WEBVTT - The Sit-Down with Stephen Farrow 0:00:02.279 --> 0:00:05.240 Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of the sit Down. 0:00:05.400 --> 0:00:07.920 I'm Matrolope, a writer for oz open dot com, and. 0:00:07.880 --> 0:00:11.760 I'm viv Christy, Australian tennis magazine managing editor, and Matt. 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:15.000 As attention turns from clay to grass, we caught up 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:17.360 with Stephen Farrow. Tell us more about that interview. 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:17.759 Yeah. 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:20.200 So, Stephen is a former tournament director of the Queen's 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:23.439 Club Championships and is now tournament director of the United Cup. 0:00:23.640 --> 0:00:26.239 So it was really interesting hearing his experiences going from 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:29.360 such a traditional, historic event like Queen's to a new 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:32.199 innovative event on the calendar in the United Cup, and 0:00:32.320 --> 0:00:34.200 as well we got to talk to him about tennis 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:36.320 in the UK, tennis on grass and some of his 0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:37.880 highlights working in that space. 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:42.160 Perhaps you could. 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:44.760 Start by taking us back to your very first start 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:45.760 in tennis. 0:00:46.360 --> 0:00:49.760 Yeah, so, I qualified as a lawyer many many years 0:00:49.760 --> 0:00:52.440 ago and went to work for the Lawn Tennis Association 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:54.320 in the UK, so obviously the governing body of tennis 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:58.960 over there, and became very heavily involved in the event's 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:03.000 side of the business. The LTA runs primarily in terms 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:05.399 of professional events, all the pre Wimbledon tournaments we have 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:07.680 some well they have some sort of role on Wimbledon 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:11.440 as well. It's primarily about those events and just over 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:14.560 time ended up getting more and more involved and was 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:16.880 very close with Chris Kermod who was the tournament director 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:18.639 of Queens for many years went on to run the ATP. 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:21.520 When he moved on to run the ATP, I was 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:24.200 asked to take over at Queens and then over time 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:26.679 that expanded to the rest of the LTA's tournaments as well. 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:29.640 The grass court season is a very unique time of 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:33.119 the year. What, in your opinion, sets grass court tennis apart. 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:38.679 For me, it's the sense of heritage and history and 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:42.840 the romance and visually it looks so different and if 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:45.560 you look at the places where it's played back in 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:47.560 the UK, and also there's some great events now in 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:51.480 Germany and Holland and Spain as well. Often they take 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:55.480 place in clubs, Wimbledon obviously being the biggest one of all, 0:01:56.400 --> 0:02:00.240 Queens being another one, and there is just that that 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:03.000 sort of that sense of history which I think grass 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:06.800 court tennis really brings. And it's where tennis started as well. 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:10.160 You look at the I mean the tennis Australia was 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:13.440 previously Lawn Tenni Association of Australia i TF was the 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:16.760 International Lawn Tennis Federation, and so there is that sense 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:18.840 of connection with the roots of tennis which sort of 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:20.960 sets it apart. And also in terms of what it's 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:25.200 like to experience and watch as well, it's it's quick, 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:29.120 it's a bit more unpredictable, and it's a very short 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:31.640 and intense season as well, which I think means that 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:34.280 it's there's probably even more of a focus on it 0:02:34.320 --> 0:02:37.240 as a result, and with Wimbledon as the pinnacle as well, 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:40.280 it's a it's an amazing time with the tennis calendar. 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:43.360 And I'm assuming that you've had a chance to actually 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:44.760 play on grass yourself. 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:46.000 I have. 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:48.280 I mean, what I found since I've been in Australia, 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:49.959 which is really interesting, is that there are so many 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:52.120 grass courts here. And I've spent quite a lot of 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:55.519 time in Perth through the United Cup, and I'm blown 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:57.880 away by the number of grass courts that you have 0:02:57.960 --> 0:03:00.480 in Western Australia. It's like everywhere you go you've got 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:03.400 clubs for fifteen, sixteen, eighteen grass courts. I was at 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:06.799 King's Park quite recently in Perth and it's unbelievable venue 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:09.720 there and there's so many so grasscourt tennis, if anything, 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:11.679 in Australia is stronger than it is back home. I 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:14.320 think on a recreational level there are less and less 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:16.520 clubs who are able to sustain grass courts. Obviously, the 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:18.080 weather's not as good as it is here, so that 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:23.120 grass court season is so much shorter. But in terms 0:03:23.120 --> 0:03:25.880 of me personally, I mean growing up, yeah, we had 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:28.680 grass courts at my university which used to play on. 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:30.120 I mean the problem there was that we had a 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:32.800 lot of molehills and foxes and things like that to 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:34.960 deal with, so it wasn't quite the manicured lawns that 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:37.040 we enjoy at Queen's Club or Wimbledon. 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:41.040 Amazing who have been some of your favorite players to 0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:42.680 watch competing on grass? 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:45.280 I think growing up, I mean you grow up in 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:48.720 the UK and it's all about Wimbledon. So I think 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:52.200 when I was really getting into watching and enjoying tennis, 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:55.280 Queens and Wimbledon would be on the BBC and sometimes 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:57.480 Eastbourne and so you'd watch those events and it was 0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:00.840 such an annual ritual to enjoy to enjoy those events 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:01.960 when they came round. 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:03.960 So I so I suppose for me, I mean, it was. 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:08.600 A period of relative lack of success for British players, 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.680 and I remember when Jeremy Bates got to the fourth 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:14.240 round of Wimbledon twice I think ninety two and ninety four. 0:04:14.280 --> 0:04:17.719 It was an absolutely massive deal, which in retrospect with 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:21.440 what came next with Tim Herman, with Andy and obviously 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:23.760 Emma Radacane with the US Open, but talking about the 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:26.160 grass court events with what came next to it sort 0:04:26.160 --> 0:04:28.440 of somehow feels slightly ridiculous now, but at the time 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:31.720 that was such a big deal. But I always loved 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:34.039 stephie Graff as well. I used to love watching her 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:36.080 at Wimbledon. Obviously she had a lot of success Martina 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:40.520 and Alvarattelova and then and then obviously as I got older. 0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:43.400 I mean, Tim Herman was obviously such a superstar back 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:46.719 home and is a is a player who again because 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:49.039 of the success that Andy then had in terms of 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:52.640 Grand Slam success, people often don't really reflect on what 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:54.480 a great player he was as well and how important 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:58.400 he was for British tennis, and those semi finals that 0:04:58.800 --> 0:05:02.560 he lost at Wimbledon were were huge occasions and crushingly 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:07.000 disappointing obviously two thousand and one when Ivanisovitch beat him 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:09.280 on his way to beating Pat Rafter as well, which 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:11.919 I'm sure was disappointing here in Australia as well, but 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:14.320 that was crushingly disappointing for us back home. 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:16.320 Yeah we remember that year. 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:19.559 Well, yeah, that was the Monday Final, the People's Final. 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:20.240 Yes. 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:24.039 So Stephen Hearing, how you got into tennis as like 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:26.279 on the legal side with the LTA. Were you a 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:29.000 tennis fan and you saw an opportunity to get into 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:30.760 tennis and work in an industry you loved or kind 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:32.600 of how what was that entry point? 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:36.000 I wanted to work in sport and the opportunity came 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:37.560 up to go and work at the LTA. But what 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:40.000 I would say is that I was always a tennis fan, 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:42.320 but I wouldn't say I was a tennis super fan. 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:44.120 So I would watch Wimbledon and i'd watch Queens on 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:46.479 the TV. I would watch the Grand Slams if they 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:49.440 were on free to air television, and you'd vaguely know 0:05:49.480 --> 0:05:52.880 who'd won. But really it was primarily about those summer, 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:56.640 those UK summer events, and that was really my entry 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:59.680 through into tennis. But you know, the more you get 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:01.800 immerse in the world, the more to of your passion 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:04.440 and your interest grows. And you know, I think that's 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:05.960 definitely been the case. I've become more and more of 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:08.080 a tennis fan as I've got more and more involved 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:08.360 in it. 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:10.720 And that sounds like they're coincided with your time as 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:12.919 tournament director at Queens, which, if we've got the dates right, 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:16.440 we're twenty fourteen to twenty twenty. What was some of 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:18.000 the best memories you have of that time? 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:21.600 All right, it's huge privilege to be involved in that tournament. 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:24.520 That club that I talked before about the sense of 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:26.599 history of the grasscourt season. I mean that club was 0:06:26.600 --> 0:06:30.360 built in eighteen eighty six, open in eighteen eighty seven. 0:06:30.400 --> 0:06:31.800 It's named after Queen Victoria. 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:35.080 You go to the grounds of the Queen's Club and 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:37.040 that sense of history is everywhere you look. I mean, 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:40.920 not least the pictures of the former members that are 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:43.599 up on the wall, which are some incredibly illustrious figures 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:49.560 throughout history, and then the tennis itself. So many great 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:52.440 players have won that title and it has such a 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:56.080 special place in the hearts of tennis fans. So to 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:58.400 have any sort of association with that event is a 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:00.479 real privilege and to have had the opportunity to lead 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:02.719 that event for a reasonable period of time was a 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:07.200 real honor and it was it was a real family 0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:09.440 feel to that event as well, so there are lots 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:11.239 and lots of people who'd worked on it for years. 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:15.320 Our referee Jimmy Moore is Australian. He's passed now but 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:17.440 he was the referee a Queens for forty two years. 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:21.640 You know, we have with the guys who build the site. 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:24.120 When there's a guy called John Hester who's from the 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:26.600 north of Scotland who has come down for the last 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:29.520 thirty years in a caravan. He lives in this caravan 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:31.320 in the car park at Queen's Club while the site's 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:34.720 being built for six weeks every summer. We had the 0:07:34.720 --> 0:07:38.880 same ball teachers doing the ball girls. The same people 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:40.600 have done it for sort of thirty or forty years 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:43.400 as well. So that sort of that family feel and 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:45.720 that sense of history is sort of everywhere you look 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:48.760 at that tournament and it really is a beautiful site, 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:52.000 the center court at Queens it's so iconic and we 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:55.560 were so proud of the experience that we could offer 0:07:55.600 --> 0:07:57.840 everyone who came and most of all the players were 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:00.280 very much player focused and I think that's one of 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:03.320 the things which I find here at Tennis Australia as well. 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:05.160 And Craig will say about everything to do with the 0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:07.200 Australian Open and all the events we do about putting 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:09.480 players first, and that was definitely our approach as well. 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:11.680 And I think as a result of that, the players 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:14.320 also pick up on that family feel and they're seeing 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:16.600 the same faces every year, and the bonds that you 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:18.640 then build with the players and their teams which keeps 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:21.120 them coming back year after year. It just means that 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:24.760 that event really matters and probably matters even more as 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:27.840 a result, which is really special to be a part of. 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:30.560 Yeah, definitely, here's so many stories like that in tennis, 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:32.840 of like the person that's been returning into the same 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:34.959 role for like thirty years, forty years. That happens a 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:38.000 lot here too. Last question about your time as tournament director. 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:40.079 What is a day in the life of a tournament 0:08:40.080 --> 0:08:43.920 director or when it's tournament time during Queens just. 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:46.840 A bit of everything really. I mean same here as well. 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:50.880 You are dealing with players, you're dealing with broadcast, you've 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:54.400 got media commitments, you're dealing with sponsors. What I always 0:08:54.400 --> 0:08:56.440 found at Queen's, which I've tried to sort of take 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:58.560 into the work I've done here around United Cup and 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:00.840 some of the other events, is Chris kerm had always 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:02.720 said to me that when you're the tournament director of Queens, 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:05.720 you're basically the host of the party. So you really 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:08.880 just need to go around and keep people's spirits up, 0:09:09.360 --> 0:09:14.240 and you know, you find yourself clicking into this mode 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.480 where you know you're just going around and smiling and 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:20.080 chatting and shaking hands with people, and it can be 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:23.439 quite challenging at a tennis event, particularly when it comes 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:25.280 on a grass court tennis event, when you get the 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:28.679 rain and you know you've got a lot of impatient. 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:30.320 Players who are desperate to get out on court. You've 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:30.720 got a lot of. 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:33.240 Players who are nervous about the surface because the perception 0:09:33.360 --> 0:09:36.560 is always that it's slippy. We don't have the floodlights, 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:39.360 so we can't play late, and so there's always some 0:09:39.640 --> 0:09:43.120 issues like that you're sort of managing. But really, for me, 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:45.439 I always felt like I sort of enjoyed the challenges 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:47.400 that were then presented by that sort of situation. 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:50.160 But from a tournament. 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:53.400 Director perspective, it's a bit of everything, and it's you know, 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:55.800 it's twenty four seven throughout that period where you're delivering 0:09:55.840 --> 0:10:01.160 the event, but it's extremely rewarding and for me it 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:03.920 gave an opportunity really to be to have us a 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.000 very close few on some seeing these amazing athletes going 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:09.520 out there and delivering high quality tennis. 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:11.800 And certainly in my time at Queen's. 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:13.800 We obviously had Andy Murray at the peak of his game, 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:16.000 which was just such a gift. I mean, to have 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:20.880 the most popular sports person in the UK play your sport. 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:24.680 He won it twice while I was tournament directe was 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:25.600 twenty sixteen. 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:27.040 He wont it for a record fifth time. 0:10:28.400 --> 0:10:31.679 I mean, it just elevates everything, like the interest, the awareness. 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:34.240 We would have four million people watching it live on BBC. 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:36.480 If Andy didn't play, the audience would be lucky to 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.480 be a quarter of that. So really he really took 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:41.120 it to the next level. 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:43.240 But we also it also, I. 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:45.440 Mean there were also some other amazing moments, and for 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:48.640 me it was always some of the less high profile 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:52.439 moments were the ones which I always found quite inspirational. 0:10:52.600 --> 0:10:54.800 I remember Jeremy Shardy for years. 0:10:55.000 --> 0:10:57.559 Used to say that Queens was his favorite tournament and 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:00.120 he'd never want to match there, and there were and 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.480 then he finally did and to see what that meant 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:08.920 to him. I remember back in twenty fifteen, we funnily enough, 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:10.920 through I built quite a lot of connections with a 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.000 lot of the Australian players. Obviously got such a massive 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:16.920 history at Queen's Club, and we gave Tinaski cocken Archis 0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:18.840 a wildcard, gave him a wild card in twenty fifteen 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:21.719 and his grandmother was seriously ill, so he'd come back 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:24.040 to Australia and then he flew out and I think 0:11:24.040 --> 0:11:27.000 he arrived at Queens on maybe it was the Saturday, 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:28.199 and he was playing on the Monday. 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:29.560 And then he went out and won. 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:32.720 That match and it was actually it was incredibly moving 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:34.360 to see that and what it meant to him. He 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:36.800 then lost in the second round. Then he went through 0:11:36.960 --> 0:11:39.839 injury hell for the next two years. Gave him another 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:42.040 wild card two years later and he came back and 0:11:42.080 --> 0:11:44.760 beat Millos Ryanich in the first round and that was 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:47.560 amazing because so you know, you sort of feel there 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:50.080 as a tournament director, you've given someone the opportunity, and 0:11:50.120 --> 0:11:53.480 you see what it means to them, so privileged to 0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:56.360 have that opportunity to do that and to engage with 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:59.880 these players. And then the best example of all was 0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:03.040 twenty nineteen, which ended up being my final year because 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:07.240 of COVID, when Felly Lopez had a wild card in 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:11.360 both singles and doubles and won both. And you know, 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:13.160 like the hair stands up when I talk about it, 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:15.719 because I feel like I know it's I know it's 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:17.760 only Queen's. I know it's an eight P five hundred. 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:19.840 I know it's not a Grand Slam, but as a 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:25.199 sporting achievement for him, aged thirty seven to win both titles, 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:27.040 and he was playing with Andy, I mean, which was 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:29.599 amazing enough that Andy won, but the fact that he 0:12:30.640 --> 0:12:33.520 think I think the last twenty four hours of the tournament, 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:36.040 he was on court for eight of those twenty four hours. 0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:39.040 At one point he was scheduled for four consecutive matches 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:42.000 on center court because he had because we had rain delays, 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:43.600 we were playing late. I mean, there were so many 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:46.240 opportunities there where you thought, oh, he's going to pull out, 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:48.119 or he's going to lose this one. This is ridiculous 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:50.120 and he just kept going and he was so tired 0:12:50.160 --> 0:12:52.320 on that final day. He wasn't sitting down at the 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:54.760 change of ends and at the age of thirty seven. 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:57.920 And the wild cud that we gave Felly was because 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:00.240 you know, it's his last year and he's been people 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:02.319 love him here. He's a former champion. You know it's 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:04.000 going to lose first round, but it's a nice thing 0:13:04.040 --> 0:13:05.920 to do, and for him to go through and win 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:07.719 was just extraordinary. 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:11.480 Absolutely. So you know, you have these great experiences with 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:15.120 players as the tournament director. Are those relationships that you 0:13:15.400 --> 0:13:17.319 have sustained with some of those players? 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:20.800 Yeah, with some of them, I mean it's I still 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:22.440 find here. I mean I've been here for like, what 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:23.920 is it like nearly three years or two and a 0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:25.920 half three years now. I still think some of the 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:27.600 players do a bit of a double take as to 0:13:27.640 --> 0:13:30.480 what's the guy from Queen's doing here? But yeah, absolutely, 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:33.840 and I think some of those guys who were very 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:39.080 closely associated with Queen's, the likes of Grigor, I mean 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:41.240 Stanva Ringk used to come every year as well. I 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:44.040 mean he'd only got to the semi final once. Marion 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:46.600 Chilich as well, one of our champions has great history 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.360 with the event, and Felly as well. 0:13:49.600 --> 0:13:50.199 I'm still in. 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:52.080 Touch with as long as as well as a lot 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:55.320 of the British players, and I think it's nice to 0:13:55.320 --> 0:13:58.080 see how much those guys appreciate what we were trying 0:13:58.080 --> 0:14:01.160 to do for them, and again like how special winning 0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:03.840 that title was for them, that you still have that 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:05.560 type of relationship many years later. 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:09.880 Are there any moments or situations that stand out as 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:11.800 particularly challenging when you look back? 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:13.800 Yeah, I mean I think I'd go back to what 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:16.400 I said before, when it's when the weather turns bad 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:20.880 and you know, you are going around trying to keep 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:23.600 people's spirits up, and you know, I've been in a 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:27.640 situation with some very high profile players who I won't name, 0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:30.120 telling me that I'm just going to go, I just 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:31.640 fell up with this and we're not going to play today, 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:33.320 but I'm going to go it's going to rain all day, 0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:36.400 and you're there thinking, well, actually, it particlarly known the 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:38.720 British summer weather. It could turn nice in an instant 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:41.880 and if you go and we restart play, you're going 0:14:41.920 --> 0:14:43.840 to be defaulted, and what's that going to look like? 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:46.480 So I mean I've literally sat in the car with 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:50.680 a player begging them not to leave the site. And 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:52.600 I won't say who it was, but I mean it 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:55.000 was anyway, it was fine, It will worked out. But 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:59.400 those moments are quite challenging, and win the ups and 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:01.960 downs of the ornament as well. When you get players 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:05.280 who blame their defeat on the surface, it can get 0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:08.000 quite challenging. You know, I've dealt with that a few times. 0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:10.240 You just have to hear people out and be honest 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:12.400 and straight with them. Yeah, and we also, you know, 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:14.960 we've also had we've had some real characters play the 0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:16.960 tournament as well, where where you have the ups under 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:20.280 downs with them. You know, some of them Australian but 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:24.120 you know we we again, you know we For me, 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:26.440 it's always about putting on the best show you possibly can. 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:29.120 So you want to see that personality. And you know, 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:32.000 Nick Kiros is one of my favorite favorite tennis players. 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:34.920 He was when he was at his best at Queen's 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:37.920 it was magnificent. You know, we had our ups and 0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:40.240 downs a little bit sometimes, but I think for him 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.120 he was I mean, he's a massive asset to the 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:44.640 sport and he's a massive asset to our event, and 0:15:44.640 --> 0:15:46.400 people wanted to watch him play, and he produced some 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:47.600 sensational tennis. 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:50.920 But yeah, we had our moments. 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:53.880 You said earlier, you described it as like being the 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:56.080 host of the party. So Nick would be a great 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:57.240 person to have at any party. 0:15:57.240 --> 0:16:00.600 I meant absolutely right, absolutely right, and always for me, 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:03.400 always so great to deal with, honestly throughout the event, 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:08.040 incredibly professional and when he actually when he actually delivered 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:10.600 his best tennis on court, I think it was the year. 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:13.240 Was it the year I think when Chilich beat Jokovic 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:15.920 in the final and Nick was playing outstanding tennis and 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:17.480 he lost narrowly in the semi final. I think it 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:20.680 was that year and he was his tennis was really 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:24.640 at such a high level, and it's it's well, hopefully 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:26.240 he can come back and get somewhere near that level. 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:26.600 Again. 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:31.120 You mentioned Felly Lopez before, who won obviously two titles 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:33.760 at Queens. Why is it that some players do you 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:35.800 think have such great results on grass? 0:16:36.840 --> 0:16:39.880 I think historically you would say, if you've got a 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:43.360 good serve, if you've got a fast serve, and you 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:46.680 can nail that serve and volley style, which Felly certainly does, 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:50.800 and grig Or does as well, then that's going to help, 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:52.800 and I think Lly has and he's also left hander 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:56.720 as well, which I guess gives him another advantage. It's 0:16:56.760 --> 0:16:59.840 it's managing that transition from clay to grass is also critical, 0:16:59.880 --> 0:17:03.280 and you know you do get those players less so 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:05.800 recent more more recent years because the grass courts have 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:09.639 slowed over the years, but you know historically that that 0:17:09.880 --> 0:17:12.520 switch from play to grass is so hard, and I 0:17:12.520 --> 0:17:15.000 think you do get some players who often those players 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:17.000 who have gone further at ronand Graris then do struggle 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:19.640 a bit more with the transition. Someone like Felly would 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:21.480 get on the grass a lot, probably a bit sooner, 0:17:21.480 --> 0:17:25.840 which would help him. But primarily, primarily it's if you 0:17:25.840 --> 0:17:28.480 can get that serve volley game going, which which Felly 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:30.480 did even in the game it is today with the 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:32.600 courts at the speed they are today, then you've got 0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:34.600 a You've got a great chance. And that was really 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:36.480 what Felly was able to do at Queens both times 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:39.280 he won, same with Grigor Millos Ryanich when he got 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:41.119 to the final of Queens and then Wimbledon in the 0:17:41.160 --> 0:17:43.159 same year, which again was really special when you get 0:17:43.160 --> 0:17:45.440 a player winning both in the same year as Alcaraz did. 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:49.760 More recently, you know, with the year that Ryanich got 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:51.560 to the final of Wimbledon, got to the final of Queens, 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:54.399 he was playing unbelievable sir volley tennis. I mean, he 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:56.479 was super fit. He had mce and Roe in his 0:17:56.480 --> 0:17:59.399 box and that was thrilling to watch as well. So 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:03.880 I think it's it's that that's that's critical. Funnily enough, 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:07.040 actually we had during my time there, we had a 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:09.520 celebration of our four time champions, because that was the 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:12.480 record at the time. Layton was another one. Leyton was there, 0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:14.880 We flew Roy Emerson over, we had mace and Roe there, 0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:16.960 we had Becker there and Andy won his fifth that year, 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:19.520 so he became the record holder. And I was talking 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:21.679