Michael Harrison interviews radio talk show host Jack Heath of "Good Morning New Hampshire."
Action Park media. All right, Welcome to ramble on the official podcast of the unofficial tv show. Although I think things are coming trending up and and while this new show, which is interesting is about second acts is about, you know, finding your place in the world after you've had some some massive success. We've got a guest finally SAm Query Tennis Pro extraordinaire and a friend of the podcast. What's going on? Uh Not much just doing what you just said, trying to find my second life. Yeah. So you just, I mean you just played, was it your 17th usopen 17th U. S. Open about a month ago in flushing meadows. Yeah, that's unbelievable to me because you still look like you're 25 years old. And how did that feel to play your last one? Um Well thank you. First of all, uh it felt good. I made the decision to have that be my last tournament earlier in the summer. Um so it was kind of like at that moment where I kind of clicked in my head like, all right, this is coming to an end. I'm gonna play one more. Um It was fun to play one more. I had a torn tendon in my arm when I was playing, so I got a cortisone shot. I didn't play for five weeks prior to that, but with the cortisone shot, it was fine and I went into that last match and just left it all on the line. It was, you know, my coaches there was like, we're not, we don't need a game plan. Just hit whatever shot you want to hit and have the most fun you've ever had on the court and it was great. I wish I did that actually for the previous 17 years, I probably would have had better. What is a game plan in tennis? Ted Ted's son is playing some high level high school tennis right now, but, and you know, I happened to play a little pickle ball as you might know. What are, what are the real game plans? Are you guys out there that you're like, this guy's backhand is just awful. Like, let's work that. Like tell me about what a game plan looks like in tennis. You know, everyone, everyone is different for me, I didn't, I didn't want a big game plan. I wanted to go kind of, I had my strengths, I wanna focus in on one or two things that I want to do if those don't work, make slight adjustments. Um, and then just kind of play off field. But some guys want to watch a video the night before of their opponent and you know, hey, when I hit two backhands cross court, he hits the third one down the line and they want every little bit of information you can get. So it was just kind of a pick and choose. But for me, I wanted one or two little tidbits and then just play loose after that. I mean, you have one of the biggest serves in the history of tennis, which is crazy. Let's, let's talk about that. Do you know the stat about him and his serve, I know all stats, 10 aces in a row. It was against my friend James blake, which made a little better. So when that's going on with James is now a great announcer in the sport, are you like the way when you and I play amateur pickleball that has no value to anybody's life, but to me has a lot of value. Do you look at him while that's going on and like, f**k you James, I just aged 10 times in a row. Uh no, because when it happened, I think I was 19, so there was like, he was still like James blake and like a guy that I really, I still looked up to him, but you know, a guy who really looked up to at the time and I wasn't really aware of it because it happens over a three game period. It was like, you hit your aces, then he plays a service game, then you go sit down and take a break, then you go back out serve again. And so after the fact, you know, kind of, after I hit him, I was like, I think I just had a lot of aces in a row and I think after the match, someone came up and told me he just said where nobody looks at you or anything else like that. I don't even know what's going on. Yeah, I wasn't really aware of it at the time. I won that match. Thank God. Yeah. So when do you know SAm I mean both Ted and I are both like embittered, you know, non professional athletes who could not make it, what at what point do you think you have a realistic career shot to make a living at this sport and go do it at what point? Like ranking wise? No, I mean like are you in high school and playing with like our mutual friend West burrows and you're like, you know, we're both gonna go play on the tour, like I think I could play on the tour. Like what do you what do you so for me, when I was 14, 15, I was good winning junior national tournaments and and at that point you're you're thinking yourself, oh, I'm gonna go play in college. That would be awesome. At 16, 17, you're that's still kind of the goal for me. I want to go play in college. I'm playing some international tournaments and it really was until I was 18 years old. Um I was playing some lower level tennis tour events. They're called for people who don't follow tennis challenge, your level tournaments, it's kind of like triple A. Baseball. Um I won three of those before college would have started and then I won around at a tournament in L. A. I won my first round at the US Open and so at that point I was kind of had a lot of momentum. I had won a lot of these lower level matches and so my head, I was like, I could do this, I'm I'm good enough. Um you know, then you get, you know, at the time I signed a contract with Adidas and prince racquets and so you've got some, some money to kind of be a little more at ease with not going to college and traveling the world and playing. So for me it was 18 when I started winning some of those matches for for other guys like Nadal Alcaraz right now, he probably at like 14 was like, I'm really good, I'm gonna go pro some of the guys that they need to go to college and after college, they kind of realized that they have the potential. So it's somewhere between 16 and 22 I would say that you kind of know. And then what was your first match against a top 10 guy? And did you go holy sh it or were you like, okay, I can compete with anybody in the world. It was James blake. I got a wildcard in the tournament in indian Wells, I was in high school. Um I played him in the second round, I think he was ranked four in the world, I won the first set 61 and I remember in my head thinking I'm gonna be top 10, 6 months, like these guys are not that good. Uh there was then a rain delay, so I lost all the momentum, we went back out there and he beat me 6162 after that, and it kind of brought me back down to reality, I still think I beat him 6161, but that was kind of the first one, and then later that summer, I played rafael in the doll in Cincinnati, um again, I won the first set and then I'm losing in three sets, but I lost both those matches, but it was both against like top 10 guys in both times, I was in the match and, and mentally, are you looking over at Nadal the first time you play them going holy ship or does that disappear rather quickly? It disappears quickly. Um at the time I was practicing a lot with Andy Roddick and in that match were on center court and he told me before the match, hey, if you win the first set and put the racket between your legs and do the bull dance to the sideline, I'll give you $1000. Remember serving for the first set, that's all I'm thinking about because at the time, like, I want $1000 and I ended up doing it that I chickened out on the way to the edge and you know, didn't do it, but almost in a way, it kind of like relax me a little bit. I wasn't thinking about it was rocking at all. I'm thinking about going to this stupid bull dance with my racket to the, to the bench that Andy is paying me for, but now, because when you're, when you're 17 18, you're playing junior us Open, Junior Wimbledon, Junior french Open and you're constantly practicing with the other pro. So I had hit a bunch with the top 10 guys already, so it's not anything new. Well, I was lucky enough that you, you let me come see you play in Wimbledon, you played tillage, which semifinals of Wimbledon, which anyone who's never been in Wimbledon by the way, do anything you can to get anywhere in that stadium. It is such a special awesome experience. But you were playing chill IQ and you were the winner was playing Federer in the finals of Wimbledon and you were right there and a couple of things that I found fascinating. Your, I had so much anxiety for you. I was like, I felt like I had all the anxiety of your family box because your family was some of the calmest, nicest. I don't know what was going through their heads obviously, but did you grow up in a family that just really seemed to support and and hope for the best or was there pressure. Um no mom, dad and sister are all super cool. They've, they've come to a lot of my tournaments over the past and they just sit and enjoy it. Um There was never any pressure. I played all sports growing up, they just wanted me to go out and have fun, try hard and do my best and um and that's what they did and they were all super supportive and for that Wimbledon match, they weren't there for the first five matches they took, once I made the semifinals, they took a red eye over and you know, I saw him out on the lawn drinking beer and they came and watched the match and just enjoyed it. Kind of like you should have more, I ruined it. I was so mad, I wanted to kill chilis that I wanted to scream like you, he's a good player, he is a good player. Yeah, but I mean he just lost in the final at tel Aviv is that? Yeah, Novak Yeah, but for me, I mean it's it was the one semifinal I made it to not play Roger rafa or Novak um you know, somewhat of an opportunity that still isn't a great player and he's probably might go in the Hall of Fame, but it was you know when you look back gosh me, I wish I could have found a way to win that one. So I mean this this sport, it's such an interesting sport because you're not on a team and you have to go travel with these guys that I can imagine there's all sorts of personalities besides curios, I'm sure there's all sorts of crazy ship you're dealing with. How is that? Is there, is there a bond because I wanted to get into like how difficult of a sport this is you? Again, we're fortunate that you were good early on, but some of these kids like noah Rubin who went to my high school and I've spoken to his mother and know a little bit you know on instagram, you know, he was you know won junior Wimbledon and he just is retiring now at like 22 23 because he's realizing he can't get to that next level. Unfortunately, how difficult of a, of a personal life is this sport. Um and how was it for you? I think the higher your rank the easier it is, which is probably true in all sports. So when I was playing the last 15 years I always had I coach with me or a physiotherapist, my wife was with me in the last seven years and then the guys that I was really close with steve johnson john is are they the same thing. So you always had a group of 10 people you can kind of hang out with go to dinner with things like that I think at the lower levels. Um and again this is kind of for all sports, you can't always afford to have the coach with you or a girlfriend or wife travel with you. So you're, you're solo and I think in tennis, especially the, it seems like most of the good players get through those challenges and they get their self into the top 100 in the world really quickly. You don't see a lot of guys at 23 24 25 years old, finally cracked the top 100 It happens in a year, they prove they're good enough and then they're on their way. There's just, it's just so rare to see a guy at 25 years old Finally making it the top 100 of the top 50. It's, it's such an incredible thing because the whole world plays this thing and somehow, yes, these, this small group always seems to rise to the top. And what I mean, is it physical and mental combination or what is it that that allows you guys to stay and have these sustained careers that seem almost impossible. You know, I don't, it's a tough question. I mean, it's definitely easier when weekend week out, you're in, you're in Wimbledon, the US Open Australian Open and all the other great tournaments around the world. So you're constantly practicing with and playing with the best people. Weekend week out. So there's no surprises. You're, you're getting 25 opportunities to win matches and you're just as long as you act like a professional do the right things. You seem to just, you seem to be able to find ways to win matches and have enough points to keep yourself in the top 100 keep playing them. The toughest part, like I alluded to earlier is going from 500 to 75. That's when you have to put your head down, you're, you're playing in cities that are super s**tty, there's no one watching, there's no prize money and you just have to put your head down, grind, get through it and get to that next level where kind of, you know, life is good and your wife, Abby, who's, you know, I've met a number of times with your great, great woman, she obviously, you know, is on this trip with you for a long time, you guys are together, what, 10 years now, it's been like eight years and so did she come to these crappy events when they were happening and you already passed that I was, I was already good unfortunately, you know, she would, she would have come to those events and uh yeah, exactly, but she definitely would, I mean the last basically seven year we have two kids now, but she was traveling more before them, she, you know, put her life on hold, traveled everywhere with me, couldn't have been more supportive and anyway, I needed because like you said, it is a, it's an individual sport, but the fact that I had an amazing wife and coach and physios. It it made it feel like that you did have somewhat of a team around you to kind of enjoy the success and the failures with them. It's interesting cause I was talking to somebody about it and and looking at the top guys, Nadal and Federer, Nadal waited until his career was over to get married and start that family. Um do you think it's harder in tennis tom brady? We just found out as Giselle's filing for divorce and I've met both of them and they both seem like great people and I hope it all works out, but it's, it's just gotta be such a tough road for both of you to be in this sport where you're traveling so much and it's so much is unknown and your, your income is unknown from time to time, even though you obviously you made millions fortunately playing tennis, but still, you know, obviously at some point I'm sure you wanted to make hundreds of millions of dollars. So is do you think a relationship is helpful in these sports or do you think it's something that maybe, you know, it's that you have to just focus on nothing but the sport, you know, it depends, I for me, it was helpful, I think for a lot of people, it's helpful at the same time, you have to be a little bit selfish. Um and as long as your, your husband or wife kind of gets that, which my wife abby couldn't have been better. She got that there was days where you know, I finished a match at eight PM and hey, I can't rush home so we can go to dinner. I gotta stay and stretch and do a massage and do media and you're gonna be home at 11 o'clock and then we got to go to bed. Um She, she understood that the support was there and she kind of knew that, you know, the last 67 years was, you know, the focus was kind of around me because that was kind of what was going to be best for her family. The next 50. Yes, exactly. Now that I'm retired and uh we've got kids, uh not that I know of uh but you know, now that I'm retired, I've got, we've got two little kids. It's um you know, I had to get the okay to come down here for the hour to do the podcast. So it's um I'm gonna figure out how it works. But you know, she deserves to have things, yeah, she deserves to have things be more about her now because she deserves it all deserves it. So you know, let's let's talk about this transition if it's really happening okay. Um I like to, I used to tell people all the time because you made the semis of Wilton the year, you started playing pickle ball with us and you know, you played half as pickle ball with us. You didn't really obviously make any commitments to it but for us it was incredibly fun to get to play with you and and and Stevie and other professional tennis players. It makes slow old people feel really good about it. But are you really planning on making a professional transition into pickleball? I am yes. Now I'm not gonna it's not gonna be like tennis, I'm not gonna go out and play 30 weeks a year, I'm gonna do it a little bit more on my own schedule because like I said it's about my wife now I'm gonna try to play events that are closer to my home. I'm yeah I don't know how familiar if you guys are with but there's like the MLP there's the P. P. A. There's the A. P. P. There's like three different leagues and so um trying to put something together with one of them and and I hope it works like I do like clickable. I wanna play, I think it's fun. I wanna you know people always ask well tennis players be good at pickleball and like no one knows and so I want to be the person to answer that whether it's yes or no we don't know but I You know I've played with Doug a bunch of times you know my level I do feel like if I go from playing once every two months what I have been playing last years to the day. I'm playing three or four times a week in practicing. I feel like I'm gonna be really good. I feel like I could be top 10 in the world, but so I don't, I don't doubt it. You know, one of the depressing things that we've talked about it on this podcast and victory, you know, my, my little battle with marty fish, but when I see you guys come onto the court, Stevie johnson, we played with marty you, it's it's just it's it's humbling because we know we just don't have the athletic ability that you guys have. But are you gonna train at pickleball? Like are you gonna actually like do workouts and just focus on this? You know, I don't even know what that means. You know what a pickle ball, I don't know guys do to train. I think it's just practicing a lot. Um but yeah, I'm planning on, I'm planning on, you know, with with Westboro, somebody doing doing drills, figuring out the nuances working on my serve. I I, you know, if I'm gonna play next year, I want to be good. I don't want to embarrass myself, I want to go out there and be one of the best players and so I um and you're talking singles and doubles, singles, doubles, mixed. Um so yeah, I'm gonna put the work in, not like tennis the last 15 years. I'm not willing to put that grind in, but I'm willing to put the work into improve. Unpickable and see how good it's pretty wild from I guess we started playing together probably five years ago to see what has happened with this sport. I mean, it's unbelievable. It's really been the last 12 to 18 months. It's just completely took off. Like when we used to play, you know, five years ago, you part of it was just like, this is like, I thought it was, I thought it was stupid when I first started playing and all the other tennis players. Now, I'm still a little bit scared. What are you gonna do? I'm like, I'm gonna play pickleball. Somebody's got to get this name changed. I'm shocked that with all the billionaires that have come into it now and Lebron's getting into it. I just can't believe they haven't changed the name. I mean, the ownership group for the NLP next year is is like the NFL it's like similar names. It's crazy. Yeah, but what's wild to me to see the transition, which is why, you know, you're, you're gonna quickly get so good, you know, three years ago, even playing with West, I was like, I'm as good as anyone in the country at the sporting doubles, not singles now, the level has just The athleticism and the ability to, to speed up balls that didn't seem because TED, I've been telling about pickleball for five years and he's also kind of laughed about it and and now I think everybody's really seeing though this can be a sport. I mean this has to be an Olympic sport soon, don't you? He if I had a bet right now, I'd say it's in the Olympics in 2028, I would take that bet. But yeah, I mean in 28 when it's in L. A. When you just drive around America and and you know, open your eyes to what used to be tennis courts and pickleball courts, The eye test kind of just showed you that people are playing and everyone's talking about it. It's got a lot of momentum, it's fun and so you know, I'm gonna I'm gonna give it a shot and try to see what happens and just part of you feel like, I mean after coming off being a professional athlete and and again the ramble on show is, is deals with a lot of this stuff even though they're actors but figuring out like what's next? Do you have anxiety forgetting pickleball or whatever, just about, okay, how do you kind of match the achievements that you had in this sport or the joy, whatever it was or the rush? Um Yeah, I do, you know, I'm I'm I'm not looking to go do something and and get to the level that I was at at tennis and whatever that maybe I'm more interested in doing something that's that I enjoy that's fun that keeps my mind stimulated Um and it might take a second, you know, talking with my wife, it's kind of like, look, I'm gonna maybe need 6 to 12 months to go talk with people, try a few different careers out in different fields, see what, see what I like, see what clicks and then go from there. So I'm kind of in that transition right now of kind of seeing what things interest me and and what I wanna do right, well, it's an exciting time for sure. Our, our friend West told me there were things that I had to talk to you about to though, so while you're looking, so what, what led to your decision to to retire? What, like, what, what drew you to that? It was, it was a combo. So one just, that was like, Doug said it was my 17th us Open, I've been playing for a while, like my body was just getting a little tired, my elbow hurt a little bit every day and my foot hurt a little bit every day. I was little knickknacks here and there, but I only, I missed over the course of the 17 years, I missed three grand slams, otherwise I played every single one. Yeah, so it was that it was, I've got, I've got a 2.5 year old and a 10 month old at home. Um I was sick of traveling around the world, 30 weeks a year. Um and quite frankly, I just got a little tired of, of tennis in general, I've been playing every day since I was 10 years old so I just I just wanted to go do something else. I haven't, you know the U. S. Open was my last match, I played one other exhibition but otherwise I have no interest in going like pick up a racket right now or anything, I want to go do something else, meet new people, you know try a new field, it's exciting kind of all three. So some stuff just random stuff from west that he says I need to talk to you about dan, the intern and Thailand tobacco, What happened here, Danny intern? So for the west who we're talking about wes and dan we've been like that, we're all best men at each other's weddings, we've known each other since we were six or seven years old. So my buddy dan who's now an attorney in L. A. When he was in he went to Vanderbilt lost, he went to Cornell undergrad and then Vanderbilt law school and there was like a year where he had off there, so he was my intern for six months on the tennis tour and yeah like a little little gap year there and traveled with me everywhere, I looked all the flights in all the interviews, did all the tickets, whatever. Yeah exactly. Was he was he he was he um and so we're going on a trip to Thailand and I used to travel around the world on these things called occasionally pilot passes. I knew a pilot, I'd give him tickets to the tournament. He gave me free seats but you have to go stand by right. So we got the tickets to Thailand. He had never, I don't think dan had ever at the time left the country maybe been to Canada or something like that. But um he gets on the plane first, I'm like I'll be on soon, I gotta go stand by anyway, the plane fills up and I just got a text him like I'm not getting on a plane, good luck in Thailand I'll be there in 24 hours. Like here's the hotel we're at, he just kinda had to say okay. And uh you know, fortunately he's a, he's a bright guy, he figured it out. But I think there was a a panic there one hour for him. Like he was on the plane like oh my God, I'm going to Thailand, I've never left the country, I don't know where I'm staying, I'm going alone. And so we, we still joke about it to this day but it was hopefully I don't have any weed in his bag, not that I know of. So you're a big broadway guy. I did not know this about. I mean a lot of our term London and new york. So like I'll go to like any broadway play. So what's the show the book of mormon is my favorite one. I've seen it like eight times. I was gonna say is it book of mormon or are you like a cat's got? No, like he strikes me as the book of mormon is incredible. Yeah, I mean it's just like laugh out loud, funny. Yeah, anytime someone says, you know, what place should I go see? I've never been like go to those are the guys that created South. Yeah, I like the mainstream ones. Book of mormon, Wicked Lion King, stuff like that. But I'll go, I'll go see any any broadway play in those big cities. So does any part of you want to get into the entertainment business? I mean obviously tennis is somewhat in that space, but anything I know you're a big comedy guy. I know you're a bachelor guy, which is weird but no, not really. Yeah, I mean I haven't watched it. I mean you get to watch it was at your house. Like that was all because of west west who's again super athlete and like you used to be back in the day, I'm going back like 15 years because we were betting on it like old school like fantasy fantasy fantasy, we had the board up and we draft. Yeah. And this was before you can kind of do it online. Now this was before that we make our own like if they get in a helicopter it's three points, they get the ambulance comes, it's five points and we would bet on it if you're super exciting. But um they had a Golden Rose that the winner would get Golden Rose like a fantasy football cherry. I I did this once with West and I don't know what happened. Fantasy League Park. So I don't, if something comes up in entertainment, I'll do it. I'm not, that's not my field. I don't know what anything is or what to do. If you're looking for an actor, I'll try, I'll read for you and ramble on. We'd love to have you. You know, you never know. I wouldn't have too high hopes for me. And so last things about pickleball, but when you got into this sport quickly and then you play with like Ben johns who's right now, the number one guy in the world in this sport, you played with him the first time. Did you go? It's like Roger or you like, I can get to this. No, he's a unicorn in the sport. There's Ben johns, there's a huge gap and then there's everyone else and then, you know, the guys, I don't know. That's like anything. It's kind of boring to watch. He just does everything right. No mistakes, No mistakes when he wants to put the bowl, it kind of right here at your awkward, but he hits it right here and he disguised as well. Um, he moves. It's like roger. Exactly. He doesn't look like he's trying not that good, but he's really good. Um Yes, I think all of the top pickleball players were tennis players. Whether that man in junior is a little bit in college, stuff like that. I don't, I don't know any top pickup ball player that played Riley Newman played basketball. Um I probably played tennis though too. I don't, I just think they all played tennis. Yeah. You know what's crazy is Sam you know, four years ago Riley who's probably top five. I don't know, I think he's like the second or third best player. Okay, so he's 23. So five years ago, Riley Newman calls because you want to go to Kansas city and play in a tournament. Me. Yeah, it's the only tournament I ever played in. But my point is is I was good enough to play in a tournament with a guy who's number two now, I couldn't even come close to this guy anymore. But that's where the sport has evolved from because he was significantly better than me. But it wasn't like, oh, I can't play with these guys now. Like even playing with West now, I'm just like, I'm just not f**king fast enough for good back in the day when we were all playing, We were all going at 80% to make you feel better. I do want to say one of the greatest moments of my life. My friend gala who built that incredible house. I've posted before with that indoor pickleball court, It didn't mean anything to sam and marty fish who doesn't speak to me, which maybe we should get into for a second after. But we played them in doubles again, of course they played once a f**king year in the sport and Gaal and I were playing every single day but still we won and it was on on video. So it is still one of my happiest moment I know you guys wanted but if you actually believe you, we didn't let you win part of that and you're I will never, will never, will never lose believe that you let us win. But you know what happened? I said were you there the day that marty stopped talking to me, which is very, I wasn't but I know I've heard this story before. Yeah, it's very simply marty who's your friends made that golfing with him thursday? I can if you need me to relay a message over to him, let me know, you know, apparently he won't speak to me. But whatever I'm apologetic, I I wish I had his athletic ability. But apparently your friends made the netflix doc about him, which is phenomenal. These untold stories which we talked about, the Manti te'o one, but the one about marty these are friends from high school, like some of my best friends from middle school and high school and with a filmmaker's when you were young. Um they weren't filmmakers, but they were in the in the film industry, creative guys. And right after high school started, they did the um the battered bastards of baseball. There's an untold no, that was like one of their first documentaries and then they did the other one where they won the Emmy, what's the uh from like the cult in Oregon um like a like a football. No, it was like a cult like in the eighties and there was a netflix cult cult cult. Oh I know what you're talking about, the wild, wild, wild wild country, which was amazing that they did that. And now they've done the untold documentaries. They've they've got 10 of them. And one is, yeah, it's on marty marty fish and it's just an incredible story marty, not not only marty's, all of them, they're they're they're amazing, they're all great, but you know, it was an interesting story because I think we we talked about it on this podcast, anxiety how it affects your career. And and for marty, it obviously, you know, he couldn't take the court against roger in the semi finals of the U. S. Open. Have you don't seem like you have any of that? Have you ever had nerves like when you go into these matches? Do you feel like don't humiliate myself or do you walk out and go I'm gonna crush this guy, like no, no, you have nerves, remember in the in 2017 in the Acapulco finals, I played rafael the doll and before the match I went to my coach craig at the time, I just said, I hope I don't lose. Oh, and oh, I'm nervous, I don't want to lose. Oh, and and get embarrassed out there. And so, you know, I ended up winning, but you won the match, I won the match. Um you know, But yeah, you get I get nervous, not like, not like crazy nervous, but you get nervous when I play roger Federer at Wimbledon. You're nervous. I mean, no one wants you to win. Like, it never gets that bad. It just, it takes a few games to loosen up, you gotta do your best to just find a way, whatever it is, it's easier said than done to like hold your serve once or twice to go like one all to all three all because with every game you win, it's kind of like, relax a little bit. It's it's when you go down like four, oh, now it's five or you're like, I'm gonna be sick. So this is I'm getting embarrassed now, you just gotta find a way to win a game or two early on. And that way, I think if I'm not mistaken, you beat Novak and Nadal, right? No, I the one that you were in 2017, I beat um Murray. I mean, Novak the year before, right? So there was, I mean when you just like you, when you look at the doll And you look at those guys that there were for whatever reason there were four guys Murray who disappeared because of injuries but they just dominated for so freaking long did part of you and the guys who were all awesome and top 20 in the world that this like if we could just get rid of these four guys, we're all gonna go to the next level. Yeah, I mean look like Roger's done, Rafa and Novak are gonna be done soon. There's gonna be a period here where there's gonna be a bunch of guys are gonna win 1123 slams. Um you know, yeah, you know, I think guys like Andy Roddick, he got one Wimbledon without Roger Rafa Novak probably like six grand slam titles. And so those guys, it's it's pretty rare in any sport to have, it's out there, the three greatest players that ever played men's tennis to have them playing the exact same era is pretty wild. That just doesn't happen. And he was right there too, I mean, and he got the number one in the world talking about Murray. Oh sorry Murray. Yeah, no, he's got if he didn't get hurt. Five or six slams. Yeah, he probably would have attacked on a couple more grand slams. So you think there's a moment right now for all these guys that they need to capitalize is Alcaraz the next, will he be as good as one of these guys. I mean what do you think? If I had to bet? I would just say no they are 22 grand slams but I do believe that he'll be ranked 12 or three in the world for the next 12 years and win a bunch of grand slams. And what about Tiafoe, have you played, you played, I played a multiple times awesome guy. Like he's he's one of the he just has a smile on his face the whole time and that's just contagious. So it's it's hard not to cheer, it's hard not to cheer for anyone just smiling the whole time. They did they did an update on him on sports this week. I mean it's just it's an awesome story and you root for him and I just wonder do you think he he's got what it takes to win some grand slams? I do. I mean yeah he made semi semi finals of the U. S. Open and I think he lost in five sets to Alcaraz so he wins that match, he's in the final and you never know maybe he can win but there's there's T F. O. Taylor fritz rally. Opelika Tommy paul and like three other americans that are ranked between like 11 and 30 in the world. So I I think one of them if not multiple or can hopefully win a slam or two in the next 10 years. It's an exciting time for tennis. I'm excited to see if you can help take pickle ball to the next level. I don't know that it's ever gonna be a support people wanna watch necessarily but agreed but people want to play it and and a lot of people are playing it and more people are going to continue to play it. So it's exciting. But thanks for coming in, you're the man and I look forward to seeing what's next for you and and Abby and and West Burrows. We just I just think we can get him to the next level. He's the guy to watch out for in the court. I really think he's I think he's got all the sky so we just gotta get him that mental toughness. Oh he's mentally tough. He's just he's not a killer. He's just it's such a I mean but Sam's also seems very nice but we're gonna team up next year, we're gonna play doubles and hopefully two softies will make a killer on the doubles court. We're gonna play some doubles. I love it. I love it. I well I hope you guys win and I'm looking forward to it. And uh we'll catch up next week with some hopefully some television updates
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