Reclaiming Our Time

00:00:13
Speaker 1: Anyway, this is the Renee Stubs Tennis podcast, and I am Renee Stubs. It's a little jet lagged, a little tied. It's been a tough week, Caitlin. As anybody that follows the pod knows what happened to my mum. So it's a it's been a tough week. But I tell you what, it's good to see your friend. We're talking to each other on zoom. Caitlyn Thompson in New York City. Caitlan, Wow, what a great one woman. Oh my goodness. We had some great matches throughout those that you know, one final was amazing, the other one not so much. But let's get into it all.

00:00:41
Speaker 2: I can't wait to get into it all. I really appreciated the fact that I feel like there were a lot of new watchers of this year because everyone was talking about how chaotic it was. They're like, oh, this woman is so chaotic, got all of these seeds, and it's like, have you not ever seen like this happens every year? This is this is carnage, you know. Obviously, it was great to get the on the scene report from you and our friend Andrea Petkovich after the first week talking about some of those crazy upsets. Why maybe Coco losing early was not a crazy upset. Just you know, this is part of it, right, Like grass is the most unpredictable surface and we get a lot of you know, interesting results. That's said to have Cinner and Alcoraz in the final on the men's side was something that a lot of people, probably before the tournament would have said, that's probably going to be the final. And it was to see Good in the final not the craziest thing. She was, after all, coming in a five time grandsime winner and somebody who you know was used to being in grandson finals maybe just not this one. Amanda nisi Mova, Yes, a little bit unexpected, but anybody who had seen her play a Queen's and know what she's capable of, was not the craziest thing to imagine. But before we get to the finals, about which I suspect we have plenty to say, anything strike you in the run up to the last couple of matches, I would love to spend a little bit of time talking about Gregordan Mitro playing yen X, who maybe was a lot bit of a sliding doors moment. You know, one timeline goes one way. The other timeline goes another way. Obviously, we can talk a little bit about Arena Sabalanka, who I think a lot of people thought would win this tournament losing to Nisov and the semis. You know, I'd love to get before we get into those last matches that we just watched Saturday and Sunday on the singles, what were your thoughts about some of the more notable second week tournament tournament matches.

00:02:27
Speaker 1: Well, I mean talk about sliding doors moment. You're so right, right, I mean the you know, the thing that changed in the universe in that match. Now, do we know that Gregor Dimitrov was going to win in three sets and four sets and five sets? We don't know, right, Do we think that Cine might have come back, We don't know. The bottom line is he was down two sets of love on grass, and we know how well Gregor Demetrov has played through the years on grass, and also Yanix Sina hadn't really he made the semis up Wimbledon, but you know, I hadn't really, I guess been super you know, good on grass, you could and Grego was very good on grass. So to see that happened, Oh, my god. I mean, he tore it off the sternum bone. His muscle tore off the sternum bone. Actually spoke to him a couple of days ago on text, just to you know, we've been friends for a long time, and I just said, I cannot believe that that injury happened. I've had strained my peck in the past, but to tear it off the sternum that is wild.

00:03:26
Speaker 2: It sounds like it's such a serious injury that he is technically slated to be back for the US Open, But it's sort of hard to imagine that he's going to be back for the US Open. I mean, that was a profoundly upsetting thing to watch, especially if you're a Grugo Demetro fan who's kind of been waiting for his big moment for years and years and years. Obviously, the guys on a lot of tournaments, he's never really had a lot of Grand Slam success, much less, you know, gotten himself to a final to even be in contention for a title. But you know, a longtime player, favorite, a long time considered like super nice guy. Nobody watching him can deny that he plays the game at an elite beautiful flavor, and this seemed like his moment he was rolling on the Yenix Center. Who you know, it didn't look like he was playing terrible, but Grego Treatrov had all the answers and Yenix sitter had none. Looking after the fact that Yanix Center lifts this trophy at the end of the tournament when he was really not in that match, is yeah, again a little bit of a sliding doors moment for a lot of people who were kind of watching watching what happened totally.

00:04:31
Speaker 1: When he ended up getting through that match and I knew that he was playing Novak, I thought part of him has to feel a huge such a relief that it's almost like he feels like now as opposed to all the pressure to win the tournament or to do well on grass, it's almost like it sort of released him to be like you're kind of like you're kind of lucky still be in some ways, so just like play fleet freely, like don't play with with any sort of tightness. And that's what he looked like in the semis. I mean, obviously Novak was a little hampered, but Yanik was unbelievable in that match, and I think he's just released so much pressure on him getting through that match with Greg Goldher. It was kind of like, I feel lucky to be here still, so fuck it right, just play now. And that's exactly how he played the semis and the finals. I mean, you the Tennessee played in those two matches at some of the best ti I've ever seen at Wimbledon one.

00:05:29
Speaker 2: I mean, he looked locked into a degree that he hasn't looked basically outside of a hardcourt ever, which is not to say he's not capable of that level. But the focus he seemed to find, as you suggests, might have been because he felt freed by relief and just you know, uh, the ability to put that match behind him with Demitrov. Let's before we talk about the aucrast final, let's talk a little bit about the semifinal from Novak Djokovic, which a lot of people, you know, I don't love like dwelling on retirement talk, and I think that's like not always the most interesting way to frame somebody's uh, you know, performance in a Slam. Certainly not when we have information that suggests that it was his you know, no Vak Jovich Djokovic's last Wimbledon. But I think a lot of people you included, thought, okay, well, if he's going to get another title on at a Slam, it's probably going to happen at Wimbledon. That's the one's most likely. And also it tends to favor the aged because it's a little faster in the points to last is long, and if you're you know, on the on the wrong side of thirty five heading into forty, like you know, you can potentially, you know, playing attacking style of tennis that shortens points and and maybe gets you, uh, you know, gets you out of out of matches quicker than the five side grind you know on clay. So anyway, this is a long way of saying, what do you think about Novak Djokovic?

00:06:48
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was a really long life asking me that question. But just kidding, listen, I think that I don't know, I'm not in his brain, and this is the greatest playerable time, so where I don't you know, I don't pretend to think that he's not capable of doing, you know, great things still because that's who he is. But at some point father time catches up with you, and the amount of injuries that you've actually had in tournaments now, whether it be slipping over or you know, various injuries through the last couple of years. It's like, it's kind of what happens when you get injured. When you're older, you tend to get injured a little bit more, and you tend to break down here and you tend to break down there. And that's starting to really be a factor. And not only that you're playing against you know, Yannick Sinner and colors Alcarez, who have arguably taken what you've done for the last twenty something years and possibly even elevated it. And the reason they've elevated it is because they've had to elevate it to beat the like the likes of a Rafa Nada and then of course even more so a bat Djokovic. So I just think at some point you start going just they're just a little bit better than me, now, you know what I mean. And there's there's absolutely no one out there that's an expert that'll be like, oh, that's that's awful. No, that's that's genetics, that's life, that's getting older, and that's these young twenty two twenty three year old guys that are stronger, a little bit quicker, hit the ball a little bit harder, are just better than you now. And that's not doesn't have any slate on what you've clearly achieved in your career as the greatest player of all time.

00:08:21
Speaker 2: No. I mean, I think if anything, you know, as your results start to decline, as your body starts to sort of as you suggest, like you know, be be hampered by persistent stuff that it keeps crapping up. You know, there's a lot of ways to call it a day. And I think, you know, we've seen everything from you know, stephie Graff winning a title, the last one, you know, and then just saying well the next day, like that was it.

00:08:49
Speaker 1: You missed it by well actually no, she she actually defaulted a match and said that's it, peace out. I'm the French finals of Wimbledon, like the second round of something in San Diego, got hurt in the match and default, you know, gave her any trasia, you know, walkover in the match with her hands and never played again.

00:09:07
Speaker 2: I was like what Yeah, and then become Venus Williams, who technically is still unretired. I mean, she just took a wild card to the tournament you're going to next the City Open in DC. Like Venus Williams, does she still play professional tennis? Like the answer is kind of like whenever she wants to, you know, which is cool Williams like, she's incredible. She was like one of my childhood heroes, even though there was a tame age. But I think for me, the the Novak Djokovic, you know, retirement talk until he retires, you know, it's all just speculative, but it does definitely feel like the page has been turned, which I think was equivocally to take the correct take on what It's not only this tournament, but did the French Open. You know, a lot of what's been happening really in the last like eighteen months on the tour has now been like okay, well now we're in the era of Carlos Operas in the X Center.

00:09:57
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, listen. I think that he's so of hinted that the last Grand Slam will be austray and Open, and I think the reason for that is that's been his most successful, winning at nine times, so I think that it's not a bad way for him to go out if he decides to. It's clearly been the best place for him to win a Grand Slam. If he can get to twenty five, that's probably where he's going to do it. I thought that he is best chance was also at Wimbledon, so that's now slipped away. But I think that he probably almost feels like he not ows it's kind of Australia has been so your curl in his life, right, He's had such successes, He's had so many, you know, very dramatic moments in his life where he was treated very unpoorly by the Australian government. So it's an interesting dichotomy. But I think that that's where he wants to finish his career and I think that probably will be his last Grand Slam. But anyway, aside from that, we'll just finish off the guys because we've been talking about them. I mean, Taylor Fritz. Got to give the guy a lot of credit. He really is pushing and pushing and pushing. There's a few things that he just has to raise his level on. And when you see the tennis that we saw in the final, you just see the little, little tiny things that just are the difference maker. When he is playing against Sinner, at the US Open and then Carlos Alcroz at Wimbledon, and so but I want to give Kurdos to Taylor because my god, did he fight through so many long matches and incredible matches and it was just keep going, keep going, because you're so close. But these two guys are just exceptional. It's kind of like, you know, Andy Roddick trying to win a tournament. It's like this guy Federer and Nadahal and all these guys get getting in front of him. So, but what awesome tournament, but just not quite good enough against al Chist.

00:11:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, I do want to I want to double down on that a little bit, just because I think Taylor Fritz kind of reminds me of like an Andy Murray tape where it's like, Okay, you're in this era of two exceptionally gifted, exceptionally talented multag and you won a lot of Grand slams, and you want a lot of Grand slams. He won Wimbledon twice and he won two gold medals. You know, but I and I think, and it was open and the tour finals, I mean, listen, and Andy Murray had an enviable career and is one of the greatest of all time in an era where the two and then three of the other greatest were also just absolutely dominant. So the fact that he got in there at all was amazing. If anything, that should be an inspiration to Taylor Fritz, which is to say, you know, I feel like this guy has come unbelievably far and optimizing his talents, optimizing his mental strength, optimizing his weapons, Let's see how much further he can get. And I hope that that's a challenge, not an insult to say, Like he's clearly made incredible strides, there's still considerable distance. And I think that Alcarez Final, even though it was four sets and some of those sets went to tiebreaks, oh it wasn't. It didn't feel. It didn't feel like Taylor Fritz was in control of that match.

00:12:54
Speaker 1: It wasn't big enough. No, no, no, no, he wasn't. He wasn't. But let's talk about the final, because, as you know, I am still in Australia. I'm coming back to New York on Thursday, but I am watching tennis like I used to watch tennis when I was a child, which is at two o'clock and three o'clock in the morning. Okay, So I got up to watch the women's going to not lie. It was kind of nice if it was quick because I was very tired. But the next night I'm sitting up the match that's a one okay, one am, and I'm thinking, okay, I'm going to watch a set. I'm going to see how I feel about watching it. If I want to stay up, it's going to be a real commitment, right. So this first set, I'm like that set point that Carlos reaches out to slice that back end into the open court after Yanicksinn hit one of the greatest foehands on the run I've ever seen, was I was like, how the f did I go to bed and not watch the rest of this match?

00:13:50
Speaker 2: Okay?

00:13:51
Speaker 1: So I sit there and again it gets to five to four and the second yannicks Inner plays one of the sickest games I've seen to win that game to win the second set, and I'm like, how can I do to sleep? It was just like it just kept getting better and better and better. And I said it in a tweet a couple of days previous. The hot weather and it was so hot in London this year, like super hot. I knew a straightaway when I saw the conditions through those two weeks, I knew that it was a real chance for Yanick, and I knew that it was a better chance for Eager. And the hot conditions, no doubt helped Yannick's game his bigger more, he's super more. He's a little bit more aggressive, particularly on the forehand. And the serve, the serve was the factor and the second serve was a huge factor and that's the difference. And I think the harder conditions helped be time today.

00:14:40
Speaker 2: Can you just expand on that a little bit. I'm just thinking of all the all the tennis fanatics, but amateur prognostic here, as I spent the weekend with who listened to this podcast, who watched and sat with Jaza Geeb? You know at that at the that's final. But what exactly is it besides you know, he can be more aggressive on the surf, What exactly is it about the harder, faster court that a harder maybe bounce your court that helps the anccenter and maybe get yards towards Egan and Yannik as opposed to Carlos and other women.

00:15:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, so the small little things like if it's a bit the grass is a little bit softer, means it's a little bit more dew right through the two weeks, maybe a bit of rain, you know, and it's kind of grassier, and it's just softer right when it's when you get a lot of when you get a lot of sun, it just gets harder and harder and harder. Right, So the ball is going to hit the grass and it's going to bounce up a little bit higher. So for someone like Yannick, who's a lot taller than Carlos, the ball's going into his heading zone a lot better. It's going right into that area where he can really smack it. And the slice from Carlos is not going to be as an effective shot because that also is not going to sort of die, and his drop shots aren't going to just die on the grass. They're going to actually bounce up. There's little tiny factors like that that do make a difference with someone like Yannick, who there can sort of take advantage of his bigger ball striking because the ball's not being as affected by the different conditions that a grassier, softer court would be for Carlos. And so I think that was a huge factor. And the same thing for Eager. The ball is you know, jumping on her second serve, it's bouncing a bit higher, gives her a little bit more time on the forehand and the back end. Frankly, but they just suited both of their games so much more than Amanda. I mean suited Amanda too, but she was just overcome with nerves. But we'll get to that. But for someone like Yannick, the ball is coming up higher and he's sitting zone and he can be way aggressive with it. That's what he was today.

00:16:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, clearly. I mean I think for a lot of us, you know, slate poisons toward Carlos Alchoras, although you know, new insult intended toward Danic center, like the usual magic was not able to be conjured. You know, maybe ball set up or drop shots lingered. You know, it looked like his tools were not as readily accessible, and he looked a lot of you know, out of sorts. Obviously, the highest levels that were cheap in the match were unbelievably high. And I saw an analysis that said, and I think this is generally true, but you know, I'm curious if you agree with that. You know, Carlos Alcaraz's highest level is higher than Yannix, but his lowest level is way lower. And so even though Yannick Centers is in that band reliably, you know, that's just like such an interesting, interesting contrast. And I think that was true in the match, Like Carlos had incredible peaks, but a lot of it was he wasn't able to I think some in some of his gradest moments, which you know, again credits to Yanick center for for forcing him out of his favorite you know, sort of shots and patterns.

00:17:43
Speaker 1: I saw that tweet. I think it was from Chris Clary, and I think I agree to a certain extent that his the Alchoriz is low is definitely lower than Yanix, There's no question about that. I would disagree that the high is not as high as Alcoriz's because I think Yanik, when he hits the ball big, his ability to brush the ball and hit into corners is incredible. Does he have the flare of Alcrez. No, But you can't really say that that top level is as good as Alcrez, So I disagree with that.

00:18:15
Speaker 2: But I think the difference Claire, So maybe that's what.

00:18:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, Yeah, I think for me, it's like if Yannick said his A plus, I mean, he can be Pallos at his A plus, There's no question about that, particularly on a court like today that was a little bit bouncy here and a little bit faster, and he served better. That's what it came down to. I mean, even the game when he held to go at five to three in the second set and he was down fifteen forty, he went huge on the second serve to the forehand side, like one p thirty on a second serve out wide, and that really caught Carlos off. And the same thing, I believe in the next one. So for me, it was like he was more aggressive on the second serve and he was willing to take the chances that he maybe didn't take it.

00:19:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that, you know, kind of contextualizes this. I mean, the last seven Slams have now been worn by Alcaraz and center and so not to get prognostication game, but I think those of us going into this year ni looking at I mean, I'm not even gonna like wager guests on like the final number one. All this said and done, and these guys are you know, at the very ends of their careers, counting their Slam titles. But I think, like looking at to is open, I think before this year you and I have talked about and I think most people would agree. Okay, Alcoraz has the edge at least right now on natural surfaces and Sinner's got the edge on on the Australian. I have to say I think Center has the edge going into the US as.

00:19:45
Speaker 1: Well, no question, no question. Hardcore is as we know, he's best surface, and he has the footing, the balls bouncing up very similar to today, and so it without question is his best surface. Tallas is the more natural mover. We talked about it before the French Open and Wimbledon, and I think that's that's why he was the favorite for both again, is because he's such a great natural move And it's interesting that Janick whent one on grass and Carlos won on clay, and you would probably say that maybe it should have been flipped right, but that just shows you that they're both becoming so good on all surfaces. But I do think that Janick has the edge on the hard courts. So it's it's just going to be a beautiful race between the two of them. It's just like it's very similar to Rufa and Roger. Rufa was going to wear a lot of clay and Roger was going to win a lot of grass, and it was who could pinch the couple of hard courts against each other, and who could pinch maybe a French or maybe a Wimbledon. So that's what it's getting to now with Yanick and with Gullis, and I am so year for it.

00:20:47
Speaker 2: Sam. I mean, I also want to give the edge to Yanick center because he was wearing a collar, so we saw a colored shirt in the final and I think that might have been the difference maker. The top button was buttoned, so you know, we're looking at minute details, but really like it doesn't come down to much.

00:21:03
Speaker 1: Well, one thing I do want to say in stress before we get to the women's what an incredible two men we have at the top of the men's game. Dear Lloyd. That speech that jani'sinner gave after the French Open, we talked about it was extraordinary. I've never felt worse for a tennis player than I did that day when Yanick lost that match, having three match points and serving for the title and all the things, and I thought, what a gracious speech he got off there, particularly after the one the day before, which wasn't so gracious from a little bil Russian. But Yannick gets up there after and he's so exemplary in this speech and congratulates Carlos and his team and thanks his team for getting to the final, and it was a great effort. It was just like it was the most amazing speech. And I just feel like when we saw the speeches from the two of them yesterday after women that he was like, oh, thank god, you two are going to save men's tennis for twenty years. This is awesome.

00:22:02
Speaker 2: It's true. And it was looking real dicey there with the Sandwich generation of you know, Medvedev, who I love, but you know he's mercurial, mercurial, it's Verev, you know, which you know, the less said about the better dommy team, who's you know already in the ranks that they're retired, and Tisipas, who you know, is sort of out on a great spiritual walk about at the moment, and so like for me, just like this idea that these guys have come along and like just in time, it's sort of reminiscent of before, you know, before fetter and adults started winning everything, there was a real crisis in men's tennants, basically post agacy, like between two thousand and like two thousand and five or so, like who's going to take it up? The women were overshadowing them, you know. It was really like, oh wow. And that's certainly the feeling that I think a lot of us have had the last couple of years, where it's like, oh, well, the women's game, it's like, actually much more interesting, And here's come along these two guys in the early twenties and like, let's see what happens for the thint twenty years.

00:22:59
Speaker 1: It's so hard to it against either of them. And I loved him. It is a little bit more like he was like, come on, crowd, give me some love, giving me some love a little bit today. I just love that they're both so different. They're so different, but they are two of the nicest guys you will ever ever ever meet. So I don't want to.

00:23:15
Speaker 2: I don't want to put any negative note in here, but do you want to address the fact that Nick Curious tweeted an asterisk? I have no, no, I.

00:23:24
Speaker 1: Don't want to even talk about that. I don't need to give that time.

00:23:31
Speaker 2: Great, she's reclaiming her time, folks, I.

00:23:35
Speaker 1: Am reclaiming my time. Let's talk about the ladies.

00:23:37
Speaker 2: Claiming your time. To talk about the ladies. Where to start?

00:24:15
Speaker 1: Let's start with how incredible tournament Amanda Anissa overhad Okay before we get to the final, to have achieved what she's achieved after taking a mental breakaway from sport after the loss of her father at such a young age, who was her mentor her coach, and having lost a parent in the last week and a bit, I'll tell you what to do it at that age. Incredible that she's been able to even come back and be the person that she is and she is a really really sweet girl and to come back after having that break and to get herself into these positions is awesome. She's one of WT one thousand this year. She's had a great year so far. And to beat Sabalanka in that semi final and get through the matches that she did, zudos dude finals of Queens look Out. She's back and she's in the top ten and that's where she deserves to be because she's that good.

00:25:06
Speaker 2: And you know, like I was saying in the in the beginning moments of the show today, you know, if anybody started to play at Queen's which was the tournament immediately preceding womenon where she gets to the finals and went down to Taitana Maria who was summoning like true grass, you know, excellence. This is somebody who had was very comfortable on the surface and had gone through a murderer's row of really great players on her way to the finals. Like that was incredibly well deserved in terms of her. You know, her was obviously semi final against Sabolenka, who I think again a lot of us thought was her tournament to capture, especially after having lost to like very tough in the in the preceding two slams, one to Madison Keys that sam is the Australian, the other to Coco in the finals of the French But you know, yeah, let's maybe start there.

00:26:08
Speaker 1: But see, the thing is Sabalanca is, look, you have to pick her everywhere she goes, because she's been so consistently good at the Grand Slams as well. But I just I don't feel like she moves well enough on grass, and you have to be able to move. Listen, she has the weapon. So yes, you can hit anyone off the court and not move that well. There's been a couple of won the tournament and that's the case. But if you look traditionally at the winners of Wimbledon in women's singles, they're very athletic, very athletic, and so if you're not serving someone off the court and crushing every single ball, which so Abalanka can do, you've still got to be able to manage the footwork and you've got to manage those little things. And if she gets a bit off balance on grass, you can see it a lot more than you can on a hard court, for example, where she can just push off and be so much more aggressive, and clay she might get a little bit more time to get somewhere right. So I think on grushy, just to me, she still looks uncomfortable moving on it, and maybe that might be the difference, you know, with her winning the tournament or not. If you look at eger the way that Eager moves great on every surface, right, it was just a matter of her being able to you know, adjust with the forehand and you know, be more aggressive with the serve. Which was clearly a positive thing for her through this tournament. Her serving stats were through the roof such good serving and that won or a lot of matches and won them very easily. But the heart of the court, the drier, the conditions, she was always going to help her as well. And I could see that through the week, and I thought she's going to be the one look out.

00:27:42
Speaker 2: Yeah. And I think also, you know, maybe having had a rough kind of similar to what you were saying about Center and demitrav like maybe having a rough eighteen months where she didn't win a single tailor much as her grandson Taylor, where she was really kind of in the wilderness herself, sort of trying to figure out what was going on, coming into a tournament that pretty much nobody thought she was gonna have a chance in much less win and then just being freed of pressure, free to sort of focus on the things that she does well helped a little bit by the hardness of the court and the bounce. Yeah, it was like sort of I would like to see this version of Ega more where she doesn't look pained, she doesn't look stressed, she doesn't look anxious, she doesn't look upset and she's just moving well and playing free. I you know, I had the chance to watch her when she was like really really young, when she won the French Open Girls, and I think that same year she won the Wimbledon Girls. So you know, obviously like she can win on grass, but she smiled on the court, and I just want to sort of take a moment and say, like, what a nice thing it was to see. And it was really nice to see her dancing in the pictures with NNIX Center or the Wimbledon ball. You know, like there is something to the joyousness of release and relief, and you know, I want to say that I like this version of ego because it doesn't feel like you're watching somebody play a pained way and it feels like, you know, it was it was sort of it was a nice thing to do. I mean, obviously when you're not being pushed very hard, which she wasn't in her last two matches, because not only did that Anissimova match go real fast, the match she played before with Benchic, who's no slouch like Belinda Benchich is you know, an elite player, She's a gold medal in her closet, Like she went through some incredibly tough matches to get to the to the Semis, and you know, she didn't make much of a stand against Ega either, So it wasn't so much Anisimova collapsing in the final, although I definitely think the nerves and the pressure got to her undoubtedly, but Eaga's level in those last two matches was pretty unreal if if she also pretty much blanked Benchitch at least in one of those sets.

00:29:42
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, listen, didn't somebody who beat Caroline to police show over in the finals that royan oh and one two with one of the biggest serves in the world, and she played to get to the final, Like you know, I know, rhyme's not like Wimbledon, but it's it's still she can beat some of the best players in the world like oh and one. There's a reason why we like call it the Eagers. She onto you know, bake, It's like it's like that's what she does when she's on. It's like, look out. She's the most similar person and personality, not playing style obviously, but just personality as Steffi Graff. It's just like head down, momentum doesn't stop. You do not take anything for granted, and you just keep going right. And so that's the similarity for me with Steffy, with Eager Shantek. But listen, even in the final, she didn't waiver at all. She just kept doing the right thing. And look, it's clear that Amanda was completely frozen in the final. She was probably spent from when the semi final came out in that match and just you know, depleted and then also incredibly nervous. You could tell that her movement was she wasn't the same mover. It was like Eager would go and hear to ball and she would just start moving to one side. There was no sense of balance on the court. And I just thought, oh, she's just she's just frozen. And it happens. It happens, and she was exhausted and so she, without question will learn from this and it will make her at a player.

00:31:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think the idea for me that you know, there's anything other than just like, let's applaud this girl for what she's been through and how she as you said at the top of the podcast, like you know, you know what it is to lose a parent, especially at a young age, that she did, like you know, she's she's been, she's had a she's had a lot of life, and I think for me, the idea that she's back here at the highest levels of the game, where I think a lot of us knew she always deserved. To me, is a really lovely a lovely thing. Now are we done talking about the women and any other random observations.

00:31:34
Speaker 1: I just she congrats to IgA. Was just awesome to watch and I knew she could play well on grass and she trusted herself and she did it.

00:31:42
Speaker 2: So congrets to her. What are we doing that, Yolene asked, the Pinko didn't win Wimbledon along with chaseu Way uh and then women's final. Uh, you know, at least a pretends uh coming back, you know again just minor minor quibbles here here and there. I thought Wimbledon this year was amazing. I do have to ask you because there was a, you know, a lot of talk, especially after the tn T rights acquisition of the French Open. There's a lot of talk in this country anyway about some of the commentary and the ways that you know, tennis can and should keep improving. Now, without wanting to put you on any kind of hot seat. What was it like for you watching Wimbledon from the from the broadcast? Obviously you're in Australia, but like, what was it like watching as a as a fan as opposed to being there? Calling it sucks?

00:32:40
Speaker 1: I'd rather much rather be there, much rather be calling it you're writing it. There's nothing like watching tennis live. Watching it on TV is great, but you cannot get the sense of how hard people hit the ball, you feel the energy. So no, being being at Wimbledon is you know, one of the great things that I still get to do, and so you know, it's always it's always great to be a part of the coverage, but yeah, I want to be there on site.

00:33:08
Speaker 2: All right. Well, the update from over here is I've just completed a successful edition of wimbled Down. My friend Don has a birthday celebration grass court tennis tournament at her home every year called wimbled Down. So, Claire, my wife and I just won Wimbledon. So I didn't know you were talking about champion today, but you are.

00:33:30
Speaker 1: Did not did not know?

00:33:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm up you center, I'm a two time wimbled Down champion. Let's just be clear about the pronunciation. Her name is okay, and then then I'm going to grass Court Nationals later today in Philadelphia. We'll see what happens.

00:33:44
Speaker 1: All right, We'll get that chip and charge out because that fourhand of yours that's not so good on the grass.

00:33:49
Speaker 2: I want to take any slander. You haven't seen my fourhead in about two years, so anyway, that's the slander.

00:33:55
Speaker 1: Hey guys, yeah you too, Thanks for joining us. Guys, see you next week.

00:34:01
Speaker 2: Baye