Elliott Smith: Sportstalk host on eight seeds being knocked out of Wimbledon

More top 10 seeds are out of the first round in an Open era tennis major than ever before at this year's Wimbledon - eight have exited in total.

Four of the top men and four of the favoured women have departed, including French Open champion Coco Gauff.

Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explains further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Elliott Smith's sports talk hosters with us he Elliott Afternoon Hit.
It has Justin Marshall got a point.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Well, I think let's have a listen first and foremost,
and then we can decide as to where the Justin's
got a point.

Speaker 3 (00:11):
You know, at the end of the day, there's forty
nine percent of the players have got no caps at all,
so it's a development team with a few senior players involved.
It's honestly, in my mind it's complete bs. You know,
the way that they're treating this tour.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
And there's been a bit of frustration hither around the
fact that the French have sent out very much a
B team. Now the French rug be is pretty much
controlled by the top fourteen. All those clubs owned by powerful,
rich owners dictate whether these players can be released or
in theory they have to be because it's a global window.
But we know that theory doesn't really necessarily needsitary doesn't
necessarily translate to the rugby field, and they've left all

(00:47):
these players at home. I think he does have a point,
and the All Blacks are now in sort of a
no win position. You know, the French have sent over
a very much a B team. So the All Blacks
are expected to win, and win well if they do,
will everyone expect them to do so? If they don't,
then you know they've been troubled by a French B
team and all sorts of questions yet asked. So I
don't think it's good for Test rugby. I don't think
it's a very good precedent for Test rugby to be

(01:09):
set that. Basically, the French have thumb their nose to
coming down to New Zealand and setting their own rules,
and now the All Blacks basically have to cop it.
New Zealand Rugby has to try and sell tickets for
this series. You know, probably would have been a bit
better if they didn't give them twelve months notice that
they weren't going to send their top players as well,
because we've known for a long time that this is
going to happen, and now it's on a doorstep. We

(01:30):
know that this All Black side is going to face
basically a team of no names come this weekend.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
Elliott is should we I mean tell me that I'm
jumping getting way too excited here, But is it possible
that rugby's headed in the same direction as cricket where
actually the competitions are far more important now than the
national game.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Quite possibly, especially so in France, because they've still got
the money that dictates things. We've seen in England, you know,
clubs have fallen over in the last few years through
the financial difficulties. Super rugby has had very much the same.
So in this part of the world, and i'd say
in England as well, and the United Kingdom, international remains king.
But in France they've got such a strong domestic competition.

(02:10):
And it's not forget that that they've got a very
very strong domestic competition, probably the best in the world,
the top fourteen, that they can dictate things. They're owned
by millionaires, if not billionaires, a lot of these teams,
and they can thumbd they nose it the rest of
the international game because their domestic game is so strong.
I don't see that spreading across the rest of the
world as yet, but it is something that rugby needs
to be on guard for because cricket, basically international cricket

(02:32):
is by and large being destroyed over the last five
to ten years.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
Very interesting, Hey, so what's going on with Wimbledon? Is
it the heat taking out the big guns?

Speaker 2 (02:39):
Well it might be. We talked a bit about that
heat policy yesterday. A shocking day or shocking couple of
days for the top seeds. Eight top ten players across
the men's and women's draws are gone. That's in the
first round. That's the most in the Open era thirteen
and the men's ten in the women's have gone. Alexander
vere have gone. In the men's Coca gone, and the
women's Jessica. But the third seed gone and the women's

(03:01):
as well. It's almost like not having a seed next
to your name has been quite good. So that's good
news for Cameron Nora of course x Q we now
representing Great Britain. He's through to the second round. A
k Djokovitch looked like he might be folding a little
bit this morning after losing the third city. He managed
to get through in four. So as long as you're
doing to have that little number next to your name here,
that you're probably doing all right at Wimbledon. But having

(03:23):
said that, the mean's top one two seeds are both
through to the second round and probably on a collision
course for the title in a couple of weeks.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
Store are you you? I haven't seen you all week.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
And you know city, Yeah, yeah, racking up. It's a
bit chilly down here, looking forward to the test match?
Yeah is it.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
Have you remember how last time we sent you out
of Auckland you had to go buy a jacket because
you hadn't packed properly. Have you had to do that
this time?

Speaker 2 (03:45):
No? I packed properly this time. Here two degrees this morning.
And yes you said, well, that's not a company credit card,
it's not spread that. But it has been chilly, and
you know, I'm a South Island of them. I'm tough
at heart, and I've just got used to these conditions again. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
Good, Okay, we won't tell anybody that you bought that
jacket on the company credit card.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
I appreciate helping this discretion.

Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yeah, that's what the word is. Thank you, Elliot, look
after yourself. To talk to you tomorrow, Elliot Smith, sports
talk host.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
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