Latest / Bleacher Report / Aryna Sabalenka Breaks Down Quarterfinals Win & Rates Djokovic s Dance Moves _ 2025 Roland-Garros

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Aryna Sabalenka Breaks Down Quarterfinals Win & Rates Djokovic s Dance Moves _ 2025 Roland-Garros · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Arina Sablenka junctionin Win. Our first match of the day
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: is Sloan that the level of play was extremely high.
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  Speaker 2: This verssett was incredible. Obviously she was coming out of
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: the gates that it was super even overall, and I
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  Speaker 2: think when we got to this tiebreaker, Arena just really
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  Speaker 2: took her chances. And I think she used the dropshot
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  Speaker 2: so much today, which was really a key play for her.
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  Speaker 2: I think she's trying to just put that more into
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  Speaker 2: her game, but it worked really well against today against
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  Speaker 2: Quinn Win. And then in the second set, she was
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  Speaker 2: just going after a shot. That's if she won the
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  Speaker 2: first set. She was way more comfortable, so things started
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  Speaker 2: blowing a little bit better, to the little adopter shots
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  Speaker 2: a little bit more, and quin Winn didn't play a
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  Speaker 2: bad match. She just kind of got out played, and
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: sometimes that happens, I think obviously on the play. Once
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  Speaker 2: Irena got that confidence, it was tough for her to
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  Speaker 2: even really be in the match, and it was when
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  Speaker 2: she got towards the end of this match she got
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  Speaker 2: an early break. Irena was just free flowing. Balls were ripping,
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  Speaker 2: going everywhere and there's really nothing Quinn Winn could deal it.
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  Speaker 1: Was a ten match winning streak that Jeng had brought
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: into this from the Olympics and her run thus far
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  Speaker 1: in the tournament. Seblenka is operating at an extremely high
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  Speaker 1: level right now, has not dropped this set in five matches.
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  Speaker 1: Now has an eleven to one career record in major quarterfinals.
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  Speaker 1: The only loss was to Andreeva here at Roland Garros.
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  Speaker 1: Andreeva of course still in the tournament. But we have
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  Speaker 1: now interviewed Sablenka three times. The third version we just
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  Speaker 1: had moments ago. It was a great conversation. Take a listen.
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  Speaker 3: Excellence.
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  Speaker 1: That is what we have on the set right now.
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  Speaker 1: Arena Sebalanca, the world number one here at Roland Garros,
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  Speaker 1: your second rolling Garos semifinal, you're eleven in the Grand Slam.
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  Speaker 1: You've yet to lose a set. Well, I just want
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  Speaker 1: you to know it's been awesome to watch you play
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  Speaker 1: because your level is so great. You sat on this
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  Speaker 1: set and you said, I want revenge. There's great cuisine
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  Speaker 1: here in France. How did that revenge taste that was?
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  Speaker 4: You know?
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  Speaker 5: That was a good one.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm super happy with the wind and she played
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  Speaker 3: incredible at the beginning of the first set, and honestly,
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  Speaker 3: I thought like, okay, whatever.
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  Speaker 1: I was just like I.
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  Speaker 3: Was thinking about the second and probably the third set already.
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  Speaker 3: But yeah, I'm super happy one minute straight sets.
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  Speaker 5: Talking about playing great tennis and how uncomfortable she can
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  Speaker 5: make you feel. I feel like to serve when I
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  Speaker 5: played against her, it's hard to read because it goes
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  Speaker 5: to the side and it's very flat. Yeah, and it
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  Speaker 5: felt like in the first set you're struggling a little
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  Speaker 5: bit more with the returns. By the second set you
• 2:28
  Speaker 5: calm down and got a lot more returns and planned them.
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah, there was. As you said, it's very tricky to
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  Speaker 3: read her surf, especially with the toasts, like it doesn't
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  Speaker 3: make sense sometimes the direction she's going so and and
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  Speaker 3: also the wind didn't really help me because you know,
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  Speaker 3: like when you're down with the break and there's a
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  Speaker 3: wind and it's like an extra pressure. So I didn't
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  Speaker 3: start my best and then I was able to break somehow.
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  Speaker 3: I was literally trying to put the ball somehow on
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  Speaker 3: the side and start the point and and and yeah,
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  Speaker 3: it's it's tough to read her surf and the rhythm
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  Speaker 3: is a bit too all. When you got you gotta
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  Speaker 3: stay really low and you know, just react, not try
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  Speaker 3: to like read her serf. Just try to react. And
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  Speaker 3: I'm really glad I broke her back and got that
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  Speaker 3: her set.
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  Speaker 2: I was watching from up top today and I was like,
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  Speaker 2: oh God, it's really windy and the ball was kind
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  Speaker 2: of going everywhere minus the wind. Would you say that
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  Speaker 2: these conditions, like this temperature outside is the ideal for
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  Speaker 2: you to play in minus the wind? I don't know.
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  Speaker 3: Honestly, I cannot like say that one is better than
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  Speaker 3: an other. But I don't know. I don't know. You know,
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  Speaker 3: when the wind goes like to back, like shaight, then
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  Speaker 3: probably it's better because then it's even faster. But when
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  Speaker 3: it's sideways, it's it's tricky. But like when it's cold,
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  Speaker 3: it can be slower.
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  Speaker 5: You know, I don't know.
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  Speaker 3: I cannot take one of I just gotta adjust and
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  Speaker 3: you know, try to ignore the conditions.
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  Speaker 4: Are Ina. Congratulations. We've seen, or at least time seen.
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  Speaker 4: It feels like your game has evolved over the past
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  Speaker 4: few years. Obviously, the serve has gotten incredible, the backhand
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  Speaker 4: has always been amazing. You're super powerful. But I want
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  Speaker 4: to talk about two shots in particularly beforehand they felt
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  Speaker 4: like you were really hitting it well. And the drop shot,
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  Speaker 4: this is a shot you used. It's a great effect
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  Speaker 4: when you guys played in Rome. Although obviously you didn't
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  Speaker 4: get the win, but it seemed like you're implementing a
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  Speaker 4: bit more feel and trying to understand that your power
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  Speaker 4: pushes players back, so the dropper is going to be there.
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  Speaker 4: You had a high success rate in that drop shot today.
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  Speaker 4: Did the win play any factor in that or is
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  Speaker 4: that just something that you're looking to add to your
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  Speaker 4: game in general, or is this just a matchup thing.
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  Speaker 3: No. I think I've been working on a touch game,
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  Speaker 3: I don't know, for the past couple of years, and
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  Speaker 3: I'm really happy that now I can see working on
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  Speaker 3: the matches. And with the wind. That's a bit tricky
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  Speaker 3: because sometimes like I don't have that much experience, like
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  Speaker 3: with the drop shots in the different conditions, let's say,
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  Speaker 3: and sometimes like I go for the drop shot, like
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  Speaker 3: when the wind going like that way, you know, I
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  Speaker 3: don't know how you call it behind me, and then
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  Speaker 3: you know, like I make the drop shot and it's
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  Speaker 3: on a half court and then I'm I'm losing the point.
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  Speaker 3: I'm like, come on, you can hit the ball. Like
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  Speaker 3: go on another side and go like for the drop
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  Speaker 3: shots from there. But I definitely definitely thinks that think
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  Speaker 3: that drop shots giving me a lot of benefits. And yeah,
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  Speaker 3: like I mean everyone knows that I'm really powerful and
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  Speaker 3: keep them back, you know, a little bit far back
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  Speaker 3: and then make and mix it up with the drop shots.
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  Speaker 3: You know, they kind of like all the time to
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  Speaker 3: have to guess and and and and that's you know,
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  Speaker 3: the best feeling when you see that they actually they
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  Speaker 3: don't know like what you're gonna do, and and it's yeah,
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  Speaker 3: it definitely brings a lot of benefits.
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  Speaker 5: I think what I'm most impressed with you about is
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  Speaker 5: you've always been a great player, even since you were
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  Speaker 5: very very young. You're still young, but very young. I
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  Speaker 5: got to tell you a few times when you're coming
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  Speaker 5: up and we had some tele travels. Yes, but I
• 5:49
  Speaker 5: always was expecting, Okay, you're gonna give me one game here,
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  Speaker 5: or you're gonna overheit if I get that actual wall
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  Speaker 5: back or extra ball.
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  Speaker 3: Deep I felt you were for.
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  Speaker 5: But that doesn't feel like it's the case anymore, because
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  Speaker 5: I feel like your speed has improved, so you get
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  Speaker 5: to position better and that doesn't stress you out to
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  Speaker 5: stay in the rally for a longer time.
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  Speaker 3: I have to say that when we first started playing,
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  Speaker 3: you were, oh my god, incredible, always like annoying with
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  Speaker 3: like all the balls coming back on my side. But
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  Speaker 3: back then I wasn't that confident in my physical abilities,
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: and I was always trying to finish the point. I
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  Speaker 3: was like over rushing, to be honest. And nowadays, yeah,
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  Speaker 3: as you mentioned, like physically, I'm stronger and I'm ready.
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  Speaker 3: I know that I'm ready to play as long as
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  Speaker 3: needed to that point, and and that's why I'm more
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  Speaker 3: like calm on court, and I'm like sometimes like I'm
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  Speaker 3: not overhitting the ball. I'm just like giving myself a
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  Speaker 3: little bit of a time and then go probably for
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  Speaker 3: like not the bigger targets, but like try to like
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  Speaker 3: open up the court a little bit more.
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  Speaker 2: So.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely improved a lot in that I.
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  Speaker 1: Said, I haven't seen anyone challenge you on the court.
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  Speaker 1: I have seen someone challenge you in a dance battle.
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  Speaker 1: So you set the tone against Novak Novak.
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  Speaker 3: This guyiculous. Come on, obviously, who's better. But then.
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  Speaker 1: You came back today with the Arena Satelleka song I'm
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: waiting do we think Novak's going to respond again? I
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: wait for that.
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  Speaker 3: Let's see, let's see what you got out of.
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  Speaker 1: Ten What would you give Novak's dance moves one to ten,
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  Speaker 1: ten being great, one being nice?
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  Speaker 5: Or should he's going to be watching this?
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  Speaker 3: No, that was phenomenal, like this is this movement? Oh
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  Speaker 3: my god?
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  Speaker 1: No, no, okay, now be honest, be real, be real.
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  Speaker 1: And it's the only thing Novak hasn't done well here.
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  Speaker 1: Roland Garo's congratulations onto the semifinals arena. That's Satellanca, always
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  Speaker 1: a pleasure and her team is one of the best
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  Speaker 1: in the business.