WEBVTT - A Star Is Born in DC 0:00:14.000 --> 0:00:16.520 Well, hi everybody, and welcome to the Renee Stubs Tennis Podcast. 0:00:16.600 --> 0:00:19.320 I'm a day late, but better to be late than never, 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:24.479 so they say, clearly, I'm late because Washington finished late 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:27.920 and I was working down in Washington. As I'm sure 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:30.400 some of you had seen, I was doing postmatch interviews 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:34.160 and I really enjoy my time down in Washington. Mark 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:37.000 Iin puts on an incredible tournament there and gets just 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:41.120 an amazing field every single year, and it was no 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:43.120 different this year. We had the likes of you know, 0:00:43.240 --> 0:00:49.040 Naomi Osaka and Jessica Bogula, Taylor, Fritz, Ben Shelton, Rafael Hoda, 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:53.760 Alex de Minor. The list was just very long, very extensive, 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:56.440 and we had a lot of upsets. We had various 0:00:56.440 --> 0:00:59.480 different winners and losers through the week. It's always interesting 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:02.480 to see how people adapt to their hard court, the 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:05.200 very different balls to what you get at Wimbledon. Wimbledon 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:09.640 bawls tend to be heavier, conditions are a lot different. 0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:12.240 Although it was very hot in Wembledon this year, I 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:15.120 have to say so players not exactly coming to the 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:16.800 US going oh my god, I'm not used to this 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:20.360 heat yet. Because the heat in Wembledon was pretty extraordinary, 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:25.440 but Washington notoriously hot, and it wasn't any different this 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:28.800 particular last week, although it was slightly cooler than it 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:30.760 has been in the year's past, as I've done that 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:33.119 tournament many times through the years, but. 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:34.600 Some incredible results. 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:37.920 And I'm going to get to the biggest story, probably 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:41.520 certainly on the women's side, with alex Iala. 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:43.440 Winning the tournament in Washington, her first. 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:46.559 Victory at the five hundred level on the WTA tour, 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:48.280 but we'll get to that in a minute. I want 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:51.640 to sort of start with the men this particular week 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:54.559 because I was also very happy to see Taylor Fritz 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:55.960 getting a win down in Washington. 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:58.880 He has supported that tournament for years and years and years. 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:02.320 He's lost some really tough matches through the years, and 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:06.080 you know, with his difficulties over the last let's say 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:08.040 twelve months, because it really was about this time last 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:10.800 year that he started struggling somewhat with the knee. He 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:15.400 comes through some really tough matches, terrific final against Hoda, 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:19.480 back to back wins, no knee problems. We were a 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:23.079 little bit worried, I believe in the semifinals he called 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:23.839 the trainer. 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:26.160 Out, but you know, he's expressed to me in the 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:28.359 post match interview that it was actually his other knee. 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:32.400 He was having no problems in that terrific quarterfinal match 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:36.160 when he played against Alex Mickelson seven to six and 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:39.360 the third Mickelson has a winning record over Taylor Fritz, 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:41.400 So for Taylor to get through that match in the 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:43.560 quarter finals I think was a huge hurdle for him. 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:46.040 He has struggled this year, as I already mentioned, with 0:02:46.120 --> 0:02:49.240 the injury to the knee, and he's lost in a 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:52.920 bunch of finals. So I'm sure and I know that 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:56.200 he was very happy to finally get a tournament victory 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:58.560 under his belt because it has been a while so 0:02:58.960 --> 0:03:01.040 for him to get it in Washington where he supported 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:02.920 that tournament. As I said, he's lost some really tough 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:05.639 matches through the years. To see him get through that 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:08.639 particular match against Alex Michelson seven six and the third 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:11.480 eight six, in the third set tiebreak, I was sitting courtside. 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:16.079 It was just absolutely topsy turvy ups and downs, and 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:20.600 it was terrific tennis from Alex and Taylor. Probably the 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:23.120 match of the tournament, although there were some credible matches 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:27.320 throughout this tournament. Raffael Holdah beating Lorenzo Massetti in the 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:31.320 quarterfinals in an incredible three set match played on John 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:33.400 Harris Court, which is the second court at Wimbledon. And 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:35.360 if you go to Washington this so I'm like, if 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:37.760 you don't want to play the prices at the US Open, 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:39.960 or you don't want to fly to Cincinnati and you're 0:03:40.000 --> 0:03:42.040 in the Tri State area, oh my god, get on 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:44.440 the exceler get on the train, get down to Washington. 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:47.120 There is a second court there that had a match 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:51.440 like Rafa Hodda and Lorenzo Messetti, which is frankly, it 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:53.280 was a quarterfinal in DC, which could have been a 0:03:53.280 --> 0:03:55.600 final and could be a final at the US Open 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:58.640 or a semi final even at the US Open, and 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:01.040 you got to see them on John Harris which is 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:04.320 I believe a grounds passed at Washington. So just a 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.240 believable amount of people that went to this tournament. But 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:10.760 Hoda got the win six to four and the third 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:14.200 in the quarters over Marsetti. And then Ben Shelton's match 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:19.640 against Alejandro Tabilo was amazing. I sat courtside for that match. 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:22.159 Ben really should have won that match. He was up 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:24.640 a break twice. He's just got to get better at 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:28.159 managing those moments after he breaks. The first point of 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:30.160 every game on his serve is so important, and I 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:32.320 believe every time he broke, he lost the first point 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:34.000 of the next game on his serve, and then he 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:37.480 ended up losing the match. So pretty disappointing because the 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:42.440 crowds were just unreal in Washington every single day, particularly 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:44.520 at night where it's a lot cooler and so well, 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:46.520 not cooler, but certainly he doesn't have the sun beating 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:49.320 down on you. But that match in particular was just unbelievable, 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:52.960 the amount of great tennis. They were just ripping the ball. 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:56.280 I have such respect for these players when I sit 0:04:56.360 --> 0:04:58.919 courtside and I watched these matches, and I watched the 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:02.160 Michaelson against three and the Tabilo against Shelton, and you know, 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:05.400 Brandon Nakashima taking out the defending champion Alex di Minor 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:08.279 in the quarters. I mean, just an incredibly stacked tournament. 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:12.280 And in the final, we saw, of course the win 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:14.200 for Taylor Fritz and as I said, he's lost a 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:15.960 lot of finals this year, so to see him get 0:05:15.960 --> 0:05:19.919 through that match in straight sets against Hoda, who is 0:05:20.000 --> 0:05:24.440 now ranked fifteen in the world, and this time last year, 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:27.880 I believe he was probably around five hundred or something 0:05:27.920 --> 0:05:29.600 like that. Like a year and a half ago, he 0:05:29.640 --> 0:05:33.520 was playing college tennis not far away from Washington in 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:36.919 the University of Virginia. For him to be fifteen in 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:39.440 the world right now, let me tell you, I have 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:42.080 watched him play a lot, but I haven't watched him 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:45.320 courtside the way I did in this last week. And 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:48.359 I have to say he is a real threat to 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:51.760 the top two players in the world in Alcarez and Sinner. 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:55.000 I do believe that he has the game eventually. I 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:56.719 think it's going to be a year or two. I 0:05:56.720 --> 0:05:59.400 think his improvement in the last twelve months is out. 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:04.000 And if you were listening to Taylor Fritz's talk after 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:08.240 the match at the trophy presentation, he said, basically, I'm 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:12.000 glad I got this now while you're still young, because 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:16.080 some of the mistakes and things that really didn't go 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:18.640 his way in the final were for me, just a 0:06:18.720 --> 0:06:20.719 little bit of lack of experience. 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:22.719 In those matches. Taylor Fritz has obviously. 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:25.120 Won many many tournaments, including a Master's one thousand and 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:28.120 INNI and Wells over the old Ruffer, the Ruffi il Nadal. 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.000 But you could just see the experience come to the 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:34.719 four in the final, particularly on some big points. But 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:36.880 it was great to see Taylor back in the Winter circle. 0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:38.640 I think he's going to be a real threat as 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:41.000 long as the knee doesn't continue to be a problem 0:06:41.000 --> 0:06:43.240 for him going forward. I was a little concerned that 0:06:43.320 --> 0:06:45.200 he did say in the post match interviews. And the 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:47.240 one thing about Taylor is he gives you so much 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:50.520 information when you interview him. He is an open book. 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:53.800 He is a complete tennis nerd. He watches tennis. He 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:56.320 talks about tennis all the time. I was told even 0:06:56.320 --> 0:06:58.719 in the locker room after matches Winna lose, he breaks 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:01.920 down the match completely with his coach and Michael Russell. 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:05.320 And he's a student of the game and we saw 0:07:05.320 --> 0:07:07.400 that in the final. He just kind of picked the 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:10.760 right times to play the right shots. Having said that, 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:13.640 and I'll keep saying it till he wins a Grand Slam, 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:18.000 I just think his movement forward is so very important 0:07:18.000 --> 0:07:19.760 if he wants to take the net step, which is 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:22.320 to win a major title. Now I am worried about 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:25.960 the knee, but that aside, if the knee stays good, 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:28.080 how is Taylor Fritz going to win a major title 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:31.000 over someone like Carlos al Karez and Yanick Sinner and 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:35.360 frankly even Novak Djokovic. He has to improve his netplay. 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:39.280 He has to improve his ability to move forward. And 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:41.560 I'll give you a reason why. There's a couple of times, 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:44.480 even in the final against Hoda, where he had him 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:47.720 on the complete run, he'd a massive forehand. Hodda is 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:50.280 definitely going to play a defensive shot back, meaning a 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:54.120 floater of some description, and a Janik Sinner, Carlos al 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:58.680 Karez or a Novak Djokovic, we'll see that and go 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:00.800 into the net and finish the point with a volley. 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:04.160 And Taylor does not do that. He lets the ball float. 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:05.280 It comes back. 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:08.200 Now he gets away with it a lot against the Hodah, 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:10.840 for example, it doesn't have the experience at the moment. 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:12.800 He lets the ball bounce and then he has to 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:14.840 hit two or three more huge four hands. Now he 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:18.160 often wins the points because he does hit the ball 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:20.720 so well from the back of the court, But the 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:24.080 amount of extra miles he's doing all the time when 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:26.600 he plays matches, it's too much, and if he's having 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:30.080 knee problems, finishing those points makes a big difference. 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:30.800 You know. 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:33.520 Look, I can say this because Taylor Fritz does everything 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:35.079 better than me on the ten score, but I can 0:08:35.080 --> 0:08:36.840 tell you one thing I do better than him is volley. 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:40.360 So he hit a really ugly forehand volly, but he 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:42.760 won the point. And I'm thinking to myself, if you 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:47.400 could just get marginally better with your ability to volley, 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:51.199 you could win these matches or certainly the points quicker, 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:54.400 and you could certainly beat some of these players. But 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:56.480 a Sinner and an Outcaaz will go in and finish 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:58.960 those points at the net. And that is a differentiator 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:02.480 between Taylor Fritz winning a Grand Slam and not. And 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:05.760 I will say that until I'm blue in the face. 0:09:05.920 --> 0:09:08.120 And there are certain things that I truly believe in, 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:10.000 and that is one of those things. If you have 0:09:10.120 --> 0:09:13.000 the weapons, you have the weapons, but so do Sinner 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:15.000 and so does Alkirez. You have to be able to 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:18.000 differentiate yourself somehow, and that's what those two guys do. 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:21.040 They have everything, but they also have the volleys and 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:23.440 they are able to finish points at the net. And 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:24.880 if you go back and watch some of the biggest 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:26.319 matches between Alcorrez and Sinner. 0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:27.560 That's how they're beating people. 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:30.240 And so for Taylor, I'm so happy that he won 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:32.840 this tournament because he deserves it. He's given everything he 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:35.320 can to that tournament. He's had a tough year with injuries. 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:38.360 He's lost a lot of finals in over the last 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:40.440 couple of months. So to see him finally get a victory. 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:44.680 But if there's one area, Taylor, I know your coaches 0:09:44.720 --> 0:09:47.480 are probably pushing you to do this, trust me, do it. 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:50.280 Get them better. If you can volley a little bit better. 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:51.600 You're going to win a lot more of the matches 0:09:51.640 --> 0:09:54.360 against the top guys to win a major title. But 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:57.520 it was great. Rafael Hodah is now fifteen in the world. 0:09:57.760 --> 0:10:01.319 The improvement in his ranking over one year is extraordinary. 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:02.880 I do believe he's going to be knocking on the 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:05.640 door to win major titles. I think he can push 0:10:05.760 --> 0:10:08.120 these guys. He is not afraid to come into the net. 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:10.360 He will learn to play these matches a little bit better. 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:12.920 He will learn to deal with the final, he will 0:10:12.960 --> 0:10:14.720 learn to deal with the crowds and all this sort 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:16.840 of stuff. And there's five matches in a row and 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:18.720 then potentially seven to win a major title. 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:22.040 But it was just great. It was great to see 0:10:22.360 --> 0:10:23.320 both of them in the final. 0:10:23.400 --> 0:10:25.520 It was interesting to watch and see who was going 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:28.120 to win that match, and Taylor just came out on top. 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:31.079 So that was, you know, really really really great to see. 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:35.760 On another note, I mean, to watch, you know, a 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:39.640 young player come through qualifying and win in Memphis was 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:44.600 pretty extraordinary as well. And you know, to see a 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:48.720 new tournament in Memphis come back boy a boy, very 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:52.800 hot conditions, very very hot conditions. And so to get 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:56.959 through the amount of matches that someone has to get 0:10:57.000 --> 0:11:03.200 through to win a tournament from qualifying. Not Emma Ratikanu, 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:06.600 we're not talking about her, but a young player who's 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:11.000 not only won the tournament sixteen years of age, Christina 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:15.800 Lutova sixteen and just turn sixteen, well not just turned, 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:18.520 but she turned sixteen in February of this year, so 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:22.400 not that much into her sixteenth year or seventeenth year, 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:23.440 depending on how you look at it. 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:27.040 Unbelievable. I mean, that is really truly amazing. 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:28.559 So if there's a young player that you want to 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.240 go watch in the next few weeks, the pressure is 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:32.880 now going to be on her, because the eyeballs are 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:34.640 going to be on her, and this is when you 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:37.520 learn what makes a player is how they handle the 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:42.640 pressure now of expectation, and Christina Utovah is going to 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:45.760 obviously have that pressure on her now as a sixteen 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:47.760 year old with a lot of expectation on her shoulder. 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:51.360 But to have already won a WTA two fifty is 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:54.240 pretty extraordinary. So I want to give kudos to Taylor. 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:56.679 I want to give kudos to Christina. What an amazing 0:11:57.000 --> 0:12:00.000 week for the both of them, and so huge props. 0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:01.400 All right, guys, we're going to get to the. 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:03.280 Women's because I know you all want to talk about 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:06.240 alex Iyala, as do I because there was a lot 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:10.240 of stuff coming my way on the old intranet over 0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:13.160 the last week about some comments I made about her 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:15.120 particular serve. So we're going to get to that UF 0:12:15.160 --> 0:12:32.200 and break all right, everybody, Well, let's get into the 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:37.800 women's event in Washington, which of course was also absolutely stacked. 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:41.679 What a great tournament for all the players. Players love 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:44.800 coming here, they love playing the tournament, they love the atmosphere. 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:46.520 Those crowds are unbelievable. 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:48.240 And may I add, because I know that there were 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:52.520 listeners of my podcast that were in Washington, and they 0:12:52.559 --> 0:12:54.720 do come up to me and thank you so much 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:57.120 for all the love and all the support for not 0:12:57.200 --> 0:13:01.400 only me but for the podcast. But you guys, seriously, 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:06.600 Washington props, you guys are amazing. The crowds there are 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:11.079 just next level. They are incredible. They're incredible, he's supportive, 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:14.680 they have to sit through very hot weather, they stayed late, 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.320 and unfortunately on Sunday we had a lot of rain. 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:19.880 I'm going to get to that in our questions because 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:22.320 somebody some people wrote in and asked me about that. 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:24.520 But you know, we had the likes of Fitzelina, we 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.719 have Pergula, we have Osaka, we have you know, Samsonova 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:31.079 and all these different players that had just great tournaments, 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:35.120 but nothing compares to what we saw with alex Iala. 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:42.120 The support she gets from her fans is unbelievable. I mean, 0:13:42.280 --> 0:13:46.200 I have never in my thirty years of playing on 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:49.959 tour experienced a player with this much support, honestly, I mean, 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:54.240 other than obviously the greats like Serena and you know, 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.280 you know, even our karez now or Roger and Rafa 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:01.600 and you know, the great Novac and all these players. 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:04.199 I've never seen a player that is because of the 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.280 country she's from, gets a support she does around the world. 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:08.439 It's unbelievable. 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:13.719 And the way she played against Osaka to Spit to 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:19.840 Lena to Pagoula was amazing, and there were some definitely 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:24.280 struggles for Pagoula in the final. She looked pretty comfortable 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:27.360 in the final on Sunday, upper set on serve in 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:29.080 the second set, two one, and then when they came 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:31.400 back the next day just just didn't have it. She 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:34.200 was complaining about a racket string. She kept tapping them 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:36.400 on her hand, and when I see that, when someone 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:38.880 like Jess plays, that's a little bit of a worry 0:14:38.960 --> 0:14:40.120 because she's such. 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:41.400 A kinetic player. 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:43.640 She likes the ball to feel good on her racket 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:45.640 strings because she doesn't have a lot of spin, so 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:48.360 if it feels a bit off, she doesn't play well 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:52.240 because she doesn't trust her shot making. Whereas alex Eyala 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:55.440 came back on Monday, and boy oh boy, was sheer 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:59.640 different player. She was head down, fully focused and to 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.920 win the at third set six love pretty extraordinary. I 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:05.840 think Jess packed bags once she got down to Love. 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:08.240 She wasn't hitting the ball well, She's making a lot 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:12.000 of unforcederers, and Iala was playing unbelievable and I just 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:14.400 think with the crowd. I don't know if you've felt this, guys, 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:17.120 but to be in the United States, to be an 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:20.360 American player, and to feel like you're playing in Manila 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:24.720 is what Jesspergula felt because on Monday, everyone on Sunday 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:27.200 was allowed to come and watch the match on Monday, 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:29.400 and everyone's like, is anyone going to come and watch 0:15:29.400 --> 0:15:29.920 on Monday? 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:31.360 And I was like, are you joking? 0:15:31.920 --> 0:15:35.880 Alexeiyala is going to bring several thousands of people to 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:38.040 watch on Monday because they want to see her, because 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:40.120 she's as big as you get when it comes to 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:44.120 an athlete from the Philippines. And sure enough, we turned 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:47.280 up on Monday and it was absolutely packed on the 0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:50.840 bottom bowl of the courts, and even people up in 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:54.360 the in the upper section of the drawer, which was outstanding, 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:56.320 especially in the middle of the day, not at night. 0:15:56.920 --> 0:15:59.560 In the middle of the day, at noon, we had 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:03.400 virtually a packed crowd and that was all because of 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:07.440 alex Eyala. It must have felt so difficult for Jesspagoula 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:09.600 to walk on that court and feel like you're not 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:13.120 playing in your country. That's how popular alex Eyala is. 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:17.640 And Alexiyala uses that to her benefit. She does not 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:22.000 shy away from the obvious pressure on her shoulders. She 0:16:22.040 --> 0:16:24.520 steps on the court and she takes that and she 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:27.960 uses it. And jess Bergoula looked like she wanted to 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:30.720 get the hell out of there at like three Loves. 0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:32.360 She was like, I'm good, I'm out of here. I've 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:33.480 had enough. And it's a lot. 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:35.440 And for those people that are like I don't understand 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:38.520 that mentality, it's hard. It's hard to play against a 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:40.800 player that has that much support. We saw it the 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:45.880 previous year when Naomi Osaka played against Vicki Mboco. I 0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:50.440 mean Naomi Osaka didn't deal with playing against Yala well either, 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:53.160 because the crowd support was very much on Eyala side. 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:55.360 So when you go and play against Alexiyala, you have 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:57.160 to walk on the court knowing you are going to 0:16:57.160 --> 0:17:00.240 have eighty percent probably of the crowd against you. She 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:05.159 is so popular and it's great for our sport, but 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:08.159 it's also something that these players are going to have 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:11.480 to start dealing with because she is only getting better 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:15.480 and she is only getting bigger, and so going forward, 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:18.119 that is one player that not a lot of players 0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:19.960 are going to want to play against based on the 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:21.400 fact that they're going to have to deal with the. 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:22.320 Crowd as well. 0:17:22.520 --> 0:17:27.800 And so her tennis it's improving all the time. I, 0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:30.760 of course, have received a little bit of stick, as 0:17:30.800 --> 0:17:33.199 they say, on the socials, because I had mentioned on 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:34.920 the pot a couple of weeks ago when somebody asked 0:17:34.960 --> 0:17:37.959 me a question about who I felt would be the 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:41.359 next player that could possibly win a Grand Slam. It's 0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:45.280 of the younger type, and Iala was mentioned in that, 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:48.240 and I said that I thought Vicki Emboco was the 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:51.480 player that I felt was a player that probably would 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:56.240 win more or win before someone like an alex Yala, 0:17:56.280 --> 0:17:58.280 for example. And one of the reasons I said that 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:01.359 is because I felt like her weapons and her confidence 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:04.240 and the fact that she's won a WTA one thousand 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:06.600 and the players that she beat to win that tournament 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:10.119 was outstanding. And I've also gotten to know Vicky a 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.720 little when she played with Serena and Queens, and the 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:15.280 quiet confidence that she has in herself and her game 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:17.240 was evident, and it's one of the reasons why I 0:18:17.320 --> 0:18:20.439 chose her, and I still believe that now having said that, 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:23.920 and having said that, I thought that my quotes were 0:18:24.359 --> 0:18:28.480 that I didn't think Alexeiyala could ever win a slam 0:18:28.520 --> 0:18:31.760 serving the way she does now observing her in Washington, 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:36.320 I have to say, I don't think it matters because 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:40.359 these players do not handle her lefty serve very well 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:44.159 at all. Now, when I think about Angie Kerber, for example, 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:47.320 who also had a very slow second serve, if you're 0:18:47.359 --> 0:18:49.200 not adapting to that and getting your feet out of 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:51.040 the way and playing the right shot off their return, 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:55.400 someone like Angie Kerber and Alexiyala takes that next boor 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:57.960 very early and they do not give up the baseline. 0:18:58.320 --> 0:19:01.000 So Alexiyala is probably the closest player I've seen to 0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:04.720 Angie Kerber in a long time. Lefty not a great 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:09.439 second serve, decent first serve, pretty good and catches players 0:19:09.440 --> 0:19:11.320 off guard because they don't really know what to cover 0:19:11.640 --> 0:19:14.680 or what way she likes to go. But one thing 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:16.800 that I did notice, when you're serving sixty mile in 0:19:16.880 --> 0:19:19.680 our second serves and it's a lefty and you don't 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:21.800 like that spin because it's a spin, you don't see 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:23.600 very often on the tour because there's not a lot 0:19:23.600 --> 0:19:25.840 of left handed players. You have to be able to 0:19:25.880 --> 0:19:27.760 handle that shot, and you have to be able to 0:19:27.760 --> 0:19:29.359 get it into a position on the court where you 0:19:29.400 --> 0:19:32.200 control the point. Now, one of the reasons why I 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:35.200 talked about Yala not being able to win a Grand 0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:39.320 Slam serving like that is because later stages of tournaments, 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:41.880 for example, at the Major's, you're going to play against 0:19:42.080 --> 0:19:45.160 a Sablenka, You're going to play against the Rabarkina, You're 0:19:45.200 --> 0:19:48.040 going to play against the Linda Noskova. Now you are 0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:51.080 going to play against a mirror Andreva or an eager 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:55.760 shon Tech. Now, Iyala has beaten Santech, she has beaten Pagula, 0:19:56.320 --> 0:19:58.080 She's beaten a lot of very good players. She beat 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:02.080 Naomi Osaka, but Omiasaka did not handle that second serve 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:05.080 well at all. When you look at the stats from 0:20:05.119 --> 0:20:08.800 that match, it was horrendous. How I was going to 0:20:08.840 --> 0:20:12.080 say how she played that second serve, but mostly how 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:15.480 bad her stats were in that particular match. It was 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:19.520 unbelievable when I looked at it and I thought, she's 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:23.040 only winning like ten percent on second serves or something 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:26.120