2026 Roland Garros Re-Draw Special & Day 7 Recap

Summary

Served with Andy Roddick Podcast

2026 Roland Garros Re-Draw Special & Day 7 Recap

Date: May 31, 2026
Host: Andy Roddick
Contributors: Jon Wertheim (JW), Producer Mike

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Overview

This episode dives deep into the chaos and unpredictability of the 2026 Roland Garros tournament as Week 1 ends. Host Andy Roddick, joined by Jon Wertheim and Producer Mike, breaks down dramatic upsets, surprise runs, player performances, and the challenges of making picks for the draws. The episode features a mid-tournament redraw for both the women's and men's singles, lively banter, and reflections on the extraordinary openness of this year's tournament, described as the “most batshit crazy” in years.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Ambient Paris & Opening Vibes

• [02:00] The hosts set the scene from Paris, noting the city’s electric energy and even fireworks in the background after Paris Saint Germain’s win.
  “Can you hear the authentic background noise?...It’s been this way for hours now.” – JW

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Women’s Day 7 Recap ([03:21]–[18:53])

Diane Parry Upsets Anisimova

• [03:21] Parry, a home favorite ranked outside the Top 100, scores her first ever Top 10 win, beating Anisimova, who recently returned from injury and illness.
  • Parry used a wildcard that she wouldn't have gotten outside France.
  • Anisimova seemed off her rhythm: “If you don’t play a bunch of tournaments...blisters show up.” – Andy
• JW highlights Parry’s composure and the unpredictability engulfing the women’s side, even as it's more formful than the men’s:
  “We’re going to use words like crazy and unpredicted and batshit. But…nice win of her career for Diane Perry.”

Naomi Osaka Advances, Jovic Impresses

• [05:43] Osaka defeats rising star Eva Jovic, reaching the second week of Roland Garros for the first time in her career.
  • “For the first time in her career, Naomi Osaka [makes the second week]...she had to work for it, too. This was a real grind.” – JW ([06:39])
  • Osaka’s power continues to overwhelm opponents, but Jovic’s shot tolerance marks her as a future contender.

Sabalenka & Swiatek Quietly Dominant, Keys Surges

• [08:06] Sabalenka’s no-drama, first-week dominance gets praise, with Roddick noting her consistency at majors:
  “She does not lose in week one of majors—and she’s done this for years.”
• Madison Keys, previously hurt and out of form, surprises:
  • “I know it matters, but it matters way less...What her form is if she gets two or three matches into an event and starts striking the ball the way she has.” – Andy ([09:14])
  • JW: “Much better clay player than she gives herself credit for...she knows what she’s doing on the surface.”
• Big story: Potapova upsets Coco Gauff in a physical, unpredictable three-set battle.
  • Potapova ridden a lucky loser streak since Madrid.
  • Coco lacked her usual fight in the final set:
    “The ground game, I think, let her down a little bit today.” – Andy
    “There are times when she can be outfought.” – JW ([12:41])
  • “She just made…weird errors. Like it was…out of nowhere rally balls.” – Andy ([13:48])

Redraw & Picks ([14:30]–[18:53])

• All hosts update their women’s picks in light of upsets.
  • Andy: Sabalenka over Osaka; Sabalenka/Keys semifinal; Swiatek emerging from the “brutal” bottom half:
    “As I said out loud, that is a brutal draw...I picked her to win and none of the people that she is in line to play have played badly.” ([15:03])
  • JW: Picks Swiatek to beat Kostyuk, sees potential for upsets, predicts Sabalenka as finalist:
    “Not riddled with bullets—[our picks aren’t] a disaster.”

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Men’s Day 7 Recap ([22:05]–[57:02])

Breakthroughs & Young Stars

• Koboli cruises through matches, “unsubscribed from five-set thrillers.”
• Kwame—only 17—wows with his physique and maturity; expected to further develop:
  “Highlight, underline, bold, italicize his name. This was a real week one revelation.” – JW ([24:26])
• Discuss challenges of young players raising their games and the logistics of prize money for minors.

Human Stories & Emotional Wins

• Tabilo reaches his first ever major fourth round. Producer Mike notes the rare feat of a Chilean man advancing so far.
• Zach Svajda defeats a higher-seeded Serendolo on his late father’s birthday. He’s known as the “single best practice player in men’s tennis."
  • “He looks like...not physically imposing. 50 aces in three matches.” – JW ([30:12])
  • “Never played on red clay until two years ago.” – Producer Mike ([31:30])

Epic Matches, Hallmark of Week 1

• Five-set marathons dominate the narrative: “Everyone’s just playing forever...every match is going to go five hours at this point.” – Andy ([34:23])
• Week 1’s “personality” is defined by unpredictability, upsets, and long matches—contrary to typically formful early rounds:
  “I cannot recall, at least on the men’s side, an event as batshit crazy as this one.” – JW ([35:38])

Who Can Take Advantage?

• Discussion about whether veteran experience or youthful freedom is more advantageous with a wide-open field:
  “Would ignorance be bliss?...Or would you rather be somebody with veteran experience who recognizes the weight of the occasion?” – JW ([48:35])
  • Andy: “I would have taken those chips and bet that I would have choked less than the field.”

Redraw & Immediate Picks ([39:02]–[55:28])

• Amid live matches and results still pending, the hosts make picks for the second week, acknowledging chaos:
  • Zverev, Rude, and potentially FAA or Caboli seen as favorites for the final amid “an outlier of an event.”
  • “If not now, when for Zverev?” – JW ([44:34])
  • “If Casper [Ruud] or Zverev wins...they’re a Hall of Fame player. This is a complete reshaping of their tennis biography.” – JW ([45:11])
  • “No one’s paying attention...Rublev quietly going through, just motoring through the draw.” – Andy ([47:04])

Ball Changes, Weather, & Recovery

• They discuss how changing weather will affect ball flight and recovery after so many long matches:
  “We’re going to have to do with or without Foe [picks]…it’s like if this happens, then, I don’t know, Fucky Magoo.” – Andy ([47:57])
  • “I think the winner of Rude/Zverev wins this tournament.” – JW ([52:53])

Live Drama & Locker Room Banter

• Tiafoe (“Big Foe”) wins a heated five-setter, with on-court tension:
  • “‘You’re not hard, bro.’ – Big Foe to Faria at the net.” – Producer Mike ([38:31])
  • Hosts joke about wanting to see locker room aftermath ([38:46])
  • The handshake turned out warm despite on-court drama.
  • “He’s yelling at grand slams...Great work by Foe there.” – Andy ([55:24])

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Memorable Quotes & Banter

• On the unpredictable chaos:
  “We’re going to use words like crazy and unpredicted and batshit...good for Diane Perry.” – JW ([04:12]) “As far as just fucking chaos...02 Wimbledon on the men’s side is my only comp.” – Andy ([36:04])
• On making predictions amid madness:
  “Our picks, along with most of Earth, were fucking disaster.” – Andy ([37:29])
• On the open field:
  “This is an outlier of an event. They’re going to be back [Alcaraz and Sinner]...Let’s have no illusions that they’re not by far the best two players in the world right now.” – Andy ([49:05])
• On fan experience:
  “Sometimes...the tournaments develop their own personalities. This week one definitely kind of carved out its own personality.” – Andy ([34:24]) “If you love tennis and you’re not just here to see stars, this has been a really fun event.” – JW ([43:21])
• On perseverance:
  “Foe doesn’t get through these last two five setters without a dedication to fitness...This is gritty. This is showing...this is how you make runs.” – Andy ([54:19])
• On the future:
  “Maybe we have the beginning of our Novak against Roger and Rafa...maybe.” – Andy ([57:02])

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Notable Timestamps

• [03:21] — Diane Parry’s upset win over Anisimova
• [05:43] — Osaka vs. Jovic, analysis of Osaka’s improvement on clay
• [12:41] — Potapova upsets Gauff, breakdown of match dynamics
• [14:30] — Women's redraw and updated semifinal/final picks
• [22:05] — Men's recap begins: Kaboli, Tabilo, and young stars
• [24:26] — JW on Kwame as revelation of the week
• [28:59] — Baritini’s resurgence, implications for grass season
• [30:12] — Svajda’s emotional win, “the single best practice player in men’s tennis”
• [34:23] — Serendolo brothers, five-set epics, tournament “personality”
• [36:04] — Comparisons with 2002 Wimbledon for utter unpredictability
• [38:31] — “You’re not hard, bro” — Tiafoe to Faria at the net during heated match
• [44:34] — JW: “If not now, when for Zverev?”
• [45:11] — The Hall-of-Fame stakes for Ruud or Zverev
• [47:57] — Shot-in-the-dark picks amid nonstop upsets
• [52:53] — JW: “Winner of Ruud/Zverev wins the tournament.”
• [53:48] — Both hosts realize the scale of opportunity for the bottom half (Kaboli/FAA finals?)
• [55:24] — Foe wins live, fueling semifinals predictions
• [56:07] — Discussion: Will this chaos last, or will “order” return in men’s tennis?

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Episode Summary

This “Re-Draw Special & Day 7 Recap” offered high-energy, in-the-moment analysis as a wild first week at Roland Garros ended. From home favorites and teenage breakthroughs to marathon matches and major upsets, Andy Roddick and his team capture both the technical and emotional currents running through an unpredictable tournament. Their willingness to revisit—and roast—their picks, combined with lively banter and sharp player insights, make this a must-listen for fans who want more than just scores. As the draw sits wide open, the hosts debate what it means for the sport’s narrative, prestige, and the future Hall of Fame status of potential winners.

Bottom Line:
If you missed Week 1 of Roland Garros 2026, this episode is your fast-pass to the upsets, the stars, the stories, and the stats that will define the rest of the tournament.

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Transcript

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[Andy]

This episode is brought to you by ServiceNow. Look, I have my dream job. I watch tennis, I think about tennis, I talk about tennis. But even dream jobs have not so dreamy parts. The stuff that gets in the way of the actual work, that's where ServiceNow's AI specialists come in. They don't just tell you what you should do about your busy work, they actually do it. Start to finish, cases closed, requests handled, no extra work for you. That way you and your team can find focus on the work that matters. Which for me is explaining at length why tennis players are the best athletes on earth. Sorry, everyone else on earth. To learn how to put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com. Hey everyone. Welcome to serve. Brought to you by ServiceNow and a lot of new listeners. Brazil tuned in after Folkseca Beat Beat Novak. Just subscribe. Then you get to see. Then you get to see us more often. We'd love to talk to you. Jw. Greetings. Hope Paris is treating you well. I'm sure there are fireworks going off outside of your apartment. For parent Paris Saint Germain.

[JW]

I was gonna say, can you hear the. Can you hear the authentic background noise? That's exactly what's happening. I don't know if you did you. Are you catching that? Seriously, that ambient noise? It's been this way for hours now.

[Andy]

I can't hear it outside. I could definitely hear it when I was watching Big Foe just now. Street right behind him. People just setting off firecrackers and everything else. Just going nuts.

[JW]

So see him. You sure it's not for Diane Perry? Sure it's for PSG enough for Diane Perry.

[Producer Mike]

Big day.

[Andy]

I don't know. I mean, I'd bet on it not being for her yet. Maybe if she, if she hasn't a good week on top of this. Good week. Okay, well, let's get through the, the results from today pretty quickly because then we have redraw.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, we're going to do the women's recap and then into the women's redraw and then we will do men's recap into the men's redraw.

[Andy]

Sounds good. We are still waiting on Big Foe and we are still waiting on FAA Nakashima as we do this, because we're going to try to get it out. It's a fine line, Mike, getting stuff out versus waiting for everything. But such is the life of a podcaster.

[JW]

See, this is media. This is what we do.

[Andy]

This is what it's come to for me, Mike.

[Producer Mike]

This is it. You stooped really low.

[Andy]

All right. Pari beats Anisimova. Couple of interesting storylines. We have two players, one on the men's side, one of the women's side that won a challenger. One was a week before Roland Garrison. One was two weeks before. So we always talk about how winning at any level becomes contagious. To be clear, challengers are minor league tournaments. So highest number one seed is, you know, usually 80 in the world. Something like that. You know, we're not, we're not getting Alcaraz at these events, but you build a little momentum. Then all of a sudden, fourth round of Roland Garros. You kind of always try to value that recency bias takes out Anna Samova. And a Samova wasn't, didn't have a lot of matches coming in. It kind of looked that way at the, at the end of that one.

[JW]

JW yeah, exactly. She had that wrist injury and to Diane Perry's credit, seven, six in the third. I mean, this is a player. I don't if she was top hundred coming in, it was barely. And here she is, biggest match of her life, her home major. She's playing a player that's been to two major finals in the last year and she stared her down and she was the more solid player, the more emotionally composed player. I don't know quite what's going on with me and the Samova camp. I mean, I don't know if that was remnants of a wrist injury, remnants of not having played much, but that one's got a sting. I mean, she can play on clay and all credit to Deonne Perry, but that was, that was a one of many mystifying, you know, good. We're going to use words like crazy and unpredicted and batshit. Keep in mind that the women is far and away the more formful of the two draws we're going to be discussing tonight. But yeah, the nice win. Win of her career for Diane Perry.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, well, Anis Mobile was. Was sick yesterday, I guess, and was, you know, a little congested, a little under the weather, it seemed, in the press conference and apparently also was blistering, you know, pretty bad from not playing for.

[Andy]

Yeah. If you don't, if you don't play a bunch of tournaments and you haven't gotten a lot of court time for whatever reason, blister show up. Perry was not ranked in the top 100. I don't think she was close. I think there had to be an injury of some short. She's been in the as high as around 40 before. I want to say she was coming in 180. So just to be clear, she would not have been in the main draw of this event if it was played anywhere. But.

[Producer Mike]

But France, first top, first top 10 win of her career.

[Andy]

Is that right? Oh, wow. Well, congratulations to her. Getting through it. Osaka Jovic was, was, was a big one today. Props to Naomi. Osaka. This has not traditionally been her favorite service. I thought Jovic played well. I thought Osaka, you know, has stepped up. We're going to talk about the parts that aren't just the entry of Naomi to these matches. But listen, Jovic is amazing. I think she's a top five player at some point, like very, very soon. And the people who have been able to play really big, whether it's Sabalink in Australia, whether it's Osaka here, you know, I think she has some catching up to do physically to kind of handle the power of these big hitters. But Eva Jovic is, you know, this does nothing for my enthusiasm for her career moving forward. But well done for Naomi right into

[JW]

the first week of this tournament, into the second week of this tournament. For the first time in her career, Naomi Asaka.

[Andy]

Is that true?

[JW]

And, yeah, I mean, yeah, never been to second week of Roland Garros before today. I, you know, I also, I, I saw Jovic after the match walking. This one stung. I mean, this wasn't like, hey, happy to be here. Lost future hall of Famer. So, I mean, that match was there for the taking and it just seemed as though, you know, the backhand let her down a couple spots, a couple of tiebreakers. I mean, that match was right there. I think that's a Pretty good sign, but yeah, good, good for. She advances, but she had, she had to work for it too, which I think, you know, sometimes she just comes and she's hitting so cleanly. This was a, this was a real grind and a very close. I don't know if it was beautiful tennis. I don't know if it was the match of the day, but certainly from a scoreline perspective, Naomi Osaka is going to be really happy.

[Andy]

Yeah, Naomi, I mean, she hits it so big, you rarely look. It's all on her racket a lot of the times. And I mean, even Jovic today, with as cleanly as she can kind of maintain the center of the court, you know, you handful of matches, maybe, you know, throughout Naomi's career where you're like, that was unbelievable tennis. And it's not because it's just bad tennis. It's because Naomi hits it so firmly that it's tough to actually control the proceedings if you're playing against her, you know, I think it's shot tolerance matters if you can beat her to the punch, which we're going to see a race to it from, from, from here on out with, with Sabalenka against Osaka, which we'll get to, you know, that also is going to be who can just get on the front foot first and who can maybe serve better, get a couple of foul ball returns. But credit to Naomi Osaka, she's really leaned into this tournament and the clay. Sabalenka, tough second set, but kind of has there been as quiet a progression with Sabalenka as far as attention paid to her in the last couple years than this tournament?

[JW]

JW But I had a line stored up similarly for iga, but same idea. I mean, Sabalenka has just kind of done what she does and she does remember, I mean, we say, I think we've said this before, but you know, the book on her used to be you never know what she's going to get and she's either the Arctic or the Sahara now. She does not lose in week one of majors. And I think that we saw today and we've seen it, this tournament stands for that proposition. It is not a given that top players just win their first four matches and then we're in the business end and she's done this for, you know, we're talking years now that she just doesn't get much trouble in the first week of tournaments. And these are, you know, we lose to the draw on their third potential, you know, Kasatkina's not playing at her power level, but she can be a tricky player and just. It's been a very smooth first week for our top seat on the women's side.

[Andy]

Yeah, she's been rolling. I think there's been such a crazy amount of erratic storylines that are kind of shocking, and I think she's cruised right under the radar along with iga, who we will get to in the Redraw show. Madison Keys is one of those players where I don't, I don't. I know it matters, but it matters way less than other players. What her form is if she gets two or three matches into an event and starts striking the ball the way she has. I watched the match with, with them, Boko, today, she's hitting the ball real clean. You know, when she was able to, she. I love that forehand when she kind of drifts to her left and she's on the backhand side, but hits a forehand and then rips it inside in. You just know it's coming and there's almost nothing that you can. You can do about it. But Maddie was competing her ass off today, and Boko, I, I still think is has Grand Slam winner written all over at some point, but nothing in the lead up would suggest that Matty Keys was going to go on a run and play as well as she did in week one. But jw, she has to be one of those players where when she does, you know, I'm not concerned with what she did in Rome. If she's in the fourth round of a Grand Slam.

[JW]

Right.

[Andy]

She's. She's played well Week one, she kind of like just reestablishes upside almost immediately.

[JW]

Yeah, I would, I would add end healthy, which she. She seems to be in. And, and, you know, and I had heard wasn't coming into this tournament. I don't know if she. She kind of. I don't know if she. I don't have in front of me, but yeah, I, I had heard she was a little bit digged up, but she's looked great. And as you say, I mean, the power is power, but she is a much better clay player than she herself gives herself credit for. I mean, she's. She sort of does the, the sandbag and the, you know, my status status update is so, so she knows what she's doing on the surface. And when she is healthy competing and hitting that forehand, I think this, you know, keep it well, we'll get to our Redraw show, but she suddenly has sort of put herself in the conversation squarely yeah.

[Andy]

And. And she, I think she's one of the players that I don't know if she benefits a ton from the clay being dry, which makes movement more slippery. And then she can create her own pace without the benefit of. Of weather and the ball jumping. I think as the temperature cools. I don't think that does anything to kind of negatively affect Maddie's chances. She can create as much speed from a dead ball in that forehand side. It's almost like a. It's like whiplash as anyone in the tournament. Kellen sky rolls through, Schneider gets through. Big story of the day. It's going to be the headlines all over the place. Patapova defeats Goff. And I'm watching this one. 1. Coco makes everything so physical, right? And Patapova was. She didn't take a lot of swings off today. I mean, literally just going after every single ball and there were some rough rallies. Coco kind of let like the serve was okay. She didn't have her first double fault until a second set breaker. She just kind of missed some shots that you're not really used to her missing in that second set. And then all of a sudden when you get to a third set and it's a, it's a fight, you know, it's. It's kind of even money. It was like the opposite of what we've seen from Coco. The serve was okay through the first two sets. You know, third set, like the ground game, I think let her down a little bit today. Jw.

[JW]

Yeah. I mean, full disclosure, I was on another match and then you sort of see that. I mean, by the way, let's just a word on her. Remember way back in Rome. Can you remember that far back?

[Andy]

Yes. That was like three weeks. Sinner was by far the best player in the world and he was going to win the French.

[JW]

Yeah. Sinner was untouchable and had to qualify. You know, it was like eight weeks ago. She was barely in the top hundred. She had to qualify for the previous event and here she is and I don't even know how big a. We talked about this. I think on the first draw show we knew this was going to be a tough match for Coco, but I was on another match and was looking at the stats and then I'm like, I don't know what happened because from a. You're right. From a stats perspective, it wasn't like we saw double digit double faults in the forehand. I just think Coco is such a fighter. But there are times when she, she can be out fought.

[Andy]

We're going to mention the qualifying in Rome. She made what semis of Madrid. It was a big run in Madrid for her.

[JW]

So she be rocking up.

[Producer Mike]

She's a lucky, lucky loser.

[Andy]

Lucky loser in Madrid. And then here we are. However many beats rock and beats golf and at the French Open yet this one, I just felt like Coco was going to dig it out the entire time.

[JW]

That's what I.

[Andy]

And then once, and then once they got to the, you know, she got up six, five, put up. But it was like put up was up in the first set, let it get away. Way up in the second set, let it get away. And then Coco had her in the breaker and made. I mean, even Lindsay was on the call and she was like, these are just weird errors. Like it was. They were kind of out of nowhere rally balls, which is not normally what you'd expect from Coco. It wasn't as if she was going after the forehand and missing it or double faulting. And, you know, that's why you play it every day. You know, the past is a hint at the future, but by no means does it make it a rule but credit to put a pova. Are we going to get into this redraw show because we, we need it.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, I mean, we need it.

[JW]

We're talking about the women. We need it here. God knows what the depth of our desire and desperation is on the men's side.

[Andy]

But I'm almost embarrassed to make picks again on the men's side. I almost like, you know, we'll go quick. Any changes, jw, besides Rubakana going to the final,

[JW]

I had Sabalenka. I had Sabalanga to beat a Pova. Could that be right?

[Andy]

In the semis, I have. I have Saba Linka beating. I have Sabalenka beating Osaka. I have Keys beating Schneider. I have Sabalanka beating Keys. I have Potapova in the semis, Sabalenka in the final. My final is the same. It is intact. I'm taking Svitolina Benchic. I think I had that. I had iga. Kostiak, I have IGA beating Svitolina. IGA beating Mira Andreva. IGA beating Sabalenka. As I said out loud, that is a brutal draw. You could make the argument that Kostiak is one of the six best players in the tournament right now. Svitolina is. Mira Andreva is. Sabalenka is so iga. I picked her to win and none of the people that she is in line to play have played Badly this tournament they've all been inform and it's a rough draw.

[JW]

What a draw she got. First week she didn't have to play off to Penko and then the draw gods kind of got to her. In week two I have IGA beating Kostcuk. I like Kostc. Great, great guest. If you want to go back and listen, by the way. But I don't think Katya's ever beaten her. So I think IGA informed beats a player who's never beaten her before. I have Andrea, I have. How about, you know, I asked her this flatly, Christea, I said this is the time where you tell us you're extending your career and she would not bite at my question. She's very cool and funny and friendly about it. But I have Christea beating Andreeva. That's a little mini upset. But I have Vina to the final where Sabalenka beats her. Actually, you know what I mean, we, we, we had a bunch of whiffs, but this isn't a disaster. This isn't riddled with bullets.

[Andy]

I mean your pick was a bit of a disaster, but besides that it's. Yeah, we'll get to the disasters on the men's side coming up. Andrea's played great. I, I, I love Chris. I, it's just hard for me to pick against someone who's in form and young and is going to get there. I got to think that Ego would probably rather play Christea because she likes to bully ball people.

[JW]

Right.

[Andy]

Like big to the corner. So we'll be interesting. I listen as, again as I'm saying it out loud. IGA beating Costia, Svitolina, Mira and Driver or Castella who have been on fire and then Sabalenka, big ask. I ain't fading it now though. Picked her before the tournament. I'm going to pick her again. But the people she has to go through to win this tournament have only played better than when we, we did the redraw show before go through men's results producer Mike and then we'll hopefully we might have to make some adjustments on the fly, but you know, I

[Producer Mike]

know I had to redo my women's draw, so I had Cocoa winning.

[Andy]

You did?

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy]

How's that going?

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, not great.

[Andy]

Who do you have winning now?

[Producer Mike]

I switched to ega.

[Andy]

You did?

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy]

If I, if I hadn't picked her at the beginning, I think just based on I, I will say there's a lot more informed players based on like the month coming into Roland Garros. On the women's side than, than on the men's side. Like the men's side. I just, I, I don't even know.

[Producer Mike]

I.

[Andy]

We're gonna do it right now and I have no idea what I'm gonna do. Yeah, it's, it's, it's a little nutty. Like we'll go through the list of players on the top and I'm gonna say one of these players is going to be in the finals.

[JW]

Exactly.

[Producer Mike]

I just want to make sure I'm not on backflip watch.

[Andy]

Just

[Producer Mike]

cost you goes on that run.

[Andy]

Well, your backflip would have to beat iga, Svitolina, Andreva, Christea and Sid.

[Producer Mike]

Well earned backflip.

[Andy]

You would, you would have to like, limber up. Yeah, that would be. She would have earned that one. I'll tell you. For those who didn't listen to the acoustic show, Mike said he would do a backflip with her because she famously did one at the end of Madrid when she won. Or his version of an attempt at a backflip if she wins. Roland Garro.

[Producer Mike]

So be on a trampoline.

[Andy]

We will get cgi. We will absolutely get footage of that if it happens. It would be irresponsible not to. All right, Kaboli beats Tien. Caboli is putting up some score lines in.

[Producer Mike]

Let's take a break.

[JW]

Always. Oh, doing that again.

[Andy]

You always do that. Thanks for listening to served. We will be right back. Guys, it's almost here. This year's Roland Garros. Not my best service, but one of my favorite cities. Paris. Or Paris for you, producer Mike.

[Producer Mike]

Oh, thanks, Andy. You know, I actually am going to Paris this summer, but not for the French Open. My boss wouldn't let me off.

[Andy]

Your boss sounds lame.

[Producer Mike]

You're my boss.

[Andy]

You're not wrong. But what isn't lame is this. When a tournament like Roland Garros hits, the thousands of fans are suddenly trying to figure out where they're staying.

[Producer Mike]

So basically the whole city turns into a scramble for where to stay 100%.

[Andy]

And it's not just Paris. Any city on the tennis calendar.

[JW]

Think about it.

[Andy]

Fans are making last minute decisions right now based on where their favorite players land in the draw. And if you're like me, I usually look for a place to stay before I even book my flights. And personally, a home near the tournament beats a hotel room every time. I know because I was the guy staying in those places for 15 years.

[Producer Mike]

15 years. How old are you?

[Andy]

So don't be the reason someone didn't Book that plane ticket. Be the reason they do. If you're planning to be away, list your space on Airbnb. When fans are flooding into town, you're not just giving someone a place to stay, you're putting them right in the middle of the tournament experience, where your home becomes part of their memories, too. And yeah, you'll pick up some extra cash while you're at it. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host AI is only as powerful as the platform. With the ServiceNow AI platform, your AI data and workflows all work together, connecting every corner of your business. To see how you can put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com AI agents

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[Andy]

so good, so good, so good.

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[Andy]

All right, back to the show. Welcome back to CERB. Brought to you by ServiceNow. Please subscribe. Hopefully Mike won't make us go to break anymore. Can we run through the finish line here?

[Producer Mike]

Yes.

[Andy]

Thank you for keeping the trains on the tracks in spite of my bitterness. Caboli takes out TN Caboli has been dropping score lines on people in a tournament full of five set thrillers. Kaboli has unsubscribed from from that plan. Roles learn a tien. Two, two and three. Two, three and two. Something like that. Tabilo takes out Kwame. Happy for Tobillo. First time he's ever been in the fourth round of a major. Well deserved. Kwame is legit. 17 years old. He didn't look tired at all. I think he's a physical monster. The shots he missed, he kind of went for bad drop shot on match Point. But there's not a part of his game that you look at and say, oh, that's a complete liability at this point. His forehand has great shape to it, especially the one cross court. It feels like he hits. It's eight feet above the net, and it still is kind of tumbling away by the time it gets there. Can hit the off forehand both ways. He can pull it, he can play it off to the back end. Slides great. Will only get stronger, which is crazy to see. Cause he's. He's got shoulders wider than two people put together. Lot of upside for him. Pump for dibello. JW makes.

[JW]

He suddenly makes Fonseca and Hodar look like veterans. I mean, he doesn't turn 18 until March. And more. More. So you. You said it. I mean, you look at him and you say, oh, this guy is, you know, he looks like an NFL lineman and he must be serving ace. He has more drop shot winners than aces. And the way he strategized, the way he used the crowd, there was such a likability to him, such a versatility to his game. I mean, sometimes we have these kids, we say, wait till they learn how to play tennis, then they'll really be good. This is almost the opposite. Wait till he learns how to harness. Wait till he learns how to unleash his power. As far as I'm concerned, this was the revelation of the tournament. I thought he handled the moment great. I love, you know, you, You. You guys talked about the fact he can't even keep his prize money, which is actually kind of smart. It goes into a trust until he turns 18. But I. I was just blown away by the way he handled the moment. The way that the durability of this kid to play under these conditions and go five sets and the emotions that go with it and then come right back and still stay in a match physically. Yeah. Circle, highlight, underline, bold, italicize this name. This was a real week one revelation.

[Andy]

And from here on out, what we see is he, you know, it looks like, you know, at least from the eye test, when I'm watching a pretty extreme grip on the forehand side. So can that take pace on faster surfaces? Right back in. Same thing when he has time. I'm not worried about him, you know, watching. He didn't look off balance or late on many shots throughout these matches. So I think we can check the box on. Can he play on slow courts? Like JW said, the last things to come around when you're kind of gaining on physicality. In this sport, serve. No one ever serves bigger at 17 than they will at 22. Doesn't happen. With maybe the only question mark being Boris Becker, who was shot out of a cannon. Even Rafa, when he won the first time in 2005, was a largely defensive player. Right. His. His ball speed improved over. Over time a ton. He was just that good at D. At that age, he's only going to get better. But props for Tobilo. Didn't let the crowd get to him. Didn't engage the crowd. Talked to the umpire one time and they gave him the old. The old French whistle.

[JW]

Boo.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy]

When he went up there. But props to him.

[JW]

Good job. That was a male umpire, though, so he handled.

[Andy]

Don't even get me fucking started on that asshole. Yeah, that's a. Was it Vallejo who said a man should be refereeing his match? By the way, the point needs to be made, and I forgot to do it yesterday. Is there any irony in the fact that he. This guy said. And there was a woman match. Woman. Umpiring the match for this guy who played Kwame last time, last match. And he said in order to. Basically some version of. In order to control the crowd, there needs to be a man up there, which I found ironic because the guy that he lost to isn't technically a man yet. He's 17, right?

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy]

Just imagine if you would have been playing a man how badly it was

[Producer Mike]

technically a child who can't collect his paycheck.

[Andy]

It's just, It's. It's. I could fight the premise of, like, even thinking that. And then there's another level of anger, but for someone being so stupid to say it out loud, like, what do you get? Whatever. Anyways, I'm glad you said something because that guy, whatever, he's. Hope he gets bad line calls. What else we got from guys?

[Producer Mike]

So Real Quick to be low is the fourth Chilean man ever to reach Roland Garros Round of 16 since 2000, joining Fernando Gonzalez.

[Andy]

Rios Michou.

[Producer Mike]

Oh, no, no. Rios Basu.

[Andy]

Oh, really? The big tall dude?

[JW]

Yeah. Nicholas. Nicholas, Jerry.

[Andy]

Yeah.

[Producer Mike]

And then. And then Christian. And then Tabila also spent only 1 hour and 53 minutes on court before this match because he had to walk over.

[Andy]

Walk over in the third round.

[Producer Mike]

Compared to Kwame had spent more than eight hours across his first two matches. So, yeah, impressive showing all around, but that's it. Conditioning gas is real.

[Andy]

You make your own luck sometimes. He got through and then beat the kid in front of the crowd, right?

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy]

Don't take Anything away, you can only beat the person across from you. Baratini grinds out K Longest match of the tournament. In a tournament full of long matches,

[Producer Mike]

it was the longest match until the next match.

[Andy]

Oh, is that right?

[JW]

Yeah, yeah, that's right.

[Producer Mike]

What was the other match that went longer? It was the, like a six hour match almost.

[Andy]

Colignon, Arnaldi and Colignon or Serindo and Landa Luthe.

[Producer Mike]

That one Serendo with, with no announcer calling it. It was weird.

[Andy]

Yeah, that's another. That's another little point.

[JW]

Sorry.

[Andy]

Yeah, Baratini, great run. Hasn't been in the third round of a Grand Slam, I think, since 2023. Definitely not fourth round for a while.

[JW]

He hasn't. He hasn't. He hadn't played this event in five years. That's how, that's, that's how injured he's been.

[Andy]

Listen, Baratini is, is well versed on a lot of services. He's been in the Madrid final before. He obviously knows how to play on this stuff. Backhand was okay, kind of got through it. It was as many great matches as we've had. This had a lot of drama, but there were some unforced errors. I'll tell you this right now. And, you know, hopefully Baratini goes as far as he wants to go. Great opportunity against young Syrindolo in the next round, but circle this result as a. Nobody is going to want to play Baratini on grass. He is one of. When he's playing well, he's one of the best 10 grass corps players on earth, in my opinion. When, when he has health and he's playing, this is only going to help him. I don't think he's a contender here on this surface and I think he is someone that can really, really interrupt Wimbledon and turn it on its head. One Queens Club a couple of times, but happy to see him healthy, playing well and advancing.

[Producer Mike]

He. He's one of only three Grand Slam finalists remaining in the entire draw, with Casper and Sveriv being the other two.

[Andy]

Yeah, made the Wimbledon final one year, lost to Novak, if I'm not mistaken. Great story wrapped in, in tragedy. Also, Zach Veida wins against older Serendolo today, which is a pretty big upset in five. The backstory being fight has been around for a long time. I, I forget how many years ago it was six or seven. He was like 15 or 16 and won a match of the US Open and then cramped the next one. And everyone's kind of looking at him taking some time to develop Firmly in the top hundred, I think at 85. Before this tournament, his father passed after a battle with cancer, if I'm not mistaken. Last year, last October, best result in a slam by a long shot for, for, for Zach Za delivered this win against a, an informed player, a higher seed. And it was his father's birthday today. So if you believe that someone can look down on you and is, is happy, happy, happy and proud. Hopefully zveit is feeling that well deserved win today in five. Jw, Good stuff.

[JW]

Yeah, I, I talked to him for, for a bit after both after his match today and then two days ago. I mean first of all, he's just the loveliest kid you can imagine. He's also listed generously at five nine, his 58, his 50 aces. I mean he's like five nine, like 150. He looks like, you know, he's not a physically imposing guy. 50 aces in three matches. And this today, first of all, biggest win of his career by far. I mean in the odds makers, Francisco Sorrendo was like one of the top five contenders. Wins the first two sets, does Svida, loses and then steadies and comes back. I mean for any number of reasons in these conditions. This is a guy who lost two and two in qualifying in Geneva like 10 days ago and now he's in week two of a major, as you say. He was very emotional talking about his father on his birthday, but what a result. He's also just trivia. He's known as the single best practice player in men's tennis. Everyone wants to practice with him because he's steady, he can mimic different styles, he can put the ball anywhere you want it. But now a lot more than that into week two. And for a guy who's, who's 5, 8, 5 9, that serve as no joke. So very, very impressive from him.

[Andy]

Got the old Sebastian Grosjean. I got a lot of pop and a smaller frame situation.

[Producer Mike]

He had never played on red clay until two years ago.

[Andy]

Is that right?

[Producer Mike]

That's what he said. He said, quote, I knew I'd get good on the clay. I thought maybe in a few years, but I never expected right now. He said it on the desk.

[Andy]

I'm sure he's played. He's saying Houston's not right, Clay. I'm sure he's played there. Okay. Anyways, moving on.

[Producer Mike]

He said red clay.

[Andy]

Yeah, yeah, okay, we'll move on. Great, great story for him. We won't say that Houston's not real red clay. We won't say that we're gonna. We're gonna move on before anyone says that or thinks it. Great story. Unbelievable story. Cheering him on through the next round. He's got a tough one in Kaboli. The most informed player in the top half, I think so far. We'll get to that in the. The Redraw show coming up. Arnar are easy for me to say. Say it.

[Producer Mike]

Arnold Lee.

[Andy]

Yeah. Beat Colignon in another massive 5 1/2 hour 5 setter. Colignon beats Shelton. Arnoldi was searching for form and won a challenger right before Rome found it. And now all of a sudden, here he is in the fourth round with a real opportunity. Big foe or Fario. We're still waiting on the. On that result to come through.

[Producer Mike]

Or it's in the fifth set right now.

[Andy]

Will affect my choice in the bracket, I'm afraid.

[Producer Mike]

Dude, if Ari loses this, it'll be another two love turnaround.

[Andy]

And your. Your theory is what? Don't, don't.

[Producer Mike]

Don't go up too up. Because you're gonna lose.

[Andy]

You'd be a great coach. You're gonna lose.

[JW]

Yeah. It's like Taylor Fris and winning six love. I think what wasn't very up. He was up two sets, wasn't he?

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy]

Yeah. Hey, listen, all you. If any players are listening to this, Mike's not available. I'm sorry. Unavailable for coaching.

[Producer Mike]

Not science. It's feelings.

[Andy]

Don't get up two sets, you idiot.

[JW]

Just in this. Who's replacing Mariano Puerta as Davidovich Faquina's coach?

[Andy]

I think you want to go Davidovich Faquina. Just. And just.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, I could do that. Yeah, I got it.

[Andy]

I gotta. I gotta be honest. I think. I think Davidovich Faquina would have a better chance of landing a backflip.

[Producer Mike]

He would.

[Andy]

Yeah, he would. I think he could help you with that. And then. Listen, Cerundo. Landa Luthe. Those guys have put in some hours and they did it again. The fairy tale run of Young Surrender Low continues against Landa Luthe, who we will see more of in the future. But this is just. It's hard to do. It's hard to have the biggest win of your career and then come back and put your hard hat on and. And go right back showing us a lot. This is. This is really fun. And what, like, what a. What a tournament. Having brothers in the third round. One obviously had a great result today. One had one that he probably would want back against Zach Vita. But this is. This is great stuff. Everyone's just playing forever. You just have to assume every match is going to go five hours at this point.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy]

Crazy.

[Producer Mike]

It is wild.

[Andy]

This was this. I don't know, this jw, like this tournament. We were saying yesterday, the tournaments develop their own personalities. This week, one definitely kind of carved out its own personality. Right?

[JW]

Yeah. This is as I think, like I, I started covering around time you. I mean, have you seen the tournament? I think you and I sort of came up with it. I can't recall anything like this. I mean, there's some batshit days and there are a bunch of upsets, but this is we. And I also feel like just conventional wisdom goes out the window. And he played a five setter. He's going to be tired. You know, mention, just pick, pick your. You know, Caspar Rude played a five setter. He really exhausted himself in these hot conditions. He's going to be beat. And then he plays Tommy Paul and wins in 4 hours and 43 minutes. I mean, it just like conventional wisdom goes out the door. All of these upsets. I mean, I think the cliche of the margins are thin. I mean, some of these matches, if you said this is a, this is a Tuesday session at a 250 landaluce against the younger Serendo, you're like, okay, that's like an middle of the day Tuesday session at Tashkent. And here we are in the middle weekend of a major. It's been a lot of fun, I guess, but it's. I mean, remember in Australia when there literally wasn't a memorable batch until like the last weekend? This is the complete opposite, where the seas are dropping like flies. But there have been a lot of really electric matches. And if you're a tennis purist, this has been a really fun event. If you've come to see the stars and suddenly you show up and it's Land Luce and Serendalo, you're sort of wondering what happened, but I, I cannot recall, at least on the men's side, an event as batshit crazy as this one.

[Andy]

I got one for you. You ready?

[JW]

What do you got?

[Andy]

It's been a minute. 2002. Wimbledon, the year Hewitt wins it. Malise Ruseski, nail Banion was ranked like 50 in the world at the time. Gets through. It was carnage for the top seeds during that tournament, but not since then. I didn't. I don't think it had the drama of the length of matches. I don't think it had the extreme conditions, but as far as just fucking chaos. Oh, two Wimbledon on the men's side is, is, Is My only comp. Top of my head. I'm sure I'm getting something wrong, but it was. There was a lot of chaos going on.

[JW]

That's true. But. But someone's like, your. Your picks are horrible. You and Andy really do. And I'm. Oh, yeah, I. I saw Alexander blocks. I. I should have envisioned him, you know, crashing into a tarp in the backcourt. Oh, I should, I should. Shouldn't we have picked against Sinner on a hot day? Who? I mean, yeah, there have been so many sort of. Apart from the upsets, just sort of unlikely events in general. It's been a lot of fun. Like I gotta say, on the other grounds, it's. And the opportunity. We'll talk about this in the Redraw show, but man, the opportunities. There are going to be so many players who are going to either be kicking themselves or, you know, taking advantage of these glaring absences. But yeah, I mean, they're, they're. I'm sure you've seen the stat before there. No, when Novak went out, that was the last major champion that was on a Friday. I mean, it's just. This is the statistical outlier. This is. This sort of blows up everything.

[Andy]

Listen, there's. There's two things. Our picks, along with most of Earth were fucking disaster. All right? And two, most people who make predictions either predict to the semis or they predict one winner. And so that means they can only be wrong one time. We do every single match like morons. Just so we're clear, we're going to be wrong a lot more when we have 200x the volume of, of, of everyone else. But here we are. We got to lay on the sword because I would certainly be chirping and letting you know if we got it

[Producer Mike]

right while we wait for these other two matches to finish. We can pick the kind of the bottom half of the Redraw Men cheek Rublev on down. And then, dude, just. I'm watching this Tiafo match. They just got into like an exchange at the net with the ump. And like, I think Big Foe said. I'm reading the captions right now. I think Big foe looked at him and says, you're not hard, bro. I think that's what the caption just said. No, he said it to fire you. Yeah.

[Andy]

Oh, they're getting into it.

[Producer Mike]

They got into it and like the ump came down out of the chair and she was like, yell. I don't know what happened. I like looked down and they were having an exchange at the net. So can't wait to look at whatever that was once we get off the air.

[Andy]

Oh, big foe, you ain't hard.

[Producer Mike]

You're not hard, bro.

[Andy]

Oh, I'd like to. I'd like to. It's going to sound creepy, but it's not. I'd like to see the camera footage from the locker room after that one.

[JW]

Oh, man.

[Andy]

I like to see if we get.

[Commercial Announcer]

We get.

[Andy]

We. We bump some chests in there afterwards. All right.

[Producer Mike]

Big Fo serving right now in the fifth. Two. Two.

[Andy]

Might even be. Yeah, my picks. I'm. I'm. We're going to get to the part where I'm just going to make a pick based on foe winning or foe losing. That's what we're going to do. We can start. I think we just started the bottom half, I think. Okay, we'll start at the bottom half. I had Zverev to the final before the tournament started. That's not going to change. The pressure set has completely changed, obviously. Slides right into the. The favorite position. He plays De Jong. Your guy who you stuck with. Really? It definitely wasn't that. You just forgot to replace Feez.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah, he's my guy.

[JW]

Like. Like the lucky loser.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy]

No. Do you know what happened here, John? You were.

[JW]

You picked a lucky loser and he's still in the.

[Andy]

No, he forgot to switch his pick from fees, so fees got changed to a lucky loser. He didn't know who it was and he had feast going to the fourth round of the quarter. So therefore he's adopted the points for De Jong.

[JW]

That's the perfect metaphor for this tournament.

[Producer Mike]

It's very lucky than good.

[Andy]

You're a lucky loser.

[JW]

You don't wash your jersey during a win streak. You don't switch seats when your team's up big, and you definitely don't shave during the playoffs. When things are working, you don't change them. That's why when you drink Jagermeister, you drink it ice cold. Anything else, well, that'd just be bad luck. Drink it cold or don't drink it at all. Jagermeister. Damn, that's cold. Drink responsibly. Jagermeister liquor, 35% alcohol by volume. Imported by Mast. Jagermeister, U.S. white Plains, New York.

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[Andy]

2 has come home to Disney. Let's go get ready for a new case.

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[Andy]

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Now available on Disney.

[JW]

Rated PG.

[Andy]

I have Hodar Zverev. I have Zverev going through that one. I have Ruble. I had Rublev to the quarters. One of the, the rare good picks that I had. No, no, I didn't. I had him going to the round of 16. Then I had Rude going to the the semis against Zverev. So I'm going to keep that just because I don't want to flip it. Look for the Fonseca. It's interesting because that match against Novak, Novak's ball flight is, is, is, is lower. I'm going to be very curious how much pace Fonseca can create on the backhand side when it's up out of the zone. And the single thing that Casper Rude does as well as anyone on the earth is he had more RPMs than Rafa. Rafa's last couple years on tour on that forehand side, meaning spin rate, more spin than any player off of that side, which means instead of having it in your pocket, it's. It goes up six inches. So it'd be really interesting to see the difference in ball flight and how that affects Fonseca. We saw that he was able to handle Novak when the ball was down. He was getting a lot of forehands kind of between the waist and the shoulders. If those are up above the shoulders. Do airs creep in? Something to watch. I mean, I think I picked Rude just because we didn't know what we were going to get with with with Novak. I'm not going to switch my pick, but I mean, man, this has been. He was fun to watch. The other day I went all, I went off just. That was one of My favorite matches that I've seen in the first week of a slam in tens of years.

[JW]

Jw, you know what's funny is that after that I had to work Casper and Tommy Paul and I'm sort of like, oh, this is sort of the walkaway bout in boxing. That was a great match too. That was thoroughly enjoyable. Tommy Paul had like 80 net approaches. Casper sort of outbattled him despite having played forever the previous. I mean, it's really, again, if you, if you love tennis and you're not just here to see stars, this has been a really fun event. It's so funny, isn't it too that, you know, Djokovic had his opportunities and if he closes that out in the third, fourth or fifth set, this not not only is the draw, I mean, the whole complexion, the whole energy, the whole vibe of this tournament becomes completely different. And it's holy. Novak just beat Fona and the two guys who have given him trouble are no longer the draw. We're going to see a 25th major, aren't we? That's not the vibe. I think Casper Fonsa could be a lot of fun. I think these conditions, especially if it cools off as much as we've been told, might impact that. I don't know. I mean, I, I think my draw now looks a lot like yours. I have Casper beating Rublev. I have Hodar losing to Zverev. I hate to put it in these terms, but man, if, if not now, win for Zverev, win this tournament.

[Producer Mike]

By the way, I was about to

[Andy]

say, Andrew, like, it's by the way, like, Casper has made three Slam finals. I mean, as many. He's, he's, he's as accomplished, you know, not Zverev has more quarter semis. But as far as finals go and as far as like looks at the basket, like, Rude's lost two finals of the French Open and no one's really giving him that credit. And it's kind of, I don't, you know, he needs to be talked about more.

[JW]

I got at some point, another time. But we're not doing a redraw show. I'll show you my interaction with him after the match. After a 4 hour and 43 minute match when he was the coolest, most like conversational guy you could imagine.

[Andy]

We're waiting time for it. We're waiting to see if Foe and Faria come to blows. So why don't you just, just go for it. I had to do the, you know,

[JW]

the post match interview and you know, you sort of first question. It was a real battle out there. You know, you sort of play these things close to the vest. I said, I don't know if you could hear the cheers from, from Chantry, but do you know who you played next? This guy's played 4 hours and 43 minutes. He beats Tommy Paul. I tell him who he plays. That's Fonseca. And then he sort of, you know, they're trying to cut the interview off. The guy's tired. You only get a couple questions. They're doing the throat slash gesture behind me and Casper's. He wants a full breakdown. Was it? Oh, Novak was up two sets, though. He came back and he won in five. He wants, he wants a recap of the match. After playing four hours. He sort of gets in a tennis conversation. Anyway, I, I, you know, here's another one. If Casper wins this event or, or for that matter, it's Vera, they've won one major. They've been to three, five. I mean, they're a Hall of Fame player. This is a complete reshaping of their tennis biography a week from now.

[Andy]

We talked, we talked about that yesterday. I made the exact same points. It's like their resumes with Grand Slam winner, especially Zverev, like his, you know, I was really good at counting stats outside of one major. Like one 32 times. Like I, by the percentage of matches I won was like, you know, better than guys who won. Some guys who won multiple Slams. I didn't, so obviously it doesn't matter. But I had great counting stats. Zverev has better counting stats. He's in like there's no, there's not even a, there's not even a conversation. He's won Olympic gold. He's won World tour finals twice. He's won way more. 1000. Like no brainer Vera for sure. And rude makes.

[JW]

He's the only, I just read this somewhere. He's the only player born after 1990. He's won like 551 matches. The only, only player born after the 80s who's won that many. If he, if he can win, if he can win this tournament, he's like a no brainer hall of fame.

[Andy]

Oh, it's not close.

[JW]

And if.

[Home Depot Carpet Announcer]

Right.

[JW]

But if he, if he doesn't, what are we going to say?

[Andy]

No, I don't think so. I think you got to like, are we going to set precedent? Because if he gets in, do we invite David Ferrer in? I love David Ferreira. He's one of my favorite players of all time. I think if you Add Zverev without a major, you add 12 guys, right? Like, I think it, I think then, then, then it becomes a different conversation. Anyways, I can't wait. Listen, it's going to be, it's going to be fun to watch. The pressure mechanisms are different. Rubles quietly, Rublev quietly going through. No one really paying much attention and he's kind of just motoring through the draw. All right, let's go to the top. We're gonna have to do with or without foe picks there at three, all in the fifth. Right now I'm going to take, I'm gonna take Baratini. So think about these matchups. Serendalo Baratini, both coming off five setters, smoked. Hodar smoked. Rude Fonseca, both coming off five setters, smoked. The same storylines with who. Whose body can recover? We're guessing. Like, we, we kind of have, we don't. We, like, we don't know if Serendolo can go. We don't have enough of a sample size. We don't know where Baratini's at with his injuries and what shape he's in. Can he get through one coming back recovery days? We, we don't know that right now. So listen, shot in the dark. I think foe makes the semis if he wins. So I like foe if he gets through. I mean, this is just like this tournament though. It's like if this happens, then, I don't know, Fucky Magoo, I don't know.

[JW]

So let me. You want to engage, Indulge me in this thought exercise. What would you rather be? The Vera Rude Baratini type? Even Felix, to some extent, where it's like, holy shit, is this an opportunity? These, this two headed monster isn't in action and man, is the door open. Or would you rather be one of these kids who's like, fuck it, I don't know any different. I don't know if my body can handle it. I'm just going to keep playing tennis and smacking. Like, what would ignorance is bliss? Or would you rather be somebody with veteran experience who recognizes the weight of the occasion?

[Andy]

I would have been happy to have been the 25 year old version of myself without Roger Rafa or Novak in the draw. I would have, I would have taken those chips and bet that I would have choked less than the field. You know, Murray also in that conversation. But like, I was good at like winning slimy matches against guys that I should beat. But you know, the freedom. I mean, listen, they're young, but they also know that Their traffic's going to have to go through these. These. These two guys at some point. It's not as if Alcaraz and Sinner are gone. They're going to be right back in this conversation. Like, this is a. This is an outlier of an event. They're going to be back at some point. I know Carlos is going to take it easy. I know Sinner's going to take it easy. But let's. Let's have no illusions that they're not by far the best two players in the world right now, just because nobody.

[JW]

But that only makes. Yeah, but that only makes next week all the more urgent, right?

[Andy]

Yeah.

[Producer Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy]

I mean, we get to live in

[Producer Mike]

an alternate universe for one more week.

[Andy]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, you're looking. You're looking at foe. Throw him in that conversation. He's been the semis of a bunch of slams. I'd rather be Zverev. And listen, I'm either good enough or I'm not. And I gotta. I gotta go. I have the experience. I've played in these finals before. I have everything that I need now for this to be the time, especially with my two toughest matchups not in the tournament. Three toughest matchups not in the tournament. I would have taken my chances with that pretty much all the time.

[Producer Mike]

A lot of these guys have put a lot of time on court, but the. Obviously, the weather's going to break a little bit. They say it's already dropping down overnight. It's going to drop by 20 degrees. How. How much of a factor will that be moving forward for any of these body types? Because you talk about ball flight and you talk about the differences.

[Andy]

Zverev can play on anything. Yeah, grass, maybe not so much. Hodar, with more time on the ball is going to be better. Right. So as the conditions get slower, I actually, like, kind of has that soderling type build where he has those. Those guys with those long levers that can create speed off of a dead ball, both sides. He can create pace like Baratini. If it slows down, you can try to pick off, you know, and I'm saying this because, like, as far as game comps, Barrettini and I were, like, very similar. Forehand's probably better. My backhand was probably a little bit better. My chip was bad. But, like, we kind of construct points the same way where we have. We're trying to hide a bit of a liability. As it gets slower, people can access that easier. And he's not getting less free points on a serve. Serendalo. We'll see. Tbd. I think foe likes a faster court. I think Caboli can play on kind of anything. If I like faa, assuming he gets through over to be love over to below. I like Kaboli over Schweida, but I would be very happy for Schweita if you somehow figured it out. I think FAA with his serve gets through Kaboli. I. I think if it's someone neutral who get into rallies, and I know that's a leap, this is going to be. This is. I don't even. I don't even like saying things right now. Like I said, so not confident FAA has a shot at being the final here. Jw if he can get through Nakashima.

[JW]

He was really on the ropes in his very first match that several of us saw his upset potential. Not a great track record, not only here, but he. I mean, he hadn't really. Hasn't been a great year, to be honest. I mean, a lot of those points came from the US Open in the fall. And yeah, I think. I think I'm Look, I'm looking at the score here, right? He's up five, four. I also think. Talk about the depth of Italian tennis. So center had his issues, and we still may well have three Italians in the last eight. And. And one of them's not Yannick Sinner. That tells you something. I. I think Baratini intrigues me. I mean, he was barely in the top 100 not that long ago, but I. I'm going Kaboli. He's sort of hot and cold.

[Andy]

To the final.

[JW]

I'm going Kaboli to the final.

[Producer Mike]

Kaboli did a final.

[JW]

I do think. I think the winner of. Do you agree with me on this? The winner. We're going to look silly in a couple of days, but the winner of Rudesverev wins this tournament.

[Andy]

Oh, no, not us looking silly.

[JW]

Yeah, Doing. Doing. Doing a prediction that didn't come to fruition.

[Andy]

I think that.

[JW]

But we're gonna.

[Andy]

What's gonna happen, now that we've said it out loud, is that Fonseca and De Jong are gonna win. Zach. I think that's when it happened. Now, I'll put this on you because we both made our. Made our picks. I'm sure from the sounds of it, you can tell that we're just fully confident in our picks right now. If. Imagine if you would have told Zverev two weeks ago that there is a lot of dumb shows after the first week saying, yeah, the most likely opponent that you have in the final is Cabolia or faa? Yeah, we're interested.

[JW]

Do I sign? And what about this? And I'm the king of the night session. I have not logged the wear and tear of anyone else in the field. I mean, to Zverev's credit. I mean, look, we all know this is a huge opportunity for him. He's number one with the oddsmakers. The one thing we've talked about this. I mean, the one thing you have to say about him is that he's very realistic about sort of what's going on with his career.

[Andy]

Knows exactly.

[JW]

He's also played really well. I mean, every time you catch a peek, he's drilling the backhand. He's moving well. I mean, to his credit, he's also totally taking care of business in week one.

[Andy]

He's gotten so good, and foe's about to close his house up. A break. Break to win again. So hell of an effort. Foe, by the way, doesn't get through these last two. Five setters without a dedication to fitness and without scheduling properly and without scheduling in breaks to get fitter. So we're. We're making an assumption here that he gets through this one. Now, there it is. Just one.

[Producer Mike]

Got it.

[JW]

Can we get a hand? Can we get a handshake?

[Andy]

I'm gonna give you a play by play of.

[Producer Mike]

He's pointing.

[Andy]

He's saying, this is my house. Here's the handshake. Let's see if it's frosty.

[JW]

Oh, get out of the way.

[Andy]

There's a guy standing in front of the camera. Let's see how this goes. Oh, it was great. It was warm. They left it maybe for another day. Faria didn't talk shit. Credit to him like, he didn't try to poke. Great win for foe. This is. This is gritty. This is showing. This is surviving another day. This is how you make runs. Oh, he's yelling at grand slams. Great. Great work by Foe there. Little did he know in real time, someone's. He's in the semis already. Just based on our show. I probably shouldn't have done that because we're like a death sentence now.

[JW]

Someone's gonna steal. Someone's gonna steal his racket in the celebration, and he's not going to be able to play the next round.

[Andy]

Yeah. All right. Well, that's our redraw show producer. Mike. We got anything else?

[Producer Mike]

No, we got nothing. We're heading into the second week.

[Andy]

This is.

[Producer Mike]

It's been fun.

[Andy]

It's been really like. I know, I know. There's and deservedly so. There's a million center fans out there. There's a million Carlos fans out there, there's a million Coco fans out there. Robakin has been playing great. This is interesting because we haven't had this random nature of a tournament for 20 something years. We've had legends who have dominated and we have been lucky to watch them. And I don't know, it's been so long. I'm kind of into chaos. J.W.

[JW]

gaston Gaudio. No, you're totally right. I mean, we've talked about this a lot. We had this, the big three, and how lucky we were in this gilded generation. And then immediately when we were expecting a letdown, what did we have? Two other guys come who won between them nine straight majors. Now we have this crazy outlier event. To me, it's going to be interesting to see. Are we going to reflect on this as the chaos Roland Garros. That was kind of wacky fun or are we back to regressing? I don't know about regressing. I mean, are we sort of back. Back in the days of any given Sunday and these tournaments are all crazy? I, I don't think so. But I think this has been real. I think this has really been really fun. And I remember in Australia we kept saying it's so predictable. We haven't had any five setters. There's been no drama. The one point slam was the highlight of the first 12 days. We got some nice finals, but it didn't. This is completely the opposite. This is like spellbinding match after spellbinding match or just by players who were playing qualifiers and challengers a few weeks ago.

[Andy]

Sometimes I, I do. I don't think we're going to look back on this and say it was like back to Parody. I'm not going to go there. The same two guys have won every Grand Slam since the 2023 US Open. One's not here, one's hurt, and one needs to solve physical issues in a very specific set of conditions. But they're, they're two of the greatest of all time. And I don't think now, now, if Hodar goes through, if Fonseca goes through, do we have the beginning of our Novak against Roger and Rafa? That's an interesting conversation to me. Maybe. Does Vera get through and become, you know, one of the guys who's really good and got a major? Maybe. Either way, I've enjoyed it. It's been nuts. It's been fun. And here's to here's to some more chaos in Week two. Thank you for thanks for watching Serve. Thanks for being here with us every day. Brought to you by ServiceNow JW get some sleep. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built on. With the ServiceNow AI platform, your AI data and workflows all work together, connecting every corner of your business. To see how you can put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com AI agents.

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