Raducanu & Tsitsipas EARLY EXIT! | Osaka CONTENDER?! | US Open 2024 | GTL Tennis Podcast

Intro I am back in the UK and I'm ready for the US Open action it's day two and we've seen some big hitters in action Yanik sin's back Carlos alarz Daniel medv on the women's we've got aaka eager making it through in straight sets and some big upsets the biggest of the lot being Stefanos sisa pass this is me and Ben's day two reaction Evans wins longest USO match ever! that's right day two in the books and it was Stefano cbas the big casualty on day to unfortunately for him his woes at Grand Slams continue and I feel like we're going to have to start putting him in the same box as hul garuna right now where do they go from here very disappointing but on the other hand we've got big hitters going through will they ever amount to being the likes of a sinner or an alcohol but let's start with JG who's been in the home of yanx Sinner for the last few days how are you doing are you happy to be back yeah very happy I've been trying to watch uh as much of the US Open day two as possible I was traveling during but I did have some time at the airport where I was watching some live matches and then also some highlights and then when I arrived in England I had a long train train ride where I caught up on a lot of what was happening in the tennis so I think I'm in a good spot spot to be talking about this and there's so much to speak about really for day two I think probably one of the best places to start is with a record and the record is that of Dan Evans who is outside the top 100 wins the last six games of the fifth set from love four down in a fifth set and beats Karen hatano 6776 76 46 64 which is the longest MCH of the US Open history 5 hours and 35 minutes and he's into round two with a a real record breaker of a of a match yeah I mean I can't believe it um I was watching this one throughout and I kept on flicking off and coming back to it like you do with these US Open matches because there's so many going on in the early rounds and each time I come back they keep speaking about Dan Evans and just saying yeah I mean he's he's been in terrible form but but his record against Karen hatov is actually a positive one and he really does well against him so it was an ideal matchup for him if he was going to come away with a victory I didn't expect him to do it in that fashion a world record for the US Open 5 hours 35 minutes and like you say for him to be down in such a crazy fifth set down fall of 1540 and come back and win win I mean it is one of the most insane matches I think I've ever seen and especially Dan Evans who we've seen him playing in the doubles more than we've seen him playing singles recently but I'm actually so happy for him because this is something maybe that can reignite his tennis career because he like you said outside the top 100 hasn't really been he said it on court I haven't really been that dedicated and I didn't really feel like I'd in the past pushed uh in these type of matches and I just thought I've got to really give it my all to just get through this match and try and win but where it means he hasn't done that in the past and you see what you get the fruits of your labor he gets a win in five sets and a historic one at that against hatov yeah last year just before the US Open he played an event in America in which he won he opted to not play that this year and instead went to the Olympics famously with Andy Mari in his last ever professional tennis matches which meant that he then dropped outside of the top 100 it was very selfless of him to do so but one thing I think might have helped him is that fighting never give up attitude which being around Andy Murray will only help you uh get better at and there was times where Andy Murray and Evans in the doubles look like they were dead and buried in several matches and they managed to come through it and I think being in that environment may have helped him in a situation like this cuz look at the screen I mean like you said love four down and then 1540 I mean this is looking like a bagel all over you don't give him a chance you're thinking is he going to just down TOS he's not going to probably get game if he does it'll be a one or a two at the very most and he's finished he's out like no one gave him a chance and he won this match on this position and won six straight games credit to Evans karon it's a horror show I think it's going to impact his impact him big time uh hopefully he can bounce back but yeah great news for Dan Evans that's for sure uh the next one I have here is an interview let me pulls it before I get in trouble and that is him saying I just want to go to Bear Dan Evans reaction after beating hatan off and he's probably exhausted after that I don't know who he's got in the next round I was trying to have a look just before we come live but it's God it's going to be it's going to be tough whoever it is because he's going to be surely feeling it in the arms especially someone who's not played too much I'm looking now it is naone the artine uh and that will be on tomorrow but he will be a favorite for it but I think he's going to find it tough cuz he's just played such a long match yeah it's going to be super super tough for Dan Evans um I just think that he's sort of emulated Andy Murray a little bit with this matchup uh we know that Andy Murray was becoming the Marathon Man in Grand Slams towards the end of his career uh some fantastic matches as well I think I'm I'm happy for Evans and obviously Andy Murray was the first person to come out and say Goosebumps they got watching that it's it's brilliant for British tennis obviously we've had some real negatives on the British tennis side which we will go into I don't know if you want to segue into that now yeah that's the plan Raducanu Ben let's go straight to it so we're sticking with the British theme brilliant for Dan Evans great to see Andy Mari reacting as well but not so good for the former Champion here who was a qualifier when she won uh Emma raducanu she lost too safia Kenan 6136 64 and Emma was in good form this is what Jose was saying in Wimbledon and Washington I don't think she was particularly in great form I think Wimbledon she got by with a draw on the player she played um and was riding the the the energy she was given she does play quite well on grass as well uh but beyond that I didn't think she'd been particularly great she then decided to stop playing for three to four weeks and it didn't work I mean I've got so much to say about it um I'm going to share this one because I think it sums it up quite nicely so Kenan firstly is an American tennis player she is higher ranked than raducanu so on paper it's not the biggest surprise in the world and someone who has pedigree at Grand Slams a former Champion um she so just have read this so Kenan is always so tough but I just don't understand rand's approach to the match she skipped the Olympics to prep to prepare for the US Open and then didn't play the two biggest warm-up events and ends up crashing out in the first round why the hell does she feel the need to have a break a three to four week break from tennis and just turn up at the US Open it screams entitlement it screams big ego it screams the fact that someone who feels they can just turn up and win she only wants to play the big events some may say the reason she didn't play the big warm-up events is because of her ranking now she means she would have to play qualifying if she doesn't get a wild card doesn't want to do that doesn't not prepared to play the qualifiers and people need to call it as it is right now as much as we want to get behind and she's a British talent and probably the best British tennis player on the female side I don't want to be too dismissive of Bolter or Harriet Dart but I think ruk car does have the highest ceiling over all of them to not be able to dedicate yourself to the sport and have a little bit of I don't know be a bit more humble in your approach to to really put the effort in and graft to be able to succeed is really disappointing and people need to be honest now and stop all this Al she had quite a good Resurgence oh she's back in the US Open form the way where she won the tournament it's poor she's lost again first round of of a grand slam and I think a lot of it is to do with her approach we know she's an excellent tennis player but we don't never get to see it and since she won the US Open she's not come close to winning a single WTA event or going well with any Grand Slams yeah that's what I was going to bring up on the screen as well just so everyone can be aware uh her best one was Wimbledon which was the last uh Grand Slam we just saw where like you say bit of a favorable draw wasn't the the most difficult you can see there second round second round second round first round second round second round fourth round first round again like you can't be taking time off in a in a period where you need to prepare for a big event like the US Open we don't know why she's taking it off she's taking it off to prepare her words were I am going to put everything into this US Open it's like she just doesn't want to doesn't want to go qualifying Ben she doesn't want to go to the qualifiers to play the tournaments before where was she at Cincinnati where I mean where was she in general I mean did she have other things that she was having to other engagements no it was her schedule what what there let's be honest there's a lot of top players what do a similar schedule unfortunately I think she's not as top of a player as she think she is I I genely believe her ego does get in the way of her reaching her potential as a tennis player long I'm interested I'm interested to hear what you guys have to say in the comment section I've not seen her postmatch interview I will be checking it out afterwards um and hopefully she can get some kind of normality in her structure and her plan for the future in tennis whether that's a consistent coach a consistent routine and schedule uh maybe got drop down play some lower events I know she did a few here and there but it just seems like a lot of it is motivated by the location of where it is and what how much money she can make and what sponsorships and who's sponsoring the tournament just play some tennis forget the money all together and just go and play well there was that's why she play the Billy jeene King cup or she she's not really putting enough into the the the Grassroots of tennis the fundamentals the basics what made her good to begin with she won this US Open playing qualifiers now she doesn't play him anymore why well let's have a look at if you go over to like some of the the men's and then you take an example of Andy maray for example he wasn't playing well he would even drop down to like the likes of a Challenger to to build himself back up Stan B rinka he did the same these players are Slam champions and they drop down to come back up again because they know what it takes to build yourself back onto the tour again she hasn't ever really established herself on the tour so I feel that US Open it was amazing but it isn't really a reflection of her level as a tennis player it's a reflection of her ceiling but it's not a reflection of her consistent level on the tour we need to see her probably in more 250 Events maybe some challenges and if she wins a few challenges wins a few 250s then go up to some 500s then maybe some Masters then maybe you're challenging at the slams again I don't see her challenging at slams until she does well in some smaller events yeah let's speak about the women's tour like you've been saying and what's happened at Grand Slam so I like this one from Juan ignasio a great follow if you like the WTA anything regarding women's tennis he's got a stat for everything and seeing as we've now played all of the grand slams in 2014 uh 20 2014 2024 I thought this was a good one because you can see some of the consistent players on the women's tour versus the ones who have really struggled in Grand Slams so on the left these are all the players who have won at least one match in every one of the grand slams so you can see the names here so bza G Canon Sky cadina kostuk merens Navaro palini pavena which probably a surprising one Roose credit to her rebaka falina eager and Wang and that's why we need to give wang massive credit as well these are some of the real consistent players on the women's who regardless of surface are putting up some results and winning matches and that's what should happen if you're a higher ranked player let's be fair if you're higher ranked and you're a seeded player like a lot of these ones are you will play someone who's not a seed in the opening round and you should be able to win your first match you'll be favorite on all of them and these players have done well on the right hand side these are players who are yet to win a grand slam match this year and yet have been in every single one of them the biggest stand out for me is could have met of us someone who I know you tipped her to win a slam not too long ago in 2024 she's now going zero and four she can't get a win at the moment you've got Yuan who I think's better than that SM lo I guess it's her level is probably that of a zero and four Lynette disappointing hibino probably better Christian as well some really disappointing results for these guys yeah I mean Lynette she made it to a slam semi fin or not too long ago so it's just crazy to think that that's the the level that she's now dropped down to obviously going out to a 16-year-old wild card in this event as well these players need to go back to the drawing board need to work out what's not clicking I mean there's one other player as well and I know that it's a bit mean to to bring her up but I'm going to have to have to do it and I think I think you I think you know I'm going to bring up as well and I I was astounded when I saw I was like I saw the the first thing I saw was the odds and I was like Krueger versus uh Zang oh why is it 1.03 for Krueger and I thought zang's not that bad is she and then I had a look at this 23 match losing streak so far for shouer Zang I mean at the she the last time she won a tennis match yeah been injured Ben look at this it's 2023 the last time she won a tennis match was January 20 23 I mean it's getting pretty sad against Bingle yeah and look she well there hasn't been a gap really there's a gap between August and February this year but since she's come back still just more more look she she Bagel her in the first set and then she still went on to lose this match I mean I don't know what's going on it must be injuries Ben there must be as well but it's just like I feel like the end is close I mean how many matches do you have to lose in a row before the end happens I think this is some a primary example of someone just play him when they don't need to I think it's it's over it's finished sadly I think so too she can she can decide when she wants to retire very much yeah I think I think it's the end of the road for sure uh good to see she get some wins in the doubles maybe just focus on that for sure I think so but yeah I don't see her doing very well ever again I think she's she's finished as a singles player uh let's move on to the next topic which is Stefano cisa pass you spoke about him at the start yeah and he's lost in the opening round here at the US Open Tsitsipas someone who I think I had in my bracket going a lot further than this he lost to konakis 7646 6375 konakis is a great player uh but sister's record now at the US Open is almost shocking you would never believe how bad he is considering his game I think is very well-rounded and great great on hard courts we've seen him before do well at the Australian Open is the courts of the Australian Open that much different to the US Open I don't think they're that much different though Ben it's not like a clay CAU or probably clay being his best surface I would say now for sure I don't get it but struggles at the US Open Big Time round two round one round three round three round one round two round one for someone of his caliber top 10 player crazy how he struggles with the US Open and if I knew that it was this bad then I'll probably would have had him going out a little bit sooner yes I mean it's a dangerous it's a terrible draw let's let's there's no ifs or buts around it it's a it's a very bad draw it's the similar for hogar Luna as well I think that's the one thing we can't skate over is neither of them had very good draws but it doesn't mean that they shouldn't be winning those first round matches they he's playing Nakashima Runa I think that was tougher than konakis to be honest being in America and him being in good form but konakis we know he turns up at the he doesn't don't feel like he turns up any other tournaments other than slams so he he thrives in a in a like a crazy environment as well if there's people screaming CH there's new rules that the US Open this year as well where fans can walk around during points as well so there's a lot of lot going on there I don't think sisip pass that suits him at all he gets very disturbed by anything distracted yeah exactly right so I it's I think it was a recipe for disaster this tournament for him but I am still like you say shocked at this crazy record uh like we can see here look how good he is at the the other ones Wimbledon and US Open I mean the second half of the year he's may as well just write it off just terrible but level I honestly think it's nothing to do with the surface I think it's the time ends I feel he can Peak up until about April and that's about it he plays until April then once they move from the clay Monte Carlo finishes and Madrid and all of them and he moves then on to done after that it's done I think done after French Open finished kapo no more no more of him I think probably gets up to June then probably because when's French Open June time yeah I say just the first week of June it finishes yeah and then he does half the year he's a six Monon player and then the other six months he's on Hol completely he's made enough money and he's good to go he's there exploring the world with po um what this now means though is that part of the draw has opened up massively uh you mentioned who is it there someone else who beig oh no you haven't mentioned him but someone who I got well did well in my prediction and that is yakob men beating Felix love so I'm pleased about that one uh but it's opened up this part of the draw so we've got one of these players to reach the last 16 at the US Open it's konakis skull Kate I don't know how to say that one uh menick Borges and Korea insane I mean they'll be looking at that who's your favorite if you had to pick one straight off the bat straight off the bat Nuno Borges straight off the bat menik yeah I think it Mak sensible menick but konakis is the most experienced player there for sure and I think the bookies would have him as the favorite out of that section but I have a feeling about Nuno bores is a player I really like and one who yeah I could easily just likes the gr he could do it yeah I mean he is a very very good player I mean th meni though the way he took out Felix I mean you you called it I thought Felix maybe riding a little bit more of a high because he'd won a few matches n just so up and down Felix is not a reliable tennis player at all and that's why I say to you sometimes Ben I think you've I'm hopefully you've got it now for form and head-to-head for certain tennis players means absolutely nothing Francis TFO Felix and give me another one who's a bit like maybe Runa a bit more yeah you you could throw him in there I guess but there's other ones who are worse Felix though and um the other guy I just mentioned ridic it doesn't mean anything faka you can put him in there as well it it means nothing TFO don't look at their form they can just turn up and beat jovic and then the next minute lose to Zachary Vaga oh interesting I was just looking at that name and you said it that's very bizarre it's like one of those unagi moments um yeah I'm I am on that bandwagon now I don't believe in any form of these players I think the only players form that I believe in are Novak jovic Carlos alarz and yanx they're the only ones who I can really trust uh the rest even Daniel meddev he's a little bit flaky here and there these days but we'll see if he comes good as the tournament progresses yeah Medfield are better than most and I'm really glad I've got him going far because I think he could be a shock Contender to win the whole thing uh let's speak about carad Kaz you touched on him he is someone who did go through the draw and I want to start with this one here you read my Alcaraz mind Ben I don't know how you managed that but that's exactly what I was looking for and you brought it up I don't know how you did it it's magical but this is the big three win loss record in Majors after 70 matches so you got Nadal 58 wins 12 losses jovic 55 wins 15 losses and now he's G on to complete tennis Roger feder 52 wins 18 losses and Carlos alarz now after 70 matches 60 wins 10 losses he is doing better than every single one of the big three after 70 matches He's Surely the greatest of all time isn't he Ben I mean he's won two of the last slams is he going to win three in the row is he going to win everything is he going to complete tennis before Novak jovic completes tennis that's what I want to know well or am I getting too too far ahead of myself or need just put our feet back on the ground let me answer for all of the other people in the comments section which I can see them all typing away now and they're all going to be with JG be saying well he's done it in this era where there's hasn't even had to play feder barely played Nadal and whereas the likes of Nadal and jovic and fedra they all play each other multiple times and a lot of those losses come against each other as well so he's not having the same level of competition to go up against but you can only beat who's in your way and he's doing it pretty impressively so that's you say he's not got the same level of competition he's still had no that jovic in there who's still doing some amazing things he's got yanic C is looking quite good right now as well he's going to be taking stuff off him and Daniel medev who's dangerous but I know what you mean before we've having Nadal federa jovic and Andy Murray and Stan and delpo M lurking about as well m is still here of course and another one who is's doing all right V Diego swartzman so the run is on for him uh let's go to the next alalas one let's see if you can read my mind again probably not this time uh but this next one is from nikaya I think it's a good one it's from the ESPN interview VI with to the opponent of alarz and this is what he had to say so yeah uh he said I'm not going to lie he came out in his jackets referring to Carlos and I was like okay and then we got to the coin toss he took his jacket off and I was like dude this guy's a specimen and I think this is the effect the Carlos alarz has on people you see him jumping about on the net he's got the vest on which curios has spoken about we'll bring that up as well and he is a specimen like it's not just physically because physically we know he can get from one side to the other in record speed it's like a I don't know it's like a Ferrari from one side to the other he's so fast he's so agile he can stretch his body in two he's got every drop shot every volley every possible shot in the book he has it and it's really good one as well um but physically when you look at him he's brilliant as well I mean he just looks like a bit of a beast at his age and I think he is int intimidating and Nick cuos asked a really good question regarding this let's see if I can find it I don't know I brought another one up now so no bring on the ni Nick curios one so he wrote a tweet so he said the champ was looking clean tonight good fight by Lee 2 uh showed glimpses and this is what was said so anaz after winning his first round curios asked him the question great to see cuos as well doing the PO uh oncore interviews he said I love when you wear sleeveless shirts out on the caught here did you design this yourself because your arms are looking Sensational and Carlos laughed and then he said I love playing sleeveless and Kira said I know you do Carlos in some tournaments I want to play with sleeved the shirts probably to put fear into the opponents and that's exactly how Lynn or Leu felt like he was petrified I think that he gave a great account of himself regardless but I think that there's another part of the intimidation Factor like when you see him like how many pictures have we seen of him floating when they take the one when he's jumping like and when he's doing that jumping and he's dancing around the the one thing I think I always notice is he's doing it all with a smile as well and he's always like a big grin like I'm going to win this I'm so excited to play tennis conf yeah he's just like I'm he's like a he's like a kid in a playground he literally just goes out there and he's like wo runs around oh I love tennis like that's what the that's what I get from the crowd feels that and when he wins a point every point is just exceptional like and he just knows it he's just like oh my God I can't believe that it's almost like he wants to look to the crow say like when his dad's there like Dad watch me look look there's like a kid that's like wanting to jump in the pool watch me dad I bet he was like that when he was a kid as well I don't know that's the vibe I get from alar he's just like a giddy kid on lemonade running around a tennis court it was just amazing at the sport though yeah I mean I wouldn't say so you have that same Fear Factor then when we play um it doesn't really intimidate me when I see you warming up at the net when you walk up to the net for the coin toss I'm not really looking at you thinking go he's scary but we do often get some fans when we're watching and I thought this next one reminded me of you because uh when we play there's a few Berrettini people always watching in and maybe Ben has the Mato bartini effect what do you think about this so this is a good one and this is mat bertina man in demand and you can see the video here um and I don't think I can show it all but you can get the you get the the glimpse of it just from looking there's women all over I've never seen them so interested in a tennis match and they're all trying to get the best angle of Mato bertini um waiting hopefully for him to take his top off or something I'm sure and I was just wondered Ben I know you can't relate to the AL one but can you relate to this one more likely this one yeah for sure I mean I have to is it always women or do you have men usually queueing as well I mean mostly they just people waiting to get on the court waiting for me to take all that time I take to pack my bag up and leave that's why they're normally looking at me probably in disgust but all I'm waiting for for bertini here I think all they're waiting for people from like an older generation or my generation they're just waiting for him to get a Diet Coke out of his bag and then nice cold one and go and then without the top on no you need the fan then blowing on the hair so it's going back and then go and then and then he takes the top off all slowly the famous one is just like a like a building site worker just opening it and then a bead of sweat just dropping down like that while he's having it in in on the sunset as well that's it so maybe if he gets a sunset match we'll get that shot yeah I mean let's not keep talking about let's not keep talking about the way he looks he is a handsome guy of course but he did win his match Ben and I'm just trying to find it here because I can't seem to see it at all it was day before I believe so was the day before that's easy straight sets win and he's playing tomorrow against who uh that would be a very difficult question for me to answer cuz I didn't look at who was going to play next I do know cuz it's Taylor Fritz and it's the big one what decides to have bracket I've got bartini winning that one I'm hoping he brings his 100 fan group of women along with him and I'm hoping bartin can get the win and beat Taylor Fritz because it will help my bracket that one is if you're living in the UK 1:00 in the morning uh tonight so in 12 hours time we can watch that one what I want to know is is Morgan riddle going to be taking a few pictur bar as well from the stands she going to join join the little uh gaggle of girls over there go woo take a little picture and then uh Scuttle back to sit with the wolf in the other box I'm not sure but see as we're talking about appearance let's speak about Nomi oaka next because yes Osaka she uh I think they say it nowadays slay is that right is that good don't slay Queen I mean terrible thing to ask me she rocked it she she rocked it she that's definitely a bit old but I think she did slay it I mean brilliant look at that outfit um and I think it's quite refreshing that players are wearing cool outfits I think it brings that wow factor to the sport makes it interesting and I want to see more of it not just on the women's on the men's as well I think you should be able to express yourself freely on a tennis call I think wion's far too strict with J the white I do like it but there should be that little bit of room to show some character and show who you are and make the whole thing more of a spectacle because we're watching tennis not just for the tennis we're watching it for the event itself and Asaka delivered on the event she played some fantastic tennis against a really good opponent AA Peno I've got her in my top 10 come the end of the year so I need some big results from her and she played extremely well at Wim wooden this year lost to eager I don't know how she did I think she deserved to win that match um and then now US Open probably her best tournament let's be honest I don't think she plays any tournament as good as this one I hope she can win the whole thing I want to see the the prime US Open Naomi Saka I want to see another dress next week I want a different color every week and I want to see her win the whole thing go and know me that would be amazing three-time Championship be then yeah that that match against eager Ral gas really showed the level that she's playing at this year I I think AA Peno a disastrous first round matchup it could have been it could have been a car crash turned out to be aaka getting through a very big hurdle and now she's got maybe a bigger one in the second round she's got Muk second round it doesn't get I think it does get easier I think that the round like the draw is back to front for naaka starts with ostapenko then goes Muka then it could be lepchenko or potapova in the next round and then maybe started more difficult but Pini looks like the most likely to get through to the fourth round I would say so Asaka really good chance in this section and then could find herself maybe against a rachan or somewhere down on the line but there's no guarantee Rebecca is not that good at the US Open I know a lot I've had a lot of people come for me in the comments saying how did you put rebeccaa so far she never does well at the US Open yeah I may have got it wrong she had set point against her in her match against IA who is the qualifier and she just about managed to save a couple of set points and then win on a tie break so wasn't all plan sailing for racher either but Asaka I think she looks so good um I think she could go very deep at this US Open I agree right there we go let's wrap it up there that is our day two reaction join us tomorrow uh maybe a little bit earlier than today for our day three reaction we'll bring you some postmatch stuff we'll bring you some other thoughts about the US Open as it's happening as well leave us your comments in the comment section below and let us know what other things would you like to like us to do during this US Open uh is there any other kind of podcast you want would you want more would you want them at a different time uh we're more than happy to accommodate you guys we have a little bit more flexibility with work at the moment so we'll try our best to bring you everything we can during this US Open sping enjoy the tennis stay safe and we'll see you soon [Music]