Grass! Donna Vekic, Emma Raducanu and Ben Shelton enter the chat

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1:17Matt Roberts: Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast, our first pod of the grass court season. The tennis never stops, folks. We're here to cover titles for Donna Vekic, Ben Shelton, Robin Montgomery and Camille Mejershack, plus a look ahead to the coming week's events and a deep dive on some interesting announcements from Wimbledon this week, including a hotly anticipated one on prize money. I say we are here. That we is myself and David. David, how are you doing? I'm OK. In fact, I'm very OK. and it was interesting to arrive back in the UK from Paris and think, you know what, I'm all tennised out now.

2:00David Law: I've had enough for a bit. I'm going to just, you know, have a good rest and be a normal person without tennis in my life for a minute. Oh, oh, this looks like a good grass court match. Oh, and on it went and I was hooked within about three hours and I'd got the iPad on in the kitchen for the remainder of the week And when it was raining, I was annoyed because there was no tennis on. So what can I say? I'm on the right podcast. We all had queens on within like two hours of getting home,

2:33Matt Roberts: including Matt, who had a lot of washing and unpacking and repacking to do ahead of his trip to Chicago, which is where he is right now. And he actually is in actual Chicago right now, I think, and not in Bloomington, Illinois, which is where he spent the majority of the trip so far. He's running around Chicago. He's back tomorrow, I think, and he will be on our next pod on Thursday. So you don't have to miss Matt for long, folks. And if you do want to check in on him and see how he looks in a wedding suit, then Instagram is the place to go for that, folks. It won't disappoint. We are going to start talking now about the tennis that has happened this week on the green, green grass starting at Queen's and the WTA 500 there.

3:24Matt Roberts: Obviously, they introduced the WTA event at Queen's back-to-back with the men's last year. The inaugural champion was Tatiana Maria, who controversially was not awarded a wild card to defend her title this year. She did qualify. She won through a round. She put in a valiant effort against Elena Rabakina and had a few things to say about not being given that wild card. The title was won by former Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic, a lucky loser from qualifying. She lost, did Vekic, to Anna Blinkova in the final round of qualifying. She gets in as a lucky loser after Marta Kostiuk's withdrawal.

4:04Matt Roberts: She finds out the day of her first match that she has got the place as a lucky loser. She hotfoots it across London. She gets to Queen's. She starts her tournament. She finds herself in the final, which she wins 6-love, 7-6 over Britain's Emma Raducanu, who also had a sensational week. And David, if I was writing a film script about this week at Queen's and the two eventual finalists and champions, I think that the hook of it would be two players returning to past coaches and trying to recapture something of what they had with those past coaches. I felt like the parallels between them on that I found really fascinating because, of course, we've known for a while that Radhikarni was back working with Andrew Richardson again, who she worked with when she triumphed at the US Open in 2021.

5:06Matt Roberts: on Donna Vekic this week had David Felgate courtside who was her coach when she first burst through onto the tennis scene at the age of 16 which was quite a long time ago now.

5:21David Law: Yeah if you think she's 29 now and if you go deep back into the archives of the tennis podcast in I think 2013, March of 2013, when Vekic was 16, there were back-to-back episodes where I interviewed Donna in Miami, who was new on the circuit, and then her coach at the time, David Felgate, who, in Donna's words, in the aftermath of today's win, raised her as a tennis player from the age of 12. and you know for many years after that too and David obviously a vastly experienced coach who's worked with Tim Henman had a similar kind of raising of him you know all into the pro ranks and he's worked with other people like Xavier Melis and Dan Evans and many others over the course of time but I think he always hoped that she would have all of her best results with him there and obviously the way things tend to go that didn't happen you know they they broke and and and now they're back together and I don't think it's an accident that players play their best stuff when they're with somebody that they feel comfortable with and who obviously has to have great coaching ability and has to understand the game and they need to be on the same wavelength but you could see in Vekic and Raducanu just how comfortable they are with the people that were there from the past and I mean I think there's definitely an argument to suggest that radicarno should never have split from richardson who knows how that would have gone but just in terms of the vibe between them it just seems to work and and i and i think richardson's absolutely in it for the right reasons always has been um and i've and so i'm a big fan of that collaboration and yeah i think that they both look and it's uh it's health permitting radicana took a nasty fall and a couple of rounds ago and and i worried for her on that and let's hope that that that is okay she looks okay to me i thought i thought she just got outplayed for a setting a bit today um but these are two players that have the games to to really make something happen at wimbledon they they they fit on grass perfectly um and i think it's i think they're both a great story I mean I you know I'm biased I'm British and I've got a Croatian family and my wife's Croatian so I I loved sitting in front of the TV seeing a British player and a Croatian player doing battle in the final of Queens and being up in lights being celebrated like that and um and I think that they could both make things happen the next few weeks

8:01Matt Roberts: I'm gonna need you to be more specific David about make things happen because I look I watched that first set of the final I mean I watched all of the final but the first set of the final and look Raducanu was clearly nervous and nerves can make your feet stuck in the mud can't they and she was also she had played two matches the day before they were blighted by the weather earlier in the week and Raducanu had to play both her quarterfinal and her semi-final match on Saturday and as you said she had sustained that injury in the first of those two matches It's incredible, really, that she came back and put in the performance that she did in the second match against Evie Jovic, who on paper I would have had as a pretty strong favourite for that match going in.

8:51Matt Roberts: Actually, I thought that was a stunning, stunning win from Raducanu. And look, she was. She wasn't a huge opposition in that first set to Donna Vekic. I do realise that. But that tennis from Vekic, I was like, oh, she's going to win Mumbledon. like this this tennis is absolutely unplayable obviously i know it doesn't work like that david seven matches you know keeping it going anybody can play well for a set but if if she could find that level at wimbledon that top level on grass really is close to unplayable it was it was breathtaking at points during that final today i thought yeah i see i don't i don't think radakana

9:36David Law: was playing terribly in that first set. She was playing fine. It was not as good as yesterday, and it wasn't as good as her second set. But there was nothing wrong with it. It was sort of, against most players, you'd be on serve, probably. Or maybe four or three in a breakdown or something like that. And Vekic is not a player I think of as a mover on the court. She gets about it fine, but she's not fleet-footed the way Raducanu is. she just got there in time and then once she was there she was destructive and it was forehands and backhands and then she also has one of the most difficult to read drop shots on the circuit you know she can go from all-out power to feather-like touch in an instant and you don't

10:30Matt Roberts: see it coming i am always surprised by that drop shot it's always on the backhand she hits it i'm like oh yeah and then i'm like we all know she has that drop shot and yet i'm

10:42David Law: surprised every time she never hits it on the forehand it always seems to be a backhand struck shot but it works a treat for her but it all comes off the serve and you know as usual in this situation i would tip my hat to pam shriver because she was in was watching this match she was she was tipping us off she was saying look the serve is working and therefore it frees up the rest of the game and she said she's in the zone right now you can see it and look she won the first seven games of the final and I actually think Raducanu did incredibly well to establish a foothold and get into a position to win that second set I mean look Vekic's level did drop because the first I mean I don't like you said I don't think you can sustain that level I mean she was just hammering good ground strokes from Raducanu.

11:33David Law: She was hammering for winners. Like they were nothing. And yeah, she dropped her level a bit in the second set. Raducanu really lifted hers, led 5-2 with a double break and didn't win the set. I think we've got to note that because yes, Vekic dug in and hit the zone again, but I still don't think you should be losing the set when you're 5-2 double breakup.

12:00Matt Roberts: And she has had issues with serving things out in the past, Raducanu, and therefore it can become a self-fulfilling thing. Like I think she knows she's had issues serving things out in the past. She would far rather break to win a set or a match, I think, than have to serve it out. But yeah, it's almost like the more it's a thing, the more it becomes a thing. And it definitely is a thing.

12:27David Law: now yeah i i don't think she has one of the strongest serves around but it should be okay certainly on grass a bit like look she served out the u.s open final but that is a long time ago she needs to build some she needs to build momentum really and it's um i think she's done that this week i think i think if she could get a half decent draw at wimbledon she could get momentum she's a real momentum player um so to answer your question about like what could they do at Wimbledon there are a lot of examples of players that I've seen look amazing at Queens and not and if they're not one of the top players they don't necessarily carry it into Wimbledon Tatiana Maria I think lost in the first round at Wimbledon Feliciano Lopez lost in the first round of Wimbledon after winning Queens I mean he's a lot older but but I've seen you know Even Cilic did once, didn't he?

13:24David Law: Yes, that's right. He lost to Guido Pella. Do you remember that? He felt almost like the joint favourite for the title when he lost that match. And he was two sets up in that match. I think he felt the pressure of suddenly realising, jeez, I'm one of the favourites. And he couldn't really handle it. These two, I don't think we'll go in thinking that. It's really, do they stay fully fit? And do they get some rhythm? because they've also got to kind of get a foothold in the draw before they run into somebody really high ranked, you know, and they could do because their own rankings, they could end up playing a Sabalenka or Rybakina fairly early.

14:04And I don't, I think you've got to think, I mean, I know Rybakina lost to Katie Bolter at this tournament, but I don't read her future into that match. She is going to be better at Wimbledon.

14:18David Law: She'll have peaked by then. And I think that I definitely feel like Raducanu and Vekic have got the ability to have deep second week runs and draw dependent. But I could see both of them capable of reaching the semifinal. I could see both of them going all the way if they played this level and it all fell their way. And they didn't. But the likelihood is they're going to run into Jessica Pegula or Coco Goff. I mean, I know Goff's not that comfortable on grass or Sabalenka or, you know, there's so many great players in women's tennis that the chances of you not running into somebody who makes life really tough for you are a lot slimmer than they are at Queen's, say.

15:02And they've got some tricky decisions to make now.

15:06Matt Roberts: It's quite an awkward week to have a great run, isn't it? If you are somebody that's thinking in terms of wanting to peak at Wimbledon, having this great run two weeks before Wimbledon is actually not hugely convenient. Next week is the best week to reach a final. Easy. You've got maximum number of matches you could possibly have got in. You get, a week isn't long enough to kind of lose your momentum. You can keep that up. You can also really settle into the Grand Slam and the practice courts at Orangi and all of that. This week, two weeks is too long to keep up momentum. but going on and immediately playing next week, you know, Emma Raducanu is in the draw in Nottingham and Donna Vekic is in the draw in, I can't remember actually which of the two it is, but she's in the draw somewhere and they're both going to have to make very difficult decisions, I think, about whether they press on and play those two tournaments because I don't think you can just not play now or certainly wouldn't be wise to just not play now before Wimbledon.

16:21You want, you know, especially if you're in some form,

16:25Matt Roberts: you don't want to sit on the sidelines and lose that. But I don't know. I think, yeah. I mean, I find it tricky because I would, I just, I would never be a play the week before a slam person. Never. like I'm a get to the get to the airport really early settle in have some food and a drink like contemplate the flight ahead um you know I just I can't I can't I find it quite hard to get into the headspace of somebody that would want to like arrive at a grand slam the day before it starts and not feel like settled into it but i obviously do like objectively recognize that some people are like that and it suits them those people are just rude and martina navratilova back in the day look see i wonder whether if you'd have been

17:26David Law: sort of following her progress when that was the norm she would play eastbourne win that play Wimbledon, win that and that was the most normal seeming thing in the world it's only more recent years that that started to feel not the best idea I mean I definitely think the last 20 years or so people have not people have tended to want to do this arrive for the week before thing

17:54Matt Roberts: and maybe for Adekanu David Spawn is the play because it's a good event, very valid grass court preparation. I think she'd have a good chance of going deep there. And it's still a British tennis event where there would be attention on her. But most of the attention is on Wimbledon at that point. And she gets to avoid all of that. If she went deep at Eastbourne, she would still have to do pre-tournament press at Wimbledon. But it might not be on the big pre-tournament press day. She might be one of those stragglers that comes in even once the tournament has already started. You know, she could just stay away from it all a bit, maybe.

18:38Like there's something so like in it about Eastbourne.

18:42Matt Roberts: Like it is a part of the grass court season and there are so few events in the grass court season that every one of them is almost kind of elevated in status on it. on what it would be within another part of the tennis swing. But it's also so quaint and out of the way and not feeling like a big, important tennis tournament. It feels like a village fair, doesn't it? Yeah. That year that Serena Williams played, just conceptually Serena Williams at Eastbourne It's like when Beyonce played the Stadium of Light. Where did she stay?

19:27David Law: Where did she go out to dinner? It's really popular. I mean, it always gets full crowds and it feels like it's got bigger, but it still maintains that feeling. I agree with you. It's lovely, really. I love Eastbourne. But I do think, listen, I don't feel qualified enough to judge about next week. in a really confident manner. But I did feel worried about Radakana, the way she felt, and the way she's had that strapped up. I wouldn't be bursting to go up to Nottingham straight away and play that event. Personally, if I were her, I would be more inclined to play Eastbourne, have a week now, and actually have a week now and make a call.

20:16Make a call on it, you know, sort of see how you feel.

20:19Matt Roberts: The problem, and this is where Radakana whose situation differs to Vekic is Wimbledon seeding, right? Like next week is the week that can impact Wimbledon seeding. She's currently 31 in the live ranking. So if seedings were done tomorrow, she'd get in. And probably, you know, high 20s might get you in because there will be dropouts. But that could change a lot in the space of a week. She could very easily just miss out on a seeded position. And that could be the difference between a semi-final and a first round loss. Like that is a big deal for somebody like Emma Adekane. But it's also very difficult to plan around, I think, and maybe not necessarily healthy to plan around.

21:07Matt Roberts: Vekic has, despite the 500 points today, no chance of being seeded at Wimbledon, which is a nightmare for everybody else, David. Can you imagine, you know, Sabalenka drawing Donovekic in round one? I mean, it's very fun. And if Matt were here, he'd be salivating at the thought of the velvet pouch and the draw. But yeah, I mean, she's, regardless of what happens in the next two weeks, the definition of a dangerous floater, right? Yeah, and yet I think I'd feel more concerned for her than them because if she's not being seeded,

21:49David Law: the chances are she's going to play really good players. And some of them, like I wouldn't fancy her chances against the Sabalenko or Rebecca and her personally as well as she's playing. I just feel like they do what she does and even a bit better. So, but look, I do love the fact that she's found form because I thought that we'd seen the best of her really after the Olympic final run, after the Wimbledon semi-final run, after she parted ways with Pam. It didn't go very well with Sasha Byen. But David Felgate is a really smart move. You can see it's had a similar effect to what I feel like Pam had in that way of just, OK, right, the real Donna Vekic is here now.

22:35um so i know and i'm and i'm really chuffed to see radicana playing like this it's it's

22:41David Law: i feel like she could absolutely rip through wimbledon um kind of the way she did at the us open if she i know not everybody agrees with me about that and sometimes i think maybe i want that to happen because i do i want to see her have a run at wimbledon i think she's she lights the place up you know people love it she she loves it um and and i do think there is a danger that you can get a bit carried away with how her game looks against less powerful opponents and then when you see her against the real power hitters it can you can suddenly get a bit of a reality check but on grass i think if she can get a bit of flow going she's a heck of a player and she's going in a lot as well i like the fact that she's sort of hitting that forehand that's how she turned it around against Vekic hitting the forehand down the line and following it in really sort of hitting

23:32Matt Roberts: it almost on the move whilst going in there's definitely more conviction in that forehand than I have seen for a long time and more clarity more clarity about that game I still think that potential to be overpowered is probably always going to be there for Raducanu but there's definitely something different about the way she's playing in terms of clarity and and intent and And yeah, like she'd lost the first seven games of the match. And then suddenly she holds serve and she does this laughing celebration to the crowd who get behind her. And suddenly she's on a roll. It's there, you know, six games, six games in a row.

24:13Matt Roberts: Like these are both momentum confidence players, aren't they? Like that was the story of this match. Like it came in waves, didn't it? It was also a slightly pleasant reminder

24:25David Law: that actually is as horrible as the world is out there to Emma Adekano at times and it really bothers me there's actually huge support for her as well like she is really loved in this country by a lot of people you can get you can get swayed by the people in the comments section or the the hate that is out there and the jealousy that's out there but when you see when you see her having a good run you see the numbers the live numbers on the BBC Sport website tracking her matches they're like multiples more than everybody else um and you hear it in the stadium so yeah i want to hear and i want to see that at wimbledon yeah and i hope that she has that if

25:07Matt Roberts: she needs it i hope that she has that same sensation of like oh there's thousands of people here rooting for me to do well like putting their heart and soul into that and like man on the internet is not the people. It can sometimes feel like it, but it's not. A few other points of note from Queen's. Great week for Katie Bolter. Biggest win of her career over Elena Rabachner, 6-4 in the third. That was on Friday, the day that she and Rabachner had had to play two matches. I found it very tough to follow it up against Donna Vekic the following morning. But yeah, absolutely huge, huge win for Katie Bolter and a big run for her through to the semifinals.

25:59Matt Roberts: It's been a tough, tough time for Katie Bolter results wise. And it feels like there's quite a lot on this on this grass court season for her. So, yeah, big deal for her to reach that semifinal. Amanda Anisimova, David, tough week for her. She beat Laura Siegmund easily. And like I'd circled that as a real danger match for her. She breezed through that and it really, well, it settled my nerves on her behalf. And then she played this three setter against Evie Jovic, who is, she's a tough out Evie Jovic. And I think for a young-ish American to play a younger American is a tough thing. You know, like, I mean, I think any kind of intergenerational like, oh, you're the new big thing, aren't you?

26:54Matt Roberts: Like, I just think that's a tough dynamic. And I always thought this could be tough for Anisimova. Like, she's so, she's got that low central gravity over it. She's so strong. she handles the low bounce really well as I said I thought it was a cracking win from Raducanu to get the better of her as she did but Anissa Mova David looked so stressed to me so so stressed I know she's she's out of Berlin next week which suggests that maybe this wrist injury is is still recurring and that is that is a worry and I'm sure feeding into the stress but I also just I'm worried for her with how the feeling of defending all these ranking points is weighing

27:44David Law: upon her I feel like she's another one who I mean obviously physical issues are a separate point and they feed into the the problem that I identify of not having momentum she is a little bit like I feel with Radha Karni she needs to start getting some wins in a row to feel like she's getting somewhere to feel like this is on autopilot it doesn't feel like it's on autopilot the way it was last year and her game on autopilot is absolutely devastating because she's got power on both sides that most people don't have but yeah Jovic is so quick so tenacious asks so many questions and for a while Anisam ever had answers to them but there's not really room for being off it.

28:36David Law: And it's just not quite there at the moment. Jovic, I think, is just going to keep getting better for the next couple of years. I don't know what her ceiling is because I don't know how much power becomes a factor for her that maybe she doesn't have. But what a competitor. And Anissa Mova needs to be absolutely bang on it to win that sort of match. And she just wobbled a bit late on. She sort of, you could see the doubts. You could feel the doubts.

29:07Matt Roberts: Yeah. And, you know, quoting what Pam said to us about Donna Vekic, about how a positive mindset is, the serve is the most important shot from a mindset perspective. You know, I've got these kind of mental mindset concerns about Anisimova and the serve is a problem at the moment. And I'm sure that's both chicken and egg. And I think big picture it might be a situation if she realises the serve isn't where it needs to be. She's trying to make some changes to it. The ball toss looks very high at the moment. Sort of my heart goes in my mouth when it goes up. And I'm like, is that ever coming down?

29:47Matt Roberts: And it might be a two steps back for one step forward situation with the serve, which it so often is. Like it's so hard to make technical changes to a shot while you're on tour and competing. Like it's kind of bonkers, really. But the schedule is stuff that that's what you have to do. So, yeah, like I think it's just a tumultuous period for Amanda Enesimova. And just her situation of all these ranking points suddenly to defend made me think of I'm reading the audio book for Matt Futterman's book that is going to be coming out at the start of August, which is a tremendous honour to have been asked to do that.

30:33Matt Roberts: And I really hope that I'm doing an OK job of it because it is such a wonderful book. And I don't want to spoiler at all what's in there, but there's a passage which I just read in my latest recording studio session about how anybody that's, you know done any sort of self-reflection or therapy or whatever it is will know that like the the most unhealthy thing you can possibly do as a human being is compare yourself to a past version of yourself like it it made me think of it this week when emma raducanu very understandably was asked, is the old Emma back? And she gently rebuffed that concept. She said, no, this is a new me and she's great.

31:25Matt Roberts: You know, like, let's not compare me to 2021, Emma. And that is the healthy mindset to have. But the way that tennis operates and the way the rankings operate, the rolling 12-month system it is trying to force you into comparing yourself to the past version of yourself to the 12 months ago version of yourself it is designed to force you into this vortex of deeply unhealthy self think and I think it takes a tremendous amount of work to try and not be defined by that I suppose and I really feel for them with that struggle I suppose is is all I'm trying to say as well as the fact that the book is excellent and I think all our listeners would enjoy it.

32:20Matt Roberts: Some tough news from Queen's with Victoria Mboko obviously she was kind of in the headlines going into the week because who she was partnered with in the doubles And that was a huge story at the start of the week. All eyes were on Serena and Mboko playing their first round doubles match against Nicole Melikar Martinez and Erin Routliff. It was the end of the day on Tuesday. Full crowd in. It had been, I think, I mean, most of the days earlier in the week were kind of wet and miserable at Queen's. But the sun had come out. It was one of those glorious Queen's evenings. Serena Williams and Victoria Mboko were victorious.

33:01Matt Roberts: I mean, I think Melikar Martinez and Erin Routliff kind of shat themselves a bit about who was at the other end of the court. And I think that could happen quite a lot for Serena Williams on her comeback. And it was just, you know, it was just an incredible scene, really. Serena had her husband and children on the court and was clearly absolutely thrilled to be back. and then Victoria Mboko takes to the singles court the following day and she suffers this awful looking fall which immediately looks bad, immediately. And she has to retire from that match against Pliskova, withdraws from the tournament, withdraws from the doubles.

33:43Matt Roberts: So that run with Serena ends with a whimper and then we hear the news that Victoria Mboko is out of the rest of the grass court season, including Wimbledon and it's just such a bummer, David. Yeah, it really is. And it was such a joyous scene really with her and Serena.

34:03David Law: And wow, Victoria Mboko just reminding everybody what a talent she is, even in that doubles match, I think. You know, the way she moves, the way she hits. And she was one of the players I was really looking forward to seeing over the next month or so. Devastated for her, really. at the same time you know that was a very good looking Serena Williams performance considering the woman hasn't played for four years and I am fascinated to see I mean she's playing Berlin now.

34:34Matt Roberts: Do you read much into it in terms of if there is singles in the offing? Well I think she did it make you think oh she could because my I always think well of course she can hit the tennis ball well like she'll be able to do that when she's 90 and we know we know she's been training very hard from this for this and we know that service technique is so good that she'll kind of always have that serve i don't know like for me movement is the whole it really yeah i agree singles and you don't really see that's not i thought she was getting around

35:14David Law: the court well in a limited manner because you you're not asked the same questions absolutely but there was there was some crossings over where I thought wow you know she really still bounds around a tennis court um at the age of what is it 44 um so amazing um I think she will play singles again absolutely um I don't know whether it's too early and and she sort of intimated that for Wimbledon to to not play any singles and then play singles at Wimbledon wow that's that's quite a quite a thing to do I still wouldn't put it past her I would not be surprised if we're talking in a few days time about Serena Williams getting a wild card for Wimbledon really wouldn't be surprised kind of hope we are personally um but um yeah it's it's that bittersweet feeling because that day was pretty joyous and the crowd looked like they couldn't believe the luck and victoria mboka looked like she couldn't believe a luck and yet she's the one at 19 years of age who's going home and can't play now it's just terrible um but um yeah it certainly it certainly makes next week's wild card announcement interesting

36:31Matt Roberts: Yes, I feel like, I don't know, just like hindrance calls and puking is on the rise. Watery shits are on the rise. I feel like sort of a big deal wildcard or controversial or headline wildcard announcements are also on the rise. Maybe that's recency bias perception, but that is how it feels to me. before we move on to the men's so Toggenbosch WTA 250 and an ATP 250 there this week a huge bummer today for them over there there was no singles final because Barbora Krejcikova had to withdraw ahead of it with illness which handed a first WTA tour title to Robin Montgomery now Robin Montgomery is a name you might remember from a couple of seasons ago.

37:27Matt Roberts: I remember her from Madrid a couple of seasons ago. We definitely talked about her on this pod. She qualified there and won a couple of rounds, including a win over Katie Bolter. And then she played Irina Sabalenka and gave her a run for her money. It was an electric match. We were both, we were all really, I've erased Matt. He's gone. He's dead to me. We were all really taken with Robin Montgomery's tennis. 6-4 in the third, I think it was, against Sabalenka. And it hadn't really occurred to me that we just hadn't heard from her in the past year, David. She's only 21 years old, but she didn't play between June of last year when she had reached a career-high ranking of 95 in the world until April of this year.

38:18Matt Roberts: She was out with a wrist injury for that time. Anna's had a really terrible time in these formative early years of her career. She won the Orange Bowl in 2019, then a pandemic hits. You know, I'm always kind of fascinated by these players that were hit by the pandemic at that formative early turning pro stage at their careers. I think that's just been such a huge setback for them in particular. and here she is David coming out of nowhere beating well qualifying for starters then beating Dario Kazekina, Grip Minnan, Darius Sneeger and Ila Tomljanovic en route to this title and okay these aren't you know the biggest names in the sport but they're all sorts of different players and they're players that know their way around a grass court and they're all players that probably would have been the favourite ahead of world number 484 Robin Montgomery David yeah it's uh I I do tend to forget people I'm

39:26David Law: afraid in that situation we had it with Katie McNally recently didn't we when you suddenly realize wow where's she been and oh goodness she's had an injury like that that's horrible um and actually I was reading Chris Clary's uh tweet about Robin Montgomery he said grass is a good fit for her big often sliced lefty serve you know and i was suddenly thinking yes now this is coming back to me you know that that she's a left-hander with this sort of game and and yeah another another one's to sort of throw into the mix and make you feel like the grass quarters are alive and well that they can impact people with that that sort of game um And he was saying that she's the lowest ranked player to win a WTA title since Alina Svitolina, who was 508 when she won Strasbourg in 2023.

40:23David Law: Yeah, it's a false ranking. She's gone up a good couple of hundred places after this. So, yeah, it's great to see somebody, obviously shame for Kritikova, but it's great to see somebody like this who's had a real rough time with their luck and their ranking is deflated as a result. suddenly get somewhere immediately and can get back into the conversation.

40:47Matt Roberts: She's definitely a dormant volcano, Kroj Chikova, isn't she? Absolutely. I was very relieved to see that it was, obviously get well soon, but illness rather than injury that kept her out of this final because in terms of a potential eruption at Wimbledon, she's got time to recover from an illness and be an interesting factor at Wimbledon. I think like a fit Krejcikova in form. Another nightmare to come out of the velvet pouch, potentially. I don't remember anybody prior to the tournaments picking Vondrosova or Krejcikova to win those things. So, fascinated. Okay, that's it for part one. We'll be back in part two to talk about the men.

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43:52Matt Roberts: Welcome back to part two of today's tennis podcast, where we head to Stuttgart now and the All-American final between defending Stuttgart champion Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton that was won by Shelton 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. His third title of the season and his first ever grass court title. He did it the hard way, David. All of his matches were three setters. He saved match points against Yirila Hetschka in the semifinals and another great final against Taylor Fritz today. Yeah, and that's the second time he's beaten Fritz in a final this year.

44:30David Law: It's good stuff, this, from Shelton. It's what makes that loss at Roland Garros seem so surprising that when he gets an opportunity, he usually just goes and takes it. He becomes more dangerous when the stakes are higher. And I think that the door was opening for him at Roland Garros, Even though he's not the most confident clay quarter, I think he'd become better. And it's quite interesting on grass too, because even though the game should work on it, it hasn't always worked. It hasn't really come together. And so this could be a real moment, you know, and crikey, he had to fight hard to get there.

45:15David Law: I mean, there was a, I think, a 16-14 tie break against Yuri Lehechkir as part of that, and he saved a couple of match points. It's hard going to get through these matches, but I do back him in those situations. This final, I think, showed Fritz once again just lacking that little bit of match toughness. He was right with him, and suddenly his serve was gone and the match was gone. It was kind of three all, it's going like that, and then suddenly he's lost his serve and that's that. And I think these sort of runs where he gets to a final and gets a lot of wins but doesn't actually end up getting the title, probably by the end of the summer, if his knee isn't bothering him, I think he could be a real factor in the summer.

46:10David Law: I'm not sure whether Wimbledon might be a bit too early for him, but he's just such a solid player, isn't he? So, yeah, both of those two, I'd be, if I was an American tennis fan right now, I'd be quite buoyed by that because they haven't had the greatest results in men's tennis on grass, really, in recent years.

46:33Matt Roberts: I do wonder if what happened in Paris, you know, letting that opportunity slip away. And I think Ben Shelton would be somebody that would really front up with himself about that, probably publicly too, but most importantly with himself about squandering that opportunity at least to go deep in that draw. I do wonder if that'll make him even hungrier at Wimbledon. I don't think he ever lacks for hunger, but I think he might want to kind of put things right and on a surface that, you know, should suit him better and I think does suit him better. Sort of waiting for him to kind of grab grass, you know.

47:15David Law: And been looking up Richard Krychek's results because he's the focus of one of our Tennis Relived episodes, coming up in a week's time about his 1996 Wimbledon win. And he had terrible results early on grass at Wimbledon. He didn't get anywhere for years. And then suddenly he won it. I'm not saying that will happen to Shelton, but I am wondering whether maybe it might just click, the movement, the place to be, the sort of how much to go in, how much to stay back, those kind of things. but yeah I think I think he would really lighten the place up and if he did have a run and I think still in his mind must be the thought well Al Kras isn't going to be there you know this is still a chance for me this is these guys it's not that deep men's tennis you know there's not that many players you look at and think well if he's playing well I can't win I mean I'm sure he doesn't go into any match thinking that but I think we do with a couple of players, but not that many.

48:24Matt Roberts: I love it in the lead up to a relived recording when David's scheduled interviews with people from the 90s just start popping up in our shared calendar. Like, oh, David's having a chat with Malavie Washington tomorrow. Good for him. I love it. Correct. Can't wait. The ATP 250 event in Satog and Bosch was won by Camille Meierschak, his first ATP tour title at 30 years old. How about this for a run? He absolutely tore up the draw, did Meierschak. He beat Otto Wertonen and James McCabe in the first couple of rounds. Good players, but, you know, OK. then he beats three top tenors back to back Felix Auger Eliassime Daniel Medvedev and in the final Alex de Menor 7-6 in the third he's going to break the top 50 David for the first time in his career tomorrow at 30 years of age and he seems like the rest of us like where's this come from yeah i'm as surprised as you and he almost lost in the first round to vertonen you know he was right on the brink there and and and that's the thing i think he almost felt like he got a second chance at making progress and then like like donna vekic then suddenly you hit form

49:57David Law: and it's like oh well i'm playing with the house's money now i thought it was out um very, very emotional scenes at the end with Majacek and his coach just sobbing. Both of them just sobbing as they hugged each other at the end. And quite... I mean, he's... Diminor is such a decent guy, isn't he? You know, he's so generous and so sort of magnanimous. And he was saying how much he loves playing in the Netherlands. And I've just looked back and, of course, he won Rotterdam earlier this year, you know. and beat Ogieli Assum in the final. I must say, when this match went into a final set tie break, I kind of assumed that Dimonor would get the job done.

50:41David Law: But Majic wasn't having it at all. You must build real strength of belief when you start beating people like Medvedev on courts like this. I always get the sense with Majic that he's better than he believes he is you know in the moment and actually because I remember him knocking out Hatchinov out of the US Open I was courtside for that final set tie break like he's got a level in him he's quite a surprising player but yeah this was cool to see him just so emotional yeah incredible made me

51:19Matt Roberts: was it was it to Toggenbosch a few years ago where Tim Van Riethoven popped up That's a name. We discovered Tim van Reijhoeven. Rings a bell. I had not heard of Tim van Reijhoeven and he was a wild card, wasn't he? Like different level of random. Like we very much know who Camille Meierschak is, but we also very much did not think he was going to do anything like this this week. But was it, if I remembered that, was it Zutuggenbosch? He is Dutch, isn't he, Tim van Reijhoeven? Yes. I assume so. And then he was a name that we were excited about coming out of the pouch at Wimbledon. Yeah. I seem to remember him doing decently at Wimbledon and then running into a top player.

52:06Matt Roberts: Yes. Right, that's that. I think Djokovic. I think we were very briefly hyped for a Tim Van Reithhoven-Novak Djokovic match at Wimbledon. And then we all forgot Tim Van Reithhoven existed until this very moment. fourth round of wimbledon in 2022 he got to the last 16 yeah i mean that's so there you are pretty fantastic where's he been since tim van wrighthoven relived coming your way when we when we run out of ideas folks that's it for part two we'll be back in part three to look ahead to this week and talk a bit about wimbledon 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.

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54:35Welcome back to part three of today's tennis podcast. Turning our attention now to the grass court events we have this week in Queens. Again, the ATP event. Haller has an ATP event too. And the WTA is in Berlin and Nottingham.

54:52Matt Roberts: Starting David with Queens. And the wildcard situation at Queens. I touched upon it with Tatiana Maria in terms of the women's event. All of their wildcards at Queens went to British players. One of those was Katie Bolter and she ended up reaching the semifinals. Harriet Dart won through a round against Ludmilla Samsonova. I think it was only Fran Jones of the three. There were four wildcards, weren't there? Stoy Savlovich lost out to Donna Vekic. So those were the four wildcards in the women's event. Tatiana Maria had things to say about not receiving one as the defending champion. In terms of the men's event, there are three world cards.

55:37They've all been given to British players, Arthur Ferry, Toby Samuel and Jack Pennington-Jones. Not to Dan Evans, who announced this week that he would be retiring after Wimbledon, that this grass court season will be his last. Evans played qualifying at Queen's and lost in the second round, I think, of qualifying. No, in the first round, actually. In the first round. Sorry, Dan. Against Marcus Garone. So quite a tough player to get in the first round of qualifying. Yeah, I mean, the cutoffs for these events are low. You know, Queen's is a 32 draw. So yeah, Qualies is always tough at Queen's. No wildcard either, David, for former champion Grigor Dimitrov.

56:27You told me earlier that he's playing a 75k in Dublin. yeah this week they're gonna have a good time aren't they watching him i mean good on him um look the lta have made their position this shouldn't be a shock is it the lta and these are lta the you know the british governing body of tennis they've made the position on wild cards at these events very clear these are lta events they put a lot on the line staging them and they It is up to them what they do with their wild cards and they want to use their privilege as stages of these prestigious events to give benefits to British players and that is their right.

57:12How do you feel about the various wild cards

57:16Matt Roberts: awarded here across these two weeks? Well, I would do it differently if it was up to me. It's not. I don't put the money in. I totally understand where they're coming from, and they're absolutely within their rights.

57:32David Law: I'm not going to tell them what they should do. But I would tell you what I think is a better idea. Personally, I think they should mix it up a bit. I think that there should absolutely have been room for Tatiana Maria as the defending champion. I thought that was poor. Dimitrov has had wild cards before and so has Evans I don't think I think there's an argument to be made for both of them in terms of how much fans want to see them but they always say the LTA, they'll always say well, judging by our research our market research fans want to see young British players or they want to get behind the British players now Dan Evans what I would say about Evans is he is one and he has produced over so many years and he said it's his final year.

58:24David Law: I feel like he deserves one, really, now. Just to sort of, certainly at Wimbledon, I'd love to see him get one so that he could be celebrated and give it one more go, you know? I hope he does. But I think there is another point. I think the wildcard culture has been a problem ever since I've been working tennis, ever since I've known about wildcards in Britain. I think that it's too easy in Grand Slam nations to just subconsciously lower your standards because if you only have to get to a certain level then you'll get a wildcard into Wimbledon. And these days we now know that if you get a wildcard into Wimbledon you get£80 ,000 guaranteed for losing in the first round.

59:17David Law: and I just think A, players should be aiming higher than just trying to get to a standard where they get a wild card and the argument may be well yeah, this is a way to help them have a bit of a leg up if they get a win in this draw it's worth a lot more points than it would be in another draw I just think that A, you're going to be tougher and more ravenous I think just on the whole Not everybody. There are players that take these privileges and fight like tooth and nail. But I think culture-wise, you've got more chance of having tougher, more ravenous players if they're not getting these sorts of helping hands and handouts, really.

1:00:03David Law: I also think that if they play qualifying and they get through it, they're going to be playing players that are not quite as good as they're likely to play in the first round. So they've got more chance of getting a win. And if they get three wins and get into the main draw in qualifying, they're going to be in better form. They're going to be matched tight. They're going to be played in. So I think they've got more chance then of doing something in the first round than just if they turn up with a wild card and try their best, you know. And I just don't necessarily think it's helping them. But that's just my view.

1:00:40David Law: I do understand why they do what they do, and they're within their rights to do it.

1:00:45Matt Roberts: And I guess it's particularly exposed, but obviously these aren't Grand Slam events we're talking about here in Wimbledon. While the LTA have a say in Wimbledon wildcards, they don't have the final say in Wimbledon wildcards. That is a separate thing. Obviously, Wimbledon is a private club. But these are events run by the governing body of a Grand Slam nation. So the point that Charlie Eccleshaw is always making and that I completely agree with, these are further privileges for players from an already heavily privileged Grand Slam nation. Like you've already got the leg up of being from a Grand Slam nation on everybody else from all but three other countries.

1:01:30So to then request or take the benefit of further privileges feels, well maybe it's a socialist in me but it doesn't doesn't feel right but then i also think you know there are no rules about what people do with wild cards of course people are going to use them to benefit themselves that's what are they that benefited you know if you look at the grand slum nations how many players how many wild cards did well out of france um in paris recently i agree with you but everybody is short-termist aren't they everybody you know everybody's looking at their five-year reign period in in charge of things nobody's taking well sorry excuse me David Amelie Maresmo is taking an holistic approach to tennis but uh but nobody else is um so yeah I kind of think well in the absence of anybody really having any clear sense of what wild cards are for of course people are just gonna use them to mostly benefit themselves i do i agree with you about dan evans for wimbledon really hope he gets one my goodness me i hope grig or dimitrov gets one david yeah i can't see the club not giving him one after last year i think they will i don't i think that they're better than that i don't think this queen's decision is a is a harbinger for Wimbledon.

1:03:02I agree. I think they will. But, I mean, this is going to be a recurring theme even with the US Open. I mean, we've got Guillermo Fies retiring this year. We've got Stan Rynka retiring this year on the men's side. Grigor Dimitrov, as far as I know, isn't planning to retire, but he's going to be needing a US Open wildcard. I doubt he'll get one. But Jack Draper is going to be in qualifying for US Open, assuming he's fit. You know, there'll be one reciprocal French wildcard. Well, does it go to Gamal Fies, who's uncompetitive, but it's going to be his final slam? Or does it go to Moise Kwame? Because he's going to need one.

1:03:47Like, there's going to be quite a lot of existential wildcard questions continually arising in tennis. And of course, Serena Williams, Venus Williams. Yeah, wildcard drama is on the rise, David, with puking and hindrance drama. On the men's side, the only one I think that should be getting a US Open wildcard is Stamma Vrinka as a former champion. Well, look, I agree with you, but they have this reciprocal wildcard thing, don't they? So there is a French one up for grabs. is Monfils going to take it from Kwame is that going to be his last act as a I'm not necessarily judging him if that like I don't know I'm just but that would stick Kwame in the qualifying be good for him but Monfils is uncompetitive David and he's had two send-offs at his home slam he's had an exhibition, Monfils, Gale and Friends.

1:04:50How many shout-outs has Gale and Friends had on this pod? All of them from me. And he's had a competitive one against Dugo Gaston. Like, I don't know. What are wild cards for? Nobody knows. The events this week. ATP Queensfield is, let's be honest, quite diminished, isn't it? No Carlos Alcaraz this year. No Jack Draper. No Lorenzo Mazzetti. They've been kind of the pillars of this draw for a long time. The top seed is Alex de Manor. He has got Gabriel Diallo in round one. And the second seed is Yavrila Hetschke, last year's finalist. He has got Kamil Mayershack, the Toggenbosch champion in round one, which kind of sounds like a terrible draw, but I think Mayershack might be kind of high on the win for a while.

1:05:43I'm not sure his head will necessarily be right bang in the Queen's game straight away. Put it that way. Jakub Menchik, the third seed. He's got Adrian Manorino in round one. Alejandro David Fikina. Fourth seed, he's got Cam Norrie round one. And we have Rafael Hodar, David, playing his first ever senior match on grass as the fifth seed against Ignacio Busse in round one. I think he reached the semis of junior Wimbledon a couple of years ago, but I'm interested to see what Hodder on grass looks like, put it that way. The ATP event in Halle this week. Alexander Zverev, the French Open champion, is the top seed.

1:06:28He's got Vit Kapriva in round one and a possible round two against Joel Fonseca. Félix Auger-Eliassime, the second seed. He's got Nuno Borges round one and a possible round two against Lernotien. Some great first rounders thrown up by the Haller draw. Kabali against Tiafoe, Hercat Rublev, Bergs Fritz and Ben Shelton against Nick Kyrgios.

1:06:57It's certainly a lot more namey, isn't it, Haller, this year? Yeah, definitely. I think Queen's men's is suffering this year. I think Queen's got unlucky, you know, because of who they lost. But that's when you need to have a Dimitri handy, isn't it? Or someone like that. Yeah. And look, Alcaraz is expensive, isn't he? Like, if you've got Alcaraz, if the chips are in that basket, there aren't many leftover chips, I don't think. The WTA this week has a 500 in Berlin. How's this for a stack to draw? Irina Sabalenka, the top seed. The top seeds get buys in Berlin. Boo. But then a possible round two against either, well, a definite round two against either Anastasia Potobova or Ekaterina Alexandrova.

1:07:47Lenra Bacchina is the second seed at the bottom of the draw. Buy for her. And then either Donna Vekic or Alexandra Ayala. Not sure she's all that comfortable on grass. Ayala. So if Vekic, well, she manages to get her head in the game. Vekic-Rabakina, round two in Berlin. Other round ones include Elina Svitolina against Anna Kalinskaya, Nikola Bartonkova against Diana Schneider. And that Potopova-Alexandreva match I mentioned. You've also got Pagula, Mukova, Keyes, Nozkova, Towson, Goff and Ivelisse in the Berlin draw. and mention Mukova there. She will be the doubles partner for Serena Williams this week.

1:08:31That'd be a good watch. Incredible draw in Berlin. They do there. They do attract good fields in Berlin. And there's also WTA 250 in Nottingham where Eva Jovic is the top seed. She has Karolina Pliskova round one. She's just showing up and being a pest to people, isn't she? Karolina Pliskova in 2027. You just go, oh, God, I've got Plushkaver in round one. Possible round two, the winner of that to possibly face Katie McNally, which is interesting. Leila Fernandez is the second seed. She's got Janice Chen in round one. And if she plays a possible round two with Emma Raducanu, which, of course, would be a rematch of the 2021 US Open final.

1:09:20You've also got Bolter against Dart in round one. that's always eggy isn't it I think they hate one another well there's only used to yeah I mean maybe fences have been mended I don't know haven't heard of any fences being mended Jung Chin Wen is in the Nottingham field very strange to think of a bit like when Beyonce played the stadium very strange to think of Jung Chin Wen at the courts that I used to play on when I was at university she's got Maria Sakary round one and Lois Boisson against Diania Stremska is also round one you've got Barbara Krejcik Vera Navarro my adjoint Tatiana Maria and Talia Gibson also in the field just before we wrap up today we had the pre-tournament Wimbledon press conference which is where they announced their prize money for the year amongst other things but the big announcement is usually the unveiling of the prize money pot and its distribution.

1:10:22And this year there was extra attention on that because of the movement from the top players, which kind of reached its loudest point at Roland Garros with their media day walkout or boycott or whatever we ended up calling it in protest at the percentage of revenues being allocated by the Grand Slams to prize money. and Wimbledon announced on Tuesday of this week that it is increasing its prize money by 20 % on 2025 and those top leading players have welcomed it as a genuine and significant step forward. A statement issued on behalf of those top players described the announcement as a meaningful statement of intent while also pointing out that it still does not equate to the 16 % of tournament revenue that they are requesting.

1:11:21So the total prize fund at this year's championships will be£64.2 million, and that represents the largest annual increase in the event's history. Each singles champion will take home£3.6 million, and as David was saying, first-round losers will receive£80 ,000. There's also been more than£6 million set aside for the qualifying competition, which is an increase of 25%. It certainly, David, seems to have been enough of a statement from Wimbledon to quash any suggestion of protest action at Wimbledon. Yeah, I had a little chat with them a few days ago. There's certainly nothing in the making at the moment.

1:12:10David Law: I don't get the sense there is anyway. and I mean that may change of course but the wording of what the players have said here I think is very encouraging for them thinking that this is pretty good actually you know it's not okay, it's not what they want what they asked for you're never going to get exactly what you asked for but I would say that probably their stances and the pressure they've been putting on over the last year has made some difference you know this is a significant this is more than I would have expected really and and yeah it's it's definitely a meaningful amount I think then all eyes turn to the US Open don't they and that's the thing you get one announcement and you know that another one's on on the horizon on the heels of it I mean know that Wimbledon is the most profitable of the four Grand Slams so it's quite tough, I think, for the US Open to follow Wimbledon.

1:13:13I also think it's quite tough because Wimbledon, because US Open rather is the most overtly commercial of the four grand slams. The money making is just cravenly, unashamedly there for all to see in a way that I just think optically will make it easier, you know, PR wise for the players to make a case, I guess. And there are, you know, there's a report in the Times this week by the tennis correspondent Tom Kershaw that the players are considering a boycott of the mixed doubles event at the US Open, which I think is quite a clever concept. I think they found a little loophole there because it is boycotting a competition, but one that they don't give a shit about, but the tournament give a lot of shits about.

1:14:09I think it really matters to the tournament. It was a big success last year. I think they want it to be even bigger this year. It is a mini event that is totally propped up and dependent on names and star power. and actually the quality of the matches and the competition is kind of here nor there. But there's this huge imbalance because the players don't really care at all. So I think they've actually identified quite a clever loophole there where they can cost the tournament something without costing themselves something, which I still think the really big test, if it's required, will be are you prepared to give up something that you care about for this cause but I think this is quite clever yeah I agree I think they would view it as a nice to have I don't think that they want to lose it I mean there's a million on the line for the winner um it gets them great publicity it was fun I think I think they all enjoyed it last year and I think they want to

1:15:15David Law: play it but they're not that bothered you know and I it's expendable this is something that If they don't see what they're going to get without it, then I could definitely see this being a lever to Paul, which really would impact the tournament. Because now that they've provided that to ESPN and all the other rights holders, and ESPN is the one that matters for them. They've created this event for ESPN, and that's where they get their big money from. they don't want to be not providing it um or at least providing it in a massively diminished state um i also think that the u.s open does like to be the one that pays the most in prize money it likes to it likes to do this stuff you know uh even though it doesn't want to pay as much as the players want so all the players say that they should be getting um i think that we're probably going to see a pretty sizable and attention-grabbing number from them too.

1:16:21David Law: That would be my expectation. And just with this little thing in the background of the mixed doubles as well, whether that's something serious or not, they won't want to have to do that. They won't want to have to get involved in that, really. They are the big checks, aren't they? I mean literally you know it's a tournament where money it's America money is they're unashamedly the most capitalist country in the world it's yeah money matters okay that is it for this week folks big week coming up all those events we talked about the Wimbledon wildcard announcements are expected either Tuesday or Wednesday we are back with our next pod on Thursday Matt is back good no offence but you know good Matt is back and we'll work him extra hard to make up for his jaunt to Illinois so yeah we're back Thursday and then we'll be back with another show on Sunday Monday the end of next week two pod week is all you need to know about next week that's the most important thing David it's been a pleasure to have your company.

1:17:40Who needs Matt? Us is the answer to that. But no, I think we've coped. Yeah. I'm pleased with us. I'm pleased with us too. Hello to our mascots, Bodhi, Maisie and Roger. Roger, Matt is back next week. Worry not, he has not abandoned you for long. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. No shout outs this week because no Matt, but they'll be back along with Matt on Thursday. We are part of the Athletic Podcast Network. Thank you for listening and we'll speak to you soon.

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1:20:03Thank you.