Jannik Sinner vs Alex Michelsen Full Match | 2024 US Open Round 2

very very good young American in Alex Michelson it's going to be fascinating to see how the youngster copes with the occasion and the quality down the far end of the Court good conditions today a lot cooler for everybody which is a good news a day of survival in New York yesterday trying to get on and off the court as quickly as possible ready the American will get us underway looking for a place in round three 15 6475 that meeting in Cincinnati that was the tournament just before the US Open [Applause] s quality he's facing [Music] today did awfully well off balance a quick start here cner [Applause] a second round match so got a look at C early in the draw in ciny the quick courts that the gym was just telling us about a losing in the quarterfinals the week before in Montreal early pressure for the 20y old American [Applause] set first service service it's just deep so an early break for the world number one perfect start for Yan sner in contrast to so no excuses for either player to produce their very best tennis today done 15 Center's going to challenge mikkelson as much as he can to to Play Def good reactions there from the American to go behind Center cooler conditions mean the ball will be traveling a little bit slower than it has been the past couple of days little easier to defend today after the events of of the last week or so Jim of course it's a question I think we we have to ask and then we'll focus on the tennis how how much of a distraction do you think it has been for sin and will be over the next few days if he keeps going through the draw does that make it harder to win ten mat we're just speculating because we're not Yanik or are on his team but by looking at the first set and a half of his match he certainly looked like he needed some time to get his feet underneath him in the opening round which is understandable that's perfect from Nicholson Here Comes triple break point to get right back level but it was a lot for Center to I'm sure to hold on to for as long as he did and keep it private and quiet and hope for the best outcome which he got by the way and then face the press and face it head on and not shy away from the questions very direct with his answers took the took the one-on-one interviews as well with broadcasters so he did what he needed to do to tell his side of the story St still waiting to hear from the drug authorities by the way to hear their side I don't know about you guys but I don't know why yanic Center is the only one up on the day is speaking to the Press I think the people who made the decisions on how he was treated why he was treated that way need to be responsible for their actions as well so all the people in the playing group have more comfort about the system right there's still questions hanging over the application of the rules that they could clarify and they have not and that I think needs to change 1 but the the more games that he can win here in matches like this that's just distance that he's putting between that scenario and what's in front of him that's his job to maintain a clean sheet going forward don't test positive again sure he'll be pretty mindful of that break point number three for the American can he strike here get a second sered challenge just and he responds immediately that's a good effort day well he is presented with one of the biggest tests in tennis on the biggest Court in the world you keeping an eye on him Jim in in that respect just to see how he settles into this environment yeah absolutely you know this is a lot to tackle getting out here on the Big Show court and taking on Yanik Alex hopefully settles into it but before we jump too far into that I want to take you and Robbie's temperature on the lafair center as well see where you guys have landed now that we've had a week to digest it and get some information let for service yeah in response to your initial thought I don't I don't know if the the drug authorities have ever spoken to the Press about any of the decisions that they've made historically Jim but they need to don't they well unless they change their protocols going forward yes they will but you know on historical evidence they haven't I had a good CH with my brother who's served on a lot of tribunals he's a lawyer and I gave him that the case to to read through and I cross questioned him to to answer some of the the questions that I had but he said that he said that the way the QC um of the case was absolutely bang on to every detail the way it was handled purely from a law perspective there was no ho holes in the argument as to why Center was found with no fault so so that was some interesting feedback and I guess for me the only the only question I had after all the discussions was why Umberto had the stuff in the first place if he's a an expert in in Pharmacology why have you got it in the first place um and that's still the one question that I can't answer why why you even take the risk Y how about you Le I'd agree with you I think that that's been the focus of the the discussions lately hasn't it what's around the treatments of Yanik and I think that needs to come from the other side I agree and then we can all have our private opinions and and move on and as you say see how he mov forward Fair application of the rules for all players regardless of ranking or financial status that's what I think everyone in the playing group is looking for and not getting Comfort at the moment from that that's an impressive response from The Young American who has hit back nicely [Applause] so we're quickly back on serve inside Arash Stadium it's filling up nicely Center breaking immediately if you're just joining us for our coverage of day four here at the US Open it's a nice order of play on this main show Court as is always the case he go Shan Tech in action after this one as the second match of the day session n Saka is uh opening the night session car alcaraz on court against boic vanzan scul from the Netherlands who had a a good run here a few few years ago as a qualifier I seem to remember strike and when he played against him in Cincinnati M couldn't believe how good the open st's backhand of C was he said he'd had one of his good backhands and when other players would be chiseling a slice the ability of C just to plant that left leg and drill that back in as something that surprised him you know what I'd say to that Robbie I'd say do a little better job scouting that's not a new feature to Center's game he's been rocking that open stance jokovic like backand for he did say that he said listen you see it on tvim and and it looks impressive but it's only when you get down onto the court and you play with them that you you realize how effective it is I mean michelson's back end is money just a quick reminder to download the US Open app you can follow all your favorite players all the scores on there the stats the highlights player news available in the App Store and the Google Play Store open up lovely story about Alex melson I saw him at the wo Challenger I was visiting my son at College last year and I saw him playing in the Challenger there in February I didn't know who he was couldn't believe how good the length was on his back hand how solid of a shot it was how well he maintained the length within a meter of the Baseline regularly long rallies and that's when he first came on my radar as a player and then later in the season when he makes it to the semi-finals in Newport I see him win a semi-final match hit the ball into the crowd and then he takes his left hand to his pocket and he throws a ball into the crowd and the manner with which he threw the ball into the crowd showed me was a natural left-handed and then I started to put two and two together uh leim and I can understand why the feel on his back in is so good now and only after discovering that that it all come together and make sense to me he's looking good in these early [Applause] stages traing 23 on serve early stages four it's fabulous stuff of both wings that time 15 his backand as Robbie's saying it's it's so reliable if he can make his forand a weapon this one nearly Goes Around the Net post and it certainly did what it needed to do if he can become a a force off of both sides like Center and it's going to be an Ascent that's going to keep going 6'4 with the ability probably to add I'm guessing guys he can put on another four five mil an hour topend speed on his serve probably make the second serve heavier with a little bit more weight training and Racket head speed would come with that I he loses that point but how about that return to serve yeah something that stood out in ciny when these two play yeah and had a couple of opportunities as as you uded to Le eight break points wasn't able to convert on Annie and he says yes the stat you can look at that as a negative but also a positive he created more opportunities more break points than what sner did in that match I like the the attitude let half full rather than half empty comes across as a very confident ambitious young man hates to lose lot of stories about playing all sorts of sports as a kid that was uh competitive spirit that was evident from an early age you Brits have a way of saying things and making it sound so polite and nice but when I hear you say competitive and what I'm really hearing you say and I'm seeing you say it cuz cuz I'm sitting next to you is he's cocky is that really what we're getting down to but in a good way I think you need to be right in a individual sport to a degree I was never cocky but you need Robbie o oh oh lost that we got a little tricky with the back spin on it at 30 all that could have gotten dicey if it went back over the net well I'll tell you what almost got tricky as the ball kit almost reached up to grab the ball guys and at the last minute he pulled away just wondering if there was some hindrance there you know not that we needed it there but we do have video review system in operation across eight courts this year which is up from five courts last year starting to become more of a feature here at the US Open I don't think I haven't heard that we've had one this week Robbie have you heard no but I thought we should have had one I was doing Tommy Paul's match with Lorenzo Sono Lorenzo hits a volley at the net which turned out to be a winning volley but as he hits it he slips and his rord went into the net and whether the ball bounced twice or whether the racket hit the net first was so tight I'm surprised Tommy Paul didn't ask for a review I thought man I was going to be there and watch my first one but it didn't unfold hot topic of conversation after the the Jack Draper Felix so Alia seam incident in Cincy so it's good timing to have the eight courts here with video review technology cours are playing medium fast here in New York that's what we've been told that's our understanding so perhaps a touch slower than ciny do you agree with that Jim you were over there without that question I I'm not playing on the courts but I can just tell you in the conversations that I was having at the end of Cincinnati with players who had moved over here and were practicing on ash Stadium they were noticing that the balls which got smaller in Cincinnati cuz there were so little grain in the courts a little friction they were fluffing up immediately here which they likeed just missed it so center now on the cusp getting another break a serve but I can tell you the players by and large I'll be surprised if there's not a a the players don't make make it known to Cincinnati they want the court to be slower next year than it was this year because it was such an outlier speed and players like alcaraz were clearly flustered by it and a lot more comfortable here this an uncomfortable situation for the American triple break point for the Italian and another break of serf comes Midway through the opening set make them nice and quick so C once more uper break he broke early for melson hit back let's see whether he can build on this Advantage now 4-3 serving if he left us for the sit down Robbie kic was just telling us how much he he likes the the fast in courts that sounded like a servant voler talking there Robie I just wish had the surve to go with it what's your view on uh on court speeds and diversity of them Le I liked it I liked it having said that it did feel like a slightly strange Masters 1000 to me I didn't and I mean this trying not to say this in a negative way I didn't feel like many people were playing well it's the court speed we had a bit of wind as well there be a bit of weather to contend with I don't know whether you'd agree with that I'm not sure whether we saw best tennis from all concerned that you know well if if I'm making excuses for the players I numbers don't lie they were far more unforced errors than winners even by people winning matches it was ugly tennis I thought all week long whether that was due to fatigue from a compressed schedule with the Olympics this year here whether it was with the wind whatever the whatever the reason it was clear that the tennis level was not what we're used to seeing at these I'm a baseliner so I I like the I like when the rallies are physical I like when there's a chess match and and what I also noticed and Robbie may may disagree with this but the facts don't lie there were fewer net approaches people couldn't get to the net things were happening too quickly it's beautiful you'll see far more players of the net on this speed of surface cuz they'll have time to set up and play offense and then make their move in now if all surfaces probably were like Cincinnati you might see a resurrection of serving volley tennis a Max Percell Style game maybe you'd take 10 years for that to happen because people would have to start practicing it as Juniors but you know that that um that might bring that back to the four I I have my doubts given the equipment these days that you can be that successful servant in Vol but oh that's unbelievable how about that return well he's almost taken a body blow when returning serve and then on the very next swing he's landed a haym maker guys brings up a chance here get back on level terms once more s's reaction then no this is a big game problems in Cincinnati as well as having all the eight break points that nichelson had that they only came in individual opportunities none of the break points were at of 50 and 40 or 40 so you get that one chance each time it comes I can play a part and trying to break a g serve seems to lose his Bings there for a moment is it bright up there Robbie don't I'm not giving him that excuse because the the clouds are covering the sun there it was just a poor execution he actually decelerated for whatever reason on that smash certainly was trying to Shield his eyes from the Sun with his left hand and it looked like he also was just misjudging the wind if there is any wind down there looked like it did impact the Flight of the ball didn't get settled here comes another break point this time a second serve for mikkelson to attack second break of serve for the 20-year-old once more he responds [Applause] impressively G the case in Cincinnati he is proving to be a handful genten just my final thoughts on ciny was I mean I thought playing on Clay most of the guys we played at the Olympics I don't think it's a smart schedule I think a lot of them wanted to experience the Olympics and that's why I think I think it was a major contributor into the in the tennis not being good either yes of course the speed of the court and remember in Canada last year the wind blew like crazy and the tennis was ugly there too so that's also going to be a contributing factor so think it's definitely the only thing I'd argue is that it's not the surface alone I think there was a lot going on around ciny this year that contributed to the tennis not being as visually pleasing on the eyes we're used to seeing all right you rest your case well done this is something that he said he wants to work on more being a little bit more offensively minded he thinks that's the next level to his game and of course with improved physicality Jim the ability to get forward with urgency like that is going to be better get that ball while it's still above the heart of the net [Applause] wasn't sure whether that was good but of course electronic line calling here's the uh the close call on the big screen that's how close it was 99% out is 100% in all of a sudden changed the pace with a couple of for hands there C four all 30 all to the sharp end of this opening set let's see how he he copes here the youngster he just turned 20 just a few days ago in fact 25th of August my US Open birthday it's a good point from nichelson from a mental perspective cuz he was happy with the initial call of let when he got the UN returned serve thought the serve was way over Daman just held up the device to say Hey listen the machine went off so it was a good mini mental reset from Young Alex well done yes good Su Michelson made another final in Newport that's an ATP 250 grasscourt event just after Wimbledon back-to-back finals there made the final there in 2023 and another final in Winston Salem last week on the hard courts of the the Wake Forest University he's won quite a few matches of late put himself in a hole here with that double fault chance for another break of serve for yanic Center and Center not the only one carrying a little bit of a cloud into the US Open on the on arriving into the final things looking good for Mickelson and Winston Salem and then hit a ball in anger in in the into the stands and probably should have been defaulted in that final was certainly embarrassed and and uh almost devastated in real time when he realized what he'd done shook him up badly for a few days his team told me feeling a little bit better out here now just clear-minded with his vision of what he wants to do against Center which is play on that front foot and that makes sense when when movement is not necessarily the best asset you bring to the court if you can prevent your your opponent from playing offense you know that's that's the right strategy that's what Taylor Fritz does so well controls the center of the court against most players it's hard to do against someone who covers the court quite as well as Center though a lot of pressure on you all the time it's the ninth time he's been forward today four of nine of those net points won so far yeah those numbers would indicate he's probably pressing a little bit to get in too soon maybe wait a beat till he has a bigger advantage to come in for an easier volley but yes Center makes players have to confront those choices do I stay back and rally is that a better chance of winning against this complete player do I have to take on so much more risk than I'm comfortable with to stay with him those are the questions Center makes people answer another chance pressure building on the Young American how long can he survive this sort of pressure the American team hoping he can defend another break points here what a shame double fault p over the break and it could be a decis at the very least yeah good two here he's looking fit today so a chance to serve out this first set Eight Second serve points for Center played so far today he's won just one of them return to serve has been pretty effective from Nicholson really just deploying a simple strategy bang it flat and deep and push Center back and then go to work but not able to get in control on that rally punches away that overhead nicely second serve Point Lost first double fall for the Italian five breaks of serve already in this opening set slightly unusual in that regard about see another 15 two out of 11 on second serve points one is ridiculous Yanik Center is number one on tour this year winning second serve points he wins nearly 60% of them playing largely against the best players in the world he is in struggle town right now against Michelson I tell you that problem though don't have to hit second seres and you can be okay good behind the first serve 13 of 17 of those points one a percentage hovering around the 60% territory so far all do it it hasn't been the cleanest of service games but here is with set point and that will do it complicated set for the world number one have everything go his way Dr a couple of times but he's through the middle of the court and then I'm better than most people once the rally is at neutral and it's all kind of congealing for him so first set in the pocket 45 minutes of play here Comes set two 15 amazing when you look at the ball flight from The sardon View you watch the lower rank players you always think the ball's going to be landing short but when Yan set that back and I think it's going out because I'm so used to watching the Lesser rank Players Ball flight his stays in the air much longer you think it's going out no back meter of the court to miss the Olympics yanic with the tonsilitis issue was under the weather when he lost that long match against Medford ever Wimbledon as well he's had a few issues this summer dip as well that we mentioned 1 L this quarterfinal match in Montreal it's the first of the two back-to-back Masters events during the summer to Andre rublev seem to be in quite a bit of discomfort L first massaging that that hip area in Canada and it it it was evident early in ciny wasn't it he didn't look particularly comfortable that week Jim would you agree with that yeah it was evident throughout the tournament even in the final massaging getting treatment looked like he was limping around and yet he was still able to move as much much as he needed to but it is worrying that it's months and months following the initial problem in Monte Carlo that it's still trailing him when's he going to get the the monthlong break that he might need to actually heal would be the question I would have an Olympic year you know you get injured in the clay Court season in the run up to the Italian Open which he missed that had to hurt that showed you how much he was hurt and then he gets through Roland garos gets through Wimbledon would have gotten through the Olympics but for the tons solitis straight onto the Harden it's a full schedule but he's got to find us a little space in somewhere to get right you can't just keep carrying an injury ni [Applause] variation 1 14 yes it won't be long before the Asian swing is upon us W the Beijing title last year was a big week for C very very strong ATP 500 beating medev in the final significant Victory beat medev in as well last Autumn strikes early this has been uh profitable his coaches along with Robbie JY telling him don't worry about being down a break breaks breaking back it's available that you can attack his second serve so they're trying to keep them positive here in the face of this adversity setting a break down 15 left just back to Center he's a th points clear right now in the ATP race for the year in world number one so points made only this year in 2024 so that has to be a factor for him and his team try and year in number one which is a huge accomplishment and balancing that with the long-term view of we've got another 10 to 12 12 13 years to try and achieve a lot of things how do we make sure that we don't compromise anything long term that's the value having a team especially with someone like kahill who's been around world number one's plenty understands that the longevity battle it's tough bance isn't it because the the important weeks just keep coming of course he's going to have ATP finals on home soil that's massive as well isn't it came close to winning that last year will be another goal Davis Cup then to uh take part in you would imagine yanek will be part of that team having led the Italians to victory for the first time for a long time last year it's down in Malika in the south of Spain again just after the ATP finals fipo valandre I think isn't it the Italian Davis Captain he'll be on the phone Yanik in the team oh he doesn't have to be on the phone he's here in New York City he's roaming around lots of Italians for him to keep his eyes on not just Yanik I was about to say he's spoiled for Choice isn't he with mti's year bartini looking pretty good this summer although he lost last night to Taylor Fritz is that the right shot Rob for Nicholson to attack on probably like to see the view a little bit better from behind but I think if you had a f the hard hard court that that volley would have skitted through a bit more Jim a little more get under yourss on the second give me a little more not big advocate of approaching crosscourt that forand down the line approach I like natural pattern of play Then goes with a pass Cross Court just think he's got to improve the volleys there a little bit more stick on the volley would have helped so love two he's he's coming A couple of times randomly as I think such an important part of being good at the net is obviously picking the right shots to come in on right understanding those patterns of play I think that's the skill that he's still developing oh world class I'm still astonished how often players speaking of Italians lenzo Sono the other night against Tommy Paul half and he came in on a on a medium ball forand cross scor to Tommy's forehand and it's such a dangerous play how coaches don't pick that up players probably lose that pattern of play 80% of the time it's fabulous sprad anticipation from cner who's in the right spot at the right time waiting for the backand starting to pull away his early stages of set number two so tough there to defend against somebody who passes well down the line most direct way pass you at the net it's tough much tougher than the crosscourt [Music] [Applause] pass that ball was going to go wide for sure if the net didn't redirect it I don't know how the spin of the shot somehow cared it back into the court but that gets Nicholson to 30 all instead of to 1540 that was incredibly lucky if you're a Mickelson fan unlucky if you're a center fan jeez oh just couldn't quite stretch far enough so again it's just a it's an approach shot with not enough oomph or Precision to it look where this lands that is not an approach shot that is a recipe for disaster you have to absolutely be hurting yanic Center to get yourself in position at the net otherwise you're going to need I mean I don't know what to happen to win a point that's why he's four of 13 at the net that's just boy that's a that's a nice little note for his coaching staff to to go out on the court and practice thumping approach shots you can go to big targets but you've got to rip the cover off the ball and make sure you're getting a nice easy volley to hit either that was no man's land and it's another break but uh definitely being outplayed here on Arthur Ash stadium so far trying to buy a set of three love Robbie but you've probably got the best view of Alex mikkelson down there do you like the overall package you're excited about his future I am I think he's got so much upside just speaking to couple of people that train out there with him of course my good friend Chris Gro out in San Diego helps out learn it in a bit they used to practice together quite a bit but it's not so much the case anymore but he was saying they play a lot of points that's what they like to do at the little academy that they train out in California and he still thinks there's so much upside for his game when he becomes a bit more disciplined hitting a few more balls help the consistency but I think one of the reasons he's such a good competitor Le is because he just loves playing points and you learn some great skills by doing that and you become a good match player how often do we see players hting millions of reps on the courts ni comfortable baset drills but when they get out in a match they're not as good as problem solving because the ball is not exactly where it uh where they want it to be and I always think it's a massive Advantage when you have a lot of success when you're young it just grows that belief that you belong at the highest level and he certainly had that oh too much wrong in this set but let's judge that one 14 to Jim's point you know now that he's played a against Janek on two occasions top Closs opposition the feedback is you know it's it's in your face it'll be tough feedback improvements need to be made and you realize that at a young age so you can Implement from early on in your career well you hope that they will Implement sooner rather than later game so the first four games disappear pretty quickly in this second set different story compared to the first that's the uh the official website address just appearing in the bottom right of the screen usopen.org that's your home for all the live scoring throughout this first week and Beyond of course all the highlights on there the real time stats the draws and schedules once we get into the second half of the day the Friday schedule will be appearing fairly soon visit the official tournament website that's usopen.org plenty of tennis around the grounds today to keep track of as is always the case face early on in these majes top half of the men's draw today top half of the women's singles draw as well so 15 some big names in action alcar later today Sinner and alcaras in theory on a a collision course for the semi-finals that both in the top half joov and down in the bottom ring ring Danielle me is online one for you would like a word he's in Center's quarterfinal just tell I'm not available have you heard he's a hardcourt specialist although he has not been playing up to his typical awesome standard on the surface no he's had a funny summer summer yeah he has not played great but he is ever dangerous once he gets in motion a finalist here last year he likes it here former champion of course yeah Robbie and I did his Opening match which was wasn't easy against L you played well Rob didn't he he did he needed to a li from laich in the second set was phenomenal love but was it phenomena doll Robie only Reser served for one player come on CH come on give me a little something I need a little special con sauce at some point the expert we all look up to you jumbo it's only cuz you're court side and we're up here in the nose beds but hey guys I'm I'm looking at the the stats from when these guys played and and cinc and I didn't call that match so I didn't see it in great detail just highlights but net points one for Michelson there again in the negative five for 12 better than he's doing so far here that was a better approach there that was a desperate pass rather than a settled pass 13 14 so that's that kind of data if you're a coaching team you you definitely have that top of Mind top of your legal pad when you're thinking about what we're going to work on on a go forward basis it's not an aberration that's a pattern bre point to defend another service game that slips away it's been a tough set be hasit better a better athlete than he was a year ago and he he already is next year he'll be even better familiar pattern familiar outcome yeah a lot of a problem there in the technique he's waiting for the ball to come to him he's trying to hit it as late as possible rather than going to meet it he's quite upright so a lot of it is movement related three points away from a two set lead all right so that is just the second forehand winner of this match for Alex mikkelson so if you're trying to change an outcome here I think at this stage he should realize that net rushing is not going to get it done and this is the next move try and go nuclear on the ground strokes and finish things off there or if if Center's able to get a paw on it hopefully he just chops it up in the air and you can hit overheads or high volleys but he's got to go bigger off the ground strokes now [Applause] that's what I would be saying if I was Jay Le Nicholson's coach who's been barking instructions when he can trying to keep his player positive 30 couple of big serves just at the right time from Center there he is with set point effective Ser into the body to wrap things up and it is a second set Bagel to for the world number one C Le two sets to love new Wes please to to make more of a match of this one so hopefully that'll be the case in this third set let's see what he can produce like to see him get up stop sitting still his fans get a little passion going down there right now it's a little flat which is understandable when it's a oneway traffic and an American's on the the losing into things big day tomorrow for two of the most exciting Americans tifo and Shelton how you see that one chicking out Le going to be fun isn't it it's going to be fun it's good to see Francis playing some some better tennis in ciny make the final of course are you asking for a winner no I'm just asking for your you know what your feelings are around the match yeah two massive personalities both Play exciting tennis come on let's put Jim on the spot here Jim I'll tell you one thing it's I I think that TFO reacted last year he was kind of muted emotionally during the match all right good Vol there off of a straight down the middle approach but I thought that Francis was a little bit at almost intimidated in a way with with the Ben's ability to get the crowd engaged and his brashness out there the boldness with which he plays and you know kind of carries himself out there I expect there to be a little bit more kind of chest to chest of that trying to fight for who gets the crowd uh in that match I think it's going to be a pretty taught Affair I can't pick a winner Robbie like it like it you're a big fan of the one-on-one combat Robbie aren't you I am I absolutely love it I think that third set tiebreaker was a real Tipping Point for TFO last year 14 it yeah they said tie break if you can remember that sequence of points I think was Shelton who had two set points then tiao saves both of those he has a set point of his own on serve doesn't take it and then eventually Ben wins that third set and everything unfolded thereafter I think whoever won that third set was going to win the match that gave Ben the momentum and of course the the hanging up of the phone at the end of the match was just the that was the icing right everybody was talking about it there after I think it caught a few people's attention [Applause] yeah trying to put a game back on the board it's been a minute for him hour and 14 minutes of play this is moving a pace boy what a bluff huh got away with that one that was a pair of twos coming to the net I thought that was normal Jim par two King Heim big first game this can to get things back on track early in the third it's just deep yeah well done that's a start Tennis Academy in flgo Florida where we would play games where you had to get the ball past the service line and if you didn't you lost the point the only space available in the court it's not a anything groundbreaking I'm sure people were doing that all over the world long before that but that was a focus of us was playing games that that had to require depth and as you got better the depth was required even closer to the Baseline you get half of the that box that space but even as a pro as we see Nicholson rip beforehand winner there starting to unload a little bit when I was lucky enough to to join forces with Jose haaris the great Spanish player and Coach he would put uh a net like kind of like a a pole over the net so I had to hit the ball with a basically double the height of the net to focus on getting more shape on the shot and depth because Americans tend to be very aggressiv minded tennis players innately we tend to play at most of our tennis on hard courts hit a lot flatter ground strokes than some of the Europeans that grow up on Clay so as haaris was a Spaniard he taught Michael Chang the same things he taught me he taught Todd Martin so many of the players that came through Palm Springs with him we learned how to play more like a European and it worked well for us does any of that ring true for your upbringing in SA it's funny because I remember when I would do drills crosscourt for me it was about making the shots and not having the emphasis on the depth while I made 20 backhand cross courts in the drill yeah I'm feeling good but I wasn't cognizant enough of where they were Landing Jim and I think you that's just a mistake on on my understanding of what I was doing that was kind of a funky forehand wasn't it off the lob yeah this is the tough end where melson is because the sun is out now and it's a lot brighter than earlier gentlemen so just couldn't could pick that up could he absolutely the angle that was coming in it was just perfectly aligned with the sun I do like that he's hitting more aggressively on his ground strokes though early doors here in set three definitely seeing a little more velocity and intensity in those shots a little more intent to do damage beautifully redirected through his Opening Service game one giml third set just to conclude that point I think depth is that magic elixir in this sport so often you can get told to focus on rack at head speed and and hitting the ball hard but I think at the same time you have to have big cognizance of where the ball lands so tough to defend depth now Alex is looking straight into the sun now then of course you couple dip with pace and they're in business [Applause] 30 love [Applause] 40 love much better start to this that's where alarz finds himself vope later alcarez had a pretty friendly draw overall when it came out given herot's knee troubles as his seed he was slated to meet in the quarterfinals could open the door for someone who's having a tremendous year and Alex deor see if the demon can step through that opportunity too good too quick oh it's like a panther across the court left good Sprinter out of the blocks he was so low for his first four steps and of course that gives you much better perspective when you want to then execute your shot you're not upright you had a better visual of the Court what an athlete this guy is many will be aware of course of his passed as a a champion skier from where he came from in the in the mountains of Austria um Italy excuse me very close to the the Austrian border though I was watching Yanik in in Vienna last year it was like it was like a a local hero in Vienna had a real connection with the crowd it was once the austrians Lost in the draw he was he was the favorite given the connection with Novak as well I think the next generation of tennis players are all going to grow up being skiers certainly in the early years it'll be G enough it'll be the precursor to being a world class tennis player two games over third set quick reminder to join us on social media can stay connected to the US Open on Facebook X Instagram Tik Tok YouTube and WhatsApp this year join the ation with us open go go do you both subscribe to the theory that those days skiing definitely helped lay the foundations in terms of his movement something that we sometimes talk about possibly maybe it makes him more comfortable sliding open stance hasn't seemed to hinder some other players quite capable who didn't have a lot of snow nearby but it's a great story so I'm willing to allow it and just go with the flow don't need to fight everything that you guys say I honestly I mean I I think it's a cute story but I most important secret sauce to learning how to move effectively on a tennis court is growing up with a lot of clay underneath your feet and sliding is totally natural you don't worry about it I think the the very best thing is centers threatening to get potentially a fatal break here love 30 is for players to to do what I had the luxury of doing which is to play on a clay court and a hard court in the same day don't change your shoes don't change anything just go do it terrible lock trouble the the point um that I really enjoyed about that was I was not intimidated or thinking much about changing surfaces because I did it basically three or four times a week at Tennis Academy now I know it's that's a luxury of itself to be in an environment that has those surfaces but if you can that's the best way to be a great mover in tennis St slips away but two more [Applause] chances 18 looking to go on the attack imagine he'll be very pleased to get through this in straight sets if he can race through this third set given how tight it was in ciny between these two he's got him again off so with the break two set Advantage looking good in this third now 3-2 look to finish things quickly 30 aluchi or okon will be the two plays he could face next probably in the warm-up Zone underneath Arthur Stadium he go fiant and shibahara getting ready to play here next up on ash it's about that time you get the bands out you get on the bike maybe the treadmill start to get the blood flowing juices flowing another world number one coming on court traveling in pairs they played the night sessions a night session together on Tuesday night as wellon leading off it's a nice ticket a day session today it's have to get your hands on these tickets as is always the case record numbers through the gates this this week and last week during fan week game Jim I don't have a stats monitor in front of me what the approaches for sin so far in this contest please he's four of four in this sat and he's 13 for 18 overall so just a shade over 70% those are uh except numbers I think Robbie what about you absolutely I was just looking back at that epic match that he played against alcarez and I remember was commentating on it with Nick and we all thought of alcarez as somebody who's who's adventurous but even that night you know yanek was learning his trade he came in 64 times in that match against alcarez when he lost in the quarters and with good success as well he came in more than alcarez that evening and that's where Darren and Simon have been good that growth mindset that they've always encouraged but having a student who's prepared to then take it on and do it in a match it's not always easy hope nichelson learns from that the combination depth and power just need to pull away once more Finish Line is within sight now not a good feeling for Alex mikkelson he looks out of ideas over there definitely a little overwhelmed by the awesomeness of yanic Center at the moment oh love 140 baby match points boys three of them yep almost done this [Music] [Applause] one 18 14 15th break point of the match for cner for his eighth break of serve today 1 14 one more chance game good from the top seat just playing tenis and he's we know he's pretty good at that three more points will do it the recent Cincinnati champion champion in Miami earlier this year as well Center at Masters 1,000 level the biggest tournaments on the ATP Tour nine of those through the season 13 level thir just a second double fall today it's been pretty light on Aces this mat just three a piece that's Sensational that's what that is guys the movement just I was just focusing on Yan's movement in that point and he is so explosive and for such a big guy he gets down so well the soft skills of that little slice crosscourt the short slice and then the acceleration with the forehand he got such a wonderful skill set you're able to use it beautifully two match points mostly on Cru control today after TI token too good for the young American fairly one-sided in truth four love and two today into round three [Applause] and that will be a pleasing outcome experience and result gym here inside arur rash Stadium all good things for yanic Center playing on