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I have my dream job. But even dream jobs have not so dreamy parts. That's where ServiceNow's AI specialists come in. They don't just tell you what to do about your busy work, they actually do it. That way your team can focus on what matters. To learn how to put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com. Hey everyone. Welcome to serve. Brought to you by ServiceNow this episode will be shorter than Novak's match with FAA
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by at least, by at least 4 hours.
A
In 48 minutes, probably it'll be shorter by 5 hours is what's going to happen. I have Coco written here. I feel like that match was played four days ago.
B
Yeah.
A
At this point.
B
Yeah. Coco's already done whatever weird recovery that she didn't need to do.
A
It's still the most passive aggressive thing I've heard since I've been over here where I talked to her about being tired and she told me that she has actually never been tired on a tennis court.
B
Oh, God, that upsets me.
A
I just watched, I just watched tennis and I'm tired. I don't even play it now.
B
I'm tired. I mean, we can't bury the lead. I mean, what was it like being in the bunker for that match, calling that match today?
A
It was pretty great. You know, it's, it's, honestly, it's, it's like nerve wracking one before you get to the match. It's nerve wracking going into a bunker with, you know, John and Patrick who have done so many matches and have their, their cadence and the way they do things and they kind of obviously had that chemistry that's like, it's, it's kind of nerve wracking. But they were, they were so gracious and nice and you know, I pulled Patrick aside before and I said, just, you know, if I'm fucking up your flow, just don't be scared to tell me. But it was, it was, it was fun. I mean, it's obviously my first time really doing this and for ESPN and to kind of participate and have a front row view of kind of one of those matches.
B
Right.
A
You were at one of those matches. Those five hour epics that define a tournament potentially, like define history in our sport. You just never know. It was, it was fun. It was, it was a lot of fun. It was, it was, it was a good time seeing. I mean, my favorite part of like our bunker at espn, the players boxes right above it. So you were in it. Anytime they show any hint of emotion, like Novak will yell at his box, and I feel like he's yelling at me for a second, then I realize he's looking above me. Like, it's. It's. It was. It was amazing. Like, what? I mean, I guess we'll get to that. It was last on the list, but we're just gonna, you know, fuck it. We're just gonna go with it. It's, you know, what. On top of all the superlatives of, you know, winning and all that, the part that fascinates me the most, and I said it during the broadcast, is he's already finished tennis. He's won everything. He's won everything so many times, right? He's. He's got a beautiful family. Like, he's chasing ghosts, and that's only a small part of it. But to, like, live as disciplined as he. He's lived for as long as he's lived that way, and then to still have that kind of energy where this matters to him, still can't be undersold. Like, it's. It's not as if he just rocks up and can play five hours. I know he's playing a limited schedule, but every bite that he has affects his job. Every night of sleep that he has still affects his job. Every decision he makes, even while he's not on tour, still affects his job. And he doesn't need any of it. Like, he doesn't. It's not as if it's like, he has to have it or like there's a number for retirement or like, there's. Like, there's. The motivators are. Are what? It's an unknown road. Like, he's not at the point where he's guaranteed to win Slams anymore. It's not at the point where he goes in and is like, yeah, I know I'm gonna be holding a trophy in two weeks. It's. It's unknown. And to still have that thing. And, like, listen, you might, you know, get mad about the way he goes about things or he yells at thing. Like, whatever. Put that aside. This is a separate conversation. Like, fucking get over it. Like, this is a separate conversation. Like, it's. Let's. Let's. Let's talk purely about tennis and longevity. And, I mean, it's just. And it's not as if you have. Like, in tennis, you're isolated. It's not as if you have a locker room and the camaraderie and all of those things to kind of hold you up. There's no coach saying, hey, listen, you still play great. Give me 22 good minutes tonight. How about five hours and 15 minutes tonight alone? Like, it's just. He's proving, like, he just proves how hard tennis is, the value of it. And I. That to me, that's the thing. Like, I always am fascinated by. It's like, this is. I don't. I can't even keep track of the numbers. 66 millionth quarterfinal that he's been in in a Grand Slam, and he's still breaker lockdown mode. Second ever super tiebreaker. He's played one other just standard kind of tiebreaker, the US Open. Not the extended version. Second one ever. Like, other one was Wimbledon 2019, when he won against Roger. Like, I don't know, man. Like, I'm just watching and I'm going, respect. Like, obviously it's going to be really hard to motivate every minute of every match. Like, there's a couple loose games here and there, and whatever we're nitpicking. We have to call a match as we see it. That was a loose game, maybe a mental lapse. And then you're going like, obviously. Like, I mean, this many years later. Obviously.
B
Can you. Can you kind of recap and break down just the level of tennis we saw out of both players? I mean, just. Just level set here for. I mean, the. The random one person that's listening to this podcast right now that doesn't know what happened.
A
Oh, well, okay, well, sorry to Novak1. You know what? It seems pretty. It feels like I'm like, it's a cheap. If you just skipped to the answer and didn't participate in that drama with us. Novak 1. 76 in the fifth. Extended supermass tiebreaker. 5 hours, 15 minutes. The longest quarterfinal ever at Wimbledon, which is just, like, absurd. I. I am simultaneously so impressed by Novak and performance. Fine. Playing tennis is fine. Still doing it. Still living it. I retired at 30.
B
Dude, he's 39.
A
With a lot less success than this guy. I mean, obviously, like a. Like a speck of sand in the swimming pool compared to this. But, like, the fact that he's still going. I was heartbroken for FAA too. Like, he went straight over. It looked like his shoulders were kind of heaving. I couldn't get an up close. We were in the middle of. Of doing it. I don't know if he was emotional or not, but, like, on the heels of. Of his press conference after he lost to Kaboli the French Open, where he's like, I'm just not good enough. I'm not that guy. You know, some version of that. Don't. Don't me in the comments, please. But like a version of like, I'm disappointed. I want to be that guy, and I wasn't today. I didn't step up. He stepped up today. Like, he lost. We've, we've. I've had moments on that court where I felt like I stepped up and lost. Right. Like, I don't know that he did much wrong. You know, Novak is Novak. I, I don't. You know, you're doing something right when the comparison for your failures is like. Or are like three people on earth.
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Yeah.
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You know, like, I don't know that that's anything I said as he was walking off. He's, he was hanging his head and I don't know besides a result that he has a reason to. It's, it's, it's hard. Tennis is just hard, man. But there were other matches. Novak is like, absurd. He needs those two days. He has two days before he plays center. This, this would have been borderline impossible if he only had one day to recover like last year. He had a hard time recovering in that semi. Looked, you know, didn't look right. Was carrying a, you know, an injury. Had a calf thing. The first set feels like it went away. So you don't know what, what that was. But I, I'm sure his body's not gonna really be too pumped with him tomorrow when he wakes up at 39 years old. But I started to get into Coco in her match against Jess Pagula today. I thought Jess was, was the favorite in that match based on head to head matchups, based on preference of surface. You know, highest ranked player left in the draw. Coco is, is a gamer. Like, I don't know if I've seen a top player kind of play up and down to their competition as much as, as much as she does, but she doesn't take any plays off. She didn't like none. Everyone talked about the Rafa like he always played every point like, great. Coco is that, is that person. She does not take plays off. She could be playing terribly and she does not take points off and plays off for a second. And to go out and beat Jess, who is not a great historically has not been a great matchup for her on a surface that has historically not been a great surface for her the way that she did. I mean, forehand was an issue. So she was taking big swings to big parts of the court. Her footwork is better on grass. She started finding her footing those small steps that you need on grass. Not kind of that, those big speed steps, but those little, those little steps that no one notices because the other person's hitting the ball when you're making them. She's getting better in real time. Like, it's, it's amazing. She's kind of knocking down that forehand and charging forward sometimes, which is valuable. Even if she gets past that's valuable because the person has to think about the threat of what she's doing. And it's, it's just, it's amazingly fun to see. Listen, there's no reason. She's got a big record. Five or one or six and one against Muova. Like, she's got to think she can win this tournament. She's got to think she can win this tournament.
B
I mean, why not? Right after the performance today. I mean, she's. Why not? I mean, she's 17 and two in Grand Slam, three setters since 2023 US Open. She has the third best winning percentage in three set matches on tour with 67%.
A
No, I mean 25, 25 and seven in majors. His third all time in majors. 25 and seven and three. Seven.
B
That's crazy. That's crazy. I mean, she's, she's peaking at the right time, it seems. She seems so confident. I mean, it was exciting to watch today. I mean, I think, I think Jess played great. It was her first time ever on center court. But I mean, to. All you just said about. That's. That's what. Yeah, they said in the notes. Yeah.
A
I didn't know that.
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First time we were playing on center court. It's Coco's six Grand Slam semifinals. Sent first since winning Roland Garris in 2025. I just, I think all of her momentum right now, it's. Is going in the right direction. You know, when I look at the rest of the draw, I mean, who. Why aren't you looking at Coco and saying she has all the momentum?
A
Yeah, I mean, she's the highest ranked person left, if I'm not mistaken. Nosa. I mean, I make sense of Jess was. And the top seat on the bottom is Noskova. Nine. I'm not real great at math, but seven's lower than nine, right? Yeah, yeah, generally.
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Generally.
A
So it's weird to think because Coco is sometimes in her matches like a. It's like a roller coaster. Right. And you know, we've seen her be human and struggle, you know, at the Open last year with the double faults and like she broke down on court and like even someone as mentally tough as her has had it. And then all of a sudden you look up and again she's in the semis. Could argue she's now the favorite. Uhoh. Is really good. Played an unbelievable match against Osaka today. Like unbelievable. She's so much fun to watch. And this is a big if because there's four full grown up sets ahead of her. If she wins this, she, she has what a decade to complete the career Grand Slam in Australia.
B
Wow.
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I mean you're talking about like people that like will have statues built after them. That's like, that's not like, that's not like your friend and served partner here just you know, catching right in a bottle one time. This is like, this is like heady. Like I mean she's, she's there.
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Iconic. Class.
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Yes.
B
Yeah.
A
I mean she is, she's already like a one namer pop culturally but like I don't know. That's, we're, we're, we're, we're jumping ahead to a lot of stuff. I just gave her a slam and a half. But I mean it's, it's, it's not. I crossed my mind today and I was like, okay, that's, I mean that's a different stratosphere. You know, she wins this, that's a different stratosphere. You've won the US Open, the French Open in Wimbledon. I mean that's not like, hey, that's cool. Like you know, New Balance rocks. That's not like, like, that's a different, that's a different deal. That's a different deal. Anyways, I couldn't have been more impressed. I, I'm, I have a, I love your game. Crush on Muhova.
B
Oh man.
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I have like anything.
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What is it, what is it about her game that you like a. And not even just translates to grass so well, but just is so fun to watch.
A
Yeah.
B
Tennis head.
A
It's right. I was talking with, with Patrick McIner in the green room today and it's weird because a lot of times you'll watch Muhova when she's deep in the tournaments, right. They don't tend to show her matches to an American audience. When it's like second or third round of like Indian Wells, you just, you don't really see it. Someone else is featured. So then, and there are a lot of players like that who are phenomenal. And then you see them and it's like a quarters against Osaka or it's a semi against someone. So by the time you see them, they're playing well. Right. And so I I. My memory that's like singed into my brain with Mukova is like, she's always so good. And then I see like, I see a 10 next to her name, which is phenomenal. Like, imagine if you were the 10th best doctor in the world. Everyone be like, I have the best doctor. I see it like by far. That's not even close. The best doctor in the southern hemisphere and yet you see a 10x to her name and you're going, I don't know how. She's not three in the world. She's so good. And you asked what makes her great. Like, serve is great. She's super athletic. She can come forward, she can play at the net, she can hit slices, you know, when she's on point with it. I mean, she's just fun to watch because of her variety. Right. Seeing her kind of have to implement different skill sets to Naomi, who has plan A. And plan A, it was, was, was fun to watch. You know, she's, she's going to be in with a shot. I think the grass of things changes the matchup against Coco, but after today, I don't know that I can talk that much about Coco not being comfortable on grass. She looked, she looked really comfortable out there today. I don't think it's a preferred surface, but I mean, whose preferred surface is it? We're like, it's been carnage on the women's side with the top seeds, you know, like, I don't, I don't know. I mean, it's, it's.
B
They both have a hot hand. They both have a hot hand. Right? I mean, I think, I think move is on a nine match win streak, you know, with two wins over Osaka once in the finals last week and
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then with an injury.
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Yeah, with an injury. But, you know, I think it's six and one is Coco over Mova career wise. So it'll be exciting to see.
A
Yeah, I, you know, that aside, Zverev gets through. Lahechka dropped this third set in about 12 seconds when he got back on court, but leveled off. I don't think physically he's going to be too taxed by it. Like, I know it's three days in a row. Mentally, I think that's tougher than physically. Fritz7 and oh is one of the last seven since 2024. Wimbledon, you know, I.1 making your picks and then having to watch people build form. Like, Paolini is a completely different player at this point. Coco is a completely different player. Like, I don't know how you account for someone finding form, I don't know how you predict that. You know, what's the difference between Paolini being in the quarters or spending six more minutes playing average and losing to Robin Montgomery first round? Like, I don't know. It's fun to watch. It's never concrete, right. This, the tournaments always build and shape, shift and, and change. I guess my point with that is Zverev, I think, is going to give Taylor a tougher test than I may have thought at the beginning of the tournament.
B
Okay.
A
Yeah, I think Fritz, I, you know, I've had him as the favorite in the bottom half the whole time, but, you know, like, I'm watching that and I'm going, I know Fritz is 17 in a row against Verav. I go, but I don't think he, you know, I don't. I think he'd be pretty pumped still if Lehachka won. You know, the trade off between matchup and pedigree. You know, I'm excited for that one tomorrow. You know, it's going to be Fritz just trying to fight off returns and then exploit the go pace to the forehand. You know, we've seen it. We know what it is. He can stay in that back. In the back and rally with Vera. I'm curious to see if he, you know, serving Bali at all. Something. Fritz is going to the chip forehand at like a crazy clip compared to last year. Like 30, 40% more kind of knocking down the chip forehand. It's something we saw Stan Walrinka do midstream in his career, and it really helped him. And, and they, I. They're not similar players, obviously. Like, they play differently, but Fritz is able to chip that forehand return down and then if you don't really get a hold of that next one, he can turn it because he can inject pace in that second ball. Right. You have to really execute to kind of burn him off of that. That chip return. I think we're going to see a heavy dose of him doing that tomorrow. I'm curious to see if Zverev has noticed that. Has been told that. I'm assuming he's not watching as much tennis as I am this week. I don't know that anyone is, but it'll be curious to see if he serves in volleys off of that, you know, comes into that first one. So curious to see the adjustments that that Zverev makes. Right. He doesn't often, often have to try to adjust. Aside from Carlos and Sinner off of his stock offering so that'll be interesting. Sinner gets through Struf. And a lot. A lot of the commentary is like, he looked fine. I'm like, you know what? You know when you're really good? Do you know when you're really, really, really good is when you win a quarterfinal at a slam. You know, strat. 5, 6, 3. And I don't know, like, some tough moments and people like, eh.
B
I don't know.
A
That's like, you're. You're basically being judged against your own shadow.
B
Yeah, they're just like, okay, we expected that verse. Like, congratulations.
A
Well, by they, you mean me. I mean, I'm like, oh, he was fine today. And then I'm like, motherfucker. He just won straight sets. Like. Like, what are we talking about? But, I mean, consecutive win at Wimbledon. Yeah. He could have made.
B
Yeah. I don't know.
A
Would he have made that forehand last year? I don't know. Like, we're idiots. We're so stupid, so. We're so spoiled.
B
Spoiled.
A
I will tell. I will tell you. Like, we're. We're doing these shows after the shows, and I was thinking, as I walked into the.
B
This.
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This home that I found on Airbnb, I was like, I'm home. I have food waiting on the other side of this wall from this studio. And I'm going, you're not that much older than Novak. You're tired. You didn't play.
B
Yeah.
A
You know, I'm at this home. I'm like, novak probably found his home on Airbnb, but, like, he probably found his home the same way, and. And he won't be at his home for, like, two and a half more hours.
B
Oh, my gosh. That's, like, crazy.
A
I mean, he's almost been depressed. Yeah. I mean. Yeah. I mean, I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be done with my night, like, shortly before midnight here, because we're. We're gonna wrap it right up here in a second. And like, no, Novak might not. He's not gonna be even sniffing in his home. You think he found it on tv? I bet he did. No, I bet he did.
B
I bet. I bet.
A
I don't eject. I don't want to get. We can't get in trouble saying that, right?
B
Because there's. There's great homes on Airbnb. He should.
A
Yeah. Yeah, I think we're fine. Stat of the Day brought to you by ServiceNow. 5. Dot. Dot. What's that called? What's a dot? Dot.
B
15. Just two dots.
A
It's a Colon. Yeah, it's a colon. He may not know what Beavis and Butthead is, but he knows his punctuation. This. This guy over here, Techie Sean. To my left. That right. Longest I said earlier in the show, longest Wimbledon quarterfinal in history, won by a 39 year old. There has been just. There's no way you guys know this unless you. There has been a 39 year old who's made the finals on the men's side before. Bueller. Bueller.
B
I'm like racking my brain. I have no idea.
A
No, you have no idea. Ken Roswell, muscles. Just. Just Aussie. Just an old school Aussie bloody legend. I love Ken Rose Wall. He's so cool. But it's weird, like, not to be the oldest, to have done something. I'm sure. I don't. I. I actually. I don't know that for sure. I don't know, like months and days and all that, but yeah, Ken Roswell made the finals at night. 39 years old, so it can be done. Not like Novak needs any inspiration.
B
We should have known that, Sean. We. We went into the history. We went into the museum. We should have seen that. I'm embarrassed.
A
No, you're not. There's no way. I would have bet. I would have bet my house at home as well as the home I found on Airbnb that you didn't know that. No chance.
B
I'd say we should have known that. We should have. We should have seen it inside the. The hall of Fame. I guarantee it's in there. Yeah, maybe. He was 39 years old in 246 days, so.
A
I gotta be honest. I didn't know that. Johnny Mac said it on the. Johnny Mac said it on there tonight. I didn't know it. I didn't know it either. Anyways, it's a very, very old anyways team. Lots of drama. Mad respect, like Novak. Felix, appreciate the memory. It was. It was a great one. I'm. I'm kind of. As you can tell, I'm kind of still in.
B
I'm.
A
I'm kind of still shocked, like, by it all. Little shell shocked. But respect, man, I've said it before. I think I'm going to say it till the end of time. Everyone can get pissed. I don't care. Tennis is the hardest sport on earth. This is served. Brought to you by ServiceNow. I have my dream job, but even dream jobs have not so dreamy parts. That's where ServiceNow's AI specialists come in. They don't just tell you what to do about your busy work, they actually do it. That way your team can focus on what matters. To learn how to put AI to work for people, visit ServiceNow.com.
Episode Theme:
This episode dives deep into a dramatic Day 9 at Wimbledon 2026, with Andy Roddick and Jon Wertheim recapping Novak Djokovic’s historic marathon win over Felix Auger-Aliassime, Coco Gauff’s resilient victory over Jessica Pegula, and key storylines shaping the men’s and women’s draws.
Time: 00:38–11:05
Andy’s Perspective from the ESPN Bunker
On Djokovic’s Motivation and Longevity
The Match Recap
Felix’s Improvement and Heartache
The Physical Toll and Recovery
Time: 09:40–14:04
Defeating Pegula Against the Odds
Technical and Mental Improvement
Coco’s Grand Slam Momentum
Building Legacy
Time: 14:05–17:14
Andy’s “Game Crush” on Karolina Muhova
Coco vs. Muhova Outlook
Women’s Draw in Perspective
Time: 17:36–21:44
Taylor Fritz vs. Alexander Zverev Preview
Sinner’s “Routine” Win & High Standards
Time: 21:54–25:58
Fatigue, Perspective & Tennis’ Difficulty
Historical Trivia: Ken Rosewall
Tennis as the Hardest Sport
This episode blends reverence, humor, and granular tennis expertise to capture one of the most dramatic days at Wimbledon 2026. Roddick and Wertheim celebrate Novak Djokovic’s ageless excellence, Coco Gauff’s relentless rise, and the endless unpredictability that makes tennis—by their reckoning—the hardest sport on earth.