LIVE | Ugo Humbert v Arthur Fils | AO Animated | Australian Open 2025

Watch LIVE as Ugo Humbert faces Arthur Fils on John Cain Arena on day 6 of Australian Open 2025.

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Welcome to the official Australian Open TV YouTube channel. The Australian Open 2025 main draw runs from 12-26 January in Melbourne. The tournament takes place for the 113th time and is the first Grand Slam of the year. Jannik Sinner is the men’s singles reigning champion and Aryna Sabalenka is the women’s singles reigning champion. The tournament takes place on 25 hard courts, including Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena. Look out for highlights, press conferences, memorable moments and much more!

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a factor in your self-belief out there and KY shakori certainly has that self-belief in a fifth set so I thought Tommy did a really good job to wrap that up in four and also for onc court time as he wants to make his way later in the tournament you don’t want to have too much extra energy exerted in these early rounds for guys who are hoping for second week week deep runs that’s incredibly correct because of the fact that Chris oconnell match four hours out there a very high level against oconnell also had a little bit of a shoulder issue in that matchup been told it’s fine nothing to worry about nothing like a shoulder tear tendon tear anything like that but it’s something we’ll want to make sure we do keep an eye on it’s also weird that it’s in the left shoulder not the one that he’s using as a dominant right shoulder yeah it is a bit weird and Tommy has a backhand and he very much engages the left arm he’s very left-and dominant when it comes to the way he hits his backand so that’s something that will play a factor if there is a bit of a discomfort there some guys hit their backand with a little bit less left hand involved Tommy’s a guy who really needs both limbs to be on point and I think that you know in the middle of the tournament you don’t want to give away too much information so if it is something that’s bothering him it might be a thing that you know he doesn’t really give us all the information about what’s going on behind the scenes but with that being said with it not being his serving arm it’s one of those things that sometimes you can take a little bit of I’ll say pain masking medicine and eventually get your way through the tournament yeah and I think he should be just fine here today carbas married one year ago seems like he’s got everything in order in his life right now and we’ll see if he’s going to be able to get everything in order here in this particular match 0 and2 versus the top 20 here top 20 has been a tough one for him his last top 20 win the US Open in 2023 he’ll have a big opportunity in front of him year today as we meet our two players here John Kane aren it’s time to introduce the players into John Kane arena for this men’s singles match at the Australian Open please welcome from Spain Roberto Cabas Baya [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and from the United States of America Tommy [Music] Paul Tommy didn’t know which way to go directionally challenged there Ryan do I go left do I go straight he might be directionally CH challenged walking onto the court but he certainly knows where he’s going on the court he’s one of the best Movers On Tour and he in anticipates incredibly well so I think the Tommy Paul speed and movement is one of those parts of his game that’s really really well known in the locker room when you go out to play Tommy Paul it’s something it’s the last thing everybody says he’s a great mover he really gets to a lot of balls you don’t expect him to get to yeah and that’s what really propelled that big push for him got to 11 right now that is a career high last week had he beaten Felix a aliim in the semi-final matchup in Adela would have been top 10 for the first time in his career I know that is kind of lingering back in the back of the brain but the focus very much clear here for him here today and talking to Brad Stein a little bit earlier the idea for him just to play his style of tennis today and really dictate with that allaround game that he brings to the table and you and I both looking for him to move forward here today yeah for sure when you come out to these matches especially against a guy who’s a lower ranked player that hasn’t been on this stage before you want to be The Driver out there as we see both guys make their way up to the co he’s going to gentlemen just a few reminders we’re going to take a picture with Dari after the Coos in this Direction please electronic line calling like before so the system makes all the calls including footballs we also have VR here so if there’s a KN up a touch a foul shot called by me you can challenge that three times per set and then they’re going to show it on the board to make sure we got the right call and um best of five sets as before final set is tie break to 10 first four sets normal we have the towel boxes red and blue obviously blue for you today red for you if you need more towels please let me know I need to call for it and last but not least the shot clock is displayed in all the Four Corners here in the bottom of the LED banners do you have any questions no okay you want to ask Tommy or Roberto for the TOs Tommy John yuk or AO AO for you and here we go fantastic and it’s John yuk receive receive okay picture this way please Tommy Paul electing to receive big day for this young Manor our chair umpire keeping an eye on the proceedings here today so yeah the conditions here are obviously pretty comfortable for these two players and let’s let’s start with Tommy Paul over here the 27-year-old American as we mentioned 11 in the world what has made this tournament Ryan so special for him over the last couple of years well Tommy’s a guy who’s he’s got a really high tennis IQ and I’ve always talked about Tommy as a guy his athleticism has always been there but his tennis IQ and the way that he manages his emotions in between points has been an incredible push over the last several seasons it’s gotten better every year Brad Stein as coach is a really well accomplished Coach and he’s always done a good job of helping Tommy steer the ship as he as he continues to develop as you not talked about toward the top 10 I’ve really been impressed with the way that he controls the emotions in between the points Roberto kavaya SAA the 57th ranked player in the world his career High April of 2023 49 in the world as we mentioned just the clay court early in the career more and more opportunities for him on the hardcourts third round for the first time here and this has been where he’s been stopped and never has advanced past this round in a grand slam well I’ve been really impressed particularly on his forehand side he’s done a good job of kind of abbreviating his swing a bit on the clay he gets this big back swing going and he gets a lot lot of wind up on it as he plays a little bit faster surfaces he’s done a good job as you can see even in the just taking a little bit more time away and that’s something that suited him well as his game tries to transition from a clay Court specialist to an all Court player Tommy Paul three titles for him last year in 2024 in Dallas Queens Stockholm two indoor titles one grasscourt title he’s a guy who won Roland Goos jior Ryan everybody kind of thought he was going to be one of those clayt dogs but just so good on a fast Court well he’s got a very complete game he can do a lot of different things with the ball he can manipulate the ball he can add SP he can take spin off the ball he also can play longer points and at other times he’s able to transition a lot which is one of the things on this fast all stri an open hardcore will look to see if he can Implement Dan he also talks about how he’s never satisfied just wants to keep working and he really puts in the time I know Franco Herrera the physio the strength and conditioning coach back in Florida is watching with a couple of guys Ethan Quinn Alex ribakov who have been training with Tommy for many many years as well they’re all having a little bit of a watch party down in Florida as you see the conditions kind of Florida esque right now I’m sure it’s pretty much the same 20° C there is a little bit of a breeze here today but mostly sunny skies and we’re going to be able to avoid the rain here today and we’re joined right now by Tommy Paul’s coach Brad Stein down Courtside and Brad obviously last year the focus for Tommy was so heavy on that footwork and was able to take advantage of the athleticism what’s been the emphasis these last two months as he looks to crack the top 10 for the first time in his career uh Hey guys good to be on with you guys to start with and then I think our offseason this uh this year Mike was was based around trying to push Tommy to play uh a little bit bigger a little bit bigger ball striking a little bit more pace and heaviness on the ball combination of those things and a little bit more aggressive patterns trying to find a little bit higher degree of offense in his game uh so that he can compete at the very top level with the very best guys and uh we felt it’s really important for him to do that in every single match that he’s playing as he starts trying to own that more and more well that’s awesome news Brad I’m glad to hear that he’s starting to play that sort of aggressive style you’ve been pushing him to implement it my thought is is as he inches closer to the top 10 is this something that you guys talk about in the way to manage those emotions obviously that’s a big milestone we all Chase is this something you have talked with him about or have you just kind of let it be and let it be much of the same no it was definitely a focus a number of years ago Ryan uh and then also with the with the Advent of coaching actually on court coaching we had to reexamine it a little bit to to kind of balance out where he wanted to be and and and what we felt was uh his best state of mind to be producing his best tennis that’s awesome well we are looking forward to see how he plays out there today thanks a lot for joining us and hopefully you guys have a great one out there best of luck all right thanks guys all right so Brad Stein never short of work Birds Ryan it’s why he’s a very good commentator as well well we love Brad he will tell you what’s going on he’ll tell you what he’s thinking and we really appreciate him giving us that Peak behind the scenes as to what’s going on in the Tommy Paul brain it’s going to be really fun out there today I look forward to seeing these guys get off to a fast start yeah and I think what’s always really kind of impressed me about this relationship is Brad has always just kind of said to me let Tommy Paul be Tommy Paul and that means just exploring that athleticism now exploring more and more offensive parts of his game at that young stage 10 years ago 17 18 so much of it was Defensive just way back behind the Baseline there’s much more on top of it right now we’ll see if he’s able to implement it here today M Ryan Harrison will bring you along for the ride it’s going to be carbas BHO who’s coming to the near side to serve here we will have to deal with that sun on the serve on the far side of the Court just a little bit as this match progresses through the afternoon car spia on the better side for it here to start this very large surface here John kanaren a lot of width on this court a lot of depth on this court so you can take a lot of different return positions as well but it will be caras Bay to serve here third 25 Australian Open ready play it’s good start for kayas spia because I think Ryan I think you and I would agree he has to be offensive here today to keep Tommy Paul away from that net well getting up on those short balls in the opportunity presents itself is going to be very important because Tommy’s not a guy who lets you off the hook he moves so well he can pass that ball by you if you don’t get up to it kayasa has served identically 66% for his first two wins over Alejandra tabilo the 23 seed in four and as well in straight sets over James Duckworth incredibly clean off the ground in that Duckworth match in particular just 16 unforced errors across those three sets it’s not bad just absolutely d right into the corner and 1530 quickly let cler [Applause] Tommy does such a good job Ryan of of just retreating back behind the Baseline when he realizes he’s given up an offensive opportunity but that speed allows him to stay in the points so incredibly well and kayas Bay is going to have to take advantage of that as much as possible Chris o Connell was throwing in some Drop shots to keep him honest at times well his coach Brad Stein commented on that a bit in the pre-match and I think that that’s a tricky sort of adjustment for a guy who’s gone so far by being such a good athlete and then as he talked about learning to to be a bit more aggressive when the opportunity presents itself well that’s the game plan summed up in one point isn’t it just getting carasia stretch side to side and then looking to move forward that’s really well done yeah using his speed offensively he’s a great mover and he’s always used his feed his speed incredibly defensively but being able to close the net off in a way that gets that ball high over the net where the volley becomes really routine is really important for him as he looks to implement more transition tennis clean another winner off that backhand Wing from Tommy Paul to grab a break chance early well if the early stages are any indicator you’re not going to see car balis bayana getting a lot of free points on serve every service game is going to be really hard one because Tommy doesn’t miss a lot of returns and carbal bana doesn’t hit a lot of aces that’s just incredible dep from Tommy Paul able to handle things when that point got reset and just finding his way through to an early break the American leads one left so then it becomes this question to you Ryan how does kayas MAA hurt Tommy Paul here today well he was two for two in transition net there he won both points the first and the fourth point of the match both times getting into the net and I think he’s going to have to do a of that because Tommy Paul’s not going to just make random mistakes off the back of the court so it’s going to be about carbal SP delivering that Baseline blow that pushes Tommy Paul back behind the court which is at times where we’ve seen bradin talk about needing to adjust his court position and getting up into more offensive positions and then once he does get Tommy Paul back he’s going to have to sneak in so obviously that it’s a pretty good stat for Tommy Paul good front runner for him 12 seat number 11 in the world serves here one love 15 [Applause] left yeah that’s 13 [Applause] 40 left Well Done by Tommy Paul recognizing the short response getting up there inside the court it’s all about taking time away notices this ball lands short just inside the service line that looks very comfortable and that’s what you want when you’re being aggressive controlled aggression yeah first Miss but a very aggressive miss out of Tommy Paul one of those acceptable ones on that back can line yeah it’s just so clear that he just wants to get carbas Spa stretched in carbas Spa does a very good job of resetting points while on the full stretch game PA well again it’s the dep from Tom pushing Calis by in a back way behind the court you’re seeing him back where those Shadows are he’s almost that far behind the court that’s 10 15t behind the court the Tommy Paul’s pushing him back there I think we saw a look there paage Loren Kent caner head of US Tennis as well paig and Tommy an item for what about three years now as carbas Baya serves here at love two Ryan this is some start well it’s beautifully well done again using the transition tennis based on the depth pushing carbal Mana back and he transitions well this ball actually drops a little bit below the net and he’s still able to use that touch what a beautiful little angle volley there just Out Of Reach and a perfect three for three right now is Tommy Paul net points one just missing there on that forehand that gets away from Tommy Pauls we mentioned three titles for Tommy last year and really spread out throughout the year February June and October big Eagles fan as well it’s a big game for him coming up Monday morning Eagles taking on the Rams in the NFL playoffs back home so I’m sure he’ll be very occupied Monday morning I believe 7 a.m. local time here pretty PR pure on that backand once again com B in some real trouble here at 1530 this is just absolutely textbook stuff from Tommy Paul game plan being perfected on court he’s got two more Brink chances well that pressure just paying off with the double fault on break point as well all Tommy Paul early the American two breaks to the good at three left well Relentless pressure here early on from Tommy Paul as we talked about the UNR returned serve stats in that first game we were commenting on for cabales bayani he’s only at 9% 1 for 11 of returns that have not come back so Tommy Paul is basically making him play every single point under an immense amount of pressure and now double break in hand it’s definitely not the start the Carbell B was hoping to get out to but if you’re Tommy Paul you’ve got to feel really comfortable about the way you’re striking the ball here particularly when he’s been changing the direction he’s gotten up the ball and changed Direction very nicely in the early stages three epic prizes first prize the Ultimate VIP finals experience second prize will get on court with an Australian tennis Legend and third PR will get you support the Australian tennis dis well near perfect day here Melbourne and a near perfect start for Tommy Paul as well three love 11 minutes into this one serving from the more difficult side this time of the day with the roof open here John Kane Arina Tommy a new balance combining with a little bit of aussy colors green and yellow here in his match kits love 15 h you know even though Tommy has misfired here a couple of times I worry about the just work rate that kayas spaya is having to put in early in this match and how that might affect him fourth and fifth sets potentially well he’s okay working on these return points when he gets in the Tommy Paul service game it’s really worrying the way that he’s not getting any fre points on serve that’s the ones that you want to try and get more efficient approaches but here on if he’s able to get three four five shots in the Tommy Paul service games that’s a win for him Tommy Paul doing a really good job there of setting him up for the down the t- serve when he got down on the service game he was establishing the wide serve early on and then waiting until he needed that point and a little bit of setting your opponent up yeah didn’t quite hit the approach where he wanted and carbas Spa makes him pain grabs a couple of break chances 154 that’s the WID s you were talking about why it’s it’s so important today well when you see a guy like carbas B who’s so far behind the court a lot of times what you want to try and do is open the court up you you want to get the position where even if they make the return the open court is there to be hit and that’s exactly what Tommy Paul was able to implement there that’s Sav first break point beautiful little passive from carbas Spa when he had the opportunity to be offensive line well you can tell he’s waiting to see what Tommy Paul’s going to do right now the points are being one or lost on the racket of Tommy Paul and here just being down break point but not hesitating at all stepping in taking this backhand line over the high part of the net and even though the scoreboard pressure was there he still has the answer Advantage p to boot for Tommy Paul game point now well great servers have a way of setting you up they think about these things ahead of times how I want to establish these patterns what serves I want to be available to me whenever I need a point and Tommy Paul has twice now gone to that t- serve after setting up the wide serve to get two UNR returnables down in the score help I don’t know that early in his career Ryan that he had the maturity and discipline to be able to do that and execute a game plan like this and I think that’s been one part that we haven’t really talked about necessarily over the last couple of years we talk about the speed the athleticism the offensive capability but really just him maturing through the years has been much more important again changing direction with the backhand down line he’s setting himself up so well on those points pushing carbal by in a back and then using the change of Direction whenever the opportunity presents itself and Mike to further your point to me there’s a difference between a shopmaker and a tennis player and early on his career Tommy Paul was an electric shopmaker but again having that experience of Brad Stein behind him has really developed him in to a pure strategist out there yeah well done return drop shot combination saw that as I mentioned Tommy Paul had to deal with it against Christopher oconnell a few days ago in his first round win and that is a really good play if you’re able to get that return with some depth against Tommy Paul he backs up oh well I think that might have been going wide Tommy Paul thinks it was going wide he looked at Brad Stein there and just showed his hand gesture of how far out he thought it was going just a little unaware of where he was in the court as he tried to cover that down the line shot but here it is carbal Bay with a third break point as we take a look he flicks this well off the net but this ball looks like it’s traveling well into the alley and Tommy just stretches out and helps out his opponent a little there I’d rather see a player miss that ball rather than just let it go especially when you are a little bit disoriented yeah better variety in that point and that game from caras Baya he gets one of the breaks back to 3-1 PA leads three games to one well regardless of the outcome of this set it’s just really important for carbal plan to get his teeth sunk in this match stopped the bleeding a little bit it was one-way traffic pretty much all going Tommy Paul’s way in the early stages but that will feel like a big breath of fresh air just to feel like okay this is a match now I can start getting self going and we’ll see if he’s able to land a few more first serves here [Applause] oo just a little ambitious sets the point up so well and just on that very last opportunity blinks a little bit a little too ambitious out that’s again lovely movement forward from Tommy Paul you talked about it that Ser percentage dropping here for kayas Bia early in Paul is now won six of the Eight Second Ser return points he’s looked at well Tommy Paul is always a guy who makes a lot of returns and particularly for a guy like carballes bayana who doesn’t get a lot of free points on serve it just feels like every service game for carballes bayana is more of a baseline game than it is an actual service game for him because he’s just not getting ahead in these points early on another double fault for him it’s number three that’s well saved does a nice job of getting up have we’ talked about the points he has has won on serve he has done well in transition getting up on those short ball opportunities but first serves will help with that he’s not going to get too many short responses off the Tommy Paul racket behind the second serve and that does make him four for four net points one so far with that good Court awareness 14 1 a much needed first serve setting up the game point first by has come storming back now down just a single break 3-2 Midway through the first well one thing you wanted to keep an eye on Ryan was just this return average here where these two players are making contact with the returns yeah if we look at caralis Bay he backs up on the second server turn that red line is the second server turn hit point you see Tommy Paul much more inside the court playing offensive tennis on second server turns carbal bayana backing way up there so that he can take a little bit more ground and that’s just not serving him well as Tommy Paul gets him on the move on that first [Music] shot C so this is going to go for very good answers let’s hear these two [Applause] Tommy Paul box here Kent caner head of us coaching for the men’s side Satoshi oi USDA trainer long time has been there for a long time you won’t find anyone out here as good of a person as him maybe it’s good but not better it’s Tommy Paul here at 3 two it’s been a good tournament for the American men Ryan just seeing Marcos giron into the third round Taylor Fritz Alex MS and obviously what Leonard Tien did last night was pretty special as well that was remarkable at that stage late night for a teenager to come out there for a top five win at a major unbelievable effort 15 Tony looking to lead the way into the fourth round grabs his third Ace of the day 30 15 forehand starting to spray just a tad bit here for Paul and a taser now 30 all total of 10 unforced errors for him early in this one to go along with 10 winners he does a great job fighting off this aggressive return and that’s one of the improvements for the carbal B game on Hardcore willing to take that on as we talked about in the early stages he was really backing up on second server turns but on that big point there he steps in cracks it but it was Tommy Paul with the fleet of foot able to get that point turned around sets up game point opportunity that’s smart really well done there recognizing the fourth positioning of car electing to go with the heavy kick first serve taking a little bit of time a little bit of space away from carbal bayana with that first ball and opening up the court and stopping that bleeding as well really had a bit of momentum did carbas Baya so Paul stems it for the moment last game with the original balls here and carayas Maya serving from that difficult spot Jose Maria Garros the coach for kayas Baya SW Paula there as well well again carbal bayana net points W five for five 100% so far today when he’s able to transition if that’s any indicator of what he’s needing to do to stay his way into this match it’s got to be a little bit more of getting in that’ll make it a perfect six for six now for carbas B after that short response from Paul 30 left serve percentage inching back to where it needs to be again the first two matches for him 66% now at 57 for this one well the serve percentage will be lower today for sure and that’s based on the quality of the return from Tommy Paul when you’re playing against a lower ranked opponent or somebody who doesn’t make as many returns you don’t feel the pressure to hit that first serve quite as fine Tommy Paul makes you feel like you have to paint the sidelines with the serve so therefore the percentage drops [Applause] 40 15 crush and Rush from Tommy pole beautiful stuff as we talk about the athleticism coming in does such a good job of recognizing that single hand as soon as you see that single hand on the racket for a double-handed backing you know it’s a good opportunity to get forward and that was his key to make that transition move [Applause] that’s a good point for Kai keeping inside the Baseline the entire time and finds another solid into the ball change Paul leads four games to three well new balls new racket getting something with a little tighter attension as these balls will fly through the net 4 and 39 lifetime against the top 20 Ryan that’s a that’s a tough record and it’s kind of what’s kind of held him in this 50 to 80 range for much of his career well to beat the top players in the world you have to really go after you can’t just exist out there make balls and that’s been large in part why caralis man has been incredibly consistent incredibly predictable as well he’s a guy who takes care of business against lower ranked players but has struggled against the top players it’s about having weapons when you want to take top players out and if you don’t have those weapons then it can be a struggle but as we’ talked about doing a lot better on hard courts in recent months and taking it on that last point was an example of playing more aggressive tennis well the CBD in the background here at jca and RCB taking on TP it’s a lot of initials mixed in there m can I call you RH it doesn’t feel right RH is fine okay I’ve been called other things going to leave that for a podcast maybe Tommy Paul does show the new balls to carbas Baya serving here 43 beautifully struck M to clarify my legal first name is Patrick that’s where that’s where I was going with that I Patrick Ryan Harrison is the full name so PR is the full initial okay actually didn’t know that fun fact yeah you’ve kept that you’ve kept that Under Wraps very well I have I have F let’s second Ser very aggressive line there by carvia two return winners and quickly to left 30 and it’s him stepping inside the core as we talked about early on we looked at the return positioning on the second serve he was standing way back you can see watch him step inside the court here take this on big crack off the forehand side love 30 opportunity to try and get back on serve really making time Paul work right now for love 40 and three chances love 40 good move there love to see Tommy staying aggressive despite being down it’s what you’ll see a lot of top players doing the scoreboard it doesn’t necessarily change their game style when he gets the opportunity he takes it on again quickly sneaking forward so good so good from carbal the most aggressive return game that he has had yet stepping in cracking forehand after forehand from three love down double break draws it back four games a piece here and breaks the game with new balls the most difficult game to break throughout the set is when a server serving with new balls it’s this really unique combination as you mentioned this idea that he’s Incorporated more aggression into his game and on top of it that steady component that he’s always had since his Junior career brings that into the table just reducing the errors right now as well let for for beautiful vintage Tommy Paul defense to offense in the blink of an eye rare moment where kayas Baya didn’t make the best decision about whether to move forward or not how good is that return love well that’s been the maturity and the professionalism from Tommy Paul from 30 up double break gives the break back and then gives the second break back but shaking it off quickly and finds himself at a love 30 opportunity to see if he can set up an opportunity to serve for the first set despite the missed chances so far today there he is dead run Tommy Paul the foot speed so much notorized and talked about love 40 way outside the court with this open stance back in and it’s the way he’s able to flick the wrist get this ball down low below the level of the net break back chance first point that kayas Baya has lost at the net now six of seven oh trickles over not only trickles over but moves left that ball was going wide so fortunate in two aspects yeah definitely wide no doubt about it well you might be wondering how that could happen and the net where the net posts are in the alley is actually several inches higher than it is where the net strap is in the middle of the court so there’s a very slight decline that goes toward the middle of the net and if you hit the net in one of those areas that’s close to the alley the ball actually has a tendency to jump toward the court so a third look now for Paul and all three wiped away to Deuce we go yes [Music] Ed really well by carbas FAA to grab a game point and ven K well it’s all about the disguise for this drop shot for carbal Bay he sets it up really well loads up like he’s going to deliver the powerful forehand blow and ever so slightly at the last second changes the grip catches Tommy a little bit too far back behind the court k b just not missing digging himself out of a love 40 deficit Kad Tak his first lead of the day 54 f well those two break deficits nearly impossible to overcome but not for Roberto kayas Baya he’s taking a 5-4 lead here at the AA River nearby MCG in the background as well see dbd back there and some of the best coffee in the world as well Tommy Paul needs some right now little spark of energy he serves the state in the set 4 five [Applause] 15 left 14 net points so far Ryan is that in line with where you wanted him to be he’s doing really well in conversion as well 10 from 14 is a very solid conversion percentage 3 l comfortable anticipated that one coming right back way easily well sometimes in these short balls you want to see if your opponent picks a side Tommy Paul electing to go directly down the middle carbal Mana actually didn’t pick either side so he was there but solid technique on the volley what a change of pattern there and a really well executed backand line for Paul to get us to five games all five games all well that’s what we saw early on Tom Paul was doing a good job of opening up the court he was getting carbal spana outside of the alleys and then changing direction when the opportunity presented himself as caralis bayana was able to work his way back in the match you just saw Tommy Paul forcing the initiative a little bit too much on some balls that weren’t quite there the unforced Hour unforced Air count was Rising but that was a really composed game to get things back on his term a rare free point for kayas B on his serve fourth of the day out of 30 serves the saving is back best serving for this critical service game last service game of the first set a little bit of bad luck as well for Paul well serving at five all for me always felt like a very important game obviously because if you get broken then the other opponent gets to serve for the first set but also if you’re able to find a hold there this next return game feels like house money it feels like in the worst case scenario you’re going to be in a tiebreaker and you can see cabal spana really go after it in the next game not much to lose let’s out that’s well done 14 15 [Music] [Applause] [Music] what well now things get really interesting don’t they and there’s a lot of pressure on this first serve here 40 30 you’ve seen Tommy Paul step in and crack a couple second serve returns and when his confidence is growing he’s making carbal bana pay right away not waiting any time to get into this point let’s CL up uhoh uhoh Ryan well that’s an accumulation of pressure when you can sense that your opponent is taking control of your second server just forces you to try and be a little bit too aggressive in this game which once was 40 love finds a very very tricky moment now for carbal bying to navigate well handled just took a little bit off of that first serve Ryan five of his eight unforced errors in this set have been double faults which means incredibly clean off the ground that’s a great step up on the serve for carbas by six to five see if he can be aggressive in the final return game of the first well you said it Mike getting those serves is an important part of the Tommy Paul return game he wants to take control of the second serve the second serve of Calis man is maybe one of the best opportunities for Tommy to take control of a point carbal man is so solid within the rallies but just getting that first strike right away there a great chance for Tommy Paul put that pressure on cabales bana but he answers the question two UNR returned serves there yeah the difference between first serve points one and second for carbas Baya is drastic 79% on first just 18% on the second pretty remarkable stat there if you’re at 18% on second serve while only serving 59% to have yourself anywhere near the first set as a good effort well the crowd gets in with a grounds pass here to John Kane Arena it’s why it always gets pretty loud especially as you get towards the evening of course Nick curios always prefers this Arena because of that very fact Tommy Paul trying to play into the Aussie love with the green and yellow colors with his new balance kit balance doing very well this one as well as Koko’s bringing to the table Tommy Paul serving here 56 well good job in transition again like you said the Tommy Paul kit kind of blending into the backdrop there we’ve talked about winning a lot of points at net ninjal like coming in with stealth uh-oh make sure he’s all right first more than anything else just a slight misstep look to be okay sometimes when you feel that ankle going it’s better to just go down with it rather than try and recover it why is that if you try and plant too hard here when you land on it it can be a full turn but you can see he lands on it you saw a slight twist but just letting yourself fall down the ankle doesn’t fully turn and then you’re [Applause] okay gave him an extra second or two on the serve clock did our chair Nico hellor as well just to make sure that he was all right didn’t require treatment that’s well done the Ser plus one for TP 30 15 a just lost well if IID have told you early on in the match that carbal bayana was going to have a better net conversion percentage than Tommy Paul you wouldn’t have believed me cuz this guy has been so Co efficient at the net historically a baseline player but just has great instincts up there this is not an easy read and a great volley knock off it creeps to within two points of stealing this opening set let’s Preserve a really aggressive second serve out wide inalas bayana stuck to his gun just a little overcooked but I do like that he was going after that’s a good Miss he took a good cut Tom has had the best success on his second serve serving out wide on that due side winning twoth thirds of his points my goodness yes that’s a pretty drastic difference on the first and second serve conversions as well for Tommy Paul 74% versus half that [Applause] 37% so well done the composure there recognizing the space and it was all about how quickly he gets ready for the first ball immediately after the serve he was early prepared delivers the strike one point away from a tiebreaker just a great reset of the point and Paul just mistiming that overhead ever so slightly well really smart there you can see the shadow to Tommy Paul’s left on the ground which means he’s looking directly into the Sun from that side so carbal B just recognizing the court conditions elects to throw that up high in the air knowing that that’s going to be a tricky overhead really good Court awareness from the veteran Spaniard on [Music] jeez I I it’s remarkable how good he is defensively just doesn’t seem to miss there on the ground and Tommy just have to hit ball after ball after ball well the thing that’s impressive it reminds me of the way that Novak jokovic has idolized so many people have idolized him in the way he moves he looks like he’s moving hard but his upper body stays really still and composed it allows him to make that one extra ball not just once twice but sometimes three four additional shots needed for Tommy Paul another point for the breaker out yeah it feels like Tommy’s feeling the pressure right so many made balls from carbas Bia he feels like he needs to go for more another dece number three oh what a cut wow he read it perfectly lined it up Advantage little smile cheeky little servant volley there too first of the day Brave de at 56 very brave nearly stupid another point for the breaker that’s what done game feisty stuff there from Tommy Paul and we do get a tie break to theci side it’s been a really entertaining first set entertaining unpredictable but very and composed for Tommy Paul to respond that way after several missed opportunities shows that composure that we’ve talked about in the development look at him sensing the moment enjoying the battle lost his tie break against inish Cory in the first set lost a tie break as well to Chris oconnell Bas Baya one one gentl players ready Mel fourth set tiebreak win over tabilo in his first first round win over the 23 seed and K byas spaya will serve to start the tie break not surprisingly second serve and Paul steps in well as you said he’s really struggled behind the second serve today only winning 177% of points behind his second serve tells you how important it is for him to land the first serve in this pivotable moment in the match first set tiebreaker [Applause] [Music] it’s a wild and a very aggressive look well a lot of times tiebreakers aren’t won by Aces and beautiful shots it’s about free points given and as you see starting this tiebreaker off a couple mistakes there from carbal SP 3 but sometimes the aces help three 0 home well it’s the mistakes that build the lead and grow the confidence of the Tommy Paul racket where he can feel like he can step up and go after it when you’ve already got the mini break in hand makes you feel that extra breath of fresh air as you step up to the line and try to build that lead even further whoa kayas Baya on his back heel from the jump and Paul finds his finish for 40 40 well this is what the best players do when the moment calls for it they step up they answer the question and they stick to their guns and for that Tommy Paul is getting again to the net which is one of the keys to the match that we talked about early on and doing so well in the critical moments of the first set for love Tommy Paul first set tiebreaker and again Tommy Paul knowing the court sense understand where his opponent is understanding how he’s going to imply that pressure to the best of his ability it’s about recognizing when your opponent can’t do anything but throw the ball up and then sneaks in just at the right time further carbas Baya 0 for three on first serves in this tie break going to put in a lot of work defensively here as well 6 just no let up not just jogging to the Sprint to the finish line of the first set sprinting full Sprint 6-0 lead six set points well a great start shaky through the middle but looking like a great finish as [Applause] well so he will as a result have six set points hammered home emphatic tie break victory for Tommy ball takes it 70 steal this first set just a wild one here at John Kane arena in 69 minutes well I can’t tell you how impressive that was for Tommy Paul after building the three double break lead and having them both slip away gets to four all love 40 another missed chance there and then has to dig out of the 56 service game eventually finds himself into a tiebreaker and plays his best tennis of the set in that pivotal first set tiebreaker impressive stuff as we look at the stats here Tommy Paul doing really well behind first serve it’s a second serve points one for carbal but it was a story here only 15% of second serve points one and Tommy Paul much more aggressive 26 winners to 16 unforced errors plus 10 ratio that is a really beautiful stat if he takes it on like that we’ll see Tommy Paul making his way into the second week in short time on top of it you see just the number of Sprints there that carbas Spa is having to get into and it’s something I pointed out early right the fact that he’s going to have to continuously work with that aggression from Paul if you think about a fourth set you think about a fifth set he’s in very good shape but your Effectiveness might not be there late well Tommy Paul changing the direction beautifully as we take a look here he did such a good job of responding to some of these heavy ball strikes from Carbell man after getting down early carbal b really up the ball speed particularly on his forehand side and started taking it on a lot more but it was Tommy Paul in transition as we look here as he takes this ball well above the net and then finishes off the set with authority with the overhead so both guys hop out onto Court Tommy doing it literally little skip and a jump as well he’s going to be the one serving to start this second set rare Miss off that 4and here for Baya ended with 10 but again a good chunk of those were doubles in that first set [Applause] out 59 [Applause] 153 first of the day for Tommy it up with an ace had three early for total now comfortable stepping forward inside the box for TP to grab a game point 1 hold there to start this second set especially from a double fault and 1530 down one love here in this the second set really important for the top player to get out on the right foot to start the second set after such a battle it’s an opportunity where maybe the person who’s a bit lower lower ranked will feel like they had a chance to get in the match and didn’t capitalize on that opportunity and you can sometimes get a bit of a let down and we’ll see if carbal bayana is able to fight off that let down as you said he’s going to have to do a lot better on second serve points one here in the second set yeah no doubt about it and we talk all the time about that idea of match management right and and for Tommy to just kind of have that from 1530 there to continue to put himself into the driver seat now the question how does carbas B respond right here at love one [Music] not well number six on the day well you tend to try to do more when you’re not making any points behind your second serve it makes makes you feel like you got to go a little bit more aggressive and not quite able to land on the location he was looking for well done good location with the drop shot sensing that Tommy Paul was ready to anticipate the open court and it was the drop shot going behind Tommy Paul ultimately draws the winner good disguise holds it to the last possible second help 15 14 1 this is a very good bounce back as well for carbas B with gain points the moment where Paul did not really get that backand return exactly where he wanted it by P a rare second serve point1 for him as he gets it to one game all here in the second so far in the match today Tommy Paul net approaches 28 times that is a remarkably high stat averages out to about two per game appreciate the quick math there Mike that’s why I’m here R left 150 there return Miss there for carbas spa on that second serve as well he started to go a little bit bigger even on those second serve returns well was an adjustment that he made from 30-0 down in the first set just to play a little bit more high risk High reward we saw it pay off there at the end of the first set but he’s going to have to re reel it in a little bit yeah just leaving caras by up guessing that does get us to serve early in the second ball leads two games to one well as we take a look at the Tommy Paul rally hit points you’re seeing a lot of stuff inside the court particularly on the points one that’s allowing him to get up inside the court for transition you can see a lot of balls that he’s hitting that he’s won the point inside the service line many put aways and then several that are just behind the service line so that’s what’s allowing Tommy Paul to get to the net so many times with so much success as we’ve noted so far in the match here it’s also pretty interesting Ryan to see that there are very few points that he’s hit from that middle third of the Court which you give credit to carbas Baya for getting him tracked into the corners but that’s where Tommy’s really good well what I what I put that to is how quick Tommy is getting inside the court so not having a lot of balls that are hit in that no man’s land it shows you that a second that Tommy Paul is recognizing his opponent on defense he is all the way in not part of the way [Music] in the botanical gardens here just outside Melvin Park beautiful opportunity to watch some sports on the right take a walk across the y River one of the bridges and enjoy some nature as well and here inside John Kane Arena interacting with the crowd here very well get some of the young fans involved Tommy’s had some good relationships with some of the young fans as well over the years one notable fan in question a couple years back now well Tommy Paul is a guy that a lot of these kids look up to he’s got that flare but he’s also got just a great inviting personality he’s very charismatic guy when you watch him you feel like you can really get behind him 15 carbal May doing a better job Landing more first serves here five from six to start the second set well hello Tommy Paul gets the court opened up whips that wrist off the court and then sets up the eventual put away forehand it’s about how quickly he gets around this ball setting up the forehand that’s really hard to do when you’re backtracking like that to be able to find that type of precision 30 15 he there’s another double second already in this set seven now on the day such a good reset ball too from B that forehand with some good depth 1 14 that down on that backhand Wing first break chance of the set goes to the American s [Music] that’s tough there and again just a little bit off there yeah Tommy saying that’s where I should hit the ball right in the middle of the strings not at the edge that’s good advice for an average player like me try to hit it right in the middle of the racket Ryan well that’s what we all try to do but the way that carbal bana strikes it might have a little bit more bite on it than the guys you’ll be playing against probably probably let second serve oh no what a disaster just a little sign of frustration there from carbal Min it’s such a good job to set this ball up I was really surprised surpris that he elected to go with the swing volley Tommy does a good job of getting this ball lower than expected and rather than going to a normal volley he tries to hit a swing volley from waist high and that’s not a high percentage volley to go for the swinger once it drops that low H is two of six and the camera is not under duress that’s the important part we’ve already lost one this week second look here for Tommy he’s gotten a lot of second serves to look at in this game Ryan and just is not able to get over the hump back to Deuce well just a little bit overcooked on that last forand when you play a player who’s making you hit one extra ball it can be easy to try and find yourself making yourself hit smaller and smaller margins but what you want to do is what he’s been having a lot of success doing is build the point even further then finish at the net not try to just swing out of your shoes from the back of the court advantage c b almost feels like you know the weight on his shoulders right now right you’re seeing a couple of miscues off of the ground which is so Rock Solid through that first set feels the pressure and the weight of the returns from Paul as well it feels like a must-win game for carbal Tommy Paul’s just knocking at the door trying to kick it in early stages of the second set huge to get a free point there and definitely his Advantage up to the vocals has carbas Spa here in this set specifically on the first serve the grunting has taken it to a new level great body Ser two all and that must hold situation comes through well that’s really well done from kbal by a very resilient competitor vintage spard not giving an inch even whenever things start getting stacked against him and Mike to your point that grunting going up I think that’s a sign you can see the heavy sweating already early on there hasn’t been a lot of non pressure points throughout today it’s always been under duress since the very beginning of this match for carbal p he was 3-0 down right out the gate fought back all the way to three all excuse me to four all and then eventually they had a battle throughout so he hasn’t had any time where he was under zero to rest today yeah and really having to put in the work on the ground as well with the footwork is already 15 left yeah the average for a match a three set match right now is 24 Sprints over three sets he’s already at 25 so just that work rate is exceptionally high for carbas spay well that’s like the body blow in boxing right you’re you’re just taking the guy out one one shot at a time and it’s not something that’s bruising him necessarily in the immediate but it’s that accumulation that eventually will pay dividends Tommy Paul with the instincts up there 50 15 so the key is in this moment when you see a guy crashing forward and you’ve got to pick a side you can’t commit too early you see him wait till the very last moment the ever so slight hop to the left just takes away that down the line he does a really good job of waiting until carbal Mana commits and then he picks right knocks the volley off 14 15 I just love the way that Tommy’s managing this match right now mentally very calm and clear– handed gain points for him solid and comfortable little hold for Tommy Paul we 3-2 we are Midway through the second set you yeah [Music] yeah same [Music] as Tommy Paul just having a little conversation there with the chair umpire I couldn’t tell was he saying same tension time just got a wreck it sent back well throughout the middle of the day a lot of times it will be the same tension you’ll see the tension change if the sun drops and that usually happens if you have a maybe a 5 or 6:00 start time and by the time the matches developed and evolved over several hours the temperature in the air drops several degrees that’s when you’ll see a temperature change carbas spas temperature definitely has changed you’ve seen a little bit more emotion from him over the last 20 minutes with all this work that he’s having to put in to keep up right now with Tommy Paul serving a 23 fit enough e clean off of the backand wing second return winner of the day for Tommy Paul to 15 all stepping in inside the corners we take a look at the winner count it is Tommy Paul with the imposition 17 forand winners compared to just seven for carbal mana and nine backhands compared to just two you can see who the aggressor is very very easily let for Sur make it back to back two straight off the return side for Tommy Paul in an opening at 1530 well great players have a sense of knowing the moment when it’s that time to get into that hyperfocus Zone and Tommy Paul here early stages as you said the temperature in the mind of carbal man is starting to rise a little bit and Tommy Paul does not want to let him back in this thing that’s amazing that’s beautiful stuff all set up by the good deep ball through the middle drawing the short response from carbal B and then again in transition getting right on top of the net for that volley put away it was about how quickly he gets in all the way up right near the camera as he puts this volley away double break point chance here second set 0 for two on his chances in the set for three corbalis bana with one of his best serves the match and a must-have situation still struggling behind the second serve points one 21% for the match 33% here for the second set there it is Tommy Paul with the foot speed not easy to drop shot to Tommy Paul as you see the ball go flying into the ground for carbal bayana Tommy Paul so good at recognizing when the opportunity to get up to the ball and as soon as he takes off Off the Mark I wouldn’t say there’s too many people on tour that are quicker getting up to a ball than Tommy Paul is and is that the straw that breaks the camels back here in the second set well it just feels like it in terms of the emotional component carbas Baya has been having to work so incredibly hard just to stay level and now just feels like there could be that collapse here in the set well you you mentioned it just before the start of that game even though he was on serve in the second set it just felt like the tension was residing in him and as soon as you called that and recognized that the break came in hand right away and Tommy Paul also recognized that playing his best return game of the match there to break here in the second set oh Smart Stop almost hits a ball kit there that was that was very dicey but I listen it’s it’s so hard when you put in that much effort and then you’re just not getting the joy that comes along with it and that goes back to that first set tie break as well right so much work to get back into that set from two breaks down loses it 70 in the breaker and then the same thing here right having to put in so much work to stay level just on the wrong end of it well it’s just too much pressure if you’re only winning 21% of second Ser points for your match just to of pressure that you put on your first serve the amount of pressure that you put on your ground game and especially in returns to try and have to break multiple times a set just to stay alive you can’t sustain that throughout a match especially not against a player like Tommy Paul who’s knocking on the door of top 10 in the world it’s a stat that’s going to have to go up for carbal minina especially especially on hardcourts where the second Ser points are going to need to be even more efficient than on Clay where there’s more breaks feels like he’s taking that Net game to another level here in the second set as well paig looks looks like she’s prepared for the occasion here today well as you said they’ve been together for a long time and having a stable support cast is so important out there you deal with all the stresses and all the expectations all the things considered in the match you want to have a good solid support team it was a pretty iconic trophy shoot the two of them when he won Queens this past year I I just shake my head at what might be in store if he happens to find a way through to a title here she might be playing match point with him out [Applause] there Brad Stein would he go jump into the r River again I would say absolutely he would I think he would too Courier might get in there also game points here for Tommy those points really make the strength and conditioning got francoo back in Florida very happy Tommy P looks so comfortable right now find two here in the second just got really now is it feels like it’s [Music] like check it out I think he’s talking about the foot there to trainer Paul NES yeah he said uh let’s take a look at it on the set break sometimes you call the trainer over there the court just so whenever you get a set break you want to have him close by you don’t have to wait minutes for him to travel from the locker room all the way out to the court especially over here in John Kane Arena which is a little bit of a trek from where the main stay locker room is and if it is an existing injury that’s been happening throughout the day or throughout the tournament he’ll want to have the same physio treated that’s been out there could also be a blister situation potentially for Tommy Paul here possibly he was talking about maybe something being cut open I thought that’s what I could maybe here a bit and listen this is this can happen right obviously a semi-final for Tommy already you know just the beginning of the Season obviously an offseason that was very active but just those first couple of times getting into match play you can get one of those blisters that develops well especially down here in humid Australia where you can get the socks they get a little bit of moisture in them and the times that can help a blister create carbas Bay trying to serve to stay in this set two5 let’s second ser who it’s the riskier drop shot had the one cross over the lowest part of the net that would have been there well I don’t love Drop shots when the ball’s that high up over the net I know it’s a shot that if he’ have made would have been a winner but to me when the ball’s that much up up above the net it’s easy to just knock it off with the nice Top Spin 15 oh what do you think of Tommy’s decision to play last week in Adelaide well some guys like to have a lot of momentum going into a slam and if it’s something that he needed more matches coming off the off season would have been a decision he and Tommy Paul excuse me he and Brad Stein discussed heavily when you’re a top player that week before is always a big question mark you see a lot of the top seats not play that they want to get here the slam and get on these show courts a bit earlier and that had some more mph on it that backhand was electric there from Paul who preached it within two points and and yeah it was a bit surprising to see Tommy last week I would have thought he was going to be there one week prior well they would have had that discussion at the beginning of the week and Tommy would have had to have been very honest and upfront about how he was feeling confidence-wise you have to have those candid conversations within the confines of the team 30 already on the other side meanwhile the third Tournament of the year for kayas Baya quarterfinal in Auckland losing there to zizu be and lo in the first round to gab Dalo big Canadian in Hong Kong [Applause] 140 1 [Applause] that body return pretty impactful when it skips through the court [Music] [Applause] [Music] right well you can just see the confidence in Tommy Paul growing throughout this set ever since he secured that break here in the second set it just seems like that pep in his step is back the confidence in the strike is there even the mistakes that he’s made have all been really well struck and he finds himself here not even going to give himself a chance to serve it out he wants to secure this on the return well Tommy Pauls at full seconds at with a two sets to lead 6 and two set away from the fourth round and a medical timeout appears coming here for Tommy Paul in between the second and third sets well doesn’t seem to be a real serious issue it was something he’s been carrying throughout the second set and as you said his second set was a runaway there at the end time to get out of as we take a look at the set two stats he does so well behind the first serve 91% second serve points won up to 60% that was a much higher percentage in the first set 14 winners to 9 on for STS again showing that he is the more aggressor and the story again behind the second serve of caralis playing at 27% there and still overall at only 20% for the match that’s going to be a really tough mountain to climb here as we look at some of the highlights again it’s just Tommy Paul always making carbal man to play the extra shot a couple times he was able to answer the question but Tommy Paul just asked it time and time again throughout set two and also his ability to raise his level when he needed it those two return winners right to kind of set a tone and especially seeing carbas Baya struggling a little bit emotionally physically as well well it seemed like he sent a message in that first set tiebreaker and that message was that he was not going to get behind the eightball today as you said that that first round match against Chris o Connell had to go to Five sets there was a set down against K shakori especially if he has that blister going on he wants to try and minim miniz the time on the court today an efficient three set win would be a really well prescribed antidote for this foot injury I think this is more just getting it raped Ryan I think it’s just a the the tape had gotten a little bit loose which sometimes will happen and I think he’s just getting that that left ankle reted here well it also reminds me of that little slight ankle roll that he had and I really appreciate that he plays with those ankles taped and a preventative way that can save your season for a guy like Tommy who we saw have that slight humble but maybe those ankle tapings actually had a uh part in him not turning that ankle fully Ryan you and I both uh from the states we have a lot of friends in California uh who are dealing with obviously some real tragedy in Los Angeles I I see this morning Pam Shriver her car got stolen with all of her Hardware all of the trophies from uh over the years as a player as well a lot of people we know who have lost homes who have had friend who have lost homes and we want to make sure we send our thoughts back to everybody in Los Angeles in California and dealing with what they’re dealing with right now that’s amazing these natural disasters that can happen it can really put you into perspective in a hurry we’re down here and we’re talking about tennis and we have so many friends and family back home who are dealing with loss of life loss of Home loss of property and it just is a tragic situation all around our thoughts and prayers with everybody involved well Tommy Paul just getting a little bit of clarification here on the timing yeah just looks like it was a tape job that was kind of sorted there and is given a little bit of extra time to adjust and that the the question is was it a medical timeout was it uh what they call equipment out of adjustment there on that tape job but he is it appears going to leave the court here for a moment thankfully roof is open for us here today the dancing going to begin as well here with a little bit more time here for this set rank M Ryan Harrison joining us here and it’s obviously been a week that’s been interrupted by a couple of days of rain looks like we’re going to be able to avoid that until at least next Wednesday or Thursday don’t have to deal with that until we get into a little bit later when most of the matches will inside these stadiums that do have a roof we’re one of them here John Kane arena is the one separated from Margaret Court Arena as well as Rod Laver Arena of course the American men doing very well here in this tournament Taylor Fritz we just talking about the fire situation in Los Angeles talking about how he’s going to be sending his first round prize money to relief organization in Los Angeles and I think you’ll definitely see a a couple of other players trying to do their part as well Marcos gon a guy who has spent a lot of time in Los Angeles over the years including his time as an NCAA champion at the University of California Los Angeles otherwise known as UCLA under the direction of Billy Martin hard to imagine how carbas Bay does come back here we do see Tommy Paul coming back on to the court but it really is going to be about his ability to manage the pH ality manag the emotions of this third set long way for him to build here he’s gotten the full wardrobe change as well a guy who’s in very good shape but does not at this stage of his career at 31 years of age have a comeback from two sets to love down so uncharted waters for him and he’s also going to be on the wrong end of it in terms of scoreboard pressure here in the third set Tommy Paul going to be serving to start this third set asking which side he’s [Applause] on be the far side but again just a new tape job for him in case you popped away for a moment with the two players new tape job on the left ankle but thankfully it doesn’t appear to be blistered so six minut minutes plus since our last Point Tommy Paul ready to get it restarted oh had a double fault in his opener of the second as well coming out Ryan I I mentioned that carvas Maya does not have a comeback from two sets to love down in his career what does he have to do here very basically to get on the right foot well he’s going to need to play his best tennis he’s also going to need Tommy Paul to dip in level it’s going to have to be a combination of both I don’t think that there’s much he can do solely on his side just a capable tennis that Tommy Paul can produce you know if he’s on it only takes one little momentum stretch here for this thing to be over starting 0 for three on first serves is Paul but the fact that he’s still coming through with the goods here finds some sucess on the overheads five of them here on the day 35 five overheads is a lot of overheads for a match that’s barely barely more than two sets elapse well just kind of toy with him Tommy Paul again finds himself at the net does so well at the net 32 from 39 now for the match almost 40 net approaches in barely over two sets he’s getting in on everything today this is an old school Australian Open match this could be 1994 let’s go back to kuong thank you so very comfortable there that makes it five on the Trot now for Tommy Paul one love here in this third set well they said John Nukem is on the coin for the Australian Open the official coin they’re using for the coin toss and maybe that just inspired Tommy Paul to Inner CH Channel his inner Nukem coming in the net relentlessly today you know I I have to admit I’m I’m not somebody who’s great Ryan uh with with tennis history I I just fully admit that for some reason on my social media feed this week it has been Mark edmonson’s run to the title here um what year was that 1976 won the Australian Open while ranked 212 in the world that story has been popping up on my social media feed this entire week is really fascinating I saw that as well I think that it was a remarkable story from where he was ranked I did see he got up number 15 in the world so that was definitely a sign of good things to come but those old school laws love the handlebar mustache love the flare the tight shirt short shorts short shorts are making a very strong comeback right now as well well you’re going to see those out in full force tonight in that jokovic machock match Tomas the the check man what a passing shot not many points lost at the net today but there’s not much you can do other than tip your cap there it’s a great return comes in nicely in the little left hand flick just catches the outside of the line speaking of handlebar mustache is that Mark Edmonson himself reincarnated let’s go see if that guy can hit a serve like Mark Evon oh 15 all [Applause] 133 the full grunt from carbas B Paul just swats it up the line with no problem and just looking at his coach there shrugging his shoulders going what can I do I don’t know what I’m going to be able to do here to make Headway against Tommy Paul and he does it again beautiful right off the for hand wing and you’re seeing him get more and more confident on the return as we talked about early on not so many return winners but this one beautifully struck right in the corner there’s nothing carbal espb can do other than just watch it go by and sometimes when Tommy Paul starts to hit his stride you just become a bystander to his beautiful tennis oh that did not miss by much just a couple millimeters out there otherwise this one probably done and dusted if he grabs that break it feels like an absolute musthave game for caralis bayana [Applause] Tommy wants to look at the call I don’t know if they’re going to give him a look at that serve joking with Nico hellor there right back that backhand Line Pumping well [Applause] now wow he did all he could to make him hit one extra shot carbal spaya just a little too composed there at the net I thought Tommy was going to be able to pull this thing out he does really well up there flicks this thing behind carbal bayana but just in too good a court positioning two of them here in the game a total nine now for the day another beautiful second serve return there as I just take a closer look at the carbal bana serve I feel like he’s got a lot of tension in the upper body doesn’t look like he has that sort of relaxed fluid motion that you see from someone like Tommy Paul where it seems like he generates a lot of effortless power everything looks like it’s really forced and hard done by and you want to see him try and relax a little bit breathe let the upper body flow a little bit more it’s a no doubter Tommy Paul to two love another incredible return to set it up cruise control right now well just too many times carbal May donating points away a couple double faults and as we look at the return placement for carbal bayana Tommy Paul has been the one who’s got a lot better depth on return if we take a look at the carbal bay return placement only 133% of returns today in that back section of the Court that’s really where you want to be aiming your returns and try and neutralize service games and see if you can make your way into the service points of Tommy Paul Tommy Paul’s getting so many looks almost 87% of chances are short in the court where you’re seeing him hit that first ball and transition than that 15 you can see on a point like that why it makes such a difference right that ball where Tommy’s not able to be offensive on that backand does just miss that one a bit long don’t my oh my what was that filthy well a lot of curve on that bendit Like Beckham bendit like Tommy Paul is Tommy Paul the tennis David Beckham I don’t know as soon as he gets his own documentary on Netflix then we’ll say yes maybe he will soon does that mean Pagel Ren is the new Posh Spice I think she’d be okay with that comparison yeah I think I think she would fits the part we just need a ginger a baby sporty scary is Morgan in there morg uh morgs H I don’t think so I think they’re just go they go their own ways you know they’re solo artists we really need to respect that okay we’ll we’ll respect the separate groups out 30 15 oh that ball gets stuck in the net maybe he’s just you couple sets and a break in hand trying to secure himself another sponsor somebody who just bought a new key I I firmly believe did you yeah Kia what it’s the Sportage hybrid you happy with it very I love that that’s an unpaid ad no it’s it’s been really good 14 well for Tommy Paul here really important especially if he has that blister situation going on on his foot to see if you can get off the court here you don’t want to spend extra time on court especially in a match where you feel like you have pretty firm control of it it’s all about seeing if you can minimize the court time at this point let’s get into the locker room here soon and that does get us one step closer to that locker room Paul consolidates the break leads three love in the [Applause] third for time [Music] well when you find yourself at this much of a score disadvantage you want to try and find at least some categories where you’re having some success and for carbal bayana that would be net points one he’s 14 from 19 which is a really strong conversion percentage but as you can see Tommy Paul getting in more than doubled the amount of times there so if carbal bana wants to see if he can find a way to make some Headway this is an area of the game and he can look to see if he can turn in his favor I would love to see him try and use the transition here before it’s too late just filthy this is this is bordering oning right now well he is seeing it like a beach ball right now right please this is as good as it gets looking to put this one completely out of reach which is something we also said in the first set as well when he raced out to a two break three love lead well you just get a sense that the temperament for carbal is slightly different than it was there where he was showing a lot more composure and resilience double fault here is the third already of this set oh he picked the right side I thought we were about to see something Sports Center like on Around the Net around the Umpire have you ever seen it around the chair umpire post think about that that could have been the case this thing gets way outside the court and Tommy was picking the right side I think if if the bench hadn’t been there I mean yeah I mean that’s he was close he was close 13 14 third look now here for Tommy Paul [Music] that’s beautiful that’s just beautiful stuff right there all the way we talked about how he’s been so successful the Box loves it they sense the moment games and going back to that two all game in the second set this is now eight consecutive games from Tommy Paul he has firmly taking control of this match and just ahead of that two3 service game where we saw him secure the break in the second set you were telling me Mike you could sense the temperament in a change for carbal Bay it was just you could see that stress residing in him he was starting to get a little bit more animated with the Box a couple of the things that even early on in the match when he was down an early double break he wasn’t showing that animation and that just goes to show you that what happens in between the points you can actually pick it up and see it can be telling what’s coming you saw it coming and on top of it it’s just that idea of you’re having to sustain a level against one of the top players in the world It’s just tough to do over 2 three 4 hours just doesn’t look like he’s got that level and this is why it hasn’t had that top 20 win at a Grand Slam in quite some time 15 Left 4 and 39 lifetime versus the top 20 has lost his last 12 0 and2 versus the top 20 here and again it’s it’s a very good career being in that 50 to 80 range where he’s been the majority of his life 30 left but these are the matches that you have to find that way through to get to that seated place at a grand slam well if he wants to try and get in the top 30 in the world he’s going to have to win a couple of these matches I mean you’re not going to win them all but you got to at least make some Headway Tommy Paul racing through this service game 49 do we have a dinner reservation in noou what’s going on here I mean this is more like brunch he’s he’s trying to make a brunch reservation out 40 15 at the moment Ryan is well in the live rankings Tommy sits at number nine win today he does for the moment surpass Novak well I love Novak he’s a great guy he’s been an incredible Ambassador for our sport especially since Roger and Rafa retired he’s done such a good job of flying the tennis flag high and being a great Ambassador with all that being said I’ve got him on upset alert tonight really I think machak has got a great chance he played such good tennis against Taylor Fritz there in the United cup and was one game away Novak has looked more human in the early stages here of the Australian Open and I just think it’s going to be a tricky matchup tonight game Tommy Paul survives test here in this third set push there but gets it to five love you know Ryan listen I’m I’m a big fan of mahut myself however much like I don’t choose to pick against Rafa at the French I choose not to pick against Novak here that’s been I’m very much with you I don’t pick against the greatest I think that they have a certain level of uh control and understanding of how to find ugly winds and they just seem to understand the moment the reason why I say this is going to be dangerous is because of the belief that mahat has he he has that confidence where he talks about his game he feels he belongs he feels he’s a top 10 player he talks about having no area of his game that he has a lot of self-doubt with he can handle a big ball we saw that Taylor fit’s one of the biggest ball Strikers on tour and he was able to blunt that blow off the ground and get a lot of returns back in play it’s going to be a battle I I wouldn’t say that it’s a match that I’m putting firmly in the favor of mahash but he’s definitely got a chance Novak will be in action later he’s getting a decent little warmup right now is Novak jokovic he’s getting the best warmup a warm-up I got many times Christian Harrison out there warming up Novak jokovic here on the outside courts and uh very clean ball Striker himself I wish I struck the ball as cleanly as Christian does I’m just very happy to see him here he’s had a lot of injury issues over his career to get here now at at this stage is a a very very impressive me and my family and Christian we all we all appreciate that hopefully we can see him making Headway in the future caras Bay serving to stay in it love five 15 left [Applause] last 15 Ryan I I don’t mean to bring up losses for you but what’s it like this moment for carbas p two sets of Love down and five love down yeah what’s what are those moments like why would you assume I’ve been there everybody’s been there are every single player has been there once right 0 okay all right say it’s 51 okay 52 well to quote one of my favorite press conferences of all time when Andy rodic went into the press conference and they said did you think about your adjustments today playing against Roger feder here here in the Australian Open semi-finals I think it was 2004 and he goes no we didn’t really discuss what to do if you’re down 62 60 40 and then long pause followed by a whoops and maybe that’s where caralis man is looking at his coach going hey we didn’t discuss this situation this is on you it’s always that difficult decision do you want to just kind of rush through a game like this and get off the court or maybe kind of represent yourself well in the last moments just so good just so good composed finds himself a double match point you know to answer your question briefly here before we get to match point I think it’s about what you see yourself as is not a guy who quits and not a guy who gives in regardless of the result today you just don’t want to see yourself as a guy who throws in the towel and even if it doesn’t come out as a win day you just want to see yourself as That Never Say Die resilient competitor an incredible finish for Tommy Paul return winner 6 as he takes the last 10 games of this match and into the fourth round in three over carbas Bay well such beautiful tennis there finding his best stuff in the last two sets as you talked about 10 straight games for run away with this match it was not easy there early on 3-0 up double mini excuse me double break and then all the way back he was in some danger there in the first set with his serve at 56 dece and had to produce his best tennis there and from the first set tiebreaker where he ran away with it 70 all the way through the end of the match it was a world class performance from Tommy Paul he’s into the second week yeah and the return component for him always good something we talked about at the outset but his ability to just again take it to that extra level from that two all point and the return winners all came after that just really applied that pressure and it really started from the jump right the ability to control things on carayas Bay’s second serve well the thing that was impressive as we see car car Bay make his way off the court the crowd will appreciate the resilience he showed for most of the first set in the half he was a really tough competitor he wears that Spanish flag on his chest very very heavy and does a great job it it’s a match for Tommy Paul as we see he’s making his way out to the onp court interview but he’ll be happy with the way he finished up that match playing his best stuff toward the end so Tommy Paul through to the fourth round let’s hear for our winner well Tommy congratulations I think I can speak on behalf of everyone here inside John Kane Arena when I say that was a thoroughly impressive performance so well done how would you assess the match yeah I mean I came out playing some of my best tennis uh he he matched it there late in the first hit and turned into a battle and then yeah I feel like I you know as the match got on I started swinging more and more free and started playing better and better tennis we love watching you play because you play so aggressive you take the game on do you think that’s a reason as to why you’ve had so much success on these fast hard courts here in Australia yeah I mean I I love the courts here um that’s definitely the game plan coming in for most of my matches try and get to the net try and play aggressive and uh today it worked out so uh yeah I was happy happy with how I played and I I always love playing in front of you guys um I never played on this court before so it’s it’s uh it’s good to start with a win on this court you’re one of the fastest players on tour so hypothetical coming up if we were to organize a 100 meter sprint race between yourself Carlos alarz Alex demor and Gail mon who would win gold silver and bronze now don’t be too humble here Tommy We reckon you’ll be a go okay um start off with bronze I’m going oh bronze demon demon for bronze okay not a very popular answer I mean it’s better than fourth I put myself fourth um and then I’ll put Carlos silver and then Prime M say gold gaale M for the gold medal there you go what time do you reckon Gail mon would do that 100 meter sprint in oh I don’t know track stuff uh I have no idea what time the world record is 9.58 seconds yeah probably 9.4 9.4 there you go uh Tommy thanks very much for joining us here once again and we’ll see you in the next round thank you guys I think he’s I think he was being very friendly there um I I actually put him second there maybe yeah I mean he he’s got a lot of speed and you know look I was quick myself I could have run a 9.4 50 yard dash there you go but you know Tommy Paul knows how to connect with the crowd maybe could have put demon in you know silver position and get a little bit more you know a little bit more crowd love he’s he’s wearing the Aussie colors he’s over there right now throwing some fan towels out but the people love to see Tommy Paul here they appreciate the way he plays the Charisma that he has he’s got that extremely highlevel top potential he’s a former semi-finalist and he’s not somebody that if he’s producing that sort of tennis out there that anyone is going to want to see in their section of the draw yeah and most importantly for him just the ability to get through quickly today Ryan after a tough five Setter in the opener four sets with Nishi Cory to be able to move through in very short order 2 hours and 23 minutes after a long first set there too just really important for him well it didn’t look like it was going to be in short order an hour and 10 minutes in the first set and barely almost the exact same amount of time for the remainder of the match as we look at the stats here today we talked about it throughout the match the second serf points one for Cales B just not good enough but let’s look at the winners to unforce ER count off the racket of Tommy Paul 56 winners in three sets only 29 on four airs that is a beautiful stat as you talked about the Sprints 33 Sprints there that’s a lot you had uh carbal Mana moving quite a bit there and then 28 unforced errors as opposed to only 19 winners ne9 on the count there as we take a look ahead of the draw and what Tommy Paul’s got to look forward to Minik had a huge upset win a top 10 win there over I think it was Casper rude in the second round davidov Kina has a former top 20 player himself but Tommy Paul with no remaining seed in that section to try and make it way to the quarterfinals Alex Z up to number two in the world looming in that section Tommy Paul be happy to have a day off to watch these next couple matches ver is up a set right now on Jake Fernley but it is Tommy Paul who is moving on in very impressive fashion here at John Kane Arena [Music] yeah yeah go ahead [Music] [Applause] it’s e e e from e for [Applause] [Music] open [Music] take just see for e for for sh for please thank our cardio tennis participants and their coaches as they leave joh Arena ready to hit different learn more on the cardio and for your at cardot tennis.com participating you today well done everyone [Music] the audible history 14 years the visible history 186 years [Music] 5 years National 1573 [Music] [Music] mus I heard PR mus music 20 years in a row [Music] [Music] AAL a ofo took over fores [Music] [Music] Arena [Music] simply s [Music] [Music] Australian hello good evening and welcome for for e for sh [Music] INB everything is possible is over until the [Music] tropies [Music] interrupting the John brage e [Music] for for the [Music] [Music] he ancestors elders and communities across this nation and neighboring Islands the car welcome to the traditional land of the for a very warm welcome back to Melbourne park for some more round three action here on John Kane Arena and it’s the battle of the comeback Queens as four time Grand Slam Champion nomio Saka takes on Olympic gold medalist the Linda benic and she’s uh hasn’t been back for a great deal of time made her return back in October of last year after giving birth to a little girl called Bella back in April now I’m pipper horn delighted to be joined by Grand Slam Champion Liz Smiley looking forward to this pipper it should be good not only are they two comeback points but their Ms there’s six Ms in the draw over the singles and the doubles this year at the AO so it’s nice now that ladies can feel like they can go off they have a career they can go off and have a baby and come back and just continue on where they lived off absolutely two women who really are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in tennis following the footsteps the likes of Tatiana Maria Alina Spina VI as a ranker to the name a few both these players on court today benic and Osaka have given birth to young daughters in the past couple of years look at this beautiful Melbourne Precinct John Kane arena is the court the Battleground for today’s match up and it will I imagine start to get a little more full about half of this coure at the moment is shaded covered Naomi Osaka’s last match which was played on Kia against Muka and it was just standing room only on that Court not yesterday but the day before and I’m sure John caner arena is going to be pretty close to full [Music] well she’s had some good wins Naomi oaka her first against kolene Garcia and her second as you mentioned against karolina mova both of those matches were three sets benit has had some good wins herself so let’s get the players out round three women’s singles action please welcome from Switzerland Belinda Ben a former teenage proed and she bursts onto the scene winning her first title at just 18 years old before going on to reach the semi-finals of the US Open and win an Olympic gold medal and from Japan please welcome Naomi Osaka well I don’t need to say too much about this young woman she’s already lifted the Australian Open trophy on two occasions she’s reached the very peak of the women’s game claim that world number one rankings position in 2019 but since returning from maternity leave it has been a bit of an uphill battle for naom Saka has she turned a corner though because well she’s played some pretty good tennis here in Melbourne park over the past few days and she also enjoyed a run to the finals in ockland so her 2025 season has been looking a whole lot better I think you’ve got to be a little bit patient with yourself too I think when Osaka first came back and you know maybe everyone expected her to win immediately but I think she was a little bit smarter than that she knew that you know you don’t spend a year out of the game without sort of taking a couple of steps back obviously for very good reasons but it takes a while to catch up and I agree pipper I think what I saw the other day how she finished that match against Muk was just very very good this is Mia now me this is Mia you can wave yeah you can come next to me next to me Mia ladies right after contos you take a picture of Mia facing this side okay couple reminders for this match get some towel boxes on each corner of the court and arm me could you please use the blue one the the one with the blue sticker the one with the red sticker for you okay the B Keys is not allowed to bring you the the tow so you need to go by yourself okay and the one starting the clock and also the one calling the net okay we have a live VC so it’s making all the call with the foot fult included okay and if you reach six games old in the final set then we play a 10 points tie break okay do you have any questions maybe nothing miai chose Nom me for the co TOS you got AO or the coin yes you can which one you want AO please you can yeah you can FP the coin perfect John newom oh this is John newom you want to receive yeah perfect picture design please the best mine well that’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for these young have a good night Hot Shots kids and a really sweet interaction so conditions well it is a little bit windier than it looks Liz I was commentating on a match earlier today sitting Courtside and you really get an idea of just how Gusty it is on court but this Arena John Kane it’s more sheltered than the rest it is more sheltered on the sides and of course we’ve got the roof overhead the roof is open right now but it you get that feeling of just being sunk so you know the wind doesn’t quite swirl around on this court like it does on the outside courts perfect conditions it is and importantly the sun is shining so here’s a look at Belinda benic 27 years old she has eight singles titles and turned Pro it feels like she’s been on on tour forever turned Pro in 2012 and she won her first title in eorn age just 18 years old so she really broke onto the tour at such a a young age made her first Grand Slam final uh quarterfinal rather as a teenager as well of course didn’t play any of the majors last year did a good job the year before getting to fourth round here in Australia the fourth round at wiland fourth round of the US Open big highlight I suppose the the tournament that she puts at the at the very top of everything else that Olympic gold medal and when she won that you could just see how much it meant to her to bring home that gold medal to Switzerland that really was the highlights of her career alongside of course her run to the semi-finals at the US Open reached at a career high ranking of world number four and her opponent well you can’t really beat her credentials for Grand Slam titles for Naomi oaka still only 27 years of age she’s little bit lower at the moment of course rankings wise because she’s still very much trying to climb back up to where she was before having given birth and those two major wins here there’s the head-to-head benit leads that series 3-2 their last meeting was in Miami on a hardc court Osaka won that in three straight sets but the two majors here 2019 2022 and at the US Open in 2020 and 2018 for Osaka slim pickings last year Osaka in the majors three second rounds and a first round here at the Australian Open against Garcia well bright blue sky it’s the weather conditions today around 20° cus no rain forecast importantly we talked about the shelter that this specific provides from the slightly Gusty condition so that’s going to be less impactful for both of these players they’re also Liv the same age so they would have come through Juniors together they’re going to be really familiar with each other’s games and they’ve played on on five occasions it’s very similar circumstances for both isn’t it I mean they’re going to know each other’s games inside seconds and the fact that they’ve you know both gone off and and had a baby and come back yes the par with ladies leading up to this Australian Open as you mentioned Osaka played in Auckland and had to withdraw in the final after she’d won the first set Linda benic she played United cup and she went to Adelaide she got a wild card into the qualifying there cuz the cut off for the main draw was so high she won through two matches of qualifying and then beat Callen skar in the first round losing to Sam son in the second it’s all about matches at this time of the year the strali open creeps up pretty quickly and you want matches under your belt and these ladies both playing lead UPS coming into here I was listening to uh an interview Linda benit speaking and she said playing tennis for her is like riding a bike you don’t lose that tennis level even taking all the months away from the game that she did she felt that she could go back on Court and still felt very natural to her but the challenge is the movement and the fitness levels and the agility and and how you’re able to repeat and recover time and time again so that’s the big question for Belinda benic two good wins for her against yena ostapenko and Susanne Lam let’s see what she’s got in round three ready think also you have to remember you know both these ladies are athletes and you know that that’s a part of you isn’t it and when you’re off the tour and and you miss the competition and you miss the winning and you miss that whole at at the spere of competitive sport 15 both have had that change in perspective as well and they’ve been very open about that benage saying that the pressure has now diminished because there’s something more important in her life 1D well you can’t have a child without your perspective changing regard regardless of what you did before whether you’re a professional athlete or not 450 [Applause] full [Applause] that’s going to be a trademark return of serve likes to take the ball very early Belinda benic always has done ever since her Junior days nicely struck V well that sends a very very strong message down the other side of the net a first break of serve for benit quick out of the blocks for the Swiss player they all of second serves weren’t they from Osaka and that’s going to be an area that she’s really going to have to improve as this match goes along and that’s something that she improved in her previous match wasn’t it against mova that first serve percentage Muka she went off just a little bit though set in the half into that match and Osaka really didn’t start out the match playing very well but by the end of the match you know she took the invitation offered by muker ended up playing to serve [Music] love 1550 oh that’s a trademark benit backand the one that she almost steps in off her left foot don’t see that backand too often third T5 she’s Master uh taking time away from her opponent F T15 and it’s not always done through Power sometimes it’s precision and accuracy 43 [Applause] with two reasonably similar game styles isn’t it both trying to dictate get the first strike on the ball oh so quick up to those shorter balls Ben one of the reasons why she’s so quick up to the shorter ball is because she’s standing on the baseline or inside the Baseline so of course she doesn’t have as far to travel as if she was you know a meter behind the Baseline always looking for the opportunity to move forward it’s a game that is very much modeled on that of Martina hinger she actually spent some time working with her mom back in her Junior days and it’s the way that she’s always played likes to hug the Baseline he always been very sure of her game Style and what she can bring to the court my goodness OA she was waiting for that one wasn’t she Osaka benich can get that Ball Toss a little bit out to the right and and when that happens a natural serve is to serve that one wide an immediate great match so often the case in tennis isn’t it you do the hard work but not necessarily A letup there on the part of benich some good power behind the return from Osaka [Music] love a point very much set up off the back of a superb first serve see Osaka missing on that forehead when the sun comes from the shade into the sun when the ball comes you know through that area of the Court it won’t be long before the complete court is covered in shade can be a bit of an adjustment period for the players 1 15 [Applause] it was the forehand side in fact in the last round that o really had a lot of problems with out on Kier Arena and it took her a long time to find that shot it was the backand that kept her in the match 4 for a collection of fantastic first serves almost as if she heard you Liz talking about the importance of the first serve that one she took a little bit of pace off game second what a service game it’s two games in a row for naom Sala and she has a 2-1 [Music] lead oh pretty solid start from both players benic very quick out of the blocks but Osaka finding answers with some big first serves in the previous game we talk about these ladies careers and you know benic is just you know she hasn’t quite got a major championship you know Osaka’s got four and they know the importance of these major tournaments when they come back and play you know benic has 12 tournaments at a maternity ranking and so you know you want to make the very most of those tournaments and the grand slams have so so many points in relation to normal Tour event so this is a big match for both these ladies in relation to their comeback [Music] time music blasting here on John Kane arena energy is rising more and more fans trickling in Osaka always has such a huge fan base she’s a fan favorite you need to make sure you set in the right seat those fans wouldn’t you you wouldn’t want to get your letters [Laughter] [Music] mixed thank you thank you for the music thank you so on serve in the early stages 2 one love 15 [Applause] just a little bit too Central there benaka so good at dominating that middle section of the court it’s so natural isn’t it the way that she just walked through that for for hand there’s team benic Ian Hughes on the right who she’s currently working with former coach of Alina spit Alina with the apprach Ben 154 can’t give this lady too many bites at the Cherry can you Patrick morogo the gentleman on the left looks like you need to put some sun cream on maybe thir T4 give her an inch and she’ll take a mile it’s a break of serve for naom Saka four games played three of them have been breaks of serve and she really is going to capitalize on these slightly slower second serves that’s why the first serve percentage needs to be well above 70 had plenty of time to set there Osaka out 15 up oh that’s a job well done F she has to take those opportunities when she gets them ben5 particularly you know where that seres going once again the BOS the ball tosses out to the right benic actually could have easily hit that on the forehand but you know she decided to hit it on her most favored side which was the [Applause] [Music] backhand game well it’s been an almost Flawless start for naom oaka very quick out of the blocks 20 minutes on the clock and she has a 4-1 [Music] lead so we’ve got buana court side here on John Kane Arena buana tell us about the conditions down there what’s it looking like well the wind has certainly died down I know you and I both did a match earlier on on Kia Arena and it was Gusty and really tough conditions for the players but tonight as you touched on earlier it is a lot more sheltered here on John Kane Arena so there’s not a lot of breef it’s actually quite perfect so you know it’s more about that first strike tennis isn’t it who can get that serve return going and dictate immediately and so far it’s Naomi good job tonight [Music] so the Naomi oaka show continues here on John kanaren it’s a very loud John Kane Arena as well music [Music] flaring Vibes a high [Music] [Applause] oh 5 even though it was miss you get a sense of how much confidence Osaka is playing with at the moment just in her attempts to go for shots like that working well there she was pushed behind the Baseline getting the thumbs up for the hard work previously coached by whim fizet who know of course works with eish font made the change to Patrick morogo back in September of uh last season another blistering backand 15 30 taking every single opportunity she can get at the moment and capitalizing on all of them 1 [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] f t fit [Applause] [Applause] there from benit and that was an important game it sounds so obvious but there’s such a big difference between 42 and 5-1 especially when you can’t really get yourself into the match and it was 1530 there wasn’t it so just an exceptional hold really just needs to stay within Striking Distance here benit L 15 [Applause] actually worked with uh Ian Hughes previously in her career benic he’s very familiar with how she works and all how she likes to play oh had to be a little bit careful there didn’t she Belinda wanted to make sure that the ball came over the net before she tried to make contact with it yeah both these girls you know you talk about coaches you know coaching them earlier in their careers and then still coaching them now they both play a simple kind of tennis don’t they it’s just a big serve big hitting not too many variations in tactics let for and whoever executes better on the day is going to be the winner yeah f that’s a great example I think one area that that V really excels in is her timing on the ball she has Exquisite timing and as a result of that she’s able to soak up pace she’s able to change direction from the crosscourt to the down the line and part of that timing to comes from anticipation and knowing 304 what shots your opponent likes to hit remember these two ladies have played each other on five previous occasions so they know each other’s games well yes the two break points saved by Osaka almost with her fastest serve of the match and it’s the Ser once again getting her out of trouble seen a big Improvement in her serve today compared with her previous round against Muka particularly in that first set she did get better as you [Applause] mentioned come on game 1 second well that was a very very crucial hold and they know just how important it was save two break points and now finds herself just one game away from the opening set 52 oh this has been really impressive stuff so far from Naomi oaka she’s a double Champion here in Melbourne Park she likes the courts we know that she enjoys playing on hard courts but but this has been a superb start from her it’s so surprised that you know players like going back to places that they’ve won at and and done well before and oaka has talked about that how of course Melbourne is one of her very favorite cities in all of the world and why not when you’ve won twice here that good memories and those memories when you haven’t been playing a lot they’re really really important all the great matches she’s played here the tight situation she’s got out of and found a way to win so confident start by Japan Nao Saka break of serve [Applause] you BS [Applause] 5 gets good variety on that first serve vage is not always trying to hit them as uh hard as she possibly can takes some Pace off goes for the slice that’s third T15 [Applause] f t50 game vage that’s a clever serve second F [Applause] three sometimes those body serves are hard to return don’t quite have enough space especially Osaka she has quite big swings off both Wings you just have to abbreviate the swing but the difficulty is on that Sur is it chases you doesn’t it if it’s got spin on it it just follows you to your body so you really have to give yourself room intentionally by moving your feet getting out of the way that’s good Pace off the ground from Asaka she really has so well tonight hasn’t Shee three points when that first surve goes in that first strike tennis it’s really important that Osaka continues to use that first ser effectively 3 up oh look at that return position from benic well inside the basine [Applause] f now that decision making was a slight Achilles heel particularly on that backhand side against mova just perhaps Liz being a little bit ambitious when she’s looking to change direction from the crosscourt to the down the line well that ball was too hard to do it of you know benich really crushed that backhand return so just got to take your medicine a little bit there if you oaka and say okay you can’t hit an aggressive shot back oh it’s dropped in 3040 s can’t believe [Applause] it so here’s a break back opportunity [Music] Ben very solid from Belinda benic five games to four a crucial break of serve and now we’re back on serve 5 four now me now me please [Music] [Music] another [Music] around so you can’t [Music] [Music] time well this is getting exciting here on John Kane Arena the battle of the mothers the combat Queens both of these players on a quest to rise back up the rankings to where they rightfully belong after giving birth to both young girls this is the speed of the Osaka ball off the ground that but interesting enough in that last game it was Ben’s speed off the backand in particular that got Osaka into trouble you saw Naomi Osaka just absolutely throw her water bottle down on that change of end in disgust of losing that last service game 5 now [Applause] so the slice serve once again being used to Ben’s Advantage it’s the Prof good type of serve for both these ladies in fact and Liz is that because Ben’s TOS is just it’s quite far in front and it’s a little bit to her right so it’s probably an easier serve for her to hit would you agree Osaka falls into the same category yeah game V that’s not a shot that Osaka tends to hit particularly often not a particularly well practiced shot I would say and not the right position to hit it from she was behind the Baseline so you give your opponent plenty of time to run it down don’t you good struggle though for benic he was on the full stretch to get that return back two games in a row for benit she’s just lost away here in a little bit hasn’t she the last couple of games after just hasn’t quite got over the disappointment of holding serve to serve out the set and the annoyance with herself course Rising the body language very different in the last two games than what it had been up until that point 15 and 1 thir this looks like she’s rolling her arm over here Osaka on the serve there’s there’s no um pushing up and and Racket head speed and like that yeah something’s not right here invisibly emotional now Osaka we believe the trainer has been called not 100% sure but she played in Orland didn’t she she had to withdraw out of the final she only played one set in that final which she won couldn’t continue with the back issue well she had she had a a decent word to her team on that last before that last change of ends clearly something is going on to me it looks like a wrist she’s just not able to snap over the ball but I think time will tell [Applause] doing what she can with the resources that she has at the moment [Applause] Osaka now just about manages to hold serve but still needs something not quite right with the four time Grand Slam Champion trainer being called to the court let’s see what the issue is 65 so it looks like the issue with Osaka here is AB related and that’s why it seems to be affecting her serve and not really her ground strokes and she pulled out of New Zealand with an abdominal issue as well looking visibly upset and frustrated it’s why she can’t get any extension up into the ball with the serve and it was just literally just standing there and just using the arm and she’s got strapping on it as well I don’t quite know whether that was strapping or maybe a a a heat pack of some sort no I think you’re right in the first place Pier I think it’s strapping so it’s clearly a a pre-existing issue and she really didn’t seem to have issues on the serve when she started this match it came on very suddenly but when she lost the the game where she was serving for the set to go 54 and of course she wasn’t still in that next game was she it was just the next one after oh she still up in this set she has a 65 lead it’s on serve she doesn’t need to panic but of course it is just so demoralizing when you start to feel these niggles especially for someone who’s been so injury-prone over the last few years and keep in mind too Belinda Beni she’s paying attention to what’s happening down the other end of the Court she’s aware that Osaka has an issue got to put that to your back of the mind of course oh that’s good work from benit called Way Beyond the Baseline good anticipation staying in the point however she could it’s just such a reluctance from benit to even third Retreat a little bit behind the Baseline she’s really hugging that Baseline position second unsuccessful drop shot attempt faulty love and I mean that that’s not a terrible decision given benit was really f behind the Baseline but just badly executed well it’s poor it’s poor shot selection it’s wanting to win the point too quickly from Osaka that’s the confidence boost for benit seamless and simple six GES all some positive words there from Ian Hughes not so positive is this discussion I imagine those last couple of points they just looked really really uncomfortable for Naomi didn’t they you know it’s not just a serve that this stomach is going to affect her on it’s anything that she has to be pulled wide on either side anything that stretches that stomach muscle to make it uncomfortable is going to hurt coaches for the first year now have their own onc Court coaching [Applause] boxes which means they can have a constant dialogue with their players Z was just talking to a coach Patrick saying well if I win this match I have a day and a half to recover and it almost seemed like she was just trying to decide with Patrick as to what to do I almost felt like Patrick was saying look it might not be worth it to continue if that that AB strain’s really bothering you you do need to be careful with AB strains they can linger around for quite some time and if you do have an injured abdominal muscle then it affects all of your shots it’s not just your Ser it’s her movement here it’s her agility the way she’s able to rotate off the ground that’s a smart way to approach things just try and ladies and gentlemen of players please do not make any out call thank you as quickly as you can [Applause] super and benit remains focused eyes on the [Applause] prize I mean talk about recovering from an AB strain in a day and a half is that physically possible Liz what depends how much damage if she continues on in this match and how much worse it gets lots of it and but isn’t there yeah 3 2 V even to be considering talking about recovering from this match thinking that you if she wins it she’s a long way from that at this point now we’re seeing lots of change of directions on the Osaka back end from the crosscourt to the down the line and I wonder Liz do you think that’s with a view to just getting it on the bench it forehand or away from the backand I should say that’s her her stronger [Applause] wing of course as an athlete you know you don’t want to put your body in any kind of uh position where it goes beyond the point of just having aigle to something a lot worse and know that’s the type of thing that Naomi oaka needs to um sort of weigh up here doesn’t [Applause] she 52 vage [Applause] [Music] [Applause] drops in 53 benage thank you thank you thank you six3 just shy of the 1 hour mark and it’s a trio of set points for Belinda benit and P it very much a game of Captain Mouse but Ben just about gets the edge in this opening set helped very much by what looks to be an slightly injured Osaka 76 she looks like she’s not sure if she can continue you know should I continue she’s looking over at Patrick can yeah really disappointing for Osaka and she has had a history of dominal injury so that probably makes it even more frustrating knowing that it might well be a recurring injury 2019 to 20121 she experienced some recurring AB issues there what did you make of set one 21 winners compared to 12 but you know sort of the numbers can be pushed to the side for a minute can’t they Osaka on the second Ser points W pretty low ladies and gentlemen due to injury oh goodness du to retire Saka to leave John Kane Arena well this is not how we wanted this match to end it was a really competitive first set of tennis oara playing some superb stuff but clearly hampered by an AB injury she will be back though she’s very much on the right PA and we will see her back where she rightfully belongs it’s disappointment for Naomi oaka and they love her here she has so many fans around the globe I’m for you good but I mean let’s talk about this young woman because there was some superb stuff from her as well and baring in mind she only returned to the court in October of last year she’s competing at this level she’s in the fourth rounds uh over a grand slam for the first time since giving birth yeah she had a great year in 2023 getting to the fourth round of three of the four majors and then of course went away had a baby and so great to see Belinda benic back and I’m saw she’s got some words about what she thinks this match how it unfolded Belinda congratulations but also unfortunate circumstances for Naomi for you though you move into the fourth round Australian Open you must be pretty delighted to be moving into the second week uh yeah for sure I will be at this moment I just really feel for noomi of course you know I saw her struggling a little bit in the end uh of the set and obviously it’s not the way uh you would like this match to end um I thought it was uh getting as a good match um so hopefully uh she’ll be fine soon and and she can play well for the rest of the season you’ve met Naomi yeah you’ve met Naomi on five previous occasions the last match you played was in 2022 how do you approach this match knowing it’s not going to be an easy one sorry not you’ve played Naomi a number of times what was the goal tonight for you uh yeah for sure I mean obviously uh I I know her well you know I played her a couple of times and also watch her on TV quite a bit uh so you know how to go into this match how to prepare um I felt like she started a little bit better than me but uh I found my rhythm a little bit again and you know in the end I just Tred to uh you know be solid and then see what’s going on and try to focus on myself but um yeah I think I have things to improve but I’m I’m happy with with the way I I’m playing right now now do you look ahead in the draw do you know who you play the winner of I don’t do you want me to tell you I don’t mind so you play the winner of Lea Fernandez or coco golf they play in about 45 minutes will you take the time to watch that one uh yeah I mean I’ll watch a bit if I can but I think I’ll do my cool down and come kind of focus on my recovery and uh try to be with my family later and uh I think my coach will watch the match and I know both players as well well you’re enjoying your time here in Melbourne you have the day off tomorrow what’s the uh experience with your family will you go to the zoo you’ve already been to the aquarium um yeah it’s been really nice you know I’ve been enjoying my time off Court in a little different way I’m enjoying it much much more so it’s super nice to be in Australia uh first time you know as a family and uh obviously I wanted to thank everyone for watching I really love this court you know I love The Vibes of this court it’s like music it’s loud it’s a you know the Aussies play here it’s it’s a party court so it’s it was nice to play here and I’m looking forward for my next round we can’t wait to see you play again thanks L for your time ladies and gentlemen Belinda benage well it isn’t how she would have liked to win that match but nonetheless she progresses through to round four in which either Coco go or Lea Fernandez await and they play their match on Margaret Court Arena starting at 700 p.m. so whoever it is it’s going to be a real litmus test for Belinda benic who at times throughout that match was was really showing what she’s capable of and and how sweet get well soon Naomi she really is a lovely person Belinda isn’t she that’s the first that’s the first thing she said wasn’t it I really feel for Naomi no one wants to win a match in a walkover as this but I’m sure Naomi will go away and she’ll recover and she’ll be back first serves in or Beni said she got better as the match went along and second serve points one that’s a little bit low isn’t it from Osaka but I think the last couple of games of that set was an indication with the stomach muscle that really there was no it was just too difficult on the serve for Osaka and the unforced errors also coming her way so here’s a look at this section of the draw as I mentioned goo Fernandez in the next round also luring in this section of the draw paa Bosa and she got through a thrilling threet match 63 in the third knocking out Marta kostuk that was early on today but there’s a big name here number one seed Arena sabalenka so she’s going to be a threat to anyone in this section of the draw and it wasn’t how she wanted to win this match but nonetheless she is through to round four for the first time since giving birth to her young daughter that’s all we’ve got time for I’m afraid uh next up on this court Hugo Amber 14th seed against fellow Frenchman Arthur F from Ukraine Mata [Applause] cuk e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e for right awesome W yeah [Applause] [Music] [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Music] we go good [Music] evening you here I have and I’m going to play a of the game throw up in the crow just get you a bit enered how are we again you all well what a beautiful evening it is to be here at Melvin Park so what we going to do who’s being here hey on the count of three if you’ve been here for a night session of John put your hand up 1 2 3 oh quite a few of you so you’ve probably seen me do this before part of it lik when you haven’t been here cuz then you’re like oh this guy’s all fun and stuff I kind of do the same thing every night but it’s fun so on the count of three we want you to Make Some Noise Okay yeah up here one 2 3 Make Some Noise not bad not bad probably turn the mic down a little bit we turn the mic down just to touch I reckon that’ll be perfect hello up there can you see me friends yes so you going to try and be louder than them okay so on the coun three 1 2 three who was louder do you think that side or that yeah definitely that’s it definitely next time okay who wants a tennis ball I like to throw it really high in the air you you want to try and track the tennis ball here we go ready 1 2 3 it’s not even going to go oh my God I have I’ve never done that before 1 [Music] 2 Hello friends up there you got me on the count of three Make Some Noise 1 2 three not bad one 2 three who was start over there who want a [Applause] ball and JIA have a ball okay players have just arrived they’re going to go and bring them on up I go necessary hello tennis join as welcome the world’s to and get ready round three men’s singles action please welcome to John Kane Arena from France [Applause] F and please welcome his opponent from France hug h [Applause] it is an all French encounter on a Friday night in Melbourne as the world number 14 ugbe takes on at the world number 21 the 20-year-old one of the real rising stars of the men’s game these two have met plenty of times before um with the head-to-head but Feast having a win in their last encounter and that was last year on a hard court plenty to look forward to good crowd in another record attendance at the Australian Open in day number six and this promises to be a very interesting encounter they know each other so well and a real opportunity for both of them push through to the fourth round of the Australian Open for 2025 it’s been a wonderful day weatherwise it’s going to continue into the evening temperatures Rising ever so slightly over the weekend it’s going to be nice and fine around the 30° Mark Celsius for both days players out on courts gentlemen like usual regular change over time the thir clock on the side bannner it’s in all four corners okay and the towel boxes the blue blue and and red for you okay red and live LC includ and we have video video reviews so video reviews as well three pet and one extra any questions no please can we ask Arthur I show you John Nukem or AO uh AO please okay AO AO then a photo together turn around turn around like this phot to the other side yeah oh good flip a o please serve okay so turn around he’s winning the toss and and we’ll serve first that was an excellent toss of the coin very nice elevation good Spin and a good moment for that young hot shotter as we get into the warmup on Peter Mardo alongside Colin Fleming Colin you’re up and about for a Friday night why wouldn’t you be you would not want to be anywhere else this is going to be a hell of a clash tonight this is uh brilliant Grand Slam action isn’t it Friday evening John Kane AR know two of the very best players in the world uh certainly two of the very best French players good friends are going to go up against and through everything at each other and we are here and ready to go for it yep the 20-year-old ranked 21 in the world part of the the atp’s next gen although he’s now slowly advancing out of that in May 2023 he was outside the world’s top 100 took him three months to get inside the world’s top 50 he had a superb year a couple of titles last year on the 500 circuit on the ATP and he has been pretty much up there with the best of and matching it with the best of them as well Fe is one of the most explosive players in the game he’s an incredible athlete he goes for his shots particularly the forehand a lot of power brings a lot of Charisma to the court and uh it’ll be interesting to see how much he he sort of uses that to try and influence the match he likes to try and sort of control the energy out on the court sometimes easier to do that when you’re not playing a good friend yes yeah so we’ve had some examples of good friends playing each other already at this year’s AO here’s UG and be leading the French contingent there are a lot of French players inside the world’s top 100 he’s right at the top 14 in the world and a very good year last year excellent year and I go to this the end of the year Colin where he reached the final in Paris B SE and had a marvelous run through that event obviously pushed by the home PR but he is a quality player and thoroughly deserves to be right at the top of the the rankings for the French yeah really interesting uh career so far for him be just two years ago he was outside the top 100 in the world at the Australian Open 2023 having been as high as 25 in in 2021 he really lost his way lost his confidence I think lost his probably love for what he was doing the spark um he then changed it up in terms of the team Jeremy shardy the former French player came on board shardy sends brought fabris martan his good friend into the setup martan is with him here and he just rediscovered the sort of the flame if you like and and and and the fire and it’s taken him right into the world’s top 20 he’s a phenomenal operator and real explosive player see the head to head there that Tokyo final last year what a battle that was Feast getting at 63 in the third yeah and feast was a bit of the walking winded that day it’s his only win against um’s 1 three he was sort of uh he had a an epic week in in Tokyo won a lot of long matches and he was sort of looking a little dead in his feet but then the point would start and he’s everywhere and he he sort of just rode the energy to to that Tokyo Title 20 Celsius on a Friday evening getting into the weekend and a lightish breeze it has been swirling around this Stadium today but ideal conditions for the players one minute and for from Sweden [Music] mamed I know that uh obiously with an all French in counter I’m sure PA mat is going to be somewhere in the stadium he was hanging out with the contingent in his previous match against Habib he’ll find somewhere neutral to sit the French Davis Cup captain yeah he’s been sitting my hotel spending a lot of time with Ian luic as well former all number three uh croat who has a f the French Federation now so I’m sure they’ll be in a neutral position in the stands keeping an eye on this one should mention too fabris Maran you mentioned coming into the coaching setup for Ugo and B of A doubles player he said that he has hasn’t completely given away the doubl actually hoping to to maybe play some doubles alongside ug at certain events throughout the year because he hasn’t officially retired he’s had all sorts of injury problems and issues and things like that so now slowly transitioning into the coaching ranks and obviously good friends with Jeremy shard so not too far away from getting this one underway seed 14 taking on seed 20 in all French encounter it’s a long walk to the tail boxes for these players it’s a big big Court this one it’s a multi-purpose venue currently in tournament mode Sebastian gron is on the right there Ivan sink sitting next to him as well part of the coaching set up for ready play as we get this one underway interesting fe’s team Gran and cinkus who spent a lot of time with Marin chich have chosen to sit in the front row behind the court rather than in the uh the new coaching position just uh at court level some coaches feel they get a better sort of tactical strategical view of the match in the court probably the case with Gran the fact that on this court you’re actually looking down the court other courts you’re you’re to the side R rashed talks about this you much prefer to be just looking down the court get a bit of view of things it’s been a hot start from um here rifling the ball and of 30 seconds Sir I’ve got half a chance already well a bit of a survival like there from Fe is a brilliant point from the Lefty it generates so much Pace with so little takeback you really sort of load too much to have the big swing and just a loose hand a loose wrist [Applause] thir talked about the the titles that he’s won across 2024 are to Fe couple of 500 titles he got an added bonus because at the end of the season there a bit of a prize pull the ATP put on for the 500 events the top there 615,000 extra dollars jumping into the bank account US Dollars 14 yeah the only why wouldn’t be Australian dollars at the minute although as a visitor I’m enjoying the uh exchange rate yeah yeah great use there’s no time taken to sort of build into this match that’s the challenge of facing UG and bur in particular you know he just he goes for shots you’ve got to be ready right from the GetGo if he’s still not out of this game serve has been a big Focus for R2 of Fe and indeed Sebastian Gran Chat with Gran at Wimbledon last year and uh after Feast loss to the Australian Alex deor felt that the serve needed to to improve the accuracy the consistency and something they’re very much focusing on first game that was the match that the injury for diol cuz it was three points from the end of the match he managed to finish the match is going to play jovic in the quarterfinals let’s take a look at the wind predictor for tonight and where it sits at the moments interesting um certainly agree in that I would I would put be a slight favorite could it be even slighter than that though yeah I think maybe uh 55 45 okay will be my number I do think be you know he’s the high rank player I like him on this uh hardcore here in Melbourne s of quicker conditions but I’m expecting it to be a a good tussle previous round he took on the Lebanese qualifier he was making history the first Lebanese play through the open year play a major win a match it was a very Pro Lebanese crowd on court three that he had to contend with at 1 [Applause] L different here with France V France it’s always a different Dynamic we called a match earlier this week between the Two Italians MTI and arnaldi good friends friendly Rivals if you like and and they really struggle to compete against each other particularly the first two sets mazetti eventually prevailing I don’t think it’ll be the same tonight with these two they’re just a little bit further down the road lot of respect for each other but the fact that they’ve played four times as well they’re sort of used to just getting on with it likes the the wide serve position you’ll see him even wider than he is now at times umber on that ad Court likes to to open up the angles tend to call that the Adan manarino SP he gets very wide but the angles he can create my goodness [Applause] plenty of work on that ball mostely taken in the crowd 14 taking that catch clean handsie out beautifully done back in the court but executed that nicely well the foundation for this shot is the movement the athleticism one step and then one massive stride to get his left foot behind the ball open stance it’s stunner from Feast fly in the face of the old coaching manuals it’s the modern game you know for me Novak jovic brought that open stand sliding back hand on a hardcore into the sport and now just about everyone’s got it you think of certainly s alarz you know in days gone by that might have been a defensive shot a slice a chip of some sort maybe trying to get the ball down low now it’s as we saw it’s it’s one step and a big lunge sliding and almost counter punching the shot I love that play from as well one game yeah it’s that wide s position something that he can use as often as he wants I often think you know the wide serve he gets it so extreme why not serve volley and just it’s a simple volley into the Open Court [Applause] [Music] 15 l [Applause] [Applause] be trying to just get in into the court on that second Ser feast 13 15 that’s what he loves to do go be change direction flatten the ball out down the lines it’s uh it’s high risk at times but it’s unplayable when he gets it right for a show tonight the quality high right from the very start of the match again it was the chin your direction down the line from looked like it might get the job done but the movement from Feast able to absorb the pressure these guys pushing each other hard already [Music] game so we’re on serve early stages of this one it’s two1 for feasts least two games to [Music] one well a good start there’s the tennis fans would be a little bit about these two players I imagine they would know a lot about them particularly at of F and they’ll be getting to know them here they’ve seen only the sample size of three games the quality that these two can produce [Music] at [Music] time well as we make our way across the precinct on a Friday evening right hand side John Kane Arena where we are in his packs the peak out traffic to on Olympic Boulevard you see Grand Slam overal the bottom of the screen Kier Arena Rod labor Arena centerpiece building which is a brand new function Center beautiful on a Friday evening in Melbourne 15 L there is the team fais martan on the right hand side Jeremy shardi on the left hand side Les partner Tessa the back left Jeremy was a little late to the court was he he was we didn’t see him earlier good to see him now though get a bit of a shuffle along with the previous match a little early those two were at French Open doubles finalist together I believe marttin and shardi they grew up playing together in the local club and uh what a story really they are coaching together together one of the top players in the world of go be it’s a good strike there from Feast I always feel time you can uh Rush umber you know really hit big and and get the ball through the court he still kind of goes for his shots he hits flat and he’s liable to makeing mistakes we saw that uh when he played Alexander’s ver in the Paris BC finals ver just bludgeoning the ball and there was a little too much room B by contrast though as we see there when he has time he can do so much damage it’s important that Feast gets enough on his own Shots tonight doesn’t end up defending the vast majority of the time well particular one be comes forward like that too far back in the court not going to take not going to need a second invitation first Grand Slam meeting between the two isn’t it in their their fifth meeting the last was the final of an ATP 500 though a big match Grand Slams though of course the the pillars of the sport this is a big occasion for both of them third round here they drilling open that’s nicely done great construction of the point by Beast 15 love SP quality tennis isn’t it we’re only the fifth game but these guys have come to play love the way he moved through that backhand volley kept his weight going forward oh and again quite athleticism he’s looking pretty comfortable up there 30 Love talk about those previous meetings all three of them coming in 2024 J on hard caugh one on Grass he’s winning in Tokyo last year previous two by um well look out Mo you might be in a bit of trouble tonight a bit of Friendly Fire there barlet on the return nearly got him I think the microphone saved him ring Along on serve here in this opening set John Kane Arena Friday night style it’s [Music] 32 who’s that team um watching on is he still living in Wimbledon he have a house in Wimbledon for a Time certainly in uh a London area yeah yeah controversial crossing the channel it was and is to we we welcome Jeremy he’s a great guy R time Sebastian gron famous names everywhere both end of the Court [Music] 15 l out 30 long [Applause] [Applause] at 1 15 [Applause] [Applause] at 14 15 [Applause] the bra from the other end of the court again taking the ball nice and early well inside the Baseline three games off and again that redirection getting the job done not sure what umber was uh asking of mhammed leani in the chair there maybe it with reference to the ball change one more game to go server can often be vulnerable in this seventh game because these uh six tennis balls six in play any one time have been used for the warm up the first six games they’re usually as sort of fluffy and slow as you’re going to get them just slows the serve down gives the returner a chance to get into more points and maybe try and Nick a break that point basically say to Fe you generate your own pace some variety from umbe tonight 1 15 serve looking good so far for Fe hitting his spots for the most part that very early and hit it big tough to do but sending a message to Feast that he’s not going to allow him to just drop the second serve in the middle of the box he had it covered up after hit the and came forward for just that reason it’s four3 on serve in the first there Fe he four games to [Music] three such an important hold in the first game for a feast those that were with us right from the start remember be very quick come out the blocks two good points love 30 momentum was right on the line there Feast really sort of dug in got through that hole and it now feels as if he’s he’s a lot more stable in this opening set very hard to tell which way it’s going to go high level tennis [Music] time what a beautiful Friday evening in Melbourne the sun slowly setting comfortable conditions for the players for the spectators well that’s a volley that he should be making wouldn’t say he’s uh completely comfortable in the net three from Seven net points one so far certainly speaks to that no need for that to be so close to the line just a little [Applause] careless love 30 the evolution of the artif game I think that power but the ability to stay in those rallies get on top just you know every point is so important and that volum on the first point of this game just a little careless lets it Go wide on him got a good look here just the way he kept his his momentum going forwards he moved through that volley head was uh incredbly simple the end well now [Applause] for oh it’s a superb return perfect return really the team likes it well he was waiting for that Lefty SCE Ser wasn’t back jumped all over it what a brilliant [Applause] return he’s got a real air of confidence about him here r two Fe a 20-year-old and he’s well worth his right to serve for this opening set next second service we mentioned uh 15 love the differences in the forehand how flat humar hits the ball look at Feast with the spin rate there they’re both hitting big those speeds are high what’s that about 700 more revolutions per minute on the feast 4 and he’s really fizzing the heavy top spin around this court if he can keep right at the back of the Court he’s just controlling things be just get that fraction of an opportunity to get forward show off that variety moment it’s Feast getting it done from the back of the [Applause] Court 1 15 death for service [Applause] [Music] sensible decision just going to the towel taking his time good effort from M just to find a way back into this game well it was there for the back hand down the line I’m just not sure committed to it wasn’t quite sort of full blooded strike little hopeful ended up being quite a t Miss into the net and here’s a chance for three points in a row can he get this break back he’s done it beautifully bear has brought things back on serve Feast leading 5-4 in the first sets Fe is five games to [Music] four he changed tactics Midway through that game that’s a fe he was getting it done from the back of the Court then decided to come forward yeah the S Vol 30 love I mean that final point he kind of had to come in just didn’t really get enough on the approach he then had to defend that first volley and that’s a good pass from mber because you know there’s pressure and he had a bit of time to think there but that’s the sort of player he is you know he can just in the blink of an eye sort of just suddenly flip a game or flip a set couple of winners and before you know he’s right back in it [Applause] [Music] play [Music] time of course there’s going to be French flags flying here on John Kane Arena exchange of breakes give him a taste of his own medicine fabulous point just the wrong approach here from that back hand down the line got him on top of the point but look how he goes inside out here that left the line wide open and it also gave Feast a running forehand it’s easy from the coms box but for me has to whip that forehand to the fe’s back hand and he’s then in position at the net as well 15 old exactly where he wanted wants to keep him bear 15 that’s a a meter or two from the Baseline work the ball in deep plenty of pace 3 [Applause] on a it’s a terrific return again it’s in a couple of times with that t Ser Fe Feast getting in to a good position to play it anticipating it well set [Applause] points and he’s up about it as well six game to four he wants a crow with him Fe 64 the opening [Applause] sense our two feasts is not quite gon Feast but he’s got some Shan in him and he enjoyed that moment getting this John Kane Arena crowd going big back hand to force the error from himber string of breaks there it did just feel after the first game or two that Feast was marginally on top of that opening set just a few too many errors there from umber five winners 13 on four from the Lefty and just 30% of second serve points one for um feasting a really good job of attacking the second serve it’s always a key area it’s Advantage to the youngster here second Ser percentage he concern for as well there some high quality tennis played in this opening set you can see in the highlights great work from when he was able to get forward in the early stage of the set he was really able to attack he was coming in a lot more then Feast well started pinning him around that position about a meter or two from the Baseline was that control [Applause] terms [Music] only a second [Applause] set f go [Applause] it’s an intense point to start the second set one thing that’s really stood out for me is just the physicality the movement from R2 Fe you know there’s a great quote from Roger fedra the best players are the best movers completely agree you know this is a skill sport but it’s a sport of movement as well and his court coverage his ability to absorb the big hits from and extend the points has been key for him come on a lot of players struggle against some be just the way he he hits flat he hits fast he changes direction if you can’t sort of absorb that you can’t hang in the point then you know he can win a lot of quick points it’s the movement from Feast the defensive skills the ability to hit big himself got himself on top of this third round match 15 30 and the Ser has been good M six of 28 21% on return serve so far and for Fe is 9 of 31 29% so his first serve is just doing that bit more damage that definitely helps as well [Applause] opportunity some momentum in the second set for ugon B 34 look at the attributes of the top players right at the very top of the men’s game that’s one of them when they’re under pressure facing moments like this break points come up with the big first serve go that’s nicely done [Applause] advantage use first a of the match for either player it’s a timely one 207 km an hour there’s no shortage of pace he really does load up the legs and explode into the serve [Applause] Advantage home [Applause] he’s giving the break up be knock you on the door in that game he gets through first game second set just wonder if that was maybe slight dip in focus for Fe see winning the the first set over pressing the last two points went big on the forehand Miss just long over pressing with the second serve resulting in the double so it’s it’s taking the wind out of his s somewhat that 2 minutes a break between sets can do strange things to players yeah or you know in a big match getting into or getting ahead suddenly your thoughts can can change see there very good percentage in terms of winning the set after breaking early that’s in the first two service games of the opponent 87% of the time he goes on and wins the set but he has been broken twice in that first set need’s to take care of his serve bets here in set two out 15 long [Applause] 15 [Applause] on previous meeting at Tokyo final just last year Beast winning 5776 63 saved a championship point in the second set tie break unbelievable backhand pass to do so broke the heart of his uh his good mate on three points in a row to win that tie break and then win the third 63 fairly similar conditions I would say Tokyo and and here in Melbourne Park maybe the ball jumping a little more here extra bit of heat in the air but you know relatively fast hardcore conditions another Ru Stadium yeah the araki auditorium here’s some bearing that extreme wide position as wide as we’ve seen him go left second service now another could enough for that drop shot so often it feels like a good idea 15 got some time on this ball the guys deep in the court I’m going to play the drop shot but that was uh a bit of a shocker there from him feces so fast so if you are going to play a drop shot it better be perfect and that was far from it got there in plenty of time 304 [Applause] and team will bear up the same end as their player what a b this there from Fe just L some bear off the hook you love that when you’re the server facing a break point just a nice cheap Point been a really turbulent period in the match hasn’t it four breaks in a row Feast kn on the door here he just played off that one that’s an important point I think for AR it’s a l Buster face Fe just refused to miss there even under pressure oh it’s nicely struck going back with the F of the ball he was still traveling backwards when he left in the air h got that push back he just timed it to Perfection f he’s covering some serious grind Feast I mean it’s impressive but it’s got to be taxing well there’s some evidence 16 Sprints to three that’s how many times these players have got up to their sort of top speed Fe is chasing balls all over this court in a best of five set match I think we need to keep an eye on just the the energy levels of both these players well facing break points gets through those turn is on it’s two games to love and we saw in that the previous point good example of why Feast is having to Sprint when bear controlling the point that movement from side to side back in behind him waits for the short ball looks to come forward love 15 was Feast getting the better of lot of the longer rallies in the opening sets the other way around now love 30 real change in the feeling on the court isn’t there Feast is now struggling only two games since he win the opening set but complete turnaround well give him a little spark that one nice and early it just looks like he’s going to the to for a breather there Fe goodness me the intensity you know that that’s really set by just the tempo that room be plays at constantly attacking the younger Frenchman H and [Applause] [Music] [Applause] 43 game did well to get himself out of a little bit of trouble there he holds but upper break it’s 21 in the seconds a little bit of a settler for austr open experience of you of the not want to let get away here very good first Sur percentage in his previous match let’s have a look at this view from the east of Melbourne the mighty MCG so many great matches sporting matches concerts all sorts of things there and then across to Melbourne Park the Magnificent Precinct here John Kane arena in the bottom left Kia Arena and Rod arena in the middle of the precinct PL the outside courts which when the tournament’s not on you can actually come down and have a hit on the outside courts they are available for high it’s certainly worth [Music] [Applause] doing 15 it’s not a bad place to be in January is it very nice I’m not complaining that I’m here in February March April May 30 L what’s it like in July are you complaining then is it is it cold and raining well not not to the standards that you’re used to and I’m over in your part of the world chucking a bit of wind as well we get we get it all [Applause] 4 just been a real uh change here on John Kane Arena Feast had the intensity so high but I think maybe just the energy expended he’s having a bit of a lull at the moment it’s allowed him be to to get on top all the skills on show [Applause] there advantage someone who knows these courts pretty well 2001 semi-finalist Sebastian Gan four time slam semi-finalist twice at ww and once more at Roland garos he could play best not bring up that semi-final by the way was it was it a French derby as well H know with two sets to love up match point in the fourth set Clore prevails it’s through to the final semi-finalist though in Rolland gas that year H 15 for me sort of uh inch for inch if you like in terms of his height it’s 5′ n Gran he had one of the best serves in the world okay it wasn’t an evil Carlovich but 13 15 seriously pop it considering it his height do a lot of damage and as I said he’s been working a lot Gan on the right of picture with Fe on his serve even sinkus in the white T-shirt he’s a relatively new addition assistant coach if you want to call him that co- coach spent a lot of time on tour with Marin chich the former US Open winner now part of fe’s Team MIM manovic as well a number of TI now that um has come in to the feast forand and been picked off might just want to think about mixing up that strategy maybe coming into the backand he’s five of 13 net points one I like that he’s coming forward I just think he needs to think carefully about where he’s approaching so in the second three games to two had Brazilian fans we’ had the Lebanese fans in time with the French fans and I tell you what there’s no shortage of players to cheer on making it through to the third round as well Benjamin bonsi taking on new leka that match underway cor M taking on L tiu had the win over Dani meev of course g m is taking on Taylor FR so those fans will be happy for the next couple of days at [Music] least got a nice uh visual for you here been talking about both players serves and uh those red balls are the uh well the cluster if you like of Arthur fe’s contact points on the outside nice and tight he’s really focusing on serving from one spot getting the accuracy look at Umar how wide he serves as wide as you’re allowed to go on the court 15 long it’s good to look at where Fe is returning he has to move across the court withbe make sure he gets the right angle yeah it’s an interesting one because when does go to that extreme wide position obviously it creates a a very difficult angle on the serve for feast to return but also does expose the backhand corner of umber the down the line return it was pros and cons for me because it makes the very awkward but I would argue that umber would you know want to be playing his forehand after the serve and from Ser by serving from so wide actually increases the chances of getting a backand so it’s I think that’s why he mixes it up rather than goes for it all the time not quite as wi for the serve that time still awkward to return but able to get a forarm from the middle and do the damage it’s a good combination yeah given that little bit of extra variety talk about variety is that Keystone for UG and be crowd in tonight record attendance for the day session I suspect it’ll be the same for the night well on our way to a million fans coming through the gateson fans last year were set to build on that 159 that’s just great ball striking bear when he’s in attack mode played some Inc incredible tennis at the end of last season umber in Paris per the indoor tournament [Music] there he can Elevate his focus and his intensity and and indeed his game to a level where what he described it as almost a trans like State Feels Like a Man possessed it’s just point after point just Relentless attack and it just feels like that’s what arto Fe is struggling to live with now with the younger of the two Frenchman’s intensity just dropping slightly we talked about that into the season for that he had home tournament in Paris indoors in B wi over Carlos elarz in the round of 1675 in the third set followed that all the way through to the final he’s beaten by sash verev it’s huge 4030 incredible footwork to get around this ball and look at this leaping into the forehand I mean that is everything he has got into that winner some serious speed generated great pictures there of the the technique of feast help use nice hustle from Feast saw the Sprint stat play like that I’ll get will bear moving so P keeps in touch will be though still up a break it is four games to three now in set number two [Music] well look at that that’s the uh the left foot of R2 Fe I mean he is quite literally burning rubber you know the slides these guy do in the hardcour they’re actually getting on to sort of top of the shoe at times it’s mindblowing really and shoe blowing mentioned it that it was in you know that not in the coaching manual the way that they slide across these cours it’s just a new way of doing it that’s why I have to wear down the shoes the sols of the shoes to make sure they are able to get that slide they only get their foot caught be disastrous bad time [Music] you see that Sprints marker keeping a close eye on that that’s a beast having to work over time fun on a Friday evening here in John Kane Arena [Applause] history on the John Kane Arena bit of trivia for you here Pete you remember who he played 2021 was this a match that went forever and ever and ever it was long but it was more memorable for the atmosphere yep that would have been an Australian yeah someone that likes to play on joh certain Mr curios correct oh that’s superb what a pass we’ve seen we’ve seen so many good ones tonight that’s the best of a lot of them that’s just outrageous yeah just raw ability I mean very end of his range able to just flick this thing down the line come on so good no wonder that gets an Applause from Fe it was the second round in 2021 34th ranked um who was the 29th seed went up against 4 sth rank Nick cuos was actually two sets to one up lost uh 64 in the fifth so you’ll have memories of that match I’m sure on this Arena it’s just so good 14 15 [Applause] [Applause] oh oh we [Music] [Applause] 403 on so along maintaining that break Advantage these got to [Applause] oh yes you just see where he finished there in the court 15 again how early he’s taking short of back swing redirect the pace he’s just demolish this return this is a sort of trans-like State I mean you hear the grunt it’s just he’s eating that return alive isn’t he can’t leave the second serve there 15 all feet not quite in position for that ball 15 [Applause] oh again 14 15 same shot back hand up the line problematic in this [Applause] game oh no and heck of a to he likes into to turn of the crowd he wants the Applause yeah he he he is an Entertainer seen some incredible Hot Shots in this tournament Lorenzo Sono botic vanan scope at the top of the pile and even though Feast went on to lose this point he was able to to smile about it he pushing himself along but it’ll be serving for set number two 54 in the seconds let’s go come on needs five games to four [Music] [Music] well he’s at least hung around could easily be a double breakdown you know’s been pretty Electric in this set Lefty now with a chance to level us up here they’re not hanging about are they just an hour and 24 it’s uh attacking tennis pretty quick between points and is high octane as well all for it yeah agree absolutely agree certainly not a dow struggle and time well everyone having a good time bear trying to finish off this second set love 15 [Applause] [Music] let [Applause] go let for service these have come in from time to time 30 up to three for the match serving for a set serving for a match it’s never straightforward never easy he has been working on his improving that first serve percentage but down on his usual numbers tonight that was a bit tentative wasn’t it not the the all attack we’ve seen for the majority of the [Applause] set’s father joh there in his box getting very animated pretty good basketballer back in his day play a bit basketball in this Arena don’t they they do absolutely multi-purpose John Karina got him he’s back in this set he took it on his opponent backed off and we’re at five all that’s Dynamite from R2 just exping into those fours absolutely loving the atmosphere on here he wants more yeah there were times in this second set where he looked a little flat like he was just having an energy low but he’s firing again now you pointed out I mean you me mentioned G still going in the tournament here in the kind of mentoring that’s been going on but here is G’s Legacy [Music] and he’s going to be a fan favorite very very quickly he already [Applause] is I tell you what else is going to happen very quickly is going to go from serving for this set to serving to stay in it he’s looking a little shell shock there how quickly things can change with the scoring system in this sport at 1 15 [Applause] [Music] oh how’s that right on the sideline from ug [Applause] bear now the sets in the balance [Applause] come on now it’s time for Bear to get up and about [Music] 134 Well’s lengthening to real arm wrestle this particular point of the match streaky isn’t he all of a sudden three points in a row again so bear gets the break of serve that ball not missing by much but now he’ll be serving for the set again at 65 six game to [Applause] five what a turnar around there all the momentum with Feast exploding into the for for The Brak 30 love up look at his team now four points in a row against him it’s such a roller coaster emotionally this sport you know you go from thinking we’re going to get this we can go two sets of Love here and then all of a sudden it’s like oh you staring set all right in the face once morein have to be able to keep such an an emotional equilibrium that theal spoke of that being one of his big strengths over his career didn’t he get there f f keeping a perspective at all times [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] big atmosphere on a Friday nights John Kane Arena we going back there again trying to finish off the [Music] set let’s see if it shifts back the other way let’s see the patent continues 15 [Applause] White 15 [Applause] all 13 15 [Music] left second service again opportune double [Applause] fall he’s taking the wind out of the Sals just stopping the momentum [Music] yeah he slipped over yeah he lost his balance he threw so much in to the back end down the line 14 but I’m not sure why he lost his balance did he maybe just decide not to follow into the net whenever it was it cost him cost him dearly in a big moment [Music] and we’re back L second [Music] motion as he takes that second set seven games to five these guys are just throwing absolutely everything they’ve got to each other aren’t they yeah we mentioned it can be slightly awkward for two compatriots to play each other in a match as big as this but hasn’t really put the shackles on either of these guys it’s just been big time tennis 13 winners to five in that set for feast and yet he lost it just a few on fource it just felt as if uh even though maybe didn’t hit quite as many winners it felt as if he was attacking a lot of the time we saw the Sprints Feast doing significantly more and just a bit of a lull are in the set meant that he fell behind very nearly recovered it he was five all 30 love up before being broken once more another thing both players getting into each other’s second serves jumping all over them low percentages for both as both was has left the court we’ll get to the highlights for set number two and again plenty of highlights it was sort of ebed and flowed as the set went along yeah it’s high catching tennis that’s for surek plenty of uh big hits net approaches winners of all types that was the most incredible pass from oh little Rose his level dropped he picked it back up again ja the set [Music] 75 to say [Music] something okay awesome awesome has a little bit of a weight well on be goes off usually it’s the other way around it’s the play lost the S plenty to ponder for a feast didn’t play Bad set this for me is one area that I mentioned he’s worked on with his team Sebastian gr I’m feeling that the accuracy of the serve could be better and there’s evidence I’m inclined to agree with them you know those white zones sort of within 2 ft of the lines and the good servers would be getting significantly more within those zones 61% on that juice side of particular Landing quite centrally he only won 67% of first serve points so far in the match Fe definitely needs to really sort of focus in hit his spots on serve he’s broken twice in that second set which is uh usually going to mean a lost set at the level you got a bit to think about now because really is a match that’s in the balance isly notionally you’re going with in terms of the the momentum just coming off the back of winning that second set but we’ve seen this swing wildly backwards and forwards between the two players all right all the way to the end where are you pointing at so he’s got 1 minute to return back to court we go be how timed don’t have to walk all the way back to the rod Arena locker room there are locker rooms here plenty of [Music] them wonderful views across the skyline of Melbourne and a shot of really up close and personal with the Light Tower of the MCG good and then you can see Melbourne Park out towards the bay on the left hand side in the center of Melbourne the Parklands just across from Rod Arena and this precincts which is very busy throughout the year not just the Australian Open this site gets busy lots of concerts other sports where you from other events national tennis center the Australian national tennis center is based here as [Music] [Applause] well so welcome back going be to the court time and now’ll be ready to go in set number three and these opening games will be quite telling which way this is going to go and third set P to Z so unique in so many ways isn’t Heber you know lengthy Delay from the court there often players take a little bit of time to get back up to speed he just launches into that first Return of the set actually L 30 Beast is in danger of being caught cold here 15 30 30 a we saw the graphic uh during the set break the accuracy needs to be better from Feast someone that can serve as big as he can just three Aces and there’s a force you know when he hits his spot nothing returner can do about it [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] 143 and you well to get out of that first game third set very casual he moves from one side of the court to the other B does things his why I seem as so many of the French players develop their own style opportunity just to give some instructions bottom half of the draw here man singles winner will play Alexander ver who a straight sets win earlier today over my compatriot Jacob Fernley 15 tampered a little bit firmly today the viio out at some stage yeah I he did he he had treatment at the end of the first set that wasn’t really a factor in the match so it didn’t really limit him too much ver of his looking very very good made some tweaks some changes where but just what struck me is how focused and how confident and dial in he is he hasn’t just Advanced to fourth round he sort of dominated his way to the fourth round that wasn’t always been the case with him but he’ be keeping an eye on this match I’m sure his team will be you know these are two dangerous opponents he UN handily in the Paris per final Fe beat him in a bit of an epic Hamburg final last year on clay that’s a nice change [Applause] up 14 15 is a good one it’s been that that graduation from really struggling in the opening rounds and then maybe eeking out a fourth round to then quarterfinals it was kind of that barrier and then pushing to semis and now getting a final without having made that taking that final step it’s the last piece of the puzzle conceded anyway Mr requesting to B twice let’s go to the review shall we I don’t think we’ve had many of these I haven’t had one this week Let’s uh let’s see what we can see here so you see Mohammed leani has got his screen up just to have a look he’s got audio as well so getting instruction here comes the replay I can see it as [Applause] well yep double bounce yeah pretty clear there wasn’t it maybe get one more look there is the second bounce there’s the contact is confirmed one second one second he’s got to take off the headset we could have him as a commentator look video review I’m all for it doesn’t get used often but who knows might get used on Championship Point next week or a significant moment we’ got it the technology let’s use [Music] it and nicely done well yeah mean see that expand as well over time Mr has two video reviews remaining you can’t use them endlessly not that the players at the moment have any need to a certain amount of things that can be reviewed and obviously the ultimate review of line calls is happening automatically anyway I’d say double bounds is is probably the most common review in singles anyway touching the net might be slightly more relevant in doubles Net players get so close to the net or foul shots where they reach over y f what an opportunity for at F here a it’s nicely done [Applause] f [Music] now again being made to Sprint well he’s holding the right ankle there [Applause] home I mean he is well he’s having to throw himself around this court hopefully nothing uh too serious there with the ankle yeah there it was just Twisted didn’t it shoe just sticking oh that just got the back of the line good contest this right now one game come on on and he’s asking for a lot of different things one thing that always I find astonishing and you’ll probably shake your head and go you’re being silly is why that doesn’t happen more in terms of asking when the ball change comes up players just instinctively know and I know that because commentating with with players former players like yourselves and it just comes up casually in conversation you just know the counts the seven and then the nine yeah you just I guess get used to it at this level change after the first seven games because the first set are used for the warmup as well every nine games from there love 15 I mean they’re not counting it in their heads but you just get a feel for it you know you can see after before every serve he’s looking at three balls to see which two are at the least fluffed up 30 so as you go you notice them sort of getting fluffed up and then you sort of subconsciously think well the new balls must be coming soon just picked up on uh mamed leani calling for the physio at the next change of end so we’ll keep an eye on that so wasn’t maybe Fe for the ankle 15 30 get a sense of at the moment cuz since that happened we haven’t had a long point so to move around all that much there’s a perfect example arur Fe not hitting his spot with the serve it’s not accurate 24 km an hour but it’s right into the Hitting Zone of um who fired it right back to his feet i’ even sacrific some pace for more accuracy and again too good break serve Feast just looking at his team before he walks to the chair slowly will bear with the break it’s 2-1 and the trainers coming to court Stan vivier the phys your federal fans might recognize Stefan used to be part of the Great man’s team he’s getting stuck into the right shoulder there which is unusual must be the two-handed backand was feeling some pain he obviously a left-hander we were thinking was going to be we sent to the other side of the Court just to get that ankle checked out so everything okay [Music] there depends on whether this will turn into a proper medical timeout it’s a fun group aun group looks like this is going to be a proper treatment period in the moment period of assessment that happens ising is going to get a medical timeout here he’s a break to the good in the third set so 3 minutes of treatments a little bit of a surprise because he really didn’t notice anything particularly wrong with um certainly got the break of serve he’s been played particularly well doesn’t look hampered at all no agree with you but there’s obviously some pain pulling the trigger on it now done and really push hard from there keep an eye on the two-handed back hand that’s the the shot for me if there is uh significant pain in the shoulder of the arm then it’s going to hamper that two-handed back hand of the Lefty maybe the serve as well where he’s got to sort of toss with that arm and reach up keep the right arm up [Music] it’s the interesting thing of he’s rolling through he’s got now the momentum in the set but obviously needing to to get it done pretty quickly and try and push this [Music] [Applause] Advantage you too far away from completing the Tom out let’s have a look at where this may have [Music] happened on the right hand he throws the ball up and then just starts to feel it and stretch it out there again doesn’t look anything noticeable and again didn’t really affect B [Applause] toss I think your point maybe just something he’s feeling he wants to get on top of before it potentially gets any tighter or any worse I don’t think he’s going to be a showstopper here but who knows certainly it’s a break up third set he’ll be uh keeping this going as long as he can now this is interesting because uh we just seen him get treatment on the right shoulder and as I say the main shot that would affect would be his two-handed back hand look at the average toxs and backand speed so far sets one two similar set three well down it’s early days just three games in but we’ll keep an eye on that stat because uh that could become relevant as we go from struggling on the twoand love [Applause] 15 and I think if you Feast well you’re playing your meate but you’re hitting it to his backand as often as you can yep you know this is a grand slam and you do anything you can to get the win a little uncomfortable didn’t it l 30 well Fe be would have looked over and see what was going on terms of that treatment worked it out pretty quickly what he needs to do at 153 go [Applause] [Music] H just that ability to direct traffic take control compact with his swing redirect the pace certainly will help him [Applause] much better if you could play that the poor hand 403 yeah that’ll do that will pass the uh turn it back contest as well there was no issue there beautifully timed [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] 15 love [Music] 15 all oh h [Applause] 15 walking a little slowly and gingerly there let’s not forget that Feast did show a little bit of pain in the ankle couple of games ago he has been pushed all over this John Kane Arena by be as well 154 was walking off Court Feast was close to the entrance had a few words wouldn’t be surprised if we see another appearance he’s charging overtime tonight [Applause] he’s not comfortable there is he I would not be surpris see the fysio again in fact I’m fairly certain we [Applause] will looks like stepan Vivy hovering in the background there in fact use let for service let for service F Well I want these points to be as short as possible they can get some treatment [Music] it was rolling in the way of he’s just hanging in working overtime this time for feast will bear up 3-2 with the break in the third [Music] [Music] well this one was a little more clearcut it was quite obvious that he was hampered that’s quite common two pairs of socks on and an ankle strapping [Music] already’s the job get this off first before we start again he’s got the shark out there that’s a great tool getting those ankle taping off otherwise it takes forever look at that just cuts right through it that’s what else doesn’t cut straight through feel like he could do an infomercial right now I know you’re not biger fan of sharks in this part of the country but that one’s a good one I like it could use that one at [Music] [Music] home well for a feast this might have been just running repairs I think it was bandaging just a little bit too tight so he’s taking that bit off the double sock I’m scratching my head uh P because uh he’s just taking the taping off his left ankle pretty sure it was his right ankle that he tweaked earlier in this set here’s the moment it happened ran across yeah it was the right ankle that he just had a little tweak off there so it’s a separate issue I think yeah a pre-match taping job that started to bother him he’s just wanted to cut that cut that off I guess the good news is that that means that little sort of twist has had no lasting [Music] effect it’s best of five set tennis the guys putting their bodies on the line L 15 up to six now for the match for just the one ice [Applause] 30 entirely unfamiliar [Applause] territory who also won a couple of titles last year start of the year I say [Music] Dubai at [Applause] [Applause] 1530 great view of the crowd in John Kane Arena tonight [Applause] using that wide serve to good effect as he always does but particularly this evening [Applause] 403 first little frustration from ATA at the back of the Court his arms out to his team well that’s the the C of serving from that extreme wi position if uh the returner latches onto the serve and attacks down the line is feasted there then you’re really exposed look at the Fizz on the forehand to finish plenty of net clearance and the tops been bringing the ball down into the court even at that speed Advantage home I think for he’s probably still learning it at 20 years of age just how to manage his energy throughout a best of five set match you know he likes to put everything into everything it’s tough to do you know in this sort of long form of the game if you like two hours living on the clock and it just feels as if he’s had a few abs and flows in his energy levels already they only have four opportunities to train for it or to to play it these days I mean the the dynamic of five set tennis because it is now so exclusive to four tournaments they tricky transition for players and his coach Sebastian Gran will help him four time Grand Slam semi-finalist he knows what it is to succeed on the best of five sets also how you build into a two-e event like this the other thing with regards to the energy levels of course is just how much energy umber is taking from him with his Relentless attacking play 35 Sprints feces done the average for a best of five set men’s match this TR open 28 Sprints for the entirety so he’s well above the average already and we’re just halfway through the third set [Applause] 14 back hands working particularly well not able to finish off with the redirection for [Music] so P keeping touch but it’s still on be uper break it’s 43 in the third at least four games to [Music] three I mentioned that Ugo has used the wide serve effectively tonight as he always does but this is interesting look at this tactically look at the adside that 56% of serves out wide to the adside in the first set let’s look at sets two and three 89% of sber going wide to that ad court so he really is using it well the vast majority of the time with with good effect Feast needs to be sitting on that one yeah he needs to be out wide doesn’t he trying to force to go with more t- serves look at that packed Grand Slam oval plenty happening record attendance today why not heading into the weekend have some fun [Music] time so fun out there fun in here as well [Music] DJ’s used up the banker Neil Diamond always gets a good response just rotating through the classics this make an appearance on your Spotify playlist it’s on everyone’s I think it’s in there somewhere even if you won’t admit it so cup still in this third set but hasn’t been plain sailing on serves so don’t real Feast out of it just yet just when you think is going to just take that motion run with the momentum and start to put a bit of a [Applause] gap it just turns around Feast has found a way he finds a way into one of the unbe service games then things tighten up again in the theme of the match [Applause] 1 Taps the the left ankle he’s looking a little in trouble here physically shades of their Tokyo final last year when Feast looked out on his feet somehow still one saved a match point and that second set tie break he’d had an incredible weak Feast he beat Fritz bartini Shelton Runa to make the final that’s a serious run PA of four set wins the tournament verant and then an all French encounter again with quanton Alise [Applause] he’s really starting to linken again 40 15 at the average for the match just over four [Applause] shots certainly getting the better of the Ries that go five to8 shots he’s M he made him play the extra bow and it paid off two of the great shot makers on the John K Arina this evening five games to threee we’ve had some special moments and there’s another one there from downtown hug [Music] 15 love [Music] a 30 l [Applause] a [Music] for yeah so B will’ll be serving for a two set to one lead next at 54 in the third need five games to [Applause] four talk about the French players in the men’s singles draw one going out on Kia Arena Benjamin bonsy calling to yui leka putting together a really nice tournament one in straight sets so obviously we’ll have a French winner from this match tonight join Coran M and gaale M as players still in the tournament M to play leard TI what a performance that was over Daniel Mev Fe to take on Taylor be a fascinating encounter [Music] time so Friday night special the first Friday of a25 we’ve been in this situation before as we saw in the second set bear serving at 54 50 left he’s broken pretty comfortably in that 54 game in set number two this feels like a big game for our two Fe one that he somehow needs to try and win he he he he’s struggling for me physically the 20-year-old both ankles he seems to have look at the way he’s walking there looking to his team if he’s to have any chance certainly based on the way he’s walking you would think he needs to somehow break here and Nick this third set team looking pretty concerned no wonder reminder that for some treatment on his right shoulder these guys have taken a few lumps out of each other incredible intensity and Tempo to this [Applause] one the points he cut the tape off that left ankle but it’s still seems to be bothering him that’s an exclamation point and a strangle hold on this contest for ug bear he takes the third set six games to four CH well arto Fe immediately pointed for the physio Stan vivier to come back on to the court it’s that left foot or ankle that’s given him the the problem end up being raped here I think might be looking to leave the cor not sure whether he can can he throw an outfit change if he’s already done it yes so this is going to help feast in terms of giving him just a little bit more time I think because it’s going to be what 5 minutes he’s got to get off the court and come back yeah we’re going to have a a bit of a delay here between sets 3 and 4 and gives us an opportunity to look back on the set three summary still more unforced errors for room be than Feast but one stat that we don’t show is the forced errors Umar is forcing a lot lot of errors out of feus with his big hitting so might not actually be clean winners but it’s sort of real attacking players is doing damage certainly a set that umber was in control of in Feast doesn’t just need to figure out this left ankle he needs to figure out tactically how to try and get back on top of this match try and be the player attacking in more of the points very much on the foot [Music] well let’s get into the highlights here of set number three and one for the walking wounded really is similar pattern it was unbe getting the early break of serve and then just able to continue to trade that throughout what Fe was able to do he just wasn’t able to make as many inroads on thebe server as we’ve seen in the previous two sets still some good highlights for him he’s being made to work over time we mentioned during the call Sprints going at full Pace to chase down balls he’s well over the average for five set match that’s by some margin now we’ve still got at least another set to go maybe two at the moment unbelievable put your hands together for these two all right we should ra someone so go going off the court maybe decision about treatment here wow I think that went pretty well couldn’t just slide in here and just say look give me give me a bit more work here if I’ve got four minutes to wait no I think you would have to a timer we’re just exploring things at the moment the shoe multiple pairs out there in court maybe the shoe giving him some discomfort it’s it’s an unusual one wondering wandering into Podiatry land here yeah lot of players do wear specific insults custom fitted to their their feet they move thing though is players he doesn’t want to be in a situation where he’s just constantly thinking about it situation with the treatment that got to put in place where you don’t notice it and just put it out of your mind but just get the feeling with both feet and ankles at the moment it’s going to be something he’s going to be thinking about well he has to be able to move at full capacity if he’s going to win this match like yeah you know it’s a fundamental to his game is fundamental to this matchup as well cuz um such an attacking game style also the pressure on his ankles and feet when he slides as well on this hard courts [Music] [Music] he bear is still off the court changing outfits did at the end of the previous set as well [Music] just in a stalemate here really with this doesn’t look like he can do anything more treatment wise is it maybe getting the doctor out on court getting a bit of pain relief potentially it’s going to be interesting first uh game or two it’s Fourth set find out a lot about how much discomfort Fe is in and how competitive he can be I think we’ll know if be can really latch onto the returns as we’ve seen throughout the match to force Feast to move the Tokyo final remainder it was incredible Feast seemingly with a a left leg injury but you know in the play he’s sort of scurrying around the court and able to sort of hang in the match eventually win it so don’t rule him out just yet is what I’m saying you know he’s uh he’s played through the pain area before Oh totally but is this an opportunity for to throw in a little bit more VAR get forward to the net throwing some Drop shots I think just he’s got to just focus on his game you know you could argue that even when Feast was fully fit and healthy and bur was slightly on top with his attacking play so just keep going with your sort of plan [Applause] [Music] eight not so has returned to court he can get back on with things I think yeah but because he needs to give me yeah so he called the doctor but he’s going to have to get on with it anyway cuz we need to keep play going well these first couple of games are going to be quite telling Fe to get his back [Applause] underway esping C on on the right sinkus fourth in the middle there now in the coaching setup formerly worked with Marin chich he’s deserve let’s see what he can do here oh de that’s not a good sign 15 can hardly put weights on it it seems at this moment what a return by the way I think kber is almost oblivious he was off the court he’s certainly just focusing in his own world at the moment it’s exactly how he started the previous set in the return winner bang bang L 30 this is now a real problem for [Music] Fe love 14 [Applause] the crowd trying just to help out here what much his team can [Applause] do the double fall [Music] let’s see what happens here well the doctor will come on the pain relief might take a little while to kick in though yeah that’s it it’s going to be first game for 10 15 20 minutes isn’t it by that time might be too late well this just needs to be a very quick delivery because this is not a a sit down yeah and I appreciate the John Kena an extremity of the grounds but you know was off the court for five six minutes between sets you’d think pain killers would have been administered then but anyway he’s going to keep trying we put the clock on to see when these kick in if you’re on bear you’re doing exactly what you’ve done to get you to this stage play as if the guy’s 100% fit and healthy you know the simp is for after the match is that shot it’s when he’s pulled really wide as we’ve seen spreading the court so beautifully tonight when he’s controlling things right on the Baseline it’s that run out there try and make that that in range is going to be problematic and be nailing it more often than not looked as if he’s telling him to to stop playing there his coach Sebastian gon that’s certainly the way I would interpret those hand signals of course you got to think of any uh 40 15 situation like this are you making it worse are you are you you know turning a a short layoff into a long one potentially certainly looks as if G wants him to to stop playing certainly seen that they quandry cuz you never want to stop [Music] really let’s see what happens after this point after this game wait please wait please get the board please he take the luck but he’s walking towards the net and I think this is it this is it gentlemen hasn’t seen it injury now he has this is disappointing but continue not much that can do 46 75 64 these two are good [Applause] friends disappointment for but and bear threw to the round of 16 at the Australian over for the first time not the way he wanted to do it but a big moment for him nevertheless [Applause] we will it’s a real shame a thoroughly entertaining contest some incredible shot making athleticism these two uh friends were pushing each other to the limits uh but you know well it’s so unfortunate for Fe a 20-year-old to to have the injury not be able to continue but also forber not the way he would like to win kind of takes the Shine off it in many ways but uh well we just certainly wish our two Feast the best hope it’s nothing too serious hope the recovery is is quick of course congratulations to as he moves on to run for well as you mentioned col I mean these two are friends we talk about the difficulty sometimes of playing friends and put that aside but obviously once they walked in the the chat at the net was was quite heartfelt so you know be will take the win but obviously he’d be feeling a bit for his mate as [Applause] well leaves and you see the disappointment on his face he played so well to get to this stage but 20 years of age he’s got plenty more Australian opens in him what does you say Colin we hope this is just a minor setback for the year continue right at the start of the year the tour moves fast out of here it’s never the one way youd want to win any match but but you know especially against a friend remember that umber had a bit of treatment on that right shoulder he’ll be I guess when the D set was happy in a way that he’s come through 2 hours 37 minutes and who knows could have gone on to be a a tough four set maybe even a fifth so he’ll be slightly fresher and healthier for the significant test of the second seed Alexander’s ver in round four so he walks to the middle of the courts let’s see what he has to say he is on court now with Adrien Franklin well youo clearly not the way you would like to go through congratulations of course uh what what was said between the two of you at the end there is he okay yeah for sure it’s not the way I wanted to win but uh we were playing a really great match and uh I think it was uh his uncle uh so at the end he couldn’t move so he decided to to stop you are through to the fourth round of the Australian Open though for the very first time congratulations for that you equal your career best at of grand slam as well it’s something to put a smile on your face uh what does that mean to you a lot a lot um yeah I’m so proud of uh this uh second week for the first time uh I love to play in Australia I have so good memories even if I have some bad loss but yeah I’m super happy to to be in the the second week here before we talk about the next round tell us about this match you lost the first set it seemed very physical out there what were you trying to do after that first set to get back into the match yeah it was not easy he was playing great it was moving unbelievable uh it was not easy to make the difference uh when I went to the net he was always doing some passing shots so not easy but I tried to stay calm until the end and uh yeah I’m super proud even if uh yeah it’s not the way I wanted to win two more questions do enjoy playing someone from your country is that hard or do you enjoy cuz your level was very high tonight yeah against AR is not easy because we are good friend um we are playing Davis Cup together um we we played the Olympics as well so yeah it’s not easy to play against him we had some good battles I lost against him in Tokyo the final was totally crazy so it’s nice for the French tenes to have a lot of great players and uh yeah I’m happy to to take the win here do you look at the draw do you know who you’re playing next yeah I know I play Zev now Alexander Zev so you got a a reasonable record against him what will you need to bring to the court to compete against ver our last match was not not the best I took two and two in one hour in front of my fans but I we try to do uh better this time uh I think he play a really nice L he didn’t lost one Set uh so it will be not easy but I’m ready for this new challenge we love having you here we love seeing you compete you go through to the fourth round thank you so much thank you yeah thank youo a difficult situation there but he can be really pleased with his evening’s work the level that he brought to the table yeah he’s playing well um he really is he’s such a dangerous player these uh sort of faster livel hardcore conditions really suit him the left-handedness uh we heard the uh the reasonable record against Alexander ver he won their first meeting in 2021 but lost 76 in the third set at Paris B 2023 and then was humbled by the German last year as he said in the final 6262 so uh he’ll hope for a reverse of that score on a more competitive match but that’s the story really Sebastian gon signaling for our Fe to stop the ankle the foot injury unfortunately getting the better of him advancing to run four as a result I hope it’s just a temporary setback I mean be feeling so so disappointed cuz he was well up for the match he won that first set but just couldn’t continue it on let’s have a look at the numbers col yeah it was a high quality match it it really was um first Sur points one for umber a little higher was using that slice serve a lot 19 winners 36 onfor St is I think is unfair I think umber you know I’m not arguing with the stats but I think it it was the movement of feast so many balls coming back therefore you know the unforced erors maybe harder than they might have been against another opponent and the winers could have been a lot higher so I I think he’s playing good tennis uh I think he’s a dangerous player and I think he’ll throw absolutely everything he’s got at Alexander ver in round four I see that right at the bottom of screen there what a stack draw this is Noak jovic getting win on Rod Arena about the same time he takes on y leka Draper vukic on court now and it looks like Draper is up in that one he took the first set and then davidovic Vin and Tommy Paul and then and Z could almost be the quarterfinals couldn’t it that section it’s stacked as you say absolutely well not the way that UG and bear wanted to move through to the round of 16 but he’s there for the first time in his career he’s had a good win over at to Fe 4675 641 love unfortunately Fe having to retire is through [Music] go