Speaker 1: Hi everyone, and welcome to the tennis sits ap us
Speaker 1: hits form with a title in Dubai, thirteen nousies lining
Speaker 1: up in the main draw of Indian Wells, though curious
Speaker 1: under an injury cloud, and Djokovic and Alcarez on track
Speaker 1: for another quarter final showdown. That's all ahead on the
Speaker 1: Tennis with Me John hoovenas for the last time in
Speaker 1: a little while. More news on that in the end
Speaker 1: of the show. But back with me is the Queen
Speaker 1: of the smallest screen, Briece Stewart. Welcome back from you leave.
Speaker 2: Thank you, good to be How was it It was amazing. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I just had some life, which was it was always
Speaker 2: good to have some line.
Speaker 1: It's great to have some life, and we love people
Speaker 1: who have a little bit of life on the pody,
Speaker 1: just like the mathemagician Levi Huddleston. Welcome Levi.
Speaker 3: Thanks for having me. I don't know if I deserve
Speaker 3: that title, but let's see.
Speaker 1: It's going to stick. And of course Australian Davis Cup
Speaker 1: rep one one three, the man with the one one
Speaker 1: three and brought it into his golden shirt. Luke Saville,
Speaker 1: Welcome back.
Speaker 4: Luke, Thanks Johnny and fresh coach for the tour.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and like just on that. I know it's part
Speaker 1: of your what's caught your eye, But what a week
Speaker 1: Dasha has had. Just give us the top line view
Speaker 1: of what she's had to cope with over the last
Speaker 1: thirty six forty eight hours.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I think everyone saw the qualifying into
Speaker 4: semi final in Marida, so definitely timely for Dasha there
Speaker 4: and a very very difficult travel. I'm not gonna say
Speaker 4: day because it went through the night into the next
Speaker 4: morning to Indian Wells. But yeah, had the cancelation. First
Speaker 4: flight in Marida, had to be re routed through Mexico.
Speaker 4: Was on the plane for just a quick stopover and
Speaker 4: the flight went past ten pm and there's a curfew
Speaker 4: at the airport, so they had to cancel that flight.
Speaker 4: She stayed through the night, flew the next morning probably
Speaker 4: on two to three hours sleep, had to drive the
Speaker 4: next morning from Tijuana to Indian Wells, had to play
Speaker 4: that evening and won. So one of the most impressive
Speaker 4: performances I've witnessed.
Speaker 5: Yeah, amazing.
Speaker 2: When I saw her Instagram post, I was like, oh
Speaker 2: my god. And then the win, I was like, she's good.
Speaker 1: So you spoke to her probably before the match and
Speaker 1: after the match. Just gives the insight into her emotional
Speaker 1: state at both ends.
Speaker 4: There were tears during the during the delay, during the
Speaker 4: whole sort of travel experience. I felt terrible for her,
Speaker 4: but thank God Michael Lagaza, her coach, was there with
Speaker 4: her and sort of steadying the ship and trying to
Speaker 4: keep her emotions in tap. But just so much respect
Speaker 4: and admiration for her to get off, and I was
Speaker 4: just sort of worried about injury, to be honest, just
Speaker 4: on that minimal amount of sleep to go out and
Speaker 4: play at such a high level, lost the first set
Speaker 4: and then came back and won in close to three
Speaker 4: hours when she was already sore after playing six high
Speaker 4: level matches in Marita. So with the one day rest
Speaker 4: and you could barely call it rest after that travel day.
Speaker 4: So just sort of shows the character and competitors is
Speaker 4: obviously I'm a little biased, but an amazing effort.
Speaker 1: I like it. I like it when you know husband's
Speaker 1: come on the show and give a rap to their wives.
Speaker 1: You're the only one that we have. So more on
Speaker 1: Dasher and the other Aussi's plights in Indian wells as
Speaker 1: the show progresses, but let's stay with you. What else
Speaker 1: caught your eye in the past week of tennis.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so's it's Dasher's run to the semis of Marita
Speaker 4: and fantastic timing for her after a bit of a
Speaker 4: tough stretch in the Middle East. Also Eler after a
Speaker 4: bit of a break with that injury after the Aussie Open,
Speaker 4: and fantastic to see her making the semi finals in Austin.
Speaker 4: So just sort of the two veterans in the Australian
Speaker 4: females just sort of showing some of those younger ones
Speaker 4: they ride on their tail and I think you know,
Speaker 4: that's four Australian women in the top one hundred now,
Speaker 4: so fantastic to see. And then at the futures level
Speaker 4: here in Australia, Jason Kobler winning back to back futures
Speaker 4: down there in Tasmania and for me Jason Ira were
Speaker 4: great mates and he's a top hundred player in my opinion,
Speaker 4: and great to see him back in early stages of
Speaker 4: his comeback. Had a lot of injuries in his career,
Speaker 4: especially those knees, so I'm just hoping he can have
Speaker 4: a stretch of sort of injury free tennis and in
Speaker 4: my opinion he can get back inside the top hundred.
Speaker 1: Congrats to Coobler, winning, Bernie and Loncesten. All Right, Bree,
Speaker 1: what's caught your eye? Because you've had two weeks off,
Speaker 1: you can sort of disconnect from your emails and potentially
Speaker 1: a lot of other things that you have to tend to.
Speaker 1: Is your role at Tennis Australia. But what have you
Speaker 1: been watching?
Speaker 2: I have still been staying in touch with tennis because
Speaker 2: I now quite well. I've always liked it, but I
Speaker 2: like it even more now that I'm here. But I
Speaker 2: did get my eye caught by the oscars and the
Speaker 2: fact that we had some tennis players there. So we
Speaker 2: had Cocoa Gough who walked the red carpet. She was
Speaker 2: wearing moumo.
Speaker 6: I think that's how you say it, you me and mew.
Speaker 5: I don't know.
Speaker 6: I thought someone classy.
Speaker 2: I might know, but I'm sure plenty of our listeners
Speaker 2: will let me know how I got that wrong.
Speaker 5: A designer, it's a designer.
Speaker 2: And she met Samuel L. Jackson and will Be Goldberg
Speaker 2: and then also she was joined by Sablenca and Serena
Speaker 2: Williams at the after party, and so for me, it's
Speaker 2: kind of like, I feel like our women are getting
Speaker 2: back into the pop culture site geist. I feel like
Speaker 2: we've had a couple of years where they were still
Speaker 2: there but not really.
Speaker 6: I don't know all and off the radar a bit.
Speaker 1: Is it Anna Wintour's connection to tennis that has helped
Speaker 1: elevate the profile, especially of the men.
Speaker 2: I think because she's always been closely aligned with Roger Federer,
Speaker 2: so I think it's been a lot more and she
Speaker 2: loves tennis, don't get me wrong, but I feel like
Speaker 2: some of it's always been Serena and Venus, but now
Speaker 2: we're starting to get more women in that kind of area,
Speaker 2: and I think it's really exciting.
Speaker 6: It's been a long time coming in my mind, but
Speaker 6: maybe not.
Speaker 1: What do you think you see this crossover of professional
Speaker 1: athletes getting involved in effectively Hollywood, you know, whether it's
Speaker 1: an Academy Awards event or a high end fashion event
Speaker 1: in New York? What do you reckon?
Speaker 4: I think it's good for tennis to get that exposure,
Speaker 4: for sure, and usually it's before Indian Wales. Just there
Speaker 4: in LA and I'm just chuckling at Breeze caught your eyes,
Speaker 4: just not remotely related to tenort results or anything. So
Speaker 4: when I was looking at when I was looking at
Speaker 4: when I was looking at our agenda, had a bit
Speaker 4: of a chuckle. But no, it's I can't really comment
Speaker 4: too much on the fashion. If I'm honest, Am.
Speaker 1: I right in thinking Coco gov had two different outfits?
Speaker 6: She did? That's what they do these days.
Speaker 2: So they have one outfit for the oscars and then
Speaker 2: they have one outfit for the after party. Theys have
Speaker 2: one back in the day, but it's now become like weddings.
Speaker 2: How you have two dresses apparently.
Speaker 1: And does everyone head for the bathrooms at the same
Speaker 1: time to get a feeling.
Speaker 2: They've all got like hotels close by, and they go
Speaker 2: and get changed, and their stylists they're waiting to change them,
Speaker 2: is what I'm imagining.
Speaker 1: Spend much time in Tinsiltown, Levi, in your time back
Speaker 1: in the States.
Speaker 3: I have not spent too much time there, But you know,
Speaker 3: I think it's really cool that there is that merging
Speaker 3: of worlds a bit, and I think it Yeah, like
Speaker 3: Luke said, it's probably good for the sport to have
Speaker 3: more eyes on tennis indeed, and great for the profile
Speaker 3: of some of these women athletes, especially in the week
Speaker 3: of International's.
Speaker 1: Day coming up this Saturday. Yeah, and I'll say an
Speaker 1: early happy International.
Speaker 6: Women's Day, thank you and what are you going to
Speaker 6: do to help?
Speaker 1: What am I doing to help this year? I'm bringing
Speaker 1: other women.
Speaker 5: Into the world.
Speaker 6: That that counts.
Speaker 1: I'll done more of that later in the show. LEVI.
Speaker 1: What's caught your eye, sir?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean just some really big title wins. But
Speaker 3: I wouldn't say unexpected winners, but just really strong performances
Speaker 3: and some big breakthroughs. So Amma Navarro at Marita just
Speaker 3: her first five hundred title, there's a lot of first
Speaker 3: for her. I mean it was like the first time
Speaker 3: someone's double bagel sends ega in twenty twenty one at
Speaker 3: the Italian Open.
Speaker 1: Just the fifth century, just.
Speaker 3: The FF that's what's on all the articles and the final. Yeah,
Speaker 3: everyone's talking about it. But yeah, first five hundred title
Speaker 3: for her first time, is the top seed in the tournament,
Speaker 3: So a lot of first and I think that gave
Speaker 3: her a lot of confidence. Talking about the numbers, I
Speaker 3: think it was kind of interesting to look at. Okay,
Speaker 3: how did the AO and Marita kind of compare, and
Speaker 3: what we see is like her return numbers are really
Speaker 3: really solid and consistent. I mean she's just one of
Speaker 3: the best returners. I mean, second to Coco Goff in
Speaker 3: terms of return points one and then second to Ega
Speaker 3: as well in another category. But like the first serve
Speaker 3: return points one sixty percent at Marita and then the
Speaker 3: top ten average is thirty eight. So oh wow, it's
Speaker 3: just insane, Like she crushed it when she was there,
Speaker 3: and then she like converted all of those not all
Speaker 3: of them, but she converted a lot of those breakpoints,
Speaker 3: you know, like sixty percent, so she wasn't just doing
Speaker 3: really well, but she was also handling those pressure moments
Speaker 3: and converting so huge. I think spotlight on her this week.
Speaker 3: I think the other thing to look at was her
Speaker 3: serving performance. Okay, so consistent with the AO like on
Speaker 3: this on the return, but in terms of the serving performance,
Speaker 3: it actually elevated quite a bit at Marita.
Speaker 1: Just remind us what her result was here in Melbourne
Speaker 1: this year, Emminavar.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so she she lost I think it was in
Speaker 3: the quarters to Egosuayatek, So I mean she had a
Speaker 3: really good rump. Then you know you're facing Ega and
Speaker 3: Ego was playing incredibly well, so like it. Yeah, I
Speaker 3: mean it's it's interesting to see, but like that service
Speaker 3: game just really stepped up and I think it was
Speaker 3: more of a weapon for her. So it's kind of
Speaker 3: interesting to see if that pattern is going to continue.
Speaker 1: What are your impressions of emminavr look as a plier,
Speaker 1: she was the the top seed there emeritor, so no
Speaker 1: surprises that she went all the way, but seems to
Speaker 1: float under the radar and some of these bigger events,
Speaker 1: including here at Indian Wells.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Absolutely, And I was fortunate enough to watch some
Speaker 4: of her matches at the Australian Open this year, and
Speaker 4: it's probably her composure and temperament which I think goes
Speaker 4: unnoticed a little bit, just even in some of those
Speaker 4: matches when she was playing Peyton Sterns early on in
Speaker 4: the tournament and they'll deepen the third set and you
Speaker 4: just wouldn't have known if she was deep in the
Speaker 4: third set or early in the first set. Just very
Speaker 4: very sort of great composure. She's a great athlete as well,
Speaker 4: you know, amazing fourhand, just such a solid player all round.
Speaker 4: And yeah, I think you know, Orango was obviously probably
Speaker 4: reasonably tired in that one as well. And I think
Speaker 4: when Emma is probably like slightly better than her opponent
Speaker 4: but a similar game style, it could be a very
Speaker 4: tough day for her opponent. So I think that's how
Speaker 4: that final went.
Speaker 1: Now, how the condition's got a very here from Mexico
Speaker 1: into the Californian desert. What she going to have to adjust?
Speaker 4: I think they were pretty similar from all reports, quite
Speaker 4: slow and bouncy, and a lot of the matches are
Speaker 4: sort of played at night as well, and that really
Speaker 4: slows the conditions down when it's played under the lights.
Speaker 4: It cools down fast in the desert in Indian wells
Speaker 4: as well, so that really slows the conditions zund Even
Speaker 4: Dasha was telling me she was playing a lot of
Speaker 4: her matches through the day than her first one at
Speaker 4: night was against Bodosa, she said, and just the difference
Speaker 4: in conditions, and even on her body as well. She
Speaker 4: felt her muscles were seizing up a little bit more
Speaker 4: and just much different. And I think a lot of
Speaker 4: people don't realize how much that can have an effect
Speaker 4: on the match and everything and the athlete's bodies out there.
Speaker 4: So I think similar conditions to both tournaments from all reports,
Speaker 4: and I feel like Emma high on confidence, hopefully has
Speaker 4: a few days off because you have a buyer in
Speaker 4: Indian Wells and she'll be one to she'll be one
Speaker 4: to beat there well.
Speaker 1: Jess Bergula was the other title winner from last week,
Speaker 1: winning in Austin against McCartney Kesler in the final, and
Speaker 1: she was very gracious in lending a few players, including
Speaker 1: Jing Chin Ween, a spot on her private jet to
Speaker 1: get to Indian Wells. But the other title winners for
Speaker 1: the man, Thomas Mahutch victorious at Akapulco his first ATP title.
Speaker 1: Would you believe? I had a fitted Alejandro da Vidovich
Speaker 1: for Kina in the final after a blistering campaign from
Speaker 1: the eighth seed Mahutch and Sefanov sits a bus getting
Speaker 1: the job done against Felix Augier Alijasim in Dubai. Would
Speaker 1: you believe his first five hundred title? He'd won all
Speaker 1: the other ones but nothing in between. So first five
Speaker 1: hundred for Steph Yeah.
Speaker 3: That's really interesting, you know because it's like this curse
Speaker 3: kind of around it where he was like zero and eleven,
Speaker 3: So it's I think a big deal for him obviously,
Speaker 3: he's won bigger tournaments. But I think was it Novak
Speaker 3: that said something along the right lines of oh, nobody
Speaker 3: beats sits of pass twelve.
Speaker 5: Times in a row or something like that.
Speaker 3: So really, really, I think big moment for him kind
Speaker 3: of looking you know, zooming out a bit, and in
Speaker 3: terms of sits a pass, you know, twenty nineteen to
Speaker 3: twenty twenty three, he's just solid in that top ten
Speaker 3: four to six in terms of his rank, and then
Speaker 3: you know, twenty twenty four we see him drop a
Speaker 3: little bit in terms of his form, and so now
Speaker 3: he's back in the top ten after this run, this
Speaker 3: title run, So I think it's you know, maybe it's
Speaker 3: turning that new leaf. And so it was interesting looking
Speaker 3: into the data and like, what was he doing different
Speaker 3: in those periods where he was you know, four to six,
Speaker 3: What was he doing different in that period where he
Speaker 3: dropped a bit, and what is he doing now at Dubai.
Speaker 1: So in terms of the.
Speaker 3: Data, what's really I think interesting is looking at his
Speaker 3: his forehand speed because there was a lot of people
Speaker 3: commenting on his blacked out racket, so he was using
Speaker 3: an unbranded racket and people are wondering, okay, what's what's
Speaker 3: going on there? And so if you look at the data,
Speaker 3: his forehand speeds about a one hundred and twenty two
Speaker 3: k's in that period, you know, twenty twenty two to
Speaker 3: twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1: Yep.
Speaker 3: But then in Dubai it jumps up to one hundred
Speaker 3: and twenty nine and the.
Speaker 1: Two averages one twenty two. Right, Yeah, he was on path,
Speaker 1: he was on.
Speaker 3: Par But then it's it's just interesting, is it that
Speaker 3: racket switch? Is he getting a little bit more out
Speaker 3: of that racket than he was before? So I think,
Speaker 3: you know, he's talked often about the slowness of the
Speaker 3: courts and how that's affecting his game and how he
Speaker 3: doesn't appreciate how much it's slowing down. He's a huge,
Speaker 3: you know server, big forehand, you know, serve plus one guy,
Speaker 3: and so could it be this racket that's giving him
Speaker 3: a little bit more of an edge and dictating some
Speaker 3: of those points.
Speaker 4: It's kind of interesting.
Speaker 6: And do we know what recket he is playing with now?
Speaker 5: Well, the rumor is.
Speaker 3: So there was a picture of basically a stringer stringing it,
Speaker 3: but you can see a little babbylat So he was
Speaker 3: with Wilson and now it's.
Speaker 2: And we think that's why it's blacked out because they
Speaker 2: might be a little bit of.
Speaker 1: A yes, I think so, yeah, I don't.
Speaker 3: I think maybe public release, but unfortunately maybe that that
Speaker 3: picture surface. So that's I'm not sure the exact model
Speaker 3: of the babblat, but it looks like potentially Errol pro
Speaker 3: or appear Straight, so you know those models.
Speaker 6: I actually just went and got a new So yeah,
Speaker 6: I do.
Speaker 1: Very good look to add to be able to add
Speaker 1: seven kph to your average fourhand speed, what what can
Speaker 1: that do to a player's game? To elevate.
Speaker 4: A lot of things, and especially Steph he looks to
Speaker 4: dominate with his forehand and already one of the best
Speaker 4: fourhands in the world, but just to add a few k's,
Speaker 4: I mean, that's the difference of an opponent possibly being
Speaker 4: on the ball, but then you know, compared to being
Speaker 4: on the stretch and maybe that next reply being sure
Speaker 4: or even a winner. So from what I was seeing
Speaker 4: as well, Steph was getting a lot more on the ball,
Speaker 4: a lot more reps as well, not just speed but
Speaker 4: spin as well. He wasn't happy during the Aussie summer
Speaker 4: with his racket. From all reports as well, and I'm
Speaker 4: a friend here with one of the tennis lub guys
Speaker 4: who was tweaking around with his racket a bit. So
Speaker 4: he was trying some things through January and not overly
Speaker 4: happy with So it seems like he's settled on his racket.
Speaker 4: And I liked his Instagram post as well. They were
Speaker 4: saying my game was sinking, so I went and got
Speaker 4: myself a boat.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I like it. Ever, the philosopher is Steph. It's
Speaker 1: amazing what a new racket can do, or a change
Speaker 1: and racket can do. And we saw that with Maddie
Speaker 1: Keyes in the Australian summer and the way that she's
Speaker 1: been able to elevate her game. Is it an underrated
Speaker 1: part of tennis, you think, matching the athlete with a
Speaker 1: racket that really works for them.
Speaker 4: Yeah, for sure. And I feel like throughout my career
Speaker 4: I was one of the ones where it was just,
Speaker 4: you know, just get a racket and stick with it.
Speaker 4: I was one of those ones and I never really
Speaker 4: tweaked too much with my racket, my equipment, my string.
Speaker 4: But actually in the later years of my career changed
Speaker 4: to a Yonix and different string and actually felt like
Speaker 4: I got a lot more on my strokes on my
Speaker 4: serve and that really changed my mindset to that as well.
Speaker 4: And I feel like if I have my time again,
Speaker 4: we have such great facilities over the National Tennis Center
Speaker 4: with all the testing and all the tennis Lab guys
Speaker 4: and girls do such a great job over there, so
Speaker 4: I really feel like I would have utilized that more
Speaker 4: throughout my career. And I just think equipment is such
Speaker 4: a big part of it. And if you're playing with
Speaker 4: something that doesn't match your characteristics, your swinging, your biomechanics,
Speaker 4: I think, you know sort of you're wasting your time
Speaker 4: a little bit. So making that matchup is very important.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean talking about that Tennis Lab, you know,
Speaker 3: they have a whole recommender or it kind of will
Speaker 3: give you the different characteristics of the racket and how
Speaker 3: accurate you are, how much top spin, how much speed.
Speaker 3: So I know a lot of athletes during the summer
Speaker 3: will come down and you know, test their equipment and
Speaker 3: just see, Okay, what's what's working, what do I currently have?
Speaker 3: What changes could these things bring? You know, I was
Speaker 3: looking at some of the reports that we had out there,
Speaker 3: and it was I think just a string change to
Speaker 3: natural gut, you know, boosted one pros kph by like ten.
Speaker 3: But yeah, but I mean obviously it's it's not match play.
Speaker 3: You're doing drills and you're kind of teen off of
Speaker 3: the ball bit. But I mean it can really change,
Speaker 3: you know, the amount of power you get. I mean,
Speaker 3: but on the con side, there's you know, maybe you're
Speaker 3: going to make more unforced errors because you're getting that
Speaker 3: additional power.
Speaker 1: Did you head down to the tennis labs to get
Speaker 1: your rent?
Speaker 2: No, I didn't go to tennis Lab because I didn't
Speaker 2: want anyone who knows me to keep my racket. But
Speaker 2: we do have Dan and Race down there right now
Speaker 2: actually because they're going to be writing a story and
Speaker 2: doing some social content to explain more about how tennis
Speaker 2: Lab works and how important and how good it is
Speaker 2: even for you know, just a casual player, like well, like,
Speaker 2: well we are not you.
Speaker 4: You won't looking at me as far.
Speaker 6: But yeah, it's just so good to have the right racket.
Speaker 2: And I was playing with one racket and then I
Speaker 2: started playing with this racket that I got. I got
Speaker 2: a Yonix as well, and it completely not that I'm
Speaker 2: a great player, but it completely changed how it felt
Speaker 2: the ball.
Speaker 5: Nice.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's opened up some new career opportunities. Absolutely post
Speaker 1: your social media career anything on Steph. I know you
Speaker 1: had some serve data as well.
Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, I mean, so like we're talking about what
Speaker 3: changed in those periods. So for Staph, it seemed like
Speaker 3: he wasn't holding serve as easily during this this maybe
Speaker 3: dip period in twenty twenty four where he dropped about
Speaker 3: eighty five percent. Previous he was at eighty seven. But
Speaker 3: in Dubai, yeah, I mean he's showing numbers at ninety percent,
Speaker 3: So is it that serve change. He's well above the
Speaker 3: tour average there at eighty percent. You know, same thing
Speaker 3: with first serves in. He struggled a little bit in
Speaker 3: twenty twenty four with getting that first serve in. So
Speaker 3: you know, twenty twenty five Dubai he's, you know, having
Speaker 3: great numbers at sixty five percent serve in. So I
Speaker 3: think those those are just helped him and really allowing
Speaker 3: him to go deep in drys and so hopefully you know,
Speaker 3: we'll see him go deep again.
Speaker 1: In your mind to see back in contention here as
Speaker 1: someone for serious major consideration, I.
Speaker 4: Think for sure, And you know, as you mentioned he
Speaker 4: has definitely gone through a dip and I think he
Speaker 4: just sort of stagnated in his in his career a
Speaker 4: little bit. And to say that as a top ten
Speaker 4: players is quite ridiculous. Just shows you know the quality
Speaker 4: of player sits the passes. But I think he was
Speaker 4: just at a period where he needed to change something,
Speaker 4: he needed to tweak something, and I think going to
Speaker 4: a frame with new pet with more power, sorry, and
Speaker 4: just to get himself more on the ball, some more speeds,
Speaker 4: some more RPMs for his game, especially coming onto the
Speaker 4: clay as well. I think if he can put more
Speaker 4: on his forehand, the back end is always going to
Speaker 4: be the weaker side, and I don't think a racket's
Speaker 4: necessarily going to change too much about that. But if
Speaker 4: he can do more damage on the forehand and serve
Speaker 4: for me, that'll make a lot of difference. Deep in slams,
Speaker 4: A lot.
Speaker 1: Of eyes on stef Sidz to pass as he takes
Speaker 1: to the courts of Indian Wells this week as the
Speaker 1: eighth seed is in that top quarter with the number
Speaker 1: one seed Alex Zaverev. More on that coming up. I
Speaker 1: just wanted to touch on something that we did mention
Speaker 1: last week leern A Tien. He was eventually responsible for
Speaker 1: the upset of alex Verev at Akapulco. And he just
Speaker 1: keeps adding big names to his list of top ten wins.
Speaker 4: He really does, and just such a steady player. And
Speaker 4: as I mentioned last week, he was playing the challenges
Speaker 4: in the States that I was playing end of last year,
Speaker 4: and he was sitting around one hundred and fifty in
Speaker 4: the world, and I just felt like he was going
Speaker 4: to be top hundred very very soon. Amazing temperament, never
Speaker 4: really missed too many balls, sort of just unforced. He
Speaker 4: was so solid and a great composure out there, great attitude.
Speaker 4: So I was sort of questioning whether his game was
Speaker 4: going to stack up at to a level. It just
Speaker 4: wasn't sure. It was a little lie on. He's quite
Speaker 4: a small guy, but it's amazing to see that his
Speaker 4: sort of game style, his tricky sort of leftiness, is
Speaker 4: really well. It's more than holding up. He's getting some
Speaker 4: amazing results. Amazing run here in Melbourne of this tral
Speaker 4: and open and it's just great to see because he's
Speaker 4: a good guy, works very hard. He's had the one
Speaker 4: coach for many years, so I like seeing that as well.
Speaker 4: It's a great partnership and just sticking together. And I
Speaker 4: like seeing the reward when a player and a coach
Speaker 4: go through the ups and downs together throughout the journey.
Speaker 1: We might be seeing Tan versus Shelton in the second round.
Speaker 1: That's going to feature in our upcoming preview of Indian Wells.
Speaker 1: Plenty more of the tennis coming up. Before we go
Speaker 1: to the break, though, let's check in with Duncan McKenzie
Speaker 1: mccag He's with Daniella Hunter Kover at Indian Wells.
Speaker 7: Thanks team, Hey, Danny's so great to see you and
Speaker 7: so great to be here at Indian Wells or his
Speaker 7: players and fans like to call it tennis paradise. What
Speaker 7: is it about this place that makes it so special?
Speaker 8: Well, it is indeed a tennis paradise. I mean just
Speaker 8: look around. What there is not too like about this place?
Speaker 9: First of all, the scenery and very selfishly the golf
Speaker 9: obviously so the off court activities, but then you know,
Speaker 9: from the food at the player lounge, the way players
Speaker 9: get treated to the practice facilities that are right behind us,
Speaker 9: like outside of Grand Slams. I do think this is
Speaker 9: the best tournament we have on the tour for both
Speaker 9: men and women, and just you know, it is close,
Speaker 9: so close to the player's hotel as well, and everything
Speaker 9: is so relaxed. You can really focus on your tennis
Speaker 9: what you have to do on the court, and I
Speaker 9: think that's why every single player appreciates it here so much.
Speaker 7: So many interesting storylines, especially in the women's game. World
Speaker 7: number one Arena Sablanca. She arrives here, is still probably
Speaker 7: the best hardcore player in the world. But we've got
Speaker 7: Eigis fianceek the defending champion, Madison Keyes arrives as a
Speaker 7: new Grand Slam champion. And then we've got the Americans
Speaker 7: Jess Pagoula and Coco GoF leading the local charge. What
Speaker 7: an incredible time in the women's game.
Speaker 9: Yeah, absolutely talking about Americans. Just not forget Emma Navarro
Speaker 9: as well, who had a great run.
Speaker 8: Two a couple of days ago.
Speaker 9: You know, it's just for me, It's all about how
Speaker 9: Saballenka can form, because out of all the names you
Speaker 9: just said, I feel like she is the best player.
Speaker 9: I was just covering her even in Vegas. It was
Speaker 9: just an exhibition against Naomi Osaka, but she looked so
Speaker 9: good I mean, plus, she was so relaxed, smiling and
Speaker 9: just feeling very confident on the court and the course.
Speaker 9: This the year played a little bit lower and faster,
Speaker 9: which I think will be good for herself. I don't
Speaker 9: think it will favor Egas Fiante guess much because she's
Speaker 9: not going to have that much time to create a
Speaker 9: spin on the forehand.
Speaker 8: But it's one of those tournaments it depends.
Speaker 9: So much on the conditions and when in the day
Speaker 9: you play, because if you play during the day, it's
Speaker 9: going to be super fast, very difficult to control the ball.
Speaker 9: If you have a night session, if we've been experienced
Speaker 9: some really cold weather the last couple of days, very
Speaker 9: unually exactly, so it's almost playing two completely different tournaments.
Speaker 8: So sometimes you have.
Speaker 9: To get a little bit lucky so that you play
Speaker 9: at the time that actually fits your tennis.
Speaker 7: I want to talk to you about the changing conditions
Speaker 7: because we have a new surface this year. We've gone
Speaker 7: from plexi cushion to like hold, and obviously some players
Speaker 7: think it might be a little bit faster, but Carlos
Speaker 7: Sakaraz is saying it's not too much faster, and a
Speaker 7: line of a bike and I was saying, actually, the
Speaker 7: balls are bouncing a lot lower.
Speaker 9: Yeah, they do bounce lower, and we are getting different
Speaker 9: feedback gun with some Some players say, oh, it's pretty
Speaker 9: much the same. Some say, I do from what I
Speaker 9: try to look at, and I'm actually going to hit myself,
Speaker 9: so I can tell you a little bit more throughout
Speaker 9: the week. I do feel like the bounce is not
Speaker 9: as high as it was the last I would say
Speaker 9: five six years. It was crazy, crazy slow. I would
Speaker 9: say more slower than clay. But so it definitely bounces slower,
Speaker 9: but the thing is here because the air is so thin,
Speaker 9: that's when.
Speaker 8: The ball travels very quickly.
Speaker 9: So it's the combination of having a slowerish kind of surface,
Speaker 9: but then it's very difficult to control the balls.
Speaker 7: Let's talk about the men's side. Obviously there's some really
Speaker 7: interesting storylines. Obviously no Yannick Sinia this year, but Carlos
Speaker 7: Alcaraz comes back as a two time defending champion, and
Speaker 7: Alexander Vereb is the top seed here at Indiels as well.
Speaker 8: I'm liking his chance. It's such a play grade.
Speaker 9: Obviously a little bit disappointing the final in Melbourne, but
Speaker 9: up to that point he was playing amazing tennis and
Speaker 9: talking about the conditions. I think that will fit his
Speaker 9: game a little bit quicker, maybe for his serve.
Speaker 8: I mean, he's a tall.
Speaker 9: Guy, so I think if we have that Carlos and
Speaker 9: Sasha Metchup, I would definitely fence my chances for Sasha
Speaker 9: this time around.
Speaker 7: Always one of the biggest talking points wherever he plays
Speaker 7: is Nick Kurios. Obviously he's on a second round collision
Speaker 7: course with Novak Djokovic if he gets there. Some really
Speaker 7: kind of distressing scenes yesterday in practice he was holding
Speaker 7: his wrist, had to abandon his practice session. There is
Speaker 7: some doubt as to whether he might actually take to
Speaker 7: the court here at Indian Wells. But I'll tell you what,
Speaker 7: if there is that second round matchup between Nick and Novak,
Speaker 7: the bromance is going to have to be on hold
Speaker 7: for a little bit. Yeah.
Speaker 9: Absolutely, And I think we're all bringing our popcorn in
Speaker 9: and really going to enjoy that one.
Speaker 8: Let's hope it happens.
Speaker 9: If it does, I don't think no one will be
Speaker 9: lying liking that matchup because all three of them Rafa,
Speaker 9: Roger and Novak said in the past when Nick is
Speaker 9: on the other side of the court, they almost feel
Speaker 9: like they can't really control what is going to happen.
Speaker 9: Definitely Novak being in the situation where he doesn't feel
Speaker 9: comfortable as far as controlling things, it can put him
Speaker 9: a little bit of his rhythm, So it will be
Speaker 9: very interesting if that happens.
Speaker 7: And I want to ask you about obviously Alex Daemonor
Speaker 7: you know, he's had a pretty encouraging start of the
Speaker 7: year quarterfinals down in Australia, and how do you like
Speaker 7: his chances of the morning.
Speaker 9: I'm such a huge fan of Alex, as you know,
Speaker 9: because the way he handled the whole pressure and media
Speaker 9: attention down Under.
Speaker 8: I think he did it so brilliantly.
Speaker 9: And in this tournament, you have to be fit, you
Speaker 9: have to be quick, and he's got all of that.
Speaker 9: And also is a tournament where you are going to
Speaker 9: see maybe more rallies than any others hardcore tournament, so
Speaker 9: I think he should be very confident going into this
Speaker 9: tournament as well.
Speaker 7: Okay, Danny, I'm gonna put you on the spot your
Speaker 7: predictions for both the men's and women's.
Speaker 9: From what I've seen the last couple of weeks and
Speaker 9: what happened down Under. I'm going with Sablenka just in
Speaker 9: front of medicine kids, who I think has a great
Speaker 9: chance here as well. And then I'm picking Sasha over
Speaker 9: Carlos Wow. Okay, yeah, I know, and also because the
Speaker 9: conditions are going to be quicker, but then the letter
Speaker 9: it is calder gosh, kind of okay, I'll think with
Speaker 9: Sasha Wow, I like it, Saba Anka and Sasha for
Speaker 9: Janie Lantako.
Speaker 7: But hey, Danny, so great to chat with you and
Speaker 7: we'll chat it again next week.
Speaker 8: Yeah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: Big thanks to Duncan and Danny. On the grounds at
Speaker 1: Indian Wells. They're going to be bringing us weekly updates
Speaker 1: throughout that tournament. It's an exciting looking place and there's
Speaker 1: a great vibe there, Bree. With a record thirteen ossies
Speaker 1: lining up in the main draw.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's amazing.
Speaker 2: We're seeing more and more of our women performing really
Speaker 2: well at the moment, and yeah, we've just seen lots
Speaker 2: of men as well, so it's a really exciting tournament
Speaker 2: for us to.
Speaker 1: Watch, including six who've come through qualifying, four women and
Speaker 1: two men. Unfortunately already lost Alex Vukch overnight he went
Speaker 1: down to American wild card Tristan boyas Boy will take
Speaker 1: on Tommy Paul in an all American second round. But
Speaker 1: some great names here. Luke Rinky Hijakata takes on Alex
Speaker 1: Shevchenko in the first round. Adam Walton qualifier will play
Speaker 1: Julio Zapiri and other qualifier Lee Too against Jasan Lavich.
Speaker 1: So a few lesser lights there of Ossie tennis, but
Speaker 1: good mates of yours that are doing great things through qualifying.
Speaker 4: Yeah for sure. And yeah, Renky against chev Chenko, that's
Speaker 4: a pretty good opportunity. Chev Chenko's right around the one
Speaker 4: hundred mark at the moment, so Renk he's, you know,
Speaker 4: just such a great player, a great competitor, so good
Speaker 4: opportunity for him. Lee too beating James Darkworth in the
Speaker 4: last round of qualifying. Probably a bit of an upset there,
Speaker 4: I would say, and great grate for Lee to get
Speaker 4: through there. He was right on the castle actually getting
Speaker 4: into the qualities on his ranking, so to see him
Speaker 4: getting in and winnable one against Leevich as well. So
Speaker 4: it's just great to see the men doing well. But
Speaker 4: four of our women get through qualifying as well, and
Speaker 4: that's what I'm most excited about is just that real push.
Speaker 4: As I mentioned before, four inside the top one hundred,
Speaker 4: but three or four right behind as well, So very
Speaker 4: excited to see how that shapes out the next sort
Speaker 4: of six to twelve months.
Speaker 1: So it's Maddi English who plays Sophia Kennan in the
Speaker 1: first round, Eila Tomledovich versus Katie McNally, Kim Berrell against
Speaker 1: Victoria Golobch and Maya joint against Sarahonica Staya. Three of
Speaker 1: those are entrenched in the top one hundred now and
Speaker 1: it could be Maya joint versus Emmaavarro. Wouldn't that be
Speaker 1: something a big challenge for Maya, that would.
Speaker 3: Be it would be interesting to see how she handles
Speaker 3: that return game of Navaras.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the other one we're keeping an eye on. You've
Speaker 1: been really watching this on social media. An interesting video
Speaker 1: that surfaced overnight of the Curios practicestion.
Speaker 2: Yeah, just seems that he's having some more risk issues,
Speaker 2: which is a shame for him because he's obviously been
Speaker 2: on the roads recovery. We saw him and come back
Speaker 2: a bit and Brisbane strain open. But it looks as
Speaker 2: though there's since been reports that it's just nickli it's
Speaker 2: not as bad as what it seemed in his practice video.
Speaker 2: But I suppose the jury is out what we see
Speaker 2: happen with him when he plays. I think it's six
Speaker 2: am tomorrow our time here in Australia, so my gut
Speaker 2: feels that he will play, but it'll just depend I
Speaker 2: suppose what's actually happening there, which we don't know.
Speaker 5: He looked in a lot of pain, a lot of pain.
Speaker 1: Baltic funds On Scrup is the opponent for Nick first round,
Speaker 1: So first of all, how do you think he'll he'll
Speaker 1: handle the Dutchman if he indeed takes the court.
Speaker 4: Yeah, a lucky loser, but again a very good plan.
Speaker 4: We saw him play Alex demon Our first round here
Speaker 4: at Melbourne and gave Alex a real run for his money.
Speaker 4: I think Nick will play as well. I agree with Brie,
Speaker 4: and the reason is I feel like he really wants
Speaker 4: to play that second round against Novak Djokovic. I feel like,
Speaker 4: as we know, Nick is a big time player, a
Speaker 4: big match player over the years, and he always lifts
Speaker 4: as well, and Novak and him are apparently best mates now,
Speaker 4: so current doubles partners as well or form of I partners,
Speaker 4: I should say, and I just feel like but as
Speaker 4: you said, Nick was in a lot of pain with
Speaker 4: that wrist, and I just feel like the wrist is
Speaker 4: one of those ones. If it's hurting one day, it's
Speaker 4: going to be sore the next day as well. So
Speaker 4: I'm not sure what it's hurting on in terms of
Speaker 4: what stroke or if it's the serve, but he's played
Speaker 4: great there in the past as well. The condition suit
Speaker 4: his serve, so he could come out and win it
Speaker 4: in straight sets, very fast and sort of preserve his energy.
Speaker 4: I assume he's going to try and do that, play
Speaker 4: super aggressive, and as I said, I feel like he
Speaker 4: wants that match against Novak Djokovic. I'm not sure how
Speaker 4: much longer Nick's going to play at this rate with
Speaker 4: the injuries. Unfortunately, is such a good player, but he
Speaker 4: just can't sort of stay on the court at the moment.
Speaker 1: So it'll be Djokovic possible second round, and Djokovic may
Speaker 1: all have to play Alex demon Or if he gets
Speaker 1: through to the fourth round. Djokovic leading that head to
Speaker 1: head two to one. But I asked you Levi the
Speaker 1: mathemagician to cast and I over our projected quarterfinal because
Speaker 1: what we might see here is a rematch of the
Speaker 1: Australian Open quarterfinal between Djokovic and al Karez, which Djokovic
Speaker 1: now leads five to three.
Speaker 3: I'm glad you asked because I had to look at
Speaker 3: the numbers, and you know it, it was really interesting
Speaker 3: because oftentimes when you look at some of those matches,
Speaker 3: sometimes it's like the data nothing stands out. But in
Speaker 3: that match, the last eight er match, if your al
Speaker 3: Karez don't serve to Novak's backhand on the ad court,
Speaker 3: because he lost something like sixty seven percent of those points,
Speaker 3: and when you look at like the far out out
Speaker 3: wide on the backhand, that number jumps up to like
Speaker 3: seventy eight on seven second serve. So he was just
Speaker 3: really struggling to win his second serves against Novak, particularly
Speaker 3: on the backhand. So I started thinking, okay, well why
Speaker 3: would that be? And we have this metric to kind
Speaker 3: of gauge what your serf toask looks like in terms
Speaker 3: of your variation, and Carlos has a lot of variation
Speaker 3: on that second serve, which could mean that Novak's reading
Speaker 3: it really well. And so when it's coming to that
Speaker 3: backhand he's kind of anticipating it and then putting Carlos
Speaker 3: on the back foot. So in terms of a data perspective,
Speaker 3: that's what I have. I think that Carlos really has
Speaker 3: to change up that second serve and try to do
Speaker 3: something different with it, because it didn't work out for.
Speaker 1: Him at the AO.
Speaker 5: Unfortunately.
Speaker 4: I'm a little bit surprised with that because they've played
Speaker 4: a number of times and Djokovic has got maybe the
Speaker 4: best two handed back end in history, so I'm a
Speaker 4: little surprised he would serve there so often, especially if
Speaker 4: he's losing those points and losing a big percentage of those.
Speaker 4: I'm picking our Cris to get through. Sorry Alex, who's
Speaker 4: also in that section, and I'm just looking at the
Speaker 4: sections now, and very tough one for Alex's draw there
Speaker 4: to have Djokovic in his fourth round into our Kraaz,
Speaker 4: So not a friendly little draw being given there for Alex.
Speaker 4: But I think it's I just love these Master Series.
Speaker 4: They're just so stacked and you get some fourth round
Speaker 4: You're like, wow, that is nails. So it's exciting to
Speaker 4: see Djokovic back competing and look forward to seeing how
Speaker 4: the Fortnite shapes out.
Speaker 1: What about for the women. You look at some of
Speaker 1: the projections there, bri who are you looking forward to
Speaker 1: seeing as early as in the second round.
Speaker 2: I quite like the look of Cocoa Goff and Emma Radikanu.
Speaker 2: Emma's been playing some better tennis, so I think that'll
Speaker 2: be good. Chinwen and Azarenka, just because I like both
Speaker 2: of them, I think that'll be quite a good match
Speaker 2: up as well. And then obviously Sabs and Paulini two
Speaker 2: of my favorites.
Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about favorites then. I think Danny was
Speaker 1: picking Saba Lenka in that segment before Luke, who John
Speaker 1: off the page for you from a women's perspective. As
Speaker 1: potential finalists. You look at the four quarter finals projections
Speaker 1: there with the top eight seeds.
Speaker 4: I'm really liking swire Tech to get through to the semis.
Speaker 4: There such a strong head to head record on Jean.
Speaker 4: Another one is that fourth round Rebakiner Andreva one all
Speaker 4: in the head to head, and after Andreva's big win
Speaker 4: in the Middle East, winning that one thousand event, I
Speaker 4: think that is blockbuster that match, so very much looking
Speaker 4: forward to that one. Sabal Anka, I think, after for
Speaker 4: her standards quite a disappointing stretch after the Aussie Open.
Speaker 4: I think she's ready to bounce back as well. So
Speaker 4: I'm going to pick Sablanca and GoF in one semi
Speaker 4: and then swire Tech to get through to the final
Speaker 4: in the other half.
Speaker 1: You mentioned Andrev and Bree. While you're away, she was
Speaker 1: doing some incredible thing.
Speaker 6: I was really sad to not better talk about her.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I don't think my little favor.
Speaker 1: I don't think semi final is beyond Andreva here and
Speaker 1: I can see her getting past her. Bikener and Pagola
Speaker 1: would be the next opponent for in the quarters. I
Speaker 1: reckon she's got it.
Speaker 4: In her for sure. I mean, she's an amazing player,
Speaker 4: only getting better and fast, improving very fast, and only
Speaker 4: seventeen years old. Amazing player. Loved her speech, love her
Speaker 4: attitude and her mindset, and I think she's future world
Speaker 4: number one, multiple Grand Slam winner, and so exciting for
Speaker 4: the women's game because I think she's a great personality
Speaker 4: and fantastic player.
Speaker 1: Of the American contingent because they've just been so strong.
Speaker 5: It's an American I want to hear that.
Speaker 1: Because they've got so many in the door. There there
Speaker 1: are who's your favorite?
Speaker 3: You know, I'd love to see Madison Keys think it.
Speaker 3: I think she's on such a heart streak right now.
Speaker 3: Would be really cool to see her get in an
Speaker 3: Indian Wells title as well.
Speaker 1: So Coco Goth v Keys in the quarter final.
Speaker 3: I think that would be a black buster match that
Speaker 3: would sell out quite well, and so it would be
Speaker 3: really cool to see that go go through.
Speaker 1: Looking forward to that. Before we get to Ace of
Speaker 1: the week, our men's predictions. Just quickly, it sounded like
Speaker 1: al Karazin Zverev are the two favorites among those on
Speaker 1: the ground. Zverev, of course, had a little bit of
Speaker 1: a food poisoning scale last week that may or may
Speaker 1: not have caused his demise in Akapulco. Do you see
Speaker 1: z Vera bouncing back here? There's other big names as
Speaker 1: well in those top eight seeds, including Taylor Fritz at
Speaker 1: three and Medvedev at five.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think yeah. Zverev is definitely looking for a
Speaker 4: bounce back, no doubt. Danil Medvedev at the sorry as
Speaker 4: the fifth seed, been struggling a little bit for his standards,
Speaker 4: and he's usually played well there in Indian Wells, making
Speaker 4: the final last year, so I think he's definitely a
Speaker 4: floater as well. Taylor Fritz has played great there as
Speaker 4: well in the past, and as I said before, there's
Speaker 4: just so many great players in these Master Series draws
Speaker 4: for our Karaza condition suit him so well there, So
Speaker 4: I will take our Cries there to win the tournament.
Speaker 1: Okay, I like Relev getting through the final. I'm always on,
Speaker 1: but he's in the quarter with Fritz. I think he's
Speaker 1: in enough form that he can topple the format former champ, right,
Speaker 1: Taylor Fritz, Yeah, he won a few years back. Bray,
Speaker 1: Who do you like in the men?
Speaker 2: I think, do you know there's a couple I've been
Speaker 2: playing with I reckons Verev or Sister Pass? Like, could
Speaker 2: sister pass be Zverev Pass is in good form?
Speaker 5: He could?
Speaker 9: Ye?
Speaker 5: Maybe we is?
Speaker 2: Yes, he is, So that could be great to see.
Speaker 2: I wouldn't mind Fritz winning it again because I feel
Speaker 2: like he's just teetering on the edge of something like
Speaker 2: that again.
Speaker 6: But I feel like it'll probably be our.
Speaker 1: Cries and LEVI. Who do you like Fonseca?
Speaker 6: We all like Fonseca.
Speaker 3: I was able to go out and watch a bit
Speaker 3: of his match against Snego and that was just so fine,
Speaker 3: and so i'd I have to see him go deep.
Speaker 3: I'm not sure how far he would he would go.
Speaker 3: Obviously it's stacked, there's a lot of great players coming,
Speaker 3: but it would be really cool to see him go
Speaker 3: go pretty foreign to that tournament.
Speaker 1: He's got Jacob Fernley, who is responsible for Curios's demise
Speaker 1: here in Melbourne. First up and then second round would
Speaker 1: be against Jack Draper, who has the Buyers the thirteenth seed.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think that would be a pretty interesting
Speaker 3: matchup because I think I think Fonsaca has the game
Speaker 3: where he could push Jack Draper. Obviously, Jack Draper has
Speaker 3: a little bit more experience and perhaps that would factor
Speaker 3: into it, but from what we saw here at the AL,
Speaker 3: he's definitely a contender absolutely well.
Speaker 1: Just getting underway in Indian Wells day one as we
Speaker 1: record this episode, so we'll be up to the quarterfinals
Speaker 1: by next episode. But I won't be here, Bri. You
Speaker 1: know you'll have a new co host.
Speaker 5: I will.
Speaker 1: Do you know who it is?
Speaker 6: I do?
Speaker 1: Do you want to share it with the Yes.
Speaker 6: We are having our head of original content Zave.
Speaker 2: I can't say it's last name will be filling your
Speaker 2: very large shoes to fill.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I actually was musing about this with my team earlier
Speaker 2: today about.
Speaker 6: Like, is he going to do the prep?
Speaker 1: Well, we'll see. I think he's going to do the prep.
Speaker 1: But our produces out R and d team out the
Speaker 1: back and doing a world of good.
Speaker 2: I think it'll be a lot of fun because yeah,
Speaker 2: Save comes with his own sense of humor.
Speaker 5: And you will be missed though, thank you very much.
Speaker 1: Forward to having you back yeh on parentally from tomorrow.
Speaker 1: So I'll be gone for the next four episodes, but
Speaker 1: rest assured I'll be tuning in for quality control and
Speaker 1: look will be here next week before a lengthy sabbatical.
Speaker 1: It's not really a sabbatical, but you'll be offshore, won't you.
Speaker 4: Yes, I'm going to Europe for two and a bit
Speaker 4: weeks with our best twelves and four nanes juniors in
Speaker 4: Australia and we're going to shadow Alex demon Ar for
Speaker 4: a week or so over there and as part of
Speaker 4: the Alex demon Ar Foundation and his push to help
Speaker 4: aspiring juniors. So again, fantastic from him. And then I'll
Speaker 4: join back up with Dasher for Madrid and the start
Speaker 4: of the clay, so an exciting period for me.
Speaker 1: It's going to be a busy front half of the
Speaker 1: year for you. Well, let's transition into ace of the week.
Speaker 1: We share a highlight, Bri, have you got one?
Speaker 2: I do, so my highlight is that I've started back
Speaker 2: playing tennis with a friend. We've just been hitting twice
Speaker 2: a week and I'm loving it full stop.
Speaker 1: That is your friend a good player or similar to you, and.
Speaker 2: We're both The reason why similar to the reason why
Speaker 2: I'm not joing playing with him, is because he also
Speaker 2: hasn't been playing lots for the past ten years, so
Speaker 2: we're both rusty. So we both just go and hit
Speaker 2: the ball and laugh a lot. But every time we hit.
Speaker 6: We're getting better.
Speaker 1: You hit down here in TC or no.
Speaker 2: We've been I live near Forkner Park tennis court, so
Speaker 2: we've been hitting there. I also have like a broken toe,
Speaker 2: so it's a bit soft to play on those courts
Speaker 2: versus the hard courts here. But we will transition out
Speaker 2: to the hard courts now.
Speaker 5: I'm back at work.
Speaker 1: Nice Well, if you run into Luke Savely can probably
Speaker 1: get a few tips as well.
Speaker 4: Hit by. Come on, I'm over the NTC let me know,
Speaker 4: when you're free, let's hop on an indoor.
Speaker 1: We'll get a camera on that. Definitely get a camera on.
Speaker 6: That'd be good for the lolls.
Speaker 1: LEVI your ice of the week.
Speaker 3: So I'm not sure if this is an Australian wide
Speaker 3: thing or just a Melbourne specific thing, but I recently
Speaker 3: discovered there's Steak Night where they have steak nights at pubs,
Speaker 3: at pubs.
Speaker 6: It's Australia wide. Oh my god, have we been here
Speaker 6: for I.
Speaker 3: Haven't traveled much, you know, I've just been hunkered down
Speaker 3: on the data side your house. But I was finally able.
Speaker 3: My partner and I went out to Steak Night and
Speaker 3: it was really nice and so.
Speaker 5: We're going to make it a tradition.
Speaker 1: What sauce do you have? You get the mushroom, the
Speaker 1: garlic or the greater pepper.
Speaker 3: They're actually just this is new to me as well.
Speaker 3: It was just mustard. So it was you know, seeded
Speaker 3: mustard and hot hot mustard. And so I had hot
Speaker 3: mustard for the first time with steak and I have
Speaker 3: to say it was delicious. Yeah.
Speaker 6: That's a very French slash Dutch kind.
Speaker 5: Of not Australian.
Speaker 2: So I needed well, the mustard necessarily is that we
Speaker 2: usually go for that.
Speaker 5: Yeah, see, I still have a lot to learn.
Speaker 6: What pub did you go to?
Speaker 9: You know?
Speaker 3: It was called like Marble and Crate or something like that.
Speaker 1: I didn't find it. But they specialized in steaks though.
Speaker 3: That would make sense with the name.
Speaker 2: But pubs do have a steak night though, just to
Speaker 2: let you know. And parma and yeah and parma.
Speaker 1: So yeah, money's pronunciations Australian boy.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I'm from New South Wales.
Speaker 5: It's is it really?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: I get it on paper it makes sense parme, but
Speaker 1: just doesn't sound as good. So I'm gonna o that.
Speaker 1: So you're of the week.
Speaker 4: I will transition away from tennis and looking forward to
Speaker 4: the footy season, so the Australian rules football for all
Speaker 4: our international listeners, cult and supporter. So starting the season
Speaker 4: with high hopes, not sure finish. I'm not sure you'll
Speaker 4: finish the season or even halfway through. I'll have the
Speaker 4: high hopes. But going to their first game next Thursday
Speaker 4: night here only a few hundred meters away at the
Speaker 4: MCG against Richmond, so colleague umpiring that match, Oh yeah
Speaker 4: I know, Rob, So just looking forward to that and
Speaker 4: it's excited to get to a few more games this year.
Speaker 1: Nice me too. It is also one of my Ace
Speaker 1: of the Week nominations. But I suppose it can't top
Speaker 1: the fact that next Tuesday is the expected delivery days
Speaker 1: oh my God, for our daughter. So yeah, just five
Speaker 1: days away and my life's about to change completely.
Speaker 6: How exciting do you think should be? On time?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a it's a what do you call it in?
Speaker 1: It's a planned one. We could get bumped, of course,
Speaker 1: but coming off a lot of weekend planned yeah, so
Speaker 1: looking forward to that. But next time you see me,
Speaker 1: you'll probably have a few more grays and few more
Speaker 1: bags under the eyes.
Speaker 5: So exciting though, but it's been fun.
Speaker 1: We're also coming up to episode three hundred after the
Speaker 1: Easter break, so wow. Yeah, we'll do something special when
Speaker 1: I'm back in the chair sort of towards the end
Speaker 1: of April. But yeah, as we said, Xavier, Muellerbach and
Speaker 1: Brie will be steering the ship with our ever rotating
Speaker 1: panel of guests. LEVI, thanks for joining us again, the Mathemagician,
Speaker 1: thank you guys for having me. Sav We'll see you again, well,
Speaker 1: the panel, We'll see you again next week.
Speaker 4: Thanks John and good luck to you and your wife mate.
Speaker 1: Thank you very much and to all the listeners as well,
Speaker 1: thanks for your support. Join the team again next week
Speaker 1: For more of the Tennis Don't Forget. You can watch
Speaker 1: this episode and all past episodes of the Tennis on
Speaker 1: the Australian Open YouTube channel. You can also subscribe while
Speaker 1: you're there to stay across the tennis all year long.
Speaker 1: Have a great week in tennis, have a great month
Speaker 1: in tennis, and I'll see you on the other side.
Speaker 6: Thanks Jo, Hey,