Mirra Andreeva’s French Open Title Was Confirmation, Not Revelation

Mirra Andreeva is a Grand Slam champion, but the more interesting question is what the title actually proves. Alvin and Torrey argue that Andreeva did not suddenly become a different player at Roland Garros. She confirmed the level that had already been visible: heavy shape, backhand stability, controlled aggression, and enough variety to solve a complicated clay-court final.

The tactical center of the episode is Maja Chwalinska. Rather than treating her run as a fluke or her game as defensive, the conversation frames Chwalinska as a nuanced offensive player who uses directionals, rhythm changes, drop shots, and “Option C” decision-making to pull opponents into uncomfortable patterns.

The episode then expands into a broader discussion of Cinderella runs in women’s tennis, comparing Chwalinska's breakthrough with Emma Raducanu, Leylah Fernandez, Lois Boisson, Coco Gauff, and Bianca Andreescu. The key distinction is between a player’s peak and their baseline: Andreeva’s title fits her long-term profile, while Valinska’s run may be a brilliant two-week peak that still has to be earned again on tour.

Transcript

Alvin Owusu (00:00.71)
And welcome to another edition of the Best of Three Podcasts. I'm Alvin. That's Tori. And TH I I want you to put the word out there that we're we're back up. You know, it feels like it feels like in in Grand Slam Grand Slam years it feels like it's been it's been a year, but really it's been a week since we last got together.

Torrey Hawkins (00:09.27)
Yes sir. Yes sir.

Torrey Hawkins (00:15.168)
Yeah.

Right, right, right. And a and a lot's happened. You know, like to your point. I feel like it's been one of those kinda whew, don't blink, you know what I mean? And feel like every the tournament took like a wild

a wild detour and and then and then got lost slash found and like you know so past champions faded, pe some stubbed their toe and then all of a sudden it felt like some new ones came out from the ashes and then and then here we are and you know and you know what? And it's another edition of the Grand Slams as we know it and that it has not disappointed, I'll tell you that.

Alvin Owusu (00:47.755)
Yeah.

Alvin Owusu (00:55.808)
And

Exactly, exactly. And so what we'll do is we just we just finished up the women's final. Mira Andreva took out Miss Maya Hvalinska pretty pretty thoroughly. I believe it was three and one, I think what the final score was. and we will we'll kind of stay in that space, kind of mostly about Mira, a little bit about Maya. I think we have a very you and I have a very long conversation to get into probably later this week, maybe next week, about the current

what can we actually take from this tournament when we're talking about the the the top women. and but I think today's a good time to just kind of Sure, yeah. I mean there's just there's so much. I don't want to get us I don't want to get us committed to too much while we're here today. but there's a there's a lot. There's a lot. And we're right about halfway through the year too. So it's a good time to, you know, two majors in, good time to check in. but specifically in this in this match, right, Mira Andreva is your twenty twenty six French Open champion.

Torrey Hawkins (01:34.159)
Guys too, let's be honest.

Alvin Owusu (01:56.046)
she she did the job that was put in front of her, right? So as maybe some of you know who listen to the show, I went to Paris. I was in Philippe Chatri, I say in because the roof was closed, for a good time my my time there, for the women's semifinals. So I watched Mira against Marta Koshik and then I watched Schneider versus Vylinska. And it really really interesting being there in person.

getting a really good understanding of both players before they played each other. What does that look like in person? What does that actually feel like? And I will say from watching Volinska versus Schneider in person. And then later that night I saw some of the replays on TV. I was like, her ball's a lot better in person than it looks on television. That's the foot like the first thing I want to get out there because a lot of the a lot of the com commentary around her

was like, she's she's looping and dinking and so on and so forth and girl girl hits a her her ball is fine. What she doesn't do is hit herself out of like out of position. And I think that's that's really the the conversation there

Torrey Hawkins (03:07.308)
Very smart tactically. I was watching that myself. She's very, if you look at all of the option A, B, and C, she picks the right option almost all the time. May not have the firepower from the of what we've been spoiled with, you know, with some of the bigger Valkyrie that we've that we've seen from time to time. But I I really like what she does with the ball. You can see even on TV how much her ball dips at the last second that you know that ball's got some j got some heavy.

on it. So, you know, it's one of those things where like you say the the the the astute eye can pick up how she's actually hitting it. You don't get that kind of dip on the ball if you ain't you don't have racket speed.

Alvin Owusu (03:49.046)
Right. Yeah, it's a it's a it's a very nuanced ball in that but you if like to your point, if you are astute enough, and I imagine that if you're here with us today, you are fairly astute. There's a reason why players don't run right up to the s to the service line and tag that ball, because if you're gonna take it on the rise, you better be there on time. And if you're not, like you could see today how many balls did Mirror open up the match with up up above the shoulders on the baseline, because that ball that is landing relatively short is dipping and then

Torrey Hawkins (04:06.092)
Right.

Alvin Owusu (04:18.463)
jumping. but speaking of Valkyries I would say Mira Andreva is you know kind of the the next generation of a Valkyrie she is she is a tall woman filling into her game like we really saw her start to assert herself as a tennis player last year with picking up two WTA 1000 wins did not quite reach the WTA role to finals but

Torrey Hawkins (04:19.35)
Yep. Yep.

Alvin Owusu (04:45.601)
I think when you win a Grand Slam, like you don't have to make an excuse for anything, right? She what what did she what did she not do? She didn't play anyone that you thought was going to beat her. She was the eight seed, never played anyone seated below her or above her, I should say, right? and in a year where she's only really struggled with those at her level and above. Well, she's lost to Mboco twice, she's lost to Coco, she's lost to Rebecca and

Sergey Marta Kant Kostic and Sventalina and Asamova, yada yada yada. She didn't play any of right? And that's also not her problem.

Torrey Hawkins (05:22.73)
And and we have to we it cannot be overstated. And she's nineteen, Alvin. It's not like this young woman just young woman is is twenty-eight. She's nineteen. We forget she's been out there so long, we forget that she's still young. And I believe, I'm not not mistaken, she just turned nineteen. So you just gotta appreciate the fact that you know she played her kind of game. I've been saying for the last several months on this podcast how her game is starting to really, in my opinion, she's starting to kind of get to

different styles she always had good loop she always had good shape on the ball she's taller she's like five nine five ten but she can roll she can drive she can she can loop she can draw she can do a lot of things I actually felt

Wellenska would had the would have had the of all the players to play against, the one that matched up to her game the worst, or that technically that would would could take her game apart was Mira. Because Mira hits such a heavy ball, because Mira hits can handle that pace, knows how her own ball plays, she knows when to back up, when to move in, where some of the bigger, you know, striking Valkyries, you know, from Madison, Arena, you know, where back Ela Elena, all of them are strikers. Not that they don't

Have shape, but they strike more and they're kind of coming through the court. I felt like she would have had a better chance, possibly three sets on the clay with those type of players. We saw with Coco and Arena last year. That ball just sits up just enough that you have a little bit more time. And I felt like what Mira did was make it look fairly routine, but I also think that's Mira's game and Mira's ball versus Maya. And I felt like that was the difference in the match that you didn't necessarily notice in other places.

in other matches because they don't play the way Mira does.

Alvin Owusu (07:07.787)
Yeah, I think that's a really that's a really good call out there. Mira has the variety and the firepower, which I think is having those are two distinct skill sets. And against a player who's playing the best version of her, you know, her very unique game style, you need both. And so I'll look at the the match that Maya played against Schneider, where from the very no one, being a lefty lefty matchup made that

Very interesting. It was I I loved it as a lefty. It was it was it was great. And the people in the stands with me were just like they were you could tell they were astute tennis fans. Like we had really good seats and these these these some of my cohort were were no joke. But they all started to really appreciate the second match more so than the first match. the first match with Andreva versus Kostiak. What what I took from that match was both women were ripping.

But Mira can rip with a level of safety that Marta could not keep herself like it she could not find a safe range at that pace. she came out smoking and just could not find a comfortable a comfortable range of like, okay, I can go big and also stay here, where Mira displayed I can go big and I can find margin with that with that pace. And I think that's also something that translated into the very next match.

And I'll I'll say that Schneider found herself needing to come forward a lot, right? Like if you're going to if you're going to take care of an inform I'll say inform Maya Svalinska, little that we know about her, you're going to have to finish points yourself, right? Which means constantly looking for that ball to take on the rise, coming forward, being comfortable enough to stick volleys, also hit overheads, and it didn't seem like that was

first nature to to to Diana. whereas Mira looked like she could do that drill all day. All day. And then when it got into the, you know, kind of the dicey stuff, the drop shots, the, you know, the the angles, Mira also then has that. And I think this version of Mira compared to even last year's version of Mira, where she might have gotten a little frustrated. She knew exactly what to do coming into this match and has the skill had the skill to

Alvin Owusu (09:32.277)
Execute the drill over and over and over and over.

Torrey Hawkins (09:36.13)
Yeah, it was it was fun to see. And and Mira's best shot arguably is her backhand. So the lefty matchup didn't hurt her on that side. Damn to say it actually helped, right? And so now you're in that tough matchup where, you know, i there there isn't a there isn't a weaker wing to to to pick on. And one quick note on the earlier point about the two lefties. I always find, and I know you've experienced this numerous times.

Lefty on lefty doesn't happen often, right? They're they're thirteen percent of the population in the world, and so that means that in a tennis straw, they're likely, you know, maybe a fraction of that, right? So the the number of times that it happens when they both play each other. And I find there's a large chunk of that small percentage that don't like playing lefties, being a lefty, right? And so I I think one of my favorites, Ben Shelton, is in this category. He just

His game is so well suited to righties that lefties throw him off a little bit, you know, and I felt like that's what I'm dying a little bit. I felt like I felt like tactically Maya has a has more tactics and she played that style better. She plays her shots and patterns better against anybody, but against the left lefty in particular, better than maybe Diana did. And I think that's what threw her off, which is why Maya would end up coming through in that match to me. When I looked at it, I said, she's a little more comfortable.

Alvin Owusu (10:37.624)
yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (11:02.192)
Not not necessarily better, but a little more comfortable playing another lefty than Schneider was. So would you say?

Alvin Owusu (11:07.178)
Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. especially having to I'm having to dictate as much as she did. like Diana was gonna have to if she was gonna win that match, it was gonna be on the front foot the entire match. And as I was watching the match, like I mean the very first game went like a good six, seven minutes and I'm like, you know, typically I'm looking okay, every game should take about somewhere probably about four minutes, right? When you five when you add in when you add in the changeovers and whatnot. So like for every for every one game count five minutes. That's a

about that's about right, right. this was getting into that long like seven minutes a game, eight minutes a game. And it's not just the time that you're spending out there, but it's like, okay, after a while and considering how much offense Diana was having to play, I was like, I don't think she can after she lost that first set, I'm like, she can't do this. She can't do this for another two hours. It's j it's not going to happen. and again, like there were so many rallies, like Deuce court, backhand, backhand, boom, boom.

Boom, boom. I this is great. This is beautiful. And then Diana's trying to flip it, but it's like, okay, when you flip it, where are you gonna go? Like you can't go, you she's already shown you that the backhand's rock solid, right? So you can't go inside out, really, because if you miss, it's in the middle, and now she's going inside in. But if you go inside in, you're going for the forehand and she's going buggy left.

Torrey Hawkins (12:19.766)
Right. Yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (12:27.65)
Ex and and I think Maya knew that. And that and that's what I'm saying. I felt like she's a very s she's a very astute student of the directionals. And I think she understood that it was in her favor, you know, to to do that. And you know, they they call she calls herself the tennis freak a little bit. I I I think that's her really understanding, you know, the directionals as they are and and Paul Paul Wardlaw would be would be proud.

Alvin Owusu (12:52.172)
shouts to shout to Ward Lost Directionals like, man, that's my that's my jam.

Torrey Hawkins (12:57.686)
That's absolutely right.

Alvin Owusu (12:59.606)
That is my jam. and and I wanna be like very specific about and we'll we'll finish up about Mirror, but I wanna touch on on this one point here. Maya plays a version of a call nuanced offense, right? What is she's trying to do? Is effectively everything she's doing is trying to set you up for the drop shot. Like it's it's very like trying to get you out of position, trying to get you unsure.

She will go hard cross, she'll go hard cross, she'll go loop, she'll go inside loop, she'll go deep slice, deep slice, trying to really wear you down. And if she f she might not finish you with the dropper, but what does she do after almost every drop shot? It's like drop, you redrop, she's right there, la above your head. It's like just that's it. Like that's it. And it's you you you you disagree.

Torrey Hawkins (13:48.108)
Yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (13:52.716)
No, no, no, no, not at all. I think she knows that that play is one of her best, especially on clay, and that she has the other tools. I I'm I'm gonna build on your point, not disagree. So we've talked about this before. A, B, C. You have your main options, right? Typically, cross courts, your your option A. Your most safe, your most standard, maybe even predictable.

Alvin Owusu (14:15.468)
Mm-hmm.

Torrey Hawkins (14:21.086)
Option B, you're down the line, typically, right? your change of direction, your your aggressive ball, it could be your step up, it could be your go ahead ball, you're you're you're trying to build, right? C is that change up, that unexpected, often a drop shot or an angle, or a ball that you didn't necessarily think was coming. It could be a ball at you, which you did several times. It could be that looper up the line and and then the step up behind it, the

the ball that you just don't necessarily it's the riskier of the three, but it's also one you didn't necessarily see coming. If you have a step up ball and you're trying to cover line and cross and the person goes right at you, you know, Yannick Dus is doing this really now. He's he's really locked in.

He he I've even seen him hit a top spin lob on players at the net when they were trying to guess right or left and he's going heavy over their head. He he's he's an option ahead of you. He already knows he's you got the first two covered. And I think what I'm getting at with Maya to your point.

Is she's it's not she's setting up the drop shot, she's setting up option C on the clay with her firepower going up against players that are a little bigger, a little stronger. She knows that the drop shot is safe and she has great hands. She's a lefty. So I think if you saw her on something else, she may try something else. She has every shot in the book, she has all the feel and all the tools. Maybe not some of the not the go-through you type beforehand, however, but she certainly has those other those other skills.

Alvin Owusu (15:37.302)
Fair.

Torrey Hawkins (15:52.888)
So in anyway, at least from what I was seeing, it seemed to me that she's very tactically solid. And she's re- and Alvin, she did it all match along. She did it against Mara, she did it against Diana. She's she just knows when to play those type of shots. And she does it early enough that you don't ever really get into a groove. You know, and you being the opponent, not only has she got the directionals on you, she's throwing that hard low slash, she's throwing that heavy ball on you. Not necessarily back to back, throw off throw off her own rhythm, but to keep you out of yours.

And then that way you tend to go for a little extra. So she picks up that occasional enforced air. And she's quietly working you into her web, right? Of in this case, dropper, because that was the best shot she could use to get you on the clay. But she's also reading what you do off of that dropper, which to me shows that you know she ain't new to this. You know what I mean? She was very, you know, true to this. And she was, I was just really impressed with her, not just her shot selection.

Alvin Owusu (16:39.66)
Very well. Yep.

Torrey Hawkins (16:52.853)
but her read off the option that that shot gave.

Alvin Owusu (16:57.036)
That's fair. And I think the the to your point about the clay really ex the clay truly exasperate exacerbated the the drop shot as an option. and then also the movement part of it. Like when you when you feel like you're in a in a comfortable position, she would often go behind you, you know, forcing using the using the friction of the dirt to get up and over the shoulders where you never really felt like you could square one up. I think in today's match where not only did I think fatigue was definitely there for her, which you would expect.

playing nine matches, leading going to tenth match in three weeks. Yeah. i but also the the roof being open, like just like not having the ability 'cause it was extremely windy today, not having the ability to square the ball up. And what I was talking about with, you know, trying to set things up, like her offense is nuanced, she needs to be on the front foot to do it. And for a player of her size, right, the strike zone is quite limited. So if

Torrey Hawkins (17:28.428)
But

Alvin Owusu (17:54.45)
She has a very small one. I think strike zone is limited. If you are, you know, if you are 5'5 and the strike zone between like the hips and in and the shoulders is this. If you are if you're, you know, 5'9, it's this. If you're 6'2, it's it's a little bit bigger, right? But when that ball is coming in there, if it's if it's where you think it's going to be, you're probably you're much better off than wind has an effect on it. And I'm not quite sure. It's like trying to try trying to park a jet ski on a on a on a dock, right? It's a lot of

Torrey Hawkins (18:08.338)
Sure.

Alvin Owusu (18:20.415)
You're working with the waves and you try to get it in the slip, and then like I hope at the at the last minute I can boom pop that thing in there. Right. Exactly. That's that's what it that's what it's like trying to square up a backhand or trying to square up a drop shot on the front foot when it's windy. You're like but you know, to that with that being said though, even if it weren't windy, I still think Mira's pedigree in this instance and her tool set would have

maybe the first set's a little bit tighter, but I still think Mira gets to that match. I don't think she lets she gets caught in the web the way that let's say like Diana did. and but like let's let's let's kind of like talk a little bit about Mira and then I wanna come back to the the the what what now, right? So like I mentioned before when we open Mira comes into this tournament like more or less the Mira that we have known over the last, you know, I would say twelve months, right? Post

Torrey Hawkins (19:05.088)
Yeah, right.

Alvin Owusu (19:16.765)
Indian Wells, like she's kind of been the same player right around you know top ten, trying to like looking for the opportunity to make make her mark in a grand slam last year. She lost to Lois Boisson in the quarterfinals here, right? had a bit of a you know, the crowd got to her. Let's say had a she had herself a time. and they do, man, the the French crowd, man, geez. They they just they're just looking for a reason. They're looking for I thought we were in I thought we were in Warsaw.

Torrey Hawkins (19:22.423)
Yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (19:31.232)
Mm.

Yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (19:39.287)
More up.

Right.

Alvin Owusu (19:45.454)
when I was in when I was in there on on on on Thursday, man. It was I was like, damn, they just this is this is how it's gonna be. This is this is how it's gonna be. Where all of a sudden everyone's Polish. Got it. and so I thought that might be an issue for for Mira, but she she got through it. But okay, so she's the eighth seed. I think the the player that would probably closest to her, Mark Dekostiak, fifteenth seed, very informed. That was a that was a surgical like

I'm I'm getting the job done today. she took advantage of Marta being just a little too a little too juiced up, like just a little too she was she was playing Marta was playing for a lot. Let's put it that way. Like in the you could tell from warm-up, she was like she was carrying all of the Ukraine on her back for that match and just probably a little too gassed up. never really found her her baseline. But okay, Mira gets through that match. She she gets to the tournament, expected to win every match she played, right?

when this is this is the part we were talking about before we hit record. We as fans look at the tournament in its totality. One hundred and twenty eight players, thirty-two seeds, every single match, we're looking at the t the twists and the turns of the tournament and the narrative and everything. But each player is only tasked with the set of players that they play. They are playing an they're they are playing a different tournament than we are watching. They're running their own race, right?

They're playing their own draw. Whoever lands in front of me, my job is to beat that person. I'm not defending the narrative. I'm not defending anything. I'm just trying to beat this person today. And Mira well, like I said, she was favored to win every single match she played. And that was for seven straight matches. That's pro that's new for her. that's new for her.

Torrey Hawkins (21:31.254)
That's but but that's the job. And and she accomplished that job. I I also want to add in one thing. Sometimes we don't always see the the lesson learned in a previous loss. I think this past year's Indian Wells did Mira a huge service. She went from struggling to defend, having all of the

I'm gonna say the pressure, right, of of defending that. I think that's what kinda got to Coco a little bit in this tournament. started thinking too much about I'm supposed to win this. I have points to defend, right? this is a big deal. I won this last year. I I I should do better than this kind of a thing. And that's gonna start to start to play with you little bit. You know, things may have just been ideal at that time, right? It doesn't mean you're any less or any better of a player. It's just different right now. And I think that's and I got to her. She lashed out the crowd. She she showed her she showed

Alvin Owusu (22:23.733)
Mm-hmm.

Torrey Hawkins (22:28.932)
So showed her lack of age, right? And I think that that actually helped that outburst as unbecoming as it was for her in that moment, it also helped her understand, okay, okay, let me let me get back, let me reset, and let me learn from what happened. Why was I in that space? Why was I so you know wound up?

Alvin Owusu (22:29.835)
Show us made, yeah. Yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (22:51.402)
Then you see her now a short month and a half later on the clay, right? Marta's been on an absolute tear for the last what three or four weeks now. I I don't think she's lost a match. You know what I mean? Right. She's she's playing great, right? So I felt like

Alvin Owusu (22:57.579)
Absolutely.

Seventeen and going into that match on clay this year.

Torrey Hawkins (23:07.228)
almost to her detriment she's been on such a run, right? You what I For her to run all win all those. I mean she's I have to go all the way through and to win the Frenchman. That would have been incredible. But I felt to your point, you can't Ukraine, Russia, I there's all there's so many narratives there, right? I felt like I felt like

Her not only to your point being juiced up, the whole war, the everything going on, all that a hundred percent, but I also felt like it was also a tennis part in there too, where she felt a little bit infallible. You know, like she was just playing so well, she was just gonna beat her and go through her and didn't necessarily think about the tactics per se of the match. And you you can easy to kind of feel yourself a little bit when you're seventeen and you know what I mean?

Alvin Owusu (23:46.279)
And and Morte had just beaten her in in the midfrid final as well. Like d different different circumstances, different like Madrid's very fast, but you can yeah, you can understand why she might come from that perspective coming into this match.

Torrey Hawkins (23:58.122)
A hundred percent. And and my point being is that and you're playing well. So you're in this space where you're thinking, I got this, you know, as opposed to she could play a little different. What might she be able to do? You know, you're in that you're in that space of whatever it is, I got this. I'm playing well right now. And and and to my point, I think that's really what kinda undid her. And then when she never really got the

the chain on the sprocket, right? She it was hard for her to play back from behind because she was still going for it, right? And, you know, I think that was the tail of that match. And I really feel like Mira stayed stayed the course and played Mira tennis. And of course took you know the next match against Maya was a little more straightforward, but I really felt like I really felt like she played how she felt. She played her game, she, Marta, more than she played Mira. And I feel like maybe you know, in retrospect, could have could have come back at her and played Mira

Mira differently or changed or played some things the mirror doesn't like.

Look at all those big hitters that have beaten her, including when she won. What tactic was I using more as opposed to am I just gonna balls through her? You know what mean? Because you know, Mira's five nine, five ten and moves very well, especially on the clay. You're not gonna go through her, you know, at least not not not quickly. I think that's one of those things where when she looks back at the tape, she'll she'll appreciate and learn from that. And I feel like Mira learned from the the Bacchle from Indian Wells and the and the Sunshine Double, and I feel like really gained some perspective of herself. She looked pretty unflappable pretty much the whole

Tournament, Alvin. Mind you, not tested to the degree of others per se, but she looked like she's learned from this moment. And we haven't really talked about Mira almost all year. We've been talking about Ivayovich, we've been talking about Vicky and Boka, we've been talking about all the up-and-comers, right? We have not been talking about Mira, even though she's every bit the teenager they are. She has not been, and then when she faded to

Torrey Hawkins (25:47.222)
failed to defend her Indian Wells from last year. And so I was like, ooh, is she are we worried? Right. We we we kinda I think we even had a similar conversation. We're like, nah, not worried. Just in what just in the win the And now here she is now winning the French. In my opinion, about a year or two, a year or two earlier than maybe expected, given given the field. And I feel like, you know, good for her, good for her to get that under her belt now. And now she can really sink in and kinda exhale, okay, I got that first one. All right. Now, now I'm starting to play.

Alvin Owusu (25:56.542)
Yeah, yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (26:17.206)
without without all the expectations of will I ever win one and blah blah blah blah blah I've got one whatever happens from now on I will always have my name on that wall on that trophy in that case and can't take that from me now I can kind of get to the business of becoming the player that I want to be

and and and and know that I will always be a Grand Slam champion whatever happens. And sure I'd like to win too. So let's get to work. And I think that it's a neat transition for a player when they when they hit that stage.

Alvin Owusu (26:44.937)
Yeah.

Alvin Owusu (26:49.172)
It's very interesting, like the the roll up to what one's first Grand Slam title, right? We don't know about what happens after that, but we know what happens before the first one. And her this run, her her time on tour compared to her run of play in the last, let's say, two months, minus a title or two, is very similar to I would say Coco's run before she won her her US Open title two years ago. I think it was twenty four.

so like Coco went on a a bit of a heater that summer. I think she won two events back to back and then and then took that into New York and and played well. She had a maybe a little tougher road in front of her, but whatever, whatever. I don't think anyone has to make y when you win a Grand Slam, you owe no one an explanation or an apology. Like a count they exactly. I I I got there the same way everyone else gets there. I I woke up and won seven matches over two weeks and

Torrey Hawkins (27:39.09)
On how

Alvin Owusu (27:48.615)
And played and played the people in front of me. That that's it. That's it. And so I while while I wanna like it's really it must be like a nice, like at this point that the the next few years of her career, almost like playing with House Money, like you mentioned, she's probably a little ahead of schedule winning her first slam. You might wanna you imagine having nineteen maybe twenty one, twenty-two, something like that. Okay. Similar cocoa, cool. Nineteen, boom, got one. Okay. Now she didn't beat all the top players to get there, but

Torrey Hawkins (27:49.868)
Clay.

Period.

Alvin Owusu (28:18.61)
you do get this, like what do you take away from it? I know that I can win seven matches in two weeks. I know that I can remain focused and locked into this tournament experience for which is ends up being closer to 21 days of actually being on site. Like you get there a few days a week early, get use and conditions, yada yada yada. So like I mean, I was in France for, I don't know, six days. I felt like I was gone for a month. I couldn't imagine having to come to the site every single day and just like

That's it's it's long and and I think she takes that experience for it doesn't matter who she played. She takes that experience and that you cannot take away from her, and that experience will carry her forward, I think, into every Grand Slam Masters one thousand she plays from here on out. I am a Grand Slam champion. I know I can get this done. And that takes me to the difference between

Torrey Hawkins (29:01.698)
Hundred percent.

Alvin Owusu (29:15.178)
I'm gonna go the other side of this equation. Now, so like what did I what did I learn about Mira? I don't learn anything about Mira. I feel the exact same about Mira and Drava as a player that I did before this tournament, except for now she's dipped in gold. She won the Grand Slam. She won the Grand Slam. Like that's that and that is what 128 women came here to do and one got it done.

Torrey Hawkins (29:34.548)
One and only one's gonna get it done, right? Yeah.

Alvin Owusu (29:36.614)
Only one's gonna get it done. So when you go to the other side of the coin, and I don't know how long this is gonna go, TH. I don't know how long this is gonna go, but we'll we'll we'll

Torrey Hawkins (29:45.367)
Where you going, Alvin? I I can see you throwing the pot right here. You got that look on your face.

Alvin Owusu (29:49.886)
We'll we'll yeah we'll tease this in a little bit and then we'll see how it goes. Okay. Valenska, right? Qualifier to grand same finalist, right? The and there were it fa yeah, just nutty nutty run. often compared to you you heard this was remnants of of one Emiraticanu who we spoke a little bit about for in a previous podcast, but I I think it's really important to there's a few things here that make these runs

Kind of similar, but also very different. And maybe puts Emma's run into a little bit more sp a better perspective. And I don't want to speak too much about it, but we maybe we'll do like a a relift kind of podcast on on that on that 2021 run. But what we see from a player like Valinska, I think we have to consider that this might be her peak and not her floor, right? And I think that's probably the best way to look at it because

We have we have a lot of examples of her as a professional tennis player before this, and nothing leading up to this would make you believe that this was coming. Right? I'll give I'll give Emma a little look go back to the Coco example, right? Coco had made a few Grand Slam finals before she eventually won one. She was a top ten player before she won one. like so like and she won some big events leading up to it before she won the US Open. So like when that happened

Torrey Hawkins (31:18.943)
No.

Alvin Owusu (31:19.005)
First grand yeah, first grand slam, not surprised. Okay. All right. We we saw this coming eventually.

Torrey Hawkins (31:23.758)
We saw we we saw we saw the wave a few miles out, gaining, gaining, gaining and yeah, yeah.

Alvin Owusu (31:28.945)
Yes, Mir Miri Mira Andreva. We know her body of work. Master's one c multi-time master's one thousand champion. And then she comes in here and gets the job done. Okay, she's been like kind of like anointed as like the next one to probably bust through okay. And then she did it. Fantastic. Yes. The the Valinska, like she was surfing in challengers, like in one two fives, like for the longest time. And not like knocking on the door. I think what she did is probably a lot more

closer aligned to like Valentin Vachero actually than than anything else. so I think I think that's something that we should be really aware of and not like put too much pressure on this young lady or expect that this is what we will see from her moving forward. Yeah. And 'cause I have no real reason

Torrey Hawkins (32:02.626)
Right. Right.

Torrey Hawkins (32:20.814)
On. Yeah. The good point you mentioned. 'Cause 'cause last year Lois Boisson did something very similar, didn't she? And this year she failed to quality in. And so I think last year she was a wall card in or something, maybe protected ranking, if I'm if I'm not if I remember correctly. But I say it to say she didn't

Alvin Owusu (32:28.627)
Absolutely.

Alvin Owusu (32:39.571)
She main draw year. She was in the main draw this year. She lost in first round though. Like but she was Yeah yeah. Yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (32:42.358)
Did she lose for him? I I thought I thought I I knew she failed to move on to to I thought she didn't get in. My point being, maybe she maybe she didn't quality for Wimby or something like that the very next week or the very you know, the very next big tournament.

Alvin Owusu (32:53.604)
last year? Yeah, last year her situation was she did so well but the Wimby cutoff is like it's like before the French Open. So like she was not

Torrey Hawkins (32:58.274)
I don't think she did much at any other slam, you know, up until this point. And I'm saying she got to the final, if I'm not mistaken, last year, right? So I I think I think what I'm getting at is Sammy, right? Send me last gold girl. And I say that to say that is the we're seeing a little more closer to her norm to your point.

Alvin Owusu (33:07.889)
Right. semifinal, semi final, semifinal. She lost Coco, yep.

Torrey Hawkins (33:23.584)
what she had always showed before, then we saw that then we saw her return. Let's she was she's not she wasn't breaking down the door to be a future top ten or before. That was just a really big tournament. And to your point, that may be that may be the best way to look at the Radhanos. I know there's a couple other people you mentioned, Bianca, Andrew was that the last thing we were talking about?

Alvin Owusu (33:46.302)
Andreescu, yeah, Leila Fernandez, but I like I kinda wanna like make sure when we look into that space, I wanna that's the one what we might not get to today because that is a you need to pinch to zoom there and really take a look at like the player before they're very different. That's the thing they're all they're all different. but getting to your first grand seminal or a a finalist out of nowhere versus like Emma Rodakanu, right? She had a she had a

Torrey Hawkins (33:56.524)
Yeah and and and each are each are different though. Yeah. Yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (34:07.073)
Right.

Alvin Owusu (34:14.643)
Good run at Wimbledon. She won, I think, two or three rounds there. Very young, British wild card, wasn't the best in her class, but pretty good. And, you know, she she captured the attention that that happened at Wimbledon. British woman makes it into I think maybe the second week, round of sixteen, something like that, maybe quite fun. I can't remember exactly. and then goes into the summer, did okay, qualied, three matches in the US Open.

And then her story begins. And but there's something there's a lot of very weird uniqueness in that particular story of what actually happened in that tournament. And that's probably the path I don't want to go too far down. But I say that to say she got the expectations of the world put on her after she won the US Open. And I don't think she's been past the second round of a Gland Slam since. Yes, she's been injured. Fine. Yes, she's changed coaches by choice many times since then.

Torrey Hawkins (35:13.634)
Plural.

Alvin Owusu (35:13.661)
But but we can we can take a player's peak in a Grand Slam, which Grand Slam's are very, very weird, right? In that not often do you play a tournament where you play every other day, right? One. Two, not often do you play on courts that have so much room. They're very big. The stadiums are very big. And then three, the crowds.

Torrey Hawkins (35:33.366)
Yep. Yep.

Alvin Owusu (35:39.207)
make a very big impact at Grand Slams that they that you won't see at a normal tournament. They can shift things. Lois Bolson, you take everything that happened to her last year and put that tournament in Poland and not in France, it's the crowd has a very very, very big impact on what you get out of players in Grand Slam. So my I my my whole point is that that's also okay. It's also fine. I I enjoyed

watching Maya play tennis. I enjoyed her ride through this tournament. I hope that she can make a run at it over the next year on tour. Right. She was Ega's Ega's sidekick in in juniors and doubles and you've seen all the cool clips and all that kind of stuff and that's great. But now she has an opportunity in front of her. She'll get into all the Masters 1000. She'll get into all the Grand Slams moving forward for the next 12 months. She's gotta earn it. She gotta earn her place, right?

She has to earn a place where she's gonna be right back in the one, two, fives. Right. So I now granted it'll be a little bit easier. She won't have to qualify, right? She'll be able to, you know, not eating pizza between matches. She'll have a place to stay all the time. Like she's she's gonna be fine. But let's hope that turns into winning more tennis matches and we get to keep her on tour because it's nice having players with different game styles, who present different obstacles and and it's entertaining. It's entertaining as a fan.

It's entertaining as a tennis, whatever we are here. I don't know what we are.

No we're we're fans. Let's let's be fans. Let's let's be fans. Let's please be fans.

Torrey Hawkins (37:14.998)
That's a very that's a very safe one to to mention. I I'm gonna I'm gonna come at you a little different, Alvin, because I feel like some of these Cinderella stories, I feel like they're great for tennis. I think they're I think they happen every once in a while. my take is that they establish and they verify that you're right. Anything is possible, right? And that's awesome.

I also think that they also verify, you know, your your term, two things can be true at the same time, that the peak is not who they are. And so don't expect top 10, top 20 tennis out of her over the next 12 months to two years. I feel, to your point, how they were before is what they are. That's their baseline, that's their average, their medium.

Alvin Owusu (38:10.468)
Mm-hmm. Uh-huh.

Torrey Hawkins (38:13.128)
It's not to say that they can't be on fire or catch the right draw like a surfer catching a wave. It's not to say that they're not good enough. It's not to say that they don't deserve. It's none of that. It's just to say they caught that week or two weeks in this case just right. Things broke their way, things opened up, it and it was a magical run. And and Alvin, and that can be enough.

But I'm not looking for her to break in. She's another one that has broken, which is great. I'm not looking for her to break in the top 20, top 10. I'm not looking for her to defend it next year, you know. I I j because the reality of it is, numerically speaking, and statistically speaking, she won't. And that's and that too is okay. I'm gonna enjoy her run. I'm gonna remember her. it's a great moment in in the sun for her, and I love it for her and her team.

And again, cherish it, make and and and and take all the pictures of mementos that you need and memorialize that event. And I think that's where I'm at now with with going back to Emma, going back to Lois Poisson and others.

I loved her game last year. She made every match fun. You wanted to get behind that Cinderella store. She played great. Did I expect her to be top 50? it was possible. I don't know what she is now, by the way. She could be 50. I don't I I don't disrespect her. But my point is, I didn't I didn't expect her to get to the semi-again this year, is what I'm saying. Did I think she could get through? Did I think she could get through a few matches and have some experience because she was French and played on McClay? I did. Did I expect her to be the top seed? No, I did not.

Alvin Owusu (39:38.875)
I don't know where she is right now either.

Torrey Hawkins (39:53.78)
that I expect her to you know, relive that run. Absolutely not. Because too many things would have had to fall in just right for her like it did the year before. And I think that's my point. And as a result, 'cause I posed that question to you a few episodes ago about Emma Rodicano, this, that, and the third. In reality, Alvin, I'm gonna take that same thing I said now and I'm gonna apply it to Emma. I'm gonna look at her through the lens of a player that had a magical Cinderella run. I'm not gonna be mad that they keep looking at her and interviewing her for

this for for every question and and and every you know return to the greatness and all that she is a great she's a really really good tennis player she is a she is a grand slam champion and for those two weeks she played some magical tennis but like that like Maya to this past two weeks the draw broke perfectly for her and her magical run and and that is not only okay it is it is awesome

But don't expect it to happen all the time. And her her skill set, her her what's your term, her profile is not such that she can do that to multiple type of players should the draw not break for her. Her profile is not such that she can dictate play and create her own future per se. Her skill set is not so and body and and and she's not quite of the Valkyrie, you know what I mean, association. No fine.

Alvin Owusu (41:22.159)
Right, right.

Torrey Hawkins (41:23.454)
plus six two. You know, some of these some of these ladies are just behemoths. They're just they're tall, man. They are six. Six two for a woman is about six four for a guy. I mean, I feel like they're just they're just tall. I remember watching Cheropova go up the steps and I was going up to to Arthur Ashford. We were we're inside Ash and we're going to the cafeteria and I literally looked up like there must be another step that that she that she

Alvin Owusu (41:47.552)
Ha ha ha.

Torrey Hawkins (41:49.25)
'Cause I'm like, I'm on the last step and she still I didn't know how really tall Maria was until I was to stand next to her in the in the in the in the lunch line. I'm like good god

this woman's tall. Venus too for that matter. Crazy tall. That's a different type of court coverage. That's a different type of ball you're hitting when you're that tall. I see it to say, well, Emma's Emma's closer to Maya than she is to to Mira in terms of height and stature. So all I'm saying is is I'm gonna take my own advice and look at Emma that way, Layla the same, and start to really appreciate that that run for them. Because of the like you said, it's their tournament's different. They're playing that draw. The

Alvin Owusu (42:06.183)
Mm-hmm.

Torrey Hawkins (42:28.598)
They're not they're not the tour. They are that person that is playing the tour. And their goal is to maximize every week, every two weeks, every slam, how much they can do. And when it's all said and done, we're gonna look at their wiki page and we're gonna say, all right, how good was she? Here her, she got as high ass. She had a record here. She had

L or double or or you know, F or W for the winner or final, right? Or s or S F or Q F or whatever, right? And all the various tournaments. And buddy, that is about a thousand times more than any of the average people, and about a hundred times better than most tour players, and about five to ten spots, depending on the tour player you're comparing her to, than most on the tour. And that puts her in very rare error and she should and she should be so celebrated, but not expected to be top.

Top 10, not expected to be top 20, not expected to repeat. She played great at that time.

Alvin Owusu (43:30.855)
If we

She got the job done. And I think if you when you look at like Maya's run, right, she she did beat Jiang Ken Wyn in the first round, right? Which was a very like, whoa, that that's a former Grand Slam finalist, former top six in the world, big one of those like, you know, right off the assembly line, Valkyrie that we talk about. that was of relevance. And then she beat at least Mertons, like and then she beat Maria Sakary. Maria Sakary of also got beat by Emiraticano on the way to her.

her her Grand Slam win. But like those kind of players, Diane Perry, Calin Skya, Schneider, like okay, that's yeah, those are those are all, you know, good tennis players, other than the top twenty. and then she meets someone in the top 20 in the top ten and she felt top ten tennis. And and I think you go back and look at Emma's draw, and again, I'll continue to say this when you win the Grand Slam, you don't have to apologize to anyone for anything. But you brought up the draw. I'm gonna talk about Emma's draw.

Torrey Hawkins (44:28.066)
Hmm.

Mama call clay, I'ma call clay.

Alvin Owusu (44:34.063)
Emma qualifies for the US Open, right, wins her three matches, gets into the first round, she plays a lucky loser in the first round. Well, why is a qualifier playing a lucky loser, might you ask? Well, because she was supposed to play Jen Brady. I don't know if you remember twenty twenty one Jen Brady, but twenty twenty one Jen Brady was all of five in the world. Two times she she finaled Australia that year, I believe, lost to Naomi. And then and maybe or bat maybe vice versa, maybe finding s final US, semifinal Australia, something like that. But like

Torrey Hawkins (44:53.538)
Percent.

Torrey Hawkins (44:57.068)
Yeah and in the US. No and

Alvin Owusu (45:04.037)
She and and built for clay too, like heavy forehand, like that was a problem. That could have been that that could have had Jen not gotten hurt, you might not even know who Emma Ratakanu is. But that didn't happen. And she did win that match. And then she did get a favorable second round match against Shang Shui. And then she did play Sarah Saribas Tormas, right? And then she played Shelby Rogers. You know who Shelby Rogers beat around before? Ash Barty.

Torrey Hawkins (45:21.666)
Broke her.

Alvin Owusu (45:33.232)
Number one seed, beat her six in the third, right? Emma said, Thank you very much. I'll I'll take you down strong. You you're warm, I'll take you down strong. and then beats Belinda Benchitz, great win, Maria Sacary, at top ten at that or top twenty at that time, Maria Sacary. And then in the finals, gets 73 ranked Layla Fernandez. Now, I had this conversation with my dad and a buddy, Andrew today. They were overwatching the match, and it's like, you know.

It would have been like, you know what would have been a better story? Frickin' if if Layla Fernandez had won that tournament. She beat Naomi Osaka. She beat Angelique Kerber. She beat Spidalina. She beat Arena. I think it was six might have been six in the third in the semifinals before she played Emma. Like that is a that's a run. That is a run of that dreams are made of. And then she played a qualifier, and maybe for the first time all tournament, she played someone she was supposed to l she was supposed to beat.

Torrey Hawkins (46:22.295)
Yeah.

Right.

Torrey Hawkins (46:31.474)
Right. Which is what made that final so epic, you know, because it wa it was it was so kind of back and forth to your point. And that's why Layla's ranking I I think still is is is a tad higher than Emma's, you know, to to this day. So, you know.

Alvin Owusu (46:31.739)
And at that point it was too

Alvin Owusu (46:47.377)
Take that tournament out, they've they've Layla's take that tournament out which you can't, but you take the tournament out and you put Layla's career next to Emma's career and it's not even close. Like it's not it's not close. I think Layla was seated at this tournament. Like it's not it's not close. but and then like

Torrey Hawkins (46:55.826)
Right. Right.

Torrey Hawkins (47:03.062)
Yep. And and it was yet it was still an outlier for Layla, is what I'm saying, as far as beating those type of players that that caliber.

Alvin Owusu (47:10.657)
Sh right, she was not on her way. She has probably been somewhere between a 30 and and 50 player in the world before that and after that. that's where she was going, and that's where she is, and that's probably about as good as like you're gonna expect out of her, and that's that's fine. It that's fine. but contrast that to Bianca Andrescu's run, like Bianca was like Bianca was ripping people apart that summer.

Like she was she was coming. Like she was sh Bianca was coming and she was like she had top five talent all day and then got hurt afterwards. So it hasn't been able to, you know, and then the game is somewhat Yeah, yeah. that's why that's why they're all a little different. Like the all of these all of these women women winning their first slams or getting to the finals of slams, it's all a little bit different.

Torrey Hawkins (47:49.046)
Yeah. The the Dominic team of things, you know what I mean? Well

Alvin Owusu (48:05.051)
But that's what makes especially women's tennis right now so enjoyable. Like it's you you literally don't know. And I think we'll we'll probably dig into this a little deeper, maybe next week, something like that. to kind of like, you know, as we're halfway through the year before we get to grass, like where are where are we right now? Like, what are we concerned about? What are we what are we thinking? There's a lot a lot didn't happen in on the women's side in these last two weeks. Like so I I

Torrey Hawkins (48:29.41)
No fault to the players that won. You know what I'm saying? I mean fault to the players that won. And and I really think that you when you see these kind of tournaments that kind of break like this, when I say break, kind of break wide open is what I'm trying to say. I think it helps you appreciate the consistency and the and and and and just the overall level of of play and how and how

Alvin Owusu (48:33.19)
no, no.

Torrey Hawkins (48:59.916)
the frequency and the consistency of the level, I think is what I'm trying to say, that that the top continue to put out. There is the occasional blip. There always will be, right? Tom Brady did get beat. didn't win every Super Bowl, you know, for for six straight years, right? There were years they didn't make the playoffs. There were years he got knocked out of the season and was and was hurt on game five and and so on. to to my Chiefs one year by the way, the host.

Alvin Owusu (49:15.195)
Sure.

Torrey Hawkins (49:25.831)
Very when we were the worst in the AFC. Whole nother whole nother talk show. But I say it to say

We remember the six or whatever ch Super Bowls, right? And and then and the numerous other appearances. But not every s every season was that good. And so I say that to say you gotta very you gotta appreciate how good they are even to get there that often year over year and how fiercely contested it is all the time. So we we sometimes normalize and and and and we kinda take it for granted when buddy, it's you know the struggle is real.

I mean, you're out there battling day in, day out for an extra ball deep. One more, one more, one less second serve in the court, one more step up, you know, and and and and close out volley, one more drop shot not gotten to per match, per set. Or I should say per set, per match, per tournament, per week, per year. And it's and buddy, it is it is rough. And I just feel like we have to always take a step back when we see a few upsets and think, man.

They got through this time, you know. But don't don't think that Arena and Alana and Qu and Quin Wen will not be coming back with a vengeance, you know what I mean, at the next tournament with a little chip on their shoulder and ready and ready to make some work happen. So they will be definitely putting in that work, Devin, you know what I mean, going forward. And I really like what's happening on the tour. To your point, the the Mayas and and who's my girl?

Diane S the Schneiders, they are starting to be a even the girl Laura Sigma, there's starting to be some nice, you know, competing narratives, you know, in in the mix, but at the same time I'm looking forward to Wumbling because now you know all those big names are gonna be coming in ready, ready for a little bit of a revenge tour. You know what I mean? So it's only gonna make the next tournament even better.

Alvin Owusu (51:23.705)
And you know, you we kind of we've had this kind of streak going of different women winning Grand Slams and another one. Here's here's another one. And how many in in a row is that now with going all the way back to I wanna say

Torrey Hawkins (51:41.423)
At least twenty twenty four. I mean at le

Alvin Owusu (51:42.939)
I'm trying to think like so twenty twenty five Australian Open was was Madison. Who won the twenty twenty four US Open? Was that that was Arena Sabalinka, right? So Arink Arena won the twenty twenty four US Open. So let's go to twenty twenty five Australian Open. Since the twenty twenty five Australian Open, which we've now had six Grand Slams completed, we've had six different Grand Slam winners. Right? Six six in a rope. That's in a r it that is wild. That's wild.

Torrey Hawkins (51:52.854)
We saw.

Torrey Hawkins (52:07.5)
Consider.

Yep. Yep.

Alvin Owusu (52:12.112)
That's wild. So it's it's great for it's great for the game. I think it's it's fun for us. This particular tournament, I think, you know, and we'll talk about the men's tomorrow after that final. We'll get to that, I promise. but it it might not be the one that pops on paper, like the one that the that that ESBN can easily sell, but like, you know, for every for every twenty twenty five French Open that you get, right? L let us not forget one year ago we had one of the greatest tournaments ever.

Torrey Hawkins (52:40.138)
Right. Classic you know what I mean, and and maybe maybe top three or so of all time, you know what I mean?

Alvin Owusu (52:49.284)
Yeah. I mean were we were we chalk on both sides, like top four seeds on both men's and women's in the semifinals last year? Like that's that's that's nutty. And then this year's equally as nutty. Right. So yeah, I but still, like, you know, someone someone's gotta win this thing and someone's gonna get the job done. And again, it doesn't matter how you get there, you get the job done. but again, congrats congrats to Mira Andreva.

Torrey Hawkins (52:59.606)
Dream dream out of it. Right.

Alvin Owusu (53:16.408)
I I hope this is the win underneath her sails and we get we get another one in the mix. that would be fantastic. And Miss Valenska, she's a fun this is kind of a my little the portal into my experience, you know, being at the French Open. I was there for a women's semifinal day and I went out and watched some juniors and rubbed shoulders with one Justine in an Arden. We were in the hospitality lounge together at the same time and I was like Yeah, I don't I don't belong here.

Torrey Hawkins (53:30.538)
Yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (53:39.262)
Okay.

Torrey Hawkins (53:44.042)
Alvin Owusu (53:44.347)
But it was it was a really, really cool experience. And but for me, going to like there are probably two types of ways to experience a grant a tournament for for me at this point. One is going to see the event, right? And I think Grand Slams fall right into that. probably Masters One Thousands as well. Like because if I want to see the actual tennis, I need to see the tennis like up close. I need to evaluate the

player in a in a very like from a coaching standpoint, like so we can come back and have real conversations about it. I had really good seats in Felice Chaptier and then the press seats were behind me and over one section. And then I hear I hear some of the the commentators narrative talking about the matches and I'm like, you're s you're I don't think your seats were good enough to really understand the nuance in in her game. it doesn't it doesn't come across

in unless you are you're you're close enough, low enough to really get a feel for it. And you can't do that at Grand Slams. It's cost prohibitive. One. two, you're not gonna see everyone. Like yeah, it's just too hard it's too hard to do. So I feel like for me, got a lot of clarity around like how can I best serve the the be the best of three cohort and contingency here. It's really go to the smaller events or go early for practice.

Torrey Hawkins (54:52.706)
Right.

Alvin Owusu (55:11.738)
I book my flights for the US Open. I'm going literally Wednesday and Thursday before the event because that's when I will be able to that's when I'll be able to get my hands dirty. that's that's and I've done that before and it's like yeah, it's a social event. Like so Grandstamps are a social event. If you're going, it's it's just a it's it's a lot. Yeah, the tennis almost becomes secondary and afterthought, like but what I watch two matches. Like and when you're there you can only watch one match at a time.

Torrey Hawkins (55:23.894)
Yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (55:39.947)
The two matches, right, right. Two matches, right. Right, right.

Alvin Owusu (55:41.231)
Right. You can only see what your eyeballs can see. You can't change you can't change the channel. You can't you can't pop back and forth. but I think it it it's it's it's good to go. It's good to feel it. It's good to get in it get that experience under the belt. but also like I'm I I will I from here on out will be attending like now that I've done all four slams. I've done all four. Fan slam. Got got done. Got done. I got you a towel as well. I did it. I got you a towel. but yeah, early, early

Torrey Hawkins (56:02.378)
well done. Well done. are you the man? You the man, yourself?

Alvin Owusu (56:10.882)
smaller events, like that's where you get to know the Maya Valenskas and that's where you get to see how well like when you I watched Taylor Fritz and and Yannick Center play a practice set once at the US Open like twenty twenty two, I think it was, and during practice week. And I was like, that's when I saw the difference between the two players. And I was like, no, he can't he can't keep up with him. And then that is you see him play matches and it's like, my d I get it. I've I've seen this in person. I

Torrey Hawkins (56:38.572)
So I come. Yeah. Yeah.

Alvin Owusu (56:39.578)
I saw it I I saw it coming. but yeah, that's that's it. I've been rambling. I'm gonna leave you with that. do you have anything else for me today, Mr. Hawkins? Welcome back. Rest your voice, you got you got another big night ahead of you. we we have a fun match tomorrow. I think we have a fun match. It's it's been a weird it's been a weird runabout.

Torrey Hawkins (56:46.518)
Welcome back.

Torrey Hawkins (56:55.222)
I do too.

Weird la last two matches, right, with the with the retirement and all that, I agree with you. Yeah, all that's

Alvin Owusu (57:01.998)
Retirement, withdrawal, like dead legs. It's

Torrey Hawkins (57:06.402)
Yeah, they've been very tough and and I hated it for Barratini too because he was you know, if anybody if anybody has been has been really playing some good ball to get back to a final, it was him. and I felt like but it's his fellow countrymen, you know, and and yet another Italian is in the final and I feel like they must they must be they must be somewhere they must have a a factory, you know, and in the in at least somewhere you're stamping these guys out because I feel like, you know, these guys are

or becoming an an institution over there. much like the s the Spanish were several a couple of decades ago where they were just constantly every time you look around you're seeing the Spanish flag next next to a player, you know what mean? So good for them. They're having a nice moment, guys and girls, and I feel like it's been it's gonna be a great tournament and and I know Flavio's gonna do a nice gonna do a nice job. and I'm really looking forward to to Mr Mr Sasha playing

you know, perhaps you know, perhaps the tennis gods, you know, giving a giving an opportunity, you know, I think ever since the Dominic team match, you know, from years ago, I think he's been, you know, mulling over that woulda, coulda, shoulda. And I think this is a great opportunity to see both players come out and play some ball, but clearly I'm I'm I'm pulling for mist Mr. Zverev to you know to to

put to put some put a little hardware in that in that in that very illustrious careers trophy case.

Alvin Owusu (58:35.63)
I'm of two minds about the about this final. Like one, I mean, first speaking of the Italians, like first center is stricken down by heat, and then Beratini has to finish, has to withdraw from or retire from a match, and then Arnaldi can't make the match. Like we got another we got another Italian here. Let's just hope he gets through the match, right? Let's just let's let's just hope he gets through the match on two feet. like that one, two, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (58:56.278)
Right.

Torrey Hawkins (59:02.69)
We have a file.

Alvin Owusu (59:05.118)
the Zverev thing, it's I'm I'm of two minds about it in that one I've said this, we talked about this the Australian Open. Like he's my best he's the best bet to win one out of not send if it's not gonna be Senator Alcaraz, who's it gonna be? And I'm like, well it's probably gonna be Sasha Zverev because he's always there. And it's like lo and behold, everyone hits the dust, and look who's look who's right back in the final. Sasha Svarov.

Torrey Hawkins (59:26.924)
Right. Always there.

Torrey Hawkins (59:31.916)
Who's standing? Look who's standing. That's always this. You I and

Alvin Owusu (59:35.716)
He he's all he's always he's it's math. Like if I'm gonna pick the person who's always there, that's the person who has the best chance to win it. then if it's not these two, it's probably gonna be him, 'cause it's always him if it's not these two. Okay, so here we are with he he is effectively doing the mirror, right? I'm just I'm playing everyone on front of me, I'm supposed to beat, and I'm just taking them down. They're not ready, I'm taking them down, taking down. Is this the way that Sasha Zverev is supposed to get his his I mean

I just did we just did this whole thing about like when you win a grand slam you don't have to apologize for anything. You don't it doesn't matter who you play, yada yada yada. Okay. Now I'm gonna two face it and go, is this how Sasha Zvera's supposed to win a Grand Slam? Is this how supposed to go down? I know it doesn't matter.

Torrey Hawkins (01:00:20.386)
Does not matter how, just matters, just matters if. And and and let's face it, Alvin, you and I both know. You know, I saw a comment on one of the matches and and and this fan very cryptically called, I thought a very good point. The comment was, if Sasha wins it, everyone will say he only won because Carlos or Yannick weren't.

In it, or or he didn't play one of those two. If Sasha loses it, everyone will say he can't even win one when they're not in it, right? So it's almost like he can't win. You know what I'm saying? And I and I like the irony of what they were saying. But I'm gonna put it differently. Sasha has put in a huge body of work for the last

Alvin Owusu (01:00:54.758)
Right, yeah.

Torrey Hawkins (01:01:10.336)
10 to 12, how many years he's been out there. And the brother not only is due, but his it's not his fault that Carlos got hurt. It ain't his fault that center couldn't finish his match up two sets and a break, two breaks.

It's and he has consistently been, to your point, in final after final after final. And even in Australia, Alvin, you and I both saw that shady matchup, I say shady, it was a little shady, where they he did not get the benefit of the doubt.

With the fitness issue that Carlos was having. And here's a brother who's got diabetes for crying out loud, out there sweating in five hours with the sun in Australia, right? And got through that match. They didn't close the roof for him like they did with Senor in Australia. I say that to say all the little things that have happened to Sasha, which we'll talk about more in in depth. But I just say, look at all the times that things kind of don't go your way. And then you look at a at every once in a while, and then all of a sudden,

Life throws you a a a set of you know the the old one arm bandit gives you gives you a few cherries every once in a while and says, All right, here you go. And I and I look forward to him not only seizing the moment, I s I look forward to him playing a pretty good match. He pretty much dismantled Jacob the other day and I was really look I was I thought that match would go a little tighter and I thought with the expectation I thought that I'd be the one player who could beat him, cause Jacob you know's got a huge serve and you and and a big ball too, and I feel and he's a big kid. So I really was looking I was really yep I was

really impressed that Sasha played him so straightforward. And as I say, I'm really, I I'm pulling for him. I really am. I I know your point. Well we're gonna make sure that that that he A gets to the tournament on time. He, we're gonna make sure that he's we wrap him up in bubble wrap, make sure he doesn't

Alvin Owusu (01:02:57.957)
Sleep in the lo sleep in the locker room, Flavio. Just just sleep in the locker room.

Torrey Hawkins (01:03:01.75)
Because one thing the tournament doesn't need is another pull out and retire. You know, I mean what the can you imagine can you imagine buying a ticket for the final and Flofield pulls up lame? I mean, buddy, that would be that would be the worst. I mean the absolute worst.

Alvin Owusu (01:03:05.09)
gosh.

Alvin Owusu (01:03:14.473)
I'll leave it with this and this maybe we're all this is where I'll sit with it. Two thousand nine French Open.

Roger Federer finally, finally won a French Open. His only French Open. Did he did Yep. Did did did Roger have to do it? Nope. Did Roger have to play Andy Murray? Nope. He grind he grinded through. He grinded through and got one. The one he had been he couldn't get, he finally got it. No one

Torrey Hawkins (01:03:27.008)
about to say. Is that the year that's fumbling beat Rafa? Right, right.

Torrey Hawkins (01:03:41.09)
Yep. Yep.

The one that Pete couldn't get. The one that so many other players couldn't get that last one. Yeah.

Alvin Owusu (01:03:51.658)
And you know, no one no one holds him, you know, accountable for not having to go through Rafa to get it. He just got it. And so maybe we'll leave that with Mr. Zvera as well. tomorrow should be fun. let's put a pin in it there. I know you gotta get going. I'm Alvin. That's Tori. Best of three, we are out.