Speaker 1: Hey, it's Zavy.
Speaker 2: The tennis is taking a quick break this week, but
Speaker 2: we've still got something special for you. Highlights reel from
Speaker 2: our sister podcast. To sit down, We'll pulled together some
Speaker 2: of the best interviews from season two, kicking off with
Speaker 2: Matt and Viv chat with the legendary Martina Hingis.
Speaker 3: The end of the season in ninety six, I felt like,
Speaker 3: you know, I finally kind of got into the groove.
Speaker 3: I won my first tournaments and at the end of
Speaker 3: the season and I had beaten some top ten players
Speaker 3: and I felt like, Okay, you.
Speaker 4: Know, maybe it's my time to shine.
Speaker 3: But everybody was also a little bit suspicious, is she,
Speaker 3: you know, ready enough?
Speaker 4: Is she grown up enough to actually win a major?
Speaker 4: And in my way, in my little you know, back
Speaker 4: of my head, I was like, I'm going to show you.
Speaker 4: You know, yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 3: It was just still amazing when you look back at
Speaker 3: it at such a young age to be able to
Speaker 3: win a Slam.
Speaker 4: Yes, of course, we were a different generation looking at it.
Speaker 3: We had Monica Sellis and Jennifer Capriati who would win
Speaker 3: one big tournaments bigot wins at being teenagers. So at
Speaker 3: that time it was a little bit normal and I
Speaker 3: always tried to like beat Jennifer Capriati's records even as
Speaker 3: a junior, so that was something that But of course,
Speaker 3: you know, it was also a big relief to be
Speaker 3: able to win my first major as being you know,
Speaker 3: high seat and one of the favorites to win the tournament.
Speaker 5: You still hold the record of as the youngest woman
Speaker 5: to win a Grand Slam singles title. These days we
Speaker 5: say not as many teenagers at the top of the game.
Speaker 5: Why do you think that is the case.
Speaker 3: I think one of it is maybe because the game
Speaker 3: has evolved. It is has gotten probably more physical, also
Speaker 3: because of the records and the strings. Is a natural
Speaker 3: evolution of the sport, that is. But even after me,
Speaker 3: you had a Maria Sharapova who almost you know, got
Speaker 3: close with winning her.
Speaker 4: Title at Wimbledon or Coco Golf.
Speaker 3: You know, you still get the kind of players that
Speaker 3: have that special something to be able to win as teenager,
Speaker 3: or Emma ra Dukano when she came from qualifying winning
Speaker 3: the US Open title. So I do still believe that
Speaker 3: it is possible to win Grand Slams at a young age.
Speaker 3: But definitely what has changed is like you have to
Speaker 3: be a discipline, you have to be fully focused, and
Speaker 3: it's maybe what the generation has changed.
Speaker 4: To win a Grand Slam, you need to win seven
Speaker 4: matches within two weeks. So sometimes players have a highlight,
Speaker 4: you know, they they win a great match or two
Speaker 4: couple of round and then all of a sudden, they're
Speaker 4: already happy.
Speaker 3: That's what I sometimes miss about the game today that
Speaker 3: I think, Okay, you know.
Speaker 4: They're satisfied too quickly with their successes.
Speaker 3: And even if they win a title, they're not able
Speaker 3: to continue at that high level because everybody puts them already,
Speaker 3: like you know, on a big as favorites. But yeah,
Speaker 3: on the other hand, like I really that's why I
Speaker 3: like to watch someone like Cocoa goth and If because
Speaker 3: she's completely determined and professional about her sports and what
Speaker 3: she wants to achieve.
Speaker 6: It's really cool hearing you talk about the current generation
Speaker 6: because what they're doing on court now is your name
Speaker 6: is coming up in association with a lot of what
Speaker 6: they're doing. Two years ago, when igersh Fiontek won thirty
Speaker 6: seven matches in a row, everyone kind of dug into
Speaker 6: the record books to see, oh, who did that last time?
Speaker 6: And it was you, but it was twenty five years ago.
Speaker 6: And then this year we were looking at Sablenka and
Speaker 6: she's trying to go for three Australian Open titles in
Speaker 6: a row and we did the same thing. Who was
Speaker 6: the last person that did that?
Speaker 4: And it was you?
Speaker 6: And so what is it like to hear the current
Speaker 6: world number one and two kind of bringing up your
Speaker 6: milestones again? What's that like to hear?
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I do follow tennis.
Speaker 3: I'm not totally aware of that, so I'm also doing
Speaker 3: some commentary obviously, and it.
Speaker 4: Makes me proud. Yeah.
Speaker 3: I mean at that time, you're thinking, okay, you know,
Speaker 3: it's almost normal that you were winning those titles.
Speaker 4: Because everybody expects you to do well.
Speaker 3: And as later on when I became number one, so
Speaker 3: every tournament you go to, everybody expects you to always succeed.
Speaker 4: And win, and so it was the same.
Speaker 3: I was looking obviously, you have that kind of pressure
Speaker 3: when you have such a winning streak. Then all of
Speaker 3: a sudden, it's like you also get as a player.
Speaker 3: I almost thought, like you get tight. You know, when
Speaker 3: is that next time that you're going to lose? Eventually
Speaker 3: it's gonna happen but yeah, and also yeah, you talk
Speaker 3: about sap Alenka, I mean she's you know, she definitely
Speaker 3: deserves to be number one now with her past or
Speaker 3: this year, the way she she played with winning Grand Slams.
Speaker 3: But also I enjoy watching like Mira Andreva. You know,
Speaker 3: she was one of those that she made like quarter
Speaker 3: final semifinals, excuse me, at various events like at the
Speaker 3: French or she did well in Australia and all of
Speaker 3: a sudden my name came up. And it was also
Speaker 3: funny because she this year, she asked me if I
Speaker 3: would want to coach her, and I'm a big fan
Speaker 3: of hers, the way she plays, and unfortunately I couldn't
Speaker 3: take that job because of my daughter going to kindergarten
Speaker 3: and I'm not able to travel as much. But yeah,
Speaker 3: Concida Martinez is doing a great job of helping her
Speaker 3: on the way and defining her game and making her
Speaker 3: a better play.
Speaker 4: So we'll see how far she's gonna take it.
Speaker 5: Were there any players that you particularly loved to compeigne against.
Speaker 3: I think that generation we all were really educated players.
Speaker 3: I would say like we all had really good foundation,
Speaker 3: whether it was the Williams sisters, Lindsay Devin Poor, Monica Sellis.
Speaker 4: Jennifer Capriati.
Speaker 3: Obviously the couple finals I played against her and later
Speaker 3: it was Kim Clysies and Justine Hannen.
Speaker 4: So I think we had really good foundations and basics
Speaker 4: and how to play the game.
Speaker 3: Sometimes again, today what I miss is not having a
Speaker 3: plan B or C.
Speaker 4: Like most of the players. If they do plan A
Speaker 4: and it doesn't.
Speaker 3: Work out, they have a hard time or they struggle
Speaker 3: a little bit to find a solution a way to win.
Speaker 4: And that's what champions do.
Speaker 3: Sometimes you just need to win the match and it
Speaker 3: doesn't matter how you can be just ballooning all of
Speaker 3: a sudden and not just hitting winners from the baseline.
Speaker 4: And yeah, that's I think.
Speaker 3: We all had this capability to find a way to
Speaker 3: win in that generation.
Speaker 2: That was tring to sit down with my Tina Hinkers.
Speaker 2: Scroll back up to episode one for the full interview.
Speaker 2: Next up, Matt sat down with two time US Open
Speaker 2: champ Pat Rafter when he was in Melbourne Head of
Speaker 2: AO twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1: Paddle is a fun game, it's new, it's exciting. I'm learning,
Speaker 1: you know tennis, I don't. I'm not learning anymore. I'm
Speaker 1: sort of done with the learning part.
Speaker 6: Of that's fair. So you said earlier that tennis was
Speaker 6: your job. Do you play it much these days now
Speaker 6: that you're atire.
Speaker 1: I don't. I never looked to play tennis. So I
Speaker 1: have a tennis caught at home. The only time I
Speaker 1: get on the court is if i'm my daughter and
Speaker 1: my son are in town and well, my wife really
Speaker 1: wants to hit, so that's the only time I play it.
Speaker 6: So do your kids have a bit of an interesting
Speaker 6: tennis Yeah.
Speaker 1: I made them play when they were young. They needed
Speaker 1: to play the game, They need to have some understanding,
Speaker 1: and they really enjoy It's a life sport for them.
Speaker 1: Then you know, there's obviously all different levels of tennis,
Speaker 1: and then they're they're at their own level, but they
Speaker 1: love it. And so for me, it is a lifetime
Speaker 1: sport that I wanted to teach. Like swimming, you know,
Speaker 1: you have to learn to swim. Tennis is another game
Speaker 1: for me that was very passionate for me to for
Speaker 1: them to get involved with. If I sit in that
Speaker 1: same moment of the new ninety seven US Open, when
Speaker 1: it's it's just not I still don't enjoy it. It's
Speaker 1: it's sort of interesting when I talk about it and
Speaker 1: get brought up in conversation questions. I will reflect on
Speaker 1: it and then I can answer the questions based on
Speaker 1: my memories of that experience. But I don't sit around.
Speaker 1: I don't want to go into it. Okay, should we
Speaker 1: s get.
Speaker 7: It?
Speaker 1: It's it's a part that it's a past and I'm
Speaker 1: done with it, and I don't.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's but like when you reflect on it is
Speaker 6: if it obviously it doesn't come imagine you said it's
Speaker 6: the past, But when you reflect on it is the
Speaker 6: emotional like I'm really satisfied with what I did, or
Speaker 6: you're like, oh, I don't connect with it anymore.
Speaker 1: Different. I think I'm talking about more of the emotional
Speaker 1: feeling because you can actually take yourself back into all
Speaker 1: the feelings of it, you know, if you go deep
Speaker 1: into it. Yeah, that bit I don't go into.
Speaker 8: I go.
Speaker 1: We're with the to look back and reflect on, you know,
Speaker 1: just the achievements. So so proud of what I was
Speaker 1: able to achieve with my career, with my ability. I'm
Speaker 1: as staked, you know. But I don't sit there. But
Speaker 1: if you want me to reflect on the moments and
Speaker 1: the situations and the feelings and take myself back into
Speaker 1: Wimbledon and those times. Yeah, those things I don't go into.
Speaker 6: No, that's fair, and I wasn't going to ask me
Speaker 6: about that. I was actually going to talk about those
Speaker 6: things because researching for this interview, I know your career
Speaker 6: very well. I watched you when I was growing up,
Speaker 6: but there were some things that came up that I
Speaker 6: was like, I didn't know, Pat did that like you?
Speaker 4: Apparently.
Speaker 6: I'm not sure if you know this, but you are
Speaker 6: one of only three men in open air history. The
Speaker 6: others are labor in Edinburgh to make the semis of
Speaker 6: all the slams in singles and doubles, and you're the
Speaker 6: most recent person that's ever done that.
Speaker 1: Did you know that? I knew there's a few of us.
Speaker 1: I thought they might have been more than that.
Speaker 4: Apparently not.
Speaker 6: So you're in a very select little group of this
Speaker 6: kind of nice complete singles, doubles, all the surfaces, all
Speaker 6: the majors, and yeah, you're apparently the last one that
Speaker 6: did that. Whenever you achieved that, it might have been
Speaker 6: late nineties, early two thousands, I'm not sure it would be.
Speaker 1: Yeah, doubles, singles. Well, I guess by I don't know.
Speaker 6: But I guess when you look at your career, you
Speaker 6: won majors, you were world number one, you represented your country,
Speaker 6: you won master's titles. You kind of did all of
Speaker 6: the things that the tennact.
Speaker 1: I just didn't do a lot of it, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. I didn't win seven of them. I
Speaker 1: didn't win people do I know? I know, but I
Speaker 1: think as you know, you know, you put yourself in
Speaker 1: the number one category of players. You know, I'd be
Speaker 1: the worst performing number one category player in many.
Speaker 6: Ways, the worst number one.
Speaker 1: It's still a title to hold you one, I know,
Speaker 1: but you put yourself in that category a bit. It's
Speaker 1: probably the worst, I take it.
Speaker 6: When do you think you were at your career peak?
Speaker 6: What year or what time? Ninety eight? That's something else.
Speaker 6: You're the first person to do the America the Summer
Speaker 6: Slam since Canada, Canada, since the US to do.
Speaker 1: Did Andy Rotick do it after meon yep? And then
Speaker 1: a couple other place things have done. Rafa has it's you?
Speaker 1: That's it?
Speaker 6: That's it? See very select group. So ninety eight was
Speaker 6: your peak? Do you have what's your favorite or finest win.
Speaker 6: And I mean it could be a match, or it
Speaker 6: could be a tournament.
Speaker 1: I think the whole thing is a combination. But the
Speaker 1: ninety seven US Open win, my first Grand Slam win,
Speaker 1: is the most memorable because that was to me winning
Speaker 1: a Grand Slam. That's what it's all about. It might
Speaker 1: not have been the prettiest match, but in terms of
Speaker 1: career changing, it was definitely winning the US Open final.
Speaker 1: And there's obviously great matches I played. I played a
Speaker 1: lot of great matches with Andre Agason, a couple of
Speaker 1: Wemble and few at Wembland, so yeah, awesome. And I
Speaker 1: got to play in center court at Wimbledon in ninety three.
Speaker 1: I qualified, got to the third round, played.
Speaker 6: Andrea ninety three cent co Wilden.
Speaker 9: I didn't know that I.
Speaker 1: Kicked my ass, but it was so much fun.
Speaker 4: That's awesome.
Speaker 6: Well you got him back later at Wimbledon.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he got me again in ninety nine. Then I've
Speaker 1: been in two thousand and two thousand and one, so too.
Speaker 1: All let's go three semis in a row.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 6: We actually had Donna Kelso, the WTA supervisor on now
Speaker 6: podcast a couple of weeks ago, and we asked her,
Speaker 6: you know, you've been in tennis for thirty years, what
Speaker 6: are some of your memories. You're always working, but if
Speaker 6: you were ever watching, what do you remember? And she said,
Speaker 6: you're ninety seven US Open wings. She remembers that as
Speaker 6: an Australian And I remember I was allowed to go
Speaker 6: to school late that day because it was like eight
Speaker 6: thirty in the morning in Australia and we were just
Speaker 6: watching waiting. We match went and then we could get
Speaker 6: in the car to go to school.
Speaker 1: Cool.
Speaker 6: I was going to ask you one other thing. Yes,
Speaker 6: when people talk to you about your tennis career, whether
Speaker 6: it's in an interview, if it's just like people on
Speaker 6: the street, I'm not sure. What's the one match they
Speaker 6: bring up.
Speaker 1: Oh, probably the two thousand and one Goran match, the
Speaker 1: final final, because it's a funny one because I played
Speaker 1: Sampus the year before in the final. They don't bring
Speaker 1: that up very much. But the Go Run match they
Speaker 1: bring up a lot. I think there's just so many
Speaker 1: emotions going on between both of us. Where Peter one
Speaker 1: fifteen Wimblin's, I don't know, he won a lot of them.
Speaker 1: Tennis is healthy. The Aussie Open has become. It's bigger
Speaker 1: than any player right now. It's an event like Wimbledon.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter if you had two hundred the top
Speaker 1: two hundred players in the world rock up over one
Speaker 1: hundred and two hundred. People will come and watch it.
Speaker 7: You know.
Speaker 1: It's just healthy because of the event is so amazing
Speaker 1: and top players will always come along. And we're seeing
Speaker 1: again strength with Sinner and Alkhasm.
Speaker 3: My god.
Speaker 1: I mean you look at them play and go, wow,
Speaker 1: they're awesome. So they keep coming. It keeps happy and
Speaker 1: they will continue to keep happen in the men's and
Speaker 1: the women's game. Thanks Pat.
Speaker 2: That was from episode two if you want to hear
Speaker 2: the full interview. Now he's Matt again, this time catching
Speaker 2: up with twenty eleven AO champion Kim Clousters about in
Speaker 2: Indian wells.
Speaker 8: The best part about doing this with Andy is I
Speaker 8: don't feel like I'm on a podcast, which is great
Speaker 8: because we used to reach out through text messages when
Speaker 8: we were watching tennis games and we would go back
Speaker 8: and forth about like what do you think about this? Well,
Speaker 8: I think so and so and yeah, and like we
Speaker 8: just have that conversation. Even now, like when we're talking
Speaker 8: about like a different topic or a match that we're
Speaker 8: both watching at the same time. He's like, stop, we
Speaker 8: got to stop talking about this, Like let's just keep
Speaker 8: this for the podcast. Like we don't prepare anything. Everything
Speaker 8: is really very kind of like yeah, our opinions and
Speaker 8: how we feel. And I love his tennis brain. I
Speaker 8: love learning from him.
Speaker 6: I love the thought of you too, though, sitting at
Speaker 6: home watching tennis and texting each other, Like that's real
Speaker 6: tennis fandom. I have that with you know, friends of
Speaker 6: mine who are not players, like we do that, And
Speaker 6: that has come across I think thinking about your career,
Speaker 6: particularly since you stopped playing. I mean, you're involved with
Speaker 6: the Hall of Fame, You've done a bit of media.
Speaker 6: You've also coached, you have an academy, you've played Legends
Speaker 6: events as well. It sounds like you were real It
Speaker 6: comes across that you're a real fan of the game.
Speaker 9: Is that fair?
Speaker 8: I love the sport like I fell in love with
Speaker 8: it when I was almost five years old, and I
Speaker 8: still love playing. Like people ask me here like do
Speaker 8: you miss playing here? And I'm like, no, I don't,
Speaker 8: Like I don't miss playing here. I still love playing
Speaker 8: tennis and it can be in a local, small little
Speaker 8: tennis court and you know in New Jersey or any
Speaker 8: public court, Like I love the sport and yeah, it's
Speaker 8: it's it's a true passion. And I know it's very rare,
Speaker 8: like you know, I see it with my kids too,
Speaker 8: Like it's I know, it was really rare to have
Speaker 8: found something very naturally that wasn't kind of pushed on
Speaker 8: me from my parents or anything like, to find something
Speaker 8: that you've loved from such a young age agent to
Speaker 8: you know grow into yeah, have it grow into you know,
Speaker 8: me still being connected into the sport, right. And I
Speaker 8: never thought when I was a professional player that I
Speaker 8: would still be you know, connected and have this whole
Speaker 8: tennis family at the at the Hall of Fame and
Speaker 8: now being able to you know, do the be legendary
Speaker 8: program and talk to you know, young kids around the world,
Speaker 8: Like I never thought of those things. And it's amazing
Speaker 8: how tennis kind of brings people together. And that's the
Speaker 8: beauty of the sport is that we get you know,
Speaker 8: the sport is yeah, so well known around the world,
Speaker 8: and we have to thank a lot of the you know,
Speaker 8: the women that that kind of paved the way for us. Yea,
Speaker 8: you know, early on, right, the Billy Jean Kings and
Speaker 8: I mean from there on, you know, never had to
Speaker 8: lover Chrissy Everett. I mean, I you know, there's so
Speaker 8: many to name, but it's I'll never forget that I
Speaker 8: was eighteen years old when I played. No, I was younger,
Speaker 8: but I played the juniors at the US Open and
Speaker 8: listen to Billy Jean King speak and you know, she
Speaker 8: was very you know, she has a very powerful personality
Speaker 8: and her passion is so strong, and just listening to
Speaker 8: her at a young age, I think I was fourteen
Speaker 8: and listening to her talk about the impact and the
Speaker 8: you know what it took for them to get to
Speaker 8: the level where tennis was back then and now I'm
Speaker 8: talking maybe nineteen ninety eight or so. It was amazing.
Speaker 8: Like it just stuck with me to be, you know,
Speaker 8: always be ready to you know, sign your autographs, take
Speaker 8: the pictures, be available accessible to you know, the media,
Speaker 8: the fans, I mean, And that's what it is.
Speaker 4: It's it's you.
Speaker 8: I see it with my daughter now, she loves basketball.
Speaker 8: You know, being able to connect with the players that
Speaker 8: you like or that you watch on TV makes makes
Speaker 8: the world a difference and makes the kids believe that
Speaker 8: this is a world that is actually accessible and not
Speaker 8: just something that I watch on TV.
Speaker 6: The Istralian Open Wing that you had with your fis
Speaker 6: Grand Slam title as a mother, and your name comes
Speaker 6: up a lot, particularly now, because there are so many
Speaker 6: big names that have made recent comebacks to the tour
Speaker 6: as moms, but you're the only one that's ever managed
Speaker 6: to win a Grand Slam. I mean, obviously Evon, Gula Gong,
Speaker 6: Macra Coort did it, but I think you're the most
Speaker 6: recent player to win a Grand Slam as a mum.
Speaker 6: And we've seen a lot of players do well and
Speaker 6: come close, but they've never done what you did, And
Speaker 6: I just wonder, Well, it's a hard question, I guess,
Speaker 6: but why do you think that is?
Speaker 4: I don't know.
Speaker 8: I feel like Serena definitely was the one that has
Speaker 8: come the closest right to winning. I think I don't
Speaker 8: know how many finals she made, I think maybe three
Speaker 8: or something as a mom when she came back.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 8: I feel I'm so ready for a new mom to
Speaker 8: do hold a Grand Slam trophy because I'm proud seeing
Speaker 8: you know, so many women in the draw and see
Speaker 8: the kids walk around here and seeing in their family
Speaker 8: members in the in the player's restaurant, and that's what
Speaker 8: it's all about.
Speaker 4: I mean, I remember the first year.
Speaker 8: So when I came back in two thousand and nine,
Speaker 8: I came back in Cincinnati and I was playing a
Speaker 8: tournament there and there was a player that came up
Speaker 8: to me and said, oh, man, I wish I did
Speaker 8: with you then, and that I had, you know, the
Speaker 8: guts to do it because now mid thirties and I, yeah,
Speaker 8: don't have a partner, I've you know, kind of yeah,
Speaker 8: been playing a career and so it really kind of resent,
Speaker 8: like it really made things like sink in for me
Speaker 8: and realize like, oh wow, like people, this is an
Speaker 8: issue for a lot of women, right, Like I don't know,
Speaker 8: like there's so many women where your clock start sticking
Speaker 8: and you feel like you want to start a family,
Speaker 8: But at the same time you also feel like, oh,
Speaker 8: I've been working. I've been playing tennis for twenty years
Speaker 8: or even longer, working to be at this level and
Speaker 8: to play the Grand Slams and having sponsors or not,
Speaker 8: but like focused on your ranking, and so it's it's
Speaker 8: a tough situation to leave.
Speaker 4: To start a family.
Speaker 8: And you know, I was very fortunate that I had
Speaker 8: done well prior that I you know, whatever, I was
Speaker 8: away for two years or so or a little bit under,
Speaker 8: but that I had the luxury to do that, and
Speaker 8: that I had the results to still get access to
Speaker 8: wildcards if I had to, and and which they did.
Speaker 8: And but that's not for everybody. And and so I
Speaker 8: feel like now with the new the new pif WTA
Speaker 8: Maternity Fund program that's come out, like I really feel
Speaker 8: like it's going to make I mean, it's it's this
Speaker 8: has taken our sport, I feel like, to another level
Speaker 8: for independent women's athletes, because that's what we are, right,
Speaker 8: We're all independents, and we don't get the opportunity like
Speaker 8: you lose your sponsors. You you know, if you don't
Speaker 8: play tournaments, you don't get paid. And there's a lot
Speaker 8: of players who don't make enough money or haven't saved
Speaker 8: enough money to say, oh, I would like to start
Speaker 8: a family because this is what my body, in my
Speaker 8: mind wants to do and then come back. So now
Speaker 8: with this program, I really feel very excited to see
Speaker 8: kind of the new you know, a new player that
Speaker 8: will use this program, and there's so many great, great
Speaker 8: things about it is from supporting like financing egg freezing
Speaker 8: IVF treatment. I mean, it takes it to a completely
Speaker 8: different level. And Victoria Azarenka has actually been a big,
Speaker 8: big force on the Player's Task Force on the WTA
Speaker 8: side of it all to push for this and and
Speaker 8: then with the funds from the PIF, it's yeah, it's
Speaker 8: been able to They've been able to make it possible.
Speaker 4: So very excited about it.
Speaker 2: That was from episode twelve with King Klausters. Next, We've
Speaker 2: got Oussie rising star Maya joint. Matt spoke with her
Speaker 2: and Brisbane during her Billy Jane King Cup debut.
Speaker 6: So at the end of twenty twenty four, when you
Speaker 6: saw what you did, sixty one match wins, a ranking
Speaker 6: that had improved so much, did you sell braided in
Speaker 6: any way when you stopped and go, wow, what a
Speaker 6: what a season?
Speaker 10: We didn't do anything. We I think when I got
Speaker 10: into the top hundred in Merida, we went and got
Speaker 10: ice cream. But we do that anyway, so it wasn't
Speaker 10: but I mean we were aware of it, but I
Speaker 10: don't know, we didn't We didn't really do anything Okay.
Speaker 10: I think we were in tournaments at the time, so
Speaker 10: there wasn't really anything to do.
Speaker 6: Do you think that helps actually not focusing on it
Speaker 6: so much and just like oh, okay.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 10: I just maybe I didn't quite believe it at the time,
Speaker 10: but it was just it's weird to celebrate something that
Speaker 10: you know you're not done yet.
Speaker 6: So what is what is done?
Speaker 10: I mean, I guess when you're finished with tennis, when
Speaker 10: you get to number one, I guess then you've kind
Speaker 10: of you've done it and you can celebrate. But I mean, no,
Speaker 10: I mean anything any milestone, and the top hundred is
Speaker 10: really special. A top fifty, top forty, top thirty, anything
Speaker 10: is just a crazy achievement. So I think it's important
Speaker 10: to celebrate when you do it, but not let it
Speaker 10: take focus away from like you're not you're not rich
Speaker 10: the goal yet.
Speaker 6: Well, you've cracked top eighty already, so more than ice cream,
Speaker 6: that's what I think we need to think of something.
Speaker 6: Top hundred ice cream is pretty nice. Top eighty, you've
Speaker 6: made another milestone. What that has done for you is
Speaker 6: just completely changed the way that your schedule and your
Speaker 6: season is looking so like at the beginning of this year.
Speaker 6: What has been the experience like suddenly walking onto pat
Speaker 6: Raft Arena under lights in front of five thousand people
Speaker 6: to play as a Reenka, or playing Pagoula on John
Speaker 6: Cane Arena at a Grand Slam like twelve months ago,
Speaker 6: you would know we need that. So how has that been?
Speaker 6: Do you realize it in those moments like oh wow,
Speaker 6: like this is cool or I can't believe I'm doing this,
Speaker 6: or like, what's that experience been, Like.
Speaker 10: Yeah, it's definitely a this is ridiculous kind of moment
Speaker 10: where I didn't really feel like I was supposed to
Speaker 10: be there kind of okay, like it just felt really
Speaker 10: weird me being there, or playing against Pegoula and John
Speaker 10: Kayne that was very walking out into that court, I felt,
Speaker 10: oh boy, this is I was like, I'm not.
Speaker 6: Winning this match, That's what I was saying, Okay.
Speaker 10: And I've had to work a lot with my mental
Speaker 10: coach about just kind of playing those matches because more
Speaker 10: of those matches have happened where I'm playing like a name, yeah,
Speaker 10: and I just need to play the ball that's coming
Speaker 10: at me. I'm not the person pretty much, but it's
Speaker 10: a very different experience to what what a couple months ago,
Speaker 10: I guess a year ago. So it's just been a
Speaker 10: very crazy transition, but super exciting and just it's been
Speaker 10: so cool being able to walk out into the stage
Speaker 10: with all those people and play against those people, just
Speaker 10: people that I've watched on television, and then realizing, oh,
Speaker 10: someone might be watching me on television. This is really weird.
Speaker 6: Well, that's actually when I saw you play properly for
Speaker 6: the first time, the match against Azarenka. I was based
Speaker 6: in Melbourne. I didn't travel for any of the tournaments,
Speaker 6: and I watched you your night match against Astarnkan. You
Speaker 6: nearly beat her, it was, and I was like, oh, wow,
Speaker 6: I can see I get the ranking rise. Like I'd
Speaker 6: seen Maya Joint going up in then, I'd seen highlights
Speaker 6: of you at the US Open, but that was the
Speaker 6: first time I think I'd watched a full match every point.
Speaker 6: So yeah, and you've made that point. You're now playing
Speaker 6: bigger names more regularly. So there's a really cool stat.
Speaker 6: Last year, you played five top one hundred players for
Speaker 6: the whole year. In the first two months of this year,
Speaker 6: you've played six top fifty players, So like it's just
Speaker 6: You're competing as a completely different caliber of player now
Speaker 6: and you're beating quite a few of them. What has
Speaker 6: that experience been like playing the ball, playing the opponent
Speaker 6: like you from the outside to have adjusted it out
Speaker 6: quite well, But how has that been for you?
Speaker 10: Yeah, I feel like whenever I play like a name,
Speaker 10: I just I play with no pressure. So it's just
Speaker 10: it's a really fun experience to be out on the
Speaker 10: court and just see what I can do. Pretty much. Yeah,
Speaker 10: I mean, I've it's always exciting to go to a
Speaker 10: new place because I had never been to any of
Speaker 10: those tournaments before, never played those level of tournaments before,
Speaker 10: So it's just super exciting to to realize that I
Speaker 10: am there and that I am playing them, And yeah,
Speaker 10: it's just so fun to be able to play against
Speaker 10: those kinds of people and have those high level matches.
Speaker 7: That was from episode seventeen with my joint.
Speaker 2: Now he's Matt and Vig with the Nazi Kokanagas.
Speaker 5: What's been the best feeling You've had on a court?
Speaker 11: Best feeling I've had on a court, I have to
Speaker 11: be winning Adelaide. I'd say that that was the best
Speaker 11: I've ever felt. Just I think It's the first time
Speaker 11: I've actually kind of after a win, just having my
Speaker 11: friends and family. The year before being COVID and me
Speaker 11: kind of playing in these smaller cities, just challenger events
Speaker 11: and honestly losing money every week. To sort of come
Speaker 11: back and go eight and one in January and make
Speaker 11: Semis and then win a home tournament that I'd been
Speaker 11: growing up playing on those courts when I was sort
Speaker 11: of seven, eight, nine, ten years old. Yeah, just doing
Speaker 11: it in front of people that don't get to see
Speaker 11: me play that much was special. So for me, that
Speaker 11: was for sure the best memory.
Speaker 9: I've ever had.
Speaker 5: Tanasi, I'm going to cast your mind back a little
Speaker 5: bit now. I first interviewed you in twenty twelve, twenty
Speaker 5: twelve as a member of the Junior Davis Cup team.
Speaker 9: I actually saw this video the other day. It cracks
Speaker 9: me up every time.
Speaker 6: How did that come across the right now?
Speaker 8: I don't know.
Speaker 11: Probably you've searched my name on YouTube or something and
Speaker 11: these these come up. I remember this, Bendigo. We just
Speaker 11: won the World Junior Teams qualifying.
Speaker 4: That's it. You just bet in Japan.
Speaker 5: Yeah, so you remember it very clearly.
Speaker 9: I remember it real clearly Mark Woodford was our coach,
Speaker 9: Lee and big Gooch.
Speaker 5: Uh from the win itself, what did you get out
Speaker 5: of being many others?
Speaker 7: Uh, it's a good team environment. All the boys played well.
Speaker 11: I know Lee felt a bit bad a few of
Speaker 11: the losses, but he came up against players who were
Speaker 11: playing from under the bus.
Speaker 9: I'm lucky, but he didn't keep his head up.
Speaker 7: There's been a good, good tournament everyone.
Speaker 11: Everyone played pretty well.
Speaker 6: And dudes just stepped up for the doubles and we
Speaker 6: neither And how we celebrate.
Speaker 1: Coltext probably go to cow Text.
Speaker 9: Remember did you get a few skittles?
Speaker 7: And laughs with the voice.
Speaker 11: Righteous we were We were trying so hard not to
Speaker 11: laugh that whole interview, as you can tell. And after
Speaker 11: every win would literally go down to the local cowtexs
Speaker 11: and just get this massive packt the skittles.
Speaker 9: And that's what we were doing every day.
Speaker 11: But yeah, you that's the stuff you miss when you
Speaker 11: when you kind of grow up, those sort of tournaments
Speaker 11: and and Davis Carps and welding your teams representing Australia
Speaker 11: with your mates. Yeah, you always remember those those memories
Speaker 11: with the coaches that take you out on those tours.
Speaker 11: It's stuff that when everyone's career is done, will hang
Speaker 11: out and talk about, and they're the things you really remember.
Speaker 5: Yeah, for sure, if my maths is correct, you would
Speaker 5: have been sixteen at that time. Sort Of when you
Speaker 5: look back, what do you remember of being sixteen and
Speaker 5: what advice I guess would you give yourself now?
Speaker 11: Well, I remember, I remember I did a lot of hours,
Speaker 11: a lot of training, more than probably a lot of
Speaker 11: people could comprehend. I think that's why I did so
Speaker 11: well when I was younger, but also potentially maybe that's
Speaker 11: why I got injured. But I would just tell myself
Speaker 11: try and enjoy the journey. It's a long one and
Speaker 11: it's hard. A lot of people's parents kind of come
Speaker 11: to me and they're like, oh, my kid's going to
Speaker 11: do this, this, this, and I'm like, just relax, Like
Speaker 11: you guys don't know how many steps there are and
Speaker 11: how big of a journey it is. It's a really
Speaker 11: long one, and one you've got to stay mentally tough
Speaker 11: because it's going to test you in an individual sport.
Speaker 9: It's going to be a lot of ups and downs.
Speaker 11: Things aren't going to go well, but you've got to
Speaker 11: kind of remember why you do it, and keep enjoying
Speaker 11: it and remember the bigger picture. So yeah, it's hard
Speaker 11: because you don't know what you don't know from that age.
Speaker 11: But for me, yeah, it was just to kind of
Speaker 11: enjoy the journey and lap up every experience because it
Speaker 11: goes really quick, and I can't believe that's what thirteen
Speaker 11: years ago.
Speaker 9: Yeah, I can't believe how quick it's gone.
Speaker 4: What was the joke? What were you trying not to
Speaker 4: laugh about?
Speaker 9: I don't know.
Speaker 11: We're just three, We're just we're just three clowns. I
Speaker 11: guess at that age, I don't actually know what we
Speaker 11: were laughing at. I think we were just happy and
Speaker 11: giggly and immature.
Speaker 9: So I still am.
Speaker 5: So do you ever sort of stop and think about
Speaker 5: how tennis has changed our life?
Speaker 9: Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 11: I think I've got a few regrets as far as
Speaker 11: sort of I wish I did things a little bit differently,
Speaker 11: or I took a little bit different steps towards anything.
Speaker 11: But you know, I've got a lot better than a
Speaker 11: lot of people, So I try and remind that to myself.
Speaker 11: I'm happy with how everything's gone. Obviously could have been better, yes,
Speaker 11: could have been worse. Yes, but I've still got time
Speaker 11: in the sport, and yeah, you learn a lot and
Speaker 11: I'm still evolving, so yeah, it's a constant, constant journey.
Speaker 6: Do times like this where you're off make you consider,
Speaker 6: like what's beyond tennis or life after tennis?
Speaker 11: Yeah, definitely, And I've thought about that earlier in my
Speaker 11: career when I thought that it was the end for me.
Speaker 11: But now I'm kind of exploring some different avenues. I'm
Speaker 11: doing a little bit more of this sort of stuff,
Speaker 11: some podcasts, I'm doing some TV stuff. I'm trying to
Speaker 11: do some commentary coming up for the French Open, so
Speaker 11: that'll be fun, and who knows, some TV shows, some
Speaker 11: media stuff in the future.
Speaker 9: I think I've always enjoyed that.
Speaker 11: I feel pretty comfortable in front of the camera and microphone,
Speaker 11: so yeah, I try not to look too far ahead,
Speaker 11: but kind of have one foot through that door to just, yeah,
Speaker 11: think about it, because a lot of people kind of
Speaker 11: they play tennis and then they're like, what's now, What's next?
Speaker 11: So for me, I kind of want to have it
Speaker 11: a little bit of an idea. But yeah, tennis is
Speaker 11: first and foremost, and I'll ride that out as long
Speaker 11: as I can with that.
Speaker 6: You said that even at the start of the interview,
Speaker 6: you kind of like doing this media side of this sport.
Speaker 6: You would have done so many interviews, You've been into
Speaker 6: so many press conferences. Tennis plays off and say, we're
Speaker 6: always asked the same kind of questions and it can
Speaker 6: get repetitive, So like, what is something that you would
Speaker 6: love to talk about or you'd love journals to ask
Speaker 6: you more about You're like, this isn't like no one
Speaker 6: knows as part of my story or that you know,
Speaker 6: no one ever asked me about this, and we can
Speaker 6: only ask what we know. But I mean, yeah, what
Speaker 6: is something that you'd like more people to know about
Speaker 6: your story that we.
Speaker 11: Don't Well, that's a good question. I don't know if
Speaker 11: I can answer that. I feel like for tennis, you're
Speaker 11: very sort of clean cut. You can't really say too much.
Speaker 11: I'd kind of be curious to see what everyone's life
Speaker 11: is like away from the tennis, whether everyone is kind
Speaker 11: of based on tennis everything they do is for their tennis,
Speaker 11: or they're trying to enjoy their life and balance it
Speaker 11: out a little bit, and what they do in their
Speaker 11: spare time I think is an interesting one. Rather than
Speaker 11: the generic answers. I get to sleep and mat well
Speaker 11: and get ready for training the next day. So I
Speaker 11: wouldn't mind if players opened up a little bit more.
Speaker 11: I don't think it's really up to the journals. I
Speaker 11: think it's more sort of what the players are willing
Speaker 11: to give them and spill out, because a lot of
Speaker 11: them are kind of scared about potentially the repercussions.
Speaker 9: And then they have if they are open and honest.
Speaker 2: I think no Arja the Nazi Matt and Vin caught
Speaker 2: up with former French Open and Wimbledon champ being Magaruta
Speaker 2: from her at home in Switzerland.
Speaker 6: No less, going back to that Wimbledon, you beat Venus
Speaker 6: Williams in the final, and so that gave you this
Speaker 6: really cool milestone that you're the only player to beat
Speaker 6: Serena Williams and Venus Williams in major finals.
Speaker 7: Like both of them.
Speaker 6: So, and I know, I think they were pretty They
Speaker 6: were idols of yours, weren't they. There were players you
Speaker 6: looked up to when you were growing up. So how
Speaker 6: do you think about that when you were like, Wow,
Speaker 6: I beat both Williams sisters in my Grand Slam finals.
Speaker 12: I am happy about it.
Speaker 13: Some people say, like, what a bud luck that you
Speaker 13: always had those finals, But in a way, like you
Speaker 13: say the word like my hero, so I wanted to
Speaker 13: play them. For me, it has an extra value with
Speaker 13: no disrespecting other players. But for me, beating Serena or
Speaker 13: Venus in a in a Grand Slam final had a
Speaker 13: double value to that Grand Slam.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 12: I felt like, wow, like she's.
Speaker 13: Best in history and I'm beating the best in history
Speaker 13: in the final. For me, that was unique and special
Speaker 13: and it felt great.
Speaker 12: It felt great.
Speaker 13: I don't think they know that they were my idols,
Speaker 13: though I kept it very secret. I had a very
Speaker 13: big poker face. But I wish I could tell them,
Speaker 13: you know. I wish I could sit.
Speaker 12: Down in I don't know one day and just say
Speaker 12: how much that meant to.
Speaker 13: Me, and really like just telling them, like I how
Speaker 13: much I loved them when I was a kid starting
Speaker 13: tennis in Venezuela with zero chances of making it and
Speaker 13: watching them and thinking like I want to be like Serena,
Speaker 13: you know, so it was amazing for me. Becoming number
Speaker 13: one for me was like I dream come true. Some
Speaker 13: people say that it's better to win Grand Slams. Some
Speaker 13: people say it's better to be number one. I do
Speaker 13: admit that it's better to win Grand Slams because that
Speaker 13: feeling off, having the trophy in your hands, feeling the moment,
Speaker 13: the victory.
Speaker 12: The best that's unique.
Speaker 13: Obviously being world number one, it's amazing, but it's you
Speaker 13: cannot feel it, you can't touch it. It's it's a
Speaker 13: number that in one week, if you don't play well,
Speaker 13: you might lose it. So it's it's tricky.
Speaker 12: But to me, when I was little, little kid, I
Speaker 12: always dreamed I want to be world number one. One
Speaker 12: day I got to be word number.
Speaker 7: One, you know.
Speaker 12: I was like always like repeating this inside of my head.
Speaker 12: And the day I saw myself at the top of
Speaker 12: the ranking, I was like, wow, like it's happening. Really,
Speaker 12: it's happening. Not only I want Grandstoms, but I actually
Speaker 12: made it to world number one. And this is so difficult.
Speaker 12: You really need to be consistent, and you really need
Speaker 12: to be on top of the game and be the
Speaker 12: best player. It's just I was like, I couldn't believe it,
Speaker 12: you know, I couldn't believe it.
Speaker 4: And I'm so proud of that moment.
Speaker 6: Did you screenshot it on the ranking or something I did.
Speaker 12: I did, I screen chatted.
Speaker 13: It's somewhere on like seventeen pounds like whatever, But yes
Speaker 13: I screenshotted, and yeah, it was a moment for my family,
Speaker 13: for all together as well.
Speaker 12: The journey, Oh, such a crazy long journey too until.
Speaker 13: That day, and I think we all share a tear,
Speaker 13: and you know, we felt like it was all worth
Speaker 13: it in a way, and all the all the sacrifices
Speaker 13: were worth it.
Speaker 5: Well, we got a first hand view of your you know,
Speaker 5: your Grand Slam successes when Australian Open twenty twenty you
Speaker 5: were it was a resurgence tournament for you, really unstated,
Speaker 5: but you beat three top ten players to reach another
Speaker 5: Slam final. How satisfying was that tournament?
Speaker 7: Oh?
Speaker 13: I every time I remind myself that final, it's the
Speaker 13: most painful match I've ever played. Really, like, the most
Speaker 13: painful loss I've ever had is the Australian Open final. Yes,
Speaker 13: it was an amazing tournament. I came from a couple
Speaker 13: tough years and it wasn't an easy tournament. I was
Speaker 13: very sick at the beginning, but I made it through
Speaker 13: when every match gave me that extra confidence to keep going,
Speaker 13: keep going.
Speaker 12: I remember that, you know.
Speaker 13: I played a semi finals match with Simona Halep, and
Speaker 13: I remember physically it was it was so tough that
Speaker 13: I felt like, oh wow, I almost gave it all
Speaker 13: what I had, so I don't know what do I
Speaker 13: have left for the final? You know, Physically I was
Speaker 13: so tired. It was such a hot day as well.
Speaker 13: But that final I was with such a confidence and
Speaker 13: it just didn't click at the end, you know. And
Speaker 13: I was very proud of coming back and making it
Speaker 13: that far in another Grand Slam.
Speaker 4: But that loss.
Speaker 13: I keep thinking about it, like when people asked me
Speaker 13: that what was your most painful loss? So what's one
Speaker 13: thing that you remember that you wish it would have
Speaker 13: gone my way? Definitely, definitely that final. I mean in
Speaker 13: twenty fifteen, when I played the Wimbledon final, it was
Speaker 13: my first final. I was playing suren It was too much,
Speaker 13: It was too much to handle. So of course I
Speaker 13: would have liked to want.
Speaker 12: I admit that she was way better, she was prepared,
Speaker 12: and I mean.
Speaker 13: I was such a rookie, but that twenty twenty final,
Speaker 13: I ah, I wish I could go back, but it
Speaker 13: is what it is. Congrats to Sophia. She did play amazing,
Speaker 13: but yeah, that was a painful one. No one wants
Speaker 13: to lose in the final of a Grands Camp.
Speaker 10: Come on, no one.
Speaker 12: Remembers the final is. All they care is about the winner.
Speaker 12: So I want to be the winner, but you know,
Speaker 12: it is what it is.
Speaker 5: Several years later with Sensa, you are still following tennis
Speaker 5: very closely. What do you make of the tour today
Speaker 5: and what are some of your favorite storylines?
Speaker 12: Hmm, the tour is great.
Speaker 13: There's a lot of new faces, a lot of faces
Speaker 13: from my time as well, but I follow it very closely,
Speaker 13: like things things.
Speaker 12: That I love is, for example, the con I follow
Speaker 12: all the time. I have all these alert in my
Speaker 12: phone when they jump on court and who are they playing?
Speaker 12: And I chat with Corny a lot.
Speaker 13: I actually saw them a couple of times and matches
Speaker 13: as well live, which is fun.
Speaker 12: Always.
Speaker 13: I love how Savalnka is dominating. I watch her quite often.
Speaker 13: She's just a perfect personality for world number one. She's fun,
Speaker 13: she's she's not shy, she has a lot of fans,
Speaker 13: she gives her social media active, she has amazing strength
Speaker 13: and talent.
Speaker 12: So I really like her as number one. Yeah, just
Speaker 12: following the American tennis.
Speaker 13: It's crazy Navarro Coco go pegula by some keys.
Speaker 12: What's happening is it's too many players in the top ten.
Speaker 12: What a success they're having. So I'm following that a lot.
Speaker 13: Yeah, and seeing IgA a little bit how she's gonna,
Speaker 13: how she's going to play this French Open, following her
Speaker 13: as well.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm really like on top of the tour.
Speaker 12: I've never been so like watching matchive and following the news.
Speaker 12: I thought I was going to be a little bit
Speaker 12: more passive, but I am super honent. I'm super honored.
Speaker 6: Yeah, never suddenly just a bit different.
Speaker 2: Guest chars Jackson Mansel jumped in for a chat Tim
Speaker 2: Hemmant just before Wimbledon twenty twenty five.
Speaker 14: Look, the first time I went to Wimbledon was when
Speaker 14: I was six and my mum took me in first
Speaker 14: Monday in nineteen eighty one and I saw beyond board
Speaker 14: play and he was defending champion.
Speaker 7: And.
Speaker 14: You know, I can remember where we were sitting. I've
Speaker 14: still got the ticket today. And certainly when and you know,
Speaker 14: Ball came out of the doors underneath the raw box
Speaker 14: and walked around onto center court. That was very much
Speaker 14: when I made my one and only career disctition that
Speaker 14: you know, that's what I wanted to do. I wanted
Speaker 14: to be a professional Terenminis player, and I wanted to
Speaker 14: play at Wimbledon, and I wanted to play on center court.
Speaker 14: So yeah, that's the earliest recollection and been every year since.
Speaker 14: And yeah, I think then to get the opportunity fifteen
Speaker 14: years later to play on center court, I was a
Speaker 14: top hundred player by that time draw came out and
Speaker 14: I was playing fgen. He confound a CoV who was
Speaker 14: French Open champion. Heid just won singles and doubles at Garrels,
Speaker 14: So you know, I knew that was going to be
Speaker 14: a center court match. And you know, to then be
Speaker 14: out there and win seven, five and the fifth and
Speaker 14: say two match points, I think that was a pretty
Speaker 14: special way to start my center court career.
Speaker 15: And what does that sort of mean to you to
Speaker 15: be able to play on center court, like one of
Speaker 15: the most prestigious courts in the world Grand Slam time,
Speaker 15: What did that experience mean to you? And it's something
Speaker 15: that you've done on numerous occasions throughout your career.
Speaker 14: Yeah, I mean, it meant everything. And you know, first
Speaker 14: and foremost you want to be a professional player, so
Speaker 14: you want to be playing in the Grant and Slams.
Speaker 14: But we are, you know, so fortunate to you know,
Speaker 14: have Wimbledon in our own country and and so you know,
Speaker 14: as I worked my way up, I was you know,
Speaker 14: I wasn't particularly good junior at I did play junior
Speaker 14: Wimbledon my last year of junior is under eighteen and
Speaker 14: I lost the six two six one first round. So
Speaker 14: you know, that was nineteen ninety two, sort of four
Speaker 14: years later, you know, to be I think I was
Speaker 14: probably top fifty when I plaker Fanakov. You know, it
Speaker 14: was it was a quick transition.
Speaker 4: And you know that Wimbledon and professional tenants.
Speaker 14: I was always you know, extremely motivated at you know
Speaker 14: a lot of hunger and desire to be a professional player.
Speaker 14: So you know, the two kind of went hand in hand.
Speaker 14: But you know, my favorite time of year was always
Speaker 14: the grass court season. If I could have played my
Speaker 14: whole career on one court, it would have been center
Speaker 14: court at Wimbledon. I absolutely loved that environment, the support
Speaker 14: that I had, The conditions for most of my career
Speaker 14: were favorable, The grass got a lot slower in two
Speaker 14: thousand and two, but now it was a massive privilege
Speaker 14: to you know, to play at Wimbledon and sort.
Speaker 15: Of throughout your time, like probably towards the peak of
Speaker 15: your career, you're continued as there is title contender at
Speaker 15: events like Queens and wible don't like throughout that grass
Speaker 15: court season. I suppose take us through, like take us
Speaker 15: inside what it was like being a title contender during
Speaker 15: those times, Like the pressure that you had to deal
Speaker 15: with and those moments with the whole country behind you.
Speaker 15: What did that sort of mean to you?
Speaker 14: Yeah, it's it meant enormous amounts And as I just said,
Speaker 14: you know, it was my favorite time of year, and
Speaker 14: I very much thrived in those conditions. I think the
Speaker 14: question I'm asked most often still is you know, how
Speaker 14: did I deal with the pressure and expectation. But the
Speaker 14: reality was I didn't feel pressure. You know, pressure is
Speaker 14: self inflicted, and so if you are reading the newspapers
Speaker 14: and listening to what's been said on television on the radio,
Speaker 14: and then you know, that's just not conducive to having
Speaker 14: a clear mindset as to the way that you want
Speaker 14: to practice and prepare and then play your matches. And
Speaker 14: so I always felt that I did a good job
Speaker 14: of just controlling my controls, which was my preparation and
Speaker 14: my performance. And I think when I reflect nineteen ninety five,
Speaker 14: some of you will remember, some of you won't. When
Speaker 14: I got disqualified at Wimbledon, I was the first person
Speaker 14: in one hundred and twenty five years to be disqualified.
Speaker 14: I accidentally hit a ball girl. We were two sets
Speaker 14: of the one up in the in the doubles first round,
Speaker 14: in the four set tiebreak, so we were pretty close
Speaker 14: to winning the match. So you know, it wasn't as
Speaker 14: if I was completely throwing my toys out of the bram.
Speaker 14: But you know, I think that that whole scenario, that
Speaker 14: whole incident was a steep learning cub because the next
Speaker 14: day I read all the newspapers and the back page
Speaker 14: of the Sun. The headline was he hit it so
Speaker 14: hard it could have killed her, and you know, which
Speaker 14: was just such a ridiculous exaggeration. But I remember sort
Speaker 14: of thinking to myself two things, I'll never read the
Speaker 14: I'll never read the newspapers again. And secondly, I bet
Speaker 14: out some half decent results, otherwise I'm going to be
Speaker 14: remembered as this British player that was disqualified at the Championships.
Speaker 14: So yeah, I think then moving on from that, I
Speaker 14: was very I was able to focus on, you know,
Speaker 14: what I was doing, and you know, I had, you know,
Speaker 14: always had a small but very good team around me,
Speaker 14: you know, a great family, and you know, those are
Speaker 14: the opinions that I listened to. I didn't really listen
Speaker 14: to anyone else. And so, you know, I think on
Speaker 14: the back of not really having any you know, particularly well,
Speaker 14: I would say sort of title contenders, as you mentioned
Speaker 14: prior to me in the men's game. I think then
Speaker 14: when I came along and you know, I was, you know,
Speaker 14: getting to the latter stages of Queens and Wimbledon, I
Speaker 14: think that's where and why I had.
Speaker 7: So much support and I loved it.
Speaker 15: Well, you talk about half days of results, you're a
Speaker 15: full time semi finalist at Wimbledon, at your slam. How
Speaker 15: proud of you of those experiences, in those moments and
Speaker 15: reaching the latter stage of a Slam like that.
Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 14: You know, I grew up in an environment where you know,
Speaker 14: I heard the narrative, we've got the best tennis tournament
Speaker 14: in the world and no players. And I always believed
Speaker 14: that it could be a good player. So then you know,
Speaker 14: once you have progressed up through the ranks of you know,
Speaker 14: being top under, the top fifty, top twenty, top tens,
Speaker 14: off five and grass was a great surface for me.
Speaker 14: It suited my attacking style. Yeah, to be you know
Speaker 14: deep in the second week and you know, playing some
Speaker 14: of the greats of the game.
Speaker 1: It was.
Speaker 14: It was amazing and sure, you know, I'd love to
Speaker 14: have won it, but and I think I was. I
Speaker 14: think I was good enough to win wimbled and I
Speaker 14: think there were other players that were better than me,
Speaker 14: as you say, to get to you know, for semi
Speaker 14: finals and some of the nature of those matches. You know,
Speaker 14: I think I was good enough to win it. But
Speaker 14: as I said, you know, Sam Press was in a
Speaker 14: different class. He was, you know, one of the greatest
Speaker 14: grass court players of all time. And you know, and
Speaker 14: lost to Hewett in two thousand and two. You know,
Speaker 14: he was absolutely number one in the world, and and
Speaker 14: you know, in those types of conditions it was much
Speaker 14: slower that that was the first year and he played
Speaker 14: now Bandying in the final, and I think there was
Speaker 14: six Baseliners in the in the quarterfinals. That never happened
Speaker 14: at Wimbledon, So that was that was a difficult you
Speaker 14: know change. And then obviously two thousand and one against Ibnisovich.
Speaker 14: I've played many matches that i'd you know, been delayed
Speaker 14: and come back the next day, but never you know,
Speaker 14: played over three days and add to that sort of
Speaker 14: magnitude of the match. Yeah, that was definitely, definitely, you know,
Speaker 14: one of the toughest matches of my career. And if
Speaker 14: I could play one again, it would be it.
Speaker 15: Be that on And I suppose, you know, three days
Speaker 15: playing against Ivanisovitch and wanting to sort of change that, Like,
Speaker 15: what would you do, I suppose if you if you
Speaker 15: had your time again in that moment, obviously you know
Speaker 15: the roof, have the roof pretty quick.
Speaker 14: Yeah, that that probably would have helped. But no, I
Speaker 14: mean I, as I said, and people tend to forget.
Speaker 14: There were you know, plenty of times where I did
Speaker 14: have an interruption when I wasn't playing well and then
Speaker 14: came back Todd Martin.
Speaker 9: I remember I had a problem.
Speaker 14: I had a backspasm just before well, just when I
Speaker 14: was warping up against him, and I was down two
Speaker 14: sets to one. Then I was struggling and we had
Speaker 14: to come back the next day. And I came back
Speaker 14: the next day and won the fourth and fifth you know,
Speaker 14: relatively comfortably. But yeah, people don't tend to remember those
Speaker 14: occasions because the focus was all on the Evenisovich match.
Speaker 14: And sure, you know, I won the third set six love,
Speaker 14: I think in fourteen minutes and only lost four points
Speaker 14: and that's the fastest set my whole career in the
Speaker 14: women's semi final. And at that stage, you know, gorm
Speaker 14: was I think mentally pretty gone, but then the rain
Speaker 14: came in the early part of the fourth set and
Speaker 14: he was able to regroup and you know, go home
Speaker 14: and you know, come back fresh the next day. So look,
Speaker 14: that's that's just the way it goes. I I I'm
Speaker 14: not the type of person that looks back a great deal.
Speaker 14: I I you know, enjoy talking about it.
Speaker 9: But for me, I.
Speaker 14: I never dwelt on these things. And I'm just you know,
Speaker 14: very proud of, you know, my career, and I still
Speaker 14: love the game. I'm still involved in the game.
Speaker 7: And yeah, here we are.
Speaker 2: Now we're almost at the end. But there really are
Speaker 2: so many great interviews available on the sitdown. But to
Speaker 2: finish us off, Matt and Vivi spoke with one about
Speaker 2: absolute favorite combos Christian and Casper would during the Cincinnati Open.
Speaker 6: Casper was that with those benchmarks that Christian set goals
Speaker 6: for you or did you have different goals I.
Speaker 16: Had, Like I remember we had a school project once
Speaker 16: when I was I don't know, twelve thirteen, and I
Speaker 16: remember at that age I said that my main goal
Speaker 16: was to be top fifty in the world within twenty
Speaker 16: twenty five, I think, or something like this, which we
Speaker 16: are at now. And I felt at twelve years old,
Speaker 16: watching you know, all the greades on TV almost every day,
Speaker 16: if I could Rafa Roger Nova, can all the other
Speaker 16: ones stand you know, Suddling Swedish and a lot of
Speaker 16: other guys, you know, you can just go on the name.
Speaker 16: But that felt like a realistic goal because I felt
Speaker 16: like Tennis had become you know, they were playing so
Speaker 16: good Thatnis.
Speaker 7: I didn't I didn't necessarily think every day of my life.
Speaker 16: When I was twelve that I was going to be
Speaker 16: number one in the world or top ten, that's what's
Speaker 16: going to happen, like for certain So I set more
Speaker 16: of a realistic goal, which I felt like was you know, humble,
Speaker 16: but still being top fifty in the world is a
Speaker 16: really really good achievement in itself. So I remember at
Speaker 16: twelve that was like my main realistic goal and if
Speaker 16: I reached that, I would be very proud.
Speaker 7: I was thinking back then, and then when I grew up, I.
Speaker 16: Was asked hundreds of times by the media and Norwegian
Speaker 16: media like when are you going to beat your father
Speaker 16: the record thirty nine?
Speaker 7: When you're going to beat him?
Speaker 17: This?
Speaker 4: That?
Speaker 6: In the sorry say, you know, that's fine.
Speaker 16: That's fine, because that's I'm going to get to the point.
Speaker 16: But I was getting tired of it, you know, towards
Speaker 16: the end, and I would always say, you know, I,
Speaker 16: you know, it's not about when, it's about if if
Speaker 16: you ask me, because I mean, reaching thirty nine in
Speaker 16: the world in twenty twenty or twenty nineteen or whatever,
Speaker 16: it's not like it's just going to happen guarantee.
Speaker 7: Like I think a lot of the.
Speaker 16: Media and Norway are very focused on soccer, and I
Speaker 16: told them, you know, this is not soccer. You don't
Speaker 16: sign a contract that you're going to be top twenty
Speaker 16: in the world. You have to work your way up.
Speaker 16: Every single spot is just purely based on your result
Speaker 16: and having good results along the way. So sure, I'm
Speaker 16: gonna try my best, and I hope I beat it
Speaker 16: one day the record of being thirty nine ranked number
Speaker 16: thirty nine, But and the sooner the better in a way.
Speaker 7: But I if I end.
Speaker 16: My career never having beaten that, and you know, let's
Speaker 16: say I get to number fifty or forty, I will
Speaker 16: still be happy with my career. But yeah, it was
Speaker 16: nice to get it done because then they didn't need
Speaker 16: to ask any more about the questions. But then the
Speaker 16: other question came up, how did it feel when you
Speaker 16: did it? So I've heard that one too, but it's
Speaker 16: no problem. I think it's fun to talk about now.
Speaker 16: And like he said, I think my dad was very
Speaker 16: proud of it, and myself too. And since then, I
Speaker 16: remember it quite clearly because it was one of the
Speaker 16: last weeks before it shut down with COVID. I won
Speaker 16: my first title in Buenos Aires back in twenty twenty February.
Speaker 16: Oh yeah, and then I reached reached reach final in
Speaker 16: Chile two a week later, which got me to like
Speaker 16: thirty two or something like this, and then it shut down.
Speaker 7: We didn't play for like half years, So you know,
Speaker 7: I was good. I was thirty two in the world,
Speaker 7: I was home, didn't have to play.
Speaker 16: It was just you know, enjoying my time at home.
Speaker 16: And I knew that i'd beaten the record. So I
Speaker 16: think that COVID period would have been tough if I
Speaker 16: was like forty two. You know, I couldn't, you know,
Speaker 16: you know, yes, I'm happy that I was able to
Speaker 16: do it right before. And then I think we did
Speaker 16: some really good training in work during the COVID break,
Speaker 16: let's call it of three four months, and I think
Speaker 16: those who worked harder and you know, sophisticated, structured every day,
Speaker 16: they kind of separated, not separated, but they had a
Speaker 16: good curve after COVID, and you could clearly, you could
Speaker 16: almost clearly see who didn't train that hard for those
Speaker 16: four or five months and who kind of started fell
Speaker 16: off a little bit. And we had that thing with
Speaker 16: the ranking system was semi frozen and this and that.
Speaker 16: So a lot of things happened. But since COVID, I've
Speaker 16: just you know, only really gone steady, steady one way,
Speaker 16: which is has been great.
Speaker 8: But I am.
Speaker 7: Since we started COVID.
Speaker 16: It went faster than I thought was maybe realistic. From
Speaker 16: let's say August twenty twenty until August twenty two, I was.
Speaker 16: I went from thirty two to number two in the world,
Speaker 16: which is quite crazy when you think about it in
Speaker 16: the span of just two years. Because two years ago
Speaker 16: I wasn't like a very I was now like superstar.
Speaker 16: As a junior, I didn't have like an unbelievable result.
Speaker 16: So for me to go from ranked thirty two in
Speaker 16: August or thirty let's say in August September twenty twenty,
Speaker 16: and then two years later I played for world number
Speaker 16: one and my first Slam title against Alcoholz in US
Speaker 16: Open was an incredible curve that went, you know, honestly
Speaker 16: quite fast, which was in a way a little life
Speaker 16: changing in career changing for me, but it was of
Speaker 16: course very fun. I think I'm glad that he watched
Speaker 16: you a lot of tennis through through commentating at that time,
Speaker 16: because Roger Raff and Novac, you know, they kind of
Speaker 16: took it to a new level when they when they arrived,
Speaker 16: and they were so dominant for all of their careers
Speaker 16: pretty much, so they set the standard and bar really
Speaker 16: high and it's a little bit, you know, they're it's unique,
Speaker 16: you know, they're kind of generational.
Speaker 7: Few talents that.
Speaker 16: Come up, and those three I got to witness and
Speaker 16: watch every day more or less for for my my
Speaker 16: youth and childhood and tried to learn from all of them.
Speaker 7: Personally, I always kind of idolized.
Speaker 16: Rafa even more because I thought it was fun to
Speaker 16: watch and when him and Roger played, it was like
Speaker 16: fire and ice in terms that the games were very different,
Speaker 16: but they they played some incredible matches in rallies all
Speaker 16: the time.
Speaker 7: And then.
Speaker 16: So, yeah, there are pictures of me when I was young,
Speaker 16: I was like wearing full raff out with even like
Speaker 16: a wig, to have long hair and bandana.
Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, so that was the Yeah.
Speaker 16: Just the only wish was that I was left him
Speaker 16: maybe so I had exactly the same, But yeah, I
Speaker 16: really really idolized him and realized, you know, I I am,
Speaker 16: you have a big, big weapon from the from the baseline,
Speaker 16: you can you can reach far. And of course there
Speaker 16: are a lot of other things that needs to come
Speaker 16: in place, you know, fitness, you know, the psychologically mentally
Speaker 16: you need to be you know, also a good competitor
Speaker 16: in these things. But yeah, groundstroke wise, I think my
Speaker 16: dad had a plan for me to develop a big,
Speaker 16: killer shot, and for me that was always the natural
Speaker 16: shot was.
Speaker 7: The forehand for me.
Speaker 5: It must have been such a thrill to go from
Speaker 5: admiring those players, particularly Raper, and then going on to
Speaker 5: play such big matches against him.
Speaker 7: Yeah, it's really fun.
Speaker 16: You know, you have to pinch your arm every now
Speaker 16: and then when you're when you're an athlete and you
Speaker 16: watch you know, your idols become in a way rivals
Speaker 16: and opponents.
Speaker 7: Is really fun.
Speaker 16: And I'm very proud because I get to I got
Speaker 16: to play all three of them. And also I want
Speaker 16: to add you know, Andy Murray in there, because he
Speaker 16: was also a big part of my childhood, but.
Speaker 7: I was watching him a lot.
Speaker 16: He was always challenging them to like the highest level,
Speaker 16: even though he didn't end up with as many slams
Speaker 16: as them or these things, but he was always there
Speaker 16: for my most part and challenging them. So having played
Speaker 16: all those four has been kind of like a checklist
Speaker 16: for me to say, I played, you know, the four
Speaker 16: greatest players I watched when I grew up, and and yeah,
Speaker 16: it's been really fun.
Speaker 7: I I never got to beat Roger Rafa, But.
Speaker 16: Yeah, I'm also proud to say I've beaten Andy and Novak,
Speaker 16: and I have a bad record against Novak, but at
Speaker 16: least I have one win, so that's something I'll take
Speaker 16: with me. And you know, he's also inching towards the
Speaker 16: end of his career unfortunately, but that's that's how it goes.
Speaker 16: And yeah, the three the four of them had some
Speaker 16: great matches down Under as well. I remember particularly many
Speaker 16: matches where those four us they just took it to
Speaker 16: like crazy level.
Speaker 7: Yeah, crazy level.
Speaker 6: I guess Kasper, You're bright through at a GRANDSLNG level.
Speaker 6: Did come here when you made the second week of
Speaker 6: a major for the first time in twenty twenty one,
Speaker 6: Was it meaningful to reach the same round and have
Speaker 6: your breakthrough at the same tournament the Christian, Yeah, I
Speaker 6: would say so.
Speaker 7: I mean twenty twenty one was a very good year
Speaker 7: for me in many ways.
Speaker 16: I think I won five eightyp too fifty tournaments, and
Speaker 16: I reached a few semifinals in Masters thousands and such.
Speaker 16: So that was a kind of a break three year
Speaker 16: for me. Like we talked about earlier about the COVID break,
Speaker 16: how I kind of started the fall twenty twenty as
Speaker 16: number thirty or thirty five or whatever it was, and
Speaker 16: then from there it just kind of gradually went a
Speaker 16: little er, little higher, and twenty one was a big
Speaker 16: year and a year I started believing that I could
Speaker 16: have some good results because I was winning tournaments and
Speaker 16: I reached some semis of a thousand, which was a
Speaker 16: big result back back then and still is, don't get
Speaker 16: me wrong, but for the first time and second and
Speaker 16: third time, it's more it's more of a little bit of.
Speaker 7: A surprise for your career.
Speaker 16: But I didn't have a very good Slam result except
Speaker 16: for Australia.
Speaker 7: I lost early in the Slams.
Speaker 16: So when twenty two came around, you know, that was
Speaker 16: a big goal to have a good Slam result. And
Speaker 16: then I reached two finals, which was a little also surprising.
Speaker 16: I mean, first one happened in Paris, and then more
Speaker 16: to surprise, was in New York.
Speaker 7: I remember I.
Speaker 16: Lost every practice set in the practice week to any
Speaker 16: player I would lose, and then three weeks later I
Speaker 16: was there in the final and played some of my
Speaker 16: best hardcore tennis or tennis that I've ever played.
Speaker 7: So crazy, how tennis work sometimes.
Speaker 2: So there you go, just a handful of par large
Speaker 2: from season two of The sit Down. If you like
Speaker 2: what you heard, you could find all the full episodes
Speaker 2: in the sit Down.
Speaker 7: Feed links are in the description at this app.
Speaker 2: The Tennis will be back next week with so much
Speaker 2: more as we start building towards the year end finals.
Speaker 4: We'll catch it in. Have a great way, Hi everyone,
Speaker 4: have s and Andy here.
Speaker 15: Just want to remind you that you can watch every
Speaker 15: episode of The Tennis on our YouTube channel astrain Open TV.
Speaker 16: And you can also catch us on Tennis Plus by
Speaker 16: heading to ozopen dot com forward slash Tennis Plus.
Speaker 17: And if you want to flick us a email feedback
Speaker 17: thoughts on the show comments, we're at podcast at tennis
Speaker 17: dot com DOTU. One of us too will read it,
Speaker 17: but in the meantime we'll catch you in the next one.
Speaker 4: See yeah,