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Speaker 1: The United Cup. We've been talking about it a lot

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Speaker 1: over the last week or so. It's in Perth from

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Speaker 1: December twenty nine to January third. Tickets are through ticket Tech.

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Speaker 1: The United Cup tournament director Stephen Farrow is joining us now.

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Speaker 2: Hello Steven, Hello, pleasure to be here. Thanks for having

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Speaker 2: me for coming.

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Speaker 3: So the United Cup. Who's coming to Perth.

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Speaker 4: For it is an unbelievable lineup in Perth. We're really

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Speaker 4: excited about the players we've got coming here, headlined by

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Speaker 4: Novak Djokovic with the Serbian team, twenty four time Grand

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Speaker 4: Slim champion, probably the greatest player ever to play the game.

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Speaker 2: So to have Novak kids amazing.

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Speaker 4: But we've also got the women's world number one Eagles

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Speaker 4: Filontech of Poland. We've got the defending champions from the

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Speaker 4: United States, Jess Pagula and Taylor Fritz, and we've got

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Speaker 4: the Australian team as well. I mean, there are so

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Speaker 4: many big names coming here. It's going to be an

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Speaker 4: absolutely thrilling week of tennis.

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Speaker 3: It is amazing.

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Speaker 1: I'm always amazed when you've got you know, the women's

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Speaker 1: number one, you've got Joker here at a time where

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Speaker 1: you could forgive them for perhaps wanting to be at home.

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Speaker 3: So it says a lot out the draw it it does.

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Speaker 4: I mean, ultimately, these players want to start competing at

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Speaker 4: the beginning of the year, the Australian Open coming up.

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Speaker 4: They want really high quality matches as soon as possible,

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Speaker 4: and the United Cup definitely provides that for them. But

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Speaker 4: this competition is also really special one for them because

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Speaker 4: they get to compete as part of a team and

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Speaker 4: to be able to compete with the men alongside the women.

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Speaker 4: I mean that's something that they wouldn't have done probably

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Speaker 4: since they were quite young before they hit the professional ranks.

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Speaker 4: And the players do love that, and they do love

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Speaker 4: to compete for their country, and they also do love

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Speaker 4: coming to Perth. I mean, obviously this city is the

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Speaker 4: has such a strong history of international bigs teams tennis

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Speaker 4: with the Hotman Cup, and there's a lot of players

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Speaker 4: who played that event who were really excited to come back.

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Speaker 2: Novak being one of them.

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Speaker 5: He wants a Quacker selfie, of course he does still

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Speaker 5: does the best that has come up in conversations of

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Speaker 5: all the Crocker selfies, his is still the best.

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Speaker 2: The Junker over there.

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Speaker 6: So it was going to the next tent. But I'll

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Speaker 6: tell you what, man, you talk about the players loving

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Speaker 6: and coming to Perth and loving their game. The fans

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Speaker 6: here are real tennis for Shionados, aren't they fans?

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Speaker 2: I persist, Of course they are.

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Speaker 4: And as I said, there's such a long legacy of

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Speaker 4: top level tenets here in this city and of top

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Speaker 4: players coming to play here. And the reaction that we've

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Speaker 4: had since we did the drawer and obviously everyone learned

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Speaker 4: who was going to come and play in the event

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Speaker 4: here has been really really positive.

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Speaker 2: I mean, the tickets are going really really well.

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Speaker 4: Starts at twenty dollars for kids, forty dollars for adults,

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Speaker 4: so it's a good price point as well to come

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Speaker 4: and see really have that opportunity to see some of

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Speaker 4: the greatest players who will ever play the game here

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Speaker 4: in Perth. So it's tremendously exciting.

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Speaker 3: Now.

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Speaker 1: One thing it's a bit different about this is the

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Speaker 1: way it's split over two cities. Can you explain that

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Speaker 1: the Perth Sydney split of the Yeah.

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Speaker 4: So we've got we've got eighteen teams, eighteen national teams.

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Speaker 4: There's nine in Sydney, there's nine in Perth, and they

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Speaker 4: playing three groups of three and then we have two

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Speaker 4: quarter finals in each city, which is the group winners

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Speaker 4: plus the next best team. So what that means is

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Speaker 4: that well here in Perth on the third of January,

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Speaker 4: we'll have the two quarter finals and the winners of

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Speaker 4: those quarter finals then go on to Sydney to play

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Speaker 4: in the semi finals in the final of the United Cup.

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Speaker 2: Very good mate.

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Speaker 6: This time next week we'll be sitting at the Broken

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Speaker 6: Hill Hotel in vic Park and giving away an incredible prize.

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Speaker 6: It's an eight person box at the quarterfinal of this

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Speaker 6: and we talk about all the trimmings. People will be

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Speaker 6: looked after and a beck stage. We'ld call it a

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Speaker 6: backstage tour. Let's be honest, be going behind the scenes

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Speaker 6: is just one of those things that money can't buy.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, I'm sure I'll be involved in that as well.

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Speaker 4: Very very excited to take who every Winter's competition ran,

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Speaker 4: to see where all the players go and everything that

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Speaker 4: goes on to put such a great event like this together.

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Speaker 4: And for those quarter finals, if you think about who

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Speaker 4: you might see in those quarter finals, you're going to

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Speaker 4: see one of Serbia or Poland, or you'll see the

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Speaker 4: Alex demonoor and lead the Australian team. I mean, there

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Speaker 4: are so many great teams. That is a it's a

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Speaker 4: great prize. I'm biased, but it's a great.

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Speaker 1: Tell us about the court side box itself. I mean

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Speaker 1: it is court side. It close enough you might get

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Speaker 1: hit in the head with the ball, yes, you would

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Speaker 1: need to watch out. Absolutely, it's the best view in

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Speaker 1: the house. Obviously, ra A c Arena is incredible.

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Speaker 4: I mean it's one of the ve best arenas in

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Speaker 4: the tree for tennis as well outside Melbourne with Rod

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Speaker 4: Laver Arena's right up there and the players love playing

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Speaker 4: there and it is wherever you sit, it's a great view.

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Speaker 2: But certainly in that box it's extremely special.

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Speaker 3: And it's got all the trimmers. You just sit there

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Speaker 3: and say more everything.

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Speaker 6: More food A right there only steps away from Wellington Street.

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Speaker 6: You've got that practice card or demo coll what if

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Speaker 6: you want to call it out there and it makes

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Speaker 6: you think about tennis all year around when you walk

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Speaker 6: or drive past it.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, it's really it's really cool and obviously it's great.

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Speaker 4: As you said, I mean it really sort of brings

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Speaker 4: the tennis out into the city. People coming by can

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Speaker 4: see the players warm up and practice and that court

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Speaker 4: has used a lot.

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Speaker 2: All the players who will end.

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Speaker 4: Up playing on the r C Arena will tend to

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Speaker 4: go there to hit a few balls, so you'll see

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Speaker 4: all the top players there as well.

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Speaker 2: So it's really good. That's a real festival, isn't it.

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Speaker 3: In a way?

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Speaker 1: Now I have to ask you this, Stephen, does Wa

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Speaker 1: based number one doubles player Storm Hunter have the tennis.

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Speaker 3: Name ever heard in your life? Storm Hunter?

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Speaker 4: She certainly did. I would be extremely court against Storm.

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Speaker 4: Storm has had an unbelievable year. I think everyone involved

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Speaker 4: with Australians and it should be extremely proud of what

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Speaker 4: she has achieved to end the year. Is the world

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Speaker 4: doubles number one is some magnificent achievement and how cool

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Speaker 4: is it to have in the Australian team not just

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Speaker 4: Storms as the doubles women's doubles number one world Matt

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Speaker 4: Ebden as well is another Perth Yeah. Absolutely, guy again,

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Speaker 4: I mean what is it? He's number four in the world.

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Speaker 4: He's a former Grand Slam championship. So to have two

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Speaker 4: Perth locals in the Australian team and playing at that level,

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Speaker 4: it's really really cool.

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Speaker 2: It's going to be great to have those guys here as.

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Speaker 6: Well, have Storm Hunter and Title Hunter. She's either a gladiator, yeah,

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Speaker 6: or she's a wrestling or it's part of a show

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Speaker 6: on the Discovery Channel. Yeah, absolute star. This is very exciting,

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Speaker 6: not just for perfect I would imagine you guys and

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Speaker 6: you had some stuff. What happens at the State Tennisee

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Speaker 6: and the opposite of the stadium is that for practice

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Speaker 6: as well over there.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, it's where we do the practice for all the players,

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Speaker 4: and so we're busy setting that up already. Players will

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Speaker 4: be arriving around Christmas time to get ready to go

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Speaker 4: underwear in the twenty.

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Speaker 2: Ninth to December.

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Speaker 4: There's obviously a lot that goes on involved behind the

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Speaker 4: scenes and to put an event like this on, and

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Speaker 4: particularly when we're operating across two cities a long way

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Speaker 4: apart from each other as well, to try and make

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Speaker 4: that experience as special as possible. So the work goes

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Speaker 4: on all year round, but yeah, we're looking to create

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Speaker 4: a special atmosphere everywhere the players will be during that time.

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Speaker 1: Well, as we said, it's a real festival of tennis.

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Speaker 1: The United Cup from December twenty nine to January three

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Speaker 1: tickets through tic Tech. Stephen Farrow, thank you so much

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Speaker 1: for joining us and we really look forward to giving

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Speaker 1: this great prize away.

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Speaker 2: Thank you very much,