Live from Wimbledon Day 10 - Sinner vs Djokovic is on! Who wins?

12:58Matt Roberts:And I don't think he was ever going to be a person that was going to break through and win a slam out of nowhere, reach a final out of nowhere. I don't know if he has those sorts of achievements in him, but he needs to go through days like today to find out what the ceiling is.

13:12David Law:He's seriously good. It was interesting watching it with Marion Bartoli, who was, I always think of Flavia Caballi as having this amazing forehand. She was much more interested in his backhand. She felt that was the really solid shot and that the forehand can make mistakes. But my word, it's a spectacular shot. I just think he's got so many good raw materials because he's got a heck of a serve on him. I was surprised how often he would serve out wide on the advantage side, just relentlessly into the Djokovic backhand. I'm thinking, what point is Djokovic going to know this is coming and just lean?

13:49David Law:Because he's not surprising him at all. But he's got a real dig on him with a serve. That was getting up to 135. He's lightning quick. He's got big ground strokes.

14:01Matt Roberts:Good athlete. Great athlete.

14:03Catherine Whitaker:There was a moment where he did a dunk smash. A real leap on him.

14:08David Law:I gave that the full Pete Sampras slam dunk smash commentary, I'm telling you, in there. Because that's what it was like. And he can do it on all the surfaces as well. There's no reason why he can't be a top 10 player in the future.

14:24Matt Roberts:He's such a cabali guy. I do like him.

14:26David Law:And I mean, my 13-year-old son's reaction to him is with me as well because he was so pumped after the first set.

14:35Matt Roberts:And I know Matthew's done a lot of shooting with him on the ATP. He's done a lot of, well, he's the ATP admin, isn't he? I don't quite know what that means. It's apparently hilarious.

14:45David Law:He gets to be a journalist, he was telling Tennis Channel yesterday, and interview the other players. That's what he was saying, he says he wants to show people behind the scenes.

14:55Matt Roberts:He's done a lot of filming with the ATP over the last few years, and Matthew does a lot of that, and doesn't have a bad word to say about him. He's got plenty of bad words to say about me, but none about Flavio Gaboli.

15:08Catherine Whitaker:Matthew should be ATP admin. Oh my God!

15:12David Law:You get ATP admin cancelled.

15:15Matt Roberts:That is a missed opportunity right there. I feel like we need to talk a bit about Djokovic and Sinner. But before we do that, we need to talk about Sinner today. Straight sets for him over Ben Shelton, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. First and foremost, I get the impression the arm is absolutely fine. And I don't mean that to say that he's not feeling it or in pain. He was playing with the sleeve today. but in terms of it impacting his game or potentially being something that could worsen, it seems to be fine in terms of damaging his prospects at all at this tournament because he was unreal today.

15:55Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, there was a moment midway through the second set when he shanked a return off a missed serve. I think it was like a massive serve from Shelton and he just mishit it. and you know I've done that in tennis off serves about half the speed of Shelton's and you get the vibrations up your arm.

16:17Matt Roberts:That's why they call it tennis elbow isn't it it's caused by that.

16:20Catherine Whitaker:Yeah and he immediately like winced and shook his elbow and his arm out and made sure the racket was in the other hand for a moment and I think it just slightly rocked him for about five minutes because for those five minutes he looked suddenly a little bit less sure of himself and he just looked a little bit uncomfortable, frankly, and like he was in a tiny bit of pain. But, I mean, like I said, I think most people, if they'd mishit Shelton's serve like that, would have felt something in their arm. Other than that, he was unbelievably good today, I thought. He was just hitting the ball like a dream from the start.

17:01Catherine Whitaker:In the first set, it was one of those sets where, you know, obviously Shelton's got a big serve and you just felt like it was going to go to a tie break. And Sinner was giving nothing away. I think he made one unforced error in the entire set. And he's hitting the hell out of the ball. Shelton has said in his press conference, you don't see anything like it when you're going through the draw. You play against him and it's like things are in two times speed.

17:25Matt Roberts:Whoa.

17:25Catherine Whitaker:Which says it all, doesn't it, about like the step up. and even in that tie break, Shelton played a brilliant point to get the mini break. He went two love up, didn't win another point in the tie break and that's not because he played badly. Sinner just locked in and was swinging hard but with margin and consistency and just overwhelmed him and then in the next two sets, he just broke right at the end of each set to win them both and ultimately the match and it was such a clinical performance from him. faced some break points right at the start of the second set but but served and back them up with his forehand to get out of that but otherwise was in total control on his serve picked his moments to to take take his chances on the shelton serve and was just generally awesome i i i thought he was brilliant to be quite honest and yes the arm remains a a small concern for me because of that wince that he had and that moment and the fact he's playing with the sleeve it looks like maybe he's got something under the sleeve as well um and he's potentially he potentially got 10 sets against jokovic and alcaraz to come which you know is a lot and if you're not somebody else hoping for taylor fritz you know if you're not feeling your best then those two are gonna find find that

18:52Matt Roberts:and try and exploit it but today he was brilliant yeah and and ben tough one isn't it because when that moment happened i was in the press room and and everybody clocked it and the the temperature in the room changed a bit and it suddenly became about looking out for for what could go wrong with the arm and everybody was wondering, okay, is Shelton going to start trying to extend the rallies here and really trying to test out that arm? It's just not his game, is it? It's just not his game. And even if it were, it's not the game against Yannick Sinner who can belt the ball and still place it on a postage stamp two inches from the baseline every single time.

19:37Matt Roberts:There's one, maybe two players in the world that can try and get deploy that tactic against Yannick Sinner, quite frankly.

19:47David Law:Yeah, and he might have to play them both to win this thing. I think that's great analysis from Shelton. He's really let us in there on what it's like. And he's tough as well, Sinner, isn't he? I mean, you know, his ability, we've been talking a lot about Novak Djokovic's compartmentalisation today, and Sinner's got that. You know, he's just so good at not letting external things into his head so that he can perform. And if you're going to beat him, you better play one heck of a match. And as much as he seemed to be fine, absolutely fine to play today

20:31Matt Roberts:in terms of the arm, as I say, I get the impression he felt a bit of pain, but I don't think he was very reassured by how he felt during the match and afterwards. He didn't know that until he took to the court. He said yesterday there was quite a lot of concern when he hit indoors. This morning he felt good on the practice court, but still you can't replicate match conditions. You can't. I don't know if there are any hitting partners kicking around with a lefty serve like Ben Shelton's. I doubt it though. He wouldn't have known until he stepped out onto court one today that the arm was going to be okay.

21:06Matt Roberts:and yet none of that uncertainty seems to rile him in the slightest. I don't know what would rile him.

21:14David Law:No.

21:16Matt Roberts:Extraordinary player.

21:17Catherine Whitaker:Public and Haller. It's like about it.

21:22Matt Roberts:Can Novak Djokovic...

21:23Catherine Whitaker:Al Karaz when he's got three match championship points. Yeah, these are the things.

21:27Matt Roberts:Can Novak Djokovic rile him and more?

21:32David Law:I think he can beat him. I mean, I don't think Djokovic is playing as well as Sinner at the moment. I think it's not far away, though. I feel like it's a bit like when you're watching Alcraz and you're reading things into rounds that don't matter as much. This is not the level that he's needing to find to win matches. I think we're going to see that on Friday. I fully expect Sinner to rise to it I think it could be an all-timer I think it could go on for five hours

22:13Matt Roberts:I mean this is what Novak Djokovic is playing for isn't it not just generally at slams this one this match here in the semi-finals and then obviously if he wins it it'll be Sunday against hopefully Taylor Fritz for him but this one Even more than the other three. There are four tournaments he cares about, five every four years. And this one he cares about more than any of the others. The momentousness of Friday for Novak Djokovic can't be understated, I don't think.

22:48David Law:No, because if he were to take a shellacking when he's fully fit on Wimbledon's centre court, I think that could really rattle him and make him wonder whether he wants to do this anymore.

23:02Matt Roberts:Do you think there's a risk of that?

23:04David Law:There's got a bit of risk of it, but I don't expect that to happen.

23:09Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, low risk, I would say. We can do percentages if you like. Considering what Alcaraz did to him in the Wimbledon final last year, and look, that wasn't a fully fit Novak Djokovic. We hope that this fall hasn't impacted him and we hope he's fully fit. He stepped up, didn't he, in Paris when he played Sinner. He lost it, but it was probably the best match he played. I mean, I know he was very good against Zverev as well in the quarterfinals, but just a much more comfortable matchup for him. Sinner, at this stage in his career, with his ball speed and his movement and his ability on serve, is a really difficult challenge for Novak Djokovic.

23:50Catherine Whitaker:Maybe his biggest. We've seen the way he's caused Alcaraz problems. He hasn't managed to cause Sinner in their biggest matches over the last couple of years the same problems.

24:02Matt Roberts:And hasn't managed to get in his head.

24:04Catherine Whitaker:No, but he was... Because as you've established, nothing can.

24:07Matt Roberts:A doping ban. Sacking half your team. None of it.

24:12Catherine Whitaker:No, he just keeps on keeping on. but Djokovic on this court I think on this surface considering it's not Sinner's favourite I mean he's bloody good on it but you know I think before their match at the Australian Open last year, 2024 and Djokovic wasn't in great form that tournament but I thought oh it's Rod Laver Arena it's his court you know but actually Sinner outplayed him massively in that one here I feel like I know he's lost a couple to Alcaraz, but he's got such an incredible record on centre court. He's come through on the grass. This is where he's been waiting to face Yannick Sinner, I think.

24:57Catherine Whitaker:I'm personally backing Sinner. I think Sinner would be my pick.

25:05Catherine Whitaker:But do not write Novo Djokovic off.

25:08Matt Roberts:The other thing that Djokovic is waiting for and wanting and hoping for is a moment with the crowd like he had in Paris. He's had support here. I think it's probably been more than previous years, but it's been nothing like that moment he had in Paris, which meant a lot to him. I mean, although he took a straight set of defeat from Yannick Sinner, he was happy with the way that tournament ended because of the affection he received from the French crowd. He would like to have that here on Friday.

25:41David Law:Yeah, he would. And I don't think he naturally gets it from the neutrals as much as he would in Paris, because there's a heck of a lot of Roger Federer fans in the UK who don't like the fact that he kept beating him. I think that that's part of it. But I do think there's a lot more people warming to him. That was a really generous, warm crowd to him today, I thought. There was a lot of Flavio chants because they wanted to come back as well. I think him being the underdog will lean into that kind of narrative.

26:20Matt Roberts:What was the story today when he was putting his fingers in his ears, Djokovic?

26:25David Law:I wasn't aware of that. At one point he put his fingers in his ears.

26:28Matt Roberts:I assumed it was when the Flavio chants were happening.

26:33David Law:No, I didn't see that personally from where I was. but I I'm going Djokovic to win to win this match yeah I just think his know-how on the surface and his serve there was a moment when he was struggling a bit and he was missing a few first serves so he then went to the second serve and he hit a 125 mile an hour second serve followed by a 119 mile an hour second serve to just get himself out of trouble I think he's going to he's going to extend the limits of his game that's the difference between today and Friday, he didn't need to do that today and he was hitting out and he was trying to assert himself but there's the heightened senses of knowing you've got no choice on Friday, I think he's going to play out of his mind and remind you of the Olympic final I think this is the one

27:35Matt Roberts:and then go on and win it?

27:36David Law:No.

27:37Matt Roberts:Because Taylor Fritz will get him in the final.

27:41David Law:I always back Alcaraz, really. I just do. When you get to the final, I think he's got another level altogether when he really needs it. And I also think it's the whole Pac-Hunter thing again. How do you beat Sinner and Alcaraz back-to-back? I mean, it would be the most Novak-Chalkovic thing in the world, as I said at the French Open to go and do that but I think that that's a step too far. It's a little bit reminiscent to me what Djokovic has got to try and do this weekend to win the

28:14Catherine Whitaker:title of what Federer was trying to do in 2019 when he had to beat Nadal and Djokovic back to back and okay like Nadal and Djokovic weren't as young as Sinner and Alcaraz are and actually Djokovic is older now than Federer was then, but Djokovic was still absolutely in his prime, and Nadal was having a great season. It was an enormous challenge, and Federer played dazzling tennis that weekend to beat Nadal and have two match points against Djokovic. It's almost like to me, though, that Djokovic has got them the other way round here, and I actually think I agree with David in terms of like he's gonna bring it he's gonna express himself he's gonna bring the absolute limits of his game I just kind of think matchup wise all that stuff works better against Alcaraz I sort of just think Sinner with his with his relentlessness is like what Federer had to face with Djokovic all those years ago and that relentlessness he can he can outplay him for a bit but can you can you get over the line can you do it over five sets and Sinner's just sort of immune I think a little bit to some of what Djokovic can bring there in a way that Alcaraz isn't.

29:33Catherine Whitaker:We've seen Alcaraz be affected by it but maybe I'm wrong and maybe this is the time when Sinner does get affected by it in a way we haven't seen before. It's great isn't it?

29:42Matt Roberts:It's lovely to

29:42David Law:have it ahead of us.

29:44Matt Roberts:I'm just thinking about that Diminol match and how much Djokovic was susceptible to the how poorly he was doing in the extended rallies.

29:53Catherine Whitaker:It just wasn't timing the ball that day, was he? And I think the feeling, and maybe he won't, and maybe he won't again, but if he does time it, that's another condition

30:05Matt Roberts:that he really doesn't enjoy. You know, he was red in the face today.

30:09Catherine Whitaker:I don't know if Sinner loves that. True, true. It's likely to be the second...

30:14David Law:It will be, yeah. It's going to be the second semi-final, right? Yeah. So, depending on how long the other one goes, a lot of it might not be played in the... Because one of the things that he really didn't like today, as I said, was when the sun came out and you're in and out of the shadows. He doesn't like that at all. Nor does the viewer because it's a problematic shadow. But if you can get late enough in the day, I mean, bear in mind it was only a two-set match before him. If you can, if Alkraza and Fritz went on for a bit, you might miss most of that horrible condition for him and end up playing in normal light.

30:52Matt Roberts:I think I agree with you both. I think Djokovic is going to absolutely bring it and lose.

30:57David Law:Well, I can totally understand why you would say that.

31:01Matt Roberts:But I can't wait.

31:02David Law:I cannot wait.

31:04Matt Roberts:Yeah, it's a great line-up. Great line-up on both sides.

31:08David Law:Yeah.

31:10Matt Roberts:Let's talk about the women's quarter-finals that we saw today. Let's start, shall we, with Iger Svjantek into a first Wimbledon semi-final, making it three Grand Slam semi-finals for the three Grand Slams played this year. 6-2, 7-5 for her over Ludmilla Samsonova. Mostly comfortable, a moment of jeopardy or a few minutes of jeopardy, I think, where things looked in the balance in that second set when Samsonova loosened up, was freed up by being down a break in the scoreline, setting a break down. She got it back to 4-all and then 5-all. this graphic flashed up on the screen that she had a nine suddenly in set two had a 9.3 out of 10 shot quality rating on the forehand and I looked at that and I was like what are you on about because it gave Amanda Ranisimova's backhand about a 6.2 the other day so I was like look at this nonsense and then for the next two games after that Samsonova's forehands were rocking me back in my chair she had so clearly just freed up and was swinging and she was really dangerous and Svante could have panicked and she didn't she was brilliant today I thought yeah it was five all

32:26Catherine Whitaker:love 30 on the on the Svante serve in that second set and as you said that was after a period of Samsonova having recovered the break got back into the match felt like she had the momentum but at that point I thought Svantec was brilliant from Love 30 down, played those big points really well to get out of that game and then at 6-5 again played really really well right at the end spread the court she sort of hit this return winner on match point and looked a bit surprised that it was, that it ended up being a winner but it was brilliant and yeah those final moments for Svantec were reminiscent of the tennis she'd been playing to get herself in that position in the first place of leading by a set and a break because Samsonova showed up today like she came out playing well at the start and then Svante broke and then Samsonova got quite wayward to be honest she lost seven games in a row her first you know she was just she was just sort of unable to really live with Shviontek from the baseline to be honest quite a lot of errors and I thought it was going to end up being a comfortable straight set swim for Shviontek like really straightforward I thought it was going to be 6-2 6-2 to be honest as this match was developing but because Samsonova rallied it got a lot closer and forced Shviontek to come up with the goods right at the end and and she did There was very little panic.

33:59Catherine Whitaker:She was good behind her serve. She applied pressure when she needed to. I thought it was a good performance. I didn't think it was absolutely peak Sviontek. Because I think if it had been, she probably wouldn't have even allowed Samsonova back into that second set. She'd have just absolutely been ruthless and clinical and finished it easily. Just allowed Samsonova back into it, But still managed to get it down in straight sets. It was a good performance.

34:29Matt Roberts:She was asked in press about specifics of what she worked on about her grass court game in those extra few days that she said she had training in. I think it was Mallorca, wasn't it, that she went to train on grass?

34:41Catherine Whitaker:It was, yeah.

34:43Matt Roberts:I mean, we're not talking about a whole training block that's transformed her fortunes on this surface. We're talking about, I think, an extra two, three days that she doesn't usually get because she's busy winning the French Open. She still got to the semis in Paris. But she said they mostly worked on movement. And she said learning to stop before I hit the ball, which I thought was quite interesting. That's something she doesn't have to do on clay where she's sliding into the ball and even on a hard court a little bit. And she does look... It's not just that she's moving well on grass. It's also that I do think...

35:19Matt Roberts:Think about how Casper Rood's talked about feeling on grass before and just not being able to get rid of the voice in the back of your mind saying don't get injured, don't fall over, don't slip over. Look at, you know, these are very worn grass courts now and you've still got Yannick Sinner falling over and hurting his elbow. I do understand why players have that looming in their mind, but it doesn't feel like Svantec does. She just looks, well, comfortable.

35:47David Law:exquisitely balanced as she stutter steps into the ball and it's so low to the ground you know um i i am so impressed with her i i know there was some hairy moments today against samson and she missed some shots but she also just distributed the ball impeccably i thought this the ball has never been under control here for her the way it is this year she's not over hitting in the same way she's not sort of panic hitting because somebody else is hitting hard at her and I think well it's no surprise therefore that she is in the semi-finals which she hasn't done before I think it's really exciting to see her kind of figure this out along the way and I don't think she's done yet I mean it's it's just I thought she was so impressive today.

36:38Matt Roberts:She squirreled a load more

36:40Catherine Whitaker:towels into her bag did you see that it was very funny the way she uh turned to the camera and how many do you think she has now so many so many do you think i mean i imagine she gives them

36:56Matt Roberts:i hope so otherwise she'd have several suitcases worth of towels to take home i mean they're nice towels but well he gets you on taking her four towels but yeah it's a fun little fun little thing another press conference where she didn't get asked about strawberry pasta I'm trying to keep the story alive well where

37:20David Law:were you why didn't you ask I've got

37:22Matt Roberts:I've got nothing to ask but I'm very surprised the British tabloids aren't you fulfilled

37:29Catherine Whitaker:your quota of fruit related questions for this tournament yes

37:33Matt Roberts:remember I asked Coco off about the strawberry.

37:35Catherine Whitaker:So being one.

37:37Matt Roberts:David asked one vegetable-related question in Paris. Come on, Matt. Your big moments coming up in New York. Get with the fruit and veg program. Just on Shuntek's press conference, it's funny, I was having a conversation with Charlie Eccleshare shortly before we both went up to this press conference about how good she's been impressed at this tournament and how much lighter she seemed. She's, you know, there's been moments of fun and levity and back and forth repartee with the media, whereas sometimes she seems so nervous of the whole situation. It's been really, really notable. So we trooped up there, settling in for another one of these really sort of uplifting Igor Shvantec press conferences, and it was a real regression.

38:18Matt Roberts:It was back to old Igor Shvantec. Now, that might just be semifinals, game face, whatever. And probably is. I don't want to read too much into it.

38:30Catherine Whitaker:And it might specifically be semifinal tomorrow. you know like the rhythm has suddenly changed you can't really relax now at all you've got a

38:39Matt Roberts:I do think that really sucks there are two two players in the tournament always two women whose rhythm suddenly changes yeah and I know it's the same on both sides of the net but I just feel like there's enough time in a Grand Slam that we don't doesn't need to be like that my mum wrote that to

38:55David Law:me tonight you know somebody who just follows the sport and isn't involved with it the way we are and she just said it seems most unfair that the women now have to play tomorrow.

39:04Matt Roberts:Yes, Barbara.

39:05David Law:Yes.

39:06Matt Roberts:I couldn't agree. I mean, also just not being able to enjoy the fact that you've reached the semi. Usually Grand Slam gives you, you can have that evening, maybe the next morning to enjoy what you've done and then you turn your attention to the next match and in the Miller-Samson of his case, then find out who you're playing in the next match.

39:24David Law:That's a huge match.

39:25Matt Roberts:You know, it's bigger than all the other ones where they've had a day off. Absolutely. but you have to be thinking about it straight away so I do understand and it's probably that but I'm just I'm just bookmarking it because she's had such a semi-final problem, on one hand yes we think of this as a bad season for Svantec by her very high standards and yet she has reached all these Grand Slam semis which is fantastic but she wants to be winning them and she hasn't been, she hasn't won a title for over a year now and she has had a bit of a semi-final block so I'm just just bookmarking it as maybe there will be more strain and stress tomorrow than we've seen up until now in this tournament maybe this is the first time she's thought blimey I could win Wimbledon yeah no I think absolutely right to

40:22Catherine Whitaker:bookmark it really because there have been so many times this year where I've thought wow or iguja fjontek's playing well and then something will happen in in the quarters or as you said most likely sort of semi-final stage of of a tournament um and that's often some that's been on her best surface at times and you know as good as she's been this this week and as much as we're talking about her game on grass like it's still not her best surface let's be let's be clear about that you know um so i definitely think it's a factor tomorrow like that sort of semi-final which viontech could could show up again um and it's a fascinating season she's having isn't it she's two in the race now and yet we and a lot of a lot of people have been yeah a lot of you know it's like it's some sort of absolute disaster yeah and and yet hasn't won a title and on and And that is a stat that absolutely for someone of Svantec's quality is pretty disastrous.

41:30So it's really, really interesting. For what it's worth, I don't think we're going to see the level of bad semi-final Svantec that we've seen this year,

41:46Catherine Whitaker:where her whole game has just sort of fallen apart at times. like she might lose she's playing a very good opponent someone who's had a match point against her here but you know if she does lose I would expect it to be a bit more like the Australian Open semi-final loss for example I think she came out of that one okay there was stuff she maybe could have done better but I don't think I don't think alarm bells were ringing after the Australian Open when she lost like it was a good performance and Madison Keyes was was amazing okay we'll

42:15Matt Roberts:We'll talk a little bit more about that semifinal later on in the show because obviously it's tomorrow, so we'll be talking through tomorrow's order of play. But first, Belinda Bencic obviously is who she'll face in that semifinal. She beat Mir Andreeva today on centre court. Two tie breaks at 7-6, 6-2. A nervy match, I thought. More so from Andreeva than from Bencic. A match that, well, you made the comment, Matt, midway through I think towards the end of the first set this match is being played on Bencic's terms this is the match that Bencic wants and not the match that Andreeva wants and she fought really well did Andreeva to keep it as close as she did on what I thought was quite a poor day for her really given how well she's played for most of the tournament but it just always felt like Bencic's match.

43:08Catherine Whitaker:It did yeah it felt like Bencic was able to play the sort of rallies that she wanted standing up on the baseline um and Draver it it seemed to me like she didn't quite have feel like the feel on the ball that she normally has and I think she wasn't therefore able to be as aggressive as she would like to be you know and clearly she needed to get Benchik moving as much as she possibly could because Benchik when she's in position on the baseline is such a pure clean ball striker has such an easy strike as well it it doesn't really falter and everybody goes off her ball striking you've got to get her moving you've got to be able to put her in awkward spots but I didn't really feel like Andreeva was timing the ball as well as she would normally to be able to exploit those parts of Ben Shix's game and I think we saw her as the match went on David you you texted the group saying Andreeva's turned into Tatiana Maria.

44:07Catherine Whitaker:And she did for a while. She did. She started hitting these sliced forehands. My read on that was that it was a, it did help her get back into the match when Benchik was serving for the match. It became an effective shot. But, and it was incredible for her to be able to sort of use that in that moment, use her toolbox and use this sliced forehand. But if Andreeva's playing her best, she doesn't necessarily need to resort to that was my take. I think it was an amazing... Where's your confidence

44:35David Law:with your normal for her.

44:36Catherine Whitaker:It was an amazing adjustment in the moment to use what she had in that moment. But there were two points in that second set tie break, which Andreeva won. She only won two points in it. But those were the sorts of points that she needed to be playing more of. Aggressive, ending up at the net, putting the ball away, big winners. But she just was unable to do that, really, because I just don't think she quite had it today. She fought really well, pushed it to two tie breaks. But Benchik was playing closer to her top level. And also, like, I think there's a bit of a thing where, and again, I'm going to sound like a broken record because I'm going to talk about my backhand list, but Andreeva is not used to being in matches where she doesn't necessarily have the best backhand.

45:20Catherine Whitaker:And today, Bengtjik's backhand was better. And they were getting involved in those exchanges, and a lot of the time, Bengtjik was winning them. And for a shot that is normally, like, so reliable for Andreeva, was sometimes missing, and it just wasn't bringing her the rewards that it normally does. And I imagine that that has to hugely throw you off as well. If your major asset is being negated by your opponent who's got the same asset and today is hitting it better. And I think that was maybe just messing with Andreeva in terms of her usual rhythms and patterns. And yeah, Bencic was awesome.

45:56Matt Roberts:The sound of the ball off the racket just wasn't quite right, I thought, for Andreeva today. It just didn't feel clean. there wasn't there wasn't the zip on the backhand when she did connect with it, just all a bit off.

46:10David Law:I didn't really understand the tactics either, I think of the two tactically Bencic was the more sound and clear in her mind and she was, she did have some backhand exchanges but my word did she give the forehand a work and over as well in the first set, I think she knew the challenge that she had and I think that Andreva did look a bit muddled out there. And it may just be because occasion, one of those days, but it wasn't a good day. And that's twice now. That's twice now in big Grand Slam matches recently where she hasn't had the answers. And I think that was frustrating because I think her level coming into that match was as good as anybody else's.

46:52And she feels like a missed opportunity to me.

46:56David Law:You know, I rate Benchic so highly, but I think Andreeva should be in the semis really.

47:02Matt Roberts:Yeah, and look, I think her reaction tells you that she feels the same. She was really upset. Look, of course she'll have other opportunities, fitness, health permitting, touch wood, to be in that position and take advantage of them but she wants it now. Of course she does. She is good enough now, I think.

47:23David Law:The serve is a joke. Pat Cash said in commentary He thinks she's got the best serve in women's tennis. Simple as that. And, I mean, Belinda Bencic really doesn't. You know, there's a shot that you can go for, right?

47:38Catherine Whitaker:And I just feel like she let her get away with too much today.

47:43Matt Roberts:Second Grand Slam semi-final for Bencic overall and her first at Wimbledon. Her last Grand Slam semi-final was 2019.

47:52Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, so I've got a stat about that in the newsletter, actually. It's a good stat. Because we've got Anisimova and Bencic both making their second Grand Sam semifinal appearance and their first was both in 2019 for both of them. So the stat is about the gap between first and second. And, you know, it's a long gap, but kind of where does it fit historically in terms of those long gaps?

48:15David Law:Looking forward to that.

48:16Matt Roberts:And obviously, you know, I can tell a lot of the storytelling, a lot of the headlines about Benchich are going to be about the fact that she's a mother and she's had this maternity break. And I understand that to an extent. Everybody's looking for an angle on things and everyone's looking to tell a story. And in some ways it is a very compelling story. it's extraordinary that she incubated and birthed a human like a year and a half ago and is making this comeback it's absolutely unreal and we should we should lift up that achievement but I also wince at a lot of the tone of the coverage of her being a mother because it is just so different to how fathers are covered in tennis and then I mentally go around it I'm like but it is different because the fathers didn't give birth to the children.

49:10Matt Roberts:She gave birth to it. Like, that is different. It's a whole physical thing that it's not for the men.

49:20Matt Roberts:But, yeah, I know I'm going to be uncomfortable with a lot of the coverage about Belinda Bencic.

49:25David Law:I heard an interview with her today, and there were three questions that I'm thinking, I've never heard Novak Djokovic get asked that.

49:33Matt Roberts:It was one about her being smiley.

49:35David Law:No, it wasn't that. Because there was... It wasn't that.

49:37Matt Roberts:There was one of those.

49:39David Law:No, but I did remember thinking, I just don't remember Novak Djokovic getting asked any of these things.

49:45Matt Roberts:Taylor Fritz is a father.

49:49Yeah.

49:51Catherine Whitaker:Just constantly just referring to her as a mum. A mum. That's a part of her life, absolutely an important part, but she's also a professional athlete. and look, I think one of the interesting parts in the Bencic story in terms of coming back from having a child was the route she took in terms of playing the ITFs first. Absolutely. Again, that's something that Svitolina did as well and you would say in the past couple of years those have been the two most successful comebacks. I mean, I know there's a lot of other factors as well

50:28Matt Roberts:but it really was impressive

50:31Catherine Whitaker:the way that Benkic played those ITFs, took some losses at the end of last year, but then came out this year. I still remember she played Jasmine Paolini in the United Cup, and I thought, well, she's miles away, Benkic. She was beaten really quite comfortably. Yeah, I remember watching that. But very quickly, she found the form, and the form she had in the start of the year was fantastic. She'd actually only won matches at one tournament since Miami before this week, and that was in Madrid with its particular set of conditions. She had an injury. She doesn't like trade, does she? No. She had an injury, didn't she?

51:02Catherine Whitaker:She missed the French Open. It's funny. If you'd said at the start of the year, maybe we'll get on to David's prediction, if you'd said at the start of the year that Bengtšić would be in the women in the semifinals, I'd have kind of been like, wow, yeah, I mean, she's playing that level. She's been brilliant through the first few months. If you'd said before the tournament, I'd have been really surprised because she didn't have that much form coming in here. She was a breakdown in the third to Cotciareto as well in the third round, I want to say. You know, like she's had to battle through. And yet, when you consider her sort of top level, I've always thought one of the best, absolutely one of the best players not to have won a slam.

51:44Catherine Whitaker:You know, in terms of, again...

51:47Matt Roberts:Yet, says David.

51:48Catherine Whitaker:Again, I think Svitolina would be in that category. But I think Bengtšić is more dangerous against the very top players. She's less consistent than Svitolina, perhaps. But her top level, the way she takes the ball early, is a bit of a nightmare for a lot of players. And she showed that today.

52:03Matt Roberts:Yeah, such a good point about the manner of the comeback and going up through the levels. And look, I understand the temptation to take the wild cards. You must be desperate to get back and get a taste of it. But, well, she's a walking advert for the way that she's done it, hasn't she? Yeah, absolutely extraordinary achievement. Is she going to fulfil your prediction, David? here?

52:29David Law:I don't think so I said that what autonomous was she in? I think it was one of the Middle East

52:37Matt Roberts:the one she won presumably

52:39David Law:which one she won but I remember her level was so extraordinary I just thought this is Grand Slam winning form there's nobody who can handle this because it's so different how early she's taken the ball I still think that that is possible for her if she can find that form and that could be this week she's two matches away but I would go for Svianta

53:04Catherine Whitaker:it's interesting what you said about the Benchik serve which is a weakness I was surprised there were so few breaks in this match we were quite a deep way into the second set before there was a break of serve

53:21Matt Roberts:and then two came along at once 21 games I think

53:24Catherine Whitaker:and the thing about Benchik is she doesn't have a kick serve you know she just doesn't have it and that's that's like the most it's like the safest second serve you can hit is a kick serve but actually so like so like her double fault risk is always quite high I think because she's slicing that second serve but actually on the grass if she's having a good serving day I actually think the grass really helps her serve because the slice is less attackable. It's a bit more, it skids through a little bit. Her shots stay so low. I mean, shots do anyway on grass, but Benchik's do in particular. And yeah, I absolutely agree the serve is a weakness generally.

54:07Catherine Whitaker:And I think of the serve needing to be a strength on the grass to succeed. But I kind of think specifically for Benchik, and actually, now I'm thinking about it, a little bit for Nisimov.

54:17Matt Roberts:You're talking yourself into a big Benchik prediction and a big Anastasia prediction.

54:21Catherine Whitaker:A big Benchich and Nissimovah final, Matt Roberts. I mean, they both like the sly serve. And look, I don't think Nissimovah served great this tournament, but there's something about the grass, which if they're having a good day, it sort of elevates that weakness in their game. And I think we're seeing that a little bit with Benchich. I don't think Andreeva, as weak as the Benchich serve can be, I don't think Andreeva enjoyed returning it today because it was skidding and staying low.

54:51Matt Roberts:OK, let's talk through tomorrow's order of play. It is, of course, women's semifinals day and the mixed doubles final as well. Both of them back to back, starting at 1.30 on centre court with Arina Sabalenka against Amanda Anisimova. You know what I'm going to ask for here, Matt?

55:12Catherine Whitaker:A percentage?

55:13Matt Roberts:I'm going to ask for a percentage.

55:16Catherine Whitaker:Matthew got all confused and thought that the thought that the pledge was if she reaches the final I'm going blonde he was a bit gutted when I told him that it's winning the title

55:29Matt Roberts:you can change it I could

55:32Catherine Whitaker:not gonna look I'm not gonna I'm not gonna go against it now I'm gonna I'm gonna say she's gonna win what an Issa Mola yeah she's gonna win tomorrow she's going to win tomorrow David

55:52Matt Roberts:people are looking for balanced neutral rational analysis here

55:59David Law:this is the wrong bloke

56:01Matt Roberts:you're the right bloke for this one

56:03David Law:I'm going for Sambalenka I think Sambalenka's ready to to reach this final I'm going for Sambalenka I really hope that Anissimova shows up. Because I do think that if she shows up from ball one, I do think she can win this. It's not like I feel really categoric that it's Sabalenka's. I just think I expect Sabalenka to be there throughout. I'm not convinced Anissimova will be. And if she's not, she doesn't win it. If she does, it's really 50-50 because her ball strike is so glorious. that it could take Sabalenka out. But I think that Sabalenka's just champion quality and experience on the stage and how she won't allow herself to leave that centre court without winning, unless she's physically stopped.

57:00David Law:So I'm going to go Sabalenka.

57:02Matt Roberts:David with the measured takes and Matt with the irrational hype. What universe am I in?

57:09David Law:It's like those body-swapping movies.

57:11Matt Roberts:Yeah, it's a freaky Friday with David and Matt.

57:15Catherine Whitaker:I mean, no one has beaten Sabalenka in straight sets at a slam in a very long time. Like, very long. It's Azarenka at the COVID US Open of 2020. She's played over 90 Grand Slam matches since then. Like, it's... So, part of me thinks, like, her best chance in this move is to totally outplay her and not let it be physical, all that kind of stuff. It's just with that kind of record that Sabalenka's got, it's so hard to imagine that happening, you know?

57:52Matt Roberts:It's OK, you've made your prediction.

57:54Catherine Whitaker:OK.

57:55David Law:It's just got no rationale behind it. No, it doesn't.

57:57Catherine Whitaker:It doesn't really.

57:59Matt Roberts:A feeling. Do you know what dream died today? The dream of an Anasimova-Andreva rematch in the final.

58:08David Law:Why was that tantalising?

58:10Matt Roberts:Because they had some excellent aggro in Miami. They had on-court aggro that extended onto Instagram afterwards, which is just perfection. Really childish, pathetic.

58:23David Law:Catherine Sweets.

58:24Catherine Whitaker:I quote, I quote, bit rich coming from a 2-1 first set medical. All the time. That's what Nisimovas said on Instagram.

58:36Matt Roberts:oh it was amazing someone posted a picture of their fingers anissimova posted a

58:42Catherine Whitaker:a middle finger with her blister in fact i'm pretty sure it was a video

58:51Matt Roberts:yeah yeah with the caption bit rich coming from a 214 set medical yeah oh it was iconic perfection they will play again one day oh i'm desperate for it will be sensational second semi-final tomorrow now I'd like a rational take please Matt Igor Sviontek against Belinda Bencic

59:14I will

59:15Catherine Whitaker:I will go with Sviontek I mean imagine if we finally get a Sviontek Sabalenka grandstand final and it's at Wimbledon I mean that would that would be quite something wouldn't it I think

59:32Matt Roberts:I think she'll be able to get Bencic moving in a way that Andreeva couldn't today. They played that incredible match here a few years ago. And obviously they're both completely different people and players since then. But if it's anything like that, sign me up because that was wonderful. Bencic had a match point.

59:51Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, it was that really special day, wasn't it? Where there was also the amazing Svitolina-Azarenka match going on simultaneously on court one. yeah the rationale for me is Svantec's playing well I do think she can exploit the Benchic movement I'll go with her but as you said back of the mind we've seen her play well up to the semi-final stage before this year David

1:00:23David Law:I'm going Svantec as well Svantec-Sabalenka final Svantec-Sabalenka final

1:00:31Matt Roberts:All the slams where we've bigged up the possibility of Sabalenka and Svantec finally meeting.

1:00:36David Law:What I would say is I've said Svantec will reach a lot of finals over the time when it hasn't happened.

1:00:47Catherine Whitaker:Benchic can rush her because she takes the ball so early. That's always dangerous. I think Bengtich could absolutely destroy the Sviantek second serve if she's having a poor day, you know. But equally, I think Sviantek can exploit the Bengtichs forehand. You know, I just like the idea of those sorts of exchanges for Sviantek. They're both really intriguing. Rounds will be closing in around 15 minutes. Please make your way to the exit gates and make sure you take all your belongings with you. We hope you've enjoyed your day here at Wimbledon and wish you a pleasant and safe journey home. Thank you.

1:01:36Matt Roberts:You had a crowd for that, Matt. That was fun, wasn't it? OK, so everyone's going to Fiontech in the second one. David, I have one last prediction.

1:01:44Catherine Whitaker:Who are you going for in Savalenka and Ismova? I don't want a percentage.

1:01:54Matt Roberts:I mean, obviously, Sabalenka is the heavy favourite, but I want you to go blonde so much. I'm going to allow the irrational part of my brain to run riot.

1:02:08Catherine Whitaker:Great.

1:02:09Matt Roberts:And I'm going to go Anisimova.

1:02:14Matt Roberts:Anisimova's Chvantek final. A match we've never seen.

1:02:17Catherine Whitaker:No, they've never played. I think they might have played in juniors or something. Right. But, yeah, we've never seen it at a tall level.

1:02:23Matt Roberts:But, look, if it's a Svantec-Sabalenka final, that's everything apart from Matt going blonde. And, look, Benchich is no disaster.

1:02:36David Law:Oh, no.

1:02:36Matt Roberts:It's all good.

1:02:38David Law:What a confidence.

1:02:39Matt Roberts:It's all good apart from if we miss out on blonde Matt because I am so wedded to that idea now. David, I need one more important prediction from you. as the connoisseur and avid follower of traditional mixed doubles that you are. Who will win the mixed doubles final tomorrow? Last on centre court between Semve Beek, the Dutch player, and his Czech partner, Katarina Siniarkova, unseeded, against an unseeded pair, Joe Salisbury, and your gal, what a player, Luisa Stefani.

1:03:12David Law:It'll be them, Salisbury and Stefani. Siniarkova, unseeded.

1:03:17Matt Roberts:I mean, I don't know how they do mixed doubles. No, but I just feel like Sini Arcova. You've got to seed Sini Arcova.

1:03:23Catherine Whitaker:She can play with anyone.

1:03:25David Law:Stefani can play with anyone. Stefani can play on her own. Then that would be singles.

1:03:33Matt Roberts:Yeah, she literally does do that.

1:03:35Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, that doesn't go so well.

1:03:40Matt Roberts:She tried that. Oh, yeah.

1:03:44David Law:I mean, she can play. Luisa Stefani and anyone, like they used to say with John McInerney.

1:03:48Matt Roberts:Right. Right, Stefani and anyone. Right. Just take you all on. Okay. Well, watch this space. We'll be back with our show tomorrow after the mixed doubles final. We might have a special guest. TBC will keep you posted. Keep across our socials. It'll be not before 7.30pm guaranteed, but it'll be after that mixed doubles final's finished. And of course, David will have watched every single point of it. And we'll be here to talk about it. Pumped. we have a mascot for this show I had a sneaky peeking mascot earlier I didn't mean to but I caught sight of a dog on Matt's screen and well I couldn't resist having a look and then I showed David and then I stroked her nose on the screen

1:04:35David Law:did do that the fingerprint's still there

1:04:39Matt Roberts:our mascot is Bridget owned by Dana Levinson and we know Bridget because this is Bridget's second year as a tennis podcast pet mascot. She's a terrier cattle dog mix and she joined Dana's Chicago family as an older rescue in 2021. And while she's currently 12 years old, age cannot wither her nor custom stale her infinite variety. I think that is a beautiful quote from something I'm not literate enough to understand, but it is beautiful, Dana. If I were to assign Dana says Bridget the personality of a current tennis player, I cannot describe her as the canine version of a Carlos Alcaraz or a Jasmine Paolini.

1:05:23Matt Roberts:Bridget is instead a Yelena Ostapenko.

1:05:26David Law:Oh, she sounds like a legend.

1:05:28Matt Roberts:Yeah, absolutely. From the total lack of predictability to her withering side-eye to her men's capacity for ruining things like a walk. She's rolled in something dead. Or your dinner. She's jumped up and eaten the ingredients off the counter. or your new favourite sneakers, i.e. her new favourite chew toys. Bridget channels Yelena's energy at all times. But equally, our lives, much like the tennis tour itself, would be so much less rich without her. Bridget brings vitality to our lives by consistently introducing so many incidents of a surprising and unforeseen nature. I can't imagine how boring everything would be without her.

1:06:04Matt Roberts:She's greatly loved, although no one outside the family can quite figure out why. I can, Dana! In addition to embracing volatility for its own sake, Bridget's other favourite pastimes are napping in the sun, begging relentlessly for snacks and enjoying long leisurely walks while I listen to the tennis podcast. Bridget is beautiful. I'm going to stroke that nose one more time. What a good girl. Thank you, Dana. That was a lovely tribute to a lovely, lovely dog. Hello to our mascots. Hello, Phoebe. Hello, Maisie. Hello, Roger. you can say hello to your mascots too.

1:06:43Catherine Whitaker:Hello, Roger. That's how big Roger is by now.

1:06:48Matt Roberts:I keep asking for photos. Maybe he's too big to fit in a photo. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. Let's have some shout outs, Matt.

1:07:00Catherine Whitaker:We have Chris Wilkes from Tucson, Arizona.

1:07:05Matt Roberts:Quite a lot like Chris Wilkinson. Yeah.

1:07:08David Law:Who we've seen around here. He works for the Radio Wimbledon station.

1:07:13Matt Roberts:And of course, like Hannah Wilkes.

1:07:15David Law:Yeah.

1:07:16Matt Roberts:Hello, Hannah. This is an opportunity for me to embarrass Hannah by telling everybody how excellent she is. So thank you, Chris, for providing me that opportunity.

1:07:25David Law:And thanks, Chris.

1:07:26Matt Roberts:Do we know anything about Chris?

1:07:28David Law:We don't.

1:07:30Matt Roberts:Like Chris O 'Connell, the second sensation. Thank you, Chris.

1:07:36Catherine Whitaker:we've also got Carolyn Leap who would like to give her shout out to her daughter and fellow friend of the pod Catherine Leap-Lazard who defended her doctoral dissertation and became Dr Catherine Leap-Lazard wow at the end of June Catherine

1:07:55Matt Roberts:congratulations that is absolutely incredible I just I can't imagine reaching that stage of like academic achievement me neither unbelievable Catherine congratulations

1:08:11Catherine Whitaker:and finally we have Neil and Pat Roberts oh

1:08:19Catherine Whitaker:they'll be thrilled they keep saying to me we haven't had a shout out yet I was like

1:08:22David Law:you haven't filled in the form

1:08:23Matt Roberts:it's sweet that they have their shout outs my parents pay for separate subscriptions so they get separate shout outs

1:08:30David Law:somewhat epic as well

1:08:32Catherine Whitaker:to be fair

1:08:33Matt Roberts:oh Neil and Pat.

1:08:35Catherine Whitaker:And they're coming to Wimbledon on Friday. Yes. So they're thrilled with their men's semifinal line-up.

1:08:40Matt Roberts:Yes, I bet they are. Feels like what they won, you know,

1:08:45Catherine Whitaker:kind of what they deserved after last year's less than great order of play.

1:08:52Matt Roberts:I asked them about that when I saw them at the live show, thinking, you know... Oh, it's not a laughing matter. No, I gathered that. But we had a lovely chat. Your dad was wearing a very vibrant shirt.

1:09:05Catherine Whitaker:He was. It was a lovely shirt.

1:09:07Matt Roberts:It was great, yeah. Just unusual.

1:09:10David Law:Is he going to wear it again for this? Maybe he will. I hope so. Nice sunny day.

1:09:13Catherine Whitaker:Yeah.

1:09:14Matt Roberts:Will they come and say hi?

1:09:16Catherine Whitaker:I think so.

1:09:17Matt Roberts:Come and say hi to us, Neil and Pat. Yeah. You've got a good one here. Very well done.

1:09:24Catherine Whitaker:Is that a weird thing to say?

1:09:28David Law:It's done now. It's a nice comment. We're live.

1:09:30Matt Roberts:Hello. Hello to Neil and Pat. hello to Catherine. What was Catherine's mum called?

1:09:35Catherine Whitaker:Carolyn.

1:09:36Matt Roberts:Catherine, Carolyn, Chris, Neil and Pat.

1:09:41Catherine Whitaker:The big five.

1:09:43Matt Roberts:Thank you for being a friend of the tennis podcast. If you'd like to become a friend of the pod, the link is in our show notes. It gets you all sorts of bonus fun stuff. It also gets you ad free listening. So if I deny you, get rid of them. There you go. Thank you to Wimbledon for letting us do these podcasts and this, absolutely incredible position even with all the flies that have attacked me tonight, there's still nowhere else in the world I would rather be and thank you of course to The Athletic, we are part of the Athletic Podcast Network and that is an excellent, excellent thing, we'll be back tomorrow, not before 7.30pm after the Mixed Doubles Final if you subscribe to our YouTube channel or our newsletter, link in the show notes or check us out on Instagram, those are all ways that you can find out exactly when we're going live, I suggest you do all those things anyway and join us tomorrow for our live show so however you've joined us tonight thank you for watching thank you for listening we'll see you and speak to you tomorrow