In short
The 2026 French Open men’s singles final (Day 15): Alexander Zverev beats Flavio Caballi in five sets, despite intense nerves and stress-related cramping. The hosts debate how the match swung (Caballi’s missed volley in the fourth-set tiebreak; Zverev’s “loosened up” cramping; chaotic momentum shifts) and what it means for Zverev’s future. They also briefly cover doubles and preview grass-court season.
Guests
No external guests. The episode is hosted by David, Matt, and a third co-host (the “we” group). They reference other tennis figures (e.g., Marcelo Melo, Dominic Thiem, Madison Keys, Ben Rothenberg, Serena Williams) but these are not guests on the podcast.
Key claims
- Zverev’s win was “excruciating” for both players; nerves overwhelmed both.
- Zverev’s stress cramps helped him refocus; he still won key rallies.
- Caballi’s biggest regret is failing to close the fourth set after leading moments.
- The slam is framed as anomalous due to the draw; Zverev’s title may not fully reflect beating top names.
Notable examples
- Fourth-set tiebreak: Caballi fluffs a put-away smash after opening the court.
- Fourth-set “chaos”: Marcelo Melo appears courtside with supplements/pickle-juice-like aid.
- Fifth set: Zverev wins 6-1 after surviving the nerve-ridden fourth.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOReflecting on the Tournament
0:45 to 1:56
The hosts reminisce about the thrilling moments of the tournament and Zverev's journey.
“David, Matt, as a headline, how would you describe this final as a tennis match?”
Match Analysis: Zverev vs. Caballi
1:56 to 3:00
The hosts discuss the challenging final match between Zverev and Caballi.
“He got the job done in a torturous fashion, really.”
Emotional Struggles on Court
3:00 to 4:23
They explore the emotional and physical struggles both players faced during the match.
“But he did do it, and credit to him for that.”
Turning Points in the Match
4:23 to 6:20
The hosts identify key moments that changed the course of the match.
“in terms of the performance or the match?”
Expectations Going into the Fifth Set
6:20 to 7:52
The hosts share their predictions and feelings as they entered the decisive fifth set.
“The only time he's lost sets was when he was already two sets to love up.”
The Fourth Set Drama
7:52 to 10:19
A detailed breakdown of the dramatic fourth set and its impact on the players.
“I'm curious how you two felt at the end of that fourth set.”
Kabbali's Performance and Regrets
10:19 to 14:01
The discussion shifts to Kabbali's performance and the regrets he might have after the match.
“He mishit it completely and it went sideways out of court.”
Zverev vs. Caballi: Match Analysis
14:01 to 18:09
An in-depth analysis of the intense final match between Zverev and Caballi, discussing key moments and player performances.
“and sometimes it can help you So at that moment, I think it would have been easy to get caught up in the hype of what Kabbali had just done by hitting that forehand and levelling the match.”
The Roller Coaster Performance of Caballi
18:10 to 23:09
Exploration of Caballi's performance, highlighting his ups and downs throughout the match and the emotional stakes involved.
“But I really, it's such a, I'm left with such complicated feelings about Kabbali's performance today.”
Future Prospects for Caballi
23:10 to 28:00
Discussion on Caballi's potential future in tennis, including areas for improvement and chances of reaching another Grand Slam final.
“I would never argue with his boat choices.”
Show all 24 chapters
Zverev's Potential and Consistency Challenges
28:00 to 29:12
Explore Zverev's potential for consistency and the challenges he faces in maintaining it.
“and they find themselves in the right half of the draw, I think especially on this surface as well.”
Historical Context of Zverev's Win
29:12 to 32:09
Discuss the significance of Zverev's title win and its historical context in tennis.
“But David, historical context, there's no one better than David Law for historical context.”
Impacts of Zverev's Championship on His Career
32:09 to 35:18
Analyze how Zverev's first Grand Slam win might affect his future in tennis.
“I think that's unlikely whilst Alcraz and Sinner are around because they are far better players than he is.”
Controversial Context of Zverev's Success
35:18 to 40:52
Examine the implications of Zverev's past controversies in light of his recent success.
“Okay, he doesn't have the number one, but he's had a very consistent ranking.”
Wrapping Up Roland Garros 2026
42:00 to 44:25
The hosts discuss the outcomes of the women's doubles final and the overall championship results.
“where we will wrap our coverage of Roland Garros 2026 before we move on to a mini grass court preview.”
Transition to Grass Court Season
44:25 to 44:55
The hosts transition from Roland Garros to the upcoming grass court season, highlighting key events.
“Unless you're a friend of the tennis podcast and you get our Grand Slam review shows because we're recording that on Tuesday before Matt goes to Chicago.”
Serena Williams' Comeback Plans
44:55 to 46:05
Discussion revolves around Serena Williams' statements regarding her return to tennis and her motivations.
“We have tennis to talk about and tennis to preview on the green stuff.”
Headlines from Queen's Club
46:05 to 48:35
The hosts cover various developments at Queen's Club, including Tatiana Maria qualifying despite a lack of a wildcard.
“And she's also, incidentally, we now know that she's taken a doubles wildcard into Berlin next week, the week after Queen's as well.”
Men's Grass Court Season Insights
48:35 to 52:45
Analysis of players' performances and expectations for the men's grass court season as the hosts reflect on recent tournaments.
“But I would say as well, I think there's a very strong argument for not giving all the British players wildcards because if they were to win through qualifying, they'd be more dangerous, wouldn't they?”
Fantasy Tennis and Upcoming Shows
52:45 to 56:00
Hosts discuss their fantasy tennis strategies as well as upcoming episodes and project plans for the podcast.
“As soon as the opportunity opened up in this draw, Shelton lost.”
Looking Ahead to Grass Court Season
56:00 to 57:37
The hosts discuss upcoming shows and events in tennis, including the grass court season.
“couple of days to think on it and view the big picture.”
Excitement for Wimbledon and Tennis Relived
57:37 to 59:02
Anticipation builds for Wimbledon, including the draw and special episodes planned for listeners.
“Just the timing isn't necessarily what he'd have chosen.”
Gratitude to Supporters and Team
1:00:02 to 1:01:14
The hosts express gratitude to subscribers and team members for their support and hard work.
“And thank you to all friends of the Tennis Podcast for making this possible.”
Final Thoughts and Farewell
1:01:14 to 1:03:06
The hosts share final thoughts, thank their listeners, and end the episode.
“I mean, we can save this for the review show on Tuesday, but how on earth do we remember this?”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:10Hello and welcome to the tennis podcast, the final daily tennis podcast from the 2026 French Open. This is number 18 of 18. And boy, have we had some thrills and spills along the way. You find us tonight on the benches or bleachers, if you're of the American persuasion, of Court 13 over on the far side of the grounds beyond Court Suzanne Longlen. It is 11.30 at night. David, Matt and I are huddled together one last time here at Roland Garros. There are distant sounds of various rap parties drifting over from the other side of the grounds towards Philippe Chatrier. And I was casting my mind back earlier to the first of our 18 podcasts here at Roland Garros after the draw at the Orangerie and how overwhelming a favourite Yannick Sinner was for the title here at that point and how the whole tournament flipped completely upside down in about a 30 hour period in the first week when first Sinner lost and then Djokovic.
1:15Djokovic since that moment all eyes have been on Alexander Zverev and whether he could cope with the magnitude of finally being handed the opportunity of a lifetime to become a major champion and we now know that the answer is yes he could and he did five sets and more than four anxious hours it took him to beat Flavio Caballi today but he does not care how it happened he just cares that his name is on the trophy, finally, at the age of 29. David, Matt, as a headline, how would you describe this final as a tennis match? He got the job done in a torturous fashion, really. It was hell for him on that court today.
2:05I think it was hell for both of them, really. They really struggled emotionally, psychologically, and then physically to try one of them to get over the line. Neither one of them will feel that they played particularly well. I mean, they did in spells. Certainly Zverev started incredibly well. But then the whole match just became overwhelmed with nervousness. Totally understandable in the situation they find themselves in. Kabbali never having played a grandstand final before, Zverev having played several, and knowing, given the backdrop that you've just outlined, that he had to do it now. He even said afterwards, if I hadn't have done it now, I would have lost a lot of confidence that I ever would.
2:55And really, I think it was hanging by a thread for him, his whole hopes of ever doing it. But he did do it, and credit to him for that.
3:096146646761 in four hours and 16 minutes. Matt, how would you describe it? I think excruciating would be my word of choice, which is quite something, really, when that final set was 6-1 and there was as little jeopardy in that deciding set as there was. He won that pretty comfortably, Alexander Zverev, but the fourth set was as error-laden, nerve-ridden a Grand Sam final as I can remember since Verev's first one, I would say, against Dominic Thiem. There were definite echoes of that, where both players were really struggling physically, both with their nerves and perhaps physically because of their nerves, and one would take an advantage and hand it back and you just didn't know which way it was going.
4:05It was an interesting watch. I was into the drama of it. But, yeah, I think excruciating for both of them and especially Alexander Zverev trying to achieve this thing that he knew was his big opportunity. And he's not hiding from that, is he, Zverev, in terms of the performance or the match? He's not trying to pretend that was, you know, some sublime career-defining performance to get over the line. He just simply doesn't care. This was just about the quest and getting over that line somehow, wasn't it? I mean, he was cramping in that fourth set. He said he believes those cramps were stress-related, and I can absolutely believe that.
4:52That's how it felt to me at the time. He doesn't have a lot of tennis in his legs. We know that he's pretty well equipped physically to deal with five-set matches. And again, this chimed with what I was thinking watching the match. He said the cramping actually helped him because it loosened him up and it focused his mind and it made him just swing. Yeah, because he came out at the start of the match in a very sort of controlled manner. Those are the sounds of them loading the trolleys full of gear that they have to do at the end of the tournament. I know we say this every slam, but every slam, it shocks me how quickly they dismantle everything.
5:31Yes. I mean, the champion is still just a few metres away having his photo shoot, and they're dismantling the whole place around us. Yeah, that is what it's like on the final day of any tournament, really. But, yeah, I mean, he started in serene fashion, really, did Zverev, and he looked like he was trying to just stroke the ball, and almost try to bring Caballi onto him so that he could hurt him on the counter and just find his timing. And it worked perfectly, really. But then the second set, Caballi really started to find his range and stung him. Stung him a couple of times and rattled him, I think.
6:12And that's when the nerves started to take their route because he hasn't been tested like that all tournament. The only time he's lost sets was when he was already two sets to love up. So this, I always thought he needed to win the first set, Caballi, to have a chance of winning the match. But actually once he won the second and leveled, that was already in a different kind of situation to anything else he'd had. And then that gave the chance for the nerves to become a factor because they were still there in the third set. and I actually thought things did a good job to sort of keep on level terms all the way through that.
6:52There was a lot of moments in this match I think Cabali will just... I think he'll be very proud of himself to have got this far and taken it to five sets and he'll think he's got future chances, but he'll have a lot of regrets where he's thinking, I was 4-5, one set all, 30 love up, and I lost my serve. You know, that can't happen. Can you remember how each of you were feeling going into the fifth set in terms of the likely, how you would have predicted that that fifth set would have likely played out at that point, both in terms of what it would look like and who would have won it? Because I certainly, I mean, it seems obvious now, given what, you know, because hindsight is a wonderful thing and what Zverev said about the cramps, the physical issues actually loosening him up.
7:35But I was not expecting a one sided Zverev set. If you told me this is going to be a 6-1 set at that point, I'd have thought Caballi. Now, maybe that's really naive of me, but I didn't see it coming, how it ended up playing out. And we haven't had a chance to discuss this. I'm curious how you two felt at the end of that fourth set. I was sitting next to Matt, but I did have to rush out for a loo break pretty much as soon as that fourth set tie break ended. I don't think I would have predicted 6-1 for either of them. I think I would have thought that this is going to go right to an excruciating end.
8:12I think in every answer today I'm just going to say the word excruciating. But I still would have made Zverev the favourite, I think, because of what I said about Caballi yesterday, in that he's not... I never thought he was stable enough and to be able to sustain the brilliant tennis to really actually beat Alexander Zverev over five sets. And all match, he was two in and out, I would say, with his best stuff. And that's totally understandable in his first grandstand final. And he had this crazy end to the fourth set, Kabali, where he, in three consecutive points, played like his ceiling, then his floor, then his ceiling again.
9:06The final three points of the fourth set. He found a new floor. He found tennis's new floor. But he might have found a new ceiling. He came up with a drop shot that was just magnificent, put him in a great position to win the tiebreak. Then he had set point and he fluffs this volley. David was in commentary on BBC Radio for this. Could we have a recreation of you describing? being whatever it was he did. I don't remember the whole point, but I remember that he opened up the court in a manner that gave him the most straightforward put-away on top of the net that you could possibly have. And I set my...
9:43Because you can, in commentary on radio commentary, I was on BBC Radio 5 Live, you can tell when a put-away is coming. If you've watched the sport long enough, you know when somebody's opened up the court, you know when the ball's not going to go much past the net, and you know when somebody's about to just smash it away with no trouble at all. That's what was happening. And I set myself up for this. Flavia Caballi's got a smash to take it into a fifth. Oh, no! He's fluffed it, is what I said, I think. He's fluffed it. And that's what happened. He completely took his eye off the ball. He mishit it completely and it went sideways out of court.
10:25and then so then he still got set point at this point but you're thinking well what on earth is going through the guy's mind now he's already been up a break twice in this set this is the other thing this is why he ended up in this in such a dire situation in the fifth set is because he should have won the fourth set easily Zverev was gone in that fourth set Zverev could barely put the ball over the net and run after the next one he was cramping so badly and he was so tight And Marcelo Mello, Matt spotted this long before I did. Obviously, we're just watching it from the press seats. We didn't have a monitor for the TV coverage like you would have had in the commentary box.
11:05Matt spotted Marcelo Mello, obviously one of Zverev's team, appear in the little courtside pen area where you always see Amelie Maresmo and the henchmen standing. Marcelo Melo appeared and this is when Zverev's down at that end of the court and he's sort of going over and chuntering to him and then at the end of the set, I think it was... Was it five all in the fourth? Five all in the fourth. Marcelo Melo gives him some... I thought it was pickle juice at the time, whatever it was. It was obviously something for his physical issues. I've never seen that before. I've never seen somebody from the players' team appear in that area and give anything directly to the player.
11:52It's obviously allowed because, you know, the umpire could see what was going on. I mean, the tournament director was standing right there while it was happening. But it was a weird visual to see. Like, it was chaotic and weird. And I was like, oh, that's allowed, is it? Okay, right, that's what we're doing. It was like when Leander Pays sent some new shoes down for Stefanos Tsitsipas during, it was one of the US, Washington, I think. Washington, maybe. I was like, oh, right, OK. Other players can send shoes onto court for other players, can they? Right, right. I don't know. It's just, it looks sort of tin pot and like a club match or something.
12:35I don't know. It was a very odd moment. And the thing is, though, so that happens at 5-0 in the fourth, just after Zverev's broken back after Caballi had served for the set. And that game that Zverev played to break back was the best game he played in the entire second half of this match. His arm was so loose suddenly, wasn't it? He's right in his words afterwards. He said he let go and suddenly he actually started ripping the ball again and really increasing the speed on it. And I don't think that was necessarily a bad game that Caballi played. serving it out. Zverev, to his credit, took it from him, went down the line, made the shots.
13:13Then he takes this from Melo and he holds for 6-5. And I thought he might win the next game and win the match there and then because he'd just increased his level. Caballi has blown his chance or not taken his chance to take it to a fifth. But credit to Caballi because he then did hold and take it into that chaotic tie break that we've talked about. And after that duft volley, Caballi then leathers a forehand up the line to win the fourth set and in the press conference afterwards he was asked about that passage of play and he said, I shut my eyes and the journalist in the press conference said on both shots, on the missed volley and the forehand?
13:54You know, he's great, he's great, Caballi he took it well and he said, yeah, maybe and sometimes it can help you So at that moment, I think it would have been easy to get caught up in the hype of what Kabbali had just done by hitting that forehand and levelling the match. I was actually thinking a lot about what David had said and how he hadn't closed the set and he had shown vulnerability. I thought it was in the balance. But if you'd told me that Kabali was going to be struggling physically, which we now know he was, he said his body left him and he had cramps in his calves, then I would have backed Zverev because he's just got so much more experience in these long matches.
14:44And I think he'd got through his really tough period, which was the middle of that fourth set when he was stumbling around without much energy in his legs and cramping. I thought it was right in the balance because it was very obvious Zverev was still struggling. Even though he'd had these supplements, even though he had started to hit out. And as you said, it helped him that he had the cramp because he was leather in the ball suddenly. whereas he'd been really tentative until then but I thought you know it's it's two sets all if if he doesn't even even when he was heavily ahead in the fifth set I thought he could be vulnerable because he was just fighting himself fighting his his demons really to try to get out of the line what I didn't know from the very top floor where we commentate from and we do have monitors but They're not that obvious.
15:38We can't really look at them. They're sort of side on and so forth. I didn't realise that Flavio Caballi was struggling physically himself. I couldn't tell that. And so my assumption really was that, well, he should be buzzing now. And if he can get into this fifth set, he might go after Zverev. And Zverev's tight. So I probably would have just favoured Caballi for that reason. But I didn't know he was cramping. I mean, he said he was cramping in two places at the end of that fourth set. And again, that's got to be stress-related, I would have thought, or at least partially stress-related, because I don't have any physical question marks over Flavio Caballi at all.
16:22No. I mean, it's the match of their lives, both of them. It's totally understandable. I mean, it is what makes sport so special, is seeing people suffer because it means so much. and them trying to overcome it. I think the moment I thought it was done was the double break. Just because Zverev was serving so well through this match generally. You know, like his first serve percentage was in the mid-70s, pretty much sustained. And I only really felt like Kabbali broke Zverev's serve when Zverev went quite a long way to breaking himself. Like the first few times he got broken, and he had to have a couple of double faults in the game.
17:04And I just thought, as nervous as Verev's going to be, closing it out, as tired as he is, the double break is such a big cushion with that serve. Like, Caballi's going to have to do something pretty miraculous to break that twice, not get broken himself. So, for me, the moment it was done was Verev going up a double break. I thought there was no way back for Caballi at that stage. Just staying on Caballi for a moment, There's nobody quite like David Whittaker to kick a man when he's down. Oh, no. Look, he runs a type ship. There's my dad. And shortly after the conclusion of this final, I got a message from him to say, Cabali has been discharged from my crew.
17:51Savage. Due to the lack of fangs he showed in the fifth set. And look, I don't disagree. I was disappointed in the fang, the pointiness of the fifth set from Kabbali. I didn't, as we've established, I didn't know how much he was struggling physically. So that is a big caveat there. But I really, it's such a, I'm left with such complicated feelings about Kabbali's performance today. I mean, I think overall positive, like taking it to five sets in your first Grand Slam final against somebody that's been in that situation three times before I think has to be an overall positive. But it was almost like every time I expected him to fluff his lines, he didn't and he proved me wrong.
18:38And every time I felt confident in him, he fluffed his lines. Like I was so sure that he wouldn't hold at 5-6 in the fourth and I was so sure that he wouldn't win the next point after he fluffed that put away in the tie break. and prove me wrong, he did in spectacular fashion both times. But then there were other times when I was like, Flavio, what are you doing? It's like you're feeding the Zverev backhand or you've just totally lost your mind for a minute. Like, where's the guy from a few games ago? Like, yeah, as always, it's a roller coaster with Flavio. I generally feel like his view will be, yes, there were things he wished he'd done differently and things that cost him the match.
19:30The fact that he made such a slow start, the fact that he had 30 love in that game, what if he'd have held at the end of the third set? The fact that he didn't close out the fourth set when he probably could have done earlier. I take the point about the one game that Zverev's hitting out on, but he was twice a breakup. you know in that set but he's never done it before so I'm sure he will take it as a learning you know he will think right okay I've got all this data now from my first grand slam final if I get back there next time I'm going to do this this and this better and differently and I think that's perfectly reasonable to feel that the only problem is he may not be facing Alexander Zverev next time who's an inferior player to Carlos Alcaraz and Yannick Sinner he might be playing them and he might not have any chance at all.
20:19But, you know, you can't live your life like that, can you really? You've got to, when you're 24 and you've just reached a major final, you've got to be thinking okay, I'm going to get better and I'll get more chances. And in his speech he said, I'm just pleased my mum's still alive. He's given us some lines this fortnight hasn't he? My body left me another one from today. The thing is, if you told me that Flavio Caballi would make a slow start, that he would have moments where he takes over with his shot making, if he has moments where you're putting your head in your hands, if he responds to those moments with more brilliance, if he fades a bit at the end, I would say, yeah, that sounds like how Flavio Caballi probably would play his first Grandstand final, like at this stage in his career.
21:08He's still a work in progress. He started this tournament outside of the top 10. like the fact that he's in the final is credit to him and also because of what's happened to the draw and he's taken advantage of that like he he was not in my mix to reach even the final here at the start of this tournament like he's it's kind of ahead of the curve I would say getting to this one before he was really ready and he dealt with it I think in the best way he possibly can at this stage in his career but if you'd also told me that he'd play that match against Zverev, I'd have said, it probably won't be enough because Zverev is better than him.
21:47You know, like he is at this stage in his career. He's steadier over these longer matches. He's more consistent. He's more experienced. I know he's got his own demons that he was fighting, but I just always felt like Caballi was going to have to play the match of his life or show us something a bit different, a bit more sustained. And he couldn't quite do that and he gave it a really good shot but it just wasn't quite enough. But I do agree that given the landscape of men's tennis, it's possible we look back at this one as his biggest chance, even though he maybe wasn't quite ready personally.
22:29I think he can be a better player than this and have less of a shot, if that makes sense, because he could come up against Sinner or Alcres in the future and that will probably be even tougher than this than this one which in itself was still tough yeah it's easy to forget because so much tennis happened after this point but after that first set where Caballi was flat he got broken in the opening game never recovered from that 6-1 atmosphere in the stadium was was pretty awkward most people were fearing the worst there in terms of the the competitiveness of this final and the fact that he pulled it back from that Flavio Caballi, very impressive.
23:08So, look, it's my dad's boat, just like it's Matt's backhand list. I would never argue with his boat choices. I have to say, on the whole, I am surprised that Zverev got so afflicted by nerves. I wasn't expecting that. And it is impressive that he did it in spite of that. Yeah. Isn't it? Because, you know, I always think, you know, it's more impressive. People sort of confuse courage and bravery, don't they? One is not feeling fear and doing something and one is feeling fear and doing it in spite of that fear. And, you know, he was so obviously feeling it and experiencing all of his demons and scar tissue in real time on that court.
23:57And, OK, he might not have overcome them had the opposition not been Flavio Caballi, but you beat who's in front of you. And he had a challenge there today and he overcame it. There were a couple of astonishing rallies he won with retrieving, where he got lobbed a couple of times. And his ability to kind of extend rallies in those situations, when you think they're won, he forced smashes into the net from Caballi. And then even on the match point, he forced him into a top-edged smash wide. You know, it's just make them play another ball. And he's got the hands to do it when he's on the run in particular.
24:44And even though he was struggling really badly physically, he was still able to do those things. And he had all match, he had his two best shots, his serve and his backhand. you know okay there was a period where he wasn't quite going after the backhand like he can but there were some spells when he when he kind of was producing some unforced errors and some double faults but he did get them back yeah and generally i would say this was a good serving performance from say it was isolated moments where he would hit the doubles and get broken um but you know those are his two strengths and he i did feel like he could lean on them quite a lot today and yes caballi's decision making and trading so often with the backhand maybe wasn't the right cause appeared where he then started to go down the line caballi on his backhand and that was and that was the right thing to do but you know so many backhand exchanges especially at the start of the match where Sverev was coming out on top and it's a great shot and largely he had it today.
25:54Yes, there were some misses, but I thought it was a good shot for him today. Okay, that's the match. We're going to break for part one, join us in part two when we'll talk about what it all means. Matt and David love that. Welcome back to part two of today's pod, the what does it all mean chat, the look into the future. Let's start with Kabbali and finish off the Kabbali portion of today's show before we move on to Zverev. Do you, if you had to say now, will Kabaly find himself in this position again in a Grand Slam final? Yes, I think he will. I think he's good enough. I think he has extreme speed around the tennis court.
26:35I was impressed with certainly Spells. I mean, he still has two bigger differential between his floor and his ceiling, but his backhand stood up pretty well, I thought, and his forehand at times was awesome. I mean, at times it was a disappointment as well. And he played his drop shot well, I think. I think that was a real premeditated tactic that the team had worked on. I wouldn't mind a bet that he'd had a word with Yannick Sinner or at least, you know, taken some influence from the success he's had against Ferev with that shot. And I think he is going to improve, Flavio Caballi. I see, I mean, he's still, what, 24?
27:14And he feels a young 24, doesn't he? He does. I think he's just got a great physique for sort of movement, and I think he will improve. So, yes, I'd say he will. I mean, he needs things to go his way again, because I do think if he runs into Sinner and Alcraz, then chances are he's not going to win many matches. But if he can find himself not running into them, I think he's got a good chance. Matt? Don't have much to add, really. I would say the same. I think his best tennis is ahead of him. and he can absolutely be in a pack of guys who can, I think, take advantage of tournaments, maybe not as chaotic as this, but just where one of Sina or Alcraz lose and they find themselves in the right half of the draw, I think especially on this surface as well.
28:06Yes, I wouldn't say that he's definitely going to win Grandstand titles or anything like that, But if you said gets back to another major final, I guess I would say yes. Do you think he'll always be a streaky player to some degree? Do you think he'll always be somebody that has lapses? Yes, I think so. It's quite hard to totally reprogram your DNA on that front, isn't it? Yeah, I think he can try and make them less extreme. I think trying to get a bit more year-round consistency would be helpful for him. That would improve his ranking as well, make things easier in draws. But, yeah, I do. I think he's going to be this guy who rides the highs but has some lows.
28:56If he can just get that ratio a bit more favourable, then that's probably the key thing for his career, really. Moving on to Zverev and kind of looking ahead to what this means for him. David, this one's for you, really, although feel free to weigh in on this, Matt. But David, historical context, there's no one better than David Law for historical context. A lot of talk around this win, even before today's match had happened, basically since Sinner and Djokovic went out, right? You know, we do not believe in asterisks on this show, but everybody can see who he's beaten to win this title and it is not Yannick Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic or any of the people that have been stopping and winning Grand Slam titles up until this point.
29:47He doesn't care and I totally respect that. I might not care either in his position. I'm so far away from that position, I'll never know. Do people remember in the fullness of time who you beat to get there, what the nature of the win was? Or do they just remember the trophy and that your name's on it? Yeah, I don't really think they do. I think generally if you're a Grand Slam champion, you're a Grand Slam champion. That's what people remember. Yeah, I don't think there would be some big forensic analysis in the years to come as to who they have beat. Yeah, we know. those of us that work in the sport but yeah he will always be that now and you could see how happy that made him afterwards and I can understand why.
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30:40And presumably it helps if there were to be any analysis on that front that he has you know he's beaten Carlos Alcarez in a slam you know he's not I knew someone would end up catching strays here he's not Thomas Johansson is he and like you know he's been a consistent world number three. But Johansson beat Marit Saffin in the final. He did. Yeah, which was a great win. But he's not going to be remembered as an anomaly, even if this is the only slam he ends up with. No, and he's... He's not going to be cited by people like me as an example of... A bit of a butt of a joke. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, listen, I understand the joke.
31:22I mean, look, the difference with Zverev is he has reached four of them, and he's been knocking on the door for years. and he's done everything but win a Grand Slam title. You know, there are many that regard him as the best player in the men's game that hadn't won a Grand Slam title. I take issue with that because I saw Marcelo Rios. He wasn't as consistent maybe as Zverev, but he was a hell of a lot better player than him in terms of talent. That's just what I see anyway because I saw them both. But, you know, what Rios lacked was the talent between the ears and the heart that Zverev has got.
31:56He has got those things.
32:00So, yeah, I think it's the crowning moment for his career. Maybe if he were to get to world number one, that would be the other one that he would seek. I think that's unlikely whilst Alcraz and Sinner are around because they are far better players than he is. But look, you can't take away this one from him. He's earned it fair and square because he's beaten all the people that were in front of him. Zverev was pretty punchy in his press conference, wasn't he, about this, you know, he's not going to get complacent now. There's no resting on laurels. There's no sixth month party in Ibiza celebrating this.
32:42He was like, this trophy helped. He said, this trophy helps my belief a lot. Maybe it'll give me freedom. Maybe I'll feel calmer the next time I'm in a final. basically this could open the floodgates, I feel like was the messaging from Alexander Zverev now. How do you feel about that? Does this change anything for you in terms of Zverev and the remainder of his career? He's 29, which is old for a first-time Grand Slam champion, but equally we do see players, or certainly elite players, going on well into their 30s now, and he does seem physically in his prime. So in terms of the remainder of his career, whatever it might be, and his prospects at slams and of narrowing the gap to Sinner and Alcaraz and Djokovic now, but obviously, let's be realistic, longer term, not Djokovic.
33:38What does it change, if anything, for you? Well, I do think it could release him a little bit. I still think he's going to be very tense in big matches when he's closing in on big titles, because I think they matter to him. I don't think it's as easy as just I've won one. Talking to Madison Keyes about it, I remember I asked her that question. Do you feel less stressed when you're closing in on a big win because you've already got that one? She goes, oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. I'm just as stressed as I ever was. I'm pleased that I got that Grand Slam, but it doesn't change anything about my makeup as a human being.
34:16I think Zverev had already made significant strides the last sort of six or eight months because of his acceptance that he needed to do more than be solid and a human backboard. He needed to step up and be able to play aggressive tennis in order to beat Sinner and Alcraz in his mind. The truth is he still hasn't actually done that. I mean, like, Sinner has owned him this year, but I think the intent is the right one. It's what people like me have been saying he's not been doing for years, not stepping up and playing big tennis. Well, he's trying to do that now. it's just that today until he cramped the vast majority of it was i've just got to survive and get through this somehow and i again i understand that too and he did get the job done so i think he's i think he could still improve i still think though if sinner and alkraza are in draws and they're fit he's not going to beat them very often i think and he was here today dominic team I remember always when what he talked about when he won finally a Grand Slam title and his his quest to win one was nowhere near as long as Alexander Zverev's he'd been he'd been pretty close as well but in terms of number of slams played and number of matches won at slams Zverev is you know pretty much at the top of that list in terms of longest wait but team talked about like my whole identity was trying to get a slam and i did that and it was such an effort and he talked about losing motivation now i think zverev is a very different character to team and team obviously then had the injury as well that really derailed him but i you know so much of zverev's sort of worth, self-worth in tennis over the last few years has been this quest to win a major because he has done everything else in terms of an ATP finals, loads of masters, he's got an Olympic gold.
36:18Okay, he doesn't have the number one, but he's had a very consistent ranking. Like he ticked all of those boxes and now he's done this. And yes, maybe it releases him and maybe it makes him more dangerous. I still think, I come down on the same side as David, I still think that when push comes to shove, when Alkraza and Sinner are there. It doesn't really matter to me quite how free Zverev is. I still think Alkraza and Sinner will have the answers against him. But there is a part of me that's wondering whether he might just lose a bit of edge, a bit of, yeah, motivation. And he might have a dip and might be less consistent than we've seen him.
37:00I don't know. I'm just speculating. it's very possible it goes the other way and the best period of his career is ahead of him. But I do think that's a possibility. You know, it's not, it wouldn't be, he wouldn't be the first guy to experience something like that. How do you think Dominic Thiem felt? 32 years old, sitting there watching that final. I know how I felt seeing Dominic Thiem, corporate Dominic Thiem, sitting courtside watching the final. Look, he seems happy. I'm happy for him. I miss him. I miss that tennis. And look, I think he is friendly with Zverev, isn't he? So I think he would have been pleased with Zverev.
37:38Just a few little stats here in terms of, you know, how this has been a weird slam and Zverev has really done well to take advantage of it. But there was this great one from Je C 'est de Mat the other day. This is one that Mat wishes he'd come up with. He played a novice at every stage of this slam from the round of 16 onwards. He played guys who'd never been at that stage of a slam before. Jesper de Jong, Raphael Khoda, Jakub Mensik, Flavio Kabbali. Like he had an experience gap there that he managed to take advantage of. The last person who had that was Mats Valanda back in 1988. Like it's really rare.
38:26And then your man Thomas Johansson, Catherine, since 128 player draws were introduced, this one's from Opta, at all four slams in 1988, Alexander Zverev is just the second player to win a maiden Grand Slam title without defeating an ATP top 10 opponent en route after Thomas Johansson. Safin was outside the top 10 at the time. Yeah. So that's what gives me pause for thought in terms of extrapolating out of this because I think this was such an anomalous slam. And look, someone still has to win it and he was absolutely the best player remaining in the field. And like some people have, you know, in that question of who's going to be the next person to win a slam, I've been wrong about that because I did not think it would be Zverev.
39:22And I think some people have said it would be Zverev because he's the one who constantly puts himself there. time after time. He's so consistent. He's always knocking on the door. I just didn't think that would necessarily be enough, but it absolutely has been. He was here when the others weren't, through injury or defeat, and he was the one to beat everyone else. And I guess I was sort of hoping that the next guy to win a slam would be like an electric breakthrough, getting up to the level of Sinu and Alcaraz and Djokovic. and it just hasn't been that. It's been the guy who was there all along taking advantage of a tournament like this and playing really good tennis.
40:07Yeah. Now, look, if you're new here to the Tennis Podcast and you're wondering why we possibly don't sound quite as exuberant as we sometimes do after a Grand Sun final, well, it's partly because it's gone midnight, but look, this match and this win for Zverev has a backdrop. There is no avoiding that. It was ahead of his last final here two years ago that he settled a case relating to domestic abuse charges brought by his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, Brenda Patea. Zverev had to pay 200 ,000 euros as a result. 150 ,000 euros of that went to the state treasury and the rest to non-profit organisations, with the court at the time telling The Athletic the decision is not a verdict and is not a decision about guilt or innocence.
40:56Patea was the second woman to accuse him of domestic abuse after former girlfriend Olya Sharipova. In 2020, Sharipova did not pursue charges and Zverev has always denied all of these allegations. And I think Ben Rothenberg summed it up very well in his substack this week when he said, for so many who care about domestic violence, Zverev's prominence and the way he's been continually embraced within the sport make tennis appear to be an unwelcoming and even hostile culture. And look, he absolutely deserves this trophy. He deserves credit for winning, especially as the first major champion with type 1 diabetes.
41:37That is no mean feat. We hope that we've given him credit for that. That has certainly been our intention tonight. But for a lot of people, not everyone, we do realise that, but for a lot of people, the context that I've just described is a shadow. over today and their experience of today. OK, that is it for part two. Join us in part three, where we will wrap our coverage of Roland Garros 2026 before we move on to a mini grass court preview. Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast. Just one last bit of business before we wrap our coverage of Roland Garros 2026. The women's doubles final played before the men's singles final and it kept Matt Statt alive.
42:21Katarina Siniarkova and Taylor Townsend, the top seeds, beating Aleksandra Kroonich and Anna Danilina. 6-2, 7-5. Vindication for Matt Roberts and his stat. It was worth scrolling through all those Wikipedia draws yesterday. Yes, the fifth Grand Slam event in Open Era history and the first since 1987 where the top seeds have won the men's, women's and mixed doubles trophies. So there's chaos in the singles draws and the top seeds have won all the doubles. And in both the men's and the women's doubles finals, it was top seeds against second seeds, I believe. Got a stat on that? No. No. Great scenes, by the way.
43:07And now he's off to Chicago, so you're not going to get one, folks. First Roland Garros title as a pair for Siniarkova and Townsend and their third major overall together for Katarina Siniarkova, her fourth Roland Garros overall. Great scenes. Great scenes on that court. Because it got tight in the second set. It looked like they were going to just run away with it. And then they had to sort of fight a bit of a rearguard action to win it. But yeah, Townsend and Sinyakova are a cool duo. So if they win the US Open, that means that they'll have a career slam together and Sinyakova will have a career slam with two different partners.
43:47She's already got one with Craig Chicover and now she's one away from getting it with Townsend. And that would be the first time, right? I think. Something else he hasn't got a stat on. He's just rustled that one up. Bog off to Chicago, Matt. That was a bloody good one, I thought, off his head. Look.
44:11Well, that would be amazing and it's hard not to feel that she deserves it because she, I mean, it is Katerina Sineacva and anyone is the best doubles player in the world, isn't it? Yeah, she's a bit special. Yeah, very much so. Okay, that is it for Roland Garros 2026. Unless you're a friend of the tennis podcast and you get our Grand Slam review shows because we're recording that on Tuesday before Matt goes to Chicago. Can I mention Chicago anymore? Try to get him pumped about it. I'm trying. I appreciate it. OK, folks, as you know, the tennis never stops. So while that is it for Roland Garros 2026, the grass court season is already underway.
44:54Hooray! We have tennis to talk about and tennis to preview on the green stuff. The biggest story, of course, is coming from London and the Queen's Club, the WTA event there where Serena Williams is making her comeback. In doubles, of course, she is going to play with Victoria Mboko. We think she's going to start their campaign on Tuesday. She's certainly not on the order of play for tomorrow, Monday. She did pre-tournament press today. And a few headline quotes from that. She said that this comeback is not about winning. She says winning is not important. It's just about having fun. She was asked whether she intends to return to singles competition, which everybody's been kind of assuming, and there's certainly been pretty credible leaks that that's the plan.
45:45And she said, I can't say yeah, I can't say no. Right now, no. She said, I feel like I probably need to train a little more if I want to play singles. We'll see if I get there. And if not, that's not my journey right now. It's summer, the kids aren't in school, so it's perfect time to get out there, have fun, and see what happens. And she's also, incidentally, we now know that she's taken a doubles wildcard into Berlin next week, the week after Queen's as well. Partner to be announced. Did you learn anything new about the comeback from those quotes, David? Well, the one thing I did also read is that she really wants both of her kids to be able to see her play tennis, which I think is a lovely idea.
46:28And you hear a lot of players talk about that as motivation for carrying on. and Federer's kids got to see him play. Djokovic's have as well. And, you know, now she's going to get that chance. The one thing I would say, though, is she's really tried to distance herself from the idea that it doesn't matter if she wins. And that's all well and good saying that now, and I understand it, but she is a hugely competitive person. And when she gets out there on a tennis court, I think she's going to want to win. And that's just the way it is. Yeah, I felt the same. Like, maybe she's trying to make herself believe that by saying it, but I just, I don't.
47:14I kind of don't want to believe it. I want Serena Williams to want to win. She's one of the all-time champions of the sport. Yeah, of course. A few other headlines from Queens. Tatiana Maria, who was denied a main draw wildcard as the defending champion, of course, was confined to qualifying. Well, she's only bloody gone and qualified. Incredible stuff. Go on, Tatiana. It's good for her. Absolutely. I'm so pleased for her. Really pleased for her. Yeah. I suppose the tournament will say that it sort of justifies their decision because she's qualified and she's in anyway. But I really think she should have got a wild card and not had to have gone through qualifiers.
47:55Certainly Feliciano Lopez got them, didn't he? as a, it got at least one. Yes, I mean, there were different people running it back then who had a different view of how to run a tennis tournament to what there is now, you know, where they want, you know, the LTA are running the show now and want to give, Scott Lloyd's made it very clear, he wants to give all the wild cards to British players. I do understand that. I do understand that. I mean, that's his priority. You know, it's not just about putting on a show or being nice to a former champion, I think they should have given Tatiana Maria a wildcard, personally.
48:32I dare say this might make her more dangerous that she's come through qualifying. But I would say as well, I think there's a very strong argument for not giving all the British players wildcards because if they were to win through qualifying, they'd be more dangerous, wouldn't they? And it might make them kind of want it a bit more. And I don't know, I'm not a huge fan of, you know, I'm going to jump on your bandwagon, Catherine. From a national federation level, I don't think it does players that many favours for them to just know that they're just going to get wild cards. The movement is off the ground.
49:10I feel momentum. A few other headlines from Queen's. Obviously, Maria qualifying. She beat Camilla Rakimova to secure her place. She plays Maria Sakharie in round one. Tatiana Maria. Good Maria against Maria. People will enjoy that gag on the internet. Good luck, Maria Sakharie, is what I would say to that. Donna Vekic lost in qualifying to Anna Blinkova. That's a tough scene, isn't it? Blinkova now faces Raducanu in the first round. Very interesting. Elena Rabakina is the top seed at Queen's. You've got Jung Chinwen, Marta Kostchuk, Victoria Mboko also in the top half of the draw with Rabakina.
49:52and then in the bottom half, Amanda Anisimova, Evie Jovic, Belinda Bencic, Raducanu and Sarana Kisteja as well. Feeling good about Anisimova, Matt? Hasn't she got to play Siegmund? She's got Siegmund or Fran Jones. Both of those. Tough. A little tricky, I would say. Very different kinds of tough. Very different. Yeah. Over to Stuttgart and the ATP event there. How do you think Nick Kyrgios feels about his comeback being overshadowed by Serena Williams? I reckon he's pissed off. I dare say he's just not even aware that it has been because he thinks the world revolves around him. Well, if you didn't know, Nick Kyrgios is making another comeback.
50:39He has drawn Corentin Moutet in the first round in singles. Insert Federer quote in Madrid. We need a clown for this. I think Muteo's going to look like the most professional man on the court. That's going to be a new sensation for him. He's also playing doubles, is Kyrgios with Alexander Bublik. So everyone's being on brand. The top seed in Stuttgart is Ben Shelton. You've got Francis Tiafoe, Niri Lahetschke also in the top half. Taylor Fritz is the second seed in the bottom half. You've got Lander Luthe, Bublik and Tommy Paul down there in the bottom half with Fritz in Stuttgart. Over then to Toggenbosch and the combined WTA and ATP 250 event there.
51:25In the WTA event, Katarina Alexandrova is the top seed. You've got Daria Kazakina, Lois Boisson and Paola Bedossa. With her in the top half, Clara Towson is the second seed down at the bottom with Barbora Krychikova, Zeynep Sonmez and Elisa Mertens in the bottom half. Who does Mertens play in round one, folks? Bianca Andreescu. Yeah. the ATP event in Satog and Bosch, Felix Auger Eliassim is the top seed Zizi Berg, Hubert Hercatch and Daniel Medvedev with him in the top half Alex de Minoer the second seed in the bottom half with Arta Rindeknes Talon Greekspor is in there Arta Fies pulled out ahead of this tournament no great surprise David but obviously a disappointment probably doesn't bode well for the grass court season generally i mean for me that's almost a relief yeah he's got to not rush back i i haven't got any updates personally i haven't spoken to goren about about it since he left here um but it didn't sound great um including when we spoke to feast himself um i feel like we're saying exactly the same things as we were a year ago you know we kind of don't want him to play wimbledon because or rush it back and all this, but it's just terrible, isn't it?
52:49Yeah. It's crazy looking at these drawers and on the men's side, like you feel like there's so many names here who are now on the grass have got like an opportunity to sort of make up for what they didn't do at the French here, right? As soon as the opportunity opened up in this draw, Shelton lost. Medvedev had already gone. De Manor lost. I know Orgelio Seam got to the quarters, did OK, but I think the way he was talking in his press conference, opportunity lost. Fritz was talking about the grass court season rather than the clay. It just moved so quickly and all of these guys you'd have thought would be just chomping at the bit to try and make up for Ronan Garros.
53:39Yeah, it's a great point. My moment of the day today, when David was looking through the draw for the Ilkley Challenger to check on his fellow Brummie Dan Evans, saw Oliver Tarvat in qualifying and shouted, it's Tarvat time! You know the grass court season is here when David is talking about Oliver Tarvat. I enjoyed Oliver Tarvat last year. He played Alcraz, didn't he, at Wimbledon? He was fun. You added him to your fantasy team before discovering he's actually not a professional tennis player. No, I didn't realise he was still only playing college tennis and those don't count to our points position.
54:19You've got a very different strategy this year, David. Yeah, well, I'm flying. I'm absolutely destroying everybody this year. It's top of the league. Yeah, it's great. I don't know if you've heard. If you're in sort of a two-mile radius of Roland Garros, you've heard. Yeah, and if you get the newsletter tomorrow, you'll get a fantasy update, won't you, Matt? and you'll see exactly how I did it. Lovely newsletter promo. Leads me in nicely, because while we're on the subject of general promo, here are our plans for the next few weeks. For Friends of the Tennis Podcast, there will be a happy hour from Vicky, which has now become part of our offering, and we blooming love it.
54:57That's like her best bits of a slam. Vicky is incredibly talented. This is something she was doing before she officially worked with us. Just sort of rustled it up. She was just rustling it up on the side. And now we're very happy to have it as part of our official offering. It really is. It's a hoot, folks. And then it doesn't stop, folks. We are back on Tuesday for Friends of the Pod with our French Open Review Show. That's the place to get your final Matt Roberts fix before he heads off to Chicago. And you get guests, guest voice notes. Yes. and they're always excellent and we always think like gosh we've given all our takes over the last two weeks what what is there to say but there always is new stuff to say and like it's amazing how differently and with a the different angles you can come at something from with the benefit of hearing other people's kind of zoomed out perspective of the tournament and just having a couple of days to think on it and view the big picture.
56:05So we always love those shows. And that'll be recording on Tuesday for Friends of the Pod. We're back with our usual show next Sunday to discuss the first week of the grass court season, including Serena's return in doubles at Queens. And then the following week, not only is Matt back from Chicago. Do you plan this thing or does this happen spontaneously? No, but I love it. but we also have two shows. So you get back from Chicago, Matt, and then you're straight into a double podcast week. Great. Really well-planned grass court season from me. Yeah. I wonder if they've got any grass courts in Chicago.
56:44You have been invited. You've received several invitations to do tennis things while in Chicago. Yeah. The thing is, I'm not in Chicago for very long. I'm actually in Bloomington not Indiana, Illinois despite every American here trying to tell me I'm going to Indiana Matt has been American explained so much so much, like you mean Indiana no I don't, I mean Illinois yeah it's not just a flight to Chicago folks, there's a train involved yes, three hour Amtrak shouting Bloomington in unison doesn't have quite the same ring to it The bit is Chicago. The bit is Chicago. It's going to be great. Yeah!
57:28Matt's become worried that the people he's visiting in Chicago might be listening to the pod. He's pumped, honest. He knows he's going to have a good time when he's there. Yeah. Exactly. Just the timing isn't necessarily what he'd have chosen. He hit the wall several days ago. He's been hanging on ever since. And I'm trying to buy a flat. It's all happening. It's a great time to go to Chicago. Correct. So the week that Matt gets back, we have two shows to cover the various grass court events that week. And then the following week after that, when Matt's, you know, fairly refreshed, done all his washing, that's when things really get fun.
58:05Because not only do we have our next edition of Tennis Relived for Friends of the Pod, we still have a streaker to track down for that. It's not going very well. Yeah, they don't have streaker directories in the Wimbledon Library. So that's coming that week. but we will also that week be starting our daily shows live from Wimbledon in our usual spot on the broadcast roof overlooking the grounds, living our best lives. Can't wait. The draw. The draw, Matt. The Wimbledon draw. Think of it. Draw day. The velvet bag. The best. I got to hold it last year. I know. I've got a photo and everything. I think you'll get to hold it again this year.
58:46I think that's going to become a thing, an annual thing. Matthew will be there. Yeah, with his takes. We're going to be so back. We are going to be so back, folks. Carlos Alcaraz won't, but we will be. And if you want to listen to all of those shows ad-free, then that's one of the benefits offered with our subscription service, Friends of the Tennis Podcast. For£6 a month or for the equivalent in your local currency, you get ad-free listening plus a minimum of 24 bonus shows per year, including access to our full archive of bonus episodes to get you through the post-Grand Slam blues. Not to mention our Roland Garros Review Show that is recording this coming Tuesday.
59:25So if you want to subscribe, the link will be in the episode notes for this show on your podcast app. We are so grateful to everybody who does subscribe. You help make it possible for the three of us to be here at the four Grand Slams, covering them on the ground in the way that we do. It is not cheap to do this and most media, frankly, are cutting back on their travel budget, certainly most tennis media that we see. But we do this because we think it elevates the experience for the listener. And we also think it's an important part of the ecosystem that journalists are here to ask the hard questions and the easier ones and to have the microphone taken away from them by Mira and Draver.
1:00:10and that leads me on to our final thank yous Grand Slam champion style to our team that make all of this possible enable us to get some sleep occasionally and generally pour their heart and soul into the tennis podcast and make it better than we ever dreamed so from the bottom of our hearts thank you to Hannah, to Vicky, to Jib, to Gorona to everyone on the barge that creates this wonderful, safe, vivid community that we are so proud of. And thank you to all friends of the Tennis Podcast for making this possible. And thank you to you, David and Matt. And thank you to you. For a lovely time. Thank you to you both.
1:00:53For buying the biscuits, David. Oh, it's been wonderful. Always having biscuits. Yeah. And night tea. Oh, so awesome. I do like our night tea. David's bought extra boxes of night tea for us to take home. Yeah, they don't do us at home like they do us here. No, it's not the same. Big dad energy from David, yeah. It's been... Goodness me. I mean, we can save this for the review show on Tuesday, but how on earth do we remember this? Yeah, what a time. There's a massive party going on about 20 metres away. How has anybody got the energy? They're ripping it up. They really are. Folks, it has been quite a wild ride.
1:01:32Thank you so much for being with us while we've been on it. Thank you in particular to our incredible mascot, Bashir. I don't have favourites. I'm not allowed favourites. I'll say it again. I don't have favourites. But if I did, Bashir might be one. He's just so handsome. Yeah, he is very handsome. Very cool too. And Elise is content savvy, David. Yeah. I do like my daily content drops from Bashir and I will miss them. So, Elise and Bashir, you're wonderful. And thank you ever so much. Thank you to our mascots. Thank you, Bodhi. I don't think I've done very well, Bodhi. But I have done my best, much like Flavio Caballi, who is in our fantasy team for the long haul.
1:02:16I think you've got it. You can't be transferring him in and out, Caballi. I think you've got to commit to him for a season. So, Bodhi, that's what we're doing, OK? Absolutely. To Maisie. Maisie, we're concentrating on the fantasy success, right? We're top. That's all that matters. Don't if you've heard, but you are top of the fantasy league. And to Roger, Matt. We're not doing very well in either, I'm afraid, Roger. We're languishing, I would say, in lower mid table. And now your man's off to Chicago. Chicago! Thank you to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Geoff. You're all legends.
1:02:58Thank you to The Athletic. We are part of The Athletic Podcast Network. And thank you for listening. We will speak to you in less than a week.
From the publisher
Catherine, David and Matt convene at Roland Garros for one last time in 2026 after Alexander Zverev won his first Grand Slam title, beating Flavio Cobolli in a five-set struggle.
Part one - Our review of the final including both players’ nerves, how Zverev said his cramps helped him to ‘let go’, and whether Cobolli will have any regrets.
Part two (26:07) - We discuss what it all means. Will Cobolli make it back to a major final? And will breaking his major duck change Zverev’s status in the sport?
Part three (42:07) - We cover Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend winning the women’s doubles title before looking ahead to the grass court season, including the return of Serena Williams in doubles at Queen’s.
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