AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2026 DAY 8: Alcaraz & Sabalenka Roll, Mboko & Medvedev Fall, and more

Summary

Served with Andy Roddick – Australian Open 2026 Day 8 Recap

Main Theme

Andy Roddick, joined by Sean, recaps Day 8 of the 2026 Australian Open, dissecting standout performances and upsets, the emerging youth movement in tennis, and hot topics including Novak Djokovic’s near-default and the abundance of American players in the later rounds. The tone is informal, sharp, and self-aware, mixing expert analysis with playful banter and candid admissions of surprise.

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Episode Breakdown

1. Show Setup – Weather and Technical Glitches

[01:04–01:57]

• Andy and Sean comment on recording remotely due to being snowed in, setting a laid-back, collegial tone.
• Playful comments on technical issues, with Mike’s frozen video feed almost leading to an on-air impersonation.

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2. Key Results and Player Insights

Alex de Minaur Dominates Bublik

[01:57–03:21]

• Andy marvels at de Minaur’s dominant win over Bublik, “beating Bublick 4-1 and 1... He’s seeing the ball like a grapefruit right now.”
• Discussion about de Minaur’s reliability and whether he has the firepower to challenge Alcaraz or Sinner in upcoming rounds.
• Quote: “Demon has proven that he's better than most on Earth, but does he have the weaponry to get through, you know, Alcaraz and Sinner?” – Andy Roddick [02:31]

Coco Gauff Quietly Advances

[02:33–03:24]

• Andy notes that Gauff’s progression is flying under the radar due to bigger drama elsewhere. Suggests this could benefit her:
  “There’s a lot of other kind of headlines that are taking up the air. And I don’t, I don’t hate that for Coco. Like, what does she need attention for?” – Andy Roddick [02:54]

Svitolina’s Statement Win Over Andreeva

[03:24–03:58]

• Andy praises Svitolina’s win over the in-form Andreeva, calling 6-2, 6-4 a “big number in that matchup... that’s really, really, really impressive from Svitolina.”

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3. The Teenager Movement & Youthful Stars

[04:37–13:01]

• Sean highlights Jovic as the surprise teenager advancing, with Andy lauding her as “really, really, really good. Really complete.” [04:58]
• Lots of analysis on Jovic’s playing style and why the upcoming Sabalenka match will be telling.
• Discussion of Lerner Tien’s breakout:
  “He’s looking like a top 10 guy... He is, he's 20 years old and he is the youngest American to reach this stage of a major since you did it in 2002 at the US Open.” – Sean [08:49]
• Reflection on how young stars like Andreeva and Mboko bring personality and excitement.
  “Imboko is cool. Like, she's. She came on this show, she blew me out... She speaks like she's 30.” – Andy Roddick [11:57]
  "I like it when people take swings… Andrea with this outgoing personality... she'll say something, someone's gonna get mad sometimes, she’ll say it with a smile, and we’re all gonna be back in like it.” – Andy Roddick [12:00]
• Larger context:
  • More teenagers are making a mark on both men's and women's sides.
  • Andy doubts we’ll soon see another male win a slam as a teenager like Chang or Becker, but growth is promising.

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4. Zverev, Medvedev, and Other Contenders

[13:01–16:00]

• Zverev is discussed as steady but needing more “aggression” to break through at the top.
  “Can Alex, can he make those adjustments and find a little bit more aggression at some point?... The way his career is going to be viewed is completely different depending on if he can put two matches together against these guys in a slam.” – Andy Roddick [13:01, 14:39]
• Medvedev’s limp exit to Lerner Tien surprises Andy, who lauds Tien’s shot selection and mentality.

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5. Novak Djokovic’s Near-Default Incident

[16:00–18:59]

• Roddick delivers a nuanced analysis on Djokovic’s brush with disqualification for swatting a ball dangerously close to a ball kid (paralleling his 2020 US Open default).
  • “This one [Australia 2026] where he pulls it and slaps it... That was worse to me than the one [2020 US Open]. But you put yourself in position to have a judgment levied on you.” – Andy Roddick [18:01]
  • “He got lucky at the U.S. open, and everyone who is pissed ... should now say, 'Oh, he got lucky here, and he's lucky he didn’t get kicked out.'” – Andy Roddick [18:59]
• Credits Djokovic for owning up in press this time, versus leaving in 2020:
  “If someone goes in and said it's my fault... What are we gonna say? It's very different than 2020.” – Andy Roddick [19:18]

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6. Sinner, Spaziri, and the “Lucky and Good” Debate

[20:53–24:15]

• Andy stresses two truths about Jannik Sinner’s survival against Spaziri:
  “Me coming on and saying, I think he was physically cooked and done doesn’t mean that he’s not gritty... It was extremely fortunate.” – Andy Roddick [20:55, 21:59]
• Argues Sinner is both “lucky and good,” emphasizing the importance of resilience and timing of the match's weather break.
• Dismisses conspiracy theories around the timing, pointing to how critical luck is in sport.

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7. Looking Ahead: Quarterfinals & American Presence

[24:15–29:57]

• Analyzes upcoming matchups featuring Fritz, Musetti, Shelton, Rude, and more.
• Admits underestimating Rude:
  “I also need to say I've literally underestimated Rude this entire tournament.” – Andy Roddick [24:43]
• Notes how uncommon it is for so many “major players” to enter the latter stages fresh.
• Enthusiastic previews of women’s matches: Pegula, Keys, Iga Swiatek, Rybakina, Mertens, Anisimova.
  • Marvels at Anisimova’s progression in 18 months from outside the main draw to a Slam semi prospect.

American Players Discussion

[28:32–29:57]

• Addresses criticism for being “too American-focused,” unapologetically:
  “Yeah, they're good at tennis. So I don't… I don't know what to tell you... There's going to be one [American] in every single quarterfinal.... So guess what? We are going to be talking about Americans in exactly 100% of the previews.” – Andy Roddick [29:21, 29:57]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Jovic as a prospect:
  “I walked in, I just watched Jovic in one of the warm up events. I go, Jovich is, is going to be like top five good. Like quickly.” – Andy Roddick [05:06]

• On Novak’s incident:
  “He got unlucky at the U.S. Open... This one [Australia] was worse... he’s lucky he didn’t get kicked out.” – Andy Roddick [18:59]

• On Sinner-Spaziri roof break:
  “Does that mean he wasn't extremely lucky with... when the wet bulb fucking rule came in and it hit right when he needed it to? It was extremely fortunate. Does that mean it's a conspiracy? No, it's the rule.” – Andy Roddick [21:55]

• On American players’ prominence:
  “So I don't. Like, you can get mad at me for choosing Americans, but you're going to have to eat shit and walk it back if they all make it there.” – Andy Roddick [29:17]

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Timestamps by Segment

• [01:04] – Show start, snowed-in circumstances
• [01:57] – De Minaur’s win over Bublik, Alcaraz implications
• [02:33] – Gauff’s under-the-radar run
• [03:24] – Svitolina’s win, Andreeva matchup
• [04:37] – Teenagers in the quarters, focus on Jovic
• [05:14] – Jovic vs. Sabalenka: Preview and tactics
• [08:49] – Lerner Tien’s rise, parallels to Andy's own career
• [10:06] – Youth movement discussion
• [13:01] – Zverev’s consistency and limitations
• [16:00] – Men’s withdrawals, Djokovic’s near-default
• [18:59] – Djokovic owning up, comparison to 2020
• [20:53] – Sinner’s fortune vs. skill debate
• [24:15] – Rapid-fire: Fritz, Musetti, Shelton, Rude, American depth
• [26:43] – Previewing women’s matches: Pegula, Keys, Swiatek, Rybakina
• [28:32] – American focus: justified and unavoidable
• [30:13] – Sign-off

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Summary Takeaways

• De Minaur, Gauff, Svitolina, and a cadre of teenagers made major statements on Day 8.
• Djokovic’s discipline and fortune keep him alive—barely—a narrative thread echoed in Sinner’s narrow escape.
• Youthful energy and personality are invigorating tennis; Andy is bullish on Jovic and Tien especially.
• The American presence is undeniable—and fully merits the coverage it’s getting.
• The field looks remarkably healthy heading into the business end, a rarity that excites the hosts for the remainder of the Slam.

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“We’ll talk about whatever we want.”
– Andy Roddick [30:13]

Transcript

[Andy Roddick]

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[Andy Roddick]

Hey everyone. Welcome to Quick Serve. Brought to you by ServiceNow. Day 8 recap as you can see, we are not in studio.

[Sean]

Nope.

[Andy Roddick]

We are snowed in. We are like. We are like anti sinner and Spaziri. It is cold.

[Sean]

Hopefully everybody's safe. Everybody's safe.

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah, hopefully Mike, you didn't have power. Then your generator kicked in and then we had a whole bit plan cuz you were. We were getting ready to sit down for the show and Mike's face kept going like this frozen face and just, just go frozen face. So we were going to have Sean imitate your voice and just do you from Frozen Face.

[Sean]

Oh well I appreciate that Sean.

[Andy Roddick]

It was going to be great. Hope everyone is safe. We are happy to be here. I think if you can, if you have a second, if you can subscribe Sean, just do the.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Andy Roddick]

Thank you. Appreciate it. I'll tell you who, who wasn't really concerned about much yesterday. I didn't have demon beating Bublick 41 and 1. I thought that was a really. I thought that was you. You choose Demon to go to the quarters because he's probably or not probably, he is still still more reliable than Bublek. Maybe not the upside on a given day, but once you get to that match in the round of 16, I thought that was a little bit more of a pick and Demon said you're a dummy because I'm going to beat him for one and one to break public that many times. He's seeing the ball like a grapefruit right now. Now, will that matter against Alcaraz if he gets there? Who took out Tommy Paul in three straight? You don't know, right? It's just matchups, right? Demon has proven that he's better than most on Earth, but does he have the weaponry to get through, you know, Alcaraz and center? And that's the kind of the question for most tournaments. As it stands right now, Coco getting through Mukaba, not a lot of, like, with, with the drama of Osaka and not a lot of kind of Coco focus right now, right? There's a lot of outfits, there's a lot of Sabalenka, there's a lot of Sinner, there's a lot of Novak almost getting kicked out. There's a lot of other kind of headlines that are taking up the air. And I don't, I don't hate that for Coco. Like, what does she need attention for?

[Sean]

No, she's just head down, grinding it out.

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah, I, I, I like what she's doing. She's beaten a couple different styles of players. Obviously Mukova will come in a little bit more, presents a different challenge. Serves a little bigger. She played, you know, lefty in the second round, Danilovich, so she's kind of cruising right along. One of the matches that I chose Svitolina to get to the quarters in our draw show, and then I don't know if I believed it fully by the time we got to the matchup with Andreva, just based on her winning and what she had done, I didn't see Spitalina winning two and four. Like, that is a, that's a big number in that matchup against someone who's informed. Like, that's really, really, really impressive from Svitolina. Sean, what were you doing? People were talking about you within BoCo. Some supportive, some rough. You're watching the SABA match. You were? What, what happened? How'd your little feelings get hurt? What happened? No, no, they were, they were nice enough. We were, Some of the fans and I were chatting on our newsletter, which links below. If you want to sign up for the newsletter, you can chat with some of us during some of the games on Substack. But yeah, they, they were, they were cooking me a little bit for picking in Boko over Sabalenka, which is starting to fight back. They, they started to root for me. They're like, you know, they, they did say, I, I wouldn't hear the end of it if I lost.

[Sean]

And here we are. So can we give it a shout out, though? I mean, who would have thought that Jovic would be the teenager moving forward between Imboko Andreva and Jovic. Oh, oh, one Andy.

[Andy Roddick]

Sorry.

[Sean]

One Andy.

[Andy Roddick]

Sorry.

[Sean]

Did it.

[Andy Roddick]

Sorry. Do we have proof like a, like a full bracket that was chosen 10 days ago?

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

Jovic is really, really, really good. Really complete what I want to see next round. Right. And that's, that's Sabalenka, if I'm, if I'm not mistaken.

[Sean]

Yep.

[Andy Roddick]

We're gonna know in the first four games whether or not she's able to distribute the way that she has been, which has been crazy impressive against the pace of Sabalenko. Right. It's a lot easier to distribute and get on top of the court against Putin Sava or even against Paolini, who is a great player but isn't going to beat you back off that baseline. We're going to know in the first four or five games if Jovic is able to be effective playing her stock offering in. I would have told you 10 days ago where, I mean, we walked in before the tournament started. I walked in, I just watched Jovic in one of the warm up events. I go, Jovich is, is going to be like top five good. Like quickly. She's, she's. I was like before the term. I'm like, she's the, she's the dark horse. She's the one we're just going to know we're going to see in the matchup. Right. And look for these little things. Right. Jovic, against someone who doesn't serve well like Paolini, is a good server, but she doesn't serve big. Right. She doesn't affect your positioning or push you back. Putin Sava doesn't push you back. Her, she's more crafty and you know her, her, her strength is in variety and kind of dragging you down into the gutter a little bit. Is Jovich going to be able to hit a first serve return and then step in to take control? Right. Or is she going to be two feet further back and how much does that matter with what she's trying to do? Is she going to be able to play that kind of, I call it aggressive defense where she kind of hits her way out of trouble from the corners? Right. Is she going to be able to do that against, against Sabalenka and is Sabalenka going to be able to handle the switching of directions like Jovic is really good. It's setting up in the middle of court like Sabalenka likes to hit two, three shots. We hear that grunt right where she's like, it gets progressively bigger as she feels like she's making progress in the rally. Is she going to be able to do that? If I'm Jovic's coach, I'm going, okay. As soon as she gets one foot forward, even if it's a little uncomfortable, try to switch directions. Right. Especially that forehand side of Sabalenka. Right. The chess match in the first four or five games of that one is going to be really, really fascinating to me. One scoreline I also did not have, so I got a lot of the results right. I just got the score like I, I did not have Mehdi winning seven games in a best of five match against someone when he's coming in off of a win. Lerner tn, I thought he was really good, and I think he's better than I thought he was, especially in this matchup. He doesn't mind the ball down. Like, he's able to drive the ball from low. He has those short kind of take backs. He's never unprepared. Right. There's not a lot that can go wrong with the swings. The fluency of I'm behind the baseline and I'm at net or I'm attacking. His ball recognition on when to actually punch is really, really, really good. His shot selection, he rarely hits a shot even if he misses it. You rarely go, oh, that was a disaster of a decision like that didn't. That didn't make any sense. That was a panic. Or that was four. Oh, and three. And I know Mehdi played a five setter. I understand that. That doesn't make him a bad tennis player two days later. Like that affects him when it's two hours, three hours, four hours in. He didn't even get the chance to test the legs. Right. Maybe you're a little, little slower off the mark and need to work your way in. But the question, I mean, the question was, can is Lerner Tien going to get to the fourth round like he did last year? He has to defend those points. He's looking like a top 10 guy.

[Sean]

I mean, I mean, he is, he's 20 years old and he is the youngest American to reach this stage of a major since you did it in 2002 at the US Open. Which is, I mean, it's, it's, it's trending in the right direction for him, obviously.

[Andy Roddick]

Also, you have Chang in your corner, so you're not going through this with. You have someone who knows how to manage these situations. And again, I say Even if there are many, many, many, many, many, many, many coaches, and many do, who understand what to do, how to do it, when it comes from someone who has done it, who has the pedigree, it's. It's a different intake. Like, you know, Connor says something to me like, you get out there, you bust your ass, you use the crowd. It's like you get chills when he, when he says it. It's not different than, you know, what, you know, every, you know, Uncle Bob and Harry say to you, but it just rings differently. So it seems like they have complete control of what's going on around them and also just how you get better during a tournament. Marcos Jaron beating him in five sets, first round, and then rolling through Med 4, 0 and 3 by the time you get a week of reps. He's. He's really good. I'll just tell you that.

[Sean]

Can we, before we move on from this, can we, can we talk about this kind of the teenager youth movement that does exist? I know, I know Mboko and Drava are not moving on, but I mean, how exciting is it to see 18, 19, 20 year olds on both sides, you know, that are really taking the reins? And I think for our perfect delivery of the day, I pulled this clip.

[Andy Roddick]

Subtle, subtle.

[Sean]

Perfect delivery of the day. I pulled this clip of Mira and Drava before her match. And I know she didn't move on, but I just love the engagement and the comfort these, these young players have. Sean, can you play?

[Andy Roddick]

I hope you're doing well. That's all I have to say. I'm glad you're gonna stay forever. Match tonight and support me. Okay, bye. Yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot of reasons why everyone's really excited about Mira Andreeva. I didn't go her way against Vitalina. Svitolina is. She won last week, by the way. And then she just beat Andreva 2 and 4. Like, we, we don't. We haven't talked about this enough. She's kind of, I mean, I don't. I'd have to, like, spend some time on this thought, but Best player in the game, maybe with Plischkova, who hasn't won a major. Oh, yeah. I mean, she's three in the world. She's once, you know, does. I mean, tens of titles. What a story that would be. Ukraine first slam. Like, that'd be pretty great. I am always cheering for her. But one of the reasons why we're excited about, obviously youth and tennis is great because we're always looking for that next thing, Imboko is cool. Like, she's. She came on this show, she blew me out.

[Sean]

She.

[Andy Roddick]

She speaks like she's 30.

[Sean]

She's so.

[Andy Roddick]

Oh, my gosh, she's so cool. Indreva with this outgoing personality. It's not the same as, um, Boko, but it's like, I think we're excited because imagine if she gets to number one and wins slams and she has this personality and, you know, she'll say something. Someone's gonna get mad sometimes she's gonna say something, she'll say it with a smile, and we're all gonna be back in like it. But she's fantastic. I like it when people take swings. Jovic is like, crazy. I mean, on the guy's side also. For a while, there wasn't a lot. There wasn't a heat. There was almost like an anti youth movement. As the game became more physical, it was a rougher entry point. Right. And it takes people some time to develop. I still don't know that we're gonna see, you know, Rafa or Becker win a slam at, you know, 17 or Chang. TN's coach won the French Open at 17 years old. I think those days are gone just with how physical everything's become. But, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's fantastic. And I love Andrea, but just taking shots, you know, it's like, let's get on the mic and say, you know, come support me tonight. I also like it when she thanks herself when she wins a tournament.

[Sean]

She is great.

[Andy Roddick]

First of all, I'd like to thank me. Zverev cruising along too routed Serendalo 2, 4 and 4. And it's just going to be, can. Can Alex, can he make those adjustments and find a little bit more aggression at some point? And I've said before, I talked to him, you know, five, six weeks ago, and it's just, is it a serve and volley? Is it basically play and aggression as opposed to having to look for that perfect ball on a forehand side to go after? Right. There are different ways to go about aggression. He has one of the best backhands in the world. Is it a crush and rush off of a second serve? And by virtue of that threat, it makes it better when he cruises back, right? Like, one of the. One of the things that Pete did so well and Andre said I should have done better is disrupting the flow, right? Like, I gave too much rhythm. I was just good enough from the baseline to stay in rallies. And that could have been a net Negative Zverev may be the same when he gets to the upper echelon of, of, of, of people. So will he be able to make adjustments and which ones will he make? Right? Is it a second serve at 85 and then a second serve at 115? Is it, which is done a lot better? Is, is it serving and volleying once a game? Is it, you know, crush and rush? Is it, you know, instead of creating space, I'm going to hit it, pin someone hard middle on the back end, side. So all of those things are, are, are something. And, and he knows, he, you know, when we talked, he said, listen, I, I, I, he fully understands that the way his career is going to be viewed is completely different depending on if he can put two matches together against these guys in a slam.

[Sean]

Interesting.

[Andy Roddick]

That's the entire thing, right? I saved a match point in the slam, I won. And I can't even imagine what, you know, how shitty I would be viewed if, if, if I hadn't done that right. And people are like, well, you should have won more. I'm like, I could have won less, I'll tell you that one. It was pretty close. Like, you know, it was like, it was pretty close to zero. Um, yeah, but, well, I, I'm, I'm excited to see how he progresses the rest of tournament and what those adjustments are and if he's able to like, commit to them. It is really hard when you're so successful at doing one thing, to put that to the side in a matchup and have to commit to something different. When all of your instincts and all of your basis for success has been this one way. It's not as easy as, like, people make it as easy as, like, oh, I'm going to choose to flip the channel and turn it off. Like, it's not, it doesn't work that way. So we'll see what type of adjustments he can make. I, I, my general opinion is that I think it has to be the quick strike. Like, let's, let's map out some aggression and not have it to wait until one's hanging against Carlos and then make that quick decision in half a second, over and over for four hours. I think that becomes a little bit more difficult.

[Sean]

What about, what about men cheek withdrawing right before the match with another, another abdominal injury out of Melbourne?

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah, a lot, a lot of, lot of abdominal injuries. I, I don't know. I mean, it's disappointing. I do think, like we say a game of inches all the time, right? It's one of Those things that, like, you kind of roll your eyes at, but it's always true. Same as one day at a time. Like, there's a reason why they're. People say these things. Novak is. Was an inch away from not being in this competition anymore. And now all of a sudden, he's got to walk over and he has a fresh body. He hasn't had this fresh a body this deep in his slam. And I don't know how long, but, like, he almost got default. He almost hit a person again.

[Sean]

Yeah, the. The ball kid on the. On the left side of the net from his side. He received.

[Andy Roddick]

Slapped it.

[Sean]

I mean, slapped it to the left and, you know, inches, you know, which he apologized for later. But so let's very fortunate for everyone. The ball kid mainly that he didn't get hit.

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah, I mean, let's. Let's. Okay. Let's be capable of approaching a conversation with two things being true. First, I'm gonna go into the Novak thing, and then I want to readdress the center Spaziri thing. Okay.

[Sean]

And.

[Andy Roddick]

And it's not. He should be kicked out. He's horrible. Or he got lucky. Whatever it is. I've been petulant on the court. I could very easily have made a decision where I hit someone and got defaulted very, very, very, very easily. Right. And also I would have known that I messed up. Right. Once you make an action and do something and put yourself in position. So I. I mean, everyone was super pissed because in 2020 when he got defaulted at the US Open because he did the same thing. And this one, this one at Australia, like, just think about this. The one in Australia, to me was way worse. He was looking forward. Like the one in the US Open, he hit it backwards.

[Sean]

Right.

[Andy Roddick]

I mean, it's a one in a million shot that it hits someone in the throat. Like, it was. I've done what he did at the US Open a thousand times. This one where he pulls it and slaps it and it's in and it hits a ball kid. Like, that would have been. That was worse to me than the one. But you put yourself in position to have a judgment levied on you. Very unlucky at the. At the US Open. Like, it wasn't as if it was full of malice. There was no malice involved at the US Open. I don't think there was malice involved here. Were they both regrettable and probably stupid? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've all been stupid. He, like, he got unlucky at the U.S. open, and everyone who is pissed, they're saying about someone saying, like, he should have been kicked out, which he should have. Should now say, oh, he got lucky here, and he's lucky he didn't get kicked out.

[Sean]

Which he said, I got lucky 100%.

[Andy Roddick]

100%. One of the differences, one of the main things with the Open from however long ago it was now five, six years ago at this point, I had full. I felt bad for him because, like I said, we've all done this thing, right? We've all hit a ball to it, slapped the ball around. We all have. He left without doing press and just left in 2020. Correct. This time he went. Went in. And if I've said this before in the show, if someone goes in and said it's my fault, there are no excuses. I need to be better. I messed up. I'm sorry. What are we gonna say? It's very different than 2020. That was the. My main point of. The only thing that I could probably disagree with was you make a huge mistake. There's this huge controversy. You gotta go. You gotta go take the heat. You don't just leave, right? And so this time he went in and he took the heat. You know, I. It was. I was stunned, like, watching it back, I'm like, oh, my God, it almost happened again. And this one was. This one was worse. But I. I am happy that, like, he's not kicked out of a tournament, but then, like, to. To barely miss that. You're in. That's an instant default, especially given the track record, right? Instant default. Like, there's no umpire that doesn't default him for hitting the side bulk and not the back one. The back one is like, honestly, 2020 is way more forgivable. Way more forgivable. The side one, he's lucky. And then Minshik, so he's like, all of a sudden, he goes from, I'm almost defaulted to I'm in the quarters with a fresh body. The other thing. Can we talk about. Can we talk about the center roof this whole thing again, please?

[Sean]

You just want to put a little bow in it. You just want to.

[Andy Roddick]

Oh, I just, like, it's just. Let's. Two things can be true, right? Me coming on and saying, I think he was physically cooked and done doesn't mean that he's not gritty. I have celebrated sinner for two years on being able to compartmentalize the suspension, on being able to come back at Wimbledon and, you know, and also him having that match and having that hiccup and it changing. Nobody's Real opinion about what he's going to do the rest of the tournament is a testament to how he's dealt with things before because he's shown us the ability to rebound. Does that mean he wasn't cooked? No. Does that mean he wasn't extremely lucky with. When the wet bulb fucking rule came in and it hit right when he needed it to, it was extremely fortunate. Does that mean it's a conspiracy? No, it's the rule. It's literally like an algorithm that hits and then it engages. He just got lucky.

[Sean]

I mean, it's.

[Andy Roddick]

And that's okay.

[Sean]

There's a famous saying, it's better to be lucky than good sometimes.

[Andy Roddick]

No, but he's lucky and good.

[Sean]

Yeah. Two things can be true.

[Andy Roddick]

Two things can be true. Like, someone's saying, oh, you know, it's not. I'm not saying, like, he's not tough. Like, to go out on a hampered body and still close. It's not as if, like, the roof closes in. His body feels great. I understand that.

[Sean]

Like, I totally changed his shirt. He didn't change his body.

[Andy Roddick]

Of all the commentary and all the people that are pissed, I've been in full body cramps and gotten through a match and one that won at a Grand Slam in five sets. Like, I have done it. I'm telling you, I understand what he's going through. Right. It's. It's the worst. It takes mental fortitude. Like, nobody. That doesn't mean that you can't get lucky to lead to those things. He would tell you this 100%. Like, he would tell you that, like, the timing of when it happened was. Was. Was pretty lucky. Cahill was literally. He told him. There's video saying right off the third set, walk back and forth, hopefully you can find your legs. That's it. That's not saying, like, he was good to go. Like, give me a break. So, yeah, I mean, two things can be true. His ability to compartmentalize is amazing. I didn't have it. Lots of us normies didn't have it.

[Sean]

So what do you make of his matchup now against fellow Italian?

[Andy Roddick]

I think he. He's the heavy, heavy favorite. You know, it's all matchups. Spazeri, easy for me to say. Spaziri was able to accept his pace and move quickly. I don't know that Dardari is going to be able to eat the middle of the court or play. Like, the difference was he was playing defense on the baseline. He was that fast going side to side. Right. So I don't know that Darder is going to do that. Does sinners performance or survival against Spazeri change my opinion about this match with Dardera at all? Zero. And that's, that's because of, it's a testament to what we know he does when he's given a chance. Like don't give him a second chance. And that's any great. All time great at pretty much any sport. You give him a second chance, they're going to take advantage. That's not a criticism. It's not a criticism.

[Sean]

Do you think, do you think kind of moving on to a promo of, of the matches to come? I mean on the men's side we saw everyone walk through pretty much in straight sets. Obviously we had to walk over on one side, but everyone was straight sets. Do you think we're going to see that again today? Do you think Fritz is going to pummel Musetti or the other way around? You think Shelton's going to roll through Rude? Like, I mean it's, we have some great matchups.

[Andy Roddick]

I just feel like Shelton's. I mean I.1. I also need to say I've literally underestimated Rude this entire tournament. Yeah, the entire tournament.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

I mean now I feel bad because I'm going to choose Shelton. But like, but I have underestimated Casper the entire tournament. I don't know. I thought there was a 50% shot. He wasn't even going to be in the country by the third round. Even without playing a match. I thought he was gone. It's a fast court. Traditionally he doesn't like fast courts. Like so there are a lot of reasons. So I need to give more respect to someone who has proven that they can make runs in slams. One, two. I like Shelton. I like Fritz. Musetti needs time. Right. I, I think Fritz is going to get a lot of looks. I think if it's hot, it's going to roll. I like Fritz. I liked him at the beginning of the tournament. Musetti is playing really well. I didn't have him getting past Mahach and he did. And so I like Fritz and, and Shelton moving forward, but it will be kind of fun. You know, they're going to be exceptions and we'll see what happens today physically. But I don't know that I had it on my bingo card that every major player in this tournament was going to be fresh going into the latter stages. Except for center.

[Sean]

Yeah, wow, that's a good point.

[Andy Roddick]

Look, I don't, I don't know that that was on anyone's bingo card. But that's sports. It's why it's the. I mean, we can have all of us assholes here making predictions and sports, there's no script. Right. Sometimes the past is the biggest predictor of the future, but it. It doesn't make it the future. Right. Yeah. So I don't know. I mean, it's going to be. It's going to be a great term. I'm just happy everyone or most of the field isn't hampered by something, you know, we're not walking out. It seems like Novak is going to be incredibly fresh and incredibly still in the tournament. Which. Which is. Which is something. Looking forward to Bagula and Keys.

[Sean]

Oh, man, I'm so excited for that.

[Andy Roddick]

I'm excited. We need to give some love, like, anytime. She's. She hasn't been talked about at all either. Like, there's been, like, a vacuum of. Of interest. She's. She's found something.

[Sean]

She.

[Andy Roddick]

You got to think she's going to roll. I mean, if you. You tell IGA fans that she's going to play someone 168 in the world in the round of 16, they'd probably be okay with that. So the further she goes into an event, we saw her kind of play her way into peak form last year at Wimbledon. Right. Lost a set early on. And then roller derby. Do not take your eyes off of iga. I understand she wasn't playing great three weeks ago. This isn't three weeks ago anymore. Rebakkina Mertens. I love Elise Mertens. I respect Elise Mertens. And if Rebakane is, I think it's on her racket to decide. We talked about Senator Dardari a little bit. I think Ana Samova roles, you just don't look too far forward. And also I think we need to make the point again that we. Anisimova has gone from 18 months ago not being in the main draw, Wimbledon on our own ranking to us just kind of like casually penciling her into, like, the semis of Slams.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Andy Roddick]

That's an insane progression that I don't think we. We need to acknowledge it often. Right. Umboko was 300 in the world a year ago.

[Sean]

It's wild, right?

[Andy Roddick]

This is fun. Lerner Tien was 140 in the world at this tournament last year or whatever. Somewhere around there, 120 years ago, Jovic.

[Sean]

Was deciding if she wanted to go to college or not.

[Andy Roddick]

Yeah. She should not.

[Sean]

She. She's not.

[Andy Roddick]

She's one of the. She's one of the. I always say like, she's. She's one of the number one draft picks. Yeah, she's. She's. She's that good, in my opinion.

[Sean]

Can I ask you one last thing before we wrap up?

[Andy Roddick]

We. We.

[Sean]

Everybody in the comments are always like, oh, you guys are so into, like, Americans, like, so heavy on the Americans. When I look at the women's side, there'll be a. There'll be a American. Guaranteed. There's gonna be an American in every quarterfinals match except for one.

[Andy Roddick]

Well, also, I mean, it's like, how.

[Sean]

Do we not talk about it?

[Andy Roddick]

Well, also, everyone was upset, so the only thing that I've done with my predictions so far is undersell the amount of Americans in the quarterfinals because TN is there. Yeah, it's not. I show Shelton. It's like, oh, American. Great. He's still in Fritz. He's still in Tommy Paul. I had him to the round of 16. So I don't. Like, you can get mad at me for choosing Americans, but you're going to have to eat shit and walk it back if they all make it there.

[Sean]

I mean. Yeah, it's like, you know what? We won't talk about them.

[Andy Roddick]

They're. They're good at tennis. Like, the women have, what, five in the top 15? I mean, it's. It's like, yeah, they're good at tennis. So I don't. I don't know what to tell you. I'm gonna. I'm gonna. I'm gonna tell you who I think is gonna win each given match, and if they happen to be American, then they do. There's no chance. I. I chose against TN first round. I'm an idiot. That's my mistake. Not overpicking. It's under picking. Sean.

[Sean]

Sean, we should. We should just save that quote from Andy. Yeah, they're good at tennis. Anytime somebody gives a. About only talking about Americans, we'll just. We'll just drop that in there.

[Andy Roddick]

Well, I'm sorry.

[Sean]

When they're in every single Andy Rotic.

[Andy Roddick]

Sorry. Just very, very, very simply, right on the women's side, there's going to be one in every single quarterfinal. So guess what? We are going to be talking about Americans in exactly 100% of the previews.

[Sean]

Yes.

[Andy Roddick]

For those matches. Unless you just want us to skip matches, which. I don't know. I don't think that's the solution. But anyways, we won't be doing that. Thank you for watching. Quick serve brought to you by ServiceNow. We'll talk about whatever we want.