Speaker 1: Hi everyone, and welcome to the Rene Snubs Tennis podcast.
Speaker 2: It is time Petco. I am joined by Andrea Pekovich,
Speaker 2: of course, the great, the one, the only Caitlin. She
Speaker 2: has other things to do today, doing cookies. Yeah, she's
Speaker 2: eating cookies today. But we are going to discuss the
Speaker 2: upcoming Australian pan favorites. What our thoughts are, et cetera,
Speaker 2: et cetera. Let's let's start. First of all, give a
Speaker 2: give a little bit of a synopsis for someone who's
Speaker 2: European or American who has to go down to Australia
Speaker 2: and how difficult that transition is to go from really
Speaker 2: cold weather like it is in New York right now,
Speaker 2: and Europe and and and head down to a Brisbane
Speaker 2: or Auckland not so much, but certainly Brisbane where it's
Speaker 2: so freaking hot, so freaking humid. Like, how difficult is
Speaker 2: that transition?
Speaker 3: Definitely not easy. Doesn't become easier the older you are.
Speaker 3: I think most players, I think most players will have
Speaker 3: a pit stop in Dubai, which a lot of them
Speaker 3: do now, where they practice for a week or two
Speaker 3: in Dubai get adjusted. But I do have to say
Speaker 3: Dubai at this time is beautiful in a sense of perfect.
Speaker 3: Weather's kind of like la. Yeah, yeah, it's not. It's dry,
Speaker 3: it's warm, but it gets cool in the night, it
Speaker 3: gets cool in the mornings. It's not really ideal when
Speaker 3: you go to Brisbane and it just knocks you off
Speaker 3: your feet because it's humid and hot, or it can
Speaker 3: be humid and hot.
Speaker 2: No, albert is not can be always is. Brisbane is
Speaker 2: like Florida in summer.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's just Melbourne is different. Melbourne.
Speaker 2: Yes, dry heat, yeah, fucking dry heat. It can be
Speaker 2: like you know, one hundred.
Speaker 3: And we see it sometimes with players like I don't
Speaker 3: know if you remember Garbinia Muguruzo had to retire in
Speaker 3: her first round match. I think it was against Putin
Speaker 3: Sieva one time in Brisbane with cramps and everyone's like,
Speaker 3: she's coming from the off season. Why is she cramping
Speaker 3: and these.
Speaker 2: Sweating out like a yes, a bucket of water every
Speaker 2: five minutes.
Speaker 3: Yeah, this is the reason. Because she practiced in Marbea,
Speaker 3: which is in Spain where you can practice during the
Speaker 3: during the winter outside it's like fifteen sixteen degrees European,
Speaker 3: so it's cool, like you can sixty five degrees, Yeah, exactly,
Speaker 3: but you can practice outside and it's windy. And so
Speaker 3: she came to Brisbane and came to Brisbane. Sorry, Brisbane
Speaker 3: came a bit late. And then even though she was
Speaker 3: in the best shape possible because she played I think
Speaker 3: quarters at the Australian opened just a few weeks later
Speaker 3: and she lost with match points against Naomi Osaka, who
Speaker 3: then ended up winning your show. So she was clearly
Speaker 3: in great shape, but that will knock you out. So
Speaker 3: that's definitely part of why, and a lot of the
Speaker 3: top players it has to be set, especially the men,
Speaker 3: because for them the season starts even or ends even later.
Speaker 3: A lot of the men take the first two weeks
Speaker 3: in Australia as part of the preparation.
Speaker 2: As part of the Novak's playing Brisbane this year, I
Speaker 2: believe coming up, so I want it so so yeah,
Speaker 2: so the adjustment listen, it's the one. And I joked
Speaker 2: about this with Jessica Bagoula during the Garden Cup in
Speaker 2: New York and I was like, when are you guys leaving.
Speaker 2: She's like, oh, in a week or so, and I
Speaker 2: was like, God, damn, I forgot how quickly this strain
Speaker 2: open is coming around this year because of the calendar,
Speaker 2: the way it's happening with the you know the dates
Speaker 2: this year that they're starting January twelfth. Do you remember
Speaker 2: playing in Australian Open it January twelfth or thirteenth?
Speaker 3: I don't think I'm that list flying out on the
Speaker 3: twenty fifth of December, so it's.
Speaker 2: Jessica, Gula and Ammanavarro. I was flying out on Christmas.
Speaker 3: Day, but I said they are doing that because I'm
Speaker 3: so bad luck.
Speaker 2: I go us Ozzies have to bloody be on the
Speaker 2: road nine months of the year and it's about time
Speaker 2: you guys had to suffer.
Speaker 3: Well, that's true, and I agree with that. All of
Speaker 3: Asia Pacific players, like Chinese players, Astam players. I don't
Speaker 3: know how you do it, and more power to you
Speaker 3: about that. But what I don't understand are they play
Speaker 3: in United Cup.
Speaker 2: So are playing United Cup? Coco's playing the United Cup,
Speaker 2: Jessica's playing Brisbane, emmon of Ours playing Brisbane.
Speaker 3: I know that, okay, because the United Cup. Because I
Speaker 3: fly out on the twenty fifth, I land on the
Speaker 3: twenty seventh in the morning and I have to work
Speaker 3: two hours later and I'm on broadcasting. I don't need
Speaker 3: to adjust to no time zone. I don't need to
Speaker 3: be there a week earlier. So I'm flying in the
Speaker 3: last possible moment possible, just so I can still make
Speaker 3: it and give myself a three four hour period in
Speaker 3: case something gets awry. But these girls, they need to
Speaker 3: adjust to the time zone, and they are trying, off,
Speaker 3: of course, also to have Christmas at home possibly, So
Speaker 3: this is going to cut it very close.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's not it's not easy for the Americans
Speaker 2: and for the Europeans.
Speaker 3: But the rest of the years now, yes, the rest
Speaker 3: of the years.
Speaker 2: Because then you know, all in Europe you're like, oh,
Speaker 2: let me just jump in my car and drive something
Speaker 2: flying off, Like Australians have to fly twenty four hours
Speaker 2: to get anyway any so we're very excited about that.
Speaker 2: So that's sort of like how do you adjust? You suffer.
Speaker 2: If you see a European come to Brisbane and you
Speaker 2: see them go out to practice for the first time
Speaker 2: they come back in, they literally look like a beatroot.
Speaker 3: They are also so paleless when I see myself, when
Speaker 3: I see myself on photos in Brisbane.
Speaker 2: Like, oh my god, how am I? So I look
Speaker 2: like that?
Speaker 3: Also the first two days. So the first day you
Speaker 3: usually would just hit very easily, not exert yourself too much.
Speaker 3: But then on the second day you have to already
Speaker 3: play points and work out a little bit tougher. And
Speaker 3: I never, for even after sixteen years on tour, I
Speaker 3: would still have this moment of desperation. I didn't do
Speaker 3: my job in my off season because on the first
Speaker 3: day in Brisbane, after twenty hours of a flight and
Speaker 3: in this new, new climate and new time zone, you're like,
Speaker 3: I am dying after ten minutes of hitting the ball.
Speaker 3: What is wrong with me? I did everything wrong? And
Speaker 3: then after three days you're there and everything is fine.
Speaker 2: That's how I feel when I play tennis now every
Speaker 2: single time. Oh my god, I'm going to die. We
Speaker 2: always do this for a living. I'm always jet likeged
Speaker 2: I'm always adjusting to the time zone and the heat.
Speaker 2: So let's talk about our favorites. What we expect. I
Speaker 2: have to say, looking at the training schedule right now
Speaker 2: of Coco Goff on Instagram, she is putting in the
Speaker 2: work and I think after her finishing the way she did,
Speaker 2: it's going to be real interesting to see. And I
Speaker 2: do believe that she has absolutely put her hand up
Speaker 2: to be one of the favorites of the U Strain Open.
Speaker 2: So let's talk about the ladies first. Okay, who do
Speaker 2: you think is the favorite? Clearly there's a lot of
Speaker 2: stuff that can happen prior to the Austrain Open, injuries,
Speaker 2: all of that stuff happens, we know going into it.
Speaker 2: What are your thoughts, Sabalanca eager? You know we're talking
Speaker 2: about Coco obviously, Rebarkina, Like, what's going to be her deal? Like,
Speaker 2: what are your thoughts behind what you're looking forward to
Speaker 2: and who you think is the favorite going to the
Speaker 2: Strain Open.
Speaker 3: So my thoughts from the lady's perspective, I'm trying to
Speaker 3: keep it very concise. I think Sablenka is the overwhelming favorite,
Speaker 3: just because I know how serious she takes the off season.
Speaker 3: I know she will put in all the work, and
Speaker 3: I think she's the best hardcore player we have. I
Speaker 3: think she's proved that over the course of not only
Speaker 3: this year twenty twenty four, but also the past few years.
Speaker 3: But she's really come into herself on hard courts this year,
Speaker 3: and I think she will be the favorite. I do
Speaker 3: think I.
Speaker 2: Was just stretching my arms oh, okay, I thought you
Speaker 2: were showing me stop. I actually I didn't. I needed
Speaker 2: my other hand to pull my hand back, having a
Speaker 2: cramp in my left arm.
Speaker 3: Okay, I thought you were showing, like put your microphone closer.
Speaker 3: I'm always yelling. Yeah. And I think that Cocoa gov
Speaker 3: will be one of the favorites. I think the way
Speaker 3: she played the rest of the season after the US
Speaker 3: Open was so impressive, changing the grip on the which
Speaker 3: she needs serve she needed to do, but in the
Speaker 3: middle of the season, so much respect for that, and
Speaker 3: I think she will be one of the favorites. The
Speaker 3: one thing I will say last year at the Austrian
Speaker 3: and we talked about it, she came out so jagged
Speaker 3: from the off season that I almost felt she was
Speaker 3: two three kilos too heavy on the upper part of
Speaker 3: her body, and that's why I thought she was having
Speaker 3: trouble with her serf. Of course, through the course of
Speaker 3: the season it turned out it was also a technical issue.
Speaker 3: Not only that, because generally.
Speaker 2: It's all technical and then therefore it's also mental.
Speaker 3: So yeah, yeah, But in the beginning I was like, oh,
Speaker 3: I think she because she was so strong abroad and
Speaker 3: the thing what comes with strength is lack of agility.
Speaker 3: And I just thought she can't get into the rotation
Speaker 3: that she was able to get, So she can't get
Speaker 3: that kick and she can't.
Speaker 2: Get she doesn't have the boltos in the right spot.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and the thing, well, well right, that was then
Speaker 3: part of it. But the thing is that usually and
Speaker 3: that's why you see the players come out of the
Speaker 3: off season Jack, what happens throughout the season. You lose
Speaker 3: weight because you're competing all the time, you can't do
Speaker 3: as much weightlifting, your eating schedule is different, and so
Speaker 3: I think all of these things play part. So I
Speaker 3: just think that she has to be careful on that
Speaker 3: side in a sense. But I'm so impressed with it.
Speaker 3: I don't blocked her on Instagram because when I look
Speaker 3: at her off season, that just brings back PTSD from
Speaker 3: my off season.
Speaker 2: I'll let me tell you. I can tell you it
Speaker 2: would give you PTSD because it's like serious, it's so
Speaker 2: serious actually just before we get there, because I didn't
Speaker 2: even think about this person. But it'll be interesting to
Speaker 2: see a play that we have not talked about a
Speaker 2: lot very much, because she has not done very well
Speaker 2: in the last twelve months, but some of it was
Speaker 2: on the precipice of maybe breaking through is Maria Zachary,
Speaker 2: I asked you does a lot of work in the
Speaker 2: off season and works probably harder than anyone court. I mean,
Speaker 2: that girl is like a beast. What do you expect
Speaker 2: from someone like her this year? And what's her coaching situation?
Speaker 2: Because I haven't heard anything me neither.
Speaker 3: That's funny because last year, last week, remember I was like,
Speaker 3: do you know what Zucker is doing right now? And
Speaker 3: I don't know either.
Speaker 2: I do think while we do that, I'm going to
Speaker 2: look at her instagram.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah, Well I did look at her results
Speaker 3: after we talk, and she hasn't played since the US Opened,
Speaker 3: so she was and she retired also at the US Open,
Speaker 3: and I know that at the Olympic Games she was
Speaker 3: struggling with her shoulders. So I'm not sure if it
Speaker 3: was still the same injury at the US Open or
Speaker 3: if it was something else. But if there is any
Speaker 3: time of the year where Maria Zakari can do the
Speaker 3: most difference to work come to the other players, it's
Speaker 3: the off season. She has a god given body. She's
Speaker 3: an athlete. She would be good at any sports. If
Speaker 3: it wasn't tennis, if it was check and field, she
Speaker 3: would be good. She just has the body gifted by
Speaker 3: God that will absorb any athletic work and will just
Speaker 3: transform into this incredible athlete. And so I think this
Speaker 3: is always her time to shine. Well that part of
Speaker 3: the season.
Speaker 2: Speaking of you just talking about her on her Instagram,
Speaker 2: and I haven't seen her Instagram for a while. I mean, look,
Speaker 2: October fifteen, she was like doing her crazy jumping jack stuff,
Speaker 2: her intense out sessions. But then on November first, she said,
Speaker 2: feels amazing to be back on court, one step at
Speaker 2: a time. So November first, that's so she's going to
Speaker 2: have two months. That's enough. That's enough. That's enough. Two
Speaker 2: months is like we've talked about in previous podcasts, since
Speaker 2: it takes ninety days to change it, you know, a
Speaker 2: technique or maybe a thought process. I don't see who
Speaker 2: she's hitting with, so we'll see who, you know, ends
Speaker 2: up on her on her coaching bag for next year,
Speaker 2: because she's had a couple in the last year. But
Speaker 2: but yeah, it'll be interesting to see again just everything
Speaker 2: is her working out, so so we'll see. But I'll
Speaker 2: be interesting to see how she translates her tennis next year,
Speaker 2: because she certainly dropped off a lot last year. But
Speaker 2: interesting anyway, I just threw that name out.
Speaker 3: And I don't know why it's interesting. We hadn't really
Speaker 3: talked about it, so and just just the other people
Speaker 3: that I think we should keep an eye on, as
Speaker 3: Jess Pagoula. I think she really broke through a barrier
Speaker 3: with the final let the US Open, And I do
Speaker 3: think because I've played her many times, the Australian Open
Speaker 3: should be the best possible surface for her.
Speaker 2: I think Australian. I think New York too.
Speaker 3: I think the New York too, But Australia is even quicker,
Speaker 3: is even flatter. It's just a little especially the last
Speaker 3: few years, they made it more. How do you say,
Speaker 3: what's the opposite ladder? Flat? Yeah, just like smoother, smoother, smoother.
Speaker 3: So in her ball, I mean you've seen her head
Speaker 3: from court side her ball, it goes almost backwards bullet. Yeah,
Speaker 3: but backwards bullet. I don't know how to explain, Like
Speaker 3: if you know how spinball jumps, her ball jumps almost
Speaker 3: like a slice shot. But the quickstot Ever.
Speaker 2: She's the closest one to like playing when Lindsay Davenport
Speaker 2: played just the purity of her ball striking and mand
Speaker 2: A Nissa Mova similar, that's true, true, but Amanda hits
Speaker 2: her from a higher place because she's taller.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so actually similar ball, but much less pace on it.
Speaker 3: Angie Kerber because she had this weird technique and quite small,
Speaker 3: so her ball would also go so flat and down.
Speaker 3: So I think that she should feel very comfortable at
Speaker 3: the Austrian Open, especially if she has an injury free
Speaker 3: off season and is ready.
Speaker 2: And also you know, she practices, she spends most of
Speaker 2: her time in Florida. It's very hot. This conditions should
Speaker 2: not affect her, even though she's coming out of winter.
Speaker 2: It's still going to be a bit of a shock
Speaker 2: for her as well. But yeah, I think Jess, it
Speaker 2: will be interesting to see how she responds to coming
Speaker 2: so close at the US Open. So she knows she
Speaker 2: can make a final. She knows, you know, even in
Speaker 2: that US Open final how close she was, And I
Speaker 2: think it does make a difference when you get there,
Speaker 2: you know you can get there, So that's that part
Speaker 2: of her mentality is changed. We have to talk also
Speaker 2: about gin Win, because jin Win made the finals at
Speaker 2: this strain open last year, it was kind of like
Speaker 2: this wow moment, right, well, wow, like is this the
Speaker 2: next you know, big thing? And you know she struggled
Speaker 2: after that for a while, but then winning the Olympics
Speaker 2: and then having a great fall season as well. What
Speaker 2: do you think about her next year? Because talk about somebody,
Speaker 2: this is what I'd love about the girls at the top. Now,
Speaker 2: the women at the top, some people get so mad,
Speaker 2: I say, dan't call them girls. I'm like, I get
Speaker 2: over they're girls. But it's like, what do you mean.
Speaker 3: They're mostly are girls? Yeah, like seventeen year.
Speaker 2: Olds, Yeah, exactly of that, exactly when they're half my
Speaker 2: age or more to me, they're girls. But when you
Speaker 2: think about the women at the top, the sable Ancas,
Speaker 2: the Eggers, the chin Wins, Paulini, I guess sort of
Speaker 2: Cocoa goth, they really want it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: Like they really want to really, Like you would say,
Speaker 2: there's been players in the top five that you're like,
Speaker 2: do they really want it or they just really good?
Speaker 2: They're really good, But do they really want to suffer?
Speaker 2: Do they really want to feel the pain of losing?
Speaker 2: Like do they hate losing more than they like winning,
Speaker 2: and I would say argue that most of them do.
Speaker 2: I think Rebekina as the type of player that doesn't
Speaker 2: really I don't know how much she hurts when she loses,
Speaker 2: but she believes that she can be and she's put
Speaker 2: it out there. She wants to be number one in
Speaker 2: the world.
Speaker 3: Well and with Rebecca and I think she's just in
Speaker 3: general and emotionally. She says always, I have a big
Speaker 3: emotional in her life, but I think she in general
Speaker 3: just goes through her emotions in a less flashy manner
Speaker 3: than others. And I think we know these people, but.
Speaker 2: It Amanavara, she don't like she cares, Yeah exactly, we
Speaker 2: know she.
Speaker 3: Cares, Yeah exactly. That's it. But that's a good point.
Speaker 3: I think with Chin when what my prediction is she
Speaker 3: will have a phenomenal year twenty twenty five, I don't
Speaker 3: think she will be able to repeat Yeshane Open because
Speaker 3: it's the first time she has to defend a huge
Speaker 3: result and I think she will struggle with that. I
Speaker 3: think she's much better than most of the of the
Speaker 3: main jaw so she will definitely make the second week,
Speaker 3: but I don't think she will get as far as
Speaker 3: last year. And then she will have a phenomenal season.
Speaker 3: I think it's just an experience you have to go
Speaker 3: through one time, and I think she will and she
Speaker 3: will do well fourth round or quarters, but I don't
Speaker 3: think she will repeat it, that's my prediction. And then
Speaker 3: after that, I think she will end this season in
Speaker 3: the top five, top five. She's five now.
Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, she's five now what a great prediction.
Speaker 3: Yes, but I think she will like be a perennial
Speaker 3: top five, as steady top five with possibilities to be
Speaker 3: even it's tough because everyone is so good. I don't
Speaker 3: think she it's going to be to be tough to be.
Speaker 2: As I think that she absolutely with Para Riba as well.
Speaker 2: The thought process has to be for her to do
Speaker 2: well at the strainer open do well, but my god,
Speaker 2: like you know, whenever one's like, I mean, Ega is
Speaker 2: such a lock at the French But I gotta tell
Speaker 2: you chin Win can play on clay.
Speaker 3: Yeah, she just has to figure out her movement because
Speaker 3: sometimes and that's not always, and she trains in Barcelona.
Speaker 3: She will figure this out in like a hot second.
Speaker 3: Probably Sometimes she hits the ball and then slides and
Speaker 3: it costs you two three meters, right. You see that
Speaker 3: with Americans a lot, and she does it right most
Speaker 3: of the time, but she still sometimes has it once
Speaker 3: she gets that perfected. From now, let's say seventy five
Speaker 3: percent correct to ninety percent correct. She will be the
Speaker 3: biggest rival for Ega. She beat her at the Olympic Games. Yeah,
Speaker 3: on the Philip shatriecord. She will be the biggest rival
Speaker 3: in the French Open because theforehand is so fucking heavy.
Speaker 3: And it's a similar thing with IgA. You can't rush
Speaker 3: her on clay as well as you can on hard courts, right,
Speaker 3: because you can rush Hea on hard courts. We talked
Speaker 3: about it after the final against Arena Sabalenka. Arena kept
Speaker 3: serving that slice.
Speaker 2: Wife, she really wants it, like you can see it
Speaker 2: in her face. She ain't messing around, she ain't making friends,
Speaker 2: She's not shaking hands nicely. She's like, I want to
Speaker 2: beat you bitches, Like I don't care, I don't want
Speaker 2: to make friends with you. She said it, you can't press.
Speaker 2: I think the thing with her is that she has
Speaker 2: gained so much confidence about how good she is and
Speaker 2: can be. Like it's one thing when you think you
Speaker 2: have the capacity to maybe win a slam, or get
Speaker 2: to a final, or beat these top players and all
Speaker 2: that sort of. But it's another when you start actually
Speaker 2: having the result and you start beating, Like beating Ega
Speaker 2: in Paris on that court has to give her so
Speaker 2: much confidence thinking why not? Why not me win the
Speaker 2: French Open next year? But before we get to the
Speaker 2: French obviously she's gonna have to defend her finals to
Speaker 2: these straight open points, but she has to have a
Speaker 2: ton of confidence going in there. I think she's gonna
Speaker 2: make quarters at least, and then why not?
Speaker 1: Why not?
Speaker 3: Well, I agree with you. I think that she has
Speaker 3: now as have maybe all of the top five, or
Speaker 3: at least the Sablenkas, Fiontec's, the Goths and the chin
Speaker 3: wen Jangs Paulini. I'm not sure how it's going to
Speaker 3: be for her next one. Maybe we can talk about it.
Speaker 3: Just because of her physicality, it's not even the game
Speaker 3: to me. I think her game and the exuberance she has,
Speaker 3: the energy, I think it will take her long ways.
Speaker 3: It already has. I just don't know if she can
Speaker 3: keep making up for her physical or lack of physicality
Speaker 3: compared to the other big players that are pushing more
Speaker 3: and more. You know, that's the only thing. But we
Speaker 3: can talk about it just to fin on chin Wuan Jang.
Speaker 3: I do think that she has separated herself, as have
Speaker 3: the others of the top five from the rest of
Speaker 3: the pack. So even with a bad performance, I think
Speaker 3: she will win most of her matches. Whereas after the
Speaker 3: Australian Open. If you remember, she lost to oh my god,
Speaker 3: what's her name? She beat Zachary at the Australian Open
Speaker 3: in the first round last year, a small Armenian girl.
Speaker 3: She switched her citizenship.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, she went, oh god, I can't remember.
Speaker 3: Anyway, she beat Chin Wen at the French Open, Like,
Speaker 3: how is that possible?
Speaker 2: We need to produce it and look that up for us.
Speaker 3: Yes, I will look at a sorryer. No.
Speaker 2: I love that Jesse is telling us this. We're supposed
Speaker 2: to be the bloody tennis But although you are kind
Speaker 2: of obsessed, Okay, we're going to.
Speaker 3: Talk about Avanian.
Speaker 2: There we go. We figured out it's like it's like
Speaker 2: two words, one word, one syllable.
Speaker 3: Anyway, and I think those kind of losses will happen
Speaker 3: less and less to her because she lost to Son.
Speaker 3: I think at Wimbledon, yes, who had a great run,
Speaker 3: so it wasn't that bad of a lost looking back
Speaker 3: Newcomer of the Year WT exactly. But she lost her
Speaker 3: son at Wimbledon, and she lost to Avenisia and at
Speaker 3: the French Open, And I think those type of losses,
Speaker 3: I think she's improved too much to have those as
Speaker 3: frequently as she had last year. Because last year, if
Speaker 3: you look at it, four slams too good, too kind
Speaker 3: of for a top five player, not so good, right,
Speaker 3: And I think those things will in the past for
Speaker 3: junk Genuay.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that she is going to have a
Speaker 2: good year next year. I think that, you know, above everything,
Speaker 2: and I really believe this. You gotta want it. You
Speaker 2: gotta want it every week. You've got to want to
Speaker 2: win every match, and if you have that capability and
Speaker 2: that sort of mental fortitude, you will win a lot
Speaker 2: of matches that you might have lost prior. Because now
Speaker 2: she's going to really want to refuse to lose. You've
Speaker 2: got to refuse to lose if you want to be great,
Speaker 2: you want to be you can't be like, well, I
Speaker 2: doesn't feel like it today, you know, you know what
Speaker 2: it's like. But yeah, so I think she's going to
Speaker 2: have a great So.
Speaker 3: What do you think about Paulini? Do you think she
Speaker 3: can repeat, even repeat, because.
Speaker 2: A repeat like two Grand Slam finals.
Speaker 3: But repeat a top eight season. She's in the top yes, five,
Speaker 3: but can she be in the top I did? I
Speaker 3: think there would be an incredible success if she did,
Speaker 3: think I do.
Speaker 2: I think that she understands that she's probably got a
Speaker 2: window of about three or four years to really capitalize
Speaker 2: on her age, on her experience, and on how well
Speaker 2: she plays. You know, as you know, it gets harder
Speaker 2: when she get to the mid thirties. I mean, she's
Speaker 2: in an age what twenty eight now, and she's kind
Speaker 2: of for me, twenty eight is really starting to be
Speaker 2: the prime. Not to say that players can't be great
Speaker 2: at twenty clearly eager. Yeah, And when I mean all
Speaker 2: these players, Sabalanca, they're all done really well in their
Speaker 2: twenties early twenties. But I just think she asn't. She's
Speaker 2: a true all court player. You know, she can come
Speaker 2: to the net, she has good volleys, she's looking to
Speaker 2: move forward like all those things. And she doesn't have
Speaker 2: a weakness, Like there's not a weakness in her game.
Speaker 2: She really can hit every shot for.
Speaker 3: Her scept that she doesn't get free points on her search.
Speaker 2: She doesn't get free points in her serve. But for
Speaker 2: someone who's so small, her serve is.
Speaker 3: Great, no, incredible, It is late, no, no, she is
Speaker 3: incredible for what physicality she has.
Speaker 2: It's just pretty good free points. I would like to
Speaker 2: look up actually the stats that she has on first
Speaker 2: serve percentages for the year. That would be an interesting
Speaker 2: look for her. And her second serve is not overly attackable.
Speaker 2: I mean she it's a really nice kick serve. I
Speaker 2: think she just doesn't have a lot of weaknesses. So
Speaker 2: I think the only thing that's going to stop her
Speaker 2: is she plays against a player that maybe overpowers her slightly.
Speaker 2: But I see her doing great on clay. There's no
Speaker 2: surface that she can't play on. I think she's going
Speaker 2: to have I think she'll be in the top ten
Speaker 2: for sure throughout the entire year next year, even with
Speaker 2: the points that she.
Speaker 3: Has, Yeah, how will that go? What do you think?
Speaker 2: I think she's going to do very very well. I
Speaker 2: think she's a player that's going to be a perennial
Speaker 2: quarter finalist at Grand Slams all the time. And I
Speaker 2: think you know, and pushing through the semis and finals,
Speaker 2: and I think she can be anyone on any given day.
Speaker 2: You know, it's just how much do you hate to lose?
Speaker 2: And that's what's going to come down to how well
Speaker 2: she can played through the years.
Speaker 3: So here are the stats. And I think there will
Speaker 3: be a problem next year because I do think she
Speaker 3: went on energy and exuberants this year and if she
Speaker 3: just likes one percent of this, this will become a problem.
Speaker 3: She has eighty nine aces in the whole of season
Speaker 3: twenty twenty four hundred five double faults, so fifteen more
Speaker 3: double faults than aces. Okay, first serf in the court
Speaker 3: is sixty seven percent. Out of those sixty seven percent
Speaker 3: that she makes on average, she only wins sixty two
Speaker 3: percent of those first serves.
Speaker 2: And while we're.
Speaker 3: A top five player, I always obviously always, I know
Speaker 3: we always wants.
Speaker 2: To return return is did they have what she is
Speaker 2: ranked on serve and say, don't happen?
Speaker 3: That makes me so angry.
Speaker 2: You know, we have such great.
Speaker 3: Return points one she has forty five, so she's very
Speaker 3: good on second return Like when the opponents second serve,
Speaker 3: she's really good. She wins fifty five percent of those points.
Speaker 3: So she is an incredible and again, when we talk
Speaker 3: about just me and Paulini, I'm comparing her to IgA, Saballenka,
Speaker 3: Rebeckena Goth and Hinwin. These are the players I'm comparing
Speaker 3: her to her. That she is an incredible player and
Speaker 3: is maybe the most fun to watch without.
Speaker 2: Sorry, she's my favorite.
Speaker 3: Yeah comes without a saying, and I think again, I
Speaker 3: always have to say it every time, but it is
Speaker 3: something that I think is worth repeating. When we criticize players,
Speaker 3: we criticize them on the highest level possible. I'm not
Speaker 3: comparing just mean even to.
Speaker 2: Me what you're saying, Italy, please don't attack.
Speaker 3: No, they can attack me. I love just me and
Speaker 3: I've always talked right. I just think that there's might
Speaker 3: be a problem for her. She's just fantastic, exactly. There
Speaker 3: is nothing to say. And if I could sign a
Speaker 3: paper that gives me just me and Paulini in the
Speaker 3: top five at the end of twenty twenty five, I
Speaker 3: would sign it in this moment and give half of
Speaker 3: my sol away for this. This is how much I
Speaker 3: care about it.
Speaker 2: I think she's going to be top ten throughout the
Speaker 2: whole year. As I said, even with the two finals
Speaker 2: of the Slams, because I think she's going to be
Speaker 2: incredibly consistent all year. Because think about it, this year
Speaker 2: was her real first, real big year. The year before
Speaker 2: a little better right.
Speaker 3: Doing well finally and the end of the year she
Speaker 3: really came.
Speaker 2: In, really came on. But this year she really played well. Right,
Speaker 2: So think about how much confidence she would have gained
Speaker 2: from this whole experience of this year and winning Grand
Speaker 2: Slams in doubles and having the results that she's.
Speaker 3: Had and gold medal at the Olympius.
Speaker 2: She knows she can play against all these players on
Speaker 2: any given day, and she hits the crap out of
Speaker 2: the ball for someone so little, so like Dominique Sibelkova,
Speaker 2: I mean, just crack crash.
Speaker 3: And it always makes me angry. With Jess and with Paulini.
Speaker 3: Some people who comment on their games they see their
Speaker 3: size and not like, oh, they are solid players, they
Speaker 3: are pushers. I'm like, have you ever seen them play?
Speaker 2: God?
Speaker 3: Exactly?
Speaker 2: Collini and Pogola play.
Speaker 3: What is wrong with people? It makes me always angry.
Speaker 3: But this just comes to tell you that how the
Speaker 3: appearance comes, it often just sways people in their opinion
Speaker 3: but one thing that was really interesting that you said.
Speaker 3: You said, twenty eight has become the prime of tennis players.
Speaker 3: And there is a really interesting study in baseball which
Speaker 3: says that the actual biological peak performance is in explosive
Speaker 3: things like baseball, hitting the thing, pitching, hitting the thing
Speaker 3: the thing. I clearly don't know much about baseball is
Speaker 3: twenty three. So this is the peak performance a twenty people.
Speaker 2: But are the Mets for paying that much money for
Speaker 2: fe Well?
Speaker 3: Wait, the actual peak performance is around twenty eight because
Speaker 3: the experience gained in the five years prior not only
Speaker 3: makes up for the loss of explosiveness, but overpowers the
Speaker 3: loss of explosiveness after twenty eight. Sorry to say, things
Speaker 3: go backwards strongly, but interestingly in tennis it has gotten
Speaker 3: to the same level whereas it used to be twenty
Speaker 3: five twenty four. Right, my peak was, I would say
Speaker 3: between twenty.
Speaker 2: Twenty nine, where I started really feeling it.
Speaker 3: Also, it depends a little bit on your injuries, Right,
Speaker 3: I had a very bad injury in the beginning of
Speaker 3: so I think my I peaked a bit earlier and
Speaker 3: my body aged a bit earlier because of the compensation.
Speaker 3: I started having chronic pain in my knees when I
Speaker 3: was twenty eight because I had an acl with nineteen.
Speaker 3: But I think generally, as Angie, she played the best
Speaker 3: tennis between teny seven and thirty thirty one. So and
Speaker 3: you have many players that just mean Paulini, Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think. I think judsmine as well as is just
Speaker 2: a really true all core player, and I think it
Speaker 2: takes longer to develop that game Bashers. Yeah, so yeah,
Speaker 2: so I think she's gonna have a good year. What
Speaker 2: about Coco? What do we think the chances are? Listen,
Speaker 2: I would not have said this four months ago. I
Speaker 2: certainly wouldn't have said it the US Open, but I
Speaker 2: think she's absolutely equal footing as the favorite of the
Speaker 2: Train Open.
Speaker 3: We've talked about it briefly when before your computer went
Speaker 3: to shite. To me the second favorite for the Austrian Open,
Speaker 3: and just slightly behind Arena Sabalenka. I still view Arena
Speaker 3: Sabalanka as the best hardcore player, and I think she
Speaker 3: should be the favorite. I think with Rebecca now we
Speaker 3: don't know yet. Having a new coach sometimes takes a
Speaker 3: while before everything works out that you worked on. But
Speaker 3: for me, Arena Sabalenka is the favorite and just right
Speaker 3: behind her to me as Cocoa gov especially with what
Speaker 3: she showed in the last two months of the season
Speaker 3: and that grip change. To me, this is the most
Speaker 3: impressive thing to in the middle of the season, not
Speaker 3: only with the.
Speaker 2: Grip change, but also the serve, particularly the second serve.
Speaker 2: I want to see what she's developed on the second
Speaker 2: surf because for me, if she can get the second
Speaker 2: serve to a point where it's just very good, there's
Speaker 2: not a lot of losses. I mean, you think about it.
Speaker 2: You know, she lost a match to Sabolenka this year
Speaker 2: hitting twenty one double faults. Twenty one double faults and
Speaker 2: still almost won the match, So you know, this is
Speaker 2: a person that we know. Once she gets those little
Speaker 2: flaws under control, everything else is so good competitively, athletically,
Speaker 2: the backhand, she can get better with her volleys. There's
Speaker 2: a lot of things that she can prove on. So
Speaker 2: we're going to take a pause now, but yes, we'll
Speaker 2: be back.