Live from Wimbledon Day 9 - Djokovic keeps dream of 25 alive

20:00Catherine Whitaker:that's my feeling at this stage yeah I think that's big yeah

20:04David Law:if he's not injured then you know then it's

20:07Catherine Whitaker:he had a calf issue yeah a bit of a calf issue but it did have

20:10Matt Roberts:medical time out he was stretching it out but then he did seem to be moving fine five hours later so

20:17Catherine Whitaker:it is ridiculous what he's doing like it is he is his level of tennis is just still so high like that's what gets me the skill level that he has like is ridiculous okay you can you can say all you want about Orgeliusim as the third seed here and what that says about the state of men's tennis but he is the third seed and okay Alcaraz is out at the moment but Djokovic's like level and his skill level is still above that and he can master these matches and ebbs and flows of them still so well like it's why I feel like he's like this grand master like he's conquered all aspects and And he can pull on, whether it be the skills he's got or the aura he's got or the navigating five-set matches.

21:14Catherine Whitaker:He can weave these things in and make it through tournaments still. It's absolutely crazy. No one has done this at this age so consistently. This isn't just moments. It's not moments. It's sustained.

21:32David Law:It's serial challenging for Grand Slam titles at nearly 40.

21:35Catherine Whitaker:At a time when the sport is so physical. It's mind-boggling. Yeah.

21:44Matt Roberts:Yeah, agreed. What can you say? It's absolutely unreal. I feel like we probably need to chat a bit about Yannick Sinner before we do more throwing forward to that semi-final in three days' time. Straight sets for Sinner today, 7-5, 7-6, 6-3 over Jan Nanadstruff. I feel like straight sets doesn't quite tell the full story of this match. Strouf was in most Sinner service games and didn't take advantage, quite frankly. Look, we talked yesterday, didn't we, about how Strouf does tighten up at the end of sets. And players know that. Yannick Sinner absolutely knew that and was waiting for it and was there to turn the screw when Strouf got vulnerable.

22:31Matt Roberts:But if you're Novak Djokovic at your lowest ebb right now, looking for encouragement for three days time against, as he says, the best player in the world. I think there was encouragement there today against Drift. And I think there has been encouragement throughout this whole tournament. I don't think this was necessarily the step up in level that Yannick Sinner has been looking for. Not a disaster at all. he's won in straight sets but the average rank of his opponents his five opponents in this tournament so far has been 81 and okay he's won fairly comfortably but he's he's been far from the Yannick Sinner that we have become accustomed to watching I think anyway I don't know what you

23:19David Law:two think yeah the the assumption is he's going to have to find a higher level to win this title that may not be the case because he may run into a depleted Novak Djokovic and provide this sort of level of tennis and win he may get to the final and just be kind of better than the opponent even if he doesn't reach his top level my assumption is that he's going to need to step it up here and yes, that wasn't streamlined efficient Yannick Sinner just sweeping Jananadstrup aside excited um his game makes life difficult for people he does hit a big ball and he comes at you and he was and he kind of when he went and set in a breakdown he got a break back you know that was very interesting to me there were lots of moments like that where actually it got messier than i expected it to um but he still got the job done and i think key for me is he didn't seem at least to suffer in the heat in quite the way that he has in the past.

24:19David Law:I know it's maybe not as hot as it has been, and he got it done in three sets. I think it's good that he did. It would have been interesting if he'd have gone into four. But, you know, it was 30-plus degrees today, and he won in straight sets. I think that's a good sign for him.

24:36Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, and the one shot that has been very good all-tournament has been his serve. I know that Strouf was in some service games today, absolutely, and pressuring. But when he needed it, the serve was there for him. And it was a bit like that earlier in the season as well. He didn't quite have his best ground stroke game, but his serve was working. And he was winning matches. And he's doing that at this Wimbledon. And I'm talking mostly about when he was set point down in the second set. Found a big serve. And in the tie break, he was brilliant on serve. I'm not sure Stroof got one back, you know.

25:15Catherine Whitaker:And obviously Djokovic is a far better returner than Stroof and can put some pressure on. But Sinner hits his spots well and has good pace on it. And even Djokovic will struggle if Sinner is serving at his best. So that's there for him. But again, I was watching the early stages here and thinking the forehand is shonky. He's not timing it. He hasn't found that shot through five matches, and I really did think he would have done by now. I've been quite surprised that that hasn't come.

25:47Matt Roberts:Djokovic is the master of picking on a weakness.

25:50Catherine Whitaker:And the interesting thing about Djokovic as well is he loves serving to people's forehands. He loves the slide serve. Which works so well. Which works really well on the grass, and he does it on both sides as well. So that is going to be interesting, I think, to watch that in a few days time. Yeah, he was asked sort of, how do you feel about your game, Sinner?

26:14Matt Roberts:And he just talked about his serve, how pleased he was with his serve. Like he's not, he knows what's going on here. This is not, I can't put my finger on it and I can't produce anything concrete or scientific. But when you look back on pitches, you know, I do a lot of stuff for our social media and I spend a lot of time on Getty looking for old pictures of things. When you look back on pictures of the 2024 US Open title run he had, where he obviously won the title, by the way, which he very may well do here, but obviously he had the drugs ban situation hanging over him at the time. It was unknown how that would end up panning out.

26:55Matt Roberts:It had all gone public on the eve of that tournament. you look back at pictures of him and he looks pretty joyless during that tournament it looks similar to that to me like when I look through the the Getty pictures of this tournament he looks similar I realize that's really unscientific but just vibe check is is just a bit off to me it could just be hangover from what happened in Paris it could be Carlos Alcaraz not being around it you know it could be something in his personal life it could be me reading too much into things It could be something to do with this tape he has on his shoulder.

27:32Matt Roberts:The fact that he's serving so well makes me suspect it's not that, but, you know, it could be something that affects the forehand swing and not the service motion.

27:44Catherine Whitaker:And it's just generally tough to know whether how he's feeling is causing him to play like this or the other way around. And he's playing badly, and this is a guy who, you know, knows how well he can play and he's he's annoyed by it and maybe he doesn't have an explanation for it either i i it's true i really don't know but the the vibe has just been off and every match i've just thought okay this is going to be the one where he's that little bit more convincing and and the convictions back and it it just hasn't come and now we've got to crunch time of the tournament and i agree with david like he he can probably probably still win this tournament without finding his best i mean we've seen we've seen alcaraz win a grand slam without ever really finding his best tennis these guys are so good that we probably emphasize the little flaws that they're showing more because we're used to seeing it it be better but uh it it is very interesting you know if you told me that we would we would have yannick sinner in the semi-finals and Djokovic had just played a five-hour match and Alcaraz wasn't in the tournament.

28:56Catherine Whitaker:If you told me that a couple of months ago, I thought, well, that's... Wimbledon's going to be feeling like a foregone conclusion, to use those famous times for girls' words. Like, but it doesn't feel like that. It feels like there's jeopardy in this men's tournament.

29:10Matt Roberts:Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely, I agree. And, you know, sometimes Sin is so... In a charming way, but he's very guarded in press, isn't he? You have to be really reading between the lines to try and get something. But every now and then you feel like he sort of accidentally says something he wasn't planning to say. A bit like Charlie said that, didn't he, when he went to Hurlingham to speak to him a couple of weeks ago before this tournament. And he gave all those lines about how he had gone for tests after Paris and how it was the heat. And we asked Charlie about it and he said, yeah, I think he said a bit more than he was perhaps intending to.

29:47Matt Roberts:there was one night he was asked a sort of fun-ish question which I very much supported about the fact that all his team in the box have started wearing matching outfits I wondered whether you had asked that question wasn't me but it was a strong soldier well done um and uh he because it's not always the same matching outfits it's always the same that they are matching that's clearly the deal now but they they change it up to team sinner and he was asked whether there are any rules whether yannick decides what they wear or that they decide amongst themselves and yannick was like no no they they decide i'm not dictating what they wear um but then he said except that i they can't wear white caps that's the only rule he said and he said because i had a bad result when they wore white caps once.

30:43Matt Roberts:Go back to the images of the Juan Manuel Sorundulo match in Paris. His team are all wearing white caps. Wow. So he's obviously said you can never wear white caps again, which could be a throwaway bit of fun amongst the team, or it could be I'm so traumatized by this. I never want to look up on a tennis court and see what I saw that day.

31:07David Law:You know? Can I ask, I was commentating on the Coco-Goth-Pegula match for quite a bit of this match. I had it in the booth alongside me. But was your sense that he wasn't too bothered by the heat?

31:22Matt Roberts:I don't think he was enjoying it. And I think the stress was increasing as it went on. If Striff had managed to get a set, I'd have been all eyes on. I mean, I was already watching it, but I was, that would have been interesting. But it wasn't like Paris.

31:43Catherine Whitaker:Yes.

31:44Matt Roberts:But then Paris, he did sort of suddenly.

31:47Catherine Whitaker:Yes.

31:47Matt Roberts:You know, he was all right until he wasn't, wasn't he?

31:50Catherine Whitaker:First two sets of Paris, I was not thinking about what would end up happening. Yeah, I thought he looked, yeah, just not quite right. And it was hard to diagnose. Is it the heat? He said he felt physically good, didn't he? He was keen to say that. Yeah, I mean, look, it is still going to be hot, I think. It is. In a few days' time. And look, I don't think Djokovic wants that either. No. But. No. And, you know, notably today, the moments really where Djokovic found his best form, his best ball striking, were under the roof. And I don't think those are going to be the conditions on Friday. But would he sign for Heat because he backs himself to handle it better than Sinner?

32:37Catherine Whitaker:I don't know. It's an interesting element to throw into that match. Would you, if you're Novak Djokovic and you're offered a Paris-like day? If I was offered that, I think I would. I don't know if it's going to be quite as hot here.

32:54Matt Roberts:so just sort of hot and unpleasant for everybody is the worst of all worlds maybe for Djokovic

32:59David Law:yeah I think that Djokovic wants to play clean yeah he needs to play well I think he wants to have a good ball there for him where he's feeling poised and balanced because he knows now he's got in at least in his mind Yannick Sinner fans may say well Yannick Sinner wasn't playing well enough or whatever it might be. But I think Djokovic would back himself in a hitting contest now, in a talent contest, he would back himself to win. And it's such a huge match because if Djokovic wins,

33:35Catherine Whitaker:Sinner doesn't hold a slam, which is extraordinary to think about in the way he's dominated the tour. And Djokovic would have two wins over Yannick Sinner in 2026 when Djokovic is pushing 40 and Sinner is right in his prime. Talk about good for his legacy and wins that are going to age well and he's going to be able to look back on when he's got his feet up eventually. It's huge. It's a huge match.

34:03Matt Roberts:He will, not that he hasn't been at every stage of his whole career, but he'll be prepared to die on the court, Djokovic, on Friday, won't he?

34:14Catherine Whitaker:oh yeah he's he is he's going to bring everything he's got including nonsense if necessary i think

34:24Matt Roberts:because he's not i don't think he's afraid to piss off crowds anymore like he's just going to do you know there's an awful lot of sarcastic djokovic tonight the hill weren't going for him matthew and i were watching watching up here and our um feed on the computer it's always about a minute behind maybe a bit less than a minute so you hear the reaction of the hill which is a giveaway about what's happening and we were trying to figure out who they were and i assumed the cheers were for jockovich and i realized they kept on anticipating the score wrong and quickly

34:56David Law:realized they're they're going for felix not scientific but i mean i don't think because there was um what was there in the was it in the first set when he hit did he have a medical time I'm trying to remember exactly when what happened. Yes, it was in the first set,

35:11Catherine Whitaker:just as Orjaliah was serving to stay in the set.

35:15David Law:Which wasn't ideal for Felix. And I don't think there was any intention to disrupt the opponent. I just think there's no consideration in his mind to do anything other than what he feels he needs to do at a given moment. I feel this, I'm having a medical timeout. I'm pissed off with this, I'm going to let everybody know about it. You know, and you can take your view as to whether that's okay or not. He's nearly 40. He can just do whatever he likes, really. And if he's too in the wrong, he'll get sanctioned by the authority, you know.

35:46Catherine Whitaker:I mean, by the end, I felt like people were going for Djokovic in centre court. And I think that... I think it's hard when you're watching and you're seeing this guy do that in front of you. I remember it in Australia as well. I felt like the stadium there were going for Djokovic against Sinner. you know like you kind of want to be a part of history you want to see how can this guy yeah

36:11Matt Roberts:you kind of end up irresistible in the moment isn't it obviously there'll be plenty who go in

36:16Catherine Whitaker:not supporting Djokovic and won't change their minds but I think there's some who are probably quite neutral and and will go in and end up on Djokovic's side three days you've got to wait for that thankfully there's a lot of good tennis in between yeah

36:31Matt Roberts:absolutely just to round off the men's tennis from today obviously we had a little bonus ball in the resumption of Alexander Zverev against Yuri Lehechka they came back at 3-1 in the third set Zverev hoping to just do what was it a Ben Shulton at the US Open wasn't there a

36:51David Law:it was here it would have had to been here it's the only place with a curfew he only played the one game and he just served four aces or something yeah

36:58Matt Roberts:Zverev was hoping for that kind of situation today Very much not that situation. He ended up losing that third set, didn't win another game in the third set, lost it 6-3 and ended up in a tie break in the fourth. Still won through, but absolutely not what he wanted. Het up in press, David, about the curfew.

37:20David Law:Oh, really? Well, you know, he was trying to suggest that he didn't understand why the roof wasn't closed today, given that it was closed last night. And he remembers the 2018 match between Nadal and Djokovic when they did that. That was the only one. Yeah. When they played the night and they came back the next day. And even though it was a gorgeous, sunny day, they closed the roof. Well, look, Wimbledon got panned for that at the time, and they changed their approach to it after that. And, you know, their approach is to go with the conditions of the day, whatever they are. And I think that's absolutely the right thing to do.

38:03David Law:So, yeah, and look, he'd got no timing when he came out today. Lehechka clearly decided he'd worked on a strategy to shorten points, take balls early, take time away. And it was working. You know, he was right in that match. I think he will be pretty frustrated, Lechkin, not to have won that tie-break in the end. But that's a bit like Djokovic. That's what Zverev's so good at. Even when he's under pressure, he was the second-best player in that fourth set, and he still won it.

38:32Matt Roberts:He's also quite good at getting an excuse for his psyche, just lined up in the back pocket if he needs one. And he knows he's playing a player tomorrow that has his number. and now he's got the you know i had to come back today and play with the roof off that isn't what

38:53David Law:he said in the press conference though he was very clear that look you know it was annoying but and i because i asked him what how different was your was your day today to what it would have been if you hadn't about to come back today and he said oh well you know i mean i got to bed at 2 30 in the morning and had to get up at nine in order to make my practice so it it is different He says, but, you know, I've been around a long time now. I'm used to it. It's OK. You know, I'm not going to complain about that. But he's won today. Yes, absolutely. But I didn't sense that he was trying to get excuses ready.

39:28David Law:I mean, he was asked about this record against Fritz. He said the one in the most recent one, he said, I did get my sugars wrong, you know, and so I wasn't feeling great. But he said the other six, he was better than me. Simple as that. So he's confident that his level is going to be better in this match and that he's confident that he will win. But at least that's what he was saying. Do you believe him? In the back of his mind, I think it must be unsettling to him that he hasn't been able to beat a guy that isn't Sinner and Alcraz in all these tries. I think that that will be a problem. The other thing that made me slightly alarmed was that he said, it won't be a very good match because there'll just be a lot of big serving.

40:14David Law:There won't be many long rallies. That's what he said to the crowd. I'm thinking, well, I've seen you play Fritz loads of times. And there's always loads of long rallies. So, I mean, I'm very interested to see whether he now steps up and employs the game that he's trained to try to play against Sinner and Alcaraz, which is take first strike. I mean, he has been doing that a lot more. And Fritz hasn't faced that very much. you know yes recently he did but they haven't had many matches big matches recently so i'm fascinated to see whether he takes the ball on more and whether fritz just thinks well this guy had to come back yesterday i'm going to outlast him you know that that may well be the

40:55Matt Roberts:way he goes and he's got a lot in the tank fritz hasn't he because he's been winning pretty efficiently barring i think just one set drop to lorenzo son ago okay interesting yeah interesting we'll obviously talk about that tomorrow because that's when that match is happening The women's matches from today would you like to start with Mukava-Asaka or with Gough-Pegula?

41:19David Law:Both belt in matches weren't they on paper and pretty good matches in person I think stardom in order that they were played if we can because I got to do the commentary on Gough and Pegula as I mentioned earlier and look for two sets it wasn't very good. I mean, you know, I'm not trying to be critical of them. I totally get it. It's really tough. Pagula had never played on centre court in her life before. I couldn't believe that. No, no. And Gough, you know, she was trying to do something she'd never done before. They're good friends, the former doubles partners. You know, there's a lot going on there, I think.

41:57And honestly,

41:58David Law:it was a really scrappy, bitty match for two sets and they split them. In the third set, it was electric absolutely electric i mean sort of from midpoint onwards um when goff got ahead and then pegula just started going for broke on shots it was really electrifying stuff both players playing well at the same time lots of really long rallies that finished with winners i mean the crowd absolutely lapping it up it was good i got to sit with pam shriver for it in the commentary box for the first time that was a real thrill and um you know it was it was just great stuff But then at the end of it, you just saw Coco Goff's champion mentality and belief, really.

42:44David Law:How deep she's prepared to dig and how she can just problem solve. It was a masterclass of that. And she's just getting... It's like when she won the two Grand Slam titles she got. She just gets better within matches and she gets better throughout the tournament.

43:01Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, that thing of getting better within matches, she's particularly done it two matches in a row now against Bencic and Pagula because in the first set both times, I've been a bit worried about her form. It's looked like some of the old Coco Goff traits have come in, the double faults and the forehand. I think she was up to 17 unforced errors in that first set today alone. She didn't hit 17 in the remainder of the match. She cleaned up her game so well and quietly as well. It sort of snuck up on me. Wow, Coco Goff's actually playing really well now because I was still thinking about the first set and she'd lost her serve from 49 up in the opening game Two double faults in there kind of set the tone.

43:47Catherine Whitaker:And as David said, I didn't really think Pagula was playing all that well either, but she was doing enough to be in control. And I do think a very pivotal game was with Coco Goff serving at 3-all in the second set and Pagula got to love 30. And fair play Goff, she stepped up and hit some nice serves in that game. But there was also a missed second serve return from Pagula and there was a proak shot that she really should have just put away, but she had it straight back to Goff on the final point. And, you know, you can look at that and think, it's not a disaster, Pagula hasn't played a terrible game there by any chance, sorry, by any means, but she just didn't grab it when she had the chance.

44:34Catherine Whitaker:She was just a little bit sloppy. And I think to really get this match, she needed to win it there and then because Goff's level was increasing and it had even increased by that point and it just got better and better. And by the closing stages, Goff was serving really well and she'd cleaned up her ground strokes and I think had actually got a lot of trust in them. I remember at the French Open when she lost to Potipova, she lamented the fact that she got really passive down the stretch and let Potipova dictate. I didn't see any of that today. I felt like she was trusting her shots. yes prepared to rally but going for it when she could coming forward when she could that was a nice element of her game at times today she's so dynamic up at the net and I just think she she ended up working out the pattern here and Pagula ended up a little bit stuck you know she didn't she didn't move on to short balls very well and she didn't she didn't really play a sort of clean her grass court tennis I just think she she got caught out by the way that Goff raised her game and Pagula just couldn't couldn't quite go with her and I was so impressed with Goff's with Goff's turnaround it was it was such a great mental performance as well to to not let the first set just be how the match looked you know she said I'm I'm a competitor I've lost a lot of sets and I know that you can turn it around in matches and she does that she does that so well and it's it's getting her through this tournament what is it she's won four four matches in deciding sets it's brilliant

46:07Matt Roberts:yeah I mean it's even this match even at the end of this match I agree with you like her level increased all the way through it's still not the best tennis I've seen in this tournament we'll talk about Mukava in a moment and players on the other side of the draw as well and yet this is what it looks like when Goff wins Grand Slams like for me she's the favourite because I've seen this film before and I've loved the ending both times like this is what Goff and Charlie Grand Slam titles look like yes and the mysterious powers of Charlie Eccleshire and yeah I I was very taken with how she was in press as well she she admitted that well not admitted but sort of revealed that she put a lot of pressure on herself to reach the quarterfinals to win her last match to beat Belinda Bencic and reach the quarterfinals because that was something she'd never done before.

47:06Matt Roberts:She wanted to break new ground here. She didn't want this little run she was having to end before she did something new and made progress here. Now, if she's done that, I really think she feels like she's playing with house money and it's just like everything sort of water off a duck's back for her. I think she took a lot. We've talked about this before. She was asked about it again today. I think she took so much from Shiontek winning here last year the player that yeah she's good but not at Wimbledon and not with that forehand grip she was like oh okay like maybe this stuff isn't as big of a deal as it's made out to be and that I've made it out to be in my head and I think also as much as her Wimbledon record hasn't been great in these intervening years since that breakthrough as a 15 year old in 2019 she's she's a great clay court player clay is probably her best surface she's been targeting peaking at the french open and that has prevented her from having a good crack at the grass i i asked her about that and she said basically this is the first time that i've properly given myself a chance here she said okay i lost early in berlin or early-ish in berlin but I still came here and had a longer training block here and on grass than I've ever had before like this is this isn't it's not a coincidence there is something different about Coco Goff at Wimbledon this year and I don't know yeah I just come back to like this is how Coco Goff wins her

48:48David Law:slams yeah she she certainly has with those two that she's won um i think it's it's very different to a year ago isn't it because she she basically exhausted herself in the interim between the french open and wimbledon with all the the activities that she had to do and which i totally understand you know capitalizing on that success and the publicity that came with it and she admitted that and that it burnt her out a little bit um i loved the fact that she was on the same court that she arrived on all those years ago i mean it's it's amazing to think of coca goffers all those years ago but it is seven years ago and she was 15 and here she is 22 um and and to see her lapping it up as somebody who has just taken it to another level I always assumed that grass would be a great service for her when she had that run as a 15 year old and it's taken to now to to prove that she can play on it to herself as much as anything else and um yeah it's really cool I'm really glad she's still in the tournament I feel for Pagula because it's another one that's got away and she's 32 and and you know how long can she sustain the level I suspect still for for a while but and she's she's so measured that she accepts that she might not win a grand slam and she needs to be okay with that when that if that ends up being the case but i also back at a turnover every single rock to see what can be achieved but it is another one that's got away this us open is big for pagula isn't it to capitalize on this 2026 form there where she's had her biggest success huge tournament for her

50:33Matt Roberts:she mentioned Coco Goff in her speech or her post-match interview which was lovely of course she shouted out people that are queued which was so great she said I know that some of you have spent like three days sleeping in a park in a tent to be here today to watch me like I am aware of that and it means a lot to me like that's really cool isn't it she's so human straightforward

51:01David Law:forward and like she just sort of she doesn't have loads of filters when you ask her questions she'll just tell you things she's thought about last night you know or vulnerabilities or things she's been a bit worried about you know um well how can you not like her matt you were on court

51:20Matt Roberts:for the karolina mukova nemi osaka match which was over on court number one and koko goff's coach was there, J.C. Farrell, and he was taking notes, I believe, on Karolina Mukova. I don't know if he's an Eccleshare type character, but he hedged his bets well there.

51:41Catherine Whitaker:Well, he started taking notes on Mukova and he made a lot of notes on Mukova. He did write Osaka's name down and write a few notes, but he was definitely, I think, feeling the Mukova win more as he was watching this. And he was right. He knows stuff. That's why he's a top-level coach, I think.

52:03Matt Roberts:Were you feeling the Mukova win throughout as well? So very easy to say in hindsight, 7-6, 6-4. This for Karolina Mukova, just an absolutely sublime performance from her. Did it always feel like Mukova?

52:18Catherine Whitaker:I think I said yesterday that I was kind of leaning Osaka because of the level she'd had against Sabalenka and the clarity she was playing with and the weapon that she had, which was the first serve and how destructive that was. And just thought if she can serve like that and play like that, she's going to be really hard to stop here. And then these two traded breaks and traded breaks again. And there were four breaks of serve in the first four games of the match. And immediately it was like, oh, well, this is different to the Sabalenka match. And Mukova can do stuff that as great as Sabalenka is, she doesn't have the same hand skills as Mukova.

53:01Catherine Whitaker:I mean, very few people do. And she was able to, I think, read the Osaka serve pretty well, latch onto it, hit it deep on return, and then get her hands into play and keep the ball low and come forward. and the thing I worried about was whether Mukava had enough of a weapon within all of that it's all very well constructing these points but I think when when push comes to shove you've you've got to know how to finish points and David said I think she's hitting her forehand really well and my god she's hitting her forehand really well like that shot today was so destructive and it caused more problems than I maybe thought it would.

53:44Catherine Whitaker:And piecing it together, she was coming forward and she just looked calm and in control. She looked today like Osaka looked the other day, totally at ease and poised and comfortable with her game. Whereas Osaka today was getting more down on herself and was clearly not as happy with the way she was playing quite early in this match. she wasn't feeling the ball like she was the other day and she was being caused more problems and made to hit extra shots by Mukava's defense and yeah honestly as the match went on I shifted and I thought I do think Mukava's going to win this because she seems she seems more in control and causing more problems and I thought she was outstanding she served incredibly well herself Mukava as well like okay maybe the percentage wasn't always that high but it was it was a weapon Ace on match point.

54:36Catherine Whitaker:And like the whole game to close it out, Osaka barely got a racket on the ball. And that's been a doubt in my mind as well. Does Mukava, is she a closer? Does she have those fangs? We know she's good, but she's not won loads of titles or loads of big titles. And well, she closed this one out emphatically. And yeah, I thought she was fantastic today, Mukava.

54:59Matt Roberts:Yeah, Pam Shriver said she was playing like a right-handed Martina Navratilova.

55:03Catherine Whitaker:Well, there you go.

55:04Matt Roberts:Yeah, tells you everything. Just on Osaka, she had her ankle strapped a bit in the first set. And she actually looked OK sort of after that for quite a while. Did look like it was something was bothering her physically or impeding her a little bit towards the end of the match. She was asked about it, obviously, in press. And she actually said it was plantar fasciitis that she's been carrying for a while, certainly since Berlin. she said she doesn't think it will bother her on a hard court she said she thought it was the change of surface that was the issue there but actually she didn't say that that was the main physical problem today she said I just didn't have any energy and she blamed how many matches she had in her legs she said I played way more matches than I usually do before a slam she said it felt like the accumulation of playing for two weeks straight without a day off she said I need to map out my schedule better, but I've lived and learned.

56:06Matt Roberts:And this is the deepest run she's had at a slam, but apart from the US Open last year when she reached that semi-final loss to Anisimova. And she actually said this loss is more upsetting for her than the US Open last year because, and there were great compliments for Anisimova in this answer. But basically the crux was she feels like she left something on the table. here that she doesn't feel like she did in new those responses were to my questions in the press

56:36David Law:comments um i was taken aback by the energy one you know that that she hadn't got energy and the first thing she said was she wasn't very happy with her performance she wasn't trying to take anything away from mukova but she wasn't happy with how she played i was astonished by that because the first set i thought was an incredibly high quality from both players and i really felt it was in the balance now i do say that from somebody judging it from the baseline because you're quite right the serve wasn't having the impact that it had against sabalanka but from the baseline she was hitting the corner she was absolutely spearing these balls left and right um and on the point of the the mukova forehand there was one incredible backhand down the line that that osaka crashed down the other end and you're expecting it to just crumple the racket at Mukovo.

57:25David Law:Mukovo just sort of saw it coming, took one step to her left and smashed her forehand back at her even faster. And I thought, you know, these are two players who are just seeing the ball so cleanly and big right now. But then once she'd got the set, Mukovo, she relaxed into it. Osaka was struggling with this. She kept touching this strapping around her and the foot area. And when she explained what it was, that plantar fasciitis, I thought, oh, you know, that's, she says that's something she's had most of this year um and she's just trying to sort of learn how

57:58Matt Roberts:to cope with it really she was asked whether she felt closer to winning a slam again after this run and she said she absolutely still believes that she can win a slam do you do you still believe i certainly think she's capable um because i think her top level is still incredibly high

58:22David Law:and she's now beaten Sabalenka. If she goes into the US Open, I think she's a contender.

58:29Matt Roberts:Is she in a US Open mix right now? Yeah.

58:33David Law:It's not like it used to be. It's not like when she used to, seven years ago, when she would go to the Australian Open and the US Open and just be a standout favourite. Things have moved on. Other players have got to that level and probably beyond, really, because usually she loses to the very top ones. But if she plays like this and she moves like this, isn't it interesting to think of somebody who's kind of veteran age almost now sounding a bit like a newcomer in terms of whether to play the week or two before? These are not things you expect to hear from somebody with her experience, but she's never done it on clay.

59:13David Law:She's never done it on grass. I don't think she was expecting to go as deep in Bad Homburg

59:18Matt Roberts:as she, it was bad Homburg wasn't it? I don't think she was expecting to win as many matches there as she did.

59:23David Law:It should be easier for her in the summer. This is a swing she knows very well to plan that out. If she can go in with this kind of attitude, she was determined she said to be positive today. You know, as hard as it is.

59:38Catherine Whitaker:I 100 % feel better about Osaka's Grand Slam chances than I did certainly this time last year and I think probably even coming out of the US Open last year. I didn't know how sustainable that was. And I think we then saw that she did have a dip at the start of this season. She wasn't feeling anywhere close to as she was at that US Open. But the improvements in the movement that she's made, I think, are really notable. Even today, there was a few moments where she was getting behind balls and hitting great passing shots on the run that I just didn't see Osaka doing much in the past. And she's got the win over Sabalenka.

1:00:26Catherine Whitaker:And the other thing is, I look at the field and there's still so many players that can win a Grand Slam title. But that core group that we've been talking about for years, particularly Sabalenka and Shiontek.

1:00:39Matt Roberts:Sabalenka, Shiontek, Rabakino, trifecta.

1:00:42Catherine Whitaker:none of them are as convincing at the moment and I do think that opens up for everyone else now obviously I think Goff is maybe becoming more convincing but Goff is also someone whose form can can go you know um so I I think Osaka on a hard court given what she displayed last year and I think actually some of her tennis this tournament has maybe been better than what she had at the US Open last year I think she I think she hopefully and should be feeling feeling good

1:01:13Matt Roberts:about her chances this summer and the vibes are good with Witkowski so good yeah I do think that's a good situation um and we shouldn't take for granted her being that relatively positive positive but still hungry in a post-match press conference because it was 13 months ago that she lost in Paris and came in and she felt like she'd let Patrick Morotoglu down

1:01:39David Law:13 months ago

1:01:41Matt Roberts:that was a dark scene and we are so far from that and that is brilliant so Mukova against Goff semi-final Goff's got the whole this is what Grand Slam winning looks like for Coco Goff but Karolina Mukova's got Priscilla Hon

1:02:07Matt Roberts:that's the secret sauce if you want to reach a Grand Slam final yep

1:02:12Catherine Whitaker:and lose love and love

1:02:13Matt Roberts:lose love and love once you get there

1:02:16Catherine Whitaker:can you explain that how dare Priscilla Hahn to my knowledge is just lovely and friends with everyone everyone and in particular Anissa Mova and Mukava it always feels like on Instagram they're you know fighting over Priscilla Hon's attention. Not that there's any tension there, I think. It's just that they're both best friends with her.

1:02:39Matt Roberts:I remember when Raducanu was due to play Anisimova in Australia two years, was it last year? A year and a half ago. And she was asked about Anisimova in the press conference before that match. And she said, well, we've got Priscilla Hon in common. Right. Like, well, yeah, you and everyone else in the WCA. She's a friend to everyone. Yeah.

1:03:02Catherine Whitaker:Yeah. And she was in, I don't know whether she was actually in the box last year for Nisimovil, just behind it. Definitely present. She was absolutely there. She knows how to pick a winner. She's there with Mukova as well.

1:03:16Matt Roberts:This was a very one-sided rivalry, Mukova and Goff.

1:03:20David Law:And it still is, but it's just that Mukova's finally won one. She was 6-0. The most recent one. And then she won a really long three-setter in Stuttgart. But I asked her about that in the press conference about what's difficult with Goff. I mean, I think it pretty much stands to reason. You know, incredible athlete, great competitor, all the things that we know Goff is so good at. And when we watch it, we often just feel like she just gets blunted by what Goff is able to do. But I also think that Mukova is better. She's a lot better than she ever was in any of those matches. Do you think the forehand you've seen helps her break some of those defences,

1:04:02Catherine Whitaker:the surface as well? They've not met on grass. Mukova said, well, we're 0-0 on grass. I like that head-to-head better. You know, I do think there's something in that.

1:04:13David Law:She's got a really good vibe going with Sven Grotewald, who we met on the eve of the tournament, just passing by. And he was pretty convincing, I thought, about her chances. And here she is in the semifinals. I definitely think she is capable of winning this match. I think her forehand, for sure, is looks of the two players. I know which one's forehand I'd like. Now, there are other things that Coco Goff does way better than Mukova. They're very differently stylistically. I think it's a wonderful clash of styles. One who's going to be trying to really maneuver an opponent and get into the net.

1:04:54David Law:although Goff's been trying to get into the net a lot as well I love all of it I think it has the

1:04:59Catherine Whitaker:the portents for just a fabulous match yeah me too I can't wait for it I think in the past Goff has protected her forehand quite well against Mukova by knowing that she can loop it up quite high to the Mukova backhand and Mukova then you know because she kind of wants to be taking that ball early Mukova or slicing it she doesn't want to be backpedaling playing a backhand up high but Goff does that quite well I do think the the surface maybe neutralizes that a little bit I'm not sure that's going to be quite so easy for Goff to do but having said that when it's hot and the state that the grass is in now on center court it does still it can still bounce up and I think Goff was doing quite a good job of that to Pagula today as well who also wants to be taking it early so there's so many fascinating things i think what you cannot do is you cannot give mukova angles to play with i think goff i think goff will hit quite a lot up the middle and because if you give mukova the angles she can find them and then she can work her way to the net and all that kind of stuff with her hands and it's it's going to be so fascinating to watch goff try and figure that out and mukova try and figure goff out like oh i can't i can't wait for it isn't it?

1:06:13Matt Roberts:I'm reliably informed by the chat, by the way, that Priscilla Hon and Karolina Mukova are launching a joint sunscreen venture.

1:06:21Catherine Whitaker:Is that right?

1:06:22Matt Roberts:Yeah.

1:06:23Catherine Whitaker:So besties and business partners. Anissa Mova needs to step up.

1:06:29Matt Roberts:I think that's, hang on a second. Yes, Hon and Mukova, the joint sunscreen venture. Maybe Anissa Mova is a silent partner. Who knows? Shall we have a look ahead to tomorrow's order of play? In fact, just before we do that, I would like to give a nod to the wheelchair competition that got underway today and the fact that Wimbledon do a cool thing where court three is kind of a sign to the wheelchair competition. You know if you camp out on court three for the day and you can get there with the grounds pass, you're going to see the best wheelchair players in the world and it was very well attended today and the first match of the day on there was Tiquito Oda against Gordon Reid.

1:07:10Matt Roberts:I mean, Oda carved Gordon Reid up, quite frankly, which there's no shame in. Oda can do that to absolutely anybody. Nightmare first round draw for Gordon Reid. Takedo Oda has an all-white chair, which is incredible. He said he's been wanting to make this happen for a while, sort of in honour of Wimbledon. And he spoke to his chair manufacturer and they were able to make that happen for him. And it just, it looks amazing. That's so cool.

1:07:43Catherine Whitaker:So slick.

1:07:44Matt Roberts:Yeah, it looks really sharp. And yeah, he won, I think, in an hour and 17 today. And Alfie Hewitt won in an hour and 19. Does feel, I mean, it always feels, doesn't it, like they're on a collision course with the final. But we'll keep you posted on how that goes.

1:08:03David Law:By the way, on the BBC today, I heard the voice of Brad Parks, who was being interviewed, the first wheelchair player ever, on the anniversary of 50 years of wheelchair tennis. And we got to do a tennis relived about that subject. And I got to interview Brad for a good half an hour. Just one of the great experiences of my career to be able to talk to him about his history as a wheelchair player. so if you ever want to check out the archives that show is in there but I'm just really pleased to see Wimbledon marking this anniversary in this way wasn't he? absolutely yeah it was great

1:08:45Matt Roberts:I should say by the way again being reminded of this in the chat there was a mechanical failure of Takedo Oda's shiny white chair I mean I didn't care like give me a chair that looks that cool with a mechanical failure over anything else. But yeah, there was a slightly sort of demoralising taquito odour there. Because he hadn't practised in the white chair. He wanted to unveil it on the match court. And he won the first set and then he had to sort of have a... Well, like a medical timeout. For his chair.

1:09:18Catherine Whitaker:And the unparalleled it like a medical timeout. He did, yeah.

1:09:22David Law:Sounds like when Agassi unveiled his white outfit in 1991 for the first time. Yes.

1:09:27Matt Roberts:Yeah, it really was a cool moment. It was excellent. Okay, tomorrow, day 10 of the championships, the second day of quarterfinal action. Centre court starts with Marta Kostiuk against Jasmine Paolini. And second on is Flavio Caballi against Arthur Ferry, a Brit in the quarterfinals. What chance do we give Arthur, David?

1:09:55David Law:I kind of think it depends which version of them both turns up.

1:10:00Matt Roberts:Well, which version do you think of each of them will turn up? Do you think Sirius Flavio will be back in the house?

1:10:06David Law:I think Sirius Flavio will turn up, and I think a decent Arthur Ferry will turn up, and I just hope he doesn't get shaken nerves-wise. I would have thought, given that he went through all this a couple of days ago and he got through the whole Federer arrival, I mean, Federer being his hero, he came to watch apparently 14 years ago, and he was told that Federer would be in the raw box just before they went on. And he said, I had to text all my team and just say, listen, I've just heard he's there. I'm feeling a bit tight. And I kind of think, well, you didn't look tight. You played incredibly well.

1:10:40David Law:So if you can handle that, I reckon maybe you can handle this next one. So hopefully he'll play well. But look, Flavio has been there and done it now. He's got to remember that and not faff about on the floor and be serious. And I think if he has his game head on, he will win.

1:11:00Catherine Whitaker:How do you think he will handle Caballi not being the crowd favourite? He normally is. That's a good question. Right? He's normally... People are drawn to him. And centre court.

1:11:12Matt Roberts:It's a test for serious Flavio, isn't it? I think so. Keeping your head in that situation. I think he could do with quietening them, you know, pissing on the party quite early.

1:11:24Catherine Whitaker:yeah I mean I think he'll have too much game ultimately yeah I think he's a better player and I think he's got enough experience now to be able to handle those sorts of moments but that is something I'm thinking about going into this because I think he gets you know he he feeds off the crowd a lot and he gets sparks in matches and and judging by how it

1:11:46Matt Roberts:was with Dimitrov yesterday the you know like tumbleweed when he was hitting winners yeah And that was Griegel Dimitrov, you know.

1:11:53David Law:I hope somebody said to him, look, don't get pissed off, all right? Because if you hit a winner and people don't get excited, don't start doing this stuff because that's not going to go down well. I'm trying to think of times when he's played home players at slams and none are springing to mind. I can't remember many, to be honest.

1:12:13Matt Roberts:And he's been so popular this fortnight.

1:12:16Catherine Whitaker:It could be quite jarring for him. I watched him play Brooksby at the US.

1:12:23David Law:Oh, yes. Which was a great match. But it's different.

1:12:28Catherine Whitaker:You know, quarterfinal on centre court. It's different.

1:12:31David Law:So loud, isn't it? I mean, it was a nice reminder of how loud centre court gets for a home player when they're really doing something. But that's it.

1:12:42Catherine Whitaker:Like, Ferry is going to have to do something.

1:12:46Matt Roberts:Yeah.

1:12:46Catherine Whitaker:You know? like it's possible he's nervous it's possible he's really feeling it physically he's played what back to back fifth set tie breaks you know like he must be feeling it he's not used to playing this much tennis so yeah i i have to think caballi comes through kostjit paulini who's the favorite That's a good question

1:13:11David Law:I'd have thought it's 50-50 It's very tough to call I've called it for Paolini Based on having been there And done it here Yeah

1:13:25Catherine Whitaker:Who does Charlie think is going to win? I really don't know It's two players who's like You know they play with so much heart Their heart holds their fate I love watching them both I think I might go Kostiuk. Who are you going, Catherine?

1:13:49Matt Roberts:2026 Kostiuk. I think I'm going Kostiuk. She's pretty good, isn't she? But I mean, that's 51-49.

1:13:57Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, I don't have a strong feeling.

1:13:58Matt Roberts:I'm commentating that one. Oh, fun.

1:14:01David Law:BBC Radio, yeah.

1:14:02Matt Roberts:I loved you and Pam on the goth-pagula match earlier. absolutely loved it number one court tomorrow Linda Noshkova against Elisa Mertens you going to pick Mertens for that Matt? I'm going to pick

1:14:16Catherine Whitaker:Noshkova who's in my fantasy team I've been a Noshkova person for for a long time I think Noshkova will win as well

1:14:26Matt Roberts:yeah so do I obviously yeah things like that

1:14:37Matt Roberts:Taylor Fritz against Alexander Zverev Is Zverev wins this? Are we calling that an upset?

1:14:45David Law:It's a great question You know I tried to look up today I mean we don't bet I tried to look up who the bookies had as a favourite for that match And I mean I couldn't get through it I think Because they put a bar on that here but also that you know it's one of those that Zverev should be the favorite you know on like on paper with the seedings and all he's done but seven wins in a row that's a lot of wins I mean I think I think Fritz is the favorite but it's I do too but I am interested to see if if a different Zverev turns up who has worked on his game in order to play these kind of matches and not just rally from the back and who has now won a Grand Sam title.

1:15:31David Law:I mean, these are different elements to any of those other previous matches.

1:15:36Catherine Whitaker:Yeah, is there a danger that it's kind of like we end up coming out of it and thinking, well, it was times where I've won one.

1:15:47Matt Roberts:Yeah.

1:15:47Catherine Whitaker:Do you know what I mean? It doesn't feel to me like Sine de Menor. Do you know what I mean?

1:15:54David Law:No, no, no.

1:15:55Catherine Whitaker:Where there's a huge streak of matches in someone's favour. I think a lot of these matches are close and Fritz has been on the right side of it. I don't think it takes...

1:16:05David Law:They've all felt like upsets. Fritz wins over Zverev. And Zverev used to win their matches. It was only here a couple of years ago when it changed. And Zverev was set up and then he says he got injured and then he got overhauled. And then things started to change. I think there's, I mean the interesting thing to me will be if Fritz understands that Zverev might not be quite the same as he's been in the past. You know, because I remember when he was going to play the US Open final against Sinner and he was like, oh I like Sinner's ball. You know, I think I don't mind Sinner's ball.

1:16:40Catherine Whitaker:And he'd beaten him before and then he got beaten in three sets.

1:16:44David Law:And I think there's a chance that he might do what he's done in the past against Zverev and find that the ball is different. to what he's used to. I do think Fritz is playing really well.

1:16:55Matt Roberts:Me too. And better than he's been playing at other times when he's beaten Zverev. Now, Zverev might be playing better too. He's certainly serving very well. I think today could be a factor too. Fritz reads his serve well. I don't expect him to have quite the numbers on serve that he has had up until this point. And yeah, I do think the coming back today, it certainly doesn't help. It's the last chance with Felix out. It's the last chance for the bath mat shirt in this tournament.

1:17:30Catherine Whitaker:I won't be sad to see the back of that.

1:17:32Matt Roberts:An absolute Adidas misfire. That's very funny. They have also got the Mukava shirt, which is beautiful, I think. She looks fantastic. How have the same designers come up with the Mukava look and the bath mat men's look?

1:17:45Catherine Whitaker:I will pick Fritz, though. Yes, I would as well.

1:17:49Matt Roberts:Matthew? The man that picked Sitsa Pass against Djokovic, what sayeth he?

1:17:56Catherine Whitaker:I'm Fiskarova-Sviante. Somebody text Charlie.

1:18:00Matt Roberts:The anti-Charlie Eccleshire. Who are you going for, Matthew? Fritz.

1:18:04Catherine Whitaker:Fritz, he says. Okay, well, that's...

1:18:07David Law:Fritz and Ferry.

1:18:09Matt Roberts:Fritz and Ferry. Fritz and Ferry.

1:18:11Catherine Whitaker:And then we'll be one step closer to blonde Matthew.

1:18:14Matt Roberts:make of that what you will folks uh we will be back at the end of it all we're gonna move on

1:18:21Catherine Whitaker:not before time to 8 p.m from now on today we did that today technically uh and then we only

1:18:28Matt Roberts:just finished in time for curfew what ignorant boobs we were this morning thinking that tennis would finish early uh but yeah technically we'll be not before 8 p.m from now on so that if the tennis does miraculously finish early you won't be waiting for us to go live but as ever do keep across our socials hit that like and subscribe button and get an alert when we're going live and also subscribe to the newsletter and you will always know when we are going live but basically at the end of play not before 8 p.m unless Mantle Barami is faffing around on court 18 that is the one that is the one spanner in our plan uh hello phoebe uh happy phoebe face is exactly what i needed today and again she's doing a very billy jean-esque pose where she's lying on her front with her legs splayed out with you know hip flexor action that i could only dream of and Vicky says life advice from Phoebe always important to pace yourself and have plenty of rest yes, preach amen to that hello to Bodie, Maisie and Roger our mascots, hello to our top folks and executive producers Greg, Chris and Jeff and it's over to Matt for shout outs shout out Fulham

1:19:51Catherine Whitaker:for finally confirming a new manager at 11.45pm on a Tuesday night who have you got? Arbaloa

1:19:58Matt Roberts:we knew that could they not have done that weeks ago?

1:20:03Catherine Whitaker:I'd have thought so

1:20:03David Law:they're trying to bury the bad news

1:20:06Matt Roberts:what are we doing? did they announce that during the Switzerland-Columbia penalty? during the World Cup

1:20:10Catherine Whitaker:during the tennis podcast live show all the big hits they're burying the news but anyway

1:20:15Matt Roberts:good to know that you weren't at all distracted during the course of this broadcast Matt

1:20:21Catherine Whitaker:we have Sam Woodside from Christchurch, New Zealand

1:20:26Matt Roberts:we know Sam We have met Sam. Did Sam buy us drinks at the Australian Open?

1:20:31Catherine Whitaker:I think he might have done that. I think he was wearing Tennis Podcast merch.

1:20:35Matt Roberts:Yeah, big shout out to Sam for that. I think he presented us with a tray of gin and tonics.

1:20:40David Law:He sounds like an absolute legend.

1:20:42Matt Roberts:Yeah, we like Sam. In fact, was that the night when you said, I'm glad I know you now? Not about Sam. About me?

1:20:53Catherine Whitaker:Don't know. Possibly.

1:20:54Matt Roberts:I've got those two memories linked in my mind. But anyway, it was absolutely not Sam's fault if that was the case.

1:21:02Catherine Whitaker:Sam says, when I was a kid, I chose Roger Federer as my favourite player because we share the same birthday.

1:21:08Matt Roberts:Oh, August sometime? A US Open birthday or a pre-US Open birthday.

1:21:14Catherine Whitaker:August 8th.

1:21:15Matt Roberts:Isn't it the same day as Andy Roddick?

1:21:18Catherine Whitaker:It's the same as Felix, I believe.

1:21:20Matt Roberts:Ah.

1:21:22David Law:Andy Roddick's is always during the US Open. Yeah. I think. So similar time. A few weeks later.

1:21:28Matt Roberts:Similar time. OK. Sam, we love you. Thank you.

1:21:32Catherine Whitaker:And finally, we have Fleur Thomas from Melbourne.

1:21:37Matt Roberts:Oh, Fleur. We love Fleur too. Who we know very well.

1:21:39Catherine Whitaker:Hi, Fleur. Fleur says, the why do you love tennis so much question from your recent Q &A show a few weeks ago has inspired me to write my own answer. It may take a while. It will serve as a kind of memoir as tennis has been a constant throughout a nomadic life from New Zealand to England to Singapore to New York and now to Melbourne. It has been everywhere with me. How could I not love it? Thanks for all you do. Your pod makes me love it even more. If that's possible, see you in Melbourne.

1:22:11David Law:Oh, Fleur. Fleur. That's lovely. Thank you.

1:22:15Matt Roberts:that is that's really perfect actually because well certainly perfect for me like that that chimes with something that i very much feel about tennis as well as much as i slag it off for always being on and like the length of the season it's also what i love like it is always there for you isn't it the moment the off season yeah like for goodness sake i've been abandoned by tennis tennis gone yeah yeah you can no matter what the time of day or night you can put on your tv and you know something will be happening in Acapulco

1:22:48Catherine Whitaker:and we are grateful

1:22:50Matt Roberts:Fleur is Fleur is an absolute gem I used my little spoon that Fleur made for us well she made us one each didn't she but I used that the other day and I thought very fondly of our lunches at Fleur's so thank you ever so much for being a friend of the pod and for well for everything quite frankly so thank you Fleur, thank you Sam thank you Fulham is that what we're doing?

1:23:14Catherine Whitaker:Why not? We thanked Greg Allen's worth the other day.

1:23:17David Law:Please, Fulham, give him something to smile about this year. His mood depends on you.

1:23:24Catherine Whitaker:Look how happy I am that Fulham aren't playing at the moment.

1:23:28Matt Roberts:In the words of Hannah, it is so late for unnecessary football chat. We will wrap it up there. We will be back tomorrow, of course, not before 8pm at the end of play on the show courts. Thank you all for listening, for watching, for being here live, for joining in the chat if that is what you did. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network and we will speak to you tomorrow.