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Host 1
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Jen
You have five new messages. Hey Carl, it's Jen from Finance. Could you submit your expenses this week? Hey, Carl, happy Friday. It's Jen, Finance. Just need those receipts today. Me again, Carl, really need those receipts like last week. Please just tell me where they are. Are you by your desk right now?
Host 1
Finance teams, you shouldn't be chasing down Carl or anyone else with ramp. Expenses are sent with the TEC and reminders happen automatically. Switch your business to ramp.com today and love finance again. Hey, everyone. Welcome to Quick Serve, brought to you by Insert cricket Noise. Nobody. Nobody. We should get a sales team.
Host 2
We have. We have some spots open through the semifinals and finals. Quick serves if anybody's interested.
Host 1
Oh, good. Yeah, we should have sold those.
Host 2
Yeah.
Host 1
Anyways, for you it's better because you don't have to listen to it. But guys, I'm salty today. I'm a little salty, I got to be honest.
Host 2
What are you salty about?
Host 1
So I spent my day watching the pinnacle of our sport, right? Number one player in the world, the most accomplished player of all time. Bench. It's her story, the way that she was Witek, five time winner, figuring out her worst surface and coming through. And then I watched this Ackman match at the hall of Fame, which I have so many thoughts about.
Host 2
And this is the Jack Sock Bill Ackman doubles match.
Host 1
Everyone in the bag. All four in the court.
Host 2
Technically an ATP challenger.
Host 1
Yeah.
Host 2
Event.
Host 1
Yeah.
Host 2
At the hall of Fame.
Host 1
I don't want to. I don't want to ruin the Wimbledon part of this up front, but we should spend a second on it at the end.
Host 2
Yeah, let's do it at the end.
Host 1
Yeah. I'll tell you, we'll start with Witek. Like if you would have told. Like, let's just. I know we're victims of the moment. We live in this thing and it's real for us. Someone tells you at the beginning of the year she goes Ophir on clay hasn't won a tournament since the French Open last year. And then somehow the tournament that could potentially turn the entire year around is Wimbledon. This is why we love tennis. Like, it's unbelievable and yet we're seeing it all at the same time. I love the way she's playing, I love the way that she's returning. This was a great example of a lot of times when we talk about tennis, it's like, Sam, son of a right, she's great. I really enjoy watching her play. Great serve, good forehand. But when a lot of people are just, they just go, good forehand, bad backhand, right. And that's the simplest thing. And people like, well, she's missing a forehand. She was making it earlier or, you know, whatever it may be, it goes so much deeper than that. Simple kind of analysis, right? Sim Sonova, when she's fading to her left and has time on the forehand, she has an unbelievable forehand, right? IGA knows that. If we know it, she knows it when she goes to her right and is forced to go there. All over the place, all over the place. It's not just good forehand, good backhand, it's the spots on the court where you feed given shots, right? Fed might have the best one handed backhand of all time. And then Rafa comes in and can access above his shoulder and it's just, it's just not as simple. And the chess matches, you have to know what to do and then you have to be able to execute it. Igishviatek played great, but strategically, 10 out of 10 match when she could. She bullied to the right on the Samson of a forehand. Got her fishing, kept her out of the center of the court enough where she was kind of like when she was kind of the momentum was going a little bit left. Samsonova hits her forehand so well, right, controlling the middle of the court, firming it up from the middle, not letting her get left, like letting her get set from a set position. She likes kind of hooking the ball to Iga's forehand. When she's fading a little bit, she hits it flat and hits that off forehand or has the ability to hit both. And Egan knew it, picked it apart. And it was, it was not fun to watch Simsonova get beat. It was fun to watch a tactician know it and execute it, especially on a service that has largely been a challenge for her. I don't know that it's a challenge any further. I Said last week, she's in this thing to win it. And no updates. She's in this thing to win it. She. She could win this tennis tournament. I think she's a. I think she's a huge favorite. Not a huge favorite, but I think she's a significant favorite against. Against Ben Ch. Who, by the way, how good is she? Like, she 1. She played phenomenally right on the front foot the entire time, attacked the Andrea forehand, lost the match points. She said just casually, I cracked a toenail with like, two games left.
Host 2
Is that what it was when she.
Host 1
Was limping around, cracked a toenail in half, split it, and just finished the match three. You know, the trainer came out, she was about to, you know, close the match out. She said, I would have done the same thing. Like, no, no, I'm not slowing this down now. I actually had the momentum, but gets rid of those, loses those couple match points and comes back, plays a great tiebreaker. She's made one semifinal in her career in a Grand Slam. Comes back exactly a year ago after giving birth, and I think it was April of last year, and now in our first Wimbledon semifinal. Like, it's. It's just. Tennis is so cool. It's just the coolest, which is why I'm so passionate about it. When we'll get to that.
Host 2
We'll get to that later.
Host 1
It was great. I think bench is a great story. I think the second serve to IGA is going to come in a little soft. The first serve, I think, is going to come in a little soft. I think Bencic has to up the risk profile. IGA's returning great forehand side, backhand side. She cleaned five or six return winners today off of first serves. Like she's, she's playing great and she's seeing the ball huge, and she's going to be able to kind of bully. Bench it to her forehand side a little bit more. Bench. It is really good at setting up in the middle of the court. And if you watch her, all you chuckers, she's so good at setting that outside foot and then pushing off of it forward. Like, it's almost an exaggerated move to make sure she's always kind of forward on the shots. That's why her transition game is. Is so great. And she's able to kind of flow through, cut the court. But the footwork from the outside leg. Old culture mine. Rick Macy used to teach that on the forehand. A coach of King Richard, right? The. The main coach in. In that where Venus and Serena went Always set and always wanted to teach a pro shots off that outside foot benchage does it phenomenally well. It's really fun to watch. I just think IGA's gonna be able to bleed her where she can't actually set that. That pacing up and set that footwork up. But it's just been. It's just been absolutely phenomenal to watch her kind of switch it.
Host 2
Can I ask you, before you move on from that, what. What did she do to Mira, you know, to frustrate her? And what'd you see from Mira?
Host 1
She returned great. Whenever she was hitting a slow serve, she hit it to the side on the return. With Andreva, she has a harder time creating pace. Mira on the forehand side and the backhand side. So when she was throwing those kind of soft rollers or first serves, she was making sure it went to the forehand side. When she was attacking, it was at the forehand side. So you saw Andreeva kind of go into that chip a bunch. So it's when she was trying to get away with maybe the weak spots of her game, it was, it was. It was to the side that maybe doesn't have knockout power yet. And. And then when she got her ball, she was distributing kind of equally. Right. But her. Her awareness of where Andreva was and where Andrea could hurt her on a given shot, I thought was. Was clear as day, you know, and she just executed. She didn't miss random balls. She wasn't starting games. Love 30 because she dumped, you know, a couple shots in the net or was nervy. Even the match points that she let go, I mean, one of them was like a. I'm. I'm guessing it was like a 16 ball rally where she had Andreva chipping like four times. There's a quality point, like, that's one where the old Jimmy Connors, when he told me, operation successful, sometimes the patient dies. You know, it died on that one. But like, she did everything she could. It was a great story. And afterwards, her interview. She's so damn likable.
Host 2
Yeah.
Host 1
Oh, my goodness. I mean, you could just feel the joy. She's able to express it and articulate it, and it was. It was just fantastic. I'm so happy for her. I'm happy for the story. Just. Just really phenomenal stuff. Novak. It's just if you make the sample size small enough right, you can tell any story, right? And if that's six, one Demon takes the first set. If it's Caboli winning that first set, Novak isn't going Anywhere, right? He goes, no, no, no. We're gonna. We're gonna tell the true story because the sample size is large. I can lose first round and, you know, Indian Wells and Madrid and, you know, all these other places. If we extend the sample size to 3 out of 5 sets and we extend the sample size to 2 weeks. And I'm playing a. I mean, he was up, you know, close to the. Going into the four set, I think it was a plus. Fourteen winners to errors. Like, that's a tough one. Like, if you're cabola, you know that. And you know, okay, I won the first set. And then your mind, you. You got to get over that. The kind of. The elation really quickly because you're going, can I keep this up for minimum, another hour and a half. It's a tough one. That's. That's where Novak, like, mentally, physically, he just plays. There's no real loose shots. Even when he does, he's able to come back right away. You can tell when he's not happy with something, he knows it. But then his. Just his ability to switch directions put you off without losing any margin. It's hard thing to explain because, you know, we've talked about this before, but, like, What Rafa, his RPMs and his ball speed, you can see it on TV, right? What Novak does is just constantly makes you attack from the toughest position to attack from. Doesn't mean you can't. It just makes it the most difficult version of that attack possible for four hours. Miserable. It's like getting kicked in the nuts for four hours. Like, it's just brutal. Like, it's just. It's just so impressive and in the way that he's adjusting, knowing that he's not as quick out of the corners as he was seven years ago, Right. And so the shots he's playing to kind of avoid that, he's not letting it hang as much. He's playing against movement. It's just really fun to watch. Like, it's just. He's a master. He's. He's per. He's perfected his craft and now is someone bigger, stronger, younger. Sure, but it's like, I don't know. Like, it's just. It's just really fun to watch his craft at work. The way he hits second serves, he barely hits a kick serve anymore, right. Because he doesn't want that set. It just the way that he's navigating things in real time, even with the movement, that's still better than most of us ever moved in Our lives. Right.
Host 2
When he did the splits with a couple, I mean, I was just like, oh, my God.
Host 1
It's not to say he doesn't move well. It's just you're judging him against a shadow of someone who's won 24 majors.
Host 2
Yeah, it was incredible.
Host 1
And it's not, you know, this version versus the peak version, whatever that is. You know, there's. You have 12 years to choose from, and we're just, you know, you know, fighting for no reason. But, like, it's just really fun to watch him navigate the reality of what is, and then the craft that he's able to apply to create the best version of himself at this age. It's just really fun to watch. It's just, you know, and you're watching and you're going. I hope people appreciate what they're seeing with where he's putting the ball, the ball flight, the decisions he's making when he's pulling the trigger, when he's not. He will have to go bigger on the forehand side against. Against Yannick Sinner, you know, where he can kind of play cat mouse with, you know, Cabolia, you know, Demon or whoever else. And those guys are great players. Center will knock your head off. Like, you have to kind of. He's going to have to go a little bit bigger on the forehand side and, oh, he's more beyond capable of doing it. He just hasn't had to yet. Why isn't he going bigger on the forehand?
Host 2
Because he hasn't needed to.
Host 1
Because he hasn't had to bring on that risk. Like, why. It's like saying, why wouldn't you bet more at the blackjack table? Like, if you're, you know, if you're just kind of. If you have a system, you know, I don't know. It's. It's going to be exciting. Sinner looked really well today. He had all the ball control that he hasn't had thus far at Wimbledon. Right. Even. I mean, I said it even when I watched him. He's like, one. I was blown away the first three shots I heard because it. It sounded like an explosion. And also he was missing some sloppy shots today. He was pretty airtight, right? He was just, you know, it was. It was pretty straightforward. He'd get into the rally neutral, and then he was just, you know, attacking Ben's backhand, and he just. And not even, like, opening it up to go to the other side. Nope. If you're gonna. If you're gonna beat me, it's Gonna be with your serve and you're gonna have to beat me with your return in your backhand at some point in this match, which is hard. It's a tough matchup. It's a tough matchup for Ben, but Ben had a great event. Like, he had a fantastic event. One adjustment that I'd like to see against the great returners, like a center Novak, you know, if you're a Ben Shelton, he has, if you understand when it's this lefty serve, one, he has maybe the most action on his second serve of anyone in the game, right. It's. It's. It's like a curveball that goes from 12 to 6 or 6 to. It's just crazy, the movement that he's able to get on it. I would have liked to have seen a little bit more of every time a second or not every time, because you can't do something every time. But a lot of the time I would have wanted to see the kick serve from on the deuce side, start on center's backhand and kick towards the forehand. I would have wanted my second serve crossing sinner's body a lot more. I think if I was. I think if I was Ben. And then you mix that up with the threat of going 120 on a second serve down to 87, right. I just think, you know, a wide serve to center on a second serve, if it starts on his left and he's moving left, he's going to be able to track it and see it. And you're not going to get that like T. Rex effect where he gets caught, right? And also on the ad side, if you hit that kind of cutter, and this is really hard to do, by the way, we're talking about fitting it into a pocket of a foot, right? So like, chuckers can't do this. This isn't advice for someone at their club tournament or someone pretending to be a pro tennis player for a day.
Host 2
What, that happened today, huh? Oh, that did happen.
Host 1
Yeah. It was like Comic Con, but like tennis. Anyways, anyways, on the ad side, if you're going to hit a slice serve, I wanted to start on center's forehand side and then kind of work its way hopefully to the backhand side because he can't really. If you're moving against it and the ball is moving this way, you have to almost pull it to bends for him. You can't lay like, you can't let center lay that down to your backhand. On the first ball, get neutral. Neutral is Actually behind. I've talked about this with my matchup with Roger. Like, when I got to. When we were neutral, if he neutralized my serve. Neutral for him is behind for me. Right. Because he's more skilled from the baseline. But, I mean, we're. We're gra. I mean, those are the kind of the micro details that are impossible to execute that you nitpick at when you're at the level of Shelton Center. But people need to understand that. Like, it's not as. Do. It served to the back end. No, no, no, you started here. Mix it. I mean, there's so much that goes into this. You know, cue the. The Beautiful Mind meme or the Zach Galifianakis version of it. But, yeah, I mean, it was. It was. It was pretty. It's pretty fun to watch. All in. And we got some. Some good matchups coming up. Sabalenka and Ana Samova. Curious what the odds are on that one. Let me. Hold on, let me. Let's call a research department.
Host 2
Yeah, right now. Right now. Saba Lanka, according to the Wimbledon website, is a 62 chance of winning.
Host 1
Yeah, but I want to know what the betting odds are.
Host 2
You want the real betting odds?
Host 1
Yeah.
Host 2
If only we had a betting sponsor.
Host 1
Or a show about betting.
Host 2
Interesting. Anybody like to see that?
Host 1
Maybe you get that?
Host 2
Sponsored betting sponsor would be great.
Host 1
That'd be good. Oh, cue the comments. They're gonna hate that. I don't know what the odds are, but if. If you're looking at like a 3, 4 to 1. Anna Samova's in with a shot. She's got a puncher's chance for sure. She can create speed through the middle of the court. This. This service is gonna do her some favors. Now, the moment and everything else, we'll see. But this is the opposite matchup for Sab Liquor that it was against Laura Sigmund. But I. I like. I like. I think I like Anova's chances maybe more than Benic, just based on matchups. And I'm sure I'll be wrong about everything, but Anisa Mova is one of the few players that can beat Sabalenka, sometimes with speed. It's going to depend on Anova serve. If she's landing first serves and winning free points and able to defend her second, then she's in this thing with a chance now, and that's before I. You know, it's hard to analyze how she's going to feel in the moment and the whole thing. That's a. That's a tough One to predict, but I like that. I still love the way ego is playing. I like her. In that semifinal matchup, I've chosen Novak through to the Wimbledon final.
Host 2
Yep.
Host 1
Cinder looked pretty good today.
Host 2
And he said his elbow was feeling good on the desk afterwards. Obviously he's going to say that, but there was no, there was nothing to refute that.
Host 1
You can't lie to a radar gun. Yeah, and the radar gun was kind of there. Like we, I was texting with Eubanks and I was on the phone with Eubanks just, you know, kind of checking in. He's like, how does it feel? I'm like, well, the radar gun seems to think his elbow is okay. You know, he, he's still, he's still pumping first serves and he's still getting action on the second serve, you know, so I'm sure there's something there he fell on. I mean, we talked about the other day, like if it's a tenant or a terror or something. It's not just sore, it's. It's electric guitar strings. When you hit the ball like it, it screams at you. It's like what we saw with, with Grigor. But it'll be interesting. Also kind of curious if, if Novak, he's watching the match with Dimitrov, I wonder if he kind of implements that slice at all based on what, what he saw. Now it's not as, you know, if I had Novak's two hander, I probably wouldn't slice very much. I sliced a lot because my two hander sucked. Right. Like, so it's, it's different. But I don't know if there's some way to kind of squeeze that in because, you know, he was watching that and Grigor was, was using it to a lot of effect, but he was using it to kind of, you know, knife it come in. That's not Novak's game. So I'm curious to see what the offset is between. I have the best two hander of all time and this was also effective for someone else. And do we take it out for spin? I don't know. I, I defer. I normally have opinions about things, but I certainly am not going to ever second guess the way Novak chooses to go about a match. You might not win it, but it ain't because of strategy. I promise you that. Alcaraz, Fritz. I'm curious to see what Fritz does to take Alcaraz out of rhythm. Right. Fritz is very good at his like, kind of main skill set striking the ball. He's not going to go small. I promise you that. He cannot get into these prolonged rallies where Alcaraz is chipping, drop shotting. You know, I think he has to go a little bit bigger on the second serve. Run some into the body, mix up paces. You know, the radar gun needs to look a lot different on a second serve sometimes. I'm curious to see if he tries to force his way in. It's not natural for him. And I'm curious to see how much cat and mouse Alcaraz plays versus wanting to go toe to toe. It's Alcaraz I don't think likes when someone goes bigger than him.
Host 2
Interesting.
Host 1
But his variety is going to be his superpower in this matchup. His ability to chip line, have the ball going away from Taylor. He doesn't want Taylor to have that little kind of bunny step left and then just crank right. Curious to see if he goes big on first serves or wants to protect the second serve return from Taylor Fritz. So I think that's the big question if you're Anacone and Mike Russell is what are we going to do to disrupt kind of that rhythmic flow of variety that comes off of. Off of color. Carlos Alcaraz chose Novak and Alcaraz before the tournament. Let's see. Let's see how it goes. And now I'm just.
Host 2
That's good tennis.
Host 1
I don't know, man.
Host 2
Like, tennis fans are winners no matter what happens over the next few days. With these matchups.
Host 1
Yes, with these matchups, for sure. So I was clicking between the most accomplished player of all time and then a match where it looked like four players were in the bag with. I mean, Bill Ackman, who's been a massive tennis fan supporter, funds the ptpa, does the whole thing, wanted to play a pro tournament. So, you know, there was obviously some exchange of something like you don't give a wild card to someone who 50 players at my club are better than.
Host 2
He's 59 years old.
Host 1
Yeah, I mean, it's just, it's just the, the, the point. And I'm on committees for the hall of Fame. I'm honored to be part of the hall of Fame. I have great relationships with people at the hall of Fame and also you can disagree with people that you have a good relationship with. This was a total miss. Now, the job of the hall of Fame is to preserve and celebrate excellence in our sport. This was the biggest joke I've ever watched in professional tennis. All four. You know, the. Even Tomic was just. He'd have a Sitter. He was serving 50 miles an hour to someone. He'd have a sitter and he would play it softly. Like, if there is any sort of review process in tennis, like, it's weird to take a look at someone when you know. But if the letter of the law is some. I remember Kyrgios got fined for tanking one year because it's like, if it's obviously less than your best effort, apparently that qualifies. This match is going to be under review. It has to be.
Host 2
Well, I mean, there was important to say it was a sanctioned match. It's not a pro ATP Tour Challenge challenger like this. This is for the purpose of the tour. This is an event that gives players an opportunity to get better and rise.
Host 1
In the rankings, rise, make a living.
Host 2
And make a living.
Host 1
There was exactly one person on that court trying as hard as they could. One person trying as hard as I could. And if you want to argue with me, go back and watch that video. And you can't tell me that there was more than one person trying as hard as they could. Every point or any point, it was a disaster. Now, I. I can't tell people. It's. You can make your own decisions. And, you know, I'm sure sponsors are tough for challengers. I. I get it. This was beneath the hall of Fame, in my opinion. And it's nothing. And that's. No, it's nothing personal against Bill Ackman. He can do what he wants if his dream was to do it, and someone's going to let him do it.
Host 2
I just. I mean, I just don't get why.
Host 1
It's not his fault. I don't blame him. Right. It. Someone has to say yes to this. Someone has to say yes to this. It was. It was rough. And there's just no chance that, like, I mean, Jack comes out and hasn't played a. He doesn't play tennis anymore, and all of a sudden he's motivated to go play a challenger for out of the good of his heart.
Host 2
Like. Like, why wasn't it the Bloomfield Hills Challenger event?
Host 1
It's just.
Host 2
That's that.
Host 1
It. That's the thing that. Where it's like, it's.
Host 2
Or Lexington.
Host 1
That's the thing that's kind of breaking my heart a little bit is it's the hall of Fame. Hall of Fame. Like, you know, we all try to help and serve on committees and. And do all this stuff to promote excellence in our sport. And it's under the same brand of this thing that I saw today. And it Sucks. And we're going to be there, and I'm going to go. We're going to go do our best possible effort for our show. Live from the hall of Fame. Because I honor the venue. I will not honor this decision. Honor the venue. Two of my great friends are getting in. I. The utmost respect for. For Maria Sharapova. You want to show up and celebrate those champions. And also, this was a. This was a. Oh, it was. It was hard to watch. It was. I came in here hot today. Like, it's just.
Host 2
Yeah. You're much more calm now.
Host 1
I was pissed.
Host 2
You're pretty.
Host 1
It was beneath the hall of Fame. I love the hall of Fame. That's what you're watching.
Host 2
That's what you're the most upset about. I want people to understand that the most. Because the place is so special to you as a Hall of Famer. Yeah.
Host 1
And it's.
Host 2
And it should be hallowed grounds.
Host 1
Yeah. And I've sent an email. I'd love an explanation. And if I get an explanation and there's something that I'm completely missing, then I'll come. I'll come on the show and eat shit. I have no pro. You. You all know you. I have no problem admitting I'm wrong if. If presented with facts. My opinion isn't my opinion forever on anything. When presented with facts that dispute it.
Host 2
Yeah.
Host 1
I don't know what could possibly be said to make me feel differently about this. And maybe. Maybe 50% of you are like, you know, fuck it. It has nothing to do with you or whatever else it might be. And I don't. You can think whatever you want. I'm just telling you the way that I feel about it. And like, I. And even if someone. Even if you do it and you let this happen and you funded the. And this is all hypothetical. I know nothing. Just so we're clear. But there's just. There's just no chances like what I saw just happen without something. But the. The. The other players, they still have to show up and play like professionals. It was. It was pathetic. It was pathetic.
Host 2
Yeah.
Host 1
The least pathetic part about it was. Was Bill Ackman's effort on the court. Like, honestly. And, you know, he wedged himself in there, and if this fills his cup up, great. It's. What I saw was. Was. Was. Was rough. It was tough. I didn't like it. Hopefully tomorrow, the good news is I don't have to watch it anymore. Hopefully. But you know what I do get to watch more of. What's that all of the things that make tennis the best sport on earth. We'll see it on display over this weekend at Wimbledon. Thanks for watching. Quick Serve 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.
Jen
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Episode: QUICK SERVED: Wimbledon Day 10 - Semi-Finals Preview & Bill Ackman Doubles Reaction
Release Date: July 9, 2025
Simona Halep’s Remarkable Journey Andy Roddick dives deep into Simona Halep's inspiring performance at Wimbledon. Highlighting her strategic prowess, Andy praises Halep’s ability to adapt and overcome challenges on her least favorable surface.
"I love the way she's playing, I love the way that she's returning... it's so much deeper than just good forehand, good backhand. It's about the spots on the court where she feeds given shots."
— Andy Roddick [02:08]
Andy discusses Halep’s tactical approach, emphasizing her control over the court and her exceptional forehand. He notes how Halep effectively manipulates her opponent’s weaknesses, particularly targeting forehand vulnerabilities.
Novak Djokovic’s Enduring Excellence The conversation shifts to Novak Djokovic, with Andy expressing admiration for Djokovic's sustained excellence despite increasing competition and physical challenges.
"He's perfected his craft and now is someone bigger, stronger, younger... it's really fun to watch his craft at work."
— Andy Roddick [11:15]
Andy analyzes Djokovic’s strategic adjustments, such as minimizing errors and optimizing shot selection to counteract his physicality and maintain dominance on the court.
Ben Shelton’s Performance Insights Andy provides an in-depth analysis of Ben Shelton’s gameplay, highlighting his aggressive tactics and strong serve.
"I like that I like Anova's chances maybe more than Benic, just based on matchups."
— Andy Roddick [18:25]
He discusses Shelton’s strengths, including his ability to control rallies and his effective use of the forehand to dictate play.
Anna Samova vs. Sabalenka Matchup The hosts explore the upcoming clash between Anna Samova and Aryna Sabalenka, debating the odds and potential outcomes.
"Anisa Mova is one of the few players that can beat Sabalenka, sometimes with speed."
— Andy Roddick [17:25]
Andy predicts a tightly contested match, emphasizing Samova’s serve and defensive capabilities as key factors that could influence the result against Sabalenka’s power game.
Disappointment in the Hall of Fame Decision Andy and Jon express strong disapproval of Bill Ackman's participation in a doubles match at the Hall of Fame event, deeming it a disservice to the sport's integrity.
"This was the biggest joke I've ever watched in professional tennis. All four... it was a disaster."
— Andy Roddick [24:00]
Andy criticizes the decision to allow Ackman, a major tennis supporter but not a professional player, to compete, highlighting the lack of competitiveness and effort displayed during the match.
Concerns Over Professional Standards The hosts discuss the implications of such decisions on the sport's reputation and the importance of maintaining high standards in professional events.
"The least pathetic part about it was Bill Ackman's effort on the court. It was just rough."
— Andy Roddick [27:20]
Jon adds that the match undermines the Hall of Fame’s role in celebrating true athletic excellence, urging for more stringent selection criteria.
"The Hall of Fame should be hallowed grounds, but this decision just sucks."
— Andy Roddick [26:17]
Despite the frustration over Ackman’s match, Andy and Jon remain optimistic about the upcoming Wimbledon finals, lauding the athletes' dedication and the sport's enduring excitement.
"Tennis fans are winners no matter what happens over the next few days."
— Jon Wertheim [22:04]
They encourage listeners to stay engaged with the remaining matches, celebrating the high skill level and thrilling competition that Wimbledon consistently delivers.
Notable Quotes:
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This episode of Served with Andy Roddick offers a comprehensive preview of the Wimbledon semifinals, coupled with a candid reaction to an unconventional doubles match involving Bill Ackman. Andy and Jon provide expert analysis, passionate opinions, and thoughtful discussions that enrich the listener's understanding of the sport and its current events.