WEBVTT - The Sit-Down with Nicole Bradtke 0:00:02.279 --> 0:00:03.800 Hello, and welcome to the Sitdown. 0:00:03.960 --> 0:00:07.520 I'm Viv Christie, Managing editor of Australian Tennis magazine. 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:10.200 And I'm Matrolope a ride for ozopen dot Com and Viv. 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:13.760 This week we're going back into the archives almost exactly 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:17.320 on this day. Thirty six years ago, Australia's Nicole Bradkey, 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:20.560 then known as Nicole Probus, made the semifinals at Rolling 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:21.880 Garossi in nineteen eighty eight. 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:24.520 It was an amazing time in Australian tennis. Nicole was 0:00:24.560 --> 0:00:26.960 just eighteen years old at the time and really announced 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:29.400 herself on the world stage with a series of three 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:32.800 set wins, including over the fast rising Rancho Sanchez for 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:35.720 Carrio and even held a match point in the semifinal. 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:38.920 Nicole talked to our colleague Luke Denahee on a life 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:40.800 changing campaign in Paris. 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:45.479 Well, thank you for coming in today, Nicole. It was 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:48.239 an exciting time in nineteen eighty eight for you, at 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:51.600 only eighteen, you made the French Open semi final and 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:54.600 I think for Australia it was really groundbreaking. My research 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:57.000 tells me that I think the last time in Australian 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:00.640 Dian from Oltz made the French Admanals nineteen seventy nine. Right, yeah, 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:02.360 So I just want to start off where did the 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:04.920 love of clay come? Because you know, Australian, especially in 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:07.319 that era, we're known for grass or maybe hardcourt, but 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:08.080 not really clay. 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:09.280 So where did it come for you? 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:13.720 Well, as a proud Victorian, I grew up on what 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:16.880 we call anti car courts, which are very similar to clay, 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:20.520 but anti car court, so probably the grain is a 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:25.200 bit bigger, whereas the clay is more a powder. And 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:28.920 so I grew up playing all my junior matches from 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:33.880 very young, like eleven, all the way through on anti 0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:36.880 car court. Every tournament I very rarely. I never played 0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:41.160 on hard court growing up. It was mainly well, a 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:43.440 little bit of synthetic grass, but not many and that 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:48.320 was when I went into state. But ninety nine percent 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:51.680 of my tournament play was on clay. So therefore I 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:57.080 knew how to slide and more importantly, knew with my 0:01:57.120 --> 0:02:00.000 coach Ken Richardson, had to construct a point. 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:01.520 That's what you find on clay. 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:04.920 You have to be a little bit more patient and 0:02:04.960 --> 0:02:06.480 then you have to pick your moments when you want 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:07.160 to be aggressive. 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:08.040 And so. 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:11.880 I had a great coach, and he taught me a 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:15.160 lot of ingrained a lot of those messages in me, 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:17.919 and I guess that's why I had a bit of 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:19.480 success on the clay courts. 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:21.600 You did because the year before you were seventeen and 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:24.680 you made the second round of the French Open. What 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:26.920 was that experience like that and did that help you 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:28.120 for nine eighty eight. 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:33.080 I was fortunate to have direct entries into most of 0:02:33.120 --> 0:02:35.120 the Grand Slams when I was very very young, and 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:38.799 so I really didn't have to go through the hard 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:43.160 slog of qualifying. So yeah, playing you first, I mean 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:46.359 my first for a into Grand Slam was obviously when 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:49.040 I got a wild card here at the Australian Open 0:02:49.040 --> 0:02:51.919 when it was played at Quyon seven. Yeah, there would 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:54.960 have been eighty seven, so and that's what kickstarted my ranking. 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:57.919 I actually won my first round, So when you win 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:00.600 a first round of a Grand Slam, you generally get 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:02.600 pretty good bonus points and so then I had to 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:03.760 pay my team and have all. 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:06.200 Over second round on senate clo. 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:08.840 So yeah, the Australian Open, and then the following year 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:12.040 obviously it moved to Melbourne Park. So it's just a 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:15.519 really good experience of feeling what it's like to play 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:17.679 in a Grand Slam, And obviously you always want to 0:03:17.720 --> 0:03:19.280 do well in a Grand Slam because, like I said, 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:22.480 there's bigger bonus points, there's obviously more money on offer, 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:24.080 and all those sorts of things. 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:26.760 So that's why the Grand Slams are pretty important. 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:28.639 They were. So what was that era like? 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:31.280 And we'll go more into more detail later on, because 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:33.440 you had, especially in Naty eight, I think the third 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:35.360 seed was Chris Evertt and Matt never had al Over 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:37.480 was the second seed, and then you had of course 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:39.520 stephie GRAFFI was I think your age, it was the 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.280 number one seed. Really, it wasn't incredible era for tennis, 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:44.240 wasn't it, because you had those legends and then you 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:45.600 had the rising stars as well. 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:46.360 What was that like? 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.840 Yeah, it was just I mean earlier on you get 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:54.160 a little bit all struck. But my coach Ken Richson, 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:57.160 who was traveling with me at the time, like he 0:03:57.200 --> 0:03:59.760 would get me to hit with all these different players 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:04.280 that they be similar age or older, so I would 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:07.640 get acclimatized. It wasn't sort of overroaring for me to 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:10.280 go out and play these players, But yeah, I was 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:12.920 sort of the tail end of coming into play when 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:15.200 Chris Evertt was sort of retiring and things like that. 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:17.600 But then, as you said, you know, you had Monica Salis, 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:22.200 you had Chris Evertt, you had Serbertini Novotna. And also 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:28.240 they were players that played vastly different where today, other 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:31.880 than Ash Barty, a lot of the players play the same. 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:35.000 So there was a few more single handed backhands, they 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:37.720 sliced a bit like Stephie Graftd or you had Monica 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:42.400 that hit quite hard off both sides. So there were 0:04:42.400 --> 0:04:44.520 really vast different players, which was terrific. 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.800 And I think what we'll discuss this in your matches 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:48.960 at the French Ope, and there was a lot of 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:49.720 different styles there. 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:51.120 What did you prefer to play against? 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:53.840 What did you like the slice back end or you know, 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:56.400 as you said, at Ranches Senta's, Ricario Sabertini, they had 0:04:56.520 --> 0:04:57.160 very different games. 0:04:57.240 --> 0:04:59.560 Yeah, I didn't mind it. I mean I played Stephie 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:02.360 new of times. It was almost whenever my name was there, 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:04.880 I was in her type at the draws. You get 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:07.640 quite used to playing players like that. But I mean Stephanie, 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:11.600 Stephie was a phenomenal athlete, so she was able to 0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:14.520 run around her backhand a lot of the time and 0:05:14.560 --> 0:05:17.960 obviously hit her foehands. So I think a lot of 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:20.279 players got spooked by it, and then it becomes a 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:23.680 mental thing where it didn't sort of really bother me, 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:27.240 and I learned how to slice as well and counterpart 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:30.560 that and things like that. So that's where the mental 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:32.360 side of the game comes into it, where a lot 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:36.560 of people, a lot of the girls until recently when 0:05:37.040 --> 0:05:39.200 Ash was playing, they were just you could just see 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:41.640 them thinking what am I going to do with this 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:43.839 slice backhand? How am I going to play because a 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:46.919 lot of them had such extreme grips that find it 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:49.520 very difficult to counterpart the slice backhand. 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:51.479 So I didn't particularly worry me at all. 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:52.480 Yeah, very interesting. 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:55.159 Now going to the French Open, you'd won the one 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:56.960 round the year before, you're still on the eighteen. 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:59.760 Can you remember back what hopes you had for the tournament. 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:04.039 You just hope for a good draw, that's what you hope. 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:07.160 You hope not to get a seed, that's what you 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:07.760 hoped for. 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:10.760 And I have expla. 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:15.800 You know, you always once you see the drawer and 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:19.400 I guess you're not playing a top seed as the 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:22.880 number one seed, or number two seed or three four 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:27.680 first round, and it was it was a decent draw 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:30.760 for me and I you know, the first two rounds 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:32.760 were okay, take. 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:35.040 Us through if you can remember those first three rounds. 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:40.160 So the first round I don't remember much, but obviously 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:41.800 you're quite comfortable playing. 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:43.960 You know, a wild card. 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:48.120 You think, okay, I should be okay here, which I was. 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:51.240 I went quite convincingly. And then I remember, you know, 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:56.000 the second round match another French girl, which obviously the 0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:59.400 crowd's barracking for the French, and that was a lot tougher, 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:03.120 you know, losing the first set and then having to 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:06.240 win the second, but you know that they were tough 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:09.120 matches and you've often for you to succeed in a 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.120 to go further into a Grand Slam, you've almost got 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:17.240 to have these tough matches to begin with. And I 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:20.520 felt like that second round match almost put me in 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:23.680 good stead for the matches that were to follow. 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:26.000 Yeah, do you think it at AJD as well? Like 0:07:26.320 --> 0:07:28.360 nothing to lose? Is it different playing that when you 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:29.200 were say twenty five? 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:30.000 Yeah? 0:07:30.040 --> 0:07:31.920 Yeah, I think the older that you get you do yeah, 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:33.680 I mean not you get nervous, but if you're not 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:36.720 playing that well, little doubt creeps in and like that's 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:38.440 what I keept saying, the mental side of things. But 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:41.560 I always felt comfortable playing on grass. So if I 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:45.280 knew that, I always kind of backed myself and knew 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:47.080 that I could I could do pretty well on it. 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:47.679 I'm great. 0:07:48.440 --> 0:07:50.880 So Laudia Cota kills a different player again, and I 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:54.040 think from she had a slice back end. Yeah, and 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:56.480 top ten in the world and seven to six and 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:57.800 the third that's I. 0:07:57.720 --> 0:07:59.040 Mean, that was Can you remember that? 0:07:59.160 --> 0:07:59.360 I do? 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:01.120 I remember that the court that I was playing, it 0:08:01.160 --> 0:08:03.240 was a beautiful court. I think it was show caught 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:06.520 to at the time. It's this beautiful circular court that 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:09.720 is just really nice to play in because the crowd 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:12.480 feels really encrunched on you. And sometimes when you play 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:15.360 on the bigger courts, you can get court so far 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:18.560 back because there's so much room from the baseline to 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:20.680 the back of the court, and so you really have 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:23.080 to be aware of where you are on the court. 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:25.880 And Claudia was a really great doubles player as well 0:08:25.920 --> 0:08:28.480 as she played with Helena Sikova, so a lot of 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:32.160 success there. Hit the ball really flash and once again, 0:08:32.240 --> 0:08:34.839 you know I'd played a tough three set match the 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:37.800 day before, and generally you play one match and then 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:39.720 you have the day off and then But I was 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:42.160 saying to you earlier on, I was still playing double 0:08:42.200 --> 0:08:43.520 doubles and mixed as well. 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:46.559 So can you remember who you're playing with? That's a 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:47.200 trivia question. 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:48.360 I can't. 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:48.959 I can't. 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:53.679 No, No, that was a bit hard playing with Todd. No, no, no. 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:56.480 We only did that I think a few times, all right, Wembledon, 0:08:56.520 --> 0:08:57.559 and he just said, I can't. 0:08:57.400 --> 0:08:57.800 Play with you. 0:08:57.880 --> 0:09:02.800 It's just too It was just it was just too 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:06.840 traumatic for him. So you had a big schedule, Yeah, 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:08.679 I did, but you know that's what you're there for. 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:10.360 You're young, you should be able to do that. And 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:14.160 so I managed to sneak through and win that match 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:19.280 against seven six in the third set. So yeah, I 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:20.760 was hitting the ball pretty well, and like I said, 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:24.120 she hits the ball flat, so I felt I didn't 0:09:24.160 --> 0:09:24.640 mind that. 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:27.640 Her type of game was nice to play against. 0:09:28.000 --> 0:09:31.160 So you make it to the fourth round, and that's incredible, 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:33.960 you know, yes, eighteen years old. Yes, And I guess 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:35.880 back home, I got a lot of press and stuff 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:38.920 because you were only eighteen, And did you feel any 0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:41.160 pressure or anything or was it just like I'm just 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:41.760 doing my thing. 0:09:41.880 --> 0:09:44.199 Yeah, no, I hadn't. I didn't feel any pressure. And 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:46.480 I was saying to you earlier as just fortunate enough 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:50.760 that my dad had come over and had been I 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:53.880 was in Strasbourg the week before, playing in the singles 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:56.880 and doubles there and Dad came there, and then obviously 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:59.880 came and it was nice to have obviously a fan 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:04.000 remember there to enjoy the success that I was having, 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:08.200 So that was really great. So, yeah, it was I 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:10.959 was up tired at times when I was playing. I mean, 0:10:12.640 --> 0:10:15.120 you know, obviously against Silvia and it was another seven 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:16.240 six seven six. 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:20.319 Fourth round, Silvia handacup, fifteenth seed, another German. That's another 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:22.600 close one. So you've had a lot of you know, 0:10:22.640 --> 0:10:25.520 it's not an easy ride. No, no one's pulled out 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:27.360 or anything. It's a tough one. 0:10:27.400 --> 0:10:31.120 And you know, the more like tough matches and these 0:10:31.160 --> 0:10:35.000 tiebreakers that I played, you almost get match conditioned to playing, 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:38.200 so it just comes sort of naturally. You don't sort 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:39.960 of think about it too much. You know, you've got 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:43.280 to play the percentages and things like that. So it 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:45.439 was a good one to get over the line nevertheless, of. 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:48.120 Course, so you're in the quarters now, yeah, and we'll 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:49.520 talk about you play in a minute. 0:10:49.559 --> 0:10:52.280 But what was that feeling like as an eighteen year old? 0:10:52.320 --> 0:10:55.200 Like pretty exciting. Yeah, I can't lie. I was looking 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:59.240 at the money absolutely thinking well, this is a nice 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:04.080 little paypacker for the day. Oh I can't even better 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:08.720 even think about it, but yeah, it was. It was exciting. 0:11:10.120 --> 0:11:13.760 And I even remember getting a telegram from the Prime 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:18.160 minister so gone that we didn't have obviously the Internet 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:18.839 in those days. 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:20.120 What was that like? 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:21.880 I mean, I guess how could your parents and your 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:23.719 friends at home keep up to date? 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:27.360 Yeah, well, I mean, you know, i'd reverse charges back 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:30.600 home to mum and dad, and I remember, I mean 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:32.320 dad was with me at that time, but obviously when 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:33.960 I was playing a lot of matches, Dad it would 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.160 have the radio on at night to listen to hear 0:11:36.320 --> 0:11:38.920 the update of results overnight and things like that. So 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:43.200 in some ways, it's it was a nice way to 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:47.920 grow up, and you know, you didn't have the scrutiny 0:11:48.240 --> 0:11:52.360 so much, so you yeah, it was just very, very different, 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:55.360 and it was kind of glad that I actually grew 0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:58.840 up in that era where obviously it's very different now. 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:01.520 In the quarter you're playing a rancho Sensors of a 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:03.920 car who I think was sixteen at the time. So 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:08.200 really two very young players just starting their career, and 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:11.040 you won that seventy five three sixty sixty four. Another 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:13.480 huge long match I can imagine be over two hours 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:13.880 or something. 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:15.960 So what can you remember of that match? 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:20.840 I remember it more beforehand, right, So you get to 0:12:20.880 --> 0:12:24.040 the courts and you normally have about a half hour 0:12:24.080 --> 0:12:27.679 warm up for this reason, I do not know why, 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:31.479 but I was so uptight, so uptight, and I was practicing, 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:34.040 and rich I was with me and my coach, and 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:36.560 I just had a complete Meltdown's if you on the court, 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:39.040 meltdown and just sit and just walked off and said. 0:12:39.760 --> 0:12:40.800 I don't know, I just can't. 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.679 I've got to I've hit enough, I'm out of here, 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:44.160 I've gone. 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:46.960 And so I walked off, went into. 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:50.280 The chain rooms, had my moment, came back out, and 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:53.120 rich I just sat me down and just said, look, 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:54.920 just got to enjoy yourself. 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:58.319 You've got nothing to lose. Obviously she was younger than me, But. 0:12:58.480 --> 0:12:59.600 Did you know much about it, elf? 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:02.600 Yeah, Well, like we were growing up and we were 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:05.800 sort of our journeys were happening at the same time. 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:09.520 But obviously she went on had a very successful career. Yeah, 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:12.520 and then I calmed down and I think it might 0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:13.400 have been on senate court. 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:16.600 Well, yeah, Sta Cort come down and. 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:20.160 Came down, went out there and then ended up winning 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:20.760 her three sets. 0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:24.480 Again, another long match. And you're talking about the different styles. 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.920 I mean, going from someone like Claudia around he's like 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:28.480 a brick wall. 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:30.680 Yes, how did you find that? And how did you 0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:31.360 find playing her? 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:33.679 Well, she wasn't the sort of play that would hit 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:35.800 you off the court, so you always felt like you 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:38.880 had time. Her back end was a lot better than 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:42.120 her forehand, and I mean she didn't have a huge serve, 0:13:42.280 --> 0:13:45.760 but she was quite a crafty player, dropshot a lot 0:13:45.880 --> 0:13:49.840 and things like that. So yeah, I just had to 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:53.679 sort of navigate my way through the match, and once again, 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:56.160 you know when it got tired, I just obviously played 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:57.600 the bigger points better. 0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:00.000 And you got there. So now you're in the semis. 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:02.720 So yeah, you talked about what it was like before 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:03.440 the quarters. 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:05.200 What were those couple of days and you know, the 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:06.640 morning of like, oh, it was. 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:09.240 Just you know, I was exciting. No, no, no, no, 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:10.280 it was all good after that. 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:13.080 I'd got over that little hump and you know, you 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:14.960 stick to a bit of a routine and things like 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:15.640 that that you do. 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:19.480 And obviously playing Steffie, oh, I. 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:19.880 Was a raver. 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:20.400 Sorry. 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:22.640 So yeah, so she's a similar age as me as. 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:24.680 Well, one year younger. I think she was the thirteenth 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:25.800 Sea but a different game again. 0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:29.800 Yeah, very yeah, very crafty, lots of drop shots and 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:31.840 I had a match point. 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:33.720 You did, so I wanted to I wanted to see 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:36.440 if it's ok to ask you so that the result 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:39.040 was six three six seven in the tiebreak, yeah, and 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:42.320 seven to five, so wow, amazingly close after all the 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:44.360 tennis you've played, So take us through that. 0:14:44.960 --> 0:14:48.120 So yeah, match point played it really well, played it great. 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:50.760 But she hit a ball like within a millimeter of 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:55.160 the line. Five four was five four, you know, I 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:58.200 played the point well, I mean it just hit a 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:01.000 bit of the line and that was the luck of 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:04.440 the drawer, I guess. So, and then yeah, obviously she 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:06.120 went on and won, but it was it was a 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:08.760 very good, great match because. 0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:10.320 I mean you won the second set, it would have 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:12.960 been a pressure there. Yes, seven six, so it was 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:14.000 a real it was a. 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:17.960 Real tussle between but once again a player that was 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:22.680 not going to hit me off the court, but very 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:26.400 crafty and obviously at that stage in the early have 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:28.840 been a very successful doubles player as well, so she 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:31.280 was quite crafty with the way that she played. 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:33.520 So how did you feel? 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:35.720 I wanted to ask, like, you had the match point 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:39.240 now and looking back thirty five years later, is it 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:40.160 different now or. 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:46.800 Okay? Yeah, I mean I could have hit I hit. 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:49.320 I think it was a fourhand return that she was serving, 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:53.520 I think, and I hit maybe an off fourhand, and 0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:55.880 I was thinking, oh, maybe I should have gone down 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:58.960 to her forehand. Okay, she should of, but you know 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:01.920 that's you can't. So it's just those little things. But 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:04.760 it wasn't like I missed a return or I missed 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:07.840 an easy shot or she played a tough point. 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:08.640 Yeah she did. 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:12.360 And incredible feeling though it must be to have made 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:14.720 the semis. And then I have to ask that the 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:17.240 next match she lost six Loves Love in thirty two minutes, 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:19.120 which I think is a record against it. It's a 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:21.520 bit of you, like, I'm kind of glad it wasn't me. 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:26.040 Yeah, I reckon I would have got a game, but. 0:16:28.000 --> 0:16:29.800 Yeah, I mean memorable Toiament for a lot of ways. 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:34.240 That six Clubs club, yeah absolutely, so yeah, I mean 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:37.240 those sorts of matches you just want to get off 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:40.280 the court and just walk away. But yeah, I mean 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:42.040 you'd like to think that you could do better than that, 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:45.120 but who knows. But I've never lost to her, love 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:47.760 and love and I played her numerous times. 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:49.640 You did, you did, and you actually had a win 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:54.280 in five years later in the Fed Cup six one, 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:57.240 six six one, so it's very rare for anyone to 0:16:57.240 --> 0:16:57.600 have a win. 0:16:58.080 --> 0:16:59.640 And it was in Germany to Germany. 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:02.800 Yeah, so yeah, it was a and Wendy Turnbull was 0:17:02.840 --> 0:17:05.600 the captain at the time, so yeah, I played a 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:06.520 great match that day. 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:08.520 So yeah, so you had a win against Stephani're not 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:11.880 many people did so that era of hers, and you've 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:14.320 done lots of tennis commentating and you've been around the game, 0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:16.680 coached a lot and fed carp and all that. I mean, 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:19.520 she won the Golden Glad Slam that Earth four Slams 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:21.800 and she only lost the French the next year to 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:25.479 Ranch Sanchez Vicario, So an incredible time. What was it 0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:28.040 like in the area of her like were you did 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:29.840 you did she speak much or no? 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:31.159 She was I. 0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:34.960 Wouldn't say recluse, but she was a very guarded player, 0:17:35.080 --> 0:17:35.520 not much. 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:36.520 She would just nod. 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:41.480 She wouldn't really offer much conversation or things like that. 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:44.800 So and Monica was quite similar. Yeah, a lot of 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:47.160 the top girl. I mean, they were probably the main 0:17:47.280 --> 0:17:48.680 two around. 0:17:48.760 --> 0:17:49.640 She was always. 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:52.480 Bubbling on for a bit of a chash, but Stephie 0:17:52.680 --> 0:17:57.240 and Monica would keep to themselves and yeah, not you 0:17:57.240 --> 0:17:59.840 wouldn't know much about either of them. 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.600 Yeah, it's really interesting. I certainly did dominate, didn't they. 0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:04.919 And it was a fascinating time. If you look at 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:07.840 the today's girls, how do you think, like a Stephie 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:09.800