JW Jump (2:13)

Yeah. Great to see San Francisco tennis fans getting nourished here. All right. Great, great city of the world used to have the Transamerica event. McEnroe, Borg, everyone came through. Andy, you played San Jose, remember? Where did Venus Williams win her very first professional tennis match? Active player Venus Williams was that in San Jose? Oakland across the way. Oakland right across the water here. So point being, great tennis community. This goes back decades and decades furnished professional players. The Bay Area has been a great contributor to tennis. Great that we have this event this weekend.

Host (2:51)

It's fantastic. If we could get the graphic and we can take a look at the, at the teams we real quick, we'll tell you all about the format.

Producer Mike (3:00)

Here we go.

Host (3:00)

All right. For team World we have Alex Mikkelsen, the big man. Riley Opelka serves out of a tree late edition. Alex Dimanour. You don't often get a replacement that is also currently top 10 in the world. Nice pull for captain Andre on that one. The leader of the team. Taylor Fritz, Joao Fonseca. Anyone seen this kid play?

Producer Mike (3:22)

So pumped to see him play.

Host (3:24)

I. I got to play a little deal with him at the US Open on has been night when he played with us. He's obviously not a has been. He's like 12. But the, the way that the ball comes off of his racket. We'll bring that graphic back up. The. The way the ball comes off of his racket is just something pretty special. Francisco Surindalo. If any of you listen to our show regularly, I'm not going to comment on him because whenever I say he's going to do well, it doesn't happen. And whenever I say he's going to do badly, he ends up doing very well. So I'm not even gonna comment on it. And the alternate, Jensen Brooksby, his story is absolutely inspiring. If you don't know what I'm talking about, please spend some time on Google and see the latest news with with Jensen Brooksby, let's go to Team Europe. All right. Caboli Thea of the Wimbledon quarterfinals fame played a tough one against Novak Djokovic. I don't. I think this is true. And if not, let's not let the truth get in the way of a good story. I think Alex Verev has played in every edition of, of the Labor Cup. Obviously he's been a top five player for, for many years. Who's. Who's the next one next to Zverev?

JW Jump (4:25)

Holger Rune or something?

Host (4:26)

Hold it. Runick.

Producer Mike (4:28)

Holger. I'm going to ask him. I'm going to go to the press conference.

JW Jump (4:31)

Don't go to the press conference. Just slide in DMs. Yo, too soon. All right. Ask him.

Host (4:39)

God, I can't wait to get fired from this job.

Producer Mike (4:41)

I know. I know. This next guy.

Host (4:43)

Yeah. Anyone heard of center? I don't know. Do we think Carlos Alcaraz is in form right now?

Producer Mike (4:50)

He's blonde, too.

Host (4:51)

They say blondes have more fun. I don't know that. I don't know that. He could have much more fun than he did. We got to update the New York City yakimancy. I don't know if you saw him in Miami this year winning that tournament. A little bit up and down since then, but guy probably one of the top five serves in the world right now. Casper Rude has been a standby sneaky. Looking at this, the Alcaraz Rude doubles team has been really good in the Laver cup format. Wouldn't be surprised to see that from captain Noah. And Mahach is the. Is the alternate in this thing. Let's go to the next graphic and we'll tell you how this all works. Or you can just leave me hanging. Whatever. No sweat. There we go. Rules and match format a little different than what we normally do. Actually, we're going to take a pause here. Put your hands together for Andre Agassi.

Producer Mike (5:39)

He's got to get miked up real quick.

Host (5:52)

Double A. Yo, what's up, bud?

Producer Mike (5:54)

He's up here in a hurry.

Host (5:55)

Captain double A. Captain double A. That's right. I've heard. I've heard numerous people. I've ran into some people in the lobby of the hotel, and they say Andre's really getting. Getting into his guys. Like, you're into this. You're. You were. You're here to. You're here for the win.

Andre Agassi (6:10)

Well, of course we're here for the win. I mean, but with that being said, like, yeah, I want to be on that court, on the practice court. I mean, rumor has it John never went on the practice court.

Producer Mike (6:19)

John Mc.

Andre Agassi (6:20)

I mean, I'm not dissing him or anything, but, yeah, that to me is the best part.

Host (6:24)

Yeah. Give us one or two examples of the interactions you've had with the players. I heard, Mickelson, you were trying to say you don't have to take a huge swing on every return. Maybe just some of them.

Andre Agassi (6:32)

Yeah. Yeah. Welcome to tennis. You know, you don't have to actually win the point. Somebody else can lose it. Right. But with that being said, no, you know, there's. There's. It's kind of. There's two buckets of activity One is to hopefully give some form of North Star to these players as they look towards sort of building their career or what stage they are in their career, especially the young ones. Fonseca, you know, Mickelson. And, you know, you give them something that they can kind of grow towards. Jensen, Brooksby. And then there's the other part, which is maybe you can add a little shortcut to sort of accomplish what it is they feel a little more insecure about or what it is they're unsure, they're looking to do. So there's a little real time and there's a little big picture. It's enjoyable to see how they process, though.

Host (7:11)

How are you balancing the last three months of form versus what you're seeing this week when it comes to the lineups? And I know they're not out till later, but no one's watching this, obviously, so you could just, you could just.

Andre Agassi (7:24)

Tell us live, right?

Host (7:25)

No, it's not live. Yeah, definitely.

JW Jump (7:27)

It's a little live.

Host (7:28)

It's a little live. It's a little live.

Andre Agassi (7:29)

I mean. Yeah, no, no, I, I, we're allowed to talk about it.

Host (7:32)

I hope so. You tell me. You're the captain.

Andre Agassi (7:33)

So, I mean, did you explain the rules yet? How the format.

Host (7:36)

We have the graphic up right here.

Andre Agassi (7:38)

So basically the first day, we have to decide by last night. We have to slot three players, singles players, three singles, one doubles tomorrow. So we have to slot three guys blindly. The Team Euro. God, it just doesn't even come out of your mouth. Team Euro, you know, it's like they, they have to slot three blindly, right? And so if we put any three in any order, slot one, plays each other, slot two plays each other, slot three, right? And then we pick our Devils team blindly, and they pick a double team blindly. So tomorrow, out of the blocks, we have on Team World. See how that just rolls off the ground better.

Producer Mike (8:17)

So good.

JW Jump (8:17)

Trolling them better.

Andre Agassi (8:18)

Yeah, we got, we got Opelka. Big question in my mind going into this. Are they going to play Casper Rude or Holger Rune first? And they went with Casper. So Casper is playing Opelka in the first match. Second match, we got Mensik on their side going against Mickelson, which is kind of the matchup we were hoping for.

Host (8:42)

Why?

Andre Agassi (8:43)

Well, because, first of all, they know each other well, you know, so the same age, growing up, playing a lot together. And I just, I mean, I could give you matchups, but I just, I don't know if Team Euro.

Host (8:54)

Oh, yeah.

Andre Agassi (8:55)

Is watching this, but I just, I Like, I like Mickelson's game matched up to that, and I'm comfortable with it, especially in the thickness and the slowness and lowness of this court. So I'm really comfortable with. With. With pace through this court, if somebody's counting on that, because these points are going to be battle. And then third. Third match, we got Joao Fonseca, who will be playing Kaboli. If I'm saying that wrong, I apologize to every.

Host (9:25)

No, they can. They're not playing each other.

Yannick Noah (9:26)

They're.

Host (9:27)

Yeah, yeah. Fonseca, Kaboli.

Andre Agassi (9:32)

Well, I. I missed that.

JW Jump (9:33)

If you're sorry.

Host (9:34)

I had a glitch, go ahead.

Andre Agassi (9:35)

Okay. I was just gonna. I didn't know. I. I didn't know if I was being. If you felt like Letterman for a second, you know, I'm not sure who people are laughing at right now, me or you.

JW Jump (9:45)

Mostly me. Tough times.

Andre Agassi (9:47)

And then. And then we stuck as our doubles team. We have Taylor and Mickelson. Because I. Mickelson's fresh to the scene, right? Meaning he has never played. But at the same time, when you play singles that day, you're going to see the ball like a. Like a melon in the double. So kind of like that. Taylor's a believer. He's a winner. He's unflappable. He's been a rock for this team. So Taylor and Mickelson and the doubles will be playing Alcaraz and Mensik in the. In the evening match.

JW Jump (10:13)

That's an interesting.

Host (10:15)

All right.

Andre Agassi (10:15)

Yeah. I mean, you know, it. It is. I mean, it kind of stood out, but every time you see Alcaraz's name on the draw or next to your. You just. It just kind of makes it. Everything in your body tense up a little bit. You know what I mean?

Host (10:27)

I mean, I don't. I don't know. I. I don't. I think. I don't think he's. I don't think he's going to be very good from here on out.

Andre Agassi (10:33)

He's a. Yeah, he's.

Host (10:34)

Yeah, it's like.

Andre Agassi (10:34)

I mean, he's so overrated.

Host (10:36)

So overrated. He can't. He has no variety. Kind of.

JW Jump (10:38)

Kind of peaked.

Host (10:39)

You'll be fine.

Andre Agassi (10:40)

I told him when I saw him.

Host (10:41)

You'll be fine.

Andre Agassi (10:41)

I told him when I saw him earlier, Alcaraz, I said, you know, listen, man, I mean, for whatever it's worth, I know you're the enemy here, but I can't coach you and stuff, but you got to work on your athleticism.

Host (10:52)

Walk us through Kind of the feedback loop inside of your team. Right. As a player, if my captain comes to me and says, how you doing? I'm going to say, I'm here for you. I'm going to play well. I'm going to do this thing like, what's the offset between you and Pat Rafter and actual feedback from your team, what you can believe, what you can't, and also process, like these guys do what they do. Every week you're coming in with maybe.

Andre Agassi (11:14)

A different multiple questions. My head explodes.

Host (11:16)

You can do it.

Andre Agassi (11:17)

Okay, I got this.

Host (11:17)

I got this.

Andre Agassi (11:18)

First of all, the offset with Pat is great because he's like, sober and I'm, I'm a little. I, I get a little. I don't mean that literally. Right.

Host (11:29)

But sounded like literally. That was funny. That was a great joke. If you met.

Andre Agassi (11:32)

He's like connected to Earth. He's like, he keeps, you know, saying, I, I get a, you know, I can get a little, A little lost in the details sometimes. You know, I get into it. And so it's a good offset, personality wise. And he's just an easy guy to be around. I loved him as a competitor. I mean, one of the few guys, when I lost to him, I actually left a match saying, well, at least Pat won. I mean, he's, you know, and. But here's the, here's the thing that's interesting. A little sort of look behind the scenes. I'm sorry, if I turn this way, I can't, can't hear. So I'm keeping my head like this is, is if you talk to the Americans, everyone can win every match, including doubles, all the time. It's like there's something in the American generation. I don't know if, you know, you had that. I have no idea. But when I see it at this age, I'm going, why does every American go? I got that, I got that.

Host (12:21)

I think we worked more from like a place of panic and then move forward from there.

Andre Agassi (12:25)

I worked straight out of insecurity.

Host (12:26)

Yeah.

Andre Agassi (12:27)

And I just said, you know, I got to over respect my opponent. But no, there's not a guy in this team that doesn't believe they can win any match. The format has a lot to do with that. Right. I mean, they put a lot of thought behind this format. If you think about it, you could be down six, two, fighting to hold, serve to three all, and then hold, break, hold, and play. Good breaker. Technically, you know, you could play 14 great minutes and win a match. So everybody knows they can get over the Finish line. They're very confident. It is then a function of figuring out, you know, who's most comfortable with what matchups. And that happens really on one day because Saturday, for after tonight, after tomorrow night, we gotta post our lineup for Saturday and then, and then team Hero has to gets to match up against it. Right. And then at the end of Saturday, Team Euro has to put up their lineup and then we get to match up against that. So it's a great format. They've really done a great job with it.

Host (13:20)

Would you have enjoyed playing in this? You won 30 matches as a Davis Cupper. Which more? Right up there. What more? You're 30 and 5.

Andre Agassi (13:27)

I thought I was 34.

Host (13:28)

I don't think you were. I know. It's okay.

Andre Agassi (13:31)

Give me a second. I gotta.

Host (13:32)

You were still pretty good. You were still pretty good though. I promise you. Would you have enjoyed this format and kind of the buy in the shorter format? It's like a sugar rush. You got a race to the finish line. 10 point tiebreakers, the action never stops. Your teammates are talking to you. You might not have liked that part.

Andre Agassi (13:46)

If it was Pete, would he have been talking to me? Yeah, we definitely went on about our work differently. So the team, the team part. The team part I love. Right. As you mentioned, Davis cup, you play alone the whole year and then you. Because two things are happening. You don't want to let your teammate down, but there's also part of you that wants to show them what they may have to continue to worry about for the rest of the year.

Host (14:11)

Right.

Andre Agassi (14:11)

So your peers, but your competitors, but you're together and I think that always brings out the energy and the best in people. However, I would have preferred a longer format. Right. Because my game was designed on sort of putting together a narrative and a tapestry and like this, like, sort of like, you know, once I once had tie break, I think might have had a little stress element to me too.

Host (14:31)

How's the cause I know Davis cup, it's a smaller team room, there's a couple guys. Our team was a little bit different. We chose to hang out with each other. But the vibe in the team room here, everyone picking each other's brains, is it just joking around or is it, you know, what's the vibe on team?

Andre Agassi (14:47)

Well, you know, the difference between Saint, Davis cup and big picture. And this is like, you know, you got cultures that sort of are entrenched in Davis cup. Right. You're around your fellow, you know, your, your fellow American, your fellow Aussie here. You know, you Have South American, you have Australia, you have. So it's, it's really fun. You different ages and different stages of career. So it's really a, like a ragtag team of, of just true professionals who, who are giving and buying into everything in this game, coming together to discuss the, the details but also to sort of be the outlet for the other one. And it's, it's, listen, it's a great vibe. They're counting on each other. I just, I just can't screw it up. That's so I just, I want to, I want to make sure each one can have their latitude to be the best of themselves and we'll have a great weekend.

JW Jump (15:32)

How are you preparing for that? I mean, it's just big picture. It's great to see you back in the mix the way you have been the past year and a half or so. It's great to see you around here. But still, this is a fast moving sport.

Host (15:43)

It's global.

JW Jump (15:44)

You're not watching every match. How are you preparing for this role and saying, hey, listen, what works for Alex Mickelson may not be what works for Taylor Fritz, but I've got to tailor my message well, first of all.

Andre Agassi (15:55)

I don't have to watch the entire match, right? I mean I've, I've lived this sport long enough where when I tune in from time to time I can, I can get a lot of juice out of the, out of the time because I understand what sort of happens. So I, I do make a conscious effort to stay engaged with the game from that perspective. But I would also say that it's impossible in this sport to parachute into somebody's life and think you're going to make a difference. So like one of the important things for me and for, you know, I think the, is that I take the time to speak to their coaches way leading up to this to understand how they process in real time to understand what somebody hears versus what you say, which are two different things. Right. As a coach, I could, I could say something and it could be very accurate and very right. But if they hear something different, that's a problem. Right. Some people want more, let's say energy, positivity, you know, not too many other people can process. So it really, it really does depend on the player and you're not going to discover that in a day. So leading up, that was a, that's a big component.

Host (16:54)

So we gotta get him out of here. Yeah, I was gonna say we gotta.

Producer Mike (16:57)

Get back out on the court.

Host (16:58)

All right, fine. That's the way it works.

Andre Agassi (17:01)

You got one more and then I'll hustle out. Did you want to ask something?

Host (17:04)

No, I was just gonna say this might not be something you realize until it's real time, but the TV viewing experience, the banter between captain players on the bench, that's a big part of it. Have you thought about how much to inject or is that purely situational?

Andre Agassi (17:17)

Oh, it's totally real time. I mean, this, this, this shit is real. The only thing I worry about is saying stuff like that, like swearing on accident, right? It's like. Because I'm not kidding. And I warned everybody. I said, listen, I got, I got like cursed Tourette's going. Sometimes, you know, it's like, it's an efficient form of communication, right? Sometimes. And I got to be careful. But, but that's how real it is where, you know, you do have to put up some, some parameters. But at the same time, you know, you, you got to get your point across if you know it's the right point and your, and your guy is, is hearing it the right way and counting on it.

Host (17:51)

Well, we can't wait to watch it. Go, Team World. I don't know if we're allowed to say that. Screw it. I said it. I said it. I did it. I did it. Round of applause for Andre Agassin. Thanks for stopping by, Jackie. So there's a couple of things while we're waiting for Captain Noah and his rebuttal.

JW Jump (18:20)

Yeah.

Host (18:20)

To laying it down. But a couple of great things about, about this event. One, one of the greats of all time, Roger Federer playing, paying tribute to Rod Laver. By putting this event together, where we share court, we share cultures, we share this melting pot of tennis that is so fantastic. But also bringing Johnny Mack back into the fold as a captain, bringing Bjorn Borg back into the fold, bringing Andre Agassi back into the fold, and y. Noah, I mean, what a win for tennis.

JW Jump (18:49)

Think about the range of ages here. From Rod Laver, after whom this is named, to, you know, Brazilian teenagers. This real, the lineage of tennis as it plays out is one of the real, one of the real beauties here. And I wish Andre could just be a little more thoughtful and not just give such cliched and road answers.

Host (19:08)

Well, I'm, I asked him the last question about, like, when to get involved and when not to because he is able and, you know, one of the most self aware people that I've ever been around in my entire life. Like, if he tells you one good thing about himself, he's going to tell you three things that he's gotten wrong, which I think is a superpower sometimes. But also he goes into such detail and is able to dissect things in such a way where it's like sometimes simplicity, rules and sometimes complexity can rule. And him trying to find that balance in real time. Coaching someone on court, which he hasn't done before, I think is one of the real amazing things about this event. Right. To see how it actually translates in real time.

Producer Mike (19:45)

You know, one of the things that I wanted, if we would have had a little bit more time with, maybe we'd ask Yannick about it, is each day the matches are weighted differently. Right. Like it's one point tomorrow it's two points, the next day it's three points the next. How much is that factoring in as he.

Host (19:58)

Well, that, that's why you're not seeing, that's why you're not seeing Alcaraz, day.

JW Jump (20:00)

One, we got the heavy guns for the week.

Host (20:02)

Correct. You're bringing your, you know that, that all goes into it for sure. Like they know how it's weighted. You're going to run. You know, Alcaraz, Zverev and Alcaraz aren't on day one for, for Team Europe, right?

Yannick Noah (20:13)

Yeah.

Producer Mike (20:14)

They're going to bring them in clutch.

Host (20:15)

That's your answer.

JW Jump (20:15)

Which we know. Which is. I mean, I'm sure you guys all know this too. And this is one of the real beauties of the event is this accelerator clause where Sunday stakes get higher. Yeah. As you could tell by the. It doesn't take a tactical genius to maybe you keep your top five players for the, for the most valuable matches. But what do you make of the. Getting Carlos out there for doubles is an interesting, interesting call.

Host (20:38)

Yeah. I mean if you're Carlos, I'm guessing, I'm guessing he didn't go straight from winning the US Open to the practice courts and two days later, I think getting a match, he posted it after he won. Let's put our hands together for Yannick Noah, captain of Team Euro. Oh, good.

Yannick Noah (21:11)

Hi guys.

Host (21:13)

Hello, captain. No, hey, I, I gotta be honest, you didn't, you didn't see it. And I'm, I'm so happy to have you on served. I've been such a, a fan of yours for such a long time. This is, this is awesome for us.

Yannick Noah (21:23)

Thank you. Can you repeat that?

Host (21:25)

Yep, I will. Well, we, we can edit it. We can send it, we can send.

Yannick Noah (21:28)

It to you need some confidence.

Host (21:29)

I gotta honest though, Andre was talking a lot of trash. He was just here right now. He was.

JW Jump (21:33)

He was.

Host (21:34)

He was talking a whole lot of trash. But did share the matchups for tomorrow. Early Opelka, Casper. Menchic, Mickelson, Fonseca, Kaboli. Are you happy with the way the matchups turned out?

Yannick Noah (21:48)

Well, I'm happy in general, so, yes. You know, obviously, you know, as you know, you have all these quality players, and we. So are you starting with. To sabotage me?

Host (22:01)

No.

Yannick Noah (22:03)

And, you know, there's all these quality players, so obviously, you know, yeah, we're gonna have some. Some great tennis. You know, all these guys are so good. So, yeah, now we know who's playing who. We've been here for, like, three days practicing, getting ready for this unbelievable event.

Host (22:17)

When you were approached about doing this job, not the same as Andre, because you have experience being a captain. You led France to the Davis cup title as a captain in 1991. I remember watching that. Watching. I was obviously cheering against you that day. But then 1997, then 1997, you led the Fed cup team to a title. And then Even last year, 2024, the Paralympics, you were the wheelchair captain. You have a lot of experience with being a captain. How much does that translate to this style of event? Or is it completely different because you're parachuting in for the week and bunch of players from a bunch of different places and cultures?

Yannick Noah (22:58)

Well, it's diff. It's. It's always different. All the players are different. You know, they have. We all have different journeys. Right? So it's not about what I'm saying. First of all, I'm trying to listen to what they have to say, who they are. I'm coaching men and women. I'm not just. I'm not coaching players. I don't know anything about tennis, tell you the truth, But I'm trying to, you know, you know, with time. You know, with time, you know, you. It's about transmitting. You know, I'm a grandfather, so it's about transmitting, and I love that part, but you have to listen to the players. So most of these players, I don't know them. I saw them on tv. I saw a few matches at the French Open, but to be able to spend some time outside the court, you know, talk about life in jail, I get to know them, and this is where my. My job is fun, and I really look forward to just go into the court and see how they react. But it's about trying to listen to who they are first.

Host (23:57)

How has that process been this week? And I Asked Andre a similar question. You know, as active athletes, you know, I say when someone retires, they're ready to tell you the truth. Right. As an active athlete, we're always trying to convince ourselves, oh, I didn't play well last week, but I'm definitely going to play well this next week. I'm going to try to convince myself that something's going better. How do you value the feedback from the players versus what you're seeing in practice? You know, and how do you kind of have those two things offset again?

Yannick Noah (24:24)

You know, it's. It depends on the player, and it's sometimes the timing. You know, there are moments that you can say certain things. There are other moments when you just had to let the person digest it a little bit, because at the end of the day, he's the one playing. So I can put. Have my input. But the moment when you say that something is very important, the timing is important. And not only the timing, it's like the tone. The tone is very important also.

Host (24:50)

That's what my wife says. Apparently, I get the tone wrong.

JW Jump (24:53)

Not what you said. You said it.

Yannick Noah (24:55)

You know, it is true. You know, there's so many ways to say the same things, but it's about the intensity and how you say things that can make a difference, especially when you are with these guys under pressure all year long. So it's very important. The communication is very important at that moment.

JW Jump (25:11)

Tell me if I'm wrong. I heard a story once. You wore the. The Cameroonian wristband, the famous wristband, in part because it was to remind yourself you were playing for more than just yourself, that there was something you were. You were representing. And I wonder how. First of all, I suspect you would have loved this event, but how you. You're sort of balancing the individual of tennis with this team format that I think speaks to some of your strengths.

Yannick Noah (25:37)

Well, I mean, Andy, you know, you know, we. You know, we play tennis, but we always play for someone. Always. You don't play for yourself, People have a tendency to think that we're playing for ourselves. I never played for myself, and I don't think Andy ever played for himself. You always play for someone. You know, you start playing in your kid, you say, hey, mom, did you see that? Hey, Daddy. You see that? And then move on. And then as you grow up, you know, the motivation changes. You know, like 17, 18. I was playing to get some more.

Host (26:06)

Cheeks.

Yannick Noah (26:09)

You know, because I knew that if I was not good, I'm not gonna get.

Host (26:13)

How'd that turn out for You.

Yannick Noah (26:14)

So I tried to be good, and. And this happened. And then you say, okay, I'm gon. First check. What do I do? Well, I'm gonna get maybe a house for mom, you know, and dad says, hey, what about me? So. And then on and on. So the motivation, motivation, change. And it's always a good feeling to know that you're winning and you're playing for someone, and I play for the loved ones. Sometimes I play for people who came to me and say winning made them happy. I guess I'm happy to hear that. And, of course, me being French and also African, when I play, I know that there's a lot of people in Africa and in Cameroon in particular, that are very happy. So I play. It makes. Gives me the energy. And now being captain of Europe, I mean, I'm so full of gratitude, you know, I can't even believe I'm here, really, because I was in Cameroon, you know, but in my house, you know, I'm, like, living in the middle of the jungle now, you know, I'm going back to the roots, you know. And then for some reason, the phone worked, and it's like Steve and Roger calling me, saying, would you be the captain? Captain or what? No, I didn't know if they wanted me to get them on the boat somewhere. So now I say, you know, I mean, how you doing, Roger? I say, what's wrong with you? He said, well, you know, everything's cool. Yannick, would you be captain? I said, are you joking? So then he said, no, he's serious. And I take it. I'm. I'm very. First of all, I'm impressed to be, you know, coaching these guys, you know, what do you say? You know, I was just practicing with Carlito. What do I say? I'm just. Shut up and just let him play, you know, so, no, it's an honor to be here. It's my first time in San Francisco, so I'm really happy to be here.

Producer Mike (28:11)

That's awesome.

Host (28:12)

How was your. Your journey through life is so interesting because most people play tennis, have success at tennis, and obviously, your victory at Roland Garros is something that has stood for so many years and been so important. But then you have this entirely different career. You've played concerts in front of 80,000 people. Musically, your journey, your relationship with tennis, starts with tennis, goes into something else. It seems like you come back to tennis a little bit. Life takes you in a different direction. What has your relationship with tennis been over the last 30 years?

Yannick Noah (28:48)

You know, when I played, I Felt something was missing. I couldn't really put a word on it, on this emotion. I had to work on being. I had to work on being more selfish. And when I became more selfish, being surrounded by people, it was always about me, me, me. I needed that in order to, like, compete, you know, in this professional, crazy world. So when I stopped, it was a relief for me because all of a sudden I realized that I can also. There are other people around me, including my close ones, you know, so it was interesting to rebuild and. And become a man, you know, because when I was playing, it was everything around me all the time, so it's good. But then I became captain right away, and I love the fact that I could actually help someone else. And my first year as captain was coaching my best friends, Guy Forge.

Host (29:47)

Yeah.

Yannick Noah (29:47)

And Henri laconte. So that was easy. The transition was easy. But it was interesting all of a sudden to just say, okay, it's not about me. It's about him now. What can I do for him? And on and on. And then I went to the music, like, right away. I loved it right away. It was, of course, the first reaction when, you know, I. I started was the easy way, was just to do rock and roll.

Host (30:14)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yannick Noah (30:15)

You know, you know, show the muscle.

Host (30:17)

You know, be a male.

Yannick Noah (30:18)

You know, it's like, natural as you play, you know, you cannot go out and play tennis and say, oh, I lost, because I was too sensitive. But of course, there is sensitivity inside me that I wanted to explain, express all these years and all the wounds that I had, and I can do that through my music. And for me, singing is my therapy, and I love it. And I'm not such a great singer, but when I sing, I mean what I say, and people have a tendency to believe what I say. Not like now, of course, you don't believe anything I'm saying. But when I sing, sometimes, you know, people believe. And it's my therapy. And so I'm going from the music to the tennis, and, you know, it's my. Both of my family.

Host (31:01)

How much. How much outreach did you have? Because when you're. When you're talking through. When you became the Davis cup captain for France, you were with your contemporaries, you were with the guys that you were playing a year earlier, like, completely different than, I'm guessing, what the last year of your life has been like with Laver Cup. When did outreach start? Did you. Did you want to know the players in the lead up, or was it more along the lines of give them their space? Kind of we'll cross paths at some point. What was the process like with players that you say you, you didn't really know?

Yannick Noah (31:30)

Well, I mean, the best thing that the, the, the organization did was that to take me last year to Berlin to see how it works. So last year, you know, of course, as you all know, yeah, it was Bjorn Borg, the captain, and Bjorn is a good friend of mine.

Host (31:45)

Yeah.

Yannick Noah (31:45)

And it was good to be able to see how it works. So what they do is have like a, have a dinner with all the players with no agents, no family, just the players. And we get to spend some quality time and some, you know, just chatting, getting to know each other and that this is the first time I met them. And so now when I came back this year, I knew most of them. Like Sasha, I knew I met Carlos a few times. So I got to know them. So it's easier for me because I have said before, it's easier for me to coach somebody that I know.

Host (32:18)

Is it, is there any chance that you're going to be able to turn Carlos around? He hasn't been playing well recently.

Yannick Noah (32:24)

He's playing that.

Host (32:25)

Yes. I'm just wondering, I know you're not a miracle worker, but you know, what are you going to do to actually get, get Carlos some confidence moving forward?

Yannick Noah (32:34)

Well, I mean, the good thing, he's playing so bad. So whatever, whatever I'm gonna say is gonna help him, you know, at that point.

Host (32:41)

Can only, can only go up from here. Listen, thank you for stopping by, sir. It's been so much fun being here with you.

Yannick Noah (32:50)

And he talked too much, though. He talks too much.

Producer Mike (32:54)

What am I gonna say?

Yannick Noah (32:55)

And he's good to see you.

Host (32:56)

Thank you so much. Have a blast this weekend. Thank you. All right, round of applause for Yannick Noah.

JW Jump (33:06)

That's, that's team. So cool Team Europe happened. That is the single coolest person you will ever.

Host (33:11)

Yeah, yeah, you were.

JW Jump (33:12)

We were having a, we were having.

Host (33:13)

A conversation and feel free to yell suggestions. We were having a conversation on the way over. It was like coolest people in tennis because I don't, I don't know Janik. Well, I've met him in passing a couple of times, but just someone that like is easy off there. That's like Saffin's pretty cool. Noah's pretty cool. Like. Yeah, yeah, totally. That guy. He's pretty cool.

JW Jump (33:32)

That nerd.

Host (33:33)

That guy. So the difference between me and Noah is that Noah literally is one of the like a best selling musicians in France and I do a podcast. Hey, Very different.

JW Jump (33:45)

You have better backup, if that any consolation. Just kidding. No people. I mean, seriously, he was very modest about it. I mean, there are people in France who don't know he had a tennis career.

Host (33:53)

Yeah.

JW Jump (33:54)

That is sort of the. That's.

Andre Agassi (33:57)

That's what.

JW Jump (33:57)

Big music star he was. But no, that's. That's simply the coolest person you'll ever meet.

Host (34:01)

Don't you think the contrast is going to be fun? Right. They go. They've. Obviously Andre and. And Jannik have been so successful in their own ways in a million different places and on the court, away from the court. But the way they go about this is very, very different. One is patience and one's like blunt force trauma. Right. I mean, it's gonna be. It's gonna be. I'm interested as a fan. I want to see them interact with their players, see how they kind of use their tools and, you know, it seems like they're both very committed to their style, which I think you have to be. But it's. Couldn't be more different. No.

JW Jump (34:36)

And also it's a huge.

Host (34:37)

You brought it up.

JW Jump (34:37)

There's a huge experience disparity, not as tennis players, but in terms of coaching teams. I don't know if you guys caught that. But in addition to Davis cup captaincy and what was now Billie Jean King, what was Fedkop? He was the wheelchair tennis cap.

Host (34:52)

I mean, so cool.

JW Jump (34:53)

Yeah. The Paralympics captain. And Andre, you can see just talking to him, just hearing him here. I mean, he's great one on one. He's so analytical, he's so perceptive. But it's different to have a roster of players. So Janikk, Noah, big experience, advantage in terms of coaching teams.

Producer Mike (35:11)

I'm definitely interested to see because obviously the benches are all mic'd up and they're all sitting there hanging out. I'm interested to see the vibe difference between Team World and Team Europe. Just because Andre seems like he's really going to be out in front of it. High energy and everything's at stake and knows a little bit more chill.

Host (35:26)

Yeah. And also, like, we will get into it more tomorrow because, well, we got. We got the league, we got the matchups. That was pretty fun. But we were gonna analyze the matchups. Tomorrow's show, same time, same place, bring your friends. We're gonna be here for the. The entire tournament. This is so much fun for us. When, when. When Janik's talking about, I can't believe we're here. We do a show in a garage like, this is Amazing. This is so much fun for us. I think everyone is, is feeling the love. But one of the things that shouldn't be lost in what and a clue, right? He goes low and slow like this. That court's going to be low bouncing, not quick. Right. So tough to create speed through the court, tough to create spin up above. So you look at like the first match, Opelka and Rude. Opelka wants that kick serve to jump up in a way it might not get as high. Casper spin profile is about as intense as anyone in the world. This mutes both of those strengths for those players. So the chess match has now begun. They've each submitted blindly. One day it's shaken out how it's going to shake out and now they're going to start adjusting. One person has to submit. You know, we're going to see the kind of the genius of a captaincy when you have to react to the other submissions in the coming days.

JW Jump (36:38)

Jw Yeah, I don't know if we can pull the rules, if we can pull that slide back up with sort of the format and the regulations. But also every player has to play at least one match, which is something the captains have to balance in addition to the surface and the score and the accelerator. And then we have the doubles point as well. I'm struck by just the temperamental differences between the two captains here. I know keep in mind too, coming off of a McEnroe Borg era as well, but there's so many variables that get thrown into this and I mean, I'd love to hear a little bit more. You alluded to it briefly, sort of what, what your initial skepticism was and why, the why, why you were converted. Because to me, this is the perfect balance between you're playing for something bigger than yourself, like Yannick Noah said. But also it doesn't necessarily have the steadfast tradition of Davis Cuff.

Host (37:37)

I remember having an argument with, with John Isner and this is when it first started. And he was trying to convince me. He's like, I, I was as nervous as I get during, during Davis cup. And I was, I called, I called bs, right? I was like, there's no chance. That's just not a real thing. You can't just start something. And so I was kind of bitter, Betty, about it for, for a little bit. But then I went. And you see the players and their reactions and how much they care and the, the team's getting into it. The interact, the magic is the interaction between the captains, the players actually being able to like You. They're inviting you into those conversations about strategy. Like, that's. That's Must see tv, right? Then I started to get it. They built this backwards from the best viewing experience possible. We're going to do it in three days. You're going to see the best players in the world. You're getting three singles. You're getting one doubles. The scoring is crazy. So that, like, anything can happen the last day. They built a modern tennis event, right? As opposed to holding on to norms that kind of bleed out slowly, which is kind of what we're seeing with Davis Cup. So I'm converted. I'm excited to be here. I know you all are excited to be here. We are going to go down to the service now. A fan zone serve challenge. They don't know this yet, but we have a radar gun. We'll grab a. We'll grab a couple of you, and it's going to be you versus the serve team.

JW Jump (38:57)

Let's.

Host (38:57)

Let's light up that chance. I like your chances. We're gonna go to. We're gonna go to commercial ad roll. Whatever they do on live tv. I don't know what they do this. I don't know what they do. We're going to go down to the ServiceNow Fan Zone and hit a couple balls. Support for this show comes from ServiceNow who are enabling people to do more fulfilling work, the work they actually want to do. There's a lot of talk about AI out there right now, and a lot of times the AI you hear about feels like it's hard to grasp. But ServiceNow is here to work with people and tackle the boring, busy work that always gets in the way. The stuff that slows you down and keeps you from doing the stuff you actually want to be doing. And they do it with their AI agents. By being built into the ServiceNow platform, they automate millions of repetitive tasks across. Across it, HR, customer service, and more. You can automate any process with AI powered workflow generation. That means you can build workflows with reusable components, configurable playbooks, process mining, and advanced decision support so your people can focus on what really matters. And that's putting AI agents to work for the people. Find out how to get started@servicenow.com AI agents. All right, welcome back to the serv challenge brought to you by ServiceNow. Now, the way this is gonna work, it's team serve versus team not served, Right? We gotta rate our gun. So highest, fastest serve that goes in the court. Do we have a third Participant. I'm gonna add one to this team. I need one. I need one. I need one. I need one. Let's go. Sunglasses right here. Come on. What's your name, sir?

Andre Agassi (40:29)

Roger.

Host (40:30)

Roger. All right, Roger. Why are they all named Roger? This is so annoying. All right, and so we got JW is going to hit a serve. Producer Mike's going to hit a serve.

Producer Mike (40:40)

Nice.

Host (40:40)

Arya, is that right? And Ishan. Yes, Right. Perfect. You guys are gonna be team not served social. Sophie doesn't know this. You're getting called in off the bench. You're gonna have to serve two right now. You're fine. No, no. Three. And I'm not hitting one. I'm not hitting one. That's not fair. It's not fair. I'm a little. I'm a little old. I'm gonna give tips, and we'll do it. So let's do team not served up first. Who wants to. Ishan, you're the team captain. Who are you nominated to go first on your team? Roger, there's no way that's your real name. Arya or Ishan.

JW Jump (41:13)

All right.

Host (41:13)

Okay. Yeah.

Andre Agassi (41:14)

Why not?

Host (41:14)

All right, let's go.

JW Jump (41:15)

All right.

Host (41:16)

All right. Can you go? All right, so you get three serves. Fastest one has to go into court to count. Okay, we're going to take the fastest serve that's in from all six people, and I'll buy dinner for whoever. Whoever wins. Okay, Perfect.

JW Jump (41:33)

All right.

Host (41:33)

All right, here we go.

JW Jump (41:35)

We got a lefty, lefty.

Host (41:37)

Swing her out wide. Here's Aria. Oh, that's out. 57, but out. We gotta get it in. All right, we got one more. Gravity took a play off. Here we go. All right, let's give some support here. Come on. Oh, we got our first entry.

JW Jump (42:04)

All right.

Host (42:04)

49 miles an hour. Good job. Ishan. Are you up or is Roger or not? Roger up? All right, you're going next.

Producer Mike (42:16)

All right.

Host (42:17)

You're gonna have to use that. That racket there. Okay? Highest one, you get three serves. Heckle, give support. Do whatever you want to do. Here we go.

JW Jump (42:33)

Oh.

Host (42:34)

All right. Got a little game. Little. Pulled one tough to go cold off the bench. Uh, oh, needs to get one in. Team not served at 49. Oh, no. We gotta make it. We gotta make it. All right, Roger. All right, Roger, it's your event. Here we go. Not respond. Hayden. Sorry, sorry. One sec. Did you sign the waiver? No. Okay, well, we'll deal with that when we get there.

JW Jump (43:16)

Sir.

Host (43:17)

Serve. Clocks winding down. Oh, 77. Oh, is that in or out? Oh, Mike. Calling it like he doesn't want to have to beat 89.

JW Jump (43:40)

Okay.

Host (43:41)

All right, so we got 77 in the clubhouse. Good job. All right, team serve. Who's up first? So, Sophie, earlier today, what did you tell me that she goes. She looked at me with a straight face. She doesn't really play tennis. She said, hey, and for social, Sophie, if you follow our Instagram account, she's in charge of all the. The banter and ripping on us, but she thinks she can hit one. What'd you say? A hundred?

Producer Mike (44:08)

When did you say that? What world did you say that?

Host (44:11)

Someone asked me what I thought I.

Producer Mike (44:13)

Could hit, and it was the first number that came to mind was like, you. I tried to do Math. You did 155. So I like.

Host (44:18)

I was a professional tennis player, though.

Producer Mike (44:20)

It's 50 mil slower.

Host (44:23)

So you think you can hit a serve. Okay, here. Well, here we go. It's time.

Producer Mike (44:25)

I don't think that it's time.

Host (44:26)

I definitely don't think that. All right, social. Here we go. Team serve. Here we go. 77. Sorry. You can do whatever you want to do. 77. For it to matter.

Producer Mike (44:38)

So I see a lot of this.

Host (44:40)

Here comes 100.

Producer Mike (44:41)

Give us a point.

Host (44:44)

Yeah, that was that. That was not. It was. That was about 98.87.2. 87.2. All right, one more.

Producer Mike (44:54)

There we go.

JW Jump (44:55)

All right.

Host (44:55)

Yeah.

Producer Mike (45:04)

There it is.

Host (45:05)

Look who's there. 32. Good job. All right. All right, next one is producer Mike. Here we go.

Producer Mike (45:16)

Let's talk about toss.

Host (45:17)

What am I doing here?

Producer Mike (45:18)

Am I. You wanted to knuckle. This isn't gonna go well. Just get it in. That hurt. All right, guys. Nope. One more ball. 46 miles an hour, guys. Nope. 64, though.

Host (45:48)

Not good.

Producer Mike (45:51)

All right, John.

Host (45:51)

All right. Got it. Come on now. Does the speeds accelerate?

JW Jump (45:56)

It's like the labor cup scoring.

Host (45:57)

I think the speeds.

Andre Agassi (45:58)

Excellent.

JW Jump (46:00)

What do you think?

Host (46:04)

Here, I'll take one. 26.

Producer Mike (46:11)

Yes.

Host (46:12)

That's probably not going to do it.

JW Jump (46:14)

You ever know my Maya joint depression?

Host (46:20)

I mean, you guys gotta hit it like it's gotta go. You're right.

Producer Mike (46:26)

So you make that look silly.

Host (46:27)

What do you have? Oh, stink. Okay. All right, here we go. We did not win. I owe dinner to our served listeners. Roger, Ishan, Arya, thank you for participating, everyone. Have a great time at Labor Cup. I hope you guys see a lot of great tennis this weekend. Thank you for having us serve. Live presented by ServiceNow. We'll be here all week. Bring your friends. We feel really lucky to be here. Thank you.

Producer Mike (46:56)

And it's nice.

Host (47:00)

Thanks to ServiceNow for their support. ServiceNow wants to help people do the fulfilling work they actually want to do. Work like hosting this podcast. You know what people don't want to do? Boring, busy work. Now, with AI agents built into the ServiceNow platform, you can automate millions of repetitive tasks in every corner of your business. It, HR and more. So your people can focus on the work that they want to do. That's putting AI agents to work for people. It's your turn. Get started@servicenow.com AI agents.