Alcaraz serves reminder as Zverev clinches No.1

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1:44Catherine Whitaker: Hi, this is Vikram in Washington, D.C. and you're listening to The Tennis Podcast.

2:00Matt Roberts: Well, hello and welcome to The Tennis Podcast, introduced beautifully by Vikram there in Washington, D.C. A very faff-free approach to introducing the podcast, which I very much support. Thank you, Vikram. And it's very appropriate for today's show because we have a lot to get into. So we're going to take a faff-free approach to things not before, of course, saying hello and welcome back to David Law. David, how are you doing?

2:31David Law: I'm great. I've been on holiday. I've been holiday-vid. And well, you know, given its faff-free approach to the show, I won't tell you all the stories of how good a time I've had. because I am a little bit sort of self-conscious about sending the photos and I did think I might have gone over the edge with the wand. Not that self-conscious, I would say. Well, I was holding myself back and then you said, oh, do keep sending us photos. So I did and then I think I may have overdone it. But, you know, so I'll stop talking about it now other than say I had a bloody great time and I'm full of energy and buzzing and pumped to be back.

3:05Matt Roberts: We are thrilled to hear that, David. Matt's got a new backdrop. for everybody not watching us on YouTube. You look like a real sophisticate, Matt.

3:18Catherine Whitaker: Thank you. I've got art up is what you're saying, really. And I've opened my door. You can now see a bit more into my flat. And I do think it has made a nice difference, actually. So hopefully the YouTube viewers will enjoy it.

3:34Matt Roberts: Yeah, it's very inviting. Yeah, you look ready for that housewarming party you promised to throw and invite us all to. Right, let's get straight into it, shall we? And we're going to head to Vienna and a first title for Alcatraz, Mo Caraz, and a not first title for the wider family of Carlos Alcaraz hair and facial hairstyles. He beat Alex de Manor 6-1, 6-4 in a brilliant final, just an extraordinary level from both players. The sort of performance from Alex de Manor that were Carlos Alcaraz, not on the other end of the court, would have been tennis TV to high heaven on social media. But unfortunately, he was facing Carlos Alcaraz.

4:28Matt Roberts: Alcaraz kept winning second set tie breaks all week up until the final, pretty much. Karen Hashanov, Nikolos Bachelashvili played a ridiculous second set tie break against Bachelashvili, Tommy Paul and then Daniel Medvedev and then locked the hell in for the final. He is now on a 26 match winning streak at ATP 500 events. He's, I think, won the bonus pool for 500 events in 2026, despite being unable to play tennis for half of 2026. And he's 16 and two now since returning from injuries with those two titles in Vienna last week and Tokyo just a few weeks before. So the loss is coming to Ben Shelton, of course, at the US Open and the early defeat in Shanghai as well.

5:24Matt Roberts: Matt, tell us about Alcaraz's journey to the Vienna title.

5:29Catherine Whitaker: Well, you know, right from the very first match he played against Hachinov, it was clear that he was just having the best time in Vienna. Like this was an event that he added to his schedule with the Six Kings Slam not happening. And, you know, in the interview immediately after that match over Karen Hachinov, the always excellent Richard Connolly said to him, it felt like a final, didn't it? And he was like, yeah, it did, because of the intensity of that match, but also, I think, the crowd. I think he really enjoyed just being there, being the kind of main attraction. And frankly, all week in Vienna, they had amazing crowds, but particularly for his matches.

6:13Catherine Whitaker: And it just sort of was a great week for him in terms of vibe, I think. I think he really enjoyed it. And also, I think some improvements with his game as well. You know, we've talked about how he's come back and his level has been generally really good. He's just had the odd laps in matches and he had that a little bit at the start of the week. He could have closed out Hachinov before a second set tie break. He could have closed out Baselashvili before a second set tie break and they both mounted comebacks against him. But crucially, he didn't allow any match to go into a deciding set, which we had seen a little bit in some of his previous tournaments.

6:51Catherine Whitaker: And yeah, by the final, I mean, I think you've described it perfectly, really. Locking in, it kind of reminded me a little bit of his level in Doha earlier this year when he was so good against Art of Feast in the final. I actually think Dimonor played a lot better in this one than Feast did in that final. but it was still the same just total showcase of everything that Alcaraz can do and everything that Diminor does so well just bringing out the best in Carlos Alcaraz you know like dynamic rallies Diminor's really good at them Alcaraz is just a bit better rallies where you're going to have attack into defense and back you know Diminor's really good at those Alcaraz is a bit better and And Dimonor had chances at the start of the match.

7:40Catherine Whitaker: He could have won any of the first three games, think he had game points. And when he didn't win those, it just seemed to totally free Alcaraz up. And yeah, there were so many brilliant rallies. And I thought Dimonor played really well, but just couldn't live with that upper Alcaraz level. And yeah, a really, really fun week in Vienna. And Alcaraz's tennis was pretty excellent throughout, especially by the end.

8:05Matt Roberts: Yeah, I thought that final was an absolutely gripping tennis match, David, with absolutely no jeopardy, which is quite a bit of a unicorn of a thing in tennis and might be unique only to Carlos Alcaraz. I felt like the final point was the whole match in microcosm. Alcaraz hits that lob and Diminor tracks it down with his foot speed and sneaks this backhand down the line over the highest part of the net. And honestly, against any other player, that point is ending there and it's being tweeted out and put on tennis TV with the word generational and some emojis. and Alex Domenor is going viral everywhere for that point.

8:55Matt Roberts: But it's against Carlos Alcaraz and he does one of those slidey, late, scooped forehand pickups that almost look casual and then, of course, sets himself up to do something spectacular to win the point and the match. It was... You sent us a picture of yourself doing your homework, as you put it, catching up on all the tennis you'd missed while you were sunning yourself in Croatia and you had a beaming smile on your face catching up with that match.

9:27David Law: Well, I think you've described the match point beautifully and the kind of the gist of the match perfectly. But actually maybe even more so when I landed from my flight and I landed and it was 6-1 for all and I turned it on and I thought, okay, I'm just going to watch the end of this. And I had watched all of Dimonor against Zverev the night before, which was a heck of a tussle. And my assumption, and this was just an assumption, was that, oh, look at this scoreline, 6-1, 4-all, and then Alcraz gets over the line. This is Dimonor paying for 7-6 in the third against Zverev, and Alcraz having already been comfortably tucked up, rested up, massaged, and everything else with a straight-sets win, and he's just picking up the pieces of Dimonor, not having much left.

10:18David Law: I'm sure he's played well. I kind of put this to you both and you shot back at me. Actually, I think Dimonor has played bloody well. He's played a heck of a match. And you both agreed on that. And I went back and watched the whole thing when I got home. And Dimonor played as well in that final as he played in the semifinal against Zverev. That would be my assertion. He did everything you could have asked him to do. It's just that Alcaraz had the answers and yeah it was it was thrilling a thrilling match in which one bloke won only five games that that doesn't happen really and and but that is the honest truth I would recommend anybody to go and watch say the 20 minute highlights that they do on tennis tv they do an extended highlights it was it was Alcaraz at his best and you don't see that very often because very often he doesn't need to be very often he can have some erratic stuff within and around all the brilliance but this was him flowing and feeling free and feeling like he could do anything and look it's not going to like be like that all the time but my goodness there's no sight in the sport like it when when Al Kraz is playing like that and this this record this

11:43Matt Roberts: situation with Al Coraz and ATP 500 events, I feel like he's kind of doing what Richard E. Grant did to this series of the celebrity traitors. Like he's exposing the floor in the format, which is that 500s are better than 1000s now. Because I think we're going to have a fun time this week with Paris because it's still week long. But as I said, after he won Tokyo, They are the sweet spot now, kind of for the viewer and for, well, certainly for Carlos Alcaraz. He's not required to be there. He's choosing to be there. And yes, a big appearance fee will be a big part of that. They tend to get great crowds.

12:29Matt Roberts: Tokyo got great crowds. Basel, that we're going to go on to talk about, gets great crowds. Think about Queens, you know, Rotterdam earlier in the year. They tend to be really well-run events that kind of punch above their weight a little bit. There's enough points on the line that it feels like there are stakes and that they matter. And they're just a fun time for everybody involved. And they are the sweet spot on the ATP Tour right now. And Carlos Alcaraz is kind of with us as viewers. Some people feel differently, but I feel like he's having the same experience playing-wise that we're having kind of spectator-wise with these events and exposing the flawed system for what it is.

13:25Catherine Whitaker: yeah and look i think some of those two week masters 1000 events he prefers to the others i think indian wells he still very much likes it's always been that length it does i think it takes up a lot of time in the calendar indian wells and miami taking up pretty much all of march but you know they're not then leading straight into a major like now madrid and Rome are two weeks like Canada and Cincinnati are I think those are the real log jams in in the calendar that doesn't really feel like there's space for them and they're grueling to play and it doesn't feel all that helpful for your ultimate goal of of the majors and yeah so I think Alcres still very much likes Indian Wells doesn't he he can he can have a good time off court there as well But absolutely, his record at the 500s is showing that he's enjoying the sort of in-out nature of these tournaments, creating a vibe, being the vibe, playing well, playing back-to-back matches, not having to spend too much time there when he's not doing stuff other than playing matches.

14:32Catherine Whitaker: It just all seems to suit him. And he talked in the Encore interview about just how good the vibe is in his team at the moment. And you can see that as well, the way they're all doing the moustache thing. It just very much feels like they're having a good time in that team right now and enjoying, you know, picking these events and being back on tour. And yeah, long may that continue because it's great to feel that Alcraz is having a good time.

15:00Matt Roberts: Is the moustache growing on anyone?

15:05David Law: It's growing on Carlos Alcraz. Sorry. um look i i i i didn't notice it to be honest i'm still trying i'm still getting used to the hair personally um you know although it's quite interesting when i ask around the family all the family like the alcaraz hair um it's it's it's me who's had the problem with it but i'm getting used to it now as well but the mustache

15:32Catherine Whitaker: i can't say i'd really noticed i like it more by the end of the week when he's when he's a bit

15:38Matt Roberts: more unshaven generally when it's blend when it's blending into a wider swarthiness rather than yeah i think yeah okay when it's a bit more matt roberts maybe that's what you're going for you see uh alexander zverev as we as has been signposted for a long time ever since sinner shut down his season has become the new world number one he hasn't And he hasn't done that perhaps in the way that he would have wanted to by winning a title and having a sort of week of crowning glory. Maybe he doesn't care about that at all, which is quite possible. But quite a rocky week for Alexander Zverev. I've had a number of match points against Martin Landeluthe early in the week.

16:25Matt Roberts: Fantastic match. Actually lost a thrilling final set tie break. Did Landeluthe 13-11. ended up falling to Alex de Mino en the semifinals, also in a final set tiebreak. Pretty extraordinary stuff. De Mino double faulting twice in that tiebreak and still somehow managing to win it. We got a lot of stats circulating about Alexander Zverev's record as a world number one, and in particular his record against top 10 players this year. I do wonder, David, how much that bothers him, how much he still will feel like he has a point to prove because the narrative around him is that he's this very underwhelming world number one who would not be world number one were the two best players in the world not injured for half of this year.

17:24Matt Roberts: There will be plenty of people with a counter to that And, you know, injury and managing injury and preventing injury is a part of the sport. But those are the facts. That is the prevailing narrative around Alexander Zverev as world number one. And there's plenty of stats during the rounds to kind of back that up. And I am just very curious how much that bothers him and how much that will create a bit of a sort of new chip on the shoulder for him.

17:54David Law: yeah my sense is that it doesn't bother him in the slightest at the moment that he is really high on being world number one and and like he will log into his phone today and be pumped i think to see himself as number one that i don't i don't sense any uh wrinkle in in in that narrative from his perspective he he has beaten the people in front of him he's won two majors um he can't control who's fit and who isn't that having been said i think next year his his goal will be to to shut everybody up and go beat sinner and alcaraz which at the start of the year let's not forget he he it was a slow process but he was over trying to overhaul his own game to beat those two guys that was the whole goal of the of because he assumed that's how i get to world number one i have to beat these two guys i have to if i ever want to win a grand slam i have to beat them and as it happens he didn't have to he just had to sort of like not get injured and be the one to pick up the pieces which i give him credit for because everybody else failed and and he didn't um i still really have my doubts as to whether he'll if those two get back to fully fit and I expect them to still be better than he is.

19:16David Law: I just think they're better players, and I think they always will be. I think that there's some magnitude better than he is. I mean, the record, what is it, 10 losses in a row now against Sinner, it's an extraordinary record. It's better against Alcrest. The stats that have been going around about his relative lack of wins against top 10 players generally, I don't share that as a factor against his viability as a world number one. The reason being that so many of the players he's beaten this year are now in the top 10. They just happened not to be at the time. And if you look at guys like Artur Fies and Francis Tiafoe, he beat them both in Indian Wells.

20:02David Law: They're both in the top 10 now. He beat Kabaly a couple of times. He beat Hodder at the French Open. so he's had wins against players who are now top 10 in the world um so i think he's pretty much apart from sinner he's done what he's whatever he could do it's just that the the the record against sinner is so jarring that to me that is the the the asterisk if if you want to use that i wouldn't use that because he can't help the fact that the the they've all got injured and he's picked up the pieces but it makes it more interesting to me for next year that he can he may now have to prove it all over again and I I think if they're fit he won't three and nine

20:44Matt Roberts: against top 10 players this year is the the record that's doing the rounds a couple of other bits and bobs from Vienna before we move on to Basel we had a home win in the doubles Lucas Meadler and Neil Oberleitner. They beat the top seeds, Harry Heliovaro and Henry Patton en route to the final and then took out Ryan Segerman and Lerner Tien in the final. So congratulations to the home winners of the doubles title. Final dispatch from Vienna. Matt has rumbled something.

21:25Catherine Whitaker: Well, I don't know how much of a secret what this is but when i was watching the coverage and i think it was the mozetti ferry match i was watching that was on the second court there and they they zoomed out and and and showed the venue and i was a bit like that doesn't look like the the same place as where the the main court in vienna is i'm gonna i'm gonna find out i went on the website and uh yeah it turns out that the second venue and i mean venue literally a different venue in vienna where the second court and i think the third court is it's like half an hour away by car from the main stadium and you know all week i've been so impressed by the atmosphere in vienna and in that main stadium and how it's full all the time and now i know why because there's no other matches to watch when you're at that main stadium if you're over there you need to be watching the match because you You can't just go and pop and watch one of the outside courts because they're in a literally different venue across town.

22:31It's an odd setup, I think, for fans just going and they think,

22:36Catherine Whitaker: oh, I'll go and watch a bit of that, go and watch a bit of that. You can't really do that. You very much have to commit to what you're watching. But, you know, I've never heard of that before, but the actual main venue in Vienna, you can't argue with the atmosphere and the turnout and the crowds. But, yeah, a bit of an odd setup.

22:56Matt Roberts: back-to-back ATP weeks with events with two entirely separate venues. Again, haven't run the stats on that. Suspect that's a record. We head to Basel and a title won by Valentin Vachero. 500 sweet, sweet points for him. He beat Uri La Hetchka, 2-6, 6-3, 6-final. On the run to that final, he also beat Raphael Hodder, resurgent Holger Runa and Taylor Fritz. Tell us, David, about Valentin Vachero's run to another end of season. Well, no, it wasn't indoor, was it, Shanghai? I always sort of think Shanghai is indoor, but another end of season title for Valentin Vachero.

23:44David Law: So impressive. So impressive. He edged out Raphael Hodder, 7-6 in the third. As you say, he's beaten Fritz, beaten Runa, who had a really, really good week. And obviously, he's still coming back. And then this final, he's a set down to Yuri Lehechka. He's playing terribly first set, is Vachero. And Lehechka's playing beautifully. And he's had a lot of weeks like this over the course of the year. Lehechka, where he just hits his straps and he's very hard to stop once he gets on a roll. So credit to Vachero. I mean, he's so straightforward and uncomplicated as a tennis player, isn't he? He is Mr.

24:24David Law: Agricultural. He just sort of slams his serve down and he belts his ground strokes and he looks his size, he's imposing and he just keeps on going. And I really like him. I really rate him as a competitor as much as anything else. I think he's got a worldy backhand. I think his backhand is solid as a rock. his forehand is, I mean, you never quite know what it's going to do, to be honest. But he just goes for it. He just blasts the ball and uses his size. And it was interesting at the handshake. I think of Lehenzka as a big guy, and then you saw them at the handshake, and Vachero's towering above him.

25:07David Law: And, yeah, he just doesn't get himself wrapped up in existential crises at all, I don't think, Vachero. He's just happy to be a player, happy to be on tour, and you will have to wear him down or beat him somehow because he ain't going to beat himself very often. He might look really bad for a while. I mean, he can look all over the place as though he's malfunctioned a bit, but very often he gets himself back into the match, and that run is something to be taken seriously. And as you say, Catherine, okay, slightly different conditions to Shanghai, but it would be so easy for him to have just, like the reality to have come forth this year and okay, that was a one-off.

25:54David Law: But look, here he is, comfortably now as a Grand Slam player and a contender and a problem for players in matches like these.

26:06Matt Roberts: He was very unfortunate this year with injury striking on the eve of Roland Garros. I think he was in the better half of the, well, what was the good half of the role on Garost draw? In the end, who could say? But I remember thinking, gosh, that would have been an opening for poor old Valentin Vachero at the time. So this season, hopefully kind of anomalous for him in terms of the injury being such a big factor. Do you think, Matt, he can translate these weeks that he has? He had a good week in Monte Carlo last year, didn't he? Sorry, this year rather. Can he translate that into being a relevant force at the slams next year, injury permitting?

26:58Catherine Whitaker: I'd be surprised. I agree with everything David has just said there, by the way. I'm so impressed with him. and what I really like is how when his back is against the wall, he goes for it. Some players who sort of go into a kind of lockdown mode and that can be really effective for them. He gets more aggressive and he saves a lot of break points through matches and he gets physically stronger. I don't have worries about him physically really in Grand Slams. That's not the thing. I just think that there are better players than him. you know and I think in the latter stages of slams I don't really see him as a threat but you know fourth round quarterfinal like that kind of level I could I could see you know if you if you if you said that next year he'd he'd reach the quarterfinals of a slam that doesn't seem outrageous to me um but I don't really see him as a slam contender especially if as we hope we're going to have Arakrez and Sinna you know back to full force in 2027.

28:07Matt Roberts: Okay just before we move on to a race update we saw the final match of Samarinka in Basel this week did we did we feel feelings Matt you were watching it live I think?

28:22Catherine Whitaker: Yeah you know I'd sort of already come to terms with it I suppose. And we did a big section on it last week with Charlie, didn't we, about the end of his career. But it was nice that he managed to have that match in Basel. Bit of a shame it was a backhand error to end his career. But, you know, maybe it's also a reflection of the fact that it's time. It was a good competitive match. He lost in straight sets to Le Hetschka. but you know I think I think the crowd weren't really too worried about the result they just wanted to see him one last time and uh yeah I think he's had a really good final year actually on on tour you know like we knew he wasn't going to be contending for really big events but he's had enough big moments and nice moments for crowds to appreciate him at all these tournaments and He seems to have handled the whole kind of farewell tour element of it all really well and really embraced it.

29:23Catherine Whitaker: And yeah, it's a shame that his career has ended, but nice for him to go out that way.

29:30Matt Roberts: Some home success in the doubles in Basel too. The All-Swiss pair of Henri Bernet and Dominic Stricker made it to the final. They were beaten by Theo Arabage and Albano Olivetti in the final. So congratulations to the doubles champions in Basel. OK, moving on to your race update. Obviously, a good whack of points on offer last week in Basel and in Vienna. And more on offer this week with the 1000 event in Paris, which is for the first time this year, the final event that will count towards the race to Turin totals. So the race is nearing the finish line, folks. The big news is that Daniel Medvedev has secured his qualification with his run to the semifinals in Vienna.

30:24Matt Roberts: A heck of an effort from Daniel Medvedev. And I think he can now count that, David, as a successful season. season he's reversed the trajectory of his career here with this qualification yeah I think so especially when you consider he had some really low points as well I mean think of him having a

30:45David Law: double bagel against him and Australian Open thrashing at the hands of Lerner Tien but you know he just dug in didn't he it's it's a real testament to his appetite given that he's been in a form world number one, that he's won a Grand Slam, that he has declined. And I still think he's not what he was, but he's definitely found a way to halt the decline for now and surge again. So, yeah, credit to him.

31:14Matt Roberts: And the serve does seem to be a weapon again. I'm always with the caveat of indoors. I think everybody's serve is, well, generally speaking, a bit more potent indoors. But compared to the past few seasons, I do think there are signs of improvement on that shot, which could be a real game changer for Medvedev. Flavio Caballi, who should be sort of a technicality in terms of qualification for Turin, although he's doing his very best to make it not a technicality. He's on 3 ,690 points, retired in tears against Matteo Berrettini in Vienna. To be honest, it looked like Berrettini was almost in sort of sympathy tears as well with Flavio Caballi, his good friend.

32:06Matt Roberts: We know it's a minor muscle strain. We don't know anything more. That sounds encouraging. And yet I don't feel great about Flavio Caballi right now. I mean, even if he makes it to Turin, you know, he's going to be the guy, isn't he? There's no Yannick Sinner there. I just don't know if he's, I feel like he, it would really be better for him to be in the Maldives, but, and he really shouldn't be on a nightmare tour, given the points to Lioris he has. And yet it, it's got the feel of a nightmare tour about it.

32:43Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, just feels like there's a big weight on him. It was so tough watching that against, against Berrettini. He was, he was distraught. I think he was, you know, worst case scenarioing it and thinking maybe he'd done something more serious and was going to be out of Turin and maybe the Davis Cup as well. Hopefully that's not going to be the case. It was nice that he did at least have Berrettini there. You know, Berrettini went over to him and, you know, hugged him.

33:14Matt Roberts: He's the new Del Potro, isn't he? Patron saint of injury curses. Right. Yeah. He's the guy you want there to comfort you. Yeah.

33:23Catherine Whitaker: And then he's in there in his on-court interview afterwards, Berrettini, talking about how Caballi still has the same eyes as he had when he was a kid, dreaming of being a tennis player. And it's all very, very sweet. They did enter the doubles in Paris together, Berrettini and Caballi. They have pulled out of that. I don't know whether that's a sign of Caballi's fitness. But I hope he can get to Turin fit. And I hope he can have a bit of a moment there. but I do share your concerns that he doesn't seem in his prime right now.

33:59Matt Roberts: Similar story for Art of Feast, David. So his points total 3 ,535. So he's in seventh. Medvedev's qualified in fifth. Reminder, that ninth place will be enough to qualify this year because no Yannick Sinner. So Kabbali is in sixth. Feast in seven, 3 ,535. His time in Basel ended via retirement. He was six to two love down against Taylor Fritz, said he felt something in his leg. He says he's OK. He's he's due to play Paris. He's been doing media day activities in Paris, looking happy enough. but it's given, I mean, he's somebody that we're just always on red alert for injury-wise, and this is just, well, it's a worry, obviously.

34:55David Law: And my guess is he's also on red alert. A little bit like you said about Caballo there, this fear. Oh no, what have I done? I suspect as well, he just won a 7-6 in the third, had feast. I think he I mean the one counter I would say to the one week 500s which I also love is it's such a lot of tennis in a short space of time you know you suddenly get to quarter finals and right okay everybody plays every day now if you want to win this tournament and then it's Paris next week and for Art of Feast that's a huge deal you know he hasn't really been able to play these tournaments for a couple of years and he wants to play the ATP finals and it kind of looks like he's going to be able to get there so you've got to you've got to put all this into consideration as to where how hard you push it how you know and i i these are only guesses on my my part goran i have heard from said he looks okay right now he said he said hopefully he'll be all right but he looks all right um and and that backs up what arthur has said himself um but yeah he he just he was playing early on he broke for two love against fritz and i'm thinking oh you know this is an interesting one we haven't seen this match up and then suddenly feast stops moving and fritz is playing solid and he wins eight games in a row and it's over so that's a match i kind of want to watch now properly sometime um but yeah feast feast in paris is a vibe i want to experience um a proper a proper run but my word it's so bloody stacked isn't it that draw you've got you've just got big challenges on your hands immediately in that draw.

36:37Matt Roberts: Yeah, I'll run you through the draw and then I will be asking for predictions about who's going to take the last spots for Turin. Just finally on Feast, did you see the video that, I think it was the Basel tournament put out, the social video this week, where players were asked who they would call at 3am in an emergency situation and Feast said he would call Goran. Yeah.

37:02David Law: Okay.

37:03Matt Roberts: That is absolutely not who I would trust to help create an emergency at 3am. Yes, Goran.

37:13David Law: I think I know where he's coming from. The thing with Goran, look, Goran can be a bit of a disaster area in terms of things going wrong. I agree with you. But he gets quite punchy if you say he's unreliable or if he says, I'm never late. and he'd like to think that he is reliable when somebody calls him.

37:38Matt Roberts: Ask him about the Winter Whites Gala, David, next time he tells you that he's reliable.

37:43David Law: Okay. What happened there?

37:46Matt Roberts: Well, he was supposed to be on a red carpet and he texted me saying, I'm in Paris. He was supposed to be on a red carpet in London and he texted me saying, I'm not going to make it. I am in a different country.

37:57David Law: Yes, I mean, that certainly happens well, I agree.

38:01Catherine Whitaker: part of Fies's reasoning for picking Goran seemed to be that he'd be likely to be awake because he doesn't get much sleep

38:07Matt Roberts: yeah and that is something to consider absolutely and he's experienced Pitch Riley a Pelker and then there was a very dark moment at the end of the video where Djokovic said he'd pick Zverev because he seems to get himself in a lot of trouble which I'm surprised that stayed in the edit quite frankly but I yeah Yeah, I did enjoy that video. So you've got Fies in seventh. You've got Tiafoe in eighth, 3 ,430. Not a great week for him. Last week, he lost round one in Vienna to Musetti. Hodder is in ninth, so the last qualification spot at the moment. He is 24 points clear of Alex de Manor in tenth.

38:55Matt Roberts: It's his top 10 debut, incidentally, this week, Hodder, becoming the first player in ATP history to reach the top 10 in the same year as playing his first tour level event. I think that record is going to stand for a long time. I think that is crazy. Absolutely crazy. We've got so used to a new normal with Raphael Hodder. I think we should just take a moment to zoom out on what, like that sort of Raducanu-esque crazy achievement to me. I think that's, yeah.

39:35David Law: Especially when he hasn't had one result at a Grand Slime where he just got hot and ambushed everybody. He's just done it as this solid pride.

39:47Matt Roberts: He's just been a consistent, relevant, yeah, exactly. He's done it like an established, the way the established guys do it.

39:54Catherine Whitaker: And yeah, I mean, the only other comp in terms of rise kind of that quickly is Becker, you know, who went from getting into the top 100 to into the top 10. He did it, I think, a week faster than Hodder. But, you know, Becker, young Becker defined by, you know, huge breakout result, breakout moment. and Hodder's been defined by this consistency. And yeah, it is pretty remarkable, especially now in an era where I think most people would probably agree that the depth of the sport is stronger than it was in the 80s. There's so many good players now and it's so hard to make that jump. And you just don't see young players do that.

40:43Catherine Whitaker: It's really quite a feat.

40:46Matt Roberts: good advert for playing a bit of college tennis as well before going pro isn't it and obviously he didn't complete his full degree I think he played one maybe two years at Virginia Tech but sort of you're more of a fully formed plug and play tour pro emerging for having played a bit of college tennis than sort of coming straight from the juniors and trying to do that transition so Domino in 10th just behind Hodard who's obviously done his cause a lot of good last weekend by reaching the final in Vienna we've got Novak Djokovic behind Domino in 11th with 2 ,900 points that points total means he needs to reach at least the semi-finals in Paris in order to remain in contention he may need more but if he doesn't reach the semi-finals he is out of the race that after losing his second round match in Basel to Jan-Lenard Struff and then we have Taylor Fritz in 12th on 2 ,895 points he had a good week in Basel lost in the semi so that was 200 points on his total but he his fate is largely in other people's hands in terms of Turin qualification Paris gets underway today we have round ones that include Lorenzo Muzetti against Hubert Hercac Lerna Tien against Stefanos Tsitsipas Novak Djokovic against Valentin Vachero Tommy Paul against Holger Runa and Alejandro Davidovic Fikina against Moisa Kwame who is coming in off the back of winning a Challenger event last week I think it was Tuzverev is the top seed he will face the winner of that Muzetti her catch match in the second round.

42:45Matt Roberts: Byes for the top seeds in the first round. Alcaraz the second seed. He'll face either Yurla Hetschka or Alex Mickelson in his first match. As we've said, Novak Djokovic needs to not just beat Basel champion Valentin Vachero in the opening round, but he also needs to win a few more rounds beyond that as well. Could meet Domenor in round three and it would be a scheduled quarterfinal match against Alexander Zverev. Turin hopefuls Flavio Caballi and Rafael Hodar could meet in round three as could Taylor Fritz and Artur Fies and Francis Tiafoe's probably got the best of the draw in Turin. He's probably in the weakest form having lost early last week but he's avoided most of his Turin rivals.

43:33Matt Roberts: He would have Tommy Paul in round three and Shelton Ben Shelton in the quarter finals. Given that information dump that I've just loaded onto you both. David, who do you think is going to qualify for Turin? We have three more places up for grabs. Who's going to take them?

43:57David Law: I think that Feast will get in. I think he will get in. I think Kabbali is going to be okay. I am a little bit worried about him

44:13Matt Roberts: okay in the tennis sense yeah

44:17David Law: I don't think Tiafoe is going to quite make it I think he's going to just fall short I think somebody's going to overtake him and I think there will be two guys that overtake Tiafoe basically and I'm going to go for

44:38Matt Roberts: you're tempted by Djokovic

44:40David Law: I am tempted by Djokovic yeah I am

44:43Catherine Whitaker: I always think David you have a good sense of when Djokovic is going to have his senses heightened whether he's really going to find his best tennis but he's just got such a tough draw in Paris there like having to go through Dumanor probably and Zverev probably to get to that semis that he needs. Not to mention Vachero. Like, he can do it. It's just that, is he going to be having one of those weeks where the ball's coming off his racket like it was in Beijing? You know? I don't know. I feel like you tend to have the best sense of that, David. But apologies for the pressure I'm putting on you.

45:24David Law: Well, the thing is, I also feel like I need to see him play in the first round there. Because, I mean, I think he can go and win the tournament. I mean I really do it wouldn't be that surprising to me if he went and Zverev looked out on his feet the other day he looked so fatigued by the end of that Diminole match Vachero you know look I'm going to say I'm going to go for Djokovic I think Djokovic is just going to roar through and reach the final of this thing and And I'm going to go for Hadar in the end to be with him. Yeah, that's who I'm going for.

46:11Matt Roberts: In terms of the centres heightened thing with Djokovic, obviously Vachero is a tough draw, but if he comes through that, if he takes out the newly crowned Basel champion, I think then he's in smelling blood territory.

46:26Catherine Whitaker: And I think it's also going to be interesting to see how Paris is playing. You know, interesting how your brother Math actually sent over some data the other day about how Djokovic's return has really tailed off recently. And I think we really saw that against Struff. Like he got a bit exposed in that one, the quick conditions, big server. I think Djokovic needs those senses to be heightened now to get through matches like that. He used to have a bit of an off day, but his return would always be there and he would break serve. You do see him now sometimes not do that. And he had a few break points against Struff, but he couldn't break serve.

47:03Catherine Whitaker: And it was quick, though, in Basel. I think maybe normally Paris is a little bit slower than that, which might help him. I actually think Tiafoe is going to make it. I just think he's got a bit of a buffer there, like Hodder, Domenor, Djokovic. A couple of those are going to have to go really deep, I think, to get past him. I don't think Tiafoe's playing horribly. You know, I think he's still in OK form, to my eye anyway. I think, I don't know. I find it so hard to write off Djokovic, but I think I might go with how it is and get Tiafoe and Hodder joining Kabbali and Fies in there. I think the others have got a lot to do.

47:53Catherine Whitaker: And Dimon or Djokovic meeting each other in the third round is going to take one of them out of contention straight away.

48:00Matt Roberts: It could be a heartbreaker for De Menor, couldn't it? He could end up missing out by 20 points or something. That's a very real scenario.

48:10Catherine Whitaker: It was nice that he... I feel like most of De Menor's weeks either end with him having, you know, beating everyone he should beat and then run into someone better than him, or he sort of feels like he's let himself down a bit with a performance. I felt like this was a week where he got the big win. So he can really see it as a positive that he's beaten the now world number one Zverev. He just ran into Alcarez in the end. It felt like he came out of that tournament feeling a lot better about his tennis than he was earlier in the season. You know, he was kind of buzzing, I think, having beaten Zverev.

48:46Catherine Whitaker: And he just knew that, I think he can accept that he's losing that match to Carlos Alcarez when Alcarez is playing like that. Yeah, absolutely.

48:55Matt Roberts: We will also have a retirement ceremony for Gaël Monfils in Paris on Tuesday. And I think that will be a lovely cathartic moment for the tennis world. Very emotional, I'm sure. But I think everybody can be glad that he's getting that. So that will be Tuesday in Paris. OK, that's it for your bumper part one. We'll be back in part two to talk about the two WTA events that we've had this past week in Guangzhou. and Tokyo.

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51:44Matt Roberts: Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast heading to Tokyo now and a title won by Deanna Schneider. She beat Leila Fernandez, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the finals. Very emotional speech from beaten finalist Fernandez in that ceremony. She spoke about her grandfather who recently passed away. Really emotional stuff from her and another fantastic week for Fernandez who's having a cracking end of season surge but just the top level of Deanna Schneider, David, too much.

52:22David Law: Yeah, this was yet another lefty against lefty match, and Schneider's played a few of those because she faced Iala in the quarterfinals in an absolutely brilliant match as well, that one. Came back from a set down there, and this one she was totally dominating Fernandez. I mean, she's a set in three love up, she's just totally taken her apart. and then Fernandes just dug in and the way she does she came roaring back and took it into a deciding set and I think huge credit to Schneider for withstanding that because I always think that in fact both of those two players Iala and Fernandes when they're on the roll they take some stopping and Schneider she's made a tough stuff she is and she's also had a really good sequence of tournaments she may not be that headline grabbing all the time but you know quarterfinal semi-final now here she wins this tournament and really really good end to the year for her she's she's she stands up to these big hitting left-handers and kind of diffuses them and then attacks them she's got this nice balance of of attack and counter-attack i think and uh But yeah, it'd be interesting to see where she can take it into next year because it felt like a slow start to the year and then it's really come on strong of late.

53:49David Law: So excellent win.

53:51Matt Roberts: And she's a threat on all surfaces, isn't she, Schneider? One title's on all three of the surfaces, indoors as well. I feel like there's just a lot of potential for Schneider in 2027. I think she'll go to Indian Wells for the finals as an alternate. I don't know if that's been confirmed, but I think she'll be going as an alternate. Good chance that she'll get at least a match. We'll certainly get a taste of that. And I think she's pretty ambitious, isn't she? She's, you know, I think she might have her sights set on a very big 2027, Matt.

54:32Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I've been thinking about Schneider and where she kind of sits in the WTA picture right now. because she's gone up to 11 in the world right now. I do think the top 10 have marked themselves out. There's obviously tiers within that 10, but if you look at it, this year Schneider was quite a bit off getting into the finals. But she's right at the top of that next pack. And as David talked about, she's kind of marked herself out as the dominant lefty. There's no lefties in the top 10. But then you've got her, you've got Kvelinska, you've got Fernandes and you've got Iala all in that 11 to 18 ranking bracket.

55:18Catherine Whitaker: And she's played them and she's beaten them. I think she kind of needs to start playing her best tennis in the most important times of year a little bit. If you look at her last two seasons, she has had some of her best results post-US Open. You know, this year she had a losing record between the Australian Open and the French Open. and that's such an important part of the year where you've got a lot of 1 ,000 events, you've got clay, you've got hard. I think if she can come out next year and perform better in that part of the year, I think she can set herself up then to maybe break that top 10.

55:54Catherine Whitaker: She's got a good record in finals. She's won six of her seven WTA finals that she's played. That's a healthy chunk of tournament wins. She's picking up titles relatively regularly. I really like her. I'm intrigued as well about whether she can actually make that jump because I think there is a really strong top 10 at the moment and can she get into it? But yeah, great week. And that match against Iala was an absolute thriller. You know, like Iala only lost her serve once in that match. Iala with her serve.

56:30Matt Roberts: I think she would take as a, like, that match is going down as a win for her.

56:35Catherine Whitaker: It was really high quality, really, really good match. Very nice week for Fernandes as well. Yeah, just a good tournament, really.

56:46Matt Roberts: Elena Rabatkin, like Zverev, secured her year-end number one. She did that by beating countrywoman Yulia Putin-Sever, reaching the quarterfinals and then withdrawing from the event, which there's kind of an honesty about that that I don't mind but Yeah, it's not ideal, is it? It's not ideal.

57:13David Law: She gave an on-court speech as well to talk to the crowd and say that she'd been feeling a little injury and so she couldn't play today and was disappointed about it. I mean, who knows how serious it is or whether it was sort of preventative in terms of the future or whether it genuinely prevented her from playing in the now in that way. But yeah, I mean, I do see the relentlessness of this circuit sometimes and think, how on earth do they do it? How do they go from city to city, week after week, playing matches, different time zones? it's i i kind of i feel bad for spectators look i'm i'm saying this she may have been injured and therefore not able to play and i feel sorry for spectators anyway but i also understand if players kind of hit the wall a bit you know in terms of their ambitions i have done what i wanted to do this week or i'm feeling just completely worn out and i need a break i understand these things um i probably wouldn't be quite so understanding if i was a ticket holder if if that was the case but like i say may not be maybe she was injured is it is it better for a

58:31Catherine Whitaker: tournament to get a match of elena robakina and then a withdrawal or sort of not have her at all

58:40Matt Roberts: i honestly don't really know the answer to that question i mean i think the the truth is the the biggest needle mover for tournaments is being able to put them on the promotional materials to sell the tickets ahead of time right that's that is actually what the majority of the appearance fees go to now it might impact your ticket sales for future years if you get this kind of situation ticket buyers might be like well I'm not going to buy again if there's a risk of that happening I feel I feel like I've been swizzed a bit there might be some of that but truthfully I think Like, David, that is the majority of what you pay for with appearance fees for these events.

59:24Matt Roberts: You pay to be able to put them on your poster and say, buy a ticket for this because this top name is going to be there.

59:31David Law: Yeah, I agree. We had many a time at Queen's with, say, Rafael Nadal, who did play Queen's a number of times. but there are also many times when, certainly in his latter years, where he would sign up to play and you would say he's going to appear and in the back of your mind you're thinking, well, he might not appear because he might not be fully fit or he might have had an incredibly arduous run to the French Open title when he's not 19 anymore, you know, when he's 29 and got a zombie foot. But you're saying to fans, Look, he said he's going to play. We've said he, you know, we've paid him so he will say that.

1:00:17David Law: And look, he intends to play. But, you know, you do feel a bit bad in the back of your mind when they get to a certain point and then they just pull out. And the people have paid their ticket by then, you know. That's kind of the nature of the sport. But, yeah, it doesn't feel great sometimes.

1:00:35Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, and obviously, you know, she may well be carrying an injury as well. I think the thing for me is that I totally understand why, you know, she wants to secure the year and number one. This is kind of the easiest route to do it. Just win a match that you're absolutely guaranteed to win. I think the thing that just slightly gets me is that it was still in her hands at the WTA finals to finish the year as number one. It wasn't like this was her only chance. Like she wins a couple of matches in the groups there and she's probably going to finish the year as number one. It felt like she had that opportunity.

1:01:13Catherine Whitaker: But, you know, I do understand wanting to get it the earliest possible. And now she can go into the WTA finals, not worrying about year and number one, just focusing on the tournament, I suppose. Yeah, I get it, even if it's not.

1:01:28Matt Roberts: Yeah, I think that the threshold for what counts as a withdrawal worthy injury is different at different times of the year. Right. And depending on what's on the horizon. And it was probably at its absolute lowest at that point in Tokyo after having secured the year end number one. in Guangzhou the WTA 250 their cracking story Harriet Dart, Britain's Harriet Dart winning her first WTA title beating Lily Taggart in a thrilling final an emotional final 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 she came through qualifying did Harriet Dart she's back up to number 83 in the world the coaching line up in this final with two former Grand Sam champions, Francesca Schiavone, the long-time coach of Lily Taggart, and who knew, Marion Bartley, David, the coach of Harriet Dart.

1:02:33David Law: Yeah, I actually did know this one from earlier in the season when I saw them together. That took me aback big time. But it was quite interesting. There's an interview with Harriet and the BBC Sport website with Jonathan Giureco and she explains that look you know it's not like Marion's traveling with me all the time you know we we are in regular contact from afar and she's at quite a lot of the events because she does broadcasting work and they hook up there but it's it's a quite odd sounding arrangement you know for a for a player from Great Britain who has not set the world alight she's had a good solid career you know she's been a top 100 player but you know this is a grand slam champion we're talking about in Marion Bartoli, who she said has believed in me.

1:03:22David Law: And that's kind of one of the biggest things that has helped me to win this title. And she's 30 years of age, Harriet Dart. She's played more than 700 matches in her career. You know, I was looking up. I mean, not all of those are at WTA level. I mean, she's had many years sort of fighting it out on the ITF circuit and then on the sort of WTA 125 circuit. and now she's finally got her first title on the WCA Tour and she was so happy about it and she had to do it the hard way. You know, she played six of the seven matches she won, went to three sets. She was a set behind in her last three matches of the tournament and she won them all.

1:04:04David Law: She very nearly lost in the first round of qualifying. You know, that was three sets and it included a set behind and a 7-6 in the second, you know. so just just great fighting spirit she's a tenacious competitor harriet dart and and this is another one a bit like schneider and fernandez she's had a number of results in the last few weeks and has just been building to this moment and huge credit to her you know she's a she's a kind of a known as a better doubles player than she's single she's had a lot better results in doubles at various points but here she is now back inside the world's top 100 and it actually She completes a really good few weeks for British tennis on the women's side with Sonny Cartel reaching the final.

1:04:50David Law: Katie Bolter got to a semifinal. Hannah Klugman won a WTA 100 in Wrexham. And now here is Harriet Dart winning this title. It's pretty cool. But yeah, Bartoli is an interesting one. I mean, she's a glutton for punishment, isn't she? She coached Yelena Ostapenko. and harriet dart's quite an awkward character at times um so you know but marion just doesn't care does she she has total confidence in her own voice and she doesn't take any nonsense and and i i like the fact that she goes and believes in somebody and has a go

1:05:32Matt Roberts: yeah absolutely she's a scrapper isn't she harriet dart she doesn't have any big big weapon. She's got nice sort of dexterity and feel on the ball but she's quite a slight player but she is scrappy. And

1:05:49Catherine Whitaker: as David said, this tournament won in that image so many matches she had to hustle through and I think as much as it's great in the moment, you've won a first WTA title, that rankings jump is big especially at this time of year. She'll be into the Australian Open main draw now You know, she won't have to play qualifying for that tournament. And if you think when she started with Marion Bartoli, she was ranked outside the top 160. She's now back up to 83. She's pretty much halved her ranking, you know, this year, which is impressive. And a lot of it has been grinding away at the lower levels, just winning a lot of matches.

1:06:27Catherine Whitaker: and yeah she was she did well because I thought she got quite flustered at the start of the third set of this one you could tell she was kind of on the edge on the brink there was a lot of breaks in that final set and she had a couple of match points on taggers serve and one of them in particular was a was a was a short forehand that she that she netted and I thought okay she might be getting tight here but then she served it out really emphatically and convincingly and yeah it was a it was an impressive impressive showing good little story speaking of grinding it out at

1:07:02Matt Roberts: the lower levels and winning matches Bianca Andreescu has now won back-to-back WTA 125 tournaments one on hardcore in Italy and one on clay in Mexico she just beat Tatiana Maria in the final of the second one extends her winning streak to 10 matches I don't know what it means but I'm so chuffed to her I've been following it on on Instagram and she she she seems to be having a great time at this these smaller tournaments where you know they're so thrilled to have her there and I think she is a player that tries not to be on the hamster wheel and tries to experience the places that she's visiting and take them in a bit and be a bit curious about the world and And I think she's living a bit of life as well as winning tennis matches.

1:07:55Matt Roberts: And I don't know what it means, but I'm very pleased to see it. And I'm very, very pleased for her. This week, we have two events still on the WTA Tour in Chennai and in Hong Kong. Plus, the WTA finals get underway on Sunday in Indian Wells. Of course, Sarah Rani and Jasmine Paolini completed the doubles lineup. by squeaking in in eighth place this week. They snapped the Defani 15-match winning streak, beat them 6-2, 6-2 in the Tokyo final. The doubles field in Indian Wells also includes, of course, Katerina Siniakova reuniting with Taylor Townsend. Defani, of course, Gabi Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani.

1:08:40Matt Roberts: You've got Guo and Medenevich, Booksham, Melikar, Martinez, Shea and Ostapenko, Perez and Scherz and Zhang and Mertens. The singles and doubles draws take place on Tuesday, this Tuesday at 3pm Pacific time, which is 11pm in the UK. They're going to be streamed live on TikTok. Obviously no Iga Svjantek in the Indian Wells WTA finals draw this year, which is going to feel a bit weird, I think, no Iga Svjantek in the finals. And we did have the news out of Poland this week that she will be starting her 2027 season in Brisbane instead of playing the United Cup like she has for the past four years so trying something a bit different in her attempts to complete the career slam in Australia a bit of a blow for the United Cup isn't it she's been such a stalwart of that competition they've lost Zverev as well he confirmed that he's going to start his season in in Brisbane as well.

1:09:45Matt Roberts: So I'm sure they'll still get a decent line-up, but it does feel like Shontek's a bit of a miss. Potentially quite big for Maja Kvalinska, though.

1:09:55Catherine Whitaker: I'll say.

1:09:56Matt Roberts: Yeah. If she wants to play United Cup, then she can play United Cup now, whereas Shontek would have been an obstacle.

1:10:09Catherine Whitaker: It's just always that thing with the United Cup, isn't it? Like it's, in a way, it's good preparation. It's guaranteed matches. But it's, especially, you know, now they've scaled it down, it's matches that are tough right out the start of the season. And it can feel like a lot of tennis to play going into a Grand Slam when you've only just had an off season. And, yeah, maybe playing a more conventional draw, obviously trying to win it, but maybe just to ease yourself into the season a little bit more might be an interesting setup for her, I think. I think her best run at the Australian Open, probably, okay, she had one good run a couple of years ago, didn't she?

1:10:48Catherine Whitaker: But she also had that run back in 2022 before the United Cup when I think she played Adelaide that year. So, you know, she has done this before and then gone on to perform well in Australia. So it's great to have an immediate, trying to complete the career slam quest, you know, to start the season. And that's what we have now with Iga Sviantek until she wins in Australia. So her preparation for that tournament is always going to be a source of fascination, I think, at the start of every season.

1:11:18Matt Roberts: Absolutely. OK, that is it for part two. We've got quite a bit of news to cover from this week, though, and we'll be back to talk about that in part three.

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1:12:06David Law: I've got big news. I switched to Verizon and got the new iPhone 18 Pro. I can keep my old phone. Can I also get the latest iPhone every year? Shh, anything else? Verizon, let me choose Apple Watch Series 12 or iPad on them. Everybody listen up. Switch to Verizon and get the new iPhone 18 Pro now. No trade in needed. And the latest iPhone every year with Simplicity Plan. Plus, choose Apple Watch Series 12 or iPad on us. Simplicity Plan with Simplicity Pro required. Plan and device payment. Purchase or separate agreements with separate terms. Service plan for watch or iPad required. Additional terms apply for all offers.

1:12:39Matt Roberts: Welcome back to part three of the tennis podcast where we start with some coaching news, some big coaching news, all of it broken by Tom Kershaw in The Times. He is working those rooms. I'd love to get to dive into Tom Kershaw's WhatsApp, you know, to see the chats that he's got on the go. He is getting some great stories. Good on him.

1:13:08Catherine Whitaker: He was doing a golf feature the other week, caddying in India for a tour player on the DP World Tour. And he's come back from that with these tennis coaching exclusives. What a great month.

1:13:23Matt Roberts: Yeah, he's really riding high. He first of all scored the exclusive that Yannick Sinner is going to hire Magnus Norman essentially to replace Darren Cahill in his coaching team. We've always had the threat of Darren Cahill stepping back and essentially wanting to retire. He finds the travel quite difficult, I think, doesn't he? He's talked about having periods of depression in the past. I think he was actually supposed to step back a year or so ago, but was persuaded to stay on or wanted to stay on a little bit longer with Yannick. But he is now going to retire from coaching, at least for the time being, to be replaced by Magnus Norman, obviously longtime coach of Stan Wawrinka.

1:14:11Matt Roberts: had his, well, Stan Verrinka's greatest successes came alongside Magnus Norman. And David, you never quite know how a coaching relationship is going to gel. And I certainly, I don't really know what Magnus Norman will bring sort of tactically and technically to the annex in a game. But in terms of energy and vibe, which is the sort of analysis I do feel comfortable with, I like this for Yannick Senna. I think Magnus Norman is exactly the right vibe.

1:14:48David Law: Yeah, great fit, I think. I know Magnus quite well from his playing days.

1:14:54Matt Roberts: Would you call him at 3am if you had a situation?

1:14:59David Law: I might call him. Whether he'd answer is another matter. But, you know, he's a good guy. He's solid as they come. Look what he got out of. I mean, it's always difficult to know where does a coach's influence start and end, and when does the player become completely responsible for their own results. But I don't think it's any coincidence what happened in the careers of Robin Söderling and Stan Werenke that Magnus Norman was never present for those two players, for their great moments. And I just think he, I think it was Mats Valander who told me when Wawrinka won his first major in Australia, he said Magnus Norman is the best coach in the world right now.

1:15:48David Law: And look, I think in terms of CV, the best is Darren Cahill. When you look at the number of world number ones he's coached with Hewitt and Agassi and Halep and now Sinner. but just longevity is there from Norman, and I would imagine that really appeals to Sinner, that kind of, yeah, personality-wise, I can really see that meshing well. I don't think Sinner needs a huge amount in terms of how to play the game. I mean, he's just a brilliant player, but in terms of getting him in the best possible mindset and approach, and look, he's not on his own. Simone Vignozzi is there as well, who's been an ever-present as well and who's very experienced and a big part of it.

1:16:38David Law: And, yeah, I can see it working, put it that way.

1:16:41Matt Roberts: Yeah, I don't get the sense he's a big ego. I don't think he needs it to be about Magnus Norman. No, he's not like that at all.

1:16:50Catherine Whitaker: I was just going to say it's quite interesting how, you know, Cahill's a guy who'd had success already with people of Sinner's stature. I think he certainly helped Halep get over the slam hurdle and become world number one. But she was already very much at the top of the sport and he obviously had the other periods with players at the top of the sport like Agassi who'd already been there and done it. Whereas Magnus Norman's best successes have been with players who he's taken from outside of the top 10 and turned them into Grand Slam contenders. Like it is a little bit of a different role for him, which I think is going to be interesting to see him in that.

1:17:33Catherine Whitaker: But yeah, I saw that and thought, oh yeah, that fits. That feels like someone at the very top of the playing game and someone very at the top of the coaching game joining forces and hopefully period of stability as well.

1:17:47Matt Roberts: Well, did you feel the same then? No. When you saw the news that Juan Carlos Ferraro, who has been threatening to make an announcement about who he's going to be coaching in 2027 for quite some time, he's been announcing that he will be announcing quite consistently for the last few weeks and months. He has now announced, as has his new charge, Ben Shelton, that they will be joining forces for 2027. Father Brian Shelton will remain on the team. So the answer, Matt, is no. You didn't have the same reaction when you saw this news drop yesterday.

1:18:33Catherine Whitaker: no this one was a real curveball not on my bingo card at all you know i was thinking maybe ferrero would be hodd or maybe maybe runo i thought you know could be could be possible caballi rumors right i whereas shelton was was right there but i didn't even consider him basically because i've always thought that you know he's got his coach his dad and and that's that's been working pretty well i would have i would have thought and i think it's very interesting ferrero going into that dynamic it's always interesting when a when a player's been coached by a parent for a long time and they bring in another coach that can that can very often not work um fascinating absolutely fascinating i don't really have a sense whether it's going to be brilliant or a disaster.

1:19:26Catherine Whitaker: It feels like the spectrum of possibilities there are quite big. Shelton was asked about it in Paris and didn't go into much detail, but just talked about how he thinks he can bring a lot of that experience and trying to add a little edge to his game. I think what's interesting is that Ferreiro has obviously, okay, with another player in Alcaraz, but he's planned game plans and strategies for a lot of the players at the top of the sport right now and he might he might bring a bit of a different perspective for Shelton in some of these matchups um that he's that he's got to have but you know I would say it's it's it's tough for Shelton to do a lot more than he's already doing you know he beat Alcarez at the US Open he reached the US Open final it's going to take it's going to take something to to get him to another level even beyond that so I'm very very interested by this one it was not one that I I had on my radar

1:20:22Matt Roberts: are at all same it's a big swing isn't it and i like i like the ambition of it i i do i i i do wonder how successful it would but you know i could see a clash of egos certainly you know ferrero ferrero yeah isn't the same character as magnus norman and you know he does like to talk to the media doesn't he uh likes to announce that he's going to be making announcements and that sort of thing um and look there aren't many examples of external coaches coming into a parent-child coaching setup and that gelling and working and a and a healthy successful hierarchy being established now i would say that ben and brian shelton are quite anomalous or unusual in terms of parent-child coaching relationships, it does generally seem pretty healthy and untoxic in a way that they very often aren't.

1:21:32Matt Roberts: So it perhaps has more chance of success than it would in other similar situations. But it's not easy. It is not easy to parachute. He has tried it before, Ferreira,

1:21:45Catherine Whitaker: with going into the Zverev team.

1:21:47Matt Roberts: And it was a spectacular disaster.

1:21:49Catherine Whitaker: Different people, but yeah.

1:21:51Matt Roberts: so I do think this has the potential to I think all scenarios are on the table it could be a tremendous success I also think it could go up in flames what was your reaction David? you like it?

1:22:06David Law: yeah I like it look I am interested to see how Ben will be if Juan Carlos does get asked about stuff and Juan Carlos becomes a little bit loose lipped as he can be. But I love that phrase in NFL, chasing edges. I like that idea of being ambitious from Shelton, you know, not settling for where he is. His dad and he have done a brilliant job. But, you know, when you talk about what more could they do, I mean, that's what they need to do. they need to get those edges to turn that final of the US Open into a title. You know, I don't think he's about to become Alcaraz and Sinner with any coach, but he might have been able to get what Zverev's got, pick up the pieces when those two aren't winning or injured.

1:23:08David Law: And it reminds me a little bit of when Andy Roddick hired a couple of his coaches. I'm thinking of when he hired Brad Gilbert, you know, and he didn't obviously have a parental relationship. He had his longtime coach, Tariq Benihabilis, who he was very, very close to, and he had to end that. And then he hired Brad Gilbert and it got him over the line. It got him a Grand Slam. And then when he was having a slump, he hired Jimmy Connors and he got him back to Grand Slam finals. And I just think it's, I like it. I mean, at the very least, Shelton can come away after it and think, okay, well, I tried that.

1:23:47David Law: If it doesn't work, his dad will be there for him, you would think. And if that's a better way for him, then so be it. That may just be the case. But I like the swing. I think it really took me by surprise as well. Look, I was not expecting that name to be the one. And again, Tom Kershaw getting it almost, I think, probably forcing them to announce it a bit earlier than they intended. So good journalism there. But no, I think it's going to be... Look, at the very least, isn't it fun? Isn't it fun having these two? And you've got Lubitsch with Oljali Asim. I do love this stuff.

1:24:29Matt Roberts: Yeah, I can't wait for the next Shelton Alcaraz match.

1:24:37Matt Roberts: and Shulton Zverev I mean yeah all of it bring it on Yannick Sinner has announced sort of announced not sure if it was a sort of announcement but he's confirmed that he is still down to play the rescheduled Six Kings Slam it was supposed to happen last week I think or a couple of weeks ago postponed due to war in the region and the bombs that went off at Riyadh airport a couple of weeks ago, rescheduled until after Christmas. Sinner is currently down to make his comeback at that event. Whether the event actually goes ahead, who knows, but that is the situation as things stand. Sinner, of course, won't be in the Italian Davis Cup squad.

1:25:26Matt Roberts: We do know who will be in the Italian Davis Cup squad, though, And the answer is not Matteo Berrettini, the Davis Cup stalwart, the hero of some of their recent titles. He has been kind of replaced by Luciano Darderi, who has had a great breakout season by his standards, but isn't in any kind of form Darderi. And we have we have rumours behind the scenes, Matt, that there might not have been room for both Lorenzo Mazzetti and Matteo Berrettini in that Davis Cup squad. And perhaps push came to shove. And that might have been why Berrettini got the shove, possibly. And were it not for an interview that Matteo Berrettini gave to, as you said, the always brilliant Richard Connolly last week in Vienna, we might not be touching upon this because it would have felt too kind of just online rumour-y for us highbrow journalists to get into.

1:26:36Matt Roberts: But Matteo Berrettini did somewhat take some bait and bring all this into the mainstream, shall we say.

1:26:46Catherine Whitaker: Is this live, this section? Is this live?

1:26:54Matt Roberts: Just unbelievable. Straight onto the all-timer list.

1:26:58Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, because as you say, rumours were swirling last weekend that there'd been a rift between Mazzetti and Berrettini. Who knows what happened? But people noticed that Berrettini was no longer following Mazzetti on Instagram. Berrettini broke up with his partner earlier in the year at the same time that Mazzetti and his partner briefly blocked each other on Instagram. You know, people have been putting lots together. And there was this rumor going around that they didn't get on anymore. It was pretty niche. You know, it was very much online. It was mostly in Italy. And then Berrettini was asked about Mazzetti winning the title in Lyon.

1:27:47Catherine Whitaker: And it was put to him, it was your good friend Lorenzo has won a title. Is that inspiration? And Berrettini said the words, is this live? Good friend was while raising an eyebrow. and then he sort of thought about how on earth he's going to answer this question and praised Mazzetti's hard work for coming back from injury to win the title. I guess he deserved it. Yes. And then we got the Davis Cup announcement as well, the fact that Berrettini's not in that squad and there is just no way I will believe Volandri if he talks about it as tennis reasons because as much as Darderi has, as you said, had a good season, that was a while ago, he's just lost 6-2, 6-2 to Rinki-Hijikata in Paris on the surface that that's going to be in the Davis Cup.

1:28:43Catherine Whitaker: Berrettini's on a 10-match winning streak in that competition and has had worse years, I would say, on tour and then still performed at the Davis Cup. He is the guy you want in your team as an option ahead of Darderi when you've already got other singles players.

1:29:00Matt Roberts: He must be devastated. You know, at this stage of his career, Berrettini, you know, the Davis Cup's the biggest thing. It's been...

1:29:09David Law: Or did he not want to be part of it because Mazzetti's part of it? Well, yeah.

1:29:14Catherine Whitaker: We don't know really, right, whether he's said, I'm not going to play.

1:29:20Matt Roberts: Can we all fly to Paris and go to the Matteo Berrettini press conference?

1:29:25David Law: what happens if Caballi's injured now who gets the call

1:29:30Matt Roberts: well indeed

1:29:32Catherine Whitaker: Arnaldi probably

1:29:34Matt Roberts: how far down can we go the problem is there are so many Italians

1:29:39Catherine Whitaker: I watched the the draw in Paris it was obviously I love a draw anyway but I was thinking right okay maybe we'll get maybe we'll get Mazzetti Berrettini opposite opposite halves of the draw so that can only happen in the final like come on Mazzetti Berrettini is the new

1:29:55Matt Roberts: Greeks Paul De Jong yeah it's gone above that we still want Greeks Paul De Jong but we want Mazzetti Berrettini more

1:30:02Catherine Whitaker: he's also injured De Jong he's out for months so we're not going to get that for a while so this is this is now the one yeah

1:30:10Matt Roberts: yes strong squads announced elsewhere for the Davis Cup Arthur Ferry who finally got a win over Lorenzo Mazzetti last week in Vienna he's in for GB as is Cam Norrie Felix Auger Eliasim and Denis Shapovalov both in for Canada and Jakub Mensik and Yula Hetschka both in for Czechia. So that's pretty cool. It's going to be a strong line-up for the Davis Cup finals. Some big weeks coming up with those finals, with the ATP finals, with the WTA finals that start this week on Sunday. We have got a lot of pods coming up. Our next one is for Friends of the Pod on Wednesday evening. It is a Q &A show. If you'd like to become a friend of the pod before then and join us for that Q &A live on YouTube 8pm UK time or up as a podcast to watch any time you like, then the link to become a friend is in our show notes.

1:31:08Matt Roberts: We also have a main feed pod coming your way on Thursday where we'll chat about everything that's happened in Paris so far. No doubt some updates on El Race. and we'll also preview the WTA finals. We will have the draw by that point. And then on Friday, it's a three-pod week, David. Actually, no, it's a four-pod week. Four-pod week?

1:31:33Catherine Whitaker: Yeah. Four-pod week. This is a pod right now.

1:31:36Matt Roberts: Yeah, four-pod week because we're recording our next edition of Tennis Relived on Friday and it is focused on the tour finals and it is a delve into all of our memory banks, but David's memory bank is the deepest. I'm very excited for a plunder. Me too. Great. So that'll be on Friday also for Friends of the Tennis Podcast. Oh, my goodness, I've just scrolled to the dog.

1:32:13Matt Roberts: How am I supposed to continue broadcasting with a... This is a Cocker Spaniel, isn't it? That's a Cocker Spaniel in a bow tie that I'm looking at. My God. This is Wilson by Fraser Marnie Caskey. Fraser says, my wife Rachel and I are proud to show off Wilson. I bet you are, Fraser. Our show Cocker Spaniel. Yes, I knew it. He will be two at the end of August 2026. Happy belated birthday, Wilson. Although I'd like to claim he was given a good tennis name. He's actually named after Wilson from House. He lives with us in Dundee, Scotland, having been acquired by us as a puppy from a breeder in the Scottish borders.

1:32:55Matt Roberts: As I've not been too well in the past few years, Wilson has been a source of great emotional support and comfort to my wife and has looked after her during my many recent hospital stays. Although he's not into watching tennis, Wilson enjoys cuddling up at our feet on the sofa. So he's the perfect tennis watching companion. He does enjoy chasing after tennis balls, but enjoys removing the fuzz from them even more. Therefore, tennis balls have been switched for a frisbee, which he excels at catching. He also excels at climbing onto his mum's head at any given opportunity to remove her scrunchies and then run away with them.

1:33:31Matt Roberts: They can usually be found later at the bottom of the garden. Finally, as I usually listen to the pod, when out on walks together, he is my podcast pal and we'd be lost without him. That is so beautiful, Fraser. And what a handsome boy. Oh, my goodness. Here he is lounging on a leather office chair, wearing a bow tie. He's got a great haircut. I love him. And I'm sorry to hear you've had a tough few years, Fraser, but I'm quite sure that Wilson has been a wonderful companion through it all. And that's that's lovely to hear. Oh, he's so handsome. Hello to our mascots, the ever handsome Bodhi, Maisie and Roger and his big, big paws.

1:34:24Matt Roberts: Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. Let's have some shout-outs, Matt.

1:34:32Catherine Whitaker: We have Lara Burgess from Harpinden.

1:34:37Matt Roberts: Hello, Lara.

1:34:39Catherine Whitaker: Hi, Lara. Lara is an Australian Open away from a fan slam.

1:34:45Matt Roberts: You know what to do, Lara. Does she say whether she's targeting an Australian Open?

1:34:53Catherine Whitaker: She says that she's expecting and already has a one and a three-year-old, So it could be a while or some missed school term time. I vote missed school term time.

1:35:04Matt Roberts: Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. David, you would never do that, would you? With your kids?

1:35:12David Law: Nope. Nope. Absolutely not.

1:35:14Matt Roberts: That's what we tell the school. Lara, look forward to seeing you at the Australian Open someday down the road.

1:35:24David Law: Like Lara Arua-Barena. Very good Very good David Thanks

1:35:31Matt Roberts: He's back and he's on form

1:35:36Catherine Whitaker: And finally we have my very good friend Matthew Moffat From Paris, Texas Hello Matthew

1:35:45Matt Roberts: We love Matthew

1:35:47Catherine Whitaker: Matthew was panicking about what to write In the shout out box So he just wrote A traitor's enthusiast that keeps attempting predictions competitions despite proving to be really bad at them and that is why Matthew is our

1:36:02Matt Roberts: people yeah exactly does Matthew is Matthew had takes on the Berrettini Musetti stuff yes oh yeah yeah he's been enjoying that drama yeah hello Matthew uh we love you thank you very much like Matthew are there any Matthews that go by Matthew rather than there must be some Matthews well there's our Matthew

1:36:34Catherine Whitaker: is all I've got yeah

1:36:38Matt Roberts: shall we go with our Matthew

1:36:39Catherine Whitaker: our Matthew yeah

1:36:41Matt Roberts: our Matthew he's got traitors takes too has he yeah he seems to have spent all week binging past series of the traitors and live texting me his takes.

1:36:54David Law: He's the only person who's behind me in his catch-up. You watched series one last week.

1:37:03Matt Roberts: It's like, this format doesn't work.

1:37:09Matt Roberts: There you go. Two great Matthews. Thank you, Matthew. Thank you, Laura. Thank you for being friends of the Tennis Podcast. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network. We're back for Friends on Wednesday. We're back for everybody on Thursday. Thank you for listening. We'll speak to you then.

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1:38:16David Law: And no activation fees. Free phone? Oh, sign me up. Get that more for your money feeling. Only on Metro by T-Mobile. Bring your number and activate$40 period plan. $450 based on device discount wage activation fee. Not available if with Metro or T-Mobile in the past 180 days.