
Loading summary
Host
Support for the show comes from Amazon Prime. You might think of prime as only a way to get fast free delivery or maybe as the place to stream movies, shows and sports, but it's actually way more than that. Maybe you've got a passion or a hobby, prime can help you get the most out of it. Whether you're streaming documentaries on marine animals, ordering action figure stands with free one day delivery, or finding the perfect playlist to impress that special someone, prime makes it easier and faster to do what you love. Whatever you're into, it's on Prime. Visit Amazon.com, to get more out of whatever you're into.
Sponsor Voice 1
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 refreshing, 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.
Host
Hey everyone, welcome to quick Serve Day five recap. Just finished watching the Coco Vekic match and got a little weird. Got a little weird. Mixed emotions. We'll get, we'll get into a deeper dive on this. Obviously Coco wins, but double faults all around both sides. First set was bad. Coco got emotional on a switch over handshaking. Lot to unpack with with this situation. Curious to hear what questions you guys have. Match of the day. Fiat almost lost guys and it was weird because it was so early in the day that there wasn't like a ton of energy or atmosphere and I'm going, whoa, this is, this is like a ground shaking match that's taking place right now. Gets through 6, 4 in the third over lemons. She didn't play that well either, you know, was missing a lot more than she has. And listen, it happens during a slam. Of the seven matches that you win, you're not going to play well in all seven of them most of the time, you know. But to a credit, earlier this year when things weren't going her way and she was losing some, there was kind of more panic looks at her box, right? Like let's solve for this. There wasn't one today and I promise you she didn't feel like she was in control of everything. Didn't play great, but got through. Also my favorite match, I think the most fun match that I watched today was a doubles match, guys.
Co-host/Analyst
Oh yeah.
Host
Boom.
Co-host/Analyst
Real doubles week.
Host
Boom. McConvert apparently loved the mixed doubles last week. I think the most fun, joyful in a match in a day full of like angsty kind of performances where it was just kind of strange. Layla Fernandez and Venus Williams was the team that I didn't know I needed. Took out the number six seats, Kitchenok and Perez. It was amazing. Like the positivity flowing off of Layla and Venus in full flight. Listen, when you're, when you're 45, your movement isn't getting better, right? She is amazing. The fact that she's come back and play as well as played as well as she has winning a match in D.C. and taking the 11 seed to three sets the other night. Layla, I love this pairing. Layla's a psycho in the best way at the net. Like she crosses on everything. Venus doesn't get extended to the corners, can square up the ball still. I hope this partnership lasts, right? I mean Layla's been a great doubles player. Venus obviously won, I think 14 majors with, with Serena did this.
Co-host/Analyst
Just 14.
Host
Just, just, just a casual 14 in your, your second priority. You know, just a little side hustle. 14, 14 doubles majors if, if I'm not. I think that's, I think that's.
Co-host/Analyst
Yeah. Layla Fernandez, by the way, 22 years old.
Host
It seemed, yeah, it seems like forever ago that she played Radicondo in the finals of this in singles. And I actually don't think it was bad for her to play in front of 14,000 on Louis Armstrong. Place was packed, going crazy and she has Sabalenka next, right. So a little bit of atmosphere before the singles matchup. But this, this was joy. This was fun. This was pure, this was no stress express or all the good type of stresses. This was fun. Loved it. Also, I've never seen more focus from Naomi Osaka. Every point up 6, 3, 51 and still super intense. Almost had that Rafa and point to point mentality. She went to the desk afterwards with, with Chris McKendree and Sloan and was kind of very matter of fact, wasn't. You know, obviously Naomi rarely kind of overshares in those types of interviews, but was just saying, like the only thing I'm real really concerned about right now is intensity. And it showed. She is playing great. Musetti rolled David Goffon. David Goffon is former top 10 player, knows how to play tennis. Musetti was opening up the shoulders. Rubleb of a Boyer in four sets. Tough four Setter One of the matches of the day. Caboli against Brooksby, 7, 6 in the fifth. That hurt. I hurt for Brooksby on this one. I thought he was going to kind of figure that one out. Props to the crowd for going out and supporting Jensen Brooksby. And Caboli just kind of has been playing a bunch of matches. Looks really match tough. That was fun to watch. And techie Sean Karen hatching off, was up two sets against Mike Shock, and then he lost in five sets to Mike Shock. And I'm glad that my Shock. There you go. Can say his own name because I was pretty confused by the spelling of it. Hatching off. Highest, Highest. C to lose. Number nine. You like that one, Mike?
Co-host/Analyst
You want to take a stab at that one yourself?
Host
My Chuck.
Co-host/Analyst
There you go.
Host
Is that it? Okay, I'll do it.
Co-host/Analyst
Wait, so that's him actually pronouncing it. Is that from the ATP site?
Host
It's just a random YouTube video.
Co-host/Analyst
You're like iPhone bot.
Host
Okay, Mike, close your eyes. Close your eyes for a second.
Co-host/Analyst
Okay.
Host
Okay. Now tell me if this is the recording or this is me. My jock.
Co-host/Analyst
Is that moving on?
Host
Okay. Bublek rolled three, three and three against school. Kate. I was a moron. Like, I picked upset special for some nostalgia. Bublek has an absolute bomb of a serve. Like he gets through service games in about 47 seconds. He was rolling today, not doing as much of the, you know, dinky drop, shoddy stuff. Was pretty intense today. He's. He's just a bomb. He drops bomb center. It's like he didn't serve well and still rolled. A guy who plays really good players, really tough. In Alexei Poprin center and Alcaraz, it's just the narrative is probably getting tired where it's these two and the rest. And then Alcaraz goes and does what he did last night, and then sinner kind of ho hums it today where it's a super comfortable scoreline and they're doing nothing to fight the narrative that it's them too. And the rest of it. Center looked very good. Some upsetting news yesterday was was Draper pulled out of the tournament with an elbow injury after not having played since Wimbledon. I hope this is nothing serious. One of the best stories of the year was Draper and Indy Wells and then Draper making the finals of Madrid through Rome. He was probably the third best player in the world this year. You know, you do not want to see this type of growth, momentum improvement and star power, frankly, sidelined by injuries. Yeah, Mike, what is.
Co-host/Analyst
What is that? Process. Like, is he, is he saying, hey, this feels pretty good? And then he goes out and it's just, I mean, if you're, if you're dropping out of this, the last major slam of the year, you know, it must be something you're concerned about long term implications with, right?
Host
Yeah, I, I think so. I. Listen, I'm, I'm no doctor, but let's, let's, let's just go through the facts of the situation. You can't, you haven't played since Wimbledon and he had to be chomping at the bit to play in hot weather on hard courts post Wimbledon. You know, those are the kind of tournaments that he's going to want to, he doesn't want to miss any tournaments, but especially those type of tournaments. You come here, you have to think that if he chose to play mixed doubles, that he was feeling pretty good. There's no world where you put extra stress on, on your body if, if it's not feeling great, plays this first round match, gets through and then pulls the ripcord. You don't really pull the rip cord unless there's a version of this injury that can be made way worse.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right.
Host
If anything, it's like, okay, if it's just sore or if it's overuse or if it's tendinitis or anything like that, you probably get through the Open and then renegotiate to pull out. It's concerning. Considering he hadn't played much going in and he seemed healthy. I didn't see him shaking out the arm and mixed double. So this sucks. Like, this is concerning because he was a massive breakout star starting with the US Open last year, right? Where he made the semis and lost to center. And then he had been playing great this whole year. So I hope Jack Draper gets healthy. I hope he gets some clarity. You try not to be negative and fear the worst, you know, but it's hard not to with someone with this much potential. You know, him and Shelton maybe enter the conversation of disruptors for these two and you just hope it doesn't go sideways. You hope that it doesn't take six months or you, doesn't take four months or whatever. It would be the other thing. Guys, you ready? Medi?
Co-host/Analyst
Oh, no.
Host
Little lighter in the wallet.
Co-host/Analyst
Oh, they gave the game a little 40.
Host
Fine, $43,000. And he deserved it, right? Like he, he stalled his own racket.
Co-host/Analyst
And screaming at people.
Host
I, yeah, like, I have no, like scream at people. Like the six minute delay, right. And people say I'm soft On Medi, I just find him humorous, and I think he's, like, wildly intelligent, and I kind of have a soft spot for people who maximize their ability. And he absolutely deserved the fine.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right.
Host
Like, you break that. The precedence there. You break that much stuff, even if it is your own, which we can have a conversation for another day, whether. I think that should be the case. What's your favorite find that I ever had?
Co-host/Analyst
Yeah, when you're, like, worth it.
Host
Yeah, I remember. I remember I was playing Richard Gasquet in Indian Wells. This is bad, guys.
Co-host/Analyst
This is bad. I'm sorry I asked.
Host
This is bad.
Co-host/Analyst
No, not toss.
Host
So I'd already gotten. I don't know if it was a warning. I don't know if I'd gotten a warning or this was for a point penalty, but I got an argument. The umpire. I don't even remember the umpire, to be honest. I wish I did. Or maybe I've blocked it out because I'm embarrassed by my own actions, which is. Which is commonplace anyways. Gasket hits a passing shot, and I'd got an argument like, two, three points later. And I caught. You know, like, when you cough something, like when you're in high school, you're like, oh, shit.
Co-host/Analyst
Absolutely.
Host
Yeah, I did that. But I was like. I was like, you. And then I tried to argue my way out of it with Tom Barnes, who's dear friend, tour supervisor for a long, long time, and he goes, andy, seriously. I was like, all right, all right, I said it, I said it.
Co-host/Analyst
So unlike you. Mehdi just went straight to the mic, though. There was no coughing under his breath.
Host
See, that's the thing where it's original. You don't often see originality in arguments, and maybe that's where I get a little blinded. Like, I wish I would have thought of the move that Mehdi did where he just ignored the umpire and went to. Went to the microphone. Like, the cleverness is great. And he earned the fine.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right?
Host
Don't.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Like.
Host
You don't want to end. He's been going mental, and it's probably not great for him. And going straight to the microphone is hilarious. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, commenters. Are you guys the fun police? Like, I don't know what you want from me. Like, you know, I don't. He didn't. He didn't go crazy and call someone, like, uneducated, what, too soon?
Co-host/Analyst
No, no, actually, quite accurate.
Host
Yeah, yeah. I mean, listen, disrespectful in a lot of his own ways. Points for originality. And yeah, he's. He spent half his paycheck on that little, little deal for us. And the biggest thing is delaying the match for six minutes at a time, freezing your opponent. Like, that's the stuff that is gamesmanship. That's the stuff that you don't really like, but if he breaks his own rackets and the microphone thing was hilarious. You can, you can comment all you want. That miss me, though. That was hilarious. I'm sorry. That was. That was great. But listen, the story that's going to get reported on from the day over and over is this Biomechanics. You know, McMillan coach this. You can see the stress just flowing out of Coco, and, And it's been amazing to see how she's dealt with the yips for like a year and a half.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right.
Host
It's. She won the French Open.
Co-host/Analyst
Yeah.
Host
This year. It's insane dealing with this issue. Like, it's, it's, it's weird because her saying. It's like she said in press and I, I love Coco. All cards on table. I have a hard time being unbiased when it, when it, when it comes to Coco. So let's just level set there. But the conviction with which she sat in press and was like, this is a biomechanical issue. This is not even. This is no mental issue. It's hard with the emotional sets attached to the match tonight. And you could see the buildup of whether it's attention on it, whether it's stress with training it, the focus on it. Like, yeah, it. There were. There were. It was mental.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right.
Host
Like, it. There. Maybe it's both. It's not either or. It's always both. But of course, you're human. If you get asked about something all the time and everything is reported. Yeah. At some point, it becomes something you think about. Like, there's no chance. It's not. But it was hard. I mean, she. She's able to compartmentalize. Serve. Rest of her game in an amazingly admirable way. Like, crazy. Win the French Open with. With a yippee serve.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right.
Host
Like, that's. It's unbelievable what she's accomplished. She's three in the world. She won tonight. She won tonight. She broke down on a switch over handshaking, had to take a bathroom break to kind of compose herself, and then was able to kind of find a little bit of rhythm in the second set.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right.
Host
But it can't. There are, There are issues. I mean, listen. And the other thing is, I've seen. I've seen. I spent two practices with Coco where we worked on the serve for a grand total of an hour. And for the next, you know, the first month of the season, she was serving. Unbelievable.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right.
Host
And then chips were down against Saba and that semi in Australia, you know, two years ago, and it kind of crept back in. But there's some physical parts, there's some corrections. Everyone knows she falls forward. If the ball goes too far out in front of you and you're reaching, you can't create spin.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right.
Host
When it's here, you can get the bottom of it and create spin. I think everyone knows that. I think she knows that.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right.
Host
But there's. It just pressure manifests itself in different way. And pressure is a stress test for technique. And it's something that she has been working through, is working through. I don't mind her changing something. The timeline is rough and everyone's pointing to the Sabalenka of things. I'm pretty sure Sabalenka started working on it during an off season when you have three or four weeks. Right. She's trying to do this on the fly in three or four days. It's really hard. And I have so much respect for her getting through these matches. It's amazing. And her making the call because she felt like she needed to. I'm good with all that. But to. For the expectation to be that she's going to go out and it's going to be fixed in three days. Like that. It doesn't work like that.
Co-host/Analyst
Yeah. I mean, in the first set, she had seven double faults, 63 on first serves, 59 on first serve wins. But then she had the break. You know, she took that time when Donna Veke had the elbow getting looked at by the doctor. She went out and grabbed balls and she was ripping surfs.
Host
She made like nine out of ten of them.
Co-host/Analyst
Nine out of ten. And then she comes out in the second set. One double fault, 77 for first serves in 77 first.
Host
Yeah.
Co-host/Analyst
Wins. So it's, you know, that's not mechanics. Right. It's. It's just resetting. It's resetting level set of mine.
Host
It's. It's both. It's all of it.
Co-host/Analyst
Okay.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right.
Host
Like, there's. There's no. Like, you can. It's not as if there's a clean separation of church and state, physical, mental. It's all intertwined. It all works together. It's all one thing.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right.
Host
And she's able to deal and separate and compartmentalize, which is like a superpower. For an athlete, whether it's on court, off court. You know, she's, she's been as good as I've seen for someone who has this glaring thing that she has to address all the time. But you could see the stress build up out there tonight. Like, there's no way. There's, there's no way you could. I'm curious to see what she says in press. But yeah, there are big feelings there because you're exposed, right? Like your biggest insecurity is exposed and people are watching it in real time.
Co-host/Analyst
I mean, she broke down. She broke down in the, in the post match on court. You know, she had a great saying. She said, no matter how tough it gets inside, you can do it. But you know, she's breaking down when she's saying this. And then she went to the ESPN desk and she was clearly emotional there still. But the fact is she was going and doing those things, right? Like, she's not hiding away from it. She's embracing it and facing it. I thought that was really powerful.
Host
Yeah. I mean, it would. Listen, we can talk about serve and we can talk about concern for serve, and that's a separate conversation than Coco addressing things head on.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right.
Host
Like, she hasn't hid from anything ever, ever, ever. Head on. Dealt with it tonight was like, you know, you, it's hard to eat. Like, I'm gonna give credit for the, the mental part of it and all, but you can't. I, I just. The only thing I think I've ever disagreed. It's like, you can't separate. Like, I would love for the world to be okay. This is physical. This is mental. I, it's definitely not mental. Like, yeah, it all, it's. It all lives together. It's one thing, right? Like, and it, the serve is mental. I stood three feet from her and watched her hit 50 beautiful serves in a row. Like, I've seen it. She, she, like, she has the ability to be a great server. I do think she will be a dominant server at some point. I really do. You know, and I hope this works.
Co-host/Analyst
Scary for her opponents.
Host
Yeah. And the first serve percentage is higher because she's spinning it in. She's, you know, going for the middle of the box. The priority is on making it, you know, she has 125 in her arm. She can hit it that big. Like, it's, I've seen it. It's. It's absurd. And I hope this works there. The. When the good serves right now look cleaner than, than they did, you know, three weeks ago. So credit to the, to the new team. But, like, you can't create muscle memory in four days, right? Like, I think that's just an unrealistic expectation. So I don't know what we're expecting, like a magic fix. Like, there's no, there's no aspirin for this, right. Like it's going to take, it's going to take a minute, it's going to take some work. Nobody more up to the task than, than Coco Golf, right? But this is, to go seven full matches with that amount of stress is going to be very hard. But, you know, the rest of our game, it's funny because we talk about, like the best players in the world and Novak struggling and he gets through and we talk about Coco struggling and she's through.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Right?
Host
Like, it's, it's, it's pretty, it's pretty amazing that there can be these glaring things, you know, Novak struggling physically the first two rounds, Coco struggling with serve and kind of with the new thing. And you can see the kind of, the mental anguish on her face and they win. They win. It's just, it's just really impressive. Can't wait for tomorrow. Thank you for watching this show. Quick Serve brought to you by Amazon Prime. Lots of hedge fiat tech almost goes down and it was like everyone was so calm. I'm like, this is Earth. This is like a, I don't know, whatever this is. This is Quick Serve brought you by Amazon Prime. We'll see you tomorrow. 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.
Sponsor Voice 2
You're basking on a beach in the Bahamas. Now you're journeying through the jade forests of Japan. Now you're there for your alma mater's epic win. And now you're awake.
Co-host/Analyst 2
Womp, womp.
Sponsor Voice 2
Which means it was all a dream. But with millions of incredible deals on Priceline, those travel dreams can be a reality. Download the Priceline app today and you can save up to 60% off hotels and up to 50% off flights. So don't just dream about that trip. Book it with Priceline Audio.
Host
Happy Price, Priceline.
Date: August 29, 2025
Hosts: Andy Roddick (Host), Jon Wertheim and others (Co-hosts/Analysts)
A high-energy recap of Day 5 at the US Open, focused on Coco Gauff’s emotional win and ongoing serve issues, Iga Swiatek’s surprising struggles, show-stopping doubles, major upsets, player health updates, and candid moments on and off the court. Andy Roddick and the team deliver sharp analysis and honest reactions, blending expertise with heartfelt appreciation for the sport’s drama and its athletes’ challenges.
On Coco’s struggle and perseverance (emotional and technical):
Perspective on Slam Survival:
Venus as doubles legend, and Layla’s infectious energy:
Medvedev’s Outburst:
Gauff’s mental fortitude:
This Day 5 recap on Served is a lively, thoughtful mix of granular tennis analysis and personality-driven commentary. The hosts spotlight Coco Gauff’s emotional journey, Swiatek’s escape, major doubles joy, player injuries, and the fine line between intensity and gamesmanship—all while keeping the tennis conversation rooted in empathy, competitive insight, and the quirks that make the sport great.
Summary prepared for fans and those catching up on the pulse of the 2025 US Open.