker 2: In Beijing in the first round. You know, Sam's one of my really great old friends, and.

00:10:53
Speaker 1: So it's hard.

00:10:54
Speaker 2: It was hard to coach against people that I care about and you know, I'm friends with.

00:10:57
Speaker 3: But you know, my job is also to get Caya over line, so and she's paying me for that.

00:11:02
Speaker 2: So when you're doing a great job. One of the things they noticed in the second half of last year in particular, was seeing her come in and it seems like that's very effective for her without giving too much away, Like, is that one of the mean tactics that you guys have.

00:11:15
Speaker 3: Oh no, I mean, I'm happy to talk about giving it away. I mean, yeah, she's going to come into the net more, there's no question about it. I mean, I don't want to make her a net charger. She's not me chip and charge and come into the net. Well, she has groundstrokes. I really didn't have that good a ground stroke.

00:11:28
Speaker 1: But I mean it wasn't bad.

00:11:29
Speaker 3: But you know, the bottom line is, you know, tennis is evolving into long, long rallies and long arduous rallies with the likes of Kerbers and Hallopski. And you think about all the players that won Grand Slams in the last twelve months.

00:11:43
Speaker 1: A lot of them are just road runners.

00:11:46
Speaker 3: But they also recognize that they need to improve their attacking game.

00:11:49
Speaker 1: Wasn't he acting?

00:11:50
Speaker 2: It definitely was hitting Paul Harder in January of twenty seventeen.

00:11:54
Speaker 1: Bigger, fourhands, bigger serving. I mean, she was serving so well.

00:11:58
Speaker 3: I mean I remember Kaya practicing with her in Singapore the year before.

00:12:02
Speaker 2: And she was out serving Kaya. She was out acing Kaya in the practice court, and it's crazy.

00:12:08
Speaker 1: Kaya turned around me.

00:12:09
Speaker 2: She goes, you know, literally like what the fuck, I'm getting served off the cord? But it wasn't the Aaki And that's because she worked on her serve and I saw that translate into Australia. The irony was in the final she played someone that played just like her totally, so she didn't necessarily she can't.

00:12:22
Speaker 3: They kind of both reverted back to their old selves, not.

00:12:25
Speaker 2: Missing that Australian Open final. It was insane, carlep and was Niaki was a counterpunjury's dream.

00:12:30
Speaker 1: It was insane.

00:12:31
Speaker 2: But you know what in the end, and the irony of it was in the end it was a backhand error into the net.

00:12:37
Speaker 1: That one wasn't Yaki that match.

00:12:39
Speaker 3: It wasn't a winner, you know, and often tennis is about making your opponent make an error. But when you're playing against someone who bloody doesn't make errors, it's like hence the three hours and twenty minute final got But having said that, so someone like Kaya, she's not going to play a three and a half hour match and win it against haleporter was Niyaki.

00:12:56
Speaker 1: So how do you how do you get a player with weapon points?

00:13:00
Speaker 2: You, yeah, play at your strengths. How do you make a player with weapons use the weapons and shorten the point and win the point against players like that?

00:13:07
Speaker 1: So you've got to have that.

00:13:08
Speaker 2: Well, that reminds me of another player who's now without a coach, Venus Williams, who just announced that she wouldn't be working with David Witt, with whom she had worked for eleven years. Yeah, you know, Venus is my age. She's thirty eight going on thirty old. I know, I don't look at day over thirty do I?

00:13:25
Speaker 1: Well, now you stop smoking for ten days?

00:13:26
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's the skins. Skin quality elasticity has been really rejuvenating, is real. She's got to end points quickly, she's got a play. I mean, she's got tremendous weapons. She's always had a huge ground game, she's got a huge serve she's got great hands, can she She can't play that kind of punching game either. What should she be doing looking into staying on the tour healthy and effective in twenty eighteen.

00:13:49
Speaker 1: It's interesting that you.

00:13:50
Speaker 3: Know her and David split, like you said, eleven years and the loyalty was always there with Venus, you know.

00:13:55
Speaker 1: It's it's funny.

00:13:57
Speaker 3: That you know, Venus and are really so loyal to the people around them. Obviously, you know, we had them Sasha Bajan, he was gone with Serena and then Patrick you know, has been there since really since her dad. So you know, you see how loyal Venus and Serena are to the people around them because they have to trust the people around them because of you know, look, they're huge superstars, so you need.

00:14:20
Speaker 1: To have people that trust in your in your.

00:14:23
Speaker 2: Coaching circle as well, because you know, you learn a lot about somebody, I'm sure.

00:14:27
Speaker 3: So I'm sure that you know that's been tough for both David and v Venus because they are such good friends as well.

00:14:33
Speaker 2: So you know, like indication who she's right, I don't know, I don't I don't got to be somebody that she needs to trust that because that's very important for Venus. So yeah, I think, look, it's obvious that Venus wants to have another push one more year or two more years in her career and try and finish the career off the way she started.

00:14:51
Speaker 3: Last year was an incredible year. This past year was toughs.

00:14:55
Speaker 2: The year before this she made two Grand Slam, two vinyls, tran.

00:15:00
Speaker 3: SAME's finals, a semi final at this Strain Open. So she had a phenomenal year.

00:15:04
Speaker 2: Year thirty seven years old, yeah, years.

00:15:05
Speaker 3: Ago, whereas this last past year twenty eighteen has been tough. So I think she just needed a bit of a new voice maybe in her ear. We'll see what happens and who is on board come to this Strain Open. I know she's going to an exhibition in the Middle East and then Auckland and then Australia, so she's, you know, one hundred percent playing. Spent a bit of time with her over the last couple of weeks saw in Miami and up here in New York actually, and she's in good spirits and working. You know, her and Serena both doing their businesses, so you know they're so busy.

00:15:36
Speaker 1: But yeah, it's great to still have them around, but we'll see, we'll.

00:15:39
Speaker 2: See what happens and we'll see what haven't. Okay, So now that we're sort of talking more generally about twenty and eighteen, any other sort of like big storylines you're looking for. I think sometimes when you have a Grand Slam breakthrough, Nami Osaka obviously winning her first this year year, one Indian Wells and then one thing goes open, so she had two huge peaks working with Sasha Baijen as you noted, who's kind of made the rounds among a couple of top WTA players, and then now has been obviously very successful with Naomi. What do you think in terms of her ability to sort of follow up the Mead and Grand Slam with her solid year.

00:16:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll see.

00:16:22
Speaker 2: I mean, listen, she's already proven herself a Grand Slam champion under the most incredibly let's duress calamitous calamity of.

00:16:33
Speaker 1: Moments at the Open.

00:16:35
Speaker 3: But she played better than Serena on that day too, and she was a big played and she's obviously proven herself by winning Indian Wells as well.

00:16:41
Speaker 1: She's had her ups and downs after that.

00:16:43
Speaker 3: I think she might be that type of player that has her ups and downs, or if she can learn to sort of have a little bit more stability week in and week out, then there's.

00:16:51
Speaker 2: No question she can be a future number one. There's no question because just you know, we saw her sort of collapse a little bit after the USO, and I mean her speech against when she lost a kaya actually in Tokyo was.

00:17:03
Speaker 3: A bit of a shocker. There's about three three words. So she has to learn to also deal with her popularity.

00:17:09
Speaker 2: Now, yeah, she's a mega mega mate. I mean the amount of just endorsements alone, she got a yeah, I mean and being Japanese, I mean, that's a lot of pressure on her.

00:17:21
Speaker 1: I mean you know, Nishikori understands that as well, so so yeah, I mean she just has to learn to deal with that. And she's very shy, very a unique character. Just put it that way.

00:17:32
Speaker 2: So she's so weird.

00:17:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I mean it's true.

00:17:35
Speaker 3: So we'll see how she handles all of this now added expectation, and she's number five in the world now, so you know, it's gonna be a lot of pressure on her shoulders the next year.

00:17:42
Speaker 2: She's interesting because she, like you know, on like the sort of crap of counterpunchers who have won a lot of the grand No counter. She's not a count of puncher. She's not a help, she's not a Kreber, she's not a sloan. She is a first drake big ball tennis player, you know, similar learning to be smarter, learning to be smarter. Sebilanca obviously is somebody who I really admire for the same reasons because she brings a pretty high octane level of like trying to close points out. So I'm gonna be watching what she does to understate it.

00:18:14
Speaker 3: I don't know if people haven't seen Sebulenka play that are out there listening to a play. Hold onto your fucking hat, Hold on to your fucking hats. Yeah, it's nice, it's common, it's coming.

00:18:23
Speaker 2: Is coming. One person who I kind of categorize similarly, who would really love to see how a good twenty nineteen is Madison Keys mess and Keys has such great weapons, not the coaching to install. She has had a lot of different coaches. She's going to be now working with the coach of tennis sandgrand I forget his name, but she has had a lot of voices in that mex Obviously, Lindsa Davenport has been really helpful. They have a lot of very similar sort of California roots, They have a similar game style. I know that they personally like each other quite a bit. But what what Madison Keys, What what can we sort of what what does she need to do to sort of get herself back into that top echelon of player. Obviously, stay healthy, which has been an issue for her whole career. What else, Well, the coaching situation is a problem, you know. I mean, listen, I'm gonna be really honest, like you've got to have you've got to have continuity. You know, you've got to have a voice that you trust and that trusts you to be great. So I think that's really important. And you know, Lindsay's been in and out and is constantly in.

00:19:26
Speaker 3: Her communication as far as texting and you know, staying in touch with her and all that sort of stuff. But yeah, listen, Number one, health is hugely important. Obviously, she had her health problems even at.

00:19:37
Speaker 2: The end of last year with having to pull out of week in Shenzen Elite Trophy WT Elite Trophy. She had to pull out of that, and when she was in the Semis, and I think the important thing is having a coach with her week in and week out that trusts her her abilities and gets the best out of every single week.

00:19:58
Speaker 3: And she's shy Madison, you know she's I have got that. I don't know how much she believes in herself towards the very end of tournaments. And I say that because I really like Madison as a person. I think she's a great kid. I just think she has to learn to believe in herself.

00:20:14
Speaker 1: She's still so young.

00:20:16
Speaker 2: I forget she's still.

00:20:17
Speaker 3: But if there's anyone that should be winning Grand Slams, it is one hundred percent Madison Keys. Her weapons are huge, I mean serve groundstrokes massive, So she can learn to come into the net a little bit more and finish off some points, whether it's drilling balls out of the air, taking play, playing some doubles.

00:20:36
Speaker 1: There's no question she's the next best player to not winner Slam.

00:20:39
Speaker 3: There's no doubt about that her and I would put Kaya in that in that position as well. What we saw fit Delena do at the end of last year, you definitely have to put her into that category now because she's won.

00:20:49
Speaker 1: So many tournaments over the last few years. She looks like.

00:20:51
Speaker 3: She's put on a little bit of weight and she's she's that physical part of her game.

00:20:57
Speaker 1: And what I saw in Singapore was impressive.

00:21:00
Speaker 2: From yeah, she murdered that that last match, I mean she made everybody was a match.

00:21:05
Speaker 1: I mean so, I mean she was probably the one player going in there that was like, oh.

00:21:08
Speaker 2: God, yeah, you know, she's probably the worst player coming in as far as form was concerned, and then she just smiped everybody. Yeah, results would have unlocated. No, it was unbelieved. In the first round, she was incredible, So listen, and you know when she gets to final, she knows how to win. So I think those three players are the ones that might be knocking on a door for a Slam three. Now, we can talk about the women all there, because I think you both know them and perhaps like them better, but we should, in fact talk about the men because there were so u you and I both like the ladies better. I mean that's that it goes that saying. But for the record, I personally was really happy to see Verev win the Tour finals in London, and me too. We were at that term. But we had a big party in London. It was great. I had some amazing Indian field, but Alexander Zvera finally got He hasn't won a Grand Slam, he hasn't done a tourn at majors. That's kind of the big dig on him. He's won and beaten the big four at three SAT tournaments, at other premieres, and finally he won the ATP Tour finals pretty convincingly.

00:22:10
Speaker 1: Kim, can we put down?

00:22:12
Speaker 3: Which is what I said at the US Open when I found out the news of the Yvonne Landell.

00:22:19
Speaker 2: Yeah, you think it's splendor a hundred percent.

00:22:23
Speaker 3: And I knew when Sir hired Lendell, I went, that's the greatest move ever.

00:22:27
Speaker 1: And you know, because he has the ability. We already know that.

00:22:31
Speaker 2: Sure, he got two in the world disguise, one multiple ATP one thousand events.

00:22:37
Speaker 1: He's beaten, as you said, everybody.

00:22:39
Speaker 3: He's tough, he's got, he's got the game, he's got he's got everything.

00:22:43
Speaker 1: He's got the whole package. But he's young.

00:22:45
Speaker 2: And when I saw the hire of Yvonne, I just thought, that's that's just the little.

00:22:50
Speaker 1: Piece of the puzzle that needed to be put in there.

00:22:52
Speaker 2: You know.

00:22:52
Speaker 3: Andy Murray needed Yvonne to make him, I think, make him trust and believe that he could win a slam and give him that Still, look when he started acting like a twat on the court, and then he'd be the first to say he's carrying on like a like a bloody idiot. But you know, and I say that with the most respect for Andy Murray. I just he is my favorite tennis player possibly that was ever thoughtful guy, human being off the court. He was just you know, would be the first to admit, like myself, I was the same a twat on the court, right, I.

00:23:24
Speaker 1: Mean, just an idiot.

00:23:27
Speaker 3: On the court. But but he's also the greatest guy. So you know when he got Ivan in vance that have pulled all the all the twetness in and he said, look, I don't want to don't even look at me, like play fucking tennis, you know, and win the match and stop carrying on like an idiot. And you know, again, I can appreciate that because I was the same way and.

00:23:46
Speaker 1: Until I was able to pull.

00:23:48
Speaker 2: In my head and control my outward bursts of negative.

00:23:52
Speaker 1: Energy, I was never gonna win a big tournament, you know.

00:23:55
Speaker 2: So he's passed that on to Andy, great job, you know, and now he's sort of that's what he's doing with wuz Verev in the fact that he's probably made him believe that he can win these big events against the big players, but also understand how to do it, and the reason how to do it is to whatever it was, add X and Y to his his game and also to his thought process.

00:24:18
Speaker 3: And Ivann's a no bullshit guy. Yeah, I mean talk about a no bullshit guy. He is a no bullshit guy. And I know Vonne really well and I.

00:24:26
Speaker 2: Thought it was the best move ever and that's why. And he will translate that into grandstaon player now for sure, he will be tough to be so straight. My favorite young male player, and I think a lot of people have been sort of watching this crap. There's tis Pass, who I really like because he's got that beautiful one hit back end. He's a bit of an otis on you likes saying tas I love saying tis Pass. I'll let the rejoinder of that sentence go because there's a lot of different ways you could take it. I actually really loved Team. I loved him. Yeah, Team is not universally beloved, but I love the fact that he's so I mean, his game has such flair, he's got such like what he lacks in personality and the ability to stream together a sentence. That's that you can remember. He makes up for in the fact that he can play just like balls out nuts tennis. And I was a little surprised that he made a Grandsong final before Zverev did, just because Zverev is a little bit more, you know, higher profile, has kind of been annointed a little bit longer. Team is so good on clay, maybe not the other services, and maybe that's never gonna be.

00:25:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, well he has some learned to get up on the court a little bit more. Yeah, he's standing, you know.

00:25:27
Speaker 2: And Rafa won Wimbledon by flattening out his forehand and and you know, really utilizing that lefty sort of serve.

00:25:33
Speaker 1: And being more aggressive, I mean.

00:25:35
Speaker 3: Coming in and you know, taking the ball earlier and all those things. And that's what Rafa did to win Wimbledon. And then you know, Wimbledon grass has certainly changed. It allows somebody to play a lot more defensively, but to win you still have to be aggressive, and he did that, and so team has to learn, you know, with those big old ground strokes, especially with that one handed backhand. You know too, you've got to get up on the court a little bit more and be more aggres from time to time.

00:26:01
Speaker 1: So will he translate that in other surfaces?

00:26:03
Speaker 2: I don't know.

00:26:03
Speaker 1: There's no doubt.

00:26:05
Speaker 2: He's going to win a French Open in the next three or four years, as soon as Rafa quit for a conclusion, going to win like thirteen French Opens, yes, yeah. And then to round that out, we've got born at Korich who finished the year quite well, had a very impressive win over Federer in Asia. You know, I think that crap is sort of ready to I mean, the reason we're not talking about Federer, we're not talking about Yokovic, we're not talking about Nada, and we could. It's just, you know, I think because they've been talked out about enough and you know, what are we gonna add? Like unless one of these guys comes and takes it from him? What about they're gonna keep dominating?

00:26:37
Speaker 3: What about the added little caveat of andre Agassi working now with Gregor Demetro.

00:26:44
Speaker 2: I love it. I love it.

00:26:45
Speaker 3: I think it's great because Gregor, I don't know how much full time stuff they're doing.

00:26:49
Speaker 1: I know that they're in Vegas.

00:26:50
Speaker 2: We've seen it all on Twitter and Instagram and all that sort of stuff. And I think it's great because Grigor has to be told I think how.

00:27:00
Speaker 1: Good he can be.

00:27:01
Speaker 3: I think he knows that, but I think really belief in what he needs to do better putting points together. And obviously Darren ky Hill.

00:27:08
Speaker 1: Was around it a little bit. I saw him in the background, so you know what's going on there.

00:27:12
Speaker 2: Yeah, I actually think that would be a great I think I had I have no idea. I'm totally talking out of my ass, but wouldn't it be great to see Darren actually working with Gregor in that capacity to actually make him a little bit more efficient on the court.

00:27:24
Speaker 3: And I think that's been the biggest problem for Grigo's And I'll put it on the record, and I've said it before. You know, everyone talked about him being baby fed.

00:27:33
Speaker 2: I went and watched them play this Strain and Open three years ago, and I wanted to know why the f Roger Federer was so much better than Gregor, considering how similar they playing same race strokes, stame strokes very similar.

00:27:42
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's a serve. I mean, yeah, okay, it's other things as well. I think Roger's backhand is much better than Gregor's now.

00:27:52
Speaker 1: But it's a serf.

00:27:53
Speaker 2: Well yeah, I mean all the other stuff. I mean, Rogers is a little bit better at everything, but it's the serve.

00:27:57
Speaker 1: His serve.

00:27:58
Speaker 2: I mean, I'll be straight up and it falls apart and his second server. Shit.

00:28:01
Speaker 3: And one of the things that I noticed was that he doesn't get inside the court like Roger does. And I was sitting on the baseline, I was like, oh my god. He literally goes up and straight back down, perpendicular up and down. He doesn't get into the court like Roger, gets way inside the court and then comes back. So, which is why Roger's got one of the best serves in the world, because he's it's aggressive, whereas it's almost like Gregor starts wants to start the point and just get going and use his speed.

00:28:24
Speaker 2: Interesting. And so, if there's one area of critique on Greegor Dmitritrov for me from my coaching perspective but also from a commentary.

00:28:33
Speaker 1: Is his serf.

00:28:33
Speaker 3: He needs to improve the aggressiveness and the reliability under pressure of his second serve, which has been a problem for him over the last couple of years.

00:28:42
Speaker 2: Well, it's a contextualize it. I mean, we are choosing not to talk about the Big four living out kind of any marriage just because he's been recovering from Ninjurie. But he's coming back this year, and you know, obviously I think the tour is better with him in good form and skipping ahead to the next generation of yours, Vera's and your teams and your chiety passen courage because that last generation in between his kind of and the reason that they've all sort of fallen apart is different for each of them, right like songs that it's like, come on, I want to talk. When he had his chance back, Corey got real close, Chileich broke through. He's kind of in that same age range. So good for Chilich for for getting it done. But you know, there's no uh, you know, certainly Dimitrov won the ATP Tour finals, has been a consistent top ten player, can win tournaments, but kind of falls apart in that last like mile and so things like that, you learn, are huge differentiators. If you don't have a you know, a go to gimme serve like like, does I mean you just have to just watch his matches under pressure? Yeah, I mean that's where the problem lies. So I don't know if someone's gonna look at that and dissect it.

00:29:46
Speaker 3: But I'll tell you what, if there was a coaching job that I would put my hand up for, it's definitely that one.

00:29:50
Speaker 2: Really Okay, last one thing I want to ask you about going on.

00:29:53
Speaker 1: I mean, he's adorable too, He's got to be. I mean he doesn't like you know, obviously do it clearly for me?

00:29:59
Speaker 2: No? No, he's he's a question. But I do love me some grigo, as does everybody, even the other Everyone agrees that he's extremely good looking. I'm going to put you on the spot for the last thing that we're going to talk about. We're going down into Australia. We are talking about the men, we're talking about coaching. Let's talk about Nicurius. Nick Curtius is the most talented tennis player to walk on the court, probably in a couple generations. I don't think that that's a crazy statement, not at all. When you see what he's capable of, not at all you are like blown away.

00:30:29
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, he hasn't had a coach.

00:30:31
Speaker 2: Does he now have a coach? Am I missing something? I saw him, not that I know, practice at Indian Wells by himself. He practiced doing three sixty overheads, where he would have a friend feed him a ball, do a jump and do like a three sixty dump the way you dunk, the way you would invest or dump. And then he pulls out of the tournament a couple hours later because he's injured. He loves basketball, he loves children. Actually, he loves giving back. He's an interesting, complicated dude. What the fuck?

00:31:04
Speaker 1: I don't know he's He's staying coachless.

00:31:07
Speaker 3: In the new season as far as I know, and he had someone with him a little bit helping in Asia. But listen, at the bottom line is that Nick is a character all upon himself, and until he starts to realize, you know, I just.

00:31:21
Speaker 1: Don't know if he.

00:31:24
Speaker 3: I don't even know how to I don't even know how to put it in context. I think he's afraid in some respects of the fear of failure. So if he hires a great coach and doesn't have the success, you know, everyone's going to be like, well, maybe it's just you, Maybe you know who knows.

00:31:39
Speaker 1: Certainly, it's not a money thing. I'm not making shift to.

00:31:42
Speaker 2: I think it's a burden of that. I think it's a burden of someone telling him what to do. He doesn't really feel like he wants to hear someoney telling him what to do.

00:31:49
Speaker 1: I don't know. I really don't know. I haven't had a conversation with him.

00:31:52
Speaker 2: Look, I like Nick.

00:31:53
Speaker 1: I like Nick.

00:31:54
Speaker 3: I think he's shy, and I think he's done some really stupid things over the last couple of years.

00:31:58
Speaker 1: It's been a question about that. On the court.

00:32:00
Speaker 3: Off the court, he's done some tremendously great things. I mean, as you said, he loves kids.

00:32:05
Speaker 2: He puts his time into it, and he doesn't do it in a showy way either. He does it because he just does it, you get the sense. And I saw him with a group of children and at the City Open in the summer in DC. He's not doing it for the cameras. He is legitimately enjoying beyond that.

00:32:17
Speaker 3: And I know there's some top players that do it just for the camera, and I think remain nameless.

00:32:21
Speaker 2: He is somebody that you look and say, oh, he is having such a fun time with his kids. This is such a nice, freeing thing to watch somebody do a good time. He's a little he's a different prison.

00:32:31
Speaker 3: He likes to have a good time. He doesn't want stress and pressure. He likes to just have a good time.

00:32:36
Speaker 2: And I think when he's on the court sometimes that's why he does the twins and the ship behind his back and the you know stuff that he doesn't have to do on My favorite this year was the i mean the twina like passing shots that he hits like when he My favorite was the return in charge. So he runs into somebody's in some cases first serves i mean blocks it back and then he's at the net. And he did it against Medvedev, who basically like he was going to cry because he'd never seen anybody do it before. It was amazing. It was like better than the sneak attack by Rager, that saber thing we were all kind of talking for a couple years ago. This is even better. It was winners.

00:33:10
Speaker 1: I'm waiting. I'm waiting for Andy Murray to retire and Nick use him as a coach.

00:33:14
Speaker 2: I think is good. It could actually happen.

00:33:18
Speaker 3: That might be a couple of years away, but with Andy, but but that would be something that I could totally see him doing.

00:33:24
Speaker 1: But you know, I don't know.

00:33:24
Speaker 3: Nick's an unknown quantity. He's incredible for the game. You know, if he could cut down on if he could just cut down on some of the bush.

00:33:38
Speaker 1: Some of the bullshit, it would be great. And you know I do think. Look, it's his career, it's his life. If you once hit a tweeter, I don't know, not hit a normal shot, and.

00:33:47
Speaker 2: People go, what a joke. No, it's his life. I'm never mad about the trick show. I love the trick show.

00:33:52
Speaker 1: I don't The only thing I don't like is the tanking, Like he doesn't try. Tanking is a problem for me because you.

00:34:00
Speaker 2: Know, it's disrespectful to disrespectful to yourself, it's disrespectful to the crowd. It's you don't want to play, dn't If you don't to play, you don't want to play, don't play. I don't mean I don't mind the funny trick shots. That's not because that's his loss.

00:34:14
Speaker 1: But you know, we'll see. Hey, he is like a box of chocolates.

00:34:18
Speaker 2: What a way to end it? All? Right? Twenty eighteen, you're in the books twenty and eighteen. We're coming for you, coming for you. You're gonna get on a plane tomorrow. I won't see you for six weeks now, no longer, maybe longer. If you want to take a free picture of my face, just so you can. I have this theme called the phone okay, and they have unfortunately way too many pictures of you want it okay? Well, I'm just making it.

00:34:36
Speaker 3: But I am psyched for next year, There's no question about that. I'm totally psyched for next year. I'm ready to go work wise, and.

00:34:44
Speaker 2: I'm ready for tennis to be bad in my life and on television.

00:34:47
Speaker 1: I'm ready.

00:34:47
Speaker 2: I'm tired of watching these players.

00:34:49
Speaker 1: There is no do you play more tennis than anybody I fucking know?

00:34:53
Speaker 2: Is that true? Except the pros who have taken there two weeks about a call? Yeah, all of them went to the mouldie that looks like I mean, do youesus Christ? Every single one of them. You know.

00:35:01
Speaker 3: I was talking to our fashion consultant, who has clearly gone on.

00:35:05
Speaker 2: Strike out of our podcast. I knew this would happen. She begged me.

00:35:10
Speaker 1: Irresponsible.

00:35:12
Speaker 3: But I was talking to Andrew Podkovic, and Andrea said to me, what the fuck, every single tennis player goes to Maldives. Who wants to see another tennis player on a beach at the same time, And you're like, hey, good to see yeah, so you know, yeah.

00:35:26
Speaker 2: Can you imagine like Andrew Kurber running into you know, it's happened Caroline breakfast.

00:35:32
Speaker 3: Before Carolina went to she went to the seashells. I mean she went into the middle of nowhere. I mean, I don't know if you know where they are, but they are bloody in the middle of there, in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

00:35:41
Speaker 1: Yes, like there's like a speck and there they are.

00:35:45
Speaker 3: So so every tennis player wants to go to the beach. None of them can ski.

00:35:49
Speaker 2: Except her friend Andrea Pacabac, who's net who has spent the file with us in New York City.

00:35:54
Speaker 1: Do we want to do her predictions for Lestrain Open?

00:35:57
Speaker 2: You go first?

00:35:58
Speaker 3: Oh, ship, All right, Well, I got to pick Djokovic in the Man's because he's won the tournament like feels like a hundred times.

00:36:05
Speaker 2: He obviously is going into the new year with renewed confidence. I think Zverev will be a threat, there's no question about it. And and then we'll see with the rest.

00:36:15
Speaker 1: I don't know Roger what's going on with him. He certainly didn't have the year that we expected this year, so I don't know. He might he might be done. But we've said that before.

00:36:25
Speaker 2: Women and the Women's.

00:36:28
Speaker 3: I think Hallop goes in his favorite Obviously we saw what she did there last year. I do think that, you know, the Sabalancas and the Plishkovers and the Madison Keys, the ones that have been knocking on the door. I think there's still going to be knocking on the door. And we've had eight is that eight of the last nine Grand Slams have on been eight.

00:36:48
Speaker 2: Different It's amazing, insane, So you know, obviously that's like I love, really exciting. I love the because I mean, when was tennis to talk about deep this is it's gone to the point that it was about fifteen twenty years ago when you had the Cloisters and Hennan's and Serena and Discapriates and Venus and Davenport and Maresmos and love that.

00:37:08
Speaker 1: I mean, how good was that?

00:37:10
Speaker 2: So good? That's why I'm so jazzed for these young dudes, because I want somebody else.

00:37:15
Speaker 1: Yeah, because the Men's has been real.

00:37:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I know what they look like, a trophy over their heads. I don't watch tennis for excellence. I watch it for a variety in surprise, and so I.

00:37:25
Speaker 1: Like to have excellent surprises.

00:37:27
Speaker 2: Of course, nobody winning is going to raise the trophy of their head.

00:37:32
Speaker 1: But you know you got as your et Xablanka, what's her you're.

00:37:35
Speaker 3: Going to look like now with a lot more expectations on her shoulders because now she is not a surprise to anybody.

00:37:40
Speaker 2: People should prepare.

00:37:41
Speaker 1: Hell yeah, look out Xena the ninja warrior.

00:37:45
Speaker 2: That's what it is. Warrior, princess worry Princess. Australian should know that. I would like to see Spidelina feels like she could make a breakthrough. I feel like Switelina could win on the slow records of Australia. So she's going to be my peck just to go with that slow.

00:37:57
Speaker 1: Well, here's the thing about Australia.

00:37:58
Speaker 3: You never know who's going to be fast slow until you get down there because the heat. Because of the heat, and they do change it from time to time. Sometimes it's a little bit slower, sometimes it's a little bit faster. It depends on who they want to cater it to. You know, the last couple years has been catered to Roger pretty quick, so it's quick. So you know who I would love to see when it. I'd love to see when it. I would love to see del pelt all.

00:38:18
Speaker 2: I love to see Delpo win anything. You want to see him when anything. He obviously won Indian Wells, which didn't go last year, amazing, didn't play last year because he was still recovering and med. I think what a lot of people thought was like sort of a surprise final.

00:38:30
Speaker 1: Yeah was he three? Got to three in the world and crazy.

00:38:33
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's still in the top five, So getting a Delpo slam wouldn't that be cool. I'm just putting it out there because I want to see it.

00:38:40
Speaker 1: So now, who doesn't want to see I want to see the heat. I mean, he handles the heat pretty well, so we'll see. Yeah, Delpo is definitely a threat. He's always a threat. Nobody wants to play that dude.

00:38:47
Speaker 3: No one wants to play him or Kirios or you know the danger guys.

00:38:51
Speaker 1: They can heat you off the courtly off the court.

00:38:54
Speaker 3: So yeah, so yeah, and the big question mark is how Serena going to be The Strain Open has always been a really great hunting ground for her because it's super relaxed there and it's fun.

00:39:03
Speaker 1: The crowd love.

00:39:04
Speaker 2: Her in Australia.

00:39:05
Speaker 1: She's won the tournament a billion times.

00:39:08
Speaker 3: And I think the pressure is off her there because she doesn't feel Listen, Serena feels pressure every time she walks on the clip. I can't imagine what it feels like because it must be stressful. But I think the crowd loves her down there. She gets into it. She doesn't have the pressure like she does at the US Open. The US Open is such immense.

00:39:25
Speaker 2: Pressure for her, I think, And it's also at the end of the year where she's just fucking tapping and listen when she's had her outburst in her nut moments, and she'll admit there's been some crazy moments.

00:39:33
Speaker 1: It's always at the US Open.

00:39:34
Speaker 2: Because it's the end of the year.

00:39:35
Speaker 3: It seems she's trapping and the pressure. The straight Open is fun, it's great. She has great support down there.

00:39:42
Speaker 2: Allright's twenty nineteen.

00:39:45
Speaker 1: Here we come, Sun, Here we come.

00:39:47
Speaker 2: Gurdr lains leaving New York at the right time before the snow starts coming behind in the Miserable New York went Derek.

00:39:53
Speaker 1: Sorry, mate, you can always get on a plane.

00:39:54
Speaker 2: All right, Well feacetime.

00:39:56
Speaker 1: There's the flying Kangaroo down to Australia. All right, No, that's Quantus.

00:39:59
Speaker 2: If you didn't know, I did, Okay, I'm on it. Okay mate, Yeah, Quantus, please spind sar Our Podcast twenty nineteen.

00:40:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, Connus go on or Emirates.

00:40:07
Speaker 2: Sure, we'll take any you know, Yeah, star line what is star A Lions Star Alliance? That's Emirates or bust all right, retel okay, Emirates or bus. Yeah they're gone East nineteen.

00:40:17
Speaker 1: Well can we just block those car?

00:40:18
Speaker 2: Sure of course.

00:40:20
Speaker 1: Twenty nineteen. Here we come. Hey, Racket Magazine Podcast people.

00:40:24
Speaker 2: Thank you for the love. Yes, thank you for spending the year with us.

00:40:26
Speaker 1: Thank you to our debut year, for the year we've been engaged for a year.

00:40:30
Speaker 2: Well I'm gonna leave that there. Goodbye, Hey, considering the start, first good we ever have was talking about my love lock, oh my god. All right, get into until soon. Goodbye, and that's it for this episode of The Racket Magazine Podcast. Thanks for listening. Our host is Renee Stubs, our co host and producer is me Keitlin Thompson. Music by internationally renowned DJ Stretch Armstrong, Thanks to Tim Or, Jerry, Taylor, Dalton and the team at acast. Find us at racketmag dot com, slash podcast, and subscribe to us at any of your favorite podcatchers.