Aus Open Day 6 - Things are about to get serious

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1:16Matt Roberts: Well, hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast coming to you on day six of the Australian Open from, of course, the Creator Lounge in the Media Centre at Melbourne Park on a day that has seen comebacks, thrashings and Yulia Putin-Saver. More on that later, folks. Round three action got underway today. The weather was absolutely perfect and Matt's parents were here.

1:44Catherine Whitaker: They were here and they had a lovely day.

1:48Matt Roberts: Yeah, every time I turned round to look at them in their seats, they were beaming. They had four hats, two each.

1:56Catherine Whitaker: Yep, my mum came with her pos hat, my dad with his flat cap, and they were both given free hats, which they accepted gladly.

2:07Matt Roberts: The Roberts is a hat people. They're one step away from a koala baseball cap, I reckon.

2:12David Law: There's a lot of those around this year, I tell you. They've realised, oh, they work. We're going to have every colour under the sun.

2:18Matt Roberts: You've hashtag influenced, David.

2:21David Law: In fact, I'm going to put mine on.

2:22Matt Roberts: Yes, David. Shall we start, while David puts his koala ears hat on, shall we start by talking about one of the two thrilling comebacks that your parents witnessed on the second court today? Coco Gough beating Hayley Baptiste 3-6, 6-love, 6-3. now I think a lot of the time we're guilty of or certainly I am guilty of you know looking at oh Coco Goff losing a set being in trouble she must be playing badly her serve must be a disaster that forehand must be falling apart and look I don't think that first set was the cleanest best set she's ever played but I don't think any of those things are the reason she lost it I think Hayley Baptiste is the reason she lost it and the the reason she didn't end up winning the match are that it was she had to produce a level to win that set that she was unable to maintain for the rest of the match and Coco Goff knew that it was one of those where she was like okay well first set was close I can keep doing this all day what have you got yeah that was my read on this match too I

3:37Catherine Whitaker: I thought Baptiste was outstanding in that first set, particularly the latter half of it. And the stats flashed up at the end that she'd hit 12 winners in the set and Coco Gauff hadn't hit one. You know, like it was totally Baptiste bossing the rallies, taking charge, getting her forehand into play. And yeah, like really impressing. I think everyone, my parents included, on the second court, like a fun game. and taking it to a top seed. That's kind of what you want to see from Hayley Baptiste. But at her best, she is often playing a bit of a high-wire act anyway because she does take risks in a way that some players don't.

4:22Catherine Whitaker: And if you're Coco Gauff, you know, I think you are OK with someone like Baptiste having to take those risks against you because you know that sustaining it is blooming difficult. and frankly Baptiste couldn't sustain it and Goff improved her own game found a better percentage of serves to sort of help there and then really put the pressure on the returns as she often does and it was an absolutely crucial lengthy fourth game of that second set which was a real back and forth and when Goff won it, got the double break that really felt like the moment to me that she was, okay, still a set down but now really in charge of this match and asking Baptiste to come up with just great shots time and time again to be able to live with her.

5:10Catherine Whitaker: And she couldn't do that. And Goff ended up, I thought, really being in control of those second and third sets. And yes, she's lost the opener here. But it didn't feel to me like a huge scare today for Coco Goff. She faced an opponent playing brilliantly in that first set, but then got it under control pretty quickly after that. and I was impressed by how she played in those second and third sets.

5:36Matt Roberts: And she now plays Karolina Mukherberg. Can I have a big yes please for that everyone?

5:41David Law: Yes please. It's quite interesting that I wasn't quite aware that that was her next opponent when I was watching this match against Hayley Baptiste because the thought flashed through my head that Baptiste has not a dissimilar game to Mukherberg and you can cause a player like Goff some issues with an all-court game, but it all has to be functioning perfectly. Because actually in the past when I've seen her play Mukovo, she's kind of handled her. Her movement and her responses, her counterattacking is too much. And it's a huge credit, I think, to Baptiste that she managed to impose herself the way she did.

6:27David Law: But I think that the players really that, unless Goff is having a really bad day with a serve or with a forehand, the players that end up beating her are more like last year's Paola Badasa type player. Somebody with an absolutely stone cold forehand that just ends rallies without you having much say in the matter. and whilst Baptiste has a good forehand and Mukava has a good forehand they don't have that concussive forehand that just no matter where you are on the court it can hit a winner from with reliability and I think Goff's in a good place I do think Mukava's playing well though as well she's moving very nicely into form

7:08Matt Roberts: Well that was one of the thrashings today one and one against Magda Lynette

7:13David Law: yeah I mean I'm not that surprised by that I think that that is a bad matchup for a Lynette and I don't think she's in Mukova's class if Mukova's fit and playing well it's so rare even now all these years on it's still so rare to not really be thinking of Carolyn and Mukova's fitness when you watch her play tennis matches and at the moment I'm not um please please knock on wood as you say that David there you go um but I I just feel as though she is probably looking as as healthy and as happy on a court as I've seen her Karolina Mukherr I realize I'm tempting fate and I apologize for it but when I think back to her at the US Open when she had a run and she ended up bowing out to Naomi Osaka in the end every match was a saga every match was dramatic and she was hanging on and fighting great great credit to her but this is the player that may have legs in her in a grand slam to go really deep problem is she's got to find a way past Coco golf

8:18Catherine Whitaker: yeah who as you said she has often well always struggled against and I do think for Mukovo it's probably an advantage that this match is coming now in the fourth round rather than later in the tournament where there's potential for her to have accumulated more matches in her legs or picked up a little niggle kind of along the way as she often does and she's also not really a closer of tournaments mukova you know like she doesn't have that many titles she tends to play her best stuff going through the rounds like this so i do think it's a very dangerous match for golf um but given the head-to-head I would I would have to back Goff to win it and yeah being able to use the movement and the physicality to to negate Mukovo without the one big strength uh the kind of the all-rounded game I think generally generally Goff can kind of cope with that you look at her record against Andreeva as well like it you you need you do need a bit of a weapon to be able to get through Goff and Mukovo can can hurt you in lots of ways but doesn't just have that one singular reliable way that she can lean on and i think over over the course of a match goff figures that out um but i can't wait for it like it's really popping off the page that for a fourth round

9:36Matt Roberts: between goff and mukova as is arena sabalenka against victorian boco which is a fourth round that was set up today not in style by sabalenka it has to be said like this might be her duffer match that she's managed to navigate without dropping a set, which is incredible. You know, winning ugly is an important skill. But this was pretty ugly from Sabalenka. 7-6, 7-6 over Anastasia Potopova, who had four set points in the second set to take this into a decided. This was an off day for Irina Sabalenka.

10:15David Law: Yeah, I think some credit needs to go to Potopova as well, not only for fighting, but also So for showing some power and being able to move side to side with Sabalenka, that's the best I've ever seen her play. But even so, Sabalenka has to be off, I think, in that match-up in order to not win it comfortably. And one of the interesting numbers that jumped out at me was that she was four-love-up in the second set. Four-love-up Arena Sabalenka and then ends up in a tie-break. I mean, that is a pretty unheard of collapse by her standards.

10:51Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, lost serve three times from four love up to end up in a second set tie break. And of course, the one thing this match has done is continue to show that she has this incredible tie break record and even bolster it. I know she lost a couple of tie breaks at the end of last season. Her streak is over, but it's still going in the slams. It's now 19 tie breaks in a row that she's won in Grand Slams, which equals Novak Djokovic's record for the most ever at slams. She hasn't lost one since 2023 at a slam. Like, it's pretty remarkable. And like that second set tie break was a classic, how do you read this match?

11:33Catherine Whitaker: Because there were some shots in there that were, frankly, by Sabalenka's standards, ragged and pretty, pretty bad, really. but then when she absolutely needed to she got it together and played a great point to save to save a set point with some really big hitting so then you end up thinking oh well was she actually kind of clutch in this match to end up coming through the tie breaks as she as she so often does but like i don't know she's not in the form so far this tournament that i thought she was going to be in having seen her in brisbane and having seen her here before like i know like you know maybe i'm reading way too much into it you know she's she's by most people's standards cruised through in straight sets without you know without dropping one into the second week but her game has looked a little inconsistent at times um but she's upset proof isn't she sabalenka like she does not lose early in majors she just doesn't and here we are again with her making it through to the second week, but she's got her hands full now because Mboko is there.

12:43Matt Roberts: It was her press conference after the match, Sabalenka. Have you seen the transcript for this?

12:49Catherine Whitaker: There's a lot of Gucci chat.

12:51Matt Roberts: It was an advertorial for Gucci. Oh, no. She put some Gucci sunglasses on midway through. Yeah.

12:58Catherine Whitaker: Okay, one of those. Yeah, one of those.

13:01Matt Roberts: She's got a Gucci deal. She's very pleased about it. In case you didn't know, yeah. And good for her. Great. It would be. Yeah. And it's good for tennis to have that exposure. Yeah, sure. Cool. Lovely. Mboko beat Towson, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. This was a banger.

13:21David Law: It really was. Yeah. I mean, two of my faves, really. And they're different kinds of players. You've got the stand and deliver tennis of Towson, who was really teeing off. and you know it's sort of bone rattling power that she's got and then you've got Mboko who just has a bit of everything she has the athleticism she she can really strike a big ball herself but it's not quite the same sort of one punch power and you had the drama of her having two match points in the second set and not taking them you know setting them up with her sort of trademark backhand and movement and Towson having the answers and then taking it into a third and it getting really very twitchy I actually think that's a big win for from Boken I mean I went in her press comments afterwards and kind of asked her about the rhythms of Grand Slam tennis and and which is still so new to her you know and she just takes it all in a stride and I get the feeling that I mean obviously she's thrilled to have won this match but she's also learned something from this match too every time she's going out there she's she's banking information and seems to be a pretty extraordinary student as she's going along doesn't seem overawed by the fact she's about to play Sabalenka she just sounds excited by it I mean she's got huge respect for her but she's she's buzzing and she's buzzing that she's gonna probably play on the biggest court you know she loved that she was playing out there today it's um it's she's a good news story for for the sport of tennis and uh i feel a bit for towson because she's yet to have that big grand slam win and this could have been her chance um but umboko has it has more has more than she does does she have enough for sabalenka i think sabalenka needs to be on I don't think Sabalenka gets away with playing like she did today.

15:25Catherine Whitaker: I'd agree with that. I think I would expect Sabalenka to step up. But if she doesn't, I agree that Mboko's got the confidence and the weapons to really trouble her. Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see if Sabalenka can raise it.

15:43Matt Roberts: So Gough, Mukova, Sabalenka and Mboko both set up as round of 16 matches that will be played on Sunday. We have also had Eva Jovic against Yulia Putin-Sever set up. One of those two will be an Australian Open quarter finalist. Yulia Putin-Sever booked her place in the round of 16 via a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 victory on the Kia Arena versus Zeynep Sonmez and all of Turkey. and she celebrated like she had defeated all of Turkey. Matt?

16:22Catherine Whitaker: I was living for this. What I enjoyed was the different stages of celebration that Putin's saver went through here. First of all, it was like the defiance. It was the giving it to the Turkish fans, finger to the ear, let's hear you now then, that kind of thing.

16:44Matt Roberts: blowing kisses and she did the real sort of in fact um thomas hatch did it yesterday to the greek fans didn't he uh she think cupping the hand to the ear and then sort of bending over and leaning sorry i can't quite hear you but once again please yeah so that's stage one yeah yeah like for most people that would be enough like that was enough for my hatch i enjoyed you know like that's that's

17:11Catherine Whitaker: enough i think there were three more stages to come for putin save and next we had look at me which was the bow like just brilliant then we had shouting out the kazakh fans she was pointing at them and really thanking them for their support and there was like two distinct sections of kazakh fans amidst the the huge swathes of turkish fans it really was a brilliant atmosphere out there so that's that's stage three and then stage four pure vibes just dancing back to her racket bag

17:48Matt Roberts: and the bench even the dance i think had multiple stages it evolved as it went a lot it started off like a swaggery walk like a dancy walk and it became sort of almost a twerk yeah oh it was sensational like it goes on for about a minute from match point to her being finished and in the

18:10Catherine Whitaker: what was stage three how did you phrase it uh stage three shouting out the kazakh fans now

18:16Matt Roberts: as part of that in her on-court interview

18:21Catherine Whitaker: she how did she put it she said something like um it's it's better to have smaller support but better support i mean the sun was like the most incredible support and she said that while being booed yeah

18:41Matt Roberts: with a huge grin on her face yeah she got booed off the court with an enormous grin on her face it was right in her sweet spot right in her sweet spot yeah and i mean also like this was a great

18:55Catherine Whitaker: match as well you know I didn't I didn't sort of lock into to it in quite the same way I did some of the others today but you know I mean the the sort of tactical mastery of Putin's saber you know a lot of a lot of loopy shots you know Sommez we've seen you know she kind of liked playing Alexandra didn't he like didn't she with the with the flat hit she takes the ball early Sommez she looks to hit the ball flat off the forehand. Putin's favor just wasn't really giving her that. And even after Sonmez had come back in the second set, Putin's favor rallied again and managed to win the third. And yeah, I just feel like Sonmez has brought a lot to this opening few days of the tournament.

19:38Catherine Whitaker: She's had some really great matches, interviews, crowd moments. But yeah, it was just a kind of step too far today for her against Putin's favor, who's so experienced in these sorts of environments and it lives for them. And her great quotes continued into the press conference because she said, I'm very happy that I kept my calm because Yulia last year would probably throw something at them. Yep.

20:04David Law: She said she kept calm by singing a song to herself in Russian about rabbits, which was from a movie that she hadn't seen since she was 14. And she has no idea why it came into her head because usually she's singing Taylor Swift. but on this particular day she sang about rabbits to just calm herself down she's a one-off isn't she julia i think that's fair yeah and in the next round she faces 18 year

20:34Matt Roberts: old eva jovich the talented young american that we've heard about for a while and is now happening She's here. I commentated on her 12 months ago, taking on Elena Rabachna in the second round here, I think. And she won three games. It was a demolition job. I'd commentated on Rabachna beating Emerson Jones in round one. And then in round two, did her match against Jovic. And it was, it looked unfair, both those matches. it looked like putting a child up against a grown woman. And if you told me that only 12 months later, I could see the talent of Jovic, but 12 months later for her to be in the fourth round, not having grown six inches, you know, she's the same stature, but she's so much stronger.

21:32Matt Roberts: I would have been really shocked. And, you know, this has been a very conscious, concerted effort to grow as strong as possible. I just remember last year her being just instantly pushed six feet behind the baseline and scampering around the whole time. She's got incredible wheels, but there's only so much that scampering can do against the big flat hits of so many of the top WTA players. Look, she hasn't faced an Elena Rabakina yet, but she's faced some bloody good players and she's beaten them. Today, 6-2, 7-6 against Jasmine Paolini, albeit a slightly ill Jasmine Paolini. We'll touch upon that in a moment.

22:19Matt Roberts: A bit mystified about what exactly was going on. But Evie Jovic is the story here, David.

22:26David Law: Yeah, and Paolini pretty early on in the first set had the doctor come out and give her some sort of painkiller or a pill anyway. And she didn't look happy. she made it competitive in the second set but what was immediately noticeable I mean Paolini hits a pretty big ball she may not be Ravakina sized but she she hits a top WTA ball and Jovic just stood up to it and actually got the better of her she was winning the arm wrestle in that regard and I mean I agree with you Catherine I mean I remember seeing that match and it's astonishing the progress she's made and and she's played paulina a couple of times over the last 12 months and lost them both and then this year she's come out she's reached a semi-final a final and now here she is in the fourth round and and she also had her nerve tested you know we were talking earlier on about um about the way um bocos having to kind of get these new experiences and here's Jovic doing the same thing twice served for this match twice got a serve broken and it would be so easy to collapse wouldn't it and tailspin after that when you go into a tie break yet she won the tie break I think that and Paolini was not giving it to her she was fighting tooth and nail for that um and Jovic yeah great win great win a really cool story actually and

23:50Matt Roberts: with a bit of coaching from Novak Djokovic. Her hero, her father is Serbian, her mother is Croatian. She's born and raised in California, but goes to Belgrade a lot, has a lot of family there and in other parts of Serbia as well. And she said Djokovic spoke to her yesterday and gave her a tip. And there was a follow-up question in the press conference, what was the tip? And she said, she told us, she said to open up the court more and find more width. And she said, I tried to do that today and it really worked. That's cool. Really cool. On Paulini, what she said about what was going on today was, I lay down on the sofa after lunch and that was a mistake.

24:36Matt Roberts: I couldn't move my best today.

24:39Catherine Whitaker: It's a bit amateur, isn't it? It's a bit... From Paulini.

24:43Matt Roberts: It sits past taking melatonin at the wrong times, isn't it? I don't... Look, maybe that was... She clearly wanted to give a lot of credit to her opponent and didn't want to talk too much about whatever was going on physically. But what she did say was bizarre.

24:59Catherine Whitaker: That might be where I'm going wrong in life. I quite often lie down on the sofa after lunch. I think lie down on the sofa after lunch.

25:05Matt Roberts: If you can, great. And then can't move my best. Yeah.

25:07Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, so it seemed to be sort of indigestion issues she was having.

25:12Matt Roberts: I guess so. Yeah. Wish you well, Jasmine. We've all been there. She was sad, though. She was asked a question about playing in the doubles with Saru Arani and, you know, pick yourself up and play for that. And she really tried to force herself to have a bit of pep about that, but it wasn't really happening. I'm sure she was like, you know, I'll get there, but just not right now.

25:38Catherine Whitaker: And Arani's going to need a pick-me-up because she got Siegmunded today in the mixed doubles, her and Vavasori.

25:47Matt Roberts: DM me. I'm available to form a support group.

25:54Matt Roberts: Elina Svitolina, the other winner that we've seen in the women's draw today, but she beat Diana Schneider 7-6, 6-3. She will face the winner of the match still on court in the viveless death slot on Rod Laver Arena. Mira Andreva currently beating Elena Gabriela Russo. So looking like it's going to be back-to-back Russians for Svitolina. and it was a no-handshake match. It was a totally locked-in Alina Svitolina. I mean, she pretty much always is. She's a heck of a competitor, but she just... You just feel it. There was no way she was not going to win this tennis match. Just no way. She was a break-up in the second set and she lost the break.

26:37Matt Roberts: She was furious at herself at the sit-down, just at the score being even, just did it being on serve. There's just a look in her eye in these matches. She's not letting them go. So, yeah, most likely Andreeva in the next round. We'll keep you posted. It's 5-2 at the moment in that one. That's it for part one. Join us in part two when we'll talk about the first comeback from two sets to love down of the 2026 Australian Open. Hi, everyone. This is Catherine from The Tennis Podcast, and you seem to be listening to The Tennis Podcast. And that is why we want to hear from you. The Athletic are asking you to fill out a quick survey about you and your podcast habits by going to theathletic.com forward slash survey 26.

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30:13Matt Roberts: Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast, where there really is only one place to start. It is Daniel Medvedev, the man that has suffered so much Australian Open heartbreak. Well, not today, folks. Today, he became the first player to come from two sets to love down to win at the Australian Open 2026. Watched on by Neil and Pat Roberts, who were not impressed for the first two sets with what they were seeing from Daniel Medvedev. But back he came 6-7, 4-6, 7-5, 6-love, 6-3 against poor old Fabian Marajan.

30:56Catherine Whitaker: yeah and i should probably take this opportunity to give a little plug to the newsletter stat which is about medvedev coming back from two sets of love down for the fourth time at the australian open that he's done it and i wanted to know whether that was an australian open record and a grand slam record for a particular slam most comebacks from two sets to love down and I have the answer in the newsletter so sign up yes uh okay promo out the way now let's do analysis of the match um well I kind of want to know from David how how worried he was about Medvedev in this one because I was I was quite concerned for him

31:41Matt Roberts: like after two sets I mean Marijan should have won this yeah I I think it was there for him

31:46Catherine Whitaker: to win but I'm curious what you think David

31:50Matt Roberts: he needed to win it in three I think like as soon as Medvedev won the third it started to feel a bit over but should Marijan have won it it's interesting Marijan

32:00David Law: had never lost a five set match he'd won four and lost none at all I mean obviously playing against Medvedev is different obviously playing against Medvedev is not like playing everybody else but really he was in charge I think he definitely could have won it today and he could have won it quickly but that takes away a little bit from one of Medvedev's superpowers which is finding a way out of these sort of matches he is incredibly good at that but if you're asking me how worried I was I mean the question that's more pertinent is how worried I am because the thing is you're looking at somebody who said he will reach the final and that was prefaced not only on Carlos Alcraz and Juan Carlos Ferreira no longer being an alliance, but also the form that I thought Medvedev was in.

32:52David Law: Well, this was like watching 2025 Medvedev. Fair play to him. He found a way out of the hole. But how did he get in the hole? And part of that is because his opponent is dangerous. I mean, he's a flat hitter. He's very explosive on both sides. He actually has a greater way to shot than Medvedev does. but Medvedev wasn't imposing himself enough the same happened in the previous round that he got through against Conte Anelise but then in the second set Medvedev just fell apart he was putting ground stroke after ground stroke into the net or wide or long he was double faulting I thought he was gone to be honest in that second set I thought that was him just out and he was really agitated with his box He was mocking them and all the things that make you think, OK, this feels Benjamin Bonzi-esque.

33:45David Law: But then you have to also think, well, he dug in and he actually got himself out of it and turned this around. And that's what he wasn't doing a year ago at any point, really. So it's better than it was then. But, you know, the fact that he's now got to face Lerner Tien, a guy he's gone five sets with here and lost last year and played two other three-set epics and kind of jokes about their marathon matches, you don't want to be playing three and a half hours and five sets and then play Lerner-Tien, do you?

34:17Catherine Whitaker: No, absolutely not. And I think if he plays like he did for much of today, I think Tien will take him. I think he's got too much game for what Medvedev's showing at the moment. Medvedev is going to have to find the kind of form that he had in Brisbane. where I do think slightly the speed of that court was helping him there, like get these shots through a bit more. He's doing it at times, but he's sort of struggling to sustain it in these matches so far at the Australian Open. You know, I was pleased today that Marjan rallied a bit in the fifth because it did feel like it might be one of those comebacks that, you know, on paper looked exciting, but actually wasn't all that exciting in the moment.

35:05Catherine Whitaker: But actually the fact that Marijan, who totally went off himself in the way that Medford ever had in the second set, Marijan kind of did in the fourth set, obviously lost it six love. But he got it back in that fifth set and made it really competitive. And there was an absolutely crucial long game. And yeah, just I really enjoyed that fifth set. I felt like Marijan tried to get to the net a lot more, which I think was a good play because he'd lost the confidence that he had in his ground strokes early on. But Medvedev did dig in well and resist and end up coming up with the goods. A couple of really nice shots to help him over the line towards the end.

35:50Catherine Whitaker: But yeah, TN's a problem for him. Even when Medvedev's been playing better, I would feel like TN would be an issue. So I can't wait for it. I hope it's not happening at 3 o 'clock in the morning this time. That would be an improvement. But just from the back of the court, at the moment, TN's been the more convincing this tournament, I would say.

36:15Matt Roberts: Oh, it's convincing today. I mean, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 over Borges. Have we all seen his round-the-net post shot? And it was the most pleasing type of round-the-net post shot, which is the ones on the umpire's chair side because they have to thread it through the gap between the chair and the post and it reminded me of the social media um content that i think it was shanghai produced last year on their official channels which was the players trying to hit through the very very small target it was great content because it was fun and throw away and watchable but you actually learned something about the players while watching it and tn was one of those that made the target and lots didn't like cabali was miles away katherine no longer a cabali guy no no that was before i was a cabali guy yeah but now you're now you're using as an as an example no there were others who missed example there were others you're definitely distancing yourself there were others you missed um no i'm not i'm not i can't kick a guy when he's down he's got the watery shits i hope he still hasn't

37:39Matt Roberts: very uncomfortable flight home anyway learner tn was one of those that made it and he made it on like i don't maybe there was a maybe got a great edit but he made it on like the first try yeah

37:50Catherine Whitaker: there was like a big hole a medium hole and then like a hole that was not that much bigger than a tennis ball and yeah as you said very few of them got it through the really small one and he's got

38:00Matt Roberts: so much game and this look i don't he's not serving like riley opelka but he does seem to have made improvements i think tien might be the favorite for that match i wouldn't have thought he's the favorites just because of you know the the history that evadove has the reputation the pedigree but at the same time he did beat him a year ago uh tien and and he is getting better

38:28David Law: you're right i mean i asked him in the press conference if to compare and contrast himself from a year ago i mean he's he's not he's not that comfortable in press conferences yet and he said look i've i just he couldn't he couldn't give hard examples but he said i feel like i've improved in every way since then so if he has and if medvedev is like he was then then he will win, Tien. But I'm waiting for Medvedev to step up and just hit out, especially on the serve. You know, he's got to get back to winning cheaper points.

38:58Matt Roberts: I don't know if he can on the serve. Well, that's what he's been telling us, isn't it? He hasn't been the same since that hernia operation. He's never been quite specific about why. But I don't think he can. Whether that's because he can't put the time in on the practice court on the serve or whether there's some kind of physical block or impediment to sort of talk or throw his body into it with full force the way he used to. I don't know. But it's not like he doesn't know it's a problem. He's known it's a problem for a long time. I can't believe he wouldn't be doing it if he could do it.

39:39David Law: I just think he's got a hit out, whether it's on the serve or whether it's in the ground strokes. He was a pusher for at least a set and a half. Yeah, if you think back to that finally played against Sinner, which I think he was forced into hitting out in the first two sets because he played all these five-set matches, you know. I just think that that is a player he's got to get back to. And there were points in this match where he hit out. And he looks a better player there.

40:06Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, except it was a curious match because actually against Marajan, he ended up dominating the long rallies you know like his you know there were times when Marjan was engaging in backhand to backhand exchanges and you just you knew that Medvedev would would end up winning those but it's the type of long rally he's got to like get the depth on the ball and be hitting with intent rather than just rather than just sort of pushing and letting someone dictate him around and push him around he's he's got to be able to like pin them in the corner and constrict them that's when long rallies are good for medvedev if he's not really doing anything with the ball marijan's good enough to be able to dictate him and run him around that's what he was kind of doing at the start i think he got that balance better as the match went on and then he was starting to hit out as well i think against tn it's it's just so hard to shorten the rallies like this guy's so so good with his hands and can can slice the ball back and he's got the leftiness that can just give Medvedev different angles and I just see this match being long rallies and I probably agree he needs to try and try and shorten some of it but that's the challenge like can he do it um yeah it's it was one of like the low-key best rivalries of last year like every time they played something dramatic happened you know mevidev got the cramps a lot when they played and today he took a preventative swig of the pickle juice just as he was about to serve for the match said i wasn't cramping but i thought i'd better have some

41:48Matt Roberts: pickle juice in case i might start which i have to say i'm smart very smart why don't players do that more like because once you start cramping you've lost the battle preventative pickle juice is my new agenda the wild card agenda needs to go on the back burner for a while it's suffered

42:06Catherine Whitaker: it's suffered quite a bad blow so i just i wonder whether medvedev's going to have learned from that in terms of being you know how to stop the cramping and the physical issues when he's played Tien in the past and also I think he's admitted that last year here he kind of underrated Tien because he didn't know that much about him he knows now you know his senses are going to be sharpened I think in a couple of days time and that hopefully is is on his side but oh I can't wait for this one like it's going to be great I can't wait for the schedule to come out and

42:44Matt Roberts: for it to be second in the night session and for your reaction, Matt.

42:48Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I'll be annoyed. Normally I kind of like it when a tournament sort of runs something back. Like if something's happened, you know.

42:59Matt Roberts: Not something that was the picture of a broken sport.

43:01Catherine Whitaker: But in this instance, like we don't need to do this at 3am. We've done that and it was bad.

43:09David Law: We don't need to follow it with a women's match either.

43:11Catherine Whitaker: Right, so arguably I'd put it day session, just to avoid those scenarios.

43:19Matt Roberts: Well, probably the rival for the day session or night session, depending on which way you want to put it, will be Carlos Alcaraz against Tommy Paul. That's the fourth round match that's been set up in that section of the draw. Tommy Paul with a win via retirement over Alejandro Davidovic for Kina, who injured his hamstring in the third game of this match. Can't believe he really struggled on for as long as he did, although it did mean that he gave us one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen, which was he went for a... Tommy Paul had lofted up a defensive lob. Davidovic Fikina went for the smash, missed it so wholeheartedly that he was able to run back and have another swing at the ball after it bounced.

44:05Catherine Whitaker: And he connected with that one but hit it out.

44:07Matt Roberts: Yes, it was all so chaotically Davidovich for Kina. Yeah, but it ended very sadly for him. So Tommy Paul threw to face Carlos Alcaraz, who other than a four game spell in the second set, utterly thrashed Quarantan Moutet today. 6-2, 6-4, 6-1, but a fun 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.

44:33David Law: Yes, he kind of did both versions of him. in this match, Alcaraz, because he started off with US Open version, winning the first set, going along to a three-love lead in the second set, just hammering poor old Corentin. And then he brought out his circus act to combat Mouté's circus act. And that went badly because he won six of the next 22 points did Alcraz and listen some of that was Moutet playing better he started to to find his range but really just mentally Alcraz did go walkabout for a while there and then he got himself back on track and he thrashed him again so overall absolutely fine it was interesting hearing Alcraz asked about the US Open form and he didn't want to pretend that he's in that sort of form I felt I mean he was kind of saying look every every tournament's different but he was smiling as if to say that was on real form and I'm playing fine now I I don't to my eye test he's not playing like that and I don't I don't think he's thinks he's playing like that because he's never played like that before um just just a quick note um the fact that he's got Tommy Paul next a player he he he tends to beat I just love the fact that we're now getting the payoff for the lack of upsets that is a really good match to be getting and there's so many of them wherever

46:07Matt Roberts: you turn right now yeah we've got Alexander Zverev taking on Francisco Sarundolo and that's been an interesting match in the past Zverev has had a bit of a Sarundolo problem I know Sarundolo he was being handily by Zverev at the Davis Cup last year but Matt you were there for that Sarindolo was pretty gutted with his performance and maybe feels like he has a point to prove now and he was so good against Andrei Rublev today it was really one of those like wow like the game has moved on moments because Rublev is the same player I think he's not doing anything differently or wrong to what he was doing when he was number five in the world and beating Alex de Menor here a couple of years ago.

46:53Matt Roberts: But even players like Francisco Sarundulo have moved past him now. He had a bigger, more explosive, more interesting game than Andrei Ryblev today. And that's not a name that Zverev, who needed four sets against Cameron Norrie today, a guy that he always beat 7-0 head-to-head now, although Norrie did get a set. That's not a guy that Alexander Zverev wanted to see in the fourth round, I don't think.

47:23Catherine Whitaker: No, I remember speaking to Surundalo at the Davis Cup and mentioning his record against Zverev, knowing that they were going to play as the two number one players for their countries. And he said, yeah, like there is something in my game that hurts him, that bothers him. and it's tended to be on clay, but it's also been in Madrid, which Zverev loves those conditions, you know. So definitely Surundalo can hurt Zverev. We've seen it. That match of the Davis Cup was notable because Surundalo had no feel on the ball that day. Like, you did not really know what was going to come off his racket, and I don't think he knew either.

48:10Catherine Whitaker: And, you know, I think he made one of the sets much more competitive. I want to say there was a tie break. But it wasn't Surundalo's best tennis by any stretch of the imagination. Whereas today, David was the opposite. Like you knew exactly what was coming off his racket. He knew he had the control blended with the power. And when he's playing like that, his forehand is one of the most devastating shots on the tour. I believe he plays with like quite a heavy racket. Does Surundalo. He doesn't actually swing that hard at the ball, but he gets an enormous amount of pop off of it. Today he had the control as well, and there was an intensity about him.

48:54Catherine Whitaker: He roared with passion when he won the match. Argentinian fans filling the Kia Arena. It was a real scene, a real vibe. He needs to try and bring that and channel that and have that feel and form on the ball if he is going to hurt Zverev, who is, as we said the other day, playing pretty well in this tournament.

49:16Matt Roberts: It's not about the amount of fans, Matt. It's about how good they are.

49:21Catherine Whitaker: Absolutely right. And the Argentinian fans, always great support.

49:25Matt Roberts: I thought we were going to get a little Argentinian sing-song from you.

49:30David Law: Let's see if he beats Zverev. Tell you what, I think I really do think Zverev is in good form here. I think the Sverre is playing better in terms of the ways going about his business than he was last year when he reached the final. I just think his draw is tough on paper. If he and Sarundolo play like they have, I think that's going five sets. Fun.

50:00Matt Roberts: the final round of 16 match that has almost been set up in this top half of the men's draw today Alex Duminor of course the last Australian man standing against what looks very much like is going to be the 10th seed Alexander Bublik he's currently two sets to love up on Thomas Martin Echeverry now Duminor beat Francis Tiafoe tonight handily. 6-3 6-4, 7-5 I wonder David, I know you and Matt were out on the Rod Laver Arena for most of this match. I wonder if Francis Tiafoe, who's talked a big game about this reset he's had and is having and he's got a new coach to go with that somebody who's known him since he was 12 years old, Dr.

50:53Matt Roberts: Mark Kovacs Kovacs and look one result does not a reset make hopefully he's got a long-term view of this but I do wonder if right in this moment Francis Tiafoe might be feeling a little bit stunned about the gap between himself and Alex de Menor that was shown tonight I would think so I certainly was

51:19David Law: I thought that Tiafoe was going to make that very, very competitive. I kind of have thought of them in similar breath over the years. I mean, Tiafoe's reached two US Open semifinals. But those first two sets, they were in a different sphere altogether, those two players. That is as well as I've seen Dimonor play on Rod Laverina, those first two sets. We were just in awe, really, weren't we, Matt? I mean, we talk about the movement of Dimonor a lot, but it was just a joke. And then he was cutting off angles. He was deflecting backhand winners down the line. The forehand, which Tiafa was sensibly targeting because it's hooked with such flatness that he really has to get it right because it's barely clearing the net.

52:11David Law: you know it can go in the netter and if it goes a little too high it flies long because because his inning it's so flat but he was controlling that most of the time he was awesome for the first two sets and he could have won it more straightforwardly couldn't he had a breakup i think in the third set tiafa raised himself and i thought at times was playing okay but

52:31Catherine Whitaker: dimanore was absolutely fabulous yeah like it was actually dimanore who was under a bit more pressure early on, like very early on. He was the one having to fight through some service games and we were talking, David, we liked what we saw from Tiafoe in the initial stages. It looked like he was playing with a purpose and an intent. There was a focus to what he was trying to do. But Dumanor just lifted to a level that he simply had no answer for. I mean, David talks about cutting off the angles. That is the thing that I picked up on and noticed as well. Like his first, you know, his first movement is diagonally towards the ball, which I know is what sort of all players do.

53:13Catherine Whitaker: That is the way to move on to a tennis ball. But he does it in such a pronounced way, so quickly, takes your time away because he's taking the ball, I don't know, two feet earlier probably than some players, cutting off those angles. The backhand down the line was an absolute revelation for him. He also used his slice really effectively, I thought, really change of pace, change of angle, hitting with suffocating depth some of his returns and rally balls right onto the baseline like he was absolutely brilliant dimenor like it's crazy to me that there exists a tennis player who can just swap alex dimenor aside in the way the yannick sinner has done and can because you watch dimenor today and you think wow he's he's incredible with that speed and the consistency of both ground strokes um and yeah i thought there was like there was one scene there was like a scene where dimanore won this incredible long rally and the fans were up and dimanore just looked at his team and stood there fist pumping and then down the other end of the court francis diafo was flat on his back with his racket sprayed away from him having given everything in this point but it was He had no answer for what De Menor was producing.

54:33Catherine Whitaker: He showed a decent fight in that third set. He had to get it back on level terms, but then an absolutely shocking miss to give up the break. You just can't be that careless. It was really poor, the forehand put away. I think De Menor was a little tight in that final game, but then another shot that he's developed came on strong, his serve. He found a couple of timely aces to get himself out of that hole. So I really enjoyed the Dimonor experience. You know, I was walking back to the media centre with Charlie Eccleshare, who's on a big Tiger team at Wimbledon in the late 90s, early 2000s. Like all the expectation, probably not going to win the title, but a lot of people will be hoping and thinking he will.

55:20Catherine Whitaker: And just like gripping a nation and putting on the show. And I do think Dimonor plays that role incredibly well. His record here and the consistency is extremely impressive. And the way he talks about not feeling a pressure, but feeling an excitement. And he mostly plays like that. He is impressive.

55:42Matt Roberts: Yeah, I went through his Australian Open record today. He's played 10 Australian Opens. He's never lost to a player here ranked lower than him. Wow. which I think really tells you something about Alex de Minot he's lost to plenty of players ranked lower than him as most players have at all the other slams two of them last year, the French Open he lost to Bublik, didn't he? and the US Open I think was the other one where he lost to a lower ranked player

56:14David Law: he lost to Ojean Nassim last year

56:15Matt Roberts: yes, there you go, who was outside the world's top 20 and okay you know that doesn't always tell you anything you can have players playing way above their ranking but that stat tells you something about Alex de Minoar that is so not a given. Think about Amelie Maresmo the French Open and Sam Stoza here and plenty of other examples. I don't want to hammer them quite the opposite like it is so hard and he always delivers to his absolute maximum under the pressure cooker of, you know,

56:57Matt Roberts: unrealistic expectation, quite frankly, given what men's tennis looks like right now. And that's the job. That's the job of the broadcasters. The BBC, you know, the Tim Hemman comparisons are good. Like, the BBC did it with Tim Hemman for years and maybe it's mostly harmless. But I think he's pretty incredible, really. And that is, yeah, I'm glad that's being recognised. But I do think Bublik could be a problem, having said all of that.

57:35David Law: Well, he's playing hugely explosive tennis. The one thing I would say is that one of Bublik's weapons is the same as one of Tiafos, which is the drop shot. And Dimonor made mincemeat out of that drop shot. Because he's so quick. Yeah. He reads them, he gets there and he puts it away.

57:51Matt Roberts: Bublik's drop shot is better than Tiafos, but you've still got to be careful.

57:57David Law: It's hard to hit them on a hard court in the same way as on clay.

58:01Catherine Whitaker: And you mentioned he lost to him at the French last year. And I think he was two sets up in that one, Dimonor. and then Bublik played three of the most extraordinary sets. You know, certainly just ripped it from him. And I remember de Menor thinking that, like he said afterwards, that he really thought he could have done more in that. And I remember my read being, I'm not sure you could have done. Bublik just took it from you.

58:28Matt Roberts: He had a bit of a tough spell mentally after or around the time of that match, didn't he? I remember him coming into Queens and saying he was experiencing real burnout. so maybe some of that was going on

58:42Catherine Whitaker: but also it should be said Clay is definitely Demenor's weakest surface that's the one where he's most vulnerable

58:49Matt Roberts: a lot of losses to players ranked lower than him at Roland Garros and very understandably so ok that's it for part 2 do make sure you stay with us for part 3 though because I think we've got a debate for sensation of the day I think so too. We'll see you in part three.

59:36Matt Roberts: the work that matters most. Learn how ServiceNow puts AI to work for people at servicenow.com.

1:00:06Matt Roberts: is pro-level socks from the pros of socks. For another pro, you. Go to bombas.com slash audio and use code audio for 20 % off your first purchase. That's bombas.com and use code audio. Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast. David's still got the koala hat on.

1:00:24David Law: Yeah, can I be sensational today?

1:00:25Matt Roberts: No, David, because you've got, great as the koala hat is, there's stiff competition today. Today, we have two submissions, two contenders. We have Lee Tu and James McCabe, the Australian wildcard pairing in the men's doubles, who shocked the top seeds and took them out in two straight sets. Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool. First match of the day on, I think, the 1573 arena. This one. absolute scenes as you can imagine and an incredible victory okay that's your first submission

1:01:07David Law: it's pretty strong

1:01:08Matt Roberts: it was the clubhouse leader for a long time until we met Fred who did he be potentially everybody

1:01:22Catherine Whitaker: he bought us beers he

1:01:25Matt Roberts: he ambled up to us David he had a very cool

1:01:30Catherine Whitaker: he was cool

1:01:30Matt Roberts: he had a cool manner about him while Matt and I were chatting to Matt's parents ambled up to us two beers in hand and said Matt and Catherine we said yep he said I'm here to make a play for sensation of the day and handed over the beers like an absolute rock star he also

1:01:56Catherine Whitaker: gave my dad a bit of stick about Norrie.

1:01:58Matt Roberts: Yeah. Yeah, he was really cool.

1:02:01Catherine Whitaker: I really liked Fred.

1:02:03Matt Roberts: And I want to give it to Fred.

1:02:06Catherine Whitaker: Me too. No chance.

1:02:10Matt Roberts: You weren't there, David. You don't know. Exactly. I didn't get a beer, did I? He would have got you on if you'd been there. Fred was that kind of guy.

1:02:19David Law: I think Fred Warren's an honourable mention. I think he's had it. But I think that they've just beaten the top seeds and they deserve to be the sensations of the day.

1:02:26Matt Roberts: I think Fred was coming back wasn't he? Maybe Fred can make another play for Sensation of the Day

1:02:31David Law: He needs to come on a day when nobody's done anything

1:02:35Matt Roberts: I think days like that will be available next week Lots of them to come Fred, come back, buy us more beers

1:02:42Catherine Whitaker: We love you

1:02:44Matt Roberts: Okay, Litu and James McCabe well done Fred, it's really yours

1:02:52Matt Roberts: Tomorrow's order of play Hey, folks, what have we got tomorrow? We start on Rod Laver Arena early at 10.30am, and that is due to the weather forecast for tomorrow. It's due to be outrageously hot. Late 30s, in Celsius, it'll feel like a lot more than that on the court. I think it's really good that they've taken this measure. I think it's pretty negligible in terms of the impact it can have. I realise they can't really move the start time much before then, but I think it's going to be a very tough scene tomorrow. It feels like the sort of day when you probably shouldn't be having play during the peak hours on the outside courts.

1:03:42Matt Roberts: The thought of ball kids being out there in that just doesn't feel right.

1:03:51Matt Roberts: but it's an outdoor tournament and it's Australia

1:03:55David Law: and there is a point at which they can suspend play isn't there I was looking on their heat policy rules and there's a dial that it goes through the stages and if you reach a certain point you can stop to play

1:04:07Matt Roberts: have you ever seen that happen here?

1:04:10David Law: I think I have yes yeah we have had it and it is only on days like this when you're getting towards the 40s

1:04:15Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I suspect if the weather forecast does come off and the temperatures do reach what they're expecting, we will likely end up with a period in the day where players suspended on the outside courts and happening under the roof on the three show courts with a roof.

1:04:34Matt Roberts: Yeah, that would seem sensible.

1:04:36Catherine Whitaker: and they've scheduled an extra match on the second court to I think try and get another one under the roof rather than on an outside court normally there's only four a day on the second court and there's an extra fifth one

1:04:51Matt Roberts: they've done a decent job there so Rod Laver

1:04:55Catherine Whitaker: turns out you can make scheduling decisions

1:04:59Matt Roberts: it turns out you can do whatever you god damn well want with schedule if you really want to Yeah, good on them. Yeah. You can pick yourself up and move the whole tournament to October. That's right.

1:05:13David Law: We don't talk about that enough, do we?

1:05:15Matt Roberts: There are no rules. You just have to want to do it enough. 10.30am on the Rod Laver Arena, we'll have Karolina Pliskova rolling back the years against Madison Keys trying to roll back the year. Did that work? Was that anything? I liked it. Thanks, Matt. second on not before midday Elliot Spitsiri trying to challenge Yannick Sinner good luck Elliot

1:05:40David Law: I need to watch this so I can figure out what he plays like because I haven't watched enough of him yet

1:05:45Matt Roberts: I tune in early it's a bit

1:05:49David Law: harsh to be judging him against Yannick Sinner isn't it

1:05:52Matt Roberts: yeah good luck Elliot 7pm night session on Rod Laver tomorrow it's the men first it's Burtuk van der Zanschelp against Novak Djokovic followed by Madison Inglis the last Aussie woman standing taking on Naomi Osaka on the second court tomorrow so also starting at 10.30am Jessica Pagula against Naomi Osaka who incidentally a lot of people a lot of ex-pros a lot of experts prominent voices in the game have been weighing in on the Osaka Castella gate from yesterday of the last 24 hours and a lot of people saying they actually think Kasaka was pretty out of order for the the commons she was doing between first and second serve repeatedly yesterday and I kind of you know I'm happy to defer to them on sort of how okay that is in the unwritten rule book of tennis I still do think Svarno Castella handled it completely

1:07:01David Law: gracelessly. Yeah, so do I. It's interesting, actually, I didn't watch that live, you know, with proper sound on. I sort of watched clips back afterwards, and I wonder whether that might have changed my mind a little bit, or at least understood the irritation for Castella, because I do think if you are being heard saying things between points, you shouldn't really be doing that.

1:07:24Matt Roberts: It was between first and second serves, wasn't it? I mean, The clips I saw, she wasn't doing it when Castella was there ready to serve, sort of disrupting her serve in any way. But I think the argument that I've heard is that between first and second serves, it's the same as it being within the point, like within the rally. And you just shouldn't. It's hindrance to do that, to do something like that within a point, essentially.

1:07:55David Law: Yeah. I was reading some of the chat on the barge about it and it was split but a lot of people did feel that it wasn't the right thing for Osaka to be doing she's always done it but I've always been aware of her doing it silently slapping the leg and fist pumping without being audible which I think is different but look I also think that was an awful handshake and not a great visual but it did lead to some good aggro so you know I can't be complaining can I? We're on a good run with aggro

1:08:41Catherine Whitaker: Yeah thanks to Putin's

1:08:42Matt Roberts: Did you have a moment there of forgetting Putin's You looked at me blankly

1:08:46Catherine Whitaker: No I actually thought you were going to say something else when you said, yeah, we've had, I thought you were going to say, 400 ,000 views on TikTok for our clip.

1:09:01Matt Roberts: You're like John from last year, the views. The views, the likes. Everybody loves me.

1:09:06Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, although maybe they don't. Right. Typically the ones that get that many views, people do not love us.

1:09:15Matt Roberts: The second court tomorrow starts with Jessica Pergula up against the Russian Oksana Selekhmatova, who, quite honestly, I don't know an awful lot about, but if she beats Pagula tomorrow, we will make a point of knowing plenty about her. That's followed by Peyton Stearns against Amanda Anisimova. Ben Shelton against Valentin Vashiro, not before 2.30, the third sort of extra match in the day session tomorrow. It's the moment when we find out how good Valentin Vashiro actually is. I think that's a good point.

1:09:48David Law: I do think that's true. I mean, you know, you can't do it completely in isolation in as much as he may be better next time or something like that. But I'm really interested to see this as a test.

1:09:59Matt Roberts: Absolutely. Me too. 7pm on the second court, Anna Kanlinskaya taking on Igor Sviantek and the men's match second, excellent Marin Cilic up against Kasper Rude.

1:10:12David Law: Bless them.

1:10:13Matt Roberts: We might be recording during that rather than after it.

1:10:17Catherine Whitaker: definitely possible

1:10:19Matt Roberts: depends how late it goes

1:10:21Catherine Whitaker: rude is in an Andy Murray 2016 situation isn't he

1:10:27Matt Roberts: John Kane Arena tomorrow obviously the third court with the roof here Lorenzo Mazzetti taking on Thomas Mahatch first up at 10.30 they're trying to get you to go to John Kane Matt you've got to face your fears

1:10:40Catherine Whitaker: they might have succeeded I don't really know where the media seats are on John Kane but I'm I'm prepared to explore for that one and that really tells you

1:10:52Matt Roberts: how much Matt wants to see that match because Matt's got a real thing about John Kane arena yeah I really hate it uh not before midday and I know I'm you know I said that earlier in the week

1:11:06Catherine Whitaker: and Pam Shriver said get over yourself and I was like you're right Pam you are right I'm missing out on, you know, there are good scenes on the John Cain arena. I know that and I tend to just watch them on the screen. But, okay, tomorrow I'm going to do it.

1:11:23Matt Roberts: Got to find it first. Eliza Mertens against Nicola Bartonkova is second on John Cain tomorrow. Then we've got a bit of intentionally blank. And from 5pm we have, they write it on the schedule. I know, actually write intentionally

1:11:38David Law: blank on the order of play.

1:11:41Matt Roberts: A night session. from 5pm. Stan Wawrinka against Taylor Fritz. I'm going to go to the John Caner Arena for some of that, maybe. And finally, Elena Rabacanet against Teresa Valantova. Karen Hashanov against Luciano Darderi is on Kia tomorrow. Nozkova against Wong and Menshik Quinn. And the rest is doubles. That's where we're at, folks. Doubles and contenders for sensation of the day but you're all having to take on fred he missed out today so i'm gonna

1:12:20Catherine Whitaker: feel sorry for fred if someone later in the week wins sensation of the day for bringing us beers

1:12:25Matt Roberts: we'll remember you fred we will i promise hello to gus i'm looking at a picture of gus with her back turned to the tennis apparently uh renee says gus settled into her favorite position curled up on the floor, snuggled with her mum, locked in for a long night of tennis viewing, currently enjoying Mboko Towson. What taste, Gus? Wondering if it's even possible to stay awake long enough to see her favourite player, Coco, take to the court in a few hours' time. Probably not. Well, you'll get another chance to see Coco in a couple of days against Karolina Mukova. Gus, so settle in for that. Hello to Bodhi, hello to Maisie, hello to Roger, Hello to Chris, Greg and Jeff, our top folks and executive producers.

1:13:14Matt Roberts: Matt, let's have some shout outs.

1:13:18Catherine Whitaker: We have Bronagh Staunton from Dublin. Hi, Bronagh.

1:13:22Matt Roberts: Hello, Bronagh. We know and love Bronagh.

1:13:25Catherine Whitaker: We do. And Bronagh says, I attended Wimbledon last year with my mum. We had tickets for centre court and we got to see Carlos Alcarez and Irina Sabalenka play their quarterfinal matches. Wow.

1:13:37David Law: Superb, Bronagh.

1:13:38Catherine Whitaker: What a duo. And Bronagh also says, I'm going to Roland Garros this year for the first time.

1:13:45David Law: You're going to love it, Bronagh.

1:13:47Matt Roberts: You're going to love it. That's given me the feels. People going to Roland Garros for the first time, having the David Law experience.

1:13:55David Law: Yeah, how long till I can go? Four months? Five months? Not long.

1:13:59Catherine Whitaker: Four. I mean, you can go whenever you like.

1:14:01Matt Roberts: I want the tennis ball. Go and see Amelie.

1:14:04Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, she normally does a press conference in April. I might go and see Susan. Yeah. Yeah, better.

1:14:10Matt Roberts: Broner do say hi when you go to Roland Garros and we'll see you there

1:14:16Catherine Whitaker: we've also got Mark Lowerson hello Mark right Mark from Melbourne

1:14:21Matt Roberts: oh perfect maybe Mark can buy us beers like Mark Woodford

1:14:25Catherine Whitaker: although he has been living in Hanoi for 25 years bring one from there

1:14:32what do we know

1:14:33Matt Roberts: like Mark Edmondson who's it's his anniversary year, this year, of winning the Australian Open, the last Australian man to win it. And he's on the coin toss. It's Mark Edmondson or AO, and every match that I've commentated, they choose AO. Well, these 22-year-olds don't know who Mark Edmondson is, David. Well,

1:15:01Catherine Whitaker: and actually, Mark probably remembers that. Mark says, tennis player and tennis nerd since the mid-70s. First Australian Open attended was 1976 At Koo Yong

1:15:11Matt Roberts: Well I bet he knows Mark Edmonds He might have seen Mark Edmonds

1:15:14Catherine Whitaker: Favourite player ever, Yvonne Goulagon Kerr, Roger Federer And Ash Barty could do anything with the ball

1:15:22Matt Roberts: He's a classicist isn't he Mark Lovely stuff Thanks Mark

1:15:28Catherine Whitaker: And finally we have Roz van der Zwet

1:15:32Matt Roberts: Right Roz Hello Roz Like my mum

1:15:37Catherine Whitaker: Like your mum?

1:15:38Matt Roberts: Is this Ros with an S or with a Z?

1:15:39Catherine Whitaker: With a Z.

1:15:41Matt Roberts: Same church, different pew.

1:15:43Catherine Whitaker: Yeah.

1:15:44Matt Roberts: Ros, this Ros probably gets mistaken for Ros less frequently than my mum.

1:15:49Catherine Whitaker: How does that go down?

1:15:51Matt Roberts: She takes it well. Better than I would.

1:15:55Catherine Whitaker: Can't confirm. Ros says we were on centre court for women's semi-finals in 2025 and we were the ones playing Blondie at the live podcast after the match between Sabalenka and Anissa Mova.

1:16:10David Law: Remember that?

1:16:12Catherine Whitaker: I'll never forget that day. Thank you for creating such great memories. Thank you, Roz.

1:16:18Matt Roberts: Yeah, I think you did that, Roz. God, what a day. Do you remember there was a Svantec-Benchic match that day? Because I barely do.

1:16:29David Law: No, I can't remember that.

1:16:30Catherine Whitaker: that was a beat down yeah Bank Fiction had a hole in her shoe or something

1:16:37Matt Roberts: yeah that rings a bell

1:16:39Catherine Whitaker: and Shontek played very well yeah

1:16:41Matt Roberts: Ros she played quite well

1:16:43Catherine Whitaker: a couple of days later she did

1:16:44Matt Roberts: thank you for those memories Ros Broner and Mark thank you very much for being friends of the Tennis Podcast if you'd like to become a friend get access to all of our back catalogue and upcoming episodes, bonus episodes, all of our bonus content, monthly live Q &A shows, our history series, Tennis Relived. You get access to The Barge, our community platform, ad-free listening, all sorts of fun. Then the link is in our show notes. Mira Andreeva is jogging to the net, having just beaten Elena Gabriela Rusa. That brings a close to action for Day 6. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network. Thank you for listening.

1:17:31Matt Roberts: We'll speak to you tomorrow.

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