French Open Day 10 - Can Kostyuk win it all for Ukraine?

0:10Hello and welcome to the tennis podcast on day 10 of the French Open, the first day of quarterfinal action and the first day of rain here at Roland Garros. the heavens have been intermittently and very dramatically opening here in Paris, which may or may not be a pathetic fallacy because Matt Roberts' current mood is low. Send hugs through the ether to Matt Roberts, folks. Yeah, the news I've been dreading arrived about half an hour ago. What news was that, Matt? One of the most important men in my life has left me, Marco Silva. Fulham manager. We've had five great years. He's gone to sunnier climes.

0:56He has. He's gone to Portugal. We can blame him. He couldn't unmute the Marco Silva farewell video that the Fulham official account put out because he didn't feel emotionally prepared for the sad music that they might have put with it. I'll watch that in a few days. When he's stronger. We are coming to you here in part one folks it's around about 6 p.m 6 15 night session is still to come laura siegmund is actually doing her best to delay the night session she and edouard roger vaselin have been drafted in to fill intentionally blank or else we would be recording this on uh in our usual lovely spot on chatray but no uh we are coming to you in part one from the area the place where david loiters with his microphone on media day which feels quite a long time ago now doesn't it we've lived remember the boycott we've lived a lot of lives since then and media day was a time when some of us i don't think there's any need to name names didn't have marta kostyuk in our mix for this title that is how long ago it feels because i'm not sure anybody is more in my mix for this title right now than marta Kostiuk.

2:13Yeah, she is delivering on all the promise, really, of the last few months, because so interesting, isn't it, that she came on the scene as a 15 year old, which always makes me anxious when somebody's that young playing professional sports. And I mean, I haven't talked to her in depth about it, but I'm not sure that was the best thing for her, really, her development and it's taken a while it's taken ups and downs and the last couple of years we've seen clear strides but then this year I go back all the way to that tournament in Brisbane where she was just beating top players like Jessica Begula and just knocking them off the court she had the injury problem at the Australian Open and then came back out after a period of time out and won that Madrid title and it was just always going to be so fascinating to see whether she could bring that in here um and it it has taken a while for her to reach her her peak form i think and get comfortable on the court and she seems to have got into a really good mindset of of sort of not getting involved in the conversation and really doing that compartmentalization of next match at a time next point at a time but today against her compatriot the favorite for the match you would think even despite Kostiuk's form against Svantec in the previous round, Svitolina is just so bankable these days that I think a lot of people would have had Svitolina as the favourite for the match.

3:45But Kostiuk showed a gear today that she has that is right at the top of the game. I think it's up there with Sabalenka, Rabakina, Svantec when she was at her best. You know, it's getting there. If it's not there, it's getting there. Particularly, Catherine, that finish, the last few games, were a joke from Kostiuk. A surge. It was a surge, TM, those last few games from Kostiuk. At three o 'clock in the morning last night when we just got back to the flat and we were waiting for our pizza to be delivered. It's that time of the tournament, folks. Matt does what he always does, last order of the day.

4:26He requests a prediction for us for the newsletter for the following day. and I was wrestling between Kostiuk in two and Svitolina in three. I just thought Kostiuk had the level to win this match, but I thought once Svitolina gets her teeth into something, you know, we talked about her slow starts, her relatively slow starts a couple of days ago, but I just thought once she got her teeth into this match, she would be a dog with a bone and be impossible to tear away from it. But I didn't know that Kostiuk had a surge TM like this. I mean, it was breathtaking tennis when she most needed it. To leave like peak competitive Svitolina for dust like that was a sight to behold.

5:15It really was. The match was playing out, I think, as I had expected, really. Kostiuk started the better we've talked about some Svitolina slow starts but then Svitolina did get her teeth into the match and did manage to find the aggression and the zone that she's got in over these past few weeks and started taking over the rallies and playing on her terms in the second set and it was one set all and right there and then I probably would have thought Svitolina in three the way this is going and the start of the third set it was like tension overtook the entire occasion and match. It was a very emotional match for both of them.

5:57I think playing a fellow Ukrainian on that stage, they both knew the importance of it. And we had four breaks of serve at the start of the third set and it was like no one could really just break through. And I thought we were going to be in for a tussle right to the very finish line. So it was two all and about 10 minutes later it was 6-2 to Kostiuk, she just found a level that I didn't know she had, even from everything we've seen this year. I think this was the best passage of play I've ever seen from her. She started it with a reflex volley off the net cord winner, like Svitolina's passing shot hit the net cord and Kostiuk had to make a in the split second adjustment and hit it for a winner.

6:47And it was like that just broke it open. she barely lost another point she held serve twice after that very convincingly she broke another time as well and what i found fascinating was her quote afterwards on call where she said she was asked about you know kind of what happened at 2-all how did you go on to then win it so convincingly and she said what i was thinking was how do i want to play if i want to win the tournament here I got chills when she said that because I was like wow you weren't even thinking about winning this match you were thinking about winning the tournament like and she just found this yeah whatever you want to call it surge flow state zone and it was remarkable to just wrench the match from Svitolina's control and take it I was in awe I was a bit lost for words actually sitting on Chatrier in the in the moments that passed it just happened so quickly there was so much to take in it was amazing she's riding she's walking that incredibly fine line of limiting pressure and expectations and not getting ahead of us herself while also clearly feeling herself and being prepared to make statements like that revealing that she is thinking of herself in terms of a potential winner of this title which i certainly am david even with a potential Sabalenka matchup in the final.

8:14During the latter stages of this, I was thinking, you know, look, I wouldn't write Svitolina off against Sabalenka, but I fear for her in that matchup. Even peaking Svitolina, that matchup is really tough. This Kostiuk against Sabalenka, not to get way ahead of ourselves, but I would give Kostiuk a decent chance, a really decent chance. Yeah, I mean something Pam said to us just after the match was that what Kostiuk's managed to do is get her head out of the way and let her athleticism rule for her game and that's very Coco Gauff, isn't it? In terms of being able to fall back on incredible athleticism in fact not even fall back on it, use it as a weapon and Kostiuk's got plenty of punch and firepower herself We see that with her return position.

9:13I think her forehand has improved a lot. That used to be a bit of a weakness for her, but it's got a lot better. And yeah, if she were to play Sabalenka, she's pushed her in the past. They've had some tight sets, I remember. But this new Kostya, you feel like, would have a genuine shot of also being able to not only absorb what Sabalenka's got, but also hurt her. Look, I would still make Sabalenka the favourite. I think the tennis we saw last night from Sabalenka, I remember coming out of that match and saying to David, well, that tennis is winning the tournament if she keeps it up. And I would stand by that.

9:47But my goodness, Kostiuk would have a chance if she can find anything close to this level that she had in the last period of the match today. She's got so many different ways to win points. There was a period towards, was it mid-first set or was it early second set? Can't quite remember. But the wheels weren't coming off for Kostiuk, but she was hitting some rash errors. She'd had a lot of returns from being, a lot of positive results from being very aggressive early on. And then she started to miss those very aggressive shots. And David and I kind of both said, she needs to just rein it in a bit here, put some margin on the ball, hang in some rallies, just give herself time to find the feel again.

10:32And she did that. She did that because she can, as you said, fall back on her athleticism and that heavily top spun forehand which really reared up on on Svitolina and I think was was very effective today and you know once she'd steadied the ship then she went into foot on the pedal mode again and you know making ridiculous reflex volleys mode again and all of the other various modes that are available to her when she's feeling it and confident. The great unknown is how she handles the moment from here because she's just never experienced it before. And there's no telling until it happens. And that's the thing, if she does, I mean, look, she's still got quite an obstacle and we'll come on to talk about who it is to get through in the semifinals.

11:24But if it was her and Sambalenka in the final, it's such an aura that is in your way and such an occasion. It's such a grand thing, isn't it? I mean, Kostiuk hasn't even had a night session where she's been separated from the rest of the tournament and had a big build-up. So those things are down the track. You know, she's got to get there first. But I think today was also a big test. She's playing kind of one of her idols in a way or somebody she respects and reveres in Alina Svitolina. I think all the Ukrainian athletes, I mean, not only tennis players, I think, generally really respect Elina Svitolina, but younger Ukrainian players just can't say enough good things about Svitolina and they know how good she is.

12:14So to sort of stare her down, take her on and beat her, I think that's already a big test passed. It was an incredibly emotional moment in the stadium after the match when Kostya, you know, she got asked a question by Marion Bartoli and she just wanted to take a moment to say that there'd been a very difficult night again in Kyiv and lots of people had lost their lives. And she said, I give this match to Ukrainian people and their resilience. And she thanked Svitolina for her impact on the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian tennis. And there was a very long standing ovation, round of applause for that.

12:50It was very emotional in the stadium. And yeah, for them to play a match of that quality, you know, with such weight on it like that, You know, we're just really in awe, really, of both women. Absolutely. Yeah. What a match. Loved it. Kostiuk to face Andreeva, Mira Andreeva, in the semifinals in a couple of days' time. Andreeva playing a very different match. Six loves, 6-3 over Saranaka Steyer in 56 minutes. This was a player that woke up this morning and admitted in press afterwards that she had flashbacks to her quarterfinal match here last year, which was an absolute nightmare for her. I imagine she has genuinely had nightmares about it since that day a year ago under the roof.

13:38I think that was the real sort of trigger point for her, the fact that the roof has been closed today when she faced that cacophony of negativity directed towards her from the baying French crowd supporting Lois Boisson. So she told us that she woke up having flashbacks to that day when she realised the roof was going to be on. And this is somebody that has suffered a lot over the last 12 months with recurring moments and matches where she has seemed in control and something has derailed her and she's lost her head completely. That could have been the scenario today, I think, very easily. Kistea is a limited player.

14:25Those limitations were exposed brutally by Andreeva today, but she's a bloody good player. And Andreeva carved her up and didn't blink. Yeah, I thought this was an extraordinary performance from Andreeva. From the start, it's the first time I've seen a play like that in a long time. We've seen a win matches. We've seen her play well, but I've often felt over the last year and a half that she's been protecting her forehand. You know, she's often had to resort to a sliced forehand. She's good at doing it. She's a good enough player. But today, certainly in her first set, I thought we saw what peak Andrava looks like.

15:09And I'm not sure I've ever seen that before. Not quite like that. I've seen very, very good performances from her, but she made it look easy. when she's at her best she floats around the court and the fact that she's wearing this particular Nike dress that has this sort of floating material like a figure skater you might imagine just enhances that feeling that oh this is easy you know and she's just but when she's getting to the ball and she was getting to the ball most of the time with ease if it was an attacking shot from Castella she was just absorbing it getting back into the rally and then just taking it over.

15:47And when she had the ball to be hit on the forehand, she was stinging with it. She wasn't trying to just get it back in court and float it deep. She was attacking with it. There was such confidence and conviction about the way she played. There was some lovely moments of excitement that she directed at Conchita Martinez, who responded with a big smile. And so often that has, frankly, been a fraught exchange, even as close as they are. It has been a difficult year. I mean, it's now a two-year anniversary from when I interviewed Conchita just after she'd taken over that job. So it's two years, which is pretty long running in coaching circles these days.

16:27But I think they've got somewhere now. We still don't know what it looks like when Andreeva gets put under pressure and she may well get put under severe pressure against Kostiuk or in the final if she gets there. But God, it was a joy to watch today. absolute treat I've just remembered a few weeks ago I did a big Marco Silva Conchita Martinez comparison didn't I on one of the pods that hasn't aged well Conchita going strong still with Andreva I loved that moment as well there was it was a half volley that Andreva hit on the backhand side with two hands she kept two hands on the racket but she had one foot off the floor and she hit it for a winner.

17:13It was very Medvedev, wasn't it? The body was in completely the wrong position and yet still hit a winner. And Conchita Martinez just stood up and had this beaming smile like a proud mum. I just absolutely loved it. And Andreva's expression was, did you see what I did there? It was so great. Which is my favourite tennis player reaction. And, you know, all the time we've spent watching Andreva for a few years now, I've been, I suppose I have been waiting for it all to come together. because you see all the options she has in her game and today in this one match for sure everything came together it was a dissection 25 points to nine in the first set in the match total 18 winners to four and draver converted all six of her break points and and costea only won 13 percent of her second serve points she was taken apart and it was actually um daisy on the barge wrote about how she thinks her favorite andreva is an andreva who is just carving someone up and i really related to that i really enjoy watching her tennis when it's in that full flow we've seen her involved in a lot of tense matches and we've seen a lot of stress we've seen a lot of of negative emotion directed at herself and that can be an uncomfortable watch but a performance like this where nothing phased her even when Kosteja got a break back in the in the second set she wasn't phased by that at all she just moved on and re-broke it was just a joy to watch and it you know it was I was thinking that's what being in the zone is like and then I saw Kostiuk finish the match the way she did.

18:59And I was like, oh, that's also what being in the zone can be like. We saw it in back-to-back matches, and for them to then meet in the semifinals, it is tantalising, isn't it? Yeah, excellent tennis dog-to-tennis player ratio in that semifinal. Turns out Marta Kostiuk has two Billie Jean-esque dogs. I knew about Manda, was very familiar with Manda's work. A second dog popped up in the box today. Don't know who it is. I've got serious questions to ask. I'm going to do some important journalism about it. Hannah has already dug into some social media activity and discovered that the dogs are friends.

19:40Very into those dogs. They've got a real Billie Jean quality about them. And, of course, Mirandreva has Razzie. I think he's called Razzie, the Bernadoodle, who isn't here. Points deducted for Razzie not being present in the players' box. but I think Razzie might be a significantly larger, sort of a logistically different kettle of fish to Kostjik's dogs. So I understand why you don't want to be dealing with those sorts of logistics while trying to win a slam. But anyway, I will look forward to seeing Marta Kostjik's dogs make a return. Also two female coaches in that semi-final, guaranteed a female coach in this year's French Open final.

20:27And they're such, I mean, they all are just the fact of female coaches is a good thing, but they are such positive representations of female coaches and dynamics between a female player and a female coach, aren't they? They are, they're the sort of platonic ideal of it, seemingly. Yes, and there was a great answer from Kostiuk in her press conference today when asked about the origins of that coaching relationship with Sandra Zanivsko. And she talked about how they had a practice week together and Kostya was talking about how she kept losing her head. She kept sort of really struggling in that practice week and previous coaches that she'd had might have responded to that by getting annoyed with her or asking her to stop being emotional on court kind of thing.

21:18And she said one of the things she really liked about Zanivsko was that she just let her be who she is and didn't take issue with it during the practice week. And then they talked about it at the end. And she was like, okay, she gets me. She understands me. This can be a really good coaching relationship going forward. And I was out on core 14 earlier in the tournament watching Kostiuk in a bit of a battle against Katie Volleynets, you know, earlier in the tournament when the weather was so hot and all the seeds were falling and Kostiuk was coming in here as a favourite. She was struggling and Pam was out there and was observing the coaching box and was just so taken by Zanitska's energy in that box.

22:01She's got her notepad, she's taking her notes, but she's never panicking. She's reinforcing messages that clearly she knows work for Kostiuk. So I think the dynamic seems to work really well off court with everything that they do in terms of preparation and what we talked about the other day with helping Kostiuk to hold this level. But then also within matches as well, I think she's getting good messages across. So it just seems like such a brilliant relationship that they have. A replay of the Madrid final. Will it look the same? Conditions very different here, likely to maybe be under a roof.

22:38Forecast isn't great for the next few days, for the remainder of the tournament, really. The forecast isn't great. The roof is likely to be a factor. My expectation would be a very, very close match Me too And Madrid was pretty close Do you think it might even be closer than that? Might go to a deciding set I think so I think Andreeva is looking as settled as I've seen her And as confident and as assured I do reserve the kind of opportunity to see how she looks on the day because I still feel you don't necessarily know what she's going to be like on a day and if something goes against her, how she handles that.

23:25But her game just looks in such great nick. And I would expect the crowd to be with Kostryk. This Ukrainian element, I think, is big and it's something that the crowd seem to be very aware of. and responding to. And I don't think there will be specific negativity towards Andreeva. She's incredibly young. She's still a teenager, but she is Russian. And for that reason, I would expect the crowd to be with Kostiuk and obviously there won't be a handshake here. It was very awkward in the Madrid final, exacerbated by the fact that it was a final and therefore there was a ceremony, just all very awkward and uncomfortable.

24:06and there will be elements of that in this match. Now, Andreeva's dealt with that a lot on tour, playing Ukrainian opponents. But she has lost to Kostryk twice this year and that was something, a stat that Kostryk had at the ready in her press conference, which was interesting. Just on Andreeva, in terms of the environment and the crowd, I think if she's able to not outwardly show frustration in front of this crowd, that would benefit her because they do get a bit judgmental around here, don't they? If somebody gets upset, they boo them, they whistle them. I wouldn't last five minutes out there.

24:54I would have one little huff and they'd be against me. They'd be on your case and then you'd get worse. And then things would spiral. Yeah. It would be a tailspin. And then I'd have to come out. If I was your coach, you could come into the corner. And then some podcasts would have a lot of fun talking about it and the scenes that unfolded. And how funny it was. Call it hashtag aggro. Speaking of which, Laura Seatman really is doing her best to mess up whatever plan the FFT had when they moved her match to Chattray, I think. They'll just be done in time for Fonseca and Mensik to get on court on time.

25:36But we shall see. We'll be back in part two to talk about that match and about Alexander Zverev's win over Rafael Hoda. And of course, part three will look ahead to tomorrow. Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast. We are now up in the media seats on Châtelet once again, watching the court have its nightly watering before it's put to sleep. And boy, do they water it. I mean, this is not a sprinkle. This is a dousing. Yeah, they kind of drown it. They create these huge puddles. This guy's been standing there with the hose, well, for 15 or 20 minutes already, and he's only done about half of the court.

26:18It's amazing. Yeah, we'd love to know what that guy does for the rest of the 50 weeks of the year. My mind goes back to when I was on court, Simone Mathieu during the heat wave element and a guy came out to do this and the crowd were going, spray us, please. It's so hot. Yeah, that was me, David. Thanks for exposing me there. And he did. In terms of the men's tennis that this court has seen today, for once at the French Open 2026, it was two straight sets matches. Matches that were kind of mirror images of one another. Zverev's defeat of Hodar started out exciting and competitive and ended up a total damp squib, while Mensik's win over Fonseca that we've all just watched was, frankly, a bit of a disappointment in terms of a contest for two sets, but then finally caught fire in the end.

27:12Mensik beating Fonseca 6-4, 6-3, 7-6. Zverev beating Hodar 6-7, 6-1, 6-3. I think I know which one you two want to start with. then maybe it's recency bias and the fact that the best of Mensik Fonseca came at the end, which was, you know, only half an hour or so ago. And for half an hour, that match kind of gave us a whole match's worth of excitement condensed into that short period of time, didn't it? Yeah, it suddenly became electrifying at the end. And you had that feeling of possibility still, which I think Fonseca does give you. I think this tournament this year has given us because the number of times two sets to love down has ended up in five and a half hours i'm look there's part of me that was thinking please don't go five and a half hours tonight there's another part of me that thinks bring it on because this is fun and fun second was doing his level best to extend this match saved multiple match points some audacious shot making but he was also playing a guy who was matching him shot for shot in terms of the excitement and the hard to believe.

28:21But he was also doing the basics so incredibly well. His serving, the number of times he was coming to the net, he really did come forward a lot. And it was interesting to see how the conditions affected things tonight. Rufon, Fonseca's forehand that was so explosive in the last two matches, it just couldn't get through the court. He was having to hit four forehands at full blast to get winners. Mensik seemed to find it easier to do that tonight. It was a really impressive performance from him. Just before we get into your tennis takes, Matt, do you have anything to say about the fact that the roof was on this evening?

28:59Disgraceful. I mean, I really liked their roof policy the other day. I can't remember when it was, but we praised it, didn't we? That they had left the roofs off, there was a bit of rain, and then, you know, it just carried on with play. There was rain earlier in the day. It was definitely raining, you know. Even when the roof's on, people in this stadium still get wet. And that definitely happened. Because there were a couple of gaps at the side. Yes. But tonight, like, honestly, it was a lovely sunny evening in Paris and maybe there was some rain in the forecast, but I don't think it came. And, yeah, we could have got that much in outside.

29:38I guess they'll say we want them action the same conditions the whole time. And to that, I would say, well, you've got to be very sure it's going to rain because otherwise you're putting it in the non-conditions of the tournament. And yeah, it does annoy me. And we'll never know how much it affected the match, but I definitely think it favoured Jakub Mensik, just like it favoured Alexander Zverev in the earlier match, during which it did rain quite heavily. Certainly not throughout the match, but it did rain throughout that match. You know, Mensik and Zverev are your textbook players for whom being under a roof is going to be beneficial, right?

30:14Yes, I think so, especially with the big serve, as David's talked about. And honestly, like, I just realised that I had totally overlooked Mensik coming into this one. Me too. I was so caught up in the funsecker of it all, as Hannah is saying on the barge. She's always trying to make something happen, isn't she? I do love that about her. She wanted, what was the sneeze pun she was trying to get off the ground the other day? Controver sneeze. It deserved a run out. There you go, Hannah. It's had its moment. She will genuinely appreciate that. So, yeah, I definitely was thinking about this match from a Fonseca perspective mainly.

30:59And I got up here in the media seats at the start of the match. and very quickly it became a kind of, oh, I have misread this totally. And yet in those conditions that we ended up having, Fonseca's game wasn't really able to make the impact that it had done in previous rounds and Mensik was businesslike and clinical and I think spooked Fonseca a little bit early on with his movement because he defended really well a couple of points. And I sensed after that that Fonseca tried to go for the lines a bit too much and didn't quite know how to balance out his attack as he had done in previous matches.

31:43Whereas Mensik was making big serves. He was hitting his forehand well. He's been doing that this tournament. It's generally his worst shot, but I think the clay gives him a bit more time on the ball and he connects with it well. His backhand is rock solid and Fonseca was probably going into that wing too much. And Menchik was making so many returns as well, putting constant pressure on. And then he was coming forward and he just had the full package, really, Menchik in those first two sets, whereas Fonseca was a bit flat, you know, and couldn't really get things going. It felt like the match that maybe suddenly he was thinking about of himself as the favourite compared to the previous two against Ruud and Djokovic.

32:28There was just a different dynamic to it. And Menchik played on that and executed his game brilliantly and kind of smothered Fonseca for those first two sets. But then things did start to change. It started the third. Menchik was clutching his leg and looked to be in trouble physically. And I thought the match was going to turn. And I thought we were going to see it develop into a four, five setter potentially. But it didn't. Yeah, the atmosphere, the temperature in here changed completely in the space of a couple of points, didn't it? It doesn't take much to get them going. You know, the Brazilians were dormant volcanoes for two and a bit sets and, you know, give them a tiny spark and they caught fire.