French Open Day 7 - Gauff falls, so who’s in the title Mix now?

31:24What happened in that second set and how worried are you about it from a Sabalenka point of view? I mean, I only had one eye on it because I was on Chatrier, but it was wayward, like really wayward. Error strewn, you know, of course it kept being on her racket because that matchup is just going to be. But I never really thought she would lose. You know, I thought she'd get it together. it didn't because that's what she does you know like we do see sabalenka play sets like that i do remember also the australian open where she didn't look all that brilliant through the first three rounds and then actually i think it was was it in boko she played first wasn't it in the fourth round like she's got here asaka and she clicked into a different gear and sabalenka can do that you know she's got a level that that she can reach and hasn't shown so far this tournament that I think would be too much for Osaka.

32:27And I still think that'll be the case. You know, I still think, you know, Sabalenka is she's going to know about the Coco Goff result and she's going to know what a what a opportunity this is to get to another French Open final with the way that this draw has opened up. Not that she would see Gough as a person who could totally stop her. I think she would still back herself. But I just have a lot of faith in Sabalenka in slam. She doesn't lose early. Weird slam this one though, isn't it? It's weird. Yeah, it is. The funny slam. Tell that to the people that have played six hours today, David. It's funny for me watching.

33:11Yeah, look, I mean, I was really impressed with Osaka today. I do think Sabalenka will have to be off for Osaka to have a really good chance there. I just think she's got that toolkit that Osaka doesn't have that she can resort to if she's losing out in the hitting contest. And the tiebreak backdrop. Yeah, but it is the weird slam. So who knows? And I'm trying to think of how the weather change is going to affect these things going forward as well. And roof, potentially. Potentially. Which I think wouldn't be the worst thing for Osaka. Absolutely not. Osaka Shontek here, where she had match point, peak Shontek on clay, was under a roof.

33:51Yeah. Or under the roof. You know, and I generally have thought of these quicker conditions as potentially good for San Palenco on clay. But I think they're also quite good for Osaka. I think if it is not under the roof, and it's just, it's not going to be really cold and wet, I don't think. It's just, it might be some showers and nowhere near as hot as it has been. More normal French Open conditions, I would say. I hope so. I still think, I still think that probably is better for Sabalenka with even more power and ability to get through the court. But yeah, look, the thing is, what's going to be interesting as well is...

34:38Oh, I know what you're going to say. They're going to have to either schedule that in the day or put one of the men's matches from that half of the draw on at night, which I think they'll probably do. But trying to justify putting one of those men's matches on ahead of Sabalenka-Osaka when you're calling it match of the day, it feels like the biggest test they've had yet. But I almost at this point will be annoyed if they put that at night because... Because they've had plenty of opportunities. But they've plenty of... Better women's matches. Yeah, it would almost prove that it is a qualitative decision.

35:19Yeah. In their minds up until this point. And they would feel that this is the only women's match so far in the tournament that justified being picked over a men's. And I think the last one that they had was Sabalenka, Sloane Stevens. Three years ago. I still would be surprised because I do think they just have a policy that they're, you know, a secret policy or maybe an unspoken one of not having women's matches anymore. Certainly one that they've developed in the last couple of years. Yeah, I think so as well. But you're right. That is going to be a moment when the schedule drops tomorrow and something potentially quite funny is being billed as match of the day.

35:58Will it be funnier than Felix against Nakashima? Who can say? Although that is turning into its own fun battle. More on that to come. Madison Keyes beat Victoria Mboko, another thriller. Not quite a deciding set tie break, but close. 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. Had looked like it was going to be straight sets for Keyes, this one. Incredible surge from Mboko in the second half of the second set to not only break back, but break again and take it. And at that point, well, I'm backing Mboko big time. did briefly doze off during the third set. It's been a day, folks. David, Matt, that's why we're a team of three.

36:39Absolutely. Tell me and the listeners what happened. Well, one point that Matt made in the third set, or maybe right at the end of the match, is that Mboko's been asked about Serena Williams and playing doubles with her recently. That's a lot on the plate, isn't it, to be thinking about. she was a little non-committal about that at the time but in terms of this match she did do well to turn it around and then you just have to wonder is it going to be the the keys purple patch or the keys dip that is going to be the deciding moment of the match and is is Mboko going to be able to ride these moments out and actually right at the end it was Mboko who dropped her serve that was what gave keys the match and it i think umboka plays between serves so fast i love it i mean it is great to see but it felt as though she was not giving herself time to even settle her own heartbeat down and she was double faulting galore she was just not not accurate not looking poised in quite the way she normally does and i know that that is a feature of a game and i too love it Obviously, bang, bang, bang, getting on with the next point.

37:54It's great. But I don't know. Did you think she was rushing a little bit? Yeah, definitely. It felt like it was to me. I think the thing for me was that once Keyes gets her teeth into a match and, you know, okay, she didn't take her chances in that second set, but she didn't drop off in terms of ball striking and intensity. She's striking the ball well, isn't she? And it's so hard to get her out of that zone. Like sometimes she just won't have it. She won't have the ball striking. She'll be all over the place and, you know, she can lose quite, quite heavily. But once she's, once she's in a match like that and playing like that, it's, it's a game that, well, as we saw at the Australian Open last year, can, can take anyone out really.

38:40And it just felt like she was able to bring enough of that to this one. And yeah, like, you know, I've said the, you know, I've said the top half is kind of Sabalenka's to lose. But, you know, Keyes there with that power and... Kind of snuck through up until this point, hasn't she? Yeah, you know, and the pressure off in terms of having already won one of these slams now. She's dangerous, Keyes. I hadn't thought of her at all because obviously, you know, she hasn't had the best 12 months, you know, relative to winning a slam at the start of last season. but she also was injured in the last match she played before coming in here.

39:18There was a doubt about whether she would even take to the court for her first round match. I kind of just put her out of my mind. Same thing as I did with Deanne Parry when I saw her limp onto court for her first round against Angelina Kalinina. She lost that set six love, Deanne Parry. What's going on? Madison Keyes will face Deanna Schneider, the Russian player, in the round of 16. She beat Oleksandra Olenikova, the Ukrainian today, who called out Diana Schneider ahead of this match for having played in the Gazprom tournament in Russia at the end of this year, the end of last year, and also brought receipts of some of the posts that Diana Schneider has has been liking on social media recently to her post-match press conference after her last win, Diodonikova.

40:08So there was a real, I mean, well, huge tension around this match. There was extra security at the match. Olenikova had led 4-1 in the first set, was driving Schneider a little bit wild, but it felt like once Schneider got a grip on that incredibly unique game of Olenikova's, she kind of raced, she ended up racing away with it in that second set. Yeah, I mean, it was awkward. It was uncomfortable. It was tense, kind of everything that you would have expected it to be, quite frankly. So it'll be Schneider against Keyes in the round of 16 for a place in the quarterfinals. OK, lots to cover in part two.

40:54We'll see you on the other side. Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast. Which fifth set tie break should we start with? I would like to suggest that we start with Matteo Berrettini. The curse may be over, at least lifted temporarily. He beat Francisco Comissagne 7-5, 5-7, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 15-13 in the deciding set tie break in five hours and 13 minutes. It was briefly the longest match of the tournament. and it held that record for about 45 minutes before it was superseded by a match that we will be talking about in a few minutes' time. He saved two match points here, Matteo Berrettini.

41:45He thumped his chest afterwards. He was all sorts of emotional. He is a player that makes you feel. He's certainly a player that makes me feel things, Matteo Berrettini. I feel so sorry for the career that he's ended up having. I don't necessarily think he's been denied a trophy cabinet full of Grand Slam titles. It's not that. I just think he hasn't had the chance to find out. You know, it's been... So far. So far. So far, David. He's one of the only Grand Slam finalists left in. Now, look, this was a wild old ride, wasn't it? The two of them were so tense in that tiebreak. These arms were as tight as they come.

42:32I think it was the fourth match point for Berrettini that he ended up taking it on. There was a very ropey backhand on one of the match points, sort of flashbacks to the iconic ropey backhand on his match point against Andy Murray at the Australian Open that time. But he won and he's into the second week of a major for the first time since Wimbledon 2023. You'd have to be hard of heart. Not to feel warm and fuzzy about that, I think. And I think one of the wonderful things about it is how unlikely it feels because he is perhaps the most surprising story of the lot to me because he's had no form at all.

43:15I saw him lose in the first round in Rome. He did beat Daniel Medvedev, six love, six love. Yes, I know he did, but I think most people wouldn't be. We'll know what that was about. I mean, I saw him lose in the first round of Rome. with his first match, and that was pretty sad, actually seeing him just unable to perform in front of his own fans. I just thought, okay, look, I hope he gets on the grass or I hope he gets feeling good and healthy. I didn't expect him to win probably even a match here. Here he is in the fourth round, and with this field the way it is and his experience, as you say, Catherine, as somebody who's actually been at the sharp end of Grand Slam tournaments, it's a really exciting moment for him.

43:57And this was just a glorious mess of a finish to a match on Court Simone Machia, where it's all nice and intimate and closed in. And Comissani is a fun watch. He's a real shot maker, a bit mercurial, a bit of a maverick, I think. I think he's somebody that Berrettini, over the course of his career, would have beaten probably pretty handily, I think, most of the time. in this situation deep in a fifth set tie break this was nip and tuck and just dramatic and the crowd just loved it it's such an interesting case berrettini because through the course of like a season as you've talked about katherine like he gets so many injuries and gets taken out of so many tournaments that you know he doesn't feel that sort of tour durable and yet in the course of a match his record in the long matches is staggeringly good you know of of his longest match of his career really the only one that he's ended up losing was that Andy Murray one if you look at the rest of his sort of five six longest matches he comes out on top he has this quality of lasting the course in these long matches.

45:22Only guy to beat Carlos Alcaraz in a fifth set. Right. It's like the, it's in a way it's like the anti-Berrettini stat because he, you know, it's like He should be Thomas Mahatch. Right. He's the opposite of Sinner. You know, like Sinner is not winning these long matches, but my God, is he like tour durable and able to string tournaments and wins together in a way that Berrettini has has never been able to do really um yeah it was very very special and I remember last year he got he got taken out of this portion of the season and he talked about how his only real goal was Davis Cup you know he it felt like he'd become a player who needed a long-term target to get himself fit for and make a priority and he did that last season helping to carry Italy to that special Davis Cup at home for the first time.

46:15And yet here he is suddenly, as we've talked about, he's the only person in the top half of the draw who's been to a Grand Slam final before. You know, on paper, he's, if gone on experience, he's the guy we could be looking at. And he's also been slightly helped out by the fact that the guy who's playing next is obviously not Yannick Sinner, as we all expected. It is the guy who beat Yannick Sinner. It's the better Sorundolo. And he's just spent six hours on court. Bertini's fresher. Five hours and 58 minutes. Juan Manuel Sorundolo beat Martin Landaluthe, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 10-8 in the deciding set tie break.

47:02like this gazumped Berrettini Komasanya to not only the longest match of this tournament, but the third longest Roland Garros match of all time. I've just seen some quotes from Sarindolo in his on-court interview after the match where he said, Mentally, my battery ran out. I want to go to sleep. I can't take it anymore. I don't know what to tell you. Relatable. Which is the story of today, I think, really. This was, what was this? Find me some words, David. Oh, I mean, just gruelling. Grueling, dramatic. He's amazing, this guy, Lunder Luther, to be of this age and able to play three back-to-back five-set matches like this and hang in there.

47:55I mean, he has sent a message to the locker room early in his career that you don't mess with me. like I you can't bully me about the place I'm going to be able to stand up to this the grueling nature of the sport huge credit as well to Sarundolo because he's just had this incredible name that he's beaten albeit in some pretty remarkable circumstances and not all down to to tennis and he's backed it up he's come out he's backed it up he had a five-set match as well there as well i mean it's i can't you can't say enough about the physical and mental feats that these players are achieving by being able to do this in this heat i do think it's fair what you've said previously catherine that we should you've got to be careful about celebrating these things as the the main thing but it's impossible not to be in awe of what they're doing it's just a question of should they be having to do it and and I don't I don't know entirely where I stand because I I've loved today I've loved the last three days but it's also is this just a blueprint we want all the time I think it's possible for both right like I've enjoyed it all in the moment just as much I absolutely think this shouldn't be happening we shouldn't be celebrating the concept of human beings being forced to play tennis for six hours in conditions like today.

49:24I don't think tennis matches should be six hours long. I think we've all lost our minds. But I think we're allowed to enjoy it in the moment for its weirdness and, well, for everything, for the human feats that we're seeing before our eyes, these men that are being put in this position and are out there battling. It is absolutely, it's unreal. It's absolutely unreal. And yeah, Berrettini against Surundolo. I mean, I would say it'll be sort of who will have more pieces of themselves left, but I don't know if that will be the story of this next match. I kind of back both of them to be, I mean, maybe not fresh, but I don't think there'll be anyone that's, either of them, that's a shell of themselves out there.

50:17I don't know. Maybe I don't know quite enough about Mamamol Sorundolo yet, but I packed Berrettini to be in decent shape, which is weird in itself, isn't it? The biggest upset of the tournament, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Okay, can I tell you, there was only one, and look, there is still one other match that could add itself to this list. Tiafoe and Farrier currently still going, and Farrier is two sets to love up. But currently, today, there was only one men's match that was completed in straight sets, and that was a win by Flavio Caballi. Do you know who is absolutely, categorically, not shitting the bed with this massive opportunity?

51:02And that is Flavio Caballi. So far. Well, look, there was a big opportunity for him to do it today, David. It was his first win on the centre court of a major. He said he woke up nervous, which is no great surprise. You know, he's a very, he's an emotional character, isn't he? He's sensitive. He's somebody that feels his feelings. I think he's a lot like Carlos Alcaraz in that way. He was reminded by Marion Bartley in his post-match interview that Leonard Ian had destroyed him in the match they'd played at the end of last year on hard courts. And he said, he said thank you for reminding me about that but look clay courts are completely different for me and and also quite different for for Lerna TN too but Flavio Caballi was awesome today he was awesome for two sets and I was still waiting for the moment that he blinked and thought oh my god I'm two sets love up it's all going too well there's this huge opportunity I could reach a Grand Slam final here.

52:02And it just never came. He just kept on being awesome. 6-2, 6-2, 6-3. Being a Kabbali guy really does keep me on my toes. Yeah, he was great. I thought his intensity from the start was just in stark contrast to TN. TN was really poor in this match. That would be my only caveat that I think Kabaly was allowed to play well. I think TN had obviously had his gruelling match the previous round, saving a couple of match points, coming back, winning in five. He also played last week as well. It just seemed that he had nothing left, really. And Kabaly did mention that. And TN was low for a serve percentage, host of errors, bad decision making and yeah it was a bit of a no-show really it was a real disappointment because i was really excited about how the rallies might look in this one but caballi sensed that jumped on it that you know the fact that tm was like that might even have you know there's a world where that throws caballi off right but he didn't allow that at all he was so good attacking hard down the line early in rallies i think unsettling tm in that way and doing that thing of shrinking the core with his movement, you know, like standing up on the baseline and moving so well that he wasn't really budging from it and TN wasn't finding ways through him.

53:35So he was great. I was really impressed. And I think top level wise, I think he's the favourite to come through the top half of the draw. I think... To the final. To the final. Yeah, I think he's got the best tennis in him on clay of anyone in that half. And I actually think he's going to do it. Do you really? I do, yeah. My God. Yeah, I do. Look at Cabali guy over there. He lost to Jack Pennington Jones earlier, just like two months ago. High ceiling guy, low floor guy. Yes, I know. And he gets in these ruts. He does. And then he also gets in whatever the opposite of a rust is, a purple patch.

54:22Yeah. That is his vibe, isn't it? And if he's in one at the best possible time. And he's, and contrary to a lot of other players in this half of the draw, he hasn't had to extend himself so far. I think he's got the long match, I think, in him to still fall back on. He hasn't dropped a set all tournament. No, he's completely fresh. In a tournament where everyone is dropping all the sets, Flavio Caballi has so far dropped none. And look, I think, look, I know that we have joked and there's evidence to back it up of Caballi not performing sometimes and just flopping, but the Davis Cup, I'll go back to the Davis Cup.

55:09That was a tournament where there was a lot of pressure on him and he delivered. But I know he had partisan support in a way that he's not going to have here that galvanised him, I think. I think they like him here. He did accidentally reveal that he'd be supporting Arsenal in the Champions League final, then tried to row it back. He's mates with Calafiore. They used to play together and he sort of mentioned that, started to get booed. And then he said, I just want a good match, which is adorable. But I do think they like him here. I could see him sort of, you know, galvanising some French support for sure.

55:46I mean, depends who he plays, obviously, in this final that he's apparently reaching. What a wild slam. I've just predicted Caballi to reach the final on the first weekend. Well, the good news is we know that Flavio Caballi t-shirts exist because we've seen Flavio Caballi in one. What's on it? His face. No way, really? Yeah. That's amazing. He was in the gym in Rome, maybe Madrid. Yeah, it was one of those. And imagine how obnoxious that would be on some tennis players, but somehow on Flavio Caballi, it's not. Oh, he's extremely likeable. And he also has an incredible Hulk tattoo on his leg. He does.

56:29Which anything incredible Hulk is fine by me. Can I tell you who he plays in the fourth round for a place in the quarterfinals? Yes, please. Zachary Schweider Okay He beat the bad Sarundolo today Francisco The higher rank To the two But not for long 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-3 For Schweider Today We'll come on to him In a moment Because I'm a Cabali guy But I'm also a Schweider guy More on that In a moment But just on Sarundolo We've been talking about These players You know Eyes bulging out of their sockets It's at this big opportunity. I will never know cause and effect for Sorundolo's performance today, but it was a pretty rough Sorundolo performance.

57:17His attitude was bad out there. I think he told his coach, Pablo Cuevas, to leave halfway through the match. He was ragged. I mean, Sorundolo is and has always been a low floor, high ceiling guy, right? Like we have seen him not show up for matches where we've been expecting quite a lot from him. So maybe this isn't a huge shock, but it is a huge missed opportunity. Yeah, I think it is a shock. And I think he's another one that might just leave this tournament thinking, oh, come on, it doesn't get better than this in terms of an opportunity. Somebody's going to grasp this thing. Matt says it's going to be Flavio Caballi into the final.

58:02Now, that could very easily have been Francisco Surundolo, if you'd have asked me yesterday, because he's a really good player. He's really good on clay. And so many big names and people that I would expect to beat him are not here. And there's a lot of people in that position. So, yeah, I put him, I put Ben Shelton. There are others. And it's so intriguing. It makes the thing so fascinating. Let me tell you about Zachary Schweider, the man that beat him. He is just outside, just inside the world's top 100. He has a career high ranking of 82. He's just a few places below that right now. He's 23 years old, American of Czech descent from La Jolla in California near San Diego.

58:48I've surfed there. Found out it was quite sharky afterwards. Probably wouldn't surf there again, but I was blissfully naive at the time. I didn't know you were a surfer even. Oh, I think calling myself a surfer would be a stretch, David. I have surfed on occasion. Did you stand up? A bit, yeah. Better than I did. Yeah. It was a very long board, which helps, I think. I need a long board. He went through the US college system, so that perhaps why he's a bit of a later bloomer. But also he lost his father in October of last year, who had been totally instrumental in his tennis career. He was a teaching pro at the local tennis club where he first started playing tennis.

59:37He said he used to batter a balloon around with his dad in the living room when he was. He's got a memory of that or a picture of that from when he was two years old. his dad had been ill for a while and he cut his season short at the end of last year his dad had said I want you to keep playing but when it was nearing the end he cut his season short to go and be with his father in his final days and with his family in the aftermath and he made his return in Australia this year and qualified for that slam which was quite a big deal for him he had only ever won two Grand Slam main draw matches before this tournament Both of those were at the US Open.

1:00:19And today would have been his dad's birthday or was his dad's birthday. And he achieved this absolutely unreal thing today. And he posted after his win in the previous round, this very funny Instagram post about, can you believe I'm in the third round of the French Open? Now he's in the blooming fourth round of the French Open. And who knows what's happening from here? The world number 86. gotta love it yeah he first came on my radar last year at the US Open when he took a set off Djokovic, the first set and yeah, obviously really sad what he's been through since then but he's also caught my eye on TikTok in the past he's very self-deprecating he's always sort of playing down his own status and he's very much like that Instagram post of you know can you believe I'm in the third round isn't this cool um with his with his massive croissant and his and his beret um yeah really really likeable presence on tour I think and this match was it was it told you a lot I think about Surundalo because it was only when he went two sets down that he actually freed up and started playing, you know, and then when he got it back level and taken it to the fifth set, that was when he got tight again.

1:01:51And Svajda really took advantage of that, served really well through the match. And he said that he was cramping a bit in his legs in third and fourth set, Svajda, but just tried to hide that and get through it and manage it. And for a guy who's not been in many of these situations at all, that's a heck of an effort. Yeah, really incredible story. So pleased for him. So, yeah, Schweider against Caballi, who, by the way, is now confirmed to be the only straight sets winner on the men's side today because Francis Tiafoe has just taken a set against Jaime Farrier. So, Caballi against Schweider for a place in the quarterfinals.

1:02:32We will also have Alejandro Tabilo taking on the winner of Felix Orgeliasim and Brandon Nakashima, who were just headed into a third set tiebreak. They're locked at a set apiece at the moment in the night session match on Chattier. Tabilo getting the better of Moisa Kwame, the 17-year-old. The dream run comes to an end. 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6, 11-9 in that fourth set tiebreak. He got the scenes going again, didn't he, on Longland? He made you feel like it was possible. Yeah, because he is such a big stage player. He engages with the fans as well as anybody around. And it's a great watch. And he gets all of them thinking it's possible.

1:03:18And then that makes him more energized. And it's just this wonderful two-way relationship. I think he has so much going for him. I think his athleticism is as dramatic as anyone in the world already at the age of 17. But he is inconsistent. He is erratic. You don't know sometimes when he's just going to go on a really quiet run of losing games. And that's what happened. He won the first set. He lost the next two. He's a breakdown. It looks all over. And then the comeback starts. If he had taken that into a fifth, it would have been interesting because the place was just bouncing. And this is when the Champions League final is going on with his team, Paris Saint-Germain.

1:03:59He was warming up for this match in a PSG shirt. I did think, crikey, scheduling him third on when you know it's going to clash with the match he wants is a bit harsh. But he made a show of his own. Nobody was leaving. Nobody was leaving to watch the football in that stadium. And he is one of the players that I will remember this tournament for. Yeah, match point down Kwame was unreal, wasn't he? He saved four of them. There was an ace on one of them. He was absorbing Tabilo's blows and turning it back on him. Even before that, he'd won a point at 5-6 in that fourth set where he volleyed back a Tabilo smash.

1:04:38And it was just unbelievable, some of the hand skills he had up at the net, his athleticism. And, yeah, like he got going quickly today, having played a long match before. I was impressed by that. And then, as Davis described, rising again in that fourth set, having faded a bit through the middle was incredible. And to me, it feels like pretty perfect for Kwame on this French Open debut to have had those moments, to have had the hype, but to have got to the third round and to have not got crazy and out of hand. It feels like he, I hope anyway, he's going to be able to get on with his career after this in a way that if he'd gone much further, you'd worry about that already.

1:05:29So I hope that's the case. He already had his own whole section at the top of the France TV homepage. You know, there's the match replays, there's live matches, there's Moise Kwame. The revelation. Yeah, which, you know, I'm sure got a lot of hits and like I totally understand, all fine. But like it did make it was like, oh, you know, this is a lot for a 17 year old. Let's just let's all give him some time whilst also being very, very excited about him. So to Bilo to face either Felix Orgelia Seam or Brandon Nakashima, Francis Tiafoe and Jaime Faria are still doing battle out there. The winner of that to face Matteo Arnaldi, who beat Rafael Colignan in, you guessed it, folks, a fifth set tie break.

1:06:206-4, 6-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6, 10-4 in the fifth set tie break in a mere four hours and 58 minutes. Where has Matteo Arnaldi come from? He has been nowhere for about two years. I used to be quite excited about Matteo Arnaldi. He was a player I really liked to watch, and then he totally disappeared. He's back. We've had this with a few players in this draw. Think back yesterday to Jill Teichman and the chat about her. Matteo Berrettini, obviously, all of his injuries are very well documented. Matteo Arnaldi, he's not a huge guy, is he? He doesn't hit the ball a million miles an hour, but he's very quick.

1:07:05He's got a brilliant ability to turn your game back on you. He's got a great record against Art of Feast. You know, he absorbs his game and just diffuses it. But, yes, he has. He's gone very quiet. I'm not really sure of the injury status that he's had. But, yeah, sometimes this happens. People break out and then the tour has a good way of kind of getting its own back on you a little bit. You might feel as though you've come along and you're just making it all look easy. But it's not as easy as it looks. Yeah, it's a great way of putting it. Crazy how Sinner's gone, Paolini on the women's side's gone.

1:07:46We've still got three Italian men in that wide open top half, Arnaldi, Berrettini and Caballi. You know, it's very possible that those Italian journalists are still going to be here right till the weekend with several players to cover. None of the ones that did anything in the lead up, you know, even Darderi. He lost to Comissania in the previous round, didn't he? Yeah, Mazzetti didn't even start this tournament. Like there's so many. And we need to establish what the mix is at this point, what the two mixes are. We need a kind of halfway point. What is the mix? And that is what we're going to do in part three.

1:08:24Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast. A quick awarding of Musketeer of the Day, please. There is only one contender. You're left with no choice but to give it to a woman. Matt, I feel, is still going to... I'm desperately looking at the doubles results. I'm afraid, Matt, it has to go to Deanne Parry. It does. It does. She earned it. Did that taste bitter in your mouth? No. Eight. It goes to Deanne Parry and the man that did the fake sneeze. Oh, that guy. Right. The mix, folks. Now, this comes with the caveat that there are two men's third round matches yet to be completed. So I will be naming both of the players in both of those matches, even though by the time you're listening to this podcast, two of them will have lost.

1:09:16But we are where we are, folks. So I am going to start with the men's draw. I'm going to read out the remaining names and you're going to tell me whether or not they are in the mix. And just to remind people, our definition of the mix is not being surprised if they won the title. So the test here is would you be surprised from this point onwards if they were lifting the trophy come Sunday? Okay, are we ready? Yeah. Juan Manuel Sorundelo. It's a no from me. No. Matteo Berrettini. Yes. No. Jaime Farrier. No. Francis Tiafoe. Yes. No. He's two sets to one down to Jaime Farrier. I've got a list and I don't care what the scores are.

1:10:10Matteo Arnaldi. No. Felix Auger, Aliassime. Yes. Yes. Have you seen the score, Matt? He's two sets to one up. Okay. He's not in my mix, Felix. I would be shocked. How many have you got in the mix in the top half? I haven't counted. But Felix isn't one of them No It's more than one But Felix isn't one of them Yeah I would still be surprised Okay I'd be surprised if it were Felix Remember this is winning the title Not just to get through to the final Yeah Brandon Nakashima No Alejandro Tabilo No Flavio Caballi Yes Zachary Schweider Yeah no Always the biggest shock of the day there Okay, bottom half, Jakub Mensik Yes No Jakub Mensik is in your mix to win this title Have you seen who else is in the tournament?

1:11:15But this is the tougher half on paper, whatever that means anymore But it is Yeah, I mean, basically you're asking me Can Jakub Mensik beat people like Ruud, Rublev, Fonseca, Hodder and Zverev? Yes, you can Okay. Andrei Rublev. Yes.

1:11:34No. Kaspar Rude. Yes. Joel Fonseca. Yes. Yes. Rafael Hoddar. Yes. Pablo Karenja Busta. No. Jesper de Jong. No. Alexander Zverev. Yes. Okay. So you're mostly aligned. No we're not David's got about Three more in I would say Mensik Tiafoe Rublev Yeah There was one more In the top half Berrettini Berrettini I've got four more In my mix My mix is ten So Berrettini Not in yours Matt I would be surprised If Berrettini Can win seven Best of five set matches In a row And he's just Played One that's lasted Five hours and you know I think I think Zverev is still you know he's still in this draw and I think I suppose the question I'm asking is can they beat Zverev that's a big question here and I think Berrettini after six matches I just would be surprised I think Mix to get to the final is different I think Berrettini's in that but going all the way and winning the title Surely if you get to the final, you can win the final.

1:12:59It's not can you, it's would you be surprised if they... Yeah. All of these can. I mean, they've proven they can do kind of anything. So if Berrettini reached the final, would he not be in the mix? Well, it might depend on who he plays. I would have said Kasparud wasn't in the mix for the men's final in 2022, like before the match. Yeah. It's like almost none of these were in the mix when we started the tournament. It's a sort of movable thing. But right here, right now, I'd be surprised. Who's in yours? I think... Do we have to go through the whole drawer again? I just want to know. From the top half in terms of winning it, not the final, I think my mix is quite a lot smaller than yours.

1:13:49I do think... Even though this has been wild, I do really favour that bottom half. I think from the top half I would have Kabali. That might be it. But from the bottom half I would have Rude, Zverev, possibly Rublev. Fonseca? I would have Fonseca. Chodar? I would be surprised at Chodar. Physically. You wouldn't be surprised at Rublev?

1:14:25I wasn't sure on Rublev. Rublev was borderline. I'd be more surprised at Hodder than Rublev. I'd love Hodder to be in it, but I think there's a wall there. We'll see. The women's draw, folks, no risk of anybody you say is in the mix being out of the tournament by the time people are listening to this pod, at least. Okay, Irina Zabalenka. Sure. Yes, 100%. Naomi Osaka.

1:15:03It got a lot harder very quickly, didn't it? I'm going to say yes. I've just changed my mind. I've just added her as a last-minute entrant. She's not in mine. You know, I've tried to make the case for her against Zabalenka earlier, but I would still be surprised if she beat Zabalenka. So I would say no. Madison Keyes. No. No. Deanna Schneider. No. No. Anastasia Potopova. This is interesting. No. No. Maybe not. Anna Kalinskaya. No. Maya Kvalinska. No. No. Deanne Parry. No. Lina Switalina. Yes. Belinda Bencic. No. Marta Kostiuk. Yes. She might be out of the tournament by the time people are listening.

1:15:50Kostiuk's hard. Kostiuk's hard for me, but I will. Thing is, not much has changed, really, with Kostiuk.

1:16:03She's not in mind. I think I'd still be surprised at this stage. I would still be surprised. Svantec? Yes. Andrava? Yes. Yes. Teichman? No. Casteyer? No. Wong? No. Okay. So much alignment. Osaka and Kostrick are the points of difference here. I think the difference with the women's draw is that the mix has shrunk. Yeah. Whereas on the men's side, it's grown. I've never known it like this, go this way around. I mean, I've got five in the women's, actually six with Osaka now, and I've got ten in the men. Crazy times. Tomorrow's order of play. Chattere opens with Marta Kostiuk against Igor Svantec.

1:16:54Then it's Alina Svitolina against Belinda Bencic. Then, once those women's matches are out of the way, it is Jesper de Jong against Alexander Zverev. And finally, in the night session, Kasper Rude taking on Joel Fonseca. What percentage chance do you give Fonseca there? Pretty tight, I think. In terms of, like, sort of close to 50-50? 40-60 Yeah I think something like 40-60 Sounds about right to me Okay Longland tomorrow Kastaya and Wong opens things up Hodal-Karenia Buster second on And Drava Teichman and her support group Third on And then Mensik against Rublev Is the final match of the day And that is all your singles matches Simone Mathieu doubles only It all very much shrinks down To two courts from tomorrow onwards If you had to pick tomorrow's big upset, because there will surely be one, what match are you picking?

1:17:54I was talking to a Spanish journalist earlier who thinks that Crenia Busta is going to beat Jodar. So that's one to circle, potentially. I'm not sure I'm picking that. Well, I do think Kostchuk and Svantec really would be the one that I would look at. and I would still make Svantec favourite, but bear in mind when I did that writing out of the draw from the third round onwards, I actually crossed out Kostiuk and put in Svantec, having initially done it the other way around. Because to me, I think there's a really good case for thinking Kostiuk could pull that upset, but then I end up coming down on the view that if you get Svantec this far, I'd expect it to be getting better as the rounds are going on.

1:18:42fascinating. I also think it's not impossible that Bengtich beat Svitolina. I think the way this tournament's going wouldn't be totally wild if we ended up with Kostya Bengtich rather than Svantec Svitolina. I'm not predicting that, but

1:19:02neither of them are slam dunks in favour for Svantec and Svitolina. Those are very, very tough matches first up tomorrow. Gosh, I need a reset before we start again with the next round. We have lovely Bashir, who has provided more relatable content overnight. Bashir has needed an extra nap in order to process all the upsets and excitement. Same, Bashir, same. He did get very excited again during the Kwame match, but then a bit sad after his loss and Coco's. And he really does look sad. This cat gives incredible face. I've never seen anything quite like it. What an expressionful cat. What a poser.

1:19:51Amazing. Thank you, Bashir. And thank you, Elise. Hello to our mascots. Hello, Bodhi. Hello, Maisie. Hello, Roger. I could do with a prediction coming off tomorrow for you, Bodhi. And I will do my best. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. Matt will take some shout outs tonight. We have Hazel Thomas from Fort Worth, Texas. Hi, Hazel. Hello, Hazel. Hazel has been to Wimbledon a couple of times in 2000 and 2016. Lucky Hazel. Remembers seeing Lindsay Davenport beat Monica Selesh in 2000. And Andy Murray. That wasn't 2016. And Andy Murray beat Nick Kyrgios in 2016.

1:20:35Good times. Tennis Hazels, that's tough. Hazel Whiteman. Oh, excellent. Well done, Matt. From the Whiteman Cup, which used to be, what, was it? Britain against America? Yeah. Yes. Played at the Royal Albert Hall, wasn't it, for a while? Amazing. Thank you, Hazel. We also have Samantha Martin. Hello, Samantha, like Samantha Sharon Murray. Yes. Who we... Samantha Stoza. We brought up the other day when we were chatting about former British tennis players. I think former is correct, but I don't know for sure. I think she might still be going. Oh, OK. Sorry. We'll go check that. What do we know about Samantha?

1:21:21Samantha says heading to first French Open this year. So not sure whether Samantha's already been or has it to come. Oh. But that's exciting. And also has a dog named Ashoka. Oh, fun. What kind of dog? You don't know that, do you? No. Correct. Let us know, Samantha, and do say hi if you see us at Roland Garros. Thank you for being a friend of the pod. And finally, we have Michael Toth from Putney. Hello, Michael. Hi, Michael. Still never seen you in the Green Man. Lives on the Upper Richmond Road. Well, we know the Upper Richmond Road. Sure do. Regulars. and Michael has a career golden fan slam.

1:22:08That means he's done the Olympics. He's done better than us. I attended the women's semifinal at the Atlanta Olympics 96 where I used to live. Wow. I'd bought tickets for the semifinals specifically hoping to see Steffi Graf, my favourite player at the time because I figured she would at least make it that far but she ended up not playing. Still, we had a anxious, anxious Vicario defeating Jana Novotna and an incredibly impressive Lindsay Davenport, steamrolling through Mary Jo Fernandes and then going on to win gold. Big set of shout outs for Lindsay Davenport tonight, isn't it? Yeah. Wow. Michael, Hazel and Samantha, thank you ever so much for being friends of the Tennis Podcast.

1:22:53If you'd like to become a friend, the link is in our show notes. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network. we're going to have a reset and bounce back tomorrow the weather's going to be cooler the honking will hopefully have stopped thank you for listening we'll speak to you then