US Open Preview 2022

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Daniel Kiernan  00:09

Welcome to Episode 172, of Control the Controllables. And it's a delight to be back with you have to a couple of weeks, couple of weeks at tournaments in Switzerland, in the UK. And taking a little bit of time off from from the podcast. And I've missed it. I've missed, missed the conversations. And I'm delighted to bring you the US Open Preview 2022.

Freddie Nielsen  00:36

Both events are pretty open for a lot of players this time around. I mean, if the way the people have been beating each other over the summer, and I think there's it's almost better like back in the 90s or 80s, where you could see a lot of people winning after many years of a few players dominating both sides. So I think that's going to be interesting that the tournament is going to be really interesting from the first few days. Like Noah said, US Open is a lot. And it's electric. So it always has something in store for us.

Daniel Kiernan  01:06

And what a US Open we have, what is the storyline gonna be you know, is this Serena Williams' last tournament, after an incredible career? She certainly hinted out that people have presumed that that's what she meant. But do we know how I'm not sure we do. We found out she's playing doubles with a sister Venus Williams, and they will certainly get the crowds going, you know, Andy Murray, is he going to be the one to step up as well as he comes towards the twilight of his career? You know, Who who is it that we're going to be watching, we're not going to be watching Novak Djokovic. We now know that for certain. We will be watching Medvedev, Raducanu Iga Swiatek, you know, who is your picks for the title, and who are those to watch. And that's what I delve into with the panelists and another brilliant panel that I've been able to, fortunately bring together. And it's not easy. It's not easy for these guys. And I'm finding, there's positives, but there's also negatives, because as the pandemic isn't taken over our lives, to the degree that it was, it's a little bit harder to get and nail down these tennis players to be able to give their time and these tennis coaches. Whereas it wasn't so long ago, that they were all stuck in their hotels, and I was able to get a hold of them at all at all times, which really helped Control the Controllables. But don't worry, we'll still be bringing lots and lots of guests to you. So the panel, this time, we have Mark Hilton, the coach of Andy Murray over the last few months. former coach of Dan Evans, Kyle, Edmund, Liam Broady, you know, knows British tennis, as well, as anybody you know, has been at the heart of that for the last 30 years, including as a as a player himself. Freddie Nielsen, the Wimbledon 2012 doubles champion, you know, he brings his wealth of knowledge. You know, he's now National Coach Davis Cup captain for Denmark, and he always has incredible opinions and insights to give. And then it is the US Open. So we wanted to get our native American. And we brought to you a New Yorker, somebody who knows the Big Apple. Well, he knows the USTA, well watch out. Maybe his words aren't so kind on the USTA. But he knows US tennis really well. He's still on the tour he's played many US opens himself. And that is Noah Rubin. And he brings another fantastic guest interesting guest to the show. It's a brilliant hour or so of tennis chat US Open chat, and I'm sure you're gonna love it. I'll pass you over to my US Open 2022 panelists. So our US Open 2022 panelists a big welcome to Control the Controllables How you doing? And it's nice to have a virgin, a virgin panelist making its way to Control the Controllables Noah Rubin will be the first voice that you all hear a big welcome. Noah, I know we we had a chat almost, I think a year and a half ago when we had our Mental Health Awareness Week on the podcast. It's great to have you with us in a big congratulations. I understand on a recent engagement well done.

Noah Rubin  04:35

Yes. Thank you so much. Not Not that I'm glad to get out of the way but I'm glad to get out of the way it was kind of weighing on me for a few more months had had the ring already bought but yeah, now in a much clearer headspace.

Daniel Kiernan  04:49

And no surprises I hope when you when you went through with the plan.

Noah Rubin  04:54

No, no, there was no let me think about it for 10 to 15 You know there's nothing like that. So I think we're okay.

Daniel Kiernan  05:01

A really a really quick one on that. When I, when I asked my now wife, who also the listeners will know from the podcast, she's always we've always had a bit of a joke that when I say how are you? Or someone says, how are you? She gives a very disingenuine kind of. Yeah, good you. And if she doesn't mean it, but she just says it. So I asked her, we were in Thailand and I said, What's one thing you would change about our relationship? Thinking she would say a couple of things, and then say you, and then that was kind of my in to ask the question. And 45 minutes later, I wanted to jump in the sea and drown myself because she wanted to change so many things about our relationship. And she also didn't ask me in return. So. So I had a little bit of a thought process of whether I was going to jump in and ask the question after being torn apart for so long, but it was. Absolutely and, and before I bring Freddie in Noah, it would be it would be great. And I know the listeners, you know, who have followed you. And, you know, you've played many a US Open, you know, you've been, you know, we've seen you on the biggest stages, you've had a rough couple of years, the body, the body hasn't been holding up as well as you would like maybe too much running on that tennis court. But how you doing? Give us a little update?

Noah Rubin  06:25

Yeah, it's been tough, you know, I was playing, you know, fairly well, right before the pandemic. And then, you know, seeing as the pandemic progressed, I was just one of those players that did not want to travel, too many friends that were stuck in foreign countries, you know, whether it's the Middle East or South Africa, and I just didn't have the bandwidth for it, you know, just couldn't do that. So, you know, when I made my way back into it, it was slow. But yeah, at the beginning this year, I was excited to kind of restart and see where I can go. And it was a lot, you know, it was more competitive than I remember if that's possible. Seems like tennis is getting more competitive by the year. And then yeah, kind of slowly coming back with some elements from past injuries. And, you know, kind of been, you know, a turning point for me, you know, seeing what my next step is going to be, still love tennis. But the system always just beat the shit out of me. And Freddie has heard this out of my mouth, probably too many times at this point. Yeah, as much as I love the sport, it's just been, it's been a lot spent a lot. So we'll see. We'll see what the next month holes.

Daniel Kiernan  07:24

And is that is that? What and that's what I'd like to jump into 60.1 million US dollars, is the total price fund, I believe this year that US Open a record at a crazy amount. I think it dwarfs even though I think the 52 million that we had in Australia this year, the price fund the the Holy Grail is becoming bigger, yet yeah, yet down the line. So, you know, for someone like yourself, Freddie, who I know you had your successes in grand slams on the doubles side, but spent most of your career playing singles on the level a little bit below how how does that make you feel when you hear that the money is so high because it gets to to the public, they go Oh, my God, tennis, you can make so much money and there's so much money being pumped into tennis, how does that made you feel and the guys that are on that ATP that Challenger Tour a little bit below the grand slams?

Freddie Nielsen  08:25

Yeah, I'm one of those that's a little weird about this, because I never came in with any ambition to make a living out of tennis, I never had any expectation that it was gonna kick off in any way financially. And I do understand that the big, the big guys are the ones that, that pull them the most money. And those are the ones that people want to see. And I'm also kind of thinking, you know, the way the system is now, where is the market gonna come from, if you all of a sudden, pump up the prize money minimum at futures of challenges and all this stuff, as I understand it's difficult enough to get get a circuit going financially, so so I'm kind of in the in the boat that it's, um, I'm just happy that there is something to be played, because I'm pretty worried that there could be a breakaway tour kind of like the Formula One where all the best guys are playing somewhere and everybody else is elsewhere. So I'm more apt. I'm just happy. There is a tour at the moment right now. Having said that, it obviously is strange that the prize money is more or less the same as it's been for 40 years but I'm, I'm a little more pragmatic on the other way, the thing? I think it's difficult to finance it to I mean, when I travel around seeing challenges and futures, there's not that many people coming in, unless you're the Federation's that pay for the tournaments that players can go through. What What's the like, what's the motivation to have a tournament so I'm a little bit worried about being too critical? But, of course, I understand that there is something that can be done and there is no, I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't think you need to put that much more money into the final rounds of a slam. And I think they have done a lot more to help the qualifiers and the first round players and, and the doubles players. So, so long answer short, it doesn't really affect me too much to be honest.

Daniel Kiernan  10:23

But if we take that bring you in Noah now, on that, I think it's 80,000 US Dollars first round prize money this year, that that seems when we're talking about the guys and girls that are losing in the first round, their average ranking, I guess, is 150. You know, qualifiers players that come through, you know, you may be talking 80, 90, then you you've got maybe some players that are even as low as 250. Yet, for winning a Challenger event I would have, I don't know exactly what it is, but I'm gonna guess it 4 or 5000, something along those lines, that's around seven, it seems very, very different in terms of the same sort of level players, the gap of being 270 to 230, or the gap have been 260 to be 20. Nora, I know, you've got some opinions on this. So I'm gonna leave the floor to you

Noah Rubin  11:18

Yeah, I think what Freddy was talking about is spot on. You know, the reason that slams, you know, is exponentially increasing in prize money is because, you know, I don't even think it's a tennis all the time, if you go to the US Open, there's very few tennis fans that are actually coming to watch tennis, you know, it's, it's more of a place to be. So when you talk about bringing in people to the sport, tennis is not accessible. So the Grand Slams are more of an outlier. And it's like, wow, we should be so lucky. And we have to look at Grand Slams, and some fact almost as base salary for tennis players. And that's kind of what you've always looked at. So when they're, you know, exponentially increasing. It's nice, but when you look at the challenges, and you know, and even ATP, I mean, I've played, I remember playing Fognini and Switzerland in front of, you know, 45 people, you know, here's a second round of an ATP events. And, you know, everybody's like, Oh, in Europe, it's so much better. I'm like, Okay, and here we are in Switzerland, and you know, still getting, you know, 50, 60 people out to watch that match. And it's fine, you don't have to watch me, but here's Fognini, he was one of the most exciting tennis players to watch on tour. So you look at that. And it's like, there's a reason why tennis hasn't exploded. And there's, there's a lot I mean, it's accessibility, it's when matches are scheduled. It's how long tournaments are, during the day, people are working all of this that comes down. And you know, with the US Open, it's a place to be people want. And you know, you get a ground ticket for $80. You know, how many people pass through those gates every single day? You know, and the hot dog is $8. You know, so the money is there, the money is there. But yeah, it's difficult. I mean, the finances hasn't changed at the Challenger level. So it's great. You can look at the slams, and everybody's like, Oh, my God, even at qualifying, you know, you're getting 18 grand for losing first round, or whatever it is now, but you know, that money, just, it just gets cut and chopped down as soon as you leave. And so you have ating, you know, you get some per diem for the hotel. And that's great. If you don't have a coach with you, which I highly doubt most of these players do have a coach, you're paying for that. The next week, after you're probably going to either Asia, another term in the US, you know, it's the money goes, the money goes. So as much as we say that it's it's, you know, it's increasing exponentially. It's really the percentages are increasing at the top 100 level, which we've always seen, and that's fine. And Freddie, bringing up F1 is hysterical because I compare tennis to like a wannabe F1 You know, it wants to be the top. It wants to be this high end, classy sport. But at the same time, we want to be accessible. I was like pick one. I wish they really just told us to eff off and said, Hey, we're just going to be the top 20 players. But at the same point, they're like, oh, we'll help 500 players at the same time. Like guys, you're not doing either. So we'll see what about what about LIV Golf? If that if that came into tennis to pose that question to you guys would would that be a good thing? And I know I'm taking away there's some listeners that are saying no the Saudi and I'm not getting into the brain. No, I'm not getting into that side of things. But I'm getting into some some money rich money big money that comes in and and goes against the ATP tour which LIV Golf has gone against the PGA Tour it for a fan right now. I don't like it if I'm honest on the on the golf side, but I think it's going to be interesting how it unfolds. You know, is that something that would be good for tennis or bad for tennis? For either you or me?

Freddie Nielsen  14:59

I'll say real quick because I just want to add some things. So the live golf is obviously only going to be for established parents and players the way I understand it, right? So if it changes to live, what what's the perspective of getting young, young golfers into that tour and whatnot? I don't understand that? Well, I

Noah Rubin  15:14

think it comes down to the idea of competition. I think that's kind of the main, like, I tried to do the PGA Tour, some people knew that I was working hard to kind of get an ultimate tour. Because I think in the end, you know, we have the ptpa, which is working hard and have some, you know, announcements coming up in next few months, or whatever. But I think the only way ATP WTA changes is if they're scared that there's something else that's going to take it over, I mean, then kind of on their own for so long. And I think LIV Golf again, not the politics, if you have people with the finances with the money to come out and say, Hey, we're here to just take players and have fun doing it, it's going to be an easier schedule, and they're going to make a lot of money. That should scare the ATP. That should scare them. Because you know, the guys, you know, that are actually competing for a Grand Slam title are very few the rest of us want to have a good time, play a sport in front of fans and make a lot of money. So yeah, I think that's that's where that that lies right now.

Daniel Kiernan  16:15

But even if we take if we take golf before LIV, yeah, you still had the variant tours, you had the Asian tour, you have the European tour, you've got the PGA Tour, you've also got and I know this living in Spain, because it happens a lot in our area, you've then got the tour are below that, where they are still making money. So I guess the point I'm making Freddy is there's more spaces, the more tours that you have that are making money, and I'll never forget speaking to Joseph Sirianni. And you guys will know, Joe, I'm sure from your time on the tour, know, you might be a little bit too young for spending time with Joe. But he was ranked about 450 500, maybe even a bit lower. And I played him in the final of a money tournament in the UK. And I said why you know why you're not ranked higher dude, you know, like, you're good. And he was like, I'm playing tennis to earn a living. And he said, I'm earning a living by playing German league each week, by playing French club matches each week, um, and he was like, he was coming away, maybe making 150 200k a year through, through through alternative ways of making making money in the sport. And I think sometimes our egos as tennis players, as tennis coaches, as tennis parents, we get so caught up in in our self worth being around an ATP WTA ranking. And it was really quite an eye opener for me that I was like, is a 20 year old saying, Oh, right. Okay, so there's another way of doing it. There's another way of doing it. So as as those if those two has opened up, and there's more more ways of making making money, then then I guess that has to be a good thing for open up the spaces and possibilities for for many more players.

Freddie Nielsen  18:04

Yeah, and I mean, there is money to be spent, you see that everywhere. I mean, people spend money on the weirdest things even in tennis. So So it's there to be spent, but I think no one mentioned as well with the accessibility. So Golf has a has a brilliant product, you play Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, you're more or less guaranteed that your the people you're coming to watch are going to be there four days in a row, you have business opportunities in the first few days of the week, you're not going to overlap from another tournament. So if you have Tiger in the tournament, that the sponsor, I'm going to pay $5 million to to support this tournament, but I want to be part of the tournament, be part of the program, and I want Tiger there, he's gonna be there that Tuesday. And it's such an easy product to support financially. And I think tennis is a little more different. I mean, then you, you bring out your corporate boxes and stuff and, and you can sit and talk but you can't really watch the matches at the same time because you have to be quiet and all this and I think I think it is the way to spend money and be business wise in tennis is a little bit difficult because the players are not really willing to do a lot of stuff either to get out and get in touch with the fans, you know, if you could just get if you can guarantee all the players to be part of a program every tournament, I think you're gonna have more people sponsor various tournaments or the top dogs and and I think that, that, that really helps, plus golf is very universal. A lot of people play golf and you can play with each other. So I think that that makes it a little bit easier too for the sponsors. So I think from a business point of view, I think Golf has a much better product than than tennis has to be honest.

Daniel Kiernan  19:46

It's a great subject that I want to jump into into the US Open and we've got we've got our own New Yorker, on the on the show and it's, it's it must be it must be such a special special event for you. So tell it tell That's what the new the US Open means to yourself.

Noah Rubin  20:03

Yeah, I mean, obviously, it was kind of my backyard. I mean, long days there, hot days. I mean, this is low key one of the hottest tournaments of the year. And yeah, it's just kind of been a part of my childhood spending days there. You know, not everybody knows. But qualifying is an amazing time to go free tickets. You don't have to wait online, you just kind of walk in. But yeah, it's always been a part. So when I got to play, I actually thought when I got to play the juniors for the first time, it was going to be on site. And then I played my first round qualifying on the P courts, so I wasn't really in it yet. I thought, okay, we're out there. Yeah. And I lost final round qualifying. And I was like, I'm really not in the yet but then finally actually played great, Britain's Kyle. Edmund, I think was my first time and I somehow I was seeded and he was not. And I was just like, everybody knew Kyle at the time like what a first round, again, against this guy, but, you know, having all these memories of being there, having, you know, my third grade teacher showed up and supported, you know, it's kind of been a lot of anxiety, a lot of excitement. But it's a very unique Grand Slam, and we spoke about earlier on of just, it's not all tennis fans, there's a lot of drunk finance guys that come out and support and, you know, it's it's just kind of that place to be, you know, for the first two weeks, and it's a lot it's, there's not much else to say, besides it's it's a lot and you have to be ready for it.

Daniel Kiernan  21:36

And it's the the 25th anniversary, I believe of Arthur Ashe stadium this year as well. And I think we have to mention that, you know, because not only was Arthur Ashe a great man, a great tennis man and did so much. But there is something very, very special about Arthur Ashe stadium, especially at night. You know, and I know the first time I ever went to New York, and I think no, that might have been the year. I don't know if it was there. You played Kyle but 2012 I know that Kyle had a big run through the semis, final and Liam broady made that final that year, I think Kyle ever won the doubles. You know, I was there with a few of the British guys and, and I turned up a few days earlier with with my wife and we literally landed at four o'clock and it was like, we are going to get a ticket for the night session. You know, and off we went and it was actually Andy Murray that was playing any in his first round and you walk out and just the electricity that you get as you walk up those steps and just see the stadium in its in its full delight and you know, the floodlights around. And it's it's very, very special. And as as I'm saying that I see that, as I'm talking about Andy Murray, we've got his coach, Mark Hilton has jumped on. You know, I didn't think he was gonna make it. He's managed to get the kids down in time. So Hilt a big welcome to you as well.

Mark Hilton  23:02

It's, uh, see you again this evening, Dan. And good. See you guys. How you doing

Daniel Kiernan  23:11

And talking of storylines, I guess hilts? Well, at Worlds. We've, we've got you jumping on, you know, you've spent the last last few weeks with with Andy, you know, I think that the whole tennis world is, is Andy's biggest fan. Now, you know, I think and I'm sure you feel it, you know, being in the stadiums around the world, everyone is everyone's first or second favorite player. Now, I think, you know, as he's in that twilight of his career and everything he's been through, you know, is that going to be a storyline of this year, you know, Kenny, Kenny, do have a big run at that the US Open this year.

Mark Hilton  23:46

But it's certainly capable. It's one of them this there's he's in a position now where he'll go into the event not seated. So you can obviously come up against anyone but he's he's not a good draw for anyone either. He his ambitions now are clearly to go deep in these events. And, and the main reason he's, he's continuing to compete and he'll be doing everything he can. And you know, he's made another commitment over this summer to compete a lot to, to really look to prioritize the US Open. His aim was to be seated there, which unfortunately wasn't able to do but there's no doubt you can go there and go deep in the event, you know, he'll need, he'll need to get through some matches, reasonably straightforward to give him the best chance to go deep into the second week. He knows that I think everyone else would know that. But there's no reason why he can't do it.

Daniel Kiernan  24:36

And I think he's such an inspiration just before you jumped on you're talking about you know, his injuries and his challenges that he's had with his body's body over the last over the last few months. Just been been first hand next to Andy and you know, over the over the last few months and seeing the discipline the day in, day out grind that one Just 35 years old, he's got millions in the bank, you know, why does he need to do it, you know, give us a give us a little insight into what that's been like to see that so close up well

Mark Hilton  25:10

His desire and his motivation to compete and win at the highest level, clearly hasn't diminished. I mean, he's going to, to every end to try and get the most out of himself. Whether that's in his day to day work, whether that's bigger picture, making sure say making commitment to be away from his family for a significant period of time through the summer, investing in the team around him. The one thing I would say, having been spent some time in America these last few months is that he doesn't switch off from it, he, it's something he could probably do better at, and would probably admit to, you know, something he could be better at. It's, it's one of them, where he is plowing every minute of every day, into instance, getting the most out himself and feels like he's obviously been unfortunate these last few years, to be missing out on some of his his prime years, given the timing of this, you know, his injury with his hip. And he purely loves the game. You know, there's no doubt about that, that he is doing it for multiple reasons, but mainly because he still believes he can, he can win at the highest level. Otherwise, I don't think he's a sort of character who's just going to hang around. Just to show up every week, I think his desire is still there to to do that. He Yeah, he's been pretty inspirational to be around to see the level of commitment that he has given. Given the situation and the few years is he's had he still believes he can do it. I think that he's surrounding himself with people who still believe you can as well.

Daniel Kiernan  26:40

Brilliant and, and Freddie to bring you back in we we had a Wimbledon full of just full of storylines, you know, every everywhere you turned, it was like, Oh, my God story, their story there. You know, where do we start? So what are some of the storylines you think we've got? Look at to look forward to over the next couple of weeks?

Freddie Nielsen  26:59

Well, certainly Andy Murray's progress is one that's very interesting. I think one of the more interesting storylines, for me personally, is that both events are pretty open for a lot of players this time around. I mean, the way the people have been beating each other over the summer, and I mean, there's, I think there's, it's almost better like back in the 90s, or 80s, where you could see a lot of people winning, after many years have a few players dominating both sides. So I think that's gonna be interesting that the tournament is going to be really interesting from the first few days. And then I think like, like Noah said, US Open is a lot. And it's electric. So it always has something in store for us. We had some night sessions that finishes very late or whatever. And I think, what are some of the storylines, and what like, what's going to happen? And then the last one, I would bring out as obviously the last tournament for Serena, that's probably going to take up a lot of headlines.

Daniel Kiernan  27:58

And if we if we start there, Noah, can Serena surprise us, can she, you know, she certainly hasn't looked like she's gone to, you know, it's felt like it's almost a little bit of kind of turn up and, and give a wave. And obviously, Serena always gives the best, but she's not an easy person to write off, either. So if we're, if we're looking at the women's side, is Serena one to watch this year?

Noah Rubin  28:22

Yeah, I mean, I think a Grand Slam can always bring out, you know, something within you that you know, is just your best tennis, you know, especially for her that wants to be on that stage, you know, for as long as possible during this possible last week, which we don't even know, we kind of made up, you know, and infer that this isn't her last week. She hasn't really necessarily said it. But um, yeah, I mean, I do think so. I don't know if she's one to watch the title by any means or even late in the second week. But if she can put together a few tough matches, does anybody really want to play you know, a Serena Williams with rhythm, you know, in round a 16 of an event? I don't know. Probably not. But yeah, piggybacking off Freddie as well, I think, I'm curious to see from a fan perspective, because I was interested in see, does not having a, you know, a few rivalries, is that going to affect viewership? What does that look like? You know, if you're not having, you know, the Fed-Murray or the you know, the Djokovic-Nadal, if you're not having those matches, what does it look like? Is Alcaraz enough to bring it back is you know, the young guns of the US enough in New York to bring it back? Because, you know, I always laugh that it's not, you know, sadly, unless we have a top five, you know, in the US, we were always kind of last there and even though we have some of the better tennis, you know, group of young tennis players in the world. I don't know. I mean, I think it's going to have to force you know, a Fritz or Opelka to really step up and go Deep in a second week for that fandom ship to kind of take its turn.

Daniel Kiernan  30:05

And we we still don't 100% know if Novak Djokovic is going to be there. Right, you know, so maybe, maybe you can give us a bit of insight you can know on the ground there, you know is is there any way? Are we going to go through the same thing in Australia? Is he going to? Is he going to try and smuggle his when is he going to watch? What's gonna happen? Or can we can we write him off?

Noah Rubin  30:31

Yeah, I mean, I think it's done at this point, like I'm in understand and you can be on whatever side you want to be on. I just think it takes away from the tennis because otherwise, just asking you about Djokovic. You know, that kind of is the last questions I keep hearing. And I'm like, who cares? You know, at this point, we have so many other stories to look at. It's like, Can we can we move past it? So I don't think it's necessarily his intent to be kind of the center of the story. But it's also not the center is also not isn't that like it's here. It's it's every person that I've gotten an interview with or asked or like, oh, anything on Djokovic. I was like, Man, I don't know, man. Like, it's nothing's changing. Nothing's changing here in the next few days to make that app. So I think we can just move on

Daniel Kiernan  31:16

the storylines, though. If we got if we go back to Wimbledon. You think about there were some big storylines beforehand, you know, there's no ATP WTA points on show, you know, no, Russians, Belarusian is able to play, you know, who's going to pull out it doesn't mean anything to the players anymore. The second that first ball was hit, it was barely talked about, on reflection, maybe two, three days after people were saying, Oh, it was unfortunate, this player got to this point in their ranking went down at this point, you know, that was that was reflected on. But I think we talked about tennis as a whole and we have done a little bit today. I don't think anyone can deny that Grand Slams are in a great place right now. You know, it's, it's an exciting, it's an exciting event every time you know, we're getting these amazing storylines, that that's going to start so that's gonna that's going to move me into you guys putting a few names to your to your reputations here. And and Hilts. I'm gonna bring you in first. The ones to watch and Noah, I have to be really clear here wants to watch it, uh, names that maybe the general listener doesn't really know. You know, I said this to the guys a few times and they're like, they're like pulling out like three time Grand Slam champions as ones to watch. You know, like, and this is not ones to watch the necessarily win. But to get get to fourth round quarterfinals, you know, make make a little bit of a push. Is there is there anyone for us to watch Hilt, any of the British girls that maybe are going to make a little bit of a run? Obviously Raducanu, who came from nowhere last year? You know, is there is there someone the front of the British girls, that's going to make a bit of a run, or someone that that the listener hasn't really heard of.

Mark Hilton  33:03

They're perfectly capable. I mean, you know, what Emma did last year was was was you know, it was totally amazing, really. And it's been pretty impressive to see when a couple of matches last week and in the manner in which he did that. And hopefully she goes into the US Open with with not too heavy burden wave expectation on the shoulders. I think in some ways, getting the US Open out of the way for her will be will be a positive thing. I think she's obviously had to live with that for a certain amount of time now. And I wouldn't be surprised if it'll be a bit of relief for her once that is once that is over that defending the title. And depending on how she does almost be maybe a slightly fair reflection on where she's at as well will be Yeah. But there's no reason why she can't go Well, absolutely.

Daniel Kiernan  33:52

But she wouldn't be a one to watch, I think I think I think Emma Raducanu makes Fourth round on our quarterfinals. She's done incredibly well.

Mark Hilton  34:01

I think so because you just have to look at the challenges she's faced this year. And since she had that run last year, it's been a real challenge for her. So she's put some matches together. She says she's capable of winning, still at the highest level, but to be putting that sort of performance on that stage again, as you said, if she if she's making second week, it's a great one for in terms of the men's side. I think what Noah said there about about American tennis is a is a really important point. I think they've got a very, you've got they've got incredible depth now in terms of that group of players and I and when you talk about wants to watch, I am always waiting for like a Seb Korda to go well to see him in this in the second week. I don't think he's far away from doing that. Again, someone capable of winning some big matches on the biggest stage. But it's fascinating, isn't it because it is open you know, there's players who you would expect to see going very well. But like, we've been saying here, there's no doubt there's going to be a lot of other players who believe that they can go well on this event and in a situation where they can take out the best players on the biggest stage.

Daniel Kiernan  35:15

And Noah give us give us some names. Who, who should we watch on the women's side? Who should watch on the watch on the men's side that that may be a little bit left field in terms of the picks?

Noah Rubin  35:26

Yeah I mean, the woman's the first one that comes to mind, this is definitely not out of left field. So you're gonna be a little annoyed. But just as a title contender, I want to see an American like Jessica Pegula kind of breakthrough. Even further, you know, into her career. I think

Daniel Kiernan  35:43

She's one of the favorite she has to be. She has an incredible, incredible last 12 months.

Noah Rubin  35:49

Yeah, no 100%. And I think, you know, as much as she gets publicity, and maybe your family takes a lot of publicity away from her being as well known as they are, I just think this can kind of skyrocket that a little bit for her and want to see if she can, you know, now she's getting to the point where she is, like you said the contender, you know, and that's a different pressure being the underdog compared to being the one to watch is, is law lot, a lot to handle. And then the men's side, I'm going to stick with American as well, I want to see like a Tommy Paul, you know, kind of put together a few matches, I think I like his game a lot. I like you know, the way that he's been playing, you know, moves extremely well for somebody that's six to, you know, puts a lot of balls in the court, but can also do a lot. So, I think I think him and then I think Fritz is at this turning point as well where, you know, he's kind of has America on his back and if he's not going to kind of show up there are other Americans that are going to take that spot.

Daniel Kiernan  36:49

And Freddy, who we got that last I mean, you've you've got you've got a reputation here you've been pulling some you've been pulling some you you basically told us in the French Open that Holger Rune was going to get to the third round and then he was going to be Tsitsipas and then he was going to do I mean you you pretty much called you cold curiosa Wimbledon. So the listeners, they've got their they've got their notepad ready because they're running to the bookies when Freddie Nielsen gives us an outsider. They're looking to make their money out of you

Freddie Nielsen  37:22

Don't say that I don't have integrity. We're gonna come back

Daniel Kiernan  37:27

That the Wi Fi integrity unit need to come after you. I tell you what, it's not easy.

Freddie Nielsen  37:33

I know. I apologize. What is this 19th century? It's poor. I apologize. No, if you start with him, I think, to ride off his great Wimbledon. It's not not a particular particularly inventive shower. But I want to see Kyrgios as well, I think he's going to be interesting to watch. He's been playing well over the summer, physically looking a little bit dubious, and maybe the New York heat that no one was talking about, which is brutal can be tough for him. But I want to see him talking about the Americans. I think Tiafoe can make a run. I think he's been playing well enough. I think he's still around at the US Open sooner or later. So why not now. And I think he's the kind of player one of the, the Americans who likes to write the crowd a little bit more. I think that's one of the things from the crowd, as some of the Americans said, maybe it's been lacking over the years. Sometimes you've even seen some of the big Americans having having played foreigners who had the crowd support in New York. I think he was one of those guys who couldn't get the crowd on his side. And I think he can he can ride there and and have a run, why not? I think he's played well. So apart from that, I think it's really really open. I think there's so many guys I mean, obviously I need to say Holger just because it's one to one for us. We're a small country we have no players really competing in the world of tennis. So the the fact that we have top 30 guy is really interesting for us. So he's going to be one to watch from my side. I say it every time but it doesn't change. So So I think those are the men that that are worth watching. If you say a little little out of left field. Big favorite it's obviously met with of course without saying I think he'll be the one to beat but then again, there's about 20 players that if they beat Medvedev, I'm not gonna be Wow, what a shocker because I think it's quite quite competitive.

Daniel Kiernan  39:36

I I've I like my statistics and I had a little luck and I quite I, I guess just a backup maybe some of my thoughts and Fritz jumped to my mind. I looked and I saw that he was six and three since Wimbledon. I was sort of surprised at that. I thought he maybe one more matches than that. On the on the women's side. Vicki, my wife always makes fun of me because I always go Ons Jabeur. I've been like calling her for two years. And and she's two and three since Wimbledon. So she's obviously struggling a little bit Iga Swiatek, you know, she trained out at the academy. Everyone knows how much I love Iga. And, and again, I mean, she won 37 matches in a row, I think before Wimbledon, I was I was absolutely convinced she was going to win Wimbledon, I had a couple of very strong, you know, conversations on the podcast about it. And she is only six and four since Paris, you know, so it's amazing how you can go 37 matches unbeaten and then you lose four out of your next 10. You know, so I think some of those things are interesting. So then, when I started looking at the men's the names that jumped out, and I I'm gonna talk about them again, but I just want to mention them now Cameron Norrie. I m ean, just incredible. And like, we talked about role modeling, you know, and I just think, as a role model for anybody that's playing tennis, that someone who's gone the college route, someone who's put the hard yards in someone who's kept going nothing glamorous, you know, nothing special, necessarily, that stands out. But he's just kept going, kept going. And he's going to take some beating, you know, he really is not an easy player to beat. And then Alcaraz I thought, Alcaraz is struggling, I thought, then I looked at it. He's actually played 13 matches since Wimbledon, he's won nine. And all four matches, he's lost to being in three sets, you know, so for a guy who's 19 years old and struggling, it still takes some beating to beat him. And then then the last one, and you and you've mentioned them Freddie, and I want to throw this to you in a minute. Noah, because I know, you know him well from the juniors. And I believe that you're a year, year younger than the Nick. But you've certainly got experiences with Nick in the locker room and, you know, as myself and helps us coaches do as well. But Nick Kyrgios is 10 and two since Wimbledon, you know, and I think we all thought maybe he would, he would make a Grand Slam final. And then he would just disappear. And he would you know, go off to the, to the local nightclub. And you know, enough is enough. And he'll come back in six months time. But he's kept it going. But I'm a little bit concerned about Kyrgios, because he's started to make some noises about being homesick. You know, and once those conversations start with Kyrgios, you know, it gets a little bit closer. He's playing a first round against somebody who's in his face. You know, he has he has a long, long four or five set match, you know, the the aeroplanes leaving you at New York that night, you know, back to back to Melbourne, it starts to play on his mind a little bit to go back for three months. So I'm not sure that this is yeah, for Kyrgios I'm not sure that he can do back to back grand slams, if he can, then he's the real deal of someone who's going to be a top five player in the world, you know, and starting to prove that he can do that. But, but Noah to throw it to you. You know, give us something you know, Nick, you know, did you see it? You know, you knew him as a junior, you know, are you surprised at his run? You know, do you think we're finally starting to see someone who can push those top guys in the world on on a regular basis?

Noah Rubin  43:09

Yeah, I don't think I'm gonna say anything groundbreaking here. You know, I've known him for a while, played him a couple times, singles and doubles. Everybody knew he was probably one of the most talented tennis players to hit a ball in a very long time. I mean, God his serve is just out of this world ridiculous. What he can do with a tennis ball's pretty damn good. So yeah, I mean, the run for Wimbledon. I think, you know, if I had to put money down on tennis. If the Tru comes after me after Freddie, I would say that, yeah, he was going to be, you know, semis or finals of Wimbledon once in his career, you know, if he didn't retire at the age of 25. But with that being said, there's a new world for Nick, you know, as much as you know, we're seeing a different one, maybe a little bit more professional. You know, the habits like that don't go away overnight. You know, when you're talking about, you know, the mental fatigue, the physical fatigue, you know, I, I just can't assume he's in, you know, the same shape that, you know, a Casper Ruud isn't, you know, there's just no way, there's just no way they're in the same, you know, physical or mental shape. So, you know, I'd be interested to see that, but, you know, in the heat, he is in that son, he's in like, second round, third set, split the first two. I don't know if he has it, you know, I don't know if he has what it takes to kind of get through a Draper you know, somebody that's just going to be bombing away and kind of taking it out of his hand at times, and he's gonna have to really, you know, be greedy about it. So, I'd be curious to watch it and as a tennis fan and want to see it grow as well. I mean, because as we all can complain to the sport, you know, he's, he's bringing eyes on it in one way, shape, or form. So we'll all

Daniel Kiernan  44:53

We'll all be watching him. You'll all be watching. Yeah, you know, he's bringing he's bringing in the Jack Draper's, the one you mentioned He's the real deal he's an easy one to watch and I think he's also already I mean he's ready to take a take a scalp I want to move it in a slightly different direction because of got yourself known Freddy you jump in here even though maybe Denmark aren't having that same success currently one of one of the my my favorite comments you know you hear it you hear things and when you get a bit all like me you hear lots of things and you pick out some some that you like. And and I remember probably 10 years ago I heard a coach saying that the job of Federation's are the job as academies a job in different places. It's, it's to make lots of people rich, it's not to make a millionaire. You know, and if you you facilitate an environment that gets a lot of people to a level and I guess in tennis terms, that's, that's what the USA is doing. You know, it's making a lot of rich people, you know, it's getting your numbers, your volume that are in the top 100 in the world, you know, and the same hilts back in Britain. Now we're seeing it on the men's side, I believe there's 9, 10 inside 250, which is, which is incredible for where British tennis has been. It's not necessarily the Federation's job to create a Roger Federe, a Novak Djokovic, a Serena Williams, who's that kind of multimillionaire. So the USTA, I don't know what that what they're doing. It's obviously a massive country. But it seems like there's obviously been some good work done over the last 10, 15, 20 years. That is that is getting to the point where it's facilitating so many players that are coming through because we've we've seen that group, you know, the 95, 96 is 97, 98s, you know, we've seen that that group coming for quite a while from from the junior days. So I don't know what your take or what you can share with us on what's happening out in the US on that side?

Noah Rubin  46:55

Yeah, I mean, it's a big country, you know, to put on USTA I, you know, it's do I think they could have been doing a better job during this time. Yeah, sure. 100%, you know, I think, you know, there's done an okay job of giving players a base if there was kind of no way or to turn at that point in time. But at the same point, I think we've just been fortunate that there were a lot of coaches during this era, that have been out, you know, kind of spread throughout the country and said, hey, you know, we're here to make kind of our separate bases. And I think that's what worked really well. I mean, if you ask a lot of these players, some of them will say, you know, I've been a USTA, you know, and like No, no, are in California, but a lot of them have kind of their own locations as well. And I think it really comes down to just a great group of support within the coaching staff, I think, you know,

Daniel Kiernan  47:49

Is that being facilitated. So I guess my opinion on Federation's, and without turning this into a full Federation bit, it's to facilitate the opportunities for coaches to provide those environments in those little, little pockets. Is that Is that something that's been facilitated by, by the by the Federation? Was that just a bunch of motivated coaches and said, Screw this, we're going to, we're going to, we're going to grab the bull by the horns.

Noah Rubin  48:16

Yeah. I mean, I'm gonna take a little bit of credit away from USTA, which, you know, I do, like, do it times. Yeah, I think, you know, when you come down to it, I mean, I don't, I don't think 100 court facility was needed. You know, I think a lot of people knew that that was not going to be utilize the capacity, and it's not, I think, when they were building this, it was like, Hey, come here, rather than let's help all the other, you know, minority clubs that are kind of going on throughout the country. So I do think that a lot of it is motivated individuals to say, hey, we're gonna make this work. And I think the players, I think 95% of players that are where they are now would be there without the help that they have received. And I think, again, with the money that was put into the facility at USTA, and like, no one I think, could have been dispersed differently and properly to coaches around the country and would have been utilized to a higher capacity and nationally, probably would have benefited more players than if it was a 96 court facility out in Orlando, Florida.

Daniel Kiernan  49:19

Yeah. And Hilts to throw it to you. It's an I spoke to Jack Draper a couple of weeks ago on the on the on the podcast, and it just hit me actually and having conversations with with British coaches or British players over over the last few months. This feels there's something different. There's a sea change. There's a there's a positivity there's, it's always I guess the British tennis culture for me was always led to rip everyone down and try and almost to make me look good, can give me my wildcard whereas it felt the feels like there's a lot more building each other up in know everyone's not relying on those wildcards anymore? Everyone's you know, saying actually, no, we've got careers here. You know, Paul Jubb disappointed not to beat Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon, Jack Draper's speaking complete sense. And, you know, it seems like there's a real good group. Now that's, that's got a culture and almost, dare I say at the pandemic health that, you know, bringing the, you know, bringing everyone together Battle of the Brits, you know, they had some real camaraderie you've been in the thick of that, you know, how has that been? And does it feel the same on the inside that there's real positive change and positive movements right now?

Mark Hilton  50:35

Yeah, I think you've hit the nail on the head that there's definitely a nucleus of players now which, you know, pushing each other. And there was an element of COVID. And the pandemic, which is, as brought that together, as you said, there was a couple of events that were put on, which brought the players together, you know, we're obviously in a very different situation to the US where, you know, the majority of our players are based out of London. So given the circumstances of what we've been through over the last couple of years, a lot of those players came together. And so I don't think it's helped. I think that people have felt that as well, the players within the those groups have felt that the others are pulling positively for them. As you said, maybe that hasn't always happened in the past. And there's been, you know, opportunities put in place for those players to come together more often. I think the Battle of bricks, although it was such a, it was, it's a one off thing, it really did bring players together, I know, WhatsApp groups between those players still exist, pulling for each other every week, you know, it's little things like that. And it's small, but it's actually a small thing, which can make a big difference there. And there's no doubt that it's happened between the men and the women, you know, they're all pulling for each other. So I don't think there's, you know, that's should be a shock that we're seeing that now. And, you know, I was fortunate enough just to be recently in, in the States, and you know, in Montreal, for instance, is a massive group of British players and they're supporting each other, they're gonna watch each other's matches there. It's a good atmosphere right now. It's now it's now partly the Federation's job, and it's an opportunity to then look for the next group, and how we're going to do that how we're going to facilitate opportunities for the next group to come with us to put on a better competitive structure for players to move up through the through the rankings or whether it's focus on national academies, you know, it's looking for opportunities to bring that next group now.

Daniel Kiernan  52:36

Is it not? I don't think that it any odd surprised anybody that when you are supported and something, you tend to do better? You know, I think human nature is, you know, team I always looked at the Ozzy's always thought the Aussies were great because they, they traveled from such a long distance, they almost made their own little community on the road. They know and when you have that, have that team, yes, it's an individual sport. But when you've got that team vibe, it just adds a bit of accountability. It adds a bit of extra motivation and feelgood factor. So it's great to hear that now. I'm gonna Freddie as a I'm not going to get you to go into the depths of Danish tennis not that you know, there's anything bad I'm sure there's lots of good good work happening but to bring it back to the US Open, I need to make my picks I don't want the listener said danced just truckloads of names out so I do do that sometimes just to say then i i clip, then the name that I said I said 20 names and then I say that I was correct. So I'm going to put my neck on the line a couple of the watch and all I had written down was the Americans on the men's side. You know, I really do because I think I think there's so many of them that in that pack I'm not sure we can call Taylor Fritz want to watch I think he's he's a legit in the top five top six, seven favorites for the title in my opinion. But I think I think Tommy Paul, Tiafoe, Korda you know, I think these are the names that I've got written down and I fully expect that at least one of them will make make a run to round a 16 you know, get that big night match it off a rush that might be against Rafa it might be against Medvedev, but I can I can see that happening. And then on the woman's side, I see her every time I love her. She's gonna and I'm gonna see it till the day she wins the Grand Slam and then I'm gonna pretend that I knew what I was talking about. It's another American Anisimova I think I think she's got game. She's got serious game. You can copy and paste that from pretty much every Grand Slam preview that we do. Tomjanovic is a player I like a lot. I think she's again got the game to beat some of the top players and I expect at some point you'll have a run. And then my last one, a friend of mine who used to coach eager PRT, who coached the history on Turkey he's he's a very unassuming guy. You know, a lot of people don't even know that he's coaching Shelby Rogers, but he has been for the last few months. And, you know, he's, I think he's made a real impact with Shelby. And I know she likes the hard courts in America, she's put some good results. So those are a few names to watch out for. But this is the, this is the big moment, guys. This is when you no more fluffing, no more throwing out different names, your your one pick on the men's side, the women's side, and your reasons for it. And I want you to stick to your guns. And don't worry at the end of the Open. If you're right, I will celebrate you far and wide. And let the tennis world know that you are tennis gods that know what you're talking about. So Noah as our new comer, you get you get to lay the gauntlet down.

Noah Rubin  55:51

I think to go further than they have in the past I think is Tommy Paul and Jessica Pegula. I think those are the two that I want to see. You know, I think Paul could make a quarters, you know, I really do. And then once you get to the quarters, you don't know what happens after that. And I think Pegula could get a title I really do. I think she could title and then that would be a tremendous, tremendous move in the right direction to have a couple more Americans at the top of the sport.

Daniel Kiernan  56:16

So who's your men's winner? Your women's winner is Pegula, men's side?

Noah Rubin  56:22

we're just gonna go with Alcatraz and see what happens. I think you know, its eventual that's going to happen and who knows if I'll get invited back says podcasts next year so mice will do it now.

Daniel Kiernan  56:35

Ready Nielsen

Freddie Nielsen  56:36

Got Medvedev to win it. Because I think he's the best player in the menstrual. There are too many question marks about Rafa he's the defending champs obviously likes to play them at them. He's fresh. I'm sure he's looking forward to a slam that that he enjoys playing at after we all know that he's not a big fan of the clay in Paris and he wasn't allowed to play Wimbledon. So he'll be coming in first charged and I think he'll be pumped to do well. So Medvedev for me and Coco Gauff for me on the women's side. I think she is an unbelievable talent. I like her a lot. I pick her a lot in this podcast as well. I think I'm gonna keep picking her up because sooner or later, she's going to win one. So and then I can say I picked her. And also, I really, really liked her. I think she's a great role role model. I think the women's women are lucky to have some good role models, and she's one of them. So she's one of the ones that if you want Are you happy that she did win. And I could celebrate with it with a small Asterix that of course you're gonna root for Clara Tauson, and Holger, our Danish players. It goes without saying that those are the ones I really wish they could win. And I think they have a good chance but if I had to pick I would say, Coco.

Mark Hilton  57:52

Okay, on the women's side, I think they'll go as an outsider to go well Kazatkina. You know, she's obviously had a good run recently, I really enjoy watching her play as well. She's got a lot of skill. You know, she's fun to watch. And she's on some form. So I'll take her to go well, in terms of winning. I'll take Kvitova again, someone who's on some form, she's, you know, he's got long history in the slums of performing. So yeah, she'd be my pick. In the men's side, I'm gonna take Evans to go well, you know, he's finding some form over the summer. I get to spend a little bit of time with him. Over these past few weeks, he's been, he's been working really hard. He's, he's, he's spent a lot of time out there since since Wimbledon. And preparing well, he's been winning a lot of matches, we have some big matches. He likes to play on the outdoor hard. He's always performed pretty well in America. And so I'm gonna say that he's gonna go well into the second week. And in terms of winning the event, I think I've gotta side with Freddie. I'm gonna go with Medvedev. Listen, he's someone who's, who's always you back to win matches on the biggest stage. And he seems to thrive in that environment as well. So yeah, that'd be my two picks.

Daniel Kiernan  59:14

We were amazing. The status people that it's I think that's now three slams in a row that we've not mentioned. The greatest ever male tennis player 22 Grand Slam title, title winning. You just mentioned and you did Freddie you're fat a year I was I've got a dog called Rafa so I wasn't sure if you were calling my dog Rafa in the background because it was such a short mention. But but it's it we ease unbeaten is unbeaten this year in Grand Slams. He has not lost a tennis match in a grand slam this year. Now I'm also with you though, I think it's Medvedev even though that That being said, but you know it could easily bite us all on the arse again. I mean, how do we truly write them off? You know, I know he lost last week but come on is he lost it in a tight match to the guy Coric, he went on and won the tournament didn't drop a set. So, you know, the fact that I think putting a little bit of perspective on that result, I think also shows that refers not, not a million miles away, so I just have to mention him. I did write Medvedev down, so I can't go back on that. But the other one, I have to have to have to mention I said I'd come back to him. Camera Norrie is for me, there's no reason. There's no reason now. I think Cameron Norrie shouldn't be talked about as a grand potential Grand Slam title winner he is number nine in the world is his record. It's not a lucky year. You know, he's now done it for two, two and a half years, you know, beat Alcatraz only last week, you know, he's, he's got good, good form against a lot of these guys. I think he may be will just fall short again. But he's the one that needs a big mention. I would love Rafa to win it. But I think I'm with you boys on Medvedev, I think, you know, once he gets that serve rocking on those courts. The US Open, I think it could be his title. And on the women's side. Again, I think it's really interesting that we haven't talked about Iga Swiatek, you know, she couldn't lose a match. And all of a sudden, she loses a couple and we forget about her. So I think it's wrong, that we don't mention her. But the one that has been right there for me, again, I feel it's the year of the Americans. I really do. I think there's a real opportunity there for the Americans. We haven't mentioned that today. But as she takes some beating when she's playing well, and she's playing well right now. And that's Madison Keys. So my pick on the on the women's side for US Open 2022 is is Madison keys to go all the way and Medvedev on the men's side. So So let's see, guys, you you're gonna be there Noah you're gonna you're gonna find yourself to the to the site and spend some time there.

Noah Rubin  1:02:04

No, definitely not. I probably won't be within 100 feet of that place. So it's, it's it's exhausting when I'm playing. And I'm looking around the fans. And I'm like, It's 142 degrees here. Good for you for being out here. I mean, last match. I played their main, I had two people that passed out on the stand. So now watch a few matches on TV and do my own thing.

Daniel Kiernan  1:02:32

And Hilts Andy's got to do without you because you're you're in my hometown in Sotogrande Spain right now. So, you know, maybe we'll, though but you would have left, you would have left by the time that the Open starts.

Mark Hilton  1:02:46

That's right. That's right. You know, I'll be pulling for the British boys and Andy back home. And hopefully be seeing some entertainment from from the UK. But I've no doubt we're going to see some fantastic tennis. There's no doubt about that.

Daniel Kiernan  1:03:01

And what about you, Freddie, you're going to you're going to make you aware that you're in the states currently are you also passing it this year.

Freddie Nielsen  1:03:08

Unfortunately, I'm passing it, I have to go home I've taken over a new house in the first week of US Opens up beyond that. And the second week, we're having a training camp to prepare for our Davis Cup tie in El Salvador. So those are the priorities at the moment, unfortunately. But they're also pretty good priorities. And like Noah said, it's not a vintage lambs family. We're just sitting around in the middle of beaches and yeah, a million degrees nowhere to hide. So yeah, it is what it is. Hopefully I can be back next year.

Daniel Kiernan  1:03:40

Awesome, guys. Well, as as always, a big thank you for myself, but also all of the listeners guys to to give your time up and to, to share your wealth of knowledge is is amazing. I massively appreciate it. And I know that everyone listening does too. So thanks a lot, guys. And maybe we'll get you all back to to have a little have a little review and see see how you've done after after the open as well.

Noah Rubin  1:04:05

Sounds good. Thanks for having us.

Daniel Kiernan  1:04:08

And once again, I hope you enjoyed listening to the panel to their opinions. Did you agree with them? Did you disagree? You know, send it into us get in touch. You know, if you go to the show notes, you can get in touch with us via email, or you can find us on control the controllables CTC dot podcast you can find us on Instagram. Or you can also go through SotoTennis and all of our different social media platforms. Let us know what storylines are we missing? Who were you looking for? We'll repost them, we'll get them out there. You'll have a chance to become insta famous if you pick pick the right players to go far. And I have to agree i i can't. And I have to say I completely agree with the panel that I think it was for Freddie Nielson that spoke about the storyline is how open it is. You know, for many years, it's almost been, right we know what the finals are going to be. And on the women's side, it's been open for a while, but who is going to be the Emma Raducanu story of this year's US Open? You know, somebody's gonna come out of the blue. And I think as we don't have those dominant players that we once did on both the women's side and the men's side, the chances are someone will make a name for themselves through this Open. I have to bring up Rafael Nadal who I know I didn't pick him either. I have a feeling that Medvedev it's going to be his year again on the men's side. However, 22 Grand Slams unbeaten at Grand Slams this year. In my heart, I would love for Rafael Nadal to take his 23rd Grand Slam title. And I think that would be an incredible, incredible achievement and take advantage of Novak Djokovic not being there. So we'll see. There's gonna be lots and lots of storylines. Will Serena make a run? Will she be able to get through her first couple of rounds, and then just allow it to happen? You know, get the crowd behind her find her confidence serving big hitting big returns. You don't put it past a great champion like that. I'm excited to watch I hope you are too. please do get in touch. You know, we want to hear your questions. We want to hear your thoughts, your opinions, and also who you want to come next on the podcast. Some of the names we have lined up Pat Cash, Ryan Peniston, Daniel Valverde. You know, we've got a few players that we're reaching out to as well. Anyone can help bring any players in the world of tennis onto the show. We'd love to speak to them. So again, this is an interactive podcast. It's you the listener that is the podcast is for, so please do get involved. But until next time, I'm Dan Kiernan and we are Control the Controllables