Tennis Insights: Rybakina's Triumph at AO

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Hello, Short Dusters.
Thanks so much for joining us

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again.
We're thrilled to have you with

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us, both of you.
And this is Katie of On Location

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this week from Spain and I'm
with.

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BTN Hello everyone, great to be
with you again after a very busy

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week down under.
Absolutely, and happy February.

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Thank you so much for all your
comments that you're putting on

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the website and thank you for
your likes and shares and

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subscribes.
Keep on coming.

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We're thrilled to have have you
with us at the end of this very

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exciting week.
So DTM.

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Where better to start than
yesterday's women's final that

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we got up for on our rocky
ferry?

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Yes.
We have really pulled the plugs

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out this week.
We're on a ferry from Portsmouth

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to Santander for I feel like we
were there for three weeks.

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Ferry Force 10 gales.
But the highlight was the

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tennis.
It was.

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They managed to get TNT Sports
on the TV's in the lounge, so we

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were able to persuade them with
the help of the remote to find

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the right channel.
We were the only two, weren't we

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at 8:30?
But by 9:30 how many were?

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Watching well, then I spent
about 15, I think by the end of

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it and you'd have to switch TV's
at one point because it was

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health and safety that you had
to actually tell everybody that

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there was a force 10 Gale on 2
of of the screens.

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So we were moved to another
screen.

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But but hey ho, you're not here
for the storms, you're here for

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the tennis.
And you're quite pleased, aren't

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you?
Because Elena Ribakana not just

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proved to herself and all her
team that she was back right at

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the top of the game-winning her
second slam in her career, but

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you picked her.
Well, yes, she's in our fantasy

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tennis, in my fantasy tennis
league.

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So I am now I think joint top
with a another pal who I'm sure

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is this thing.
Hello Lise.

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After one event, 3 events to go,
three more grand slams to go.

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But yes, that's very impressive
and I think DTM has to take a

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pat on the back.
As well.

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Go on then, what for?
Well, in the previous episodes I

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highlighted all the ingredients
and the key factors that were

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going to contribute to the most
likely winner.

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And I did pick Rebecca to make
it through from the bottom half.

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And Sabalenka being most
people's pick, made it to the

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final as well.
But starting with their big

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serves, those two really got to
the final pretty unscathed and

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so it was really a shoot off.
A bit like the gunfight at the

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OK Corral on BBC Two for those
of you that used to watch black

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and white movies.
We're not as old as you, not

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everyone.
OK, but yes, it was very much a

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firepower from the off and the
final 644664 Rebecca now took

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the glory but quite a lot to
unpick.

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She did take the glory and she
was great and I loved the way

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she was so calm because we're
doing fairy talk today.

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She was the mill pond of
calmness whilst Sabalenka was

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the force 10 Gale of ups and
downs and you could tell us how

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she was feeling every second
whereas you really couldn't

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read.
Very professional.

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Very, very.
Yes, it's interesting.

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Having heard a lot of pundits
and a lot of people talk about

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the final, I was trying to see
if they kind of picked out the

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things I noticed and they did in
part these.

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These are the sort of summary
takeaways for me.

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The mentality of the two players
you've just mentioned Rebecca's

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calmness a bit, almost ball
like, and I feel Sabalenka in

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those big matches likes a real
fight.

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She likes another personality to
take on.

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She likes to increase her grunt.
If the opponent's grunt gets

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loud, she likes to shout, come
on and get in the opponent's

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face.
If they're shouting, come on.

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If they start hitting the ball
hard, she hits it harder.

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And I felt that she was just
getting nothing back from

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Rebecca and she was a little bit
kind of lost, especially in that

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final set as her lead started to
dwindle.

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She was looking at her team.
She couldn't really get that

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kind of mud fight with the
opponent.

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Like in in the semi finals when
the umpire called hindrance, she

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actually thanked her afterwards
in the post match interview,

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didn't she?
She said.

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You know, I was so cross about
that that it fired me up to win

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and there wasn't any shenanigans
coming from the other side of

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the court.
And So what it left, I think was

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her own head.
Sometimes people talk about the

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chimp, the voice in your own
head.

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I think she was just left with
that voice constantly talking to

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her and she couldn't escape it.
And the reality was that I think

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one of her team even had the
word mentality written on their

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face as a sort of aid memoir
that Sablanca just to say keep

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your mind on the job.
I don't think she had a problem

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with her tennis.
It was it was made much too much

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of her mind on the job and she
was overthinking and thinking 10

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to to a dozen about why this
match wasn't sort of going her

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way by the end.
Now for me Sabalinka has always

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had a chequered history of
conversion rate so been in a lot

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of finals and even more semi
finals.

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Always there in the grand slams
near the end.

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But her actual winning
percentage rate is very low.

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Last year she won 25% of her
tournament.

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She entered 4 out of 16.
That's across all the

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tournaments that she played.
Which for number one in the

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world is quite low.
Yes, and in terms of Grand Slam

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finals, she's now 4 from 8, 50%.
Not too bad.

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But in the finals she's lost.
She's been in winning positions

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and she herself has admitted
that on at least two occasions.

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She's throwing the final away,
and you could add yesterday to

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it.
So it wouldn't be too harsh to

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say she might have won seven out
of the 8 finals.

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But when you really look at it,
she didn't play a bad match, she

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just didn't really get a grip
when it really mattered.

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Towards the end of that third
set, she seemed to just

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disintegrate.
Not visibly in terms of anyone

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particular moment, but just a
series of points that just went

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for back in his way.
And from three lover, it was 5

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Three in the blink of an eye,
plus Savalenkis, which gave her

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the not 2.
A lot of a lot of women don't

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relish the idea of serving for
the match.

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A lot of the time they struggle
with that.

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But back in the stood up there
and played a really good game.

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Could see it in her eyes, you
could see she was loving it.

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Closed out that game with two
cracking ground stroke winners

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from love. 15 to go 3015 up and
although Sabalenka made her play

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every ball and got back to 30
all, she stepped up and hit

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almost 2 aces.
Certainly the first one was

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unreturnable and and she won it
with an ace.

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Brilliant.
I will give Sabalenka the Queen

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of style crown, though.
I did sit there and, you know,

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just add a little bit of fluff.
I I did sit there during the

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final and think, are the people
at your necks looking at each

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other thinking, what on earth
did we put her in?

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Because there was Sabalenka.
I mean her outfit, she looked

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great.
She you know, she was very

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stylish and very, you know, she
looked like she chose what she

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was wearing, whereas little
Rebecca and a blesser, she

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looked like she was in sort of
peasants weeds.

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She had Yonex head to toe,
racket included, and there's

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nothing wrong with that.
But I don't know, the Yonics

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people must have thought, did we
not realise this was going to be

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a really big thing?
We could have put her in

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something that other people
might want to wear.

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I can't imagine anybody looking
at what was wearing and

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thinking, oh, I know what, I'm
going to go out and get that.

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It's amazing because I cannot
think of another professional

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tennis player, male or female,
that wears Yonics clothing.

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If you said badminton, lots of
players wear Yonics, but in

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tennis terms, they all use the
rackets.

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Many, many players use Onyx as a
racket, especially after the

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technology changes.
About a year ago when Madison

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Keys came on the scene with the
new Onyx racket and then won the

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Australian Open a year on the
numbers that are using Onyx

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racket, especially in the
women's game, it's it's

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significant.
But she's the only one with

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actually footwear and clothing.
I've seen somebody else wearing

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the footwear because it's got a
signature on it, isn't it?

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And it hers has obviously got
her own signature on it.

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I think I've seen somebody else
wearing the shoes with the

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signature, which I didn't think
was particularly cool, but hey,

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who am I to know?
But I did think the slightly

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weak old nighty look was really
not the look that you should be

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going into the women's finals
wearing, I suspect.

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I really hope that the Onyx
people have quickly got their

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sewing machines out and designed
something a little bit more cool

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for her next outfit.
It's not.

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Not such a small in stature.
I was going to mention the fact

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that Elena Robakana is the 4th
tallest player on tour at 1

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metre 84 and Savalenka is only
two centimetres behind the 5th

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tallest professional on on the
circuit at 1 metre 82.

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And I think their serves are the
weapons which really set the

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standard for others to try and
emulate.

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And having the height is a big
advantage.

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Really.
These these were the couple of

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takeaways, which in addition to
what I've said about Savolenko's

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mentality, when you're watching
the top women of that height

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serving really well, the reason
they get their first serves in

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Rebecca served was was 55%
successful yesterday.

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But a lot of the time when she
was missing her first, it was

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because her ball toss was
slightly lower than it needed to

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be.
The tension through the arm, a

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release of the ball left that
ball slightly is shorter in

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terms of optimum height.
And when the racket is at full

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extension and the ball toss is
going up and just reached that

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point where the ball hovers is
not going up or coming down yet.

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If you get that in the right
place, but the optimum height

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for the racket to almost like a
smash, isn't it a point of

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impact smashed through, then the
serve tends to be successful.

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And towards the end, like
willing her coach to get your

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ball toss up, keep delivering
that ball toss in the right

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place.
And that made a big difference

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on occasion between the sort of
end and the first part of the

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third set.
The end of the second set,

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Sablenka was getting on top and
especially on the second surge,

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you saw Rebecca hitting lots of
kicks, second serves and

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Sablenka was taking the double
handed background and hitting

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team winners down, down the
line.

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Rebecca needed to improve her
first serve percentage towards

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the end of the match and she
did.

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And it was all down to the ball
toss.

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In terms of Sablenka's takeaway,
I would really encourage her to

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use the forecourt.
She used to play double S.

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We're going to talk Double S
shortly.

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She's played Double S very
successfully, a Grand Slam

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winner at Double S back in 2019.
She dropped the Double S, but

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she can play it at the net and I
think she needs to use the

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forecourt.
When she brought Rebecca in with

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short balls, Rebecca hated being
at the net.

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Great rally there wasn't.
I think I can remember one.

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It was a great fast rally which
of course she won.

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Yeah, rat attack that two or
three volleys in a row and then

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Sabalenka hit the final volley,
pass Rebecca.

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But two or three times she would
play like a short shot, not

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quite a drop shot, but just a
slight short shot.

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Rebecca had no option but to
come in and she really wasn't

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comfortable.
So for me, Sabalenka can win and

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can get on top of Rebecca
because for a lot of the gain

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she was slightly ahead, but she
didn't really have a clear,

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clear head, certainly in that
third set, and she lost her way.

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And well done, Elena Rodbachner,
well done.

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And we're going to move on and
talk about the women's double S.

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Yes, we have to mention we
mentioned Elisa Mertens a few

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times, one of our friends on the
tour.

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We've sat and watched her a few
times at Wimbledon and in

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Shenzhen, I think we said last
week.

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Yes, absolutely.
We follow her with we're always

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with Glee and she is number one
in the world for women's double.

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00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:23,120
S and has just got back to that
position, having won the

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00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:26,680
Australian Open Women's double S
with another friend of ours,

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00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:30,360
former Chinese #1 singles player
Huai Jiang.

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00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:33,760
Yes, and they just looked like
they were getting on so well.

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00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:35,960
The chemistry on court was
amazing.

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00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,240
And it was, it was obvious.
Everybody was mentioning how

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00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:41,800
they just gelled so well, they'd
play so well together.

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00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:45,760
Yes, and they've rejoined.
They've formed their Double S

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00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:49,480
team again.
They used to play together a few

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00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:53,200
years ago very successfully, but
then when when they're separate

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00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:56,480
ways, which does happen with
Double S team, they freshen up

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00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,120
the changes as good as the rest.
It's not always because they

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00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,880
fall out.
It's just simply a new dynamic.

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00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:07,440
A lot of the players will end
one season, have a conflab with

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00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:09,960
the partner, agreed to go their
separate ways, try out a

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00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:13,040
different partnership.
Katarina Sinyakova,

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00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:17,440
Czechoslovakian, another top
doubles player at the moment,

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00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,240
used to play with Barbour,
Kraitchikova, Wimbledon and

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00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:22,640
French Open champion.
They were the number one doubles

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00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:26,840
team for a number of years and
they went part of their ways.

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00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:30,320
And Katrina Sumiakova now plays
with the American Taylor

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00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:33,120
Townsend.
They're really the other top

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00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:37,480
doubles team in the women's game
alongside Mertens and Jang.

247
00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:40,720
But they weren't so successful
in Australia this last week.

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00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,120
And I just wanted to mention a
shout out to Olivia Nichols,

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00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:48,080
who's the the highest ranked
British female double S player.

250
00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:50,920
She's currently ranked #26 in
the world.

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00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:53,480
And we were talking about
earnings a little bit.

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00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:57,320
So Katie, let's talk about the
prize money.

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00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,560
You've dropped singles, you're
prioritising the double S,

254
00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,280
You're playing with Elise
Mertens.

255
00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,240
How much are you going to win
having prioritised the double S?

256
00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:10,600
Well, now we have talked about
this before and from memory I

257
00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:16,200
think it was around 10% of the
earnings if I was paying

258
00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:18,640
singles.
Yeah, you're not far out the

259
00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:21,720
exact percentage people can work
out out there, but it's between

260
00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:26,160
10 and 15%, so roughly to the
nearest million.

261
00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:30,560
The singles champion is getting
close to 3,000,000 dollars,

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00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:35,000
£3,000,000 at Wimbledon.
I think it was 2.8 take

263
00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:37,320
$1,000,000 at the Australian
Open.

264
00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,960
As a doubles team you have to
share the prize money so I'm

265
00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,120
assuming you would share it.
5050 Katie Unless your backhand

266
00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:45,800
slice drop shot made the
difference.

267
00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:49,160
I would have negotiated that
pretty hard first before we

268
00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,800
started, but yes, I would have
gone 55th.

269
00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:58,400
So Elisa Mehrtens and Swijan won
just over $600,000 a pair, so

270
00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,920
they would split that.
So approximately 300,000 each

271
00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:04,560
for winning a Grand Slam Double
S title.

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00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:07,800
And that's, if you think about
it on that's on top of your

273
00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:12,600
singles money, which you've won
and all of the costs are the

274
00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,640
same.
So adding adding the double S is

275
00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:17,440
is really quite profitable I
suppose.

276
00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,600
Yes, and there's been a lot of
singles players.

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00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:24,400
Maybe not the very top of the
game, but certainly players like

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00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:28,200
Mira and Drava just played a lot
of double S in recent years.

279
00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,680
Going back, Coco Goth, Jessica
Pegula used to be a formidable

280
00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:33,640
pair.
More and more, some of the top

281
00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:38,200
players are now abandoning the
Double S just to they as fit and

282
00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:41,160
healthy for the seven singles
matches that they hope to play.

283
00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:44,240
To win the singles at a Grand
Slam Double S, it's worth

284
00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:50,440
keeping an eye on Olivia
Nichols, 31 now and she is was

285
00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:53,640
unlucky a little bit.
Seeded 12 at the Australian Open

286
00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:59,120
that came up against a strong
pair, Storm Hunter was one of

287
00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:04,680
the opponents that beat her and
her Slovakian partner, the

288
00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:08,320
Halikova.
That might not be quite right,

289
00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:14,880
but it's MIHALIKOVA.
But Theresa and Olivia were

290
00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:16,720
seeded 12 that they lost in the
second round.

291
00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,040
And I checked on her lifetime
earnings and she, having got a

292
00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,520
degree in sports science at
Loughborough, went has been a

293
00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:27,200
professional double S bless
since 2017 and she earned coming

294
00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:31,880
up to $1,000,000 in nine years.
So that shows you the contrast

295
00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:35,320
with all that travel.
There's not a lot of loose

296
00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,520
chains there, is there after.
Costs, no.

297
00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:39,880
I'd say that you'd need to paper
round as well.

298
00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:45,120
But moving on, we're going to
cover a little bit, well, wrap

299
00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:48,240
up the AO with takeaways from
the AO 26.

300
00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:52,560
So what do we think of the third
weeks this bill picking up,

301
00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:55,960
starting with this first week,
which normally traditionally is

302
00:16:55,960 --> 00:17:00,440
just being qualifiers for the
singles event, but now we've got

303
00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,680
this third week with a lot more
razzmatazz and obviously the one

304
00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:06,680
the third.
Going in the the beginning, yes.

305
00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:09,119
So slightly back to. 312 if you
like.

306
00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:12,040
Yeah, well, everybody loved it,
didn't they?

307
00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:14,720
OK it it really came off really
well.

308
00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:18,560
The the one point slam was great
and it then encouraged people to

309
00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:20,520
be more interested in the
qualifying rounds.

310
00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:25,200
And then we had the the walk
ONS, the press conferences, the

311
00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:28,520
interviews on the court
interviews behind the scenes.

312
00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:32,200
We have the drama of the cameras
behind the scenes and Coco Goff

313
00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:35,000
smashing her racket.
All the stuff off court stuff,

314
00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:38,440
players she'll read, how
important their social media,

315
00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:41,800
their followers with talking.
We're thinking of Naomi Osaka's

316
00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:45,960
in about the Coco Goff I've just
mentioned and even talk about

317
00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,720
Serena Williams coming back to
see managed to get her name

318
00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:52,360
mentioned even for Rebecca this
final.

319
00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:54,560
So what do what do we think
there, Katie?

320
00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:58,040
I think.
Probably I feel for the women

321
00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:02,400
and the men with the intrusion
of the cameras being everywhere.

322
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:08,120
Think, you know, I know Kokakov
slightly blamed, you know, she

323
00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:12,080
had, she she'd lost and then she
sort of had a bit of a blow up

324
00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:14,000
about the cameras, but I feel
for them.

325
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:18,920
Apparently underneath AO there's
a Warren of alleyways and and

326
00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:20,640
walkways for the players to walk
around.

327
00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,960
So unlike at Wimbledon where you
can see the players walking

328
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,800
around, especially on the
outside courts, they have to,

329
00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:30,560
They've got this sort of tunnel
system there, but there are

330
00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:33,800
cameras everywhere.
And I'm not sure what the

331
00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:37,960
benefit of that is for the
players and for their mental

332
00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:40,560
health.
They need to feel that they do

333
00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:42,440
have some time when they're not
being watched.

334
00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:47,120
So I have sympathy with them for
saying can we just have a little

335
00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:50,000
privacy sometimes?
I agree with that.

336
00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:53,880
I think some of the players have
a big PR team that's working on

337
00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:56,680
their behalf.
I think the proper time to

338
00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:00,960
discuss how those cameras work
and where the balance is drawn

339
00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:04,880
between players, privacy and
exposure, for fans to see all

340
00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:10,040
aspects of their professional
sort of wares and how they get,

341
00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:12,680
how they get to call what
they're doing behind the scenes,

342
00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:15,480
their training.
I think having that relationship

343
00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,560
with the fans is important.
I think for me, Kofukov had a

344
00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,880
very disappointing loss and then
this story came out.

345
00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:26,040
I think then eager Swan tech
chips in and for me the players

346
00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,560
like to have control over the
narrative and sometimes it would

347
00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:34,320
be nice that the fans and the
people who are supporting the

348
00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,440
sport get thought of maybe as
well.

349
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:39,480
So finally, that balance is
important.

350
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:41,720
Yes, but I think it is about
control of it, isn't it?

351
00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:45,840
Because they're all putting
things all over their Insta, but

352
00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,040
they're not putting bracket
smashing and, and negative

353
00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:50,560
things.
They're putting positive things.

354
00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:53,360
Whatever we think of them
bringing their jewellery range

355
00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:57,120
into their tennis or whatever
else they do, but they aren't

356
00:19:57,280 --> 00:19:59,280
putting that.
That's quite negative.

357
00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,600
It's quite intrusive.
And I think it's the Australian

358
00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:06,320
Open sort of saying, well,
you've overstepped by giving us

359
00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,240
so much of your background
through your own Instagram.

360
00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:13,640
Then we just feel like it.
We can make hay and and set down

361
00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:16,760
not sell but you know, promote
these type of clips.

362
00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:21,320
For our own social media reach
and it just didn't seem very

363
00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:23,720
supportive of the players.
OK, good.

364
00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:27,960
And I think we just have to
mention the hindrance call which

365
00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:32,000
came up in the semi final.
The hindrance was called out on

366
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:37,000
Sabalenka, so she lost the point
because if the umpire feels that

367
00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,160
you do something, whether it's
verbal or physical, that then

368
00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:45,920
affects your opponent's ability
to play a shot, then the point

369
00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:49,600
can be awarded to the opponent
because the umpire, in their

370
00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:53,400
opinion, it's a hindrance call.
So in the example of Sabalenka,

371
00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,360
she hit a ball, she claims it
was a mish hit.

372
00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:59,960
So her normal grunt was then
followed by an extended sort of

373
00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:04,560
additional sound as it's like an
embarrassment screeching sound

374
00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:06,560
was like, oh crikey, that ball's
gone offline.

375
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,760
That she's that this was ball
was clearly going to go out, is

376
00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:15,200
what the umpire thought.
Yes and the ball spun back into

377
00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:18,880
court rather than looking like
it was going long and so at that

378
00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:22,320
point the umpire intervenes
thinking that her sound had gone

379
00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:25,480
on for far too long and
therefore puts Vitalina off.

380
00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:30,200
Whether you agree or don't agree
with Sabalenka, all the all the

381
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:33,680
umpires opinion, they obviously
had to agree to disagree.

382
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,400
The umpires decision has to be
final.

383
00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:38,360
Absolutely.
And so it should be.

384
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,920
And the only sadness was that it
seemed to be that.

385
00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:44,760
I'm not sure if it's a sadness,
but it just seemed that it

386
00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,760
actually spurred her on because
she likes a bit of argy bargy.

387
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,800
But what was interesting is,
Sabalenka said, Can you watch it

388
00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:52,200
again?
Can you review it?

389
00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:53,960
Because in my opinion, you're
wrong.

390
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:58,720
And I think rightly, regardless
of behind the scenes what the

391
00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:01,720
referee and other officials
thought, you really have to

392
00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:03,800
stick with the umpire there.
Otherwise, she wrote, you kind

393
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:05,040
of weren't.
Well, exactly.

394
00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:08,560
That was like the Felix shot
with Jack Draper, where the

395
00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:12,320
umpire clearly called it wrong
and feel it kept on saying go

396
00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:13,680
on.
Just have a look at it before.

397
00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:15,560
But anyway, we're not talking
about men's tennis.

398
00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:17,120
We're talking about women's
tennis, yes.

399
00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:20,400
But I I think not a lot to take
away from the Australian Open

400
00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,720
and I look forward to the French
Open, Wimbledon and the US Open

401
00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:28,000
incorporating some of the
successful features that we've

402
00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:31,960
enjoyed the last three weeks.
And now the players move on

403
00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,920
Australia, the Australian swing
has come to an end and do you

404
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:37,640
know where they're heading off
to now?

405
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:39,640
The players.
Well, they're all on the way.

406
00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:41,920
Well, they've arrived in the
Middle East, haven't they?

407
00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:45,840
Exactly, all the players that
lost in the first week, a lot of

408
00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:49,160
them headed out to the Middle
East, where the Middle East

409
00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:51,920
swing takes place.
And all the players that did

410
00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:54,640
really well at the Australian
Open, they're putting their feet

411
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:56,840
up.
Because as you were talking to

412
00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:03,480
me today about this in the drive
and it's to do with the WTA

413
00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:08,920
contract, the women players to
play a certain number of 1000

414
00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:12,040
point tournaments, Is that
right?

415
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:16,720
They have to play the biggest
event, so the four grand slams

416
00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:18,960
and then they have to play the
10.

417
00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:23,800
I think it's 10, it might be 12
WTA 1000 events and then they

418
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,400
have to play and they can pick
and choose.

419
00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:28,600
It's a bit like pick and mix.
They have to pick out.

420
00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:34,360
I think it's six WTA 500 events.
So the very top layers don't

421
00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:38,000
need to go near the WTA 250
events.

422
00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:40,880
For example, there's one in
Romania happening this week

423
00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:44,160
where Radhikani is the number
one seed, while the Rebecca News

424
00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,720
of This World don't need to
worry about that level.

425
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:48,760
They're not obliged to play
that.

426
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,600
They kind of if they want that
their schedule has to be 20

427
00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:59,080
events unless they either pull a
fast one or a genuinely I'll

428
00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,480
injured withdrawal for for a
recognised reason.

429
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:07,720
And the main reason to get there
quickly, the main reason to be

430
00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:11,720
in the Middle East now easily
and without stress, is that

431
00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:15,480
you've lost early at the AO, so
you've got time to get there.

432
00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:20,080
Yes, so the biggest event this
week is a WTA 500 event and

433
00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:25,080
that's the Abu Abu open and
Rebecca was on the entry list

434
00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:28,640
and Oka was on the entry list
now pulled out because.

435
00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:30,320
Because they did so well at the
AO.

436
00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:31,840
Yes.
They don't need the.

437
00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:34,960
Points and there's been some
late withdrawals because players

438
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:38,960
are either injured or just not
feeling it and they may make up

439
00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:43,480
a genuine issue or they may make
up something which is sort of a

440
00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,200
bit tenuous.
And I'm sure sometimes players

441
00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:50,200
state a reason for not playing
that they wouldn't throw a Grand

442
00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:52,200
Slam because they want to play
the Grand Slam.

443
00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:55,000
And there are there are
contributory factors.

444
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,080
So sometimes the timing of
withdrawal means you get your

445
00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:00,920
prize money and if you leave it
too late, you only get half your

446
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:03,000
prize.
So there are other factors that

447
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:04,600
feed into the timing of a
decision.

448
00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:08,160
But this week, Belinda Bench is
the number one seed.

449
00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:10,520
She's defending the title in Abu
Dhabi.

450
00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:14,240
And of course, she lost very
early at the Australian Open to

451
00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:16,880
a qualifier.
So she'll be nice and fresh.

452
00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:21,040
And Alexandra Ver and both these
two players, Alexandra's number

453
00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,560
two seed in Abu Dhabi also, she
lost in the first round at the

454
00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:26,880
Australian Open.
Both these players are on the

455
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:28,520
cusp.
Or just bench it.

456
00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,320
I think it's #9 in the world
going into this week, Alexander,

457
00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:34,760
kind of a #11.
They're both trying to get into

458
00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:37,280
the top 10.
Yeah, they're trying to get some

459
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,320
points, although Benches is
defending the 500 points she won

460
00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:42,560
last year.
The player I would look at out

461
00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:47,400
for this week is Clara Towson.
She's the number three seed over

462
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:52,400
seeds in a small draw of 32.
Players get a buy. 1000 is

463
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:56,720
already in the last round of 16,
so they only have to win four

464
00:25:56,720 --> 00:26:02,280
matches to win the Abu Dhabi
Open as opposed to seven to win

465
00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:04,200
the Australian Open.
So a big difference there for

466
00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:07,440
four good matches and Towson's
got a big game, just lost to

467
00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,480
your player and Boko in the
third round in Australia.

468
00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:13,920
So probably a bit more form
coming into this week than a lot

469
00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:17,000
of the others and.
We do realise, dear listener,

470
00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:21,440
that it is pretty hardcore to be
listening about the Abu Dhabi

471
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:24,800
Open after the AO.
But stick with it and you'll,

472
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,960
you'll enjoy it and you know we
and you'll know so much more

473
00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:32,080
about it by the time we get to
the next exciting Grand Slam in

474
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:35,800
France, in Paris.
Yes, there's there's a few weeks

475
00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:38,440
in the Middle East.
So following Abu Dhabi we are in

476
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:42,760
Qatar and then Dubai and Qatar
and Dubai are bigger events.

477
00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:47,400
They're the WTA 1000 events.
So by the time we get to Dubai,

478
00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:52,000
some of those competing for the
title, Abelenko, Rebecca and

479
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,480
Andreva Iguswante, some of them
will have gone out over there to

480
00:26:55,520 --> 00:27:00,080
play in the Middle East.
But we've got basically February

481
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:04,120
in the Middle East.
Lovely and now we have our sport

482
00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:07,520
off game set and surge.
Yeah, he's on the up.

483
00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:12,200
Well, Elena Rebakana jumps back
into the top three in the world

484
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:17,240
after gaining those 2000 points
for winning the Australian Open

485
00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:19,880
last year.
She got to the fourth round this

486
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:20,760
year.
She won.

487
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:25,760
So really a difference of about
17150 points difference she's

488
00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:31,600
gained on last year's she's swap
places with Coco goth, Rebecca

489
00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:36,120
at #3 in the world and the other
big mover inus Vitalina.

490
00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:41,840
After semi final run is back
inside the top ten and is now,

491
00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:47,040
after quite a long time having
given birth to a child, it got

492
00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:49,920
Gelmon feast.
She's finally returned inside

493
00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:53,440
the top 10, having had a
breakout Friday.

494
00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:56,280
Isn't it very impressive?
Very impressive.

495
00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:59,720
And game set and reset.
We've already mentioned one of

496
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:02,200
them.
Yes, Coco Goth, watch this

497
00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,840
player.
I'm worried for Coco now at #5

498
00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:09,920
she won't get the top 4 seeding,
which means that the big events,

499
00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:12,760
she'll meet one of the top four
players guaranteed at the

500
00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:15,920
quarterfinal stage.
That makes life a lot harder.

501
00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:19,680
She's got to win those three.
In a row that I talked about,

502
00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:23,400
only two or three players had
won three in a row against the

503
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,120
top five or six players in the
world.

504
00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:29,400
Coco Goff has now got that
challenge guaranteed unless you

505
00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:33,000
can rise back up the rankings
and to do that it's going to be

506
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,800
very difficult for Coco Goff
because she's a French Open

507
00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,480
champion.
So the surface she's likely to

508
00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:40,720
do the best on the slower
surfaces.

509
00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:44,280
She's got all the points to
defend so I expect her ranking

510
00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:47,040
might drop further.
So she's got some pressure on

511
00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,600
her.
Yes, and another All Americans

512
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:53,640
that have got to reset.
Sofia Kenny and Emma Navarro.

513
00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:58,080
Small in stature, players who've
done very well in the past, but

514
00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:02,080
their rankings are falling.
Emma Navarro is now at #17 and

515
00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:05,200
Sophia Kennon, Grand Slam
champion, won the Australian

516
00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:08,560
Open in 2020, reached the French
Open final.

517
00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:13,200
She's now at #27 and both those
players are struggling to win.

518
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:17,680
They haven't won more than one
match in isolation at the start

519
00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:21,800
of this year and I think both
those players are in fairly big

520
00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:25,720
trouble because their serves are
very vulnerable.

521
00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:30,040
So having been in the top ten,
those two are falling, declining

522
00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:34,080
and they need to try and work
out how they can maximise some

523
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:36,640
wins against these bigger
servers.

524
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:39,640
Oh well, I'll cheer them on for
a bit this week, see how it

525
00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:42,200
helps.
Sadly, I think Sophia Kenyon has

526
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:44,640
already lost Abu Dhabi as we
speak.

527
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,680
So yes, yeah, difficult road
ahead.

528
00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:52,760
Finally, dear listener, we've
got for you the the Player of

529
00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:54,840
the Week.
Yes, that has to go to Elena

530
00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:57,680
Rebeccaner.
We both highlighted her in

531
00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:02,480
different ways as being the most
likely to take the title away

532
00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,080
from Marina Savolenko and that's
exactly what happened.

533
00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:09,720
I was delighted for her because
she for me is evolving the game

534
00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:12,840
the last 12 months.
The likes of Amanda and the

535
00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:17,200
Samova and Elena Rebecca along
with Arena Savolenko for me are

536
00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:20,760
a bit like how Boris Becker
changed the men's game back in

537
00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:24,240
the 80s with his it's the
women's, the top of the women's

538
00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:29,320
game and now playing a different
style of tennis to the rest.

539
00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,520
And it's for me, it's almost a
bit like the tech.

540
00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:35,760
I get very dated with tech even
though I think I know how to

541
00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:39,520
work that the computer, but you
get very dated.

542
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:43,200
You think you're right in
amongst it, but things are

543
00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:47,800
evolving around you and I'm
going to be fascinated to see if

544
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,800
more and more players really
work on the serve, are much more

545
00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:56,640
aggressive with the second
serve, and look to basically

546
00:30:56,640 --> 00:31:01,080
copy and incorporate more of the
what I'm going to refer to as

547
00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:05,320
the top table, the top table of
women's tennis into their own

548
00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:11,520
game in an attempt to break in.
The Top Table People is a blog

549
00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:15,440
which DTM wrote for the website
this week, which you may well

550
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:19,400
want to have a look at if you're
really interested in the sort of

551
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:21,640
who would you invite to your
tennis dinner party?

552
00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:24,320
Really, I would have all sorts
of people, you know, Henry the

553
00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:28,760
eighth, various other one day.
We'll do all talk about that one

554
00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:30,960
day.
But yes, Dan was talking about

555
00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:35,680
his tennis top table for women's
tennis and that's on the

556
00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:37,800
website.
Yes, if you had four seats at

557
00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:41,280
the table, who would have a
guaranteed seat?

558
00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:44,440
And I wrote this blog last
Wednesday, I think at the

559
00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,280
quarterfinal stage, and I said
in my blog, which is on.

560
00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:52,080
Just stop.
Yes, on our website

561
00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:57,400
shortburstmedia.co dot uki
talked about Arena Sabalenka

562
00:31:57,400 --> 00:31:59,320
having a guaranteed seat at the
moment.

563
00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:03,120
I talked about Elena Rabatina
having a guaranteed seat and the

564
00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:08,680
reasons for those two are all
based on statistics and tennis

565
00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:10,480
reasons which is highlighted in
the blog.

566
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,640
So the likes of Eager Swan Tech,
people screaming out and saying

567
00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:17,360
that she's a Wimbledon champion.
Read my blog and you'll see why

568
00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:20,000
she doesn't get a seat ahead of
those 4.

569
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:23,480
Well, or comment and say why you
think that they do get the

570
00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:25,440
secret.
But it's a it's a good game.

571
00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:29,400
If you're on a long journey like
we are currently in the car or

572
00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:33,640
on the train and you like your
tennis, who would you sit at

573
00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:37,400
your top table?
Your best four players on

574
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,640
current form, not past glory.
Current form.

575
00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:44,040
Love to hear from you.
So that brings us to the end of

576
00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:46,800
this week.
We look forward to finding out

577
00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:48,640
who's going to conquer the
Middle East.

578
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:51,600
Thank you very much for coming
on our ferry ride with us.

579
00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:56,080
Next week we will be in our
destination in Spain, probably

580
00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:59,680
with some excitement from the
Spanish aircraft fans.

581
00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,840
Anyway, it's goodbye from me.
Goodbye from me.

582
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:05,320
Thanks so much for coming along
on our ride.