← Served with Andy Roddick
Served with Andy Roddick
2026 Wimbledon Recap: Fery's Run, Serena’s Comeback, Sinner's Historic Win & More
00:34:40
Loading summary
Transcript183 lines
- [00:00]
Bill Simmons
Hey, it's Bill from the Bill Simmons podcast. FIFA World Cup 26 fans, listen up. Is the official beer sponsor of The FIFA World Cup 26 Michelob Ultra is giving away $1,000,000 worth of FIFA World Cup 26 tickets and prizes. Enter now at Michelobulture.com SuperiorAccess/ FIFA World Cup 26 McGlob Ultra FIFA World Cup 26 Superior Access no purchase necessary. Open US residence 21 begins on December 1, 2025 ends on July 31, 2026 multiple entry periods. Visit www.mcglobeultra.com SuperiorAccess FIFA World Cup 2. 6 for free entry, entry deadlines, prizes and details. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50 page restoration block. Or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it, ready to make anything online make sense. There's no place like Chrome. Check responses, set up, required compatibility and availability. Various 18 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.
- [01:20]
JW
Hey everyone.
- [01:21]
Bill Simmons
Welcome to serve. Brought to you by ServiceNow our Wimbledon recap show which we shot, as you can see still in the Wimbledon esque studio on the heels of the final between Yannick Sinner and Alex Verev. We covered that match in detail in our recap episode so this one won't be all about that. This is kind of a two week look back at the tournament and the biggest story coming into this tournament. Serena Williams returns to tennis. It seems like four months ago now that it was when she was the the build up and the hype and will she play doubles and and will she not listen? She comes back, she doesn't win against Maya Joint. I don't care. She's back. She's playing. Eyeballs are on tennis. Biggest number ever for a Tuesday on espn. I mean it was. It's great. I hope we see more of it. I expect we'll see more of it. Jw.
- [02:21]
Mike
That's the good news. There were some concerns with that knee injury, those sort of grisly postings that she had about having her knee drained. But it does seem as though she's. This comeback's going to keep going, and whether it's singles or doubles or doubles, and we'll see how I feel. And then singles, mixed doubles, mixed doubles. Kyle Sagretz, mixed doubles. But, yeah, it was this. This was the Week One story. And I thought, you know, she acquitted herself, you know, great. You know, I mean, she. She looked good, she served well. She got a set. She didn't win the match. She was disappointed she didn't win. I mean, one thing that really struck me, and I think the same is true in doubles. I mean, I asked them when I said, who's she playing doubles with in Canada? And they said, well, she hasn't necessarily settled on a partner yet, but she's in this. She wants a younger partner she's going to win with. I mean, this is not in Canada. This in Toronto. Oh, this is. Did I just break something I shouldn't miss?
- [03:12]
JW
No, let's keep going.
- [03:13]
Mike
All right. No, my point being, this is not. This is not just a glorified exhibition and let's take one last fight on a barge so my kids can see me box. This is real competition. She's in this thing to win more matches, and I'm happy that this isn't the last we've seen of her, apparently. So, yeah, good story, good serving. She didn't add to her haul of majors. She also was completely respectable. And the. The comeback tour continues.
- [03:43]
Bill Simmons
She played. I mean, listen, for you want to stupid. I'd look if I didn't play tennis for four years. And then my first match out of the gate was Wimbledon. So stupid is the answer. Like, incredibly stupid. 44 is incredibly stupid. I thought she did great. Apparently she tweaked her knee in the first set of that match. I thought it was. I was like, the legs aren't working. Like, I thought it was fatigue when I was covering it. I was like, the legs don't fire when the legs fire. You. You miss long and you. It kind of looked out of sorts. This will serve her well going forward, should she choose to continue, which she is going to continue. Fast forward to a potential walkout at Arthur Ashe Stadium night session.
- [04:21]
Mike
What do you think?
- [04:22]
Bill Simmons
Yeah, I'm here for it. It'll be great. Everyone will be going crazy. New York crowd will act. I mean, it'll be fantastic. I'm here for it. Absolute legends still. We know the story backwards, forwards, always. To think that these two women come from Compton. You've won five singles titles at Wimbledon and you're the second best player in your family. I don't think we can tell that story enough.
- [04:47]
Mike
The two winningest players in women's tennis so far this century.
- [04:52]
Bill Simmons
Yeah.
- [04:53]
Mike
In the 2000s. Shared a bedroom. This is the craziest story we're going to tell our grandkids. Grandkids are going to tell this story. It's just ludicrous.
- [05:03]
Bill Simmons
It's just so much bigger.
- [05:04]
Mike
And I think. I mean, just one. I think longevity. I mean, sort of like the highest peak versus the mountain range that extends the longest. I mean, I think there's also something to be said for longevity. It's not just total figures, but, I mean, Serena won her first Islam in the 90s, and she's still playing. So, yeah, great story. Long may it continue seeing New York.
- [05:24]
Bill Simmons
Good news for tennis, I think the most. Well, there's. There's a couple props to Demitrov. That heartbreaking, heartbreaking loss last year to center. We've covered it extensively on our shows throughout the two weeks. I was lucky enough to see him at breakfast. Just incredibly gracious, human. I hope all good things come to him. And I know he loses to Fairy. I also know he played great to get there. Maybe the body's fatigued a little bit. But what a redemption story the way it ended last year, coming back as a wild card, not knowing where your game is at and playing some great tennis along the way. So props to Grigor Dimitrov. We mentioned Ferry. I mean, what a great story. 114 in the world. Holy Hualinska semifinals on a wild card. Loses his first set of the tournament to Dimir Zumer. Obviously, had had semifinals written all over it the entire time.
- [06:26]
Mike
So he loses to that set to Jumer and then puts. You know, he clots his ears to spare himself from Juber's complaining. And this was what he was known for, was a funny tabloid story. Arthur Ferry. Whoever thought we'd be talking about him 10 days later? I think we need to keep our voices down because he lives on the other side of that fence. The fact that he's always like, oh, a local player, and you assume it means a British player. This guy literally can, like, ride his hoverboard to Wimbledon. Every tournament needs these little dashes of spice. Yes, and that was Arthur Ferry here. Also props to the Wimbledon wild card committee. We gave him a little stick for no Dan Evans. But Baratini, Dimitrov, Arthur Ferry, it's hard
- [07:06]
Bill Simmons
to argue against their selections.
- [07:08]
Mike
Wild cards. Those are wild cards well spent. And yeah, Arthur Ferry now not going to be in too many wild card discussions.
- [07:16]
Bill Simmons
Top 40 player I'm glad you mentioned Dan Evans. I also heard legendary stories of him from the Dog and Fox during these two weeks. He may not have gotten the wild cards, but he did not lose to anyone in beer drinking these two two weeks apparently. So we can compare. Happy trails, Dan Evans. I I say that. I say that lovingly. You know you didn't get it here, but apparently you still did some work and had a good time during Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same.
- [07:47]
Mike
Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him.
- [07:55]
Bill Simmons
Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with powerboost ingredients inside?
- [07:59]
Mike
No, just Duracell.
- [08:01]
Bill Simmons
Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different and messy. Only trusts Duracell.
- [08:10]
Ad Read Announcer
This episode is brought to you by Google Health. Stop chasing someone else's definition of health. What matters is what's healthy for you. Google Health offers a new kind of coach built with Gemini for effortless tracking, sleep insights and holistic coaching tailored to you. Visit googlestore.com to learn more and start a new relationship with your health. Requires Google Account, Google Health App, Internet and Google Health Premium Subscription Features subject to change. Availability and results vary. Not intended for medical purposes. Works independently of Gemini apps. Check responses for accuracy.
- [08:40]
Bill Simmons
Right now get up to 15% off select storage solutions put heavy duty HDX totes to good use, protecting what's important to you. The solid impact resistant design prevents cracking and the clear base and sides make items easy to find even when the totes are stacked. Find select shelving and tote storage up to 15% off at the Home Depot to organize every room in your home from your garage to your attic, visit homedepot.com how doers get more done
- [09:11]
Mike
this
- [09:12]
Bill Simmons
next one's a bummer. I just have no American men in the semis. If you heard our draw show at the beginning of the tournament, I was pretty convinced that we were going to have one in the final. Francis coming in was playing great. Ben was playing great. Loses to qualifier Vertnan. 150 in the world like that one has to like be, you know, you're four or five in the world. You lose that match, you kind of have to take a look in the mirror. The pattern recognition I don't think was there, you know, some some weird drop shots and decision making. Ben has all upside. I said like he was, you know, had never been out of the country before he went to Australia and made the quarters or semis or whatever. It was like he. It's not. He's not one of these guys who was playing junior terms from when he was 11 years old. I do give some grace for that, but has to be disappointing for him. Francis losing to Bublek when he was, you know, had a million set points and Taylor going down. I hope his knee is okay. I think that was part of the issue against Zverev, but there's no guarantees that he wins that match against Veriv anyway. So I think I was full of excitement and rightfully so, because they had played so well coming in. I said that it was the first time I looked at a draw and said it's likely not possible, but likely that there's American man in the final. It's not exactly how it shook out.
- [10:32]
JW
JW.
- [10:33]
Mike
Yeah. Just by sheer volume. I mean, you had four top 20 players and you had. I mean, it's such a weird time. Just sort of broaden this out for men's tennis in general. I was thinking Alex Diminore, career high ranking, and we were talking about his quotes and sort of how he's never felt further from achieving the dream Felix. Felix close to a career high ranking if he isn't there yet, gets to the quarterfinals, can't get past Novak, and now has parted ways with his coach, Ben Shelton, very close to his career high ranking and has lost his last three matches that he's played at majors.
- [11:08]
Bill Simmons
So the run one at Roland Garros.
- [11:11]
Mike
That's right. All right, so he's lost two. Two straight matches.
- [11:13]
Bill Simmons
The players outside the last two draws have been relatively open and losing to Calling Yon and then Vert Nan.
- [11:19]
Mike
You know, there's still time here. I mean, for. Francis had another stinging loss in a major sandwiched with a. Probably the biggest title of his career,
- [11:28]
Bill Simmons
where he beat Taylor.
- [11:29]
Mike
He played. So, yeah, this. I mean, if we look at this objectively, this was an underachieving tournament for an American junior. Won the boys, but otherwise on the American male side, it was pretty rough.
- [11:42]
Bill Simmons
We're going to get to that junior match here. Here in a second. Have it on my list. Zverev, I thought, did great. Big story coming off of Roland Garros. Never been past the fourth run at Wimbledon. Up a set in the final. Dream summer Coco. So two sides of this coin. I'm going to start with if I'm in Coco's camp, how I'm selling this. And I don't think it's a hard sale. I think every really good player has that moment where grass clicks. You start understanding the patterns that work. You start feeling comfortable on it, your movement starts getting better on it. You start realizing when to come in, when to stay back. You start realizing how to serve on this surface, which is different than any other surface. I think if Coco ends up being someone who plays well at this tournament regularly, which she hadn't been that person coming in.
- [12:34]
Mike
Right.
- [12:35]
Bill Simmons
I think she points to this year and is like, that's the year that grass actually started making sense to me. And the move of a finish. Jw, how do you balance those two things?
- [12:47]
Mike
I think if you read her post match remarks, she had such a common sense approach to it. And it wasn't denial. I mean, look, this was a shot she makes 99 times out of 100 and she took her eye off the ball and nerves played a factor. And again, I thought, I think I said to the other night, I think it was more lack of execution than bad decision making. You know, she has an opponent pinned to the baseline and she has that
- [13:10]
Bill Simmons
shot had worked a lot through that.
- [13:12]
Mike
Exactly.
- [13:12]
Bill Simmons
Entire match, by the way.
- [13:14]
Mike
And Coco said, listen, people would be thrilled to lose in a wimble in semifinal. And the good thing about tennis is you have a dish. I can't remember. I think you said this. Coco drew a lot from iga and eventually you reach a point where you crack the riddle of grass. And I think that is her big takeaway. Yeah, it'll sting. It helps when you have a couple majors in the bag and you haven't even entered your mid-20s. She'll get her chances. This will be a disappointment. It will not be a crushing disappointment. But yeah, that match point, missed forehand drop shot.
- [13:50]
Bill Simmons
She'll think about a while center the overwhelming favorite going into the US Open. The men's side, the women's side. I think parody rules at this point, especially with Sabalenka all of a sudden exiting a couple of grand slams early. As we look ahead, I mean, no Scova winning here, great performance, but I don't think that that performance kind of overwhelms the conversation about parody. I don't think anyone goes and is like, I am the clear cut favorite at U.S. open. And the reason that made me think of that is like, you're talking about Coco as she's looking forward. And as you know, Sabalenka is looking forward as Rybakane is looking forward, as EAGA is looking forward, as there's not a lot of momentum to be had from the Top, you know, three, four, five players in the world as we look forward to the US Open.
- [14:38]
Mike
Jw last year, you'll remember Sabalenka was in a similar situation where she was number one and by a considerable margin, but she also hadn't won a major. And she sort of said, listen, this is my last chance, I'm going to grab it. But yeah, I mean, a lot of players leave here with some questions in need of answering, which is great for the plot. And history tells us that a lot of times you find those answers, but just, I mean, you're right. Go down the list. You know, Jess Pula, not a devastating defeat, but she was the highest seed remaining who many, you know, 32 years
- [15:11]
Bill Simmons
old, Osaka for parts of this tournament. And she's, she's in that conversation moving forward. But I think the grouping has gone from like two with Egan, Sabalenka, Coco enters the chat, Robakina enters the chat. Now there's like six other people who have entered the chat.
- [15:28]
Mike
Yep. Which is great.
- [15:30]
Bill Simmons
It's fun. Yeah. Props to Linda Noskova.
- [15:33]
Mike
Totally.
- [15:34]
Bill Simmons
We need to spend time on this complete player, world class back in to let that final go and then to reel it back in and recover mental fortitude. One of the most heartfelt moments, tear jerking moments of this entire event is when she's getting through her victory speech and it comes to, I want to thank someone else. And she looks up at the skies and she thanks her mother who had passed from cancer just before this tournament two years ago. Martina crying and it's just, listen, this entire tennis community, in those moments, I feel like it shrinks. Right. We all become tighter, we all become closer, we all become, you know, recognize humanity. I thought it was a beautiful and well deserved ending for her. I hope she felt her presence. I. It sounds like she did. Props to her. I can't imagine associating that memory with this place in time and then coming back and conquering this place. So really, really, really, really heartfelt. Well done to Linda Nascoba.
- [16:40]
Mike
Exactly. And a lot of game, a lot of poise. Again, she went, you know, you lose, you're up 6, 2, 5, 2 match points to win Wimbledon. You lose the set.
- [16:53]
Ad Read Announcer
Who.
- [16:53]
Mike
How many times have we seen this movie where the moment's passed and it's gone for her to reset and. Yeah, I mean, I thought it wasn't, you know, she, she gave that very poignant speech and then she said, you know, I'm sorry, I'm not one who usually cries.
- [17:06]
Bill Simmons
Yeah.
- [17:06]
Mike
And you want to say, you're no please acknowledging your late mother who passed away.
- [17:10]
Bill Simmons
It's not the end of like, you're
- [17:11]
Mike
good, we're with you. She was delightful and I think there's a lot of good tennis left in her. I mean, she, she was really an impressive player. The versatility, the athleticism. She's not going serving, she ain't going away.
- [17:26]
Bill Simmons
Thanks for listening to served. We will be right back. Pays Checkout is offered by your banks and credit unions, so when you shop online at participating merchants, your cards appear in one place, ready to use and kept up to date. And the best part? Your actual card number isn't shared when you check out because boundaries are healthy. Like no work emails after six One small step for boundaries, one big leap for checkout. Pays it checks out activation required. See pays.com to learn more. Terms and conditions apply.
- [18:00]
Ad Read Announcer
Even if you're using topical prescription creams for your child's eczema, you still might be hearing this that relentless itching that makes them want to scratch and scratch and scratch and scratch. When their moderate to severe eczema isn't well controlled, it's time to ask about dupixentupilumab, which isn't a cream, steroid or immunosuppressant. Dupixent helps kids as young as six months stay ahead of their eczema. With clearer skin and noticeably less itch, severe allergic reactions, including skin reactions, can occur. Get help right away for face, mouth, tongue or throat swelling, wheezing or trouble breathing. Tell your doctor right away of new or worsening eye problems like eye pain or vision changes, skin symptoms, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. Don't change or stop other treatments without talking to your doctor. Dupixent helps your child feel the heel. Ask your child's eczema specialist, visit dupixent.com or call 1-844- DUPIXENT this episode is brought to you by State Farm. Listening to this podcast instead of doom scrolling Smart move. Another smart move getting help from one of State Farm's 19,000 local agents when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling. Just another way to save with the personal price plan. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.
- [19:27]
Bill Simmons
Guys, we're about to hit the best part of the year. The North American hard Court, Swing, D.C. montreal, Cincinnati. Some of my best moments on tour happen in these beautiful cities. And surf, too. That was our first live show. We did the brewery Saunder Sonder Brewinger was awesome. We were stunned people showed up. Anyways, these places and fans made me feel right at home. Now that I'm retired, I get to experience the action as a fan, taking in the matches with my friends and family and finding the perfect place to do it. Regardless of where in the world we are and whether it's for the next tour stop, the next Grand Slam, or next year, fans like me will be looking for a place to stay that provides exactly what they're looking for. So check this out. You can list your space on Airbnb, give the fans that home away from home, and even make some extra money
- [20:11]
Mike
while you're at it.
- [20:12]
Bill Simmons
Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much@airbnb.com host 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 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
- [20:58]
Mike
all right,
- [20:59]
Bill Simmons
back to the Show Center. We covered him a ton in our recap show, so if you want to hear specifics from the match and the tournament started off the tournament, scratchy forehand was off. Got better. You hear us say this got better as the tournament went on, but you think that's like actually true this time?
- [21:16]
Mike
JW the statistically speaking, he literally got better, way better with every single match. So he has this, I would say catastrophic. But a pretty concerning Roland Garros goes it was awesome.
- [21:29]
Bill Simmons
It was weird.
- [21:30]
Mike
It was awkward. It was weird. It was, it was even before the tournament sort of validated a lot of the concerns about the him and the elements. As Darren Cahill, I can quote his own coach saying, you know, he's, he's a redhead from Northern Italy. What do you expect? But no, I mean it sort of made it gave him this vulnerability, didn't play a tune up and then looked really scratchy in his first round match and literally cleaned it up a little more each round. And by the semis and the finals, he Was pretty unplayable and untouchable. I think I talked about this on the. On the recap show. But he wins Wimbledon last year. It's his 20th title. He wins it this year. He's 30th. So this is someone who's done a lot of winning and a lot of improving, a lot of work.
- [22:12]
Bill Simmons
You know, really just to put that in context, with that many wins in a short amount of time, there are really good players who haven't won 10 tournaments, and he's won them all in, like. And these are master Series events and Slams. Like, this is not. You know,
- [22:27]
JW
can I just give you guys some numbers? We touched on it. It's his fifth career Slam. This was his hundredth career major match win. He's the 10th man in the Open era to successfully defend the gentleman's title, and it was his 10th straight win over Zverev.
- [22:43]
Bill Simmons
So 87 consecutive holds against Zerif, the
- [22:47]
Mike
number two player in the world.
- [22:48]
JW
That's insane.
- [22:50]
Bill Simmons
Clean slate on serve. No breaks against Novak and Zverev. Back to back, only two break points. Face one in each match. Dominant serving. We covered a lot of it. I'll mention this one more time. As these players keep racking up stats we talked about with Eagle last year at six, I think it's important to draw down comps with history. The big three, frankly, ruined all statistical comparisons right now. If we want to actually have a sober view of the icons of our game, let's talk through it. Janik Sinner passes Jim Courier, this tournament legend. Major number one player, four time, four time major winner. Yannick's at five, one short. Edberg Becker at six majors. Icons of our game. Like, I saw Edberg at Queens Club three years ago unexpectedly playing on a court next to me, and I couldn't speak. I was so starstruck. It was like. It was absurd. Seven grand slams, right? So two away. We're talking McEnroe v. Lander, Carlos already on that list. I mean, absolute monster icons.
- [23:56]
JW
8.
- [23:57]
Bill Simmons
Which is not crazy to say that he'll get to 8.
- [24:00]
Mike
3 next year.
- [24:03]
Bill Simmons
Yeah, correct. Agassi, Connors, Lendo. Like, this is the company he keeps now.
- [24:10]
Mike
He's 24.
- [24:11]
Bill Simmons
This is the company he keeps. 24 years old, and you got to think he's gonna win the career Grand Slam at some point at Rolling Garrett's. So I know we like to kind of look back at the good times. Like, oh, do you remember those finals with Edberg and Becker? They were so cool. This is that with Carlos and Sinner. We are living through another little thing like a fucking era.
- [24:30]
Mike
By accident or design, you are repudiating your contemporary, Marit Safin. The other thing about center, he hasn't lost. He's five and oh, a master series. I mean it's. It's not out of the question. He could run.
- [24:43]
JW
Yeah, he could.
- [24:44]
Mike
He could run the table at the thousands.
- [24:46]
Bill Simmons
That's so absurd. Anyways, it's. It's absurd what he's doing. He couldn't be more humble. I've been around and behind the scenes more the last two weeks than I have been before. Always a gentleman. Good dude, walks in, looks everyone in the eye, says hello after interviews. Not only thanks the hosts thanks the room.
- [25:04]
Mike
Yep.
- [25:06]
Bill Simmons
Everyone behind the scenes doing great work. Thank you everyone. Thank you. We'll see you like just very aware, polite, a lot of respect. You ready for just some fun things that I was like that people need to kind of stay tuned on.
- [25:19]
Mike
What do you got?
- [25:20]
Bill Simmons
Yellow Mania is fun. I'm sorry. When you have watch parties. When you have watch parties in arenas around your country for a fourth round match, I'm in with free popcorn. Free popcorn. Imagine like what, like where you live, whatever the biggest venue is close to you. Imagine having watch parties for a fourth round match at Wimbledon and having no room. I am here for y'.
- [25:40]
Mike
All.
- [25:40]
Bill Simmons
O mania. It's great for tennis. I don't want to hear any of that bullshit like, oh, I don't care, it's you.
- [25:45]
JW
Stop talking.
- [25:46]
Bill Simmons
No, this is a movement she is creating single handedly. A movement of a sect of tennis fandom that largely didn't exist a couple of years ago. Thank you.
- [25:56]
Mike
That's beautiful to see and to watch. We're talking about a country with more than 100 million people.
- [26:01]
JW
Yes.
- [26:01]
Mike
She helps herself with her tenant. I mean she took out the defending champion. This isn't just listen like this is a player.
- [26:06]
Bill Simmons
It was a fun story when she broke out of Miami.
- [26:09]
Mike
Right.
- [26:09]
Bill Simmons
We wanted more of it. She's top 30 beating players at majors. It went from a fun story to a very real story and a phenomenon. And we should all grab it, embrace it, love it, shake it, be thankful for it. She is single handedly bringing more fans into tennis in a very committed and passionate way.
- [26:32]
Mike
It's a real spike. It's real, it's. I mean if I'm the WTA, I'm thinking about how I'm going to capitalize on it. She also helps with her charm and accessibility and there's sort of bottomless. I mean she's great. She gets it. And yeah, I mean, I don't know if we talked about. I mean, I said the one thing it reminds me of is sort of Kournikova mania when it was a little bit out of proportion. That was always icky. This is like all good. There's no downside to this.
- [26:57]
Bill Simmons
Fantastic. Another thing I am going to make serve listeners. If you're going to the US Open, I implore you, I beg you. I'm telling you, you have to go see Taquito Oda. You have to just want a tenth Slam wheelchair tennis. He is on his way to becoming the greatest of all time. 6:1, 6:1 in the final of Wimbledon. You have to go see this legend. You have to. You must. It's your homework.
- [27:29]
Mike
How many majors?
- [27:30]
Bill Simmons
He's like 10.
- [27:30]
Mike
He's 20 years old.
- [27:31]
JW
10, 20 years old.
- [27:34]
Bill Simmons
He, he equaled the wheelchair tennis.
- [27:37]
JW
Yeah.
- [27:37]
Bill Simmons
It's so hard. Go back and with Rick Traney. Go listen to our explainer. Go back and search the archives or we'll put it up next week or something. But it is. You have to go watch Taquito Oda. If you claim you're a tennis fan and you want to kind of embrace, you know, a tournament that's not singles, go watch Taquito Oda. We talk about people like people are all bent out of shape of all. Watch Taquito Oda. This guy deserves $1 trillion.
- [28:05]
Mike
Yes. We need to make that documentary. Let's, let's get the rights to that.
- [28:09]
JW
Well, I want to, I want to shout out also, I think, I think Yui Kamiji also won 6060. And that apparently was her first wimbled single title. She completed a career golden slam.
- [28:20]
Bill Simmons
I mean double big on the Go watch. Go watch wheelchair tennis. The strength, the strength it takes. Exactly the strength and athleticism it takes is mind blowing. It is, it is a physical marvel. It is amazing. These are champions. Go watch them. Go watch them. Go watch them. Go watch them. Go watch them. You have to exactly the.
- [28:39]
Mike
If our studio. We had the good fortune of being right above court 14 where they had a lot of these matches. It is a great sporting event and they're using all angles of the court and it writes the strength and what you like. Where's the one handed backhand? I'll tell you where the one handed backhand is, for obvious reasons.
- [28:55]
Bill Simmons
Hell yes.
- [28:55]
Mike
It's, it's, it's a real asset to this sport.
- [28:58]
Bill Simmons
Yes. Well said. You have to. You have to. I'll come out and watch with you. I need to go. I. I haven't. Yes. In amazing. Um. Okay.
- [29:07]
JW
So.
- [29:07]
Bill Simmons
Something I've been kind of. I haven't mentioned at this point and I. I'm like. I have this weird relationship with mentioning it, but I. You have to. I watched one of the best junior matches I've ever seen in the finals of the boys Wimbledon final. And one was my. One of my old nemesis Nemesi. Nemesis.
- [29:28]
JW
Sis.
- [29:28]
Bill Simmons
Nemesis. Nemesis. Nemesis. Leighton Hewitt's son, Cruz Hewitt, makes the finals of junior Wimbledon insane. I remember, like when you see a kid when he's like three years old, you never see that kid. Not three years old. Fantastic. And 16 year old Jordan Lee from the United States. I am hesitant to mention prospects because I think there's a thirst for an American male that is sometimes out of control. I'm not going to be the only one talking about this kid.
- [30:03]
Mike
No.
- [30:04]
Bill Simmons
Went through qualies. He won Orangeville last year. Went through qualies here. Did it the hard way. Wins junior Wimbledon. I've watched him. The kid is so legit. He can move, he can run. This was a great junior final.
- [30:20]
Mike
This was played on court one and you had a ticket. There were 10,000 people watching. Yeah. I mean, the atmosphere for this match, the level of competition, the. I thought especially the wheels on. Jordan Lee, 16 years old. He said he had a wrist injury last year. He didn't know if he would, you know, play tennis at this competitive level while his peers are all ascending and he's doing stupid exercises. This was a lot of fun as a sporting event. Again, we're. I think we share the same view.
- [30:47]
Bill Simmons
It's.
- [30:47]
Mike
You always feel a little bit ambitious. Yeah, exactly.
- [30:51]
Bill Simmons
Gets that space. Everyone around him just.
- [30:53]
Mike
Exactly.
- [30:54]
Bill Simmons
Not like you ever listen to the show. Let's not be in a hurry with the Thirst Olympics.
- [30:58]
Mike
Right. Or the next blank.
- [31:00]
Bill Simmons
They will be fine.
- [31:01]
Mike
Yeah.
- [31:01]
Bill Simmons
He will have that. Whether or not we create that hype mechanism or not. He'll be fine.
- [31:06]
Mike
Yeah. But I was really impressed with Jimmy. Jimmy Jones out there. Let's not even mention his name because he. He was Fred Barnett.
- [31:14]
Bill Simmons
He is. He is. I'm not going to go on and on and on. I'm not going to try to. He is legit. Good.
- [31:19]
Mike
Yeah, legit.
- [31:20]
Bill Simmons
Very, very good.
- [31:23]
Mike
The level of play.
- [31:23]
Bill Simmons
A prospect of which. With which we haven't had in a long time.
- [31:26]
Mike
All right.
- [31:27]
Bill Simmons
So congrats to him. Congrats to Cruz Hewitt. That was a fantastic story.
- [31:32]
JW
It.
- [31:32]
Bill Simmons
It was just fun to see. It kind of made me realize that time is going Too fast.
- [31:37]
JW
When.
- [31:38]
Bill Simmons
When Cruz Hewitt making the final of of the boys. But it was, it was a great event on court one, as JW said, plenty of people there enjoying. Do you have to go, J?
- [31:47]
Mike
You come here. Kill me if I have to bounce.
- [31:48]
Bill Simmons
You got to go.
- [31:49]
Mike
All right, wait, gentlemen.
- [31:52]
JW
Before you go, before you go.
- [31:54]
Mike
What do you got?
- [31:54]
JW
We'll take it. We have to talk about who won the bracket challenge.
- [31:58]
Mike
I'll do that.
- [31:59]
Bill Simmons
Let him go. He doesn't need to stay here.
- [32:00]
Mike
Is that a good time to leave
- [32:02]
JW
or should I.
- [32:04]
Mike
Uber meter's running.
- [32:06]
Bill Simmons
JW won the women's bracket, right?
- [32:08]
Mike
Oh, yeah. I get a septum ring. It was a pleasure. Thanks, everyone. It's good time.
- [32:13]
Bill Simmons
See you.
- [32:14]
Ad Read Announcer
All right.
- [32:15]
Bill Simmons
I mean, Mike, cjw. I mean, if there's no jw, there's really no reason to carry on with this show. No, no.
- [32:23]
JW
It was just more about announcing our bracket challenge winners.
- [32:25]
Bill Simmons
Okay, do that.
- [32:27]
JW
I was gonna let, I was gonna let you gloat a little bit. You won the men's draw between you and John by, By a lot. By a couple hundred points. And you actually beat all of the served talent, beating Kim and Blair as well, only edging out Blair by about 15 points. My bracket did not do well.
- [32:49]
Bill Simmons
Your, what you attempted to do with your bracket and how epically it failed,
- [32:54]
JW
it was based on head to head. And then if they had never played each other, then I was going to pick whoever was the highest ranked player.
- [33:01]
Bill Simmons
And how'd that go? Did you finish last?
- [33:03]
JW
No, I came in. I, I, I mean, yeah, it wasn't good.
- [33:11]
Bill Simmons
It wasn't good. It wasn't good.
- [33:13]
JW
But shout out. Shout out to our winners. We had over. We had almost 7,000 brackets filled out, which is crazy. Thank you everybody for doing that. And right now we have our winners. On the men's side was Adnan and CK Tennis tied on the men's bracket. On the women's side, Numarila won that with 9, 19. 53 points and then also took home the combined score by 35, 27. So shout out to those guys and techie Sean's gonna pack up the studio. We'll ship you guys some Wimbledon merch fun for, for winning.
- [33:52]
Bill Simmons
You know what else we should do for the winners is we should at least do a direct to camera. Like, if they want to, we should do a direct to camera where I basically just tell everyone, all of their friends, that they kicked my ass.
- [34:04]
JW
You can do it right now, right?
- [34:05]
Bill Simmons
Like, you. Well, I'll get the name, like, see if they actually want me to use it real names for their friends. It doesn't have to go out on like the serve channel but like, yeah, something where they can brag and I can eat. How's that?
- [34:14]
JW
I like it. I like it.
- [34:15]
Bill Simmons
But I'll do that too.
- [34:16]
JW
So now, now, you know, put in your calendar, guys. Add to your group 49 days out to the U. S Open draw.
- [34:21]
Bill Simmons
Oh my God. I'm not ready. I'm not ready. I'm not ready. After these two weeks, I'm not ready.
- [34:25]
JW
I know it's you'll. You're going to recover.
- [34:28]
Bill Simmons
That was pretty, pretty passive aggressive of you. We appreciate you. Love you Serb nation. We will see you in a week. We don't have no shows for a week. What are we gonna do with ourselves?
- [34:42]
Mike
We can figure.
- [34:42]
JW
I don't know.
- [34:44]
Bill Simmons
We will see you. I am. You will see this Tuesday. This is Sunday evening here. I'm going to fly home and enjoy some time. I hope you all too. You all will too. Congrats to the victors. Sinner Noskova champions. Congratulations. We'll see you next week. This has been served. Brought to you by ServiceNow as I drop my pen.
- [35:05]
Mike
Bye.
- [35:05]
Bill Simmons
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.
- [35:34]
Ad Read Announcer
Hey, guys, have you heard of gold belly? It's this amazing site where they ship the most iconic famous foods from restaurants across the country, anywhere nationwide. I've never found a more perfect gift than food. Gold belly ship Chicago deep dish pizza, New York bagels, Maine lobster rolls, and even ina Garden's famous cakes. So if you're looking for a gift for the food lover in your life, head to goldbelly.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code GIFT. That's goldbelly.com promo code GIFT.
- [36:03]
Bill Simmons
Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very legal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment
- [36:25]
Ad Read Announcer
of $45 for three months, $90 for six months or $180 for a 12 month plan required $15 per month equivalent taxes and fees. Extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes. Me slow when network is busy. See terms.