Speaker 1: What's that on the wall behind you?
Speaker 2: By the way, Uh looks like a didgerid.
Speaker 1: Wow, I haven't heard of a didery do since Rolf
Speaker 1: Harris was listed.
Speaker 3: Obvious.
Speaker 1: I do you know what more than you think?
Speaker 3: What a way to start?
Speaker 1: Well, this, of course is the French Open Rowland Garross
Speaker 1: preview for us because it's a rendezvous with Monsieur Willis
Speaker 1: and Monsieur Willis you are there now. First of all,
Speaker 1: obviously you're playing. We're going to talk about the French
Speaker 1: Open in general. What's your place like? Because you've opted
Speaker 1: for in air BnB with the interesting interesting DIDs on
Speaker 1: the wall.
Speaker 2: On the wall, yeah, wooden lizards, DVD box sets, there's
Speaker 2: a vinyl player in the corner, and the kitchen has
Speaker 2: peas and character in a can.
Speaker 3: And other things. And the freezer.
Speaker 2: I did see there's some hargain gars, you know, the
Speaker 2: mini bots, and I went, oh, they've left targons here,
Speaker 2: and then it's just a rapper. They've not thrown it away,
Speaker 2: Oh my god, yeah, teasing. Someone obviously lives here quite
Speaker 2: often and they've obviously rented it out.
Speaker 3: And they're sleeping in the dustin.
Speaker 1: DVD box sets. Can you see them over your shoulder
Speaker 1: right now? Yeah, okay, first glance, top three, you can see,
Speaker 1: go what does any three? Any three? Let's go, let's
Speaker 1: rate them. You're just going to go, You're going to
Speaker 1: grab them. Marcus has now moved away, but underneath the
Speaker 1: digerido obviously, if you're listening to this, you can visit
Speaker 1: our YouTube channel to see it is a faux gas lamp.
Speaker 1: I want to maybe something like you'd see in a
Speaker 1: western perhaps. I've seen some red drapes.
Speaker 2: Midnight Express, Shakespeare in Love and look look come back.
Speaker 2: I feel like they're just fronglaide that I don't know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, what Midnight Express, Shakespeare in Love? Okay, rate them?
Speaker 1: What order?
Speaker 3: Uh?
Speaker 2: Midnight Express one, Shakespeare in Love too, I don't even
Speaker 2: know look him back.
Speaker 3: But that's the only other English one I can see.
Speaker 3: It's all friends with them.
Speaker 1: Okay, so I'm going to Shakespeare in Love one. Okay,
Speaker 1: Midnight Express two. That's terrible DVD in, isn't it.
Speaker 3: That's bad?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean you need I have a quick look
Speaker 2: because I had to leave you here.
Speaker 3: But but yeah, most of them are French.
Speaker 1: So the places are places good fight club.
Speaker 3: I've seen, oh, fight Club.
Speaker 1: I mean there we go, there we go. It's probably
Speaker 1: the fight club. The place is good. What's the location
Speaker 1: like in terms of getting to and from the run
Speaker 1: of Garross practice courts?
Speaker 2: It's a six minute drive to site or a twenty
Speaker 2: minute walk. It's about a mile away twenty minutes, fifteen minutes.
Speaker 1: The practice facilities off.
Speaker 2: Site there's there's a couple like ten to fifty minute
Speaker 2: walk away, or you get a transport. I'm playing at
Speaker 2: Annex today which you can get a golf buggy across
Speaker 2: five minutes. Yesterday I played at the Jamboe, which was
Speaker 2: very good. A lot of singles guys are in their
Speaker 2: training because it's you know, it's twenty twenty clay courts
Speaker 2: very close to site.
Speaker 3: So hot. Yeah, it's very hot. It's hot in England.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, Well I'm in Nurse Sunny South London. It's
Speaker 1: currently thirty one at nine thirty in the morning. So
Speaker 1: well done, Sunny South London.
Speaker 3: Done?
Speaker 1: And what what about? Look as you are now officially
Speaker 1: a Grand Slam veteran, having just about to play all
Speaker 1: four Slams, how do they rate to Ossie, Open, US
Speaker 1: and Wimbledon.
Speaker 3: It's just different isn't it.
Speaker 2: It's it just feels different because you're playing on clay b.
Speaker 2: It's kind of around the corner like US and Aussium
Speaker 2: but Yanks away, aren't they, especially Aussie, But like you're
Speaker 2: on a I was here an hour and our hour on.
Speaker 3: A flight like that.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's nice. It's it's got everything you need.
Speaker 2: I'd say it's quite congested, like when you eat. There's
Speaker 2: not many places to sit down, especially when there's a
Speaker 2: lot a lot of people here the first few days.
Speaker 3: But everything's in light.
Speaker 2: Facilities good, good gym locker rooms great. I've got an
Speaker 2: actual locker with a code on and like a wooden locker,
Speaker 2: which is pretty cool. Yeah, yes, it's it's it's nice.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I remember you telling us at the Aussie Open about
Speaker 1: like the washing systems and lay day and all of that.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I had their laundry yesterday evening. It's coming back up
Speaker 2: to today, so I don't know. Comes in like a
Speaker 2: box apparently nice one day yesterday and I'm going there
Speaker 2: again in the minute. So I've only seen bits of
Speaker 2: it so far. I hit on site in the morning,
Speaker 2: hit offsite in the afternoon.
Speaker 1: You said about the courts oh, first of all, do
Speaker 1: you sweep your own courts?
Speaker 3: Those people were sweeping and watering.
Speaker 1: And you said about the singles guys, I've got really
Speaker 1: big dumb questions here. I hope the listeners appreciate that
Speaker 1: these these are This is the kind of insight that
Speaker 1: I need. You said, the singles guys are practicing obviously
Speaker 1: the tournament this year, Yannick Sinner on the men's side
Speaker 1: is so head and shoulders favorite.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Do you ever see as these singles guys are passing
Speaker 1: each other along walkways, as there may be going on
Speaker 1: each other's courts, do you ever see a little bit
Speaker 1: of tension between them?
Speaker 3: No?
Speaker 1: Is everyone a friend kind of or.
Speaker 3: Like some of it?
Speaker 2: And everyone's quite chilled out behind closed doors. I mean
Speaker 2: you should people see them playing matches in the middle
Speaker 2: of battle, so they're going to be on quite high alert.
Speaker 2: I mean some people get angry on the practice court
Speaker 2: or but not often not from what Yeah.
Speaker 1: And for you, for you doubles guys, are you what
Speaker 1: practices have you done so far?
Speaker 2: I played practice points yesterday on site at eight am
Speaker 2: with a French pair, and then we did like our
Speaker 2: own thing in the afternoon and Louis came on, so me,
Speaker 2: Louis and Adam on court just working on a few things.
Speaker 2: In the afternoon we did hour and a half, an
Speaker 2: hour and a half, so I'm gonna have a light
Speaker 2: to day today because it's boiling.
Speaker 3: I'm doing four or six one one hour points and then.
Speaker 2: Yeah, just some some technical stuff after and then probably
Speaker 2: playing Tuesday.
Speaker 1: And before we come on to the match. Louis and
Speaker 1: Yakub have they got any history any.
Speaker 2: No, Louis saw him players matches in Australia because he
Speaker 2: watched my matches and I was playing with him, so
Speaker 2: he knows him. But they've never met before.
Speaker 1: And Louis Kaye, for those of you who don't know,
Speaker 1: is largely considered probably the best doubles coach of all time.
Speaker 1: Works for the LTA here in the UK. Lots of
Speaker 1: letters there, and he's not shy about coming forwards. Let's
Speaker 1: put it that way. Is he straight into Yakub or
Speaker 1: is he all about you? With the odd comment to
Speaker 1: Yakub Because I just having been on courts with Louis,
Speaker 1: I just I can't imagine him holding back on anyone.
Speaker 2: He's he's looking at what we're doing as a pair
Speaker 2: and being pretty helpful, and like around tournament time he said,
Speaker 2: it's time to brush up on things.
Speaker 3: We're not going to change things now, it's just how
Speaker 3: do we get.
Speaker 2: Ourselves, you know, ready for a match and most effective tomorrow.
Speaker 2: It's not he's not going to start like doing technical
Speaker 2: stuff with us on court in terms of you know, technique.
Speaker 3: Or body parts or things like that.
Speaker 2: So no, he's very positive and helpful, especially around tournament time,
Speaker 2: like on the practice scot and training blocks.
Speaker 3: For something that needs fixing, he'll tell you, but then
Speaker 3: I'll come up with a solution. So it's not. Yeah,
Speaker 3: he's I think he's wonderful.
Speaker 1: Have you been anywhere else other than your apartment and
Speaker 1: the practice centers?
Speaker 2: Went for dinner last night? Italian about fifteen minute walk
Speaker 2: and that's it. I'm going to go meet my coach
Speaker 2: for a coffee now. Yeah, I don't know how far
Speaker 2: he is away, but I'll say he's probably ten minutes
Speaker 2: around the corner.
Speaker 3: So I'm going to go for a.
Speaker 2: Coffee now, and then you're getting the transport of midday.
Speaker 1: I suppose what a day you planned, my friend. Well,
Speaker 1: let's look ahead to the match against the Argentinian pair
Speaker 1: in the second part of today's podcast almost guaranteed to
Speaker 1: be better than the first. Welcome back to what you're
Speaker 1: talking about, Willis Podcast Part du Let's talk about the
Speaker 1: drawer itself, Marcus Willis you tennis Rowland Garrossa. You've got
Speaker 1: two singles guys.
Speaker 3: Right, Bet and Hugo Carabella. Yeah, well, at.
Speaker 2: The moment we do, you are very lost yesterday. There's
Speaker 2: a chance that he wants to go on before the
Speaker 2: grass season because it's probably an opportunity, or if he doesn't,
Speaker 2: he'll stay and if basically if we play them, they'll
Speaker 2: be trying.
Speaker 1: Right, because there's always a danger with these singles guys,
Speaker 1: they have a good couple of results and their mind
Speaker 1: wanders away from the doubles, right, Is it worse that
Speaker 1: he lost.
Speaker 3: If he plays, then yeah.
Speaker 1: If he doesn't play, what happens we'll.
Speaker 2: Get an alternate pairing, which is you know, I think
Speaker 2: first out is Rosia Escobar, then it's Barry and Toss
Speaker 2: b Hard. Then it's yeah, it's not it's not nice
Speaker 2: whoever we play.
Speaker 1: Really so it's top top elice sport.
Speaker 3: But we're preparing to play the Argentina.
Speaker 1: It's I mean we're talking. Echeberry is probably the one
Speaker 1: that's the higher profile of twenty eight in the world now,
Speaker 1: but is you know, there's he's had some battles out there,
Speaker 1: and then Hugo Carabelli fifty nine in the world. Both
Speaker 1: are in the top one eighty in doubles, so you
Speaker 1: know they are active in doubles, although when you look
Speaker 1: at their results in the past, neither have really been
Speaker 1: past second third rounds tops. When you're looking through that
Speaker 1: when the draw comes out, are you looking for a
Speaker 1: singles players or are you looking for a doubles pair
Speaker 1: or how does that work?
Speaker 3: It depends what doubles.
Speaker 2: If you've got a top eight seed it's not or
Speaker 2: top sixteen seed it's It's tough. But I'd say if
Speaker 2: we're playing Wimbledon and we're playing them, that's so much
Speaker 2: nicer draw than playing them on the clay. Yeah. I
Speaker 2: think they may they may have third round us third round. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so they've beaten some good you know, the results against
Speaker 2: doubles players are good when they try. I mean Hugo
Speaker 2: Carabelli famously and then to be last year after the
Speaker 2: French he was playing with someone from another country and
Speaker 2: he says, like, I can't communicate, I'm just here for
Speaker 2: the money and kind of tanked. But since then he's not.
Speaker 2: Every time he's stepped on, I think he's tried. So yeah,
Speaker 2: it's it's yeah for Roland Garross. If you're playing two
Speaker 2: good Argentinean singles players, it's that can play doubles as well.
Speaker 2: It's not ideal, but I say, could could be worse.
Speaker 2: You could be playing top seed second seeds. But as
Speaker 2: far as singles players go, you don't get it much
Speaker 2: tougher than them. No, No, maybe maybe I Vasher run
Speaker 2: nikonech or something like that.
Speaker 1: And yeah, yeah I looked at that one.
Speaker 3: Yeah, out of singles guys, like, yeah, that's not nice.
Speaker 1: Because there's quite a few singles and doubles guys teamed up.
Speaker 1: But yeah, you're right, and yeah, I mean we spoke
Speaker 1: about it over Wimbledon last year. The singles guys. Would
Speaker 1: you say that they're just more more versatile, Like there's
Speaker 1: a they do different things with the serve especially Yeah
Speaker 1: in what way?
Speaker 2: Yeah, they probably bigger, They serve bigger, and they serve
Speaker 2: more aggressively at spots. They're not trying to set up
Speaker 2: their doubles part at the net, they're trying to win
Speaker 2: the point bang right, which yeah, obviously if yeah, if
Speaker 2: they're missing first serveson giving you a lot of seconds and.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they just serve. Yeah, it's it's different. It's more powerful.
Speaker 3: They go more aggressive.
Speaker 2: They can change direction down the line better, so they've
Speaker 2: got no issue kind of stepping around and thumping the ball.
Speaker 3: There's a lot of doubles guys. Yeah, they hit the
Speaker 3: ball big, but they're on top of the net.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: It's just different, and it's it's on clay. It's yeah,
Speaker 2: it's tougher. They've got more time, the balls bouncing everywhere.
Speaker 2: They can scud the ball around, they can hold the
Speaker 2: ball weight, hit angles.
Speaker 1: How do you what does that mean for you? Because
Speaker 1: I guess there's a serving pair you and Yaka. But
Speaker 1: it doesn't really change too much. You're going to be
Speaker 1: there are thereabouts like you're in control, aren't you? That
Speaker 1: bit the the returning part of the game though, facing
Speaker 1: that serve. How does that alter it? Yaka's a great returner,
Speaker 1: of course, we've spoken about that before. What yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm thinking maybe more more on your side mate, What
Speaker 1: happens on that juice side. As a returner against a
Speaker 1: single server.
Speaker 2: I've just got more space I suppose if I've probably
Speaker 2: going to get aced.
Speaker 3: A bit more.
Speaker 2: But when I do connect with the ball, I love
Speaker 2: more space to return, but they probably won't be so volleying.
Speaker 2: So you know, if I if I catch one hit
Speaker 2: it you know, low over the let and it's short,
Speaker 2: it's not going to be as effective.
Speaker 3: So I have to change and try and get deeper.
Speaker 2: To be honest, I don't really know until I get
Speaker 2: out there and see how they're playing, and you know,
Speaker 2: we've got a fair idea of what they're going to do.
Speaker 2: They don't have any massive patterns, but you know, game
Speaker 2: plans are great until you have three leved down.
Speaker 3: Sure, and oh we can it a back hand down
Speaker 3: the line? Oh he can't, Okay, So so.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's it's nice to know what to expect,
Speaker 2: but you've got to ultimately you've got to try and
Speaker 2: keep your first percentage high and put pressure on them
Speaker 2: and stop them swinging if you can, which is easier
Speaker 2: than that.
Speaker 1: Now, we're not going to keep you long today.
Speaker 3: But this could be a whole conversation about a.
Speaker 1: Pair of course, when do you find that out.
Speaker 3: When the order of play comes out.
Speaker 2: Wow, so that'll be I guess this afternoon, the order
Speaker 2: of play and if they're if they're if they're on
Speaker 2: the schedule, I'm guessing they're playing.
Speaker 3: I'd expect them to play at this stage.
Speaker 1: But at any point can they pull out for an
Speaker 1: ultimate or is there if the order of play comes
Speaker 1: out and then they pull out, is there any way
Speaker 1: get a bye?
Speaker 3: No, there's no where, and I don't think you should
Speaker 3: get by No.
Speaker 1: I agree, I agree, I just you know, like, is
Speaker 1: there is there a deadline for them?
Speaker 3: It was really the only way you can get is
Speaker 3: if you play a few games and they pull out.
Speaker 3: But there's there's no need for them.
Speaker 1: No, of course, not of course, not now.
Speaker 2: But people used to do that because they wouldn't get
Speaker 2: paid if they didn't step on court. But then you
Speaker 2: get people going on injured, playing five games, shaking hands
Speaker 2: and it's kind of a waste of time.
Speaker 1: Rather famously, on this podcast, your partner Yak of Paul
Speaker 1: doesn't actually look at the drawer and things. Is he
Speaker 1: aware of who you're playing?
Speaker 3: Nope?
Speaker 2: No, I've told I've told my coach, I've told Louis
Speaker 2: that he doesn't know. He didn't like to know who's playing,
Speaker 2: so he'll know when the order of play comes up.
Speaker 1: Mentally, So when you've got your training session, do you
Speaker 1: ever find yourself like accidentally, you know, saying, yak of
Speaker 1: what we might want to prepare for is perhaps playing
Speaker 1: some singles guysers, perhaps from Argentina.
Speaker 3: No, I don't, I I.
Speaker 2: Don't. I'm tempted to just wind them up and stuff
Speaker 2: and say, oh, there's no point in practicing with these
Speaker 2: guys tomorrow. Nothing like I'm kind of which I've kind
Speaker 2: of done. I've kind of set up practice so that
Speaker 2: we're you know, not playing you know, lefties who were And.
Speaker 1: I can't tell you too much better practice against spaghetti string,
Speaker 1: Okay mate, I can't say too much. I'll just say
Speaker 1: spaghetti string.
Speaker 3: Yeah. So it's tempting that I haven't yet. I resisted
Speaker 3: the urge.
Speaker 2: It's so weird, so like it's almost like a suspense.
Speaker 2: But also how has no one come up to him
Speaker 2: and giving him tips.
Speaker 1: Or yeah, no one's done the big tennis player handshake
Speaker 1: that one there, like that one where you go, yeah,
Speaker 1: just I just saw Achi Erry. He's looking good.
Speaker 3: Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1: Why Well that bothered me, mate, You've got to go.
Speaker 1: I know this was a quickieat so best of luck.
Speaker 1: Not sorry at all that we're going to be catching
Speaker 1: up all throughout the French and we might not speak
Speaker 1: to you now until after the battle.
Speaker 3: We'll see. Yeah, I might have a m have a
Speaker 3: minute here or there if you can.
Speaker 2: Victor of Baranco on troump.
Speaker 3: Sergeant Major of Craig Frederick on.
Speaker 2: The trumpets and the composition the Army bluesh lock up
Speaker 2: that