0:00

When

0:00

the world gets in the way of your music, try

0:02

the new Bose QuietComfort earbuds

0:04

too. Next Gen earbuds uniquely

0:06

tuned to the shape of your ears. They use

0:09

exclusive Bose technology that personalizes

0:11

the audio performance to fit you,

0:13

delivering the world's best noise cancellation

0:16

and powerfully immersive sound. so

0:18

you can hear and feel every detail

0:21

of the music you love. Bose QuietComfort

0:23

earbuds too. Sound shaped to you.

0:26

To learn more, visit bose dot com.

0:28

To trust your truck, you've gotta

0:30

trust your truck tires, and that's

0:32

where the Cooper DiscoverER eighty three

0:35

Family of Tire comes in. Cooper

0:37

discoverer AT34SLT

0:39

and XLT light truck tires are

0:41

made with adaptive traction technology

0:44

designed for increased handling durability

0:46

and traction even when hauling heavy

0:48

loads. So your truck's ready when you

0:50

need it. Learn more about the Cooper Discoverer

0:53

AT3 family of tires at cooper

0:55

tire dot com. Go with the Cooper's.

0:58

You probably know the Atlas Butler

1:01

phone number.

1:04

but maybe you don't know.

1:06

You can also call

1:09

For the highest quality plumbing services,

1:12

Clogged drain.

1:13

One is on the furnace.

1:15

Lakey pipe.

1:17

One is on the furnace.

1:19

Yes. The Atlas Butler phone number

1:21

says furnace. Kinda weird

1:23

for plumbing. But, hey, life is weird

1:25

sometimes.

1:27

I've seen a platypus.

1:28

The next chapter with PRIM's Rippepad

1:30

is a production of iHeartRadio. Hey,

1:32

everybody. It's PRIM. Welcome to the

1:34

next chapter presented by Baron Davis.

1:36

and

1:36

slick studios. This

1:38

week's guest is former UNC

1:40

All American and Professional Tennis

1:43

player, Nick Monroe. in

1:45

college at UNC Chapel Hill, Nick

1:47

was a rock star to say the

1:49

least. During his time there from two

1:51

thousand 204 He

1:53

played number one for the heels, earned all

1:55

American honors, all ACC status

1:58

was named UNC's senior

1:59

male student athlete of the year and

2:02

finished his collegiate career

2:04

second on the heels all

2:06

time singles wins now.

2:08

After graduating,

2:09

Nick decided to give the ATP tour a

2:12

shot and amazingly, had a

2:14

long and successful career

2:16

as a professional doubles

2:18

player. He made it to all the

2:20

grandslams and even though he never won a major,

2:23

he reached as high as thirty in

2:25

the world. Then after

2:27

nearly two decades of playing professional

2:29

tennis, Nick announced his

2:31

retirement at this year's eurozone

2:33

at the age of forty. Now,

2:35

I've actually known Nick for a very

2:38

long time since maybe we were,

2:40

I don't know, eight or ten years old. And

2:43

that's because Nick is from Oklahoma

2:45

and I was also born in Missouri,

2:47

which meant that we both grew up playing and competing

2:50

in the same junior tournaments

2:52

in the Missouri Valley section. So

2:54

basically from ten, I don't

2:56

know, all the way up to eighteen years old,

2:58

we saw each other every single year at

3:00

just about every single tournament. And

3:03

we were also both the number one

3:05

players in the Missouri Valley section at

3:07

various times and we really connected on

3:09

so many different levels. And then later,

3:12

we saw each other in college because

3:14

he went to UNC and I went

3:16

to Duke. So obviously, Nick and

3:18

I have running to each other a lot

3:20

of times over the years and have stayed

3:22

in touch. So to

3:25

see one of my old friends retire

3:27

from tennis, is

3:30

significant for me and it makes

3:32

me emotional. So

3:34

heading into this interview, What

3:37

I really wanted to know was just how

3:39

Nick has been processing his

3:41

retirement. And also if he's

3:43

given himself a time to

3:45

reflect and process this

3:48

transition. Because as we've all heard

3:50

on this show, the transition from

3:53

does not happen quickly. It

3:55

takes time. It takes time to

3:57

mow. It takes time to navigate.

4:00

It takes time to adjust.

4:03

And as you'll hear in this interview, that

4:05

was my hope of just giving

4:08

Nick the gift of having

4:10

a saved space

4:13

and some time with someone

4:16

who understands what it's like to

4:18

leave sport. to

4:20

really process this critical period

4:22

as he leaves behind his identity as a

4:24

professional tennis player and

4:26

enters this whole new chapter in his

4:28

life as now

4:29

and s pro athlete.

4:33

Hope you

4:33

enjoyed the conversation without further

4:36

ado. Here's

4:36

Nick Monroe.

4:53

Nick

5:01

just rolled

5:01

out a bed. Thank you for

5:04

taking an extensive period

5:06

of preparation for this interview. I

5:08

can see where maybe

5:11

this show or where I line

5:13

up in your life. So

5:15

thanks for having me. It's obviously

5:17

having a lay right now. So yeah,

5:19

the seven thirty AM wake up

5:21

call was, you know, for a retired man.

5:23

It's like, well, that's a little little early,

5:26

but But now, of course, you

5:28

know, obviously, for him, we've known each other since we

5:30

were,

5:30

like, eight. So I'd

5:32

love to be here with you. Yeah.

5:35

That was gonna be literally one of my first

5:37

questions for you. And it seems like retired

5:39

life is going really well because I

5:41

I know you, like, you know,

5:43

I mean, you're you're such a hard

5:45

worker. So I would imagine seven

5:47

thirty is actually not early for you,

5:49

but yes, for a retired man.

5:52

seven thirty may seem early. So it sounds

5:54

like retired life is going decently well.

5:57

Yeah. No. It's it's great. I mean, obviously, you

5:59

know, obviously,

6:00

it's it's been a weird feeling like

6:03

not getting up for practice every morning,

6:05

like at eight AM or nine AM. So that's been

6:07

a different feeling. I still

6:09

get on the court and and, obviously, and hitting

6:11

balls, you know, yesterday.

6:13

He was sitting with the guy that just starting

6:15

on the tour. So, you know, looking to get back in

6:17

in those ways and and still get on

6:19

the court, you know, every now and then right now, and

6:21

and we'll be more frequently here in probably the

6:23

next month and a half or so. But But,

6:27

yeah, just kind of in just kind of enjoying

6:29

it, but also still working with on

6:31

a lot of things, commentating and and

6:33

my tournament coming up. And so, yeah, it's

6:35

it's so busy. So

6:37

you

6:37

have a lot on your plate. And I

6:39

was it's funny because I I you

6:41

and I were texting back and forth. We've been trying

6:43

to connect for

6:46

this show and for other various

6:48

reasons. But I had Rohan, Bapana,

6:50

on -- Yeah. -- and He's obviously

6:52

still in the tour. He's a little bit older than us.

6:54

He's forty two years old. So he's been

6:57

he he's certainly a veteran. And

6:59

our conversation, because he's

7:01

still playing. Our conversation centered

7:04

around. For me, I was asking

7:06

him the question, like, does it make it

7:08

easier? to see

7:10

some of your peers, Serena

7:12

Williams, Roger Federer this year, your

7:14

name came up because you two have known each other

7:16

for a very long time. Does it make easier to

7:18

walk away from

7:18

the game. So

7:21

I'll

7:21

pose the same question for you.

7:23

Does it in any way

7:26

make it easier to see

7:28

some of your peers, especially with people

7:30

like Serena Williams and Roger Federer

7:32

walking away around the

7:34

same time.

7:35

the

7:36

No. I mean, it didn't really make an impact, you

7:38

know. I mean, obviously, it made an impact, like,

7:41

obviously, two goats of of tennis,

7:43

you know. But this was more a decision,

7:45

obviously, for me, you

7:47

know, always told myself when I retire, I

7:49

didn't wanna leave any stone

7:51

unturned. Like, I wanted to give everything I have. I

7:53

have no regrets. And and

7:55

then I felt like, you know, because there's been other

7:58

things the last two or three years that have come up, people

8:00

wanna get a coach or whatever it might be, and I was

8:02

just not in that you know, ready for

8:04

that. And then, you

8:06

know, got to the point where I said, okay, look,

8:08

ranking dropping a little bit, you know,

8:11

but also I felt

8:13

like I'd done, you know, everything I'd wanted to

8:15

do in the sport as far as all the travel and playing

8:17

all the grand slams and all that stuff. And

8:19

and was ready for for new new chapters.

8:21

So obviously, to see Serena

8:23

and Roger kind of out of nowhere,

8:26

kind of doing the same thing was

8:28

was was surprising and and

8:30

and feels kinda cool that we all kinda did at

8:32

the same time. The US opened

8:34

right after for Roger. But

8:37

but, yeah, this was more, you know,

8:39

for me and and feeling like I

8:41

was ready for ready for the next

8:43

chapter. So

8:44

how what was the decision process

8:46

like for you in in trying to

8:48

reconcile, like, okay.

8:50

It's going to be this time because you you

8:52

made the announcement at the

8:54

U. S. Open. So how did you get to that

8:56

point? I think it was

8:58

also for me, you know, I've

9:00

been dealing with some injuries in my elbow

9:02

and things like that. And so ranking had dropped to

9:04

about one fifty. And, you know

9:06

and, Dennis, as you know, you gotta

9:08

play some of the challenges at that level to

9:10

get back to the top hundred and

9:12

you know, I know I have the game and still have

9:14

the the love for it to get back there, but it

9:16

was like, okay. Do you wanna

9:19

grind another five, six months to

9:21

get back kind of in that in that top hundred

9:23

range and get back. But, you know, and

9:25

I it's willing to do that. But by the same

9:27

token, I said, look, I'm I'm

9:29

I'm enjoying the commentating. I'm ready to

9:31

start coaching another player on

9:33

tour. I'm ready to give a

9:35

lot of effort and

9:37

everything that I'm doing for my tournament coming

9:39

up. So there's a lot of things that I was

9:41

trying to do all at once. And so I was like,

9:43

okay. Let's kind of,

9:45

like, you know, just put a package,

9:47

a few other things together

9:49

and focus on the So

9:51

in

9:51

some ways, it made it maybe a

9:54

little bit easier because

9:56

you had a few other things

9:58

going on. So those other options

9:59

not emerge, including some

10:02

of your analyst work with Tennis Channel, the

10:04

coaching, the player, and also your

10:06

your tournament coming up. And had you

10:08

not had those? Would it would it

10:10

have been I think yeah. No. I understand. I

10:12

I if there were other things to focus on,

10:14

I think, you know, then it would have been much

10:16

more difficult. Right? And then -- Mhmm. -- probably

10:18

would still

10:19

be pushing and trying to keep going

10:21

for it if I didn't have other

10:24

avenues that I'm interested in. And

10:26

so I think that's that's helped a

10:28

lot to be able to, you know,

10:30

hours throughout the day, work

10:32

on these other things. So yeah,

10:35

I think it's definitely tougher if you're kinda

10:37

waking up and then you're like, oh, what am I gonna do

10:39

today? Right? And and so that makes it tougher

10:41

because then it's like, well, maybe I should just get back

10:43

on the court and and and get after it

10:45

again, which which, yeah,

10:48

luckily, right now, you know, I have I have other

10:50

avenues that I'm pursuing. So it's nice.

10:52

So what was

10:53

your last match like? Whoa.

10:57

What

10:59

do you ask that? Well, my So US Open

11:01

being my last tournament, my first

11:04

round. I was playing with Keegan Smith.

11:06

We played Martin Fooksovich and

11:08

his partner, and and my

11:10

first like, it was one of the things where

11:12

leading into it and practice and things

11:14

like that. Like, I was completely fine

11:16

and, like, everything was was I

11:18

didn't really think about it and practice setting

11:20

up to the match. And then all of a sudden, we get on the court

11:22

for that first round. And you

11:25

know, they served first, Keegan served, and then

11:27

it got brown to me. I was the fourth guy to

11:29

serve. And I know who faulted the first

11:31

three time first three point and I've done that in my

11:33

entire career. I double faulted to love

11:35

forty because I had so

11:37

many nerves and and I started

11:39

actually thinking about it. I was like, oh, man,

11:41

like, this This is, like, could be

11:43

my last match, right, thing. And so the

11:45

nerves crept in. And again, like, I

11:47

know how to make a second serve unit. I just have

11:49

to go thirty miles an hour kicker.

11:51

but the nerves are crept in. My toss was so

11:53

low. My motion was fast. And

11:55

so anyways, I I and we got broke

11:57

in. Like, I lost the game. We won next

11:59

two points, never okay to thirty forty. But,

12:02

yeah, things really

12:05

kind of came to fruition

12:07

for me, and I started thinking a lot We ended up

12:09

winning that first round, but then we

12:11

in the second round, we

12:13

lost there, and and then it was, like,

12:15

okay. you

12:18

know, I was also kind of okay at the time.

12:20

And then once I started walking off the court,

12:22

I was like, okay. Then it hit me. You

12:24

know, once I started walking off and

12:26

amongst the crowd, and then I went into

12:28

Arthur Ash for kind of players on kids.

12:30

And I went and kind of found this little

12:32

corner and just had to have a moment to

12:34

myself. So I, like, you know, wow,

12:36

this is this is it, you know. And and

12:38

so, you know, people were texting

12:40

me, where are you? Does it that's me?

12:42

And, you know, And I just didn't

12:44

even I was like, no. No. No. I, you know,

12:46

I needed at least that took an hour to

12:48

myself kind of in this corner in Arthur

12:50

Ash. Just like a little nook. and

12:52

-- Mhmm. -- you know, and and everything just

12:54

started kind of coming out and thinking

12:57

about, you know, when we were playing twelve and

12:59

under fourteen, under sixteen under just

13:01

remembering all those junior tournaments that

13:03

the college tennis, the grind, to

13:05

get to where I got. And,

13:07

you know, so it was tough but

13:09

then then appreciative as well. And I was

13:11

like, man, you you you did it. You know, you got where

13:13

you wanted to go and and, you

13:15

know, so it took me an hour to kinda

13:17

get my dealings back together and then go out and

13:19

meet the people who came to watch me and support

13:22

me. Oh my

13:24

gosh. What a

13:27

such a powerful moment. I mean, even

13:29

you just touching on

13:31

it made me emotional because

13:33

even when you're talking about it. I started having

13:35

flashbacks of us as dead

13:37

kids. I mean, we truly have known each

13:39

other. I have I don't even know, like, eight, nine,

13:41

ten years old, whatever it is.

13:43

Yeah.

13:44

the But it's

13:45

so funny because it's like,

13:47

I've never encountered this,

13:49

but bear with me

13:51

here as I make the the analogy. I

13:53

might have forward

13:53

to

13:55

to death. But you oftentimes when

13:57

you hear somebody who is confronted with a moment

14:00

of death, they kinda explain it as

14:02

a way of like they have they have,

14:04

like, a flashback of their

14:05

entire life experiences. Yeah.

14:08

And I

14:09

have made another people, another researchers,

14:12

an versus within this field have talked about,

14:14

you

14:14

know, leading sport

14:17

as a

14:17

way of it's an experience of, in

14:19

some ways, a death, at least the death of

14:21

an identity. And so when you're

14:23

talking about that, like, hour,

14:25

that's kind of it sounds like that's kind of

14:27

what happened. You were all of a sudden, you were

14:29

just, like, flooded with all these memories and

14:31

experiences and

14:32

emotions -- Yeah. -- of all the things

14:34

that you've experienced.

14:35

Yeah. I was crazy. You know, I was thinking

14:37

about you know, we grew up in the Missouri Valley. So I was

14:39

thinking about the tournaments we played in Saint

14:41

Louis and and, you know, just

14:44

all that, like, junior tournaments and I

14:46

started thinking about matches from when I was twelve

14:48

years old, fourteen years old, like, things that

14:50

I had hadn't thought about, obviously,

14:52

and forever or ever before and just

14:54

remembering all those moments. And then,

14:56

you know but

14:58

then then after forty

15:00

five minutes of thinking about all that just started

15:02

really being appreciative of everything

15:04

tennis have given me and the ability

15:06

that I got to that

15:08

spot by working as hard as I did

15:10

and and whatnot. And then, you

15:12

know, and then I was able to to to

15:14

relax a little bit to that hour, you know, went and

15:16

took a shower, went and saw the people who came to support

15:18

me and then put a smile on my

15:20

face and and it was and

15:22

then it you know, and it was fine. But, yeah, that

15:24

that that one hour was was

15:26

interesting. It it was you know, and

15:28

then it was funny because then people were like, okay.

15:30

Well, you know, they know that I'd like to work

15:32

hard in the gym and stuff, and they were like, well, don't

15:34

you know, you you still gonna do that. Right? Like, is

15:36

that type that's your identity? You know, like, working

15:39

hard and and pushing it.

15:41

I was like, yeah, man, of course. This is this

15:43

is this is me, you know. So if I

15:45

still do that, I mean, I'm still working hard in the

15:47

gym, still you know, you still wanna be fit

15:49

and and be that kind of, you know, I was

15:51

looking at athletes and when they stopped playing

15:53

a sport, sometimes they just complete they,

15:55

like, let go and don't

15:57

work and don't go to the gym and whatever. And I'm

15:59

just like, oh

15:59

man, you know, but I feel like that also

16:02

helps if you stick to your

16:04

training in a way like that not training for

16:06

tennis, but stick to your training and and

16:08

your diet and to being healthy. And

16:10

then that helps you make good decisions with

16:12

other parts of your life as well as opposed to

16:14

just kind of going through things. Howard

16:16

Bauchner: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

16:18

It's at least maintaining some

16:20

semblance

16:20

of that identity, that routine.

16:22

And routine. See, how routines is it? Or

16:25

everything. Yeah. Yeah. So

16:27

that first round doubles

16:29

match when you double faults it three

16:31

times. what

16:33

emotions came into play? And I think

16:35

this is really important. I, like, wanna give you

16:37

the space to talk about it because

16:39

as tennis players and as

16:41

athletes, there's really not

16:43

a lot of room for emotions.

16:45

Right? Like those are moments in order to

16:47

perform well, have to compartmentalize

16:49

and really push it to the side. So

16:51

what was it during

16:52

that first game that came up for you?

16:55

Well, Yeah. You know what? I I

16:57

knew that a lot of people were there to

16:59

watch me because it could be my last

17:01

match, you know. And so I

17:03

started thinking about what was going on in the

17:05

outside. I started thinking about what people

17:07

were thinking, you know, and and

17:09

they were thinking about how I was thinking

17:12

and I started many other thoughts

17:14

about what other people are thinking as opposed to

17:16

normally, you go into a match, you know. k. I'm

17:18

gonna surf here. I'm gonna volunteer. I'm

17:20

gonna, you know, you have your your

17:22

plays and your patterns, but I completely lost

17:24

all of those who was thinking about what other

17:26

people were thinking. And then at one point, like,

17:28

oh, man, this could be it. And and so I

17:30

wasn't focused on on the x

17:32

as a nose, which is which is what

17:35

you, you know, you need to be focused on as a tennis player

17:37

and how you're gonna win that point and how you're gonna get

17:39

your partner in the right position. all that

17:41

kind of stuff. So yeah.

17:43

But those were those were the emotions. It was

17:45

just kind of like I saw my college coach

17:47

there and Sam Paul and and

17:49

Trip Phillips from North Carolina and,

17:51

you know, just just was, like,

17:53

thinking about what what was on their mind,

17:55

you know. you know,

17:57

so basically yeah. I

17:59

mean, that that that was it for me, you

18:01

know. But but, yeah,

18:03

it was It was

18:07

I really don't love this three times, but then I

18:09

missed the the first serve on the next point. I was

18:11

like, oh, shit. You can't double fuck

18:13

four times. like, no way this is

18:15

happening. My second trip was, like, twenty

18:17

miles an hour in the box. I'm,

18:19

like, nice and

18:21

slow. I think they got almost with their return. It was so

18:23

slow. They they were like, oh my god. Like,

18:25

what is and I don't even

18:28

know I don't even know, you know, playing hoops take

18:30

those guys, hoopsovich, and and now I

18:32

can't remember the guy's name. But I I don't even

18:34

know if they knew that I

18:36

was retiring. I got US open, but

18:38

they were probably, like, what I mean, what is

18:40

going on? Like, they need they knew that was

18:42

very abnormal for me. Let's put it that

18:44

way. So

18:45

It's just comical. Like, it just

18:47

goes to show you, like, just

18:49

the aspect of the mental

18:51

part of especially at

18:53

the elite levels. It's like

18:56

Right. Yeah. Like, yo, you've been playing

18:58

for so long. But it's

19:00

like it has nothing to do with,

19:02

like, muscle memory. It's all in the

19:04

mind. Okay. So let's

19:06

so let's break it down a little bit further. So

19:08

you actually didn't mention any sort

19:10

of emotion or feelings. You didn't say

19:12

you were sad or angry or mad or

19:14

upset or nostalgic or

19:16

whatever cheerful but it was

19:18

the thought, the cognition, right, of like what other

19:20

people were thinking. So when you were thinking about

19:22

what other people were thinking, which by

19:24

the way, is totally normal

19:27

in and out of sports. Were

19:29

you concerned about,

19:31

like, what they thought

19:33

about your career? Did you think about their

19:35

expectations for you that day? Or

19:37

Yeah. I think it was more expectations

19:40

and and, you know,

19:42

because also, again,

19:43

without sounding in a different way. But if, like,

19:45

we were kinda supposed to win that matches we

19:47

did, but it was also, like,

19:50

okay. Well, you know, we we

19:52

gotta win this match, but also,

19:54

like, I know this could be it.

19:56

And what is everyone else? I

19:58

don't know. when is everyone else thinking? So just

20:00

yeah. The that mental aspect

20:02

of of and

20:04

and it wasn't sad. It wasn't

20:07

whatever. because you you're still in the moment of, like, you are on

20:09

the court. You I mean, we gotta play, you

20:11

know. And and so the sad

20:13

never kicked in until

20:16

after, you know, we officially lost that

20:18

second round. And then when I went to that little

20:20

corner or that stadium, But you're

20:22

when you're on the court, I mean, you don't have time

20:24

to to be sad or, you know

20:26

and that's why even leading up to it, I

20:29

never even really thought about it. Like, people were coming up

20:31

and guys knew, like, came into your last

20:33

tournament. Like, congrats out of that. And

20:35

I never at one point was,

20:37

like, sad about it. I was like, yeah. But I got work

20:39

to do, you know. And I would get on the practice

20:41

when I go to the gym, and I I was

20:43

so sick to all my routines.

20:45

So the sad part of it never came up

20:47

and got to be lost and then going to the thing. But

20:49

but it was more

20:52

the mental side

20:54

of, like, you know, yeah,

20:57

just kind of what people are

20:59

thinking and how and, you know, how should

21:01

I how was I reacting? And, you know, I was

21:03

just literally rushing Like, I mean, I

21:05

think I lost his first three points in, like, forty five seconds.

21:07

He was like, boom. Boom. I need boss.

21:09

Boom. Boom. You know, like, there was

21:11

no was no, like, taking time and

21:13

whatever. And even at Love Ford, he he comes

21:15

back and he's like, he was calling me the OG

21:17

and and he was the YG. You know?

21:19

So he's like, oh g. Why g. Got you, man. Why

21:22

g. Got you. So

21:24

it's it's people right to know Keegan Smith, but he's

21:26

one of the funniest guys you will ever meet in

21:28

your life. And so he kinda, like, maybe

21:30

laugh. And I was like, okay, man. Okay. Okay.

21:32

We got it. Yeah. We still lost the

21:34

game, but then we play, like, you know, unreal

21:37

after that. But but

21:39

but yeah. It was just getting into

21:41

that moment of, like, look, we're we're a

21:43

team. We stick together and we'll figure it

21:46

out. Yeah.

21:46

That's that's okay.

21:48

You know, it's

21:51

funny because, like, it makes sense

21:53

why that sadness didn't

21:55

really, like, emerge until

21:57

until the match was over because

22:00

when

22:00

when

22:01

we are busy and when we're focused on a task or

22:03

a job or performance, there's

22:06

really no time for emotions

22:08

because you're so

22:10

encapsulated by what needs to

22:12

get done to execute this

22:14

task. But when we

22:16

sit still, and

22:18

things get quiet and

22:20

motion stops. Like, I think

22:22

that's why it's really hard for people to

22:24

sit still. because that's when our

22:26

thoughts and emotions really start to come to their

22:28

surface because everything slows down. And we're

22:30

finally by ourselves. We're not we're not with

22:32

other people. So it just kind of like,

22:34

why you had that moment once

22:36

the match was over? Yeah. No.

22:38

For sure. And and

22:41

and know, as you said, like, I mean, I was

22:43

still leading up to it. You know,

22:45

I was going to practice seven AM

22:47

every morning and, like, you know, really sick in

22:49

my normal US open routines. Like, I like to get

22:51

in practice before everyone else because it

22:53

becomes a zoo starting at, like, nine AM.

22:56

So enrollment practice from seven to nine in the morning

22:58

and just get it done. Right? And so and

23:00

everyone's like, man, like, you're out here early, but

23:02

they knew I'm up. That's how I always work.

23:04

They're like, manager, last

23:06

tournament, like, you know, maybe, you know, you don't need to

23:08

come in. And I'm like, no. This is what I do. This

23:10

is how I work. This is whatever.

23:12

So yeah. So you

23:14

know, the motion just kinda kept going, as you

23:16

said, I mean, in the morning, you know, and then getting

23:18

massaged, and I would be commensating in the

23:20

afternoon. So I had so many things I was

23:22

doing at the US Open from

23:24

playing and compensating or whatever that there was

23:26

no time to

23:28

to think about it really, you know. So So

23:30

have you given yourself

23:32

time

23:32

to think about it since your last match

23:35

or would this probably be

23:37

the first time since that

23:40

moment that you've really

23:41

like talked and gone in-depth

23:44

through all

23:44

I'll be doing all this. Yeah.

23:46

Probably one of the first times since

23:48

that moment. Because,

23:51

again, like, even after we lost that that

23:53

second round. I mean, I went and commentated, like,

23:55

two hours later, I wouldn't commentated the match, you

23:57

know. And then the next day, I even hit

23:59

some balls in the morning with someone that went

24:02

and commentated you know, so I busy busy busy

24:04

and then, you know, and and, you know,

24:06

and, you know, and

24:08

again, when I talk about not wanting to have any

24:10

regrets, I mean, I really feel

24:12

like I've left I left it all out there, you know. I mean, I

24:14

always told myself every time I walk

24:16

on the court, I wanna feel like I've outworked

24:19

the guy who's on the up side of the

24:21

net were the two guys in double.

24:23

So that's one thing that I always kind

24:25

of made sure with my career that

24:27

I would work as hard as I can every

24:29

single day to the point of exhaustion and, you know, about

24:31

that, but that's really how I like

24:33

to feel. At the end of the day, like, I'll

24:35

run that extra sprint. I'll hit those extra serves.

24:37

I'll do all those extra things.

24:39

Like, because I truly feel that

24:41

and that, you know, it wasn't the most

24:43

talented guy at all. Like, there's so

24:45

many talented players out there. I was I

24:47

was more the guy who's just need all the reps work as hard as I

24:49

can to kind of stay where I needed

24:51

to be. And so so yeah.

24:54

So at the end of it, it was more

24:56

like okay, you know, as sad and and

24:58

all those things came in. But then I also thought,

25:00

man, like, you you know,

25:03

you did everything you

25:05

could to to be where you were,

25:07

and and you have and I have

25:09

no no

25:11

no regrets, you know, like no regrets that

25:13

I could. And and now now it's more

25:15

about giving back to the game and and

25:17

happy to to go that route as well.

25:20

Yeah. And that's that's awesome to

25:22

hear. You know, I don't It's awesome to hear

25:24

that you don't have a lot of regrets,

25:28

and that is a peaceful

25:30

feeling. Yeah. And yet, at

25:32

the same time even when somebody does

25:35

something or they walk away from something

25:37

and there's

25:37

no regrets.

25:39

it can still be hard. Like, it's okay for it

25:41

to be hard. Right? Even if there aren't

25:43

any regrets because it's the ending

25:45

of a really big chapter for

25:48

you. Yeah. Yeah. And it was funny because, I

25:50

mean, over the last four

25:51

or five years of my career, I was

25:53

asking a lot of former players. I was like, hey, man.

25:56

like, what's your biggest regret from when

25:58

you played? And they say, man, one thing

26:00

I I would say ninety nine percent of the players

26:02

said, and play as long as you can. They

26:04

were like, you get to hit a yellow ball over a

26:06

net for a living. You know, different guys

26:08

stop for marriage. They stop for

26:10

small injury that they could have come back from

26:12

or whatever it might be. And they were like, man, we I

26:14

just wish I would have played longer. You get to travel

26:17

the world, eat new people.

26:19

So ninety nine percent of the of the people

26:21

said that by the former players. And

26:23

so then I was like, okay. You know, obviously,

26:25

I knew I wanted to do that anyway.

26:27

I wanted to play as as I could, as

26:29

long as I felt comfortable, as long as I,

26:31

you know and also was at

26:33

the level that I wanna be at, and

26:36

then you know, so so I knew that. But anyway, so,

26:38

you know, that's why I played as long as I did.

26:40

And then, yeah, as you said, just

26:42

ready for next chapter. I

26:44

have

26:44

I haven't had any athlete that

26:46

really has talked about that. So

26:48

I'm actually really interested to

26:51

hear at the end

26:53

maybe who's some of those players? Maybe that will come in

26:55

with the last question because I'm gonna ask you,

26:57

like,

26:57

a good somebody that you

26:59

think would make for a good guess on

27:01

this show. If you don't mind,

27:03

I'm gonna read your social media post --

27:05

Okay. -- when you announce your retirement. Are

27:07

you okay with that? Okay.

27:11

So on your social

27:13

media post, you mentioned

27:15

this is your kind

27:17

of your goodbye very well. Hi, everyone.

27:20

This year's U. S. Open will be my eleventh

27:22

and I can't think of a better place to finish

27:24

my professional career. I

27:26

want to thank the USDA for the opportunity to

27:29

have one last bit of fire

27:31

in NYC. These last

27:33

eighteen years in tour have been some of the best

27:35

times of my life. I'd like to thank everyone

27:37

that has played with me, supported

27:38

me, and been a part of my tennis

27:41

journey. To be able to travel world

27:42

hitting a yellow ball over a napkin living

27:44

truly has been a

27:45

dream come true. I've

27:47

always told myself, I never wanted

27:49

any regrets when I stopped. So

27:51

we won't call it retirement. We'll

27:53

call it evolution. I can't wait

27:55

to continue to give back to the sport

27:58

and celebrate what has given me so much. Thanks to

27:59

all of my sponsors that have helped me travel

28:02

the world and supported my

28:04

dream. And lastly, thanks to my dad for

28:06

bringing this my life at four years

28:08

old and for being the best father and

28:10

mentor that a son could ask for.

28:12

Thanks to my mom for always being there and picking

28:14

me up when I'm down into my brother for

28:16

being the best

28:18

sidekick. Thank

28:18

you.

28:19

What's it

28:22

like to hear

28:24

that back? Definitely

28:26

emotional.

28:28

I mean, I haven't really read that

28:30

since I kind of or since I

28:32

mean, I I read it after I wrote it and just

28:34

kinda sure that that made any corrections, but haven't really

28:36

read it since then. But,

28:39

yeah, just to think

28:41

about all the people you that

28:43

that were beside me in this journey

28:46

was what stood out there when you read it

28:48

for me. because

28:50

I I couldn't have gotten luckier to

28:53

find specific

28:55

people in my life. I mean, I think I think back

28:58

it you know, that you know, when I when I

29:00

wrote that and even now, I think back at

29:02

probably the biggest angel I think I ever

29:04

had in my career was a

29:06

guy when I was twelve years old, I went to play

29:08

the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, which

29:10

started on December twenty six. It was a

29:12

national tennis tournament. And again, it's a

29:14

day after Christmas. And my dad told me,

29:17

in, like, early November, he's like, hey, we're

29:19

gonna play this tournament in Phoenix. And

29:21

I'm, like, when is it? And he's like, December twenty

29:23

six. I'm like, no. No. No. I don't I don't wanna miss

29:25

Christmas at home. I'm twelve years old. And I'm like,

29:27

I don't Yeah. And he and he said, no. No. No.

29:29

We're we're gonna go. And and so in

29:31

juniors, my dad and I, we would drive

29:33

everywhere. As you you remember, but we drive from

29:35

Oklahoma to Miami, Oklahoma to

29:37

Phoenix, Oklahoma to LA, like,

29:39

twenty hour drives, whatever it was in a minivan. I

29:41

slept in the back seat and my dad would just

29:43

drive along and wouldn't even stop. He would

29:45

just keep going. And so,

29:49

anyways, I I didn't wanna go, but we ended

29:51

up going on December twenty second through

29:53

all the way to And so I played

29:55

this tournament. And so I'm in the quarter

29:57

finals in December twenty eighth.

29:59

And planning against a guy

30:01

Dante Haynes from California And

30:03

so when I was playing Dante, we're on this old backcourt in

30:05

the quarter finals of a national tournament. Literally,

30:07

my dad watching his dad, and there

30:09

was one guy behind the

30:12

fence watching. And he was there the whole time. We played

30:14

six four in the third, three and a half hours

30:16

battle, you know, and then I lost. And so

30:18

I come up the court and I'm at

30:20

about to cry and and so

30:22

this guy Dennis walks up. And he said, hey,

30:24

man, I really enjoyed watching you

30:27

play. you know, I you a of

30:29

games, I don't know. I don't think so. Thank you. But meanwhile,

30:31

like, I'm just I'm crying now and my

30:33

dad walks up and and

30:35

and Dennis goes, you know, I I really liked

30:38

in my you guys over dinner And I'm thinking, like,

30:40

we've never we don't know this guy at all.

30:42

Never seen him before, never what and he's

30:44

literally watching behind the fence for three and a half hours,

30:46

didn't move his same spot. So

30:48

for

30:48

some reason, my

30:49

dad said, like, oh, yeah. Sure.

30:51

Let's do it. We don't

30:54

even who we don't know this

30:56

guy. So Anyways, an hour

30:57

and a half later, we end up going to this guy's

31:00

house. And he starts talking about how, you

31:02

know, yeah. Like, I really left tennis. I used

31:04

to help sponsor a player and

31:06

whatnot. Okay. Cool. I'm twelve. I don't I don't

31:08

know. So we stayed

31:10

there for a couple of hours, and then, I'm

31:12

pretty sure he kinda started following my

31:14

junior career. Like, showed up at the finals of

31:16

Easter Bowl, and I was in the finals there, and B.

31:19

Tracy Davis in the finals of the number one player

31:21

in the country. And then he came to a couple of

31:23

their junior tournaments, and I was

31:25

thinking, It's kinda cool. But, you know, he never called. He

31:27

would just show up, you know. And

31:30

and then he asked me after I

31:32

was getting ready graduate. My school, he called me. He had

31:34

my number for my dad, and he's like, hey,

31:37

you're gonna college. Right? I'm like, yeah. He's like,

31:39

well, if you graduate on time, I'll see what

31:41

I can do. And so I'm like, I

31:43

don't know what that really means, you know.

31:45

So sure enough, I I go to my

31:47

last semester of college, and then he calls me,

31:49

said, hey, are you gonna graduate on

31:51

time? And I was like and I was taking, like,

31:53

twelve hours each semester. So I was a little bit

31:55

behind. And so I was like, yeah.

31:57

I yeah. I will. And he's like,

31:59

okay. And so I literally filled up my

32:01

last semester, seventeen hours, made sure

32:04

I finished on time, and

32:06

then once I did that,

32:08

he this I sponsored me for seven

32:10

years on the tour. Mhmm. I

32:12

sponsored it. Didn't want any money

32:14

back. I didn't have to pay a dime

32:16

to him, basically, smatching me

32:18

for about a hundred grand a year.

32:20

Didn't didn't have to pay him anything. And and

32:22

it was one of those things where

32:25

he I call angel to this day

32:27

because without him as a

32:29

sponsorship, I don't know. I mean, we I wouldn't

32:31

have gone out there and tried to play, but I didn't

32:33

have any help.

32:35

You know? And, you know, how

32:37

expensive it is to to play. Right.

32:39

Expensive. So just

32:41

thinking back to twelve year old not wanting

32:43

to go to Phoenix. We end up

32:45

going, and this guy watches buying

32:47

Ben's and asks us to dinner and somehow

32:49

he'd do it. And you know, and I literally my

32:51

angel because he was just there every step

32:53

of the way, kind of, you know, popping

32:55

in and out through the junior tournaments, but then

32:57

saying, you know what? I'm gonna

32:59

help you pursue this career. And he said, look, I don't I

33:01

don't want anything in return. I just wanna see you

33:03

work hard and and and,

33:06

hopefully, one day, you'll hold up an ATV

33:08

trophy and And so then I was able to do

33:10

that four times and doubles. And and

33:12

then, actually, for three of the years, he

33:14

paid for my dad to come with me on

33:16

the tour. so we so I I was fortunate enough to

33:18

have an unreal start

33:20

or, you know, to a

33:22

professional career and not

33:24

have being able to just focus on tennis, not having to worry about finances

33:26

and whatnot. We still email every

33:28

week to this day and and,

33:30

you know, he I

33:33

was very fortunate to have him. So when

33:35

I write that post and think about all the people

33:37

who are involved, he's,

33:39

you know, after my dad, I mean, he's

33:41

number number one or number too, you know?

33:43

because without without my dad started me at four

33:45

and without this guy, I mean, I wouldn't have been

33:47

where I was, you know. And so

33:49

so that that that's emotional.

33:52

But But, yeah, you know, there's so

33:54

many people obviously in your life that help you to get

33:56

to where you need to be. My goodness.

33:58

What

33:58

a blessing? Yeah. I

33:59

mean, my question's I

34:02

don't wanna go too off track because I know we have a limited

34:04

amount of time, but mine mine immediately

34:06

was like, well, what is what does he do for a living?

34:08

Is he Bill Gates? Like, he must have an unless

34:11

but I'm not gonna go off track because I

34:13

I wouldn't. Yeah. But either

34:15

way, I mean, I

34:18

think that you know, your

34:20

post. And then when we reflect back on our

34:22

careers, it is this

34:24

weird individual sport where you're just

34:26

like, it can feel so isolating at

34:28

times. Yeah. And yet, I think along the way, I

34:30

should have done a better job. And I I think I

34:32

did, but I think it's it's so important

34:34

truly to, like, really recognize.

34:36

Like, we you wouldn't have been

34:38

able to get there without

34:40

the people around you. Yeah. And also

34:42

including your dad. And I think that was

34:44

gonna be

34:46

my next question because, you know, when I think

34:48

about you, I always think about your dad

34:50

because your dad was your coach,

34:52

right, since you're old. Four

34:54

years Yeah.

34:56

Okay. So when you say it yeah. Yeah. And so,

34:58

you know, I think that tennis

35:00

is such a unique relationship because

35:02

it's so intimate and it's so

35:05

intense And it's not

35:08

abnormal for for tennis players

35:10

to be somehow involved or

35:12

coached by you

35:14

know, a family member or a parent or

35:16

whatever. And so sometimes

35:18

when a tennis player says goodbye to

35:20

the sport, many ways

35:22

are also saying goodbye

35:24

to the people that were involved,

35:26

including their parents, or like one

35:28

aspect of that relationship. So what is that

35:30

like saying goodbye to tennis and also

35:32

knowing that that part of your relationship with

35:34

your dad is

35:36

also ending? Yeah. Again, I think when

35:37

I was playing at the US Open two in that first round

35:39

or, you know, in the second round, you know, I

35:41

looked at my dad and saw my college coach and

35:43

just realized how

35:46

many hours they've put into my career and not

35:49

wanting to not wanting to mess

35:51

it up. Right? I wanted to

35:54

wanted to perform. I wanted to bring my best. I wanted to show them that

35:56

everything they did got me

35:58

there. Right? And so now,

36:02

like, yeah. obviously, now we're not on the court every day in Austin,

36:04

Texas where I live. You know, I would always go back home.

36:06

We'd get back on the court for two hours a

36:08

day and really do

36:10

that work. But we, you know, we still

36:12

spend a lot of time together because I'll still

36:14

go to the gym now for a couple hours, and

36:16

he'll come with me to the gym. You know? So we still

36:18

have that

36:20

that bond of, like, you know, he's still gonna come with me and

36:22

we're gonna talk tennis, we're gonna talk

36:24

compensating, we're gonna talk different different

36:28

sports, and And so we still have that connection because

36:30

that's something that that we'll never

36:32

leave. Right? I mean, sure we are on the court

36:34

anymore. And luckily

36:36

for me, he is in the same city as me. He moved three years ago to Austin. been

36:38

there about eleven years. So we still have that

36:40

connection of of me as my

36:42

dad. But, you know, he was always

36:45

It was always father son and coach

36:47

player. And now, you know, it's

36:49

father son and coach ex

36:51

player and and and other things. But we, you

36:53

know, we still have a lot, obviously, in common

36:55

and then talk about it. So, you know, what

36:57

it's funny? Like, when you when you're retiring,

37:00

I was getting messages on

37:02

Instagram. Like, oh, it's it's been nice to know

37:04

you and things like that. And it's like I'm I'm not dying. Like,

37:06

I'm not I'm still gonna be around, you

37:08

know. So it is interesting to get some

37:10

of those comments from

37:12

people, like, you're always

37:14

inspiration. It was nice to know

37:16

you. And I'm like, what

37:18

does that mean? You know, like, I'm still gonna be

37:20

here. I'm still you know, and I'll still

37:22

now be on tour going into

37:24

coaching. But as far

37:26

as with my dad, I mean, we we still have a lot

37:28

that we do together and and

37:30

obviously, he's helping a lot with the tournament coming up. So so

37:32

there's a there's a lot that's happening as a family still. So

37:35

it's also recognizing that

37:36

recognizing that

37:38

you still get to be father and and son?

37:40

I I think when I, you know, when I

37:43

was thinking about your for

37:45

whatever reason, my goal like junior came to mind.

37:48

He's obviously, you know, former notar

37:50

name and NFL player and his dad

37:52

also was a big time NFL

37:54

player too. And when I had

37:56

Gola junior on the show, I replayed a moment where

37:58

they were

37:59

saying goodbye to Mike Mike

38:02

and also to to GOLIC senior.

38:04

And he started crying. Mikey started crying,

38:06

but he was, like, the good news is is, like, everybody has

38:08

to say goodbye to you, but we don't

38:10

have to. because you're always gonna be

38:12

there as our father. And when you were kinda

38:14

talking about that,

38:16

that reminded

38:16

me of your and your

38:19

your relationship with your dad,

38:21

But also, I wanna go back

38:23

to the the experience

38:26

of getting those messages

38:28

as if it was like

38:30

a funeral This is really important. I I think I've heard bits and

38:32

pieces of that, but then when you described

38:34

that, I've never really heard

38:36

anybody really talk about

38:38

like that. So what

38:40

what what were the messages? And and why

38:42

did it make or why did it sound or

38:44

or feel like a funeral? Yeah.

38:46

I mean, I I think I

38:48

think you know, it's interesting. So you get two different types of messages. Like,

38:51

you know, it it's been

38:53

an unbelievable career. Like, your next chapter is gonna be

38:55

awesome. Can't wait to

38:58

port you through it. But then also you get, like,

39:00

the messages of it's been nice to

39:02

know you. And and then just a

39:05

wording of things people are like, oh, because I'm not gonna be

39:07

on the tennis court, then I don't know what I'm doing.

39:10

Like, I don't then, like, they'll

39:12

never see me

39:14

again or who knows what I'm doing, but it's been nice to know You Like

39:16

like like like, I'm completely disappearing somewhere

39:18

just because I'm not enough,

39:21

like, a professional the provincial current

39:24

athlete. You know? It's like -- Mhmm. --

39:26

you know. So yeah.

39:28

It was interesting. Getting some of those

39:31

messages from certain people was, like, wait a second. We

39:33

can still be friends or, you know, we can

39:35

still hang out. We can still because I'm

39:37

not a fresh like,

39:39

current professional athlete. you know, we

39:42

we still have things in common. So

39:44

but again, getting those messages

39:46

and whatnot, I mean, look, we've as athletes,

39:48

we get messages all the time when you lose a match and

39:50

they're calling you names and, you know, so you

39:53

get all kinds of different messages on

39:55

Instagram especially and and

39:58

But, you know, you have to obviously, say true to yourself,

40:00

say true to what you

40:03

what your plan is and

40:05

your goals in life, and and, obviously,

40:07

for me, it was like, okay. We're given everything we have in this US open, and I'm

40:09

not worried too too worried about those

40:11

messages. But then when I dig it on the court

40:13

for that first round, you

40:16

know, different things crept in. But then I was like, okay. We gotta refocus.

40:18

So it took me -- Mhmm. -- those four games

40:20

to to refocus. But yeah.

40:23

I mean, you know, everyone's gonna have an opinion

40:25

and you have to try to block it out as

40:27

as much as you can. I think I

40:28

asked about that because, you

40:30

know, it was less about like how you were responding

40:33

or how you were processing it. But for

40:35

me, in the research that I'm doing right now,

40:37

I'm going through the PHH program and all

40:39

this other stuff. Much of my focus is about how society

40:42

and our sports

40:44

assess society and also the

40:46

personnel coaches, administrators governing

40:48

sports bodies and all those stuff

40:50

play into this picture and

40:52

and fueled this dynamic of how athletes not only

40:55

experience sport, but also how they leave

40:57

sport. And so what you were just talking

40:59

about, there is this like

41:02

that brief or that frequent

41:04

interaction on social media, even

41:06

though fans aren't doing it

41:09

in a way that with with

41:11

any sort

41:11

of, like, a mountain tent. Yeah. But it is kinda sending the message of, like,

41:13

oh, since you're no longer gonna be

41:15

a professional athlete

41:18

like peace, you're now

41:20

dying. Yeah. And also, that's, like, the sending

41:22

kind of almost, like, sending this implicit message

41:26

of, like, you were no longer going to exist in my world

41:28

because you're no longer a professional athlete,

41:30

which also implies that, like, being a

41:32

professional athlete is somehow

41:34

more important than just being

41:36

a normal human being. I

41:38

mean, I'm dissecting this and taking in all

41:40

different directions, but I'm not gonna let this

41:42

go because, like, this this kind of stuff, I

41:44

wanna highlight that because that's that's what

41:46

makes it hard for Apple to walk

41:48

away from the game because it sends that message

41:50

of, like, Oh, I'm now I'm just

41:52

not gonna be

41:52

anybody because they're really a professional athlete, you know? Yeah. Yeah. It's you know,

41:54

it's people think, oh, you're quitting.

41:56

It was nice to know you, da da

41:59

da, and you're like, No. No. No.

42:01

You know, and then wanna go they'll go follow another, you know, maybe there was a follow or

42:03

a minor, whatever. Now that we could just go follow someone

42:05

else, you know, and don't care about

42:07

the rest of your won't

42:09

care about the rest of my life or

42:12

whatever. So yeah. So it

42:14

it's interesting. It's very interesting.

42:18

you know, but again, that that's why you just have to stay focused and and

42:20

what you're doing day in and day out and

42:22

and stick to your routines, stick to your

42:26

your goals. Yeah.

42:26

Yeah. You know, I before we

42:29

kinda

42:29

shift into what's moving

42:31

forward for you, but

42:33

just like reflecting on, you know, just our

42:36

conversation in the past thirty, forty

42:38

minutes. What what does it what does

42:40

it feel like to to really, like,

42:42

process this and and talk about

42:44

your retirement and

42:46

and just talk about, like, the

42:48

things that were coming up for you.

42:50

What

42:50

did you mean? Yeah. III think more than anything.

42:52

I mean, even yesterday, like, I was on the court

42:54

meeting with a guy for two hours. He's just

42:57

starting his professional career and So

42:59

I'm helping him out. He drove from San Diego three hours

43:01

to LA to to hit, and I've known him

43:03

since he was ten years old. Now he's twenty

43:06

one. So he's going to future in

43:08

Harlingen. I set him up with my housing

43:10

that I had in Harlingen, Texas. And, you

43:12

know, so I think for me, it's more

43:14

exciting right now. You know,

43:16

III like I

43:18

loved hitting with him and helping him and

43:20

helping him grow. And and I feel

43:22

like I have a lot to give

43:24

to to athletes,

43:26

tennis players And

43:28

and so I'm just excited. Like,

43:30

I'm excited to keep pursuing the craft

43:32

of the accommodating, keep pursuing the craft

43:35

of developing players. And then also

43:37

with my tournament coming up in

43:39

November, just everything is about giving

43:41

back to

43:42

what I started at

43:43

four years old. Right?

43:46

So so it's not really,

43:48

like, sad and and and I

43:50

don't really I mean,

43:52

I think the first week or two, I was

43:54

like, wow, this is weird. Like, not waking up

43:56

in eight or whatever to go

43:58

practice. You know? now I wake up and I'm I'm

44:00

fine with it. I'm like, okay. But okay. Now I'm gonna

44:02

wake up and go to the gym for an hour and a

44:04

half and I'm still getting my work in. And

44:07

then I have all these other things that I have to Right? So

44:10

so there's no there's no real

44:12

sadness. It's just more exciting excitement

44:14

for me. So

44:16

it sounds like it's not necessarily sadness. There might be certainly some

44:18

moments of emotional. Yes. That's because there's

44:21

that depth or whatever, but there's also excitement because

44:23

you have a lot of other things

44:26

going on. So what is what would you how would you define your NeuroStar?

44:28

because I know, you know, I know you got your

44:30

tournament coming up. You you have your

44:32

analyst work with

44:34

tennis channel. you all you are

44:36

also coaching, it sounds like, or at least on the cusp of maybe a beginning

44:38

relationship. So so what is your North Star

44:40

in terms of, like, what's propelling you

44:44

forward? I mean,

44:44

look, I so I have a turn coming up in November

44:47

called the All American Cup November eleventh

44:49

through the thirteenth. So

44:52

this was an idea I came up with during COVID sitting on the couch

44:54

in twenty twenty in

44:56

April. And I was literally, we weren't

44:58

playing any tournaments as players. And so I was trying

45:00

to think

45:02

of how can we play? Like, you know, we had no

45:04

we had no direction. Like, we didn't know when we're

45:06

gonna play again. You know, everyone's talking

45:08

about now we gotta wear mask and

45:11

it's like, what? What's going on? So anyways, I

45:13

started just looking at American players, what guys

45:15

were ranked? Should we do a term at where it's

45:17

kind of like the older guys who younger

45:19

guys, and then I started looking at where

45:21

guys were born. Long story short at that time,

45:23

sixteen guys from the top one hundred, eight were born on the

45:25

West Coast, eight were born on the East Coast, and

45:27

I was like, oh, wow. We could have a little All Star game, which

45:30

obviously there's a NBA All Star MLB,

45:32

but we don't have that

45:34

for tennis. So then I was like,

45:36

man, so I got on the phone right away, called

45:38

my business partner and the tournament now Chadwick

45:40

Bird. He owns tennis ventures, which is an all

45:42

inclusive tennis vacation company. And I said, look, man,

45:44

I got this idea. Like, what do you think? And

45:46

and so yeah. So

45:48

now to see it all kinda come to fruition,

45:50

it's been awesome.

45:52

So, basically, on the east on the

45:54

west coast, we've got Taylor Fritz, Marco Deshiron, Mackie McDonald, Steve

45:56

Johnson, and Jenson Brooksby on the

45:59

west coast team. on the you've got

46:01

Isner, Tiyako, Sock, Wolf, and

46:04

Kudla on that team. And so those are

46:06

the five guys on each team. We also have Sam

46:08

query on

46:10

the West. coming in as well, you know, and

46:12

and, you know, but there's other guys too.

46:14

Right? So those are the guys that are committed who

46:16

are playing this year, and we have Bob and Mike

46:18

Brian as the

46:20

team captain. Bob Lifts in Florida. Mike lives in California. So

46:22

this is the first

46:24

time they're actually gonna go against each other and

46:26

anything, and they're two of the most competitive guys. I

46:28

think you'll

46:30

ever meet I mean, I've wrapped this with them before where, obviously, they're on the

46:32

same side of the net. And, like, Mike would miss Avalli,

46:34

and Bob would literally hit him in the back with a

46:36

tennis ball.

46:38

Like, I mean, like, dip and it this was at the French open

46:40

literally, like, three days before the first round. We

46:42

still have plenty of time. But, like, Mike, mister

46:44

Bali on top of the net, and Bob

46:46

literally fired a ball into

46:48

his back. And Mike's like, oh, and

46:50

then they kinda give each other a look and they're

46:52

like and then, like, then they get back

46:54

to work. you know, like but they're two

46:56

of the most competitive people ever. So they're already just so pumped and,

46:58

you know, Bob was one of the first

47:00

calls I made and he was like, look,

47:04

man, I talked to him for a minute, and he's like, let me call Mike.

47:06

I'll call you back. And literally a minute later, he's

47:08

like, we're all in. He's like, let's make this stable.

47:10

Let's make this a stable for

47:14

America in tennis -- Mhmm. -- you know, at the end of the year, every year.

47:16

And and, you know, so I just mentioned the

47:18

guys that are playing, but also on the West Coast,

47:20

you have Brandon Akashima. You have

47:23

Maxim Cressey. Guys like that, Nakashima

47:25

can't play to the next gen final. Maxim

47:27

Cressey is gonna be training already for the

47:29

new year. On the East Coast, you still have

47:31

a Riley Opelka who's not playing because of

47:33

his hit. says, yes. Hip surgery. You have Tommy Paul, who's gonna take a week

47:35

off before Davis Cup. He also have

47:37

Sebastian Corda. So

47:40

you have eight,

47:41

nine guys on each side,

47:43

so plenty of guys to make a team of

47:45

of five every

47:48

single year. And, you know, so that's what's that's what's exciting for

47:50

me is just, in my mind, this

47:52

is, you know, giving back

47:54

to American tenants, put some money in these

47:56

guys pockets,

47:58

and hopefully inspire the younger generation to wanna come out and

48:00

watch these top Americans that are

48:02

that are obviously playing amazing tennis right

48:04

now. I mean, Taylor Fritz at seven in

48:06

the world and France seventeen. And Tommy,

48:09

I think, in the, like, twenty

48:11

eight, twenty nine, and Riley, obviously,

48:13

Riley Court, and all these guys doing their thing.

48:15

You know? So it's,

48:17

like, for me, this is really something

48:19

I'm excited about wanting to get back.

48:21

I think the players are

48:23

excited because also and tennis,

48:25

we're always traveling alone, you know. And so there's not a

48:28

lot of team events. There's Davis cup and

48:30

labor cup in college tennis, but not

48:32

everyone gets to

48:34

do those things. Like, not a not a most of these guys didn't play college tennis.

48:36

Right? And most of these guys

48:38

haven't been on the Davis cup team yet or

48:40

labor cup. So Now ability

48:42

to be on a team, have some fun, especially

48:44

the end of the year. You

48:46

know? So so I think the guys, you know,

48:48

I get a message from them constantly.

48:51

They're super pumped to to to do

48:53

it, you know. And so yeah. That that's

48:55

what that's what drives me. And then also so

48:57

that's eleven through the thirteenth, and then leading

48:59

into kind of early December.

49:02

I'll start coaching Jack Sock and

49:04

trying to help him get back to

49:06

his his top ten ways. And

49:08

we've known each other's for, oh, since

49:10

he was seventeen, eighteen, so

49:12

over ten years. And so that

49:15

that's exciting. And then, yeah, just continue

49:17

to keep protecting the craft

49:19

of commentating and whatnot with tenant channel and

49:21

then, you know, doing some of the things I'll try

49:23

and open with channel seven and DDC

49:25

at Wimbledon. So It's fun. It's fun. But the main thing now

49:27

is one month away from the all American cup and

49:30

making sure that it's, you know, as a player, I've been

49:32

in so many tournaments around the

49:34

world. So Just wanting

49:36

to bring everything that I've seen at all

49:38

these other tournaments and make it

49:40

interactive for the fans, have the

49:42

play players meet a lot of the

49:44

fans and just, you know,

49:46

we have VIP tables sitting right next to the

49:48

court. So, basically, almost where you can, like, touch

49:50

the guys make it make it very fun.

49:52

Very interactive, you know. And

49:54

and and and so they can feel the

49:56

energy of the

49:58

players and So I'm excited. I

50:00

I wanted to be I wanted to be a lot of fun.

50:02

I wanted to be the best thing that

50:04

that that fans enjoy

50:06

and the American players. I want them

50:08

to really like be like, man, that was sick. So

50:10

that's that's the goal.

50:12

That's so

50:13

awesome. I can

50:16

see how excited you are just about all these different things and you

50:18

get super pumped about this term. The

50:20

idea and the concept of it is just,

50:22

like, not only is it

50:24

completely just

50:26

red, but it is so representative

50:28

of your personality because I think, like, you

50:30

know, you're a doubles player and you were so good

50:32

in college too. You love you

50:35

thrive on that, like, community and that competitive aspect,

50:38

but within a team environment. So I

50:40

think it's not surprising that you actually came

50:42

up with this idea

50:44

because it's So it it really is just kinda like an extension of your

50:46

personality and your

50:46

tenant's personality. Yeah. And that's that's it's

50:49

like your little tenant's baby now.

50:51

I know. Right? know. But also, I mean, all these

50:53

guys have such big personalities like Francis

50:56

Tiafoe. He lights up a room every time he

50:58

walks in

51:00

and you know, he has been obviously on the Davis company. He's on the labor company.

51:02

He get to see how much he loves that team stuff. So,

51:04

you know, a guy like Jenson

51:06

Brooksville has never been on a

51:08

like, he he was like, oh, man, like, we're gonna we're gonna do a team

51:10

event. Like, this is gonna be awesome. Like so

51:12

just to see his eyes just to see his eyes

51:15

light up, like, maybe even more pop

51:18

than, like, yeah, man, like, let's read and do this, you know. And

51:20

and so yeah. So,

51:22

you know, again, it's just trying to bring

51:24

people together, inspire younger

51:26

generations, have

51:28

fans come out and really enjoy it. So, you know, so much

51:30

so much to be pumped about

51:32

with it. That's awesome. Let me

51:34

know let me know if there's anything

51:37

eye we can do to help promote it and -- Yeah.

51:39

-- give it a shout out or even just get

51:41

involved or whatnot. Yeah. And also

51:44

congratulations on the coaching gig with

51:46

with Jack sock. I didn't know about that. That's super

51:48

awesome. And, you know, I know I know you you're

51:50

you're a busy guy and you've gotta go,

51:54

but before we move on, I immediately I don't know if I would have

51:56

been able to, like, ask the

51:58

questions that I had asked today. But because I've

51:59

known you for a really

52:02

long time, feel like I can

52:04

push you a little bit harder, gives me permission. Yeah. But what I wanted to do

52:06

was really stretch out the experience

52:10

because I think for a lot of athletes, we don't really give

52:12

ourselves the time to just reflect

52:14

and process. Yeah. Like,

52:17

you deserve that

52:20

moment of, like, just talking rather than giving yourself an

52:22

hour at Arthur Ash, you

52:24

haven't you've been playing tennis for

52:26

thirty plus years. Like,

52:28

you deserve even if it's an

52:30

extra forty five minutes just to

52:32

talk about what you're feeling and

52:34

what's emerging. Because you've

52:36

had like, you know, you you played

52:39

you've had just a wonderful career, you

52:41

know. And and so

52:44

when I say that, you know,

52:46

kinda like

52:47

giving yourself space to just be and

52:49

reflect and it's okay

52:49

and and emotions and feelings, like at even

52:52

as you move forward, giving

52:54

yourself permission and knowing that

52:57

things may come up that you weren't

52:59

expecting because you are now a

53:01

retired athlete? Like, you

53:04

know, when I say all

53:06

of that, what does it sound like or what does it feel

53:08

like? Yeah. No.

53:10

I mean, I think it's, as you said, just

53:12

taking reflect

53:14

is always key. You

53:17

know? But again, it's it's

53:20

yeah. Understanding that it

53:22

took, like, a jungle and a family to get

53:24

to to where to where I was and and

53:26

and and really understand that

53:28

and and

53:30

and let all those people know how important they were to

53:32

your life or or to your life. I mean, and

53:34

and that's what I still do, you know, even with Dennis

53:36

who was buying the fence and with

53:39

my dad and my college coach who I talk to every two or

53:41

three days and, you know, still keeping

53:44

that that family because,

53:46

you know, you you'd you

53:48

aren't dying, you you're just moving on to

53:51

to something something new, something that that you can

53:53

put all all again, like I

53:55

talked about how it wasn't the

53:58

most

54:00

talented guy, but I'd like to work. So now putting all

54:02

that work into

54:04

other things. But yeah. No. I mean,

54:06

being able to reflect and hearing

54:08

my hearing my my note back on

54:10

Instagram, I was like, wow.

54:12

I haven't. haven't heard that in a in a while

54:14

or even looked at it again, you

54:16

know. So that was definitely emotional. In

54:18

a way, you almost got me

54:20

crying there. I no. I got you. I saw your tears. Yeah.

54:22

Yeah. And and -- Yeah. -- you know, if it helps,

54:24

like, other athletes also respond in that

54:26

same way when I did

54:28

that too. Yeah. Yeah.

54:30

No. No. Again, again, it's it's

54:32

yeah. Just reflecting as always is

54:34

an asset you need to do that. So I

54:37

appreciate it. That's

54:37

awesome. Good. Well, I mean, thank you so

54:40

much for coming on and so much fun to

54:42

connect. I feel like we could keep talking for

54:44

hours, but you are set

54:46

certainly, gonna continue being a part of my life. In fact, before this interview,

54:48

we were talking about something else. So hopefully, we're

54:50

gonna keep on collaborating and and, you know,

54:52

continuing the conversation and everything.

54:56

But you know, Nick, I I think that you've had such an amazing

54:58

career. You should be so proud of yourself.

55:00

I know I'm proud of you and it's been such an

55:02

honor to watch you, you know, do

55:04

so well. over the years

55:06

and tell your family, including your

55:08

dad, I say hi,

55:10

and best of luck to you.

55:11

Yeah. Thanks,

55:12

Brent. Thanks for having me. And

55:14

definitely be seeing each other soon, so

55:16

thanks for having me. Yeah. Absolutely. Really hope

55:19

you enjoyed today's

55:20

conversation. For more episodes,

55:23

you can visit our homepage on iHeartRadio or

55:26

wherever you get your podcast. And

55:28

to watch the full version

55:30

of these interviews, you can head on over to YouTube and just search for

55:32

the next chapter with Prims

55:34

Rippepat. Also, don't forget, subscribe to

55:36

us, like us, give us a star rating. We

55:38

really appreciate

55:40

you listening thing, and also showing your support. The next

55:42

chapter with the privacy

55:44

of iHeartRadio. For more

55:46

podcasts from iHeartRadio,

55:46

visit the iHeartRadio

55:49

app Apple Podcasts or wherever you

55:51

get your podcast.