EP 17 - Australian Open 2026 Recap & Highlights with Nic Howe

Gerard (00:11): Welcome back to Spin the Racket, Atlanta's recreational tennis pod covering everything from the pro tour to the Atlanta tennis scene. I'm your boy, G. And Luke. Today we have a special episode. We're doing an Australian Open recap. We got a repeat offender here, Nick Howe, back to chop it off with us. So boys, a two weeks, huh? Yeah. Yeah. Great tournament. I feel like...

Spin The Racket (00:19): I'm Lou.

Gerard (00:35): I don't know, for me this year, typically I wake up like 3.30am, maybe once or twice throughout the open, watch some late night tennis. I didn't do it this year. I don't if I'm just getting soft or is it just I'm older and wiser now, but I've been watching late night matches. Did you guys? Definitely. Yeah. Well, it helps having kids and that would wake me up in the middle of the night. So I'm always waking up and just kind of checking scores. And then if something's in a fourth or a fifth and it's pretty competitive, then I kind of tune in and watch the rest of it.

Spin The Racket (00:50): Definitely, yeah. What helps having kids that wake me up in the middle of the night. I'm always waking up and just checking scores. then something's in the fourth or fifth and it's pretty competitive.

Gerard (01:05): My whoop ⁓ is definitely telling me I'm not sleeping enough

Spin The Racket (01:15): Did well, I mean, that's the thing about this stuff, right? You can still catch the I did a lot of early morning matches. So I'm being waking up at 5 a.m. So between five and nine, you still have a good bit of tennis and of the second half of their day. So I caught myself getting distracted in the gym watching a lot of matches. ⁓

Gerard (01:43): I just have to drop that. No,

Spin The Racket (01:49): ⁓ I mean, I'm telling you, if you had met me two years ago, you would think that is impossible for me. know, waking up at 8 a.m. used to be a challenge. So it's just, you know, it's been a lot of work. I'm a

Gerard (02:02): Yeah. My grandma goes to sleep at like midnight. That's awesome. So it's in my dad's side of the family, but it's very intentional now.

Spin The Racket (02:10): And I guess it gives me the chance to watch some of the early matches and stuff like that. Well, I guess the later matches for them, but for us is still like you can wake up at five and still catch part of the three a.m. match or whatever, right?

Gerard (02:10): And I guess it gives me a chance to watch some of the early matches and stuff like that. Well, I guess the later matches for them, but for us it's still like, you can wake up at five and still catch part of the three AM match or whatever. Yeah, that's

Spin The Racket (02:35): Yeah.

Gerard (02:40): the last few rounds, I feel like there's been some longer matches that have allowed me to do that. That's true. That's true. Yeah. Are there any standout matches that you think of, like kind of just going back through the two weeks? Was there a match that you watched where you were like, oh, this was peak tennis.

Spin The Racket (02:44): Yeah.

Gerard (02:59): I mean, for me, was this Vera of Alcares match. that will define this tournament for me. And then obviously, you know, followed up by Sinner Djokovic, but I watched probably the second, middle of the second set through the end of the match, like every point. ⁓ You know, you had your cramping drama, you had just like phenomenal tennis, and then you had Zverev just like, I thought he was going to do it. And it was like, he had so many opportunities to choke kind of in the fifth set. And it was like, he kept finding his way out of them and he was just playing some

Spin The Racket (02:59): I mean for me it was the Zverev-Opres match that defined this tournament for me and then obviously followed up by a center Joe Doerich but I watched probably the middle of the second set through end of the match at every point. You know had your cramping drama, you had just like phenomenal tennis and then you had Zverev just like I thought he was gonna do it and he had so many opportunities to choke kind of in the fifth set and was like he kept finding his way out of them.

Gerard (03:29): real tennis, ⁓ know, mixing it up a little bit more than he's been doing. And he was, he serves at like 80%, you know, at like 135 miles an hour. So I thought he was going to sustain it. He just needed one more game and like, just kind of classic, like just could not, couldn't pull through. So that was kind of the match

Spin The Racket (03:29): Unreal tennis, mixing it up a little bit more than he's been doing. He serves at like 80%, 135 miles an hour. So I thought he was going to sustain it. He just needed one more game and just kind of classic. But he just couldn't pull through. So that was kind of the matter.

Gerard (03:47): of the tournament for me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That guy just has like an extra gear that we can find in these moments. It's insane. It's a, it was a record.

Spin The Racket (03:49): Yeah, across constantly pulling the Houdini, right? Like, yeah, that guy just has like an extra gear that he can find in these moments. It's insane. It's a it was a record

Gerard (03:59): breaking part of me in many ways. We talked about Steve, we talked about

Spin The Racket (03:59): breaking tournament in many ways. Right. We talking about he we're talking about ⁓ these various and across match being one of I think you like the third longest match in tennis history. You've got obviously

Gerard (04:06): the Barrett and Ocrac match being one of the third longest match in tennis history. You've got obviously,

Spin The Racket (04:16): Carlos getting the career slam. There's a lot of records that were involved in this Australian Open, if you think about that.

Gerard (04:36): Definitely sparks in my mind just in terms of some of the big stories of the tournament that you think about that Sinner Spaziery match early on and all of sudden the heat index, you know bumps up to a five and it's like alright Let's take a break here. Like I you watching it out. I did. Yeah No, that's I mean, obviously, you know follow the college scene pretty closely and it's a beast for a while now I remember

Spin The Racket (05:18): Yeah.

Gerard (05:29): So now it's like you all of a sudden, you know, we've had four or five Americans that have kind of been in the top 10 or 15 over the past few years, but like you've got these younger guys that are kind of fresh out of college, even Michael Zheng, you know, like they're kind of on that 150 to, know, now Spizz and some of those guys are top a hundred, but they're going to just be on the rise. And I think they'll be in the mix and they're all really strong players. For sure. Sure. Yeah. And just to get some context to the listeners, we were talking about the heat. So, you know, Australian Open has this heat stress scale.

Spin The Racket (05:30): So now it's like you all of sudden, you we've had four or five Americans that have been in the top 10 or 15 over the past few years, but like you've got these younger guys that are kind of fresh out of college, even Michael Zhang, you know, like they're kind of on that 150, you know, like Nas Fizz and some of those guys are top 100, but they're gonna just be on the rise and I think they'll be in the mix and they're all really strong players. For sure. Yeah, just to give some context to the listeners, you talked about the heat, so Australia Open has this heat stress scale

Gerard (05:58): essentially and

Spin The Racket (06:08): Yeah.

Gerard (06:10): we're not editing that one out. We're not editing that one out. I'll be in the blue room.

Spin The Racket (06:16): Yeah. Like what are the Australians cooking up over there like.

Gerard (06:28): then they can suspend play on the outer courts, close the roof on Rod Laver in the main arenas. And so that was something that was implemented this year a couple of times because of the heat. But yeah, I mean, you wonder if Spizz was able to keep center out there on the open Rod Laver heat, like how different the tournament would be. But I know it's a what ifs, but yeah, always that thought was kind of an interesting moment in the tournament.

Spin The Racket (06:55): Yeah, I what are your thoughts on that? Like, do you think it was fair that they, you know, had to pause the match and close the top and all that? Or do you think that, like, the rules were just being followed?

Gerard (07:06): Yeah, I think it's funny because naturally

Spin The Racket (07:19): think yesterday has been, I'm just wondering how much.

Gerard (07:59): I didn't follow that storyline super, super closely, but the way I was

Spin The Racket (08:44): Yeah, I think that's with like any rule, right? There's a human component, human element, like, you've got to have some sort of guide general guideline, but then you're going to have to exercise, judge your own judgment.

Gerard (08:57): And it's just kind of a pen. Like you said, it's just a matter of timing more than anything.

Spin The Racket (08:57): And it's just going to depend. ⁓ Like you said, it's just a matter of timing more than anything.

Gerard (09:04): Yeah, mean, think so. Yeah, the heat obviously was definitely a story. If you guys saw there was a clip that was circulating of Cocoa Golf. She after her match, her losses for Alina with like she tried to go hide somewhere in the hallway and like smashed a couple of record or record. ⁓ And I guess she didn't think that that was being captured. And, you know, I saw it go on Twitter and IGN everywhere. And if she commented on it, some other players commenting on it, I think you guys said that, you know, they kind of feel like they're animals.

Spin The Racket (09:17): Yeah.

Gerard (09:34): in a zoo. Curious for your thoughts on that. Like should a player like that who is obviously one of the world's most famous

Spin The Racket (09:34): in a I'm for your thoughts on that. Like, sort of player like that who's obviously one of those animals.

Gerard (09:42): tennis players right now just understand that hey the spotlight's on you and you're gonna be watched at all times or should they have some privacy for these players in the slams?

Spin The Racket (09:53): I think the, the issue comes with the territory and I'm not, I'm not saying that the right way, but you know what I mean? Like the baggage comes with, ⁓ with the job, right? It's just perks of the job. And from what I saw, this was done at the, like she was still in the venue in like, an area where other people have access.

Gerard (10:18): Right. Like in the locker, the player lockers or like in her hotel room or something like that. So it's still, let's just call it a semi-private area, it's still within the tournament grounds. So it's, mean, come on, man. live in a day and age where like everyone has a camera, everyone can hit record and the footage can go viral. So unfortunately there's a lot more.

Spin The Racket (10:18): Right. wasn't like in the locker, the player lockers or like in her hotel room or something like that. So it's still, let's just call it a semi-private area, but it's still within the tournament grounds. So it's, mean, come on, man. We live in a day and age where like everyone has a camera, everyone can hit record and the footage can go viral. So unfortunately there's a lot more.

Gerard (10:46): Access to the players right there's a lot more footage that can be created. So you just have to be aware of that Everyone that goes into the spotlight and deal with that, right? and there's always control as a governing body at the What is it the open sign whatever so

Spin The Racket (10:46): Access to the players, right? There's a lot more footage that can be created. And so you just have to be aware of that. Everyone that goes into the spotlight has to deal with that. Right. Um, and there's only so much you can control as a governing body at the, at the, uh, what is it? The open that's a slam, whatever.

Gerard (11:08): I think it's just, it is what it is, man. You know, it's just like, just like on board, you have to behave. You do have to behave. There's people around and that was an area where, frustration gets to you and the consequences and the ripple effect from that. That's just my take on it.

Spin The Racket (11:08): I think it's just, is what it is, man. You know, it's just like, just like on court, you have to behave. You do have to behave when there's people around. And that was an area where, again, you just frustration gets to you and you suffer the consequences and the ripple effect from that. That's just my take on it.

Gerard (11:26): Yeah, I I kind of agree with that, also I like what she did is not that bad, in my opinion. You know, like, obviously I'm not like some advocate for smashing your rackets and stuff like that, but like people do it on on court all the time and they just put it in their bag or hand it out to a fan and we move on. Like, I don't understand why that became such a story. Yeah. You know, there's been several women that have been on the other end of a loss to Cocoa Golf that have done the same thing. And it's like a non story.

Spin The Racket (11:31): Yeah, right.

Gerard (11:55): I it just happens and like give that racket to a fan, a little kid and move on. Yeah. I do. mean, I kind of agree with you though. Like there, I think there should definitely be rooms that are private for the players to have kind of like a safe space at tournaments. like if it's a shared communal room where people are running and working out and kind of warming up and like.

Spin The Racket (12:00): Yeah I mean, I kind of agree with you though. I think there should definitely be rooms that are private for the players to have kind of like a safe space at tournaments. But like, if it's a shared communal room where people are running and working out and kind of warming up and...

Gerard (12:16): If it's being recorded, like you should, you should know that. And they should just designate that to the players and kind of communicate that clearly. Like, Hey, here's a spot where there's no cameras. Here's here the spots where you're being watched. Yeah. Yeah. I know. I feel like it's like, kind of like a blend between both of your answers for me. is like, partly it's, it's yeah, not big of a deal. She cracked a racket. She didn't like go punch a kid in the stands or something like that. Right. Do something crazy. ⁓ But yeah, but also she should know that she's.

Spin The Racket (12:39): Right.

Gerard (12:46): a top player and so there's gonna be eyes on her regardless and you know a lot of these tournaments like to have these little behind the scenes clips of players and posting it so but yeah but at the end of the day it's not that big of a deal

Spin The Racket (12:54): But yeah, but in the end, it's not that big of a

Gerard (12:57): she smashed a racket like like who cares yeah exactly she grabbed her coach and started punching her face you know what i mean just calling it like a bunch of things like this it's a racket smash just taking out

Spin The Racket (13:00): Yeah, it's like exactly said is like she grabbed her coach and like started punching her coach in the face. You know what I mean? And then just calling him like a bunch of things like it's just it's a racket smash. It's just taking out of

Gerard (13:13): a different setting. so there's a whole rise in spin on that. is news, Stuff like this sells. So I think you can blow it out in proportion.

Spin The Racket (13:13): a different setting. And so if there's a whole privacy spin on that news is news, right? It like stuff like this sells. And so I think it was just blown out of proportion.

Gerard (13:22): Yeah. But I get it from her perspective. Obviously, she is a role model for these young kids too. I'm sure her brands also want to have a certain kind of image too. And so maybe that's something that she's trying to protect as well. I mean, yeah.

Spin The Racket (13:37): I mean, yeah,

Gerard (13:40): Imagine asking that same question to Rafa. What do you think Rafa would say? mean, Rafa Nadeau, huge role model for everyone in tennis, both men and women, right? And like he would tell you, like, I did it for what, 20 plus years and never smashed a racket. Like it can't be done.

Spin The Racket (14:07): So I think it's more about a character thing. Say what?

Gerard (14:07): So I think it's just, it's more about a character.

Spin The Racket (14:20): bro but i think i mean yeah you've had like you asked rafa these questions and he gave you like a brutal pretty brutal answer it's like well you just you signed up for this if you don't like it you could always not play

Gerard (14:36): I know we're getting a little off topic, like just around like the women like obviously Coco did it. Sabalinka did it back at the US Open. It was a big story, but I haven't heard like any other male players. I'm sure they smash records too, but like is it just not like a splash worthy story if it's not like a top female player? Maybe. I don't know.

Spin The Racket (15:04): It's just not as big a deal for men. Yeah.

Gerard (15:20): the players perspective because men are seeing smashing racquets more often than women. And so from our perspective, we're more conditioned.

Spin The Racket (15:38): they're establishing some sort of norm, some sort of baseline. And so in our minds, there's also some sort of bias to that, right? So you see a woman smash a racket, it's a bigger deal than seeing a man smash a racket because of the commonality that men are more likely to smash rackets. And if you go back and probably look at the data, that happens more often. So

Gerard (15:38): establishing some sort of norms, some sort of baseline. And so in our eyes, there's also some sort of bias to that, right? So you see a woman smashing rackets, then you're dealing with seeing a man smashing rackets because of the commonality that men are more likely to smash rackets. And if you go back and probably look at the data, that happens more often, so.

Spin The Racket (15:57): it's really hard to draw like a kind of like an even line and say, well, you know, it is or it isn't because anecdotally,

Gerard (15:57): It's really hard to draw like a kind of like an even line and say, well, you know, it is or it isn't because anecdotally

Spin The Racket (16:05): it's going to it's going to be well I've seen more men smash rackets so you see a dude smash rackets like yeah that's just a douche mess in Iraq right you see a woman do it it's like ⁓ shoot is she all right I don't know

Gerard (16:19): Yeah, I know. feel like there's like a few of these kind of interesting stories that have kind of popped up out of the, open this time. I know like there was a early in the tournament too, before it started, there was like the happy, uh, you want to call it the happy slam or happy one point slam? I feel like that was kind of a good start to the open, know, get a lot of eyes and attention. Like have you, have you played in one of those before? No, it sounds pretty fun. Yeah. I feel like that'd kind cool to do.

Spin The Racket (16:35): One point slime, yeah.

Gerard (16:48): But yeah, it seems like more and more of these tournaments trying to do stuff like that to like just bring eyes and attention to the sport, which is cool. It's great.

Spin The Racket (16:54): It's a good entertainment

Gerard (16:56): Yeah. And I like that this

Spin The Racket (17:05): mixed doubles format for this year. But I love how the first week of slams, slams used to be two weeks and now it's three weeks. Then you're getting this whole fan experience week that a lot them are free, a lot of them are tailored to kids and families coming out. So instead of buying, spending $1,500 to go take your family to a mass.

Gerard (17:26): you can kind of take them out for free and kind of be on the grounds, exposure to the sport. ⁓

Spin The Racket (18:09): Did I send you a meme of that? Yeah.

Gerard (18:32): Yeah. That's crazy. Yeah.

Spin The Racket (19:28): Yeah, I mean I'm a big fan of consolidation so you know it's like we just signed up for like Disney plus and then you get like Hulu ESPN all that and what

Gerard (19:51): perspective is a lot

Spin The Racket (19:51): perspective, it's a lot

Gerard (19:54): Yeah.

Spin The Racket (20:08): dog my guide reminders you know I've done this like I do this for like shows on Apple TV plus where I want to watch a show let's say it's eight episodes I calculate ⁓ how fast am I gonna

Gerard (20:25): watch this or is it gonna come out once a week?

Spin The Racket (20:25): watch this or is it gonna come out once a week

Gerard (20:27): I'll send a reminder in the description. ⁓

Spin The Racket (20:28): I'll set a reminder in eight weeks to cancel the dang subscription. So you're only subscribing for those moments. I mean, I've done it too for the slams where it's just like, I'll get ESPN plus and then remind me to, you know,

Gerard (20:40): unsubscribe and cancel it in two weeks. Right. It's just crazy to have to do all that. But yeah,

Spin The Racket (20:51): Yeah.

Gerard (21:09): Well, about that bottom dollar. Crazy. Well, I know we started off talking about just some of the matches that we watched and liked. I know you mentioned kind of the semifinals and the men's side being really two top tier matches.

Spin The Racket (22:09): Yeah, I mean, I think it's good to have more top on in

Gerard (22:13): It's kind of on the men's side too, but having her in the mix, it makes it fun. she's another player that can beat the Egos and the Cocos and the Sabalinkas

Spin The Racket (22:45): always loses like these close three set matches in heartbreak. I mean she shows up at the next one and does the same thing. I just feel like she could have, I don't know,

Gerard (22:56): any final she's lost now like four

Spin The Racket (22:56): mean, final, she's lost now.

Gerard (22:57): or five. She could have. It's racking up. She could have a lot of grand slams now if she kind of finished the job on some of these tournaments. Yeah. I feel like honestly she needed to get the match to like a couple tiebreakers and she would have won, know, cause she doesn't lose tiebreakers. She was up, I think two oh in the third. Oh really? Yeah. She, watched a little bit of that match. She won, she won the second and was kind of like finding her form, got an early break. And then I fell asleep. don't know what happened, but I was surprised when I woke up that she had lost. Yeah.

Spin The Racket (23:09): Yeah. Yeah.

Gerard (23:26): Yeah,

Spin The Racket (23:52): Crazy what you can do when you take care of your body. Not to get into the men's side yet, but yeah.

Gerard (23:59): Yeah, she's, she's an insane player. mean, feel like talent wise, she might come in a little lower than some of the top women, but she is such a grinder and she is just so solid on both sides. Her serves good, her returns are good. Yeah, for sure. It's kind of always going to be in the mix. Yeah. I thought it was a good, a good run for some of Americans too. Obviously, yeah, Coco, um, you know, she lost to Fidelina, but had a good run. You have Bass and Keys, know, Pugula, but you know, they all played pretty well. Um, think Coco has to figure out this serve.

Spin The Racket (24:44): It's a big confidence problem, you know, when you're struggling with a shot, like, what a

Gerard (24:52): What a blessing and problem it is to have an issue with a single shot as a tennis player, right? Like when you think about it, like

Spin The Racket (25:00): I'd rather I'd want to be in that position where the only thing I have to lock in is my surf. Wouldn't that be nice? So like if you think of it from my kind of a different perspective, it's like shoot, at least the silver lining and the problem is simple. At least that's the only area that she really has to put her focus on. The problem with something like that is that

Gerard (25:22): You feel like everything stacks on top of it and just crumbled right because you're like over thinking a particular shot I mean obviously made in that situation so it could be Where to the crop to the point where you forget about the rest of your tennis? Right you forget that you have you forget that you you forget you have a back and you rely on and you hyper focus on the one thing that is it working? Which I think is what happened.

Spin The Racket (25:22): you feel like everything stacks on top of it and just crumbles, right? Like, because you're like overthinking a particular shot. I mean, I'm obviously been in that situation. So it could be where through the prop to the point where you forget about the rest of your tennis, right? You forget that you have a forehand, you forget that you have a good return, you forget you have a back and you rely on and you hyper focus on the one thing that isn't working and boom, which I think is what happened.

Gerard (25:49): I mean the serve you guys asked this question serve

Spin The Racket (25:55): Yeah.

Gerard (26:22): hitting it high and heavy I gotta adjust it's like so true I'm tossing the ball up and I just can't put all

Spin The Racket (26:25): Yeah.

Gerard (26:27): where I want to like my timings off it's worth frustrating it's more frustrating yes what's my excuse I can't literally can't yeah that's all I mean I can't do this

Spin The Racket (26:37): Yeah.

Gerard (26:41): The quintessential tennis shot. Yeah. know, whereas like as opposed to, we were just talking about this, like as opposed to tennis, sorry, team sport, tennis, it's like everything is up to you. This is the, you're distilled it down to the serve. It's the one shot where everything's up to you. I mean, yeah, it's a kind of a make it or break it situation.

Spin The Racket (27:30): .

Gerard (27:30): Who are y'all kind of keeping

Spin The Racket (28:03): I agree. It's kind of a

Gerard (28:05): Free-fall right now, like dominated. Had set like a long day final, it would look a little different, right? Yeah. Should be maybe starting to make a cut above the rest. ⁓

Spin The Racket (28:19): ⁓ the way it sits. I'm disappointed that Anissa Mova didn't go further, right? ⁓

Gerard (28:19): The way it sits, I'm disappointed that Anishinabeg didn't go further, right? ⁓ At least you've got.

Spin The Racket (28:26): At least you've got got

Gerard (28:29): got beat by Pegula, Pegula got beat by Ravagina, so at least it's like, well, that would have been a battle regardless. We're going to have an American go against Ravagina regardless, but. ⁓

Spin The Racket (28:29): beaten by Pegula Pegula got beaten by Rubacuna. So at least it's like, well, that would have been a battle regardless. We're going to have an American go against Rubacuna regardless. But ⁓ I'm so hopeful that she can continue that upward trajectory and, you know, make herself like one of those top four. Yeah.

Gerard (28:41): I'm so hopeful that she can continue that upward trajectory and, you know, make herself like one of those top four. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'd say she's done it, what? Three grand slams in a row now. So I

Spin The Racket (29:22): What do you think G?

Gerard (29:24): I think part of it definitely is a little bit of hype, know, just kind of everything that they've done in their careers, Venus and Serena.

Spin The Racket (31:10): Tiebreaker, yeah.

Gerard (31:19): in that ⁓

Spin The Racket (31:20): Tiebreaker, yeah.

Gerard (31:36): Don't lose practice tiebreakers or you're by far a worse player I Love it. I love it.

Spin The Racket (31:53): Yeah, so let's get some thoughts on the man's side before that that one of the things we didn't touch on you mentioned at the beginning of the episode that your whoop is probably talking to you and telling you need more sleep I think we all three of us are whoop users, right? We're all in whoop ⁓ What do you think about say what I mean? We're open

Gerard (31:53): Yeah, so let's get some thoughts on the main story. Before that, one of the things we didn't touch on, you mentioned at the beginning of the episode that your whoop is probably talking to you and telling you need more sleep. I think we, all three of us are whoop users, right? Yeah. Yeah. We're all in whoop. ⁓

Spin The Racket (32:17): We're open for business, but what do you guys think about the whole controversy of like, you know, ⁓ Akra as being asked to take his whoop off and all that stuff. I think, Sabalinka made a comment about that. Like we're just tracking our health. What's wrong with tracking our health and recovery, like while we're playing the tournament thoughts on that.

Gerard (32:41): you wouldn't and it's if it's gonna put the best product out on the court and prevent these athletes from getting hurt and missing other time or getting sick and you know, not being able to perform, ⁓ you know, data is just data. one thing I saw about it ⁓ and I could kind of see it with like an Apple watch, like if someone could text you or something like that or you know, if messaging's enabled. ⁓

Spin The Racket (32:49): Right I could kind of see it with like an Apple Watch, like if someone were text you or something like that, if messaging's enabled.

Gerard (33:05): You know, that shouldn't be allowed. The one thing with the whoop was someone was like, well they could just like, make it vibrate once for like serving down the tee and make it vibrate twice for serving out wide or something like

Spin The Racket (33:05): That shouldn't be a problem. The one thing with the Wook was someone was like, well they could just like make it vibrate once for like serving down the T and make it vibrate twice for serving out loud or something like that.

Gerard (33:16): that. It's like, it's like, yeah, no, I don't even know how that would work, but that was kind of like one of their rebuttals. so it's like, okay, well then just give me one without vibration. Like I just want you like have whoop make one without vibration for these pro athletes to use. then there's no, there shouldn't be any issue with it.

Spin The Racket (33:16): You can't do that. So it's like, yeah, no, I don't even know how that would work, but that was kind of like one of their rebuttals. So it's like, OK, well then just give me one without vibration. Like, just want to make one without vibration for these private seats. then there's no vibration.

Gerard (33:35): Cause it's already like, you know, on court coaching allowed and everything already. So it's just like, what is the issue? doesn't. I don't get it whatsoever. Yeah. It just felt like a moving point. I mean, Rockle played with a freaking Rishal Man. Yeah. played with DreamLiner Rockle. Yeah. Yeah. It's like they played with stuff on the wrist. it's like, like to your point, they're tracking, they're not doing anything for the player.

Spin The Racket (33:41): Right Yeah, it just it just felt like a kind of a moot point and to your point like I mean rafa played with a freaking rishaw meal for Yeah, it's like they play with stuff on the wrist so it's like Like to your point they're tracking. They're not doing anything for the player

Gerard (34:02): It's just a tracking device. And I mean, I imagine who has that being like locked in where you can't just edit to do random vibrations stuff.

Spin The Racket (34:25): Yeah. Yeah. It's supposed to be seamless. It's supposed to be so that you don't think about it, right? So I don't.

Gerard (34:40): I don't know, was interesting, it was pretty funny to find out that the Woob like, shipped a bunch of like their underwear. Did you see that? Yeah, they overmatted a bunch of like their, uh, Woob underwear so that the players can wear the tracker inside the underwear. Cause you know, they got like, they have underwear where you can take this off of the wrist and then put it in a particular pocket. I did not know that. Yeah. So they've got their own underwear stuff. So they shipped a bunch of those stuff to the players overnight. Like they were going to make their problem.

Spin The Racket (35:10): and sports bra yeah yeah

Gerard (35:10): Yeah, see they're gonna track it one way or another. can wear the sports bra, hard bra, things. It's so dumb.

Spin The Racket (35:23): That's what I said I said in the beginning there was a lot of records a lot of controversy, right? Crazy stuff, but alright, so let's talk about the man. What what

Gerard (35:33): What were the takeaways from the experience of beyond? It just went crazy. What do we think about pre-setting? I mean, anything you guys thought of that? think you mentioned TN, for example. Almost. Almost predicted that we would have that for almost.

Spin The Racket (35:54): He asserted dominance with Mevitev, know, where he had kind of been going like five sets and all that stuff all of sudden he just went, did he win in, yeah, I think it was straight, straight sets, right? Yeah.

Gerard (36:10): Yeah, I mean, in the lead up to the Aussie, looked like, you know, Rude and Medvedev and, you know, the Zveras, the CC passes of the world, kind of like, you know, they were all worn down at the end of last

Spin The Racket (36:38): Mm.

Gerard (36:40): Rude, obviously lost to Shelton, but I think he's playing better and I think he'll be more in the mixes here. ⁓ My takeaway though is like, and we all know this, but it's just, you've got these guys at the top and then you have everyone who's chasing. like at some point, like they just are getting worn out and worn.

Spin The Racket (37:26): Yeah.

Gerard (37:33): You know, it's just like, it's just, I mean.

Spin The Racket (37:52): Yeah. Yeah. Cause he's a very progressive guy. He's got great trajectory, right? Over. think demon has just been progressing his level in tennis over the past three years. Very, very consistently. Right. But then

Gerard (38:05): As you see, you've got Jokovic as an example. He's gotten better over the years, right? He didn't just say go

Spin The Racket (38:05): as you see, like you've got Djokovic as an example, he's gotten better over the years, right? He didn't just stay.

Gerard (38:14): and just won everything. So you look at Carlos and you look at Sinner and they're testing each other. And so they're also in this upward trajectory. You feel like the two guys, let's say an Emperor and a Demon, they're both moving up, but you feel like the gap is so big that there's no way for

Spin The Racket (38:28): in a demon they're both moving up but you feel like the gap is so big that they're like there's no way for like

Gerard (38:35): like demon to like close the gap, right?

Spin The Racket (38:36): demon to like close the gap right because these guys like your sinner and your akara they're also getting better with every tournament so it's uh it's not like they're just there and then you're working close like you're not moving towards a static target

Gerard (38:39): Cause these guys, like your Sinner and your Akara, they're also getting better with every tournament. it's not like they're just there and then you're working close. Like you're not moving towards a static target.

Spin The Racket (39:14): Yeah. Yeah.

Gerard (39:39): also is like a lot separating. It's just an interesting

Spin The Racket (39:41): Yeah, results speak for themselves.

Gerard (39:44): time. ⁓

Spin The Racket (40:00): Yeah. Yeah.

Gerard (40:17): Arthur Fees, Menchik had to withdraw from his match with Zeddy. Yeah, besides he was tired early, so Djokovic had a nice little path to get to the final. He will be well rested. yeah, just am curious if that, again, is just the cumulative effect of just the grind on tour. Are there things that we can change to make sure these players can last a full season? is it just kind of, hey, it's just their body and naturally they're going to get injured. But that's something I'll be curious to kind of see the rest of

Spin The Racket (40:22): Mazzetti, dude.

Gerard (40:47): year and how that impacts the tour. Yeah. They could start by letting him wear whoops. Exactly. think that, I mean, injuries are always going to happen. you know, it sucks when it's some of the, you know, the drapers of the world who you think they could, you know, be in the mix. but yeah, I mean, it's so physical now.

Spin The Racket (40:52): Yeah, so they can see, yeah.

Gerard (41:11): And this just goes back to like every match you're playing whether it be Qualifiers or a final. Yeah, like everybody can beat you. It's gonna be physical There's really no there's not many like just true, you know walkovers so to speak anymore, right? Everyone's got game You're gonna have to bring it physically for five to seven days in a row and for a grand slam You know, you could be on court for six hours these days and you're gonna have to be doing it again You know within 48 hours, right? It's just a it's a

Spin The Racket (41:12): every match you're playing, whether it be qualifiers or finals.

Gerard (41:41): I mean these these guys are athletes. Yeah, you're gonna You're gonna have injuries. That's true. Yeah, that's what makes it all the more impressive what Djokovic is doing at this age and in a final of a Grand Slam like obviously he takes out center, but you know, gotta get the other one too, so I had a good enough battle against Alcara. Nothing to be, you know ashamed about but yeah, you look at him and just how he's still out there and still playing at such a high level. It's so impressive

Spin The Racket (42:10): It's very,

Gerard (42:11): Very, very impressive. mean, that, not to kind of derails a little bit, but it kind of brings me back to Christiano Ronaldo, who's going to be competing in the World Cup this year, right? You've got this very natural joke of it, Christiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady, who's just like the pinnacle of longevity, of course. Thank you. And I think whoop,

Spin The Racket (42:11): very impressive. mean that not to kind of derails a little bit, but it kind of brings me back to Christian Ronaldo, how he's going to be competing in the world cup this year. Right. He you've got these sort of athletes, Djokovic, Christian Ronaldo, Tom Brady, who just like the pinnacle of longevity in sports. And, ⁓ I think whoop.

Gerard (42:36): excuse me, I think whoop.

Spin The Racket (42:36): Excuse me. think who

Gerard (42:39): Posted the statistics for or like the metrics for Cristiano Ronaldo and it's ridiculous, dude that guy runs like it so tight is such a type shit that he So, I mean you think of you think of him and he's like Going into a World Cup representing Portugal

Spin The Racket (43:04): And so you go back and you look at Joker, but it's just like, well, if he's kind of in the same boat, like it's

Gerard (43:09): I mean, I wonder if you put a whoop on Joe Kovac for a year, what his metric would be. Yeah. It's probably stupid, right? When you look at like his, what is it? His whoop page.

Spin The Racket (43:09): attainable. I mean, I wonder if you put a whoop on Djokovic for a year, what his metrics would be. It's probably stupid, right? When you look at like his, his, what is his who page.

Gerard (43:22): Yeah. Right. Right. know. But it's like, yeah, I mean, he spends so much on their bodies and try to like extend their careers and extend the performance. So it is, it makes sense. He's like my favorite athlete. Oh, LeBron. Yeah.

Spin The Racket (43:29): Yeah, LeBron James, another one. Yeah. ⁓ LeBron. Yeah.

Gerard (43:39): I mean, they're machines and their discipline is just, it's kind of crazy and I'm always jealous of it. Just

Spin The Racket (43:39): No, it's again, it's like. Dude, yeah.

Gerard (43:48): giving up gluten one day and having it again or like Tom Brady, he never had like even berries or something like that. It's like, how do you live day to day? I mean, I guess you could just pay a chef and whatever.

Spin The Racket (44:04): And it's not.

Gerard (44:20): The reason he quit meat is because of how much work the body has to go through to process that, metabolize that meat, right? And so for somebody like him who's on court all the time, he needs something that's like really easy for the stomach to process because he never knows when he's going to be on court. Then you've got somebody like the Scott Ronaldo. He's got more like a flexitarian diet. So he does have fish and some meat, but it's also kind of a Mediterranean diet, a of Jokovic.

Spin The Racket (44:50): But

Gerard (44:50): But that all that to say, I don't know what LeBron's diet is like, but there's not just one way to achieve that. No, right. There's not like the ultimate diet. They're each doing something slightly different, but you see like the results. I'm sure there is a true middle.

Spin The Racket (44:50): that all that to say, I don't know what LeBron's diet is like, but there's not just one way to achieve that. Right. There's not like the ultimate diet. They're each doing something slightly different, but you see like the results. I'm sure there is like a true middle, but they're all so close to it that they're achieving these great results at like, you know, a 40 year old athlete performing at the top level.

Gerard (45:10): But they're also close to it. They're achieving these great results. You know, a 40 year old athlete performing at the top level

Spin The Racket (45:19): is insane now.

Gerard (45:37): of shot clocks and game clocks, but yeah, it's phenomenal. I mean, what he's doing and what he did was crazy. I thought he was outplayed by Center, but he just kind of buckles in and he wins every big point. And it's crazy to see. I think Center was two of 18 on break points in that match, which is just like, it's unheard of if you think about that. On big points, Center won two out of 18 against Djokovic. And that's like, I will say,

Spin The Racket (46:01): ⁓

Gerard (46:07): I'm a big Center fan. I don't think he looked as great as he has in certain events recently. He kind of had that... ⁓

Spin The Racket (46:19): dude, was exactly what I was thinking.

Gerard (46:26): a week off and kind of came back and at the Nitto finals, he looked great. So I really thought he was going to take this off season, you know, not have the suspension looming over his head this year. And I thought he was going to come out. And I honestly was expecting him to kind of just roll through this tournament. Yeah. Even against an Alperes. I, you know, I don't know if that was.

Spin The Racket (47:42): he's very here

Gerard (47:48): think he's the best player in the world, but it's like, there are these like emotional roller coaster and waves and tennis matches and the other guys just ride them better than even the centers of the world and the Zverevs. It's like,

Spin The Racket (47:50): like there are these like emotional roller coaster waves and tennis matches and the other guys just ride it better than...

Gerard (48:02): They got to figure that out. It's not, it's not whether you hit a drop shot here or there. It's not a technical thing. Yeah. Like you got to just, some guys have it in some tone. mean, Sarah obviously has it, but I think, um, I think he would have two to three more grand slams right now if he, you know, was a little less robotic at times. Yeah. That's a good point.

Spin The Racket (48:06): Yeah, it's not a technical thing.

Gerard (48:27): The way I think about it is, Sinner's just so good at everything, right? Like he's just, there's no weakness really. He's just so solid. Like you said, he's like here, but he's just incredible. But I think Alcara has a little bit more that he can just dial up at certain times. Maybe it's like using the crowd, maybe it's due to something else, but I feel like he can like redline it a little bit more than Sinner can. And when he does that, he just ascends a little bit above Yannick in my opinion, where he's able to

Spin The Racket (48:55): Yeah.

Gerard (48:56): kind of clip them sometimes at these slams. don't know. can't articulate what exactly they did, but think just Alcaraz has just like a little bit of a higher ceiling to me. Right. I think like in gears, Like let's say we have six gears. Yannick is able to operate at the six gear the whole time. It's super impressive. This like, Latom is created is like very, very high in as far as like the tennis level, right? In composure too, in harder movements.

Spin The Racket (49:03): Right. Yeah. If we think like, I think like in gears, right? Like, let's say we have six gears. Yannick is able to operate at the six gear the whole time, which is super impressive. This like plateau he's created is like very, very high in as far as like the tennis level, right? In, composure too, in, hard moments.

Gerard (49:26): you've got to do is you've got to alter that, my fault rate between the 6 and the 5th year is sometimes even about the 4th year, but then it's probably the 5th

Spin The Racket (49:26): you've got a joke of it. got a, all caras that my fluctuate between the six and the fifth gear, sometimes even dip out to fourth gear. But then at the right moment, they find that seventh gear that you think it doesn't exist. And all of a sudden they tell you there's a seventh gear to be found. Right. So that's what it is, but it it's we we've known this, right? All cross houses, ups and downs, and then centers a lot more consistent, but the peaks of all cars are higher than the plots.

Gerard (49:38): Yeah, mean ⁓

Spin The Racket (49:56): toes of Sinner. Yeah, I mean, this

Gerard (50:01): This one's tough for me because I, again, Sinner's my favorite player. I see what you guys are saying and I believe that when Sinner's redlining, no one can touch him, not even Alcares. When he's redlining, he takes the racket at every single person's hand, Alcares included. ⁓ The problem...

Spin The Racket (50:01): one's tough for me because I, again, Sinner's my favorite player. I think, I see what you guys are saying and I believe that when Sinner's redlining, no one can touch him, not even Outbrez. When he's redlining, he takes the rec at every single person's hand, Outbrez included. The problem...

Gerard (50:23): And the reason I don't think he hits that seventh gear enough is because he's almost two machine-like. And ⁓ he's such a nice guy. And I'm not saying the wins and losses don't really... ⁓

Spin The Racket (50:25): and and

Gerard (50:37): kill him or eat at him or like he doesn't care. like Carlos plays with tennis with such like just pure joy. ⁓ Djokovic will literally die on court at times. Like it's crazy when you watch him lock in. Like he just finds this psychotic gear. ⁓ I think I think center is just like.

Spin The Racket (51:04): Well, I think it goes back to what

Gerard (51:06): want it enough? No, it's not a want, man. It's just, I don't think it's a tennis gear is what I'm saying. It's an emotional side of things. it's more of a...

Spin The Racket (51:10): It's not life or death for him. It's a mental gear. Yeah.

Gerard (51:23): And I think this is why Alcares and your guys' views like, he's got that, you know, he's in fourth, he's in fifth, and then he jumps to seventh. I think that's just him riding like the wave and timing it up. Like if you watch the Zverev match, he's down 5-3 in the fifth set. Zverev just hit this insane on the run, like down the line, passing forehand. And in my head, I'm like, I mean, he's just fought off 10 break points this set. Like he's winning this match. Alcares just comes out and he just, gets a hold. He's down.

Spin The Racket (52:10): So you're saying there's a crowd component. So you're saying.

Gerard (52:23): just like...

Spin The Racket (52:34): I mean we I think we all knows very can choke He's gonna go place his tennis

Gerard (52:55): these these these really really like the elites they find these ways to just like like you know mentally get into their opponent's head or like make it not about tennis at that point so so you basically prove that the crowd is 100 and the players that are not using the crowd for their advantage don't have that extra edge

Spin The Racket (53:06): So so you basically just proved that the crowd is part of game and The players that are not using the crowd to their advantage don't have that extra edge

Gerard (53:19): Yeah, and in my mind, it's not a tennis gear. It's just like a it's it's like a using momentum or something like that. Like if you go back to your entertainment factor, right? You're an entertainer. mean, you go to watch tennis matches or if you were to categorize a tennis ticket, it's entertainment. Yeah. So they're able to be entertainers.

Spin The Racket (53:25): It's a it's an entertainment factor, right? You're an entertainer. mean, you go to watch a tennis match and it's for if you were to categorize a tennis ticket, it's technically.

Gerard (53:43): and to use the crowd as another element like heat, like wind, like humidity. ⁓

Spin The Racket (54:07): And he gets one hold and then it's like Yannick serves for it and then Carlos just like, he finds that way to like get the crowd into it and it's like, if you're a smart tennis player and you go to watch a grand slam and someone's up, like if you have someone on the ropes and it's like two sets to

Gerard (54:22): zero, they all start rooting for the guy who's losing because they want to see a four set. And then in the four set they're rooting for that guy because they want to see it go five. And that's what those guys do so well. ⁓

Spin The Racket (54:22): zero, they all start rooting for the guy who's losing because they want to see a four set. And then in the four set they're rooting for that guy because they want to see it go five. And that's what these guys do so well.

Gerard (54:37): You know, they, can kind of see the match from not on the tennis court. see it from like 10,000 feet and they're like, you know, able to like maneuver the emotional side of things. But if it's just tennis centers better, I'd argue that that's all part of tennis. is, but I, so it's like, you know, it is like, like it's a, it's a mental game. It's emotional. All of these areas. And so if he's able to actually bring in the crowd and that's something that's like a special sauce,

Spin The Racket (54:48): But But.

Gerard (55:07): I think, no, to that though, doesn't mean I'm as big a factor.

Spin The Racket (55:08): I think, no, to that though, it doesn't become as big a factor

Gerard (55:15): Until you are on the bigger stages.

Spin The Racket (55:15): until you are in those bigger stages.

Gerard (55:18): It's 100%. So... It is. It's not... I wouldn't say it's a terrible skill, but it's not a skill you can add. It doesn't become an element of the game until these big moments when you're in front of, I don't know, 20,000 people and then now the crowd element is a bigger part of tennis. So that's another component there where, to your point, like...

Spin The Racket (55:18): So it's not, it's not a, I wouldn't say not a transferable skill, but it's not a skill you kind of, it doesn't become an element of the game until these big moments when you're in front of, I don't know, 20,000 people. And then now the crowd element is a bigger part of tennis. So that's another component there where, ⁓ to your point, like,

Gerard (55:46): Carlos or Djokovic would not have this on a first round or a second round. They made it on here. No, agreed. But, and I think that's why it's.

Spin The Racket (56:07): There's so much more. Yeah.

Gerard (56:32): And I'm not expecting, but I'm eager. And I think...

Spin The Racket (58:07): those dudes know each other too which is like

Gerard (58:31): I think I watched Patrick Moore to go over this topic and he could be controversial at times. think he made a good point. I think there is a rule where if you're cramping, you automatically get a medical timeout. But what he said is, if you ruin an after tournament, that cramp got a medical timeout.

Spin The Racket (58:56): So it's not like it's against the rules or anything like that, but everybody got it. So it's kind of the same thing as with like the center and Spitzerri match. It's like when the heat index reached a certain level, everyone stopped. It just so happened that center and Spitzerri were, you know, where they were.

Gerard (58:56): So it's not like it's against the rules or anything like that, but everybody got it. So it's kind of the same thing as with like the center and Spiteri match. It's like when the heat index reached a certain level, everyone stopped. It just so happened that center and Spiteri were, you know, where they were

Spin The Racket (59:15): Kind of the same situation with like Carlos and Ferris just the stakes were higher But there's other people in the tournament that cramped and also got you know medical attention It's

Gerard (59:26): That's just, that's obviously...

Spin The Racket (59:26): just it's obviously When the stakes are higher, it's like, you know should this happen should this not happen frustration and feelings go high and obviously Sasha wants to say what he wants to say, but The game is the game

Gerard (59:28): When the stakes are higher, it's like, ah, know, this happens. It does not happen. Frustration and feelings go high. And obviously Tasha wants to stay, what he wants to stay, but the game is the game.

Spin The Racket (59:48): Yeah. Yeah. Dude, the Australian open mid head lines. Yeah.

Gerard (59:58): to watch them with the SPL limit. We had to read about these little controversies, guess.

Spin The Racket (1:00:00): yeah honestly you don't get to see it live

Gerard (1:00:09): But yeah, mean, so obviously you mentioned your dream and hope is to see center when the French open. It's a little bit more back and forth. What do you see, Lou, in terms of this year? who do you think is going to be another Alcara center back and forth? Is there a third contender that we don't know who's going to come up and win their first slam this year? what do you think about the landscape? to your point.

Spin The Racket (1:00:33): to your point,

Gerard (1:00:35): Carlos ran away with a big buttload of points. So he definitely put a wedge there between him and the center when it comes to points and center potentially having the number one spot right now.

Spin The Racket (1:00:51): Carlos to win the French open and that be like, you know, kind of his, his tournament by sinners just as proficient on that surface. think Djokovic proved that he can, he can be a contender. He's, he's solid on, on a clay too. So I'm interested in to, I am expecting Carlos to win the French.

Gerard (1:01:18): I mean, obviously, Stenner's going to do really well. He could take the French. We don't know. For the record, I'm a big Stenner fan. I'm split between who I like more right now, but obviously, you can't. Yeah, they're both, I mean, they're both

Spin The Racket (1:01:33): Right. ⁓

Gerard (1:01:36): I like Big Ben, do something in the Orange Oven. I think he's got the game for it. He just has the game, everything he needs to for fun. He's got the, like, shooting a little bit and work through that. But yeah, Mazzetti. Mazzetti. You

Spin The Racket (1:01:56): You know,

Gerard (1:01:56): know.

Spin The Racket (1:01:57): if it weren't for the for the injury, he could beat Djokovic. He was in a I mean, you never know, right? It's Djokovic, but he had pretty good trajectory in that match. So he's another one that is pretty good on clay. Yeah.

Gerard (1:01:57): If it went for the intro, you get to beat Djokovic. He was an up. mean, you never know, right? It's Djokovic, but he had pretty good trajectory in that match. He's another one that he's pretty good at playing. He's an awesome clay player.

Spin The Racket (1:02:27): Yeah. Learner, Tien?

Gerard (1:02:36): I don't know. I'm a little away from. Yeah. I'm talking to him yet. Yeah. But I guess the future. I know this was a disappointing tournament for my boy FAA. Obviously had a little bit injury issue. First round. But true. We're like two and a half hours in. mean, just hearing about FAA. That's crazy. I want to be respectful. I think if he gets healthy again, he of of whatever he's going through, he could have an interesting year or two. Obviously, US Open is kind of where I put him. But he could be up there too, I think.

Spin The Racket (1:02:46): yeah.

Gerard (1:03:06): Yeah, he's solid on clay. I don't see him on grass as much. Just that surface suits him necessarily. But he is playing well. I'm not going to bet on that.

Spin The Racket (1:04:08): Yeah, he did.

Gerard (1:04:19): We didn't mention Sasha. Obviously you said he played probably the best match this tournament. he just clicked for the rest of the year? Is he come back and contend? I say we see when we see. I think with Sasha, I think that's to the point where like...

Spin The Racket (1:04:27): I say we see when we see. I think with Sasha, it's to the point where like

Gerard (1:04:34): I'll change my mind when I see the results. It's, mean, it's the moment where like everyone's had these expectations of the guys. Like let's forget about the guy for a moment if he has, if he does something different, then yeah, let's change the expectations. But I think there's a lot more exciting players out there with more trajectory. Yeah. I I still think at some point he'll get one. ⁓ He's just like, he's always going to be in semis. He's very solid. ⁓

Spin The Racket (1:04:35): I'll change my mind when I see the result. It's I mean, it's to the point where like everyone's had these expectations of the guy. It's like, let's forget about the guy for a moment. If he has, if he does something different than, let's change the expectations. But I think there's a lot more exciting players out there with more trajectory.

Gerard (1:05:03): He's kind of just robotic. I, it sounds bad, but I feel like he's kind of just numb to this. And it's like, I was a little more concerned about him. And then I saw his post-match comments and he's kind of just like, my legs gave out. I gave it all. You know, I think he's just going to come back and be doing what he's always done and kind of be that third best player in the world. It's crazy. He's so good, but like still. Right? Yeah. This is the life we're living. Yeah. I mean, the good thing for him.

Spin The Racket (1:05:28): Right? That's just the life we're living, dude.

Gerard (1:05:33): though it's like he's pretty good on all surfaces also you know so I think it's just you know can he just find a lucky draw at some point or get a little lucky with you know center rockers kind of having a bad day ⁓ and he's capable of beating them I think his his head-to-head with both of those guys is like pretty even yeah so I think he finds one at some point I don't know if it's this year though

Spin The Racket (1:06:05): Yeah. So I'm cool with a couple guys getting in and living near there, know, in American times for them. But I think so long as that gap is kind of like within, you know.

Gerard (1:06:35): I think that's what's like most important.

Spin The Racket (1:06:38): All right, Nick, well.

Gerard (1:06:39): Thank you for joining us for this special episode of ESL Hell You Know of it. It's been a pleasure hosting you and listening to my back and forth on all the opinions. Hopefully your predictions come true about the future of the sport for the next 10 years. So to everyone that's listening or watching, thanks for watching, thanks for listening. I'm your boy, Luke. I'm G. Keep on spinning. Thanks, guys.

Spin The Racket (1:06:39): Thank you for joining us for this special episode of the Australian Open. It's been a pleasure hosting you and listening and, you know, just going back and forth on all the opinions. Hopefully your predictions come true about the future of the sport for the next 10 years. That would be a very exciting. So to everyone that's listening or watching, thanks for watching. Thanks for listening. I'm your boy, Luke.