WEBVTT - The Sit-Down with John Millman 0:00:02.120 --> 0:00:04.600 Hello and welcome to the sit Down. I'm viv Christine, 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:06.760 Managing editor of Australian Tennis Magazine, and. 0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:10.240 I'm matrolopartiforozopen dot Com and Viv. Why are we sitting 0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:12.039 down this week with John Milman. 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:15.319 Well, it's been almost a year since John Milman played 0:00:15.320 --> 0:00:19.000 his last professional match at AO twenty twenty four. Always 0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:21.960 a big favorite with the fans and with the media 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:24.280 as well. Everyone always loves to hear what he's been 0:00:24.360 --> 0:00:26.079 up to and we wanted to check in on his 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:27.000 year in retirement. 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:30.320 So Australian doubles great Todd Woodbridge actually did this interview 0:00:30.360 --> 0:00:32.320 with John and Todd's one of our colleagues now, so 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:33.880 let's hear what they had to chat about. 0:00:37.320 --> 0:00:39.720 It's a pleasure to be able to welcome John Milman. 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:42.280 Tell us how are things going in retirement? 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:45.720 Thanks for having me. Things a big different. It's definitely 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:48.640 a change of pace. I've up here in Brisbane and 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:51.319 it's been nice. It's been really nice to get off 0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:55.560 the road, reacquaint yourself with friends and family. As you know, 0:00:55.760 --> 0:00:59.120 Todd mife as a professional tennis blower, especially in Australian 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:02.120 one travel up to ten and a half months a year, 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:05.039 and towards the end of your career, you do look 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:08.800 forward to having a bit more stability and being back 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.880 home and having that stability up here in Brisbane has 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:12.480 been perfect. 0:01:12.600 --> 0:01:15.240 Once you get it, though, are you comfortable with it? 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:17.440 Because the transition is difficult. 0:01:18.400 --> 0:01:19.440 It's super difficult. 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:22.440 I remember when I was finishing up and the one 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:24.840 thing I was going to look forward to is to 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:26.960 get out of that structure and to get out of 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:30.480 those that monotony of the routines, you know, going to 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:34.360 the courts, warming up, doing your your rehab, your prehab, 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:38.000 hitting and rinse and repeat day after day after day 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:39.880 for year after year after year. 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:41.479 So I really thought that. 0:01:41.640 --> 0:01:46.399 I would love to escape that structure. But I found 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:49.400 out pretty quickly that that structure is something that's part 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:50.520 of my DNA now. 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:52.760 So it is a difficult little process. 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:55.800 It's really about finding yourself and I really used the 0:01:55.880 --> 0:01:59.400 time to like I did my tennis career, to really 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:02.200 give myself up with as many tools as possible. I'm 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:04.480 back doing a little bit of study in the hope 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:07.960 that it'll help that transition process and I can offer, 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:12.920 you know, hopefully some different skills and expertise outside of 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:13.560 the tennis court. 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:15.520 Let's talk a little bit about at the start of 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:18.840 your tennis career, obviously a Brisbane boy, and how did 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:22.040 it come about that you got yourself into tennis. My 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:25.240 understanding is that it was a lot to do with 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:26.480 your parents and family. 0:02:27.480 --> 0:02:29.480 Yeah, it was it ed Mum and dad. Originally they 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:33.160 weren't your traditional tennis families. They didn't grow up playing themselves, 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:34.880 but my sisters did. 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:37.560 My old man he played in the National Soccer League 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:38.160 back in the day. 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:40.960 Towards the end of his football green he was a 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:43.400 school teacher too, But towards the end of his football 0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:45.480 career when he was playing in one of the local 0:02:45.560 --> 0:02:48.560 Queensland clubs, part of his contract was to build a 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:50.920 tennis court in our backyard. We had a bit of 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:54.160 akery Joe rim Shelton, so I had that in the 0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:57.919 backyard as a really young bid, and I had this 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:00.760 old ball machine that I'd kind of all down the 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:03.040 heel and the bush and hook that up and you'd 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:05.760 see me down there playing for hours on end. I 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:08.359 often joked that I probably peaked as a four year 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:11.080 old because I was the youngest four year old at 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:16.000 the local tennis club, last tennis center to play fixtures there, 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:19.160 and I honestly think that I was probably the best 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.880 four year old in the world. So unfortunately for me, 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:24.880 my career peaked as a four year old went downhill 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:26.960 from there. But I had such a good time and 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:30.240 my earliest memories were getting out on the court, whether 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:34.720 that be with the sisters or mates, but especially by myself. 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:37.920 And later on in my career I actually found out 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:40.760 that that was probably a skillet itself to be able 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:44.400 to spend hours on the court without your parents or 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:47.560 your coaches or your mates around. I really could amuse 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:50.520 myself by hitting tennis balls up against the wall, up 0:03:50.520 --> 0:03:52.800 against the ball machine, or hitting serves. 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:54.880 So for the best four year old in the world, 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:59.000 it's not an easy journey. As we all know, there's 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:01.640 a roller coaster that's about to happen in your career. 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:04.280 And as you get through juniors and you're coming along 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:07.280 through where was the moment where you started to think, 0:04:07.880 --> 0:04:10.320 I can actually make a career out of this. And 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:13.160 I don't know if there was a moment for you 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:15.920 in time when you've got to maybe some futures and 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:20.160 you're playing its and you're out there, when did you go, Yes, 0:04:20.880 --> 0:04:24.120 I can make money and I can have a great career. 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:27.159 Well that the making money part that took a long time. 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:30.520 You've got a little story about that. I'd love to hear. 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:32.640 It, to think if I could make some money. But 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:38.000 it was always something that I wanted to do. Having't parents' 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:41.320 school so yeah, having parents as school teachers, there was 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:44.040 always an emphasis on John, you have to go to school. 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:46.120 So I did all my schooling. 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:48.839 So it's a slightly different journey to a fair few 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:51.200 of my pdios, even some of my Australian piers who 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:54.560 did the distance education and ended up doing that whole 0:04:54.680 --> 0:04:58.520 junior world circuit without playing junior Wimbledon's and your Junior 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:02.160 US Opens. But I took a different path, and probably 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.919 a little bit was that to do with my parents 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:09.000 not really understanding the tennis environment. They didn't realize how 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.440 many players played across the world and how good you 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:14.680 had to be, so I was probably a bit of 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:17.640 a disadvantage early on, but definitely in the back of 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:19.680 my mind when I finished high school, I wanted to 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:22.039 give it a crack. But on the other hand, I 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:23.520 didn't want my parents to go and have to re 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:27.160 mortgage their house. They were providers for our family. They 0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:30.039 were five jobs between them to send myself and my 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:31.440 sisters to private school. 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:32.560 So the one thing I was. 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:37.000 Really aware of was the fact that they've made so 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:41.520 many sacrifices. Me chasing and dreaming was going to be 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:46.400 on my back and my shoulders. So about eighteen years old, 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:49.239 I'd just finished school and I packed up my bags 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:53.400 and like many other aspiring tennis players, you go to 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:55.560 Europe because that's where all the tournaments are. 0:05:56.880 --> 0:05:59.320 My first tournament, one of my first tournaments. 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:01.280 I should say, was in life le I remember catching 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:05.680 about six different planes to get there. As you know Todd, 0:06:05.680 --> 0:06:08.279 you're trying to find the cheapest ticket and that means 0:06:08.320 --> 0:06:11.159 a lot of stopovers and a lot of different airline carriers. 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:13.440 I find out that Malia is actually at the top 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:15.960 of Africa, so that added another flight to the journey, 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:18.840 and I was playing there and back then. These are 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:21.640 ten thousand dollar futures, so this is the lowest of 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:23.880 the low but you have to play them. If you're unraked, 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:26.799 you have to play that to get those valuable ranking points. 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:28.320 And I got. 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:30.760 Through qualifying, had to win four matches just to get 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:33.640 through qualifying your up against these Spaniards and these Europeans 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:36.240 that have their coach there. And I lost first round, 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:38.279 but I was pretty chucked. This is when I was 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:40.800 going to pick up my first professional prize money check 0:06:40.880 --> 0:06:45.400 in a rock up, you know, shoulders back, feeling pretty 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:48.920 good about myself to prize money office, and the check 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:51.719 was to eighty euros. And I realized then and there, 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:53.880 todd that that eighty euros was not going to cover 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:56.640 too many of the expenses. But it was a dream 0:06:56.680 --> 0:06:58.960 of mine. It was a dream of mine to really 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:02.400 give it a crack. Obviously, so many moments where you're 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:07.040 going to have those those moments of self doubt, and 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:10.880 that happens. Tennis is brutal. Everyone loses every single week 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:14.520 except for one person. But bit by beard I improved. 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:18.880 There was adversity along the way with injuries that eventually 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:22.040 I managed to make a career of it and got 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:23.880 to do what I loved and what got to do 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:28.120 what I wanted to always do as a kid growing up, 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:30.760 which was to play on the biggest stage, on the 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:31.840 biggest courts in the world. 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:33.840 We're talking about that you've gone from, you know, the 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:39.240 top of Africa, battling it out in difficult circumstances, and 0:07:39.280 --> 0:07:41.320 then you talk about the top courts in the world. 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:46.040 For me, that moment for you was the US Open. 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:49.040 And there's one player that pops up in your. 0:07:50.560 --> 0:07:50.920 Well. 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:54.800 For me, your memory is Roger Federer. Now, I had 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:57.680 Pete Samprass back in my day and I got a 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:01.160 win over him, and you know when he finished, he 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:04.640 was the goat in your career. Roger was the goat 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:08.600 and you get a win over him. Extraordinary, really when 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:11.560 you look back on it, to beat him on Arthur 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:13.240 Ash Stadium at the US Open. 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:15.760 Tell us about that experience. 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:17.760 And then I want another couple of questions, if I may, 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:18.760 about Roger to you. 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:23.240 Yeah, I mean, I mean I never envisaged after that 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:25.800 match that I'd be talking about Roger so much. But 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:29.760 I can understand it right because he transcended our sport 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:32.680 the way he went about it. His elegance is artist 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:36.720 artistry on the court and the way he handled himself 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:39.760 off the court. He speaks about six different languages. He's 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:42.240 just a really class individual. I'd played him a few 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:45.439 times before, but obviously you're about to blame him in 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:47.960 the round of sixteen on Arthur Ash, which is the 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.559 biggest stadium that we have in men's and women's tennis. 0:08:50.600 --> 0:08:53.040 I think it holds about twenty six thousand people. It 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:57.240 is absolutely huge. In fact, when you're warming up there, 0:08:57.320 --> 0:08:59.760 I remember hitting with Andy it might have been at 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:02.880 that on them earlier on. And one of the things 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:06.080 you do at arthur Ash the roofs open, is you 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:08.040 grab a ball at the end of the session you 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:09.800 try to hit it out of the stadium. And I 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:12.040 don't know one person that's managed to do so. It 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:15.320 is like it is just such a big stadium. So 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.920 you're warming up before the TV screens are on, and 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:23.160 you know there's Ana con giving your zero chance and 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:26.120 all the pundits and rightly so. I mean, Roger was, 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:28.120 as you've touched on, one of the greatest evors to 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:33.040 do it. So yeah, look, it's just really interesting you 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:36.120 go out there. And the one thing against Roger was 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:37.920 that I wasn't going to play his reputation. 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:41.680 I was lucky enough to play multiple times before and instead. 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:45.080 Of playing you know his name, well, I wanted to 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:48.400 play the man and I was very aware of that. 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:51.520 Another thing that you would know, Todd is when you're 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:54.559 at Arthur ash or even in the States in general. 0:09:54.679 --> 0:09:59.080 At New York, the crowd is a very very unique one. 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:02.720 They're not necessarily engaged in the match. If the match 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:06.120 isn't giving them a reason to be engaged. They're they're 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:08.360 having a bit of a good time. They're drinking, they're 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:11.720 taking their selfies, they're making sure they've got the Instagram 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:14.520 posts up and running, and they're not really engaged in 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:17.360 the match. And it was about after I've won the 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:19.080 second so I was down a set in five three 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:22.000 and Roger was playing some pretty good tenets. I managed 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:25.080 to turn the tables in that second set, and towards 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:27.679 the end of the third set, I remember changing the 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:30.640 ends and all of a sudden, the crowds started to 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:35.560 really hush, and that constant chatter that you heard kind 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:40.360 of disappeared, and they started playing every single point with 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:43.080 you or against you, most of the time against me. 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:46.320 Roger Federer had the home support even in Australia when 0:10:46.360 --> 0:10:47.320 I was up against him. 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:49.160 He had the home support wherever he went. 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:53.599 But I really recognized that moment and I started to 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:57.280 believe that if the crowd thinks there might be a 0:10:57.280 --> 0:11:00.920 bit of an upset. I should be believing there could 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:03.080 be a bit of an upset, and as the match 0:11:03.160 --> 0:11:05.760 wore on, I kind of got stronger physically. 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:06.800 It's hot there. 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:10.160 It was a really hot summer in the States that year, 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:13.200 and people don't know the Flushing Meadow is actually built 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:18.200 in swamplands, so it creates this really humid environment if 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:21.240 the conditions are right for that, which is not too 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:24.480 dissimilar to Australia. To Brisbane, I should say, where the 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:28.240 summer you get those really afternoon storms with all that humidity, 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:31.880 so custom made for myself. I thought Roger was starting 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:34.480 to struggle physically, and as the match went on, I 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:36.160 went stronger and stronger. 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:38.320 And the stars aligned. Unfortunately for me. 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:43.240 After the match, you know, you go and look at 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:45.679 the drawer and you've got Novak Djokovic in the quarter finals, 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:47.080 so it didn't get any easier for me. 0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:48.520 But it was a thrill. 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:51.520 It really doesn't matter to have that victory on that 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:54.280 court in a slam. Not many players were able to 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:56.080 do it, and you almost pulled it off once again 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:58.480 at the Australian Open. You were so close in a 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:01.240 fifth set battle there. The other question I had for 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:04.880 you is that your game style? You know, gritty, determined baseliner. 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:07.640 At times there seemed like an invisible line that you 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:09.560 didn't want to cross to come forward to the net. 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:11.400 You know, I had to commentate a lot on your matches. 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:13.440 I get in, John, get in please. 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:17.000 But didn't have the skill set that was the problem. 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:20.440 But you knew your strengths and your mentality and your 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:21.880 fitness and your backed all of that. 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:24.800 But how is it that Federer. 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:27.320 Could be any player in the world, but you gave 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:31.400 him trouble? What gave him trouble in playing your style? 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:32.600 Yeah? 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:33.680 I think a few things. 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:37.440 I think first and foremost, having had experiences in the 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:40.440 past playing against him and having some success really helped me. 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.440 Brisbane inter National twenty fifteen. I was up a set 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:46.120 and a break there, came really close to knocking him 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:51.199 off there. And I think that illusion of Roger Better, 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:55.439 or that illusion of one of these superstars, you kind 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:58.880 of start to really believe in yourself that you know, 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:03.360 this guy is amazing, but I can beat him, you know, 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:06.280 if he has a slightly off day and I'm really on, 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:08.760 I can. I think these players can win so many 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:12.000 matches on reputation alike. So I think that that really helped. 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:16.720 But also I think Roger really sets up his game 0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:18.960 stob with that back end slice. I think he's got 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:21.360 a great back end slice, and a lot of players 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:24.839 will drop that one a little bit short or can't 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:28.280 quite penetrate and cut sideline off that slice. And as 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:30.320 soon as you go a little bit central with him, 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:32.880 he's so quick to get around and use his fourhands 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:35.880 and really start opening you up. And that opens up 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:38.920 so much landscape for him. 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:41.520 All of a sudden. He can use his am girls, 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:43.320 he can get in, he can use his hands at 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:43.640 the net. 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:45.960 We know how good of a bollier he was, So 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:48.599 I think that I never really struggled with that. My 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:51.559 two handed back end was always quite solid. I felt 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:53.959 as if I used a lot of left hand on 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:55.960 my two handed back end, which meant I could get 0:13:56.080 --> 0:14:01.040 underneath the slice and really kind of cut sideline off 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:03.400 that shot, which I think he's not really used to it, 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:05.280 and he was used to to play as more going 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:08.640 middle corridor against him and out of that fourhand wing. 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:11.959 This sounds a bit silly and maybe I'm completely wrong, 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:15.760 but I felt as if that Roger, because of the 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:20.040 array of weaponry that he had and how graceful he 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:21.160 made the game look. 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:21.880 And even when you. 0:14:21.960 --> 0:14:24.640 Practice with him, he'll go one or two and then 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:27.080 he'll try to do like a little back spinning drop shot, 0:14:27.160 --> 0:14:31.600 or a little short sly or some like slap fourhand 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:35.720 cross court winner. He wants to try different things. And 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:39.280 I felt as if if I could repeat these patterns 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:43.840 and with quality, because you have to have it with quality. 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.200 I felt as if you could almost ball Roger, and 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:50.400 eventually he tried to do something that wasn't quite on. 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:53.040 And I know that sounds silly, and I might talk 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:55.440 to Roger or Severn and I might be completely off 0:14:55.440 --> 0:14:57.880 the mark, but at least that's what I felt, and 0:14:57.920 --> 0:15:00.600 I think that that's really yeah, And I think that's 0:15:00.640 --> 0:15:03.920 a really really good thing to have that clarity when 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.160 you're out there. And I think when you can start 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:08.760 seeing these little vulnerabilities, even if it might not be 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:11.360 the case, but if you think that they exist, it 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:14.640 actually goes a long way to going on beating him. Obviously, 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:17.240 I had another chance at the Australian Open, and it's 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:20.680 only in my retirement Todd that I can sit back there. 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:23.000 I was up eight four in that fifth set tiebreaker, 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:25.720 and I don't think you ever want to let. 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:27.560 Any negative thoughts go into your mind. 0:15:27.640 --> 0:15:30.000 You have to get over lost a quickly in tennis, 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:31.560 and I think you have to get over loss as 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:34.680 quickly in life, and you know, rub yourself off and 0:15:34.760 --> 0:15:35.280 go again. 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:38.880 So I managed to convince myself that I didn't do 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:39.840 really anything wrong. 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:43.240 It was Roger Betterer that pulled it out after being 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:45.840 eight four down and myself helve eight four up. But 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:48.320 I can probably look back that now and go, look, 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:51.000 I've probably choked that one away. And it's taken me 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:54.800 since retirement that I can do that and admit those 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:56.520 little vulnerabilities within myself. 0:15:56.960 --> 0:15:58.920 Well, I still think an incredible effort. 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:01.120 We've got about five minutes left, so we need to 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:05.240 talk about representing Australia Davis Cup, wearing the green and gold, 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:08.200 and that first moment that you get selected in a 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:09.160 Davis Cup team. 0:16:09.320 --> 0:16:10.640 What was that like for you? 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:12.480 The best feeling ever? 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:16.040 As you could tell Todd, I've not normally lost for words, 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:20.080 but I was that time. It was a semifinals match 0:16:20.440 --> 0:16:22.280 in the old format that I know you and I 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:25.720 both love, even when it's an away tie like that 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:28.680 it's perhaps even better because you're going into this hostile 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:30.960 environment and that. 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:33.320 You ever play in your career and you remember, you 0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:36.400 remember them because of that, even the losses, but the 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:38.560 victories are better from my experience. 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:42.760 And we're going into Brussels in the semifinals. It's an 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:46.960 indoor stadium court and it's on the heaviest, slowest dirt 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:50.160 that you've ever played, So for most Australians that does 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:50.800 not suit. 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:52.680 But on the Wednesday before the. 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:56.680 Tie starts on Friday, Layton and Jason kind of pulled 0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:59.320 me into the back room and I'm here thinking I 0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:01.640 probably missed out again, maybe even though I was playing 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:05.520 some pretty good tennis, and Layton told me, John, we 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:08.280 want you to play day one against GoF On and 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:11.000 like I said Todd, I was lost for words and 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:16.520 I was incredibly proud. I also think that playing for 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:22.919 your country is your greatest opportunity to represent the people 0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:25.320 back home that put you in that position, to get 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:28.440 you out onto that court. Tennis is often seen as 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:33.720 an individual sport, but there's so many wiles that are 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:36.520 turning behind the scenes to give you that chance and 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:39.720 to give you that moment, whether that's with the Federation, 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:42.399 or whether that's with your private coach or your. 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:44.520 Friends and family who have picked you up when you've 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:45.160 fallen down. 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:48.040 And I felt as if that when I got to 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:49.880 play in the Green and go, this is my chance 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:53.000 to represent them. So I was incredibly proud. I love 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:55.000 David Scuff. I just love being with the boys. I 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:58.760 love being with the team. I love picking Tody Roach's brain. 0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:01.719 I think that there should be stadiums named after Roachie 0:18:01.760 --> 0:18:05.879 he is and it has been a storeward in men's 0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:09.320 and women's tennis, but particularly later on in his career 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:13.280 in men's tennis for the Australian lads, having him on 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:15.639 the sideline, having him at dinner, I mean I would 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:18.879 fly today down to Sydney to just talk to him 0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:21.119 for five minutes and hear his stories and hear his 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:23.040 advice in life in general. 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:23.680 I loved it. 0:18:23.960 --> 0:18:27.320 And having Late on the sidelines too. Actually on the 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:30.639 court sometimes it's intimidating because you want to do so 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:33.080 much for your captain and you know how great of 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:34.959 a player he was. I mean I grew up watching 0:18:35.040 --> 0:18:38.119 Late and to be able to share the court with 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:42.960 him in his team is incredibly special, and you know 0:18:43.000 --> 0:18:44.399 I just love it. And you can see that with 0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:47.280 the boys right now. You can see how much they 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:50.200 enjoy getting together as teams. Why we've had so much 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:53.400 success more recently because they love being in that environment. 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:54.560 They love playing for the country. 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:58.679 Favorite match that you can recall for whatever reason. 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:02.840 That's a funny one because everyone probably jumps to to, 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:05.639 you know, the Roger. 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:11.280 Federer one, but Cup in that moment, Yeah. 0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:13.520 Davis, I know David's Cup definitely. 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:16.760 Actually in Adelaide, we had a couple of injuries, so 0:19:17.000 --> 0:19:17.840 Alex demn. 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:18.600 Or couldn't play. 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:23.639 He was coming back from from an ab tear and 0:19:23.680 --> 0:19:26.880