213: Shelton’s All-Time Performance in Epic QF Classic | US Open Something Major QF's | EP 213

0:00Coming up on something major. Wow. That's all there is to say. You know what we're talking about. Let's get the show started. Jack Jones, TV and Sam. Got close a few times. Never won. I'm a slam, nothing made me. All right. Welcome back to something major. You have soap in quarter final edition. And as I said in the beginning. Wow. A lot to unpack this show. You came to the right place for it all. And let's get this going. But before we begin with the unbelievable matches. I have light flickering in my hotel room. I apologize guys. Sam, you have a rant that you've you've scheduling issue or let's let's hear what it is. Here it is. Before we start, I wanted to talk about the so much of the US open has been focused around these matches going late, right? Especially last night with Ben and Carlos. And everyone hates it. On tennis, Twitter is the worst place in the world. There's everyone's complaining nonstop. But no one has a solution for it.

1:00They just complain about it. I don't really know what people want. There's not a perfect solution for this. I agree. Maybe matches can start at six. Maybe you can put one match on. But like, there's never going to be a perfect solution. So I don't really I get I get we shouldn't have matches going to 3 a.m. 2 a.m. It's stupid. But like, I don't know what the solution is to it either. And everyone on like Twitter and Instagram is so annoying with it. It's like we can move matches to six p.m. start. And it's still going to go till 12 or one. But like, I also think this year has just been especially bad. And last night was a perfect storm of the woman's match to start today with 7.6 and the third. The men's match in Francis's went 7.6 and the fifth. Then Jess and Emma went three sets and then Carlos and Ben played 7.6 and the third. So it was a perfect storm. But like, what's the solution? There is none. There is none. And yesterday, there's nothing you could have done

2:01on that slate of matches. Like, it's even starting at 11.30, 12. Whenever they did, there's nothing you could have done. But I still think starting at six because we hadn't means very finished twice at two in the morning. I think starting at six is sensible. I know it's New York. I know people are getting off work. But you know, these matches, they don't start at seven. As you know, they first balls at seven, 20, whatever it is. And I think it should be six. It is a shame that Ben and Carlos played this epic match. And I don't use that word lightly. That's going on it two in the morning. And no one's really seeing it. Yeah. No, there's nothing they can do about it. But in that, but yesterday, Stereo said there's nothing you could have done. There's nothing you had four matches from 11.30. Right. The only thing is it's like 80 minutes to clear out after the day session. That could be shortened. If we're splitting hairs here. But can it be, I don't know, I mean, I'm saying people if they can figure that out, like, bring that down to four years. I don't

3:03know. I don't know. You got to get 25,000 people in and out. Let's say they changed it. They're like, all right, you know what, the night session out, we're just going to do one match. We're going to alternate between a men's match and a woman's match. Now, they got the women's matches 6161. Then how everyone's arguing and being like, Oh, the match was an hour long or a men's match is short. People argue this year at the, you know, now that the French Open has night sessions when they have like, Oh, you buy all these nice tickets to like the one night sessions. And it's a two, two, and two and 90 minutes on a men's side. You're like, All right, this is fun. We're not going to start at seven and then it's a little bit. You can't, you can, well, you could, but you can't really use arm strong, right? For no, do you think like you cannot for a quarter final? Yeah. No, people are paying so much money for these seats. Yeah, you cannot do that. And then you've got like these idiots on on Twitter, like Pavi G and Jose Merturger, Kurgel or something like that. They're just like Patrick Merturger? No, there's some other guy, Jose Merturger or something. They've like, they have like tennis follow-ins and they're just like

4:08chirpy non-stop. But like, but everyone is. But anyway, that it was just like, yeah, there's nothing they could do about. I mean, but offer a solution. Everyone that's complaining about it offers a solution. There's no way to, so anyway, no way to plan a nice three-hour match. I know it's a, at seven p.m. for everybody's sake. This, this is not possible. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, not possible. Yeah, I'll tell you what, the people that were at that bend and Carlos match can be talking about it forever, forever, forever. Yeah, like, oh, I was at that match. But anyway, John, go ahead. Yeah, but let's, that's perfect segue. Let's talk about that match. Ben Shelton, Carlos Alcraz, Sammy did an emergency pod. You said all of us, by the way, I'm sorry. I know. I'm sorry about how it was wrong. Thank you. Thank you. Unbelievable match. I mean, Sam, I don't know if you were part of the coverage of that one, but just insane, Sam, I'll start with you. Just what are you thinking after this one and how in print? I mean, we saw what you said. You know, but like, just break down the match and like,

5:11kind of what, what, what, what you thought about it and like how Ben was able to win that match. Yeah, I thought Carlos was going to win the match straight up. And I'm sure most people did, and why wouldn't you think that based on what had happened in the past and how Carlos was playing. But even though that first set, Ben didn't win it, you could tell he was kind of up for the challenge. He was matching Carlos on the ground strokes. And like, he was returning well, and Carlos wasn't necessarily getting out ahead of the points. And the athleticism from both guys. Again, I'm just talking first set right now was amazing. Like the crowd was getting their money's worth with the the movement, the shot making, you know, both guys. And it was awesome. And when Carlos won that first set, in my head, I'm like, he's got him now. And then Ben bounced back and Carlos started missing four hands. And then it was six one. And then, you know, Ben wins that third set. Then I went to sleep, because I couldn't stay up that late, honestly. But one of the things that Carlos does that no one else does in the second and third set, Carlos was missing four hands like crazy. Hidium, as hard as

6:13he could, he doesn't scale down to like 80% and work his way back up. He just keeps firing. And I guess in his head is going, all right, it's going to come eventually. And when it comes, like, I can't be beaten. But that's my that's my initial thoughts. I'll let Stevie go now until we start to back this. Yeah. Stevie, yeah. No, Stevie, were you with with in just no, it's absolutely insane. I mean, this is what he needed to do. I mean, the only thing he hadn't done is beat. I think, you know, it's looking, I think he's never beaten a top three guy in a slam. Obviously, he hasn't had that many opportunities, but to do it against Carlos, like, this was a massive, massive, massive win. He was struggling to beat, you know, these guys or any of these guys in two out of three, let alone three out of five, which is whole another animal. Super impressive with how the fourth set got away from him. And then early in the fifth, you know, faces that break point, buckles down, then you get to a fist at tiebreaker, you know, it's to 10. So you got a little bit more wiggle room. He's down in mini break. I'm pretty sure five three. My brain is scrambled at the moment. I'm

7:14pretty sure he was down five three seconds. So like, he loses that point. He goes, he goes, now double, you know, double mini break in the tiebreaker. That might be too much, but I mean, how insanely clutch from Ben to get that job done. I mean, at 3.30 in the morning, like, I don't get it. Like, I just don't get how these guys do it. It's truly remarkable. What a match. Like, this is what tennis needs. I mean, Carlos is electric. Maybe he didn't feel his best in there. And, you know, the middle of the match, but Ben played insane and he made a ginormous step to his, you know, a sense into tennis even higher than he already is, I think. Joe, why did you, you kind of thought you're like, Ben could win this. Why did you think that? I just for a couple reasons. He was hitting them all huge. And I thought that he was just going after his shots. So well, there's no hesitation in any of his shots. I haven't seen him hesitate one time, one shot. And so I think that was going to do him favors. I also thought that maybe

8:16Carlos would might be due for some, you know, sense of, what am I trying to say? You know, like, that he's he's mortal out there. I guess we saw a little bit in the middle of it. Yeah, he hadn't been stressed. And I think what happened in the first set, even though he won the first set, he was incredibly stressed in that first set. And he has not been in that situation in six months, right? Like in a stressful situation. And maybe that kind of wore on him. I'm not saying it like it just mentally, physically a little bit worn him when we saw second and third set. He was very average for for his standards. And so he hadn't had that like that stress test, you know, up until the quarter finals, he's won all his matches. He's got no, he lost the first set against for Ria, but like he was never in trouble in that match. And but then you got to just give Ben's physicality kind of kind of like took over in the second and third set. I'm with you, Stevie. I thought you think after he loses the the tiebreaker and that heartbreaking fashion,

9:20you know, getting, you know, breaking back to get to a tiebreaker and had looks in the up and many break. I think you know, all these things like you thought maybe Carlos is going to run away with it like not to be. I mean, Ben is you could argue he's the fittest player on tour. You can't you can't say anyone's fitter than him. There's a lot of people at his level maybe. But also huge. I bet he weighs like 215 pounds. He's an actor. Not going to be way that much, but he's like, he's a physical specimen. He's a solid 200. Yeah, he's like, like, well, you know, he's just he's just a well proportioned. He was taking Carlos in ground choke rallies on his backhand side. That way he could not do that. That's mostly there's like there's no hesitation, right? Yeah, I think you're spot on that. That's kind of what I saw. Like even from even when he lost a first set six one to Greek sport first round of this tournament. It was like Seaball hitball. Like he had that like his mentality right from the get go this whole tournament's been awesome. Stevie right hand. Yeah, I mean, you guys kind of just hit it like when he's ground, you know,

10:20on the ground battling baseline rallies with Carlos, I honestly think like maybe he's not breaking at like a much higher clip than he's used to, but was an awful returner of the first three course of the year and then sense he's one in Montreal. Like I feel like that's given him more confidence. You might not be breaking more, but he's getting into more return games. Like, like, serve eight times. Yeah, no, I'm just saying, but like over the course of like the match, like he's now, I mean, take, you know, the second set out of play, you know, where he won six one, but like from the ground, like that has to give him more confidence, like on his serve on everything that he knows he's in more return games. Like I would think, I mean, just he's a little more than he was 40% of return points against Alcras. It's pretty pretty damn impressive. And we'll, and we got to give not the Alcras, these are shout out. Like five and a half months off. Can't hear no one thought he would come here. Absolutely. Teres through three rounds. Play as a warrior last night or two nights ago against Ben played four hours, 30 minutes. And he walked off the court, smile on his face, wave to the crowd. Like amazing Instagram posts.

11:24Like congratulating Ben, there's not a better loser on the tour than Carlos Alcras. Truly, he walked off the court. And I feel like he in his own head was like, I enjoy this. I love this. Like thank you, New York. Like that was a magical moment. And that's so special. Like very few athletes across all sports have the reactions that Carlos have after losing matches. Yeah. No, I agree. He loses with such unbelievable class. And it's like kind of like, you know, like the all-time greats do. Yeah, it just has fun. Like neat. Yeah, just has fun. Yeah. Um, very, you know, I, I, yeah, well, yeah, the match was just ridiculous. I mean, I didn't stay up for it. There's no shot I could. Woke up in the morning, checked the score and like, you know, you get online and it's all you see, right? Everyone's talking about the match. That's the worst part of it all. Like that's how everyone watched it kind of unfortunate. Yeah. Yeah. But then some of those points they had are like instant classics. Yeah. Uh, but Ben's that Ben's physicality is just, it's just crazy. But he's

12:29onto the semifinals for the second time. His career at the US Open. So, um, props to him to just, to just will his way through that victory. I mean, both guys will their way like through the like to the finish line. Clearly, Sam, put your hand down, please. Thank you. Let's move on to the other unbelievable men's match. On the day session, Frances Tiafo, we all know it 7, 6 and the fifth. We saw the unbelievable embrace he had with Michelson afterwards. Stevie, he was, Frances was sleepwalking through the first two sets. Yeah, it was. I mean, he was this close to going out. Five, three and four in like, you know, Stevie before you answer the first two sets. Frances's first serve percentage was 39%. It was bad. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So Stevie, how, how did he pull this off? Did you think Michelson let him off the hook or did Frances just raise his level? A little bit of both. I mean, look, I can't imagine what it's like to be in the

13:34quarter finals of the US Open, you know, routineing somebody like you have for the first four rounds, serve for the match, get broken, and then, you know, then everything starts to spin a little bit quickly, quickly in your brain. But I mean, Alex was playing absolutely light out the first sets. Frances was a bit lethargic for his standards. Like, really didn't look like Frances all. I mean, something seemed wrong physically because it just wasn't his normal, you know, self, but it's crazy. I mean, I feel for Alex. I absolutely feel for Alex. I mean, he served for the match, double-faulted twice to start the game, loses a third, loses the fourth, and then he bounces right back in the face. So that's what happened. He got to, he went down love 30. Yeah, double-faulted twice. Yeah. Double-faulted twice. So like, you know, it's a little late in the game for Frances to turn the engine zones and like, you know, mount this like crazy comeback. But man, oh man, did was that an alt, another epic would do. I mean, it was an epic match, but it was just completely overshadowed by the match that took place about eight hours after. But I feel for Alex. I mean,

14:37he's playing so good. He moves great. The forehand was on fire. But Frances, what an incredible comeback. Down a break in the fifth. Like, he just never went away and in typical, I don't know. I mean, Frances isn't known for like winning these five set matches, you know what I mean? Like, it's not like something he's known for him. This is going to sting Alex even more. I mean, you lost all matches in slams as you're in five sets. That hurts. You know, Haudard, the French. I forget it, Wimby. You know, I forget it the first two, but like all in five sets and and then the embrace. That was just, that was hard to watch. I mean, you know, in a certain way, you know, you feel for him. There was a moment in the match when Michelson was up two sets to love. And Frances was serving zero to 1540. Michelson had break points for two breaks. He gets one of those two points. He wins the match. He goes, because as you guys know, serving up two breaks in the third of two sets, love. There's not much stress. No, and you're still you're still swinging away.

15:39You're not the one break because he had fought through some break points earlier in that third set, too, but unreal comeback from from Tiafou. Frances coach Mark Kovacs, you guys know him, like smooth this guy ever after Dr. Mark Cove. After Kovacs or sorry, after Frances wins the third set, I run to the restroom. I was court side for the match. I'm like, and they're using the restroom and Kovacs right next to me. Just he's like, Hey, man, how's your family here? You know, they didn't want to add this one. He's like, Oh, man, he goes, this is a great theater, like, yeah, it's just fun. I'm enjoying. He's like, All right, see you later. Okay, see you later. He's not a stress in the world from Dr. Mark Kovacs after Frances. You know, just, edges out the gutsyest third set I've ever seen in my life. But that's, I mean, that's like the coaching you have. You can see, they have such a great back and forth. And I'm sure, Dr. Mark Kovacs is a nice job of like, Frances sometimes could probably like the emotional swings could be pretty high and low. And Kovacs probably keeps them

16:42like pretty steady. But another amazing match. And Stevie said it perfect. Phil from Michelson, big foes. It's like, it's big foes time, you know? Yeah, I mean, just what an effort. I mean, like so gutty at both guys as, as we know, like didn't play today and don't play tomorrow. We'll serve both of them well. Who do you guys think that helps helps the most of the two players Shelton or Tiafo? You answered that first. I think it helps Frances. Yeah, it helps, Frances. I mean, Ben played today. He played this morning. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, the good thing is that the extra dials, Franceses didn't seem like he had, sorry, Stevie, didn't seem like he had his legs really. Yeah. Like he had to just find his legs. Ben's legs are there. I mean, no surprise. I mean, I was at the course all day pretty much like I didn't see either of those guys. No surprise. Oh, right. I assume they weren't going to hit today. Like, you know, they might hit tomorrow for 30 minutes or keep it light. Ben might hit another hour and a half of returns just to

17:46get more ready. And he'll be, you know, Ben's, Ben's not tired. Ben's not tired. No, no, no. And no, no, no, Frances didn't look great, but he better get the engines going a little bit quicker. Yeah, you can't play with, you can't play with fire against Ben. He's not going to double fault and kind of get tight serving out of match. I want to know when Ben went to sleep on on court tonight I interviewed Sasha's Vera and I said, you know, last week you had a match to finish at 2.15. Like what was your routine after? And he said he went to sleep at 6.45 a.m. Yeah. I bet Ben last night went to bed at between 6. and 7. Yeah, maybe 7 a.m. Yeah. Just caught the sunrise and shut it down. Yeah, easily, easily. Yeah. Yeah. It's like going out on a night, like, you know, packing his, yeah, you have you have days in Gainesville. Hidden the library. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I'm sure today, like the routine was just go to sleep. Whenever you wake up, shoot the team of text and then maybe we do a light, you know, spin on the bike and some mobility or something. Exactly. And mobility gets him through. I hope you slept till 3. Yeah. Yeah.

18:48Unbelievable. Unbelievable matches. But today, let's move on to today, the other side. We don't want too much time on it. Sam, you were working the matches. I mean, like, let's I only work as Vera against Botox Vandessenschlump. Okay, let's talk about that one. How good is Sasha look right now? How good is that? He didn't Sasha did not play well the night. Oh, he was just he double faulted a bunch. Vandessenschlump looked tired. The match was a bit of a mech. You know, that's Vera of just one six two seven five six one. And I, I think Sasha would say it. Sasha was like frustrated all night. He was, he just knew he was going to win that in straights. Botox been grinding through it. And that's all I got to say about the match. There's nothing. We don't even need to talk about that one. No, I don't talk about it. Just like the other ones, TV. I mean, the other ones. Yeah, equally important. Not as surprising. I hatched enough easy straight forward away. And I mean, blocks was looking to retire. It felt like the whole time. And then he almost retired last is last match. And then like, all the other tires of three, two, I would have liked

19:50to see him probably just finish the match. I don't want him to see him retire. I just finished three more games. I don't know. I'm not a big fan of the retirements. But outside of that, you know, it is what it is. I mean, he's young. He'll be back. Bomber because he's a phenomenal tennis player. But Karen switches back to his old racket. And he seems like he's back to old Karen. When did he do that? About 12 days ago. We seriously? Yeah. What? Wow. Yeah. What was he playing with before? It was a different Wilson racket. Switched back to his new old Wilson racket. And now he's just back old. So what what what racket? What racket was he playing with when he when he won six games off Bernard Tomich in Cabo, the old one? I'm going to guess that was the Wilson defier. And now he's back to the Wilson blade. Okay. Could be wrong in that. We're not factually correct on this pod. But I believe that is the the exit. That's the case. Yeah. Well, yeah, he's back. I mean, he was out of a terrible summer. I mean, he lost every match, lost a, a Kovacovic in Cincinnati. Like he lost the Tomic in Cabo two and two. It was it's ridiculous. Yeah. And now

20:54it's just unbelievable. Yeah. Um, the second time in the semi finals, but he plays. There are a little less, uh, um, of energy today and around around the around the grounds on on the men's side for sure. Um, but we're going to be expected. The semi finals are set. All right. We've got a new partner here at nothing major. Cal sheet. Cal sheet is the official prediction market sponsor for the US Open. All right. For today's market, we are going to take a look at the chances for each woman to win the US Open of Arena, Sableink at 20% cocoa golf 24% for a buck into 25% and a baguilla 12%. I mean, man, four great women, four incredible champions, great, great, great percentages on all these. I feel like I'm going to take the lowest percentage. I'm going to take just the gula. What do you thought Sam? Okay. I know. Pagula is, yeah, only 12% down there. The other three basically the same. I've been riding with Koko golf this whole time. I'm sticking with Koko golf 24% chance. But it is, it is tough with three of them. Sam,

21:54give me Koko. But if you think these outcomes are overvalued, that's where things get interesting. That's where they get interesting indeed. And you can get into a position now. And if the market plays out in your favor and prices move, you can potentially price your trade out of it for a profit. Or better yet, you can hold your position and you can see what happens. And that's the benefit of trading on Cal sheet instead of trading on a traditional sportsbook. The cash out button never locks. So you can exit a trade whenever you want to. Cal sheet is an exchange where you can trade on what you think will happen across sports, politics, culture, and whatever is on your mind. You're going up against other traders directly so there's no house setting the odds or taking their cut. It's just people putting their money behind their own opinions. Trade $25 with code major and Cal sheet will throw in another 25 instantly. And that's be sure to check the link in the description. And remember, trade responsibly. Let's move on to the women's side. If you like chalk, you like this women's event. The four best players in the world. Chalk all in. I love saying that are all in the semifinals. It's

22:58Sapulinka, Pagula, Coco Gough, Rebaka, let's start with Rebaka. It's pretty amazing real quick. Like all four of them, the number one ranking. I know we're going to get to a second. It was up for grabs. A little bit of pressure and all four of it. All four of them made the semifinals. Exactly. I know. Clutch. Yeah. And Rebaka, no matter what, like she's number one. At the end of this tournament, Rebaka has reached world number one. Congrats to her. Sam, she had a kind of a gutty win over Kenwin Zhang today. Yeah. Lost the first set. Six, three against the qualifier, the unknown qualifier. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, the unknown qualifier. But yeah, could host a Rebaka. I mean, she got the best serve in women's tennis. She's got massive ground strokes. I think she got a little fortunate because we were kind of talking about this in March, April. Like, ooh, Rebaka could become number one in the world. And then she didn't really like have a great spring and grass court season for her standards. You know what I mean? But luckily for her, like no woman stepped up in one like three or four

24:02matches. But Rebaka, playing great. I think part of it, she's showing a little middrift at the open. That could be helping mid short of the what? Middrift. Do you not know what that is? Middrift. Middrift. I think not. There's nothing to be rift. They're not in the ocean. I know I'm right. She's going to go. They're not out in the ocean. They're not drifting. I think I've been saying middrift forever. I feel like you have an idiot. It's middrift. Anyway, a little middrift, I think it's something. I'm looking for something that maybe is helping and that could be part of the reason. But she's playing great and congrats to her number one in the world. That's pretty cool. Unreal. Yeah, I love it. Emotionalist after the win. Emotionalist. She's like, she's like this. She's the female band is and sculpt. Yeah. That's better. He doesn't show much emotion. I'm a huge rebalking fan. Like huge. Same. Same. And so congrats to her getting a world number one. That's awesome. I just

25:06like everything about her. I like her personality. I like that. She's so quiet. It's awesome. Huge fan. I'm glad we all agree there. She plays Coco Gough Stevie in the semi-finals. Talk about a gutty win. Everyone was on. Took a ride on the Coco coaster once again today. Coco coaster. Yeah. Coco coaster. I love that. Working that one up. Yeah, exactly. There's a chat. Chat one. That's from the chat. Yeah. Anyways, yeah. Coco coaster. I mean, like just how how gutty was that today? Like winning that we saw close that second set was and then she was obviously got a lot more comfortable in the third out there. Stevie is that right? Yeah. I mean, that's just the Coco coaster rolls on. You are absolutely correct, John. Like wasn't played awful. I didn't wouldn't say play awful. Like didn't play up to her standards in the first mirror. It looked awesome. And then the second like it felt like Coco was kind of like was hanging in there. Was up, you know, was hanging on for dear life. And then in the breaker, saves a couple match points like longer points as well. Like it wasn't just like, you know,

26:07you scratching your belly like a dog right now. I don't know. Sorry. We got these. These night pods will get you. Yeah. The night pods will get you. I didn't know what he was doing. He was doing it. I was trying to focus. I'm sorry. So weird. Yeah. But I mean, Coco gets the job done. And then as soon as she won the second set, you're like, I mean, we're I was up in ash, calling a different match. And I'm looking down like, this is going to be Mira just collapsing. Like I have a high probability of Mira collapsing here. And that's exactly what happened. It's a bummer. Like I feel for her. Like I don't know what it's like to win a slam. I never will. But like I would think it would make it easier to play and you know, be free. But maybe it makes it harder because there's more expectation. I have no idea. So I feel for her. I mean, she's still so young. She's still an incredibly good tennis player. But it's tough to go through those types of growing pains. And you can see it on her face. Like as this third set is, you know, is playing out. And there's nowhere, you know, towards the end, there's felt like there was no place that she

27:08wanted to be less than Arthur Achtadium out there in front of, you know, 20,000 people. So you feel for her, but Coco just finds a way. That's one of it's one of if not the best quality to have as any athlete. You just find a way to win. And that's what she does better than just about everyone. Finds a way. It's like just finds a way. I mean, it's not all pretty. Pretty. Who cares? Nope. Nope. And she's uses her legs, right? Like when she's not playing well, Coco uses her legs. It's like, it's like her superpower. She's such an unbelievable mover. It's like, it's just, it's just ridiculous how athletic she is. But that that's semi-final. We're back in a Coco golf. And on the other side, we saw who to start with Sabo Linka and talking about a gutty, gutty win. So how much that meant to her getting across the line over at the Wimbledon Champ, Noscava, 7-6 in the third. Sam, just how huge was this for Sabo Linka? Because we talked about it for her standards. This has been a subpar year. Yeah, it was huge. Just like a Coco

28:10at a gutsy win. Gutsy win for her. Noscava is playing great right now, winning Wimbledon. And this is kind of a battle. The big hitters. I didn't watch like a ton of this match. I was, I don't know what I was doing. But I was in the state. I was in the stadium doing a sweet visit. The match was going on, but I wasn't watching. But Sabo Linka, I wonder if because Robocona is now like number one in the world. If it maybe like relaxes Sabo Linka a little bit. She's like, you know what? I'm not number one right now. I'm not giving number one on Monday. A little bit of freedom to help her maybe like, be a little more dangerous in this tournament now. You got to imagine that she's going to have a lot of freedom like in the semi finals, like escaping a match like this. You know how it is? You win a close match. You always feel better, much better in the next one. So props to her. She is now on a 19 match. You have soap and winning streak. That's pretty good. I think. Yeah. Yeah. That's pretty good. But she

29:15plays, she now plays Jess Pagula. Took out Emma Navarro. Three sets. It didn't seem like Jess. I don't think, you know, they get any woman out there played their best. I don't think Jess did, but she found, you know, found a way. She has the most match wins on the WTA tour this year. I think she's exactly 50 or something like this. Yeah. And that confidence showed in the third set. I mean, Stevie, I mean, I think she just just, you kind of power through it there. Yeah. It didn't, you know, didn't play her best. We got the job done. And that's again, all you could want. I mean, she was frustrated in the first ultimately, you know, kind of gets that break in the second, closes out. And the third was kind of felt like it was all Jess all the way. But great to see Emma back playing, you know, good tennis. I mean, we know what kind of, you know, struggles she went through earlier this year, missing time and all the health things that she's gone through. So it's great to see her back competing because she is, you know, she was top 10 last year by my mistake. And so

30:17it's great to see her back. And now I think this is going to be an opportunity just as we saw then kind of slay the dragon of Carlos, like somebody ranked ahead of him at a slam. Like, this is now Jess's opportunity to do that exact same thing in her next match. So she's put herself in the right spot. And that's all you can do is she keeps knocking at the door. And eventually you got to assume somebody's going to answer like that. I also like when Jess and Emma are playing a whole like billionaire narrative that you just see everywhere. It's so annoying. Like both so lame. Both of them have incredible work ethics. Both of them are like two of the nicest women that we all know. Both are like incredibly clutch. Both of them are so nice. They like they have amazing reputations on the tour. Like I can't stand like when you, oh, billionaires are playing you're not, you don't decide what family you're born into. Like people say it in a way like, oh, you shouldn't like them. Like they're literally the nicest. Both of them are incredible. And so anyway, just something to bother me. I'm with you there. I'm totally like it's so lame.

31:18It just doesn't need me to be. It doesn't even need me talked about. Yeah, I just talked about it. I know, no, but I'm with you. But it's like, you know, to kind of like it's just so stupid. So stupid. Yeah, they're both incredibly hard work. Also, as if like Sabelink and Rebaka Na Coco, like don't have 50 to 200 million dollars. Well, you know, but it's like, oh, they were like, oh, they had all the advantages growing up. Like, no, like they're still talented. They're crazy talented in their work hard. Yes, say play the simple. Yeah, you know, if anything, it's you can argue it's more impressive because it's totally rest on their laurels and not do anything. And so anyways, both women, Sam, I think that's a good point. Really good point. But you know, it gets it's late at night though. Sam gets angry. He starts making crazy wild claims on the pod. Yeah, that's why we have factor. There's something healthy in your fridge or pantry that you should be making, but you just don't have it in you. Choose factor. Yeah, us at the pod here. We've been talking about factor for a little bit now. In eating healthy is not like, it's not just a willpower problem, at least sometimes for Sam. It is. It's a it's you know,

32:25the players box put up like an annoying thing today. Like, it's pretty funny. She contenders. I think that's pretty funny, but it's a set. It's a set up problem. It's a convenience thing sometimes. And that's why all of us have loved using factor so far. You know, Serena Williams on factor. I saw her commercial for factor the other day. So that's not only us at nothing major. It's Serena as well. These are chef-crafted dietitian design ready to eat meals. So you don't have to choose between like cooking and real food. They're just ready to go. They're amazing. And there's always good variety every week. They're over a hundred nutrient dense menu items. Yeah. And they have option like Sam we talked about this. Sam and burgers. I like Sam and burgers. They're good. They get a good try like with that. I'll talk. So anyways, shredded pork, collard greens and more. You can also add things like pumpkin favorite, that favorite, pumpkin flavored cheesecakes and protein shakes. So much variety. Biggest win is convenience. When you have crazy schedules like the three of us too, no time to cook. So these things are fired up

33:30ready to go. And I've tried different factor meals and flavors and it's made eating healthy, easier and more enjoyable. So I use factor and you should too. And 97% of users agree that factor meals help them live a healthier life. We are part of that 97%. That's for sure. So you can feel confident that you're doing something good for yourself and treating your body right every single time. You need a factor meal. Let's see real. Head to factor meals.com slash nothing major 50 off and use code nothing major 50 off to get 50% off and one free breakfast item per box for one year while supplies last until October 31st, 2026. That's code nothing major 50 off at factor meals.com. Nothing major 50 off at factor meals.com. See website for more details. Free breakfast item for years. That's nice. Yeah. That's good. You get some pancakes. That's right there. Thank you. Thank you. Factor. Yes. Let's preview these semi-finals. I feel like we're running a little long here for something major,

34:32but we had a lot to talk about. We just need to preview one of them. Okay. Let's preview. Let's preview Zverev Kushdoff. Well, that's preview really quick. Do you think Hush and Off? It honestly, you think he can trouble Zverev? No. Like this, this, no preview done. Preview done, I guess. Yeah, it could be troublesome, but no, I think Sasha's going to get it done. He didn't play great at the beginning. He's rounding in the form and today Sam mentioned in this match. He was kind of going through the motions. He knew he was going to win. Didn't play his best. Got to win. So I think he's going to play really good tennis against Karen because he sees that there's another slam in his sights. Yeah. All right. Well, let's go to the other one. The big one. The American matchup. Ben Shelton, Francis Tiafo. They've played three times at this tournament. This is the third time. So they split their first two decisions. They have not played in a match. This big, that's for sure. Ben Shelton versus Francis Tiafo for a spot in a grand slam,

35:32final. I imagine Ben's a pretty big favorite in this one. I've looked at the numbers. Sam, would you agree with that? Like that Ben should be a big favorite in this matchup. I agree that it should be the favorite. I don't know what big favorite means, but yes, as far as time on court, it's about the same. They've both kind of grinded through. Ben's got a little more firepower, right? I got to serve. And like you said, at best, he's full on commitment with every single shot. But Francis has that ability to kind of woo the crowd, get the crowd behind him. He's athletic too. He can make a lot of balls. And so I'm giving Ben the edge in this one. I don't know by how much necessarily, but I'm just going to go Ben just because like after watching what he did to Carlos, if he plays like that in that commitment, I think he's going to win. Stevie, you said it earlier, like Francis, he absolutely cannot afford to start off slow.

36:33He can afford to start off slow and have a bad set. But boy, you better pick it up after that. I mean, you can't give Ben any more room to breathe than he already has right now. So if your Francis, that's job number one. Come out, come out, get the crowd on your side. This will be a 50-50 crowd. This crowd will go heavy in the side of whoever's losing because they want to see more tennis. This is, I mean, it's going to be over under on NBA players in the crowd for that match. No, it's like 15. Yeah, I was going to eat now. I was going to take the other day seven and a half. I mean, it's a Friday night. I'm assuming it's going to be the night match. It has to be. It has to be the night match. It has to be, right? The fact that Zvera, we were talking about this on air tonight, the fact that Zvera just won in straights, I think that allows them to put the Zvera

37:35of Hachnob match during the day. They did that a couple years ago with Francis. He played like the night match and came back early. Also to our point the other day, is there really a difference between having 42 hours off and 38 hours off? No, there's not. I never found out to be the case when I made the US Open semis. You cannot not put Ben in Francis Friday night. It has to be Friday night. Yeah. Seven clock shark. It's going to be all right. I mean, the US Open's already taken enough heat for scheduling. You can't miss this one. Yeah, exactly. I'm with you. I'm with you. Yep. But Friday night. Where's more poll? Yes, like the TV rights or... I do. I have the poll. You have no rights. I have no idea how that works. Who you take me to? Well, they're both, they both want the same thing. I mean, I don't... I would think so. Yes. Yeah. I would think so. Yeah. Who do you... Sheldon's like a three to one favorite, by the way. Okay. Yeah. So that's pretty... Are you leaning that way as well? Yeah. I'm leaning, I'm leaning Ben just with the firepower. I think he's like... He's going to have the ability to really hurt Francis's second serve.

38:37Even if he's doing it from eight feet, ten feet behind the baseline, I see just that firepower. But obviously, Francis is one of the... Games like greatest counter-punters, especially on the backhand side. But I just love Ben's commitment. Yeah. And... You've been on Ben since the beginning too, I feel like. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, anyways, he's got it. He's got it. Um, anyways, the clothing contract here? Is he some stuff about that? Yeah. I've heard the rumors. Yeah, exactly. He's going to have a big... There's big rumors. Yeah. Lots of bags involved. Lots of bags. Lots of bags involved. Franklin's looking at him, Sam. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Sokirk. Sokirk. Sokirk. You know what I would love to see, actually? You know what? I would pay good money to see. It's just Ben rock up the next year, Ozzy Open, just in a nice Yomagir. Oh my god. Oh, I should get you a imagine. Could you imagine? They can Yomagir give Ben the entire company.

39:38And you'd be like, no, I'm good. Like it was just me funny to see. You want to make a splash? You're 30 a year. Yeah, yeah. But like, it would just be funny to see out of nowhere. They don't have that. That would be great. That'd be really good. No offense to Homa Spanish. I know we love Yoma. We love Yoma here on the pod. We do love. We do love. Never seen an American male wear Homa. Yeah, whatever it is. All right, let's move on to the women. I mean, we talked about it. This is like Blockbuster. One versus three, two versus four. Can't ask for anything more. Wow. They're rhymed. Like that. You're on your, dude, you're at it. And you didn't even know it. Did it. I hate doing that. That was good. I was saying again, one versus three, two versus four. Can't ask for anything more. Wow. That just. That's really nice. Unbelievable. But anyway, Savalinka leads Pagula. It had to had nine, four. Tough for Pagula. I would like your chances better against Noscuba. Sam. Same. As much as I want Pagula to win, I'm cheering for Pagula.

40:39If I had to like, you know, bet my life on it, it's hard not to go Savalinka. Especially, honestly, now that she's not going to be number one in the world. That helps. She does not have to think about it. And she's going to hit the ball even harder. Yeah. I mean, Jess doesn't have a great record, but she won the last meeting in Berlin. So that's got to help. I mean, so. But this is where Jess gets the job done. I'm I feel like this is it. I like it. Yeah. Yeah. It's like she's due. She's due. Is there who you? I'm going with Savalinka. Again, I love Jess. I just. Yeah. We're curious if Savalinka is going to be kind of in control. You know, if she's playing well and hitting big, like she's in control of the match. Yeah. Like more fire. But if she's misfiring, Jess is going to take advantage. So, um, and then Cocoa Golf versus Rebalken, uh, only play twice. That's fine. That I find that kind of odd. Only play twice. They've split split two meetings.

41:40Um, you know, I'll let me start. I personally like Coco in this one. I like the fact that she saved match points against Andreva in the quarters. She's won this tournament before. I just, I just got, I don't know, the crowd is going to be so, so much behind her. It's like, I don't know. She's got a lot of things cooking for her. The opposite is now true. What Sam just said about Savalinka is for Rebalken. She can play free now because she is number one in the world. She doesn't have to think about that anymore. I don't, I think she was playing free. I think she did. I also don't know if she cares. It's hard to tell. Yeah. But yeah, she's going to be free. It's hard to tell. I only should care. Yeah. Yeah. But regardless, like, it's cool. I don't know. I'm going Coco too. Coco has been my pick from the beginning. I think she's going to say, D up on Rebalken and give him that. I think the crowd will play it. I gotta go with Rebalken just because you guys are catching up to me in the bracket challenge. Yeah, you guys have Coco. Let's, um, yeah, let's take this.

42:40Go to the, uh, bracket challenge. We're almost done with this pod. It's been a long one. So like this is a nothing. We're excited. Exciting. We had a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun. It's been a good pod too. Everyone that we're 42 minutes in, like, you're welcome. Let's go in. Yeah. We're on the end. I just want to say you're really good. I feel like I'm safe here. Sam, you could, you could gain some ground with, um, Sabelinka like in the, in the women's side, like making the finals. That would be big for you. Cause you have Coco over Sabelinka. But on the men's side, it's going to be a, Sam's dead on the men's side. He's dead. Yeah. He's dead. Cause we both have Carlos. Yeah. Yeah. We'll see how the numbers work until this whole thing's done. Yeah. We'll see. But see, we're, um, 193rd place on the, uh, the women's side. We had less entries on the women's side. No, no, no, no. I'll say that. Why? I think we did.

43:41No, no need to say that. Just say we're all with the start on the women's side. Okay. All right. Cause we're all in the top thousand. Yeah, I think we had less entries. Yeah. Yeah. So anyways, um, that's a, a Sam did, well, how was your interview with Tha's Verif? It was good. I thought about kind of going messy with it and like making fun of him. I just didn't, I couldn't come up with anything good enough to really go after it. Uh-huh. Um, she's a wheeze. I dropped this coin. And I, where do you get coin from? I did some tennis events the other day at the wall door. And we use it to flip the, wow. Um, it was fine. It was fine. We're buddies. Yeah, I think so. This is like that. I think so. All right. Gentlemen, I will see you guys bright early in the morning. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, you, uh, in eight hours. All right. See you guys. All right. Peace. Thanks, everyone. Bye. See you. To the suits.

44:41Safe. Thank you guys. Nothing made you. Nothing. Nothing made you. Nothing. Nothing made you. Wanna watch the football game? What are you gonna do about it, Tom? Yo, what are you gonna do about it, Tom? Okay. There's, there's four minutes left. In the game.