QUICK SERVED: US Open Day 7 - Zverev Falls, Sinner Dominates, Gauff/Osaka Collision Course, & more - Served with Andy Roddick

Served with Andy Roddick – QUICK SERVED: US Open Day 7 August 31, 2025

Episode Overview

This "Quick Served" episode of the Served Podcast delivers a brisk, insightful roundup of Day 7 action at the US Open, focusing on major results, emerging storylines, and the key performances that shaped the tournament's business end. With Andy Roddick away celebrating his birthday, Jon Wertheim anchors the episode, guiding listeners through memorable moments from both the day and night sessions, including high-profile showdowns and surprising upsets on both the men’s and women’s sides.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Coco Gauff’s Poised Progress and Osaka Matchup

Gauff’s Earlier Matches: Gauff’s struggles and drama from her earlier rounds gave way to a stress-free straight-sets win in her Day 7 match. Her serving aggression and improved composure were notable.
- "She looked a lot like Coco Gauff. The kind of player who can win majors. All of the drama and the melodrama and the emotions… really fell by the wayside." — Jon Wertheim [01:24]
Post-Match Vibes: Gauff’s willingness to engage in media “car wash” interviews post-match was seen as a positive sign of mindset.
Next Up, Osaka: Gauff faces Naomi Osaka, a two-time champion. Their rematch is highly anticipated, contrasting Gauff’s current edge in competitiveness against Osaka’s pure hitting ability.
- "When Osaka is at her best, she might be the better tennis player… Coco Gauff is the better competitor right now." — Jon Wertheim [03:05]
Coaching & Biomechanics: Gauff’s work with coach Gavin McMillan and technical adjustments were touched upon, with questions about how much six sets under the new regime truly reveal.

Jannik Sinner Tested but Advances

Scratchy Victory: Defending champ Jannik Sinner dropped a set and was behind against Denis Shapovalov before turning the match around, highlighting Shapovalov’s inconsistency and Sinner’s resilience.
- "Denis Shapovalov sort of retreated. In many ways, this is a metaphor for his career. A lot of flash, a lot of show… but not a lot of great… match generalship." — Jon Wertheim [04:06]
Sinner’s Self-Assessment: Sinner’s statement, "I played well," was received skeptically given his struggles [05:04].

IGA Swiatek Survives, Venus Shines in Doubles

IGA’s Slow Start: Swiatek was down 1–5 in the first set against Kalinskaya before finding form—a reminder that champions often “survive and advance.”
- "IGA looked a little shaky… but ends up prevailing. Sometimes that can be a disguised blessing." — Jon Wertheim [05:31]
Venus & Layla: Venus Williams, at age 45, continues to capture attention, advancing in doubles with Leylah Fernandez.
- "Venus Williams… acquitted herself quite well… the delight of the crowd and also honestly the delight of the schedule makers." — Jon Wertheim [06:10]

Notable Results and Storylines

Surprise and Retirements: Notable performances included Bia Haddad Maia’s upset of Sakkari, Musetti’s advance, and three player retirements despite perfect weather.
Hong Kong’s Historic Win: Colton Wong, the first from Hong Kong to win a US Open main-draw match, exited after an inspired five-set battle with Rublev.
- "Colton Wong was just walking around with this perma smile… his run though, ended yesterday in five sets." — Jon Wertheim [07:16]

Off-Court Moments – The “Hat Incident”

Public Shaming and Viral Moments: The episode digresses to discuss the virality of the “hat stealing” incident from the stands.
- "You’re going about your life… wearing Gucci, life’s good, you’re stealing hats from kids… and 24 hours later, you’re the villain of the world." — Jon Wertheim [08:26]
- "Sometimes things happen for a reason… hopefully there's a lesson from it for all of us." — Co-host [09:23]
Ostapenko & the “Villain Meter”: Wertheim jokes that Yelena Ostapenko was probably amused to have competition for tournament “villain.”

The Night Session – Zverev Falls, Felix Rises

Zverev’s Stalling Prime: Alexander Zverev’s early loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime was framed as another sign that his peak may have passed without a major.
- "We've all agreed best player not to have win a major… but, you know what, he holds on to that title because he went down to Felix O.J. Aliassime." — Jon Wertheim [10:04]
- "Just a rough year for a guy who should notionally be in his prime." — Jon Wertheim [10:45]
Felix Auger-Aliassime’s Breakthrough: Felix’s authoritative win could signal a breakthrough, showing the aggression and composure long expected from him.
- "That was a master class last night… this could have unlocked something." — Jon Wertheim [12:00]
Bublik vs. Paul: Alexander Bublik's five-set win over an injured Tommy Paul capped the night, with Bublik delivering his trademark unpredictable play.
- "Bublik doing Bublikian things… up 5-2 in the breaker, double fault… then hit 119 mph… just Bublik doing Bublikian things." — Jon Wertheim [13:12]

Day 8 Schedule Preview and Serve & Volley Nerd-out

Today’s Featured Players: Jessie Pegula opens, followed by Alcaraz and Djokovic in the day session, each taking Ashe Stadium for their matches; surprise: Taylor Fritz again won’t play on Ashe.
- "Taylor Fritz… may get to the quarterfinals and not play on the big stadium." — Jon Wertheim [14:45]
Serve & Volley Stats: Serve & volley works 68% of the time, but only 2% of points at the Open use the technique, a curious stat considering doubles specialists Taylor Townsend and Barbora Krejcikova are facing off.
- "I'm going to give you a strategy… going to work more than two out of three times… and you only do it one out of 50 times. Make of that what you will." — Jon Wertheim [15:35]
Taylor Townsend’s Phoenix Monologue: Wertheim encourages everyone to find Townsend’s “phoenix” metaphor for her comeback story, calling it “one of the great monologues of this tournament.” [16:21]

Memorable Quotes & Moments

On Gauff vs. Osaka: "This is a good Labor Day match. It's an interesting matchup… Coco Gauff is the better competitor right now." — Jon Wertheim [03:00]
On Zverev’s Status: "The prospects of Alexander Zverev winning a major just seem sort of dimmer and dimmer." — Jon Wertheim [11:16]
On Felix’s Upset: "This is one of the great wins of his career… this could have unlocked something." — Jon Wertheim [12:08]
On the Hat Incident: "You're doing over a sweaty ball cap. The guy's probably got an extra one if you'd ask for him." — Jon Wertheim [09:44]
On Serve & Volley: "Serve and volley as a strategy is successful 68% of the time this tournament… and you only do it one out of 50 times." — Jon Wertheim [15:35]
Taylor Townsend’s “Phoenix”: "One of the great monologues of this tournament. I encourage everyone to find Taylor Townsend likening herself to a Phoenix." — Jon Wertheim [16:21]

Important Timestamps

Gauff’s performance and Osaka matchup: 01:00–03:30
Sinner vs. Shapovalov recap: 04:00–05:10
IGA Swiatek’s comeback: 05:21–05:52
Venus doubles update: 06:10
Colton Wong’s run: 07:16
"Hat Incident" & social media response: 08:26–09:44
Zverev vs. Felix wrap-up: 10:04–12:08
Bublik late-night antics: 13:12
Next day schedule preview: 14:30–16:00
Serve and volley segment: 15:21–15:55
Taylor Townsend’s “Phoenix” monologue recommendation: 16:21

Summary Tone & Takeaways

Jon Wertheim’s delivery is brisk, insightful, and peppered with wry observations. The episode swiftly moves through the highlights, upsets, and quirks of Day 7 at the US Open—balancing serious tennis analysis with insider humor and attention to off-court viral moments. Listeners are left with a satisfying round-up and a clear preview for Labor Day’s action, feeling caught up on both the biggest names and the emerging stories of the tournament.

Transcript

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Hey everyone, John Wertheim Here it is, today's quick serve from the Serve Podcast. Andy's out celebrating his birthday. We will happily fill in and tell you what's going on from Saturday. We are officially in the business phase of this this tournament. We're now in the fourth round, round of 16. Saturday was sort of a tale of two sessions, day and night. It sort of turned into a party and things got exciting once the sun went down. Day session started out with familiar face. Coco G played first on Arthur Ash and you know what, she looked a lot like Coco Gauff. The kind of player who can win majors. All of sort of the drama and the melodrama and the emotions that had accompanied her first two matches really fell by the wayside. She had a pretty straightforward straight set win. Spoke to her after the match. I always feel like what players interview their interview schedule in the middle of a major often gives you some set into some sense of their mindset and the fact that she was sort of going through the car wash and doing interviews after the match I took was a good sign. Four double faults. That's sort of stat. Everyone is watching. But also look at her miles per hour on the serve. She served aggressively, really wasn't pushed and she's got to be thrilled with that. She plays Naomi Osaka next. Osaka, who of course has won this event twice. Be Daria Kazakina in three sets. People will remember their match here. I think it was six years ago when it was a very different Osaka and a very different Coco G and it wasn't particularly competitive. Expect a competitive match in the round of 16. We talked about this match on our draw show. We all had that circled. Now it is coming to Bear on. On Labor Day and I. It's an interesting matchup because when Osaka is at her best, she might be the better tennis player, the better pure striker. Coco Gauff is the better competitor right now. She is the better mover. She has more looks. It'll really be interesting. It'll see sort of what these. These biomechanics. I don't know how much of the biomechanical changes we can read into six sets of tennis that Coco is now played under her new coach, Gavin McMillan. They've obviously been working on the off days as well, but I think the way Coco manages this match will be the key. But this is a good Labor Day match. Jannik Sinner, the defending champion, the winner of the previous major, the number one seed, the player a lot of people think is going to win this event, he struggled. He did not have a great day against Denis Shapovalov, Lost the first set and was down a break in the third set. This could have been a really interesting match. And then Denis Shapovalov sort of retreated. In many ways, this is a metaphor for his career. A lot of flash, a lot of show, making a lot of shot, making a lot of style, but not a lot of great sort of, I guess, what I'd call match generalship. Some questionable shot selection. He got upset for silly reasons at his camp. He actually had a point to go up a double break in the third set. Imagine that you have the defending champion up two sets to one. Potentially. The opportunity slipped. Jannik Sinner was not broken. He then broke back, reeled off seven on the next eight games, and Jannik Sinner ends up with a victory afterwards. In the. In the transcript in the press, Yannick Sinner said he. He played well, which. Which I'm not sure if that's sort of protesting too much or. Or trying to convince himself or maybe he saw a different match than the rest of us. I mean, he was barely dropping games in his first two matches. Was tested more than three hours, four sets over Dennis Shapovala. But Yannick Sinner advances. So does the other Wimbledon singles champion, IGA Chante. She really struggled. She was down five sets. She was down five. One in the first set against Anna Kalinskaya. Dangerous player. And then IGA sort of locked in and Kalinskaya retreated. We've seen this movie before, and IGA survives. Remember, she lost a set in her second round match. And you figured, okay, this is sort of the loose match. You're not playing eight plus 10 is for seven rounds. This is that one match where she sort of survives and advances. But IGA looked a little shaky yesterday, especially in the early going, but ends up prevailing. Sometimes that can be a disguised blessing. Other winners yesterday, before we get to the crazy night session, sort of one of these sub stories and this is what always happens in these tournaments. The singles draw is what it is. But we have off court controversy. We have Yelena Ostapenko, we have a guy stealing a hat. We also have more happily, Venus Williams, age 45. She entered the mix, she entered singles and acquitted herself quite well. And now here she is with Layla Fernandez, her second favorite doubles partner after her sister. They won another round. So Venus Williams, who actually looks really good on the double score, stands to reason, right? I mean, you're 45 years old, cover half the court. You are with a. It's sort of an interesting lefty righty combo with Layla Fernandez. But they advance yet again to the delight of the crowd and also honestly the delight of the schedule makers. With Ben Shelton and Francis both going out. The USTA is probably quite pleased that Venus Williams is sort of a bonus session. Other results. BIA had Toad Maya of Brazil, who's a fine player who really struggles in majors. Well, not this one because she beat Sakkari 1 and 2 to advance. We talked about Osaka, Lorenzo Musetti. We had three retirements on the men's side and I should add it's really been gorgeous weather out here. I mean I met. Usually this is sort of the last gasp of summer before we bleed into fall. But you know, we're accustomed to seeing long lines at drinking fountains and where sunblock and this sort of sticky Labor Day weekend New York humidity, none of that. I mean, it's been. The weather's been absolutely gorgeous. So it's not as though we're playing in 100 degree days, but we had three retirements yesterday. One of them was was Flavio Caboli, who's played a lot of tennis. He had played five centers in both of his first two matches. Andy talked about that win over Jensen Brooksby and Caboli just didn't have much for Lorenzo Musetti who suddenly, for a guy who's really struggled once he's come off the clay, has now made the second week of this major. Colton Wong, the first player from Hong Kong to win a main draw match. A guy who trains at the Nadal Academy gave Andre Rublev all he could handle. Colton Wong was just walking around with this perma smile on his face. I sort of asked him what he's doing in New York and he asked him trying to go to as many Asian restaurants as he could. Sort of this absolute. Just happy to be here, folks, for the qualifier. His run though, ended yesterday in five sets. Keep an eye on Colson Wong, though. Just a delightful kid. Also trains at the Nadal Academy. Discussion for another time, but the Nagal Academy had a great, sort of had a great tournament here. Joao Munar, also from the Nagal Academy, won yesterday. Rublev, by the way, is the one who beat Colson Wong. Nice to see Rublev back in the second week of a major. It's been a rough year for him. Amanda Anna Samova, coming off her Wimbledon final, is still alive. She gets through in three sets. I'm not sure she's played her best tennis here, but she is surviving. She is advancing. Carolina Mujava, who's been to the semifinals twice two years running, gets through in three sets over Naskova and then two. Two of the injured matches we were talking about, one of them was Musetti. The other one was Alex Diminore, who lost the first set against Daniel Altmeyer, the German with the one handed backhand. But then Diminore sort of had him right where he wanted him and Altmeyer faded. Diminour now into week two, all he does is win. Marta Kostc advances over Dion Perry. So there are no one handed backhands on the women's draw either. Alexandrova Owen, one over Laura Sigmund, 37 years old. My who remember he's probably best known as the guy who threw the hat that the Polish executive now ran, ran off with. He didn't have much against Riedel, the Swiss qualifier. So we have a Swiss qualifier into the round of 16. My shack. Let's take a little detour from tennis for a few minutes. Mike, how do we feel about this public shaming and this complete reputational overhaul? One day you're going about your life. You're at the US Open, you're wearing Gucci, life's good, you're stealing hats from kids and 24 hours later you're, you're the villain of the world. And the Internet spanking machine has got you. On the one hand, I'm glad people doing bad things are held accountable. At the same time, this guy's life is like going to be pretty, pretty destabilized for the foreseeable future. How do we feel about that?