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Control the Controllables
French Open Live Breakdown! Talking about the 1st few days of action in Paris. W/ Calvin Betton.
00:45:42
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- [00:00]
A
A big welcome to Control the Controllables live brought to you by Novellas Coming from. From Paris. Excuse the cafeteria behind me. This is the, this is the hotel that I'm staying at. This is the only place that I can get WI fi in Paris. Including that's maybe the first starting point. Not an easy place to get. To get wi fi even on site. It's, it's very difficult but just wanted to kind of jump on. Got a guest, got multiple Grand Slam winning coach Calvin Betton joining me in a couple of minutes. Please, Any, any questions you guys do have, you know, there's a, there's a live chat there. Please send the questions in. We're gonna just, yeah, probably try and do three or four of these throughout, throughout the fortnight now. We've had quite a few of you reach out, say that you, you like to get a little bit of updates. I guess the first update gonna come in live. Obviously we still have matches going on here. We're in day three Sunday start. Of course in day three we have currently Kim Birrell is currently three, two up in the, in the third set against Jess Pula, you know, world, World number five. Currently looking like she could be heading out. But there's still plenty time left for Pula to turn that around. Lots for us to talk about, you know, and one of the big ones. I was lucky enough to be on BBC commentary earlier for 5 live radio and we, we talked a lot about the weather but it is the story, it's the story of the championship so far. Know the weather is taking over. We've got crazy, crazy heat that we're just not expecting here in Paris. You know, when we think of Paris we think of the clouds, we think of the, the mist that almost comes over and as I say that I am joint and I we have a perfect bald head that looks like it's received a lot of that sun over, over the last couple of days. Calvin Breton, a big, a big welcome. How you doing?
- [01:55]
B
Yeah, thanks mate. Thanks for highlighting that.
- [01:59]
A
Hey, you're live on YouTube. It's highlighted with the, the lighting's doing.
- [02:05]
B
I don't think the lighting. It's coming right down on me.
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A
If you, if you are listening on a podcast, get yourself over to YouTube immediately to see Calvin Betton showcasing the French weather in style. I'm gonna move a bit to the left just to make you're looking good. The skin is, the skin is glaring beautifully. You're radiating, don't worry about that. But yeah, no, just saying Calv, you Know, just obviously a few things, a relatively short little conversation here after three days. But you've been here a while. Were you here before the weather changed? Were you here for the cold days or has it been hot since you arrived?
- [02:45]
B
It's been hot since I got here. I arrived on basically the night that it started getting really hot. So every day I've been here, it's been absolutely roasting.
- [02:53]
A
Obviously, we follow the sun, right, a bit. The tennis tour follows the sun, but I guess you're often expecting it. You go to certain parts of Asia, you go to Australia, you're almost ready for it. But when you come to Paris, you're thinking, right, okay, conditions could be, could be slow here, could be overcast, a lot of drizzle, lot of rain, which I think we had in the qualifying, and I think it's almost shocked people more than anything.
- [03:15]
B
Yeah, I mean, I was saying to Henry and Harry earlier that, you know, we get this temperature elsewhere. We get it in New York in the summer and in Cincinnati and definitely in Australia and even in, in Shanghai and that kind of places. But I don't know whether it's because you expect it more over there. You kind of prepared a bit more. But this just feels like so hot. Like I'm normally sort of pretty. I'm fine with it, normally the heat, but even this last few days I've just been trying not to go out in it. I've just been hanging around inside. We've been arranging our practices late in the afternoon to try and sort of mitigate some of it. But it's still, I mean, we finished practice today at 6:30 and in the car on the way back to the site, it was said 37 degrees outside Celsius. So, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's absolutely roasting out there. The interesting thing for me, though, is that it doesn't appear to have affected the conditions at all. Like, I've been to Roland Garros when it's cold and wet and damp, and I've been when it's hot and dry. But this feels like, you know, normally anywhere else, especially on a clay court, when it gets hot and dry, dries the core out and the court becomes quite quick, even though it's clay core, it becomes bouncy. But I think the thing is with Roland Garros is there's not a great deal of top dressing ever on the clay courts. So even though it's roasting hot and it's dry all day, the courts still feel Quite damp. Even like after. After one rally, the balls have the red clay on them and you can see it sort of. That's what happens when you play on a damp clay court, really. So the courts are still very slow for hot conditions. And you don't get that at anywhere else, really. I've not experienced that anywhere else.
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A
It's interesting. We've done a couple of ATM sessions in the morning and the groundsmen haven't let us on the court before at. Because they've watered them so much. So you're literally like. They flood. They're flooding the courts on it.
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B
They put salt on it, so.
- [05:10]
A
Salt on as well. Yeah. And then. And then at the back of the court, because they flooded it so much, the ball doesn't take much for the ball to then get on the drapes at the back.
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B
Yeah. In.
- [05:20]
A
And then the ball gets stuck in a bit of water. Then it's a bit like you then start putting it on the clear, then the clear gets stuck on the ball. But I must have been watching today, like watching Coco watch. I was on Chatria watching Coco and she commented she really felt she was getting a lot from the surface on. On the serve. It looks to me like it's a little bit more pingy than. Than it would be on the. In the damp conditions and also through the air. You're not feeling that.
- [05:46]
B
I mean, I guess a little bit through the air, but it just. Again, it's probably down to expectations. You know, I sort of knew a few days out that it was going to be hot here, so I expected that we get a quick condition here. So it may be sort of exaggerated for me that it's not as quick as I thought it would be and that kind of thing. But, yeah, it's a straight. It's strange, like I say, I think on. I've experienced. I said a couple of minutes ago, I don't think I've ever experienced slow conditions when it's hot. We have, because like Shanghai, for example, is outrageously humid. So the balls fluff up. The balls, they're not. Not really fluffing up. I think it's actually quite a good ball that they've got here. It's maintaining its sort of shape pretty well right until the ball change and they're not fluffing. But yeah, you know, it's. It's. It's interesting how it's playing out. I think. I mean, what you said there as well, about the drapes at the back, the court coverings. I think we're Going to discuss it later, but they're quite dangerous. And I know there was a major injury that happened yesterday because of those.
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A
Who was that? So, who. Who.
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B
So for. For anyone who, you know, want to seen this. So they have, like, plastic court covers right at the back of the court, and you can see them when the. When the player, you know, when the camera goes to the ang. The player at the back of the court. But the practice courts at Jean Buan, which is across the road from Roland Garros, which is the main practice area, those courts are very small. There's not much backdrop at all there. And they still have the. The. The sort of plastic court covering at the back. And Mat Pavic went in the. Went back yesterday. He does a thing where on return, he'll go deep to try and he'll hang back and go deep and try and hit a forehand. And that's what he did. And he stepped on the top hole in the plastic cork cover, and his ankle went from underneath him. Yeah. And he's in pretty bad shape, I think.
- [07:33]
A
Okay. And we've, obviously, we've had a few. I mean. I mean, I guess the playability. We're talking about the playability of the heat, but the. The heat has caused some issues. Maybe not as much as we might have thought, actually, but obviously Casper Rude yesterday looked like he was in pretty poor shape, but then I think luckily for him, he's. His opponent was even in even worse shape than him when he went five Love down in the fourth set.
- [07:57]
B
Yeah, I mean, what we've seen again, as well today, as well, there's been a few matches today where there's been some interesting score lines of kind of like six love one six. Six love six one. That kind of where I think what we're seeing is players consciously, once they go a breakdown or two breaks down or even one breakdown, they're going, right, that's it for the set, and just sucking it up. And I think that's what we saw with Casper yesterday, which. There are rules in tennis about this, that you. You have to show maximum effort at all time. I mean, the most pointless rule in tennis because it literally never gets enforced, you know, so if it was ever going to be enforced, like, you know, it's an interesting sort of ethical definition discussion, I think, like, obviously, the conditions are very tough, but Casper Rude yesterday actively was not showing best effort for about half a set or two thirds of a set when he went to break down. And then with the intention of coming back in the. The fifth Set.
- [08:50]
A
Which he did. Which he did. Yeah. It's funny, Cal. I used to get people saying that about me all the time, but I was actually giving my best effort. I think that. I think that maybe it says a lot about my footwork, you know, core violation, Mr. Keelan. Lack of effort. I'm like, what you. What are you talking about? I'm trying my. I'm trying my bloody best here. And then I guess it's a couple more small little things, Cal. A couple of words. Monf. We've seen Monf play his last. Last role in Garros. We've seen Stan Varinka play his last role in Garros. What would you say about. About those guys and their careers?
- [09:24]
B
I mean, they've had phenomenal careers, haven't they? I mean, it's interesting that you kind of bunched them both in the same kind of category, but one of them has three slams. I don't think Monfis even has a master series, does he? One, but I'm not sure.
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A
But his wife does.
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B
Yeah, his wife. His wife's got. But yeah, it's. It's, you know, two great characters. You know, they. They crowd pull us as well. That's a big thing that they had. You know, I think, you know, they still do, but again, there's a bit of a discussion to be had that, you know, they're. They're not really at the level anymore and, you know, it's probably. Should they be getting those wild cards?
- [10:06]
A
I guess. Well, I think Stan. Stan was mightily impressive at the start of the year, wasn't he? He came out of the preseason and he. And he looked ready to go, whereas he looks a bit more tired to me now already in kind of May, June time. I think Monfis has been off it for a little while now. I think he's. He' actual rank and it's almost 300 now, right? Yeah, you know, so I think that's a reflection. Whereas I think Stan might have even got in on his ranking. I think I. I think he was maybe alternate and then he was like first alternate and when somebody dropped, he then he then get. Got. Got in on ranking. Monfis has often been talked about in. Not obviously not in the top. The top echelons. We are in a sport that is there to entertain people. Right. And I think, I think Mon is someone that is loved where. Wherever he goes. Yes. His end product hasn't quite been there at the, at the very, very, very top end, but I think, I think he's brought a lot of joy to people where, where he's a great guy as well.
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B
I mean the thing with G on fees is he even at his prime, even in his peak, when a story here for, for your listeners that we were at the NTC with a lad I used to coach, this was. Would have been about 2018 probably. So Mon was, was really in his prime at that stage and his, his wife Elena Svetolina was getting coached at the time, where she is again now by Andy Bettles, an English lad. And so she was doing a couple of days at the NTC because Andy lives in, in London and Gail had sort of, I think he'd had a week off so he, he was there as well and he was just kind of hanging around the, the ntc and every Wednesday afternoon at the NTC we used to have a football game, me and some of the other coaches and a few of the coaches bring their mates and the NTC National Tennis Centre in the UK used to have a five or side football pitch on site.
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A
Not competitive at all, though.
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B
Well, and I remember, you know, and every week it happened as anybody who's ever played five a side will know that you've got 10 and then you haven't, you know, a couple of people pull and you're desperately scraping around phoning people, asking if they want a game and that kind of thing. And, and we were in that situation. We had nine and I think it was on the balcony and it kind of overheard us and he was like, I'll have a game. And he came and played five a side with us for an hour around the back of the NTC and you know, he was great fun. Wasn't as good as I thought he would be. You know, I thought this was like him in his prime and I just thought, you know, like, good tennis players tend to be really good footballers as well. And I thought like, he's going to be pretty special here and he wasn't that good, but a great bloke. And yeah, like you say, just, just heaps of charisma like oozes out of it. The charisma just absolutely oozes out of him.
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A
Did you have him? He was. Well, he was left wing. You were right back. Did you have him for speed down that wing calv or just. I think.
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B
I think we complemented each other quite well. He was like the athlete and I was pulling the strings.
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A
I think it's, it's, it's a skill sport and, and who, who thought that listening to, to control the controllables. On this Tuesday evening, you were going to get an exclusive of Guillemon Feast being called out for being shite at football. Do mean came up, came on for your French Open wrap up. And you, you're leaving. Leaving with that bit of information.
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B
True, true. I mean, I tell you what, the boy can dance, can't he?
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A
He can, he's.
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B
He's just.
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A
Yeah, you smile, you smile when you see him. He's got, like you said, charisma is oozing out of him. It's just, you know, they seem like a lovely couple. You know, obviously Spitalina is, is doing extremely well. She nearly went out to day or yesterday. I lose my track of days yesterday. 76 in the third, 31 down in the third. Some people were even calling hers one of the favorites for the title after winning in Rome. I'm not sure she said it in her press conference as well. There's at least five or six people that are more women that are more favorites to win the title than myself, which I would tend to agree with. But what, what, what a year she's had. And, and you get through. What does that do? You know, you get, you get through a first round, seven, six and the third coming on the back of winning Rome, all of a sudden things can start to click a little bit. Those six and the third wins early, can, can sometimes turn it around for many, many years.
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B
You kind of got the women. They peaked at like 23, 24 and they retired sort of 27, 28. But now I think it's the first time I can remember. I think I counted the other day. I think there's five women in their 30s in the top 20, most of them playing the best tennis they've ever played. Switzerland is playing the best tennis she's ever played. Castella is retiring at the end of the year. She's 36. She's retiring and she's having the best year she's ever had.
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A
There's talking about exclusives. I don't know if this is a bigger exclusive than Galmont Feast being shy to football, but I've heard of pretty reliable sources that we might have a Serena Williams on the grass courts.
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B
I don't know if we want that, to be honest. I mean, it's not something I'm a big fan of that, you know, she's retired and she wasn't great the year that she retired and had what, four or five years out of the game. And I feel like it's. Serena Williams was the best female Tennis player, or in my opinion, the second best, actually. I thought Steffi Graf was the best player that ever played, but she was a phenomenal athlete and did more for crossing boundaries in the sport, maybe, than anybody else. But she does like to make things about her in a big way. And I just don't want to see. I don't want to see us get to New York and having another Serena Williams goodbye tour. We've done it already.
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A
Why, why don't. Because it, because it's. I mean, obviously, for those that don't know, it was about six months ago now when she did sign up onto the kind of anti doping system that you need to be part of.
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B
There's not a single benefit to doing it. So the only way you would do it is if you're coming back. So it was obvious then, she coming back, but even then, weirdly, she denied it. She said she isn't coming back, but it was so obvious then that she was coming back. Because there's no reason you'd choose to go back on the drug testing.
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A
We've had a, We've had a. We've had an Ollie Corres jumping in here, Spitalina for the trophy. For me. Now, I know, I know young Ollie Corres and he doesn't get many things right, so I'm not convinced that that's, that's basically discounted Spitalina right there with the comment, with the comment coming in. But before, just before we move into, into the last couple of things, Carl, why she, why Serena Williams coming back? And again, who. I guess, who are we to say what's right or wrong for her, what, what she's done. But it seems odd. It seems like you've got your couple of kids, you've, you've, you've had this incredible career and a bit the same with Venus. Like, Venus is hanging around, it's been hanging around there for two or three years. Like, what, what is it? What's. What's gravitating them to just want to. Want to continue? Because Venus is not really competing.
- [16:56]
B
What I'll say about Serena, she can do what she wants. She's perfectly in her eyes if she wants to come back and try and play tennis. What I don't like is, like, the tournaments are gone and they will do. They'll give a wild card just because she's. But I think that, that again, I really have a bee in my bonnet about this kino that, like, we have this thing about in tennis called the Tennis Integrity Unit, which is Basically the doping, but we don't have. There's other areas of integrity that I have real questions about, and that includes people tanking in matches. That's, that's one that I have a real be in my bonnet about, and that's singles and doubles and you see all the time. And also the wild card situation players get. It's still a sport. And, and I do question the integrity of just giving wild cards to people based on anything other than if their level is there. And I don't want to get rid of wild cards. I know some people say wild cards shouldn't be allowed. I think there is reasons for them. If players have been out injured, for example, and their ranking would suggest they would be in that tournament were it not for they've been out injured or something like that, or competitive home players who can pull in a crowd and actually do some, do some damage when they get in the tournament. I don't like. We'd basically be putting Serena in there as a celebrity, and that's what she would be. Now, this is somebody who hasn't played a competitive tennis match for four years, wasn't that good at all in her last year of playing, and is now four years older than that, and he's in her mid-40s.
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A
But is that not your, is that not coming from your performance mindset? You know, you like tennis. To you, as someone who has coached multiple Grand Slam champions, you're at the business end. You're the elite end of the sport. You're, you're in the scouting, you're in this. You're, you're, you're all about getting players and the extra edge out of these players. Whereas ultimately, and we need that in our sport for the sport to be what it is, because we're all part of this whole industry, right? This kind of traveling circus. Ultimately, for the sport to work, it has to. It's. We're in the entertainment business of selling tickets, of TV rights, of, you know, all of these things. Is that not what a wild card is in some ways in terms of giving, giving the tournament directors or giving the tournaments a tool to be able to almost guarantee that they're going to be filling stadiums and, and, and tickets and, and, and satisfying the TV rights that they, that they've got set up? Because Serena Williams is going to do that, right? She's going to be a, she's going to be a big, big pull, at least in the first, in the first period. If she's crap, if she's like Galmon Fez at football, you know, and everyone. She get. And she. She gets. She gets found out. Like, I'm not sure as an example for Venus is selling tickets anymore, really.
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B
No, this is the thing, like, to a degree, I get it. I mean, you know, this is the reason that people give for Venus. Like, you know, people go, why is she getting wildcat? Oh, well, shells tickets. Right. For one. That's a nonsense. Anyway, the tickets are sold months in advance for these tournaments. Most of them, like the US Open, for example, will be sold out already. Like, Wimbledon is sold out already. So there's no. Like, Serena Williams is not selling Wimbledon tickets.
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A
That's fair. That's a fair point. That's a fair point. Yeah.
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B
Like, for example, Venus Williams got wildcat into. I think it was Rome or Madrid. Madrid, I think. And I was having a discussion with somebody, I was like, well, you know, what's the point in this? And that other person went, well, you know, she. She puts bums on seats. I was like, look at the stand. I think they were like. There was probably the stadium. I think she was probably on the third court, the third biggest court that day. And I'm gonna say, at Most it was 20 full. And that's Venus Williams there. Now, Serena will be a different story because Venus has been doing this. She's just been playing for. There's no real. It's. It's not a sort of, you know, you can't go, oh, I might never get to see Venus again. She plays, like, loads all the time and gets these wild cards. Serena will come and do that. I think, you know, she will. Even if they put her on Arthur Ash, she'll fill it. But where does it end, though? KO that's the thing. Where does. If we're doing this, like, why not? How far away are we from having, like, Jake Paul deciding he wants to be a tennis player and somebody going, well, you know, we're in the entertainment business. Like, if he, you know, if we can put him on there and he's going to sell tickets, like, that's, you know, and I'm.
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A
I don't think we're quite a long way away from.
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B
No, I'm exaggerating there. Yeah. But at the same time, slightly. Yeah, but at the same time, it's, you know, that we are. We are a sport here. It has to have. You have to hold some integrity together. Yeah.
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A
No, if she. Look, if she comes and she takes four wild cards and she loses two and two. Two and two, two and two. You think. You think the Mentality of Serena Williams is she thinks she's coming back to compete.
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B
I'm sure she does. Yeah.
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A
I'm sure she doesn't need them. She doesn't need the money, does she?
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B
She doesn't need the money. Absolutely not. She absolutely needs the attention. She loves attention. Look at everything about her. It suggests that. But, you know, she. When she was on that, she was doing this dancing on the super bowl, and that kind of thing with Kendrick Lamar last year made it. And she made a massive deal out of it. And she's, you know, look at. It's not by mistake that she keeps, like, leaking videos on her Instagram of her hitting tennis balls.
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A
No, of course not. No.
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B
And then people go like, oh, she's coming back. And she. Then she puts a video out going, guys, don't be silly. I'm not coming back. You know, and all that kind of thing. Well, what do you think people were going to say when you. You put videos of you hitting tennis balls. And then she goes and leaks it, briefs it to the press. She didn't do it officially herself, but we know how these things happen. She briefed it to the press that she'd gone back on the doping register. And then, like we said, the only reason you do that is if you're coming back to play tennis. There's no. For anyone who doesn't know the dope. The doping register. To be on the doping register is an absolute nightmare. People can knock on your door at 5:45am and say, we needed. We need a sample of you.
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A
Sounds like having kids. There's.
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B
No.
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A
But you.
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B
You wouldn't. There's literally no reason to do it unless you're planning on playing competitive sport. And then she does that, and then immediately she puts a statement out, guys, don't be silly. I'm not coming back. And we all know she is.
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A
It's. She sounds like us podcasters, tennis coaches. Do you know what I mean? We're. We're teasing these YouTube lives, and then we have the conversation, and then we. Then we put out a little marketing asset after. She's just like us, Cal. We're all the same.
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B
She knows how. Knows how to promote herself.
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A
Well, maybe. Maybe we need. I need some help on that.
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B
So I don't think she'll be remotely competitive, but if she is, it's not a great look for the sport if that happens.
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A
Yeah, we'll see. Time will tell. Jasper Guler has gone out. Kim barel beating the 63 in the third set. Okay, wow. And. And and you look, you mentioned, you mentioned, mentioned integrity, the, the Tennis Integrity unit. And like you said, we do think of that as doping. You talk about, you know, the tanking. You talk, you know, these different, these different elements to it. Today was day one of the doubles draw, and there was six withdrawals out of 32 matches. There were six teams that have withdrawn. Now, obviously, those will be filled. And you know, for me as a coach, that was great for me because one of my players was the fifth alternate who's now got into the event. How do you feel about that? That they're entering tournaments and pulling out before playing, which is obviously giving someone else a chance. Does that come under that banner as well? Or is that okay? Is that accepted? More accepted than playing and pulling out after three games?
- [24:19]
B
But no, it's not, it's not acceptable. Again, because I don't know whether your listeners know this, but if you, if you're in the draw and pull out, you can choose to still take the prize money. You can choose to take 50 of the prize money if you're in the
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A
draw in doubles as well.
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B
In doubles. And now what used to happen, like, up until the start this year, that used to be the case. And then two years ago, they stopped singles players doing that. So they said single players who got in the doubles tournament on their singles ranking could not do that. If they pulled out, they, they were not eligible for the prize money. Then the play, the pair that pulls out, they choose whether they want to take the prize money. And if they do take it, the alternate who gets in in their place does not get that prize money. But if the players choose that they don't want to take the prize money, then the alternate does get it. Then for reasons that baffled me, because I don't see any reason why they would do this. They the 80. Well, I do, because they were under pressure from the singles plays. The ATP at the start of this year reversed that after two years and said singles players can now enter the tournament, and if they're in the draw, they can withdraw without playing a match and they can take the prize money. And what's amazing is the number of singles players that are doing that. So in Rome, for example, Hatchinov and Rublev entered, didn't play a match, withdrew straight away, and both took the prize money. And that prize money was about €3,000 each. Now, those two, Rublev and Hatchinov are both multimillionaires. They were both, by the time they pulled out of the doubles, they were both, I think, in the third round of singles or maybe even the quarters so they both made at that stage I think about 100 grand and chose to still take the prize money and so that's what's happened this time now there's some interesting ones there have been some pairs pulled out some of them are genuine a genuine injuries is. And you know that's awful news. What's, what's. What's happened with some of the players. An interesting one is Rindic Neck and Vachero who entered Rindic Neck won his singles yesterday I think in straight sets wasn't a particularly long match. Vachero had not even played yet. I don't know if they've pulled yet Dan. I don't think they have but I'm. I'm told that they are 100 I was told this morning they are £100 pulling out by somebody who would know so I might look stupid in a couple of days if they play the match but I was told they were pulling out so what's changed? Why are they pulling out this morning? Because at this stage Ridden the connect had won his singles in straight sets right. And Vachero hasn't even played what's changed? But I was told this morning from. I won't say who it is but this person will 100 know he's very close to those two players that they are 100 plus play pulling out so why have the. Why are they entered? Like what. What scenario were they going to play in because if Rinderknecht loses there Vachero's still in the tournament so he won't. I can't imagine it was Vachero's decision so it must be Rinder connect. If Renekit loses and he doesn't want to play I reckon he's going onto the grass straight away. That's what what players tend to do here. So what. What has changed between there's no injury or anything so what's changed between the draw being made on Saturday to Tuesday morning when we're told is it like Rindic's not playing it and what we'll find is that those two will take the prize money.
- [27:46]
A
This is big. This is news. I didn't know this is like a bonus for me my boy getting in and I'm joking we don't have a bonus for first round but let. But that I. I guess I think it was Muller he's taken Muller's place.
- [27:57]
B
Muller was in a bad way though. Muller was in tears today I saw
- [28:00]
A
him who was Muller Playing.
- [28:04]
B
I can't remember. Another French lad, I think.
- [28:07]
A
Okay, so if you're listening, Alexander Mullet, then don't take, don't take half your prize money but to give some.
- [28:13]
B
But to give, you know, and this, this is what we're dealing with because we hear a lot of the time, you know, from people like Riley Apelka or, you know, the doubles guys are a disgrace. They're taking up this guy, they're taking up court space, taking up physios and they're asking for more money, which never happens. And you've got Alexander Bublick just having a pop at doubles guys all the time. So Luke and Jan, two lads who I coach, they got injured, both of them in Madrid last week. They would have been in the draw, they'd have been seeded in the doubles. Here they were in their rights. They could have come and took the prize money here even though they knew they weren't going to play. They could have signed in as normal, then pulled out and taken the prize money. And they both said they thought it was the wrong thing to do. They didn't, they both said it's not a good look, we're not going to do it, it's unfair or whoever gets in as an alternate, we're not going there with an intention of playing, so we're not going to come and take the prize money. And let me assure you, they've got a whole lot less money than Andre Rublev and Karen hatched off. And that's still for them, I think it's still like six or seven grand that they could have come and claimed each.
- [29:14]
A
Fair play, lads. That's, that's the spirit, that's the spirit that we want. And you mentioned, you mentioned Bublek had a great year last year. I had a great French Open last year. Said it was the best day of his life when he beat Jack Draper here last year. I always think with these ill disciplined tennis players, sustainable success isn't quite possible. You know, he started, he started to fall, it started to, to come back to maybe his default settings. He's gone down today. Not an easy draw in, in Struff, John Leonard Struff, but, but that's one of our, one of our top seeds that, that have gone out today. We've got Taylor Fritz who went out yesterday. We also have Medvedev who's obviously the other one today. I know he's not known for his clear prowess, but he seems to have had a better clear court season this time around and lost 6, 4 and in the fifth set to Adam Walton as well on the men's side. So there's a few, few seeds dropping.
- [30:11]
B
You know, Medvedev's always good for the tournament. He's, you know, he's. He's quite funny. I know he's not everybody's cup of tea, but he does, you know, he brings eyes on the sport. I was happy to see what's got Adam Walton beat him, though, to be fair, I know Adam Walton relatively well. He's played challengers and that kind of thing, played Luke and Henry in doubles a few times. And he's a really nice kid, a really hard worker. And his coach, Sharkey, who also coaches rinkage, Carter is a mate of mine and just happy that those two got a big win out there on a big court today. It's a testament to the hard work they've been putting in public. I struggle to have any sympathy for public. I. I think he's a clown. I really do. You know, we keep hearing about, you know, he's so talented, that kind of thing, like in the big picture thing. Is he. He that talented? Like, you know, is he any more talented than anyone else? He's got a huge serve. He's got a rocket of a serve. Other than that, I don't think he's any more talented than any other player in the top 50 in the world, if I'm honest. And. And he just talks nonsense the whole time. I mean, what. The stuff he was saying last week on court about Arthur Rinderknight was a dispute race and I can't believe that. I can't believe he has. He wasn't disciplined for that. More by the. The ATP.
- [31:16]
A
What. What did he say?
- [31:18]
B
He made some comment about when. When Rind was about to serve for the match, he made some comment about Rinder Connect's nationality and some. Yeah, I don't want to repeat it. Some. Some cliches about what French people are like. And then he was asked about it in a press conference afterwards if he regretted it and he said, no, absolutely not. I'd planned on doing it if the match got tight and saying it in a way that he could hear me because it was in my scouting report. And again, so he can't even say it wasn't premeditated. He'd actually got any scouting report. He's just a clown. Like, who says things like that?
- [31:56]
A
We're doing our scouting reports wrong, Cal.
- [31:58]
B
I know. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to start having a casual racism section in my scouting report.
- [32:05]
A
Never mind percentage of where the Serves are going and whatever else it's. And, and, and, and on, on Medvedev, which I found very funny today was. I don't know if you saw the quotes, but his wife, you know, it was hot. He was 4:2 down in the first set, you know, and she basically told him, you know, it's, it's hot for everyone, Daniel, you know, like, basically stop, grow up. Stop being a baby. Basically, you know, behave yourself. And he turned around. When I start putting the ball in court, I'll start beh. And I thought that there was a couple of little quips later on in the match as well, that his wife went back and forth with him and, and that that will be missed from the tournament. Right.
- [32:47]
B
Medvedev's a genuinely intelligent guy and he's like, he's quirky, that kind of thing. But he's a, he's a very intelligent and compelling individual. I don't think public is at all. I saw public today. He was muttering something like, why? You know, he's going, it's this sort of, this victimization that he pulls out. And I've heard him do this kind of stuff before. Where he was today, he was going, like he said, Struff's playing. Struff's been crap all year, but suddenly he's playing great against me. That's kind of stuff that 12 year olds come out, you know, it's rubbish, isn't it?
- [33:16]
A
Yeah.
- [33:16]
B
And then like I know that like last year he had that conversation. We always cracked me up when he said he was playing a match and I forget who I was playing. Mensik. And Mensik was beating him and he started talking to the umpire going, hey, Muhammad, Leanne. He said like, do you, do you remember five years ago when there were guys in the top 50 who were rubbish, they couldn't even move. And now you've got this guy who's suddenly that he's ranked 45 in the world and he's only 18 and he's playing unbelievable tennis. That kind of thing didn't happen five years ago. So I went and looked exactly five years ago who was 45 in the world and 45 in the world exactly five years ago to that match was an 18 year old Yannick Sinner.
- [33:56]
A
Yeah, exactly. But it's facts in it. I mean there was, there was a one on, there was one on Instagram the other day he said something about doubles and I went and looked at his, his last 100. He's been. Last four years. He's, he'd played 111 matches I think it was.
- [34:14]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [34:15]
A
And he'd won 40 and lost 71. Yeah, he's telling us how, how and, and then, and just my again in terms of what people Medvedev and I, I respect people that respect people. Right. You know, forget tennis for a second. And this year one of our lads at Salt of Tennis Academy, Tom Lindley, he, he hit and I was on the court with him for a practice with Medvedev and Medvedev was a delight with him. Yeah, treated him with absolute respect. Spoke to him afterwards, talked about how well he was playing, you know, gave him a couple of little, little pointers. Full respect for coming out. Very thankful. Couple of days later we warm Buick up for one of his matches and it was, it was the most embarrassing 12 minutes I've ever been a part of. Yeah, yeah, it was just a shocking warm up. He didn't look at Tom, he, he treated him like he was just a piece of dirt. And then, then he, then he told his team to let Tom know that he was, he was finished with them, with him. It was just like, yeah, you know, he wouldn't, didn't even have the respect, you know.
- [35:17]
B
And I think, you know, on a couple of things like that then I know that like I was saying to somebody today that like in 2019, Luke played Jan, Luke played Yannick Sinner in Tunisia in future. I think you were there Dan, weren't you? When.
- [35:34]
A
Yeah, well Luke, well Luke lost to him seven five and the third. Then Evan Hoyto. I was coaching. Yeah, coach and beat him next round. I told him just hit it to his forehand and you'll be fine.
- [35:42]
B
So it worked playing him then. And then the Australian Open this year at the latter stages we were actually watching. Luke and I were watching Alcaraz vs. Zver and Jannik Sinner came and sat and he was watching the match with us for about an hour and chatting to us like a normal guy, you know. And he obviously knew Luke, he remembered Luke from that match and they were, you know, they were chatting as normal. And then since then I've come across Jannik sinner like maybe 19, 20 times and every single time he always goes, I might, how's it going? You know, like nods and smiles and like, why this is the best tennis player in the world, a genuine superstar and he's still got time to speak to anybody and remembers people, you know, I can't speak highly enough for that, you know. Then you've got clowns like Ash Republic, like behaving like that. Are you kidding me?
- [36:28]
A
Absolutely. And, and just my, my, my last one before. On the men's side, Kwame, born 2009, felt like that was yesterday. Beat Silic today. Yeah. I don't know how much you've seen. It's kind of. He seems to have a bit of Monfis about him. You know, he's an incredible athlete, you know, French, you know, in terms of the week that Monfis finishes, Roland Garros, he plays his first one, gets a win and it looks like the French have got an exciting prospect on their hands.
- [37:02]
B
Yeah. Phenomenal prospect. I mean, what I'd say about him, that it wasn't Monfiz that stood out to me. Right. When I, when I saw him and I watched him briefly today, it struck me because again I was talking with Louis Caillet and Louis said he'd seen him and he said, I've just seen this French guy, he's one of the best athletes I've ever seen. And I said, you know, he's only 17. And Louis couldn't believe it. He thought he was on his mid-20s. Yeah. And it struck me that I'd seen him earlier in the day and what he reminded me of, and I don't know how many listeners, football fans reminded me of Wayne Rooney in that he's 17, but he's a fully grown man. Like, it's not like, you know, Normally when a 17 year old comes through there, they're decent but they've got some physiological development to get through when they, you know, sort of, that's what kind of holds them back. This is, it wouldn't surprise me if this is. And even if he does, he's still going to be a phenomenal athlete. If we don't see him grow much from here and if he doesn't, it's not a problem at all. He's a fully grown man playing the men's game at 17 years old.
- [37:56]
A
Very good a name to look out for. Karl on the women's side, I know we've been talking about performance. Gulo, Sina got, got away. Alexandrova and Nosa, you know, they're, they're 12 and 14 in the world. They're probably not really household names in, in lots of ways. You know, maybe not massive, massive surprises that, that, that they went out, but that's kind of, that's kind of it for the first round. Janik Sinner, as I, I said on our, on our preview, as much as he is a phenomenal guy, I'm finding it quite boring right now. It's almost like. Think the results are a bit boring. Is it going to be a boring men's event with Sinner just making his way through without any issues at all? Or. Or is. Is Sinner gonna. Gonna leave the draw in some way and open it up to be the. The world's tightest French Open men's event of all time? Because this is their one opportunity without Sinner and Alcaraz.
- [38:51]
B
I mean, it did crack me up last week when there was talk of, you know, when they were talking the prize money and then they were talking about boycotting the French Open. And I remember thinking, there's zero chance that Yannick Sinner is boycotting this French Open, like all the Slams, and of all the French Opens that he might boycott, he's going to boycott this one. Is he? Without Alcaraz in the draw, like, absolutely zero chance. I think he'll be a procession. He's just miles better than everybody else. He's absolutely miles better than the heat.
- [39:17]
A
The heat are. They're going to keep putting him at night.
- [39:19]
B
The heat's the biggest threat. He has struggled a bit in the heat before, and it's the biggest threat. But still pretty hot out there now, though. Like. It is.
- [39:28]
A
It is, but it's not. It's not that.
- [39:30]
B
No, it's not.
- [39:32]
A
You can get the shadows around, to be honest. It's.
- [39:34]
B
I don't think next. Next week's not the same, is it? It's. We've got a lot of rain. No, we got some rain coming next week, I think. I think it's. It's these next few days that. That it's going to be roasting. I think after that, I think, like, Sunday, it gets more. A bit more palpable.
- [39:48]
A
If Yannick Sinner. Because I missed you. We missed you on the preview show. If Yannick Sinner. The question wasn't who wins, it was because that's too obvious. If Yannick Sinner doesn't win, who's the next favorite to win?
- [40:01]
B
I think. I still don't think Zverev's got it in him. Whose half is Novak in?
- [40:07]
A
Novak actually, is an interesting part of the draw. Novak, after he's. If he wins his next match, plays the winner of Prismich and Fonseca.
- [40:16]
B
Right. Okay. Okay. Talk about being, like, a bit early. And I was saying to somebody the day we're talking about Jodar and. And I was saying that those guys who break through and they're. They're the. The serious names they start beating the real superstars early. That doesn't mean they beat them all the time early. But it rarely happens where guys like you look at Federer, he had that breakthrough win against Samprat at Wimbledon early on in his matches with Sampras. It's not like he hadn't taken like nine or ten defeats to Sampras and then beat him. I don't know whether it's the first time they played or not long after Fed. Rafa was like that with Federer. I think he beat him in the first or second time they'd play Djokovic, similar. Murray, I think, beat Federer in the same. In the first time that they played each other. Murray definitely beat like Hewitt, who was the top of the game the first time they played each other. So if you're gonna get like, if those guys are going to be the superstars of the game, they tend to have to start winning now because as we saw with the previous generation with Sitsipass, Berev, that lot, they just had too much scat issue. It's unlikely that you get players who lose their first or lose 10 of their first 11 matches and then suddenly become competitive against those guys. So what I'm getting to is it wouldn't surprise me if we see somebody like Jodar Fonseca make a real run at it here.
- [41:35]
A
Very good on the women's side.
- [41:36]
B
The women's side, I think it's in a good spot. I think it's really competitive and I think it's in a really good place. I wouldn't really feel comfortable picking a winner in that. Sabalenka is not in the best of form. Schwantek always looks in great form until she loses. Svitolina is obviously in good form. PUL has just gone out and Draver has been all right. It's a bit in and out. There's no. It's strange, isn't it? Because there's a lot of Rebakane, there's a lot of players who are in good form and there's no one in great form at the minute.
- [42:07]
A
And we didn't mention Coco, who.
- [42:09]
B
Yeah, yeah. Again, another player who's in good form, not great form.
- [42:14]
A
Had a. Had a. No, it's not for tonight. Maybe I'll tease. I'll do the tease. I'll do the Serena Williams tease for the. For a few nights time. But I, I actually waiting for my car this evening, I. I fell into a chat with her biomechanic served by a mechanic who actually shared quite a few Little insights of things.
- [42:32]
B
Nothing I don't think you want to
- [42:34]
A
get, as you might think, but maybe I'll share those on another night. And maybe I'll do it when Cal's not there. Because we need to. We need to give Gareth a little bit of a break maybe as well. Cal, you on the schedule to boys on the schedule tomorrow?
- [42:50]
B
No, we're not. I feel like I've been here about two weeks already, and I watched the taste match. I mean, I'm. I was really open. I knew that. I knew that they weren't going to play their men's tomorrow. I was really hoping Henry was going to play mix, just so I've got a tennis match to watch. I just played. It's. You know, it's something. I don't want to sound arrogant in saying this. I really hope I don't come across that. It's not whether. I mean, but, like, if it's like your first. It's not our first rodeo in this. Henry and Harry have won. They've won two Slams. They've been. They've won Master Series. They've won World Tour Finals. And I think it kind of loses its allure when you're at Slams, then. And you're here a long time. I think if it's your first few times or you haven't gone deep in. It's good to have a good week here before you play your match because you can kind of settle into the atmosphere. But for them, too. I kind of wish we'd have played already. I want to get. You know, I want to get the tournament going.
- [43:33]
A
Well, I have. I have. I don't know if I told you, but tomorrow. Well, I've now got three teams that I'm looking after, but I spoke to, as you do at these events, you. You speak to the referee and the supervisor, and she's let. Let them know that you're. You fill out a form. These are the players I'm. I'm looking after, you know? Could that be considered in the schedule that they're not scheduled at the same time? Unlikely that they will be. Why would they be? The six rounds of matches over however many courts. First rounds go over three days, so there's quite a few options. All three of my teams played 11am tomorrow morning. It's like.
- [44:15]
B
Yeah.
- [44:15]
A
I mean, are we. Are we being serious here near each
- [44:18]
B
other, or are you sprinting?
- [44:19]
A
Nowhere near.
- [44:21]
B
Nowhere near 14, which is.
- [44:23]
A
No, no, no. Three.
- [44:25]
B
Okay.
- [44:26]
A
Nine.
- [44:27]
B
Oh, no.
- [44:27]
A
And. And 13.
- [44:29]
B
Right. Okay. Who doesn't know they're all about 100 meters. Yeah.
- [44:35]
A
So no, no, I'm, I'm, it's. I, I do get. Have these things done in advance in terms of how, how things are set and we're actually going against that. I, I normally have the, the rule of I watch, I watch the team I've coached for the longest, which is Gabby Dabrowski and Louisa Stefani. But Gabby is actually kindly turned around to Andre and said, you guys done? Dan will go. You guys, tomorrow you're playing the plan a seated, seated team. Okay. So, yeah, they don't, they don't need me. None of them need me. But it's, it's still a funny, it's a funny situation to be in. So, yeah, a little bit of a shame, but hope they all perform well regardless. And Carl, thanks for giving us your time. It was great. Good luck the next, the next couple of weeks. And even though you moved the light, mate, it's still, it's still shining. Shine and bright and enjoy that sun and get some sun cream on and we'll see you tomorrow, top man. Thank you.
- [45:35]
B
Bye, guys.
- [45:36]
A
And until next time, guys, I'm Dan Keenan and we are Control, the controllables.