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Speaker 2: Good morning, Marcus Willis. Now this is just a quick
Speaker 2: catch up because we haven't. We spoke after Ilkley. You
Speaker 2: hadn't played Queen's, hadn't played Eastbourne. It's grass cool season.
Speaker 2: You've been seeing someone else behind my back, right, I'm
Speaker 2: your podcast wife, but you've been seeing Gabby Logan, which
Speaker 2: is yeah. I mean I found out by hearing it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, sorry mate, Yeah, I just gotta do what you
Speaker 3: got to do here.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And let's be honest. There's enough Willis to go round,
Speaker 2: isn't that there is?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: There is.
Speaker 1: There's plenty, plenty more for anyone else that's interested.
Speaker 2: All right, let's let's just do a little whistle stops
Speaker 2: tour of Queens because it seems only last week. It
Speaker 2: seems like an age ago. You and David Stevenson. You
Speaker 2: get a great win first round here.
Speaker 3: Yeah, played really well.
Speaker 1: We had the exact same drawer as we did last year,
Speaker 1: so niece Roger vasselin to play Hellivar pattern, but this
Speaker 1: time it was on the top half of the draw
Speaker 1: because world number one's now said the world number.
Speaker 3: Twos or second seas or whatever they were last year.
Speaker 3: So yeah, we've played a really good back.
Speaker 1: Limited them to I think they had two break points
Speaker 1: at six five in the second, but that was kind
Speaker 1: of random, and then we won the sidebreak pretty comfortably
Speaker 1: seven to three, I think. So, yeah, I played great
Speaker 1: good at mass Court one. Yeah, it was good.
Speaker 3: I can't I can't say much more. We played really well.
Speaker 2: It's a lovely tournament, isn't it. I mean behind the scenes.
Speaker 2: I've been behind the scenes when I was working on
Speaker 2: the tennis podcast for Queens, and you just explain to
Speaker 2: people when I was there, you went through that balcony
Speaker 2: and then round like a load of indoor courts, and
Speaker 2: you got to like the players lounges.
Speaker 1: That you don't go around the indoor courts you go
Speaker 1: the other way. Now, okay, okay, so it's like a maze.
Speaker 1: You go through all the all the clubhouse, which is
Speaker 1: obviously pristine and stunny, and yeah, it's like a I
Speaker 1: always get lost.
Speaker 3: At the beginning there.
Speaker 1: But this year they for arrows up basically locker rooms
Speaker 1: and cakes and no, I'm joking about the cakes, but
Speaker 1: but yeah, it was easier.
Speaker 2: I thought you were joking about the locker room to
Speaker 2: the locker room. I thought the cakes are real, that.
Speaker 1: The food wasn'tain as well. This year they've got You've
Speaker 1: got everything you could imagine. So I was obviously opting
Speaker 1: for chicken most of the time, trying to stay healthy.
Speaker 1: But then they've got a guy just banging out pizzas
Speaker 1: from Pizza Oven. And because they do the chicken fresh
Speaker 1: for you, like while you're waiting, it's very easy to
Speaker 1: you know, fall over that way and grab a couple
Speaker 1: of sluices of pizza while you're waiting for your healthy food.
Speaker 1: So you know, that was a challenge that I failed
Speaker 1: every single time.
Speaker 2: But other than that, the hospitality, though, are really at Queen's.
Speaker 2: You can see why players come back again and again,
Speaker 2: not only for the uniqueness of the grass court and
Speaker 2: the points available, but they really treat players well.
Speaker 1: It's it's the best tournament I think as a player
Speaker 1: because they have the women's before and there's you know,
Speaker 1: slams are great, but they're perhaps they're busy. It's intense
Speaker 1: obviously Queens is as well. You're playing at a top event.
Speaker 1: But there's that space, there's that you know, care and
Speaker 1: comfort that you can always not having to you know,
Speaker 1: squeeze to find the table. There's always stuff free. There's yeah,
Speaker 1: pool tables, there's there's stuff going on and it's it's
Speaker 1: relaxing when you're not playing, when you've got an hour off,
Speaker 1: it's really nice.
Speaker 2: So you i mean the weather was a lot better
Speaker 2: at Queens than Ilkley, so you didn't play on an
Speaker 2: indoor court that luckily. And practice courts and things like
Speaker 2: that all easy to come by. How's practicing? How's practice going?
Speaker 3: With good? Good?
Speaker 1: We've got you know, a good group of people around us.
Speaker 1: You know, I've got Adam with me, We've got Dave
Speaker 1: o Hair with Dave as well, and obviously Louis you know,
Speaker 1: overseeing everything as well. So yeah, trainings going well. We've
Speaker 1: got kind of clear on what we're trying to do.
Speaker 1: It's just going out there and trying to execute that,
Speaker 1: which is nice.
Speaker 3: But yeah, it's good.
Speaker 2: It's it's what's training like? Is he is he? Is
Speaker 2: it an intense training situation? Is it a laugh? Is it?
Speaker 3: Well? No, I mean it's intense when you're out there.
Speaker 3: I mean the first hit.
Speaker 1: We both like to when we both go to a venue,
Speaker 1: just hit balls for the first you know, fifteen to
Speaker 1: twenty minutes, get east of the courts and conditions.
Speaker 3: But once that's it, I mean you're straight in.
Speaker 1: You know, once you've had that first hit, you're straight
Speaker 1: into specific stuff, and you know, no ball you.
Speaker 3: Hit is kind of just for fear or just to
Speaker 3: get it in. There's always.
Speaker 1: Intent behind it, intent behind each shot, which is which
Speaker 1: is different to how I've done it most of my career.
Speaker 3: I suppose you know I've done I've done I've done
Speaker 3: specific in training.
Speaker 1: But but you know, certainly, playing singles at the first
Speaker 1: fifteen to twenty minutes, you're warming up, whereas doubles it's
Speaker 1: it's you know, you're hitting from the baseline, but you
Speaker 1: know you're trying to stay aggressive, You're trying to break
Speaker 1: the baseline with the ball, you're yeah, there's there's intent
Speaker 1: behind it from ball one, after you've had that initial
Speaker 1: hit and then you're into attack the end, you're into
Speaker 1: your volley's defensive bollies, attacking vollies. Yeah, it's it's it's different,
Speaker 1: but it's good because you know every bole you hit,
Speaker 1: as I say, has got a purpose and you don't
Speaker 1: get you know sometimes sometimes they used to hit balls
Speaker 1: and be daydreaming. I'll be just doing it an autopilot.
Speaker 1: So you've got that extra level of focus.
Speaker 3: So it's cool. It's new for me.
Speaker 2: What it's new? You're still learning, you're evolving, some would say.
Speaker 3: Some would yeah, mm hmm. Yeah.
Speaker 2: What what's it like standing behind his serve as a volier?
Speaker 3: Nice? Yeah, yeah, it's nice. But again you're playing.
Speaker 1: You're playing in the last two weeks place for the
Speaker 1: best players in the world, so it's they come back.
Speaker 1: Sometimes you need it. You need a good serve, an
Speaker 1: accurate server or a rocket or both, and everyone's got one.
Speaker 1: Everyone serves well at the top level.
Speaker 2: So where are you staying down in Eastbourne? And are
Speaker 2: you staying with David and the rest of the team.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean they put you in hotels, as we
Speaker 1: had air on our hotel, thankfully the few hotel right
Speaker 1: next to the beach. So I bought I bought myself
Speaker 1: some nine pounds little flip flipper shoes from a you know,
Speaker 1: one of those classy sea side shops.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was.
Speaker 3: I was in the sea within ten minutes of waking
Speaker 3: up every day. It was lovely. Yeah, great, I loved it,
Speaker 3: floating around like a Chris packet.
Speaker 2: I'm off to the beach today. That's why we were like,
Speaker 2: should wed I can't maybe like that?
Speaker 3: No, no, I'm on, I'm on, Yeah.
Speaker 2: I'm here dogs. So so you get Dann at Eastbourne,
Speaker 2: the courts. At the courts the same, No, slow.
Speaker 1: Stressed enough, so much lower, longer crafts. I mean the
Speaker 1: Queen's is quick, especially when it's hot. But but yeah,
Speaker 1: completely different, like you hit. Yeah, I mean, look at
Speaker 1: the number of races that are now compared to Queens.
Speaker 1: It's it's not the same. So yeah, we played two
Speaker 1: Brazilian guys first round. I mean I think they're both
Speaker 1: top twenty or top thirty at least, and it was
Speaker 1: tough because they're heavy conditions of one guy was sitting
Speaker 1: back in these lobs as hard as he could.
Speaker 3: They were going in because it is a heavy condition.
Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah, no, it was you have to battle
Speaker 1: out there, and weirdly, you know, by the time we
Speaker 1: played our second match, it felt quicker because I.
Speaker 3: Think we were used to the conditions a bit more.
Speaker 1: Yeah, much slower, still low bouncing as such, caught the knife.
Speaker 3: It's just so different.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, different as well.
Speaker 3: It will be probably between East Ball and Queen Speed.
Speaker 3: I'm guessing.
Speaker 2: Well, we're going to do a proper windwed and preview
Speaker 2: and everything on the Sundays Friday as we record this,
Speaker 2: So this is kind of just a quick touch in
Speaker 2: to see where you are and what's going on. Although,
Speaker 2: as I said earlier, you could listen to other podcasts
Speaker 2: and hear you.
Speaker 3: No, just one.
Speaker 2: Well, I promised myself I wouldn't cry, so one podcast
Speaker 2: you so does the as we're talking now, and because
Speaker 2: people may listen to this in the future, it may
Speaker 2: of course become archive for the British Museum as time
Speaker 2: goes on. Yeah, it's about thirty five centigrade in the
Speaker 2: UK right now. Is that changing how these courts are playing?
Speaker 3: Not yet.
Speaker 1: I think if it were for a whole week with
Speaker 1: grass will stop burning, wasn't it? But no, it's quicker
Speaker 1: through the air obviously when it's hotter, but you've got
Speaker 1: that breeze in Eastbourne as well to make it cooler.
Speaker 1: Like we played it was yeah, way into the thirties
Speaker 1: and it felt okay.
Speaker 2: The other day okay, okay.
Speaker 1: Paris was Paris was the worst of experience in a while.
Speaker 1: Our first round in Paris, three hour match in terms
Speaker 1: of heat and humidity and stuff. But it was all right,
Speaker 1: a bit a bit of English breeze.
Speaker 2: We're fine, Yeah, it's fine. And then you you hotfoot
Speaker 2: again because you don't just meander. You have to hotfoot
Speaker 2: back home and then to the host house or not
Speaker 2: straight into Wimbledon.
Speaker 1: I am going to wimbled and today to sort accreditations
Speaker 1: out and stuff, and then tomorrow it's you're basically only
Speaker 1: chance to hit on a match court before the championship
Speaker 1: starts as players.
Speaker 3: So we're hitting on a match court tomorrow midday.
Speaker 1: Just to get you a feel for the courts, and
Speaker 1: then we'll be off the rains park, you know, hitting,
Speaker 1: hitting and training. They're probably most likely most of the
Speaker 1: time when the tournament starts so yeah, I'm getting down
Speaker 1: to London tonight playing Boodles tomorrow evening as well. So
Speaker 1: I've got practice in the day and then off the
Speaker 1: Stoke Parks play a practice match m hm up the Boodles,
Speaker 1: and then Sunday.
Speaker 3: Are very light day, lots of physio I can imagine.
Speaker 2: And then and a longer podcast, yeah, and a longer podcast,
Speaker 2: a little pre wimbled and previous. And also I want
Speaker 2: to talk about the wild cards that Dan Evans all
Speaker 2: of it. I just want to go on. I've got
Speaker 2: wind and either mate absolute win with fever, get.
Speaker 3: Your strawberries and cream at oh oh and more.
Speaker 2: I'll be getting more than that outs and I'll be
Speaker 2: there myself on the Tuesday.
Speaker 3: That's excellent. Maybe we could do a live live tickle.
Speaker 2: I mean yeah, I'd love to do that. What I
Speaker 2: have got though for you right now is a little game. Okay,
Speaker 2: because you know tennis is schmenis and all that. But
Speaker 2: the other day we did schwank or wank And if
Speaker 2: you haven't heard that, you can go back into the
Speaker 2: archives where you have to decide whether a player is
Speaker 2: real shwank or fake wank. I've now invented five players,
Speaker 2: and I want you to tell me what their career was. Okay, Okay, so.
Speaker 3: You don't know this, Okay.
Speaker 2: Tarnia Gold for Sober.
Speaker 3: I mean she was top hundred hundred and fifteen.
Speaker 1: Grew up in Bosnia, Hertzcovina, ended up in Florida, a
Speaker 1: polla tieries night contract, the works.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but then.
Speaker 1: Kind of disappeared mid to late twenties, had shoulder surgery
Speaker 1: and that was it.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but you know, one forty four slams in that time.
Speaker 2: So yeah, Donald pursl Thwaite, Donald Purpleweight, I mean, this
Speaker 2: is definitely for me. This is like long link linen trousers.
Speaker 2: This isn't a yeah no.
Speaker 1: He was from Norfolk as well, you know, the only
Speaker 1: the only guy to never win a match at pro level.
Speaker 1: He played forty seven first rank qualifying matches in a row.
Speaker 1: You know, it didn't travel that much. Just paid on
Speaker 1: the English.
Speaker 2: Ones mechanic in his spare time. I heard.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, it wasn't his job.
Speaker 1: He just enjoyed at the weekend he had he qualified,
Speaker 1: he wouldn't be able to play major anyway because you
Speaker 1: have work.
Speaker 3: In the morning.
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course, Actually not.
Speaker 1: As bad as you think though, like good backhand slides,
Speaker 1: just had the yips and the surf.
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course, and they still some players still now
Speaker 2: call it the personal fights.
Speaker 3: Yeah I do. Yeah, well that's where it originally came from. Yeah,
Speaker 3: of course, before before Andrew Yapowski came in.
Speaker 2: Well, you've got a player that you know very well.
Speaker 2: Obviously you don't because he's made up. But Fernando Orlandi.
Speaker 1: Fernando Rolandi kind of went under the radar for someone
Speaker 1: thirsty in the world for ten years, you know, never
Speaker 1: never made it part cause of a slam, but you know,
Speaker 1: the only player to win Estel two fifty ten times
Speaker 1: in a row, clay court play quarter prime. Yeah, never
Speaker 1: cramped good set a leg on him.
Speaker 3: Just just a warrior.
Speaker 1: You know when someone someone you just don't want to play,
Speaker 1: if you're not feeling the ball. Well, do you know
Speaker 1: what I more than four games in a set on
Speaker 1: grass as well?
Speaker 2: Carry I saw that. I saw that. What I was
Speaker 2: actually just wikipedia in Rolandi before. And do you know
Speaker 2: he's now Guinness Book of Records World's longest fingernails.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm not surprised, he said. Yeah, he said tape them,
Speaker 1: didn't it?
Speaker 3: Once.
Speaker 2: Yeah, not surprised.
Speaker 3: Yeah, take them, but actually it helped his forehand.
Speaker 1: If he stretched them out, why he could reach, you know,
Speaker 1: further than most people.
Speaker 3: With his fingernails.
Speaker 2: Svetlana Kalokinlana Kalokin, Yeah, yes, okay, yestah, Yeah.
Speaker 3: I was surprised.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I thought she'd push on more than she did
Speaker 1: obviously when she came on the scene again at fifteen years.
Speaker 2: Old frubality Ry Florida.
Speaker 3: By contract.
Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3: Just made the move to Florida very early.
Speaker 1: Yeah oh yeah yeah yeah but bad injuries.
Speaker 3: There we go.
Speaker 2: I mean, I've got I'm going to lean into this one,
Speaker 2: but I feel that it might be a similar pattern
Speaker 2: for Stephanie Beloffe Bulgarian Bulgarian.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but she actually tried to mince for a bit.
Speaker 2: Belarues, Yeah, but I think it was fifteen when she
Speaker 2: made the.
Speaker 3: She was fifteen, she made Top Andred. Yeah, Australia back
Speaker 3: then was weaker.
Speaker 1: Yeah, as we know from John Lloyd, like not everyone
Speaker 1: traveled there over Christmas. That's when she broke onto the
Speaker 1: scene with him, really and then you know, followed it
Speaker 1: up ten years later with another Australian Open quarterfinals yeah,
Speaker 1: good player, best back end on the tour. People say, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I think Andrew Yeah, andre Yupovski coachter So that didn't
Speaker 1: go too well?
Speaker 2: Sure yeah, okay, let's talk Wimbledon very soon, mate, such.
Speaker 3: Just so good at it, so good.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: What they do you? Oh Nike? Okay yeah cool yeah
Speaker 3: yeah yeah. Contract yeah, big.
Speaker 2: Contract, Florida yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah right, I'll go
Speaker 2: to the bat.
Speaker 3: Okay, enjoy yourself.
Speaker 2: Bye, bait.
Speaker 1: Victor baronco on troumpone, Sergeant Major Craig Frederick.
Speaker 4: On the trumpets and the composition. The Army Blues walked
Speaker 4: back down.