French Open Preview, Arthur’s agony and an extraordinary Oliynykova interview

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1:26Matt Roberts: Hello and welcome to Roland Garros and daily podcast number three of 18 from the grounds of the second Grand Slam of the season. David, Matt and I are in what is fast becoming our usual spot in the shadow of court Susanne Longland. The temperature is still in the high 20s here in the early evening. It's been an absolutely beautiful day in Paris. And we are joined today by special guest Ava Wallace, the newest addition to the Athletics tennis team. Ava, thank you very much for coming on the show today. I know the tennis beat isn't new to you and Roland Garros, the place isn't new to you. But Roland Garros, the tournament is.

2:07Matt Roberts: Now, I don't know if you know, but David had a sort of out-of-body experience the first time he came here, in a good way. OK. How has your experience, the first Roland Garros experience been? Oh, no, I don't know that it's been out of body. I would love to hear more about that. It's been wonderful. It's lovely. It's funny. The French Open was always my favorite as a kid watching, I think, because it felt like such a long time between the Australian Open and the French Open that I'd be like, yay, the tennis is back on TV. And when I was walking to site for the first time, I just looked to my left and saw practice courts and came through the back way.

2:47And I was just like, God, these courts are beautiful. It's just like everyone talks about Wimbledon and the grass is wonderful. But I like I was looking at those clay courts and they just looked like velvet. And I said, oh, this is great. I can't wait for another slam.

2:59Matt Roberts: So I'm very happy to be here. That was actually very David Law-esque. Oh, thank you.

3:04David Law: I would say. Yeah. No, I mean, I was taken by surprise by it, really, because I didn't expect to like it. I always thought this is going to be the poor relation, the Grand Slam. I'm quite sure that's because I just had not been to it. and I was always at the Queen's tournament in London waiting for that to begin and it always looked damp and wet and, you know, everybody looked cramped and people were annoyed and, well, mostly you, Catherine, when I would speak to you when you were here. But when I came, I realised there were a lot of times in between that that you weren't annoyed and there's a reason why and it's because it's beautiful.

3:42Matt Roberts: David, I can get annoyed anywhere. That is true, yeah. It's quite often geography unspecific. Now, look, the show generally, this show is generally the one we do on the eve of the slam. It's our last preview show. It's where we get communally hyped for the tournament. And we are going to do that. That is still today's show. But we do have to start with some pretty rough news, quite frankly. not necessarily shock news given the atmosphere and the kind of fact pattern that's been swirling over the past few days. But we do now know for sure that Art of Feas is out of Roland Garros. He came, he practised this morning with Yurida Hetchka on court Philippe Chattier, a huge crowd for that.

4:29Matt Roberts: Almost everyone kind of willing him to be fit, David Law included. He called a press conference for 5.30, He ended up coming at around about four o 'clock, came early, which didn't feel like a good sign. The writing felt like it was on the wall. And indeed, it was. He came in and announced to the room, I'm not going to be playing at Roland Garros. He was asked for a bit more detail about his situation. He said it's a hip injury or certainly it is pain in his hip. He said he had scans after Rome and they didn't show anything. and he's still experiencing extreme pain and he just doesn't know what it is or what the treatment path is.

5:10Matt Roberts: He said, if it would have been the last tournament of my life, I would have played, but I have another 10 or 15 years as a professional tennis player. And he said, I can't keep making the same mistakes because, of course, a reference there to sustaining the back injury here last year and continuing on and playing his next match and taking that big risk with his body. There is no way around this, David. It's a massive bummer.

5:39David Law: Yeah. Nobody needs me to remind how I feel about Artifez as a player and as a character on the circuit. To me, it's just about the best news the sport's had in years, certainly one of them. And for a second year in a row, we're here not only with him unable to play his home grand slam and honestly that i know it's janik noah day which is where all the kids come out but the the place couldn't have been more excited to see him and he just owns the place when when he's out there and here we are second year in a row he's unable to play and more to the point he doesn't really know what the solution is he doesn't you know i've spoken to goryna venezovic they don't really know what it is they don't know I mean, I'm sure they'll find out, you know, that once you get out of the sort of the rat race of trying to get ready for a big tournament, you can properly do some investigation.

6:32David Law: But let's not forget, he did eight months of that. He found the solution. He came back and he played so far in excess of what I would have expected in his return, seemingly without any physical setbacks. And for this to happen now is devastating for him on a sort of micro level, but also a real concern on a macro level because he's right. He's doing the right things, but there can't be any guarantees that he sorts this out because maybe a body is just not cut out for what you're asking from it if it's got a certain vulnerability. I hope that that is not the case, and I'm prepared to be optimistic and believe that he will find a solution, but there's no getting around it.

7:13David Law: This is just terrible, terrible news for him.

7:15Matt Roberts: And it's kind of too deep a pool to dive into now, but it seems like maybe not the only young, exciting body that is not cut out for men's tennis, right? This is another name on a pretty terrifying list, quite frankly, of long-term, young, injured players whose future feels quite uncertain. And OK, they're all different injuries, and it's very difficult to draw a binary line between length of the season or length of Masters 1000s or the physicality of the sport, but it's hard not to feel that there's something going on here that is a worry.

8:00Catherine Whitaker: Definitely, yeah. I mean, five names come immediately to mind. Alcaraz, Mazzetti, Draper, Runa, Feast. You know, that's five young players, all not here at this year's French Open, all with different stages of injury, all with different injuries. But, yeah, look, everyone has their own sorts of preferences of players they like. But, you know, personally speaking, those five would be pretty high up in my power rankings in terms of excitement. That's a big runer guy. And just generally as well, like for the sport, you know, they've all shown how great they can be. And that is a big pool of players.

8:38Catherine Whitaker: And, yeah, it's just quite interesting that we have this happening as well at the same time as, you know, player action is taking place and you just kind of think that as much as prize money is part of those talks, I do sort of really hope and I think as well that there needs to be talks happening about all of this, really, and the reasons why maybe we're seeing this increase in injuries and the scheduling and the amount that players are playing and when players talk about welfare, I really hope that the tournaments are listening to these players and the players are putting that point across as well.

9:19Catherine Whitaker: I think it's very important that that is right there alongside prize money as a real priority for tennis to improve on at the moment because it's an issue.

9:31Matt Roberts: That's an interesting tie-in, actually, And again, a very deep pool to dive into right now. But the players are now very much citing this 22 % target, aren't they, for prize money as a percentage of Grand Slam revenue because that is what the tours are offering. Well, the tours are able to offer that. They've increased that on what they were previously offering as a result of extending to two-week-long Masters, right, which most people would agree is likely contributing to this picture of the sport feeling kind of not fit for purpose physically. Yeah, this is an ATP issue for me, like grand slams aside, but I think of, I have covered the slams for several years, but my background is in NBA and the WNBA.

10:17So I think of it, my first thought is always from a league perspective. And the NBA is having the same thing, an incredible increase of injuries, and they know why it is because they've collected data on it and they've had studies on it because they can't continue to lose stars the way they've been losing stars. To me, this is something the ATP absolutely should be investing in. And the five guys you mentioned, all such different injuries. But so you have to look at, OK, we know the games become more physical. We know that players are being asked to cover more on the court and move their bodies in different ways.

10:47The ATP has all of that data. They need to get on. To me, the injury issue is something that if you can't fix, you can at least inform your players about it and inform fans about it and say we're looking into it too it's a priority for us too we understand that even if maybe it's not our responsibility I'm not asking to come out and say that because I think that's unrealistic but um I think it's their

11:09Matt Roberts: responsibility certainly to keep their players informed yeah it's really interesting I mean we do have an update on the the player or a small update I suppose on the player protest from yesterday via The Guardian that came out a couple of hours ago. Apparently, the players are understood to have been heartened by the meeting that took place last night, which included three representatives from the French Tennis Federation and the players' representative, Larry Scott, and a group of player agents, described by sources as positive talks. And the players feel as if their media boycott has been vindicated.

11:47Matt Roberts: and one source told The Guardian that one day of direct action had achieved more than over a year of discussions behind the scenes. Ava, we all read your piece in The Athletic a couple of days ago when the news of the media boycott or walkout, protest, whatever you want to call it, came out and we knew it was going to be happening, whatever it might have ended up looking like. And we were quite taken with how taken you were by these plans. How do you feel about what actually ended up transpiring? How are your feelings about the whole thing evolved? I've been on a roller coaster with this, but no, I was really heartened just because, or actually more just interested to see that, okay, you're willing to give up something.

12:37And it's not, I understand that players don't often love coming and talking to us. Some of them, a lot of them do. But to me, it was the part where they said they were also limiting interviews with rights holders. To me, that was a big deal. And Media Day is both like, yeah, it's a slog, but it does matter for the ecosystem of a tournament. Like, all that stuff goes on social. All that stuff is like clips that they play before it goes to commercial on TNT and things. Like, those things do actually matter. So I was interested in that part. I thought it was a good PR move. You put the 15 number out there, if people hear about that and associate it with it.

13:10I do think they're making more noise than they had been. Like before I was set to go to Paris, my neighbor was like, oh, you're going to the French Open. Is it happening? And I was like, what do you mean? And he thought that there was going to be no tournament because the players were boycotting. So media literacy issues there, but they are getting the word out. I was excited about that. And the way it happened practically was a little bit deflating in terms of like, oh, this isn't really this isn't much of anything. people did go over 15 minutes I think it was so chaotic like in the mixed zone area or in in any of the smaller rooms that if someone had abruptly stood up and say okay I'm leaving now it wouldn't have necessarily seemed like it was because of the protest like people were kind of doing that anyways but it did get us asking players questions about it and it did get us asking questions about if players would be willing to give up more than just limiting media days there were so many options between what they did yesterday and a true boycott that I think they have a menu of things on the table and it did seem like they were willing to at least do that so it was it was kind of a mixed bag practically did it work I guess if if they saw progress from the FFT didn't play out like such a strong statement but more and more players were talking about it

14:30Matt Roberts: yeah interesting I mean Sinner in his press conference yesterday was very I mean obviously he wants the prize money increase, but he was very big on the disrespect angle, wasn't he? Yeah. And the fact that it had taken the slam so long to get back to the group of players. He felt really disrespected by the lack of response and the lack of setting a meeting. So it sounds like just this meeting happening and the mark of like, we are taking you seriously, we're giving you our time and attention. That feels like something in itself. And it is so interested how genuinely unified the players feel. And it's such an—it feels like this exact moment in tennis that would have had to happen in terms of, like, there are a lot of players, aside from Sinner and Alcaraz, who are kind of at the same level of fame, at the same level of recognition, are kind of all fighting to be the next guy or the next woman or whatever on tour.

15:22I don't know that this would have happened in the era of Rafa and Federer and everything, even when they were young and still kind of on the come-up. There was such a clear stratification in terms of how big of a deal certain players were. And we kind of feel like we're in an era where, yeah, you've got these two guys, you've got these four women, and then everybody else is kind of all there together. So it was interesting to hear Medvedev say, this is the most unified I've ever seen players be. And Coco was kind of, I asked her about that because I said, were you surprised? I know it's been a year in the making, but it feels like even getting people on the same group chat might be hard.

15:56And she was like, no, we've just kind of been doing it. So that part was very interesting to me.

16:01Matt Roberts: Someone's got to find out what that group chat is called and what their icon is. That's the real journalism. Are they creative enough? Sorry, that was mean. Yeah, I fear the answer will end up being disappointing. Yeah, it'll be like top ten players.

16:14Catherine Whitaker: Nope, let me, okay, two of you, sorry.

16:16Matt Roberts: I would still like to know. Yeah, yeah.

16:18Catherine Whitaker: I'm desperate to know. It's a tennis ball, right? That's what the icon is, yeah. Oh, man.

16:24Matt Roberts: Come on.

16:26Catherine Whitaker: It's the right shape and everything. But how many group chats are they in with tennis balls as the icon? It's the money bag then. You've got to do it.

16:32Matt Roberts: I thought it would be all like Cuba Gooding Jr. doing Show Me the Money. Okay. They're all too old. They're all too young for that, aren't they? I was just going to say, New Paul, how many of that group of players? Such a dated millennial reference.

16:44David Law: Matt's looking at us like, what? That came out the year Matt was born. Jeremy Grant. 96. You've seen it? No. Oh, you're younger than me. Oh. I know. Sorry to discuss that. I go through this a lot, Ava, don't you worry.

16:59Matt Roberts: David sounds so surprised about it. You're not quite Gen Z, though. You're right on the... He's a millennial. I call him a spiritual millennial. I don't even know what any of this means. OK, that's it for part one. Join us in part two when we'll get into the fun stuff.

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19:21Matt Roberts: Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast. We are going to get into tomorrow's order of play, the first tournament order of play in a moment. But first, let's have a chat about some of the stories from qualifying because there have been some very good ones here this week, Matt Roberts.

19:38Catherine Whitaker: There have, yeah. Yeah, and I think we should probably start with the French men who've qualified. It's the first time since 2011 that four French men have qualified. One of those is Pierre-Huguerbert, now 35 years old. He had his five-year-old son watching on. And one of our favourite things about this sort of build-up week at the French Open is their staging of qualifying. and that final qualifying match took place on court, Suzanne Longland. It was absolutely packed for Herbert. And interestingly that he beat a Swiss guy, Leandro Riedi, in three sets. And that's interesting because Herbert actually briefly coached Riedi during Herbert's own injury layoff.

20:28Catherine Whitaker: He was on tour, just did a week or so, travelling with him. I think they shared a coach. and then when Herbert was injured, he actually travelled with Riedi to a tournament. So they had a very special bond, really, and a really nice moment at the end of the match there, which I thought was really interesting, like a classic qualifying story there.

20:48Matt Roberts: That can't have happened many times, if any, before, surely.

20:54Catherine Whitaker: I mean, I've not heard of anything like that before, but I love it. I kind of love that, yeah. So, yeah, he's in the draw and also of those French players, we should probably shout out Thomas Forel. My dad's guy. He's great. Who also, I think, was on long then, wasn't he, getting through and he now faces Valentin Vachereau.

21:15Matt Roberts: We'll be watching.

21:17Catherine Whitaker: When's that?

21:18Matt Roberts: We saw Vachereau stride through the press conference, through the media centre yesterday. I briefly misidentified him as Borna Goyo, but it was from the back and from a distance and it was a hair thing, OK? OK. I'll give you that. But my goodness me, he's confident, isn't he, Vachero? That is a swagger and a half.

21:39David Law: When he walked through the restroom, he just saw all these eyes following, my own included. You just can't take your eyes off him. He just owns the place.

21:47Matt Roberts: And I don't think he'll love playing a French guy and being very much cast in the you're not the French guy role. Yeah,

21:57Catherine Whitaker: because I'd kind of been expecting him to have a lot of support at this year's Roland Garros, you know. But, yeah, I don't think he'll be the crowd favourite in that one. So that will be fascinating. Those four qualifiers are four of 22 French players in the draw. So big, big contingent. Also got two Bolivians making it through qualifying. Pam Shriver, who we saw yesterday, said that she's been properly paying attention to qualifying for the first time in a while in her new role as a coach with Yonex, a mindset coach. And she's been out on all the practice courts in the cold at the start of the week, in the heat at the end of the week.

22:39Catherine Whitaker: It was interesting how the weather changed through qualifying. And she's kept an eye on Juan Carlos Prado Angelo, who is one of those Bolivians, 20-year-old, beat Mackenzie McDonald, beat Coleman Wong. Wong has instantly got in as a lucky loser anyway. but Prado Angelo now plays David's guy, Landaluthe, in round one. So that is one to look out for. And the other Bolivian who qualified is at the other end of his career, 32-year-old Hugo Delian, a very experienced clay quarter. We've also had a lot of Americans making it through, Emilio Nava on the men's side, and I think probably most interestingly is Sloane Stephens on the women's side, the 2018 runner-up here.

23:25Catherine Whitaker: I have not really been able to figure out Sloane's level over the past few months. She's had some very one-sided losses. I remember her losing two in love to Zara Zura in Charleston, and she's taken a couple of losses to Padres on the clay. But that's a really nice qualifying run she's put together here, and it's great to see her back in the main draw.

23:47Matt Roberts: What does it mean for her role at TNT? I was going to say, was she included? She is. She's on their roster.

23:53Catherine Whitaker: Well, even if she wins a round, she's likely got Igor Sviontek in round two.

23:59Matt Roberts: They'll pencil her in for punditry from Wednesday onwards. I'd have thought so. Mid-match interview. Patch her in. That's what I want to hear. That would be great. Right, yeah. Do I want to hear that from Sloan, actually? Maybe not.

24:17Catherine Whitaker: And then I think the sort of other name to touch on here is a 23-year-old Brit, Toby Samuel, whose story is pretty incredible, really. He went to the University of South Carolina, and this is his first time in the main draw of a slam. He missed much of the 2024 season because of bone bruising on his right arm and fell to almost 2 ,000 in the world. But since coming back from that injury, he has transformed his career, made huge strides last year in particular. And in the past year, he's actually won 67 of his last 80 matches. He's been on an incredible streak. He won back-to-back challenger titles earlier this year in March.

25:05Catherine Whitaker: And he's kind of on the cusp of the world's top 150. And, yeah, as I said, his first time into the main draw of a slam. And he's beaten Martin Dam Jr. He's beaten David Goffin. And he's beat Peru's Gonzalo Bueno to make it through. And he faces Alex Dimonor in his first round. So, yeah, incredible story.

25:28David Law: Won't have to do much running in that one.

25:30Catherine Whitaker: Right.

25:31Matt Roberts: Good news for the Brits who we sit on the Brit row here in the media centre, for the Brit print journalists, and it is slim pickings for them at this tournament, so I'm glad.

25:42David Law: They're still out in force talking to Jacob Fernley.

25:46Matt Roberts: Honestly, Jacob Fernley must have felt like a rock star, the crowd that he had around him yesterday. Really cool stories.

25:54Catherine Whitaker: And I probably also should have shouted out Claire Liu, the American who qualified. She only lost six games in three matches. She had three 6-1 sets and two 6-love sets. Wow. So she's in good form. I think she's got Uchijima. Good luck to her.

26:12Matt Roberts: Yeah, watch out for her. Okay, good stuff. Thank you, Matt. Let's have a look at tomorrow's order of play. What have we got? What we've got, folks, is a pretty soft launch on Chatrier. We start on Chattuier. First matchup, Sinja Kraus, the Austrian qualifier, taking on Belinda Bencic. That is at midday. I'm sure they'll be packed in for that and definitely not all enjoying lunch while that match is happening. Second on Chattuier, Benjamin Bonzi against Alexander Zverev in the heat of the day. I think we saw Benjamin Bonzi practising yesterday in two different locations.

26:57David Law: Yes, yes, we did. And I don't exactly know what he looks like sometimes, but I'm reliably informed that that was him both times. But anyway, I'll have my eyes keenly on him tomorrow because we know he likes the big occasion, doesn't he?

27:16Matt Roberts: He does. Took a set off Yannick Sinner in Madrid. I mean, taking a set off Yannick Sinner on clay in 2026, you get a little medal for that. That makes me nervous for that match now.

27:30Catherine Whitaker: And he took out Mepedev at two slams last year. Maybe he's ready.

27:36Matt Roberts: Maybe he's ready. Third on Chatterey tomorrow, Mira Andreva against Fiona Farrow. And then the night session. I think this was anticipated when Giovanni Pesci Perica had been spotted hitting at night quite a lot. I think, you know, word had trickled down that his opening match was likely to be a night session because it is against Novak Djokovic, who I'm sure saw the weather forecast and thought, night session, please, against that serve. I won't ask for a prediction because the answer is it depends whether Novak Djokovic is fit, right?

28:11David Law: Well, yeah, you would think so. What I do think is you could end up with some very close sets at the least, because if he gets that serve rocking, I mean, I don't care how good you are as an opponent, it's really difficult to get a racket on that serve. Crowd behind him, you know, he might play out of his mind. Greg behind him. Greg behind him. Crowd plus Greg. Absolutely. But, I mean, he is against arguably the greatest return of the men's game has ever seen. So that could end up being some spectacular rallies if Djokovic can get hold of the serve. ones. Just short ones, but spectacular. Explosive.

28:51Matt Roberts: Longlen tomorrow opens with a Frenchman, which is what you love to see, David. Against Karina Hashinov is Arthur. Arthur Geyer.

29:02David Law: I don't know too much about this Arthur.

29:05Matt Roberts: But you do need a new French Arthur. I do like French Arthurs.

29:09David Law: How convenient.

29:10Matt Roberts: I'll be there. There you go.

29:12David Law: I'll be there. Testing it out.

29:13Matt Roberts: I mean, it would be unexpected for me, David, starting his tournament with Karina Hashinov. but that's what Suzanne Longland does to her man. That's the power of a Frenchman of Longland. Second on Longland tomorrow. This will get you going, David. Hayley Baptiste against Barbora Kraychukov. This is where the fun starts, I think. That's my... I'm going to be locked in on that one.

29:31David Law: Do you circle an order of play in terms of what you want to go... Highlight or underline, and it has to be in a different colour. But yes, lots of circling and lots of letting my editor know what I've circled in advance. If you want to cover this, I'm up for it.

29:45Matt Roberts: So Baptiste Krejcikova very much circled. Any of the others I've mentioned so far had a circling? No, Vax, but I'm mostly just keeping an eye on how much energy is expended on every match because I do think it's going to be one where I'm... There's not really anybody who can, I think, unseat him, but I think he's going to be tired and beat up by, like, Sunday. Taylor Fritz, Nishesh Basavaredi. That could be a circling.

30:17Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I'm kind of intrigued by what Fritz has got here, right? Because we've just not seen him that much. I know he played on clay last week and lost to Popperin, I think, didn't he? But, you know, like I've kind of written Fritz off this tournament. And yet when he's at his best, he's a pretty reliable presence in a draw. So if he looks good, and he certainly thinks he looks good after those photos. Gave us his stats yesterday, didn't he? He did The lifts are going up, the weight's coming down That changes the draw a little bit I think, if Fritz is a serious prospect, because he's in that section with Hodder he's in that section with Zverev and he's got a good record against Zverev but, I don't know I'm keeping an eye on that one to try and learn something about where Taylor Fritz is at I suppose.

31:06Matt Roberts: And seeing him scheduled on Longland did remind me that Roland Garros Fritz is my favourite Fritz is it really because it's here that we saw the the shushing that's right he gets sassy here against rindiknesh much like yourself he gets annoyed i mean he's playing another american so probably won't get that but that was absolute peak taylor fritz for me and then we had the follow-up at wimbledon with have a safe flight home like just he can be fun he can be really i think i think intrigues is also how i feel i just want to see where he's at and see honestly see how he, like, now that tennis players are talking about breakups and how that affects, like, focus and everything, I'm interested to see him back on court.

31:45The most single man in the world.

31:49Matt Roberts: Last on Longland tomorrow, Xenia Ephraimova, the French wildcard, very talented junior player she was against Saranaka Steyer, who's 18th seed. On a heater. Yeah. A bit of a heater. Court Simone Mathieu tomorrow opens with Marta Kostyuk against a Russian player. We have a few Russians against Ukrainians in the opening round. Oksana Selekomatova, the Russian opponent for 15th seed, Marta Kostyuk in the opener. Then it's Katie Volinets against Clara Burel, the French wildcard, second up. Titouin Troguet against Jakub Mensik, another French wildcard. Third on Mathieu tomorrow. And then Joel Fonseca against a French qualifier, Luka Pavlovich, one of those four French men's qualifiers.

32:42Catherine Whitaker: That could be a scene. Yeah. You know, remember last year, David, when we were on court seven, I think, wasn't it, watching Fonseca? And, like, it was clear that court was just not big enough. And there was people standing on kind of everything just to get a viewing point of that. And, yeah, playing a Frenchman, I think they've learned that Fonseca needs a slightly bigger court. So, yeah, that could be eventful, end of the day.

33:10Matt Roberts: Court 14 tomorrow. Alejandro Davidovic for Kina. 21st seed against Demir Jumher. Fran Jones against Beatriz Hadadjmaier. Remember when Hadadjmaier was in the semifinals here? I mean, she's just dropped off a cliff, hasn't she? I mean, you'd almost say that's potentially a good draw for Fran Jones, which is pretty crazy. Sophia Kennan against Peyton Stearns. That could be feisty. Sonigo against Pierre-Huguer Baer is last on 14. Court seven has Teresa Valantova and Magda Lynette. The winner of that faces...

33:44Catherine Whitaker: Ostapenko if she wins. Yes, I've kind of circled that one myself just because that section of the draw intrigues me so much. I'm so invested in it.

33:53Matt Roberts: Yes, that suddenly feels like quite a consequential match because of the Ostapenko implications. Conta Alice and Mathieu Bellucci are over on court seven. What else have we got here? We have, I mean, there's French players everywhere, which is absolutely what you want from early rounds at Roland Garros. Kieran Jacquet against Marco Trunjaliti. That feels vibes-y. That's second on court six. Anything else, Ava, that you've circled? First on seven, Tim Ljanovic and Katie McNally, just because McNally's become all of a sudden very interesting to watch to me. Like, she's a good watch, and I think she could maybe do some damage, get a couple of good matches under her belt.

34:40But, yeah, I always like watching her.

34:43Matt Roberts: Lily Tagger is first on court nine. She turned us down for tennis podcast meets, but we don't hold that against people. I'll be there. We're still Tagger people.

34:51Catherine Whitaker: I need to see the backhand in real life. Yes. I need to make an in-life assessment of its potential list status.

34:59Matt Roberts: And it was here last year she won the junior title, wasn't it? And we kind of first became aware of her. So, yeah, I'll be checking her out as well. And Mahatch against Burgs, second on court 12. So I reckon you're going to go court 9 for tagger and then Mahatch-Burgs, second up.

35:15Catherine Whitaker: Yes, although I do also want to see Baptiste-Krejcikova. but I think Berg's Mahatch follow a men's match.

35:23Matt Roberts: They do. Yeah, so I'm hoping that goes five

35:25Catherine Whitaker: and then I can get my two women's matches in and then head over to Berg's Mahatch. I've thought this through. You do surprise me.

35:34Matt Roberts: Emerita Kano against Solana Sierra, probably worth pointing out. That is third on court 13 tomorrow. Okay, we will be doing predictions. That'll be coming up in part three of the show. Just before we move on, we should round up results from the tournaments that have been happening this week. We've had a WTA 250 in Rabat, won by Petra Marchinko. Disappointing scenes in the final there. Angelina Kalinina had to retire at a set and three love down. So Marchinko, the titleist in Rabat in Strasbourg, which is a 500. Huge win, huge title for Emma Navarro. He's had a tough time recently. A lot of health issues, struggling with form.

36:20Matt Roberts: And this is absolutely massive. 500 points, a lot of confidence in the bank, and a win over a top 10 player in the final. She beat Victoria Mboko, 6-love, 5-7, 6-2 there. So congratulations to Emma Navarro. On the men's side of things, we've had Geneva going on this week. That's a 2-50. Won by Lerner Tien, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. He beat Alexander Bublik in a very entertaining semifinal yesterday. I mean, it was only a year ago that Tien couldn't function on anything other than a hard court. I mean, winning a title a year on is pretty big. Very promising, yeah.

36:59David Law: Is he maybe the American that might go the furthest in the men's draw? It's a tough draw for Americans this time. I'm not sure. I haven't seen him enough on clay. I usually watch him on hardcourt. He's kind of one of those guys that I circle at the U.S. Open because he also gets crowds behind him and is kind of placed a fun atmosphere on hardcourt. But I don't know. The Americans, I was just looking at Tommy Paul's results today. I was down kind of bad, but what else is new?

37:31Matt Roberts: And he's got Medvedev in his section, David. Yeah. Although he wins those matches. Oh, that's the most random quarter of... Yeah.

37:40Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I think Caballi's in there as well. Yeah, it's a fun little section. Yeah, it's a good question, the American, to go further. I mean, Shelton's been really reliable at slams recently, hasn't he? But he's just, his tall form in the last few months has been... So up and down. Yeah, so he's struggled. But I don't know, in these hot conditions, I think that serve could get jumping up and firing at people. Like, he might actually like these conditions, I think.

38:07David Law: We were watching highlights of Tommy Paul last night, Catherine and me, against Alex Diminor. Oh, wow. We were jumping out of our seats at midnight, weren't we? I saw on social just like, what was it, the tiniest shorts and the best runners on tour? It was like, oh, that's...

38:21Matt Roberts: He was a set in 3-1 down, Tommy Paul and Alex Diminor playing out of his mind. And Tommy Paul turned into Carlos Alcaraz on steroids. He does that, though. It's crazy. Just, I mean, talk about afterburners. Like, just sort of went, oh, screw this. Started just, I don't know, like the injection of pace on his backhand in particular was sort of took us aback, didn't it? Felt like he was jumping out of the laptop screen.

38:53Catherine Whitaker: Didn't win the title, though.

38:54Matt Roberts: Didn't win the title. Lost out to Ignacio Boussey. What was Boussey like? Boussey, Boussey. Boussey. Boussey must have been unreal. He's a good player, Boussaint. Yeah. And he's got Andrei Rublev in the opening round here, which I had eyed as an upset when the draw came out, but it's tough to turn around, you know, obviously physically, but also that's a big deal for Boussaint winning an ATP 500 title, I think.

39:22Catherine Whitaker: I think at this stage in his career, you probably want the title rather than a run to second or third round or maybe fourth round at the French. I think winning a title is really valuable and getting that win over a more experienced guy like Paul. Yeah, he's building, isn't he, Boussé, from Peru, which is quite fun to see. I think we're seeing it more and more, like players from countries which don't have quite so many players and therefore they're getting a lot of support themselves. There's a lot of them on the women's tour at the moment and I feel like Boussé is carrying the flag for Peru right now and yeah, it's great to see.

39:56Catherine Whitaker: It's got a fun game.

39:59Matt Roberts: Okay, that is it for part two. Join us in part three for predictions.

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41:13Matt Roberts: Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast, our Roland Garros preview show where we are going to get into some predictions shortly. Colors are going to be pinned to masts. But first, we wanted to share part of an interview that we did today with Ukrainian player Oleksandr Olynykova. We had asked for five minutes with her to form part of our tennis podcast meet show that we do before every Grand Slam for our subscribers. And she came back and said, I'll give you 10. And then when I actually sat down with her, she ended up speaking for more than 15 minutes. Friends of the pod can hear the full interview in the tennis podcast meet show that's going up later today.

41:54Matt Roberts: and also features David's chats with Ethan Quinn, Martin Lander-Luthe, Stefano Sitsapas, Alexander Blocks. I had a lovely chat with Zeynep Sonmez yesterday. But we did want to share an excerpt from Olinikova's interview on this show today because it is so powerful and because the reason that she was so generous with her time is because she understands the value of her platform and is prepared to take risks in order to speak about what she thinks matters. So we thought her voice deserved as big a platform as we could give it. We talked about a lot of things, her unique playing style, her strong sense of self and individuality.

42:35Matt Roberts: But we also talked about her experience of being a Ukrainian player on tour with a war going on at home. I started on that topic by asking her about her decision to use her platform wherever she can to raise awareness about the war in Ukraine and how big a motivator that is for her in terms of success on the tennis court? Yeah, actually for me it's the reason I'm playing because I live in Ukraine. My home is in Ukraine. My father is a soldier. He's volunteered to go to war in 2024 and he was always with me before he went to army on tour. and of course to share our story is a huge motivation for me.

43:23I see my future in Ukraine and the war actually defines my life how it will be so tennis is a big platform and I think for sport it's very important also to speak about the values of humanity and to unite people for what is right. And yeah, otherwise, you know, I'm someone who is enjoying game, but I don't need a big stadium. So yeah, I was always, I always tell that I love tennis in any way. You know, I can just play in a small club in my country. I will be happy because of the game. I'm not that much focused on the results, but the motivation to be on the big tournaments, it's of course to do my best to help people in my country and to put the attention that we still need support.

44:19Matt Roberts: I think you are the only top player from Ukraine that still lives and trains there. On a practical level, can you share a little bit of what that's like, the challenges of it? I imagine there are difficulties with travel in and out of Ukraine and facilities, that kind of thing. Yes, for me this is very hard because this is my choice. I want to live at home and I want to build my future in Ukraine. This is very important for me because the people I love there and I love my country. The other players, they chose to live outside and this is their decision. their decision i mean it's it's normal but uh yeah i have my you know my own way again and it's hard to travel sometimes uh i'm not at home for like couple of months if it's a short spot uh between the tournament that i just i just have no time to come back home and uh because it's not possible to fly there and I live in Kiev it's over 700 kilometers from the border so you know first you need to get to the border then you need to drive 10 hours inside Ukraine so yeah and I sometimes I'm not seeing my family I'm not seeing my boyfriend for months so yeah of course it's very hard for me it would be so much easier if I will just be able to come home between the tournaments like all the other players so yeah sometimes I'm just I just feel crazy on tour but yeah like I have so many supportive people so I just think I do the good thing for by playing tennis.

46:17Matt Roberts: Does that ever feel lonely that your experience on tour is so different to everybody everybody else all the other players? I mean of course of course it's it's difficult many players are supportive and they are saying a lot of kind words and they you know they are really informed so I can hear you how to explain this is this is this is some small things some small kind words but this is something what means a lot today and for me in my situation every time I hear something like this from another player I appreciate it a lot and it helps me to feel better. In terms of sort of bigger gestures I mean we've had the players the last couple of days I don't know if you know about this but they've been protesting about prize money kind of proving that when something matters to them they can speak out and put themselves on the line.

47:24Matt Roberts: Do you find that frustrating that there is now a lot of silence around Ukraine? Yes, this is very frustrating. And this silence on tour, for me, this is something that's very problematic. This is something that's affecting my life directly. Because if we will speak about tennis players, this is people with a lot of publicity, a lot of influence, a lot of money. and this is the people who can change a lot. I believe that sport, this is the part of culture which unites people for the right things. But now when we see this silently, for me, I think this is the very bad message, especially when on the tour so many people, so many tennis players from Belarus and from Russia who are supporting their regimes.

48:25And there is a lot of effects of the media activity on the social media, comments, likes, many activities like in the past by playing with pro-war sponsors, by going to the Gazprom tournament. I think you know that we are not allowed to participate in the tournaments which are organized by betting companies. But there is no any reaction on players participating of the tournament of the company, which is financing war crimes. And there is no reaction on this. I don't understand how it's possible. The players, let's say, top female player, Arina Sabalenko, world number one, she signed in 2020 the document to support Lukashenko she never pulled out there is multiple video photos her with Belarusian dictator she is not commenting this nobody is commenting this we're protecting like nothing happened let's make a photo of new Gucci bag and me when I come back home, I live in Kiev, the attacks with massive drones and rockets will come from Belarus to my home.

49:51And how should I feel? I mean, for me, it's terrible when, let's say this person, Arina Sabalenka, if we talk about her, she's the most famous Belarusian woman in the world. When she says that she don't have any influence on what is happening in her country by being now the most, let's say, the most important person in the Western world from Belarus who can speak out. I mean, for me, it's the absurd. She can influence on so many minds. And yeah, we see the same silence from Russian tennis players, from many of them. we for me it's very big problem also because you know the WTA this is the organization which was made with the idea that the woman that we can you know we are the serious athletes so we also can speak about important things the WTA was created but by the Billie Jean King you You know, and what's happening now when the women players were so many influence, pretending like the only thing they can think about is a Gucci bag.

51:12That's an absurd, you know, and for me, it's very triggering.

51:17Matt Roberts: I know in Strasbourg last week, you said your dad was going to be able to come out to France. Is he here? Yes, yes, he's here. he's actually came to strasbourg but because i stretched my leg during the first match with ala i supposed to retire from my second round but now i'm recovering i'm having a bit rest tomorrow i will start to practice so i hope it will be fine and yeah for him to be here this is his dream so yeah his emotions like i'm so happy he's a bit even like a kid you know so he's inspired by everything. He's super happy to be here and I mean, this is an amazing tournament. When was he last able to watch you play a professional match?

52:08August 2024. And he watched this match and after this he went straight to the army. I remember it was ITF 35 in Romania. I remember it very good unfortunately it was the final but unfortunately I lost and I was so upset because I mean my opponent in that match you show great tennis but you know when you're playing not your best and I think it also was the part that it was so important for me so I was just shaking on the court and yeah I'm so upset that this match was not my best but yeah now he's here and he's also having this contrast with futures and Grand Slam. So, yeah. A lot's changed. Yeah, so many things changed.

53:01So I think the most important thing, and for him it's the most important thing, that we made our dream real. Do you know your draw?

53:10Matt Roberts: Yeah, I know. So you know you play a Russian player? Yes, I know. Can you just tell me what that experience is like for you, facing a Russian opponent? You know, when I'm facing Russian opponents, I'm not thinking too much about them. I feel unfair that we are closing eyes on some facts. And it's also when I see Russian players in the draw playing against me, I always have this in my mind. But, you know, I don't, you know, when I play, I just try to play, to show my tennis. This is what's important for me when I'm on court. And what I'm knowing is that I'm speaking out the facts, I'm speaking out about what's happening in my country, about how sport is important and how the things we will do on tour can change the things to better or worse.

54:14You know, it depends right now, the silencing, it's a very big problem. But again, I'm speaking out and yeah, I'm not overthinking because it's just a match. But of course, I always, when I see this draw, I have on my mind the things which are behind. What's happening on court, you know, one day I can win, one day I can lose. It's again, match by match, tournament by tournament. We play so many matches during the year, so it's not that important, but I believe I do the right thing and that's what I'm trying to be focused on.

54:54Matt Roberts: Well, I wish you the very best of luck. It's been wonderful to speak to you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. And actually, I stopped the recorder, But my next words to Oleksandra Olenikova were that Billie Jean King, I felt sure that Billie Jean King would like her and that they would have a lot to talk to one another about. And she was really taken aback by those words. And actually, the WTA communications manager that was there for the interview was sort of nodding. And she said, yeah, we need to make that happen. Billie Jean King meeting Ola Nikova, and you could see what the prospect of that meant to her.

55:34Matt Roberts: And just before I get your reaction to that interview, David, I should just say that for her own part, Sabalenka has been asked about similar comments that Ola Nikova has made, like you just heard there earlier this year, and she said at the time, I want peace, and if I could change anything, I would definitely do that. Other than that, I have nothing else to say. David, I know you were very struck by what you heard from Olinikova there and her reaction to the prospect of meeting Billie Jean King.

56:06David Law: Whenever we spend any time with Billie Jean King, she always talks about wanting to have a player like Olinikova who's prepared to speak out on things that they're passionate about, not just pay lip service, not hide away and just regard themselves as tennis players because there are too many important subjects out there that the platform can be used for. And, I mean, I have not really come across an interviewee in tennis quite like Olin Akova in that interview and in many others. I know Charlie Eccleshire spoke to her for The Athletic. But, I mean, it is, I don't know how you find it, Ava. I mean, you speak to a lot of athletes and you've come across a lot of people, but that is quite something.

56:56It's nice. And I'm glad you brought up Billie Jean King. And it was I that seems like it was a lovely reaction from her, too. But it does remind you that that's really such a crucial foundation of the WTA is that they were women who were so involved in activism and they had to be at that point in time. But it's just an interesting time. And I'm glad you guys kind of got into also what players are willing to speak out about and what they're maybe not as willing or not as impassioned to speak out about. Because as we can see, it's not as if we don't have players who are willing to put things on the line these days.

57:28So it's interesting and it must be so aggravating for her to see that, but not for the thing that she's trying to fight for. So it's an interesting dynamic.

57:39Matt Roberts: It was, you know, she had the WTA communications manager sat behind her for the whole interview and she didn't intrude at all. She was just doing her job. She was she was great and let it go long because she could see that Olinakova was totally happy. But, you know, the WTA will have heard that interview. And, you know, this is somebody that's been threatened with fines by the WTA for saying things exactly like she's just said in that interview. she is not afraid to cost herself something by speaking out. She's not just doing this because it's easy and she can and she might as well. She's prepared to suffer consequences and cost because it matters.

58:25Matt Roberts: I totally understand why, but there's not an awful lot of that around. And it's pretty incredible when you hear it. And it was pretty incredible for me sort of sitting in front of her. And she made eye contact the whole time. And she was a very impressive person. So I'm glad we were able to give her that platform. And I'm very grateful to her for being so generous with her time. And speaking like that in a second language. Oh, I know. I always think about that. Articulate and impassioned. When you're emotional also. Absolutely. Yeah. Okay. hey, I'm afraid the time has come. Ava, I'm sorry. I'm so happy to be making a fool of myself in my debut, probably.

59:10Matt Roberts: We are happy to have company in making a fool of ourselves. It is predictions time. I'm going to ask for finalists and winners on both sides, but feel free to throw in any other random predictions you might have about things that you just have a feeling might happen over the course of the next two weeks. David, you look like you might want to go first.

59:31David Law: Well, I made a change of my mind today and decided that Rafael Hodder was not actually going to lose in the quarterfinals to Alexander Zverev. He was going to beat him and play against Kasper Rude. He would eventually fall at that point. Rude will be in the final, beaten by Mr Yannick Sinner. Would you like my women's draw?

1:00:00Matt Roberts: Yes, please.

1:00:01David Law: Okay, well, it's going to be the top four seeds, as I picked from third round onwards. It's going to see Elena Rybakina overcome Iga Sviantek this time, face Serena Sabalenka in the final, who will beat Koko Gough, and Sabalenka will win the whole thing.

1:00:20Matt Roberts: So you're going for the world number ones. Yes. I like that, and that was just for the listeners at home. No notes on that, by the way. Just off the top there. That was impressive, David. Thank you.

1:00:31David Law: It doesn't need to be right. It just needs to be impressive.

1:00:35Matt Roberts: That's right. Who would like to follow that? Matt, you're up. Matt.

1:00:40Catherine Whitaker: OK. Wow. I will shock no one and pick Yannick Sinner to win the title on the men's side. Yeah, we were kind of talking earlier, what's our mix to get out of the other side of the draw? who wouldn't surprise us to get to the final. I think three names jump out to me, and one of them is Kasper Rude. I had the chance to speak to Rude in the press conference today and ask him why he played Geneva, basically, which was kind of what we were debating at breakfast this morning, Ava. These are the kind of conversations we have. Jealous I'm not invited. And he said, you know, because I was like, you got to the final of Rome.

1:01:20Catherine Whitaker: Surely you had everything you needed. And he was like, well, when you're playing well, sometimes you've got to be greedy, he said. And when you're feeling good, you've got to take advantage of those moments, keep playing. He talked about it in terms of having, he's going to have three weeks off after the French Open. He's playing nothing on grass before Wimbledon.

1:01:38Matt Roberts: That is his way of scheduling, getting some rest in.

1:01:42Catherine Whitaker: And he actually talked about wanting some long matches because he didn't feel like he got them in Rome. Every match he played was quick. Winning them and then kind of losing in the final there to Sinner. So I think he wanted a bit more court time. the thing is though to me that didn't sound like sort of it sounded like capitalizing on the form he's in and making getting as most points as he can get right now it didn't sound like necessarily that was preparing himself for the best for the french open in the best way he possibly could i i just don't really i'm not sure i trust rude to reach the final here like I think he's going to have a good tournament.

1:02:21David Law: Done it twice before.

1:02:22Catherine Whitaker: I know, but I'm not sure he's quite as... I don't think he's quite as consistent as he was back then. I think he's a little bit more vulnerable and might throw in a worse performance. Put it this way.

1:02:34Matt Roberts: I was wavering on whether to put Kasper Ude in the final, and what I've just heard there has made me stop wavering at all and decide not to.

1:02:46Catherine Whitaker: Okay.

1:02:47Matt Roberts: I just don't think that's you don't trust him of a serious contender

1:02:53Catherine Whitaker: I think my look I know I said the other day that I think my pick at this stage is Djokovic I think I'm going to go Zverev and I think it might be a kind of pick up the pieces route to the final I think he might play Hodder and Hodder's legs might have gone by that point and I think he might play Djokovic and Djokovic kind of to Ava's point earlier, that might be the point where his physicality comes into question. So even less bold than David, I've got 1v2 in the final. I've got Sinova Zverev at this point on the men's side.

1:03:31Matt Roberts: Yeah, I think I've got the same. I think I thought I was going to put Djokovic in the final, but I was slightly... I did read slightly more into his press conference yesterday than you did, Matt, and I totally understand why you weren't. I was mugged off by his Australian Open pre-tournament press conference as well, which turned out to be worse than meaningless, sort of actively misleading. But I don't think he's fit for seven best-of-five-set matches, so I'm going to go with Zverev as well, because Kasparud is talking like... He was very relaxed today. It was not when you're feeling well. There's one reading of that quote, when you're playing well, you have to be greedy, that it's like, yeah, you've got to go for things and I'm taking my opportunities.

1:04:24And that's not what it sounded like. You're right. It sounded like, I've got to get points where I can. And, yeah, he was a little bit just...

1:04:30Matt Roberts: He's not champion speak, is it? Or maybe, I mean, maybe that's the speed that feels best for him when he feels like he's in his own. But I wanted a little bit more oomph from Casper this morning. I quite often want quite a lot more oomph from Casper. Isn't that the story? I think he's great. I respect him. I think he's really nice. Ava has summed up my position perfectly there. I just always want a bit more oomph from him. He said he was playing, what, taking three weeks off. And I knew, I was like, there's a Bad Bunny concert the Saturday before Wimbledon. And I was like, and Casper Rude will be there.

1:05:07That's exactly what I thought.

1:05:09David Law: He's not your oomph guy, though, is he?

1:05:10Matt Roberts: Well, exactly. that's why he's just not for me and that's fine people like different things i have nothing against him he's not an oomph guy i like oomph and david you like him in that matchup against

1:05:22David Law: zverev yeah i i think he if that would be a fun one if they face each other i i mean and they're both fit i'd be back in root i think rude was going to beat the guy two three years ago when they played each other and rude got on well with a parasite yeah i mean that was awful that was Horrible. Terrible luck last year. 6-2 and then he was in a terrible state. And look, I know that might be taken away from Zverev a little bit because he turned that around and won the match and really pushed Alcaraz in the final, but I do, I think matchup-wise, if somebody's going to hurt Zverev, they need to have something to hurt him with, a weapon.

1:06:02David Law: You can't just rally with this guy. You've got to hurt him. And Ruud can do that with his forehand. That's why I've gone for Hodder. Because I totally accept that he's a novice at best of five set match length and Grand Slam platform, but he's also got no mental baggage. He's going to come out and swing. Whether he gets there is another matter, but I feel like he would have to play Fritz if they both got through, and that's a big question. Fritz can make you run a lot, but I think if he could get by Fritz, I'd be backing him to play Zverev, and then I'd be backing him to beat Zverev.

1:06:38Matt Roberts: Ava, your men's prediction. Okay, so my actual prediction, I think, is sinner over rude. But I want to make the argument for Novak Djokovic. Please. I just, I think that you don't, I think if you're Novak Djokovic, you don't waste this opportunity. And I understand that we're kind of past the point of him wheeling himself past whatever his body is breaking down for. But I think that guy is taking, what did Nadal have at the French Open? The 14 cortisol shots or whatever. I think he is doing absolutely everything medically, spiritually, like nutritionally. We already know he's doing that. But I think that he's not wasting this opportunity and Wimbledon.

1:07:23And I just. Without Alcaraz. Without Alcaraz, yes, being in the draw. And I both don't believe his body is going to hold up through this draw and still think he can do something with that and make the final. So I think that there's no guy who can really hurt him deeply. Like, yes, you can ding him up and dent him and everything, but I don't know that anyone has anything to actually close out a match against him. So I want to believe in Djokovic.

1:07:51Matt Roberts: So you didn't quite buy his answer yesterday when asked about Alcaraz not being here? No. Oh, my gosh. No, not at all. No, but it was a good poker face from him. Yeah. He sees, yeah. Yeah. So that's, I do want to see, I want to see Djokovic in the final here for sure. I think Sinner's going to win it all anyways, but I want to see.

1:08:10David Law: But you think Rude's physicality will get Djokovic in the end? I think the way the physicality of every match is going to add up and compound. I do think, I think he's going to be in a fairly bad shape if he does reach the final. It's just, those are a bunch of guys, again, it's like they can dink, they can bend him, but they can't break him basically. And he will, he will. Yeah, it's just going to be... I hope it's not rough to watch. How about that? Right. Yeah. Your women's prediction. Oh, women's prediction. Much more succinct group to choose from here. I think I was thinking... I think I'm going to go Rybakina again.

1:08:50Wow. I think I'm going to go Rybakina there. For the title. For the title, yeah. To beat. I want to see her against Sabalenka. Yeah. Yeah, I'm feeling good about her. I think she's kind of sneaking in under the radar. she had kind of a weird roam kind of a just like meh roam but I feel like she's going to come here and do it I don't think Sabalenka's I don't know why I'm feeling off about her I don't know if it's the the weird scheduling that's kind of been this way that I actually appreciate from her of saying I'm just going to get take the fine it's it's it's okay I'm going to play fewer tournaments but um I don't trust Sabalenka on clay yet how about that uh and I think it's just going to be a good time for Rabakina, especially if it stays hot like this.

1:09:34Matt Roberts: That's an interesting shout because I feel like everybody's putting Rabakina in the mix but I've not heard anybody actually pick her yet, even though that doesn't feel like a huge... As I said, I'm here to make a fool of myself. We appreciate that. Well, David's put her in the final and I do think I do like Rabakina in that matchup with Shontek. I really do. Even on clay. At the Indian Wells, when when Sabalenka and Rybakina played that incredible final in Indian Wells. And Sabalenka said afterwards, I was watching that final serve in Australia, and she did the exact same thing. If I'm Rybakina, I hear that, and I'm like, great.

1:10:14Going back to the tape, back to the drawing board, like, let's go. You think you know my game? So that's, yeah, I'm liking that rivalry we got. Matt.

1:10:27Catherine Whitaker: Deep sigh. I kind of think it's Coco weather. Oh, like, I don't know. Like, I just think he says that. And then he thinks, actually, I think it's also Sabalenka weather, you know, a hot, fast French Open, I think, is better than a cold one where she she has to try and, you know, get through the court. I think I think it's going to accentuate her weapons and her power, this kind of weather, as it is for Rebecca. I think as well. I think Rebecca's serve is just going to be a nightmare to get back in this kind of weather. Rebecca doesn't overheat. She is also one who, yeah. Yeah. So, look, I've got Rebecca going through to the final, like maybe all of us, I think, which kind of feels bold when you've got Svantec down there as well.

1:11:18Catherine Whitaker: But just what we talked about yesterday with Svantec's path, and there's just so many names in there. I'm going to go Rebecca in the final. and then I've got that dilemma of Sabalenka Goff in the semis which I do think we'll see

1:11:37Catherine Whitaker: I think okay I'm going to go Sabalenka I'm going to go Sabalenka and then I'm going to go for her to get revenge and win the final as well I think I know that what we've got in terms of data of her on clay this year is not all that promising for her with those early losses but I'm trying to look at the year as a whole and I just think I've been so impressed with her. The way she turned that final around and stepped up in the big moments against Rebecca at Indian Wells, that felt really meaningful for me. I think she's so determined to right, in her mind, the wrong of last year. I think she thinks she should have won this tournament last year.

1:12:18Catherine Whitaker: I'm going to go Sabalenka to win the title.

1:12:24Matt Roberts: I think I might go for Goff in the final against Rabakina I believe Sabalenka when she said her back is fine right now but I do wonder if it will remain fine like nothing, you know, all she's done is kind of all that's happened is time and she's not had any treatment or anything I don't think so I do, you know, that is quite a question mark for me and I agree the Goff, it feels like Goff weather. So yeah, I'm going to go Goff-Rabakina in the final.

1:13:01Catherine Whitaker: And they haven't played for a long time.

1:13:04Matt Roberts: Let's see that, yeah. What does that look like? What does that look like here? I would have gone with Goff, who is, by the way, if you run your Google through a translate, like if your Google pops up and it says, like, translate this page from French or whatever, her name is Coconut Waffles in French Google Translate. I'm not joking. She's like on the draw. If you leave your Google Translate thing on Coconut Waffles. So that's in my in my head. I'm like Coconut Waffles today. Round one. What stopped me was. Back to back Grand Slams. That's tough. That's that that that for some reason feels like a bigger hump than just saying Coco Gauff is going to win the French Open.

1:13:44Like if you go back to back, that's that's something.

1:13:46Catherine Whitaker: I think that's what's stopping me saying Rebecca from the start of the season.

1:13:50Matt Roberts: Whereas me, I'm like, well, that was a different grandson. That's fine. All of these scenarios are great, though. Right? I mean, I know they're not necessarily happening, but, like, all of these potential match-ups, all of these scenarios, like, the men's were just hoping for something that sets it alight, right? And makes it feel less like a foregone conclusion. I didn't say it was. I said feel, and I said a little bit less, and I said like it wasn't.

1:14:17David Law: I mean, I think the thing is, it'd be a real surprise if the women's tournament wasn't brilliant and full of good matches. Obviously, the Australian Open waves its hand and says, no, no, it can be crap, even with all these great players. But no, I think the expectation is it's going to be brilliant and that a lot of top names are going to be left at the end. In the men's draw, really, it feels like it's going to be Annex Sinner and someone, and then Yannick Sinner will win.

1:14:47Matt Roberts: Yeah. The wild card's the weather, isn't it? But the questions in the women's draw are interesting questions, right? It's like, where is Iga Sviantek at with her game? Is Coco Goff going to feed off all the momentum like she always does? There are answers that I'm interested in learning, whereas even the answers to the questions in the men's draw, I'm like, okay, well, come U.S. Open time, am I still going to be interested in whoever is stepping up at the moment? I don't know. Time will tell. Well, Ava, I feel confident you have not humiliated yourself at all. That's all I want at the end of a podcast appearance.

1:15:20Matt Roberts: I feel confident you haven't totally blown up your career. Frankly, me too. It's not quite over. Are you an animal person? Oh, yeah. Can I introduce you to Bashir? Is that or is that not the most beautiful cat you've ever seen? That's like an animated Disney cat with just looking up at you with the eyes. Bashir could be AI generated. That was a great reveal also, Matt, just a slow turn of the laptop. He is so beautiful. And Elise, his owner, tells us that he is very excited to return as the French Open mascot. For listeners who may not be familiar with him, he first held the prestigious role two years ago with great pride but minimal effort, which is absolutely the cat vibe, isn't it?

1:16:08Matt Roberts: He's an eight-year-old rescue cat who lives in Abu Dhabi with his humans Elise and Vincent. We're not entirely sure about his breed, says Elise, although some people have suggested he might be part Egyptian Mao. But whatever he is, he's definitely the sweetest and most handsome cat there is. He has brought so much happiness into our lives. His presence is incredibly calming and comforting, especially his loud purring and his signature nose kisses. Bashir loves treats, stretching out dramatically and sleeping belly up in the sunshine like a king. The very best moments are when he pads softly onto the bed at night to sleep between us or when he climbs onto my lap while I'm watching tennis on TV.

1:16:45Matt Roberts: Admittedly, he mostly sleeps, but I guarantee that when Rafa was playing, he was watching. And finally, hi Catherine, David and Matt. I was so happy to see you in Australia. We were happy to see you, Elise. Matt loves dates. It was a treat for all involved. Elise says, I'm halfway through the tennis podcast. I didn't go on a date with Elise in Melbourne I turned to look at you like You were looking at me like Bashir I'm halfway through the tennis podcast Fan Slam says Elise Now I just need to meet you at the French Open And the US Open maybe next year That would be wonderful Elise Matt we haven't got you any dates Either type Either type what a miss um bashir i'm distracted by your beautiful eyes uh that's a luxurious code well done to his humans i mean i think he's living a good life ever yeah i think i think bashir's got things figured out uh he will be going in our newsletter on our instagram he will be he'll be everywhere else i'll spam you with bashir because he is a handsome boy so welcome back bashir and And thank you, Elise, for bringing him back on board.

1:18:05Matt Roberts: Hello to our mascots. Hello, Bodhi. Hello, Maisie. Hello, Roger. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. And it's over to Matt for some Grand Slam preview show shout outs.

1:18:19Catherine Whitaker: We have Yao Ji Hong from Seattle.

1:18:23David Law: Hey, Seattle, home of the Seahawks. Do you have an NFL team over? Yeah, it's my team. Oh, OK. Yeah. Sorry. No, I don't have an NFL team.

1:18:34Matt Roberts: it's okay david david's enthusiastic enough about the seahawks for to go around uh what do we know

1:18:41Catherine Whitaker: about yow uh started listening to the pod uh at the 2017 australian open what a time and yow says i have a daughter and a son and their names happen to be the same as the two 2018 australian open champions. So that's Roger and Caroline.

1:19:00Matt Roberts: Aww. Pretty good. Named after? No.

1:19:06Catherine Whitaker: Unclear. Yes, actually. Both born at the time.

1:19:10Matt Roberts: Wow. Now that's a tennis fan. I'll say.

1:19:15David Law: Pretty cool to just have people naming their kids after you, wouldn't it?

1:19:19Matt Roberts: Well, Martina Hingis is named after Martina Novatova, isn't she? I believe. I don't think we have any other tennis namesakes do we? Like players named after other players That's the only one that springs to mind

1:19:38Catherine Whitaker: Yeah because Rafa is not named after Rafa Nadal it's just the name in the family Yao thank you very much Go Mariners that's the Seattle team I'll shout out Big Mariners fan that's true Is that baseball? Yes.

1:19:56David Law: I see. Huge than you, David.

1:19:58Matt Roberts: Matt Sutton was talking a lot about baseball last night. Oh, yeah, he does that, huh? I glazed it a bit. We'll stop it there then.

1:20:07Catherine Whitaker: We've also got Pierre from Montreal.

1:20:10Matt Roberts: Hello, Pierre.

1:20:11Catherine Whitaker: Hi, Pierre. Who says he's also known as Pete by his friends, which might give at least one more shout-out option.

1:20:18David Law: Yes, Pete Sampras and Pierre Ugebert, who's in the main draw.

1:20:22Catherine Whitaker: Very good.

1:20:23Matt Roberts: Perfect name for a pre-French Open shout-out.

1:20:26Catherine Whitaker: And Pierre is a long-time listener, introduced to the show by my sister Isabel. And Pierre says, met David at the US Open a while back while waiting for coffee. Cool.

1:20:37Matt Roberts: We do that a lot.

1:20:39David Law: Introduce yourself again.

1:20:42Matt Roberts: Pierre, thank you.

1:20:44Catherine Whitaker: And finally, we have Greg from Austin for his wife, Lauren.

1:20:51Matt Roberts: Greg, like Greg Grzezinski, coach of Giovanni Pesci Pericard that you'll be seeing on your tellies on Sunday night. A lot of tennis Gregs. There's only one, Ava. Yeah. I mean...

1:21:05Catherine Whitaker: Greg Allensworth.

1:21:06Matt Roberts: Greg Allensworth. God, I almost forgot that.

1:21:10Catherine Whitaker: He's my guy, Ava. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like everyone's mean to him. Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I was just mean to him by forgetting him. Apologies, Greg. Greg and Lauren got married in March this year after 11 years together. Greg says she's a devoted listener who introduced me to the show. She has a wicked flat forehand. We first met on a tennis court in our hometown when we were kids. I didn't know then that she would become the love of my life, but that became obvious not long after. For our honeymoon, we'll head to Paris for Roland Garros, kicking off the first leg of our career fan grand slam together.

1:21:50Catherine Whitaker: Superb work.

1:21:51Matt Roberts: Okay, cute story, Greg.

1:21:53Catherine Whitaker: What a legend.

1:21:55Matt Roberts: Oh, that's so lovely. Greg, if you see us, do say hello. Absolutely. Yeah, it'd be great to see you. That is absolutely lovely. Greg, Lauren, Yao, and... Pierre. Pierre. Slash Pete. Pierre slash Pete. thank you very much for being friends of the tennis podcast uh if you want to become a friend and listen to our episode of the tennis podcast meets which is going up later on today probably be up by the time that you're listening to this then the link to do that is in our show notes we are part of the athletic podcast network ava it has been a joy to have you on today's show thank you very much indeed and we hope to speak to you again thank you so much for turning me from listener to participant.

1:22:41I'm just absolutely delighted.

1:22:43Matt Roberts: Until the next time, Ava, and until tomorrow when we'll be back with our first daily Roland Garros 2026 podcast from the tournament. It all begins in earnest at 11am tomorrow morning when Matt will be out watching Lily Tagga.

1:23:01Catherine Whitaker: See you there.

1:23:03Matt Roberts: See you there, folks.

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