French Open Day 11 - Sabalenka self-destructs in the wind

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1:24Matt Roberts: Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast on day 11 of the French Open, a grisly day here in Paris, a day in which the weather has once again made itself a main character at this extraordinary Grand Slam, a major tournament which for the first time since Roland Garros 1977 will feature no Grand Slam champions in either the men's or women's semi-final lineups. And that is because of the shocking defeat earlier this afternoon of world number one, Irina Sabalenka, beaten from a set and 5-3 up by Russian 25th seed, Diana Schneider. This was not a normal defeat. This was a total implosion from Sabalenka.

2:12Matt Roberts: She lost 10 games in a row and 12 of the last 13. By the end of the match, she looked like she wanted to get off court more than she wanted to stay and fight to the bitter end. It was reminiscent of her combustion against Coco Gough in last year's final with similar windy weather conditions playing a part. But for me, Matt and David, this was another level of crash out altogether from Sabalenka today. Totally. Crash out, flame out, implosion, however you want to describe it. and I just did not see this coming at all. You know, like the weather conditions were pretty consistent throughout this match, right?

2:58It was windy, and we know Sabalenka does not like wind, and even in the portion of the match that she was winning, she didn't really look like she was having a lot of fun, like she was enjoying it. It was pretty unconvincing, but she had built that convincing lead, You know, double break up in the second set at 4-1, 5-3 up, as you said. For not to win another game after that was so, so shocking. You know, like I cannot tell you how little jeopardy there felt in this one, right? Like the press seats up on Chatrier were more or less empty midway through that second set for the world number one. because she was cruising and everyone was getting to know Maja Kvelinska in the press conference room who'd just won through.

3:50So that room was packed. Everyone was like, oh, Sabalenka's got this. And it just unraveled from there. And Schneider applied quite a lot of pressure. Her resistance was great. She really found her forehand. She did a lot of things to disrupt Sabalenka in this match. but basically Sabalenka lost her head and stopped being able to find the court, quite frankly. The number of errors that piled up was extraordinary. And right at the start of the third set, there was a game on Sabalenka's serve at Love One where she did have some resistance. She saved some break points. She put her arm aloft. There was some fight there.

4:32As soon as she lost that game, it all went and she lost the remaining four games very quickly and I was absolutely shocked. We have now lost Sinner in this tournament from 6-3, 6-2, 5-1 up. He won two more games from that position and we've lost Sabalenka from 6-3, 5-3 up and she won no more games from that position. I mean, it is absolutely shocking what has happened to Sabalenka and Sinner here. like crazy I can't get my head around it I think what shocked me most about the experience of

5:12Matt Roberts: watching obviously the result in itself is totally shocking but the experience of watching it David and I watched this together at the apartment you were here in the press seats on Chatera was how little I believed that she was going to come back from this like with Yannick Sinner I didn't think it was likely that he'd come back from it but even until quite near the end I was thinking but maybe but maybe i as you said once she other than that tiny bit of resistance at the start of the third set she was rushing she she wanted to get out of there and that that's not lack of i don't quite know how to put it because there is no doubting how much she wants to win how much she wants to win this title in in particular because she hasn't won it before and she wants to do the career slam, how much she dedicates herself to being the best she can be, including in terms of her competitiveness.

6:10Matt Roberts: But all of that drained from her body today. She wanted to get off that tennis court, David. It was like invasion of the body snatchers. I don't know what happens to her. Well, to me it's about the line. she became pissed off with the weather conditions, with her inability to just win, because she just expects to win. She expects to win quickly. Now, every time she's got the racket, she expects to win the point, really. And she expects to win now. As soon as she takes the ball in her hand for the serve, she expects to serve an ace. When she's returning, she expects to hit a winner. And she's always living with that degree of frustration that it's not happening every point, but it's the right side of the line.

7:00It's what makes her all the more ravenous for the next point. And if you push her, she gets more dangerous until such a point as she boils over and goes over the other side. And it's about whether she can then pull it back. I've seen that a number of times where she's been sort of teetering and actually she's had it taken away from her and then her sheer fury at it all has made her hit the ball even harder and become even more dangerous. But we've also seen several moments, particularly when the crowd has been against her in the past. It's been the crowd, often more than conditions, certainly in the US Open, which have just wound her up.

7:38And the crowd wound her up last year, but also the weather did last year against Coco Gauff. And Gauff played such a clever match and a gritty match to kind of draw her in and make it a misery. This time, look, I don't want to take anything away from Diana Schneider. She talked about how she realised at 5-3 down in that second set, she'd got to hit out. She'd got to start being aggressive. She'd tried variety of a spin type, and it just wasn't making any difference. And it is really tough to discombobulate Sabalenka unless there are conditions like that. And the wind was sending the ball veering off its trajectory, and it wasn't consistent.

8:16It wasn't just one way to another. It was all over the place. And she was struggling to control it. the the drop shots that I'd bigged up so much a couple of days ago she hit one wide you know and you never see her do that she and then she missed a couple more and it's just it's just accumulating and in the end when she's in the third set and really behind it's like she's self-destructing it's just like she wants to almost punish herself she's so furious at herself for not being the best on the day. She can't handle it. And I mean, I find that very relatable. Not on a personal level, but I've seen it in athletes who just, they just can't handle it, the way it's going.

9:04And then it gets worse as a result. You've got to be able to pull yourself back from the brink. And I found it very interesting that the things she took away from last year after the loss to Coco Gough was, I'm never, ever going to talk about my opponent like that again and be the subject of this media storm and social media storm and get myself in trouble. I never want to be that sort of bad loser again. And she wasn't today. She wasn't a bad loser. She handled the press comments very, very well. But what she hasn't addressed is the reason you end up in that loss in the first place, and that's the next step.

9:42And she did own that in the press comments. I've got to figure out a way to stop losing these matches. And again, I know it sounds like she wasn't being unfair. She was trying to give credit to her opponent as well. But at the same time, she knows she's in such a winning position. You know, her opponent shouldn't really matter in that situation.

10:02Matt Roberts: I thought she trod that line exceptionally well in the press conference of claiming responsibility for the defeat, not being disingenuous about how much she felt it was down to her, but whilst also giving Schneider credit. And that's not easy to do in the context of what happened last year and how everybody in that room and everybody that will see it on social media and on the TV will have been analysing her every word for how generous she was or how fake she might have seemed. I thought she dealt with that brilliantly, quite frankly, exactly as you say. What she hasn't dealt with brilliantly is what led her to be in that position and on today's evidence, the problem has got so much worse.

10:44Matt Roberts: I thought this was drastically worse than 12 months ago. Me too, because she was in such an overwhelmingly favourable position in this match. It wasn't a final, so it didn't come with that added pressure as well. I know obviously every match at a major tournament has pressure, but finals are different. She wasn't facing Coco Gauff. and last year's final, as bad as it got, it never got losing 12 out of 13 games bad, you know? Like, she kept losing it and getting it back together. It was the inconsistency of last year's final, how erratic it was. But we said it at the time, I don't think that final was as bad as Sabalenka thought it was because there was a lot of good tennis in there as well from both players.

11:35this one was awful honestly awful from Sabalenka in that deciding set like I said Schneider did do things well David's picked out that she upped her aggression the forehand down the line started absolutely firing in particular it was really notable how good that shot was but yeah it did feel like Sabalenka just blew it and her footwork was terrible in the wind she was in the wrong position to hit the ball a lot of the time and what's so frustrating as a observer and i'm sure for her as well playing is that she's added so much to her game over the years she shouldn't crash out in this way she does have some options now okay like she's it's never going to be her her plan a to just keep the ball in or use her athleticism, but she could do that.

12:34There was one like forehand slice that she hit, which was really effective at the start of the third, but she hit it in an angry way. It wasn't like, oh, this is now my tactic. It was just slashing at the ball as though almost telling it to go away, you know, but it worked. And if she tried a bit more of that, she might've figured out, she might've spooked Schneider. Instead, all Schneider was facing was this unforced error machine and getting pissed off down the other end. And, yeah, the way she was talking in that press conference, she knows it, but she doesn't appear to have learnt much at all from last year's final.

13:13When she started mentioning that she thought the roof should have been on, I just eye-rolled at that and thought, no. You surprised me. That is not the attitude to have. That's not the one that's going to get you through these situations in the future.

13:32Matt Roberts: She needs more humility about her game in these moments, right? Look at Coco Goff. She doesn't care how pretty it looks. She's, I mean, she's the ultimate, she's the poster goal for winning ugly, isn't she? If she needs to, she can do pretty things too, but she's got no problem winning ugly. She got a trophy at the end of it. And I think Sablenka, like, she'd tell you she's all right with that, you know, like anything for a trophy. that we know how much she wants all this. But in the moment, it's like it doesn't occur to her or it's a perfectionism. You know, we know athletes struggle with perfectionism, but it is a weird, it's a weird mental block.

14:13Matt Roberts: It's like, if I can't do it this way, I can't do it at all. And there was a real like, oh God, it's happening again. It's definitely going to happen again. There's no point in me trying to resist this because this is what happens to me and it's definitely going to happen again now. It's like a pig-headedness. And we actually saw an example yesterday that we commented on when Marta Kostiuk realised plan A wasn't working. The way she wants to play wasn't working for a bit. So she had to dig in. You've got to dig in at these situations. You've got to make the bloody court, you know. and even Sabalenka.

14:52I mean, I think the problem she has sometimes in her mind is she'll go back to kind of almost the one-upmanship of the power game, and sometimes that's come off for her. Remember when she beat Rebecca earlier this year, and she was kind of losing the match, and then on match point she just slammed this backhand harder than I've seen anybody hit a backhand all year, and she hit a line, and she turned the match around and won. but that is low percentage stuff and I think when you're in a hole that she was in here you know this isn't like borderline as to whether you get match point or the other player gets match point in a tie break this is when you're three love, four love down or whatever you've got to stop yourself losing that set six love you've got to get on the because when she was in the sixth game in that third set five love down, 40 love down She won two points to 40-30.

15:47And even then I thought, crikey, she could just win this game. She could build something. She's still Irina Sabalenka. She's got the ability.

15:56Matt Roberts: She could spook Schneider, who's never been anything like this situation before. That's not the mindset she was in. She was in the sort of, yeah, I just want to thrash the ball around to take it out on the ball. The comments about the wind were very complicated and confusing, weren't they? let's unpack the wind and the roof stuff, because there are complaints and there are points to be made about roof usage here. And Matt Roberts is here to make them all, folks. But Serena Sabalenka's point today was incoherent and... Confusing. Yeah, confusing. I mean, so she basically said they should have closed the roof because their conditions were, to quote Serena Williams, abhorrent.

16:45Matt Roberts: And she said, well, we see them close the roof for the men here to ensure, not because of rain, but because the conditions aren't ideal and to kind of ensure the quality of the match. And when she made that comment, she said it in a way that made it sound like she was talking about last year's men's final, that they had seen her final in those conditions and that the conditions were the same the next day and they decided to close the roof, which is just simply not true. I think it's possible, if we give her the benefit of the doubt, that she's just mixing some things up in her mind. And there have definitely been examples where it's been windy and grim outside here in Paris, but not actually raining, and the roof has closed.

17:35I remember it during the Alcaraz-Muzetti semi-final last year, for example, which was actually before her women's final, obviously. So it's possible that she's conflating these things.

17:46Matt Roberts: Yeah, it was a topic of conversation last year, which she might have been aware of. And that's sort of come into her mind today. I mean, look, we're all united on this, right? The roof should not ever be closed because of just unpalatable conditions for the players or for the spectators. You know, Sabalenka tried to bring the viewer into it, didn't she? She was like, well, nobody wants to watch tennis in those conditions ever. And I was like, I do. I love a hot mess more than anything. So, you know, that is a nonsense. Most of what she said today was a nonsense. However, I do have some sympathy.

18:24Matt Roberts: and look I don't I think even if she did have a point I think it is

18:33Matt Roberts: counterproductive for her to be focusing on that regardless like that is not going to solve your problem even if that was a factor today that is not the whole lit of what happened focusing on that will inhibit you from solving your very obvious problem rather than than help help at all but just to give her a tiny bit of sympathy this is a tournament that has no benefit of the doubt in the bank in terms of its equal treatment of female players over male players why should anybody give them any benefit of the doubt on that where there are questions and we have seen a lot of matches mostly men's matches where the roof has been closed and it has not rained at all It has happened today.

19:25Catherine Whitaker: The next match on court.

19:26Matt Roberts: It happened the next match on court and it happened the men's match before these women's semifinals today. Now, I don't know what's going into that. I really don't. But I do know they care more about men's tennis than they do about women's tennis. Those two things I know.

19:42Catherine Whitaker: Yes, absolutely. So I don't think they're closing the roof just for men's matches. But if you were a woman and playing in those conditions and seeing the way that you were being treated generally by the tournament, you could think that and believe that and potentially make a case for that. I believe we have asked for a statement from the tournament on this. Yeah, I've been to the tournament and asked them to explain how they administer the roof policy because the fact is I was in the stadium at the start of the men's match and the roof started to come across after the first set there and it was just not necessary.

20:31I mean, it didn't rain all afternoon. Every other court was being played out in sunshine. Didn't understand it.

20:38Catherine Whitaker: And we should say Sabalenka did clarify in press that she hadn't requested. She hadn't put in an official request for the roof to be on. It was just sort of her view, really, that the match would have been better for her and the spectators, maybe, if the roof had been on.

20:56Matt Roberts: I'm not sure she knew how windy it was going to be. There was a significant uptick in the wind between the first and the second match. I thought it was windy for the first match. Matt, you were out there. Perhaps you can comment on this better. I thought it looked windy for the first match, but really swirly.

21:14Catherine Whitaker: I thought Sabalenko perhaps made it look like there had been an uptick. To me, it may be increased a little bit, but we're not talking big difference. It was windy in that first match. Can I just say a word about something that Dina Schneider said in her post-match interview on court, which really, I mean, it was a bit of a, it was a totally unintentional, and I'm sure nobody drew any parallels here maybe except me, but it felt like a bit of a burn really from Schneider that when she was asked, how have you done it? She said, by keeping calm and by just sort of playing the ball and realizing that the conditions are tough.

21:57I can't do anything about them. So I've just got to try to do my best to play the ball and keep it in and play well, you know? And really she was analyzing exactly why her opponents had not won. I mean, two sides to every coin there, but she handled it exactly how Sabalenka needs to learn in her own way. I know that every personality is different and Sabalenka's fire gives her something extra, but she needs to be able to be a Deanna Schneider in those situations.

22:30Matt Roberts: And Deanna Schneider, in tomorrow's semifinal, will face Maja Kvelinska. She beat Anna Kalinskaya 7-6-6-3, making it an eight-match winning streak. Of course, she won three in qualifying. She's won five now in the main draw. Obviously, the name Emma Raducanu is being uttered around these parts, particularly around our very immediate parts because we're sitting on the British row. And what do British journos love more than anything? An Emma Raducanu story, folks. And look, there's, you know, there's not nothing in that, is there? This has echoes of what Emma Raducanu did, Matt.

23:15Catherine Whitaker: I thought I would never see it again. And we're two matches away from something very, very similar. She has dropped a set, has Maja Kvalinska, something that Emma Raducanu didn't do. But even so, I mean, the thing is, Raducanu had had a good run at Wimbledon a few weeks before that US Open title run. OK, it was still a total sort of fairy tale what happened to Raducanu. I'm not saying anyone could have foreseen it. But while it was happening, there were these little signs that you could point to. OK, she's had some good form. She's had a grand slam, big stage experience, et cetera, et cetera. That's not the case with Maja Kvalinska, right?

24:04Like, this really has come from nowhere. And today, when I saw those conditions, grey, windy,

24:15Catherine Whitaker: I thought that she might seriously be able to trouble Kalinskaya, and that is what played out during the match. 15 unforced errors to 47, you know, like a huge difference in how they handled those conditions. and, you know, she plays with such versatility and dexterity and different stroke production, all of which can handle the wind. You know, she hits high balls. We've talked about that ever since her first round win over Jung Chin Wen that caused her a lot of trouble. They were a nightmare in these conditions. She hits the low slice that can get caught up in the wind and stop in it. That was a nightmare.

25:01And she built this 5-1 lead, but then Kalinskaya got it back to 5-all in the first set.

25:06Catherine Whitaker: And I did think, OK, maybe she's figured some stuff out and she's going to take over with her power and whatever. But a bit like we've just said about Schneider in terms of keeping her head and managing the conditions, I think what Kvelinska did really well was exactly that, right? It's her first time in this situation. We shouldn't take it for granted that she's just going to play her game and play on her terms, but she did. And she kept doing it and drove Kain Skaia pretty insane, actually, with that game style. It was a nightmare to play against, and she knows it. That's what I love about it.

25:43She said in the press conference,

25:44Catherine Whitaker: I know my game is annoying. I loved that line.

25:48Matt Roberts: I did too. So, yeah, it was a great little line from her, wasn't it? Yeah, and I really like her game. I love that slice and I love her game. It's very, very pleasing on the eye and a bit of a breath of fresh air. We had a good time watching her. Like, it wasn't the best match, this, was it? Callan Sky, I mean, 48 unforced errors in two sets is, that's pretty brutal. But, yeah, I love that about her. I really, really love that she knows that about her game and is prepared to say it. And obviously that fact in itself of it being an irritating game for opponents combined with the fact that pretty much nobody has played her before.

26:34Matt Roberts: She might never be as deadly with that game as she is right now when she's got the novelty factor. I do feel like if she can continue to keep her head, big if. and she's doing a tremendous job in press of keeping a lid on everything and not talking about the big pictures, kind of saying, I'll deal with the big picture next week and process it all then. Right now, I'm just in a salad spinner and just trying to be in the moment and not do too much processing. But if she keeps her head, it is the sort of game that could kind of irritate anybody, I think. Yeah, I think so. I mean, on paper, I would have thought it would have got gobbled up by Sabalenka if she'd ended up playing against her.

27:20Of course, she won't have to now. So her chances have just gone through the roof in that regard. Although Diana Schneider, as we've seen today, is an extremely good player. Two lefties against each other will be absolutely fascinating. But even that, I mean, now that we've seen what Sabalenka was like today, she could have caused her nightmares if the weather conditions have been a problem. but I think as well mentally Kowalinska is helped by the fact that to her the massive breakthrough was qualifying that would have been you know if she had lost first round I think she'd have been still really pleased with her week's work she said in her press conference that my goal really is to get into the world's top 100 she's 114 in the world at the moment so she smashed through that no trouble at all so it's all kind of upside and that's where I think the comparison to Raducanu is you get this freedom I think when you've been at Grand Slam tournaments for years sort of getting to a certain level breaking through the next ceiling glass ceiling is is really tough mentally just even one stage because you've known it's imagine if Elisa Mertens was in this position somebody who's who's a really good player who keeps getting to third round sometimes fourth rounds imagine if she then was trying to get to quarterfinals and then semi-finals I think she did it once many many years ago but these days it's sort of like the same pretty much every time this is different for this player because she's so new and she just carries herself as though I'm going to enjoy this I'm going to make the most of this I'm not going to beat myself, I'm not going to kind of paralyse myself with doubt and with opportunity.

29:12I've already succeeded. And the whole story about am I going to have enough money to get an extra couple of nights in the hotel and all that sort of stuff that she told and said it was some humour.

29:25Matt Roberts: She does have a hotel. Yes. She's not homeless on the streets of Paris. A Polish company stepped in. That's right, yeah. So, I mean, it's one of those, isn't it? She sort of put it out into the ether and somebody was like, oh. I think it's Oshie, Oshie. I'm not quite sure. Oh, yeah. Well, they're a big sponsor, aren't they? We can sort that out for you. And now they've got a tennis podcast mentioned. There you go. We'll be getting some in the post before you know it. I don't know what they are. Are they postable? I believe actually, it's very awesome, but I believe it's hydration. Oh, okay. We do consume a lot of that.

30:00We do, yes. So, you know, she's been sorted out there. And as we mentioned the other day, you know, they get the money at the end of the tournament and she's going to be getting minimum€750 ,000 for reaching the semifinals. It's life-changing stuff.

30:18Matt Roberts: She's also, there's this little quirk, I saw this John Wertheim tweeted it out. She's also, her live ranking is 30, but the cutoff for Wimbledon, you know, The cut-off for tournaments, for entry for tournaments, happens several weeks before the tournament. So she will have to qualify for Wimbledon unless she receives a wild card, in which case she'll likely be seeded. That's wild, isn't it? I don't think she will get a wild card because Lois Boisson didn't get one last year, did she? And at the moment, it's the same situation pretty much. Were she to reach the final, maybe that would be different, but I suspect Wimbledon are going to have some interesting requests for wild cards this year.

31:02Matt Roberts: So it's going to be very interesting. I think she'll be off to Barbados if she wins it. Forget Wimbledon. It's interesting, Matt, isn't it? Like on one hand, we're sort of making the Raducanu comparisons, which is this totally unprecedented thing at the moment. But looked at another way, there is a precedent for what Vrilinska has done at this tournament.

31:26Catherine Whitaker: yes here at this tournament if you look at the last seven years unexpected semi-finalist in the women's draw has very much been a thing let me let me take you on a journey through those last seven years back to 2020 when the weather at Rollongarus was much like today in uh in that October edition, cold, wet, windy. Nadia Podoroska, 131 in the world at the time, made the semis.

31:56Matt Roberts: Truly the Aslan Karatsev of her time. I wonder what he's up to.

32:01Catherine Whitaker: Then 2021, Tamara Zidancek was 85 in the world at the time. I wish the listeners could see David's face.

32:11Matt Roberts: She played qualifying this tournament, lost in qualies. I remember them now you say them. Well, what about this one, David? 2022, Martina Trevisan. I saw Martina Trevisan play the other day in Rome. She got a wild card and they showed her ranking. I mean, it was way down. She'd not won matches in months, you know, and she didn't win that one either.

32:35Catherine Whitaker: Well, she was 159 in the world when she got to the semis here in 2022. then we had a couple of years without that kind of player 2023 and 2024 then last year luis boisson 361 in the world and now 2026 maya kvalinska 114 in the world like there was a little bit of a trend there and you know it's hard to draw comparisons between them but i do think there's something in certainly for trevisan boisson and felinska you know two of them are lefties boisson was using a lot of off-pace balls as well like this this disruptor game this this this awkward game and i think kanin skier has kind of given quite a revealing quote in her press conference very similar to sabalenka's quote about the wind you know sabalenka sort of talking about the wind in terms of I'd rather it wasn't there and it would all just go away that's kind of what Canon Sky is talking about in terms of Kvelinska's game right she's like well she only plays on clay let's see how it's going to go when she gets on a hard court or a grass court I'm going to take revenge on those surfaces there was a kind of there's kind of saltiness to it that oh well it's only happened because it's clay and that kind of thing and maybe but it's a perfectly legitimate way of playing and getting through this tournament.

34:03Catherine Whitaker: And she's caused so many players problems with it. I think Sakiri is probably the only one who actually did get to grips with the game and got in a winning position. But then her own demons came in, Sakiri, and we know how often she struggles from those sorts of positions. She must be kicking herself. But yeah, it's an absolutely wild semi-final. Schneider-Kvalinska. I mean, it would have been wild at the start of today.

34:31Matt Roberts: Yeah, one of those two is going to be a French Open finalist. We'll find out who tomorrow, just before we end part one. I just want to quickly go back to Sabalenka. Do each of you think she will solve this problem? She's 28 years old. She has four major titles. I know if doesn't exist, but she would have more without this problem. I don't know which ones exactly. I don't want to discredit anyone else's grand slams, but this has been a significant problem in her career at the sharp end of the slams. Do you think it will always, to some extent, hold her back a little from a grand slam tally that she could reach without it?

35:18Matt Roberts: Or do you think she will find a way to solve this? I think there might be a middle ground to that in as much as I think she will be accepting of the problem and try and really work on it. And I think she will improve it. Whether it will ever cost her huge matches again, I think is absolutely possible because I think it's difficult to completely take out of your game and your personality. But when I think of what she did with a serve, when she had those terrible serve problems and she solved them, and the fact that she did self-analyse a year ago when she said the things she said. And she didn't do it today.

35:56I think she's sufficiently chastened by what happened on that court today that she's going to want to go back and watch it eventually. I think it'll be painful viewing for her. But I think she's got enough sort of self-awareness and realism to know that this wasn't just a bad day. This was her doing, really, I'm afraid. And she won't like that. And I think she will be big enough to want to go and improve it and will address it. Matt? I think it's pretty entrenched. I think it's pretty similar to that discussion about how something can be kind of your greatest strength and your greatest weakness.

36:37Like, I think it comes from the same place as her greatest strength, which is the ability to dominate and the ability to play with such power and such ferocity. It's what David talks about, the line. And I think it's always going to be there. I think maybe she can get better at having fewer of these, maybe. But I'd be very surprised if we never saw this kind of thing again. I mean, this was exceptional in terms of the extent of it and just how drastic it was, as we've discussed. But Sabalenka getting frustrated by conditions or not really being able to just calm down in some big matches. Personally, I think we are going to keep seeing that.

37:31And that's not to say she can't still achieve everything she wants to achieve. Right. In terms of winning more majors and maybe winning even Roland Garros and Wimbledon. I still think she could have this problem and achieve those things. I don't think it's big enough to totally hold her back from all of that. But I would say right now, she's won one of the past six majors, which, you know, considering her tour form, considering how many finals she's been in in that run as well, considering this opportunity is clearly the best player left in the draw, you would have to say that in that period, she's underperforming at these majors.

38:14these majors and I think she would say that you know we see how gutted she is and I don't know I'm not convinced that there's going to be like a wholesale change to how she is in these matches because I think it's pretty integral to her really

38:37Matt Roberts: It does feel like we're going through a period at the top of the men's and women's games where Achilles heels are being exposed, doesn't it? Sinner, obviously, the heat and his body. Alcaraz, injury, it looks like at the moment. Sabalenka, these mental meltdowns. Sviontek, this total loss of control in matches. It feels like, I don't know, it feels like we're just seeing the kryptonite of these great tennis players and champions. It feels like we're just seeing it in a very raw way. at the moment. I mean, it's compelling narrative-wise. I mean, some sort of more compelling than others, like injuries.

39:20Matt Roberts: That's a bummer. And look, I feel for Sabalenk with what happened today, but sure as heck makes things interesting, doesn't it? Yeah, for sure. These great dominant champions that have these weaknesses that can cause them to lose from a set in 5-3 or two sets to love in 5-1. it certainly keeps us on our toes doesn't it okay that is it for part one we are going to be back in part two to talk about Flavio Caboli and a shower anecdote today's show is brought to you

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42:01Then schedule a pickup right from your home or office. For a limited time, go to stamps.com and use code podcast for a free welcome gift. Taxes and fees apply. Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast on day 11 of this absolutely bonkers French Open. It is now 11.30pm. We're back at Tennis Podcast Towers and we've got the highly unusual situation of tennis already being done for the day before the clock has even struck midnight. Unfortunately, that's down to the bleakest of reasons, the Berrettini curse rearing its head once again and sending Matteo Arnaldi through to the semifinals where he will meet fellow Italian Flavio Caballi who came from a set down to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime earlier in the day.

42:55David, talk us through this Kabbali-Aliassime match, or rather two matches, because everything changed after the first set.

43:05David Law: Yeah, the first set was really tense. Both players, I felt, they were just trying to keep their feet underneath them and establish some ground. And I think Auger-Aliassime did that the better of the two. And I'm not surprised about that because he's a very controlled player and personality. He's very level and balanced. And I think he just came out and sort of methodically went about his business. And Cabal is the opposite, really. He's electrifying when he's really on, but he can be pretty anxious at times as well. And that's sort of what was going on. He was sort of hanging on a bit. And then he lost that set.

43:51David Law: The wind was playing havoc too. You know, it was a run on from the match we'd seen with Sabalenka and Schneider a little earlier. It wasn't long afterwards. So the wind is still blowing around. End of the first set, Matt mentions that the roof is starting to come across. And I'm in the stadium and I hadn't even clocked that, to be honest. You'd seen that on the screen. And I looked up and sure enough, it's just sort of slowly creeping across as they're starting the second set. and it wasn't raining you know it wasn't raining at all there was there was nothing in the area maybe maybe a couple of drops but didn't didn't feel like there was a necessity at all wasn't going to affect play they were carrying on playing elsewhere I assumed therefore a massive one of those massive storms of yesterday is coming over and it didn't it didn't come at all in fact you All the other outside courts carried on playing in what ended up being bright sunshine all afternoon.

44:49David Law: There was no rain at all. So they put that roof on. I don't know why we've asked for this statement. We haven't had one. We were told we would get one to explain the roof policy and maybe even specifically about why these decisions were made, particularly in light of things that Sabalenka had said about her frustration of it not having been put on. So maybe it was a reaction to that. We just don't know. so suddenly you're in this situation where Oji Eliassine breaks serve early on in the second set and is winning a set in 3-1 and the roof's on and he's one of the best indoor players in the world so I'm thinking Kabali is in real trouble here I don't really see how he wins this match even though he seemed very agitated by the wind I thought okay that might benefit him but it might benefit Oji Eliassine more being indoors he loves the still conditions even talked about it the other day when i asked him about it immediately though caballi broke back for 3-2 and just played that sort of turbo boost tennis that we we've kind of hyped up this week of being what we think could be the difference in this match and maybe even might accelerate him all the way to the final and perhaps even the title he was so fast around the ball it's almost like he told his feet to move faster and just get around every ball get it on the forehand if he possibly could and when he got it on the forehand don't give Ogiella seem really a proper play on the ball he was unplayable for about the next four games just the crowd going bananas because I think probably a lot of people coming and got a ticket might not know too much about Flavio Caballi and then they're suddenly seeing kind of one of the best impersonations of Carlos Alcraz you could get in terms of speed around the court and power off off the forehand side.

46:37David Law: It really does take your breath away. And it jolted Felix. And he never really recovered. You know, the other sets were close. But Cabali, I don't know about you, I mean, Catherine, you arrived after that second set and sat with me to watch. Never really felt like Cabali was in any danger after that. He was in charge. No, I'm used to, including during this tournament, sort of fearing the worst from my guy, Flavio Caballi. Like, I have no doubts at all and never have, like, what he's capable of and what his ceiling is. I just have doubts about whether he will shit on his pants. Sorry, Dad. But I had this strange feeling of calm for him from the second set onwards in this match.

47:26It just, I mean, look, I've been wrong in this situation many times. throughout this tournament, including today. I had a sense of calm for Irina Sabalenka in the second match of the day. So I could have ended up being wrong, but I just felt like he's got this. You know, I feel like he is growing into himself throughout this tournament. He's growing into being the favourite to reach the final. I don't feel like he's shying away from that or trying to, you know, he's doing the old one match at the time and it's only two matches, but it's a long way to go. But he told us in the post-match interview on court after the match, he said that he went to the bathroom after that first set.

48:17Can't resist a toilet mention in his on-court interviews. Went to the bathroom and had a word with himself in the mirror. And he said to himself, this is the chance of my life. and I asked him about this in the post-match press conference because I thought you're not just talking about the match there. You're talking about what this tournament looks like and represents to every man and woman, but, you know, every man left in it. And, you know, he gave the prudent answer about how no, I was talking about the match, but then he said, I know I'm close. He said two matches is a lot. it's a long way I'm not taking anything for granted but I thought that I know I'm close line was like just the right amount of I believe I can do this I like everything that I've seen and heard from Flavio Caballi I even think losing that first set could end up benefiting him feeling that pressure, turning things around I thought it was you know 10 out of 10 for Caballi today frankly Yeah, there was one moment for me in the third set where I was maybe a bit more worried than you two.

49:32And he was already up a break. So it wasn't like a code red situation. But there was this point where Auger Aliasim hit this incredible little shot up the line. And to do so, he had to slide on the clay and he got clay all over the front of his shirt. But it was a shot that sort of seemed to just stun Caballi a little bit. And it also then led to Caballi making a load of errors in a row. He missed a forehand, he double-faulted, and he faced break-back points in that game at 4-3. And I just thought then that was the moment he needed to get through. And he held with some big forehands. And after that, I didn't really have any doubts about him at all.

50:21we didn't face a break point in the fourth set. I mean, talk about growth from just the other day against Schweider when he was trying to close that one out. You know, and that thing you say, Catherine, about him growing reminds me again, I know I'm always banging on about it, but I do think it is such an important caballi moment in his career. The Davis Cup last year, when at the opening press conference, they're all sitting at the table, the Italian team, and they're asked, who's the leader in this team? And Caballi laughs and says, well, not me, I'm the youngest. Even though everyone was sort of looking at him as the highest ranked player, at the start of the week, he didn't seem that comfortable in a kind of leadership role.

51:08By the end of the week, he had grown into it and, okay, Berrettini was there with him and sort of had a leadership role. But Caballi took it on and took the weight on of trying to win that for Italy, almost just sensing his opportunity. And it seems like he's done a similar thing here, sensing that opportunity, not being afraid to talk about it, as you said, and really flourishing under these circumstances. And it's pretty, pretty amazing to see, actually. And the week after that, or shortly after that, he had an incredible Hulk tattoo. This guy learns and grows quickly. Then he lost to Jack Pennington-Jones.

51:52But, you know, we ride the roller coaster with Flavio, don't we? And I know I keep doing this, but seeing as you've already done it once in this discussion, David, the Alcaraz comparisons. After that game that Matt's just described where he saved all those break points, the finger to the ear. and you know he talked on the court afterwards about how he's got a little gang of friends here with him in Paris kind of keeping him grounded and keeping some normality keeping up routine they do the same things every day they go to the same they go to the same restaurants you know it's all it's all you know obviously the game as well and how electric and explosive it is he's not Carlos Alcaraz but there are similarities there and he has spent a lot of time with him hasn't he yeah he has and i think on a young guy like flavio i think it rubs off a bit

52:48David Law: the the kind of joie de vivre about him as well i think all these things are quite useful for him because he's he's been a he's a slow burner compared to our cross you know he's not a phenomenon phenom like like he was he he he was a very talented footballer and i think he wasn't entirely sure what he's going to end up doing and all this sort of thing and then you could see how he'd got this kind of kid brother imposter syndrome we saw it in the match against nadal and he just couldn't play that time in barcelona when you know you can understand it it makes total sense really that the the abnormal one is an alcaraz um but he's really flourishing and coming into his own now i do i do agree with you about that davis cut that that that was huge and we've seen that many times before.

53:37David Law: I remember when Djokovic and Serbia won the day of his cup. And then that's the season that kind of springboarded his following run of 40-yard match wins in a row. And I think he's starting to believe, yeah, that this is doable for him. I think it becomes very interesting now because whichever Matteo he ended up getting, I think is a different challenge. Arnaldi is somebody who's going to go side to side, toe to toe with him. and just I think the rallies could be spectacular between those two because of their ability to run. You know, the crowds will be gasping. If it had been Berrettini, I think it would have been aura and emotional.

54:18David Law: It's his big brother. I think that that could have been harder for him if a fit Berrettini had been pushing his younger brother around and he's got to try to retaliate because he does view him as a brother in that way. So I think probably this is a better scenario and it can just be a tennis match. I mean, he mates with Arnaldi, but I don't think he'll have any issues putting that aside. I find it really exciting. I mean, I feel for Felix Ogeliassime because he knows what a huge opportunity this would have been, like many of them have done, like Tiafa did the other day. And obviously Felix has been closer.

54:59David Law: I mean, they've both been to semis, but recently he's been close. And this was, you know, he was supposed to reach this final rankings wise and kind of reputationally. All credits to Caballi, but I think this will really sort of sting for a bit.

55:19Catherine Whitaker: Yes. And he was very down in his press conference. You know, he's usually very measured, isn't he? and he was when he said this but there was a lot more emotion really to him than you might normally get and yeah it sounds like he feels like he's at a bit of a crossroads really he said I'm in a place right now in my career that's tough, I'm a little bit destroyed today, I usually handle losses pretty well, my whole career I'll go back to training with optimism and positivity but now I feel like I'm not the player I want to be he says I tried to seize opportunities I wasn't up to it today my serve didn't have an impact the forehand didn't have an impact he found better solutions than me I'm 26 I'm becoming less patient with the years you know this is pretty it's existential stuff isn't it a bit like we heard from Diminol and I think people you know these players probably are feeling it more deeply at this tournament than ever before you know like sometimes if they take a hard loss they can explain it away and deep down they think well cinema and alcaraz i would have had to go go through both of them or djokovic you know like this one you can't say that there's nowhere to hide and look we all thought cabali would win today right it's not like it's not like a terrible loss for Felix Ossia Aliassime.

56:54But Felix should have thought that he would win today.

56:57Catherine Whitaker: Yes. And I think he did. And I think he did. Yeah, based on how he's talking there. And they know that it's possible that this kind of slam will happen again. We talk about how precarious it is if you've just got a two and he takes one injury and then a shock which, you know, it's not out of the question that it could happen again. But chances are it's not going to be many times. And this has been a hell of an opportunity. And, yeah, I think people are feeling it.

57:34David Law: And the young lads are coming. That's the other thing that this tournament has thrown up. Fonseca is getting better. There are others that are getting better.

57:43Catherine Whitaker: It's kind of like that slightly older generation of next guys, is Rude, Rublev, Orjali, Asim, even Medvedev. I know he's a bit older, but they haven't been the ones to capitalise. And it's actually you've got Kabbali and Mensik who are here. And, OK, Zverev's obviously in that older category and he might be the one to really capitalise and walk away with the trophy. But he's also a little bit separate just because of his consistency and how he has been closer to the top guys. But yeah, I think you're right. It does feel like there's a kind of shift happening and these younger guys, Hodor, Fonseca, Menshik, are on the tails of the likes of Felix.

58:32The knots you've tied yourself in to not say next gen.

58:36Catherine Whitaker: Tried so hard. And that was incredible. Well done. Matt, I promised the people a Flavio Caballi shower anecdote. Could you deliver the people a Flavio Caballi shower anecdote? I mean, definitely not as well as Flavio Caballi delivered it in his charming Italian-accented English. He was asked about superstitions, wasn't he? and the fact because he'd mentioned it on call. And I first of all thought he was not really going to give an answer to this question because he said, oh, no, I don't really have any superstitions or not many. He said, I'm a little, I am a little, which made me think of, this might be the second time today I do some niche comedy quoting and no one goes with me.

59:30But there's that line from Michael Scott in the US office. He says, I'm not superstitious, but I am a little-stitious.

59:40thank you both for laughing this time and then he mentions how he does like to go to the same shower

59:53Catherine Whitaker: in you know the locker room and he said it's rafa's shower and he knows it's rafa's shower because a few years ago he was in the shower and nadal kanokid as he said I love it so much and told him to hurry up basically because Nadal wanted to get in the shower and he was waiting for him

1:00:17David Law: and he said he said this has been my shower for 14 years can you imagine how much you'd shit on your pants that you're not wearing when Rafael Nadal knocks on and said you're using my shower I'd retire from tennis It's a good superstition to have then, isn't it? Yeah. Because, you know, it works for Nadal. And, you know, this is going to be like Joe Conta's baking. If he wins the French Open, I just know the shower, using Nadal's shower, is going to lead a lot of the reporting. You can imagine the sun headlines, can't you? Nadal's shower carries Kabbali to Typhoon. Yeah.

1:01:06Just saying, everyone prepare yourselves. It was adorable. It was. It was. If I hadn't been a Caballi guy before Canocid, then I would have been won over in that moment. So Caballi through to a maiden Grand Slam semifinal where he will meet Matteo Arnaldi. Not much to talk about here in terms of tennis and competition because poor old Matteo Berrettini started to feel an issue with his left hip midway through the opening set. He had led three love with a double break, Berrettini, but it all started to fall apart quite quickly. Lost the first set, lost a marathon first set, 7-5, and ended up retiring 5-2 down in the second set, although the match looked over long before that.

1:01:56He was struggling, literally limping on Berrettini. his team in the box were very animated in telling him to stop. You can absolutely understand why Berrettini was reluctant to do that. He said it was worsening as he was playing. It was affecting his serve and his forehand. Says he's never had anything like this before. He's discovered a new injury. You would have thought he'd had kind of the full gamut by now. But no, this is something new and doesn't know how bad it is. He said, I'm just hoping the scan is clear and he must just, I mean, well, it's the curse, isn't it? But it's Groundhog Day for Matteo Berrettini.

1:02:42My heart breaks for him.

1:02:44David Law: Yeah, and it's obviously we don't know the reason it's happened and can establish definite cause and effect. But he's a big guy. He's a big guy who, when he pounds these courts, must be putting all sorts of stresses on his body parts, you know, and joints. And same for Jack Draper. We've seen it with him too. And it is terribly unlucky for Berrettini that he's had it happen so often at the big moments of his career. You know, he has managed some clear bills of health, got to a Wimbledon final. He's had a brilliant career. but it could have been so much more. And as he said, he made a real point to this in the press comments.

1:03:30David Law: It'd be okay if I lost, you know, in these matches. You could accept losing, but not being able to get to the finish line because of these things. It's just tough to take. Yeah. Yeah, it's just absolutely brutal. Hope he's okay on all fronts. Matteo Arnaldi, I mean, look, their mates, obviously, Arnaldi was not pleased to see what happened to Matteo Berrettini. He looked very distressed by it. But take the Berrettini of it all out of it. A short night at the office was what Matteo Arnaldi needs. He is still, with tonight's retirement, spent 19 hours and 32 minutes on court to reach this semifinal.

1:04:18and in the on-court interview afterwards, he said, I was a little bit more tired than usual. But then in his press conference, he said, oh, actually, I feel fine.

1:04:30David Law: He's a roadrunner, isn't he? Amazing watching him move about a court. Like I say, I'm really excited about watching him and Kabbali because they're such similar physiques and they rely on their legs so much. I think the crowds will just be jaws on the floor with what they're able to do in terms of getting to balls. They met in the second round of the French Open last year. A win for Caballi in four sets? Yes, like three sets that Caballi won weren't very tight and then a tight set that Arnaudi won. And I, you know, it's one of those where I do think I think Caballi's got more game. He's got more firepower.

1:05:18He's more explosive. I think he's got a serve that he can do more with. You know, I think that's going to be interesting for Caballi over the next, well, for his sake, hopefully couple of rounds, you know, because he's now playing people with rock solid backhands, whoever he faces out of Arnaudi, who he is playing, and then either Mensik or Zverev. And that kick serve that he's got going is going to look quite different, I think, coming back to him than it did against Orjali Asim today. You know, he just had an easy plan A to get points started, kicking the serve, which he does so well. I mean, there's one point where he literally put Orjali Asim in the flowerbeds at the side of the court.

1:06:06He stands so wide, doesn't he, to hit the serve. And Orjali Asim knows where it's going. and you sort of think if you know where it's going, like you should be able to deal with this, but it's so good, like it's so well executed that, yeah, you must be humiliating.

1:06:23David Law: You're not far off watching him do that, standing out wide, and him kicking it as well to get even more angle to thinking, actually, that might even need to be an illegal shot because the guy cannot get it back. He can't. It's like impossible geometry. He can't get to the ball. I mean, obviously, I'm exaggerating, but that's how it makes you feel. But I'm not right. I think particularly, I dare say the other players will have a decent play on that ball, but Zverev, for instance, he loves returning. I mean, and Mensik. Really. I mean, you know, I'm fascinated. I mean, Zverev's taller, so he's got that advantage on the kick as well.

1:07:10But Menchik's backhand is... It's all very different to Felix Auger-Leasim, put it that way. Yeah. That was a regression today, wasn't it, on his backhand? Yeah, I thought so. Particularly given that I think his backhand often looks at its best indoors, where it's not just moving on him just before he hits it. He's got a bit of a flawed technique on it, really, and he needs it in the slot. and indoors gives him that. But even when it was there today for him, he wasn't really able to make that many plays with it. But yeah, so I guess what I'm saying is that Arnaldi is going to make the rallies look different to what they did against Orjel Aliasim.

1:07:54And I think he doesn't quite have the back can that Menchik Olsverev has. Well, he doesn't at all, but it's a good shot. It's a solid shot. and he's able to hit it down the line as well you know so it's going to be a test it really is for caballi and he's also going in as the favorite in a grand slam semi-final which he's never been in before and that is pressure i know we you know we're trusting him this tournament we're believing in him but i don't know just until you see someone do something and handle it there will just be something in the back of my mind thinking, is he actually going to keep it all together?

1:08:36I think he will, but it's by no means a given and Arnaud is a test.

1:08:41David Law: He was very pleased with himself the way he served it out today, wasn't he? And rightfully so. Absolutely. There were no shenanigans. He just went through that game. Yeah, statement stuff. Okay, that is it for part two. Join us in part three for a look ahead to tomorrow, Women's Semifinals Day. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into. That's why it's no surprise that more than 85 % of the Fortune 500 use the ServiceNow AI platform. While other platforms duct tape tools together, ServiceNow seamlessly unifies people, data, workflows and AI, connecting every corner of your business.

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1:09:57Your business is only as strong as your connection. AT &T Business is the reliable provider built for that exact brand of hustle, so you can stay focused on the work that builds your legacy. Powered by AT &T Business. Built to work. Get AT &T Business at business.att.com. Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast. Looking ahead to tomorrow now. Oh, Hang on. Muscataro of the day. Do we want to bother?

1:10:31Catherine Whitaker: I think at this point we're... Has anyone had a positive experience with a French person today? No one bought us any beers. No. Anything else to report?

1:10:42David Law: I saw Stefan Uday playing the match. He looked pretty good. Yes, you commented on how old he is. I know, but he looked happy afterwards. Trying to make up for that. Okay, so we got Alice and Pierre-Huguerbert, but Stefanoude did win in doubles today, lost in singles to his doubles partner, Martin de la Puente, but he won in doubles. So should we give it to Stefanoude? Yes, please. Okay. He's 55. It's a good effort. I'll say, yeah. Stefanoude, musketeer of the day. Tomorrow, it is women's semifinal day. It is also mixed doubles final day. Suddenly, one minute you're in interminable round one and the next minute finals are happening.

1:11:31This really is a salad spinner of a grand slam. Mixed doubles final tomorrow at midday on Châtier, Sarah Irani and Andrea Vavasori, the conquerors of Edouard Roger Vasselin and Laura Siegmund today. They take on Gabby Dabrowski and Evan King. Then it is the women's single semifinals, is not before 3pm. Marta Kosciuk taking on Mira Andrava. And second up, it is Deanna Schneider against Mayek Felinska. I know predictions are a hospital pass. I mean, always, but particularly this fortnight. But I am going to ask for them anyway. Mixed doubles final included. Oh, that's tricky. That's Irani versus Dabrowski.

1:12:19I've got, you know.

1:12:22David Law: I'll go Arani. I mean, I'm sort of into both of them. But I think Arani Vavasori, right? They're trying to defend their title, I believe. It was in this section last night that I said I could see no world where Ines Abelenka loses and then a little bit of wind and suddenly that world is very much here. So I'm going to try and be more deliberate and careful with my words tonight. I'm going to go Kostiuk I mean the other one I have absolutely no idea

1:13:02Schneider David I know it was mostly Sabalenka but I was impressed with Schneider today me too David

1:13:11David Law: yeah I'm going for the same I do feel particularly with Andreeva Kostya I think that could be an incredible match I think that's like the best match left in the singles tournament men and women for me I just think of all the matches I would have liked to have seen the draw that would have been right up there and I could make a really comfortable case for either one I think Andreeva's playing brilliantly but I also think Kostya is playing brilliantly and I feel that she has she will step it up when she needs to and probably just take it but I think that the danger is that that goes the other way and she misses stuff when she's going for it but I'm going to trust that she will be successful I do think Schneider and Kvalinska are very similar because they're both left-handed Schneider I think has more power and I think she will probably roll on from what she found in her game against Sabalenka and probably dominate and I think she's got enough margin in her game as well to not start missing It will be interesting to see what roof decisions are made tomorrow because there's kind of a risk of rain all day it's kind of on my weather app which albeit is not entirely reliable but it's kind of 40 % risk of rain.

1:14:45To be fair, neither are the weather apps that they're using. Right, exactly. Maybe we're using the same one. It's like 40 % risk of rain, like quite a lot throughout the day. So it might not rain at all. Could rain all day.

1:15:00Catherine Whitaker: It's giving roof to me. Eyes on roof and decisions and consistency of decisions. Also eyes on whether we ever receive a statement. A statement from the FFT that we requested how many hours ago?

1:15:15David Law: Several. We will keep you posted, folks. Bashir, the cat with an expression, a face for every occasion, even has one for Irina Sabalenka being defeated in a situation which Matt could not conceive of a world for. That is how extraordinary Bashir is. Absolutely unreal. Thank you, Bashir. Hello to Bodie, Maisie and Roger, our mascots. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. Let's have some shout outs, Matt. We have Will Ford in Kent. Hello, Will. All right, Will. Like my nephew. Yes. I'm trying to think if we had any other Will tennis players. Will Bomb. Shoes off for Will Bomb.

1:16:07David Law: That's Marcus Willis Yeah but we all remember Will Bomb 10 year anniversary

1:16:14Catherine Whitaker: Matt looks just as great I was so not into shoes off of Will Bomb I loved it I wasn't into it either but I knew that the reference would elicit that face from you and I'm very pleased I did it I was so pleased when Federer thrashed him He'll always have that lob Yeah, that lob Shot for the tournament I do think you need to brace for some 10th anniversary wistful Nostalgic will bomb content

1:16:47David Law: The people will love it He's still going Some of the people He's in the doubles It's not bad, is it? Getting himself into grandson draws On his ranking It was the shoes off thing It wasn't Marcus Marcus Willis had a problem with, to be clear. It was... Yeah. That was my favourite bit. You should love that as a football fan. Yeah. It's the matter with you. Yeah, but the sort of laddishness around it, I was less into. It was very, you know, Menace and Oasis concert last summer. Yeah, I wouldn't fit in at one of those. Well, anyway, we've been distracted. Our Will has written something lovely. Will says, I've been listening to the pod since 2016 and immediately realised I'd found my people.

1:17:35Having less time to watch tennis these days has meant you have become my North Star, guiding me through the drama of the calendar with which I'm so familiar. Oh, that's so lovely.

1:17:47David Law: Well, I wish we hadn't banged on about shoes off for Will Bomb for the last 10 minutes now. Well, if we're his people, then I reckon, well, actually, no, we've all got different opinions, haven't we? But maybe he wasn't into it. He started listening in 2016. Maybe Will Bomb is what got him into it. Yeah, I mean, it's very possible. I had to interview Will Bomb on Live at Wimbledon. I had to pretend I was into it. I think Catherine secretly was. Nope. I think part of it for me, God, what am I doing? Talking about Will Bomb at midnight during a Grand Slam. But I had tickets for Centre Court later in that tournament and I really wanted to see Federer.

1:18:28So I had no interest at all in like an upset. So I needed Federer to get through. It's basically, I think that's where it came from. And I didn't like the laddishness of it all. You can't have been very worried about an upset. No. No, I wasn't. Okay. I wanted no nonsense. Will, thank you very much for your lovely words and for getting us to take Matt down this beautiful memory lane. We also have Cara Cumberland from Washington, D.C. Hello, Cara. What a great name. Hi, Cara. Cara says, looking forward to someday getting to a slam so I can buy you all pre-recording beers. Yes, Cara. You're welcome any time, Cara.

1:19:16You're going to win. Do we have a name for our Muscataire sensation equivalents in New York? We don't, I think, do we? That's up for grabs. We're open to submissions and Cara is in prime position to win. But we don't know what title you'll be winning, Cara. We'll workshop it. And finally, we have Rajesh David from Maryland. Hello, Rajesh. Good surname, Rajesh. Home of Pamela Howard Shriver or birthplace of Pamela Howard Shriver. Indeed. And others, but most significantly, Pamela Howard-Schreiber. Rajesh says, first saw pro tennis played on a Zambian grass court. Wow. Very cool. Gosh, that would have taken some maintenance.

1:20:11Okay. Rajesh, very cool indeed. Thank you ever so much all for being friends of the tennis podcast. Rajesh, Cara and Will. If you'd like to become a friend of the tennis podcast, the link is in our show notes. We're part of the Athletic Podcast Network. Thank you all for listening. We will be back tomorrow.

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