Alcaraz Out, Djokovic Falls, and Qinwen Zheng is back! | EP 222

0:00 Coming up on Nothing Major, we have all the action from Shanghai still going on. A lot to talk about there, as well as all the major news going on in the tennis world. So let's get this show started.

0:12 Big Jones, Stevie and Sam. Got close a few times, never won a slam. Nothing Major.

0:18 Welcome back to Nothing Major. The whole crew is here. John Isner, myself, Sam McQuarrie, Stevie Johnson. And the incredible team at SIFT Media was reading The Notion this morning. And remember, Sam, remember we talked about, we were talking about Asia and Shanghai last week and about your one match on center court?

0:41 Yes.

0:42 That you found the photo on your phone? Well, the suits, I think, have a better photo from that match.

0:49 They did one better.

0:50 Yeah.

0:51 We haven't seen yet. Have you guys seen it?

0:54 I have not.

0:54 No, I've not.

0:55 Okay. So if they're willing and able to put that up, here we go.

1:05 That might be from the match.

1:07 That actually I think is from the match. That's incredible, dude.

1:12 Oh my goodness.

1:12 That is incredible.

1:14 The matches in China have better fans now, but there was a period there kind of early 2010s where Fed would be playing and the stadium would be like an eight full.

1:25 Yeah.

1:26 The day matches. Oh, like on a, on like, I know Beijing's done with, we spoke about that, but like the Tuesday, like 3 PM Tokyo, I felt a little better. Stevie, you played better. Um, Like the day match, like Tuesday at 2 o'clock on Moon Court?

1:43 Yeah, yeah.

1:44 It's like five people there.

1:45 That's incredible.

1:46 But you're playing for like huge money. I mean, it's the prime.

1:49 I know. Yeah. You squeak out a win there, Sam? I have no idea.

1:54 No, you played the wild card.

1:55 I remember.

1:56 That's why he was on center court because he was playing you.

2:01 In Beijing and Shanghai, if you played the Chinese wild card, you know, it was always a guy ranked like, 590 in the world and you're playing them and like, you know, for like $ 28, 000 and 45 points. It was like a big match. It was a huge match.

2:15 Yeah.

2:16 Yeah.

2:16 It was always like, you always wanted the wild card.

2:19 Yep.

2:20 Cause like there was three of them in there and there was like three pretty good draws.

2:24 That's incredible, dude.

2:25 That's a great photo.

2:26 Is that, Actually, like a Getty image from your match? Or is that just like some dude? Oh, my goodness.

2:33 Getty image from my match on center court.

2:36 October 8th, 2012.

2:38 I thought it was a guy at like a Blue Jays game from like 2019 or something.

2:43 So good. That's incredible.

2:47 Oh, that is amazing.

2:49 Anyways, must have had a big night. Speaking of big nights or big days, Sam, you just wrapped up your birthday today. 39, kind of a totally uneventful birthday.

2:59 Totally.

3:00 I've been there.

3:00 Yeah.

3:02 Not much to do for the 39th birthday, but what did you get up to?

3:06 I played three holes of golf with my wife and the boys, and then we had some cheeseburgers at the tennis club that we're members at, and that was it. I literally did nothing.

3:17 Cheeseburgers sound good.

3:18 They're good.

3:18 I'm good for the horse diet.

3:19 Country club cheeseburger.

3:20 Yeah.

3:21 Yeah, horse diet. I weighed myself. I don't have the scale in here. 225.5.

3:26 Right now.

3:27 You're good.

3:27 We got a crash, dude.

3:28 You got five days. It's all about the next four days. But you got to be like a boxer. You weigh in with just your boxers on.

3:35 Yes.

3:36 And you hit the sauna in the morning and you'll be like 219.

3:39 Right. Then fuel up and just smash the horse.

3:41 They're absolutely going to have a scale there. I would love to see that before they get on a horse. Like, no, sir. Hop on the scale. You are too big for the horse. I would love to see that.

3:49 But there are three things I wanted to bring up. I did have my first USTA match last night.

3:55 Oh, I was about to ask.

3:56 Yeah.

3:56 Go ahead.

3:57 Got the win personally, and the team got the win. The team lost on Friday night. I wasn't there, but the team and myself then won yesterday, so we're 1-1 in league play. What was the score?

4:11 6-2, 6-4.

4:12 Okay. Kind of a tight 2-4. First set was like 2-2, 30 all. The guys were playing well. You know who played Stevie? Dennis McCurchin. Oh, yeah. He played two at UCLA.

4:21 Yeah, he played like five.

4:23 Five. But anyway, a big win for the team. I also want a little pet peeve with the suits. Last week, I had a great Sydney Sweeney rant about her water skiing, and they texted me before the show letting me know they were not going to put it on the show because it was a little risky. Whether it's risky or not, I'm just agitated with the suits, as I always am.

4:45 And then I also last week when we were recapping Medvedev and Djokovic, obviously Medvedev hit the ball into the crowd. Stevie, you and I were kind of breaking down the match and we kind of had the take that the guy got hit by the ball was kind of being a little bit weak.

5:02 Yeah. Right.

5:03 And then I went on to our YouTube comments and we got ripped like, oh my gosh, you hit the face of the ball. How would you feel? So I went back and watched all the YouTube angles of Medvedev hitting that ball into the crowd of the guy. And I just want to say, Stevie, our take was exactly right. The guy was being so weak, so pathetic. Medvedev did not hit the ball that hard. Yes, Medvedev should be disqualified, which he was. But that dude, that was pathetic. My four-year-old, John, they get hit in the face all the time. They walk it off in like a minute. This guy head in the crowd. This guy is an early nod for an Oscar next year for best dramatic performance.

5:38 I actually didn't see the YouTube comments.

5:41 They ripped us. Our fans were wrong. I hate to say that about our fans. Yeah. They're probably bots. Our fans wouldn't, they know that guy was being, being a weak little, you know what? But I just want to address that.

5:53 Yeah. Cause he like, he like, he like rushed up the steps like this, right? Rushed up the.

5:57 Steps that he just, yes. Yeah. Totally startled.

6:00 I guess. It was just, yeah, it was more startling than anything.

6:04 But you, but you, you went and you, you did the recon. You got all the different angles to see.

6:08 If you were wrong, right? 20 minutes. And I certainly was not wrong. Neither was Steve.

6:12 He got him in the cheek or what?

6:14 I think he got him in the eye, honestly. A tennis ball not hit that hard. It's not like a marble where it hits the retina.

6:24 It hits the outer.

6:27 Part of the eye. It can't get in the socket. Man up.

6:31 All right. I feel like if you get hit in the balls with a tennis ball going two miles an hour, it hurts.

6:38 Man, now I'm with John.

6:39 Maybe the balls.

6:43 No, it's not the eye.

6:45 It's the outer part of the tennis ball. Can't reach the actual, but you know, it like, are you siding with?

6:51 No, no, no.

6:53 I need to see the replay myself to see where.

6:55 It, you know, send Sam, send John your research.

6:59 Yeah. Yeah.

7:01 Send him your research. We'll get to the bottom of this.

7:04 Yeah.

7:05 Uh, All right.

7:07 Well, I'm glad you stuck to your guns there, Sam. Back to your birthday, on our birthday post, which did great numbers.

7:14 Oh, my gosh. Alcaraz comments, he clearly follows the show. I remember seeing that and, like, instantly ran to my wife. I was like, Abby! Carlitos! Who was it?

7:27 Have we spoken about on the show that the U.S. Open, someone said that he, like, Carlos was in the ice bath, like, at the locker room of the U.S. Open, and, like, He had his phone with him or something, and something from our show popped up.

7:39 Yeah.

7:39 People could hear him listening. Clearly subscribes. Probably comments. Probably comments on YouTube quite a bit.

7:47 Maybe he's the guy commenting. Not the guy that our take was off. But that was pretty cool. I mean, that was the most special birthday guest I could have gotten, the comment from Carlos. Yeah.

8:00 Absolutely. And I think you're like a step closer to dinner being on the cards, Sam.

8:05 Yes, I am. I also got a nice birthday text from Ethan Quinn. And I was like, oh man, thanks. This means a lot. And he goes, the punching bag sends a text to the puncher. Pretty rare, huh? Something like that. Wow.

8:23 Burying the hatchet.

8:25 All right.

8:27 Well, Let's stay on topic with Alcaraz here. We'll get to his look maybe next. Okay. But let's talk about his match that he just recently concluded. And he went out to Zizou Berg's five and six. I don't think any of us watched this match.

8:52 Did y'all?

8:53 Did any of y'all call this match for Tennis Channel?

8:55 No, no. Tennis Channel doesn't do anything for the Asian Swing.

8:57 Oh, sorry. Sorry.

8:59 I mean, Stevie, I don't know. Put this into context a little bit. I mean, Burks takes out Akras 5-6. We know the courts are very fast.

9:08 Yep. That's a big difference coming from Tokyo.

9:10 Okay. Fair enough.

9:11 So, I mean, is that what you kind of chalk it up to? Or is just maybe Burks? You know, Burks is a clean ball striker. His high level is high.

9:21 Stevie, what do you think? Yeah, I think it's a little bit of both. I mean, Carlos still– I mean, he's had– I don't want to say issues in the past of maybe just consistency. I mean, we know he's healthy, has a great week in Tokyo, wins the title. But you get to Shanghai, he wins his first match. But Bergs is a kind of guy that can take the racket out of your hand. He's had a great year.

9:40 He's had some ups and downs. But the way Zizou Bergs plays, it's going to be volatile. He hits a lot of winners, a lot of errors. I've played him once. I mean, this is probably four or five years ago, and he can absolutely light the ball up from the baseline and take take the racket absolutely out of your hand.

9:56 And with that court being so fast, Carlos, maybe not having his most accurate day. He has the ability to take the racket out of your hand. And this is, I think just a little bit of a combo of both. Zizou had a great day. Carlos had an off day and, you know, in men's tennis, a couple of points here or there, Carlos didn't get the job done. You know, if Carlos wins the second set, you know, we'll see what happens in a third, but Zizou was able to close it out in a second set breaker. And, Um, but it's a great, I mean, it's a great match for Zizou. I thought he, I thought he played well and he's, you know, trending in the right direction, but just a bummer for Carlos, like with a tournament, you know, Novak,

10:30 we'll get to it. Novak loses no center, right? Like you want these big, big stars to be in the tournament. So it's kind of a bummer to see Carlos lose, but Zizou played great. Uh, there's nothing that, you know, that's tennis. That's why you go out there and you play. That's why you go out there.

10:44 And when sometimes, you know, like Carlos, can spray like at the us open he had that stretch against shelton where it goes off first first set he had 17 errors yeah that's four games and one point worth of errors so like these who need to win seven more points you know i know it's not the math isn't exactly math like that but 17 errors for one set is really littering up the stat sheet for a guy like carlos but we know like i've everything six, seven matches, he has stats like that. Just usually he finds a way to come through. And in this case, he did it.

11:18 But also, I mean, pretty impressive by Zizou to serve for the match in the second at 6'5, get broken, and then come back and win the breaker. Like that's not easy to do when you have your moment, you know. Oh, totally. To throw like a knockout blow against a top, you know, top five guy, you know, Carlos Alcaraz, not land that blow and then win in a breaker. Easy for that to spiral quickly.

11:38 Because you guys know what it's like. You always think when you're When a guy serves for a match against a top five guy, in this case, a top three guy, doesn't get it, everyone, even guys like us, you're like, wow.

11:49 That was his chance. Yeah, yeah. That was his chance.

11:52 Well, basically, it's like, especially with the lower rank player, it's like he has to finish it in the breaker. Because if he loses the breaker, he's not winning the third set.

12:00 For sure. Chances are, right?

12:02 It's hard to recover. Yeah. He didn't have a long runway to have to beat Carlos. I think that helped him. He says, all right, let's just try to get this one tiebreaker. Was able to do it. Impressive stuff. But you see some of these results on these fast scores. If you look at the scores of a lot of the matches, typically aren't that many breaks. It's big serving and a lot of holding serve out there. Matches, just from looking at them, seem to be inherently pretty close.

12:35 In Shanghai. But a tough one for Carlos after playing pretty well in Tokyo to go out in Shanghai. But as you mentioned, Stevie, it's a tough turnaround going from that 500, if you do well in the 500, which we're going to get to this next person we're about to talk about. If you do well in that 500 and then try to back it up to 1,000 in Shanghai, it is a tough turnaround.

12:58 And I also just think this is what we're going to see going forward with these long Master Series events. There's just going to be more upsets because it's just too long. I think, I mean, I think it'd.

13:07 Be easier to win Tokyo on a Sunday and then go to Shanghai. And then just, he plays his first round on Tuesday.

13:14 He does.

13:15 I actually think you're right, Sam. It's not a, it's not a fitness rest thing.

13:19 No, he doesn't. They don't do that. Now they, they finished Tokyo on a Wednesday, same day that Shanghai starts. So it was on a Monday, Tokyo, Monday.

13:29 Yeah.

13:29 Sorry. So Tuesday there, Monday here, So he gets there on the day of the start.

13:34 You guys are both kind of right.

13:35 We're both kind of right. But they started to end those tournaments the same days now. They're like a midweek final. That way there's just no downtime.

13:41 But he had a bye, so he didn't play until.

13:43 So he has 48 hours off. He gets there. He doesn't have five days off.

13:47 I think it's like three or four days off.

13:49 Again, both of you guys are kind of right.

13:52 John's kind of saying it too. I think it's easier, honestly, just to get there, practice one day, then play.

13:59 Just play. It's the extra days.

14:00 That grind guys down. Are you going to talk before you go to the next match? You want to talk about his look? Good point.

14:05 The mustache. Yeah.

14:07 Can we, I was actually going to get to that a little bit later post, but, but let's do it now.

14:12 All right.

14:12 Carlos's new look. I mean, it's like he's debuting a new look like each and every week.

14:16 It's crazy.

14:17 The hair, the hair is the same.

14:20 All right.

14:20 I'll just say it. It's Ron Jeremy.

14:22 Yeah. It was like on one of the, on one of the posts is just like, no.

14:27 Yeah. That's pretty funny. I like it. And, and, and Stevie, I'm going to venture to say that you really like it as well.

14:33 Big fan. I saw that. I was like, this guy's to the moon, dude. This guy might get to number one in the world, even though it's not possible this year.

14:38 Yeah. Uh, I like it a lot, actually.

14:41 It looks great.

14:42 With the hair, I mean, imagine like last year, Prison Carlos at the Open with this mustache. Come on.

14:48 No, but this is, you got to go this mustache with that hair. I think he's combining the two looks.

14:53 With no hair, it's going to be tight.

14:55 No, with no hair, he's got to go goatee.

14:57 See what I'm saying?

14:59 He can do whatever he wants.

15:01 He can have 100 looks, and he debuts a new one every week. He's the only man in the world who can do it.

15:07 He's got a lot more variety than we certainly do.

15:10 I feel like if you put those slow-mo cameras on the stars, and you can see them moving when you speed them up, I feel like Carlos' hair grows so fast. You could do a slow-mo camera of his mustache or his hair and speed it up and watch it grow in 24 hours, like sped up camera.

15:25 Yeah. He's one of those guys, yeah. But he's also, but he's not like overly hairy. He just is in the, his hair and his face.

15:33 It's like neck up.

15:34 Doesn't have like back hair. He's not one of those like, like Teen Wolf guys.

15:38 You know what I'm saying?

15:39 Mustache region.

15:41 Yeah, exactly.

15:41 Just that region.

15:42 Yeah.

15:43 Sleek everywhere else.

15:44 Yes.

15:49 I like it.

15:50 It's a shame that we don't get to see it more in Shanghai.

15:53 Yeah.

15:54 Maybe they'll bring it back.

15:55 That's what I'm saying. Do you think he keeps this in Europe indoors?

15:59 No, I don't think so either.

16:01 Sadly, no.

16:02 He's got two weeks now to come up with a new look. I think the hair is gone, but I think he's playing Vienna or Basel. He's playing one of them. I think the hair is chopped by then.

16:12 Maybe he's growing out for a movie role. Maybe he's got a film coming up.

16:15 Yeah, he could have that.

16:16 Maybe.

16:18 Yeah.

16:21 Anyways, we're all fans of that look.

16:23 Yeah.

16:23 Even though Marta Kostiak It's not a fan of that look. Got to say her comment was pretty funny.

16:28 It was really funny.

16:29 Yeah.

16:29 All right, everyone, let's pull up Kalshi because there's a market we need to talk about.

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16:59 Yeah, you are exactly on it. There's only one shot at the Olympics. There's so many variables in that one. Yes, of course he could, but I'm going to lean no on this one.

17:09 I've got to lean no on this one.

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17:57 Let's move on. We talked about the turnaround from Tokyo for Carlos. Well, the turnaround from Beijing for Novak Djokovic, who we know what he did in Beijing, still never lost there in his career.

18:07 Unbelievable.

18:08 Um, Proved to be too tough trying to get ready for Shanghai. I personally think this is just a product of a brutal draw on a fast court. What do you think, Sam? Lost to Hubie Hercotch, sorry, four and three.

18:23 Spot on. My question was going to be, why isn't Hubie Hercotch ranked like 20 in the world? I know injuries, but he just hasn't got the momentum quite back yet, and he should be seated at these things. But we all know he's got a huge game. He never beat Novak, but he's got a huge serve. He could serve bot, right?

18:41 And that's kind of what he did.

18:43 And Djokovic said that exactly.

18:44 He had 13 aces against Novak in China.

18:48 No one does that.

18:49 And John, you know that better than anyone.

18:51 Going into the tournament. So he just– I mean, he was top 40 going– I think he's like 38 or 39 going into the tournament. So he just missed being seeded.

18:56 Just missed being seeded. And he won 82% of first serve points against Novak Djokovic. If you win– for context, if you win 70% of your first serve points against Novak, I consider that to be a pretty good first serving day. Yeah. He won 82%. And Novak could have been a little tired after Beijing. I know he's incredibly fit, but he is 39, right? Yeah. Again, it's that weird turnaround where you're just milling around for four days.

19:25 But also, like, to be able to return, like, a serve like Hubie's on a fast court, you've got to be totally locked in. And I think that's where age comes into play, right? His reaction's not quite there at 39, being able to return a giant first serve like that on fast courts.

19:41 I'm still shocked, though, because after winning Beijing and then saying, like, yeah, I want to make the year end finals.

19:47 Yeah.

19:47 It's like, oh, he's going to be, he's going to make a run in Shanghai.

19:49 Yeah. Yeah.

19:50 I thought so too, but Stevie, I completely forgot that Hubie won this tournament in 2023.

19:55 Yep. He sure did.

19:56 Remember that? Yeah. He's a two-time master series winner.

19:59 Yeah. Miami. I remember Miami, like, like COVID Miami.

20:03 Yep.

20:04 And Shanghai.

20:05 Yeah.

20:06 So he's comfortable here, but yeah, like I think just the, Same kind of thing with the Carlos thing. He just got out-served on a fast court against a guy that is 39 coming off a title. Novak's got to get through day one, and then I think he's fine. But first match is always going to be the most difficult.

20:25 And Hubie is a tough out on those courts.

20:27 Yeah.

20:29 And Sam, back to Novak saying he wants to make the World Tour Finals. Does this loss change your tune? I think we all said that, yes, he will make it.

20:37 Sam.

20:38 What do you think now with center out, Novak is.

20:45 He's nine.

20:47 With center out.

20:48 Yeah.

20:48 Okay, with center out, he's nine. Medvedev's ahead of him, who's playing really well right now. So with center, he's nine. So with center in, he's in currently, I guess.

21:00 Correct.

21:01 So what do we think? Do you think he gets that eighth or seventh or eighth position and still makes it?

21:07 Yeah, I'm with Stevie.

21:08 Yeah.

21:09 And he's got two tournaments, right? I don't see him going to play Stockholm or Almaty.

21:15 No. I think in his mind, he's like, if I can't.

21:17 Do it in the Basel Vienna and the Paris week, I'm not doing it.

21:21 Yeah.

21:21 Right? I don't even think, even if he plays those weeks and he's like, oh, I'm 100 points out, I do not think he takes a wild card into that 250 the week prior. He's above that.

21:32 Well, I don't think he can because the six Kingslams, if it happens, is next week. So he can't play the 250 week anyway.

21:37 But isn't there now like a 250 week after Paris? There is.

21:40 It's Stockholm. But I believe last year it counted because he played– Novak played Athens, which is his tournament. And he won it. He won it. He beat Mussetti in the final, got into Turin, and he goes, no, I'm good.

21:53 That's exactly what I forgot about that.

21:55 So I thought they did that this year where it ends in Paris because it's ridiculous that guys can play one extra week. So I think the year-end race ends in Paris, but I could be wrong on that.

22:07 Regardless, I think, yes, he makes it. I think he finds one of those last two spots.

22:12 Yeah, yeah.

22:14 That's a crazy race right now. It's like three to 13.

22:16 Yeah, I mean.

22:18 Very, very tight, which is like it's always good this time of year seeing those guys like elbowing for position. Obviously, we know there are a lot of Americans vying for a spot. Taylor Fritz is one of them. Francis Tiafoe. Ben Shelton's comfortably in. I think we could all agree on that. But let's get to the Americans over in Shanghai.

22:38 Not the best results over there.

22:41 A Asian swing for the Americans. They were terrible in Beijing and Tokyo.

22:45 Bad in Beijing.

22:46 Yeah, one matchup.

22:47 Not the best in Tokyo. But Ben, the aforementioned Shelton, won his first match but lost to Gia. Or Gia? Is it Gia?

22:56 Gia.

22:57 We watched him in Cabo. Yeah, Cabo. Cabo.

23:00 He goes down to two breakers to Gia.

23:03 I mean, I don't know.

23:05 Tough for Ben. He took the 500 a week off. He needed the rest. But going over there for one event is a big trek to make. You want to do a little bit better than that. But, I mean, Ben loses two tiebreakers. That guy's a good player. We saw him play.

23:20 Gia's good. We saw him play. He's good. I don't think Ben cares, honestly. Obviously, cares that he lost, but said– one of the most incredible seasons, four titles of finals at the U S open. You said it. He's, he's into the year end finals basically.

23:35 Right.

23:36 And he's checking the boxes for his like year.

23:38 End bonuses for the bonuses. Go over for one tournament is kind of tricky. We've been saying with all these matches, faster courts, anything can happen. And Ben has results like this. We've seen it this year. He throws in the first and second round losses. So like, this is like nothing out of the ordinary when he goes to Europe in a week, No one's going to be like, well, he lost early in Shanghai. Maybe he's not.

23:59 Of course not.

24:00 Doesn't matter.

24:01 Obviously, he went over there.

24:03 Yeah.

24:03 I think he went over there kind of playing with House's money a little bit. Like, all right, let's roll the dice. See what we do. If we don't do well, no big deal. I'll just rest up a little bit more and get ready for Europe.

24:11 Yes, exactly. At this point, he's highlighting Paris in year-end championships.

24:17 Absolutely. Absolutely. Francis Tiafoe. He took out your former teammate in his first match, Stevie, Yannick Hoffman. Played at USC. Lost to Fekina 7-6 in the third. We all remember what happened to Francis last year in Shanghai. Kind of lost his mind a little bit. Who was he playing against?

24:34 I forget. It was on the outside court.

24:36 Yeah, it was on the outside court. Kind of happened again. We talk about guys getting crispy this time of year. He lost 8-6 in the third set breaker.

24:47 And.

24:49 Promptly obliterated a bunch of his rackets.

24:50 He's not coming home with any rackets.

24:52 No. Immediately after that lawsuit, Davidovich Vokina.

24:57 Well, you know what? If Francis ever wants some advice from anybody who's been very crispy in Asia before, just don't go next year. Just don't go. If you're Francis, just skip it.

25:07 He's like six in the race.

25:08 Just skip it. It doesn't matter because if he skips that, he's just going to be more fresh for Europe. Just skip Asia, dude. It's not for you. You had some issues. He's going to get another big fine. I mean, it The other bad one is, you know, last week in Tokyo, he's folding rackets in Tokyo. I wouldn't recommend that as a Yonex player.

25:24 Was he folding them in Tokyo?

25:25 Yeah. Yeah. I wouldn't do that in Tokyo. You know, it's a bit of a tough sign of disrespect for the, you know, for the Yonex people who are all there. Other than that, it's just hard, dude. I mean, Davidovic Joaquin is a phenomenal player. He was hurt, you know, in the summer, but I mean, he's an animal and a warrior, but I mean, I wouldn't, I'm not surprised Francis lost this match, but it's just mentally, it's hard to be in Asia.

25:47 Yeah.

25:48 Right now for Francis. And he's kind of proving that year over year. And if I'm him, like, honestly, like just skip it next year, then go play two tournaments in Europe. I know it sounds crazy to say, but like, you're telling me if he's home right now, he's not going to be way more fresh for.

26:01 He could have won. Yeah.

26:03 He could have won eight, six. I know, but I'm just saying like he said, he's at the final. And then like next year, seven in the race, he skips it. And then guys like eight, nine, 10, I'll have good Asian. They jump him.

26:14 That's right. But then he's going to win Basel in Paris.

26:15 It's fine.

26:16 It'll be fresh.

26:18 Just skip it.

26:19 Tough one for Francis, really.

26:20 Very tough. Very tough. Because he's trying to get in. He's in a decent position right now to make the final eight. Someone else chasing him, Taylor Fritz, who's been the number one American, seems like forever now.

26:33 He's going to lose that this year.

26:35 He loses in his second match to Sitsipas. A bit of a resurgent Sitsipas. 6-3 in the third. Taylor was a bit hampered in Tokyo. We saw his loss there. It seemed like physically he wasn't up to the task there. I think his body was failing.

26:52 Him a little bit.

26:52 I'm a little surprised at this loss, Sam. I just think the fast courts for Tsitsipas on his backhand side would be a pretty good matchup for Taylor.

27:00 Yeah, agreed. Although Tsitsipas is 5-2 against Taylor, and ever since Tsitsipas lost to Kasparu to Madrid in this long three-setter, he's kind of been good again. He won the tournament, I don't know, one of those random ones after Wimbledon on the clay. And then at the U.S. Open, he took out Arthur Feast. He's had these moments this year where the old Tsitsipas, his game has crept back in.

27:23 So for me, this isn't a shocking loss for Taylor. Tsitsipas is better than his ranking and showing signs that he's climbing back up. And just anything can happen in Asia. Anything.

27:34 Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely anything can happen. I mean, you see the crazy results. Saw what happened last year.

27:40 It's crazy results.

27:41 That's your role, taking the title. Other Americans, Nakashima loses 7-6 in the third to Bubuk. I don't think that's any surprise that that match even went 7-6 in the third. Two great servers, really good players. They're, of course, going to play a tight match. Lerner Tien goes out to Kasper Ruud. And then Mickelson lost his first match. So, all in all, Tommy Paul still on the court right now.

28:06 Battling, yeah. Battling up a set right now against Vassaro.

28:08 Up a set against Vassaro. So he's the last American standing. Anything else stick out so far on the men's side from Shanghai?

28:19 Sam, Stevie?

28:20 Other than the Italians not being so good outside of center. I mean, these guys can't be consistent. No Caboli, Mussetti. I don't get it. I really don't.

28:28 I mean, don't you think Mussetti is just, he's just been so hurt this year. Hasn't been able to establish any momentum. He was playing so well in Australia and his body's let him down.

28:37 Yeah.

28:38 So it's like, he's like 23 years old.

28:41 I'm with you.

28:42 I mean like Jack, I'm with you, but injuries can happen. Like, you know, and so when you have an uneven year like that, you're not able to get on, stay on the court for a prolonged period. Um, You're going to struggle. I mean, it's just you're not going to play your best. And he was playing so well.

29:01 But that's one of those ones. He loses to the Chinese wild card in the round of 60. That's the hard one. You get the Chinese wild card and you take the L with the one fan there. That's the hard part.

29:10 That's tough.

29:12 Yeah, you want that draw. But if it goes south, then you have zero confidence.

29:15 You want that draw, but you know they're going to play inspired.

29:17 Which one?

29:18 You want it– Which one's harder for Sam? You had them both. The Chinese wild card in Shanghai or the Mexican wild card in Acapulco? Which one's harder to get away?

29:27 The Mexican wild card's tougher because there's like fans actually cheering for.

29:30 The Mexican wild card.

29:33 Because you had both. You had both. I've had both too, so it's not easy. It's not easy.

29:40 Easy.

29:40 The fans are like, they're rabid for the Mexican.

29:43 The Mexican one's way harder. Way harder.

29:46 Even though he's ranked like 840 and like 20, 28 years old. Oh my gosh, that's pretty good. All right, let's move on. Let's go to the WTA side of the show right now. And Beijing was like, it never ended. On the men's side, the women's side, it was forever. But it's obviously a big 1,000 event for the.

30:16 Women.

30:16 But it concluded, and Kenwen Zhang takes the title of Amira Andreeva. We saw how well she, having played qualities at the US Open, she kind of found her form. This is a huge win. It's great for, obviously, her. It's great for Chinese tennis. It's great for the tournament in Beijing.

30:34 Everything.

30:35 They couldn't have asked for a better champion, in my mind. McKinnon, having her back on the scene as a player to continue with and compete for big titles, I think that's just overall good for the WTA. Sam, what do you think?

30:47 It's great for the WTA. She had the U.S. Open. Remember, twice she came back for 5-0 in the third or something? Oh, yeah. But, yeah, it's awesome that she won the tournament, especially in China. I'm surprised. First Chinese player to win a title in the China Open in Beijing. I guess it's not surprising because they don't have that many good players.

31:05 I would have guessed Li Na would have probably done it once. But outside of that, no.

31:09 Yeah, this is... Zhang Wenquan. What? Zhang?

31:13 Chen Wenjian.

31:14 Chen Wenjian. She's back in the mix. If you can win this... Absolutely, she's back in the mix. prove what she did at the US Open coming from qualifying... She could win any tournament now. She's just in there with the big guns and great for her to win this. She took out Andreeva, who, good run for her to make the finals, but can win. She's got that crazy ball toss. I like what she does. I like what she does well. I want her in the mix.

31:42 She's feisty too. Yeah. I feel like, you know, like Lena was kind of like, she was a great, she was kind of just very level-headed. Like can win. Like she's feisty out there.

31:51 That's great.

31:52 Not Medvedev level.

31:55 No, no, no, no, no, no.

31:56 A little attitude in there, which is.

31:58 You want to see personality out of the players. You want to see them, you know.

32:02 The pod does like that.

32:03 Yeah.

32:04 Good for content.

32:05 The pod really likes that. Yeah.

32:07 So, big one.

32:08 Big one in Beijing. Obviously, that's one of their like. Flagship events. Flagship events.

32:14 Yes.

32:14 Flagship events outside of. It's just hard to follow over here. Time change, everything about it. But big win and a good tournament for Andreeva too. She's had just a really, really good year. Stevie, let's move on. You mentioned earlier possibly the Six Kings Slam getting canceled.

32:33 Have you got your.

32:35 Ear on the ground to anything?

32:36 I've got ears on the ground.

32:36 You hear any rumblings?

32:37 I'm everywhere.

32:37 You do. You always do. I heard this about 10 days ago and I was like, really? I was a little surprised that this was getting canceled or was in talks of getting canceled. And then obviously what has happened over the last couple of days, I can't even put it together with the, what has happened at the Riyadh airport.

32:53 What happened at the airport?

32:55 It was a deadly attack on the airport.

32:58 I can't say I'm up to date with the latest.

33:00 How much money would it take you if like. Zero.

33:02 Zero.

33:03 Zero. Okay. Zero. What's the hypothetical go? There's a small bomb that hits like an airport that you're flying to. Not that runway or anything, but within a mile. What are we talking about right now? Like how much money does it take you to go to an event? Let's call it Memphis. You're going to Memphis on a Monday.

33:20 Is this a bad hypothetical?

33:21 This is a horrible hypothetical.

33:23 No, not Memphis, but you get what I'm saying. You said Memphis.

33:26 You said Memphis. Let's just go back to Riyadh.

33:29 Is that where it is?

33:30 $ 100 million to go to fly to Memphis, Tennessee. I'll be safe.

33:36 Long story short, the event's getting canceled.

33:38 Anyways, back to Riyadh. I think it's going to get canceled. The fact that center is out, like.

33:43 It doesn't help things. TN was the one to take his spot. He won the $ 1. 5 million lottery.

33:49 Sam said like learner woke up, got a text from his agent, said that he was in the, uh, six Kings slam.

33:54 It feels like he's, I mean, if this gets canceled, it feels like he's lost a million and a half dollars now.

33:58 Yeah.

33:58 He knew what it felt like, but all in all, I think this event's getting canceled. Um, I'm with you.

34:04 I just feel like it is. We'll see what happens.

34:06 There's no reason to like, I don't know. It just doesn't feel like there's any reason to make it happen. So why make it happen?

34:12 Weren't you, didn't they ask you to go do TV there, Sam?

34:16 I got asked to go to TV. Yeah. I didn't say no because of what's going on.

34:21 Yeah. They didn't meet your number.

34:25 They did.

34:25 Yes. They didn't meet my number.

34:28 Tom Brady over there.

34:29 I also asked for a million and they're like, oh, we only have 900,000.

34:31 I said, nope.

34:33 Not doing it.

34:36 All right.

34:38 There's some other news. Juan Carlos Ferrero, he's been in the headlines a good bit. He's back into the coaching scene. We know that. But his opinion, he was asked, he gave his opinion on five sets and slams. He thinks they are going to go eventually, that Grand Slams will stop playing best three out of five. His reasoning is all the Masters Series events, the finals used to be three out of five, which was badass back in the 90s.

35:03 I love that.

35:04 By the way, he thinks five sets and slams is going to go. I disagree.

35:09 Same.

35:10 Majority of players want to keep the five sets.

35:14 And by majority of players, if you pull the guys in the top 100, it's like 98%.

35:17 Yeah.

35:19 And even I want to keep the five sets if I was still playing. And two out of three sets, guys like me and you, Sam, I think would benefit us. Keep the three out of five.

35:28 Hunter, I couldn't agree more. Physicality, putting the work in off the court and the physicality, and that's such a part of the game. That's why it's so difficult to win a major. And I know some matches go four, four and a half hours, but it's not every match. And that's one of the things that I think makes tennis so beautiful, so amazing. These extended matches with the best players in the world. If you're going to beat Alcraz, Sinner, Djokovic, Zverev, You might need to do it in four hours. It's like the ultimate test. So I'm with you.

36:01 I disagree.

36:02 Yeah, I don't think it's– I do not think it's– 100%.

36:05 Can't go anywhere.

36:07 Can't go anywhere. We agree with that. All right. Well, hopefully he is wrong. I think most people want to keep the five sets, but let's move on. To our major opinions segment, we're about to wrap up this show. And Stevie, as always, I think you got a stat for us.

36:25 I do. After Hubie Hercatch defeats Novak Djokovic in Shanghai, he joined the list of only three other players to have defeated the big three on their favored surface. So, you know, Rafa on clay, Roger on grass, Novak on hard. Who are those three players?

36:40 I know one of them because it was like one of the world's most annoying tweets. It was Nick Kyrgios. Hey, Hubie, welcome to the club.

36:46 No.

36:47 What do you mean?

36:47 Welcome to what club?

36:48 The club that Stevie Speakers is beating.

36:50 Roger on grass, Rafa on clay, Novak on hard.

36:54 Nick Kyrgios beat Rafa on clay?

36:57 He's not part of Sam's answer, so he's wrong. Sam is wrong on part of his answer, but Hubie did. Hubie did. Who are the other three players? I don't know.

37:08 I could be here all day.

37:09 Wait, so Kyrgios didn't do it?

37:11 Did not do it on that surface.

37:13 So Kyrgios is walking him to the club even though Kyrgios is not.

37:16 In the club. I think Kyrgios beat those guys on– he beat those guys, all of them, but he didn't do it on their preferred surface. He never beat Rafa on clay. Beat him on grass. Yeah. Hard. Whatever.

37:27 I don't know.

37:28 It's Murray, team, and Zverev.

37:30 We would have guessed that eventually.

37:31 Yeah.

37:32 Yeah.

37:32 I think so. Eventually, yeah. All right. Carry on.

37:35 Carry on.

37:36 I'm going to go to my serve bot of the week. Let's keep it with Hubie.

37:40 Serve.

37:41 Bombs over there against Novak. That was, that was incredibly impressive. Did not face a break point. 13 aces, 82% of his first serve points. One Sam talked about how impressive that is. So Hubie, excuse me, nevermind. He's actually saved a couple of break points. Anyways, didn't get broken. It's Djokovic in Shanghai. Incredibly impressive. 13 aces, straight sets. Hubie serve bought of the week. He can bought like absolutely bought one of the best serves in the world. Hands down.

38:11 Sometimes, do you ever find it, Hubie's a vegetarian, right?

38:14 Vegan. Vegan.

38:16 There's a difference.

38:17 There's a difference. I don't know why.

38:18 There's a difference. I always found it, like, so annoying playing Hubie when an ace, like, being aced by a vegan. Like, oh my gosh, dude. Did it, it just.

38:27 Felt worse.

38:28 It feels like his muscles are brittle. He shouldn't be able to ace you. Like pre-match, he's eating tofu and rice.

38:34 And this guy's acing me? He's got no meat in his body. How is he acing me?

38:38 It's tough to go to dinner with you. He's got a big old plate of beans and vegetables.

38:43 Foliage and chickpeas. He gets his proteins from his chickpeas and tofu.

38:48 I know, but it doesn't feel like you should be able to hit a serve that big without any steak in your body.

38:55 And there's no rhyme or reason as to why he's vegan. It's like, he's like, yeah, I just don't really like meat.

38:59 Really?

39:00 It's not like his body's like, yeah, it's not like a, yeah.

39:03 Yeah.

39:04 That's crazy.

39:05 It's a personal choice.

39:06 It's a personal choice.

39:07 Good for him.

39:07 It works.

39:08 For him.

39:09 He's like, Hubie's kind of like a little more jacked.

39:11 He's strong.

39:11 He's time all from injuries.

39:12 Hubie's strong.

39:13 You think you've been sneaking some meat and chicken in line to us? No.

39:18 No, I do not. Okay. I don't think Hubie's ever lied to anyone, ever.

39:23 And also, like, you don't want, back to our bar fight conversation, like, that's kind of one of the reasons I didn't want him on my team.

39:29 That's the number one reason I wouldn't draft him. If you're not eating like big juicy ribeye, like you can't win a fight. I'm with you.

39:40 Oh my goodness.

39:41 All right, Sam, you got a query for us. I think you do. I think I do. My query back to Juan Carlos Ferrero. He's like a flirt.

39:52 He keeps teasing us.

39:53 Like my question is, do you think he's going to be coaching someone full time in 2027? Or do you think it's going to be more of like a kind of a mentorship? I'm helping someone. I might go to the slams. Basically, what do you think Juan Carlos's role in tennis is going to be in 2027? Yeah, I think he's a full time coach.

40:16 I don't think full-time.

40:17 Well, what's full-time? I think he travels to 12 to 15 tournaments.

40:21 No, I'm saying not.

40:23 That's not full-time.

40:24 Slams and some Masters Series.

40:26 I'm saying, yes, Stevie. If he's at 12 to 15 tournaments, in my mind, that's like full-time. That's all the Masters Series. I'm saying less than that.

40:32 Okay, I think he's there because then he'll do like a couple off weeks with somebody in, you know, wherever. How do we not know who this is yet?

40:40 Right, why can't he say?

40:41 Sinner.

40:42 There's no way it's Sinner. Sinner has Darren Cahill.

40:46 Just saying.

40:46 I feel like Stevie knows something. He doesn't want to reveal his sources, but I feel like he knows something.

40:51 Look at him over there.

40:54 He's not locked in with the Spanish mafia, this guy.

40:58 I don't know anything, dude. I'm here for the content game. I'm talking to my sources in Majorca.

41:07 I think the coaching means I'm kind of mentoring, helping. I'll be like four tournaments.

41:14 If any. Man, there's just so many guys that he could do it. Yeah, we'll see.

41:19 He's only going to help someone that's like could realistically win.

41:22 There's been a lot of drama though lately. Like just, let's just, just disclose it and move on.

41:26 Yeah, he's, I don't like the flirtiness from a coach.

41:29 It's such a flirt.

41:31 I don't like the flirtiness, but I do like it because it's good for content. So I'm kind of on both sides.

41:36 Yeah.

41:36 Okay. let's close the show. I just thought of this. You've seen that, that stupid trend going around the AI where like people were dancing and center and Alcaraz did one. And like, what is that? Sorry, random, but like I saw one coach. Can we just do away with that?

41:49 It's the most annoying. Don't think it's funny.

41:51 We're doing it.

41:52 Don't think it's funny in the least.

41:55 Couldn't agree more.

41:56 I can't wait for the suits to post that one later. Can you?

41:59 No, don't.

42:00 Stop it.

42:03 I won't repost it. I won't comment anything. I will really, really dislike that.

42:07 If someone puts a video out of you like that, can you send a cease and desist?

42:11 Cease and assist.

42:13 Can you send a cease and assist? No, desist, dude. No, it's desist. Oh, sorry. Stevie said assist, and I disagreed with him.

42:21 Okay, sorry.

42:24 Is that legal?

42:25 I don't know anymore.

42:29 How did we get the chance to sue someone?

42:31 I thought we could ask someone about the cease and desist.

42:33 You ever sued anyone?

42:34 No.

42:36 Me either.

42:38 It's on my to-do list.

42:40 Have you ever been sued? Have you ever been sued?

42:43 Not that I know of.

42:45 Not that I know of either.

42:46 No, I haven't.

42:47 I live a pretty clean lifestyle.

42:50 Yeah.

42:51 I want to be sued and then counter-sue and win.

42:53 Yeah.

42:54 Yeah, right? Headed to the courthouse.

42:57 I want to get called to the stand. I want to be a character witness is what I want to be. You know this John Isner fella? Dislike him.

43:06 I've been deposed before.

43:08 That's not that exciting.

43:10 Not that exciting.

43:12 It's real official. They come to your door and they have to legally knock on your door and.

43:18 Physically hand you the deficit.

43:20 No, it's like To give you the notice.

43:22 Like an under-the-table tax fraud for the mayor or what? No, no, no, no.

43:29 Pay my taxes here.

43:30 Anyways, let's move on. Or let's not move on. Let's close the show. We're devolving quickly here. And that's it.

43:38 Thank you, Stevie.

43:39 Thank you, Sam. Thank you to the team at SIF Media. We will see everyone.

43:44 It's SIF Creative. SIF Media is a fake company you're making up.

43:47 Oh. Yeah, you're right.

43:49 Did I say SIFT Media at the beginning of the show today?

43:50 Yes, you did. Oh, sorry.

43:52 That sounds cool.

43:54 SIFT.

43:55 Yes, you're right. SIFT Media doesn't even exist.

43:57 SIFT Creative.

43:57 There are millions of.

43:57 People that are listening to this now going along being like SIFT Media dot com. Yeah, you're right.

44:01 I'm doing them a disservice.

44:02 They can't. Yeah, you're right.

44:05 SIFT Creative, everyone.

44:06 SIFT Media might be sending you a cease and desist now.

44:10 They could be very well. I apologize. We'll see everyone on Thursday.

44:16 Nothing, nothing.

44:20 Made you Nothing, nothing made you.

44:46 Nothing made you

44:50 Nothing