Sinner UPSET, Shelton Falls, Rising Stars Advance & More | 2026 Roland Garros Day 5

Summary

Served with Andy Roddick

Episode: Sinner UPSET, Shelton Falls, Rising Stars Advance & More | 2026 Roland Garros Day 5

Date: May 29, 2026

Host: Andy Roddick, with contributions from Mike and Techie Sean

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Episode Overview

This episode of Served with Andy Roddick delivers an animated, insider breakdown of a wild Day 5 at the 2026 Roland Garros. The central theme revolves around the shocking early exit of top seed Jannik Sinner, the surprising rise of young talents, and seismic shifts across both the men's and women's draws. The hosts emphasize the chaos caused by upsets, especially Sinner’s, and explore how the tournament is now wide open—perhaps more so than at any Slam since 2003. The discussion is packed with tactical analysis, historical context, locker-room insights, and the unique personalities that animate contemporary tennis.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jannik Sinner’s Shocking Exit (01:38–02:35, 24:15–33:54)

• Immediate Reaction to Sinner’s Loss

  • The episode jumps straight into Sinner’s defeat, labeling the day as “carnage.”
  • Host reaction: “If you're a seeded player at Roland Garros, you need to walk through the gates with a helmet on. It's a mess. Oh, man, it's a mess.” (01:39, Techie Sean)

• Why Did Sinner Lose?

  • Discussion centers on Sinner’s known vulnerability in heat and long matches:
    • “Length of match, heat... If I'm a player and I see it's going to be 96 degrees, I feel 10% better about my chance.” (01:58, Techie Sean)
    • “He's never won a match over three hours and 40... 0 and 9.” (02:35)

• Locker Room Awareness

  • Insiders highlight that players are aware of Sinner’s endurance issues.
  • “If there's anything that the locker room has any hope for with Sinner: heat and length.” (02:45, Techie Sean)

• Currier’s Insight on Preparation

  • Sinner’s schedule, focused on success at Masters 1000s, impacted his Grand Slam stamina.
    • “If you win Indian Wells and Miami... there’s not enough time for a training block to go five sets, potentially seven times in 14 days.” (24:52, Techie Sean, paraphrasing Jim Courier)
    • Emphasize the physical demands of Slams vs. shorter events.

• Deeper Dive: How Can Sinner Improve?

  • Panel speculates on solutions: extreme heat training, changing practice routines, diet, hydration, and match scheduling.
  • “Do we have to have three-and-a-half-hour practice? I don't know what the solution is. I know that it's probably extreme.” (28:15, Techie Sean)
  • Sinner’s background (growing up in the Alps) versus players raised in hotter climates may play a role (28:01).

Notable Quote:

“When do you build the foundation to play five hours?” (26:27, Techie Sean)

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2. Major Upsets & Rising Stars (03:53–11:59, 14:43–18:13)

• Young Player Surge

  • Kwame, age 17, advances to Grand Slam third round—a feat not seen since Nadal in 2003.
    • “17 years old, third round of a Grand Slam... youngest man to reach the third round of a major since Rafa Nadal.” (04:28–04:35)
    • Crowds respond enthusiastically; his style and swagger are celebrated by the panel.

• Legal Peculiarities of Underage Players

  • Kwame cannot collect prize money until 18 due to French law: “He can’t even collect his winnings because he’s not 18 yet.” (05:39, Mike)

• Ben Shelton’s Struggles

  • Detailed analysis of Ben Shelton’s loss to Colignon, including tactical observations:
    • “It seemed like he was in a rush to finish a point or to come in or to do something.” (07:15, Techie Sean)
    • Shelton’s need to trust his stamina and extend rallies is highlighted: “He needs more faith in just being very physical, very in shape... stay in that rally.” (08:24)
    • Despite 33 winners and 10 aces, did not earn a break point. (08:37–08:41)

• Family Drama: The Serendulo Brothers

  • Both playing at the same time; family splits up to watch.
  • “Apparently someone told [the father] from the crowd that his little brother just beat Sinner. That's pretty cool.” (10:25)

• Frances Tiafoe’s Breakthrough

  • Epic 4 hour 42 minute win; praised for discipline and physical preparation:
    • “This match, circle it. This is a result of what he's been talking about. This is a match that's won on discipline, not getting tired.” (11:04, Techie Sean)
  • Memorable moment: Tiafoe loses his racket celebrating with fans, posts playfully about recovering it—“Can I please have it back? I’ll bless you with two tickets for my next match.” (12:21, paraphrasing Tiafoe)

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3. The Wild, Open Field: Historic Context (18:10–23:58)

• Stat of the Day: Djokovic Stands Alone

  • “It's the first time since the 2023 U.S. Open that someone other than Sinner [or] Alcaraz will win a major.” (18:13, Mike)
  • Djokovic is the only remaining Slam winner on the men’s side—possibly unprecedented.
    • “Has there ever been a Grand Slam where by the third round there's only one player left who's won a major before? I would guess no.” (18:51, Techie Sean)

• Zverev’s Chance & Career Crossroads

  • Consensus that the draw is now “Zverev’s to lose,” but immense pressure attaches to the favorite label.
    • “Zverev, this is it... If he doesn't win a slam, is he a Hall of Famer? I don't know.” (21:13, Techie Sean)
    • Discussion about his credentials: year-end championships, Masters titles, Olympic gold.

• Other Players’ Opportunites

  • Names like Casper Ruud and Tsitsipas discussed—careers would look “completely different” with a Slam.
  • Parallel drawn to chaotic years like 2003 and unexpected champions of past decades.
    • “We haven't been in this position… since 2003 when there were four different winners that year in the Grand Slam calendar.” (21:35–22:13)

Notable Quote:

“This is going to be a stress test for a lot of players... the last couple days feels like the 90s.” (23:54, Techie Sean)

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4. Women’s Draw Highlights (15:48–17:24)

• Dominant Wins

  • Sabalenka, Anisimova, Coco Gauff, Osaka, Keys, Sakkari, and Kontaveit all advance.
  • Anecdotes about Gauff’s physicality and 80th career Slam win:
    • “Coco doesn't get tired, by the way… These were knockdown, drag out points. Coco running everywhere. She played great.” (16:32, Techie Sean)

• Young Women Supporting Each Other

  • Noted camaraderie among young stars—“They're all hanging out, they're all rooting for each other… feeding off each other's growth.” (17:08, Mike)

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5. Endurance, Training, and the Challenge of Slams (24:15–33:54)

• Slam Training vs. Masters Success

  • Sinner’s long-match vulnerability attributed to lack of physical prep due to intense non-Slam schedule.
    • “Playing matches is hard. I'm talking about like training a block to go five sets... not worried about his game, but when do you build the foundation to play five hours?” (24:52–26:35)

• Extreme Measures

  • Andy shares personal routines—training in hot climates to prepare for Australia:
    • “Before Australia... I'd stop in Hawaii… a court, the fence, was basically lava rock, black lava rock, and it was a sunken sweat box.” (29:55, Andy Roddick)
    • “I want to land [in Australia] and not be shocked by what's waiting for me.” (30:23)

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6. Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Sinner’s letdown explained in one line:

  “He's never won a match over three hours and 40... 0 and 9. That's going to stick.” (02:35, Techie Sean)

• On new opportunities after carnage:

  “This is nutso. What's going on doesn't make it not interesting, I'll tell you that much.” (35:23, Techie Sean)

• Tiafoe's crowd appeal:

  “I’m going to bless you with two tickets for my next match.” (12:48, Francis Tiafoe via panel)

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Notable Timestamps for Key Segments

• Sinner’s defeat explained: 01:39–03:53, 24:15–29:29
• Kwame’s breakthrough & underage earnings: 04:28–06:10
• Ben Shelton’s struggles: 07:15–08:51
• Tiafoe’s resilience & fun with fans: 11:03–12:58
• Stat of the Day: Only Djokovic left: 18:10–18:32
• Wide open men’s draw analysis: 18:32–22:13
• Women’s results & Coco Gauff praise: 15:48–17:24
• Andy’s heat-training story: 29:55–31:04

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Summary Table: Key Results & Talking Points

| Topic | Segment (MM:SS) | Main Points / Quotes | |----------------------|-----------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Sinner Upset | 01:39–03:53 | “Carnage… shocking.” Locker room knows to exploit Sinner’s limits in heat/long matches. | | Young Stars Advance | 04:28–06:10 | Kwame reaches 3rd round, “can’t even collect his winnings… French law.” | | Ben Shelton Out | 07:15–08:51 | Critique of tactics, “in a rush” vs. maturing strategically. | | Women’s Draw | 15:48–17:24 | Coco’s impressive fitness, “Coco doesn’t get tired, by the way.” | | Djokovic Alone | 18:10–18:32 | “First time… one player left who's won a major.” | | Zverev’s Opportunity | 21:13–22:13 | “This is it... if he doesn't win a slam, is he a Hall of Famer?” | | Slam Physiology | 24:15–29:29 | Not enough buildup for five-set endurance given modern schedule. Andy’s own heat prep story. | | Panelist Predictions | 14:43–15:48 | Bracket talk, Sean's picks bucking the trend. |

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Tone and Style

The hosts balance sharp tactical insight with banter and self-deprecating humor. The language is locker-room candid—full of energy, occasional expletives, and genuine awe at tennis’s unpredictability.

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Conclusion

Day 5 at the 2026 Roland Garros is shaped by chaos and possibility. The Sinner upset has blown the men’s draw wide open, prompting debates not just about the tournament but about career legacies, historical patterns, and what it means to be physically and mentally ready for a Slam. The women, too, deliver drama and demonstration of resilience. With Djokovic the lone reigning major winner and a slew of rising stars, the panel anticipates more plot twists—asking, “Who will seize this rarest of tennis opportunities?”

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For Tennis Fans Who Missed Out

This episode is a fast-paced, strategic deep dive and nostalgia tour, capturing both the immediacy and long-term consequences of one of the most topsy-turvy Slam days in recent memory. The panel’s blend of technical analysis, personal stories, and raw emotion makes for compelling tennis podcasting.

Transcript

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[Mike]

What was going on?

[Techie Sean]

There's carnage right now. If you're a seated player at Roland Garros, you need to walk through the gates with a helmet on. It's a mess. Oh, man, it's a mess. So obviously Sinner loses. And that's the headline of all headlines. Shocking. Like when one of these guys loses in the second round. Something we've talked about on the show before and Sean will hit up a clip here in a second. But listen, we're not original. What Sinner does really well, everyone knows about and what his pain points are, which are few length of match, heat. And we've talked about it before on the show. That is like an if I'm. If I'm a player and I'm trying to convince myself that I have a chance and I see that it's going to be 96 degrees. I'm going. Okay. I feel 10% better about my chance. Right. So what three things I'm going to say. Bad sushi, a really hot day. Except he's never won a match over three hours and 40.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Techie Sean]

Was it 45 minutes, five minutes. Oh, and nine. Oh, nine. No, that's going to stick. Like, if there is anything that the locker room has any hope for with Sinner heat and length. Yeah, so we've talked about it before. I think the locker room knows it. Best case scenario, if you're playing Yannick Sinner, is it being super hot and Steamy? I mean, five setter, three hours, 36 minutes. I mean, he was getting. He was up cruising. Three, two, five, two serving. And then it went sideways quick. And it wasn't as if we were four hours into the match. Right. We'll. I have some other big thoughts on. On the why. How do we combat it? What is the. What is the takeaway moving forward? Jim Currier had an amazing point on air, which I think is worth. Worth repeating as far as preparation this year for center versus last year. Shocking that he says something incredibly smart on air. Yeah, yeah, the best. All right, so let's go through the scores and then we'll get to. We'll get to some more Center. Center no longer ros. Dinner after. After the score lines. To the dismay of so many women around the world, Baratini beats render kesh.

[Mike]

Oh, man, they're so pumped.

[Techie Sean]

W. Yaki was getting a little. A little fluttery about Baratini when talking about on the. The other day on air.

[Mike]

I'm not gonna touch that.

[Techie Sean]

What she just said. She goes, I could watch Baratini forever.

[Mike]

He is so great, though. First. First ever guest. I think unserved.

[Techie Sean]

I mean, we did it.

[Mike]

We did it, right?

[Techie Sean]

Where was it? Like Captain Geese's shrimp shack somewhere? Where. Where do we do a live show?

[Mike]

Saunder brewery in Cincinnati. Shout out.

[Techie Sean]

That was sick. Yeah, Kwame, bro.

[Mike]

I'm a huge Kwame guy.

[Techie Sean]

Star. 17 years old, third round of a Grand Slam at 17 years old. Like, you don't see that anymore. That's like youngest man to reach the

[Mike]

third round of a major since Rafa Nadal in 2003 at Wimbledon.

[Techie Sean]

Rafa made the third round in 2003. He was like 11, but also like, you just need to like, sit with this. 17 playing a five setter. I wasn't ready to play a five setter at 17, and I went through the ranks pretty quickly playing that five setter, but also winning the first two sets, then losing and kind of sticking with it and kind of just white knuckling that thing to the, to the finish line. Props in France, there's a million star qualities. He's fun to watch. He's fucking cool looking like the way he plays is sweet. Swaggy gets so swaggy.

[Mike]

He had the. He had the crowd going so much into that last point. He walked over to his towel, so cool, so chill. And like these two guys were in

[Techie Sean]

his face like, ah.

[Mike]

Like it was like a soccer match.

[Techie Sean]

It was awesome.

[Mike]

And he just was dead staring them in the eye.

[Techie Sean]

He's like, let's go. Yeah. And he had a. Like he hit a good kick serve. The volley was kind of tight and he got away with it.

[Mike]

It was great.

[Techie Sean]

He kind of just figured it out,

[Mike]

you know, something crazy. He can't even collect his winnings because he's not 18 yet. There's a French law that he can't collect the prize money until he turns

[Techie Sean]

18. Who gets it?

[Mike]

I don't know. I didn't.

[Techie Sean]

His parents get to hold it for him. Is it in the trust?

[Mike]

It's like in a trust. I don't know. It's in the. What the fuck is that?

[Techie Sean]

Wait, so you have a job, you make money and they won't give you money. I guess I need some clarification on that. If anyone knows what we're talking about. Can we. Or what Mike's talking about. Can we get some clarification on that? That's seems absurd to me.

[Mike]

Seems absurd.

[Techie Sean]

Well, he has endorsements. He can't take that money.

[Mike]

Yeah. Under French law, minors are not allowed to receive or spend prize money or significant earnings directly. Instead, their earnings are legally protected to prevent exploitation.

[Techie Sean]

I mean, he better be getting a interest rate while the government keeps that back, I'll tell you that much right now. Listen, with, with the news of, of. Of sinner losing. And we're going to get to this at the end of the show. Like whose career looks a lot different if you, if you have a slam next to it. And there are some names that, you know, kind of jump off the page and I'm sure we're thinking some of the same names right now. One of the people who had to be kind of salivating a little bit was Ben Shelton and goes out and goes down to Colignon. I watched. I watched the whole match just kind of stuck between. You know, I almost wish Ben would. He. It seemed like he was in a rush to finish a point or to come in or to do something. I think Ben. It's going to be. It's going to be a little bit of a weird learning curve because I think he used to have to make something happen all the time because his backhand wasn't as good as it is now as that shot improves, like, there was no adjust. There was a million adjustments made, and not one of them was like, let's. Let's go to the lunch pail. Let's make a bunch of balls. Let's make this guy hit me off the court calling. Yon was played great, by the way. Like, he was in the flow. He did an amazing job. And he wasn't burning Ben with that forehand line. There was no threat of him actually pulling the trigger. He has that kind of sweeper thing where he hits the outside of the ball. So he was hooking it to Ben's for him. But then even when he was going line, it was kind of tailing back to Ben's forehand. You know, if you're Ben, I wish he would have settled in and be like, this guy isn't going to bruise me to the forehand side. And if he does, he's taking risk. Yeah, right. I think the next evolution of Ben, of Ben's game is, you know, he. It was a little awkward at net today. He was missing some, you know, and everyone does, right? Like, everyone has days where you kind of have to go to. I think Ben needs to have more faith in just being very physical, very in shape, and realize when someone's not hurting him off a given wing, like calling Young. All he wanted Ben to do was to force it so that he could react and not have to kind of create his own. His own deal.

[Mike]

Right.

[Techie Sean]

If Ben goes back and he has that trajectory on his forehand, it's going to bother a lot of people, but, like, stay in that rally. Like, make people prove that they can get out of it, you know, so that. That'll be learned in time and, you know, he'll. He'll be dangerous in the grass.

[Mike]

He had 33 winners and 10 aces, but never earned a break point all match.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah, I was. I mean, he kind of wasn't getting to 30 very often, you know, returned. Okay. You know, it was just like the.

[Mike]

The.

[Techie Sean]

The next version of. Of Ben that I think really like lives in the top three to five is one that can extend rallies when he needs to and at least stress test that option against someone else. Listen, if he's coming out and he opens, he should never open with giving someone rhythm. That was a mistake that I made a million times. Right. But if it's not working and we have four sets to figure this out, let's see if we can get into someone's legs. Because Ben's a horse. Like, he's He's. He's built like, I haven't really seen him tired in matches. He has the wheels to do it. Like, if someone's not burning you a certain way, like, he was only getting burned, calling yon's forehand, pulling him off the court to the back end. And then Ben would try to get out of it by forcing, you know, back in line or doing something to break that thing. It's like, okay. It is a mental mind. Like, if someone's best pattern, if you're hanging in there and it's not bothering you and you show that at least a little bit, then that person's going, oh, that, that little. The combo I like to play, if that's a stress. Stressful situation, then it changes the dynamics of the match a little bit. I'm sorry, I didn't. I. We mentioned Sinner losing. I didn't even say surrender and say that it's younger Serendalo because I just got to his brother on the sheet. Also went through surrender load. There's. There's muy sondolo. There's mucho Serendalo.

[Mike]

They were playing at the same time and the parents were like. The family was like splitting between the two matches and so, like, he was like getting updates. Yeah, it's pretty awesome.

[Techie Sean]

They said on air. I think it was. Was it Lindsay? I think they said that senior Cirindalo went on when younger brother was making his comeback against Sinner and didn't know what was happening. And apparently someone told him from the crowd that his little brother just beat center. Yeah, that's pretty cool.

[Mike]

Pretty awesome.

[Techie Sean]

That's pretty awesome. So props, but he looks. Surrender logo looks great.

[Mike]

It's.

[Techie Sean]

I'm never picking him again and that's to his benefit because every time I do, it's not great. FAA roles again. Searching for form. Coming in, gets through Tiafo, man, dude,

[Mike]

longest match of his career.

[Techie Sean]

So I'm just telling you there's been a lot made of. Of. Of big foe and he's talked about it pretty openly. Doing the right things this off season and training the right way and being disciplined, not relying on, you know, talent and not always super fun time, but doing the boring stuff. This match, circle it. This is a result of what he's been talking about. This is a match that's won on discipline, not getting tired. I clicked over in the fourth set and he served for it, lost it, stayed there, didn't leave mentally, and he didn't look like he was struggling physically at all. This is what progress looks like you do all the work, not because this result is a guarantee you do all the work so that this result is a possibility. Right? So props to Francis. This result was not an accident.

[Mike]

4 hours and 42 minutes.

[Techie Sean]

Hubie Hercock is a pros pro. Big thumper on the serve. Played great, tough out to let it go, get it back and go almost five hours on a hot day. That is a different Francis than even the one who lost to Fritz in cramped a couple of years ago at the US Open. So props. I hope he feels great about this because he earned this win.

[Mike]

Did you see he lost his. His racket in the crowd when he went to go celebrate with the crowd. Have you seen that? So he got. He got his racket. It wasn't stolen. It just the one. It looked like the woman was like, oh, shit, a racket. And he posted on Instagram, unreal atmosphere on court 14 today. But I must say to the fan who took my racket at the end when I was celebrating with y', all, can I please have it back? Face slap emoji. I'll bless you with two tickets for my next match. DM Brian Kubrick to collect my racket. Thanks for the love, y'. All.

[Techie Sean]

I love it. Imagine choosing the words, I'm going to bless you with two tickets to my match instead.

[Mike]

No prayer hands emojis either.

[Techie Sean]

Instead of just saying, I'll hook you up with two tickets to that. I'm going to bless you.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Techie Sean]

With the experience of watching me again. Oh, my God, I love Big Fo. He's the best. But that was that. That was well done. Someone who, you know, I. I'm going through the list of players where you add a grand slam that they don't have to their career sits. AAS is one of those guys. And it looks completely different, like, very different. Forever loses to Arnoldi. Unfortunately. Caboli gets through Nakashima. Nakashima beats Vanasha. Last match on rough five setter. I mean, I. Look, I don't know what it ended at the. The. The score as far as the total time, but through like three sets, they were over. They were like three and a half hours. I mean, it was. It was absurd the amount of time that they were taking. Learn a TN wins in five. There are a lot of five setters today. Almost half the match. I think it was 7 to 15 at one point. Don't know where it ended up. But this is like watching those five set. I. I enjoy few things more in tennis than tuning into a five setter. And it doesn't even have to be one of the top players. Like, I watch Nakashima and Vanasha, I'm like, let's go put it in my veins. Komasana beats Darderi in five sets. I'm like, it's the hardest thing to maintain focus for that long. Fight the elements for that long. I mean, be by yourself for that long. I mean, there's so many things that are. That are tough. Tn gets through in five. Komasana beats Daughtery Landa Lutha loses the first two sets, gets through in five. I had a friend, my friend Jared Hiltik, who was play the minor leagues and as part of my My Dingles game, sends a text. He goes, early call. Landa Luthe makes the final.

[Mike]

You're like, okay, buddy.

[Techie Sean]

You know who else has taken some. He's taking some pot shots and he's looking pretty good right now. Who?

[Mike]

Techie Sean over there. Little Techie Sean.

[Techie Sean]

Techie Sean told me yesterday. He told me something yesterday and my response was, you fucking idiot. And then I remembered it this morning. I'm like, techie Sean takes Zverev to win in his bracket. Yeah.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Techie Sean]

Just felt right. Did it? It did. Or were you just kind of legitimately? This is my thought process. Sinner just non stop winning knowing that there's a. Some, you know, issue with. I wouldn't say he. Because I didn't think Paris was going to be hot, but maybe some level of stamina. Too many people choosing center. And I'm thinking this is Verev's time. Like, he knows he's got to go for it. So this is. Has he not known that he had to go for it the last six years? Like, what do we. I think this is it. I think this is the one. This is the one. Got it. No, listen, you're right. And the rest. I'm a fucking idiot. I now I'm just.

[Mike]

I've Kabuli to the semis. So.

[Techie Sean]

So on the flip side. So on the flip, on the. On the flip side, after I run through the women's scores, Techie Sean's gonna break down what sinner needs to do differently to. What the hell do I know? Sabalenka gets through in straight sets. Tough first set, and then rolled. Anna Samova looked great. I know it was her retirement, but she, like, not a lot going on leading into this tournament, but the ball strikers that are pure like that Ana Samova, Matty Keys. When they start thumping and putting a couple of, you know, scores up there, you you kind of start getting a rhythm. Yeah. Coco today look good against Sharif.

[Mike]

Sharif or she did.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah. But like Sharif made it physical. Like really tough. Really physical. Coco doesn't get tired, by the way.

[Mike]

No.

[Techie Sean]

Like, we talk about physicality a lot and it's not applied to her very often because I think we've got to the point where we take it for granted, like this was a physical. I don't know what it ended up like three and two or three and three or something.

[Mike]

Three and two.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah. So, like, it doesn't. You're. You roll through that score without watching and you're going, oh, straightforward. These were knockdown, drag out points. Coco running everywhere. She played great. Like, her opponent played great.

[Mike]

80th career grand slam match win. Yeah.

[Techie Sean]

She's won 27 or something at. I mean, it's like, it's crazy.

[Mike]

She's a baby.

[Techie Sean]

I know. We, I don't know. We get. We don't.

[Mike]

She had like, she, I think what you say she had. Evie Yovich was in her box and stuff or. And it's just like, I think it's cool like this, like the younger, like, side of like the women, like, they're all hanging out, they're all rooting for each other, but. And then they're all. I think they're all feeding off each other's growth as tennis players. Pretty cool.

[Techie Sean]

It's great. Listen, if you're, if you're a young player and you want to see what hustle professionalism looks like, you go watch a Coco golf match. Osaka through Boko through Jovich crush again. She's playing great. Maddie keys through in straight sets. Maria Sakuri through again. Has made deep runs at Roland Garros. When ego is winning all the Roland Garros, guess who interrupted her one year. I think that was in the quarters. Maybe something like that. Count sky gets through now the storyline becomes what I don't know that a tournament this is going to be. I don't know that a Grand Slam has been this open since the year 2003.

[Mike]

Just in general.

[Techie Sean]

General. On the men's side.

[Mike]

On the men's side.

[Techie Sean]

On the men's side.

[Mike]

Well, I think the stat of the day that we were saving for later, but I think this is a good, good spot to put it in. Presented by servers now. It's the first time since the 2023 U.S. open that someone other than center Alcaraz will win a major.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah.

[Mike]

With Alcaraz out, injured and center gone, Djokovic versus the field because he's the only slam winner left on the men's side.

[Techie Sean]

That's absurd. He's the. Okay, so I take a shot here for a research. Has there ever been a Grand Slam where by the third round there's only been one player in the draw that's won a major before? I would guess no.

[Mike]

Yeah, that's a deep dive.

[Techie Sean]

I would guess no. Or it would be like when Open Air antenna started keeping track or something. It would be some crazy thing, but I would doubt that's the case. Like, think about how narrow that is and it takes someone winning 24 slams and then the other ones retiring. Like, it's, that's a, that's interesting. I would guess. No, but like think about the. I was going through this today. I know everyone's going to jump on this verav train and he's gonna feel equal parts opportunity and pressure. Right. This is, this is his moment time. Maybe the first time even though he's had so much success, where he's the favorite at this point in, in a slam, or at least he thinks he's the favorite. Right. Obviously we're going to all eyes on Novak against Fonseca and then to see Novak gets the quarters, I think he automatically falls into the favorite category just based on experience and success. Zverev. This is very simple and he would tell you this. He's eyes wide open as far as it goes with his career. If he doesn't win a slam, is he a hall of famer? I don't know. It hasn't worked that way with voting recently. If he wins all slam, it's, there's, there's no question, there's no question. He's at 550 wins already. And it's not as if he's fading. He's won 30 matches this year already.

[Mike]

He's, he's like the Dan Marino tennis right now.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah, but I mean his, his, his career metrics outside of a slam are better than a lot of people who are in, including myself.

[Mike]

I mean, I, it's. Obviously he's not retired yet, so it's an argument for later. But me personally, I'd be like, yeah, that guy should be in.

[Techie Sean]

No, there's no doubt. I mean you look at the county, you look at masters, 1000's won, you won year end championships, you won Olympic gold. No, it's, he's in based on comps, like if I'm in, he's in. Like there's no, there's no, there's no question. But it literally is going to be about him winning a Slam or not winning a Slam. Like, that's going to be a lot to sleep with for the next 10 nights. But he's solid. He can do it, right? He's not. He's not streaky. It's not as if he's going to come out and miss every ball, but he's going to have to. Like, if you, if you, if you're that guy and, you know, he's said, time after time, I'm that next one. Like, I'm, you know, it's those two, and then I'm the guy, and then I. This is it.

[Mike]

He's put it in the record books. I mean, he said it on the record, right?

[Techie Sean]

This is it. This is the chance.

[Mike]

Like, I mean, he doesn't have an easy path, right? I mean, there's no.

[Techie Sean]

And by the way, just so we're clear, there are no fucking easy pass passes, right? Someone's hurt, someone loses. The best player of all time is in the draw. And these are professional tennis players. Caspar Rude's career looks completely different. He's made three Slam finals. His fourth one is a win. He's been two in the world. I mean, it's not, it's. The next is Vera, but it's not the same. But like, we'll view him completely differently, right? Like, I had Sitzipos, he went down, but like, he wins one. He's won World Tour finals. He's won Monte Carlo like three times. Like, opportunities knocking. It hasn't been this wide open in a Slam on the men's side since 2003, when there were four different winners that year in the Grand Slam calendar, right?

[Mike]

There's five. Five top 10 men have been knocked out.

[Techie Sean]

Carnage. I mean, that, that, that to me is less that that's happened before for sure. Like, that. I don't, you know, I can't tell you when, but that's happened before for sure. One player who's ever won a Slam, that, that stat is insane. The 1. One major winner left on the men's side. That's crazy town. Yeah, but I mean, the conversation is going to be so interesting. Is it going to be what happens? Like, imagine if you're Zverev and Hodard does it.

[Mike]

I mean, that's what I'm saying.

[Techie Sean]

Like, we haven't been in this position where someone, I don't want to say random, but someone outside the Big Three, Big Four, Wawrinka, plus, you know, one of us hackers winning one, you know, into center And Carlos, where it's like, oh, could, could we have a Google Gustavo Quirtin from 97. The guy's 60 in the world and does it. We haven't had that in. We haven't had a Becker in 85 come out of the, you know, we haven't had. It's, it's going to be very interesting. First time Rafa won it, played Puerto in the final. No, I don't think either guy was in the top. You know, whatever. I mean, Rafa was the favorite still because he won a bunch. But like, this is very interesting. We have not had this scenario. I mean, it used to be all right, one loses, great. There's three, there's three others, plus the next guy's, you know, Hewitt's still in the orbit. I was still in the orbit. There's a bunch of guys still in the orbit. I mean, this is like, it's going to be very interesting to see. Like, imagine if Zverev's in a fifth setter. He's not playing that match only he's playing like his, in the definition of his career, all at the same time. It's weird, it's opportunity. But this is going to be, this is also going to be a stress test for, for, for a lot of

[Mike]

other players spinning this over to the center. A little bit of a deeper dive. It just one last stat for me. Apparently this is the first top seeded man to lose in the round of 64 at Roland Garros since Andre Agassi in the year 2000. That's how rare it is for this to happen.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah, I mean, listen, it used to happen a lot more back in the day. And listen, if we dive, if we dive into the center thing a little bit further, it's, it's like everyone knows the heat and the time. Everyone. And we discussed that. We played the clip off the top also. Currier made an amazing point. And I know I have open like fully admit if you've listened to our show for five seconds, you know, I hate two week tournaments that aren't Grand Slams. You know, I hate it. But I hate it for a lot of different reasons. Right? So if you play Indian Wells in Miami and that takes a month of your life, if you, if you win them both, like Sinner did great. You go to Monte Carlo, you can't. There's not enough time between Miami and Monte Carlo to put in a training block physically. And I don't mean playing matches. Playing matches is hard. I'm talking about like training a block to go five sets, potentially seven times in 14 days.

[Mike]

Yeah, because when you're doing these three, the three sets at the thousands, like it's just different. It's just different.

[Techie Sean]

So let's think about what happened today with Sinner and obviously it was heat related. And the example I'm going to give is not as heat related but kind of the best showing physically that I've ever seen from him was at last year's French Open when he only had one tournament going in and he was suspended before. And he played 5 hours and 37 minutes and looked pretty good at the end of that match. I understand Carlos won it and I understand he, you know, lost it from two sets up, but he looked good. It wasn't as if the entire conversation was about him physically like it was. When we see him kind of wilt a little bit today we're like going, oh shit, oh shit. This is Spaziri minus the option for a roof. Right. But it's interesting, all the success in the Masters 1000s and Jim goes, that's great. You know your form's going to be there. And listen, he played great the first three sets before it became him versus elements, right? And his opponent played great, hung in there like knew that, fought his ass off. Full credit. I'm simply, I'm not trying to take credit away, I'm just simply acknowledging the trend and the thing that people kind of know and that is, that is proven at this point. But that training block, when you're not playing any Wells, Miami and then you're playing Roman going in, all of a sudden you're playing for five hours and you know, 37 minutes versus winning, everything being extremely match tough. Not worried really about your game. I'm still not worried about his game at all. Not even a little bit. To think no differently about his game than I did yesterday. But when do you build the foundation to play? 5 hours.

[Mike]

I mean he's career sets before the. So now with this, he's 6 and 12 in career five set matches. In the matches over three hours and 50 minutes, he's now what, own 9, 010.

[Techie Sean]

He was 0 and 9 during the clip. So 0 and 10. If he hasn't played anything, I think,

[Mike]

I think he's 0 and 10.

[Techie Sean]

Might even be more than that because

[Mike]

I'm sure, I think, I think TNT had it, they had it 0 and 8. But I, I think that's incorrect.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah, it might be 010 now. Yeah, I mean it's an issue. Listen, I would love, I would love for this, to have this issue because you can try to figure out ways that like Novak, Novak's a great example. The book on Novak would be extend the points, extend the match. He figured it out, combination of whatever. But like, I would rather have the game of sinner and then have to worry about this than not have the game and be like, listen, I, I loved, I loved, I loved heat. It was the best. Ball jumped around. I felt good. It felt, I mean, it was like painful, but I felt less pain than most. I grew up in Florida, so that's

[Mike]

how you grew up in Florida and Texas. This guy grew up in like the Alps.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah, but that, that stuff really, really, really does matter.

[Mike]

I'm being serious. It's like, it's, it has an effect. People that grew up in Florida don't deal with the cold as well as people that grew up in Minnesota.

[Techie Sean]

I'd be curious to know what the conversations are going to be in house moving forward because I don't know that this is something where it's like, okay, we need a different electrolyte mixture. Is it training somewhere else? Is it, you know, exposing yourself to it more often? Do you have to get into that heat and get to the point? Do we have to have three and a half hour practice? Like, I don't, I don't know what the solution is. I know that it's probably extreme, right? I mean, he was, he was leading

[Mike]

five one in the third, right. And then literally gave up, what was it, 18 of 20 or something straight points and saved. And then Serendulo saved all eight break points. He faced over the final two sets. I mean, that's just, I mean he just, he just lost it. I think his first serve speed fell roughly 15 kilometers an hour from his prior match.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah.

[Mike]

You know, and I think ultimately, what, what do you do, right? Like an NFL team that goes into a stadium where the noise is loud, they pump music in, right? Like a, a batter that's going to go face a guy with 102 mile an hour fastball faces a pitching machine with 102 mile an hour fastball. What can a tennis player do besides train against a kick serve or that, like when they're training against the way their body adapts to elements, like you build a court with a sauna in it.

[Techie Sean]

Like, I listen, I'm sure he, we don't know what he's done and what he hasn't done. So there's every chance we're making a suggestion, he's going, not that he ever listens to Some fucking stupid podcast. But, like, we. I could make suggestions, and he could have done it.

[Mike]

Mm.

[Techie Sean]

It doesn't seem like a team that doesn't turn stones over to try to figure out solutions.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Techie Sean]

All right. Diet matters.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Techie Sean]

Massively. When and how to hydrate matters. Massively. I mean, I liked hot weather. I liked being in hot weather. And before Australia, every year or a lot of years, I would. I would. On the flight over from the States to Down Under, I would stop in Hawaii on the Big island. And they had a court, and the court, the fence, was basically lava rock, black lava rock, and it was sunken sweat box.

[Mike]

So you're not getting, like, the ocean breeze. You're, like, below ground, essentially.

[Techie Sean]

No, I said I want to land in Australia and not be shocked by what's waiting for me or what could potentially wait for me. Like, I want to land there, and I want it to feel better than it has for the last 10 days. Horrible. But it. I think it worked. If nothing better than, like, oh, this isn't gonna, like, take over. And I'm. Maybe people say, well, why didn't he do that? Well, where are you? Are you gonna leave European clay to go do that? No. Australia. It's easy because there's nothing before it. It's on the way over, and you know that heat is coming. This is weird weather patterns.

[Mike]

It should have been 72 degrees and sunny.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah, but. But also, normally when it's hot in Paris, one day. It's one day. It's not four days in a row. Right. It's. You know, you're not worried about it, so maybe that's an option at some point. I'm sure they're going to look at that. You know, who knows? I. You know, it's. It's interesting. It's also interesting that he played in the heat of the day. You know, I can't imagine he's trying to look or request to play at times that aren't the best for him physically. Especially when, you know you're playing better than anyone in the world. Which, listen, he's going to wake up tomorrow morning and he's. He's still playing better than anyone. Not going to be in the tournament. Can't win the French Open, you know, but that's interesting. I mean, I'd be. I'd be curious to know. We'll probably never know, but I'd be curious to know those conversations, because behind closed doors, you're talking about if you have any leverage or pull or request or TV or whatever you want to put yourself in position to succeed.

[Mike]

One thing that they were talking about during the match was on one of the changeovers, he could have taken a five minute break, gone in and changed his shirt and all that stuff and he stayed out and. And they were kind of shocked by that. I mean, do you think you were watching it? Do you think five minutes in the air conditioning would have reset him enough? Or that would have just been energy walking back inside that he was, he was like, I can't go that much further.

[Techie Sean]

So I don't know. It's personal preference. Would not have wanted to do that. If, if he's dealing with cramping and you go into cold and you come back out, it doesn't help things. I can't imagine that he knew that was an option and was like, nah, dog, I'm good. Yeah, I'd like to do this the old fashioned way.

[Mike]

That's.

[Techie Sean]

That's double edged, right? Like it's. You go, and your core temp needs to come down, obviously. But is that going to do more than ice packs for two minutes on every switch over? You do bring in the risk of like full body shutdown if you do that. Go sit and then try to get back up. I don't know. It's going to be interesting. Like, obviously, in a way it's, it's. You want to see the best players. You want to see Sinner Alcaraz Novak all the time. And we haven't had this scenario in a. I'm very interested in how everyone deals with this scenario from here on out. You know, is it going to be center Alcaraz like it was last year? No. Am I super interested to see how Casper Rude shows up, how Zverev shows up, how Hodar shows up, how Fonseca shows up against Novak? Yeah. Am I, you know, am I excited to see Novak walk in to the fucking tournament tomorrow like he's the rock.

[Mike]

Just, just the class breaks.

[Techie Sean]

Yeah, yeah. Like the Tiger Woods. The Tiger woods memes where he's walking in with his shades on. Yeah, yeah. Hell yeah. Hell yeah, dude. Like this.

[Mike]

I mean, even big foe, I gotta be honest, like big foe. Like, it's like he has to feel good about himself. And he's like, yeah. Everybody's like, oh, this thing's wide open. He's like, hell yeah, it is.

[Techie Sean]

Yes. You know, Absolutely. I mean, there's still a monster in the room. A couple, you know, there's still the monster in the room. The monster for the Goest monster is still in the room. But this is. I don't know, man. Like the last couple days feels like the 90s.

[Mike]

It's.

[Techie Sean]

It's like Sinner Shelton, Medi, See you. Rbacana, Pula Palini, See ya. And everyone's going. We could win one. We might be able to do it.

[Mike]

Well, 91% of the served brackets had center into the final and 83% had him winning it, so. Except for techie Sean.

[Techie Sean]

Techi. Sean's onto something.

[Mike]

God damn it.

[Techie Sean]

I'm too concerned with like, credibility. Like, I, I want to. Like, I want to get the matches right. Like, if you want to win, I think you got to.

[Mike]

Don't let facts get in the way of a good story.

[Techie Sean]

I also have nothing to lose, so I'm already. No one's looking to me for credibility.

[Mike]

You have nothing to lose.

[Techie Sean]

I now have nothing to lose. Along with a lot of other served listeners. Mike, we got anything else?

[Mike]

Just that Haley Baptiste, who was confirmed ACL in meniscus out six months. So, you know, thinking of her, she did Kim's show recently and she's just amazing. She's gonna be great.

[Techie Sean]

She's gonna be back. She's gonna be better.

[Mike]

We should have her on at some point.

[Techie Sean]

I would love to. We're a huge fan of, of the way that she plays and that's heart goes out. Hopefully you get better real soon. Haley Baptiste. Listen, this is nutso. What's going on doesn't make it not interesting, I'll tell you that much. Thanks for watching. Quick serve presented by ServiceNow. We'll see you for the Day 6 recap tomorrow. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built on. With the ServiceNow AI platform, your AI data and workflows all work together, connecting every corner of your business. To see how you can put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com AI agents.