US Open Day 6 - Williams sisters lose, but Serena might return

0:00Well, hello and welcome to the tennis podcast on a special Friday night here at the US Open a Night that saw the return of Serena Williams to the Arthur Ash Stadium. We are coming to you from Flushing Meadows at just gone 11 p.m. Having just watched the Williams sisters in doubles action. There are still matches going on out there and we'll be back to cover those in part three of today's show. Well, we certainly be recording that post 2 a.m. because that does seem to be how this US Open is rolling. But just before we get into the singles, David, a word on the Serena and Venus experience tonight, they lost their round one doubles match to my joint and Chan Howe Chin. In a deciding set tie break, the match lasting more than three hours and the length of

1:02the match incidentally thrilling though it was, has meant that Ben Shelton and Dennis Shapa Valov have only just begun their best of five set match at gone 11 p.m. But tonight and we experienced much of this match live inside the Arthur Ash Stadium. It was both the loudest and the quietest. It has been all week. Yes, because usually what you get inside the Arthur Ash Stadium is just 10, 20,000 conversations of people catching up with each other on a night out. I mean, we experienced this feeling of it just being a big night out became a little bit later today after last night's 4 a.m. finished with our recording of last night's show. And so we were walking the board walk down to the Billie Jean King National Tenor Centre along with everybody else who were coming for this 7 o'clock start time with Serena and Venus Williams. The place was ready for a party. It was just an amazing experience to walk in. But then when you got inside the Arthur Ash Stadium, just about for the first

2:06time that I've had all tournament. And first I mean, in fact that I can remember, those conversations were not happening. Everybody was focused, I think, on the court, on the presence of Serena and Venus Williams. When they came out, when they were introduced to the crowd, the place just exploded in noise. I mean, it was still probably only about half full at that point. I mean, it takes such a long time to get everybody into this place. That it was it was not completely full, but within half a dozen games it was full. And yes, when they were winning points, it was the loudest it has been. But when people were just watching the points unfold, I mean, it was more like Wimbledon Centre Courts than it was the Arthur Ash Stadium. And you just don't get that here, do you? It was a measure really of the way they just focused everybody's attention on them. Yeah, and a word for my joint, who is now beaten Serena Williams on two of the biggest and most intimidating stages in the sport

3:07on two separate occasions in 2026. Now if you told us that at the start of the year, Matt, we, uh, well, we wouldn't have believed you. We'd have been confused for lots of reasons. We wouldn't have left. I mean, Caroline Mozniakki did apparently spill in commentary on ESPN that Serena Williams does intend to properly come back to singles in 2027 to some degree. Whether she will row back on that, I don't know, but it's a bit of a surprise to me. I think on the basis of what we've seen of Serena or be it quite a small, quite a small sample size. I mean, it was, it was incredibly fun tonight, but they did lose at first round, first round doubles match. Yes. And Serena, I thought, was nowhere near a sharp as she had been in the mixed doubles with Alcaraz last week. And actually, I felt like Serena Serve was was a bit of a struggle tonight, which is normally the shot that's that's always there for her.

4:09They were down a break in the third set, and it looked like maybe it was going to fizzle out, but they came back. They were pretty close to winning. They went five love up in that match tie break and joint and Chan clawed it back. And yeah, look, it was a very special occasion. They called to see Serena and Venus playing. Like it's a match that I think everyone will remember fondly, but it's very, very different to singles. And like they held their own in this match, absolutely, but they lost in the first round. And that's in the doubles. The singles is a totally different ballgame whatsoever. So yeah, it will be interesting to see thoughts and prayers, I think, with Caroline Wasney-Aki, if she has spilled the beans that maybe she wasn't supposed to. Yeah, if we've learned anything this year, it's that Serena Williams likes to announce things on her own terms. Indeed. Not. Not via Wasney-Aki on ESPN. I mean, interestingly, she did do an interview with

5:12Millie Grandroups from ESPN quite recently, and did intimate that she wasn't done yet, but there wasn't much detail given. They're not doing a press conference tonight. We've had that announcement come out over the sort of media-wide WhatsApp group, which tells us when players are coming and where, which room they're going to. And it just says Serena and Venus Williams will not be available for speaking to the media tonight. And those were greeted with some unhappy emoji faces and arms out wide. We've got one shrug emoji and two sad face emojis. Have you done one of them? I haven't spoken to a lot of WhatsApp group. I have, yeah. But no, I didn't do on this occasion. So yeah, there's no opportunity to press Serena on that here. So we just, I mean, it'll be really interesting to see whether she decides she want to try to play in Australia. And there's no question there will be a wildcard waiting for her if she wants to. But that's a long way off,

6:20and it's a long way to go. Will she want to play maybe Miami or something like that in the next spring? It's just fascinating. I mean, I'm done with trying to predict what she is going to do. But I certainly enjoyed that tonight. There was a real, I mean, it sort of built, didn't it? But once we got into the final set and the second set was just thrilling and the way the noise they created. But then in the third set, I was really into it, you know, the competition of it all. It was great fun. If she did want to play Australia, it would probably be a wise move to play the United Cup, because that's guaranteed matches. Yeah. That's what she needs, isn't it? To to get some momentum, get some matches going. But the problem is you the point at which you most need to get that going is when you're losing, and that's when you, you know, you're losing. Therefore, you're not playing any more matches. But yeah, there you go. There's my pitch to Serena Williams to go to Perth. Go and see the Quackers again, Serena. Okay,

7:22let's move on to talk about the singles matches that we've seen today. And let's talk about the women that was, well, bumped off the Arthur Ashe Stadium in favor of Serena and Venus Williams in doubles action quite understandably. But I also think quite understandably Serena Sabalenko, the top seed and defending champion, seemed quite pissed off about it. She was playing like a woman pissed off today, David. Six, three, six, four over Camilla Rakeemever. Yes, it didn't take very long for her to clock that there were, in her view, at least, as somebody smoking marijuana in the vicinity. The sort of hairdryer noise you can hear in the distance is that their cleaning leaves off the practice courts right in front of us at the moment. But yeah, that's, and that's what New York's like, isn't it? There are noises everywhere. There are wafts of smells wherever you go. We went up the stairs. It's quite a, quite a walk up to the press seats, you know, pretty much into the third tier of the seats.

8:26And the smell of the various food stands was pretty overwhelming on the way out. And Serena Sabalenko was saying that she could smell marijuana smoke pretty strongly at the end of court that she was at. And of course, she's not used to being on the second court here at Flushameta, the Louis Armstrong court, which I think is a wonderful court, actually. And I think, I think she probably sort of grew into it because they gave her the most incredible reception in there. I think the crowd there loved having her. You know, it's more intimate, you feel like you're more involved. And she had her hands full today. She was playing Rikima, who just came out with a big smile on her face right at the start. She was sort of doing almost alchristal jumping movements at the net when they were about to start the match. But I also thought that Arena Sabalenko was very clean today in the early points of the match. And a serve is incredible. And things did get a bit dicey in the second set. But I think she's starting to

9:28play well, which is interesting. And she might need to because in the next round, she has Taylor Townsend backing up her run to the fourth round here last year, repeating that feat. And she said, in a wrong court interview after today's victory over, Danish Neidard, that she, with anxious about that coming to the tournament, she was very aware of the point she was having to defend and very aware of kind of proving to the world that she's not a worse version of herself than she was last year, which is a very, a really perfect way of expressing kind of what's so messed up about the ranking system and what it does to tennis players' mind, sort of having to constantly compare yourself to a past version of yourself is not a healthy way to live. But anyway, she's much stop at least equally to the version of herself from 12 months ago. And when asked about playing Arena Sabbelenker on what I very much assume will be the Arthur A. Stadium in the fourth round in a couple of days time, she said, I'm fucking pumped. And David was like, does she want a T-shirt?

10:36Love to that. Yeah, she can have one of my pumped T-shirts to walk out onto the court with for free. There you go, there's my offer. Yeah, look at some. I think she's got her own outfits, David. And there. Yeah, add some, well, she might have a sort of buckle on her outfit today. And yeah, they haven't been my taste, but then they're, she's clearly really enjoying expressing herself and I absolutely support that. How I feel about those outfits is neither here nor there? I like the one when she had flames on it last year. Black dress with sort of flames coming out. Yeah, I like that one too. That was good. These are a different vibe. Okay. Yeah, I mean, it is a very, very exciting thought, isn't it? I mean, that's the one that we kind of circled in the draw when it came out for Sabbelenker as a potential test of where she's at mentally with the game of Townsend, but also the crowd likely to be pretty against Sabbelenker

11:38on that night. And this one today for Townsend was an absolute thriller against Schneider. And it didn't look like it was going to be. Townsend was winning pretty comfortably. A set up, a break up, serve for the match. And Schneider at that point broke her back. And then Schneider herself had multiple set points in the second set before the tie break with Townsend serving at five six. And time after time, Townsend kept hitting the line with winners. Schneider was saying everything at her trying to get the break. It was one of the most high quality games of the tournament, I would say. And the crowd on court 17 were so into it. And she held firm Townsend and held and took it into a tie break, but Schneider still managed to win that tie break after not converting those six set points it was. So when we were at one set all, and suddenly it's feeling a bit like last year for Taylor Townsend, where she's had a chance to close the match.

12:44Last year it was against Craig Chicaver. And she hasn't taken it, and suddenly she's in a third set. And I remember last year that third set against Craig Chicaver, you always kind of felt Craig Chicaver was going to win it. This one, I thought Townsend did such a good job to avoid that happening, and and managed to get a crucial break towards the end and still win the match, despite not being able to get it down in straight sets. And yeah, it was a very impressive mental effort, I thought from from Townsend to win that one. And yeah, she's she talked about how yes, she's defended all those points, and that means she can now, I feel like she can play free again on the court. And that's probably what she's going to have to do against Sabile Enk, I would have thought absolutely just bring it to her, try and be crash and rushing on some second serve returns and things like that, and try and disrupt Sabile Enk and throw off her rhythm. It's yeah, it's a tantalising match up. How credible a chance do we give Taylor Townsend there?

13:45I do give her a credible chance, I think probably say a 30% chance, which I don't think is too bad. I think she's assigned for that. I think she's at her best here. I feel like I've seen some really good stuff from her this year and last year, when I think back to that Craig Chicaver match, which she should have won, you know, having eight match points, not winning the match. And honestly, you know, we talk about when the draw came out, we saw Townsend and Sabile Enk was a possible fourth round. I really didn't expect that to happen because I thought Schneider was the favourite, really, to to be coming through that section of the draw. So to find a way past her when she lost the lead, I think is a huge achievement, you know, to just manage the demons of last year as well, you know, having lost that match against Criticaver, we still don't really know about Sabile Enk. We don't know whether her improved looking performance today is down to

14:48just not facing much in the way of opposition or whether this is the real thing. And now she's going to get the crowd as this other factor. It's to me, it's a really tantalising proposition. To me, this could be make or break, Sabile Enk has us open. Obviously, if she loses, it breaks it. But I think if she wins it, it could be the thing which propels her to a title defence. Yeah, I think I agree with that. I mean, I give I give Taylor Townsend at least 30%. I think, there's a world in which it's a beat down for Sabile Enk for sure, but I think the crowd are going to be feverish, feverishly for Taylor Townsend. She is so popular here in a very vocal, vociferous way. And I could see, Sabile Enk has got a bit of a, the world against me, vibe at the moment. And I, there's an element of confirmation bias to that, isn't there? If you're

15:49feeling that way, you know, the fact that you're on Armstrong and there's someone smoking weed, it's like, oh, it's all rigged against me. Type of vibes. And that was kind of how, I think it's legitimate to not be enjoying the smell of weed while you're trying to play a professional tennis match for sure. And to express that annoyance with the umpire, but just reading her vibes, you know, it's definitely kind of me against the world type stuff. And look, that can be channels positively, but she is right on the edge with it at the moment, Sabile Enk and I don't know, we've seen a lot of evidence recently of her being on the edge and and tipping over. And I could see that happening. Yeah, I feel like we've seen her win titles almost because of those sort of feelings. And we've also seen a lose huge matches as a direct result of them. So yeah, can't wait. Tantalizing Jessica Biguila through to the fourth round just Matt 166463 against former

16:53finalist here, tricky lefty, Laila Fernandez, who played a hell of a match and Jessica Biguila was in a real tussle here in a bit like Taylor Townsend. This was a match up until kind of, well, up until the end of the second set, really, the blueprint of which we've seen before for Biguila and she's failed to come through. Like this felt like burying some demons for Biguila today. Yes, she's definitely had some losses at slams that have been surprising and the word that's come to mind when we've seen her play, though, is flat. And she came out very, very flat today on to court. Perhaps she was also up watching Alice against Zverev because she was looking in that first set how I was feeling watching it just, oh my god, tennis is back on and I'm having some partake in this like what is going on? If you want to know how Matt Roberts has coped with today, he's wearing his plain trousers. I'm not actually. But then you're not trousers.

18:00Well, they look very good. They look like they could be plain trousers. Yes, I see why you've thought that. A comfortable vibe. Yes. And she was so flat and lost the first set six-one to Fernandez and she was having a a torrid time on her own serve. She really wasn't serving well and she was finding the Fernandez game really tricky and you know one of the things you would look at I think as an opponent of Fernandez is what can I do to attack her serve. Fernandez wasn't serving particularly well but it was her second serve that was causing Biguila all sorts of issues. She had no range on her shots. Her body language was kind of bad and I did think she was in some trouble here against Fernandez but she cleaned it up I would say as this match went on. She started to come through some dicey moment. She was struggling at the start of the second set. She was actually two break points down at one all in the third as well and Fernandez missed second serve returns on both of those that I think she would want back but it was as you say,

19:02Catherine, good for once she managed to find a bit of spark rather than let the flat performance continue and it feels like she's just got through this one and will probably play better in future rounds because I do think Piguila is someone who thrives off rhythm and consistency. She's one of the best players in the world when it comes to trading ground strokes and Fernandez was smart. She didn't allow that to happen too much in this match using her slice, using her left in us and I don't think Piguila enjoyed that at all. She was just uncomfortable most of the time but she got through it. I'd expect her to be as great a season as Veronica Starrer is having and as well as she's playing she beat Jasmine Pauline today. I would expect Piguila to enjoy that match up far more in a couple of days time. It's going to be more straightforward isn't it? It's going to be ball striking. Yeah I mean they played a couple of weeks ago in Cincinnati and Piguila was handling it absolutely fine but she let it become an ordeal. She just couldn't

20:06serve it out. She couldn't keep a lead and it got very tense in the third set but I agree she was comfortable in that match up from the start. So yes I do think her stay is dangerous. She just don't really want to see her in your draw but yeah I do think Piguila can come to that. Monte Costa has set up a fourth round meeting with the Wimbledon Champion Linda Noshkaver Costic Handling, Icaaterina, Alexandra, a Handleater, a 6362, Noskiver getting embroiled against Anne Lee really embroiled and a bit like Taylor Townsend losing a heartbreaker of a second set and coming back masterfully to win the third, 6262, Noshkaver is I love that. Well I'm really into that. No that is you know I didn't actually know that that was coming up as a match so when you read that out I thought oh what a tantalising prospect that is the Wimbledon Champion against one of the form players of the year in Monte Costa. Repeat the Wimbledon

21:07semi-final which Noskiver won of course and yeah there was a fun match against Anne Lee like she's I've been banging the Anne Lee drum not like a huge drum but just a little one just for a little while just just being like just pretty good Anne Lee gets better when she gets a big win you see. Matt actually said while watching this match if Amanda and his mother had Anne Lee's forehand she'd be the best player in the world. Oh stamp by it and we were talking to Pam Schreiver the other night who was coaching against Anne Lee the other night in Donneveckich's box and yeah Pam was saying it's it's like an ATP forehand the Anne Lee forehand because she wits it and she's got a lot of topspin on it and you just you know see that as much on on the WTA tour it tends to be a lot flatter hits and she used that shot to really good effect to get back into this one and saved a match point in the second set to Anne Lee with an absolutely brilliant burst of tennis and won it with her forehand and Noskiver was doing that thing that we saw in the Wimbledon final when

22:09she was putting her fingers in her ears and blocking out the noise on on court 17 and love that trademark move I would support that becoming her trademark move I like it I think it's it's gangster and like we've seen it you know she's done it in moments where it's been going against her but given that she still went on to win the Wimbledon final it's now like a bit of a signal like oh like she's she's she's gonna be okay she's gonna turn this around you might just have to get through a dicey moment and even in that even in the third set it was it was close at the start but then but then Noskiver settled down and Anne Lee played a really poor game to lose serve and that was kind of the difference maker but yeah really good match and like you excited for cost it Noskiver this draw that the women's draw has just held up in a way that we just so rarely see so many top players making it through and that means now we're getting these getting these big clashes it's really exciting also set up today Emma Navarro who will play Anacallan Skier Anacallan Skier is just

23:13taken down Alina's Vittalina over on Armstrong Navarro kind of low-key pulling off the upset of the days 6375 over the Wimbledon finalist Carolina Mukiver those are two results that I just wouldn't have expected I would have been billing Mukiver against Vittalina in that position and thinking what a great matchup that is you're about to confess to the premonition you had this morning I woke up this morning thinking crikey cannellan Mukiver seems like she's coming through this draw serenely I thought she I think she could win this tournament and she was a set down and in a close tussle in the second set and I thought she was turning it around huge credits in Navarro you know to to pull that off who she she's been having some results kind of low-key I feel like she's won some good matches without really making any headlines not really kind of getting on our agenda in quite the way that Mukiver has for instance but she's so steady and a player like

24:18Mukiver just has to play kind of pretty top level to dissect somebody like that and she obviously didn't and then the Vittalina match just gone just now I mean that was a real knockdown drag out affair I mean they were just going toe to toe for a long time it looked exhausting out there I mean it's very humid tonight isn't it and yeah I'm surprised though I'm really surprised by both results if you heard beyond Fratangelo Matt's husband and coach of medicine keys pushing Anakal in Skye for his own personal backhand list yes you were telling me this I'm all in favor don't push her for mine but make your own list that is exactly what I've been saying for a long time yeah but the problem is Matt you call yours the backhand list because I was first like to the tennis podcast that's a good match too shay Matt too shay that's very good I thought I'd got you there okay on

25:20that note that is it for part one we'll be back in part two to talk about the very demure Carlos Algaraz welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast moving on to the men's draw now and let's start with Carlos Algaraz six three six four six one over who you being slutsch aimed into putting his nipples away and in his own words honestly I'm better than I thought what addressing or hitting the ball I think that was a tennis comment that was a tennis comment yeah yeah and look it to me it was actually his scratchiest if I can use that term not to describe his clothing but his scratching tennis performance of the of the tournament you know I think in the first round we were all just very impressed by his level after so long out and then we talked about him hitting a really top level in sets two three and four against forria today came out playing really

26:23well and went up an early break and was was really on it from the start of the match and it's a very one sided score line but I thought he was fighting his game a little bit more in this one and he was under pressure on serve a lot his his serve is definitely not clicking or firing I can't quite figure out whether it's because he can't or because he's just holding back because he still doesn't really feel like he needs to go full-pelt with it but against someone like woody being he was getting involved in just a lot of tussles on on serve and he look he's already lost serve more times this tournament than in the whole of last years us open when he went on to win the title that's just the different places in now compared to last year where he was so sharp in every department he was fighting his forehand a little bit he was getting a little bit frustrated by that he actually went out to practice after the match and hit hit forehand hit some serves again I believe

27:24so he was he was very upbeat and joyful in that encore interview and which is just brilliant to see but I did get the sense watching that he he thinks there's more to come and maybe he was expecting to play a little bit better today overall but he was by no means bad and he he was pretty comfortable even if there was just quite a lot of long games I think he finds day and night very very different here doesn't he I do think adjusting day is so he played day session the night session now day session again might very well go back to night session in a couple of days time I do think he finds that quite tough I mean look it's it's the same it's the same for everybody but I get the impression he mentions it a lot yeah the fact that means classic carcass he doesn't pretend that it's not something that bothers him a lot of people would you know he's an open book isn't he and yeah it does bother him

28:24yeah he sure is an open book actually think maybe even even more of an open book than we've ever seen before I do you think there's been a little bit of a shift in Coloss the Colossan that we've seen since his comeback I feel like Matt some of his shyness has been shed do you know what I mean yeah I mean the way he answered the question about the nipple you know he came out with the with the vest on today of course and and he was asked about why he was wearing the vest and he with a straight face initially it was an incredible line delivery this incredible yeah he um you said well I think I saw my nipple too much lately and then he first out kind of into a smile I kind of want to know whether he's whether he's talking now about himself seeing it on court

29:26or seeing it all over the internet I think both okay yeah I mean there was a bar 's feed article about it right it's gone you don't have to be that online to have seen Carlos Alcras is nipple on the internet he's quite on right you get the phone yeah he's very quick to yeah like Instagram posts and all that kind of stuff yeah so I think both I do also think it was bothering him I mean he said that he was he was trying to kind of not throw Nike in Travys Scott under the bus wasn't he whilst also saying he was actually asked was this a Nike thing he was like no it was my decision I asked if we could do something about it um and he was asked how distracting it was and he wanted he sort of said no not very distracting but definitely a bit distracting and yeah he he kind of suggested that he was going to continue to play with the with the vest hmm I I could not stop laughing when I saw him come out in the vest it was so funny imagine imagine

30:28the conversations that have gone on I was disappointed when he took his shirt off at the end to the the outfit changed and it it was revealed that it was a proper Nike vest that he was wearing I'd imagined Alvaro being sent to K Mark to get a a multi pack of emergency emergency vests but it looked like it was a slightly slightly more planned situation he's improved the look I really think it looks great now yeah yeah I mean I think some of the internet are disappointed David but I'm glad that you're you're pleased with this development he plays Tommy Paul next does Carlos Alcras which is one of those one of those matchups that we just have in our mind is good and that Tommy Paul can threaten and trouble Carlos Alcaraz even even a even a peaking Carlos Alcaraz maybe but it is it is that sort of a residual feeling from the past isn't it has

31:34been quite a long time since well it's been since 2023 that Tommy Paul is his beaten Alcaraz and the head Ted is now six two yeah his two wins were in Canada in back to back years I think when I've seen that match up in the past and it's been competitive the thing that stands out to me is how well Tommy Paul moves and covers the court and he's such a such a great athlete that I think he can he can hang in some of the incredible rallies that Alcaraz produce isn't a way that other people on tour can't and I think we've seen at times that shake Alcaraz just a little bit but you know at the slams in their last few meetings Alcaraz has definitely had the better of in it hasn't felt like a huge match up problem for him I think actually it's kind of sometimes been one of those

32:34matchups that ended up bringing out the best out of Alcaraz because he's kind of needed it like a Marvel film when two characters are going against one another and the the the real superhero just has to employ a level at the other one card and I think there's also a point here to be made about what like is Tommy Paul in his best ever form I'm not sure he is you know so he's a really good win for him today over over Bubliak he lost to last year he wanted him five but in truth Bubliak totally faded in the last few sets and lost all of his resistance and look Paul was playing was playing some good stuff but Alcaraz isn't going to fade like that even just coming back from from four months off and yes Alcaraz may not quite be at his sharpest and that's served maybe vulnerable and Paul may be able to take the ball early there and cause some issues but I think it's kind of right that the tournament really starts now for Carlos Alcaraz the first few rounds

33:37have been about finding himself back on court figuring out what he's got he's talked about how he's actually recovering from matches better than he expected to and now it's like okay like I've got through those tricky first few rounds where maybe I could have been really rusty and lost the tournament I'm still here and now it's time to to step it up even more and it wouldn't shock me if any even better Alcaraz appeared in that match up in a couple of days he could very well face an all-American path through to to a final Carlos Alcaraz if he is to get their Tommy Paul next there's there's a lot of Americans in this section of the draw we're going to have Daniel Medvedev against Francis Tiafo in the fourth round we're going to have Alex Mikkelson who's in this section of the draw we've got potential Ben Shelton although we'll cover him in in part three still playing against Dennis Schapp of Alov but yeah Medvedev to play Tiafo Medvedev having beaten out a Rinder Knesscht today 646464 he rated his own performance at 7.5 or an eight out of 10 did

34:44Medvedev Matt you've been monitoring volcanic activity do you have any updates for us I think I'm prepared to declare him a dormant volcano huge not a prediction that he's going to win the title but I keep their roles I think he's earned that status I think I've considered what you said the other day he's he's been very convincing so far this tournament there've been no crash outs there's been no drop sets yeah contemplating a life of pickleball ahead of you has has turned him into however tennis player again and he's erupting is he no but there's a little bit of activity there's a bit of lava like flock of other place like an eruption I think is if well really I think it's if he beats someone and gets to the final until then it's just rumblings is that fair yeah I think so

35:45but it feels like something that he he might still have in him which was your question mark the other day it means to be proven whether he actually does it yeah but it feels like it might still be in there yes I think I think that's the crucial that's the crucial thing he's got a very good record against Tiafo he's got six one head-to-head lead I believe against him and actually I think Tiafo's one is laver cup so count that if if you want to my big prediction is that that match will be played on Armstrong because Francis Tiafo said to the Armstrong crowd after his winover is very convincing winover Valentine Vashiro on Armstrong tonight he said I'll see you back here on Sunday that's how much I loved it and I asked him about how much he loves Armstrong whether he's been requesting to play Armstrong and his press conference just now and he said I may or may not have been he said yeah I've I've been requesting Armstrong and said you know it just suits me as a great vibe there's no VIP boxes in there the upper bowl is for grounds past

36:49hold is that that is that is Francis Tiafo's vibe isn't it and he's never lost on that call but he's only ever been in mebber I've been laver cup so something's got to give here I think it gives him a better chance a tangibly better chance of winning that match A because he likes the vibe more B because it's a smaller it looks at least like a smaller playing service and surround to the vast cavernous Arthur Aestadian which is where Dana Medvedev can do all of his damage by standing so far back and running out so far wide it's a little more enclosed I think you're more likely to wind up Medvedev on this call and that's what Tiafo wants just on Medvedev by the way the other thing that came to me is that I do think the US open often brings out the best in Medvedev like I know last year's lost of Angelo Bonzi is the exception to that that was very much the worst of Medvedev but it's taken it's generally taken very good players with very good performances to

37:55beat him here or very good players all very good performances you know like he's lost here to sinner, jock of it's in a final, Kiros beat him here once on a night where he had everything going team beat him here and route to the title Nadal beat him in a final like he's not had that many really poor losses and obviously now at the stage of the tournament where he's got through that those rounds where he could have got tripped up by someone he's kind of better than and now into the meat of the tournament but yeah he's way more convincing than I was expecting him to be likewise Alex Mikkelsen David is set up a fourth round meeting with Thomas Martin Etcher Verry two unceded players he beat Daniel Merida today in straight sets Mikkelsen you're a Mikkelsen guy I am I an increasingly so I love watching him play I think what it is I've been I've been trying to work out for a while what is it about this guy that I really like watching him play there are

38:58certain things he does that remind me of Pete Samperous just in terms of movement and his stroke production on on the forehand and he's showed some incredible athleticism at the net today and leapt into the air to slam dunk a smash away and and so I really and I think he's super dangerous I don't understand how this guy is not seated how can he not be one of the 32 best players to be seated for this tournament I think I think it's it's under achievement really in that respect and listen there are a lot of factors that go in health and so forth but I think back to when he beat Sid surpassing the Australian open last year at the start of last year I think back to when he beat raf oh lost to rafl hot ah at the French open a few months ago and he was totally in charge of that match he was out playing hot ah I was knocking him off the court really at two sets to one and then then he ran into some physical issues and I attended his press conference and

40:01as well as talking about whether this is the best he's ever felt as a tennis player which he confirmed it is I asked him whether is this you you sort of feeling now more comfortable kind of in in your own skin around the tennis circuit because he's he comes across a slightly shy and slight a bit of an odd ball compared to some of the other American players a bit he's not one of the crowd in quite the same way and and when I when I went to his press conference there's no five at the Australian or 2025 in the Australian open last year I thought Cracky he's having to sort of fight his own shyness and his own feeling that maybe it don't completely belong in this in this environment and and he's trying to just sort of deal with it he's totally different now in terms of how he comes across I saw his on court interview a couple of days ago he was so outgoing and he was so exuberant and I thought and loud you know it's a bit like watching Sam Quarry's transformation from completely uninteresting press conference interview to suddenly this personality that he's

41:07become obviously not to that same degree maybe but you know it's it's it's a big difference in terms of how he comes across and I asked him also a but and he said yeah I'm more comfortable now it's taking me a bit of time and I feel more comfortable and and and I said well what do you think separates you from where you are to where you want to be as a tennis player he said oh the physical side he said for the last year I worked hard on being fitter and stronger and faster but I did absolutely nothing before that I did no physical work at all and this is well was that lack of knowledge or was that lack of application you know he said oh it's application I just did I never went to the gym I just played tennis I didn't and he says that I have not basically I haven't got a leg stand on it was my fault now I've got two great trainers and I'm doing all the right things but fascinating to hear his candor about that yeah and he said how he wasn't really expected to turn

42:07pro you know he was never really thinking about it about tennis in those terms I think until he got to like 17 or something he said and that and that just is interesting when you compare so you know some other names in the drawer I'm sure who it was kind of best in for from when they were probably you know like a young kid and they probably been doing loads of physical work for a very long time alongside their tennis and he's he's just kind of playing catch up in that sense and it it does make you think about how much more room to improve and grow that there is because most people at his age have probably been doing everything right for a very long time and it's little little things they can still improve where it feels like Michelson's kind of feeling like he's got quite a lot a long way to go and I think yes and I think actually the one like the one that came to mind I don't know whether it's quite the same in terms of not doing the work but if you speak to any of the

43:11American players about Taylor Fritz they all say when he was younger he was not a good move he was not a good athlete and he's absolutely worked so hard on that and put himself you know right at the top of that American pack and maybe Michelson can can you know follow that trend and learn from him and if he can make up that lost ground it's a far healthier place to be to not have been groomed to be a tennis player your whole life like obviously that is an accelerator and that's an effective way of creating tennis players that's why parents and academies and so on do it but you know it's borderline unethical in a lot of cases and doesn't create well adjusted human beings and quite often that can feel like a ticking time bomb in tennis players so if you can if you make make up that lost ground it feels like he might be in in really good stead it's it's

44:14the winner of Michelson actually very to face the winner of a member of TFO it's really look both draws are shaping up really well aren't they there there are some really fun sections in both draws it's very finely poised we still have Stefano Sittapas to talk about he awaits the winner of Ben Shelton against Dennis Schapperval of that match is currently on court we're going to go and watch it and we'll be back in part three to talk about it and look ahead to tomorrow welcome back to part three of today's tennis broadcast where it is now 20 plus two in the morning we're back at tennis podcast towers Manhattan and Matt we're celebrating a new us open record yeah history made the first ever us open with three finishes past 2 a.m. and still nine days to go so exciting think what we could achieve in that time we're trying not to think about what could be achieved in that time David Matt's got

45:19full and kicking off in seven and a half hours yeah David's got Albion you've got Reading yeah pumped we will be here but we'll certainly be somewhere and let's talk about Ben Shelton here we've just seen beat Dennis Schapperval of 76676364 look we cut these guys a bit of slack because it's not ideal taking to a tennis court at 10 30 starting a match at 10 45 and of course for the whole build up not knowing exactly what time you'd end up taking to the to the tennis court and yet we're talking here in particular about Shelton as a title contender David and that was some scratchy old tennis we saw from both players but you know Shelton's the one that needs the analysis here yeah he did a good job to get over the line without having to go five that's probably about as complimentary as you can

46:23get really because this is not the Ben Shelton of a year ago in terms of the form that he's showing I mean he was he was flying a year ago at this tournament and then he he had a horrible experience when when he tore a muscle a pectoral muscle I think it was and or a shoulder I can't exactly remember but he was in a terrible state and he there's no way he could continue and continue in the tournament at the moment he's just used the words scratchy he's scrapping around trying to find form and multiple times he was a breakup in this match and then got broken back we we've had that six one set that he lost the first set of the tournament that he played which James Blake tonight in commentary called it the worst said he's ever seen Shelton play and I don't know whether it's pressure I don't know what it is but he he doesn't look in top form at all he's trying to find it

47:25I think there were some good signs in in the sort of mid to late portion of the match in terms of the parry was finding on the ground strikes and particularly the success he was having when he went to net he once stage a sort of a stat pop up saying he'd he'd been successful 35 out of 14 net approaches now I don't think Shapa Valov is the world's greatest passing shot player or returner so that has something to do with it but you know it's a good sign you're put in pressure on you're getting success but he is going to have to raise this level several notches if he's going to do what I thought he would do which is win this title he doesn't look like the title winner at the moment Stefan has said surpass next that's not the worst thing but you know I think he will win that but you know he's it's tough to imagine he would win the title playing like this yeah agreed really I thought he did quite well by the end he had his serve going and he

48:33you know was broken a lot in the first two sets of this match and then not in the latter two sets so he definitely improved as this one went on after a very sloppy start and yes Stefan has six surpass I mean I don't really know what to make of that match up to be honest beat Le Hedgeka today in four sets to reach that fourth round yeah look a few weeks ago I wouldn't have been worried about that match up at all for Ben Shelton I think a lot of his weapons suit playing sits a pass quite well the the big swinging serve into the sits a pass one handed backhand return that feels like that's going to be very successful for Ben Shelton but I must say sits a pass is playing with a bit of a spark again it's only three matches and obviously the first round against Feast he was getting beaten handily and until Feast's energy dip but he's been

49:34impressive the way he's stayed in these matches after dropping the first set and really took over I watched a bit of the final set today against Le Hedgeka and he was he was absolutely flowing so I even think Shelton's going to have to raise it for that one you know because sits a pass he's there's a similarity there I suppose with Chapavalov in terms of their career trajectories but I think sits a pass has always had a higher level in him and is is playing with a bit more confidence just as a result of these wins I would still expect Shelton to win but yeah it's unconvincing I would expect him to be in the same slot as well in the couple of days time he's now in the situation that's very over then where they have to schedule him at night I'd expect it to be the second night session match after Sablin could town's end I I would have thought so you know if he didn't like the situation he was in tonight Ben Shelton and I thought coming out on the court he

50:39didn't look like he loved that situation and fair enough yeah he's he's likely I think to be in the same one in a couple of days time but obviously let you know tomorrow once the schedule is out for Sunday in terms of Saturday schedule it looks thus Arthur A. Stadium starting again at 11.30 a.m. with Taylor Fritz against Francisco Surindelo second on Christina Bookcher taking on Coco Gough winner of that to face the winner of the first night session match on Ash Evie Yovic against Alex E.R. La Alex E.R. La making her Arthur A. Stadium debut that one feels so on an iFedge doesn't it E.R. La Yovic it does and inevitably E.R. La's getting the headlines the publicity she is this incredible story for the four sports really but E.R. La Yovic is such a tough player they're great friends it's a really interesting dynamic all of that I think E.R. La will win because I just think

51:45she's just got such an ex a flowing game and a hurtful game but you know she's gonna have to play really well. Cannot wait for that match really cannot wait following that on the Arthur A. Stadium Alex E.R. La in his eternal nightmarcelot against Alejandro Tobilo I know he's been getting himself tied in knots against everybody so far but Tobilo should be meet and drink for him shouldn't shouldn't he I mean there's a golfing class and Tobilo's a lefty and just the lernity and I think the only lefty that's very much lost in in the last few years he just doesn't lose to lefty so I'd be surprised if he and we don't get a slightly earlier night but it is the 2026 us open folks so who knows armstrong tomorrow opens with Amanda and is a Mover against Anastasia Potter Pover that match starts in eight and a half hours Matt. Yeah just when full of more attacking the hammers for

52:50then for the second half thank you very much shed your lose for that for that clash. Yeah I mean Potter Pover has been in no form at all since a very strong start to the season actually and she beat Coco Gough at the French Open she was playing I think the best tennis of her career but hasn't been in good form and Anastasia Mover's form has improved in that time so I do expect Anastasia Mover to win that one. Alexander Blocks taking on Flavio Caboli second in the day session on Armstrong think that could be I mean look anything's tricky for Flavio on any given day but I think that could could be trouble for Caboli we will see Armstrong tomorrow opens the night session with Naomi Osaka against Elisa Merton's and this might be where our late finish comes from tomorrow Jacob Monshick against Lernertien the final match of the day could be great that but also could be long and late. Oh tennis. Grandstand tomorrow opens with Madison Keys against Jun Qin Wen can't wait

53:58to that one followed by Eagish Rantech against Marie Bushcover Michael Zhang taking on Lucky Luzer Arthur Jaya Arthur Jaya and Yoris Slav starred up save it is that her first name Yoris Slavar? Julia. So close. Dear idea. Julia starred up save it taking on Elena Rebeccaner the final match on Grandstand tomorrow and Draver against Barton Cove is second on Stadium 17. Third on is Hassan of Bonzi and fourth on is Zizi Bergs against my man Bertic Van der Zanz hope. The marvel that is folks and that's it for today's tennis podcast except to say hello to Leo who's really raising the bar for Grand Slam mascot photo content it is an extraordinary showing from Leo so far and much like

54:59the the US opens late finish record still nine days to go who who knows what Leo could still have in store here he is wearing a bandana and some shades and Vicki says Leo has been hearing a lot about influencers at the US open he's not sure what they do but when he wore his cut the fafty shirt quite a lot of people bought on so he's wondering if that makes him an influencer I think that's the very definition of an influencer here he is trying out his best influencer pose 10 out of 10 Leo we thank you for your excellent content hello to our mascots Bozie Bozie Maisie and Roger hello to you hello to our top folks and executive producers hello Greg hello Chris hello Jeff I would go to Matt for shout outs but his face sayeth no I'm invoked to policy I put a curve few on shout outs and we long fast okay shout outs hopefully to return tomorrow folks we are part of

56:03the athletic podcast network and before you go a note to say that if you're an NFL fan the athletic is something really exciting starting next week the athletic live which is presented by Google Gemini is a brand new YouTube watch along on NFL game days featuring the biggest and best beat reporters that the athletic has to offer you can even become part of the show in the interactive chat on YouTube and it all starts from September 8th great news guys it sounds like a spotty is starting next week what's what we need isn't that that swap we need like to play music oh it's out it's out it's out it's outside cool in the game in the corridor great oh tennis folks what a time we are part of the athletic podcast network thank you for listening whatever the time it is we will be back tomorrow and we'll speak to you then