Rune’s horror injury overshadows end-of-season race

0:10Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast. It is Monday morning. We are all present and correct here to talk about tennis. David in a screamingly vibrant lime green Seattle Seahawks hoodie. It's jumping out of my screen, David. Yeah, well, after a live Q &A show on YouTube for friends a few nights ago in which I promised to be wearing my disco David outfit, which even suggested somewhere that there might might be sequins involved. I realised I didn't have one of those. And also, the Seahawks are playing in Monday Night Football tonight. So I thought, OK, I've got about 12 items of merchandise from the Seahawks.

0:58Let's get the brightest one. So here I am. I dare say you've succeeded, David. It was a real sort of jolt of caffeine through my laptop when you popped up. I like it. How are the Seahawks doing? Better or worse than Fulham? Better, to be honest. Yeah, I'm sorry, Matt. I don't know how Fulham are getting on versus how the Buffalo Bills are getting on. But yeah, Seahawks are four and two and going in the right direction and Super Bowl bound. Matt, Super Bowl bound for Fulham FC? No, neither of my teams are doing particularly well at the moment. The Bills have lost two in a row. Fulham have lost three in a row.

1:49It's a bit of a tough scene right now, but things are going to get better. Is it a Matt Roberts curse? Fulham only lost 1-0 to the league leaders, so not awful. No points for not awful. We've got a bit of a tennis injury crisis at the moment. Like everyone's injured, except for us, it's the start of the season rather than the end of the season. So it's rather problematic for us. Wishing all of your respective teams much luck while my team languishes in League One. You should all be checking your privilege, quite frankly. Right, on to tennis. and let's start, shall we, as much as I'd like to start in Almaty with Daniel Medvedev and Korentan Mute's fancy outfits.

2:45Let's start in Ningbo and the WTA 500 event there and the race to the WTA finals, which is approaching the finish line and Elena Rabachner took a big stride towards the finish line and towards the WTA finals with a title in Ningbo, a victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final. 3-6, 6-love, 6-2. She beat Jasmine Paolini in the semifinals. Paolini, though, by having that run to the semifinals, has secured her qualification for the WTA finals. finals. Rabakina will qualify if she reaches the Tokyo semifinals this week. So she has to keep going in her quest. And it really is a long old slog at this time of the season.

3:42If you're trying desperately to haul yourself over that finish line. Lorenzo Mazzetti talked about it this week in one of his on-court interviews. He's trying to do the same, but with the ATP finals. And he said, I'm dead, basically. I'm absolutely out on my feet, but I'm just desperately trying to get there. And that is the situation that Elena Rabatkin is in. And she's put herself in the driving seat, David, crucially here. Yeah, it's actually pretty complicated to look at as a sort of list of standings. I'm grateful to Matt for really paraphrasing it down to just semifinals will get Rabakina there.

4:30Because when you look at the standing, she's only sort of 20 points behind Paolini and she's only 15 points behind Andreva. But there's a good briefing. If you want the full breakdown, go to the Monday morning briefing that the Athletic have done, where they've really broken down why Rabakina needs to reach the semifinals to add to her total, because you've got to play a certain number of tournaments that count to your end-of-season position. But just in terms of what Rabakina did last week, got a lot of respect for it, because it is tough at this time of year. You've just referenced how Lorenzo Mazzetti's feeling.

5:13We've got Mira Andreva, who's actually not playing this week, and I'm pretty relieved. I mean, you would understand if this is a player who hasn't managed to get to this end-of-year finals yet, and this would be a massive deal for Andreva to get to the finals on paper. But the thing is, she looks gone. You know, the last time I saw Andreva play, every few points she was tearful. And she was just, you could feel like she's just hanging on, hanging on to her nerves. And as though the season has just gone on too long, she had this wonderful spring. She's had many, many great moments that have got her into this position where she could reach the eight in Riyadh.

6:03And it just looks like there's nothing left. I don't know the reasons why she hasn't played this week. when maybe she might have done. But contrast that to Rybakina, who I'm sure is tired, but her and Alexandrova, the way they were able to just dig in and produce a final, when they must be so tired, it has been a long season. And this was a really gruelling week, generally, for Rybakina. I was watching her against Diana Yastrzemska earlier in this tournament as well, and there were loads of moments where she could have sort of checked out a little bit herself, and there were several moments when I thought, I don't see her going all the way.

6:42And then she faces Paolini, she wins that. I think Paolini, by that point, she knew she'd done enough and maybe there's a little less in the tank there. But even so, Rebecca has still got the game. She's trying to find the aura, I feel, at the moment. And you probably only do that by doing what she's doing, winning loads of matches, however you can, and giving herself a chance to get to the finals. Yeah, just on Andreeva choosing not to play this week, well, we assume choosing not to play this week. We don't know the reason. Nobody seems to know the reason. It's worth pointing out that she is Russian.

7:22It can be harder for Russian people, players to get visas for places, certainly at last minute. She wouldn't have known whether she was necessarily going to enter a tournament this week, depending on, you know, where she was sitting in those standings. It could be something to do with that. It could be absolutely nothing to do with that at all. I really hope that this is a long-term, level-headed decision to preserve herself, to not prioritise qualification for Riyadh ahead of her physical and mental well-being at this moment in time. And OK, she's young. She could bounce back. She would bounce back from exhaustion.

8:12But like, you don't necessarily bounce back from jadedness. Like, I don't want to see a jaded teenager on the tour. And as David has described there, she has looked absolutely out on her feet recently. And she is so young. She is so good. She will have so many opportunities to qualify for and probably win the year end finals. It is not the be all and end all that she does it this year. And if that is the decision that she's made, then that is an incredibly brave one. And, you know, a testament to her and to the people that she has around her. And we all, and I think tennis all really rates Conchita Martinez as her coach and that relationship and dynamic that they have.

9:05And this is speculation here. But if that is the meat of the decision making, then I have so much respect for it. While I also have respect for what Elena Rabatkin is doing, but she's in a different place in her career, Matt. yeah for sure I mean I'll be honest as soon as I saw that Androva wasn't playing this week my assumption was that it was actually a scheduling mistake and they had they you know they'd not entered an event thinking that they'd probably still be in for the WTA finals and now it's suddenly all got a lot closer and you know I think these players really do want to get to the WTA finals and i think given the season andreva has had i think it would feel like a slight shortcoming if she doesn't end up at the wta finals but i do absolutely take your point as well it may well be something to do with a visa it also may well be a decision to rest and think okay i've kind of done all i can i've given all i have this year if i get in i do if i don't it's not the end of the world.

10:15I truly don't have a sense of what the reason is there, I'll be honest. But you think the most likely scenario is fuck up? I think it's, you know, it's more likely that tennis players mess up their schedule than, you know, really go out of their way to prioritise their health and wellbeing. And I don't know, just on the whole, I sort of, you know, I think we're shifting towards that. Absolutely. You're making me sound fantastically naive, Matt, and I fear you might be right. I hope you're right. Because it is remarkable how often tennis players and their teams mess up schedules. Do you remember when Kevin Anderson forgot to enter Queen's the year after he had reached the final, David?

11:05Do you remember that? Yes. And he had to play qualifying. he was a top 10 player and he was in queens qualifying playing in a sort of car park yeah well we we used to have it quite a lot at queens you know there are several players that you kind of always assume are going to be there and you know it it really sometimes it was only down to a good i mean we had great tournament directors chris commode steven farrow who part they would make it part of their job to just be on the player's case. Have you entered? You know, because there was one time I remember Dimitrov, you know, the last minute, he played every year.

11:46So, of course, he's going to play. And suddenly we realise he's not on the list. And then next thing you know, Stephen's on his case. I'd love to know how those conversations go. Like, hi, Gregor, I'm not for a moment suggesting that you or your team have dropped the ball here. I wouldn't suggest that for a moment. Not at all. But just letting you know that you're not on the entry list for Queen's. You are the defending champion. It's basically it. I'll just leave that with you. Just let me know. And, I mean, like you said, there are a couple of players, and you mentioned Anderson, that I've seen other players in qualifying at the event that are serious top-duty players and would get in no trouble at all.

12:28And it ends up sort of helping them in a way because get a few matches in qualifying, get the court under your feet. I often think that the players coming out of qualifying look more ready to go. I suppose the things I would say is if Andreeva does end up getting in, I think she's more likely to perform better at the WTA finals for not playing this week. You know, she looks, as you said, she looks like she needs the rest. So, you know, perhaps she's, you know, perhaps it is that decision. You know, if I'm going to have a shot at the WTA finals, I need to rest now. It might mean I don't get in, but I'm more likely to be able to perform better when there, if I do have a rest.

13:10I suppose the other thing I would say is, you know, coming out of the US Open, it looked pretty likely that Andreeva would be there. OK, she's not had a good end to the season, but fair play to Paolini and Rabakina, who have racked up the points in these last few weeks and really put the pressure on and made it a race. And, you know, we've talked a lot about what Paolini's done to secure her qualification. just on Rabatkinner, she'd actually never beaten Aleksandr on a hard court before. In fact, she'd lost every set they'd played on a hard court. All three meetings she'd lost in straight sets against Aleksandr on hard courts previously.

13:49And then she goes down a set in the final. You know, she's lost seven sets in a row on a hard court to Aleksandr. The turnaround that Rabatkinner then produced, she won nine games in a row in the middle of that final. And I think Alexandreva dropped off a bit, but I wouldn't say massively. I thought Rabatkinner suddenly, from almost nowhere, produced the kind of tennis that I think we all have in our mind of what Rabatkinner is capable of. Dominant tennis with the big serve, the big ground strokes, and just totally took over that final. Became almost unplayable, I thought. And to find that in a final that, you know, she kind of needed to win to really keep up this bid to make the WTA finals against an opponent who's troubled her in the past was really impressive.

14:40When I've doubted the Rebecca Kner clutch gene over the past year, to be honest, I still have some concerns. I don't think she's fixed that. But to step up in this moment was impressive. And these 500 seem to be her sweet spot right now. You know, these one-week events, she's done a lot better at them over the last couple of seasons than she has in the extended tournaments. And yeah, I do think she would be a real threat to the field at the WTA finals if she gets there, you know, in those conditions. I think, you know, she's kind of shown that she can hit anyone off the court on her best day and she does seem to be finding some of her best tennis of the season right now that's kind of true of alexandreva as well like a specialist at these at these 500 yeah right yeah um she's top 10 player now alexandreva she plays so much like if she obviously this if is the keys to the kingdom, but if she could play the level of tennis that she plays at 500 events regularly, week in, week out, at slams and at 1 ,000, but obviously particularly at slams, she'd be a major factor in tennis.

16:08But she's such a chronic underperformer at slams. She's close to the inexplicable list, really. one of my favorite lists because she she she can look so damn good um yeah i am fascinated to know whether that will come into her thinking at all after this year of achievement because it needs it needs noting i'm glad you mentioned you know top 10 player you know this is somewhere she hasn't been she's been striving for years alexandra without necessarily taking the attention of people like us or or or just generally she's she's always a factor in a draw she wins a lot of matches but she doesn't win many of the really big ones and this is she just forced her way into the conversation more this year um with consistency and and i wonder whether that having been ticked off might make her even approach things a little bit different next year.

17:15But anyway, 2025, great year for her. Rebecca is the second seed in Tokyo. Paolini is withdrawn, but after the draw. So Belinda Bencic has taken her place at the top of the draw, sort of de facto top seed. Do we think Rebecca is going to do it? Will she reach the semifinals, make it to Riyadh? I think so, but she has got a tough draw. I think she'd have to play likely Leila Fernandes very, very early, certainly within those first two wins that she'd need. And I've seen that match and that can sometimes be a real struggle for both players, I would say. And yes, as David pointed out, she's a bit unlucky because she should really probably only have to win one match in Tokyo.

18:11But because of the weird way the rankings work, she's already played more than 18 tournaments and the 18 are what counts to your finals ranking. So she needs to better a previous result that she's got on her ranking. And that means she needs to reach the semifinals to actually earn points off it. It's annoyingly complicated, isn't it? Oh, it is.

18:41Yeah. OK, glad we agreed on that. Leila Fernandez hot off a title in Osaka, WTA 250 title, her second of the season. She does just pop up and do this, Leila Fernandez. She beat Teresa Valantova in the final. Six Love, 5-7, 6-3, a talented young Czech player. Words that you have heard before, but she really is the real deal, I think, Teresa Valantova. I think she was pretty nervous in this final. A very, very big deal for her, whereas Leila Fernandes is really able to show her fangs in this sort of a situation. What a low-key, great fantasy team signing she's been for you, David. What did you know that we didn't?

19:35Yes, but only late on. I sort of traded for her late on. She's won two titles since you signed her. Well, you know, yes. She needs to have a word with the rest of her teammates. Get them to all buck their ideas up a bit because there's not enough of them performing as far as I'm concerned. But yes, fair point, Catherine. Layla's done it for Dave's dead certs, who turned out weren't dead certs. Who could have thought that Hubert Hercatch wouldn't be a dead cert? Who could have seen that coming? Yeah, that was a tragedy, that pick. But anyway, Fernandes, she is so explosive at times and difficult to play against.

20:25But her wins often feel quite isolated and you just want her to become a factor more often. Because whenever she does win a title, she makes it a fun time. She makes people care about the results, the performances. You want to see her on stage a lot because she's still one of the best watchers in the sport. But, you know, I like this. I like the fact that she's come through late in the season and shown this. Because her game kind of works on most surfaces, you know, and I still hope that she can kind of burst out the blocks in Australia. Because, you know, wouldn't it be great to see her on the Rod Laver Arena having significant matches against top players and getting some wins?

21:13Being the best show in tennis. Yeah. That's what Pam called her, isn't it? In 2021. Yeah. So anyway, credit to her. And in terms of Valantova, I understand if listeners have a bit of fatigue about being tipped off about young Czech female talents and them being ones to keep your eye on. Is Teresa Valantova different? And if so, why? Like, is this the real deal we've got here? Is she something special? Well, speak to James Hansen, who is the tennis editor at The Athletic. And he is the earliest of early adopters for Valantova. He's been, frankly... I don't want to make him sound weird, but he is borderline obsessed with Teresa Valantova.

22:15Frankly, banging on about her all year, heading out to outside courts at slams, you know. And this week he was texting me after every Valantova match. And then he gave me some stick because Arsenal beat Fulham and he's an Arsenal fan. And I thought, right, I'm going to give you some homework, James. I want a statement from you on this week from Valantova, from the Valantova guy, you know, get into a final. This is a big moment. and, well, he produced a very nice analysis of her week, which you can read in full on The Athletic on that Monday briefing that David's mentioned. But he's picked out a few things in particular.

22:56Her ability to beat higher-ranked players than her has been impressive over the last couple of years. She's been, you know, not just getting a lot of wins, but getting really good wins relative to her ranking. She's had an extremely good record at this tournament and at the Slams this year from winning from a set down, really showing a lot of resilience in matches. And in terms of the game, James has picked out improvements on serve, real willingness to use drop shots and craft in her game. And, you know, the forehand is still a little bit of a weakness. I've seen that it can be rushed. but she's also got some weapons you know i remember watching her against for back in her at the u.s open in fact with you katherine i actually i think james was there as well of course he was and she didn't look like hugely underpowered even against for back in her like okay obviously a little bit but but she's got enough there so definitely definitely on the rise and yes i think it's it's only a matter of time before before james will be going blonde

24:08you've written a check for James there that he he and Teresa now have to cash and I'm absolutely here for it okay great that's it for the women join us in part two we will head to Almaty with joy in our hearts welcome back to part two of the tennis podcast where we head now to Almaty, Kazakhstan, and a title for Daniel Medvedev. He beat Korentan Mutey 75-4-6-6-3 in the final here, his 21st career title. He has broken his title drought. This is his first since May of 2023, so more than 18 months for Daniel Medvedev without a title, but he continues his incredible record of only winning titles in different locations.

25:07This is his 21st and they have come in 21 different places. And what a final it was. In the words of David Whittaker via text yesterday, I'll take Mutey v Medvedev over Sinha v Alcaraz any day. I had been waiting for that text to come in and lo and behold it came but Cineraz it might not have been but it it was it was a whole bunch of fun it was it was fantastic this final David yeah but I mean pretty much I do think pretty much the ultimate stylistically attractive match for me because I don't typically find Medvedev that great to watch. If he's playing another good baseliner, I'm usually a bit bored by the styles of the match, but then I'll watch it because it's Daniel Medvedev and anything can happen and even if he's just winning straightforwardly his post-match interview is likely to be worth a listen.

26:18But put him up against Mute and you just have the most intoxicating combination I mean I will watch Mute play against the wall frankly um but I and when I was watching this I was thinking because Mute immediately went to break up and I thought you know think of what Alcraz does to Medvedev when when Alcraz is playing well you know all the drop shots and the angles and the sort of messing him around could he could he do it could he get inside his head i went away for a little bit come back medvedev's won the first set seven five and then i'm locked in for the rest of the match and and the fact that mute got himself a comeback and he he just got more and more outrageous with the things that he was trying he would sometimes play rallies where he's just slicing and he's slow balling and he's floating these balls onto the baseline and then he'll whip a forehand through and then he'll hit a sort of off pace cross court angle and then he'll hit a lob and and it's just it's the ultimate of what John McInerney is to talk about giving a different ball every time Moutet's actually trying to wind you up I think as well as as well as kind of strategically play points he's trying to just piss you off until you just lose it and well he picked quite a good candidate really but in daniel mevedev given the evidence of the last six to eight months but mevedev stuck at it and i mean he was it looks like he was quite unwell either he was it looked like he got the lurgy uh all week long um and unfortunately that was demonstrating itself in some quite horrific looking nose blowing from uh mevedev which i could have done without seeing but anyway he dug in and really didn't look like he was going to win this match at various points Mute tried absolutely everything and I think they really won each other's respects in this match and the and the final set virtually every point Matt and I were going back and forth with comments of what we just witnessed and I do recommend having a look and and watching this back because they're a great watch and and the thing is this was significant you know that's a long time for Medvedev to go without a title and he's been on such a downer all year long and and the first time he's ever won a title with his two young daughters there as well it's kind of kind of cute you know to see that um and then you've got Mute who's yet to win a title so this was a massive deal and And Moutet is at the highest ranking of his career.

28:58He's really putting it together. And it's great to see that because it'd be so easy for a guy like him to just be the hits and giggles guy. And he is that, but he's actually showing that he can win tennis matches and be quite an effective player. And he seems to have got his attitude together in a way that he wants to make the most of it. I can't wait to see more of that And be a good sport Like Mute was going for his first title there He's lost it in a heartbreaker And he's pretty magnanimous About then being made to put on a full Kazakh national jaunty costume Like there are a lot of tennis players That wouldn't have taken that in such good spirits I don't think he wore it well maybe most of them yeah it was great he did a great speech he said he was proud of Medvedev it was fantastic yeah he said to his team you didn't let me down today which I thought was quite amusing as well yeah like I I'm such a sucker for those you know tournaments that get the players to to wear some national clothing, a chapan, I believe it's called.

30:25That's a Kazakh robe like that. And I thought they both pulled it off. They saw what the Mexican tournaments do with the hats and they thought, I see you and I raise you and I love it. Yeah, it's just brilliantly camp that Medvedev's first title in 29 months, 882 days then comes with accompanied photos of him wearing this robe and it's just brilliant I just love it god 29 I said more than 18 months didn't I've missed out a whole year there 29 there was no checking that is crazy are you okay to put this on there was no it was just like here you go yeah it was brilliant it was brilliant yeah and and and that's right I think I think that's exactly it isn't it you know a 250 towards the end of the season given everything Daniel Medvedev has achieved shouldn't feel that significant but because of the drought because of the doubts because of the decline frankly that he's that he's been in for so long getting over the line and winning a title hopefully is a big big confidence boost for him and also I think there were some elements there that he can take forward to next year because for the first time in a while I actually thought that his serve was a helpful difference maker for him you know he was he was after it didn't he he went after it he was really getting the pace up on the serve it was it was a weapon again for him a bit of a difference really between him and Mute you know Mute can't really rely on hitting big serves in the way that a lot of players can.

32:08And also his willingness, Medvedev, to come to the net. I mean, I think a lot of that was the matchup and the slow balls that Moutet gives you. Those sort of balls that aren't short, but aren't deep. They're sort of in the middle of the court and maybe force you to come in off them a little bit as well. And also you can slightly attack his backhand because likely you're going to get a slice off it and it's a good move then to come to the net and close it but he came in more than 50 times Medvedev in this match and that's a lot for anyone that's a huge number for the guy who's been the sort of baseline backboard traditionally for his career but as he moves into his 30s Medvedev that old game style is not going to work he is everyone has to adapt but I think Medvedev in particular because of his game style is going to have to adapt and I always thought those first couple of sets he played against Sinner in that Australian Open final that he ended up losing would be a really good template for him going forward and I just I don't think he's had the form to be able to play like that for a while but it seemed like there was a bit more intent and yeah I guess I just really respect the move that he's made to depart with Gilles Savaro it's must have been a difficult move considering all the all the success they'd had together but he realized that a change was needed and you know you're kind of seeing the fruits of that straight away with finally getting a title again and hopefully this is the start of Medvedev moving back in the right direction towards the top 10 again I don't I think we've had the peak Medvedev years I really do but I like would like to think that he can be a top 10 player again and I would like to see that because as David said he's always good value at the end of matches with those with those interviews and press conferences as well.

34:06Do you each foresee him qualifying for the ATP finals in 2026? Because I think he's 14 in the world now off the back of that he's he's got Half the points of Taylor Fritz at world number four. Half the number of points. I think I'm going to say yes. It's not an absolute disaster. He hasn't dropped off a cliff, but he's nowhere near where he has been. No, I'm going to say yes to that because I think the main thing is appetite. Because it must be hard. I was thinking this watching him even the last few weeks. He plays such a lot. I mean he was saying in the on-court speech you know I've got a 5am flight in the morning to Vienna you know it's a lot to be doing isn't it and I mean listen I know it's a great life he's got loads and loads of money and he can shortcut a lot of things and it can make it all luxurious and that sort of thing but when you've been as high as he has one in the world Grand Sam champion you've won everything basically you've fought it out with Djokovic and Federer and Nadal and now you're trying your best with Alcaraz and Sinner and you've had wins over all of them and then suddenly you're not doing that.

35:26Suddenly you're nowhere near Sinner and Alcaraz and you're getting beaten by people that... And he always looks such hard work. You know, when I look at Medvedev, the amount of times I see him in hard, gruelling matches, it'd be so easy for him to just think, oh, just forget this now. I've had enough. You know, I'm going to just go and enjoy my money and my wife, my family and my two kids and, you know, just not have to do this all the time. Well, clearly he's got hunger. Clearly he's got, he wants to make the most of his career. You're a long time retired. I can't wait to kind of talk to him about that when we next get a chance to go to a press conference with him.

36:08The fact that he has overhauled his support team, which has been so steadfast and so part of what has made him who he is as a player, that's quite bold I think at this stage of his career I think it was absolutely necessary in the end but I think it's the jump start and the fact that he's, in that final game of the final against Moutet he just decided I'm going to win or lose this on my serve right now, I'm going to go flat out on my serve and he was really banging it down and even that game got to 30-all but he just he took it out of Moutet's hands. And the fact that he did that and he's going to the net, that to me makes his career potentially have a second wind to it.

36:55I think that he will reach the finals next year. It's the first time I've thought about it. So good question, Catherine. And I'm on record. Matt? I mean, I think he could technically still reach the finals this year. I saw you doing some typing. I was like, what is he fact-checking me on there? Yeah, well, look, I mean, there's still... Do you think that's why he's headed to Vienna? Do you think he's on a quest? No, I don't think he's, like, totally gunning for it. That's why he got the 5am flight to Vienna. But look, there's also a lot of injuries ahead of him. So he's currently 13 in the race.

37:37Runa's out, Draper's out. De Menor's a question mark. Shelton's a question mark is Djokovic going to play like there's a lot of players there who are ahead of him but actually might not end up playing the finals some of them definitely not and if he could win another title look it's a big if he's just won a first title in 29 months it may be unlikely that another one's going to come along straight away and the field's going to be much tougher but you've got a thousand points to play for in Paris I mean problem is he's already won Paris hasn't he So, unfortunately, that is off the list in terms of him winning it.

38:13You've got 500 to play for in Vienna. Vienna, though. You know, if he can make finals. Okay. My question for you then, Matt, given that you've circumvented my original question, is will he keep up this record for his whole career? It'll be my favourite stat ever. Oh, me too. It was like when I was gutted when Ostopenko lost in like a normal round of the French Open because she had the either winning it or losing in the first round and it was perfect stat and then she went and ruined it. She lost in like round three, didn't she? Yeah, so boring. So, so boring. And she didn't play Sviantet when we were waiting for it.