September 7, 2025 • 28 mins
Carlos Alcaraz took his game to another level by beating Jannik Sinner in the US Open Final. Brett Thomas is joined by Aussie tennis legend Todd Woodbridge to discuss whether anyone can challenge the new ‘Big Two’ in the men’s game. Aryna Sabalenka capped her year with victory in New York, but watch out for the powerful Amanda Anisimova in the future. Plus, a look-ahead to AO26 and a take-down of the tournament's "petty crims".
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, it's going to be a fun media.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to the Tennis Mini.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
A rap of the US Open coming up, King of
the Court, Carlos Reign Supreme, Arena's Arena Sabolenka, stuns Anisimova
and who can challenge the world number ones at AO
twenty six. That's ahead with me, Brett Thomas and a
legend and Ossie Legend Todd Woodbridge.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Welcome, Todd.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Thanks. Thanks.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Don't know about a legend, but you know, it's nice
to be It's nice to be here to chat about
what was a great tournament.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Yeah, I appreciate you are coming in straight after the
men's final.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
We'll get to in a moment.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
But two great finals and we're seeing Arena Sablenka and
Carlos Algarez absolutely at the top of their game, and
the rest of the world has to catch up.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yeah, they do.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
It's been the USI listen, go back to step. The
US Open is always an intriguing tournament because it's the
last major of the year. Players are getting tired. There's
the last itch effort to do, you know, get some
points and rankings. There's always a lot on the line
to make your year better or sometimes to save your year,
and in the situation for somebody like Arena Saberlenka, this
(01:11):
was about saving the year world number one, who's had
two chances to win, hasn't quite got it done and
had to kind of pull everything together under extreme pressure
to maintain that mental focus to be able to get
the job done. And in the final she was pressed
to the limit and she came through and that was
really impressive.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah, I mean, Amanda Anisimova so much power and given
what had happened at Wimbledon, she came out swinging and
she was down two love, then got it to three
to two and at one stage it was eight to
one in terms of winners in her favor, so the
match was going to be decided on her racket.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
Yeah, there were swings in roundabout, lots of momentum, and
I thought, you know, Amanda bouncing back the way she
did from what happened at wimbledem was unbelievable. I think
she can win a major moving forward. Always had that
to the runner up, but she's a legit contender. I
actually thought she was going to win the tournament. I
picked her even going into the final to win, despite
what had happened at Wimbledon. Yes, yes, because you could
(02:07):
see the resilience was there. There is a maturity that
she brings to her tennis from life experiences, from what
happened when she was young, bursting on the scene, losing
her dad, understanding mentally she needed to get away from
the game, found out she loved it, still came back
and has cemented herself.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
But she's such a good technical player.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
But maybe even in the final though, there were some
weaknesses that showed up. A little lack of spin on
the forehand and the second serve probably needs a little
bit more work with some shape, and that's one of
the things Saberlenka's really honed in on over the last
couple of years. And as I'm over for me, I thought,
I thought was brilliant and in that match it could
have got away from her. That start was awful, and
(02:52):
you can you imagine thinking I haven't thirteen games straight
and Grand Slam finals and all sorts of stuff like that.
I thought she actually settled in well, which is another
reason why Saberlenka to take that opening set with the
momentum changes was a really good effort from her.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
That back end adismo is going to make a lot
of money from.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yeah, it's so good.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
Just this ability loaded up any corners available. So some
people have a trending shot. Hers is equally as good
when she redirects as to what is the safer one
as well. So yeah, and the forehand tod like just
the way that she can hit people off the court,
she's she's very dangerous.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Now the roof was shut. There was a lot of
rain in New York and now seemed to affect Anasamova
on serve. She was complaining to her box a little bit,
and that maybe just rattled her a little bit.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
Yeah, now that that's that's the one thing that you
would look at and go, okay, I'm sure Saberlenka was
looking up into the same roof. She didn't seem to
be bothered by that. So you make you've got to
make an adjustment, and you've got to not let that
rattle you. And probably that's a bit of nerves and
a bit of looking outside for something to have an
excuse in that moment when things weren't as good. But
(04:04):
I would go back and go, hey, technically, there's a
big twist going on in the back here that's going
to make it hard to get your timing right when
you're a little bit up tight in a big match
like that.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
So that's what she will learn out of that.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
And that's what I love about Seberlenka is how much
she's learned through some very difficult losses and how every
single time she has got better from a bad loss
or from a meltdown or from whatever it is a
big disappointment, and I think Amanda is doing that also.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
She'll come out of this a better player.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
You could see just warming up before the match, how
relaxed Sebilenka is. I mean, I reckon a bit of
that there, to be honest with you, and then Anna
Simova on the other hand, looks super nervous. You think
experience was the ultimate fact, one hundred percent, the experience
of it.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
The more finals you play in that space, the more
you're comfortable with it. You know, there's that whole walkout,
you know, imagine, you know, there's a walkout in a
normal match of of a big Grand Slam stadium, a
Rod Labor Arena or Arthur Rash Stadium, But on a final,
it's a different buzz, The locker room is different. There's
just the two of you, and you know they're warming
(05:13):
up in the same space. That's awkward. I can't do.
Shall I do what I really want to do? I
don't want them to see. You know?
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Am I a bit stiff here? Am I stretching a
bit differently?
Speaker 4 (05:21):
So many things can go on and through your head
that don't happen in a quarter because there's other people
mingling around. There's a lot of other stuff happening. It's
just this magnified effect. And I think for Amanda that
obviously was a big issue at Wimbledon. Slightly better here
and if she can make some more she'll feel much
more composed going into that match.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
She seems like she's really hard on herself. She was
in tears after that and the way that she spoke,
I didn't fight as hard as what I could have.
Do you think she was a bit too hard on herself.
Of course, every athlete is going to put themselves down.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
That's what they do.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Very rarely do you come out of a loss, although
I heard you know Sinner said I gave everything I had,
but he will come out of that loss disappointed. And
I think for Amanda that's a normal reaction. You put
everything on the line, and you know, for her as
an American, to win that tournament is going to change
her life. It'll take her to another level. Her life's
(06:18):
already changed in a positive way, but it would have
gone to other levels, would have opened up a huge
corporate opportunity, and it still will if she can back
it up. But you think about those things. You're not
human if you don't think about that at the time.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
And how important was it for Sablenka to finish her
year winning a Grand Slam, given what happened with Coco
Goff at the French Open, just to change the feeling
around her.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
It was the most important win I think that she's
had because things could have easily started to get away
from her next year, also with what you know, with
all of the chances, and I think you could see
that poor out of her after it all, when even
in the speech saying, people don't know how hard I've
worked to get to hear and that's the truth, and
(07:04):
you can see that. And I think that tournament win
now allows her to go on. I think if she
had lost, I don't think she would have gone on
in twenty six to achieve I think she probably she
least wins one maybe two next year as well, because
her consistency of getting into the semis and the finals
(07:24):
now is starting to equal those sort of moments of
a serena. She has got all those you know, probably
not going to get all those wins, but consistency is
so important, particularly in the women's game.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
As she got a little bit tight there on the
second set, She's serving at five to four nets and
overhead and you thought.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Maybe this is a Simo always coming.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
I mean, she was tightening up, But at that moment
was the moment where she didn't lose the plot. That's
she did arms, didn't flail and start yelling at the
box and all of those things. She actually kept it
together and kind of pulled. You could see the effort
to remain comp and so when it gets to the tiebreak,
she didn't have a heightened sense of anxiety. She just
(08:06):
had the normal moment of being able to focus in
on the tie break. That for me was like the
point of difference from what she had done earlier in
the year and other big matches that she had lost.
She didn't she didn't let the moment get on top
of us. So, you know, whatever they were working on
her and her team to be able to mentally get
through that. It worked, and that must be a huge
(08:29):
relief and a pad on the back to yourself to go.
You know, I did that, and I thought that was
probably a really key moment in watching her career.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
And so dominant in tiebreaks this year or something like
twenty to one, that must be in the back of
her head like, well, you know, when I'm in this position,
I've been able to win absolutely.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
Yeah, you think you do think about that and you
use it, by the way, and that's what she would
be going.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
You know, this is mine.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
I'm better than the rest of them in these situations
on those types of points. But you know, I look
to also her physicality and her movement and her strength
and her power. I mean, she as an athlete right
now in the women's game is just right there. It
almost looks like she's sort of in the peak of
her powers. And you know anisim over at the other
(09:14):
end of the court is ball strikings there. And if
she can start to match the physical capabilities that Arena brings,
watch out, because she's she'll be dangerous. And that's the
next level, a level that I thought. Now Missaka brought
to this tournament the last few months. You know, physically
you can see the work that's been put into the
body to change the shape, to get quicker, to get
(09:37):
more power, and that's the next phase for Amanda.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Arena, one of the great celebrators. She had the champagne
boggles on.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
What is it like you've won three doubles and three
mixed doubles titles in New York Or is it like
celebrating a Slam win in New York City must be
a special?
Speaker 4 (09:52):
It's it's New York's chaos, isn't it. It's noise and
it's big, And watching her do that, it's quit fun
because you know it's stick over the walls and it's
let the hair down. We're going for it. So, yeah,
that's a new moment. They don't normally do that type
of moment at the US Open, So it was fun
(10:12):
to watch. I kind of like seeing the pictures of
the stuff going back into the city and yeah, they're
going out to the restaurant where you all go and
how that celebration. They're the pictures that really count when
the team actually sort of let their hair down and
whether you can actually sort of see they don't really
want you to see that. Yeah, you know, but we
now get to see a bit out. That's where the
(10:33):
fun stuff happens. I remember Patti rafter I wasn't there
the night that he won the US Open, but you know,
the Aussies went nuts that that night with.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Ties around their head and whatever else. Yeah, there's some
good pics of that.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
It would have been an epic night.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Speaking of celebrating a men's victory, Carlos Alcarez king Carlos
six Grand Slam title over the Annix Cinner wasn't quite
as epic because the French opened.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
But this is what the fans were hoping for.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
Well yeah, I mean last three finals, and they've actually
all been quite different. The epic was in rolling Gaross,
you know, coming back from match points down and you go, well,
what happens to Sinner? How does he bounce back after that?
You know? Kenny, well he does. He wins Wimbledon and
he was too good at Wimbledon. But ironically, when we
get to the US Open, the tide had turned in
(11:21):
terms of confidence technique, I think where they felt physically,
particularly going into the final. Carlos looks better, he'd had
an easier run, and he'd had just this kind of
look about him where at times he can lose concentration,
he'll throw in a loose game or two, he might
lose a set, but he always finds a way through
(11:43):
his flare to be able to get through matches. He
was so tight in the way he was playing, so
clinical and using his flare. So that's trouble for the
rest of the field, and that was what it looked
like coming into the final.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Yannick was pushed in the semis.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
He did a great job absorbing what was gire Aliasine
threw at him, but I think that took a little
bit of an edge off him. And to his credit,
I don't think he was one hundred percent fit. I
think he had a niggle in the stomach at least
that we saw in the semi. He didn't serve nearly
as well as what he had been throughout the season,
(12:18):
and Carlos was able to take advantage of that. And
then also Carlos is serving stay at Wimbledon, and the
French he got away with it in Paris was not great.
It was good, but not to the level it was
in New York.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
In New York.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
He had a slightly longer swing, was more fluid, and
he was getting a lot more free points, had a
lot more power in the final than what Yannick had.
And when you start to look at the differences in
these matchups between the two, it's something as simple as that.
You know, there was six seven miles per hour more
on the Alcoraz serve than there was on the sinner serve,
and so therein lies a key difference in such an
(12:54):
important match.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
It's pretty scary when you think about it, though, because
Carlos is only twenty two. If he can get even
more powerful, then who can keep up with him?
Speaker 4 (13:02):
Good question, because the difference you have with these two
like Yannik can keep up with him, no doubt about that.
But how long can you maintain those levels. You've got
to physically keep fit, you've got to keep mentally in
tune and interested and fresh, and so you have to
manage a lot of things to be able to play well. Ultimately,
(13:25):
I'd love to see a Carlos take a break now
he should have eight weeks off.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
He won't be able to.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
But if he took eight weeks off, enjoyed his success
of what's been an incredible season. Then go into a
good training block, come down to Australia, play some pre
events which he's not done before, whether it be the
United Cup or Adelaide or Brisbane or you know, have
a proper plan about then attacking the one Grand Sam
that he hasn't won before. That would then tick that
(13:54):
next box and have hill of won all four majors.
But that's going to take some planning, and that means
everyone else is going to be after him and he's
got to find a way to remain at top. So
there are so many variables about whether he can and
what the others are going to do to try to
beat him.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Yeah, pretty scary, but I think a lot of tennis
fans in Melbourne are hoping that he can be at
his best. COO twenty six. The rivalry between these two
we've just come off the Big Three before that sampress
agacy and then you know McEnroe and Borg. It feels
like it's just one generation immediately replaces the next one
and these two will be going at it for the
best part of the decade.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
We hope.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
So.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
And then if you think back three or four years ago,
is going to be struggling.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Who's going to fill the void? They just won't be possible.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
Well, hello, here we are, and they're playing I think,
bigger and better tennis than even what the Big three
and Andy and Stan were being able to deliver. We're
seeing incredible stuff and what that does. There's those two
and that rivalry, but don't forget that the rest of
the field are getting better and following them. You've got
people like von Seca, who's going to get there, Runa
(15:00):
who's not always as consistent but he can match. The
rivalry will be tested by others, but for the moment
at least, yes, they're a level above. And you know,
I was looking at the stats. Raffa and Roger played
forty times in their career twenty four sixteen. I think
(15:22):
it was in the end to Rafa, but Roger won
the last seven of eight. These two are going to
have these ebbs and flows and things are going to change,
and that's the beauty of sport. And trying to predict
two wins, I don't know. I would have thought that
Carlos was going to win more Wimbledon's than Yannick yep
and he's still in front. But when they've played at
(15:44):
Wimbledon twice, Yanick's beating him and you go, oh, I
didn't expect that, But then you maybe thought Yannick might
get him on the clay.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
That hasn't happened. So there's a lot to play out
in this particular rivalry. Yep, and Yannick's got a lot
more to say about that. It's a special time, no doubt.
Let's get to up stocks down. This is across the
whole tournament, and let's start with the player who you
mentioned before, Naomi Osaka. Is she back as a Grand
Slam contempt? Absolutely? That was the best tennis she's played
(16:11):
since she was winning majors. She was instinctive, she was
on the ball, in short in the court, making winners.
Her whole shot selection was so much better than what
it's been since her comeback.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And the movement.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
Wow, it was like she was anticipating where to be
at the right times. And so it looks like it's
come back.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
I think next year watch out for Naomi because where
she was coming up, where she'd lost her ranking, She's
coming up in some tough draws early and hadn't built
that confidence. Now she's back in the top echelon. She's
going to get easier draws, she's going to get into
the tournament. And I think for the first time she
really believed actually that she could win that US Open.
It was a different look about her and I think
(16:56):
that's great, really great for the women's game. It was
fun watching she jumps up ten places to fourteen in
the world. What about Felix Augeur Elier sim he said
that title of the next big thing for a while. Yeah,
got to a semi final, takes a set off Onick Sinner.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Is he going to be the one who challenges those two?
Speaker 4 (17:14):
Well, he's dangerous, no doubt about that. And you know
what we saw in the second set of his semi final.
He played at the level of those two, but he
didn't sustain it and he fatigued.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
So that's what he's got to go and do. Now.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
He's fit as anything, he's a specimen, but he's got
to go and find a way to be able to
play that level for longer. And that's the key. It's
very hard to do. But he'll be buoyed by that
semi final because he could easily have fallen away. He
didn't play great in the quarter, but he got the
job done and then he rose again. Also, the best
tennis I've ever seen him play was in that semi
(17:48):
final that he lost. He'd had successes before, but this
was much better. This is Felix back up where he
was three and four years ago, and let's be honest,
he fell away and he would have been questioning himself.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
So that's a big tournament for him.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
Okay, stocks up, stocks down on the mixed doubles. Going
back to the start of the tournament.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Stocks down, for me, the event worked, no doubt about that.
It was an exhibition event. Though it's an invitational event,
it's not open to the whole field. It's not the
US Open, it's not the title that I won. It
was an exo. It was really good though. It got
eyeballs on it and it showcased it. But there still
(18:28):
needed to be a mixed doubles event for everybody else
in the field to be able to play for an
open event if you choose to play it. So hopefully
the USTA might use both next year.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Stocks down. Retirements from the tournament, we saw quite a
few of them. Vondrosova, Can I have another stocks up quick?
Of course, that's Jokovic.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Oh yeah, love him or not, and you know he
polarizes his fan base, no doubt, but you've got to
love what the year he had, kudos for making four
semi finals in a row. Extraordinary effort and by far
and away the third best player in the world. If
anything happens to one of those guys next year, maybe
there's an injury and one loses early. Well no, actually, man,
(19:08):
he's the guy that still is there to win. He's
he's he beats Fritz comfortably. He's number four in the world.
He might drop back a little bit because of making
the final last year, but we've got to put that
in perspective.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Oh absolutely.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
I mean, any other player on the tour outside of
Cinner and Alcarez would have killed to make the semis
at every single.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
Slate extraordinary and we go, oh, he's done. He's not
playing so good. I'd like to have not played that
year yet never right off a champion. What about the
retirements Vondrosova, Camille Meichek, Ben Shelton, high hopes for him
and Draper as well. Is there anything in that being
the last slat? Yeah, we opened here saying how difficult
This tournament is for your coming off a long season
(19:47):
and you're trying to hang on. I mean, injuries come
and go, we know that, but that's disappointing for them.
Now they've got time to rest up.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
I think.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
You hate seeing someone like Vondrasov who gets back when
she's in great film. She's really really good to watch
because she brings variety to the women's game. So hopefully
we don't see that continue, but that that's the hard
part about playing tennis that's in the game today to
really physical.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
A terrible tournament for Petty Crims.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
We saw Camil Myerchik trying to hand his hat to
a young fan. Yeah, a Polish millionaire took it off him.
They tracked the millionaire down and the boy gave him
a hat. And then the brazenness of a fan trying
to open up Youngixxentner's bag with a security guard right there.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah, that's New York for you. Watch out. Anything can
happen in New York. Zip over your pockets. And that
was interesting viewing.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
See back in the day, you wouldn't have had all
those clips to be able to.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Catch all those people.
Speaker 4 (20:45):
Yeah, yeah, it happened in my day I lost my
beautiful Ebelle watch from a bag in my bag in my.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Locker in New York. Yes, oh my lord.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
It was the first expensive thing I'd bought for myself,
and I'd had it in my little watch bag.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
In my bag, ye, in my locker. Yeah, And there
was no way you were going to get that back.
Not as many cameras around back there, especially not in
the locker. No Danil Medvedev, just the one Grand Slam
match that he won this year that was at the
AO that he's now changed his coaching team. Have we
seen the best of Medvedev?
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Or yeah? More to come.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
I think there's more to come, but I mean it
has to be like changing the coaching staff is probably
inevitable because he has to freshen up somehow. I mean,
he's funny to watch because you know, he loses the
plot and that can be you know, like watching a
training crash and we all sort of do that. And
(21:42):
he's important for the game because he's actually an intellect
and a thinker out on court and he and he
finds ways to break things down.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
I think he's really important.
Speaker 4 (21:51):
So I hope he does get back, but he's got
to make some changes to the pressure that he seems
to be putting on himself and the intensity of that
because he's not making it easy on himself. So someone
that used to do that, I used to really try
too hard. He looks like he's trying too hard. He
has to sort of find a different way, I think
(22:12):
to enjoy the competition, because at the moment when it's
getting tight, he's not enjoying it. But there's one other part,
and that's probably the technical part of transitioning to the
net and coming forward and volleying. If he's going to
get better again, that's where he's getting beaten a lot.
And so you can look at him at the back
(22:32):
of the court the way he serves all that stuff.
But in the fore court, you know, he's probably a
five out of ten, and for as good as he is,
he should be a seven or eight.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Yeah, that's not going to get it done. Let's hope
a change of coach results in a change of fortune.
All right, Time to change ends here, Todd, come back
and look ahead to AO twenty six.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Sounds good.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
Welcome back everybody to tennis. Mini form Majors for twenty
twenty five are done. So now took a head to
the Australian Open for twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Brett, Yeah, Todd, I feel like you've done that before.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Let me pose a question to you, because I think
people want to hear what you think about this, not me,
But who can actually challenge Yannick Sinner and Carlos Alcarez
in the men's game.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
Well, who can challenge them? Novak challenges them in Albourne.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
Course, Absolutely, He's just got to keep finding that resilience
at his age to get back out on court. Taylor
Fritz playing the best tennis of his career. He's had
a really solid year. Can he up the ante against
these guys in the best of five to be able
to do that?
Speaker 2 (23:35):
What about Ben Shelton Yep.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
Definitely you need the players that can dynamically bust through
these guys. So Ben's one of those. With the way
he serves and the way he hits his forehand. He's
got to tighten things up off the ground, not give
a few free points here and there, but you know
he can always serve his way deep into a set,
so that's massively important. I am a fan of like
(23:59):
looking at someone like jal Fonseca he's still building for me,
but yes, he is going to challenge these guys. You know,
can Alex do it in Australia, Well, we know he's
just knocking on that door and he will make a
breakthrough all the quarters that he's made. I'd love to
see him challenge those guys in Australia. So I think
(24:22):
there are plenty out there. It's just a matter of
them believing in themselves. You know, let's put Zverev in
that category too, made the final twenty twenty five. So
many of them, though, have to be able to lose
the inhibitions and the safety of their own game of
(24:44):
what has got them to a certain point and keep
adding to their repertoire. That's the difference with Sinner in
a very short space of time in his young career,
is that the improvements that he's kept making and the
choices that he's made in building the team to be
able to do that. Darren taking Darren on, and Darren
doesn't do the technical coaching. He does the strategizing and
(25:05):
the mindset and Simoni does the technical stuff. They built
this whole, you know, one percent of team I call
the was a lot like what Novak's done, so the
other guys you're going to start investing in that as well. Yeah,
big off season coming up for all of those players.
The women's game, we saw a different winner of each major,
which is awesome. Amanda Addisamova, given the pressure of playing
(25:29):
in her home country when she comes to Australia, do
you think some of that pressure will be off and maybe.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
We'll see it at LEAs break through here?
Speaker 4 (25:35):
Definitely, And I think this is a surface that will
suit her really well. Nice medium pace, hardcore, perfect for
her timing. But in the women's game, I would say personally,
I think it's in the best shape coming into the
AO for twenty twenty six, and I've seen it for
many seasons because we were seeing such inconsistency. There's only
Eager that was prepared to step up and own the mantle.
(25:58):
Now we're seeing these matches of all others saying I'm
back in on this. There's Naomi, there's Amanda, there's Madison
who wins it here.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Eager winning Wimbledon.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
Never thought I would see her win on grass, and
so even she's brought herself back into the top of
the equation, even though she's peat number one in that
spot for so long and then you throw Saberlannka in there.
I think it's quite wide open with the difference between
the two in the men the women's broad I mean,
it all makes for a great tournament because I think
(26:30):
it builds drama that's unpredictable.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Yeah, absolutely, me and sabal Anka's women. But there's just
so many who could take her title. And so much
can change in an offseason as well. Yeah, new coaches,
you know, depending on their health and the changes that
they make to their game. Is that the most exciting
thing about the first Slam of the year is seeing
how people have changed their games and how they've developed
over a summer.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
There's that, and then also the freshness that they bring
and sort of the spring in the step and a
new positivity because sometimes we don't see that. Sometimes we'll see,
you know, a play if they can come with a
break and a new sort of feeling that this is
my year, that's what we often get in Australia. We
get the breakthroughs because of that. It gets harder through
(27:12):
the season as you've been on the road for longer,
no matter even if you've only had a few weeks off.
Australia has this mindset for the players, new year, new me,
and that really does make a difference. And that's kind
of why I'd like Carlos to get here earlier and
prep a bit earlier than what he has because for
him it's a new year, it's been a slow start
and then he gets going. I'd love to see him
(27:34):
start the year at the same pace that he's just
finished the US Open.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
Yeah, it's the trophy that's missing from his cabinet. Appreciate
your company today, Minikick. What a legend Todd would ridge.
He'll be back next year, as we hope. On the tennis.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Mini.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
Appreciate you joining us during the US Open and of
course the Tennis. The weekly podcast is out every Thursday.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
Hey everyone, Harps and Andy here just want to remind
you that you can watch every episode of the Tennis
on our YouTube channel, Australian Open TV, and have an
email as well podcast at Tennis dot com dot au.
If you thought the show was amazing or you thought
it was terrible, we are keen to hear from you.
We'll read it, so feedback comments, whatever it is, Get
in touch with us at our email and we'll catch
(28:14):
you on the next one, catch you later,
Hello, it's going to be a fun media.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to the Tennis Mini.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
A rap of the US Open coming up, King of
the Court, Carlos Reign Supreme, Arena's Arena Sabolenka, stuns Anisimova
and who can challenge the world number ones at AO
twenty six. That's ahead with me, Brett Thomas and a
legend and Ossie Legend Todd Woodbridge.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Welcome, Todd.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Thanks. Thanks.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Don't know about a legend, but you know, it's nice
to be It's nice to be here to chat about
what was a great tournament.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Yeah, I appreciate you are coming in straight after the
men's final.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
We'll get to in a moment.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
But two great finals and we're seeing Arena Sablenka and
Carlos Algarez absolutely at the top of their game, and
the rest of the world has to catch up.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yeah, they do.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
It's been the USI listen, go back to step. The
US Open is always an intriguing tournament because it's the
last major of the year. Players are getting tired. There's
the last itch effort to do, you know, get some
points and rankings. There's always a lot on the line
to make your year better or sometimes to save your year,
and in the situation for somebody like Arena Saberlenka, this
(01:11):
was about saving the year world number one, who's had
two chances to win, hasn't quite got it done and
had to kind of pull everything together under extreme pressure
to maintain that mental focus to be able to get
the job done. And in the final she was pressed
to the limit and she came through and that was
really impressive.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah, I mean, Amanda Anisimova so much power and given
what had happened at Wimbledon, she came out swinging and
she was down two love, then got it to three
to two and at one stage it was eight to
one in terms of winners in her favor, so the
match was going to be decided on her racket.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
Yeah, there were swings in roundabout, lots of momentum, and
I thought, you know, Amanda bouncing back the way she
did from what happened at wimbledem was unbelievable. I think
she can win a major moving forward. Always had that
to the runner up, but she's a legit contender. I
actually thought she was going to win the tournament. I
picked her even going into the final to win, despite
what had happened at Wimbledon. Yes, yes, because you could
(02:07):
see the resilience was there. There is a maturity that
she brings to her tennis from life experiences, from what
happened when she was young, bursting on the scene, losing
her dad, understanding mentally she needed to get away from
the game, found out she loved it, still came back
and has cemented herself.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
But she's such a good technical player.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
But maybe even in the final though, there were some
weaknesses that showed up. A little lack of spin on
the forehand and the second serve probably needs a little
bit more work with some shape, and that's one of
the things Saberlenka's really honed in on over the last
couple of years. And as I'm over for me, I thought,
I thought was brilliant and in that match it could
have got away from her. That start was awful, and
(02:52):
you can you imagine thinking I haven't thirteen games straight
and Grand Slam finals and all sorts of stuff like that.
I thought she actually settled in well, which is another
reason why Saberlenka to take that opening set with the
momentum changes was a really good effort from her.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
That back end adismo is going to make a lot
of money from.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yeah, it's so good.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
Just this ability loaded up any corners available. So some
people have a trending shot. Hers is equally as good
when she redirects as to what is the safer one
as well. So yeah, and the forehand tod like just
the way that she can hit people off the court,
she's she's very dangerous.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Now the roof was shut. There was a lot of
rain in New York and now seemed to affect Anasamova
on serve. She was complaining to her box a little bit,
and that maybe just rattled her a little bit.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
Yeah, now that that's that's the one thing that you
would look at and go, okay, I'm sure Saberlenka was
looking up into the same roof. She didn't seem to
be bothered by that. So you make you've got to
make an adjustment, and you've got to not let that
rattle you. And probably that's a bit of nerves and
a bit of looking outside for something to have an
excuse in that moment when things weren't as good. But
(04:04):
I would go back and go, hey, technically, there's a
big twist going on in the back here that's going
to make it hard to get your timing right when
you're a little bit up tight in a big match
like that.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
So that's what she will learn out of that.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
And that's what I love about Seberlenka is how much
she's learned through some very difficult losses and how every
single time she has got better from a bad loss
or from a meltdown or from whatever it is a
big disappointment, and I think Amanda is doing that also.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
She'll come out of this a better player.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
You could see just warming up before the match, how
relaxed Sebilenka is. I mean, I reckon a bit of
that there, to be honest with you, and then Anna
Simova on the other hand, looks super nervous. You think
experience was the ultimate fact, one hundred percent, the experience
of it.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
The more finals you play in that space, the more
you're comfortable with it. You know, there's that whole walkout,
you know, imagine, you know, there's a walkout in a
normal match of of a big Grand Slam stadium, a
Rod Labor Arena or Arthur Rash Stadium, But on a final,
it's a different buzz, The locker room is different. There's
just the two of you, and you know they're warming
(05:13):
up in the same space. That's awkward. I can't do.
Shall I do what I really want to do? I
don't want them to see. You know?
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Am I a bit stiff here? Am I stretching a
bit differently?
Speaker 4 (05:21):
So many things can go on and through your head
that don't happen in a quarter because there's other people
mingling around. There's a lot of other stuff happening. It's
just this magnified effect. And I think for Amanda that
obviously was a big issue at Wimbledon. Slightly better here
and if she can make some more she'll feel much
more composed going into that match.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
She seems like she's really hard on herself. She was
in tears after that and the way that she spoke,
I didn't fight as hard as what I could have.
Do you think she was a bit too hard on herself.
Of course, every athlete is going to put themselves down.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
That's what they do.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Very rarely do you come out of a loss, although
I heard you know Sinner said I gave everything I had,
but he will come out of that loss disappointed. And
I think for Amanda that's a normal reaction. You put
everything on the line, and you know, for her as
an American, to win that tournament is going to change
her life. It'll take her to another level. Her life's
(06:18):
already changed in a positive way, but it would have
gone to other levels, would have opened up a huge
corporate opportunity, and it still will if she can back
it up. But you think about those things. You're not
human if you don't think about that at the time.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
And how important was it for Sablenka to finish her
year winning a Grand Slam, given what happened with Coco
Goff at the French Open, just to change the feeling
around her.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
It was the most important win I think that she's
had because things could have easily started to get away
from her next year, also with what you know, with
all of the chances, and I think you could see
that poor out of her after it all, when even
in the speech saying, people don't know how hard I've
worked to get to hear and that's the truth, and
(07:04):
you can see that. And I think that tournament win
now allows her to go on. I think if she
had lost, I don't think she would have gone on
in twenty six to achieve I think she probably she
least wins one maybe two next year as well, because
her consistency of getting into the semis and the finals
(07:24):
now is starting to equal those sort of moments of
a serena. She has got all those you know, probably
not going to get all those wins, but consistency is
so important, particularly in the women's game.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
As she got a little bit tight there on the
second set, She's serving at five to four nets and
overhead and you thought.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Maybe this is a Simo always coming.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
I mean, she was tightening up, But at that moment
was the moment where she didn't lose the plot. That's
she did arms, didn't flail and start yelling at the
box and all of those things. She actually kept it
together and kind of pulled. You could see the effort
to remain comp and so when it gets to the tiebreak,
she didn't have a heightened sense of anxiety. She just
(08:06):
had the normal moment of being able to focus in
on the tie break. That for me was like the
point of difference from what she had done earlier in
the year and other big matches that she had lost.
She didn't she didn't let the moment get on top
of us. So, you know, whatever they were working on
her and her team to be able to mentally get
through that. It worked, and that must be a huge
(08:29):
relief and a pad on the back to yourself to go.
You know, I did that, and I thought that was
probably a really key moment in watching her career.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
And so dominant in tiebreaks this year or something like
twenty to one, that must be in the back of
her head like, well, you know, when I'm in this position,
I've been able to win absolutely.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
Yeah, you think you do think about that and you
use it, by the way, and that's what she would
be going.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
You know, this is mine.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
I'm better than the rest of them in these situations
on those types of points. But you know, I look
to also her physicality and her movement and her strength
and her power. I mean, she as an athlete right
now in the women's game is just right there. It
almost looks like she's sort of in the peak of
her powers. And you know anisim over at the other
(09:14):
end of the court is ball strikings there. And if
she can start to match the physical capabilities that Arena brings,
watch out, because she's she'll be dangerous. And that's the
next level, a level that I thought. Now Missaka brought
to this tournament the last few months. You know, physically
you can see the work that's been put into the
body to change the shape, to get quicker, to get
(09:37):
more power, and that's the next phase for Amanda.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Arena, one of the great celebrators. She had the champagne
boggles on.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
What is it like you've won three doubles and three
mixed doubles titles in New York Or is it like
celebrating a Slam win in New York City must be
a special?
Speaker 4 (09:52):
It's it's New York's chaos, isn't it. It's noise and
it's big, And watching her do that, it's quit fun
because you know it's stick over the walls and it's
let the hair down. We're going for it. So, yeah,
that's a new moment. They don't normally do that type
of moment at the US Open, So it was fun
(10:12):
to watch. I kind of like seeing the pictures of
the stuff going back into the city and yeah, they're
going out to the restaurant where you all go and
how that celebration. They're the pictures that really count when
the team actually sort of let their hair down and
whether you can actually sort of see they don't really
want you to see that. Yeah, you know, but we
now get to see a bit out. That's where the
(10:33):
fun stuff happens. I remember Patti rafter I wasn't there
the night that he won the US Open, but you know,
the Aussies went nuts that that night with.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Ties around their head and whatever else. Yeah, there's some
good pics of that.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
It would have been an epic night.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Speaking of celebrating a men's victory, Carlos Alcarez king Carlos
six Grand Slam title over the Annix Cinner wasn't quite
as epic because the French opened.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
But this is what the fans were hoping for.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
Well yeah, I mean last three finals, and they've actually
all been quite different. The epic was in rolling Gaross,
you know, coming back from match points down and you go, well,
what happens to Sinner? How does he bounce back after that?
You know? Kenny, well he does. He wins Wimbledon and
he was too good at Wimbledon. But ironically, when we
get to the US Open, the tide had turned in
(11:21):
terms of confidence technique, I think where they felt physically,
particularly going into the final. Carlos looks better, he'd had
an easier run, and he'd had just this kind of
look about him where at times he can lose concentration,
he'll throw in a loose game or two, he might
lose a set, but he always finds a way through
(11:43):
his flare to be able to get through matches. He
was so tight in the way he was playing, so
clinical and using his flare. So that's trouble for the
rest of the field, and that was what it looked
like coming into the final.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Yannick was pushed in the semis.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
He did a great job absorbing what was gire Aliasine
threw at him, but I think that took a little
bit of an edge off him. And to his credit,
I don't think he was one hundred percent fit. I
think he had a niggle in the stomach at least
that we saw in the semi. He didn't serve nearly
as well as what he had been throughout the season,
(12:18):
and Carlos was able to take advantage of that. And
then also Carlos is serving stay at Wimbledon, and the
French he got away with it in Paris was not great.
It was good, but not to the level it was
in New York.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
In New York.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
He had a slightly longer swing, was more fluid, and
he was getting a lot more free points, had a
lot more power in the final than what Yannick had.
And when you start to look at the differences in
these matchups between the two, it's something as simple as that.
You know, there was six seven miles per hour more
on the Alcoraz serve than there was on the sinner serve,
and so therein lies a key difference in such an
(12:54):
important match.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
It's pretty scary when you think about it, though, because
Carlos is only twenty two. If he can get even
more powerful, then who can keep up with him?
Speaker 4 (13:02):
Good question, because the difference you have with these two
like Yannik can keep up with him, no doubt about that.
But how long can you maintain those levels. You've got
to physically keep fit, you've got to keep mentally in
tune and interested and fresh, and so you have to
manage a lot of things to be able to play well. Ultimately,
(13:25):
I'd love to see a Carlos take a break now
he should have eight weeks off.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
He won't be able to.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
But if he took eight weeks off, enjoyed his success
of what's been an incredible season. Then go into a
good training block, come down to Australia, play some pre
events which he's not done before, whether it be the
United Cup or Adelaide or Brisbane or you know, have
a proper plan about then attacking the one Grand Sam
that he hasn't won before. That would then tick that
(13:54):
next box and have hill of won all four majors.
But that's going to take some planning, and that means
everyone else is going to be after him and he's
got to find a way to remain at top. So
there are so many variables about whether he can and
what the others are going to do to try to
beat him.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Yeah, pretty scary, but I think a lot of tennis
fans in Melbourne are hoping that he can be at
his best. COO twenty six. The rivalry between these two
we've just come off the Big Three before that sampress
agacy and then you know McEnroe and Borg. It feels
like it's just one generation immediately replaces the next one
and these two will be going at it for the
best part of the decade.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
We hope.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
So.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
And then if you think back three or four years ago,
is going to be struggling.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Who's going to fill the void? They just won't be possible.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
Well, hello, here we are, and they're playing I think,
bigger and better tennis than even what the Big three
and Andy and Stan were being able to deliver. We're
seeing incredible stuff and what that does. There's those two
and that rivalry, but don't forget that the rest of
the field are getting better and following them. You've got
people like von Seca, who's going to get there, Runa
(15:00):
who's not always as consistent but he can match. The
rivalry will be tested by others, but for the moment
at least, yes, they're a level above. And you know,
I was looking at the stats. Raffa and Roger played
forty times in their career twenty four sixteen. I think
(15:22):
it was in the end to Rafa, but Roger won
the last seven of eight. These two are going to
have these ebbs and flows and things are going to change,
and that's the beauty of sport. And trying to predict
two wins, I don't know. I would have thought that
Carlos was going to win more Wimbledon's than Yannick yep
and he's still in front. But when they've played at
(15:44):
Wimbledon twice, Yanick's beating him and you go, oh, I
didn't expect that, But then you maybe thought Yannick might
get him on the clay.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
That hasn't happened. So there's a lot to play out
in this particular rivalry. Yep, and Yannick's got a lot
more to say about that. It's a special time, no doubt.
Let's get to up stocks down. This is across the
whole tournament, and let's start with the player who you
mentioned before, Naomi Osaka. Is she back as a Grand
Slam contempt? Absolutely? That was the best tennis she's played
(16:11):
since she was winning majors. She was instinctive, she was
on the ball, in short in the court, making winners.
Her whole shot selection was so much better than what
it's been since her comeback.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And the movement.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
Wow, it was like she was anticipating where to be
at the right times. And so it looks like it's
come back.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
I think next year watch out for Naomi because where
she was coming up, where she'd lost her ranking, She's
coming up in some tough draws early and hadn't built
that confidence. Now she's back in the top echelon. She's
going to get easier draws, she's going to get into
the tournament. And I think for the first time she
really believed actually that she could win that US Open.
It was a different look about her and I think
(16:56):
that's great, really great for the women's game. It was
fun watching she jumps up ten places to fourteen in
the world. What about Felix Augeur Elier sim he said
that title of the next big thing for a while. Yeah,
got to a semi final, takes a set off Onick Sinner.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Is he going to be the one who challenges those two?
Speaker 4 (17:14):
Well, he's dangerous, no doubt about that. And you know
what we saw in the second set of his semi final.
He played at the level of those two, but he
didn't sustain it and he fatigued.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
So that's what he's got to go and do. Now.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
He's fit as anything, he's a specimen, but he's got
to go and find a way to be able to
play that level for longer. And that's the key. It's
very hard to do. But he'll be buoyed by that
semi final because he could easily have fallen away. He
didn't play great in the quarter, but he got the
job done and then he rose again. Also, the best
tennis I've ever seen him play was in that semi
(17:48):
final that he lost. He'd had successes before, but this
was much better. This is Felix back up where he
was three and four years ago, and let's be honest,
he fell away and he would have been questioning himself.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
So that's a big tournament for him.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
Okay, stocks up, stocks down on the mixed doubles. Going
back to the start of the tournament.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Stocks down, for me, the event worked, no doubt about that.
It was an exhibition event. Though it's an invitational event,
it's not open to the whole field. It's not the
US Open, it's not the title that I won. It
was an exo. It was really good though. It got
eyeballs on it and it showcased it. But there still
(18:28):
needed to be a mixed doubles event for everybody else
in the field to be able to play for an
open event if you choose to play it. So hopefully
the USTA might use both next year.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Stocks down. Retirements from the tournament, we saw quite a
few of them. Vondrosova, Can I have another stocks up quick?
Of course, that's Jokovic.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Oh yeah, love him or not, and you know he
polarizes his fan base, no doubt, but you've got to
love what the year he had, kudos for making four
semi finals in a row. Extraordinary effort and by far
and away the third best player in the world. If
anything happens to one of those guys next year, maybe
there's an injury and one loses early. Well no, actually, man,
(19:08):
he's the guy that still is there to win. He's
he's he beats Fritz comfortably. He's number four in the world.
He might drop back a little bit because of making
the final last year, but we've got to put that
in perspective.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Oh absolutely.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
I mean, any other player on the tour outside of
Cinner and Alcarez would have killed to make the semis
at every single.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
Slate extraordinary and we go, oh, he's done. He's not
playing so good. I'd like to have not played that
year yet never right off a champion. What about the
retirements Vondrosova, Camille Meichek, Ben Shelton, high hopes for him
and Draper as well. Is there anything in that being
the last slat? Yeah, we opened here saying how difficult
This tournament is for your coming off a long season
(19:47):
and you're trying to hang on. I mean, injuries come
and go, we know that, but that's disappointing for them.
Now they've got time to rest up.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
I think.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
You hate seeing someone like Vondrasov who gets back when
she's in great film. She's really really good to watch
because she brings variety to the women's game. So hopefully
we don't see that continue, but that that's the hard
part about playing tennis that's in the game today to
really physical.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
A terrible tournament for Petty Crims.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
We saw Camil Myerchik trying to hand his hat to
a young fan. Yeah, a Polish millionaire took it off him.
They tracked the millionaire down and the boy gave him
a hat. And then the brazenness of a fan trying
to open up Youngixxentner's bag with a security guard right there.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah, that's New York for you. Watch out. Anything can
happen in New York. Zip over your pockets. And that
was interesting viewing.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
See back in the day, you wouldn't have had all
those clips to be able to.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Catch all those people.
Speaker 4 (20:45):
Yeah, yeah, it happened in my day I lost my
beautiful Ebelle watch from a bag in my bag in my.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Locker in New York. Yes, oh my lord.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
It was the first expensive thing I'd bought for myself,
and I'd had it in my little watch bag.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
In my bag, ye, in my locker. Yeah, And there
was no way you were going to get that back.
Not as many cameras around back there, especially not in
the locker. No Danil Medvedev, just the one Grand Slam
match that he won this year that was at the
AO that he's now changed his coaching team. Have we
seen the best of Medvedev?
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Or yeah? More to come.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
I think there's more to come, but I mean it
has to be like changing the coaching staff is probably
inevitable because he has to freshen up somehow. I mean,
he's funny to watch because you know, he loses the
plot and that can be you know, like watching a
training crash and we all sort of do that. And
(21:42):
he's important for the game because he's actually an intellect
and a thinker out on court and he and he
finds ways to break things down.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
I think he's really important.
Speaker 4 (21:51):
So I hope he does get back, but he's got
to make some changes to the pressure that he seems
to be putting on himself and the intensity of that
because he's not making it easy on himself. So someone
that used to do that, I used to really try
too hard. He looks like he's trying too hard. He
has to sort of find a different way, I think
(22:12):
to enjoy the competition, because at the moment when it's
getting tight, he's not enjoying it. But there's one other part,
and that's probably the technical part of transitioning to the
net and coming forward and volleying. If he's going to
get better again, that's where he's getting beaten a lot.
And so you can look at him at the back
(22:32):
of the court the way he serves all that stuff.
But in the fore court, you know, he's probably a
five out of ten, and for as good as he is,
he should be a seven or eight.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Yeah, that's not going to get it done. Let's hope
a change of coach results in a change of fortune.
All right, Time to change ends here, Todd, come back
and look ahead to AO twenty six.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Sounds good.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
Welcome back everybody to tennis. Mini form Majors for twenty
twenty five are done. So now took a head to
the Australian Open for twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Brett, Yeah, Todd, I feel like you've done that before.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Let me pose a question to you, because I think
people want to hear what you think about this, not me,
But who can actually challenge Yannick Sinner and Carlos Alcarez
in the men's game.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
Well, who can challenge them? Novak challenges them in Albourne.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
Course, Absolutely, He's just got to keep finding that resilience
at his age to get back out on court. Taylor
Fritz playing the best tennis of his career. He's had
a really solid year. Can he up the ante against
these guys in the best of five to be able
to do that?
Speaker 2 (23:35):
What about Ben Shelton Yep.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
Definitely you need the players that can dynamically bust through
these guys. So Ben's one of those. With the way
he serves and the way he hits his forehand. He's
got to tighten things up off the ground, not give
a few free points here and there, but you know
he can always serve his way deep into a set,
so that's massively important. I am a fan of like
(23:59):
looking at someone like jal Fonseca he's still building for me,
but yes, he is going to challenge these guys. You know,
can Alex do it in Australia, Well, we know he's
just knocking on that door and he will make a
breakthrough all the quarters that he's made. I'd love to
see him challenge those guys in Australia. So I think
(24:22):
there are plenty out there. It's just a matter of
them believing in themselves. You know, let's put Zverev in
that category too, made the final twenty twenty five. So
many of them, though, have to be able to lose
the inhibitions and the safety of their own game of
(24:44):
what has got them to a certain point and keep
adding to their repertoire. That's the difference with Sinner in
a very short space of time in his young career,
is that the improvements that he's kept making and the
choices that he's made in building the team to be
able to do that. Darren taking Darren on, and Darren
doesn't do the technical coaching. He does the strategizing and
(25:05):
the mindset and Simoni does the technical stuff. They built
this whole, you know, one percent of team I call
the was a lot like what Novak's done, so the
other guys you're going to start investing in that as well. Yeah,
big off season coming up for all of those players.
The women's game, we saw a different winner of each major,
which is awesome. Amanda Addisamova, given the pressure of playing
(25:29):
in her home country when she comes to Australia, do
you think some of that pressure will be off and maybe.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
We'll see it at LEAs break through here?
Speaker 4 (25:35):
Definitely, And I think this is a surface that will
suit her really well. Nice medium pace, hardcore, perfect for
her timing. But in the women's game, I would say personally,
I think it's in the best shape coming into the
AO for twenty twenty six, and I've seen it for
many seasons because we were seeing such inconsistency. There's only
Eager that was prepared to step up and own the mantle.
(25:58):
Now we're seeing these matches of all others saying I'm
back in on this. There's Naomi, there's Amanda, there's Madison
who wins it here.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Eager winning Wimbledon.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
Never thought I would see her win on grass, and
so even she's brought herself back into the top of
the equation, even though she's peat number one in that
spot for so long and then you throw Saberlannka in there.
I think it's quite wide open with the difference between
the two in the men the women's broad I mean,
it all makes for a great tournament because I think
(26:30):
it builds drama that's unpredictable.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Yeah, absolutely, me and sabal Anka's women. But there's just
so many who could take her title. And so much
can change in an offseason as well. Yeah, new coaches,
you know, depending on their health and the changes that
they make to their game. Is that the most exciting
thing about the first Slam of the year is seeing
how people have changed their games and how they've developed
over a summer.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
There's that, and then also the freshness that they bring
and sort of the spring in the step and a
new positivity because sometimes we don't see that. Sometimes we'll see,
you know, a play if they can come with a
break and a new sort of feeling that this is
my year, that's what we often get in Australia. We
get the breakthroughs because of that. It gets harder through
(27:12):
the season as you've been on the road for longer,
no matter even if you've only had a few weeks off.
Australia has this mindset for the players, new year, new me,
and that really does make a difference. And that's kind
of why I'd like Carlos to get here earlier and
prep a bit earlier than what he has because for
him it's a new year, it's been a slow start
and then he gets going. I'd love to see him
(27:34):
start the year at the same pace that he's just
finished the US Open.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
Yeah, it's the trophy that's missing from his cabinet. Appreciate
your company today, Minikick. What a legend Todd would ridge.
He'll be back next year, as we hope. On the tennis.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Mini.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
Appreciate you joining us during the US Open and of
course the Tennis. The weekly podcast is out every Thursday.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
Hey everyone, Harps and Andy here just want to remind
you that you can watch every episode of the Tennis
on our YouTube channel, Australian Open TV, and have an
email as well podcast at Tennis dot com dot au.
If you thought the show was amazing or you thought
it was terrible, we are keen to hear from you.
We'll read it, so feedback comments, whatever it is, Get
in touch with us at our email and we'll catch
(28:14):
you on the next one, catch you later,
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