Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to the Sitdown. I'm Viv Christie, managing
Speaker 1: editor of Australian Tennis magazine.
Speaker 2: And I'm Matrolop, writer for oz open dot com. And Viv,
Speaker 2: why are we sitting down this week with Andre Sar.
Speaker 1: We're sitting down with Andre Matt because he is a
Speaker 1: four time Olympian, including in his home nation of Brazil.
Speaker 1: He's had some great experiences in tennis and he continues
Speaker 1: to do so through some of our really innovative events.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you were lucky enough to chat to him.
Speaker 2: I wasn't here for this interview, so I'm really looking
Speaker 2: forward to hearing it now.
Speaker 1: Andre. Thank you for joining us today on the sit Down.
Speaker 1: Let's start by maybe you could tell us where we
Speaker 1: find you at the moment.
Speaker 3: Oh, hello, thanks for inviting me. I'm at home right
Speaker 3: now in real in Brazil.
Speaker 1: Great. It's obviously a very busy time in sport. A
Speaker 1: lot of guys on the Olympics, and you participated in
Speaker 1: four Olympic Games. Yeah, what are your memories of those?
Speaker 3: Well, I mean it's it's first of all, it's just
Speaker 3: a pleasure for its ad a dream for any athlete
Speaker 3: to participate in the Olympics and to be part of
Speaker 3: four of them was great. And probably the last one
Speaker 3: was the most special one because it was at home
Speaker 3: in Rio, you know, in front of all I'm all
Speaker 3: my family and family, and that's probably the one, I
Speaker 3: mean Olympics that it's always going to be so special
Speaker 3: because it was at home. But I you know, the
Speaker 3: others were great as well. My first one was in
Speaker 3: Athens in Greece. That's two thousand and four. You know,
Speaker 3: I was very young kid, just just happy to be there.
Speaker 3: I did the whole thing, you know, stay in the
Speaker 3: Olympic village, she do, you know, go with with the
Speaker 3: delegation and they're opening ceremony, and spend as much time
Speaker 3: as I could with other athletes that we knew, because
Speaker 3: I mean I was I was young, and these guys
Speaker 3: were superstars. And now we had the number one player
Speaker 3: in the world with Gustavo Quirity and he was a
Speaker 3: Zealian player as well, so that was also special. A
Speaker 3: lot of eyes were on the on the tennis team
Speaker 3: at that time, and it was just great. It was
Speaker 3: a great time, very special to be part of it.
Speaker 3: The first one. You always get the goosebumps when the
Speaker 3: first because I didn't get in initially, so I on
Speaker 3: the first when the first lets came out, I wasn't in.
Speaker 3: And then I made it in and and it was
Speaker 3: it was just such a great surprise, and I was
Speaker 3: just so happy to be there. That was that made
Speaker 3: it so special. The second one in Beijing it was
Speaker 3: also great. I mean, the infrastructure there was was amazing.
Speaker 3: The Chinese people were so friendly and happy to welcome
Speaker 3: all the athletes, and uh, you know, being the second
Speaker 3: one playing doubles with with Marcello Mellow at the time,
Speaker 3: and we felt like we were we had a good chance,
Speaker 3: a decent chance to to to go for metal. It
Speaker 3: didn't happen, but it was it was just a different
Speaker 3: mindset approaching that Olympics that we were so focused on.
Speaker 3: It was just not about you know, going to the
Speaker 3: open ceremony or hanging out the other pig village all
Speaker 3: the time. We were much more focused. And then the
Speaker 3: third one in twenty twelve in London at Wimbledon, it
Speaker 3: was that's very different as well, because usually you just
Speaker 3: go to a tennis venue somewhere. That's that's what happened
Speaker 3: in Athens and in Beijing and then to play at Wimbledon,
Speaker 3: it was it was just different. We were you know,
Speaker 3: we knew the place, we knew our way around, but
Speaker 3: at the same time, it was so different to walk
Speaker 3: in there and see, you know, the whole place dressed
Speaker 3: up in purple, which you know, and then everyone and
Speaker 3: then everyone can you know, wear the team uniforms and
Speaker 3: not the whites that you're so used to. So that
Speaker 3: was a little shock, but at the same time it
Speaker 3: was a fun experience. We had a tough draw. We
Speaker 3: drew the Brian brothers in the first round on so
Speaker 3: it wasn't I mean, they were the best team at
Speaker 3: the time and maybe the best team ever today and
Speaker 3: it wasn't you know, it was quick I guess, uh
Speaker 3: to lose in the first round, but you know it was.
Speaker 3: It was a close match. It was good, It was
Speaker 3: fun and being part of the Brazilian team is always special.
Speaker 1: Of course you have a very unique experience and that
Speaker 1: you've got to play the Olympics in your home nation.
Speaker 1: How much does having an Olympic event change a city.
Speaker 3: It changes a lot. I mean, especially you know at
Speaker 3: that time I did not live in Rio, which was
Speaker 3: I do now. It's that I've been living here for
Speaker 3: the last four years, but you you certainly can see
Speaker 3: the change. You can see the vibe is completely different
Speaker 3: being being Brazilian and being in real many times before
Speaker 3: because we have an eighty five hundred here and UH
Speaker 3: and then you could just feel the atmosphere was so different.
Speaker 3: A lot of foreigners, a lot of you know, people
Speaker 3: coming to see and UH and our sport in tennis,
Speaker 3: you individual, but when you're part of the team, and
Speaker 3: then when everyone is just you can tell that the
Speaker 3: people there, they're not tennis fans. They just wanted to
Speaker 3: cheer for for a Brazilian or a Brazilian team, or
Speaker 3: a Brazilian pair or Brazilian player. So the vibe and
Speaker 3: the atmosphere was was so different, and the city was buzzy.
Speaker 3: It was buzzing, even even though in every Olympic, you know,
Speaker 3: the village is far away, sometimes the events are far
Speaker 3: away from from the center of the city, but you
Speaker 3: could still field the vibe and the TV and the
Speaker 3: and the coverage here for the broadcasting is it's so intense,
Speaker 3: So then it's yeah, it was, it was very very special.
Speaker 1: I feel like you've actually just as answered my next
Speaker 1: question actually, but I'll ask it anyway. Tennis at the
Speaker 1: Olympics it shouldn't be there.
Speaker 3: It's a tough one. It's a tough one. I think yes.
Speaker 3: I think the straight answer is yes, it's it's a
Speaker 3: it's a very special moment for for any athlete and
Speaker 3: it's a massive deal for for the sport to be
Speaker 3: part of the Olympics. So so then the answer is yes.
Speaker 3: Now if we go deeper and say, is it more
Speaker 3: important then a Grand Slam or is it more important
Speaker 3: the gold medal? I think opinions vary depends on how
Speaker 3: you grew up and the culture you're in, but they
Speaker 3: are both definitely very special.
Speaker 1: And what in your view makes team tennis different.
Speaker 3: Just the individuality of the sport, Like you have to
Speaker 3: figure everything out on your own, you have to make decisions,
Speaker 3: you have to you know, challenge yourself all the time,
Speaker 3: and then when it goes into a team environment like
Speaker 3: the Olympics, it becomes I think more relaxed environment to
Speaker 3: be honest, because we're so used to being responsible for everything,
Speaker 3: to having to figure out the whole thing, our whole
Speaker 3: journey throughout every tournament. But once we get there, we
Speaker 3: have a team manager. We have other teammates part of
Speaker 3: the of the competition as well, and that and that
Speaker 3: makes it special. But in ten it's just the petitiveness,
Speaker 3: you know, like being out there on your own for
Speaker 3: hours and hours having to figure everything out. That's that's
Speaker 3: what makes it so special.
Speaker 1: Team events have evolved in recent years. We now have
Speaker 1: the Live A Cup and the United Cup. How much,
Speaker 1: in your view, has that changed the outlook on team events.
Speaker 3: I think it changed to a poitive thing. I think.
Speaker 3: I mean the experience we had with the United Cup,
Speaker 3: especially getting the feedback from players working that I work
Speaker 3: at those events, the team bond, it's completely different. No,
Speaker 3: I mean it never happened before that a man and
Speaker 3: a woman could compete equal terms at one competition, you know,
Speaker 3: everything the same. So that's that made the really special
Speaker 3: for the sport. And I can tell you like the
Speaker 3: Italians or the Germans or even the Greeks, they're like
Speaker 3: and we didn't really watch each other's matches like throughout
Speaker 3: the year. We are from the same country, we probably
Speaker 3: share a lot of the same tournaments all along the year,
Speaker 3: but you will never disclose. And all of a sudden
Speaker 3: you have Paulini watching very teeny play and and and
Speaker 3: you know it's Vera Evan Kerber there the week after
Speaker 3: they go to Melbourne and they're like sometimes practicing with
Speaker 3: each other, and that bond really came together because of
Speaker 3: the of the United Cup. So that's that's another positive
Speaker 3: thing and something special for the sport and for the
Speaker 3: players and a.
Speaker 1: Great experience for the fans as well.
Speaker 3: I'm sure, Oh yeah, for sure, for sure. I mean
Speaker 3: I remember some matches we watched Greece against Italy I
Speaker 3: think last year, and it was it was like a
Speaker 3: Billy Jean King Cup match or a Davis Cup match,
Speaker 3: like they were so intense. In Australia. It brings that
Speaker 3: because there are so many internationals in foreigners in Australia
Speaker 3: and in communities from every single country that that's that
Speaker 3: played the United Cup. So the fans were so excited
Speaker 3: to be able to see and those plays compete as
Speaker 3: a team.
Speaker 1: For sure. Looking back on your tennis journey, what was it.
Speaker 1: I know I believe that you followed your brother into tennis,
Speaker 1: but you know, how did you start your professional journey?
Speaker 3: My professional journey, well, that was that's a long story,
Speaker 3: I'll make it short. When I was fourteen, I moved
Speaker 3: to America to go to tennis Academy in Florida. And then,
Speaker 3: of course, when I finished high school, I had the
Speaker 3: decision to well, do I go to college or do
Speaker 3: I try to become a professional tennis player. And sitting down,
Speaker 3: I remember sitting down with my parents and making that
Speaker 3: tough decision, and I said, listen, let me let me
Speaker 3: try the professional way, and I can try. I made
Speaker 3: a deal with my dad, like, you know, let's try
Speaker 3: for one year. If things are moving in the right direction,
Speaker 3: we'll keep going. If not, then I'll I'll turn around
Speaker 3: and go to college. But then this is nineteen ninety six.
Speaker 3: And then ninety seven I started playing better, and then
Speaker 3: things started to connect, and then I never stopped since
Speaker 3: I'm happy. My dad kept his end of the deal
Speaker 3: and he said, I just keep going, keep going with
Speaker 3: your professional career. And that's that's how basically how it started.
Speaker 3: Then that first year, I finished in the top two
Speaker 3: hundred in the world in singles and start playing you know,
Speaker 3: bigger tournament, start playing the qualifying of Grand Slams. And
Speaker 3: then yeah, I never never really turned back. And then
Speaker 3: when I was thirty one, I made the move to
Speaker 3: play doubles only, and that extended my career to another
Speaker 3: eight nine years, which was which was great as well
Speaker 3: to have that longevity.
Speaker 1: Well, it's a great story. From that sort of decision
Speaker 1: and that conversation with your dad, you went on to
Speaker 1: reach a Wimbledon quarter final in singles and in doubles,
Speaker 1: you were a top twenty player with seven titles. What
Speaker 1: do you look back on most fondly.
Speaker 3: Well, I just think it's it's the relationships and the
Speaker 3: people that I I got to know through tennis. No
Speaker 3: I understood right away, like, not not right away, but
Speaker 3: later on in my career, Like the platform the tennis
Speaker 3: gives you, as you know, as an ability to to
Speaker 3: make friends and to network with people from all over
Speaker 3: the world and from all different cultures. So that that's
Speaker 3: something that I really when I look back, I said,
Speaker 3: I'm so glad I got involved. You know, I was
Speaker 3: there playing tennis, competing and having my career as a
Speaker 3: tennis player. But at the same time I cherished so
Speaker 3: much that the friendships and the relationships and the people
Speaker 3: I got to know along along that journey. So I
Speaker 3: think that's the most special thing that I keep.
Speaker 1: That journey of course continues for you. What what's been
Speaker 1: your journey since retiring from the tour. No that you
Speaker 1: stayed in the sport.
Speaker 3: I would say I was lucky enough to be recruited
Speaker 3: by TA when I when I when I stopped, I
Speaker 3: retired in my last season full season was twenty seventeen.
Speaker 3: Twenty eighteen, I played a couple of tournaments, but then
Speaker 3: after that in twenty nineteen, I started with with Tia
Speaker 3: on display relations job that I still have today, which
Speaker 3: is it's challenging, but it's great at the same time,
Speaker 3: I still get to be in the tennis world around
Speaker 3: the people that I know, and a job that I
Speaker 3: feel I can do, which you know, is to bring
Speaker 3: the play just closer to tennis Australia, keep the communications
Speaker 3: going with them, the relationships going, so then we can improve,
Speaker 3: we can improve our events in Australia.
Speaker 1: What are you most looking forward to over the next
Speaker 1: few months and leading into the Australian Open.
Speaker 3: I think the whole summer of tennis again. I mean
Speaker 3: United Cup is getting is getting better and better every year,
Speaker 3: so we always look forward to that. I mean, I
Speaker 3: think we got the format right this year, so I
Speaker 3: think it's there's a massive chance that is going to
Speaker 3: be even better in twenty twenty five, and then all
Speaker 3: of the other challenges that we have and exciting things
Speaker 3: coming up Opening week now, it's going to be something
Speaker 3: great that we look forward to, you know, the week
Speaker 3: of Qualities and then the big show. The Big Show
Speaker 3: and the AO means every year, Craig wants us to
Speaker 3: become better and to deliver a better experience to players
Speaker 3: and that's the plan. And then just to make to
Speaker 3: make them feel so comfortable and happy to be in
Speaker 3: Australia and be able to compete the best way that
Speaker 3: they can.
Speaker 1: Absolutely well, thank you, Andre. That sounds like a great
Speaker 1: place for us to finish. It's been really great chatting
Speaker 1: with you today.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Thanks again for inviting me.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Andre, really appreciate that.
Speaker 2: Well we've congratulations. That was a great interview. I really
Speaker 2: enjoyed listening to that. I got to chat to Andre
Speaker 2: last year at Roland Garross when his fellow Brazilian Beatrice
Speaker 2: had Admired made her historic run to the semi finals,
Speaker 2: and I remember just being really struck by how passionate
Speaker 2: he was about tennis and him reliving kind of her
Speaker 2: journey in his connection to that and that passion came
Speaker 2: through in the chat today as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks, Matt. I really enjoyed talking to Andrea. I
Speaker 1: think he's built some really special relationships through tennis and
Speaker 1: we're lucky to have him still involved in the sport.
Speaker 2: Yeah for sure. As always, we'll be back again next
Speaker 2: Monday with another episode of the sit Down, and in
Speaker 2: the meantime, don't forget to listen to John and the
Speaker 2: team this Thursday on the Aoshow Weekly.
Speaker 1: Details for how to contact us are in the show notes,
Speaker 1: and please subscribe, rate and review.
Speaker 2: See you next week, Matt, See then, vib