Rome - Svitolina, Sinner’s stunning title wins

36:43And he delivers yet again. And he delivers on a number of levels. One is he is incredibly mentally tough and composed. He's just got the most perfect temperament, really, I think, for an athlete. and then you add that to to just somebody whose game just unpicks everybody else's unless it's Alcaraz now and sometimes it unpicks his as well but if you take him away like he makes the others just look ordinary he really all of them now I've not nobody's nobody's even challenging him you know Medvedev did Medvedev did really well he kind of took it into a a bit of a messy tussle he he played on Sinner's fatigue and he played bloody well Medvedev as well like when he's really really on he gets he can get close if if Sinner's even just a bit tired or a bit off but the way like Sinner rebounded in that third set against Medvedev I thought I mean I know he ended up with a rain delay as well but I thought that was extraordinary like feeling it the way he was and he just sort of waited it out until he got a burst of adrenaline and the crowd got involved and he had to sort of force that with some of his own shot making and then once the adrenaline hit it's like Medvedev must have wondered what the hell is this you know I thought I'd weathered you you know your first set your extraordinary I would say perfect first set that Sinner played against Medvedev and Medvedev must it would have been very easy for Medvedev to have lost another like one and love or love and love there and he fought his way back he did all the things he needed to do to make it a good match and to actually give himself a chance of winning but for Sinner to like say alright second win coming now you know I'm ready I'm not feeling good just kept on going until he could find the form.

38:47Today, he went to a break of serve down. You know, immediately, he's two love down. And I thought, Rude's playing a very clever match here. He's playing within himself. He's hitting a few drop shots. If he can make this physical, maybe we've got a real final on our hands. And I thought Rude played pretty well. And Zinner wasn't at his best. And yet he won four and four. i mean i'm i know i'm the one who made the case for the field didn't i last week and and i still feel like when you get to ron and garros and you have the best of five sets and it looks like it's going to be pretty warm sports can do things to make things interesting we may have another spitziri situation on our hands at some time at some point but if if other things are equal this guy is head and shoulders above everybody else in terms of level

39:45Jannik Sinner:it was almost like the tennis god sent us that medvedev match to kind of guard against the the glib easy sort of dismissal of how easy it is the annex in it because he because he is so much better than everybody else and the way he goes about it and as you say david that temperament that is tailor-made for sport. It is very, very easy. And, you know, he's always telling us, he told you in answer to a question in press, I think at the US Open a couple of years ago, like people think this is easy and it's really not. Like it's almost like the Medvedev match was there to show this isn't easy, I'm doing it, but, you know, I'm not Superman here.

40:29Jannik Sinner:I'm just a human being that happens to be brilliant at tennis and, you know, somehow gritting it out. But he sometimes does make it look easy. I mean, that is the truth. And the Medvedev match is kind of one of those where you might read it as, oh, there was some vulnerability there. Someone made it close. Or you might look at it and think, well, he was feeling like that and he's got all this tennis in his legs and he still came up with what he came up with, as David described, at the start of that third set. I thought that little sequence was the most compelling tennis I saw on the men's side this tournament.

41:14Sinner's resurgence from that second set at the start of the third was unbelievable. And we saw a different Sinner in terms of the way he roared as he got the break. I've not really seen him do that. like a huge roar for a break of serve and then the shot that he hit to confirm the break and go 3-1 up, chasing down a Medvedev drop shot. You could hear him breathing on his run to the ball, the heavy breathing he was doing. You could hear him put his racket down on the ground as he sort of used it to sort of help him run towards it and then he hit this little gorgeous little forehand drop shot cross court and shout out the camera director because they cut to Sinner and he was arms aloft into the Rome floodlights with the crowd behind him giving him a standing ovation.

42:07It was like cinematic and the way he had flipped that match from, you know, he was heaving and he was struggling physically and he flipped it to being able to just bring this incredible tennis. It was remarkable and you're sort of thinking, well he was on the ropes there and he produced that and i think it's gonna it's gonna take something for anyone in that field but without alcaraz to to push him to that extreme fair play medvedev because he really did and when medvedev gets a look in his eye and locks in like that it's a real treat but but sinner responded to it and yeah i don't know i think the heat as it is at the moment sort of mid to mid 20 degrees I think is good for Yannick Sinner I think I think Roland Garros in that sort of heat is going to play quite quick and Sinner's ball strike is just going to be too much for anyone I think the reason Medvedev was able to turn that match around is because it came like sludge it was slow and Medvedev was able to like take him into the trenches and not even Sinner could hit winners on it and that kind of favoured Medvedev.

43:19I think if Paris is lively, I think that's only good news for Yannick Sinner. And the final thing I want to shout out is the four-all game in the final today in the first set against Kaspar Rude. Three drop shots. What shot did Yannick Sinner go to? Three drop shots in a row. Two of them, he won the point on his own with them and one of them, Rude sort of miscontrolled the shot but it was the drop shot a key moment 4-0 in that first set it was pretty you know everyone's thinking Yannick Sinner's going to win obviously but it's pretty close this match he needs to make the breakthrough and it was the drop shot that did it and yeah like if you'd said to all these guys last year what's your worst nightmare they'd have probably all said oh Sinner developing a drop shot and variety because he's because he's beating us in all the other ways Al Graz becoming a serve bot and Right Sinner developing variety yeah totally and now Kraz's serve was you know like that the US Open and he breathes through that tournament and Sinner's got this drop shot like it's it's it's scary how he's how he's been

44:24Jannik Sinner:able to just seamlessly improve that it's quite difficult for us to talk about whatever was going on physically with Yannick Sinner on Friday night because we just don't know like we really just don't know all we've got to go on is what we could see with our eyes but what what we could see with our eyes was something that looked more than just a bloke that was tired. You know, like the full body shaking, the, you know, the face of the deep, deep grimacing, the Darth sinner look up to his, to his, to his box. You know, I don't know whether there's, I don't know whether he starts cramping and that causes anxiety.

45:07Jannik Sinner:I don't know whether their anxiety as part of it at all. There's an awful lot of, you know, pressure going on for him, you know, with all of this sort of, it's not even expectation at this point, it's just sort of assumption that he's going to win. Like it's sort of beyond expectation, you know, being in Rome, all of that. I don't know if it's anxiety, but it certainly looks like more than just, I'm quite tired. I'd like a leg rub, please. And yes, I do think he got treatment for cramp. everyone gets treatment for cramp all you've got to do is not say it's cramp right just say oh my leg hurts a bit could i have could i see the physio we should like the rules should allow that right come on i like i know medvedev complained about it it was almost like his heart wasn't really in that complaint because it was like i think i'd be doing the same in his shoes the way it is right now i do think they should yeah absolutely yeah i mean alcaraz did it didn't in the Australian against Ferro.

46:07I mean, I think everybody does it. It's like the courtside coaching. You know, we've got to a point where everybody's doing it and you either enforce it like properly and that's really difficult to do or you just let it happen. Just put it in the rule but you're allowed to do that. Yeah. But yeah, I don't know

46:27Jannik Sinner:what the question here is about Sinner because it's just so difficult because we don't know. Looked like stressed with me um yeah i i i felt i mean look he's very tired right and he's not being pushed very often and medirev was really pushing him and he was having to extend the limits in order to keep him off you know or to stay with him you know and and most natural thing in the world if it is i think and it will go with some of the other things we've seen. For a Roland Garros that looks like it's on lockdown and a field that is looking for chinks of light anywhere they can find it, it's a chink, right?

47:12Jannik Sinner:It's a tiny, tiny chink. If you are, I don't know, I don't want to minimise the task of trying to make a match physical over best of five sets against a guy as good as Yannick Sinner. But if you are an Elliot Spitzeri, I remember that press conference with him after that match and he was like, I just back myself physically against anyone. I don't care how good they are. If it comes down to physicality, I'm backing myself. And there are a few out there like that. Cameron Norrie and his horse lungs. It's just not getting that hot in Paris though. Do you think it's the heat? I think the Spitzeri one was the heat It was But then we've got the sample of Friday Which had nothing to do with heat So it can obviously happen Yes But I just I just don't think anyone's got the Level to push And also like everyone's tired You know like everyone's Fatigued they're all on the same level There like I don't think anyone's Nobody's done what he's done the last four weeks.

48:22Yeah, but, okay, but who's like, who's like a contender who's way fresher and or without physical concerns? Who's a contender that's not Yannick Siddha? I mean, if he hasn't hurt his back, Artifeese has just had two nice weeks off. Yeah, but is he? I mean, I love Artifeese, but I'm just not, I'm not thinking about him in terms of like necessarily getting to the final. I know, but he might meet him in what, the fourth round? possibly yeah like comes down to the draw but I don't know I just think like Sinner is likely to cruise through his opening few matches in a way that I think in the opening rounds can't he he can use the time to recover you know and like Fisa's never won a match in straight sets at a grand slam like by the time he gets to Sinner he may well have I don't know several sets of tennis in his legs already.

49:23You know, like, it's things like that. But that's where Sinner's edge increases even more.

49:31Yeah, it's just hard to make a case for anyone else.

49:37Jannik Sinner:And 39-year-old Novak Djokovic can't make that play, right? He can't go into a match against Yannick Sinner going, OK, the play here is to make it as long and as physical. He's the only one who might have the level though he might be able to do it level wise he can't do a medvedev and knock him off the court yeah yeah like he did in australia but it's it's probably harder to do it he's harder to do it in paris and he was and he was helped by the circumstances of his tournament you know he'd he had a match off and a retirement and he was fresher than he would likely he's going to be in in Paris by the time he gets to Sinner.

50:19All of that matters, I think.

50:24Jannik Sinner:Heaviest favourite for a Grand Slam title since when? Well, since one of Nadal's. Nadal at a French, I would say. Which one? Nadal's all of them. When did your last thing any... When Nadal was winning them routinely. The last one was Zombie Foot. Sure, but... I think Sinner is a heavier favourite. There's plenty to choose from. I would say Nadal in 2017 would be my starting point. There might have been one more recently than that. But 2017, he was unbelievable. Federer wasn't playing the clay. That's quite a lot of grand slams ago. It is? Yeah, it is, yeah. And this is, you know, he's... The fact that we're even having a conversation...

51:07Jannik Sinner:Nadal had won a lot of Roland Garris's by then. Sinner has never won this title, and yet he's... Yeah, the fact that we're putting him in the conversation in terms of being that level of favourite. And the only other person we can think of is probably Nadal. Maybe there's a Djokovic here and there. It's probably like a Djokovic. Australia? Yeah, or even like a Wimbledon in that period just after COVID maybe, you know, where he played like a... A Berrettini in the final. Was there anyone in that draw that we were really thinking is definitely going to beat Djokovic? Oh, if it's other Grand Slams, I think there's several Djokovic's.

51:46I was thinking about Roland Garros alone. I think you could probably come up with ten tournaments where Djokovic felt like there's always been someone else.

51:57Jannik Sinner:I just feel like there's no one.

52:02I just feel like... There's always someone, Catherine. I know. There's always someone who can play the match of their life.

52:10Jannik Sinner:I know it's sport and unexpected things happen. That's why we love it. Of course I know that. I'm the foregone conclusion person. I'm not, you know, we learn from our mistakes. We move on. It's 13 years ago. But, you know, those things that happen in sport are unexpected. In terms of how, like, unexpected it would be, personally, for Yannick Sinner to not win this title, it's right up there for me. not because Yannick Sinner is better than Nadal with his zombie foot or any of those Nadals but because it's all relative, right? It's relative to the field like the picture of men's tennis at the moment with Mazzetti out Djokovic being 39 Zverev posting chippy bullshit on Instagram like there's no one there is no one hodda feasts these are these are my grasping at straws guys we're talking about legs hodda hodda's legs you'll do it early draw him into a shootout get him in round three david i know you're not as um you're not as pessimistic about the sort of competitiveness of the men's tournament as i am but are you i'm sensing that you are maybe a bit more mix of one now than you were a couple of weeks ago.

53:43Jannik Sinner:For sure. For sure. Yeah. I thought it was going to be a real ask for Sinner to do what he's just done, after having won all the others. I thought, God, I mean, we're asking a lot here, and he can't pull out. It's unreal. It's unreal what he's done. I think he's amazing. What you actually said, both in terms of his level and the efficiency with which he beats people. And you use that word professional. I mean, what a player this guy is. He's got everything. And now the fact that he's added a drop shot and it was the drop shot that broke Kasparud. I mean I love that he went that he called what he was going to do at the US Open last year, I am going to do this now and he went and bloody did it and he's won five Masters series in a row we've only had five and he won the one at the end of last year and he won the ATP final I mean this is getting way ahead of ourselves but do you think potentially winning all of them in a year, you know, the next Masters now is Canada, which is the one that nobody plays anymore.

55:13Jannik Sinner:Do you think that will, you know, you've got to get your kicks. Let's assume he completes the career slam in three weeks' time. You know, they've got to find goals to go for. I mean, somewhere he's got to have a rest, hasn't he? Do you think he'll play nothing on the grass leading up to Wimbledon this year? He might do a Djokovic there. I believe that that's the plan. Or Cahill has said. His team have said that that's the plan, yeah. I do think he needs to be careful. He is asking so much of himself physically, mentally as well. And he paid tribute to his physio, trainer and osteopath. I mean, so, you know, he's doing all the due diligence to try to keep that body in as best possible condition that it can be.

56:05But, you know, and look, he's not playing massively grueling matches so far. But I just you just wonder, is there a point at which your body hits the wall? Doesn't look like it because he does win so efficiently.

56:20Jannik Sinner:I think I think some point skipping Canada makes, you know, I feel really sorry for Canada because it doesn't make a lot of sense. for many of the top players. But you've got to think, as brilliant as he is, how often are you going to find yourself in a position where you've won the first five? Like, you're not going to get the chance to go for the year. I don't even know what to call it. If we don't know what to call the career masters, what do we call the... The calendar master. But look... You know what I mean? It kind of feels like if I'm going to go for this, it's now. I don't think he's going to I don't think he'll give a shit really to be honest I mean no offence they're good tournaments, they're great tournaments it's great what he's doing but I don't think you retire and think oh I won all of them in a year, I don't think you do that I don't think you think I won all of, you know we talked about this sort of when we were previewing Rome didn't we, like it is an unreal achievement but it's not like the thing you dream of or the thing you it's not going to go near the top of his cv is it winning all winning all the 1000s i mean i think i think i think being the youngest i think being the youngest by seven years to do that is pretty yeah that's cool i mean i think what it says about you is big i think the statement that makes about how incredible he is.

57:55Jannik Sinner:It's impressive. It's huge. But I think as a like... It's not your dream. Yeah, it's the slams and it's number one. It keeps you warm at night. And that you tell your grandchildren about, I don't think it's a thing in those contexts. I think it might, I think that record might last for a long time. Yeah. Doing that at 24. Like that is just, it's unbelievable. quick to do that because you know there's it as you said it asks so much of you it asks you to play well on all the surfaces indoors outdoors start of the season middle of the season end of the season it's it's testing everything and it's and it's testing everything when it's not your priority as we've said you know like people are going to be prioritizing the slams above these and they'll be pulling out of these events and all that kind of thing i think i think this could last for a really long time, this record.

58:53And the way that it's come into view is crazy. He was missing four this year. No one was thinking he would do that this year. He'd never won any of the clay court ones. He just swept them all in one go. Beating Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo final, I think we should definitely remember that. Right at the start of this clay court season, he got that win over Alcaraz. He won Indian Wells for the first time when Alcaraz was in the field. Like it's not like he's totally dodged Alcarez on this sweep. But he has felt a bit like a football team managing fixture congestion and being in all the cups and trying to win the league.

59:34And like, therefore, he's not going to play his best stuff all the time. Like sometimes you just have to just, I think it was a bit subdued in the final today. He didn't have the sort of energy. he didn't have the sort of crisis that he had during the Medvedev match, but he was just slightly subdued and he timed his sort of, he timed his Ascension really well. But I think he's, I think even through winning Rome, I think he's still prioritising Roland Garros, you know what I mean? I think like, I think Sinner's going to be better at Roland Garros than he was in Rome. Put it this way, he would have traded in all five of these Masters 1000 titles this year to have had that Australian Open.

1:00:18Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yes, but if he wins Roland Garros, he would take his season over Alcaraz's.

1:00:28Jannik Sinner:Yes, of course. Yeah. It is wild, isn't it, that we've had this golden generation of the big three slash four, the big four, but whichever. and maybe Alcaraz and or Sinner will break those records in terms of absolute numbers. Who knows? Only time will tell. You know, but they're a long way from doing that yet. But it's like, what can we do that betters that all-time great generation? We'll do it all loads younger. Like, you know, Alcaraz this year doing the career slam becoming the youngest man to the career slam and Yannickson a youngest man by some distance to do this. Like, you know, it's tracking ahead of the golden generation curve, isn't it?

1:01:25Jannik Sinner:In the early stages. Long way to go. And obviously Art of Feast, David is going to, you know, muscle into the party and steal some slams off them. Hopefully somebody will muscle into the party at some point, but...

1:01:43can't see it can't see it for the foreseeable um quick quick word for luciano darderi um i thought you were gonna say caspar rude then

1:01:58okay right let's okay caspar rude what do you want to say well like good to see him back playing this sort of tennis again and I think he's I think his consistency on the clay is really notable he's reached a big final on the clay hasn't he several seasons in a row now and he's done it again in Rome here it was Madrid which he won last year I I loved his speech like the mentioning football in Italy, risking his, I felt like he was risking his life by cracking a joke about how bad Italy are at football at the moment, but he did it so well, he bigged up their tennis, he was like I want to shout out Italian tennis at the moment you guys are producing so many players not just Yannick, and then he was like it's not going quite so well on the football is it, you guys lost to Norway and we should be able to crack jokes about that, I thought that was great from Rude and and And yeah, like we've said it, but he just wants to be on the other side of the draw.

1:03:06Like that's it. And if he is, he's right there. Yeah, right there for the final. Totally. And like, Kasper Rude, four Grand Sam finals. That'd be wild. Like, and he's, and I feel like he's got back his identity a little bit on the clay. I felt like he was really, as David said, was making the point that he was using, playing intelligently, using the drop shot. But I felt like through a lot of the tournament, it was a little bit more bread and butter in terms of really going after the forehand again and using that as a real weapon. And that's his game. And I felt like he maybe strayed away from it a little bit, but it looked really good this week.

1:03:44OK, Darderi now.

1:03:51Well, Casparuid's victim in the semifinals, 6-1, 6-1. If you haven't seen it, Luciano Darderi, He obviously had the week of his life reaching the semi-final, the style in which he did it. You know, that victory over Alexander Zverev got a bit of swagger about him, you know, took the crowd with him. He was one of the best shows in town this week in Rome. And he decided to lean into that for this semi-final.

1:04:19Jannik Sinner:And they do, you know, they've really ramped up Rome, the staging, the theatre and opera of what they do. They now play a little jingle, little sort of violin jingle when it's break point or game point. Not sure that works, but I applaud, you know, I applaud them trying to make things theatrical. and they do the same with the walk-ons and they've got the big theatrical, the trophies being walked out onto the court and the camera in the corridor tracking the trophies being walked out. Anyway, so Luciano Darderi thought, yeah, I can go with this. And as he's announced onto court, he emerges from the tunnel with the adorable mascot there waiting for him.

1:05:07Jannik Sinner:So the two kids stand on either side of the tunnel and Casparudi has already come out, taken the mascot's hand, walked out onto the court and the mascots are kids from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, I think. So it's a really big deal for them. And Luciano Darderi swaggers out onto the centre court in Rome wearing these statement sunglasses, shall we call them. The mascot is there waiting. Darderi swaggers past him, failing to notice his outstretched hand onto the court, takes the applause of the crowd, loses 6-1, 6-1. I really, what a photo that is. Well done, Vicky. I have pendulum swung on this so much from one end of it being, you know, well, we want personalities in tennis and we don't want people to just be totally identikit, sanitized uber professional media trained bores and sometimes that means doing things that make you look a bit silly and we shouldn't you know we shouldn't make that worse and be outraged about it in the way that people on the internet like to be um and you know I keep I keep hearing about how Gen Z don't want to go to pubs anymore because they're afraid of being being filmed being drunk and having a good time and ending up on the internet you know like poor old Luciano Darderi was just trying to have a good time and now he's on the internet ignoring a child from the Make-A-Wish Foundation you know like it's gone really badly for him but on the other hand he did look like an absolute tit and I could have told him he was gonna look like an absolute tit you know as as i found in my life and as i'm sure my son is finding in his life you kind of have to make your own mistakes and learn from them yeah it was it was a mistake though wasn't it yes probably was i mean i just i don't i don't want to remember luciana daderi's tournament for that.

1:07:29I mean, you know. I don't want to either, but I fear. I won't. Honestly, I won't. I mean, I'm not that bothered. I think I will. I mean, I feel bad for the kid. I feel bad for the kid. I hope they can make that up. I don't care that he wore sunglasses. You know, I think he was... When I think of what he did against Hodah, you know, you take aside what he did against Varev, that match against Hodah, when he lost the second set. And it's, what, 1 in the morning. It's 1.30 in the morning. And we've had a bloody smoke delay. It was like a smoke delay night. Sure was. You know, all this stuff that happened.

1:08:08And that he still won that. And went further than he's ever been before at his own tournament. You know, his own Masters 1000 tournament. I think he was fantastic. He was. He was. There was a moment towards the end of the match where somebody heckled him in the crowd, you know, and basically said, we've paid money for this. And he was like one and four, six, one, four, one down or whatever. And he offered his racket to them as if to say, come on, you show me how it's done, mate. I don't know. I just, I don't, I don't think, like I say, I feel sorry for the kid and that's unfortunate. It's not a big deal.

1:08:44I think, I think the kid was Yannick Sinner's mascot today. Okay, well, that's a good move. Yeah, I believe so.

1:08:59So, Matt, any thoughts? If he came to you and said, Matt, I value your opinion. You're a stylish guy. You've got good judgment. I'm thinking of doing this for the match today. What would you have said? I'd have said no. I feel like it it was slightly giving not taking it seriously and it was like the biggest match of his life maybe he was trying to like maybe it was a way to try and make himself feel relaxed because he knew he was he knew he was stressed out probably because it was a big match well that didn't work did it he played very he was nervous wasn't he could tell he was nervous during the match he never really got the feel on the ball even after the rain delay yeah it was it was a terrible shame that he missed the mascot.

1:09:48He looked awful for that, but it was a genuine innocent mistake, I think. And we shouldn't judge his character. His character. I think I've become a bit of a Dardary guy for the overall week. So I may not be a reliable witness. I'm going to be looking out for him in Paris. David Law supports shunning of Make-A-Wish children. and that's the Daily Express headline you'll be seeing tomorrow. Zero shits given by law. I mean, I am a bit worried about how much he's got left in the tank, I must say. You know, there's some players that I think could be feeling the effects. And he might be one of them.

1:10:33It's giving peak too soon, isn't it? Or not too soon, because, you know, for where he's at in his career, I think it's okay for Rome to be the peak and, you know, but, yeah, I'm not predicting, necessarily predicting a big Roland Garros for Luciano Darderi, but as ever, it is all about the draw. We'll find out at the orangery. Absolute scenes in the men's doubles final as Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavasori won the title. In a match tiebreak, they beat Marcel Granogas and Horatio Zabaios. Granoos and Zabaios are just evergreen aren't they? I feel like they're going to be playing forever I'm I'm not really yeah that's true yeah Vavisori is really bringing the average age of that set of finalists down and they're the first all Italian men's pair to win Rome in the open era and you have to go back to 1960 for the last time when the Italian men's pair won Rome, and that was Pietrangeli and Sirola, and they shared the title in 1960.

1:11:51The final was abandoned. So I think they're the first all-Italian men's pair to win the title outright in the tournament's history. but Lily's got nearly as he's got nearly as much grey hair as me 40 years and thank you Matt for that little segue into promo if you'd like to know more about Nicola Piatrangeli he is the focus of our next episode of Tennis Relived for Friends of the Tennis Podcast we're recording it on Tuesday it'll be up on Tuesday no reason to hang around with that yeah i'll get editing that straight away i didn't want to commit you to that live yeah thank you yeah i appreciate that just just wanted to check your social schedule before i committed you to that but yeah matt will edit it immediately and that will be available uh on the on tuesday afternoon for friends of the tennis podcast so if you'd like to become a friend and get access to that and all of our bonus content ad-free listening um the barge uh if you're enjoying Hannah's work in the chat tonight.

1:13:02The barge is where to find more Hannah. And let me tell you, more Hannah Wilkes in your life is a life enhancing thing. So the link to become a friend of the tennis podcast, as always, is in our show notes. That is it for part two. We'll be back in part three to have a look ahead to the coming week in the tennis calendar. Welcome back to part three of the tennis podcast. What do we have this week? We have a WTA 500 in Strasbourg and they have a good field there. We've got Victoria Mboko, who, as I mentioned earlier, has confirmed that she's now working with Wim Fissett. We have the returning Lois Boisson, Leila Fernandez, Clara Towson, Madison Keys, although she is a big injury, question mark at the moment, Madison Keys, Eva Jovic, Alexandra Ayala and Katerina Alexandrova.

1:13:54They're all in the draw in Strasbourg, as is Emma Raducanu, who has confirmed that she is formally working with Andrew Richardson. We reported a couple of weeks ago that we had sources saying that she had been practising with him in Spain. Well, she has now confirmed that that arrangement is a formal one and she's back being coached by the guy that coached her to the 2021 US Open title and that she controversially split with very soon after that. This is another one that I have very, very complicated mixed feelings about. Like I have very good feelings about him as a coach, his energy, her turning to that.

1:14:39I feel good about that, but I also feel a little bit sad about it. I feel like you can't go home again, you know? You can't be 18 again. you can't bottle what you had in 2018 and it's the most human and related in 2021 rather and it's the most human and relatable thing in the world for her to want to try and recapture that but i i fear it's impossible um and yeah i don't know makes me feel a lot of things i'm optimistic about it um because i don't think she is trying to bottle or go back to what she what was 2021 but i do think she's realizing that he he's got the goods uh like he's a good character to to to help her where where she is now um and i think it's i think i think it's the best possible choice she could have made yeah i really hope so yeah i i i think i agree on a on a coaching level um yes hannah in the chat who says it's like rory going back to dean in her second year at yale only the real ones would understand that reference but it is an excellent who are these people gilmore girls david gotcha what are the chances that David ever watches Gilmore Girls I'll check in with my daughter she's seen it has she?

1:16:11she's a Gilmore Girls gal we have a WTA 250 in Rabat as well Janice Chen, Jessica Bouthas-Monero are the top two seeds we have an ATP 500 this week in Hamburg Felix Auger-Aliassime Francis Tiafoe, Flavio Caboli Karen Hashanov, Luciano Darderi Alex de Minot, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton are the seeds there. A lot of quite decent names looking for a bit of form ahead of Roland Garros in the field there. Maybe some slightly bigger names than would ordinarily play the week before a slam. I don't know. Maybe. Possibly. De Minot faces Francisco Surundolo in round one. That's about as tough as a round one draw gets on clay, I'd say.

1:16:58Fonseca withdrew ahead of this with a wrist injury. Says it's minor, but I hear wrist and I worry. So, yeah, we'll keep an eye on that. You've got Alejandro Davidovic-Fakina, Jakub Mensik, Zizou Bergz and Terence Atman all in the draw there. And we also have an ATP 250 in Geneva this week where Taylor Fritz returns as the top seed. You've got Giovanni Pesci-Perikan versus Stefano Sittapas in round one. You've got Stan Wawrinka, Kam Norrie, Lernity and Kasper Rood. Wonder if he will stick to the plan and play that. And Alexander Bublik all in the draw in Geneva. French Open qualifying starts tomorrow.

1:17:39I'll be watching Joanna Garland first on the schedule. My gal, my gal Jo. You've also got Sloane Stephens in qualifying. David Goffin, Grigel Dimitrov, who is unseeded in French Open qualifying. Dan Evans, Coleman Wong and Lulu Sun all ones to look out for. And I know people will be going to French Open qualifying this week. It is a great ticket to have. So do have fun if you are going and go and cheer for Dan Evans if you're a Brit. because I don't know how that's going to go for him, but we wish him well. As I said, in terms of our plans, we have Nicola Petrangeli for Tennis Relived on Tuesday and our daily shows for Roland Garros start on Thursday after the draw at the Orangery.

1:18:37We're travelling out to Paris on Wednesday and the first show is on Thursday. Levels of excitement, Matt, back the orangery has an outfit been picked uh that hasn't actually it's been it's been a hectic week but you know i will i i will i will get that sorted uh 10 out of 10 like love the orangery 2 p.m i learned today that the draw is on on thursday local time so they're prioritizing lunch we appreciate that absolutely i'm gonna try and make sure we get there a little bit earlier this year so we're a little bit nearer the front i feel like last couple of years we've been a little bit far back haven't we um gonna be near the front we're gonna i'm gonna be near lots of french people so we get the ooh la la's that's that's the experience we want a real close-up year with whatever non-tennis athlete is there that i can't identify can't wait uh we have a mascot for this episode oh it's prince herbie um owned by kelly grayson a herbie is a two-year-old cream-colored golden retriever he is a lover of the highest order says kelly uh he prefers to have constant skin to fur contact with whatever human is available which is quite nice since his coat is like silk.

1:20:00I can see that from this photo. He happily chases balls but refuses to surrender them. Of all of his many toys, his stuffed duck is by far his favourite. He adores his litter mate who lives nearby and the two of them still wrestle the same way they did as pups. They inevitably get so tired they have to continue to play from prone positions. He is super gentle with my three-year-old granddaughter and she is learning to boss him around, which seems to come quite naturally to her. Honestly, I've had dogs my whole life and thought I'd never get over the loss of my greatest Swiss mountain dog. But Herbie has won my heart for sure.

1:20:40That is absolutely beautiful, Kelly. And I'm sure that is something that a lot of our listeners can relate to as well. What a beautiful, regal, lovely boy. So thank you, Kelly. and thank you Prince Herbie for being our mascot for today's episode. Hello to our mascots. Hello Bodie, hello Maisie and hello Roger. Hello to our top folks and executive producers Greg, Chris and Jeff. Matt, let's have some shout outs. We have Donna Shepard. Hello Donna. Hi Donna. Donna says easy one. Donna Vekic. Donna says, I'm a born Canadian. However, I've lived my adult life in several African countries, working in the field of wildlife conservation.

1:21:36I'm writing to you now from Kenya. Wow. Did she list any further African countries? No, but lots of animals. Oh, yeah. Which will probably interest you. I have three dogs and ten chickens, Donna says. Wow. Mega. Love it. Yeah, fantastic. What a life Donna is leading in Kenya. Brilliant. Love that. Thank you, Donna. We don't get many Donnas. Potentially our first Donna.

1:22:16We also have Nigel and Sue Jennings, who are sending a shout out for their son, Neil Jennings. Oh, hello, Nigel, Sue, and most importantly, Neil. No Barry-related cock-ups this time. You were very clear with your wording there, Matt. Nigel and Sue say that Neil, like Neil Fraser, same church, different pew, or Neil Broad, but that Neil is actually named after Neil Armstrong and Neil Diamond. And Neil was originally from Northampton but now lives in Wimbledon, his dream address, and he took Nigel and Sue to the US Open last year to complete the Fan Slam. So all three of them have completed the Fan Slam?

1:23:13I think definitely Nigel and Sue. Not sure about Neil. Congratulations Nigel and Sue Like Niels Fink We have that Neil Skubsky Nigel Sears Nigel Sears Sue Barker Very good My mum's a big Neil Diamond fan I think I remember My mum and dad going to a Neil Diamond concert And it not going great There was some lateness involved Things were tense Afterwards Anyway it wasn't Neil Diamond's fault and speaking of your dad we have David Whittaker I think he's here live he was certainly in the chat earlier I saw him voting with gusto of course oh dad I've just dragged you for your Neil Diamond experience well I love my dad do you want to know what he's written I'm biased.

1:24:18For his little blurb. Yes, please. He says, my middle name is Ashley, which ought to prompt some tennis associations.

1:24:31Cooper? Ashley Cooper. Yeah.

1:24:35Jannik Sinner:Yeah, my dad. Hall of Fame member. His middle name is Ashley because my gran's favourite book was Gone with the Wind. I think a war was lost with my grandpa about wanting to name my dad sort of Rhett or similar. Hang on, no. Is David a character? No, Ashley is a character in Gone With The Wind. Correct. There we go. Ashley Harkle Road. You were Gone With The Wind guy, David. Yeah. Clark Gable and all that. Wow. Yes. Why are we surprised? Ashley Barty. Ashley Barty there we go my dad hasn't popped up with the in the chat I'm worried that he's gone to bed are you still with us dad potentially not but if he if he's missed this I'll encourage him to get it on catch up love you dad thank you for being a friend of the tennis podcast if you'd like to become a friend as I said the link is in our show notes we'll be back oh my dad's popped up hello dad he just says yes

1:25:46man a few words uh we will be back on thursday we'll be back on tuesday for friends we'll be back on thursday for everyone everyone else um and i encourage you to check out our instagram content because i will document our travels to paris i will document everything that matt and david will allow me to document if you want behind the scenes at the tennis podcast does Paris then our Instagram at the tennis podcast is the place to find that thank you all for listening we are part of the Athletic Podcast Network we will speak to you on Thursday from Paris