Unknown (6:24)

Yeah, I mean she's made. Sabalinka has made finals in six of the last 10 slams. Right. And she's one half those and lost half those. And I think when you look at her numbers, like it's, it's not like she's no longer the number one player in the world. I mean, it's, it's ridiculous. She, she's made two finals so far and who's to say she won't make the next two also, right?

Mike (6:47)

Yeah, she's far and away the, I mean, the most consistent best player in the world, the most bettable entity still with this result, I mean, it takes Coco playing a phenomenal match. Coco protecting her second serve. She won 50% of her second serve points. You tell us that going in against Sabalenko who just crushes second serve returns. That's a big number for her. That's a stat that probably won her the match. Her ability to defend her second serve against big sitter big hitters is probably her Achilles heel. But you know, Sabalenka gained points still. I mean she's, she's the clear cut number one in the world. And that's probably the next thing that, you know, Coco wants to, to go after. But post US Open last year, and props to Matt Daly and her team, post kind of Brad Gilbert transition. They have done a phenomenal job because through the US Open last year, Coco was kind of up and down. She played great in Australia, was serving great in Australia. And then it wasn't easy last year in kind of the, the, the, the vacuum of winning that U.S. open, she struggled some. It wasn't like it's been smooth sailing since then, you know, but she is such a professional, even when it's hard, you know you're going to get effort. You know, even if she's not feeling perfectly, she's going to show up. She's going to be a professional. She does all of the things that she has to do. And by the way, something we won't talk about enough. Have you ever seen Coco tired on the court ever?

Unknown (8:14)

It's absurd.

Mike (8:16)

We talk about fitness, her fitness levels and arena, by the way, their fitness levels are through the roof. They played almost three hours of intense tennis today. Coco, I don't know that I've, I've seen her frustrated, I've seen her angry, I've seen her timid, maybe not confident. Never questioned fitness. We don't even mention it. And she's covering some court. She was the one running, tracking balls down the entire time. And when you're playing against her, that has to be stressful mentally to know that you're not going to beat her based on physicality. Now, you might beat her based on X's and O's and merits and the whole thing, but she isn't going away. And her skill set defensively is phenomenal. And I'm just so happy for her. Her team, the expectations are, they just seem outsized all the time. And I don't want to say unfair, because you create your own shadow. And the only reason any of us have expectations for Coco is, is because we know how great she is and because we also know how great she is for the game. Like, we want her success because tennis wins when she's successful. She's such a good steward for the game. So I, you know, even I'm sure arena in her biggest disappointment would say, you know what? Coco's great for our game. I don't want to lose to her, especially in Grand Slam finals. But Coco is amazing for tennis. She's such a good person to be able to lean on for the health of our sport. And listen, I was one of the idiots in the kind of vacuum of Roger going away, of Rafa now leaving, of Novak saying, I don't know when I'm going to stop, of Serena going away, saying, we're going to have a lull. We're going to have to replace a lot of star power. And guess what? Carlos Jannik, arena iga, Coco, they answer the door, man. Like, they answer the door in the. In the vacuum of those superstars. And gosh, the tournament, Listen, Coco wins huge storylines. Novak's gone, doesn't know what's happening. Oh, and we still have a 1v2 final tomorrow with the new two, as Jim Currier likes to call him, which I think is so appropriate. The new two, Carlos and Yannick. And we're going to see Carlos hit those fade away back ends, mix up paces, hit those slices, hit those drop shots. He's going to try to, like, do what Coco did to arena today, right? Not let her, not let Sinner get, you know, three, four balls in the same spot where we know he's effective. We saw what he was able to do against Novak. But there's no one who's better suited to kind of fight off Sinner's power. Similar to Coco is the best person in the world that fights off Arena's power. And by the way, now she has a winning record against Sabalinka.

Unknown (11:02)

Yeah, Mike, So they were kind of talking in the post game about the court conditions and the challenge, and obviously it started sprinkling and they were wondering, like, are they going to close the roof? Are they not tomorrow? If conditions are similar, you know, who. Who does that favor? Right?

Mike (11:19)

I actually think slower, colder conditions probably favor center. I think Carlos does very well when the ball is able to jump. It's like everyone kind of lazily early on was like, well, you know, Rafa is really good and, you know, cold and slow. I'm like, Rafa's. He wants his ball jumping out of the zone. I think Carlos wants the ball jumping out of the zone. I do. I would not think that Carlos wants that roof anywhere close to being closed. I think he wants the wind. I think when you're playing ball strikers, you want any sort of variable to make sure that they're not getting that. That sensory feedback of a ball well struck over and over and over again. That's what builds confidence.

Unknown (12:00)

That's so interesting.

Mike (12:01)

So. So we'll see. I don't think it's crazy either way, but, you know, the. When Rafa lost in 09 to Soderling, it was a cold sprinkly gross day, and he was up against a guy who can just crush the ball. You know, I think Sinner wants the ball in his pocket a little bit more. He can create, you know, more consistent speed off both sides. And Carlos wants the ball dancing. He wants it to get up and out of the zone. He wants to switch directions. He wants it to be kind of dusty with footwork, too, to where it's slippery. You know, if it's sprinkling and gets muddier, that's a little bit more stable footing for Yannick as opposed to the dry, slippery when the ball's jumping. I think that would favor. Favor Carlos, but, I mean, I just can't wait. This. This tournament's been like a 12 out of 10. I mean, imagine. Imagine being the new kid on the block with TNT and coming in and getting these matchups right away.

Unknown (12:53)

It's unreal.

Mike (12:54)

It's. It's pretty great. Can't wait to get up in the morning. Gotta be honest. Pretty big fan of like 9am let's watch Slam finals. Don't hate that.

Unknown (13:05)

Yeah, get your day over.

Mike (13:06)

I don't. I. I don't hate that at all.

Unknown (13:08)

That was like when I lived in LA and literally I was. I was a Bengals fan, which still m. Sadly. And I wake up at 10am, watch a game, be done, be on the beach by 2:00. Like, I like this.

Mike (13:20)

Rough. Nice Rough. What you. It was rough. We lost Little. Little Golf to the office. Little. Little. Little Quick podcast. Sell some merch.

Unknown (13:30)

Yeah, you know, sell. Sell a little bit of merch. By the way, thank you everybody who's been grabbing up some merch. Really appreciate it.

Mike (13:36)

Mike's so happy.

Unknown (13:37)

Socks will be online soon, people. The socks are having some issues, apparently, but socks will be there. If you haven't seen the socks, go check them out.

Mike (13:44)

All right, well, we got. We got nothing else going. I cannot wait. Congratulations to Coco Golf. I'm happy for tennis. I'm happy for her because I just like and respect her so much. And I think she takes a lot of criticism all the time because she is wildly famous and wildly successful and wildly marketable, and we wildly need to talk about her all the time. And therefore it probably leans to the point where she's sick and tired of hearing from us and you know what? Happy to shut up. Happy to. Way to go, Coco. Your champion, Roland Garros. Champion, U.S. open champion. Second of many more, I think. And props to Irina Sabalenka. Hell of a run. Thanks for watching. Quick serve brought to you by Amazon Prime. We'll see you tomorrow. Sinner Sinner Chicken Dinner and the Chuckster Carlos Alcaraz Support for the show comes from Amazon Prime. Prime is more than just fast free delivery. It's your go to for streaming music, movies and sports. Plus, it's also a great way to connect with the things you love into skiing. Stream ski films on prime video even when the slopes are bare. Love fishing. You can get new gear delivered fast and be back by the water in no time. Planning your next big trip. Prime helps you get everything you need faster than you can write your out of office email. Whatever you're into, it's on Prime. Visit Amazon.comprime to get more out of whatever you're into.

Unknown (15:24)

Support for this show comes from Pure Leaf Iced Tea when you find yourself in the afternoon slump, you need the right thing to make you bounce back. You need Pure Leaf Iced Tea. It's real brewed tea made in a variety of bold flavors with just the right amount of naturally occurring caffeine. You're left feeling refreshed and revitalized so you can be ready to take on what's next. The next time you need to hit the reset button, grab a Pure Leaf Iced Tea. Time for a tea break. Time for a Pure Leaf.