Frances Tiafoe vs. Yoshihito Nishioka Full Match | 2025 US Open Round 1

Frances Tiafoe vs. Yoshihito Nishioka Full Match | 2025 US Open Round 1

Of course, best of five sets for a place in round two. Love 15. Should go down to Robbie and check out how the conditions are. Or is it is it warm? They’re in the shade, so I wouldn’t expect it to be too hot for these two. Jimmy, the conditions are ideal. Plenty of shade all across the court. The ball will be lively, but not too lively. That’s the voice of Robbie Koenic courtside. You were just telling us, Rob, just before we came on air, you’ve got uh a celebrity neighbor down there. Is that right? The number of Japanese fans looking for an autograph or picture with Shu Matsuoka who is sitting alongside me obviously commentating for Japanese TV was incredible. Of course, Jimmy, you’ll remember all too well that uh we actually changed one of the rules in our sport of because of what happened here with Shuza, right? Yes. cramped up and I not sure if it was his English that wasn’t quite getting through, but he wasn’t saying I default and we weren’t allowed in those days to touch someone because of cramping. And it was fairly gruesome and went for a long time and eventually they decided that wasn’t a good look. We’re going to allow the players to get treatment. Have they gone back, Robbie, to the old rules? You can’t. They have. Yeah. Yep. Well, right away you can see Thafo Goodall might think that this is an easy win for Thafo, but Francis is going to feel the pressure because this is a kind of matchup if Nishio is keeping the ball with depth and Tafo is flashy but somewhat up and down player. This isn’t going to be an easy match. Zappo had a little pressure at 1530 and had to hit a couple of winners. 401 13. So decent start for the number 17 seed who yes has had problems against Nishioa in the past. In fact, I have firsthand experience of one of those matches. I was courtside in Eststeril on the Portuguese clay. That was 2019. It was late in the day. It was quite chilly by that time of the day. Very slow, heavy clay court conditions. I remember specifically talking to Francis when he came off court and he was exasperated at the the problems the shiok had caused him. Just could not finish him off that night. He was everywhere digging up balls and frustrating the American. [Applause] Pretty relaxed out here. Francis Thafo, a happy hunting ground for big foe as he’s known. Big difference in rankings between these two. Thafo 17 in the world. The Shioka actually down at 149 in the world now. So you might be wondering how he’s gained direct acceptance to a grand slam. But the the ranking drop came just after the the cutoff. It’s 6 weeks before a major when they formulate the list of direct acceptances and since then the points that he won from winning in Atlanta this time last year dropped off. That’s one of his ATP titles. So a fairly big hit to his ranking in recent weeks. Went from around 90 to 130. It’s continued to drop since. It’s interesting to me that Robbie’s sitting next to Shuo Matsuoka simply because Ishyoka is part of the Marita Fund which is the owner of Sony. Mr. Marita decided that he wanted a Japanese player to beat the careerh high ranking of Shu Matsuok and they called it project whatever number Shuo got to. I think it was 49 or 47. And that was the name of the project. And it’s pretty difficult to get through that fund. You get funded to go to the IMG Academy, but you have goals every year that are fairly tough to get through from the juniors. You start as a 13-year-old. First player to get through it was Kisha and he breezed through project 49 or 47, whatever that number was. Yoshi Nishi was the second guy to get through. Project 46. Okay. I knew it was in the 40s. Hey That is a beautiful shuffle breakpoint conversion and that is what you have to do to Nishio. You can’t just it’s very difficult to just hit one shot for a clean winner. So you have to create some space eventually perhaps sneak in just exactly what you saw Tafo pull off that time. So very good start for Thafo and perhaps Lee Goodall was spot on. It’s early days. Early days, but a great start for the American. Back on what has to be his favorite court in his record here. Matching the uh the two semi-finals. One of those coming last year. Lost to Fritz in five sets. Quarterfinalist 2023, semi-finalist 2022. So, and I believe it was five sets against Alcarez as well. It was so the record speaks for itself. Francis Tia when he arrives in New York normally produces good stuff. [Music] Lee, I guess my only concern for Francis is that back issue that he he picked up in Cincinnati. And when you whenever you have back spasms or back issues, I always get concerned for a player because those can come out of left field and they can hit you out of nowhere. And I’m just wondering if he has a tough first match if this one goes a little longer than uh it would be expected how that particular injury holds up. Yep. retired against Hulgaruna in Cincy. It was round of 16 15. They’ll be keeping a BDR on those serving numbers because if you have issues with the back, I think that’s probably one of the areas where it’ll show up pretty quickly. Chances to break back. 13 14. Well, Robbie, early on he isn’t serving at the pace certainly that he’s capable of. He’s got 135 in the bag and fastest serve so far is just 117. It’s good aggression. Takes his chance and already a break in this opening set. Nishioa strikes back immediately. time. [Applause] He’s been very high in the rankings as Ishioka in the past 24 his career best which is very respectable ranking to say the least. That was 2023 has three ATP titles. Shenzen in 2018, Soul 2022, and Atlanta that title on US soul so soil just over a year ago. Another three finals alongside those three trophies. And again, similar conditions, hardcourts, Delray, Washington, and Zoohai 2023. I think that’s the way Thapo is going to have to play. He’s going to have to not allow Nisha to breathe. And the longer the rally, the more Nishioa is going to enjoy things. I think that’s what he said in his pre-match interview, if I was listening properly, that he wants to keep a lot of balls in play. keep the ball going and eventually wear down Thafo. Love her teeth. [Applause] Staying fit has been the main challenge for Nishio of late. Jimmy referred to number of retirements this season. It’s been a worrying trend for service. How many have there been in the end? Because literally every time I look at scores, I see, oh, Yoshi started but didn’t finish. Five retirements and a walkover. Wow. This year. And they all came in a bunch as well. over a good period. The first one coming in Dallas when he beat Thafo in the round of 16, retired against Casper Rude in the the quarters down in Texas and then retirement in Miami retirement Roland Garos. Another one in Stoutgart. Actually, another one at the Birmingham Challenger as well. That was in between Ron Garrison and Stogart on the grass and he’s hardly won any matches since Dallas that that quarterfinal run the week he beat Thafo. Obviously dealing with physical problems initially and then when you finally get back to full health, it takes a while to get back to match toughness, doesn’t it? Especially for a player like Nishoku who who has to work the point. He’s got to win rallies, long tough rallies. He’s not getting three points on a serve. And if I’m Thafo, I do a little bit more of that second serve. He is so good, Francis, at that return and coming forward. Covers the net beautifully. He’s got great feel when he gets there. This one was interesting because you can see that he wasn’t sure where to take it. He shuffled around for a minute whether to take it in the air or let it bounce. Breakpoint chances coming thick and fast. Yes. Finished 121 miles an hour for Yoshi. Yeah, that feels faster than the the foster serve that Francis has delivered. Yeah, as you were alluding to, Jimmy, he’s a huge server. 57 Yoshi Nishioa. He should be just spinning more first serves in. He’s only gotten five first serves in. Yeah, I was having a look at that record of Nishio. Nishio. He’s only won two out of the last 16 matches that he’s played and his last seven losses have all been in straight sets. So, got to hope he is healthy at the very least even though he might not have those reps under his belt as far as wins are concerned use. He’s been dealing with two injuries. the left shoulder which you mentioned that kept him out of Dallas, Miami, Madrid and then after that Paris and Birmingham it’s it’s been the back as well and his glute advantage. You just wonder Jimmy after all those reps and all the amount of running that he’s done over 29 years if the body is just starting to break down. I mean, there’s no question that it has this year and hopefully he’s gotten past it right now. I, as I said, I spoke to. Good stuff from Yoshi there. That’s the serve he should be utilizing more often. Just spin it in, but get Francis out of the court to start the point. Two games over it. His friend did tell me his body does feel good right now. He’s not feeling injured. The problem is he’s not hitting the ball in that often. He’s making a lot of errors. Good news and bad news. Quick reminder to download the US Open app. Follow your favorite players track schools and stats. Watch the match highlights. Player news on there as well. Watch live 3D views of all singles matches available in the Apple App Store, Google Play Store. Tuesday schedule on there as well. 15 level. [Applause] Yeah, some heavy defeats as Robbie was referring to recently for Nishio. All in straits. Kabali beats him in Washington. Ethan Quinn in Toronto. Terrence Atman the French sensation in Cincy who made the semis on him. Come on. Lost his first match at a challenger in SA and played Winston Salem last week. Lost to Grania Buster 11 and three. So it doesn’t bring a lot of form into this final major [Applause] 141. [Music] Rob, do you think there is a back thing? Because that was a return that Francis just let go and his serve is only, as I said, 17. Absolutely. I couldn’t agree with you more, Jimmy. The serve is definitely doesn’t have the pop that we’re used to seeing from courtside here. There we go. That’s the first one he’s given a good nudge to. He heard you said, “Oh yeah, take a look at this.” Even though it’s 130. Yeah, you could hear it. [Applause] 4030. I’ve only ever had one back issue and it came out of nowhere and I could not believe how annoying it was. Everything you do is affected by uh your lower back, everything. And whilst you can get relief quickly over the first I reckon 5 to 7 days, it does linger guys. Yeah, no question. But it doesn’t look So I also had it in the last about 2 months and I was not moving the way Thafo he still looks like he’s moving reasonably well. Having said that, he just went from 40 love back to deuce on his own serve. is this is feeling like the kind of match that Tafo struggles with Nishio. This looks a little bit like Dallas. I called that match. So I I remember seeing it and he was in control early. Slowly the points got a little longer and a little longer and he started making more and more unforced errors and was struggling to figure out how to hit winners against Nishioa. Shioka’s wanting second serve here. Yep. That’s the kind of point that Thafo has trouble with against Nishio. He starts flipping up lefty top spin high and deep. 20 shot rally and as the score gets tight, Thafo is a little You can’t take it off the line. Reluctant to go for too much and eventually he still makes the error. So, great chance for Nishioa. And sitting where I am just behind the umpire’s chair, you get such a great view of that arc that you’re talking about, Jimmy. And it is significantly higher over the net than TFO’s ball strike. fights off the danger for now. First serve numbers are down as well for use Thafo 45% for his first serve so far without trying to hit it that big. That’s the strange thing if you’re if you’re taking something off if you see it. The Tafo coaching David Wit on the left, Jordi Aranada next to him. Yes, it’s a beauty. Tell you what, that thing had horsepower, gentlemen. It’s funny because Nishio is not confident with his forehand. He hates his forehand, but he roasted that one beautifully down the line. Well, if that’s the case, Jimmy, that’ll be a confidence infusing shot. Oh, he’s just put it long. Good anticipation to cover the forehand corner, but couldn’t quite control the pass this time. Hey, so what? Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter. Here we go. You can see Tafa’s already talking to himself a little bit is where are the openings here? How do I break down the defense? some concerned looks in the Thafo box. Yeah, it’s been a tough 25 minutes so far. And I tell you what, he’s very tight on the clock, gentlemen. Very tight. Warning. Yeah, he stopped though. He did, Jimmy. I looked behind. I was I was at the line. I pointed at a flat. I told That’s why he looked back. I pointed at a FL. Yeah. a flash. I was like I didn’t lift my hand up and turn off the flash. He turned back as well. Wow. I Yeah, he he checks. I literally I literally looked up. That’s why he looked back. Francis, when you were there? At 5. I did it at 5. You didn’t do it at five. I did it at five. I was there at the line. I I looked back then. Yeah. 3 2 1 But I literally pointed back and he and he turned around. What do you mean you don’t know? He’s sitting there like literally telling you what happened. How take it back. Okay. For me, you were How do you not take it? How do you not take it back? He’s open to you. What happened? I understand that. But well, obviously you don’t. You still give me a I’m trying to explain. Okay. I mean, Lee, I did not see anything going on behind Nishio. Now, I don’t know if Nishio is trying to help out his friend by saying he heard something behind him, but I certainly didn’t see anything and I was looking for it because I was watching the clock at the same time. So, are you saying that Francis pointed to nothing a little extra 5 seconds? Absolutely. Hey, look over there. Well, he didn’t get away with it, but Nishoka was sort of saying yes, wasn’t he? Was agreeing with Tafo. Mhm. He could have gone with that play. Yeah. Just throw up the Oh, sorry. That toss [Music] a satisfying response from Thafo after the frustration of the time violation. A fascinating opening half hour or so inside Arthur Stadium. tower all summer and then give me potent not a point but a first serve in the tie break away from him and this court is big as you guys well know so to go and wipe yourself down with the towel in the corner and then come back you got to cover some serious acreage time it’s huge isn’t it yeah Robbie controversy is following you around have you recovered from the the med bonsi drama yet better than bruised [Laughter] Yeah, that was uh that was pretty bizarre. I’ve never seen anything like that before. Was Robbie the cameraman that walked out? That was my doppelganger. Okay, it was remarkable, wasn’t it? A remarkable 10 minutes. Remarkable result in the end. Many, I suppose, feeling justice was done with a win for Benjamin Bonsi after five sets of drama last night. That was inside. Arm Armstrong still on serve. 2-3. Well, I get the feeling TFO is already half a step quicker. since that incident. Yeah, he’s played three of his best points since. If you’re Ishyoka, maybe you should have said, “Look, it take away the warning. I don’t want it.” I mean, that’s the play to me. If you’re Nishioa over and over and over, as good as Thiago’s backhand return is, it still allows such nice space to hit the next ball too. 1530. slightly different feel to Tafo’s prep I suppose would be the words the form coming into the US hardcourt summer this year normally generally speaking struggles to win matches is on the European clay but does well on the grass. It was the other way round this year with a run to the quarterfinals at Royal and Garas that surprised everybody. He made the last date without dropping a set, didn’t he? In Paris, which was one of the surprise runs. Tapo is an interesting player when you if you’re a fan of his, you watch his matches and there’s always brilliance within the match, but then often things can get complicated. He it’s almost as if he finds ways to to not win. There’s ups and downs throughout and it seems normally when he comes to New York, he tempers those downs. get the sense. Why isn’t this the whole year, this level? Oh, very nice. Lovely exchange. So, Jimmy, what do you put it down to then? for it’s hard for me to answer that question because I feel as though he needs the atmosphere of a major or the crowd being as excited as they are here or at really any major. I think that’s when he’ll normally bring his best. But crowds are pretty good in the thousands and he still finds ways to to not quite play at the level we’ve seen certainly that he’s shown at the US Open the last four or five years. Mhm. 15. Love. There we go. This makes a completely different sound. Yeah. second serves is often Thafo’s second serve is a slow roller. He just spins it in with a little bit of kick depending on where you’re standing to return. Nishioa stands in to the baseline. So it does force Thapo to go for a little more on second serves. You know, if I were Nishoka, maybe from time to time I’d back way up and expect the slow roller because when you go back there, that’s what you get. And maybe step in and see if he can get control of a point. Game tidier service game. The American Star tights opening stack continues for three on serve 4-3. Jimmy, do you think you can teach a player to concentrate well or is a lot of that just the DNA of an individual? I mean, obviously you can work on your mind as well as your your body and your game. So, yes, I’m I’m assuming you can get better at it. Um, but I do think some people are just better at concentrating. Yeah. And it’ll be more work for Thafo. [Applause] Hey, come on. Come on. Love teaming. Then go here and go forward. Still have a bit of extra time off the net court to pick his spot. 15 or Jimmy, there was another nonchase down of third shot of TFO again. I agree. I was about to say he didn’t he could have bent over at the waist to reach it and he didn’t. So if you’re N is maybe you feel try to open the court especially effective now in the court with the leftiness serve out wide and make him sprint to the forehand side and see if he isn’t willing to to bend over to reach to the to his right. There was quite a bit of tape on his back, wasn’t there? It was during the sitdown when we were discussing the time violation. So our our attention was on that matter. We’re changing his shirt at the same time. But quite a bit of heavy heavy taping on the TFO back. 154. [Applause] Chances to pounce at just the right moment for Thafo. 30 40 may have missed that when it came off the strings, but it must have just caught a piece of the line. Yeah, leads by five against three%. There’s the breakthrough. Create your own energy. Create your own energy. Tell you the spin control on that final four. was gorgeous because he was so far up the court Lee and he had to get it up and down pretty quickly. Was looking for a bit of angle so didn’t have a lot of space to work with but clipped it magnificently. Chance to serve out this first set. Of course, just to go back to the uh time violation, if he does overstep the mark again in terms of the uh the time allowed between points, then he would lose a first serve. Love 15. [Applause] very outside edge of the line. That return is caught. Look at that. Maybe three or four millimeters. But what happens if it happens a third time, Lee? keep losing first serves, right? That’s right. Yeah. It’s never keep attacking. And you can actually, we don’t see it very often, do we? But you can be called up for a time violation on return as well if you’re deemed to be holding up the serve. I mean, Djokovic was close to that last night a couple of times holding up the server 305. We had a classic case of that during qualifying with Hugo Griier and Gomez of Argentina, but Gineier was trying to fost serve him, which of course is not allowed. Maybe they should allow that. That’ be a lot of fun. Got a guy way in the corner. You can sprint to the line. Jimmy 1435. that time on the speed gun. Yeah. I don’t know if the back is loosening up, but all of a sudden in the last two service games, he’s brought the heat. Mhm. [Music] [Applause] Issoka you don’t think of you think of him as a defender really 5′ seven moves really well lifts a lot of forehands but he defends without backing up too much he can defend close to the baseline and so if you leave something short it on the rise and take time away he’s done it twice in this game off second serves where he’s really one clean winner and then that last one that was attacking and cause trouble. He’s getting another look at a second serve. Rack it goes this time. Frustration building. Another set point for TFO. can get quite emotional, kind of Yoshi, from time to time. Well, he did exactly what he said in the pre-match that he didn’t want to do. He wants to keep the ball going, and there is no reason to try to hit that one flat and hard from where he was in the court. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] That is one of the best corners he said to wrap up the opening set. 45 minutes of action. The opener goes the way of Francis Thafo. Six games to three. Opening match here at the US Open 15. 30-15 would have seen Nishio getting frustrated towards the end of that first set. So, we’ll know that now’s the time to try to keep his foot on his opponent. Great dig. One more ball back into play. Yeah, that was the dig that we haven’t really been seeing running to the forehand. So, good sign. Hold [Music] on. Well, the longer rallies of this match so far, 49 minutes of play, 4030. I do think that that’s Nishioa should be hitting more of those high loopy forehands in my mind with some depth and almost tempt Thafo to let’s see you hit a winner from this shot from this depth in the court game. First game, second set. What’s it like, Robbie, to sit at the I mean, you are court level, aren’t you, there? One of the best seats in the house inside Arresh Stadium. For those maybe are new to our sport, maybe unfamiliar with this stadium, it is mindbogglingly large, isn’t it? compared to normal tennis stadiums around the world. Lee, I think the thing that hits you first is how much is going on in and around the court. There is so much activity. You know, I’ve got a RF camera guy in front of me. Then I’ve got a cable basher next to him. Then you’ve got the bull kids that are always doing their things on the change of ends. security comes out. You got the cameraman. It’s in one corner of the court and every change of ends there always seems to be. There always seems to be half a dozen people that need to do things between the change of events. And then of course there’s this constant hum that sometimes I don’t think we pick up on the on the courtside microphones because we just get so used to it. But you you’re a lot more aware of it here. Have you been inside that stadium in a match where the crowd is there is no hum? Because you’re right there is this constant you you can hear it. Has there been a match so compelling that the crowd actually stopped talking amongst themselves? I just think the hum gets a little louder, Jimmy, in this place. It’s extraordinary, isn’t it? And I wouldn’t normally ask you, Rob, you know, you’re familiar with tennis stadiums around the world. You’ve been in the sport years and years and years, but it’s a one-off this place, isn’t it? Isn’t it just And that’s what I love about the majors is how different they are. But but the energy inside this place when it starts to hop, it’s and that’s what Francis feeds off. You mentioned it already, Jimmy. Wimbledon’s very quiet and I think a lot of that as well is to do with the playing surface because of course, you know, the grass absorbs a lot of sound. Um but it’s noticeably different, very different uh type of spectator as well. And I mean that from a cultural point of view, you know, the English fans are are generally more reserved if you compare them to say a New Yorker. And again, I think that’s the great part about visiting the different majors is the different experiences they give you. So what right here? Yeah, the French fans have a a different kind of appreciation of the sport, don’t they? As well when there particularly when they’re supporting their own players. It can get wild in Paris at times. For Italico is pretty lively as well, isn’t it? The the Italians are playing. Well, it can get there. What I like here is back in the day, perhaps because there were so many Americans that were top players and winning titles and winning majors, the crowd wasn’t as allin for the Americans as they seem to be now in New York. There’s no question that the crowd will be for Francis in this entire match. It’s about this time now that we cue Jimmy Eris’s forotico story. Jimmy, this is about time we do not. I was thinking the same, Rob. I know. That’s why you brought it up and I tried to turn it around to how there Americans are supporting Americans now. Rome champion. Let’s just leave it there. That’s all we need. Don’t talk about the next year. And by the way, the Pyink King National Tennis Center to undergo an 800 million dollar redevelopment over the next couple of years. We’re excited to see where that takes us. Some of that work has already started inside Arthur Stadium, we’ve been told over the last few days. give this famous court a new look and some upgrade some of the player facilities as well. The the lower bowl will be increased. The tiers the two level of two tier level of suites should I say will be moved up in this stadium as well. bigger footprint for the the fans at the top of the stadium in terms of food and drink facilities, restrooms, that sort of thing. Take place over three phases over the next few years, completed by 2027. 40 to There you go. Oh, come on. That’s the problem of not having a big serve, isn’t it? You get 40 Love up and it’s still you got to you need one more point to win and it’s two great returns in a row from Thafo and suddenly from 40 Love a little bit of pressure leads by two against one. Starting to establish himself early in this second but trails by a set. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Applause] 7:00 local time to play Karolina Mukova the number 11 seed and Raleigh Pelka faces Carlos Alcarez in the last match on the main show quarter in New York day two of main draw action. H love 15. Let’s go Paul. 11th visit to the US Open for Francis Tafo. [Music] This feels a little bit like the match they played earlier this year in Dallas. First set Thafo just a little too much. won at 6-3. Hung around in set two and then got a a break on a loose game from Thafo. Just handed a break over and all of a sudden things got very tricky. That’s why you see how frustrated Mishoka is. He can feel this could be a chance for him to turn this momentum around. Get [Applause] the last 16 at two majors. There’s Australia and Paris. Well, one thing both these guys have is a very deep skill. skill set. They’ve got great feel. They can defend well. They can attack well. It’s always nice to see players being able to finish off at the net. Just adds a different dynamic and straight away you can you can hear the appreciation from the fans that they’ve seen something different. Those soft skills are are well respected. Now, that was a nice vision of when it hit his racket. It actually his bracket went backwards taking off the pace. [Music] And the break of serve [Applause] could have done a little bit better with the volley. Second set. And as you were sensing, Jimmy Nishio in business in this second set. Yeah. had that feel. Now, the problem for Nishio is a couple things. One, he hasn’t been playing particularly well. So, he hasn’t been winning a lot of matches. That’s not ideal. And now also, he doesn’t get so many free points with the serve. So, he’s going to have to still win four points. Feeling a little nervous. You’ve seen the US Open graphic just pop up quickly. Just a reminder that you can head to usopen.org. That’s our online home for all the pointby-point live scoring across all the match courts. Of course, highlights on their realtime stats, match reports, previews, all the draws and schedules. It’s the official tournament website, usopen.org. Hey, love 13. [Applause] Bobby, can you tell what Nishka’s complaining about? Just the score that he’s Yes. Yeah. Yeah. The fact that he’s just broken and now he’s down love 30. And because of that anger, he threw that point away. Love. If you were a good friend of his, you would explain to him that he is up 3-1 in this set. So, he still has a lead. There’s no reason to get quite that dejected yet. He’s not happy that first serve has missed by a couple of mil either. Immediate [Applause] response from the American furious down the far end. Believe he’s relinquished that lead, that advantage so quickly. 3-2. I mean, that was remarkably. Here we go, folks. Let’s go. Get back to competing. How to even But Robbie, I don’t know what you think, but to me, one of the things that makes Nishioa difficult is that you feel as though you have to hit so many great shots. shots to win a point. And when he shows you that he’s dejected, that just takes away a lot of what makes him difficult. No, it’s an excellent point, Jimmy. He’s got to be a better competitor than you. That’s anyone under 57 better compete really well. Yeah, it’s a better point back behind the American to get him off balance. 15. Robbie and I are speaking with experience about the whole lack of height thing. Vertically challenged. Yeah, I still can’t believe how big some of these guys are when when we walk around uh some of these areas where we see the players. I’m I’m Bob smacked. Well, the the one the WTA players are also Yes. [Music] But at the same time, isn’t it great that it’s a sport where you know, regardless of maybe your physical attributes, there’s a way, isn’t there, of figuring things out. Plenty of still, you’re right, it is getting it’s getting harder intensity right now. Pick up your intensity. I remember doing matches with you, Robbie, over the years, you know, admiring someone like a golf fan. I know you were a big fan of fellow golf, weren’t you? How he played the sport, took the ball early, taking time away from opponents. Well, moving so smoothly, Ganon used to float around the court, didn’t he, in his prime? [Applause] Oh yes. Point of the match. Ti comes to life. Go. Go. Yeah, that brought the crowd into this and it should. I mean, incredible stuff. I thought he was in trouble right here. Didn’t think he’d get out of this point. Good backhand overhead, but now he’s even more in trouble. No man’s land. Half volley. Good approach. [Applause] Not good enough. And then Nishoka again with the response of forget it. I’m done. So point for three all after that spectacular pass. That return is going to improve the Japanese players mood. Three games second. Yeah, shake of the head. Three a piece. Yeah, T has got great handing skills. And just to get back to the discussion point about voling, Jimmy, it drives me mad when coaches always bang on about you got to stick the volley this, you got to stick the volley that. In fact, most volleys, the skill in voling is your ability to take pace off of the ball because you are so much closer to the net. It’s all about depth control. And I think that’s such a misnomer with coaching. Obviously, when the ball is is high, that’s a little different. But even then, sometimes you’re carving around the side of the ball to to create angle. And uh just for people listening at home, they must remember that voling isn’t always about sticking the ball. In fact, very rarely. No, you lose the point when you stick the volley more often than not because today’s players move so well and they’re going to get to that deep volley. That was an interesting move from Nishioa. Drop the racket in anger, pick it up quickly, and serve an ace. I mean, this is a player in crisis in some ways, Nishoka. It’s three all, but he’s capitulating because he had a break lead and lost serve quickly at Love right after having secured the break. Four Tfo will be sensing this. He gets a break here. 1540. Just get it done for the day. Just seems that sort of mood shioa feeling of deja vu after all the the straight sets defeats of late. Maybe his bot should yell down to him. Don’t feel so bad. I think it’s worst case scenario, you’re going to make $110,000 today. It’s a good day. Something to brighten his mood a little. Well, an extra aggressive Mishioa those two points and he pulled off both. Okay. Sensational forehand. That’s got to be his best end of range shot so far, gentlemen. Yeah, that one and the one on set point in the first. He hit similar forehand on the run. Deuce. right back. Here we go. This actually turning into a very important moment because you get the sense if Nishoka gets out of this game having saved the break points that a little positivity could come back. And you get the sense if he doesn’t save this game, it will be negative city for a while. It’s a good point. Good stuff. Just in time from Nishio. Robbie, it’s difficult from where I’m standing to get the sense of pace of shot. Is Nishoka’s ground strokes just as big as Tafa when they’re in those rallies? I would say the average ball probably Tafa’s got maybe a few more miles per hour on his forehand. Yoshi tends to use more height on his forehand. Backhand’s pretty even. It’s well done. game negotiates a tricky period there. New balls, please. He ended that game with five or six spectacular points. This is the point of the match so far. This is the one where the crowd got loud enough to create a few goosebumps. [Music] [Music] [Music] It’s a fabulous picture, isn’t it? The response bringing some fans inside Ash to their feet. love to go there to watch the concert. I’m a massive fan of Chris Martin. I think the band’s incredible on serve. Midway through the second Tafo upper set going according to plan so far for the two-time semi-finalist here in New York. One thing I will say when you’re playing Yoshi Nishioa is you don’t want to be serving late in a set where you’re needing to hold because he does bring some tremendous skill to his return game. Especially in this situation where Tafo feels as though he probably should be up a break at this point. [Music] That was a big forehand. But of course, when you speak about the the pace of ground strokes, Jimmy, we’ve also got to remind folks at home where the opponent hits the ground stroke from is so important because Nishoka might not hit it as hard, but if he hits it early, it’s still as effective, right? Still takes the same amount of time as a bigger shot from further back. Yes. 1530. Got to see this as a great opportunity. Remember Nisheka was up a break already in this set. TFO pegged him back. Work to do here. 1530. That was a much needed second serve point.1 by the American in this set. That’s been one of the problem areas. Just three of 12 is one in this second and he had to come up with a pretty good shot here. Well, there was a little room crosscourt. And boy, Tafa does have great control of his backhand. That was almost no back swing. 40. Very good behind the first serve though. in their second set. 11 of 13. He’s won. [Music] [Music] Game Chapo, four games, second set. So, an important period about to unfold. Certainly would seem to be a a huge task for Nishio if he goes down two sets to love given the recent form he’s been in and to a degree the mood he’s in today. 15 minutes. Bobby, was that another move where he looked a little bit stiff, Tafo, or was it just a good forehand? Hard for me to tell. I got blocked by the cable basher that’s sitting right in front of me at the end of range there. I was I was looking but um had a restricted view on that one. Did you get a a reduction on the ticket price for that, Robert? Yeah. She seat two rows up again. 30 love. A winner return from Thafo. And Ishoka throws his hands up in disgust. He’s still up 305 in this game serving. did the good thing by going to the towel and trying to calm himself down and hit a pretty good serve. 14 15 game that was more comfortable service games before second a game away from this second set 5-4. Well, despite his inner struggles, he’s put himself in a decent position. He’s sticking around in this second set. Created a bit of pressure. See how Thafo deals with that in a few moments. Get a look at some second serves as the numbers were suggesting. Then he could be in business. Tafa miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss miss misses a few first deliveries which can happen when you’re feeling the pressure that’s why I said serving to stay in a set against Nishio is not going to be a comfortable feeling for Thafo Time. So all eyes on the number 17 seed Francis Thafo inside Arthur Stadium as this second set approaches a conclusion has to hold here. Let’s keep an eye on number of first serves in play in this game but we missed by a long long way. 15. Not the return Nio was looking for. No. Off a fairly slow second serve at 79 miles an hour. Just that was one of the Tiapo rollers. [Music] And again, just 81 milesPH is a little too close in for you to throw up that type of nothing serve. He’s going to hit an angle. Maybe that’s why he’s only winning 28% of the second serve points. Concern on the face of David Witz. Chance this second set might slip through his fingers here. 30 15 [Applause] the first serves just in time. Go. 40. for the score. We’ve lost a little starch right now as Mishoka looks so negative. David Whit looking on. He’s always fairly pokerfaced. game. Careful. There we go. Keep the attention. Keep the attention. This game attacks. You got keep the intensity. Attack. Attack. We’ll see if Tafa can get the intensity up for this game. Five a piece. Second set to go for upper set. Beautiful shape to that forehand. 15. Just to give the folks at home an idea of the different shapes to these forehands. Nishio’s on average is 45 in over the net. It’s got a beautifully big rainbow shape to it. Ground strokes of Tafa a lot flatter and a lot less net clearance. The forehand for Tafa on average is about 29 in. Remember 45 for Nishioa, just 29 for Tafa. So not quite twice the height over the net, but not far away from it. Nicely done. That was uh some serious height on the lob, but watched it carefully. I mean, good combination of height and depth from Thafo able to hit almost a kick overhead from behind the baseline. And here’s another slight opening for Thafo. There is not a lot you can do if keeps hitting that spot on the serve, you are in trouble because even if Tafa gets that ball over, Mishok is going to take it early and have so much space to hit that next ball into 14. [Applause] And he gets the pace just bang on, doesn’t he? With that slider out wide, it’s not too quick. You don’t want it to be too fast. Yeah, I think that’s one of the problems with most of today’s players. They try to go big that one out wide game. Very good service game. Stays on track deep in this secondary tennis academy. You play shirtless there back in the day. So, and I’m sure Francis wouldn’t mind that. I think Robbie was telling us he’s hoping for sleeveless shirt. Maybe that’s coming the second week because whenever we’ve seen Francis play well, he’s broken up the sleeveless shirts. Stevie Johnson was big on that. He’s putting in a petition to uh show the guns. Yes, we want guns. 15 up. Of course, a lot of players wearing sleeves as well. Francis, another one. Yoshi’s got one. 13. [Applause] Milos Ric started off uh the trend and it had its own Twitter handle, didn’t it? Believe in the sleeve. I was just just about to say the same thing, Rob. Yeah. Thursday 15 bit tougher going over the higher part of the net with that flat backand to be careful here. These games can get complicated very quickly. It’s yoga lurking here. Double fault. Third, first of the match. It’s come at a bad time. [Applause] Let’s for service. Beautiful combination from Thafo that time when he needed. This is a safer serve. And as Robbie said, he took the pace off. Just 101 mph, but got the width. That was a strange looking overhead that I actually think was harder to hit almost. It’s a nice pace off the backand that time just to stay in the game. Yes. Tafa’s allowed Nishio, who was so negative in the middle stage of this second set, to to become positive. He’s fist pumping now, and that could come back to haunt Francis. You get the sense he needs a couple of nice first serves to get out of this game. Probably shouldn’t have hit that serve. The toss was way out to the right. Oh, lovely finish. Took control of the point superbly. And he could be about to steal this set. Did not lick on, did it, 20 minutes ago when he was moaning and groaning out here. 3-1 up. Gets down love 30 and starts throwing his hands up in the air. But somehow he’s managed to regain some positivity and he’s gotten himself a set point. [Music] Tho survives again. Initiates on the ball. He He wants to keep it out of his hand in case there’s some damage to it. And again such from being excited Nishio to complete dejection in the middle of in the just a couple of points because a very slow walk now to Thafo’s at for that was wild. Thafo survives, saving a set point along the way. So into a breaker we go. Six games. Second set tie break. I always say whoever invented the scoring system in our sport is either complete genius or the devil in disguise because the the amount of momentum that can shift in the space of a few points. I’m not sure there’s many sports like it that certainly don’t have a scoring system like it. It sends you on that emotional roller coaster. [Music] Now, you said earlier, believe in the sleeve. I I get a sense that Nishio, if he loses his tiebreak, will need a sleeve for his head. to keep it from absolutely exploding. He’s gotten down a mini break after just having a set point a couple of seconds ago. And that almost looked a disinterested looking return from him. I’m going to give him a let off there. What’s happened is he’s been caught out by the lack of pace on that first serve, Jimmy. Okay. He’s he’s gone to chip it, but the ball wasn’t there. Just 103 mph. Let’s first service. I don’t know if you’re seeing anything on your TV screens, but the ball toss of Tafa seems to be getting way forward to me, more so than the start of the match. And actually, a couple times to the right, further to the right than it is. No, that one for Well, Robbie, you’re on the court. Chapo saying that serve cleared by a foot. What was your eyes and ears telling you? I tell you what, I wouldn’t want to argue with Eva as the Rockima. She She doesn’t miss much. I don’t know if you want to argue with Tafo either. 3 serve. One of his biggest 135 that was his biggest of the match. Come at a good time. 3-0 31. And just a reminder that at the majors they do not use a a net machine to detect a let. They only do that at the ATP level. All the majors, no net machine. 32. Maybe remember that little sequence if somehow Nishioa gets through this tie break cuz three love down looking dejected and two missed returns from Thafo. He was going aggressive with them. But the sense keep track of your opponent. Three straight errors. You can’t be helping Nishio at this point. He’s wanting to melt down. He’s ready to melt down. You got to let him melt. Bringing him back to life. Here we go. Right now. Attack. Attack. [Applause] Oh, what a combo. What a return of serve that was. And all of a sudden, he’s come back to life. Stay in it. Stay in it. I mean, as I said, remember those three points, those three straight first shot errors, and then there’s some of the brilliance that Nishioa can come up with. I don’t That was the best angle return I think I’ve ever seen. So, with the mini break now, four points in a row, serving at 4-3. That’s a good approach. That was so old school. Just got some nice purchase when he made contact with the ball. Had some good bites on it. And Thafo does cover the net well. His anticipation is good. His athleticism is is good. So it looks like there’s not a lot of room and told you that sleeve is needed for Mishio. He’s up and down within each point. Oh no. That could be the final the final blow mentally. It’s going to fry his brain, isn’t it? Aggressive right now. One of the most straightforward forehands he’s had today. Such an important moment. Yeah. I don’t know if you’re Thafo. His team just told him be aggressive. I I’m more of the feel of put it in three times. [Music] Tend to agree. Yeah. After that miss. Five. Paul, [Applause] get it. You’re all right. Saska. Come on. Five a piece. Move. this time playing a slightly more aggressive tennis and it paid off. 65 and now another chance to seal this second set. It’s been a tiebreak that’s gone back and forth. Been very few points one on serve and here he is serving with another set point. And if I’m Nishioa, give him the lefty slider out wide. Slow and spinning. He tried it. Now a little more trouble because you can’t be as accurate with a second serve. out. The racket’s gone again. It has been a a roller coaster of emotion this breaker. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone go from ecstatic to completely dejected in every other point, but we’ve seeing it right now. It’s It’s incredible. Oh, I tell you what, this sport will drive you crazy. I saw it firsthand again yesterday evening as well with Daniel Medvid, but he’s in a bit of a crisis as well. Two set points have come and gone. That’s how tight it’s been. Total points won in this second set. 46 to 45 in the Americans favor. Who can win a service point in this tie break? [Applause] Aggressive return from TFO this time and the trend continues. Another point against serve and now the American with a chance to win a crucial tie break you feel if he can go up two sets to love. And I think Lee, we got to give credit to Francis to how balanced he has been emotionally in this tie break. He could have got dejected. He hasn’t let that happen. [Applause] Good point. Three love up and really made it difficult those next three points. Here he is at set point serving. It’s just wise indeed. Seal the set and that could be a big breaker to win. Nishioa destroys his racket on the way back to the chair. It’s all happening by two sets. The American up two sets to love. [Music] Code violation. Raet abuse warning. Nishiotaa just became too much to handle for the Japanese player who depart. 15 left. He hasn’t won as as many matches as he would have wanted to after the Roland Garas run. That was the quarterfinal we discussed earlier in the match. It was a brief grass season although he lost to couple of good grass quarters. Dan Evans at Queens and Cam Nor at Wimbledon. Cam a former semi-finalist of course made quarters this year. No disgrace in those results to Shelton in Washington, Demanor in Toronto and retired against Runa in Cincy. So no shame in those losses either. 40 love was this time last year was coming into New York on the back of a Masters 1000 final. Made the championship match at Cincinnati 4015. I can’t help but remember that match that he played. I think it was his second round match against Museetti in Cincinnati. And for me, that’s when I saw the real turnaround in Francis. It was the best match I’d seen him play all season. And and my hopes for what might come here were kind of confirmed a couple of rounds later when he made it to the finals. But that match against Mercedi was so clean. Three and two. He won that one, Rob. That was round 32 Cy last year. Beat the hedker in three. Retirement against her catch and took out Runa in the semis. The last two well saved a couple match points against Runa in that semi. Not sure what just happened on that change over. I think there might have been a mistaken water bottle that was picked up and drunk from. So, it’s just been discarded in front of me. We’re going to grab the old racket and the water. I’m getting ready to play out there, Jimmy. Price is right. 15. Lovely. This is where to me Thafo has to have just a little more of that killer instinct because you you can see that this is dejected and you just don’t give him a point right now. You got to step on him and let him finish rolling over in this match. If you give him life, you never know. He’ll come back again. And he’s shown when he’s playing well, he is dangerous for Thafo. It’s just a gift. 40 15 Let’s press for service. Okay, one game on third set. And you’re right, Jimmy, you know, he might get away playing a loose game like that against a lower ranked player like Nishio, but you want to practice for those big matches. Yeah, that’s it. Where that intensity is always there and it’s a reminder of what needs to be done. [Music] I remember asking Gil Simone back in the day when he was top 10, which one of the big four do you have the most trouble playing against? And pretty quickly he said, I don’t like playing Nadal because I have to win four points every game to win a game. If the score is 40 lb on high serve, the other guys might go for something and maybe throw away a point or have a free point. And every game when the doll, there’s never a moment when you don’t have to earn the point. Not too many players can have that type of intensity and concentration, but that is where you want to be if you could. 305. Yeah, he’s the one that comes to mind, isn’t he? That commitment to every single point [Music] and I suppose also recognition of the score line and the situation that match management that you were talking about, you know, recognizing when your opponent’s hurting. Oh, that was ferociously swift. That was a beautiful surf. 128 on the clock. Third set. And he has the 2-1 lead in this third set. [Music] before the future. Thank you all for specifying your [Music] serve early in the third. Shoka with a mountain to climb. TFO just making sure he’s got the right racket first of all. Ball change. New balls in play. 15 love. You get the sense if you just make four returns that Nishoka might win the game by ripping four winners, but he does not at the moment want to stay in these points. He doesn’t want to grind, which is the best way really for him to play. So if you’re Thafo, get this return in. Yeah, I’m not exactly sure where the belief level is right now for Nishio that he can still win this match, but I don’t think it’s very high. No, it’s not there at all. So, you got to go ahead and keep making that belief happen for him. If you’re Thafo, don’t give him any points. That was kind of awesome. You don’t often see the sliding angle slice overhead. Different sound that one, Robbie. Oh, I thought we might have a guitarist here on court strumming those strings. Four. I wouldn’t be overly aggressive here if I’m Gapo. And if I am, go center on the return or rip it in the corner. If you’re going to make it, go ahead and go there. Pretty good outcome in the end. And a chance to break now. And you get the feeling if he does break then I think this year Spirit might go in that same direction. Yes. Caught him out there. I think he was expecting another serve out wide. That’s the beauty of being that lefty. You don’t have to serve it big, but you keep pulling him out that far. You got to respect it. And it opens up that ace. Advantage Nisha [Applause] Do you Yes. feel like in the deuce court. It’s not really Thafo’s normal spot to return from, but he should be further back just to make sure he can get some length and on the return and be in a position to defend. At court against a lefty, you can’t stand too far back. [Applause] Uhoh. Not sure what happened there, but TFO is not comfortable. Third set. We’ll keep an eye on the American. Just a very quick reminder to visit us openshop.org. That’s the official shop for the 2025 US Open merchandise. Here we go. Good start here, Jack. Here we go. Here we go. Keep attacking. Come on. [Applause] where you can pick up US Open gear and accessories for all the family. usopenshop.org. Let’s pause briefly just to see if there was any kind of discussion between Francis and the team. Now a double fault. Is that a coincidence or is something up? We will find out. He didn’t take much off. That was a big second serve attempt. Stay aggressive. For anyone who missed it, Rob, what exactly did you see at the end of that game that that gave you cause for concern? He just after he stretched for the forehand aggressively, he just he straightened out his legs and almost tried to shake out pain. You know when a person tries to Nothing wrong with that for hands or that movement. That was maybe the best we’ve seen from him. Beautiful down the line backand from Nishioa. [Music] [Applause] Francis interrupted you there, Rob, with a a piece of brilliance. And rightly so, just to show us that he’s actually okay. So, it was almost like when you when you shock yourself with a bit of pain, you try and dissipate that pain straight away. And he was straightening out his leg and banging it on the court. Okay. just to try and get rid of it. [Music] 14 15 James. A nice conclusion to game five. TFO ahead. 3-2 in this third set. still on serve in this third set. Nishioa has he’s done a pretty good job, hasn’t he? Because he was in a bad place at the end of the second mentally. He’s not allowed this match to run away from him just yet. out. 15 left. 150 all. I love when we see Francis use his athleticism in an offensive manner just like that. Good stuff. [Music] Garrett is a kid. We’re not talking about 50 explosion running from the baseline to the net, folks. We’re talking about just those first two or three steps to take the ball out the air versus letting it bounce. He’s done it beautifully there on backto-back points. Half-hearted drop shot. I was thinking earlier in this match, you don’t see hit many drop shots. We’ve seen two in this set. Both of them looked I say almost disinterested when he hit them. 304. A good one by Spice that one again in the deuce court to me. Francis should be backing up. You want to put the ball in right now at court. You can’t back up. This wide one can get you like that. Keeps letting Nishoka hang around when he almost doesn’t want to. Francis won’t let him go. No, keep fighting. Advantage Chapo. [Applause] And that could wrap this one up. That’s the break of service he’s been looking for in this third set. And it should be plain sailing from here. 15 [Music] 3 up. [Music] 40 love playing with too much stress anymore. Tho comfortable service game point from a 5-2 lead. had some good tennis behind his first serve in this set game. So five games to two third sets up shake off his opponent in this third set. I mean, does he really need to change another shirt that his opponent has gone away? Wants to look his best for that celebration. I guess that’s what it is. Poor laundry person though. Just adding to the pile. This one is not in too much doubt at this point. Yeah, I can tell you Nishio has just packed up all his laundry as if to say I’m not going to be here much longer, so I might as well clean up around my bench. Yes, let me get out of here as quickly as possible as soon as the match ends. It should be a matter of moments from what we’re seeing from Mishok. And again, to me, one of the things that makes him dangerous was the way he competed and how tough he and out he was. And for whatever reason, he’s lost a little bit of that competitive fire right now at this point in the year. And with the results that he’s been having for the last few months, time. So, as Robbie was telling us, Yoshiito Nishio’s bags are packed. Let’s see how much longer he sticks around. Training 52. 15. out. At least trying to force Thafo to serve this match out again. being helped by Thafo. Third team. Looking at Francis’s passage, potential passage through the draw. It will be Martin Darm, young American qualifier in round two. Potentially Runa in round three and Jovovic in round four. No, it’s not an easy draw. Martin Dom is one that he’s favored against. Certainly dumps just won his first ever match in a major. He’s only played one three out of five set match in his life and it was earlier today. 40 30 game leads by five to three. Heruna the number 11 seed in good shape against Vanderesans sculp who’s had good runs here and good results in the past up two sets to 11 and 4-1 on grand stand. So it looks like the the Dane will be coming through that one. Cam Nor and Jovovic’s section. Good play Novak in the third round. [Applause] 15 left. There is an opportunity there because the way Djokovic looked physically last night that he might not be quite Djokovic. I know he got through it in straight sets, but he was in set two. And if it’s Thafo that gets to Jookovic, I’d be asking, can we play in the heat of the day, please? I wish we had kept track of the number of racket tosses. None of them have been violent enough to get another warning or anything. It’s just just the one where he crashed the racket bits at the end of set two. Just under two and a half hours on the match clock. Chances to see him for Thafo. That will do it for the two-time semi finalist into round two. It was a big second set to come through. Now he wraps up a straight set victory over Nishio. 6376 63 today. I think it’s what the doctor ordered for Francis Thapo. He definitely did not need this one to become more physical than it was. It was already 2 and 1/2 hours because set two was was difficult and nasty as Nishioa sprints off the court faster than he moved for any of those serves at the end of the match. [Music] But for Francis

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