Rennae and Petko are back in effect down under, coming through live from the Australian Open with behind-the-scenes takes on the first two rounds of play, including Coco Gauff's massive improvement.
Okay, Hi everybody, welcome to the Reneetlips Tennis Podcast. We are bringing you live literally live and in person here with my great friend Andrea Pekovic.
Hi, Hi, nice to see you. We are on floor four of the players. It don't win for though, I don't want to bother people who are trying to eat. Actually I wanted to say the players restaurant, but it's kind of players restaurants here at them.
If we're on the top floor, we are sitting rather close to the Spanish contingent who are sitting over there. So if you hear the names and the voices in the background, that is who it is. But yeah, anyway, let's get into it. So we started Sunday. I had a lot of rain and so we a lot of matches were canceled. But give me your first thoughts on just overall the start of the tournament.
Okay, So let's start with the two matches I did, and then maybe the ones you did. So I did Ankatodoni the qualifier twenty years old against chin Wean Jang. It was a fantastic first set. I mean considering in the second week we will see better matches. But considering it's the first round of a Grand Slam tournament. I thought it was really good tennis. Unka to DONI is playing well. I think she can do really well this year. She had kind of a meteoric rise through the challenges last year and qualified here, qualified in Brisbane, so she's been doing really well. Has won six matches. She's already twenty years old.
Okay, So you know, it's funny when you think, okay, it's huge, huge, huge opportunity there right at twenty years of age, and then you think Kaka gov twenty years of ages.
Yeah, that's cricky. But she's like she can, yes, and alien well, like from another world. I always say that about player like immortals, you know, who do things that normal people can. There from another world, sent to this earth to pleasure us with that tennis.
Yes, indeed, and chin.
When I thought she looked actually she looked fully in control. She was five three, five four, serving for the.
Member down forty love, but she was down three set points in the first WLD, so that's the thing.
She was serving for the set five four forty love and then got a little bit tight, just pulled back, and I have to give credit to to Doni because she could have just as easy gotten and unforced errors and to Dony just didn't miss. She just went for her shots. Chin went's speed of Groundstokes dropped a little, didn't make it first serves, and all of a sudden it was five six and the other girl had fifteen forty two set points. And I will say, man, Chin when is good under pressure? Yeah, she is good.
Do you think that she's getting better or do you think she's always been?
Like, No, I think she's getting better. I think she's always She was always good in sort of hiding her emotions. I think a lot is going on underneath, but she's good in hiding it. But I think the hiding of it is transferring into what she's actually feeling. Because she couldn't find the first surf for a couple of games. Fifteen forty boom through first serfs. Yeah, and then in the tiebreak the same made our first serfs. And then it's so easy because her first surf is so good. And then once she found her rhythm, and it has to be said, this was her first match of the season. She pulled out a United Cup did in play since the WTA finals, so she's had quite a break compared to other players, and I thought she did well in the first set and then very well in the second set.
Yeah. So Sabalanca last night?
Oh yeah, yeah, perfect?
Was How would you describe that? Did you watch the match? Because I thought it was a little patchy. I didn't think it was. Like I said in the coverage with Patrick McEnroe and Mary Joe Fernandez, I said, I don't think she'll be ultra happy about this, the way she played, and then Mary Joe said, no, I think she'll be happy that she's gotten through. And you know, it wasn't an easy, you know, name matchup. She's playing against Sloane Stevens, and you know, it's tough to see Sloan not playing well because you know, we know what she's capable of doing. But you can see just the lack of confidence in her. That's nine matches in a that she's lost in the first round, and I don't know how many matches you've lost in a row, but it starts to five for yeah, mentally, it starts to really hurt you. And I think that lost of the US Open when she was up a set in three loves and then ended up losing that first round because it devastated her. I can't even remember. It was just so unbelievable that she ended up losing. But to see Sloan, you know, pulling off a shots not committing to them. Yeah, and it was just a shit draw, let's face it. I mean, the one person you really didn't want to play in the first round was probably Sabalalnca, just because she comes in with so much confidence after winning Queensland in Brisbane. So anyway, I thought she she did. She played well enough, Saba Anca, but I think that she'll be happy to get through the first round, but I think she'll be looking to improve on a few things like just very scratchy the certain shots that she shouldn't be scratchy on. It'd be one thing like if she was, you know, chen Wen coming in not having a lot of matches at.
All this year.
She's had a lot of matches. So look, she got through the match and I think, as we all know, for around for a nightmare, they're very nerve wracking, and so she got through them. Well.
Just to just to underline what you just said, I think that really broke her because it was against Clara Burrell, and she was not only upset and three oh, she was up six oh three oh. So she was up nine zero and then lost the match seven five and the third. So that'll do it. Honestly, I just watched the match until four zero in the first set, and I thought Sabolenka looked like.
She had never I thought a three love it was going to be love and loss. Yes, she was so old and she went back to the point. That's what I'm talking about the patch. She just went off like all of a sudden, like two or three games. It was just horrendous tns from her. So those are the things that I feel like, if she's going to win the tournament, which she's the favorite to do, she needs to cut down on those errors when there was really no pressure on her, you know what I mean.
When one question I wanted to ask you because I did see that Sloan almost played only slices on the backhead or a lot of slices, and she doesn't usually do that. Now, granted I haven't seen her since the US Open. Do you think there was a tactical choice by them or do you think she's just trying to hit more slices?
I think it was a combination. She was a little bit you know, her foot what wasn't great to it, and so she's kind of a little bit and I wouldn't say lazy, she's a bit late to it. But also it's a good tactic against Sabalanka. You don't really want to give her pace. She's going to kill you. So I think it was a choice of hers to hit the slice and try and mix it up and in the end it got elicited a lot of errors, but look overall, sablank is still the player to be for sure.
Yeah.
Nice.
So what the match I did was the Paula Badosa match against Oh yeah, Wang Ji knew there was a fantastic I did that match as well. Yeah, that was really you had to probably leave it way I was leaving.
I left after the first set in a bit okay, and Wang was like very successful coming into the net.
Oh my god. And it was so funny because I met god On he's her. She has a Serbian coach who has moved to China five years ago and has been working with her. And I've met him an hour before the man and I asked him, what did you guys work on and he said to me, well, she's a really good doubles players because she won the French Allengaros exactly in doubles, so we want her to come to the net more often, and I mentioned it in the broadcast. And then she came to the net seventeen times and won sixteen points.
I guess what one she didn't win that point.
That was really sad. Yeah, she rushed that one a little bit. But it was funny because I worked on plenty of things and off seasons and they didn't work so well right off the bed coming into the first grandson after year, so that was really impressive. But I thought she played man. She had stretches of play where she looked like the best player in the world. It was incredible and badosa. I felt she played a really good conservative match. She didn't go for too much, she had big targets, moved well, really extended the rallies long and nicely when she needed to, and won all the important points. So I think for her for her first round, this was a very solid, good performance. I think she can definitely play more aggressive in the future. But it wasn't easy because, as we just mentioned, one came out firing on our cylinder. So there was a tough first round for part Life. Yeah, yeah, it was good. It was good match for her because also one was one of the.
Players just outside of being seated, So that was one of the toughest first rounds. I want to get into. Let's talk about a couple of matches from today and then the looks look at the big picture of the tournament, because we are going to you know, so you did Coco, So I did Coco today? Did you happen to see any of the match?
No, I was doing another match at the.
Same So I think it's a match that Coco.
Look.
You know she did admit after the match, because I did interview her after the match for ESPN and she said, look, I was very very nervous. It's a matchup that's not been good for her. She's lost. Out of the three times they've played, she's lost to Sophia Kennon.
Twice, and both of them on Grand Slam level, and both.
At Grand Slam level, and once here in the quarterfinals when Sophia Kennon won the tournament. Clearly, Coco Cop is much better player than she was back then, and yeah, older, and she was stronger. I think she was sixteen, but I mean that's pretty but you know, outrageously young, let's put it that way. But you know you could tell that she was a little nerve us. There's a bunch of double faults today. I think seven or eight at least. A lot of it had to do with the sun. From that end of the.
Course, you made us such a great mind earlier when we just talked briefly before we started recording. She has only played indoors. Yeah, since she has that change, both Wukhan and Beijing have they don't have the fork and Perth yes, and Sydney complete they are completely covered even but both Beijing and Juan have like this half kind of thing where you feel protected from the wind. They always played at night. They tend to play at night, so you don't have the sun. And then of course the WTA finals which he won was completely indoors, so that was a really and you think that's the difference the conditions and the weather coming into play.
Yeah. Well, what I said at the start of the match today was the one thing I'm interested in seeing from Coco is how the serve is going to handle the pressure outdoors. Because she hasn't played outdoors, she hasn't had a lot of conditions to deal with sun and wind. And we saw what happen today. There was a seven or eight double faults. A lot of it came down the end with the sun. I get it. But if you have a if you have a mechanically sound serve, you will find a way to throw the ball to us up anyway to get it in the court. And she had a struggle with that today. So that's a little concerning. Will she play.
Sorry, I don't know the words mechanically sound served.
Yeah, can you explain a more in depth.
I don't know what these words mean next to each.
Will have very nice right, very nice right.
But you know, mechanical sounds serve meaning like my look, I'm not comparing myself to Coco. She's a greater tennis plan than I could ever be. But I had a mechanically sound serve. So if the serve, if the sun was in my eyes, I could throw the ball, toss all the way to the right and still hit it in because I could just hit a slider serve, you know, And so you have to be able to you know. Serena was famous of throwing that ball, toss like randomly here at this train open, just getting in in the court.
Right, She did it to me that one time.
Yeah.
Every time I thought she's serving a slice, she won tea. When she threw it for a kick, she went slice. That was so tough to read.
Yeah, And I mean so mechanically sound is important when you're nervous and when you're dealing with surroundings like sun and wind and various things.
So she's just want to see David Ferrer, the Spanish contagious that you mentioned. They're sitting here and drinking beer and I appreciate that so much. It's five pm, well.
Somewhere, yeah, okay, and listen, five pm in Australia is like it's like midnight. Okay, all right, So let's just I'm happy for this this Spanish contingent. Clearly their players won, I hope, and they're celebrated.
Are still is about to play?
That is true, that'll be drunk, yes, well, good for them. So that's a little bit of a concern. The forehand was okay, it wasn't great, but it was okay. I thought Sophie can have played tactically, which is unusual for her because she's pretty good tactically. I thought she played a tactically poor match today. I thought she didn't go after the forehand enough and she had a lot of opportunities. But Coco got through it. Admitted that she was nervous and this court is quick, so going further in the tournament. But interestingly enough, Coco said that she gets less nervous as the tournament goes on.
I had the same thing. I mean again, I think, but I always tried to explain this to people when journalists would ask you before a quarters, before a semis, aren't you aren't you so nervous now that you're playing semis? And I was like, I'm in the semis. I know I'm playing well. You know I won like five matches. Yeah, of course I'm playing well. It's much worse than the first round. You haven't played in the conditions. Anything can happen in the first round, especially on Sundays. Now that they have the Sunday start. The worst thing that can happen to you is lose at eleven am on a Sunday. The tournament hasn't even started and you're already on the plane back, especially from Europe because the planes leave at midnight, so you're like already like waving from across the ocean to the planes that haven't even seen. So that's a terrible feeling to have. And I agree, But you could also tell with her last year here she was scratchy at times in the first week and then played a really great match against Arena Sabalenka. Yeah, in the semi finals. Since she's gone. And that's what the top players do, right, they get better with the tournaments when it progressed. Yeah.
I think it's hard for people to understand that because they think, well, the first round should be easier because you're playing at like a lesser less yer. Yeah, but it's not because you feel comfortable now you've prepared for these big matches. I was the same way. First round, you're shitting yourself, quarter final, semi final, you're like, let's go.
Yes.
So it was good hear that from her. So I did say to her, and I find it. I go to see what you thought about this, But I said, leading into this match, for the last three or four days, when you knew the schedule, you knew who you were playing in the first round, did you focus on playing against Kennon or did you focus on what you were doing and for the tournament? And she said for the tournament. In the last day, I focused on what I was going to do in my match against Sophia I am prior to that, I only thought about what I needed to do to get through the tournament. So I thought that was a really interesting way of thinking, and also a little bit of a look into her mind that she's that confident. So anyway, that was. That was I thought a great good start. In the end, it could have been better just the way she played, but having lost to Cannon and the fact that Kenon what a shitty draw for her, my.
God, And to be fair, the last time she lost to Canon, she went on an absolute tear afterwards because she lost them womens right and then one basically every tournament that ever happened.
So maybe it's not a good thing. I'm just kidding.
Laura Robson said something funny, I say she said because it was about that Catodoni and and Chinwuan Jang match. She said, like, when you play this, when you're a qualifier, you come as a lower ranked player into these tournaments and you play a hide see, there will always be somebody in the locker room telling you, well, it's good that you get them now, better than to get them in the fourth or.
Well, actually I have said that to somebody this week, a young player from Australia who's playing one of the best players in the world as well, give out it to get them in their And it is true.
And there will always be somebody who will tell to you, over qualifier, that's tough.
They have already won, play three matches, not just those tennis stereotypes that every time you play somebody like this you will hear in the locker room at least once.
Yeah, exactly. We just I just interviewed Francis Tiafo after his battle. Five set match was incredible, My god, five sets, puking on the court, hitting under armed serfs. I mean, it was the most Francis Tiafo match I've seen in a long time. But he got through it and he said, you know, look, I know I'm getting to the second part of my career. And so he said, if I'd been in a reddit, I think he's I'm not sure, I'll have you look it up, but he understands it. Look, his end rate maybe is mid thirties, thirty six, and so he is technically getting to the second part of his career, right, he's probably like twenty six or twenty seven six. So he said, I would have defaulted that match today if it wasn't a Grand Slam. And so that's how much he fought through. He was cramping, he was having side cramps. He was like tanking return games to conserve energy for his service games. And actually, in fact, he tanked the last game and he was started diting winners all over the place and ended up winning the game, which was important because he would have had to serve into the wind uphill, which he probably thinking, what do you mean uphill? There's a slight little, a little tilt on the courts here at this strain, open the tilt down to the river. It's very minor, but when you're out there, you feel it. And he would have been serving uphill into the wind. And let me tell you something that would have been hard for him.
And I don't know if you've ever cramped. I cramped.
I have cramped indoors and stood out playing doubles. How embarrassing that is?
Weird? We will just glaze over it. As if it never happened. I'm glad.
I know what it feels like.
Yeah, well, I will say I crammed once and then I retired three months later because I was like, I'm out of here. I'm not fit anymore. And it is really hard on those quick explosive motions, which for Francis is the serf, so there would have been hard to serve out.
It was not easy. It was painful. He was and he was puking, so he's clearly lost a condition. He's like, you know that's going to make the cramp.
Jack Draper puke.
He Jack Draper puked all over he was Yeah, but he did it strategically, really smart thing. He puked right near the baseline, so they had to take forever to clean it up. So I think the people that clean that stuff up need to get a race. Just frankly, and the dude that did.
It, even we ran into his girlfriend. Even his girlfriend was like the poor girl.
Yeah, well there was a girl that cleaned up. There was a guy there was like he was puking all over the place. But anyway, it was a great effort from him. And let's see how he handles that. Because you've got a couple of days off now to recover, which he needs, and we'll see how getting through a match like that can help him go further. Another player that we just saw win was Yannick Cinna. Certainly looks unbelievable. That was an incredibly tough ra Jerry Jerry was one of the next.
Thing we'll say one thing, tell me, I think the top seats on the women's side have gotten incredibly tough draws on paper. But then also in match Arena Sabalenka, former US Open champion, Sloan Stevens, Coco Go, former Australian Open champion, Sofia Cannon, and IgA Schriontek, got Katarina Senia Kova, who is also a Grand Slam champion, maybe not singles, but she's won nine Grand Slams. She's a gold medalist, yeah, and she's got the Olympics, and she's a good singles player. She's a farmer top thirty.
Now and they all got through them, they all.
Straight through them in straight sets. But and then Yanick Sinner with Nicolas Sharry who is just outside of the seating position, and so man today is.
Packed with the schedule that we've got going on Cosnovak Djokovic is later on tonight seven PMC, ten times champion coming out on the court. What do you think his chances are to withdraw? Let's talk a little bit about the overall now that you know the schedule, now the end of the drawer and who's up the top, down the bottom, all the things. Who what's your overall thought process with the men and the women.
So my overall thought process is that in both parts, the lower half is a lot weaker. But not in terms of the seated players, because there is a Djokovic and there is Alchoras, and there is a Zveref on the men's side, and there is a Chiantek and a Rebuccena on the women's side. But in terms of, you know, the floaters that you don't want to have, they are somehow all in the top half. Just as an example, Nori and Bertini are playing each other in the first round as unseated players. All these kinds of players are kind of in the top half. Nikola Shari playing Yannick Sinner in the first round. So I feel like in that regard art, I think the people in the top half will have a lot harder time to get to the second week, you know, but then once you are in the second week, it's a loaded It's a loaded draw for Alexander z Vera. If you will just rejoice that Taylor Fritz is away from him in the top half. I think there was a prayer circle and multiple candles. I don't want to see exactly. And then I mean, this is this is tough. So quarter finals for Novak would be Carlos al Charas and then is in.
The button quarters they're playing each other in the quarters.
They would play. Yeah, if they get through, they would play each other.
That's a nightmare. I thought that I hadn't looked at the draw. Again, I wasn't one hundred percent sure, but that's a freaking nightmare.
Yeah, I mean that's the third round mahaj, which is not easy. Tell us night. He was playing incredible at United Cup, but he had also an incredible maildown. If you haven't seen them, please google it because it was a good the.
Beautiful, it was all things happen. Yeah, speaking of Mahach who now has to play Riley a Pelka. Actually, my god, So what about Riley getting through last night?
Maybe maybe I'll take back the top half is more loaded with these floaters because Mahatch and Opelka and Neo Novak. That's tough.
That's that's rough. I did see Riley. He's you know, he's still kind of having struggles with the back a little bit. So we'll see how he recovers. Because he finished very late last night, cool conditions. Did you see him today? He was taking a day off. He was going to do anything because I don't believe he has to play.
I think he has two days.
Yeah, yeah, so look, you know that's he can beat anyone as long as he's healthy.
So I'm supposed to get hot, so that would help him.
Super hot this week here in Melbourne. I mean it's hot, yeah, I mean for people there in Europe right now in New York, this is bloody hot. Yeah, but it's not it's not what it could be. Yeah.
Maybe let's just talk quickly about Ego because I called her match right now. I said she played Signa Kova so tough first round, and Signacovi had stretches of play where she hit as she can winners all over, played so well. And what I really liked about Ego was she kind of and that wym Fisette talked about this during United Cup. We had the chance to chat to him a few times, and he said he wants her to panic less when these big hitters come around and sort of just give a little shape on the ball, stay in the rally and wait for these stretches of play of the big hitters to subside. And she did well today. There was one moment where Katerina had three games where she hit seven winners, like incredible, where he was on the verge of panicking, but she riled it back in and she did so well, and that was something that for me as an EGA fan, for all EGA fans, was very encouraging. She reversed back to something she did when she had her best season. She would put a bit more shape on the forehand and trajectory to give herself more time and whereas last year sometimes she would get into this hitting fits with these big hitters that she could not hit and she especially.
On a fast court. Now she can have hit of player on a clay court. Changed direction.
Yes, yes, but that was so smart of her.
Who's going on the court. This is what you people were going to hear.
In women's skirls. Petroma Christiana a nice manch Why don't we go see it?
H M.
And so. So. I thought she did super well there. And what was also another very encouraging sign she played her best tennis in the most important moments. And we had moments last year where it wasn't always the case on the quick surface, and it's going to be fair on the slow surfaces. She's the ego that we've always seen. She has shortened the forehead swing. She's kind of if you remember, she would go up with the racket face and then drop it down before she hits it. Now she's trying to do the quick rotation, so basically just turning her shoulders sometimes it's still the most well. I wish that was the only time anyone has ever compared my forehand to ye're welcome.
Well, no one's going to be comparing my forehand to anyone, particularly the world's one of the best places.
Over the world. Well, and they worked on the surf. It's a bit more fluid, but Wims did say at the United Cup that it's a stepping stone basically, that this is a stepping stone to even more fluidity in the future hopefully, And she's getting on average hundred seventy nine hundred eighty cases, she's.
Probably the first serve. I'm not concerned about the first surf of her. I'm concerned about the second serf. I'm concerned about the fact that the second service isn't as lethal it could be, and she doesn't get enough kick on the bald toss, so well, I want I'm going to keep my eye on that. It's sort of similar to how I feel about Coco because you know, as the old time has used to say, you're only as good as your second serve, and nowadays, guess what that is true, Because if you have a shit second serve in men's and women's fantas, you are going to get crushed. They are going to crush that second ball. And unless you're an incredible mover, you can maybe get away with it. But still, even if you're a cocoa go or an eager shantech, if you don't hit your serve, well, these girls are going to step up and crush the second serve. So that is something that we're going to have to keep an eye on because on this court it's fast, Australia's fast, and it's hot, and the conditions play quick, and that's why Sabalanca plays well here. It's why Rubarkina has done well here and made the finals. So and even Chinwen goes for the serf, you know, her second serve has a bit more pop on it sometimes than even eagers. They're pretty similar in a lot of ways.
But it's funny because the so I talked to a few I did the week zero as we call it here. I did few of the charity matches, just like interviewing the players, and it's so funny. You interview five players and they will tell you five different opinions on the surfness of the court. And I the first person I spoke to was Alex Deminor and he was like, this is the slowest rod labor Arena has ever been. And I'm like walking around telling everybody how slow it is. And then I speak to Janick Sinner and Stefano Stizzipas and both of them go, oh my god, it's so fast. We didn't have a we didn't have a single rally. We couldn't get over two shots per rally.
That's interesting.
So it's and then another person said, I can't remember, oh, Carlito's he said that it's medium fast. It's like everything goes. But you can basically ask four players and you will get four different opinions.
I think the surface looks medium medium to fast. Yeah it doesn't. It's not medium, it's not it's not definitely not medium slow. So I guess we'll see who gets through the second week. We'll have a pretty idea, pretty good idea who's more comfortable on this court. But you know, overall, I think sits a past losing that to Michelson. There's something going on.
You have he has to.
I mean, how long before the dad's back in the picture.
I think I'm giving it one month.
Well one month, so you think Indian Wells he's going to be back there. I think Indian Wells see Papa Smurf back in the back in the players box. That'll be interesting. But he is obviously struggling. But you know, look, we are off to a great start here. It is. The weather is beautiful today. It was crap yesterday. Petco and I are working out arses off. We're going running back and forth with everyone. What do you have for a tremendous amount of Americans in the main draw here? I think it was like thirty six or something thirty three. Yeah, men and women, they have like thirty three players in the main draw. That is a phenomenal effort.
We don't even have thirty three players and tennis.
I mean same with Australia. I mean that's impressive, very impressive numbers. I have Daniel Collins and calling her later on tonight. Yes, the dnimoll is back for another year, so we'll see what happens. I don't know, haven't looked at the schedule preparation again, Hey, listen, this is how real she prey for matches. I don't well, we can tell now, but who do you have to know?
I have Carlos interested to see how Carlus plays, so I've done the charity matches with him and and it was really interesting. I spoke to Juan Carlos Ferrero as who I was really scared to talk to. He smells fantastic, by the way. I nearly fainted when I I had to like kind of awkwardly squat.
The best smelling team for me.
Okay, well try Carlos. And I was interviewing him and I was just like awkwardly leaning into had a sniff of his scent. He's just had surgery on his right knee as his cottlage repair, and he told me it was really interesting. They worked on Carlos's concentration and consistency in the off season, and he said that he just he's so young and his emotions young. He didn't say it with these words, but he basically said he's such a young person still that his thoughts just wander off, and that's something they've worked on. And I wanted to ask, how would you work on something like this, but I only was allowed to questions, And Carlos has changed the serf, so I wanted to ask about the serf as well. So I had to pick and so I asked him about the surf and he said, well, they also similar as to EGA. He felt like Carlos's service motion was a bit disjointed. So they also also worked on a fluidity. You can see it right away. It looks very beautiful actually, And he said that he felt that Carlos's speed on serf is okay, it's enough because he has a lot of different enough, but that the consistency is lacking, and that's what they've been working on. So this is all. This is not me this is one Carlos Ferrero's great smelling guy knee operated words from me from my mouth to your ear.
Well, I will say I think that the one thing that hurts him, and I may have even discussed it with you on the pod, is that he doesn't hit his spots well enough on serve, and there were a period of time the last few years where he did hit it really well. I think that is one era that he needs to improve on, which is why he doesn't went on hard court like a Sinner does, because Janni gets so many free points with his accuracy on serve and his power on serve, whereas I think Carlos doesn't have the power like Yannick. Clearly he's like five inches shorter than him, so that makes a big difference. And Sinner can get that snap and that accuracy getting the corners. But I think that's an area that he needs to work on, so if he can, so we'll take a look at like as we call it Bolt six, as it's new, it's taken over from Hawkeye. I'm gonna be interested to see where Carlos is serving stats, look as far as where he's actually pinpointing the serve. Last year and this year, yeah, because if he's hitting his spots better this year, he will have more success on hard court. He can get away with it on clay because the service is as important. And on grass. I think he gets more confident on grass and he just moves better and looks Kleine sept Quarter sept Quarter, who had a great week last week in Adelaide, so and so do Matti Keys. I just want to give a shout out to those guys, Mattie Keys. I did speak to Jessica Bagoula. I said, wow, man, Maddie played great, and you know what she said, I've never seen her play better tennis in my life. It was like I could do nothing and shout out to jess who made the final, but.
Mattie was getting married.
Will do to hey, listen, if she can find recommend she can find mary assistency. And we all know that no one hits the ball bigger than Maddie Keys, no one she can hit it in good luck everybody.
I'm just always apprehensive about.
Well, yeah, because the big matches, she gets a little anxious or.
Not about that. I'm always apprehensive when they win the mat tournament before it feels like it happened only once that the person who won the tournament before ended up winning the Grand Slam after which was Barbora Krichikova who won stass Book and then the French Open. I don't think I can't remember anybody ever winning the tournament right before.
In Australia, we've had it happened in the past. It used to be the tournament in Sydney. Like Alena kim Gleisters, they would win Sydney and I don't know what she is, sure, I don't know what she is. They won Sydney and then they came down in one.
But I cannot remember.
Well look it up, but listen, our faithful listeners will look that up on them.
Yes they were. Oh maybe another little inside because I also got there was this charity week. Was great to speak because they have this new coaches box on the court, so the coaches said closer and so they had this new initiative to bring them also closer into the media space. So I had the chance to speak to them, and I also spoke to Darren which was really interesting. Ok Hill exactly Janick Sentner's coach, and it was really interesting because I was I didn't know what to expect, whether they will actually open up or try and keep some secrets. And Darren was really open as well and said that they basically worked on making Yanick more, make Yanick have more variety. They continued on his net play for him to finish points more often at the net, and they also continued on his serf to have more accuracy and more variety in a surf. They are very happy with how the speed has progressed and now they want him to be able to basically serve his spots and different kind of slices.
And spaces and changed the pace on it a little bit. Yeah, and listen, variety and overall as well, probably trying to develop the fourhand drop shot a little bit more because you know, when you hit the ball that big and hard, everyone starts moving backwards. So like Carlos, if you can hit that drop shot, it's certainly affected.
All right, guys, we're getting ready for full It's getting loud.
Getting louder, it's getting crazier. We love it here in Australia. It's got great matches tonight. There's literally alcaraz Novak, Djokovic and Nick Curious. We'll see what happens with Nick curios here? What is your He's playing on the People's Court John Caine Arena?
What is your guest? So I spoke to I spoke to somebody who told me that Nick actually prefers the tougher US in the first round.
Did you see us an excuse if he loses? Probably?
Oh you think so?
Yeah? Probably?
Okay, Yeah, it was just surprised because I don't know exactly who told me, but they were like, you know, he's always waiting for the draw and hoping to get one of the top seats in the first round.
Yeah, well, we'll see how he turns out tonight.
But we've got some that you believe that story or you don't.
I believe it, but probably for different reasons of why. Okay, but hey, listen, who knows. I don't know. I'm not in Nick's head, and I'm grateful for that, that's for sure. Anyway. All right, guys, well listen, it's a quick one and we're happy to bring it to you. Live here, background, noise from the strain and open, beautiful day. Thanks for listening to us, and thanks for staying up late in the US and watching us on ESPN. And throughout the world. Listening to PETCO on the World Feed and we'll talk to you soon. Why b B B