January 20, 2025 • 37 mins
Alex de Minaur has reached the last eight of his home Slam for the first time with a straight-sets defeat of Alex Michelsen, whose career-best major run came to an end on the same day as compatriot Learner Tien's. The teenager’s vanquisher Lorenzo Sonego has advanced to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal where he’ll play Ben Shelton, the beneficiary of Gael Monfils’ retirement. Madison Keys has upset 2023 finalist Elena Rybakina to return to the last eight where she’ll face Elina Svitolina, while an out-of-sorts Jannik Sinner has prevailed in a tough four-setter against Holger Rune — experts John Fitzgerald and Levi Huddleston join Jon and Blair Henley to analyse the results, and preview Day 10 action: Aryna Sabalenka v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and the Novak Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz blockbuster. Plus, Matt and Viv sit down with Coco Gauff’s father Corey who reveals the origin story of the 20-year-old superstar. (Full Episode: The Sit-Down with Corey Gauff)
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're fun to watch. You're refreshing to be part of
our tour. The fans love you.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Welcome to the quarter finals of the Straight and Open
again again.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Good day and welcome to the tennis For Day nine
of AO twenty twenty five, John Huvena's with all the
big news from Melbourne Park every day of the main draw.
Today on the tennis Sinner, unrepenting, demon unrelenting.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
I don't believe in coincidences. I think when you're happy
off the court, you play some good tennis on the court.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Maddie grabs the keys to the quarters.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
Hard to believe that it was ten years ago that
I made my first semi final.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Plus lucky loser Lisa's luck runs out a preview of
Day ten and Corey Goth I'm fathering a superstar.
Speaker 5 (00:42):
There was no doubt in my mind at that point
because athletically she was gifted.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
That's all ahead on the tennis.
Speaker 6 (00:51):
High ball from Demonal floating.
Speaker 7 (00:53):
Back that way makers, it's a beast that's had for
the first time in his career, the Australian Alex Dimenor.
Speaker 6 (01:02):
He's through to the quarter finals of his home major.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Alex Demonor is the first Australian man in ten years
to reach the last eight of his home Slam. Following
an impressive straight sets defeat of Alex Michelson. The Aussie
eighth seed was in devastating touch early, winning eighty three
percent of first serve points in a twenty seven minute
first set avalanche without dropping a game. It took until
the third game of the second set for Mickelson to
(01:27):
open his account, which ignited a contest as the American
raised his level, making inroads on his opponent serve to
draw level at five all, but with the home crowd
in his corner. During a second set tiebreak, Demenor found
an edge with a two hundred and fifteen kilometer an
hour ace before forcing an error off the Mickelson racket
to snatch a two set lead. With his opponent on
(01:49):
the ropes, the Aussie went for the jugular in the
third set, breaking for four to two. He hit nine winners,
including three unbelievable passing shots, to put the result beyond
doubt to the quarterfinals six love seven, six six '
three in just over two hours, much to the delight
of the Rod Labor Arena crowd.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
There's nothing I want to do more than play well
here in Australia in front of you guys. So I'm glad,
I'm glad, I'm finally finally made it to a quarterfinals here.
But yes, let's go for bigger and better things come on.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
It brings to an end and outstanding campaign by the
young American Micholson's best Grand Slam results from six attempts.
Speaker 7 (02:33):
Yeah, I'm super happy with the way I fought. And
you know, I put myself in a position to almost
want to set playing poorly off a top ten player,
So I was super happy with that. He came up
with the goods and the breaker, hit that four in
pass at five to four and the ace and five
all so creds to him there. But super happy with
even getting a breaker there. And that's it because it
was it did not feel very good. The first hour
(02:54):
of the match was really poor. So super happy to
just compete and almost find a way. And that's it's her.
Speaker 8 (03:00):
Serves down the t the fourhand return from lease rise
long over the baseline.
Speaker 5 (03:05):
It's a job done.
Speaker 9 (03:07):
One hour exactly.
Speaker 8 (03:09):
Egoiontek through to the quarterfinals. She wins six love six
one against the valiant very impressive ever Lise in many ways,
but had absolutely no chance against the world number two Iigish.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Fiontech has pulled the rug from underneath Everlease, ending the
charmed run of the world's luckiest lucky loser. Well Lease
only managed a single winner in the opening set. She
absorbed some of the pressure in the second to earn
her only hold four games in, but it was the
Poll's night, dominating with twenty eight winners and exquisite netplay
en route to a six love, six to one whitewash
(03:42):
off the court in under an hour. It's Fiontec's first
quarterfinal in Melbourne since twenty twenty two.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
You know, I'm still what's twenty three, yeah, twenty three,
So there's a lot to improve. Like always, you know,
I don't feel like I'm in my peak yet, you know,
And yeah, that's for sure, much just like that giving
confidence and I feel like I'm playing a good game.
Speaker 7 (04:05):
You know.
Speaker 10 (04:05):
I usually didn't feel.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
Comfortable when I was trying to open, you know, with
my game, but this year it's a bit better. So
I'm just enjoying being on accord and of the court
as well, because for sure, I have an amazing time
here and hopefully it's gonna last even longer.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Finally able to board her flight, lease leaves Melbourne almost
half a million dollars richer.
Speaker 11 (04:27):
It's definitely, I think the nicest week I've had in
my life, just because it wasn't really only about the result,
but also about the whole story. I mean, getting in
as a lucky loser last minute on the last day,
where it was possible changing the flights, winning first time,
winning second time, making it to top hundred. I mean,
this is the week I've been working for for ages,
(04:49):
and I was always waiting for that moment. I've had
a lot of nights where I was actually talking to
my parents, often with tears, asking when when will the
time come? Because I know I have the potential, but
sometimes I was the only person that's really standing in
my own way. So everything just came down to this
week where on one sete it's definitely the tennis they played,
(05:12):
but also it was the luck in the beginning, and
it was just the momentum that made it so special.
So I'm definitely enjoying every second I had here.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Sreontek's quarter final opponent will be Emma Navarro, who scrapped
her way past Daria Kasutkina in a match featuring seventeen
breaks of serve. The eighth the ninth seeds were tenacious
in their tug of war, Navarro breaking to love to
take the first set six ' four, while the American
boosted her win account in the second set. Cassutkina capitalized
when it mattered and claimed the second set. Safe shooting
(05:45):
was the name of the game in the deciding set,
which ultimately was on the Kasutkinna racket, the ninth seed
hitting four unforced eras in a row in the final
game to give Navarro's safe passage, and She's become the
Queen of three set tennis, progressing as the only player
in the last eight to have played twelve sets across
four matches. That's ten and a quarter hours on court.
Speaker 9 (06:06):
For me, I feel like it's more of a test
of mental will than anything. I've worked really hard on
my fitness to be able to go three sets and
play over two hours, three hours, whatever it takes. So yeah,
I feel like my fitness is definitely paid off here
(06:28):
in the in my first four matches.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Navarro is preparing for another grind against Sriontech, having not
played her since their first meeting in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 9 (06:38):
I felt like I didn't have the power, I didn't
have speed, I didn't have really anything that that could
challenge her. You know. I felt like I would I
would just put balls in the court and she would
hit winners. It was kind of like a little bit
of a clinic. So yeah, but I feel like I've
(06:59):
you know, I'm a totally different player now.
Speaker 12 (07:07):
Sensational stuff.
Speaker 13 (07:08):
Madison Keys sixteen into the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.
Speaker 8 (07:14):
What a performance, three set winner over a Larner. We're Barkinger.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
What a magnificent campaign. Madison Keys is putting together back
into the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the third time and
shares the first of our spotlight matches. Fort day nine.
Blair Henley is back from the Blue Zone. How's it been.
Speaker 14 (07:31):
It's been fantastic. I hope everyone is watching for m
local time.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Keep Jinny and guys. Levi a Hudderston from gig with
the numbers. Welcome back, Levi. Thanks for having me and
for the first time for this tournament a regular on
the podcast. John Fitzgerald, congratulations a second time grandfather today.
Speaker 6 (07:49):
Thank you, Jonathan. Yes, it's a special day.
Speaker 15 (07:52):
It doesn't happen too often, does it twice in my
life so far.
Speaker 6 (07:55):
But it's a big day. We're very, very happy and relieved.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
And you've got to share this name, the full name place.
Speaker 15 (08:02):
Well, I've only just learned it myself, so it might
take me a while to remember it. Walt, Yeah, James
Huckleberry Harrison.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Walt James HUCKLEBERR Harrison. There you get strong one tennis family. Well,
Madison Keys is a name a little bit easier to remember.
And today Blair, she put on a show and has
dispatched the women's sixth seed, Elena Rabaikna to the tune
of sixty three one sixty three.
Speaker 14 (08:26):
Impressive stuff, extremely impressive, and I think Maddie said it
best and press she said, I need to get on
offense early and then we're going to see who can
sustain that level for longer. And so it was a
little bit of a roller coaster those first two sets,
but when you look at the third set, she played
riskier tennis and she played really big tennis. On the
important point she saved five of six breakpoints and converted
(08:47):
on three of four. And we know in tennis, yes,
it's great to have those flashy points. We'd love a
hot shot, but you have to be able to do
it when the pressure's on, and she did that in
the third set today.
Speaker 16 (08:58):
Yeah, we have this thing we call pressure points, so
it's anything that can lead to a break or a
break point. And so Madison Keys total points one eighty
seven to eighty six, incredibly tight, but in terms of
those pressure points thirty four to twenty two. So she just,
like you said, kind of one where it counted.
Speaker 17 (09:17):
I love it when that backs me up, apparently by great.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Stuff of course, great minds, FITZI. Madison Keys has just
been so sensational. We saw it again against Daniel Collins
in the previous round and also with today against Elena Rebikina.
The long rally. She manages to really dig in. Even
though she's a tall woman, She's got a great endurance
(09:41):
in those longer rallies.
Speaker 15 (09:42):
Yeah, I think she's too good a plan not to
win a major as a shew. I mean, I'm sort
of disappointed she has one one already, but I you know,
talking about shot selection, I think if she improves out
of fraction, she's going to win a major. Sometimes I
feel like she gives away too many points at the
wrong time, Madison. But boy is she a hitter of
the ball. And you know what, we know how well
(10:04):
she times it. It's a heavy, heavy ball, and she
puts it together. She can I think she can win
the whole thing, and I hope she does. She's not
as young as she was. I hope she can win
one before her time's up, LeBell.
Speaker 16 (10:17):
What else is she doing, Well, we'll talk about hitting
a heavy ball. She had stats, you know, one hundred
and twenty nine kilometers per hour on that forehand versus
one hundred and nineteen for Rebakena, and those two are
those are huge numbers. The average is one hundred and sixteen,
so they're both eclipsing the average by quite a margin.
And one hundred and twenty nine that's some of the
(10:37):
highest that we've seen. That's an average shot. She's hitting that,
So just crazy great ball striking from Madison Keys And yeah,
she won those long rallies. So she won nine or sorry,
seven out of nine of those long rallies. So any
rally that went over eight shots, she was winning a
majority of those.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
What about the campaign of eleanor Rebaikana then form a final?
Will this fourth round loss go down in the book
as a fail mark in the Gorin Evanizovitch copybook.
Speaker 14 (11:07):
I don't think so, because if you think back to
last fall, she pulled out of the US Open in
the second round and then didn't play again until the
WTA finals, and during that time she was off court
for most of it. So in my mind, she's still
trying to find her rhythm again. Obviously there's a lot
going on off the court as well, and in her
previous match against Diania Estromska, she also potentially had some
(11:29):
back issues coming into this match, which obviously can affect
the serve, which is her best shot. So I think
it's just a stepping stone in twenty twenty five for her.
Speaker 15 (11:38):
Yeah, I find her one of my favorite players to
watch because she's got multi dimensions, you know, in the
men's and the women's game. A little bit, there was
a rumor she had a bit of an issue with
her back, So I don't know if that's true, And
maybe I shouldn't even mention that because you don't want
to take away from a winner from Madison today. She
deserves it. She's out there, she deserves a win. But
(11:59):
I'm not one hundred percent sure. I didn't see the match.
I was actually on the Cinner match at the same time.
So but it's a great win. I'm happy for Madison.
I really do hope she can go all away. If
you know, if someone hasn't won one, it's a nice thing,
I think, and I like, I'm one of those guys
that likes more winners at majors to create more more stars,
and now I want Madison to win one now.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
So Keys goes through to take on Ellinas Fitalina in
the quarterfinals. Our second spotlight match for day nine is
the one you alluded to, Fitzi Janick Sinner coming through
in four sets over Holgaruna score line six three three
six six three six two. And it wasn't easy going
for the world number one and defending champion.
Speaker 15 (12:41):
Commentating you, we couldn't pick who was injured, who was sick,
who was playing well at one stage and then who
the table seemed to turn but the better man one
I think at the end of the day. He wasn't
well in the first two sets and we thought he
might have had a tweak in his back. But because
we didn't know that he been ill in the morning,
but we found out afterwards and it became apparent that
(13:04):
it wasn't an injury. He was just feeling off color.
So he was gussy today and hold garun. I think
whether he can become a Grand Slam champion or not,
I don't know. It's a rare beast that wins. They
have to be special, special players to win majors. Center
already is he's one of three or four I think
(13:24):
that can win this event. But I thought Runa he's
such a great hitter of the ball, but he's still
a bit underwhelming with some of his variety, and he's
got to improve some facets of his game, I think
to have a realistic chance to win. He's a heck
of a player, but to win a major is something different.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Levit, It was a dramatic third set, particularly take us
through what happened from a numbers perspective.
Speaker 16 (13:45):
Yeah, well, I mean we saw that there was this
moment before the medical time out where I think Runa
had a chance to break center and just didn't win
any of those break points and really struggled to capitalize
on center serve. But it's not easy, you know, breaking center.
He served an incredible match in that third set, he
(14:06):
won ninety four percent of his first serves and like
for reference and Petchy pair Card, the top server the
ATP wins eighty percent, So ninety four percent. He just
blew that out of the water. Even when he's feeling dizzy.
You know, he's serving at two hundred and five kilometers
per hour. You know the benchmarks one hundred and on
one hundred and ninety one. So I mean, just really
(14:29):
difficult to break him. And so you know, credit to
Holgaruna for putting up the fight that he did. He
actually hit more winners than Yonick did, but just had
probably too many unforced errors.
Speaker 14 (14:40):
My favorite social media post of the day today came
from Marty Fish on formerly Twitter now x and I'm
paraphrasing a bit. I don't have it in front of me,
but I thought it summed up Holgaruna well. He said,
Holegreena is so good? Why is he not good? And
that is what you see when you watch him play.
He's so flashy, he has a disruptive game. He has
(15:02):
every shot in the book, but just can't quite put
it together consistently like we saw him do a year
and a half ish ago when he was beating Novak
Djokovic and he seemed to be impenetrable, so he just
got it. Maybe it's a confidence thing, just to get
his flow, to feel confident doing it point after point
after point.
Speaker 17 (15:21):
Maybe it's just shot choice thing. Not sure.
Speaker 14 (15:23):
He does have a member of his team, Mike James,
who's there solely to analyze the numbers. I do think
as Lee is so nice to have Levi sitting here
at this table. I would imagine it's great to have
somebody like that on your team. But there are always
flashes of lightning. We would just love to see him
be able to put that together just a little bit more.
And then another very important question, guys, because at the
(15:46):
beginning of the fourth set, I saw something that I
had never seen on a professional tennis court before, and
that was not just the net strap breaking, but the
actual screw that was screwed into the court broken half
And big question here, was it on Nevedev that compromised
the structural integrity of that screw?
Speaker 1 (16:07):
It was quite distrust Could he tell us take us
through that twenty minutes of drama?
Speaker 6 (16:12):
Well, I can't answer whether it was Daniel Medvedev or not.
It was a strange thing.
Speaker 15 (16:17):
You see a netstrap break occasionally the umpire. He was
like lightening himself. He was down out of it. I
was impressed. He was down out of that chest fast
and he got to the net and realized that it
was actually a metal screw that had snapped. I think
so it was unusual and it did. There were other
breaks at one stage. I think we played about five
or six. They played five or six games in about
(16:40):
forty five minutes at one stage because they went off
separately at different times, and then at the end of
sets and then they had this extra break. So it
was a strange topsy turvy match.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Well Sinner has provided some context around his physical well
being during his postmatch media conference.
Speaker 18 (16:57):
I don't want to dog you know so much, how
I how I felt today. I was not feeling really well,
you know. I think beside that today I was struggling,
you know, physically. I came here as late as possible.
You know, I knew that it was going to be
very very difficult today, uh, you know, playing against a
tough opponent, but also playing against myself a little bit.
(17:19):
And I knew this before I tried to handle the
situation on the court as as as good as as
I could, which I think today I handled, you know,
as as well as as possible, and you know, happy
to be in the next round.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Seener yet to lose to Alex demen Or in their
nine previous meetings. Yeah, class, and.
Speaker 5 (17:47):
In her first tournament back since foot surgery, she takes
a huge step forward into the last day once again
here Happy Australian Open.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
As mentioned earlier, Madison Keys has locked in a quarter
final battle with Alinas Fittalina. The twenty eighth seed found
her fighting spirit to dispatch Veronica Kudemeteva in straight sets.
Kuldemteva got the jump in a first set featuring five
breaks of serve, but the Ukrainian's sensible shot making saw
her rally to claim five games on the trot and
(18:17):
win the set. From there, the Ukrainian found her sweet
spot and dropped just a single game to cruise into
the quarters six four six ' one. It's her first
time among the last eight here in Melbourne since twenty nineteen.
Speaker 10 (18:29):
For me not to find the way to win matches,
to find a way to bring a little light, a
little win for Ukrainian people is something that I feel.
I am responsible of and to bring the fighter is
the least I can do well.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
What could have been a battle of epic proportions, unfortunately
has ended in retirement on Margaret Corderina, American rocket launcher
Ben Shelton and fan favorite Gaiale montfees went toe to
toe in three breathtaking sets until the Frenchman was unable
to carry on. Neither player gave an inch until the
first set tiebreak, when Montfeese coughed up the first set
with a double fault on set point. Virtually inseparable in
(19:08):
set two, Montfeese was determined to not let history repeat,
forcing Shelton into three consecutive errors in a second set
breaker to draw level, but the thirty eight year old
began to fatigue in the third set, at times playing
from an almost stationary position and leaning on his court
craft to send it to another tiebreak. He was out
of gas, though two winners was all it took for
(19:30):
Shelton to snatch a two sets to one lead and
extinguish any hopes of a French resurgence before Montfeese pulled
the pin early in the fourth.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Obviously, he's played a lot of long matches. I want
to make it as physical as possible. There's a lot
of things that he does unbelievably well, counterpunching, making you
feel uncomfortable on the court, and getting to net and
being able to shorten some of those points where he
likes to run was really important. So being able to
find that balance. It was really tricky today to do
(19:59):
some of that stuff because he was serving so well.
But I've seen he's been doing that all week, and yeah,
there's a lot of things that makes that guy a
nightmare to player. I can't imagine playing him when he was,
you know, twenty one twenty two.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Like me, well face, disappointed to not be joining wife
Elena Sitelina in the quarters, but ever gracious in defeat.
Speaker 19 (20:19):
I love Ben, you know, I love I love him.
You know, this kid is amazing. He's full of energy.
He's a great guy, a great kid. Of course, he's
always too bad to play someone that you love. And
when we put the fighting spirits, you know, that's why
I still I want to make it tough for him.
(20:40):
But at the end, you know, of course, now I'm
routine for him. He's a guy that I really appreciate,
spend time with him, talking with him, sharing anything you know,
we love and he's just an amazing kid.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Shelton's quarter final opponent will be Lorenzo Sanago, who pulled
the brake on the Lerner Tien locomotive, the American teenager
responsible for the eliminations of Daniel Medvedev and Corentin Mute,
Eventually running out of puff in the fourth round, Senego
smacked twenty aces among fifty eight winners to put Tien
on the back foot, pushing through to a six three
(21:16):
six two three six six ' one victory into the
last eight for the first time in his career. Lorenzo
spoke to producer Alexia.
Speaker 20 (21:25):
Mitchell Lorenzo, Congratulations, you're the seventh highest ranked Italian man
and you're into the final eight here in Melbourne. Can
you put into words how that achievement feels.
Speaker 21 (21:36):
Yeah, I figure that's one of my best tournament in
my life.
Speaker 22 (21:42):
For sure. I work hard for each some biggers or
something like that, and I'm so so.
Speaker 20 (21:51):
You learnt meditation in the off season. Tell me more
about that and some of the work you've done off
the court.
Speaker 21 (21:57):
I need to start with a brief on my brief
and yeah, I like meditation. I tried something different for
the holiday and this day is from my girlfriend. She
want to do something different than the holiday, and yeah
(22:19):
I did, and I learned about the meditation and the Buddhismo.
Speaker 20 (22:27):
It must be paying off. Now that you're in the quarters.
What do you think the biggest factor is she making
your first Grand Slam quarter final.
Speaker 21 (22:34):
I think the work that I did in the pre season.
We worked really hard in the procedure with my team.
And yeah, I think the attitude on the court is
different than last year and more have more confidence and
I more trust in me.
Speaker 20 (22:56):
You have Ben Shelton next. Tell me more about that
match up.
Speaker 21 (23:00):
Yeah, he's a nice guy and he's a young player.
He reached the semi final in New York. He has
a big surve and he played really aggressive and start
to return, and.
Speaker 22 (23:17):
Yeah, I need to just enjoy.
Speaker 21 (23:22):
This this tournament and every match and just enjoying the time.
Speaker 20 (23:28):
You've released a few songs. How does your music and
your tennis inspire each other?
Speaker 22 (23:35):
But the music is not really good.
Speaker 21 (23:38):
Yeah, I need to improve, but it's it's just some
different time to spend with my best friend out of
the court, and yeah, it's it starts like a like
a joke, but it's nice to see that we have
one million of view more and yeah we want to
(23:59):
work to another song maybe soon.
Speaker 10 (24:02):
Well.
Speaker 20 (24:02):
Best of luck on and off the court.
Speaker 22 (24:04):
Thank you, thank you, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
In other Day nine results, women's double second seeds Gabriella
Dobrovski and Aaron Rutliff came from a set down to
topple Bertrice Haudajmeia and Lara Siegemund. Joining them in the
quarters are mirr Andreva and Diana Schneider, Christina Blandenovich and
Jung Schwai and Camilla Rakimova and Sara Serebes Tormo, who
won a third set super tiebreak. Also top seeds Katerina
(24:27):
Sineakiva and Taylor Townsend threw in straight sets. In men's doubles,
fourth seeds Kevin Kravitz and Tim Puetz have been put
to the test by Sande Gye and Jan Zalinski, prevailing
six seven, six four sixty four. They set up a
Germany versus UK quarter final meeting Britz, Julian Cash and
Lloyd Glasspool, who progressed in three Also into the quarters
(24:49):
Uger Nice and Edouard Raja Vassalon alongside Hari Helievara and
Henry Pattin. Let's turn our attention to date ten then Blair.
A couple of matches we're going to have a look at.
First of all will be the women's quarter final between
Arena Sablenka and Anastasia Pablia Chhenkova. I've always been a
(25:10):
fan of her, and she's had another giant killing campaign
to reach the last date.
Speaker 14 (25:15):
My favorite thing that I've seen nasty of Pabla Chhenkova
do this week is sign the lens after her win
over donnavekch.
Speaker 17 (25:23):
Too old but still here.
Speaker 14 (25:25):
Oops, just stumbled right into the quarterfinals here at AO
twenty five. She's going to have a tough one against
Arena Sablanka. She does have a two in one record
against her. The one thing I think Pablia Tchhenkova does
so well is redirect power. She handles power coming at
her quite well and that could serve her well against
Arena Savalenka. But I gotta say she looked real good
(25:48):
against Tamiera Andreva.
Speaker 16 (25:50):
Yeah, so right now we have the win predictor favoring Sablenka.
We have her at eighty six to fourteen, so the
heavy favorite here, but we have seeing that she's not
undefeated against this player and actually losing the head ahead
as you mentioned. But what we can look out for,
I think in this match is that Sabalanka really likes
(26:10):
to take that third shot forehand after she hits her
serve quite often and dominating. She hits that about sixty
seven percent, so I think we can we can really
look for her to dictate off that first shot. But
pavlu Chankova, you know, she's just really gripping the baseline
and she's applying so much pressure, So she's like making
(26:31):
a lot of contact inside the baseline on that second
serve return about eighty percent of the time versus Sabolenka's
sixty one, So she's going to be applying a little
bit more pressure on that second serve. But I think
it's going to be a really interesting match. Can probably
chink of a get a sit, do you think in
this in this battle.
Speaker 17 (26:48):
I think she could.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
I think she can chin humane.
Speaker 17 (26:51):
I do think she can.
Speaker 14 (26:52):
Again, this is why we go out and compete, because
you just never know how both players are going to
come out, And Sabalenka was a little scratchier in her
first couple of rounds here than maybe some people expected,
and Pablia Chenkova has nothing to lose. She's also been
to the quarterfinals here four times in her career, so
she knows what it's like. The big question for me
is it's going to be hot again tomorrow. Will her
(27:15):
partner once again come cheer her on in silk pajamas
because that has been his uniform This week, she talked
about the fact that they've got a little style competition
going behind the scenes. She says she is the most
stylish and quick. Side note for those interested in fashion,
she's actually wearing her own clothing brand here, which she
designed herself. She wanted to express herself in that way,
(27:37):
which we always.
Speaker 17 (27:38):
Think is kind of cool.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
We love that.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
What's the brand name?
Speaker 14 (27:41):
I don't know what the brand name, and I don't
actually know if it has a name. She but she
walked us through the entire thing. She has a couple
of designs and love it when players have something off
court that can maybe take their mind off the seriousness
of tennis.
Speaker 17 (27:53):
She's got nothing to lose, which is always nice.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
It was not well, we've come to that time. We
predicted it Pray Tournament, the Superstar Blockbuster quarterfinal between Novak
Djokovic and Carlos Alkaz and Fitz. It has arrived in
our lapse on day ten.
Speaker 15 (28:08):
If I have to pick someone, I'm going Colidos. You
know his tennis. His tennis some days is extraordinary. Sometimes
I wonder whether his diverse ability to hit so many
different shots in his game causes him to lose the
odd match, whereas Janick Sinner is more solid, if you will.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Playing within the lines sort of thing.
Speaker 15 (28:33):
Yeah, without without so much variety. He's got every shot.
But Carlos is just he must have a confused mind
every time he goes hit the ball because he's got
so many options. But you know, I think if he
plays his best, he'll win. But Novak knows how.
Speaker 6 (28:49):
To win here. He obviously does, and you.
Speaker 15 (28:53):
Cannot count him out. He can win the tournament. I
think there's only four guys now that can wink, and
he's one of them. Yeah, well, I think Zverev can win,
although he hasn't yet. Surely, if you're two in the world,
and he said to himself to be one in the world,
you probably need to win a major, you know, but
I think he can, and of course Yannick, especially if
(29:15):
he's well again. He struggled today with his health, I think,
but those four guys for me, and if it's someone else,
so put my hand up and sells wrong. But I
think it's one of those four.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Okay, lev where is this match going to be won
and lost?
Speaker 16 (29:29):
Well, oftentimes we have a battle of the server and
the returner, but these are two really excellent returners, so
you know, looking at where they return the ball is
going to be important. And we've seen Carlos actually start
moving up and taking that first serve a little bit
closer to the baseline, about seven percent more now than
he did in twenty twenty four, so he's really creeping
(29:51):
up and I think that could be a big difference
maker and controlling the point early on. But Novak's also
an excellent returner, so we'll have to see where that goes.
But in terms of you know, as the rallies grow longer,
we actually favor Novak on these long rallies about sixty
five percent of a time. He's going to win those long
rallies compared to Carlos winning only about fifty one percent.
(30:13):
So if the rallies go a little bit longer. Novak
has that consistent consistency, and I think we can expect
him to win those long ones.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Jay Z was phenomenal against Slahechka.
Speaker 14 (30:23):
Yes, and I actually went to his postmatch transcript to
see if I could see his answer to when he
was surely asked about Carlos Alcaraz next. He was not
because the entire presser was about the postmatch interview.
Speaker 17 (30:39):
Courts yes, that we had last night.
Speaker 14 (30:40):
So no feedback from Novak Djokovic on this match. But
I do think the way that five sets once benefited
Novak Djokovic, it was really hard to beat him over five.
I think that now has maybe shifted just a little bit,
and I think that probably benefits Carlos Alcaraz at this point.
And I do also think back to Carlito's signing the lens.
(31:01):
It was after his first or second round match, and
he wrote, am I a serve bot because his performance
on the serve was so impressive. I know he's put
a lot of work into that in the offseason. We'll
see how that plays out on court.
Speaker 15 (31:13):
He's serving is definitely better. I think I've done a
couple of these matches and it's big. He's getting more
free points. That's going to help him a little bit.
Speaker 16 (31:21):
I think, Yeah, he's winning eighty one percent of his
first serves here and Novak's at seventy eight, both high numbers.
But I mean we don't typically think of Carlos being
a serve bot, and so those numbers are quite high.
We talked about Mpachi being at eighty percent, so he's
doing well.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Any other ways we can skin this match well.
Speaker 16 (31:40):
I think a really interesting thing about Carlos is his
drop shot, and so I just have a couple of
stats about that that was quite interesting. So typically on
the drop shot players would win about fifty one percent
and the margins are super slim. For Carlos, he actually
has a win rate of sixty one percent and by
UCX he uses it about five percent of the time,
(32:02):
so use and effectiveness. He is the best drop shotter
in the game.
Speaker 6 (32:07):
Is that on hardcourt or is that on all surfaces?
Speaker 1 (32:09):
That would be all surfaces, so yes.
Speaker 6 (32:11):
It's harder on hardcourt, very hard.
Speaker 16 (32:13):
Yeah, So I think that would be something to look for. Obviously,
Novak has such a great match against Laheka, you know,
playing those drop shots getting into those balls.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
But let's see.
Speaker 16 (32:23):
You know, if it goes five stats and there's a
lot of physicality out there, maybe that drop shot becomes
more effective.
Speaker 15 (32:29):
Go ahead, Well, I you know, I have a lot
of respect for Lahgekip, but he is not Carlos, so
I'm not sure it'll be se affected.
Speaker 6 (32:38):
But look the phenomenon that is Novak.
Speaker 15 (32:40):
Djokovic is and we say Djokovic and you guys say Djokovic,
so potato. But Novak is you know, the player that
he is through years and years if near perfection, so
you cannot count him out. But he is thirty eight
years of age in May, and I agree with the
I don't.
Speaker 6 (33:01):
I just wonder.
Speaker 15 (33:04):
About the five sets, the deep in the fifth set,
and also whether he is not lost half a yard
but maybe maybe just a few inches.
Speaker 6 (33:12):
You know, I'm not quite sure how can he.
Speaker 15 (33:16):
Be as good as he was at this stage but
still awfully good.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
We had Gorn in here yesterday recording for a different podcast,
and he says he definitely thinks Novak's got another Grand
Slam title in him.
Speaker 6 (33:29):
Yeah, I'll be listening to Gora even.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
Though his player went out today. But I think whichever
way this falls is going to be a spectacular battle
tomorrow where al Karaz and Djokovic go head to head.
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't heard
the name Coco Gough, such as the power of her
brand thanks to her unique name and prodigious talent. Less known, perhaps,
(33:54):
is the story behind the rise of the world number three,
who won the US Open at nineteen years of age
and who at twenty is already the highest paid sportswoman
in the world. Matt and viv from our sister podcast
to Sit Down, had the chance to speak to her father,
Corey Goff, about how he raised a superstar.
Speaker 13 (34:12):
What age was Coco when she got her first recond.
Speaker 5 (34:15):
Just five, so that would have been Serena's second to
last Australian victory. I believe fifteen years ago would be
twenty ten ten.
Speaker 6 (34:24):
Yeah, she bit Hennen, she beat Hennon.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Okay, that's hin.
Speaker 6 (34:27):
So I remember that match.
Speaker 5 (34:29):
It was a twenty ten that I watch and then
I went out and bought her a little Prince racket
fantastic and a little soft spongy ball. As she started
hitting against the garage and she just kind of stayed
there hitting and hit and my mind started turning like
maybe it's a possibility, but we didn't do much with it.
At five, we kind of revisited the whole thing when
she turned seven.
Speaker 13 (34:47):
Did young Coco ever sort of you talked about you
Wes sitting and watching his Joy and Open Wimwood and
all the matches sort of at different times around the world.
Did you ever sit with Coco and watch some of
those matches together?
Speaker 5 (34:58):
Back then, I wasn't really thinking about it, and I
think she'd be interested. She's just interested because her dad's
sitting there watching TV, so she'd be playing around. And
keep in mind that was early in the morning. Of course,
we never watched the US Open because it was late
at night. She's asleep, so most of the matches that
night and I'm working during the day. So uh so,
now we didn't really get to sit and watch any
matches together. But I started to take her to matches
(35:19):
when she was six.
Speaker 12 (35:20):
We saw that great vision of her at the Kid's Day,
so yeah, she's getting That was such a great video.
A lot about the story for tennis parents is how
much you have to do. All tennis families is how much
you have to sacrifice to I guess, pursue the dream.
There's a lot of travel, there's a lot of money
investment in time. How much was that the case for
(35:40):
you guys?
Speaker 5 (35:42):
I hear people say that a lot about the sacrifice,
but I'd argue and say most parents sacrifice to some
degree when they have children. I mean, you make that
decision when you decide to have children, and what happens
is a lot more planning goes on. Right then, it
is so much sacrifice because you know, whether your kids,
you know, smart like Einstein, invest something in him the learning,
more of it, better computer equipment or maybe interaction with
(36:05):
a tutor or a violinist or a musician, or some
type of investment financially that you'll make in your children.
Tennis is a heavy lift because of the travel and
the privatization of it where it's not really accessible in
a group format. At least she can't get very good
in a group format. So a lot of that was planning.
I was fortunate enough, my wife and I were fortunate
enough that, you know, financially, we were finding we were
(36:25):
able to afford a lot of her growth and development
into the sports. So it wasn't such a burden. It
was more like we had to choose not to do
something to do something some more of this for her,
so that it was about, you know, planning and choices,
not as much to sacrifice the sacrifices that it takes
you away from other things.
Speaker 13 (36:40):
Of course, at what point did you sort of say
that a professional tennis future was a real estate path
for Cocard?
Speaker 5 (36:50):
Probably when I saw it was she won Little mo
when she was maybe seven or eight years old, and
I saw her determination. I said, man, you know, she
could probably, uh, she'll probably be a pro tennis player.
And so there was no doubt in my mind at
that point because she athletically she was gifted, and then
she had the ability to concentrate for long periods of time,
which at that age, even with my son's they can't
concentrate that long. So you know, if you can silk
(37:12):
up information in twenty to thirty minute increments, and no
matter what you do, you're going to be pretty successful
at it because you can really focus.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
And you can hear that episode in full, plus other
great interviews with notable tennis identities by searching for the
sit down wherever you get your podcasts. That's all for
Day nine of the Australian Open. Join us again tomorrow
for all the big stories from day ten. Be sure
to subscribe to never miss an episode, and please consider
leaving a rating or review so more fans can discover
(37:41):
the tennis. You can also catch our daily spotlight segment
on our YouTube channel, Australian Open TV and I'll catch
you tomorrow for more of the tennis
You're fun to watch. You're refreshing to be part of
our tour. The fans love you.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Welcome to the quarter finals of the Straight and Open
again again.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Good day and welcome to the tennis For Day nine
of AO twenty twenty five, John Huvena's with all the
big news from Melbourne Park every day of the main draw.
Today on the tennis Sinner, unrepenting, demon unrelenting.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
I don't believe in coincidences. I think when you're happy
off the court, you play some good tennis on the court.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Maddie grabs the keys to the quarters.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
Hard to believe that it was ten years ago that
I made my first semi final.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Plus lucky loser Lisa's luck runs out a preview of
Day ten and Corey Goth I'm fathering a superstar.
Speaker 5 (00:42):
There was no doubt in my mind at that point
because athletically she was gifted.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
That's all ahead on the tennis.
Speaker 6 (00:51):
High ball from Demonal floating.
Speaker 7 (00:53):
Back that way makers, it's a beast that's had for
the first time in his career, the Australian Alex Dimenor.
Speaker 6 (01:02):
He's through to the quarter finals of his home major.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Alex Demonor is the first Australian man in ten years
to reach the last eight of his home Slam. Following
an impressive straight sets defeat of Alex Michelson. The Aussie
eighth seed was in devastating touch early, winning eighty three
percent of first serve points in a twenty seven minute
first set avalanche without dropping a game. It took until
the third game of the second set for Mickelson to
(01:27):
open his account, which ignited a contest as the American
raised his level, making inroads on his opponent serve to
draw level at five all, but with the home crowd
in his corner. During a second set tiebreak, Demenor found
an edge with a two hundred and fifteen kilometer an
hour ace before forcing an error off the Mickelson racket
to snatch a two set lead. With his opponent on
(01:49):
the ropes, the Aussie went for the jugular in the
third set, breaking for four to two. He hit nine winners,
including three unbelievable passing shots, to put the result beyond
doubt to the quarterfinals six love seven, six six '
three in just over two hours, much to the delight
of the Rod Labor Arena crowd.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
There's nothing I want to do more than play well
here in Australia in front of you guys. So I'm glad,
I'm glad, I'm finally finally made it to a quarterfinals here.
But yes, let's go for bigger and better things come on.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
It brings to an end and outstanding campaign by the
young American Micholson's best Grand Slam results from six attempts.
Speaker 7 (02:33):
Yeah, I'm super happy with the way I fought. And
you know, I put myself in a position to almost
want to set playing poorly off a top ten player,
So I was super happy with that. He came up
with the goods and the breaker, hit that four in
pass at five to four and the ace and five
all so creds to him there. But super happy with
even getting a breaker there. And that's it because it
was it did not feel very good. The first hour
(02:54):
of the match was really poor. So super happy to
just compete and almost find a way. And that's it's her.
Speaker 8 (03:00):
Serves down the t the fourhand return from lease rise
long over the baseline.
Speaker 5 (03:05):
It's a job done.
Speaker 9 (03:07):
One hour exactly.
Speaker 8 (03:09):
Egoiontek through to the quarterfinals. She wins six love six
one against the valiant very impressive ever Lise in many ways,
but had absolutely no chance against the world number two Iigish.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Fiontech has pulled the rug from underneath Everlease, ending the
charmed run of the world's luckiest lucky loser. Well Lease
only managed a single winner in the opening set. She
absorbed some of the pressure in the second to earn
her only hold four games in, but it was the
Poll's night, dominating with twenty eight winners and exquisite netplay
en route to a six love, six to one whitewash
(03:42):
off the court in under an hour. It's Fiontec's first
quarterfinal in Melbourne since twenty twenty two.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
You know, I'm still what's twenty three, yeah, twenty three,
So there's a lot to improve. Like always, you know,
I don't feel like I'm in my peak yet, you know,
And yeah, that's for sure, much just like that giving
confidence and I feel like I'm playing a good game.
Speaker 7 (04:05):
You know.
Speaker 10 (04:05):
I usually didn't feel.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
Comfortable when I was trying to open, you know, with
my game, but this year it's a bit better. So
I'm just enjoying being on accord and of the court
as well, because for sure, I have an amazing time
here and hopefully it's gonna last even longer.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Finally able to board her flight, lease leaves Melbourne almost
half a million dollars richer.
Speaker 11 (04:27):
It's definitely, I think the nicest week I've had in
my life, just because it wasn't really only about the result,
but also about the whole story. I mean, getting in
as a lucky loser last minute on the last day,
where it was possible changing the flights, winning first time,
winning second time, making it to top hundred. I mean,
this is the week I've been working for for ages,
(04:49):
and I was always waiting for that moment. I've had
a lot of nights where I was actually talking to
my parents, often with tears, asking when when will the
time come? Because I know I have the potential, but
sometimes I was the only person that's really standing in
my own way. So everything just came down to this
week where on one sete it's definitely the tennis they played,
(05:12):
but also it was the luck in the beginning, and
it was just the momentum that made it so special.
So I'm definitely enjoying every second I had here.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Sreontek's quarter final opponent will be Emma Navarro, who scrapped
her way past Daria Kasutkina in a match featuring seventeen
breaks of serve. The eighth the ninth seeds were tenacious
in their tug of war, Navarro breaking to love to
take the first set six ' four, while the American
boosted her win account in the second set. Cassutkina capitalized
when it mattered and claimed the second set. Safe shooting
(05:45):
was the name of the game in the deciding set,
which ultimately was on the Kasutkinna racket, the ninth seed
hitting four unforced eras in a row in the final
game to give Navarro's safe passage, and She's become the
Queen of three set tennis, progressing as the only player
in the last eight to have played twelve sets across
four matches. That's ten and a quarter hours on court.
Speaker 9 (06:06):
For me, I feel like it's more of a test
of mental will than anything. I've worked really hard on
my fitness to be able to go three sets and
play over two hours, three hours, whatever it takes. So yeah,
I feel like my fitness is definitely paid off here
(06:28):
in the in my first four matches.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Navarro is preparing for another grind against Sriontech, having not
played her since their first meeting in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 9 (06:38):
I felt like I didn't have the power, I didn't
have speed, I didn't have really anything that that could
challenge her. You know. I felt like I would I
would just put balls in the court and she would
hit winners. It was kind of like a little bit
of a clinic. So yeah, but I feel like I've
(06:59):
you know, I'm a totally different player now.
Speaker 12 (07:07):
Sensational stuff.
Speaker 13 (07:08):
Madison Keys sixteen into the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.
Speaker 8 (07:14):
What a performance, three set winner over a Larner. We're Barkinger.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
What a magnificent campaign. Madison Keys is putting together back
into the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the third time and
shares the first of our spotlight matches. Fort day nine.
Blair Henley is back from the Blue Zone. How's it been.
Speaker 14 (07:31):
It's been fantastic. I hope everyone is watching for m
local time.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Keep Jinny and guys. Levi a Hudderston from gig with
the numbers. Welcome back, Levi. Thanks for having me and
for the first time for this tournament a regular on
the podcast. John Fitzgerald, congratulations a second time grandfather today.
Speaker 6 (07:49):
Thank you, Jonathan. Yes, it's a special day.
Speaker 15 (07:52):
It doesn't happen too often, does it twice in my
life so far.
Speaker 6 (07:55):
But it's a big day. We're very, very happy and relieved.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
And you've got to share this name, the full name place.
Speaker 15 (08:02):
Well, I've only just learned it myself, so it might
take me a while to remember it. Walt, Yeah, James
Huckleberry Harrison.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Walt James HUCKLEBERR Harrison. There you get strong one tennis family. Well,
Madison Keys is a name a little bit easier to remember.
And today Blair, she put on a show and has
dispatched the women's sixth seed, Elena Rabaikna to the tune
of sixty three one sixty three.
Speaker 14 (08:26):
Impressive stuff, extremely impressive, and I think Maddie said it
best and press she said, I need to get on
offense early and then we're going to see who can
sustain that level for longer. And so it was a
little bit of a roller coaster those first two sets,
but when you look at the third set, she played
riskier tennis and she played really big tennis. On the
important point she saved five of six breakpoints and converted
(08:47):
on three of four. And we know in tennis, yes,
it's great to have those flashy points. We'd love a
hot shot, but you have to be able to do
it when the pressure's on, and she did that in
the third set today.
Speaker 16 (08:58):
Yeah, we have this thing we call pressure points, so
it's anything that can lead to a break or a
break point. And so Madison Keys total points one eighty
seven to eighty six, incredibly tight, but in terms of
those pressure points thirty four to twenty two. So she just,
like you said, kind of one where it counted.
Speaker 17 (09:17):
I love it when that backs me up, apparently by great.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Stuff of course, great minds, FITZI. Madison Keys has just
been so sensational. We saw it again against Daniel Collins
in the previous round and also with today against Elena Rebikina.
The long rally. She manages to really dig in. Even
though she's a tall woman, She's got a great endurance
(09:41):
in those longer rallies.
Speaker 15 (09:42):
Yeah, I think she's too good a plan not to
win a major as a shew. I mean, I'm sort
of disappointed she has one one already, but I you know,
talking about shot selection, I think if she improves out
of fraction, she's going to win a major. Sometimes I
feel like she gives away too many points at the
wrong time, Madison. But boy is she a hitter of
the ball. And you know what, we know how well
(10:04):
she times it. It's a heavy, heavy ball, and she
puts it together. She can I think she can win
the whole thing, and I hope she does. She's not
as young as she was. I hope she can win
one before her time's up, LeBell.
Speaker 16 (10:17):
What else is she doing, Well, we'll talk about hitting
a heavy ball. She had stats, you know, one hundred
and twenty nine kilometers per hour on that forehand versus
one hundred and nineteen for Rebakena, and those two are
those are huge numbers. The average is one hundred and sixteen,
so they're both eclipsing the average by quite a margin.
And one hundred and twenty nine that's some of the
(10:37):
highest that we've seen. That's an average shot. She's hitting that,
So just crazy great ball striking from Madison Keys And yeah,
she won those long rallies. So she won nine or sorry,
seven out of nine of those long rallies. So any
rally that went over eight shots, she was winning a
majority of those.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
What about the campaign of eleanor Rebaikana then form a final?
Will this fourth round loss go down in the book
as a fail mark in the Gorin Evanizovitch copybook.
Speaker 14 (11:07):
I don't think so, because if you think back to
last fall, she pulled out of the US Open in
the second round and then didn't play again until the
WTA finals, and during that time she was off court
for most of it. So in my mind, she's still
trying to find her rhythm again. Obviously there's a lot
going on off the court as well, and in her
previous match against Diania Estromska, she also potentially had some
(11:29):
back issues coming into this match, which obviously can affect
the serve, which is her best shot. So I think
it's just a stepping stone in twenty twenty five for her.
Speaker 15 (11:38):
Yeah, I find her one of my favorite players to
watch because she's got multi dimensions, you know, in the
men's and the women's game. A little bit, there was
a rumor she had a bit of an issue with
her back, So I don't know if that's true, And
maybe I shouldn't even mention that because you don't want
to take away from a winner from Madison today. She
deserves it. She's out there, she deserves a win. But
(11:59):
I'm not one hundred percent sure. I didn't see the match.
I was actually on the Cinner match at the same time.
So but it's a great win. I'm happy for Madison.
I really do hope she can go all away. If
you know, if someone hasn't won one, it's a nice thing,
I think, and I like, I'm one of those guys
that likes more winners at majors to create more more stars,
and now I want Madison to win one now.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
So Keys goes through to take on Ellinas Fitalina in
the quarterfinals. Our second spotlight match for day nine is
the one you alluded to, Fitzi Janick Sinner coming through
in four sets over Holgaruna score line six three three
six six three six two. And it wasn't easy going
for the world number one and defending champion.
Speaker 15 (12:41):
Commentating you, we couldn't pick who was injured, who was sick,
who was playing well at one stage and then who
the table seemed to turn but the better man one
I think at the end of the day. He wasn't
well in the first two sets and we thought he
might have had a tweak in his back. But because
we didn't know that he been ill in the morning,
but we found out afterwards and it became apparent that
(13:04):
it wasn't an injury. He was just feeling off color.
So he was gussy today and hold garun. I think
whether he can become a Grand Slam champion or not,
I don't know. It's a rare beast that wins. They
have to be special, special players to win majors. Center
already is he's one of three or four I think
(13:24):
that can win this event. But I thought Runa he's
such a great hitter of the ball, but he's still
a bit underwhelming with some of his variety, and he's
got to improve some facets of his game, I think
to have a realistic chance to win. He's a heck
of a player, but to win a major is something different.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Levit, It was a dramatic third set, particularly take us
through what happened from a numbers perspective.
Speaker 16 (13:45):
Yeah, well, I mean we saw that there was this
moment before the medical time out where I think Runa
had a chance to break center and just didn't win
any of those break points and really struggled to capitalize
on center serve. But it's not easy, you know, breaking center.
He served an incredible match in that third set, he
(14:06):
won ninety four percent of his first serves and like
for reference and Petchy pair Card, the top server the
ATP wins eighty percent, So ninety four percent. He just
blew that out of the water. Even when he's feeling dizzy.
You know, he's serving at two hundred and five kilometers
per hour. You know the benchmarks one hundred and on
one hundred and ninety one. So I mean, just really
(14:29):
difficult to break him. And so you know, credit to
Holgaruna for putting up the fight that he did. He
actually hit more winners than Yonick did, but just had
probably too many unforced errors.
Speaker 14 (14:40):
My favorite social media post of the day today came
from Marty Fish on formerly Twitter now x and I'm
paraphrasing a bit. I don't have it in front of me,
but I thought it summed up Holgaruna well. He said,
Holegreena is so good? Why is he not good? And
that is what you see when you watch him play.
He's so flashy, he has a disruptive game. He has
(15:02):
every shot in the book, but just can't quite put
it together consistently like we saw him do a year
and a half ish ago when he was beating Novak
Djokovic and he seemed to be impenetrable, so he just
got it. Maybe it's a confidence thing, just to get
his flow, to feel confident doing it point after point
after point.
Speaker 17 (15:21):
Maybe it's just shot choice thing. Not sure.
Speaker 14 (15:23):
He does have a member of his team, Mike James,
who's there solely to analyze the numbers. I do think
as Lee is so nice to have Levi sitting here
at this table. I would imagine it's great to have
somebody like that on your team. But there are always
flashes of lightning. We would just love to see him
be able to put that together just a little bit more.
And then another very important question, guys, because at the
(15:46):
beginning of the fourth set, I saw something that I
had never seen on a professional tennis court before, and
that was not just the net strap breaking, but the
actual screw that was screwed into the court broken half
And big question here, was it on Nevedev that compromised
the structural integrity of that screw?
Speaker 1 (16:07):
It was quite distrust Could he tell us take us
through that twenty minutes of drama?
Speaker 6 (16:12):
Well, I can't answer whether it was Daniel Medvedev or not.
It was a strange thing.
Speaker 15 (16:17):
You see a netstrap break occasionally the umpire. He was
like lightening himself. He was down out of it. I
was impressed. He was down out of that chest fast
and he got to the net and realized that it
was actually a metal screw that had snapped. I think
so it was unusual and it did. There were other
breaks at one stage. I think we played about five
or six. They played five or six games in about
(16:40):
forty five minutes at one stage because they went off
separately at different times, and then at the end of
sets and then they had this extra break. So it
was a strange topsy turvy match.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Well Sinner has provided some context around his physical well
being during his postmatch media conference.
Speaker 18 (16:57):
I don't want to dog you know so much, how
I how I felt today. I was not feeling really well,
you know. I think beside that today I was struggling,
you know, physically. I came here as late as possible.
You know, I knew that it was going to be
very very difficult today, uh, you know, playing against a
tough opponent, but also playing against myself a little bit.
(17:19):
And I knew this before I tried to handle the
situation on the court as as as good as as
I could, which I think today I handled, you know,
as as well as as possible, and you know, happy
to be in the next round.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Seener yet to lose to Alex demen Or in their
nine previous meetings. Yeah, class, and.
Speaker 5 (17:47):
In her first tournament back since foot surgery, she takes
a huge step forward into the last day once again
here Happy Australian Open.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
As mentioned earlier, Madison Keys has locked in a quarter
final battle with Alinas Fittalina. The twenty eighth seed found
her fighting spirit to dispatch Veronica Kudemeteva in straight sets.
Kuldemteva got the jump in a first set featuring five
breaks of serve, but the Ukrainian's sensible shot making saw
her rally to claim five games on the trot and
(18:17):
win the set. From there, the Ukrainian found her sweet
spot and dropped just a single game to cruise into
the quarters six four six ' one. It's her first
time among the last eight here in Melbourne since twenty nineteen.
Speaker 10 (18:29):
For me not to find the way to win matches,
to find a way to bring a little light, a
little win for Ukrainian people is something that I feel.
I am responsible of and to bring the fighter is
the least I can do well.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
What could have been a battle of epic proportions, unfortunately
has ended in retirement on Margaret Corderina, American rocket launcher
Ben Shelton and fan favorite Gaiale montfees went toe to
toe in three breathtaking sets until the Frenchman was unable
to carry on. Neither player gave an inch until the
first set tiebreak, when Montfeese coughed up the first set
with a double fault on set point. Virtually inseparable in
(19:08):
set two, Montfeese was determined to not let history repeat,
forcing Shelton into three consecutive errors in a second set
breaker to draw level, but the thirty eight year old
began to fatigue in the third set, at times playing
from an almost stationary position and leaning on his court
craft to send it to another tiebreak. He was out
of gas, though two winners was all it took for
(19:30):
Shelton to snatch a two sets to one lead and
extinguish any hopes of a French resurgence before Montfeese pulled
the pin early in the fourth.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Obviously, he's played a lot of long matches. I want
to make it as physical as possible. There's a lot
of things that he does unbelievably well, counterpunching, making you
feel uncomfortable on the court, and getting to net and
being able to shorten some of those points where he
likes to run was really important. So being able to
find that balance. It was really tricky today to do
(19:59):
some of that stuff because he was serving so well.
But I've seen he's been doing that all week, and yeah,
there's a lot of things that makes that guy a
nightmare to player. I can't imagine playing him when he was,
you know, twenty one twenty two.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Like me, well face, disappointed to not be joining wife
Elena Sitelina in the quarters, but ever gracious in defeat.
Speaker 19 (20:19):
I love Ben, you know, I love I love him.
You know, this kid is amazing. He's full of energy.
He's a great guy, a great kid. Of course, he's
always too bad to play someone that you love. And
when we put the fighting spirits, you know, that's why
I still I want to make it tough for him.
(20:40):
But at the end, you know, of course, now I'm
routine for him. He's a guy that I really appreciate,
spend time with him, talking with him, sharing anything you know,
we love and he's just an amazing kid.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Shelton's quarter final opponent will be Lorenzo Sanago, who pulled
the brake on the Lerner Tien locomotive, the American teenager
responsible for the eliminations of Daniel Medvedev and Corentin Mute,
Eventually running out of puff in the fourth round, Senego
smacked twenty aces among fifty eight winners to put Tien
on the back foot, pushing through to a six three
(21:16):
six two three six six ' one victory into the
last eight for the first time in his career. Lorenzo
spoke to producer Alexia.
Speaker 20 (21:25):
Mitchell Lorenzo, Congratulations, you're the seventh highest ranked Italian man
and you're into the final eight here in Melbourne. Can
you put into words how that achievement feels.
Speaker 21 (21:36):
Yeah, I figure that's one of my best tournament in
my life.
Speaker 22 (21:42):
For sure. I work hard for each some biggers or
something like that, and I'm so so.
Speaker 20 (21:51):
You learnt meditation in the off season. Tell me more
about that and some of the work you've done off
the court.
Speaker 21 (21:57):
I need to start with a brief on my brief
and yeah, I like meditation. I tried something different for
the holiday and this day is from my girlfriend. She
want to do something different than the holiday, and yeah
(22:19):
I did, and I learned about the meditation and the Buddhismo.
Speaker 20 (22:27):
It must be paying off. Now that you're in the quarters.
What do you think the biggest factor is she making
your first Grand Slam quarter final.
Speaker 21 (22:34):
I think the work that I did in the pre season.
We worked really hard in the procedure with my team.
And yeah, I think the attitude on the court is
different than last year and more have more confidence and
I more trust in me.
Speaker 20 (22:56):
You have Ben Shelton next. Tell me more about that
match up.
Speaker 21 (23:00):
Yeah, he's a nice guy and he's a young player.
He reached the semi final in New York. He has
a big surve and he played really aggressive and start
to return, and.
Speaker 22 (23:17):
Yeah, I need to just enjoy.
Speaker 21 (23:22):
This this tournament and every match and just enjoying the time.
Speaker 20 (23:28):
You've released a few songs. How does your music and
your tennis inspire each other?
Speaker 22 (23:35):
But the music is not really good.
Speaker 21 (23:38):
Yeah, I need to improve, but it's it's just some
different time to spend with my best friend out of
the court, and yeah, it's it starts like a like
a joke, but it's nice to see that we have
one million of view more and yeah we want to
(23:59):
work to another song maybe soon.
Speaker 10 (24:02):
Well.
Speaker 20 (24:02):
Best of luck on and off the court.
Speaker 22 (24:04):
Thank you, thank you, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
In other Day nine results, women's double second seeds Gabriella
Dobrovski and Aaron Rutliff came from a set down to
topple Bertrice Haudajmeia and Lara Siegemund. Joining them in the
quarters are mirr Andreva and Diana Schneider, Christina Blandenovich and
Jung Schwai and Camilla Rakimova and Sara Serebes Tormo, who
won a third set super tiebreak. Also top seeds Katerina
(24:27):
Sineakiva and Taylor Townsend threw in straight sets. In men's doubles,
fourth seeds Kevin Kravitz and Tim Puetz have been put
to the test by Sande Gye and Jan Zalinski, prevailing
six seven, six four sixty four. They set up a
Germany versus UK quarter final meeting Britz, Julian Cash and
Lloyd Glasspool, who progressed in three Also into the quarters
(24:49):
Uger Nice and Edouard Raja Vassalon alongside Hari Helievara and
Henry Pattin. Let's turn our attention to date ten then Blair.
A couple of matches we're going to have a look at.
First of all will be the women's quarter final between
Arena Sablenka and Anastasia Pablia Chhenkova. I've always been a
(25:10):
fan of her, and she's had another giant killing campaign
to reach the last date.
Speaker 14 (25:15):
My favorite thing that I've seen nasty of Pabla Chhenkova
do this week is sign the lens after her win
over donnavekch.
Speaker 17 (25:23):
Too old but still here.
Speaker 14 (25:25):
Oops, just stumbled right into the quarterfinals here at AO
twenty five. She's going to have a tough one against
Arena Sablanka. She does have a two in one record
against her. The one thing I think Pablia Tchhenkova does
so well is redirect power. She handles power coming at
her quite well and that could serve her well against
Arena Savalenka. But I gotta say she looked real good
(25:48):
against Tamiera Andreva.
Speaker 16 (25:50):
Yeah, so right now we have the win predictor favoring Sablenka.
We have her at eighty six to fourteen, so the
heavy favorite here, but we have seeing that she's not
undefeated against this player and actually losing the head ahead
as you mentioned. But what we can look out for,
I think in this match is that Sabalanka really likes
(26:10):
to take that third shot forehand after she hits her
serve quite often and dominating. She hits that about sixty
seven percent, so I think we can we can really
look for her to dictate off that first shot. But
pavlu Chankova, you know, she's just really gripping the baseline
and she's applying so much pressure, So she's like making
(26:31):
a lot of contact inside the baseline on that second
serve return about eighty percent of the time versus Sabolenka's
sixty one, So she's going to be applying a little
bit more pressure on that second serve. But I think
it's going to be a really interesting match. Can probably
chink of a get a sit, do you think in
this in this battle.
Speaker 17 (26:48):
I think she could.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
I think she can chin humane.
Speaker 17 (26:51):
I do think she can.
Speaker 14 (26:52):
Again, this is why we go out and compete, because
you just never know how both players are going to
come out, And Sabalenka was a little scratchier in her
first couple of rounds here than maybe some people expected,
and Pablia Chenkova has nothing to lose. She's also been
to the quarterfinals here four times in her career, so
she knows what it's like. The big question for me
is it's going to be hot again tomorrow. Will her
(27:15):
partner once again come cheer her on in silk pajamas
because that has been his uniform This week, she talked
about the fact that they've got a little style competition
going behind the scenes. She says she is the most
stylish and quick. Side note for those interested in fashion,
she's actually wearing her own clothing brand here, which she
designed herself. She wanted to express herself in that way,
(27:37):
which we always.
Speaker 17 (27:38):
Think is kind of cool.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
We love that.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
What's the brand name?
Speaker 14 (27:41):
I don't know what the brand name, and I don't
actually know if it has a name. She but she
walked us through the entire thing. She has a couple
of designs and love it when players have something off
court that can maybe take their mind off the seriousness
of tennis.
Speaker 17 (27:53):
She's got nothing to lose, which is always nice.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
It was not well, we've come to that time. We
predicted it Pray Tournament, the Superstar Blockbuster quarterfinal between Novak
Djokovic and Carlos Alkaz and Fitz. It has arrived in
our lapse on day ten.
Speaker 15 (28:08):
If I have to pick someone, I'm going Colidos. You
know his tennis. His tennis some days is extraordinary. Sometimes
I wonder whether his diverse ability to hit so many
different shots in his game causes him to lose the
odd match, whereas Janick Sinner is more solid, if you will.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Playing within the lines sort of thing.
Speaker 15 (28:33):
Yeah, without without so much variety. He's got every shot.
But Carlos is just he must have a confused mind
every time he goes hit the ball because he's got
so many options. But you know, I think if he
plays his best, he'll win. But Novak knows how.
Speaker 6 (28:49):
To win here. He obviously does, and you.
Speaker 15 (28:53):
Cannot count him out. He can win the tournament. I
think there's only four guys now that can wink, and
he's one of them. Yeah, well, I think Zverev can win,
although he hasn't yet. Surely, if you're two in the world,
and he said to himself to be one in the world,
you probably need to win a major, you know, but
I think he can, and of course Yannick, especially if
(29:15):
he's well again. He struggled today with his health, I think,
but those four guys for me, and if it's someone else,
so put my hand up and sells wrong. But I
think it's one of those four.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Okay, lev where is this match going to be won
and lost?
Speaker 16 (29:29):
Well, oftentimes we have a battle of the server and
the returner, but these are two really excellent returners, so
you know, looking at where they return the ball is
going to be important. And we've seen Carlos actually start
moving up and taking that first serve a little bit
closer to the baseline, about seven percent more now than
he did in twenty twenty four, so he's really creeping
(29:51):
up and I think that could be a big difference
maker and controlling the point early on. But Novak's also
an excellent returner, so we'll have to see where that goes.
But in terms of you know, as the rallies grow longer,
we actually favor Novak on these long rallies about sixty
five percent of a time. He's going to win those long
rallies compared to Carlos winning only about fifty one percent.
(30:13):
So if the rallies go a little bit longer. Novak
has that consistent consistency, and I think we can expect
him to win those long ones.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Jay Z was phenomenal against Slahechka.
Speaker 14 (30:23):
Yes, and I actually went to his postmatch transcript to
see if I could see his answer to when he
was surely asked about Carlos Alcaraz next. He was not
because the entire presser was about the postmatch interview.
Speaker 17 (30:39):
Courts yes, that we had last night.
Speaker 14 (30:40):
So no feedback from Novak Djokovic on this match. But
I do think the way that five sets once benefited
Novak Djokovic, it was really hard to beat him over five.
I think that now has maybe shifted just a little bit,
and I think that probably benefits Carlos Alcaraz at this point.
And I do also think back to Carlito's signing the lens.
(31:01):
It was after his first or second round match, and
he wrote, am I a serve bot because his performance
on the serve was so impressive. I know he's put
a lot of work into that in the offseason. We'll
see how that plays out on court.
Speaker 15 (31:13):
He's serving is definitely better. I think I've done a
couple of these matches and it's big. He's getting more
free points. That's going to help him a little bit.
Speaker 16 (31:21):
I think, Yeah, he's winning eighty one percent of his
first serves here and Novak's at seventy eight, both high numbers.
But I mean we don't typically think of Carlos being
a serve bot, and so those numbers are quite high.
We talked about Mpachi being at eighty percent, so he's
doing well.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Any other ways we can skin this match well.
Speaker 16 (31:40):
I think a really interesting thing about Carlos is his
drop shot, and so I just have a couple of
stats about that that was quite interesting. So typically on
the drop shot players would win about fifty one percent
and the margins are super slim. For Carlos, he actually
has a win rate of sixty one percent and by
UCX he uses it about five percent of the time,
(32:02):
so use and effectiveness. He is the best drop shotter
in the game.
Speaker 6 (32:07):
Is that on hardcourt or is that on all surfaces?
Speaker 1 (32:09):
That would be all surfaces, so yes.
Speaker 6 (32:11):
It's harder on hardcourt, very hard.
Speaker 16 (32:13):
Yeah, So I think that would be something to look for. Obviously,
Novak has such a great match against Laheka, you know,
playing those drop shots getting into those balls.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
But let's see.
Speaker 16 (32:23):
You know, if it goes five stats and there's a
lot of physicality out there, maybe that drop shot becomes
more effective.
Speaker 15 (32:29):
Go ahead, Well, I you know, I have a lot
of respect for Lahgekip, but he is not Carlos, so
I'm not sure it'll be se affected.
Speaker 6 (32:38):
But look the phenomenon that is Novak.
Speaker 15 (32:40):
Djokovic is and we say Djokovic and you guys say Djokovic,
so potato. But Novak is you know, the player that
he is through years and years if near perfection, so
you cannot count him out. But he is thirty eight
years of age in May, and I agree with the
I don't.
Speaker 6 (33:01):
I just wonder.
Speaker 15 (33:04):
About the five sets, the deep in the fifth set,
and also whether he is not lost half a yard
but maybe maybe just a few inches.
Speaker 6 (33:12):
You know, I'm not quite sure how can he.
Speaker 15 (33:16):
Be as good as he was at this stage but
still awfully good.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
We had Gorn in here yesterday recording for a different podcast,
and he says he definitely thinks Novak's got another Grand
Slam title in him.
Speaker 6 (33:29):
Yeah, I'll be listening to Gora even.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
Though his player went out today. But I think whichever
way this falls is going to be a spectacular battle
tomorrow where al Karaz and Djokovic go head to head.
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't heard
the name Coco Gough, such as the power of her
brand thanks to her unique name and prodigious talent. Less known, perhaps,
(33:54):
is the story behind the rise of the world number three,
who won the US Open at nineteen years of age
and who at twenty is already the highest paid sportswoman
in the world. Matt and viv from our sister podcast
to Sit Down, had the chance to speak to her father,
Corey Goff, about how he raised a superstar.
Speaker 13 (34:12):
What age was Coco when she got her first recond.
Speaker 5 (34:15):
Just five, so that would have been Serena's second to
last Australian victory. I believe fifteen years ago would be
twenty ten ten.
Speaker 6 (34:24):
Yeah, she bit Hennen, she beat Hennon.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Okay, that's hin.
Speaker 6 (34:27):
So I remember that match.
Speaker 5 (34:29):
It was a twenty ten that I watch and then
I went out and bought her a little Prince racket
fantastic and a little soft spongy ball. As she started
hitting against the garage and she just kind of stayed
there hitting and hit and my mind started turning like
maybe it's a possibility, but we didn't do much with it.
At five, we kind of revisited the whole thing when
she turned seven.
Speaker 13 (34:47):
Did young Coco ever sort of you talked about you
Wes sitting and watching his Joy and Open Wimwood and
all the matches sort of at different times around the world.
Did you ever sit with Coco and watch some of
those matches together?
Speaker 5 (34:58):
Back then, I wasn't really thinking about it, and I
think she'd be interested. She's just interested because her dad's
sitting there watching TV, so she'd be playing around. And
keep in mind that was early in the morning. Of course,
we never watched the US Open because it was late
at night. She's asleep, so most of the matches that
night and I'm working during the day. So uh so,
now we didn't really get to sit and watch any
matches together. But I started to take her to matches
(35:19):
when she was six.
Speaker 12 (35:20):
We saw that great vision of her at the Kid's Day,
so yeah, she's getting That was such a great video.
A lot about the story for tennis parents is how
much you have to do. All tennis families is how much
you have to sacrifice to I guess, pursue the dream.
There's a lot of travel, there's a lot of money
investment in time. How much was that the case for
(35:40):
you guys?
Speaker 5 (35:42):
I hear people say that a lot about the sacrifice,
but I'd argue and say most parents sacrifice to some
degree when they have children. I mean, you make that
decision when you decide to have children, and what happens
is a lot more planning goes on. Right then, it
is so much sacrifice because you know, whether your kids,
you know, smart like Einstein, invest something in him the learning,
more of it, better computer equipment or maybe interaction with
(36:05):
a tutor or a violinist or a musician, or some
type of investment financially that you'll make in your children.
Tennis is a heavy lift because of the travel and
the privatization of it where it's not really accessible in
a group format. At least she can't get very good
in a group format. So a lot of that was planning.
I was fortunate enough, my wife and I were fortunate
enough that, you know, financially, we were finding we were
(36:25):
able to afford a lot of her growth and development
into the sports. So it wasn't such a burden. It
was more like we had to choose not to do
something to do something some more of this for her,
so that it was about, you know, planning and choices,
not as much to sacrifice the sacrifices that it takes
you away from other things.
Speaker 13 (36:40):
Of course, at what point did you sort of say
that a professional tennis future was a real estate path
for Cocard?
Speaker 5 (36:50):
Probably when I saw it was she won Little mo
when she was maybe seven or eight years old, and
I saw her determination. I said, man, you know, she
could probably, uh, she'll probably be a pro tennis player.
And so there was no doubt in my mind at
that point because she athletically she was gifted, and then
she had the ability to concentrate for long periods of time,
which at that age, even with my son's they can't
concentrate that long. So you know, if you can silk
(37:12):
up information in twenty to thirty minute increments, and no
matter what you do, you're going to be pretty successful
at it because you can really focus.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
And you can hear that episode in full, plus other
great interviews with notable tennis identities by searching for the
sit down wherever you get your podcasts. That's all for
Day nine of the Australian Open. Join us again tomorrow
for all the big stories from day ten. Be sure
to subscribe to never miss an episode, and please consider
leaving a rating or review so more fans can discover
(37:41):
the tennis. You can also catch our daily spotlight segment
on our YouTube channel, Australian Open TV and I'll catch
you tomorrow for more of the tennis
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com