00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of The Sit Down. I'm Matt Trollope, a writer and editor for AusOpen.com.
00:00:08
Speaker 2: And I'm Viv Christie, managing editor for Australian Tennis Magazine. And Matt, I'm actually joining you from New York.
00:00:15
Speaker 1: Yes, I'm, well first of all, very happy to see you and very jealous I'm not there too. But yeah, you're at the US Open and you've chatted to a very special guest. Who are we sitting down this week with?
00:00:26
Speaker 2: Yeah, Matt, I was actually lucky enough to catch up with Australia's Dane Sweeney, who kind of took Flushing Meadows by storm, you would almost say. So yeah, Dane bought his incredible brand of acrobatic tennis to the US Open. And yeah, had a career best result, got through the first round and then had a fantastic win over Lorenzo Mazzetti. So yeah, he described that as a career changing campaign. So it was a great result for Dane. But He also didn't just reveal himself as a fantastic player, but also showed a lot of character generally in New York. We learned a lot about how he prepares for matches, including the tea ceremony that you'll hear about in this interview, and just what he cares about deeply as a person as well as a player. So, yeah, you'll learn a lot in this interview with Dan.
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Speaker 3: Fantastic.
00:01:19
Speaker 1: Well, I actually haven't listened to it yet, Viv, so really looking forward to tuning in now, and we hope our listeners enjoy it too.
00:01:25
Speaker 2: Dane Sweeney, thank you for joining us on the sit-down and congratulations on a fantastic run here at the US Open.
00:01:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you very much. Thank you.
00:01:33
Speaker 2: At the same time last year, you were competing, I think, in Taipei at a very different level.
00:01:39
Speaker 4: What a difference a year can make.
00:01:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, that's a beauty of tennis. It can change in an instant. But, yeah, I had to.
00:01:47
Speaker 5: Work my way up from the futures level and kept grinding, got some good challenge results, got my ranking good enough to get into qualities of slams again and then, you know, doing well enough to receive wild cards. So it's all been an upward trajectory. Although, you know, you look at my results, even lately it's been pretty up and down, but as a whole it's been on the up, so it's been nice.
00:02:07
Speaker 4: And what does progress like this mean for you at a practical level?
00:02:11
Speaker 5: I think it just quietens the doubt a little bit inside. I think it's just some more evidence to show myself that I can compete in this.
00:02:20
Speaker 3: Level and I belong here. And if I have that, then I'm a long way of.
00:02:26
Speaker 5: Planting myself in the top 100 and making a real goal in this sport. So I think getting wins like today.
00:02:33
Speaker 3: and playing at.
00:02:33
Speaker 5: The level I did like today, it's just good confidence building.
00:02:37
Speaker 2: So your season started at the Australian Open where you had your first main drill win over Gael Monfils. You also qualified for Wimbledon, your first Grand Slam outside Australia, and now here you.
00:02:48
Speaker 3: Are at the US Open.
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Speaker 4: Are you starting to feel a greater sense of belonging at this level?
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, yeah, for sure.
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Speaker 5: When you have... It's really easy to doubt, and I've had a lot of periods of doubt in my career, but when you have... When you see your results and you see you've beaten good players and world-class players, I think it just helps in those times to really know that you have it within you. I think in those darker times, it can keep the motivation high, keep you moving forward. I think I've been playing some great tennis in some big moments and big matches and really big tournaments, the biggest tournaments there are. That does add a sense of belonging.
00:03:28
Speaker 2: There's been a bit of conversation around the break that you took from tennis. It was a few months off in 2024. What did you do during that time?
00:03:38
Speaker 3: I wasn't really sure if I was going to play again.
00:03:40
Speaker 5: I had the thought that there's a good chance I would, but I was just hating tennis. I just wanted to step away and just see how I felt without it. And I just hung out with my girlfriend. I coached a little bit, but I didn't play any tennis or anything. And... Naturally, the feelings just came back of just missing it and missing competing, missing just the ball coming off the strings, just missing tennis. And I think it really showed me that tennis is what I'm here to do, at least for this period of my life. But yeah, I didn't really do any tennis and just waited for the feelings to come naturally, and they did.
00:04:15
Speaker 2: And hating tennis, did that come from the results or from the grind?
00:04:19
Speaker 5: I think I told myself I hated tennis, but really deep down I loved it.
00:04:23
Speaker 3: I just found it hard to.
00:04:24
Speaker 5: have a good relationship with it because I put so much pressure on myself. But yeah, just, I don't know, putting so much pressure on myself and not getting the results I want and not playing at the level I want, it just, I found myself just being really unkind to myself on the court and the whole journey just became unenjoyable. And then on top of that, the travel, being away from people I love made it even tougher and it just got too much.
00:04:45
Speaker 2: You said you were questioning whether you were even going to keep playing. What would you have done if you hadn't kept playing?
00:04:51
Speaker 3: Oh, I'm not sure. I'm not sure.
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Speaker 5: I would never, I don't think I could ever work a normal 9 to 5 job.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I probably would have just found myself coaching, to be honest.
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Speaker 5: But if, yeah, if tennis wasn't possible, coaching or anything, I actually don't know what I would do.
00:05:05
Speaker 4: And speaking of coaching, you have your dad as your coach. That's been a really long connection.
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Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, actually, during the grass court, I started working with Peter Luchak, an Australian legend, so... My dad's still in my corner, and he coached me for a long time, so he's still helping me out a lot, and he's obviously always in my corner, a massive supporter of mine, and always wants the best for me. So it's been really nice to be guided by my dad and by Luchak now.
00:05:31
Speaker 3: I feel very grateful.
00:05:33
Speaker 2: You spoke to the media a little earlier about the inspiration of Leighton Hewitt.
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Speaker 4: What matches of his can you recall?
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Speaker 5: I just remember him playing just some massive five-setters at the Aussie Open.
00:05:45
Speaker 3: Did he beat Nalbandian in five, or.
00:05:49
Speaker 5: I know he had some absolute nail-biters, but I just loved watching him compete.
00:05:55
Speaker 3: His attitude was phenomenal. He fought for every single point.
00:05:58
Speaker 5: He didn't waver one bit with his focus or his attitude in termination. He's just the epitome of controlling what you can't control.
00:06:07
Speaker 3: He can show you how much a good mentality.
00:06:10
Speaker 5: Obviously, he's an unbelievable ball striker and an incredible tennis player, but for me, just how he held himself and how he fought for every point was really inspiring.
00:06:17
Speaker 2: And a lot of people here in New York have caught on to the story of you having lived with Tristan's school, Kate, and Rinki, Yujikata, and the great friendships that exist between you all.
00:06:28
Speaker 4: How hard is it to have those kind of friendships on tour?
00:06:32
Speaker 5: I think the girls probably struggle a bit more than the boys, to be honest. I think the boys as a whole, I think we get along well. We're really able to compartmentalise and separate the on-court to the off-court.
00:06:43
Speaker 3: We can rip commons at each.
00:06:44
Speaker 5: Other and then after the match we can be shaking hands and hugging and it's all good. So I think especially the Australian.
00:06:52
Speaker 3: Contingency, we all get along really well. Yes, there are certain relationships that don't really work.
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Speaker 5: But as a whole, I think the tennis community and particularly the Australian tennis community, the players, they really... always fighting for each other and supporting each other. And it's really nice.
00:07:09
Speaker 4: Do you spend much time with other Australian players when you're travelling?
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Speaker 3: Yeah, a little bit.
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Speaker 5: We might get a coffee here and there or dinner here and there. But it's always, you know, depending on the schedules, if the schedules match up. But, you know, we always see each other at the courts every day and spending so many hours at the courts every day.
00:07:25
Speaker 3: So we do see a lot of each other.
00:07:26
Speaker 2: I've noticed that you always make a point and are really generous in how you acknowledge other people.
00:07:32
Speaker 4: For example, you talk a lot about your girlfriend's positive influence.
00:07:37
Speaker 2: Obviously, it's really important for you to have good people around.
00:07:40
Speaker 5: I mean, yeah, without them, one, I wouldn't be here and two, the journey wouldn't be worth it.
00:07:45
Speaker 3: You know, life's only good because you can share it with others.
00:07:48
Speaker 5: So I'm very, very grateful to have people like that in my corner who are just so amazing and you know i'm just very grateful that they love me and they support me and uh yeah it makes it 10 times sweeter you have.
00:08:00
Speaker 2: A very unique element in your approach to tennis in that you incorporate mindfulness and meditation tell us about that.
00:08:09
Speaker 5: Yeah i mean um i think that's what the break really showed me as well that i really do play because it's such a hard journey and i love how much fear it brings out i love All.
00:08:21
Speaker 3: The discipline that's required.
00:08:22
Speaker 5: I just love how challenging it is and how it forces me to evolve and grow. And I think having that break really showed me that. And so as much as I'm playing to win, I'm playing to more importantly learn and grow. And hopefully tennis can teach me a bit of wisdom and I can pass it down for the good of my kids in the future and the people I spend time around.
00:08:46
Speaker 2: I've loved hearing about the tea ceremony. Are you able to tell our listeners about that?
00:08:50
Speaker 5: Yeah, we just started doing, I've been struggling mentally on court like before this tournament, just my thoughts just taking a hold of me and my girlfriend, she's had a couple of tea ceremony experiences where you just sit really slowly and have a lot of intent and pour tea very slowly and just taking, you know, being very mindful of all the movements and sitting with your breath and just having just that sort of ritual.
00:09:16
Speaker 3: So we started doing it in the morning. She thought it'd be a good idea. So we've been doing that every morning.
00:09:21
Speaker 5: And it's just a very good practice to do, especially at the start of the day in a city like this where it's so hectic, just to have that peace and quiet, that time to check in with myself, to sit with myself before checking the phone or anything like that, before the day gets busy. Yeah, I think it's a great practice, whether it's tea ceremony or even just a meditation or just sitting with yourself, listening to some nice music.
00:09:42
Speaker 3: I think it's a great way to start the day.
00:09:43
Speaker 2: I feel like in some ways that underlines the importance of developing qualities as a person rather than just as a player. And you know, I know that you care about things like the environment. I guess it's important for you for life to not just be about tennis.
00:09:59
Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly.
00:09:59
Speaker 5: And um it's funny i made one post about that and i'm far from perfect i'm using i'm hurting the earth every day but i'm trying to you know do all i can to to respect the land we live on and to i just think uh yes there are a lot more bigger problems you could say in the world but i'm really uh I can only affect my sphere of influence.
00:10:21
Speaker 3: And if I can hurt the planet less, then I think.
00:10:25
Speaker 5: And if everyone can do that, and maybe I can inspire one or two people to do that, then.
00:10:29
Speaker 3: I think hopefully the chain reaction could have some impact.
00:10:32
Speaker 4: You've emerged as.
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Speaker 2: A very popular character here, with a lot of fans catching on to your unique style. I've heard Air Sweeney thrown around as a description. What does that mean to you?
00:10:43
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's great. I'm just trying to do.
00:10:46
Speaker 5: do my best and have a lot of fun along the way. And I mean, all that stuff will happen as it does. I don't really, I mean, it's great to have support. I feel very loved even by people I don't know. So I'm very incredibly grateful, but I'm just, I'm just being me and yeah, that stuff will just take care of itself.
00:11:04
Speaker 4: I guess you're such a considered individual off the court.
00:11:07
Speaker 2: It really contrasts to your acrobatic style.
00:11:10
Speaker 5: Yeah. Well, when I'm on the court, I'm just trying to do the best I can, trying to get to every ball and, I'm a good athlete and I think it helps being smaller, but I've just had to, throughout my career, find ways to get the ball back and I think that's helped me be athletic.
00:11:24
Speaker 2: What age did that start, that kind of being prepared to throw yourself around the court to win?
00:11:29
Speaker 3: I think always, yeah, I can always remember.
00:11:31
Speaker 5: I've just always been so competitive and wanted to win so bad, so I've had to work on my flexibility and stuff to get it to help, but I've always been fast and moved well around the court, so yeah, I think it's always been a part.
00:11:42
Speaker 2: This might be a hard question to answer after a big day, but what values do you think are most important to you, both as a player and, more importantly, I guess, as a person?
00:11:54
Speaker 5: I think what encompasses it all is just really trying to act out of love and especially with others, you know.
00:12:01
Speaker 3: People might be rude or whatever, but you never really.
00:12:04
Speaker 5: Know what's going on behind closed doors and I'm just trying to, as much as I can, just to... act with love and to be compassionate and um yeah i think just you're trying to act out of love instead of fear i just have.
00:12:20
Speaker 2: One last question to finish and i'm sorry it is kind of a big one but.
00:12:25
Speaker 4: What do you think has been the biggest lesson that tennis has taught.
00:12:30
Speaker 5: You i don't know if it's the biggest because it's i'm just answering right now but i feel like it's taught me that discipline is true freedom and that's one of the things which motivates me a lot to play and is because it requires so much discipline. You have to control your mind. You have to control your habits. You have to train every day. You have to push against the natural urges of the mind that want to party or whatever it is, get angry, just those natural impulses.
00:12:54
Speaker 3: You have to really control yourself.
00:12:58
Speaker 5: And I think in that, it's true freedom, because otherwise you're just at the peril of your urges and your desires.
00:13:04
Speaker 3: And I think when you can grab a hold of that, then you can respond to.
00:13:11
Speaker 5: whatever's thrown at you rather than just purely react.
00:13:13
Speaker 2: Well, thank you again, Dane Sweeney, and good luck.
00:13:16
Speaker 1: Well, Viv, congrats on that interview. I loved hearing from Dane and really just loved his story more generally and how he said it was such a life-changing run at the US Open. I'm glad more people got to see what he can do and it'll be really interesting to see what happens from here for him. But I guess also Dane is just one of many stories that's been lighting up Flushing Meadows this last week in a bit. What's it been like for you going to the US Open for the first time?
00:13:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, Matt. Well, I probably never thought I'd share something in common with Carlos Alcaraz, but I have actually completed my career Grand Slam.
00:13:48
Speaker 4: So this is the last.
00:13:50
Speaker 5: I love it.
00:13:50
Speaker 4: Yeah, this is the last Grand.
00:13:52
Speaker 2: Slam that I am yet to attend. So yeah, it's just been fantastic to see it in person. I guess the scale of the event, it's huge being inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. You know, you see it on TV, but you can't quite appreciate it until it's there. So yeah, it's been a, an absolute buzz and a lot of fun being here.
00:14:11
Speaker 1: Oh, it sounds amazing.
00:14:12
Speaker 3: And yeah, I agree with you.
00:14:13
Speaker 1: Having been to the US Open a couple of times myself, Arthur Ashe is such a massive stadium. The other thing too, the night sessions and the buzz of New York and the US Open. Have you felt that being there?
00:14:24
Speaker 4: Yeah, I really have.
00:14:26
Speaker 2: Um, you know, everybody wants to, I guess, have been to the US Open while they're here. And, um, Yeah, the weather's been, you know, we had some rain in the first week, but the nights have been beautiful. So it's kind of been perfect tennis watching weather and everyone really gets behind it here.
00:14:40
Speaker 1: That sounds magnificent. Well, looking forward to having you back soon. But for the meantime, enjoy the rest of your time in New York. Thank you. It's been so good to catch you. We'll be back again next week with another episode of The Sit Down. Please remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode when it lands in your feed. And if you could leave us a rating or a review, we'd love that too. We'll see you when you're back, Viv.
00:14:59
Speaker 4: See you soon, Matt.
Speaker 1: Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of The Sit Down. I'm Matt Trollope, a writer and editor for AusOpen.com.
00:00:08
Speaker 2: And I'm Viv Christie, managing editor for Australian Tennis Magazine. And Matt, I'm actually joining you from New York.
00:00:15
Speaker 1: Yes, I'm, well first of all, very happy to see you and very jealous I'm not there too. But yeah, you're at the US Open and you've chatted to a very special guest. Who are we sitting down this week with?
00:00:26
Speaker 2: Yeah, Matt, I was actually lucky enough to catch up with Australia's Dane Sweeney, who kind of took Flushing Meadows by storm, you would almost say. So yeah, Dane bought his incredible brand of acrobatic tennis to the US Open. And yeah, had a career best result, got through the first round and then had a fantastic win over Lorenzo Mazzetti. So yeah, he described that as a career changing campaign. So it was a great result for Dane. But He also didn't just reveal himself as a fantastic player, but also showed a lot of character generally in New York. We learned a lot about how he prepares for matches, including the tea ceremony that you'll hear about in this interview, and just what he cares about deeply as a person as well as a player. So, yeah, you'll learn a lot in this interview with Dan.
00:01:18
Speaker 3: Fantastic.
00:01:19
Speaker 1: Well, I actually haven't listened to it yet, Viv, so really looking forward to tuning in now, and we hope our listeners enjoy it too.
00:01:25
Speaker 2: Dane Sweeney, thank you for joining us on the sit-down and congratulations on a fantastic run here at the US Open.
00:01:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you very much. Thank you.
00:01:33
Speaker 2: At the same time last year, you were competing, I think, in Taipei at a very different level.
00:01:39
Speaker 4: What a difference a year can make.
00:01:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, that's a beauty of tennis. It can change in an instant. But, yeah, I had to.
00:01:47
Speaker 5: Work my way up from the futures level and kept grinding, got some good challenge results, got my ranking good enough to get into qualities of slams again and then, you know, doing well enough to receive wild cards. So it's all been an upward trajectory. Although, you know, you look at my results, even lately it's been pretty up and down, but as a whole it's been on the up, so it's been nice.
00:02:07
Speaker 4: And what does progress like this mean for you at a practical level?
00:02:11
Speaker 5: I think it just quietens the doubt a little bit inside. I think it's just some more evidence to show myself that I can compete in this.
00:02:20
Speaker 3: Level and I belong here. And if I have that, then I'm a long way of.
00:02:26
Speaker 5: Planting myself in the top 100 and making a real goal in this sport. So I think getting wins like today.
00:02:33
Speaker 3: and playing at.
00:02:33
Speaker 5: The level I did like today, it's just good confidence building.
00:02:37
Speaker 2: So your season started at the Australian Open where you had your first main drill win over Gael Monfils. You also qualified for Wimbledon, your first Grand Slam outside Australia, and now here you.
00:02:48
Speaker 3: Are at the US Open.
00:02:49
Speaker 4: Are you starting to feel a greater sense of belonging at this level?
00:02:53
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, yeah, for sure.
00:02:55
Speaker 5: When you have... It's really easy to doubt, and I've had a lot of periods of doubt in my career, but when you have... When you see your results and you see you've beaten good players and world-class players, I think it just helps in those times to really know that you have it within you. I think in those darker times, it can keep the motivation high, keep you moving forward. I think I've been playing some great tennis in some big moments and big matches and really big tournaments, the biggest tournaments there are. That does add a sense of belonging.
00:03:28
Speaker 2: There's been a bit of conversation around the break that you took from tennis. It was a few months off in 2024. What did you do during that time?
00:03:38
Speaker 3: I wasn't really sure if I was going to play again.
00:03:40
Speaker 5: I had the thought that there's a good chance I would, but I was just hating tennis. I just wanted to step away and just see how I felt without it. And I just hung out with my girlfriend. I coached a little bit, but I didn't play any tennis or anything. And... Naturally, the feelings just came back of just missing it and missing competing, missing just the ball coming off the strings, just missing tennis. And I think it really showed me that tennis is what I'm here to do, at least for this period of my life. But yeah, I didn't really do any tennis and just waited for the feelings to come naturally, and they did.
00:04:15
Speaker 2: And hating tennis, did that come from the results or from the grind?
00:04:19
Speaker 5: I think I told myself I hated tennis, but really deep down I loved it.
00:04:23
Speaker 3: I just found it hard to.
00:04:24
Speaker 5: have a good relationship with it because I put so much pressure on myself. But yeah, just, I don't know, putting so much pressure on myself and not getting the results I want and not playing at the level I want, it just, I found myself just being really unkind to myself on the court and the whole journey just became unenjoyable. And then on top of that, the travel, being away from people I love made it even tougher and it just got too much.
00:04:45
Speaker 2: You said you were questioning whether you were even going to keep playing. What would you have done if you hadn't kept playing?
00:04:51
Speaker 3: Oh, I'm not sure. I'm not sure.
00:04:53
Speaker 5: I would never, I don't think I could ever work a normal 9 to 5 job.
00:04:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I probably would have just found myself coaching, to be honest.
00:05:00
Speaker 5: But if, yeah, if tennis wasn't possible, coaching or anything, I actually don't know what I would do.
00:05:05
Speaker 4: And speaking of coaching, you have your dad as your coach. That's been a really long connection.
00:05:11
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, actually, during the grass court, I started working with Peter Luchak, an Australian legend, so... My dad's still in my corner, and he coached me for a long time, so he's still helping me out a lot, and he's obviously always in my corner, a massive supporter of mine, and always wants the best for me. So it's been really nice to be guided by my dad and by Luchak now.
00:05:31
Speaker 3: I feel very grateful.
00:05:33
Speaker 2: You spoke to the media a little earlier about the inspiration of Leighton Hewitt.
00:05:38
Speaker 4: What matches of his can you recall?
00:05:41
Speaker 5: I just remember him playing just some massive five-setters at the Aussie Open.
00:05:45
Speaker 3: Did he beat Nalbandian in five, or.
00:05:49
Speaker 5: I know he had some absolute nail-biters, but I just loved watching him compete.
00:05:55
Speaker 3: His attitude was phenomenal. He fought for every single point.
00:05:58
Speaker 5: He didn't waver one bit with his focus or his attitude in termination. He's just the epitome of controlling what you can't control.
00:06:07
Speaker 3: He can show you how much a good mentality.
00:06:10
Speaker 5: Obviously, he's an unbelievable ball striker and an incredible tennis player, but for me, just how he held himself and how he fought for every point was really inspiring.
00:06:17
Speaker 2: And a lot of people here in New York have caught on to the story of you having lived with Tristan's school, Kate, and Rinki, Yujikata, and the great friendships that exist between you all.
00:06:28
Speaker 4: How hard is it to have those kind of friendships on tour?
00:06:32
Speaker 5: I think the girls probably struggle a bit more than the boys, to be honest. I think the boys as a whole, I think we get along well. We're really able to compartmentalise and separate the on-court to the off-court.
00:06:43
Speaker 3: We can rip commons at each.
00:06:44
Speaker 5: Other and then after the match we can be shaking hands and hugging and it's all good. So I think especially the Australian.
00:06:52
Speaker 3: Contingency, we all get along really well. Yes, there are certain relationships that don't really work.
00:06:58
Speaker 5: But as a whole, I think the tennis community and particularly the Australian tennis community, the players, they really... always fighting for each other and supporting each other. And it's really nice.
00:07:09
Speaker 4: Do you spend much time with other Australian players when you're travelling?
00:07:12
Speaker 3: Yeah, a little bit.
00:07:13
Speaker 5: We might get a coffee here and there or dinner here and there. But it's always, you know, depending on the schedules, if the schedules match up. But, you know, we always see each other at the courts every day and spending so many hours at the courts every day.
00:07:25
Speaker 3: So we do see a lot of each other.
00:07:26
Speaker 2: I've noticed that you always make a point and are really generous in how you acknowledge other people.
00:07:32
Speaker 4: For example, you talk a lot about your girlfriend's positive influence.
00:07:37
Speaker 2: Obviously, it's really important for you to have good people around.
00:07:40
Speaker 5: I mean, yeah, without them, one, I wouldn't be here and two, the journey wouldn't be worth it.
00:07:45
Speaker 3: You know, life's only good because you can share it with others.
00:07:48
Speaker 5: So I'm very, very grateful to have people like that in my corner who are just so amazing and you know i'm just very grateful that they love me and they support me and uh yeah it makes it 10 times sweeter you have.
00:08:00
Speaker 2: A very unique element in your approach to tennis in that you incorporate mindfulness and meditation tell us about that.
00:08:09
Speaker 5: Yeah i mean um i think that's what the break really showed me as well that i really do play because it's such a hard journey and i love how much fear it brings out i love All.
00:08:21
Speaker 3: The discipline that's required.
00:08:22
Speaker 5: I just love how challenging it is and how it forces me to evolve and grow. And I think having that break really showed me that. And so as much as I'm playing to win, I'm playing to more importantly learn and grow. And hopefully tennis can teach me a bit of wisdom and I can pass it down for the good of my kids in the future and the people I spend time around.
00:08:46
Speaker 2: I've loved hearing about the tea ceremony. Are you able to tell our listeners about that?
00:08:50
Speaker 5: Yeah, we just started doing, I've been struggling mentally on court like before this tournament, just my thoughts just taking a hold of me and my girlfriend, she's had a couple of tea ceremony experiences where you just sit really slowly and have a lot of intent and pour tea very slowly and just taking, you know, being very mindful of all the movements and sitting with your breath and just having just that sort of ritual.
00:09:16
Speaker 3: So we started doing it in the morning. She thought it'd be a good idea. So we've been doing that every morning.
00:09:21
Speaker 5: And it's just a very good practice to do, especially at the start of the day in a city like this where it's so hectic, just to have that peace and quiet, that time to check in with myself, to sit with myself before checking the phone or anything like that, before the day gets busy. Yeah, I think it's a great practice, whether it's tea ceremony or even just a meditation or just sitting with yourself, listening to some nice music.
00:09:42
Speaker 3: I think it's a great way to start the day.
00:09:43
Speaker 2: I feel like in some ways that underlines the importance of developing qualities as a person rather than just as a player. And you know, I know that you care about things like the environment. I guess it's important for you for life to not just be about tennis.
00:09:59
Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly.
00:09:59
Speaker 5: And um it's funny i made one post about that and i'm far from perfect i'm using i'm hurting the earth every day but i'm trying to you know do all i can to to respect the land we live on and to i just think uh yes there are a lot more bigger problems you could say in the world but i'm really uh I can only affect my sphere of influence.
00:10:21
Speaker 3: And if I can hurt the planet less, then I think.
00:10:25
Speaker 5: And if everyone can do that, and maybe I can inspire one or two people to do that, then.
00:10:29
Speaker 3: I think hopefully the chain reaction could have some impact.
00:10:32
Speaker 4: You've emerged as.
00:10:33
Speaker 2: A very popular character here, with a lot of fans catching on to your unique style. I've heard Air Sweeney thrown around as a description. What does that mean to you?
00:10:43
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's great. I'm just trying to do.
00:10:46
Speaker 5: do my best and have a lot of fun along the way. And I mean, all that stuff will happen as it does. I don't really, I mean, it's great to have support. I feel very loved even by people I don't know. So I'm very incredibly grateful, but I'm just, I'm just being me and yeah, that stuff will just take care of itself.
00:11:04
Speaker 4: I guess you're such a considered individual off the court.
00:11:07
Speaker 2: It really contrasts to your acrobatic style.
00:11:10
Speaker 5: Yeah. Well, when I'm on the court, I'm just trying to do the best I can, trying to get to every ball and, I'm a good athlete and I think it helps being smaller, but I've just had to, throughout my career, find ways to get the ball back and I think that's helped me be athletic.
00:11:24
Speaker 2: What age did that start, that kind of being prepared to throw yourself around the court to win?
00:11:29
Speaker 3: I think always, yeah, I can always remember.
00:11:31
Speaker 5: I've just always been so competitive and wanted to win so bad, so I've had to work on my flexibility and stuff to get it to help, but I've always been fast and moved well around the court, so yeah, I think it's always been a part.
00:11:42
Speaker 2: This might be a hard question to answer after a big day, but what values do you think are most important to you, both as a player and, more importantly, I guess, as a person?
00:11:54
Speaker 5: I think what encompasses it all is just really trying to act out of love and especially with others, you know.
00:12:01
Speaker 3: People might be rude or whatever, but you never really.
00:12:04
Speaker 5: Know what's going on behind closed doors and I'm just trying to, as much as I can, just to... act with love and to be compassionate and um yeah i think just you're trying to act out of love instead of fear i just have.
00:12:20
Speaker 2: One last question to finish and i'm sorry it is kind of a big one but.
00:12:25
Speaker 4: What do you think has been the biggest lesson that tennis has taught.
00:12:30
Speaker 5: You i don't know if it's the biggest because it's i'm just answering right now but i feel like it's taught me that discipline is true freedom and that's one of the things which motivates me a lot to play and is because it requires so much discipline. You have to control your mind. You have to control your habits. You have to train every day. You have to push against the natural urges of the mind that want to party or whatever it is, get angry, just those natural impulses.
00:12:54
Speaker 3: You have to really control yourself.
00:12:58
Speaker 5: And I think in that, it's true freedom, because otherwise you're just at the peril of your urges and your desires.
00:13:04
Speaker 3: And I think when you can grab a hold of that, then you can respond to.
00:13:11
Speaker 5: whatever's thrown at you rather than just purely react.
00:13:13
Speaker 2: Well, thank you again, Dane Sweeney, and good luck.
00:13:16
Speaker 1: Well, Viv, congrats on that interview. I loved hearing from Dane and really just loved his story more generally and how he said it was such a life-changing run at the US Open. I'm glad more people got to see what he can do and it'll be really interesting to see what happens from here for him. But I guess also Dane is just one of many stories that's been lighting up Flushing Meadows this last week in a bit. What's it been like for you going to the US Open for the first time?
00:13:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, Matt. Well, I probably never thought I'd share something in common with Carlos Alcaraz, but I have actually completed my career Grand Slam.
00:13:48
Speaker 4: So this is the last.
00:13:50
Speaker 5: I love it.
00:13:50
Speaker 4: Yeah, this is the last Grand.
00:13:52
Speaker 2: Slam that I am yet to attend. So yeah, it's just been fantastic to see it in person. I guess the scale of the event, it's huge being inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. You know, you see it on TV, but you can't quite appreciate it until it's there. So yeah, it's been a, an absolute buzz and a lot of fun being here.
00:14:11
Speaker 1: Oh, it sounds amazing.
00:14:12
Speaker 3: And yeah, I agree with you.
00:14:13
Speaker 1: Having been to the US Open a couple of times myself, Arthur Ashe is such a massive stadium. The other thing too, the night sessions and the buzz of New York and the US Open. Have you felt that being there?
00:14:24
Speaker 4: Yeah, I really have.
00:14:26
Speaker 2: Um, you know, everybody wants to, I guess, have been to the US Open while they're here. And, um, Yeah, the weather's been, you know, we had some rain in the first week, but the nights have been beautiful. So it's kind of been perfect tennis watching weather and everyone really gets behind it here.
00:14:40
Speaker 1: That sounds magnificent. Well, looking forward to having you back soon. But for the meantime, enjoy the rest of your time in New York. Thank you. It's been so good to catch you. We'll be back again next week with another episode of The Sit Down. Please remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode when it lands in your feed. And if you could leave us a rating or a review, we'd love that too. We'll see you when you're back, Viv.
00:14:59
Speaker 4: See you soon, Matt.
