2026 WIMBLEDON DRAW SPECIAL | Full Bracket Breakdown

Summary

Podcast Summary: Served with Andy Roddick

Episode: 2026 WIMBLEDON DRAW SPECIAL | Full Bracket Breakdown
Date: June 27, 2026
Host: Andy Roddick
Co-host: Mike (with missing regular Jon Wertheim—JW—sending in picks)

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Episode Overview

In this special episode, former World No. 1 Andy Roddick and co-host Mike dive deep into the 2026 Wimbledon draw, offering a comprehensive, round-by-round breakdown, sharing personal insights, and wrestling with hot-button tennis topics. The conversation delivers a blend of data-driven analysis, gut instincts, and tennis banter, covering both the men's and women's singles brackets with some headline off-court news to round things out.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jet Lag, London Arrival, and JW's Absence

• Andy and Mike joke about surviving a heatwave in France and share their jet lag strategies (beer and fish & chips upon landing—don’t recommend! [02:12]).
• JW (Jon Wertheim) is absent due to other media duties but has texted in his bracket picks for the show [03:49].
• The hosts acknowledge the draw show is technically demanding as predictions always backfire ("I hate these shows", Andy at [35:36]).

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2. Men’s Wimbledon Draw Breakdown

Top Half (Sinner, Paul, Medvedev, etc.)

• Yannick Sinner: Clear favorite. Andy dismisses concerns over minor medical rumors and lack of match practice—"None of those factors will make me choose an upset" ([07:41]).
• Tommy Paul is Andy’s pick for a deep run: "TP, great on grass… I like Tommy Paul through to the quarters" ([10:49]).
• Medvedev: Andy struggles with his respect for Daniil, but ultimately can't pull the trigger for him this event.
• Quarterfinal Prediction: Sinner over Paul.

Mid-section (FAA, Norrie, Davidovich Fokina, etc.)

• Several strong grass-courters (FAA, Norrie, Davidovich Fokina) noted, but Andy makes a bold call: "I'm going Learner Tien to the quarters. That's so wrong and that's so disrespectful to FAA, but this is just... might as well fuck it up on my own terms" ([17:04]).

Rublev, Novak Djokovic, Demon, Kaboli Section

• Rublev, once a “perennial quarterfinalist,” is now overlooked but still dangerous.
• Novak Djokovic: "I'm not gonna overthink Novak here"—puts Novak into the semis with Sinner ([19:18]).
• Notable quote: "We're getting a Novak-Sinner semifinal." ([19:22])

Lower Half (Shelton, Fritz, Berrettini, etc.)

• Berrettini: "This is his best surface, he's had brutal luck here, he's really good on grass"—Andy picks him to the 4th round ([24:03]).
• Ben Shelton: Andy is openly rooting—admits bias. "This is a big moment ... If you want to be that guy ... this is it" ([24:55]–[27:01]).
• Taylor Fritz: Top grass form, but draws Draper in round one—"This is a quarterfinal masquerading as a first-round match" ([30:16]).
• Bets heavily on Americans: "I don't know—it's been two decades since I've looked at a Grand Slam draw and thought it likely there's an American in the final ... It's actually real life" ([28:52]).

Quarterfinals and Finals

• Semis: Sinner vs. Novak; Ben Shelton vs. Fritz.
• Final: Fritz vs. Sinner, with Sinner winning. "I have Sinner winning Wimbledon" ([38:16]).
• JW’s picks are similar—has Sinner beating Shelton in the final.

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3. Women's Wimbledon Draw Breakdown

Top Section (Sabalenka, Osaka, Muchova, etc.)

• Aryna Sabalenka: Question marks after consecutive bad losses but Andy keeps her deep in the draw, "She will be a Wimbledon champion at some point" ([40:09]).
• Picks a qualifier upset special in round one: "I'm not even going to try to pronounce that name. Nope, not going to do it." ([42:27]).
• Mira Andreeva & Krijikova: "I'm flirting with taking Krejcikova over Andreeva"—ends up backing Andreeva, but hesitates ([44:09]).

Pegula, Bencic, Gauff Section

• Jessica Pegula: "Made for this surface, hits it flat"—Andy picks her for a run ([45:58]).
• Still sees Coco Gauff as vulnerable: "The surface is going to be a struggle…her movement isn't as good on grass" ([47:27]).

Svitolina, Vekic, Navarro, etc.

• "Third round Svitolina vs. Vekic—star that matchup" ([48:50]).
• Notable quote: "Grass tends to benefit people who get on the front foot early in rallies" ([49:12]).

Serena Williams’ Return

• A shock entry, with Andy and Mike debating her odds.
• Andy: "Can we talk about how good you have to be to not play in five years and I'm grinding on a second round prediction for your match?" ([53:38]).
• Concedes, mostly for the story, putting Serena into the third round (overriding JW, who picks Yala).

Bottom Section: Rybakina, Noskova, etc.

• Rybakina: Andy's eventual champion—"best serve in the world... her game is maybe the most well suited for grass" ([57:16]).
• Final prediction: Rybakina over Pegula ([56:53]).
• JW, in contrast, has Noskova over Pegula in his final pick.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the stress of prediction shows:
  "I hate these shows. These suck. I hate these shows." – Andy ([35:36])
• On American men's prospects:
  "It's been two decades since I've looked at a Grand Slam draw and I've married that to skill/recency bias/surface and gone: there could very likely be an American in the final." – Andy ([28:52])
• On Serena Williams’ comeback:
  "Can we talk about how good you have to be to not play in five years and I'm grinding on a second round prediction for your match? That's like an ultimate show of respect, right?" – Andy ([53:38])
• On Rybakina:
  "I think she is the best serve in the world or at least had the best serve in the world before Serena came back." – Andy ([57:16])

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• 01:50 – Show begins (post-advertising)
• 07:04 – Men's draw deep dive begins
• 13:37 – Second quarter, Americans’ prospects
• 24:03 – Berrettini/Shelton section, Andy’s candid bias
• 30:16 – Fritz vs Draper: "quarterfinal masquerading as a first round"
• 36:15 – Recap, full summary of top half picks
• 39:33 – Transition to Women’s Draw
• 40:09 – Sabalenka analysis
• 47:27 – Andy on Coco Gauff’s grass struggles
• 51:30 – Serena’s Wimbledon matches—narrative and respect
• 54:03 – Andy (jokingly) crossing out Serena "in absence of JW"
• 56:53 – Picks Rybakina over Pegula in the women’s final
• 59:33 – JW's picks shared
• 60:25 – Off-court news: Vondrousova’s suspension
• 71:17 – Wimbledon prize money dispute, player demands, and Andy’s take
• 81:35 – Wrap and final thoughts

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Off-Court News & Opinion

Vondroušová Suspension (Doping Control Controversy)

• Andy, initially sympathetic due to Vondroušová's claims of safety concerns, is "stunned" and critical in light of new details in the ITIA report.
  "If the ITIA sequence of events is accurate, I've almost lost all my sympathy here..." ([68:05])
• Emphasizes the importance of abiding by anti-doping rules: "It's not about if she would have tested positive or not, it's the refusal" ([67:38]).

Wimbledon Prize Money Dispute

• Players are contesting their share of tournament revenue (down to 14.4% this year).
• Andy backs greater transparency and a bigger revenue share for players:
  "Revenue matters ... If the people driving revenue, they should have a say in what's [done with it]. That's how it goes." ([80:20])
• Praises the current unity among top players in this push.

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Final Thoughts

Andy is bullish on Sinner as this year’s men’s Wimbledon champion, with Fritz as his (maybe surprise) finalist, and sees Rybakina as the best-positioned woman to lift the trophy. He delivers honest, passionate analysis—never shying from his biases, his discomfort with making picks, or from tough discussions on the sport’s ethical and financial controversies. For tennis fans, this episode is a must for pre-tournament context, storylines, and some classic Roddick candor.

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For Reference: Major Predictions

Andy (Men’s):

• Final: Sinner def. Fritz

Andy (Women’s):

• Final: Rybakina def. Pegula

JW (Men’s):

• Final: Sinner def. Shelton

JW (Women’s):

• Final: Noskova def. Pegula

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Further Listening

• For a breakdown of every first-round match and more detail, check the Served podcast’s online brackets and social links!

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[End of Summary]

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

All right.

[A]

Hey, everyone. Welcome to serve. Brought to you by ServiceNow. Guys, I made it out of the hot cabin in France.

[B]

You did it. You survived.

[A]

I'm telling you, it was hot as balls in there.

[B]

I mean, I mean, not to make like too big of a joke of

[A]

it, because it is.

[B]

It has been like a tragedy in France for a lot of people. But, I mean, you calling us just sweating bullets, sitting in a stone room.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, no escape.

[A]

Yeah, it was. It wasn't. It wasn't the. It wasn't ideal.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But we're in London we're in air conditioning, lots of it. Wimbledon's about to start, the draw's out. This is the draw show. No one was as enthusiastic listening as we just were there, by the way. This is fun. You guys just landed this morning. So we're shooting this Friday afternoon in London time. So you'll probably be listening to it, I don't know, Saturday morning, hopefully.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Sometime over the weekend before you're getting ready for the old SW19. Sean, you had an interest before we came on. You had an interesting strategy for jet lag. Like, you know, I kind of like different. If you get early enough, you can sleep for an hour. If you get in late, you gotta ride it out. You did the most psychotic thing I think I've ever heard. Half of the decision was Mike's 100%, but it's an instant beer and fish and chips. That's kind of what it felt like was the right.

[B]

You went heavy batter heavy.

[A]

So you think like, okay, you land. You're dealing with jet lag. I'm gonna go full fried food in the gut and then pour some beer on top of it. How can I make my body feel as worse as possible at the beginning so that everything after that and we

[B]

sat outside and it's 98 degrees while you ate.

[A]

So hot. But that's fine. That's a fact.

[B]

I had like a salad sandwich.

[A]

A salad sandwich?

[B]

Yeah, like offset it. But you did it. It was a chicken Caesar sandwich.

[A]

I don't know the answer to this, but for sure you did the old salad fry combo, didn't you?

[B]

100%.

[A]

Yeah. I'll have a salad and surprise.

[B]

It's a fries. Yeah, well, they just. They just came. Some chips. Yeah. Great.

[A]

This is going to be fun. What? What are we starting? Oh, yeah, JW is.

[B]

JW is off doing his. A job 60 Minutes thing or something.

[A]

Wait, he has another job?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's not just served. No, no.

[B]

Apparently he's still employed at 60 minutes, so.

[A]

He's the one.

[B]

He's the.

[A]

But we miss you, jw.

[B]

He did that. He. He was out in the sticks doing the reporting and he's like, I can't find a WI FI signal that works well enough.

[A]

God, we're struggling. We gotta. We gotta get it together before Wimbledon start. I was like, last week's episode was like a. It's like a Blair Witch Project of served. And now JW can't find a signal.

[B]

But we'll get his picks, we'll get him logged. You can still play against him. Kim. Blair.

[A]

So we can still make. He sent his picks in so we can still make fun of him.

[B]

Yeah, he. Has he sent him in yet? No, not yet.

[A]

But he will.

[B]

So we won't have him for the show.

[A]

Okay. And you're doing something what you've given up.

[B]

I've given up. I've given up. And I realized after Jasper De Jong went on his run by pure lucky loser status for me.

[A]

Let me just reset. Arthur Feast pulls out of Roland Garros. The only good pick you made was because you forgot to replace Feast.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And the lucky lose that replaced him got to the fourth round.

[B]

Correct. Okay. Yeah.

[A]

So now you've. And that was your best.

[B]

That was the hope. That was the best I've ever done. And so I've decided, I've decided I'm going to roll the dice and I'm picking based on head to head records and then if they don't have a head to head, if they've never played, then whoever's the higher ranked player.

[A]

So there's a head to head record and all five matchups have been on clay. You're just say fuck it.

[B]

Yeah. I mean honestly, I mean I feel like this is pretty good math. I mean I'm not going to go my picks. This is all about Andy's picks. But to bury the lead, I still ended up with center versus Vera in the finals and center winning. So.

[A]

So you're basically just going Moneyball. You're going Billy Beam. You're just like, you know, I just have to. This is going to be interesting.

[B]

I got Draper over Fritz in the, in the opening round.

[A]

I got based on head to head.

[B]

Based based on head to head.

[A]

This is interesting. Okay.

[B]

I'm.

[A]

I'm like, I'm super curious you got.

[B]

If that was a hook I'm in online. You'll see mine online.

[A]

I want to know also we. I just got a live text from John with his picks so can run through any, any John War.

[B]

Keep an eye on him while he's doing.

[A]

Yeah, just like if there's something nutty. Yeah. You know, as he's there usually as he's like riding around with I don't know what he's doing. He's doing something dangerous.

[B]

Doing something cool. Yeah, he's doing something. Before we get into that, you wanted to touch on stuff at the end of the show. Oh yeah, just some news stuff.

[A]

Couple things I that are kind of top of the news cycle but we certainly if you want, if you're here for the draw show, you're going to get that. If you want to hang around some new news about the Vondrozova story. Obviously suspension four years. I'm sure there's going to be an appeals process. There's the account. I'll get into it at the end. We'll do the draw show. I'm going to talk a little vrova. I kind of have an issue with the way it's playing out. And then the player money coming into Wimbledon that's going to be addressed. Obviously I love Wimbledon. It's my favorite place on earth. I also am a player guy. I'm always going to cheer for the players making more. I think it's been a long time coming. The players like we're basing on a revenue. The Wimbledon's going. We don't value that metric for you know we don't care that about the revenue which you know, whatever. So I'm going to piss someone off that I like pretty much what's going to happen at the end of the show hopefully based in some sort of rationale. But we doing men's or women's draw first?

[B]

Jump into the men's.

[A]

Men's draw. All right. Gosh man. The last couple of ones has just been like center, center, chicken dinner. Throw them in.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I will say this. I mean I'm obviously going to take him through to the third round. I have him through to the fourth round. Catch Manovich. Good solid player. I don't know that he has much to bother. Center. Obviously a lot of the conversation around Yannick is going to be the heat related and the whole thing it's going to be 74 degrees 58 at night. Like also one of the things that makes you feel better in the heat is shorter rallies.

[B]

Right.

[A]

The heat doesn't seem to bother you as much when each rally is four or five shots as opposed to 18 shots on. On clay. So I gotta think he's fine like he played in Hurlingham this week. I. I don't know but again I think that's my only concern. Played hala last year even after that Roland Garros final has had no actual match practice. A lot of rumors about where he went at some institute. Checking vitals, checking diet checking. Apparently a lot of research. I'm not going to comment on it because we just don't know.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

At this point I'm sure he's going to get asked about it ad nauseam. So we'll get smarter as we go. None of those factors will make me choose an upset of. Of. Of Yannick Sinner before the fourth round. So I have him going through next section. See Hodar up top. These new guys, we don't know anything about how they play on grass. We know zero, right? He goes from clay where, okay, we understand what his value is. We understood the, you know, it's very easy to kind of say, okay, he's been this on clay in the last five weeks. He's beaten this caliber player. So he is this. We don't know how he moves on grass. We don't know anything. We just know based on kind of guessing. That being said, I think I'm going to take him to the third round. Shapovalov has been, I think, a semifinalist at Wimbledon before. Not the greatest form booster. Had a great rolling garros kind of fourth round ish. Out of nowhere, Ethan Quinn on the grass. Daughtery, I know was getting some reps in lost in Eastbourne the other day. I'm going sinner daughtery. Fourth round center through to the quarters. This is my first like stress test of upset special. Okay, Casper Root and her Koch.

[B]

This is what, this is one to watch for a lot of people, I think.

[A]

It's not what the, like, people will see an upset and they'll be like, okay, that's an upset. I'm like, who do you think is most likely to win that match? Not can. Is this most likely to be an upset? Who's most likely to win this match? I'm still going Herkotchi. I'm going her Koch over Casparun.

[B]

And wow's the head to head. Two to one.

[A]

That's fine.

[B]

A little bit of a hotter hand.

[A]

That's fine. Can you name the last person to beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon? I bet you can now guess who it wasn't. It wasn't Cat. It was her Koch. Now that's a, you know, fun Jeopardy stat. But he's made the semis here. He's won big grass court terms before. He still has one of the probably top five biggest serves on tour. And it's one of those serves that is not relying on like a big, you know, kick, like a Roland Garros situation. It's going to get through the court, Casper. I mean, if you've listened to our show before, you know how much I really like and respect Casper. I always want good things for Casper. Listen, he's coming off. Congrats to the couple is, you know, there's a whole bunch of stuff going on. I mean, he's like laughing, laughingly posted before, like Wimbledon prep and he's at like a concert in past years. I like her Koch, you know, we don't know until we know, but I'm going to take her Koch through to at least the third round. I'm taking Tommy Paul to the fourth round in this. In this bracket. And TP great on grass Mueller first round. I don't see a problem there. Landa Luthe is another guy that we don't know what he's like on grass. Very small sample size. That's the thing about grass is like, you have two or three tournaments going in, it's once a year. How do you gauge someone's improvement versus how much they're going to improve on grass? When you see it once a year, it's not as if we saw someone play on hard court through March and then all of a sudden it's August and you're in the States again and you're playing Cincinnati. And your, your basis for, like, prediction is only three months old, right? We don't know. But that's what makes it fun, too. So I like Tommy Paul over her Koch and check the site afterwards because I will fill in all of the matches, every single one of them, to your pleasure or dismay. But I like Tommy Paul through that section. I like Tommy Paul through to the quarters. I like. I can't. I'm. So you know what I'm. You know what's a struggle for me is when I see Medvedev and I love Medvedev. He's like my favorite. And I think everything he does is funny, even when it's not. He's ruined me and draw shows because I have so much respect for him. I can't. I just am struggling. I'm going to go with the old Nakashima through to the fourth round. I don't know that I can pick Chilich over Medvedev, although that is going to be a tough one. Chilich knows how to play on grass. Like, really, really, really knows how to play on grass. Deep runs at Wimbledon, deep runs at queens. Was1. Queensland. I like Nakashima. I like Paul. Center is my semifinalist from the top quarter and probably surprised to no. 1.

[B]

Seems like a stretch.

[A]

I mean, as much of a stretch as it's been in the last three years, if we're being honest, like, you know, again, I like. I understand the heat issues. I still think that's his biggest opponent if looking at. And now it's like I see his draw and then I always look at the forecast now. Yeah, well, I don't know before.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The first week is a high of 74. It's 58 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit at night. It's fine. This is perfect. This is like an air conditioner setting, Right. I'm sure it'll be a little hot. Rallies are shorter. If. If this is a problem, then there's like a much bigger problem to.

[B]

To.

[A]

To be dealt with, in my opinion. Thanks for listening. To served. We will be right back. Mike, guess what? It's almost here. As you know, we're heading to London to cover the tournament every day. And we found the perfect home base while we're there. A home? We booked on Airbnb.

[B]

Oh, man, I can't wait. Morning coffees in the English Garden, Short walk to the All England Club.

[A]

But we've. We've gone over this. We're staying in separate houses, little time apart. It could be good for us.

[B]

You know what, though? There are plenty options for techie Sean and I on Airbnb anyways.

[A]

Exactly. And for the fans out there, whether you're also in London or preparing for the summer swing in Montreal and Cincinnati, your home is worth something right now.

[B]

So you're saying is that my cousin Jenny in Cincinnati can list her place this summer.

[A]

100% tons of fans are going to be following their favorite players to the next tournament. And you at home can be part of the action by providing them with the space they need to bring their trip to the next level. It's a win win because listing your space is a great way to bring in some extra money. Or while you travel yourself, your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host all right, back to the show. I like FAA on grass. He's been a semifinalist here before. Cam Norrie knows how to play on this stuff. Michael Zhang. Props. Getting through qualifying. I like Nori in the third round. That's going to be one to watch. Nori has also been a semifinalist here before. I got FAA through to the fourth round. I think he is legit on grass. Nice at Roland Garros should have some confidence. Someone who I really like like this next little section. People are going to like, totally just breeze through it. Davidovich Fina can play on grass, right? And the laziest of people will go, oh, Spain. Not their favorite surface. He's low to the ground. When you see these guys who had this, like, really strong base. Yeah, Like Fokina. These guys that are just low to the ground have shot tolerance. Can Redirect Their serve only gets better. Their returns don't get any worse. Short takebacks. That's all the type of things you're looking for. Fast, twitch, muscles. I like Davidovich Fokina through to the third round there. Sorry. Juan Manuel Sarundalo. I do not see a repeat of Roland Garrus. We will see the other Serendo, though, on Queens. So we'll get to him. We'll get to him later. I think we're finally over again. There's like a bracket hangover from like 2 years ago from surrounded. I got to get. I got to get ready.

[B]

You're no longer going to get surrounded.

[A]

It's no, I think, are we. Can we retire it as a verb? I think it's medi'd.

[B]

Now you're getting.

[A]

I think it's method. I think I'm getting Medi'd.

[B]

Love learner.

[A]

Tn everything in his game. Again, it's a small sample size. Everything in his game should do well on grass. He should be able to move fine on grass. Redirect. Doesn't need a lot of time to get set up. Can move forward, can take the ball early. Look at his record against Medvedev in the past. And now I'm going to use this. It'll make sense in a second. Medvedev keeps the ball flight low. So even if you're playing him on a hard court, people that struggle to create from low struggle with Medvedev. Tien's record against Medvedev is great. What does that tell me on grass, when the ball flight is low, he's not going to struggle with it below his waist. He's going to be able to redirect that. That is a telling sign. I am so stuck on this Davidovich Fokina TN match. I don't know what to do. And the winner of that match, I'm thinking about taking to the quarters.

[B]

I mean, they're. They're head to head is. They're one and one, right? So, I mean, they. They clearly. I know there's not. There's no tell here on what they are.

[A]

Fuji is tough. I'm gonna go, ah, fuck it. Let's have some fun. I'm going to learn 10 of the quarters. Nice. That's so wrong and that's so disrespectful to faa, but this is just. I mean, might as well fuck it up on my own terms.

[B]

This next section's fun.

[A]

This one's interesting.

[B]

This one's fun.

[A]

Yeah. Rublev, he's gone from the guy that was like always five in the world where people like, oh, he's not gonna make it past the quarters to now he's like 12. And people like, still look, overlook him.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm like, no, no, he's still really good all the time. Like, I. I don't know. I just feel like he gets consistently disrespected. God. Fantasy and sculpt. Kovacovic. Kovacovic, your boy De jong main draw.

[B]

I know

[A]

Joao, man. Joao needs some. He's really good when he has time over the ball.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Bautista Agoute.

[B]

I mean, he's.

[A]

He's old now. He's not young.

[B]

Let's see how old he is.

[A]

He's got to be 37 plus 38.

[B]

We can get the Internet to work.

[A]

Is it going to work? At least you don't have to go to the W. He's 38 years old. 38. He's been in the semis here before. Is like played deep in warm up turn. He's good on grass now. How do you value someone who is probably past their prime but has knowledge of this surface is so awkward. He has this. He hits that little side spin pancake. It's Fonseca. Ain't going to be above his shoulders, you know, when Roland Garros.

[B]

So it spins through and it's going to skip more like, like hip level.

[A]

So Fonseca. So he's not going to be able to Roland Garros. We saw Fonseco when it's a set ball or above his shoulder. Murders, Murders like clean winners. It's going to be low. He's not going to have time. He's not going to be able to slide. Like, Fonseca wins this most of the time. This is going to be like an awkward match. Like, this is gonna be weird to the point where it's like. I mean, all right, I'm just gonna do this. I'm gonna take Rubles to the fourth round just because I don't like anything else in that section at all. You know what I'm not gonna do? And it'll probably screw me here. I'm not gonna overthink Novak here.

[B]

Oh, no. You should put him straight through to the.

[A]

We're getting a Novak center semifinal.

[B]

Wow. On the run to 25, we saw a crazy thing that.

[A]

Was it someone. Was it someone winning 24 slams?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Did you see that crazy, crazy thing

[B]

that, that every time for the last three World Cups.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Novak's won Wimbledon.

[A]

See, I hate stats like that so much. God, they're the worst. But to think about. To think year he always plays great. But to think about how long you

[B]

have to play for three straight World Cups.

[A]

That happen.

[B]

Happens every four years. To be the one that wins Wimbledon to that. The fact that somebody makes me like that means he might have a chance this year.

[A]

You're like, he's still playing. I mean, and he. He was supposed to play on Wednesday at the exhibition in Hurlingham. Pulled out Tuesday evening. Like, it's like this week before slam with Novak now is like us not knowing for sport.

[B]

It's just like.

[A]

It's just different versions of us not knowing anything. Like, I don't know. Fuck it. Let's go.

[B]

All right.

[A]

Love Demon. He can play on the surface. We talked about the ball down. We talked about people who move on the service. Aussies traditionally play well on grass. They always have. There is some exposure to it down there. Man. Areno sneaky. Second round Demon will won't mind that ball flight as much as some others would. My doc, my jock is in there too. Let's just. Demons in the fourth round.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Hatching off. Can play on this surface. Kaboli was in the quarters last year. Actually played really well. Pecci Paracard is like. Like, I don't know. Like, if you get. You know, this is gonna be okay. Things I shouldn't say. Peggy Paraguard is like a kick in the nuts. You ready? You ready? It's like he still, like, doesn't win half of his matches on tour.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But it's super painful whenever you have to face him. Right. But it's not like a torn acl. You're not going to be out nine months. Like, your nuts are going to be sore, though. Like, it's. It's a pain in the. It's complete pain in the ass.

[B]

He's 8 and 14 this year. That's what I'm saying. He's 45 and 55 in his career. Yeah. Homeboy's 22 years old. Yeah.

[A]

Like, it's. You see it and people go, ooh. I'm like, he's 10 games under.500 for his career. He's six under for the year. And yet if you're one of the top players, like, no, this is less about me. And it's always about, like, me reacting to someone. I don't. I don't know. I.

[B]

You talk about. How does his game specifically match up for this surface?

[A]

So I'll tell you this. I'll use him as an example to tell you what people get wrong about Grass court tennis.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

People automatically think, big serve great on grass. Is Peji Paracard going to hold more than he normally does? Maybe. And what. By what percentage? He can't hold anymore. 1 or 2%. Like, he's played well here, but, like, the guys who are going to win this tournament can return. You look at Sinner, you look at Novak, he's going to upset people, and it's going to get to breakers, and it's going to be a flip of the coin. His return game becomes a little bit better because you can't extend them to the sidelines and expose his movement as much. But, like, you need to. You have to be able to return well on. On grass now to win. This isn't 1978. Like, we can't take those rules and just lazily apply them to now. We're spending a lot of time on a guy that may or may not win his first round. Yeah, I like Kaboli through to the fourth round. I like Demon in the quarters. Men, chic, great. Roland Garros again. Feast. Man, it's hard. It's really hard to take someone when they've been hurt and they're coming back on grass. It's really weird. He has huge swings, creates a big ball, but when he has time, he creates a big ball. I remember watching him play Lehechka in Miami and was able to rush him, and he didn't have time over the ball to create that issue. Right. So I. I don't like. I don't like Feast through here. Colin Young, remember him beating Shelton? I think that's hard. You ready for. You ready for this? We're going to. We're going. We're about to get weird. This section of Feast and Menchic Dimitrov in there. Happy to see them give him the wild card after last year. And. And that he had to walk off against.

[B]

And you got Stan the Man and Baratini in there.

[A]

I'm about to get to Baratini.

[B]

Whoa.

[A]

I'm about to get to Baratini.

[B]

Whoa.

[A]

Baratini is in the fourth round.

[B]

Oh, love that.

[A]

Baratini has won Queens twice. He is really good on grass. My favorite thing about his Roland Garros run was the prep for. This is his best surface. This is his best service. He's had brutal luck here a couple times. Right. I had to pull out the day before because he tested positive for Covid. One of the years where he probably was one of the three or four favorites. He's been in the finals here before. He, for the first time in a long time, we're not going. Is he match ready? Is he match tough? He had a deep run in Roland Garros. A lot of blood left on those courts for Baratini, and I think that is great for this tournament. I like Baratini through to the fourth round in this section. Next one, Ben Shelton, fourth round.

[B]

Boom.

[A]

Ben winning against Fritz was fantastic. This draw. Umbert is going to be uncomfortable. Lefty on lefty, never easy. Isn't going to give Ben time. Ben, I hope he goes into this knowing he's going to hold serve. Got to the quarters here last year. He doesn't need to hit winners on every ball on the surface. If he hits a stock, like, kind of firm, hard back into the middle of the court, it's going to do him. It's going to do a lot of damage. Right at the French Open, I feel like he overplayed. He always felt like he had to create something. I want Ben to be boring. Yeah, right. You know, you're going to hold serve. You're going. I want you to make a ton of returns, however you can best get a good hit on it. Right center up the racket. Make someone start from a ball that's awkwardly kind of through the court and low and through the middle. Use your athleticism. This is a great opportunity for Ben. Right highest. I think he's ever been seated at a grand slam at number four. If you want to be that guy, which I know Ben does, I know Brian does, I know they do everything. They turn over a lot of rocks to see what needs to be worked on. Right? No stone left unturned. This is. This is like. This is the time last year the US Open felt like that moment. And then he got hurt. He won. Canada going in. This is a big moment. If you're Ben and you want to be one of the top two, three players in the world and be that next one in, you want to be the next Vera where you're knocking on the door and then you, you, you walk through. This is it. This is that moment. You are on the opposite side of the draw from your toughest matchup with center. Novak's a tough matchup, too, because they can both get that left hand on the return against Ben and switch directions. This is a big one for Ben. I keep repeating myself because I'm trying to buy myself time to choose between Ben and Baratini. Ben is through to the fourth round. I'm going to be a homer here because I'd like To see it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

This is so hard. Baratini is so good on grass. I think it's going to be Baratini or Ben in the semifinal.

[B]

I mean, I think, I think the biggest concern with Baratini is just, is just durability.

[A]

He can play.

[B]

I mean, he's, he can play. I think we saw it at the end of the French Open. He kind of ran out of grass a little bit. But it's a different, it's a different style of durability here.

[A]

No, it's. Durability is a concern when you're coming off of injuries because we don't know if you can go the distance. Yeah, like, it took him four matches, but he's not going to play six hour matches here.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

The points go quicker. They're not as, they're not as laborious. He has matches last month. I'm less concerned this tournament about, oh, I'm fatigued and overcooked, therefore, I can't play for a full two weeks.

[B]

Got it.

[A]

Right. There's different types of fitness on this court. He doesn't want to be in long, extended rallies. That's not the way he plays. Therefore it exhausts him more when he has to play. That way. He just knows how to play on the surface. I, I guess I'm gonna be a homer and I'm gonna take Ben to the semis. You know, I, I. All cards on the table. I like Ben. I talk with Brian a lot. So there's a bias here, right? I know. I, I don't consider. I guess I'm a journalist now, but, or a media person. But you're. I guess I need to be before Monday.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Get your biases out.

[B]

Right now you're just a content creator.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

This is. Sooner you'll be taken seriously.

[A]

So basically I can be biased on you. I could be biased on YouTube, but not on ESPN. Is that where we're at? Is that, Is that it?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So. Well, I better get all the way now.

[B]

I think that, I think that's their role.

[A]

All right, I'm gonna. Okay, good. I'm gonna get it all out of my system. And yeah, I got Ben in the semis.

[B]

I mean, honestly, the Hayden algorithm does too.

[A]

You guys are going to explode with what I'm going to do here.

[B]

Okay. Okay. Okay.

[A]

I'll tell you this. It's been a long time and I know Taylor made the finals of, of of the US Open. I know we've had a bunch of semifinalists. I don't know. It's been, it's been two decades since I've looked at a Grand Slam draw and I've married that to skill, slash, recency, bias, slash surface and gone. There could very likely be an American in the final. Like it might, it might even. It might be. It might be likely. I mean, I mean, it's been great. I was about to say Taylor Fritz is a top five grass court player in the world. Two finals coming in. He has a shitty first round draw, which we're going to get to here in a second. TP up top, I think is going to run into the unfortunate, you know, draw gods having to go through Novak and center Francis can make a run here. Like, we have three if they're not the favorites. We, I think we have three of the top eight favorites at Wimbledon. I mean, the biggest maybe top 10 if you include Tommy Paul.

[B]

I mean, the biggest question mark for me early right. Is just this Draper Fritz matchup.

[A]

So overall, so here, here's this first round match between Fritz and Draper. And okay, so we've got Ben through to the SEM from that quarter. Three over Demon in the quarters. This is a quarterfinal masquerading as a first round match.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Now a couple of things. That one, this draw comes out and Fritz goes. That sucks because I'm inform and I'm ready. You don't want to see this when you're informing, ready. Like you don't want to see anyone that can like fuck up your existence for a day. I'm not saying Draper has the stamina coming off of an injury to go seven matches. We don't know that this is a first round and he's winning matches this week. Guys, by the time you listen to this, he will have won maybe three. He's won at least two. This is going to be prime time. This is going to be center court. I'll save the drama. This is going to be. And honestly, I'm worried about this first round. I'm sure with your head to head. What is it? Draper's probably ahead there, so you probably went nuts. So you probably by your.

[B]

It was really tough.

[A]

By your Moneyball metric, you have Draper winning this match.

[B]

Draper winning this match.

[A]

This is how, like, draws matter. Because I'm going to pick Taylor just because we, we know where he's at more. We know the fitness levels. We know he's played two more tournaments. We, we just know more at this point. And I'm like, I'm going, going. This is a, this is a tough first round. I could also have Fritz in the final. Like, that's tennis, right? So I have Fritz. I mean, Fritz is through to the fourth round. Oh, God, I hate.

[B]

And then the potential showdown in the fourth round is.

[A]

Well, okay, so Francis is in this. This is brutal, too. Like, I could see Francis in the final.

[B]

That's. That's what I'm saying.

[A]

I could see Ben in the final. I could see Fritz in the final. I could see Francis in the final. And I'm not like a homer homer where I'm like, this is. This is like actually real life. Francis winning and Holly breezing through his last two rounds. He'd be Taylor, what, four and four there.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Beat Almayer one two in the semis or something. Like, I mean, cruised. I like Francis through, but he plays Bublek third round. Bublick's very good on grass. Bublek one. Holly last year. Blue Book's a psycho. Psychos do well on this surface. Like, they just do. Like, he's a very, very good grass court player. I'm going to take Franc against Bublek now. I'm going to have Fritz through to the quarters. The only reason. And this isn't a Fritz vs. Tiafo decision for me. You know what I'm going to say, right?

[B]

Do. Yes.

[A]

Go ahead. Do your best. You think Fritz has a more likelihood of making it through than. Than Tiafo. Tfo. This Bublig matchup stresses me out. It's basically Fritz Draper.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then tfo Bublek, which is making my decision here, who's more likely to kind of get through that. That deal. Otman's nasty first round for Fritz or for. For Francis? Lefty into France. Francis has a strong left hand. Doesn't need a lot of time in the back. And he can return lefties. Well, I'm going to take Fritz through to the quarters. And it's not a Francis vs. Fritz matchup thing. This is a. That Tiafo Boo book match scares the out of me for. For Francis.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I still like him in that match. I still think he's the most likely person to get through that section. I think Francis could be in the semis and it wouldn't surprise me. Okay. Lehechka can play on grass. Serendalo obviously wins Queens again. One of those guys. Big base low to the ground. Like, you're going to see this over and over. I have surrender low I'm. I'm over my. I have surrounded now.

[B]

It's like a positive. You've been surrender load.

[A]

I have surrounded I have Surrendered. I have Surrender Low through to the fourth round. I have Zverev.

[B]

I love that. Blocks matchup in the first round.

[A]

Blocks. Takes big swings.

[B]

I know.

[A]

Big swings on fast courts don't translate as well.

[B]

I love that.

[A]

And we don't know where he's at physically. Fun name. Big run in Madrid. Can we just apply that hype to Wimbledon? No, no, no, no. Anything can happen. But this is.

[B]

This is.

[A]

Listen, we. We very, like. It's very unbelievable. Roland Garros happy that he kind of broke through. A lot of work goes into that breakthrough. I. I'm guessing he would tell you that grass has been his worst surface. I don't think that's up for argument. The movement's way different. Him trying to elevate with spin that forehand side doesn't work as well here. If he leaves him hanging, he's playing defense in a different way. It's not great. He already holds serve a lot. Grass won't help him that much, I don't think. I think he returns better when he has time. So those are the reasons why it's. It's tougher for. For Zverev. I still like him through to the fourth round. Serendo Zverev is interesting. All right.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

I. I gotta give.

[B]

I had Lehecka through Surndalam.

[A]

You did. You did or your. Your quant did?

[B]

I'm gonna take. I like Lehecka, though. I think he's been playing great. All.

[A]

I have Fritz over Zverev. I have Taylor Fritz in the finals of Wimbledon over Ben Shelton. Wow, this is so. I hate these shows. These are my. These suck. I hate these shows.

[B]

I love that.

[A]

I hate these shows.

[B]

It's a perfect time for you to wallow in it while we take a break.

[A]

Thanks for listening to served. We will be right back.

[B]

And we're live from the living room as Doug eyes up the match. Say spread. He's reaching for the buffalo wing. Perfect. Hang on. What's this? Oh, he's gone for a can of Pepsi too. Incredible. What a finish. Sensational combination. Look at the delight on his face. There's no doubt about it. It just tastes better. Match days deserve Pepsi. Food deserves Pepsi. Grab a pack of Pepsi. Zero sugar. For today's match, it's poetry in motion.

[A]

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 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 all right, back to the show. All right, everyone, welcome back to serve. Brought to you by ServiceNow. This is the draw show for Wimbledon. The shows that I hate doing because they cause me stress, because I don't like choosing it against people. All right, so to recap, I have center up top, center over Paul in the quarters. I have learner TN to the quarters. That's so many good players in that section. Nori knows how to play. FAA obviously knows how to play on grass. Both semifinalists, Davidovich Forkina knows how to play. TN knows how to play. I don't know. I'm going full homer on this one.

[B]

Like, are you doing it?

[A]

I have T.N. in the quarters. Novaks in the semis, though. I have center. Novak in the semis. I've center going to the final on the bottom half. Quarterfinals are demon. I had a real. I had a such a hard Berrettini could be in the final. I've been over Baratini. I have been over demon. Bottom half. Fritz Tiafo fourth round. Like Tefo Bublek in the third round. These are really good grass score players. I have Fritz through to the final. It could be any one of five people. Like, it really could. And it's just. I. I just hate doing all of this. I have Fritz in the final against center. And then I have sinner winning Wimbledon

[B]

wave.

[A]

No, I. I think we're fine. I. I like.

[B]

I just. I think it's gonna be great weather.

[A]

Yeah, I just think there, there's a. You know what there is. Like, I'm. I'm doing. I'm figuring out the reason I'm so stressed picking these matches. One, there's a lot of popcorn matches. There's a lot of. One, like there's a pick them the third round. But you also think that one of them could be in the final potentially. Right? So that's the fun part. But there's a lot of inform grass court players that have had good results. Like leaning in right. Like traditionally. Like, we know Fritz can play on grass. We think Francis can be really good on Grass. Baratini is really good on grass. There's a lot of guys who are tested, their games match up, and who have been winning the last couple weeks on the grass. So they're not under. Undercooked as far as preparation. This is exciting. There's. There is such an opportunity. Like, when was the last time we could say it's not just a possibility, but I think it's likely that there's an American in the final on the men's side. I mean, it's been a long time.

[B]

It's been a long time.

[A]

I think I can say that Baratini might have. I'm telling you, that guy's nasty on. On grass. He's very good.

[B]

Should we do the ladies?

[A]

All right, let's go over to the ladies side. Sabalenka, it's losing 6, 0 in the third twice in your last two matches. It has to cause something like. Something like, even if you're as good and as mentally tough as Sabalinka is, you're not immune to those things in. In perpetuity, because you've handled them well before.

[B]

You mean besides, like the rage that goes along with.

[A]

Yeah. And she's like, I want to quit tennis after Roland Garros. Here we are three weeks later, you know, starting.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So the women's draw, I think is. Is wide open. So we talked about a lot of informed grass court players in the men's side playing well, leading in. You know, that's what makes this stressful. This is kind of the unknown. Like, we haven't really seen Andreva. Right. Coco, obviously, is always one of the contenders, but this is her least favorite surface or. I don't know. I can't speak for her. It's her worst surface. I think there hasn't been a huge lead up. Like, Radha Kanu has played great, but she also. There are now reports that she's.

[B]

They're saying, like, it's. Maybe it's mixed reports. I think she missed. She missed training on Thursday and people are saying she saw this and people are denying it. Yeah, I mean, we won't know till she's. She's out there. Hopefully she's out there.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

I don't see why she wouldn't be.

[A]

But in other news, water is wet. Pula played well coming in. She should really. I mean, she should be in a contender in this tournament. But anyways, so let's get to. Let's get to the women's sign. I say all that to say, like, I have a really hard time still betting against Sanka on this tournament. With her game style, she will be a Wimbledon champion at some point. You know, wasn't allowed to play one year. You know, has had some tough semifinal losses. Tough one to Ana Samova last year. Her game is really good for grass. I still. I think she will win this tournament at. At some point. I'm sure she thinks that also. We'll do. Let's do Osaka Sabalenka in the fourth round. I like Sabalenka through to the quarterfinals. This next part, Mukova. You know, I have like the biggest game crush on Mukaba of all time. She has an opportunity here. I'm going to go, you know, my. You know, my theory on people who play qualifying and how I give them credit.

[B]

Remind the audience.

[A]

I value people winning three matches in a qualifying tournament to get into a main draw so much. And if they're playing someone 60 or 70 in the world, I normally like the qualifier in that match. You ready for my first upset special of this?

[B]

Do it.

[A]

The women's side.

[B]

Do it.

[A]

Hualinska going down. First round qualifier from Thailand. I'm not even going to try to pronounce that name. Nope, not going to do it. I looked at it again. Not going to do it. But I just value qualifier matches on grass. I think there's like a new reality. Tax that Micah. But. And I. I don't think Hualinska's game will translate that well to grass. It's a lot of low, it's a lot of high ball. It's a lot of slowing down the process. Those balls aren't going to get as high and the defense isn't going to be as easy. I like Mujava through to the fourth round in that section.

[B]

Do you want to hear how to pronounce her name?

[A]

Yes. Hi, my name is.

[B]

What?

[A]

Try again.

[B]

One more time.

[A]

One more time. Hi, my name is.

[B]

She's going to win in the first round.

[A]

As I was saying, the next section. The next section has like some. This is. This is interesting. I want to circle that. Andreeva Kritikova, second round match okay. Krijikova can play on the surface. Has played well in a lead up event. She had to pull out in a final a couple weeks ago because she was. Now because of injury because she wasn't feeling well. Very different. Siniakova knows how to play on this surface. You ready for. You ready for this?

[B]

Another upset.

[A]

Is your stomach okay?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. I'm flirting with taking Khrushchikova over Andreva.

[B]

Wow. Wow.

[A]

I don't know if I can do it. I'm procrastinating. I'm trying to buy time. Queen when Cyniakova first round. We still need to see Queen when kind of back into form. I'll take Cyniakova through to that third round. I'm really close on this one, guys.

[B]

They're one on one in their head to head.

[A]

I know. Okay, I'm. I'm gonna take. Man, this is one of those ones. It's a second round. I want to take Krichikova. I don't think I'm. I don't think I can. And that means I'm going to take Mira through to the quarterfinals.

[B]

I like that.

[A]

I like Saba Link in the semifinals though. That. That could get completely flipped. I mean, critic of if she beats Mira, she could, like, she can make a run here.

[B]

She can go for a run just with her game on the surface.

[A]

Yeah, she's won this tournament before. Yeah, yeah, she's won.

[B]

I mean, I mean, even today.

[A]

I mean now. Yes.

[B]

Career high. Number two, right?

[A]

Yeah, she is phenomenal on the surface. I think did well last year too. But then you get like last year she was playing and you. There wasn't much of a lead up. You can tell she wasn't really like in match shape. Right. You're struggling physically, but the tools of the game are there and have never left. It's just the body that has kind of let her down at times. Man, that. That section is very interesting to me. That kind of quarter getting to Sabalenka. I went with like the safest choice. I. It's not. I'm not proud. I should have taken a swing there, but here we are. I like Pula through. Pula is made for the surface. I love her game. She hits it flat, sheets it through the court. Low center of gravity can move in and out of the court. Her serve will get better. She doesn't need time on returns. I was all over it last year. I think I picked her the finals last year and she lost first round.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I still love kind of the basics of the formula for her game on the service. And she made final, I think in Berlin a couple weeks ago. I have Pugula through to at least the fourth round. I'm guessing it's going to be further pencil and Jovic in the fourth round against Pula. I like Pula through to the quarters, bottom section. It looks like Bencic and Goff are the lead players here. I will take Bencic, obviously, that. That run of the Semis last year was amazing. Hadn't complete. We now look at her as, like, oh, yeah, 11 the world. She wasn't that then. Like, she was coming back.

[B]

She was coming back.

[A]

Love, Belinda Bencic. I have her through to the fourth round. One of the things that I had to kind of get through last year, and I hated to say it out loud, was I think I picked Coco to lose first round, and she did, and I hate doing that, or I wanted to and picked her second round or something, I don't know. But this is. This. The surface is going to be a struggle, and you're going to hear a lot about it. The forehand grip is turned over. She needs to kind of get under the ball to create that spin mechanism. Right. Her movement isn't as good on grass because she can't screech and get back. Right. So the defensive skills, it's tougher to play defense on grass without a natural chip. Right. Like, it's not like Roger playing, you know, defense on grass in the forehand. She has to flatten out more. She doesn't like flattening out that forehand.

[B]

Can you explain that a little bit more? Like, so she's getting extra shape. So the balls.

[A]

Yeah, so, like, her stock forehand is. Is loose. So it's going to go six feet above the net and bounce above someone's shoulder, and then they try to play offense on that ball, and it goes through her backhand and she screeches and movement, and she can get off the mark quick. Grass is a little more nuanced. Like, you have to, you know, kind of. You're going to see people split, right, and they look like a baby giraffe when they're, like, taking off in one direction or the other. We saw Boko, unfortunately, became a victim of this and now can't play Wimbledon. But you're going to see it a lot. Like, there's. You have to run through the ball, the stops have to be a little gentler, and then you got to sprint out of those stops. Right. It's not the same as, like, a clay or. Or a hard court. Coco's movement is the best on earth, and that movement isn't as good on grass because she can't be as aggressive with her movement. She has to hit through the shot, and then she has to change the flight path on her or adjust the flight path on her forehand a lot. You know, I like bench. It's through to the quarters against Pegula. I like Pegula. In the semis against Sabalenka that's exciting. I mean, it's a guess.

[B]

That's a good one. I like that one.

[A]

Oh, that's exciting. I can't wait for that.

[B]

Exciting.

[A]

Your track record, obviously, you know.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Means that that's a certain.

[B]

Take that one to the bank.

[A]

That's like gravity. Everyone's going, bet the other side.

[B]

Don't put them in the skies.

[A]

Yeah, I just moved the Vegas line for the wrong reasons. All right, this next section is very interesting. If you're one of the top players and you're like, we'll get through to the third round, which I think Alina Svitolina will. One of the names you don't want to see here is Donna Vekech. Played her way into a seed because of the win in Queens a couple of weeks ago. Knows how to play on the surface. Made the semis a couple years ago. Two, three. Three, two. Two or three years ago. I like them in the third round. I guess just you take the known entities. Fidolina has done well here also. I take Svitolina through to the fourth round, but that put a star next to that third round with Vecic and Svitolina. Vekic is very good at getting on the front foot immediately in rallies. Grass tends to benefit people who get on the front foot early in rallies. She doesn't have to play as much defense on grass. Low, flat goes through the court, creates less angle. She doesn't have to cover as much court side to side, sideline to sideline, as she would on any other surface because, as we've talked about, the ball doesn't jump up and away. That's maybe one or two less steps for defense. When you're tracking one down to the sideline, all of that stuff matters. At scale, Emma Navarro has been playing better. I'm going to take Emma Navarro through to the fourth round. She plays well on the surface. We haven't seen much from Kostiak. There was a vacation involved. Well, well deserved after. After Roland Garros. Mike didn't have to do a. I

[B]

didn't have to do a backflip, which sucked, which I'm sorry for that. Marta.

[A]

I take Svitolina to the quarters in that section. Pow. Laney on the next one. This next section is. Paolini has played well here before, has not been as informed as she has in the past. Tossen Sakary. This is kind of wide open. This Paolini Robin Montgomery match. First round is interesting.

[B]

I was going to ask you that.

[A]

Gosh, I think I was Leaning Paolini to the fourth round. But now I don't know if she's going to win her first round. This is a rough one.

[B]

I mean, she definitely. Montgomery has the hot hand a little bit.

[A]

All right. I mean, I've already lost. I'm sure. You ready for this? Montgomery to the third round.

[B]

All right.

[A]

Towson to the third round. Montgomery to the fourth round.

[B]

Let's go.

[A]

Wow. You give me a win.

[B]

You must have watched that love all episode and realize she's pretty great.

[A]

Company man. Company man.

[B]

Company company man. If you haven't seen her talk her chat with Kim and Blair on love all, you should go do what? She was great.

[A]

What? I didn't see it. Okay, here we go. God, this is nuts. I cannot believe we're saying Serena Williams in Wimbledon. Is she. I mean, what are you going to do with this? What is your. What is your little money. How dumb is this thing going to be?

[B]

My Billy Bean mind is telling me my joint because she's ranked higher.

[A]

Higher than Serena Williams.

[B]

I mean, by. But yes, actually, she's higher than the

[A]

person who hasn't played in half a decade. Really?

[B]

I didn't make up this rules. I just made it up.

[A]

You know, can we get that as a. Can we just clip that one? We're clipping that. And can I have a button? Yeah. I didn't make up these rules. I just made it up. All right, here we are.

[B]

Oh, man.

[A]

I have Serena Williams winning a first round I and watch the world explode.

[B]

I do in my heart, just not in my mouth.

[A]

Do you think. I have a question for you. Do you think that a Serena Williams yala match will get much of a rating in the Philippines?

[B]

I don't know if anyone's going to watch it.

[A]

They're not going to. Like people aren't going to go to work. I mean, no, no one's going to go to work. It's a holiday. Okay. This is a. This is a tough one because yala. Yala switches directions really well.

[B]

She.

[A]

The one thing I'm worried about with Serena is someone hitting behind her when she's like, movement is going to be everything for her. That's what we don't know. We can't see that during doubles. Like, you don't really move during doubles. Certainly not the way you do on a singles court. Serve looks good. Ball striking looks good. Haven't heard a ton of reports. People are keeping it pretty locked up. Yala can spread the court. She can play both directions. This is a really hard one. She can expose Serena, but she doesn't serve that well. I mean, can we talk about how good you have to be to not play in five years? And I'm grinding on a second round prediction for your match. That's like an ultimate show of respect, right?

[B]

100%. Didn't theologist play with Venus also in doubles?

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

Bad Humberg.

[A]

I'm. I'm buying myself time. I'll take Shvatek through to the third round. I have. I have Yala written on my draw here right now.

[B]

Yeah. Are you gonna do it?

[A]

No.

[B]

You can do it. You're not going to do it. He's crossing it out. He's crossing it out. He's going Serena Williamson. You know what?

[A]

In absence of JW being here.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm going to just work backwards from the most exciting story.

[B]

What's JW have on his.

[A]

He picked Ayala over Serena. That's probably the right call.

[B]

It's probably the right call.

[A]

And I have Serena through the third round. Can you imagine Serena playing IGA spot right now? And also. Can I. Can we just talk about something else? Can you. Can we talk about, like, if you're Swiatek, you're the defending champion. If you play Serena Williams fairly or unfairly in the smallest. This could be an hour and 20 minutes. If you lose to Serena Williams, people are going to bring in the generational. Like, this is going to define, like, oh, there's no way you would have been her when she was 25. Yep. And people are going to try to discount this generation because of that. Now, I don't. I don't necessarily think that's fair. I think you can tell any story. I have Swiatek through to the quarters, but, like, if Serena wins two matches, if. Big if. Because I still think, like, it's getting downhill. I still think if I had to bet my lunch on it, I probably would take y', all, but I'm just writing in stories that I want to see. Maybe.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I was just going to ask if she.

[B]

If.

[A]

If Williams is one of the picks where. If she wins, then you're just the momentum. If she wins three matches, all bets are off.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Now, I don't know how a body can hold. I mean, we don't know anything. We don't know if after one match, if she's, like, gonna feel terrible. I have. She all tech through. I have. I have Svitolina in the semis. Man, there's. I'm. I gotta. I gotta be honest. I'm as excited for this tournament as I've been for any tournament the last two years.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yeah. Like, go.

[B]

Just. Just all the different storylines, all the underbelly, all the matches down the line. It's amazing.

[A]

So much going on. It's all kind of wide open, like for the first time ever.

[B]

I know.

[A]

I mean, for the first time in a long time. Like, this is. Oh, this is exciting. I have Anna Samova keys Kayla Day. I mean, this is not easy either. Sophia Kenan knows how to play on grass. Also. I have Anisa Mova through to the fourth round. Played great here last year. Next one. I have no scava through. I have no scava through to the quarters. I've made this mistake before. I've been really impressed with how she's been playing on grass. I'll save you the conversation. I have Rebakina through to the quarters. I have Rebakina through to the semis. I have Rebakkina through to the finals. I have Rybakina as your winner. Wow.

[B]

Wow. I like that.

[A]

There's one here before. I'll be wrong. So will some of you. Most of you.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

I have Rybakina beating Ivor Bakana beating Jess Pegula in the final. This might be the same.

[B]

I love that.

[A]

This might be. I don't know. We need to. Something tells me I chose this last year and failed miserably on all fronts. I don't know if that's true.

[B]

We're looking back at last year.

[A]

I don't know if that's true. I have Rabbakina winning the tournament.

[B]

What is it. What is it that you've seen from a Rockina? I think she is the last few months.

[A]

I think she is the best serve in the world or at least had the best serve in the world before Serena came back. It's not even the last few months. It's. It's because she's actually struggled in the last six weeks. But who are the other contenders? They have two IGA struggled like Sabalenka has struggled for her. And I say these struggle like it's against their own relative. Right. Yeah. Biggest serve in. In the sport. Hard flat moves well on the surface. Has won it before. Can switch directions. She can pin people. She likes going that forehand, cross, forehand inside in all the time. She can get away with that without much variety on the surface. Yeah. I just think her game is maybe the most well suited for grass. And I'm not talking prime Serena. I'm talking like today because obviously like Serena's game was the perfect match for. For grass ever. But that's it. C ra. God, I hate these shows.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

Do you?

[B]

I just love how uncomfortable you get.

[A]

I hate picking. I hate choosing against people. I hate it. This is like.

[B]

Cuz we're just.

[A]

We're just guessing, right? Like we don't completely guess. I'm trying to predict future that's going to happen 16 days from now. I don't know.

[B]

Maybe you should make up an algorithm.

[A]

Maybe we should have a recap.

[B]

Maybe we should.

[A]

Yeah. Maybe you should just throw mail it in. Maybe she just stopped trying.

[B]

Research.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

What's research?

[A]

And it's gonna work too.

[B]

What JW have is his winners, finalists and winners.

[A]

Finalists and winners.

[B]

Hot off a WhatsApp text from Dublin.

[A]

All right, well, he's got center Novak in the semis. Yeah, he's gonna will this Novak thing. He's been trying to.

[B]

He's trying so hard.

[A]

And then he's also got Shelton Fritz in the semis. Okay. And then he's got Shelton center in the final with center winning. Yeah. All right, so ours are actually really similar. We have a. That might have been the first time we have the same four semi finalists. This is where things get a little interesting. Oh, the women's side in the semis he's got Marta Kostiak vs. Noskova with Noskova winning. And then on the other end he's got Sabalenka Pula with Pula winning. He has Pula winning the tournament. Oh, he said that. He said that last week in our group chat.

[B]

He did.

[A]

He called it God. He likes. Yeah, we. We. We both made this mistake last year. JW and I. Yeah, with. With Jess Pugol. But I. Her game is really good for grass. It'd be fun to see. Two things I want to get to real quick before we close.

[B]

Should we take a quick break first? Just real quick.

[A]

You always do that.

[B]

Just a real quick one.

[A]

Thanks for listening to served. We will be right back. 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 all right, back to the show. Welcome back to sir brought to you by ServiceNow. Any more breaks or can we run it? Can we actually run through the finish line here?

[B]

No, you can finish it off.

[A]

Okay, so I've been pretty sympathetic thus far. I said thus in a weird way, didn't I? You did thus far.

[B]

You can start over.

[A]

We can keep going to the Von Drozevec case and obviously she gets it. Looks like it's going to be four years. You can negotiate that down based on factors and you proving certain things. She will get something that's a guarantee. You don't go from four years to nothing. Just so we're clear or like maybe you. I'm sure there's been a case or two, but not likely to happen. I've been pretty sympathetic to it just based on what was represented situationally. Okay. Some person, I was scared came to my house. You know, I get it. On the heels she used, she used the Petra Kvitova example in her explanation for this. Okay. And for those that don't know Petrograd, one of nicest people of all time attacked in her own home with a knife. Ended up getting hurt, wasn't back for a long time. Really big damage, long way back. Right. That's a very serious thing to use as a reason. And you better be honest as shit if you're using that as an example for why you have fear or anxiety about a drug tester. Okay. She wrote something like that, right? Anxiety took over. I'm not just gonna open my door. And so I was pretty sympathetic to that. Like I. I just am. Like if my daughter, you know, lives alone one day and someone comes to her door, you don't. Don't open the door under any circumstance. You just don't do it. And I was like, listen, if they come and it's time zones, it's the middle of the night, you can't get a hold of anyone, you don't open that door. Maybe it's a misstest. Sucks. The representation of what actually happened in this case by the itia, if true, which I tend to think it is now, is that she walked outside. It was a. It was a female tester. It's the same person that has tested her before. Not a stranger. You recognize the face?

[B]

Apparently, yeah.

[A]

I can't. And this is all based on the report, right? I have a hard time thinking that ITIA is going to counter her in a way that is so far from what she represented or at least wanted us to believe in. In her initial explanation of it. She was, she. We do know this. She walked outside and she signed the form. So this wasn't someone banging on the door and her going, no, no, no, no. No. And then waiting it out. It was not that. The reports are. She signed the thing saying, I'm not going to take this test. It's hard to be scared of someone holding a clipboard when all they're asking you to do is sign to confirm the sequence of events and the fact that you're not taking a test. Right. Maybe there's something we don't know. Then the reports are that she went and walked her dog. When I'm scared or like if I'm scared of someone at my door, I think the last thing I'd ever think is like, I'm gonna take my dog for a walk outside.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And be out, out and about. I, I don't, I, I'm having a hard time making these two, these two things real. If, if the report for the ITIA is correct. Right. Which it would be horrible.

[B]

I mean, this is. What if it wasn't submitted to the tribunal. Right.

[A]

They're happy to back up their side of the story legally. And it's not just a press release.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Okay. So they've put this, they've said, this is what happens. And we will. Legally. We're happy to put this on paper legally. Right. If that is what actually happened and she represented that she was scared and used someone breaking in and stabbing someone else as kind of a posturing mechanism. Which I fell for. That is such shitty form. We don't know. I hope there's something I'm not thinking of. I can't say that I hope the ITIA is wrong in their storytelling. It's hard for me to marry the reasoning for which she skipped the test in the first place with the actuality of events that the ITIA is representing and happy to put forth. Legally, those two things don't exist together.

[B]

And it's, it's, and honestly, it's caused, you know, it's a huge lightning rod across all of tennis and it's garnered a lot of support from other tennis players for her. You know, but it's.

[A]

If you.

[B]

Ultimately the explanation is, and we've touched on it a lot, the explanation for a four year ban for this is basically like if you, it has to be as destructive to your time on court as it would be for having a major multiple doping. Yeah. Because if you're just going to refuse the test and it's only going to be a slap on the wrist, so then people are just going to refuse the test.

[A]

Refusing the test. Like there's, I'm, I'm, I hope I am capable of nuance. In these each, no cases are the same. There are similarities. Timing matters. Who, what, where, why, when, what can you prove? Those six or seven things rarely line up perfectly together. It's not just din, den, den, den. And I know that's the way most people like to simply. If she lied, exaggerated about what happened because she made a mistake by being pissed off and just being bothered by testing. It's tough to argue that, like, imagine what happens if there's a loophole where you can say anxiety and you don't get that sentence. And there aren't extreme circumstances of which the ITA defines as like. They view it as like in labor, which seems like a lot. Right. But I get why this is important for precedent. I don't think you can just say I'm nervous and, or inconvenienced by this and that's giving me anxiety. Or maybe I have some and this is adding a layer to it. You still have to play by the rules of fairness inside of the job with which you choose sucks. And it's probably some things in a lot of people's life that suck that you have to kind of get through deal with. She said she took a test, you

[B]

know, three days later.

[A]

Did that not cause the same emotion? Where was that taken?

[B]

Well, I mean, and I think, I think ultimately her biggest thing since then and statement is that, you know, I took a test three days later that was negative. I've never tested positive.

[A]

Three days is a lifetime, by the way.

[B]

I've never tested positive. And, and all, all of the other things she said her post statement and. But it's, it's not about if she would have tested positive or not that evening. At this point, at this point, it's the refusal is the reason for the punishment. It is not if she would have tested positive 100.

[A]

What she's saying now is like, I've never tested positive. Therefore, I'm like, no, that has nothing to do with this sequence of events. It doesn't have nothing to do with this sequence.

[B]

It doesn't matter. It is, it is literally the refusal and signing the paper.

[A]

I passed the test three days later. It doesn't mean you didn't skip one in the moment. Yeah, you're not allowed to skip a test in the moment without good reason. If you walked outside, if you sign this thing saying, I, I legally acknowledge that I am skipping this test and I know the problems associated with that. And then you take a dog for a walk, that's not the same as a positive test. Like you, I'M sorry, if, if, if their sequence, if the ITA sequence of events is accurate, I've almost lost all my sympathy here to reference what you referenced in your explanation and if they are correct. And again I will wait to make like a massive. But like I was stunned when I read the report because it was not what I expected. I thought it was going to be. Someone showed up, it was one in the morning, it was knock and they didn't show up. She was scared. She told us she was scared. She didn't open the door. This isn't that. And I have a hard time believing that they would lie this flagrantly legally. So we'll see what Vondrozova puts forth legally and see if that story changes.

[B]

I mean, we'll see. The, the formal ruling still has to come down and then once you read that formal ruling, then you have 21 days to appeal. She has, she has an attorney, Exner, I think maybe that has represented before that he's come out publicly and said that he believes she should appeal. But it's up to her to make that decision. And they have to wait until the final report comes down the official ruling. But this is, this is the ruling as we know it.

[A]

Yeah, this is. That rapport was shocking to me and if, if it's, if it's true, then I don't have much sympathy here at all. And I went from very sympathetic, you know, imagining the worst set of circumstances and being like, oh, I get that maybe to like you're referencing certain types of things and then you're walking your dog, that you can miss me with

[B]

that and we can have all the different conversation we want about the ridiculousness of like the whereabouts rules and like what those are. This isn't that. No, it is just for another day.

[A]

And by the way, also just as an aside, I was talking with someone who's been on the show who we respect very much and he brought up the point. Tennis is in the Olympic drug testing protocol. Have you noticed all the sentences like two years, four years. It's on an Olympic cycle for fucking what? Yeah, four years is like basically ending Olympic athlete. But they have, he sent this full breakdown. It's like they travel in non Olympic years. Like two days a month for competitions is one big. It's not the same. Why are we playing by those rules, by the way, in tennis?

[B]

That drives me.

[A]

Why are we having these arbitrary times that are basically meant for Olympic sports?

[B]

It drives me nuts.

[A]

Or Olympic prominent sport, whatever, however you want to define it. Like we're a business that exists all days of all years.

[B]

It drives me nuts.

[A]

Why are we doing this? Anyways? That's another conversation. It's simply what I'm heated about is simply the versions of the story that couldn't be more opposite. One has legally put one forward. And the rebuttal of that was, I haven't tested positive. That has nothing to do with what they said.

[B]

And that's a completely different conversation, too, I guess.

[A]

So we'll see.

[B]

The right to reform is like, dude, like, put them into a strict testing protocol. And, yeah, it's. Whatever.

[A]

Okay, so the next thing that I need to talk about before I'm on site and on air and whatever else is the. The prize money dispute, where the players are basically saying, we're boycotting different parts of press for different timelines and, you know, whatever revenue goal. They get 14.4% of revenue from Wimbledon this year, down from recent standards. Wimbledon said they were surprised by this. Listen, I love Wimbledon. I love everyone. I have great relationship with the people there. Also. How surprised can you be when they were pissed off and they did this at Roland Garros, when Roland Garros was paying 14.9%. Like, if you want to. If you want to hold strong on negotiation, fine. You can't be surprised by this.

[B]

No.

[A]

Like, they just did it a month ago. Like, this isn't surprising. And also the other thing is, like, well, we invest back in the. In the sport and the game and everything else. Okay, great. I'm sure there are a lot of great things that come from that. You built the most magical place on earth. No doubt. Also, it's like, you can't run a business. Okay. I'm gonna tell you, most businesses, the revenue drivers have a say in how the money's spent, whether that's board representation, whether that's stock, whatever it is. So it's tough to say you drive the revenue, but we invest it. Okay, well, we should have a say in how you invest. Well, let's put together a council. Well, that's what this is. That's what they're doing.

[B]

So. So the player sent.

[A]

You don't have control over their council right now.

[B]

The same. The same ish group of players through. Through Larry Scott, they sent a letter to Wimbledon basically saying, we will be doing, you know, the restriction on media and all these things. But the biggest takeaway for me is that last year they asked for 16. They said, we would like to have 16 by next year. Right. Which is not.

[A]

It's not a guys that's not even close to a crazy number.

[B]

So let me, but let me put in context which they put in the letter. Right. The players In July of 2025, proposed proposal asked for 16% of revenue this year, approximately 71 million pounds against the announced figure of 64.2 million pounds. Like, we're talking about like not a large number in the grand scheme of things when you think about the overall revenue and like it like, like we're talking about less than $7 million.

[A]

Practice, we're talking about practice, practice.

[B]

But we're talking about $7 million. And you're like, that's all they had to do. If they would have just caught up to 16%. What is like, yeah, this, this, that I don't understand.

[A]

Here's, here's the thing. We're playing a game of chicken right now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And to your point that you were just making, it's going to be a lot more than what the figure you just used. I think the players are united. More united than I've seen before. More united than I've seen before. You have Coco on board, you have Sabalinko on board, you have center on board, you have a lot of the biggest names fully on board. More than we've seen since the creation of the tours and professional tennis back in the day with, you know, Billie Jean King and other and, and all of those greats who, by the way, and rightfully so, are now icons because of what they did.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay, so we can't be, we can't simultaneously like celebrate them for their bravery and then be pissed at these players. Now, I know it's different. I know that they were, you know, sharing four door hotel room or whatever. Sabalenka said this. Top players are not doing this. They don't want to have to answer questions and press about this. It is not convenient for them to take this stance. It is for the other players on tour. Challengers, whatever. Well, we spend our revenue on this. Great. We'd like a say in it. It's as simple as that.

[B]

Well, and it's about the healthcare programs, it's about pensions. I mean that is reform that does do something for everyone at all times. And like, but to me, I feel like that's the bigger. I think the splashy headline is the, is, you know, we're talking about $7 million about this year's prize pool. But the biggest, the biggest thing is the long term benefits of the Slams eventually contributing to the long term health and care of these people that make these events so lucrative.

[A]

And there's, there's like this. Okay. And then also, you just feel like the tournaments at this point are kind of slow rolling. A really hard conversation. Right. If this has been going on and they sent a letter a year ago, and they're clear as day, and to the players credit, they're clear as day. Revenue is how we're valuing this. And then in this release, Wimbledon saying, well, we don't value revenue, but we'd like to talk more if you're, if you, you can't even get off the starting block of how we value. You know, and it's like, is it about the players, the investments and everything else? And I wrote this. I go, or is it about what percentage of the value of revenue are they worth? I think any sane person would say it's probably more than 14.4%.

[B]

I mean, I think if you base it on revenue, then if there's a bad revenue year, then next year, guess

[A]

what, just prorate it.

[B]

Next year, guess what? There's less money.

[A]

Oh, wow. That's how it works. Yeah. But also, like, I'm, I would even say, okay, what are your investment projects? Let's create a silo for those because. Or let's. Ooh.

[B]

Oh, it's Chick Fil A for the kids.

[A]

Oh, good. I was worried. Good. If anyone needs to know, Mike's kids have Chick Fil A delivered successfully in Charlotte right now. But, okay, great. The investment. But I know for a fact, like, the US Open is investing crazy, overhauling all the facilities, but they're making the corporate offerings a lot better, which drives revenue. The players should share in that growth like this. They'll say, like, we invested X, but what percentage of that is actually four player facilities? Let's carve that out, you know, completely. And it's like, okay, do we want a gym or do we want more money? Do we want X amount? So we need to really. Until you're willing to share what the investments are and should we be participating in those? Because the game now is. The game now is that it's. The revenues are going crazy because tennis is having a hot streak. So we can simultaneously announce a 20% prize money raise, but then there's a game of lowering the total revenue. It should be shared participation. I don't think we can just make up figures year to year. There's no continuity, there's no consistency. And the players are going, I don't even know what we're getting until like a month before the tournament.

[B]

If you're, if you're ranked 50th in the world, even. Or if you're like, how are you even planning and budgeting your year? If you're like, hey, listen, I did great this past year. I'm for sure getting in all four slams and most of the one, yeah, you can start to budget your life and actually do what an independent contractor is required to do is figure out how they're gonna pay for themselves.

[A]

What are the options? And I said this, like when, when Chairman Jevin was. Was. Was. Was nice enough to come on the show, and Jamie Baker, I said, listen, like, all the players have been doing for 40 years is. Have they have meetings about meetings about meetings about meetings about meetings onto the next thing. At some point, something has to happen. I don't want the game of chicken to end up in something that costs everyone more money. Players missing slams, losing a year of revenue, that ain't worth a one and a half points. Like, what are we doing right? And like it. You know the Spider man meme? Because I've talked to leadership here. I've, you know, obviously Roland Garrison, what they did. I've talked to people at U.S. open. The spider man meme, where everyone points to the other one, right? Like, it's. It's like this. Someone's got to lead. Someone's got to come through and be like, yeah, okay, yeah, Are. Are simply, are you worth 16% of revenue? And if you don't do it, you're saying no?

[B]

I'll tell you what, if all the names we just named weren't in this tournament, I would probably not be going,

[A]

yeah, are they worth 16% of revenue? If you can look and say no, then that's tough.

[B]

It's tough.

[A]

That's tough. Now I fully understand. If their investment's made and it's covered and planned, there's a value to that. If I'm talking to the players, I'm like, Listen, we spent 10 years on an infrastructure plan, associated cost. This is what we're going to spend. This is the timeline of when the revenue kicks in. Great. We're happy planning for what you've done. They should get paid for. They run the best sporting event in the world. In my opinion. There is so much value to that. The players need to understand that and a point and a half. But also, we can't act surprised if something bad happens. At this point, the players have been nothing but pretty clear. Now, you might disagree with them, but it's not surprising, right? Two trains are heading towards each other and they get In a wreck. It's not surprising.

[B]

No.

[A]

You know, Anyways, I don't want to talk about this again. No, it's. It sucks because I love the players. Wilma's my favorite place on earth, and simply like, yeah, in a negotiation, revenue matters. Like, it just does. Like, it. It just does. And if the people driving revenue, they should have a say in what's. That's how it goes.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's not a crazy thing to request.

[B]

And there is more nuance, right? Wimbledon or the all. The All England Club has. Has a contractual obligation to share profits with, like, groups that it's. Yeah, they all have.

[A]

The players want that contractual obligation, too.

[B]

That's what I'm saying. And it's. And I think. I think it's just that. I think it's just. I think maybe. Maybe we're getting closer to, like, a realistic conversation. But the problem is it's four separate organizations that have completely different organizational structures. It's a challenge, but. So I think the place where you start is revenue.

[A]

Well, that's also why, like, when they said, we want to make a committee with the players to talk about it, it's okay. So other players going to make a committee, have the conversation with Wimbledon and then go to the US Open and have a committee, and then go to the Aussie Open and have a committee, and then go to the French Open and have a committee. Or do they all just band together and use the same committee to talk to four people? Yeah, obviously it's the second one.

[B]

Obviously.

[A]

Obviously it's the second one. Obviously. I'm done with this conversation for a couple of weeks. Hopefully ESPN doesn't make me talk about it. Maybe they will. I don't want to anymore because I love both sides of this thing so much. They've both filled my heart up, like, in so many ways. But obviously we are going to have the best time ever for the next two weeks. I am pumped for this tournament. There's nothing better than Wimbledon. It's the best sporting event in the world, no questions asked. Listen, we're all on the same team in tennis, so can we just. We just figure this out before it becomes a train wreck? Like, we can figure this out. Rational people can make rational decisions. Let's not get too inside of our own heads. Let's just, like, you know, this is. This is 25 minutes in a room. Like, there's a lot of chatter from a lot of people. Let's just. Let's. Let's figure this out. I think. I don't know. What do I know? I'm a podcaster. For sake. Thanks for watching Surf Brought to you by the way. Service. Now we'll see you.