Live from Wimbledon Day 1 - Sinner survives scare

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1:16Matt Roberts: Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast live from Wimbledon and presented by Barclays, the official banking partner of Wimbledon. Thank you very much for the applause from the very modest but wonderful crowd on day one of the championships here at SW19. What a breathless first day it has been. I'm trying to exhale, but it's kind of all so much and so overwhelming and so brilliant. I'm Catherine Whittaker. This is Matt Roberts. This is David Law. We have accidentally all worn white tonight.

1:52Catherine Whitaker: yes so you'll be able to see the bugs dive bombing us during this live show you'll be able to see

1:58Matt Roberts: exactly how real our struggle with bugs is although they don't go for matt he's too pure anyway we're all pure tonight here we all are two white human beings away from a backstreet boys video and it's very appropriate wimbledon whites what it honestly what a first day it has been i It already had an absolutely breathless agenda for today's show. And then, of course, of course, I should have allowed room for Novak Djokovic drama, because this is the Novak Djokovic that exists now in the tennis world, right? This, like, how naive I was a few hours ago to think that it would be anything but this from Novak Djokovic and from Wu Yi Bing, who I have become a huge fan of tonight.

2:46Matt Roberts: Novak Djokovic just moments ago getting the better of Wu. 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 in three hours and 12 dramatic minutes on centre court. David, how much real trouble do you think Djokovic was in tonight?

3:02David Law: I don't think he was in really big trouble. But I think he wasn't far away from it becoming a bit of a crisis. I think he just kept it sufficiently at arm's length. when it was most important, so that he was never really pushed onto the ropes and kept there. And that would have been a fifth set. And he said himself in his post-match on-court interview with Lee McKenzie there that really he should have lost the fourth set in his eyes because his opponent had break points. And there was a smash that Wu missed. It was one of those rallies where his incredibly live arm, Wu, just opened up the court for him.

3:44David Law: They're going toe-to-toe. He's going toe-to-toe with the greatest baseline player we've seen in men's tennis. And he was getting the better of him, but he couldn't decide whether to hit a topspin forehand with power or to try and hurtle forwards and hit it as a smash, which he did. The ball fell a bit too low and he hits underspin on it and knocks it out, floats up a little bit into the air. But even though that all seemed very close on the scoreboard, it was in a false set. He's two sets to one up. And it is, Catherine, what you've said. It's the sort of match we've been seeing in play for years.

4:22David Law: Holger Rune, the one where, very similar circumstances, late at night. And on this occasion, the crowd are chanting, woo! And back then it was, run! For Holger Rune. And he was mistaking some of that. Matt thinks it's Bruce. Right, okay. That's what he likes to tell himself. It is in my heart. And I mean, look, Djokovic last time got really pissed off, frankly, because he thought people were booing. And maybe some of them were, but there was a lot of the opponent. This time, I don't think he quite got there. He got irritated a bit at certain points. But I don't feel like he ever thought he was going to lose.

5:02David Law: I think he was a bit anxious at the level that Wu was playing. and hold on, if he keeps this up, I am going to be in trouble, but he's got so much experience that if he puts people in a position on a Grand Slam stage, eventually they will falter. That's what pretty much always happens with this level of player, as good as Wu was.

5:24Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I found the fourth set to be a kind of, do you trust history? In which case you're probably thinking Djokovic is going to get this done in in force somehow some way or do you go with what your eyes are showing you and actually i think what they were showing certainly for me was jokovic was in trouble in that fourth set his legs were going he was stretching out his back and as david said woo had break points at 2-1 then he had triple break point at 3-2 jokovic was clinging on in that moment and i i don't know if he was in agree with David I don't know if he was in real danger of like losing this match tonight but I think he was in danger of having to come back tomorrow potentially and finish it off even if he'd lost that fourth set you know and that messes up that would have messed up his rhythm already in this tournament and we know that he's in a situation where he needs to be as efficient as possible and he's he's finding that hard right now it's it's all a push it's all a struggle uh Je Cet Imate, one of my favourite Twitter accounts, had the stat that for the first time in his career, Novak Djokovic has lost at least one set in seven consecutive Grand Slam matches now.

6:37Catherine Whitaker: Like, he's struggling to get wins in straight sets and that's kind of what he needs most right now. More than ever. Exactly.

6:43Matt Roberts: He's struggling more than ever to get the efficient wins, but he needs him more than ever because he's superhuman. It's unreal that he's doing this at 39 years of age, but he is 39 years of age.

6:56Catherine Whitaker: and look a lot of it was about Wu's level today he was superb absolutely brilliant that fast arm hitting lines quite a nasty slice backhand as well like I'll say really really impressed with

7:11Matt Roberts: him tonight it's one of those slice backhands that's not just sort of oh I'm playing on grass I feel like I should do a slice this is sort of which we're going to see from Sitsapast in the This is going to keep me in the rally and not do any damage, but also, you know, not hurt me either. It was knifed and vicious. And I think Djokovic had a lot of respect for that shot this evening. And I don't think there's many sliced backhands out there that Djokovic has all that much respect for.

7:40David Law: No, and I think there aren't that many players that he thinks are going to be that good for that long. I think that's what was getting him a little bit anxious, but he trusted the history I think but I felt that I was watching sort of flashy Djokovic over the other side of the net it was a similar type of game you look at the ranking and you think 102 in the world, how on earth is a player who can play like this 102 in the world but he's had the most awful time with injury illness, things just derailing him and I think the first time we saw him play and really noticed in was three years ago in Dallas um won the title beat big names became the first Chinese man to win

8:25Matt Roberts: an ATP title yeah that week and then pretty much you know that's that's near the top of his Wikipedia entry for 2023 and there's nothing else pretty much after it because I mean he's basically never been able to complete a full full season before yeah it was in 2023 when he had some

8:44Catherine Whitaker: heart issues he he actually he actually collapsed in a match here at Wimbledon against Francis Tiafoe when his his heart rate spiked up to 187 beats per minute I think it happened again to him in in Washington later that summer and then shortly after he had surgery on his left foot he's had lower back issues like he's been around 50 in the world after that Dallas title but he dropped way down he was he was around you know way way down 500 or so in the world and yeah just back end of last year he started winning a lot more matches got back into the top 200 and this year he's gone from yeah about 180 in the world and he just broke the top 100 week or so ago again um you know so he's he's he's really jumped this season he's been he's been doing a lot of winning on on the challenger tour and yeah just able to play consistently you know he's played he's played the slams he's won matches and it makes all the difference and yeah i'd love for him to to keep to keep climbing the rankings because I think there's such a good player in there.

9:46Matt Roberts: Yeah, the US Open junior champion a lot of years ago now. Who saw this coming from Wu? Matt Roberts saw this coming. Put him in his fantasy team at the start of the year. You've been very humble not to mention that, but for a couple of hours earlier, there was murmurs going around the press room like, who is this guy? How is he doing this? And Matt was like, Wu's really good. How do you not all know how good Wu Ye Bing is?

10:14Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, the less said about my other fantasy picks, the better. So maybe I should have shouted from the rooftops about Wu.

10:20Matt Roberts: I will be seeking out his matches from now on. I will be making a point of doing that. On Novak Djokovic and the efficiency point here, you know how struck I was by that Roland Garros press conference where it felt like he just knew that even though he'd won the match in the second round, he'd spent too much time out there on the court, time that he didn't have to spare. Is it different because this is grass and it's Wimbledon or has he potentially expended energy and effort there that he simply can't afford to anymore at 39 years of age? He did look very stiff towards the end of the match. Now, he hasn't played a match in a few weeks.

11:02Matt Roberts: Maybe that's understandable and it wouldn't, as he plays himself into the tournament, it wouldn't happen. but he looked his age by the end of that match. I would have been worried for him in a fifth set.

11:14Catherine Whitaker: I think he just got away with it. I think maybe further down the line we'll look back at this one and think what if he'd got it done in straight sets because he actually started this match incredibly efficiently and well. He only made two unforced errors in the opening set. He was looking very clean. But I think the big difference to Paris is, okay the time it's it's just over three hours rather than over four hours that that is quite a difference but also it wasn't in the heat of the day yeah you know and he didn't have the sun beating down on him and and it wasn't on clay and the rallies weren't really physical and the taking loads out of his legs like he was feeling it definitely but i i got the sense that he's just hung on there to be able to not derail his tournament and he had a bit of a look in his die at the end of the match that was that was more about okay more to come rather than i remember those look i remember the looks he had at the end of that second round match in in paris and even then you kind of knew that he was pissed off and i don't think he quite had that energy today it was

12:19Matt Roberts: more determined i think but he can't be doing this every round absolutely and the problem is i think

12:25David Law: by having in the first round he's now in just the second round going to face a guy who's reached two grand slam finals i know stefanos it surpasses is a shadow of what he used to be post-divorce it surpassed though yeah he's separated from his dad again um which i mean on the face of things i think hallelujah thank goodness that he's done that because i just think it's it's an unhealthy relationship at this point for him to be going around with his dad just constantly in his ear just not leaving him alone just not letting him do anything without commenting on it um And I don't know whether Sitsapas has it in him at this point.

13:06David Law: I'm not saying ever again, because he's still young. He's still young enough to do things in the sport, I think. But if you put him in this position against Djokovic in a false set, I'd be more worried for Djokovic. On this surface, Sitsapas is not at his best. So he probably won't get that close. But he's got kind of muscle memory of how to win big matches. Maybe not against Djokovic. He's lost most of those. But even so, if Djokovic is a bit depleted because of his age and there's only so much left in the tank, I think the problem is even if he were to win the second round match, that's when you could see the accumulation start to become a factor.

13:55David Law: I actually think tonight might help him because he hasn't played since the French. And I think, you know, now he's got the surface under his feet. He's got used to it. He's got the nerves out of the system of playing a big match and being threatened a little bit and coming through it. So I think he's the right side just at the moment. It's just that I don't think the draw is that favourable in that regard.

14:16Matt Roberts: No. No, absolutely. Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there? The proof will be in the pudding. There are some people coming in, joining us a little late on the live stream. I would like to tell those people this was an accident.

14:33David Law: I'm delighted with mine

14:35Matt Roberts: the problem here is that I've got it in the agenda to slag off the Yannick's in a team

14:41David Law: for all wearing the same outfits

14:43Matt Roberts: because I hate that

14:44David Law: are we going to have to do a sort of pre-day chat about clothes maybe

14:51Matt Roberts: do you remember two years ago when we had the same shirt

14:54David Law: yeah and I've got the same shirt on as Matt had yesterday underneath here so you knew you were safe to wear it today

15:01Catherine Whitaker: because mine's in the wash

15:02David Law: so I thought I'll cover it up anyway and then this happens

15:06Catherine Whitaker: the thing is Matthew loves it when we wear white colours against the dark night

15:13Matt Roberts: he did say this is too much

15:14Catherine Whitaker: but then he was like contrast is nice

15:18Matt Roberts: I mean this is cream and that's white if that's anything

15:22David Law: so you know

15:24Matt Roberts: but I'm seeing it on the screen David and it does...

15:27David Law: Do we look like three snowmen?

15:31Matt Roberts: It just... We'll work on it for tomorrow. OK. Right, so Novak Djokovic steamrolling in, stealing the limelight and making himself the main character and the main story as always.

15:47Catherine Whitaker: The grounds will be closing in around 15 minutes. Please make your way to the exit gates and make sure you take all your belongings with you. We hope you've enjoyed your day here at Wimbledon and wish you a pleasant and safe journey home. Thank you.

16:06Matt Roberts: Oh, we are so back.

16:08Catherine Whitaker: Couple of misses in there, but I got the words right.

16:12Matt Roberts: I think hesitations rather than misses.

16:14Catherine Whitaker: OK, I got the words right. Just the cadence.

16:17David Law: Like Djokovic on grass.

16:18Matt Roberts: Yeah.

16:18Catherine Whitaker: Finding my feet.

16:19David Law: Not played it for a year.

16:21Matt Roberts: Yeah, nothing like the slip that Yannick Sinner

16:25Catherine Whitaker: suffered in his match earlier on today.

16:27Matt Roberts: I've recovered the segue there. Well done me. Yannick Sinner, five sets for him over Mirmir Ketsamanovic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3. For those of you watching on the YouTube, you'll have just seen a picture of this fall that Yannick Sinner sustained in the third set of this match. An absolutely horrendous looking fall. I thought he was out of the tournament. I thought, you know, that could be the end of his year. Like his knees, his feet slid outwards in opposite directions. His knees went together and that was sort of stage one of the fall and that looked terrible. And then he sort of exploded backwards, seemingly in agony from it, like his body had convulsed.

17:13Matt Roberts: It was horrendous and he was shaking. He was shaken by it and he was clutching at his hip for a while afterwards. but he gave the thumbs up to Alison Hughes pretty quickly. I mean, he is a flexible-limbed guy, isn't he? And thank goodness for that. I can't believe that that fall hasn't done him damage, but it seems not to.

17:35David Law: Well, I saw a few like that today. Very similar. Oliver Tarvat had one like that, and he just said it made him feel sick and made him want to pass out because of the shock of it all. and I was sitting with Dan Evans in the commentary box when Sinner had that fall and he had one just like that at Queen's a couple of years ago and that basically ruled him out for weeks I think he said he did his medial ligaments in that fall in his knee so yeah, that was a real concern for Sinner and the way he finished the match made me feel like he's actually okay. But yeah, I reckon you're right. The flexibility came to his rescue a little bit there, but it was heart and mouth stuff.

18:24Matt Roberts: So he had that going on, and then he also had this sort of horror story, horror movie situation developing with his foot mat that was one of the weirder plot lines of a tennis match that I've ever seen. And the sort of strange thing of the viewer, obviously the cameras picked up on it, the commentators picked up on it it became this big thing but you didn't know if sinner i mean he obviously would have known that something was going on because presumably could feel it but did he know that his shoe was slowly turning red due to blood soakage did he know that we knew

19:03Catherine Whitaker: and he went off court and i thought okay maybe surely he's gonna sort that out whatever's going on under there and he came back and it was still blood red i mean i've never seen anything like that it was it was haunting yeah after that fall was kind of when when people noticed it i think and yeah it just it became something you couldn't really take your eyes off it was it was extraordinary and look he had a lot of problems today yannick sinner the the fall and the and the and the bloody shoe one of them for sure his own level I mean talk about rusty I mean it was poor wasn't it

19:41Matt Roberts: he pulled it together at the end by the time I went out to watch when he was two sets to one down and I was quite impressed what I with what I saw but the reason why I went out was because I really did think he was in trouble because not only was he in that situation in the score but he wasn't

19:56Catherine Whitaker: playing well so many sprayed forehands you know that that was my overall take i think the forehand just looked so off and it's actually a shot he mentioned as needing to improve also he didn't didn't really have the touch you know like like a lot of uh poor forehand drop shots today

20:15Matt Roberts: and just to be clear he he says the the foot the bloody foot which sounds like a clue in a murder a mystery situation doesn't it he says the bloody shoe foot it was just a a nail a nail that i didn't want to disturb and wasn't bothering him today in terms of his level and his his tennis yeah so we have to kind of have to take that at face value and then the third problem he had was

20:40Catherine Whitaker: kept manovich playing out of his mind at times i mean the i think we've seen the rally of the tournament like just a crazy rally from Ketsmanovic in that third set tie break to save set point had me jumping out my seat in the in the media center you know yeah yes I might have heard like just extraordinary and Sinner played his part in that extraordinary rally he he dived backwards at one stage and retrieved something that looked like it was past him and Ketsmanovic ended up having to hit a really, really hard half volley to win this rally. But it was amazing. And I genuinely thought that two sets to one down, with Ketsmanovic playing like that, with Sinner playing as he was, and with all the concern going on about the hip and the foot in that moment, I really thought he was in trouble.

21:35Catherine Whitaker: I really did. So I think it's an important point you make, Catherine, that he did steady well in that fourth and fifth sets and regroup. and he let out a huge roar, a big come on, actually. You don't often hear that from Yannick Sinner, but when he got the crucial break in the fourth, he did that. And, yeah, I don't know. Look, he didn't reach his time, you know, his three-hour, 48-minute mark. It didn't quite get there. It was about three and a half hours. But I think he'd only won one of his last nine, five sets, Yannick Sinner, you know. and I just sort of think that this kind of win is actually quite useful for him.

22:15Catherine Whitaker: I think, weirdly, I think you build up a bit more invincibility and aura when you win these sorts of matches. You kind of have to be pushed a little bit and get out of something.

22:27Matt Roberts: Alcoraz has traditionally done it a lot. He did it in the first round here himself last year, didn't he, against Vanini.

22:33Catherine Whitaker: And I think it just, it will help him in the long run if he has more wins like this. And obviously, like, the straight set sufficient winning is great and that's mostly what he wants. But just generally, I think for his career, this is a big moment for him to have won this kind of match because he's so rarely in it. But yeah, you know, if you think of all the greats, you can remember a lot of epic wins that they've had. And there's just fewer for Yannick Sinner. And I just think this might be one we look back on as really, really pivotal in his tournament and career, potentially.

23:09Matt Roberts: It's a great point. While that was all developing on centre court, the fall, the bloody foot, the peril for Yannick Sinner, our eyes were mostly on court number two and Maja Chvalinska, who, regardless of whether there was going to be an upset, we had all wanted to keep an eye on today because just so much intrigue about her playing on grass this is a player that we barely knew about before the french open and we really fell in love with and fell in love with her tennis during the course of that fortnight and theoretically it felt like a game that could really work on grass and we were all just so excited to see it here and for two sets Matt and David I know you you watch some of this as well we kind of saw exactly what we were hoping to see in the best case scenario and then this match took the most drastic and sad turn at the most I mean well the most improbable of moments yeah match point for my

24:15Catherine Whitaker: my valinska you know like she's six two five two up and playing so beautifully i went out to court 12 to watch this one and you know it was the it was the loopy forehand that really stood out to me at the french open there's a lot of stuff going on with her game obviously but that forehand was causing so many problems on the clay and here immediately you're like oh it's other parts of her game that can thrive on the grass and it was in particular the slice and the drop shots i've been watching this match for about 10 minutes and i've already seen so many drop shot lob combinations and drop shot returns you know things like this and when she broke for four love to go up a double break in that opening set i looked up the draw i was like well this game is working beautifully on this surface okay there's not a lot of power coming down the other end she's able to play her game and I saw Mukova in the third round and I just got really excited about that possible match up and then she gets to the match point in the second set and slips and slides out out to the ball a rally that she wasn't going to win anyway I think even if she hadn't done what she did but she which makes it even crueler I think but she went over on her ankle and it just changed everything it it changed the whole feel and mood of the match immediately and she had a medical timeout she got broken back she lost the set she went off court she came back and in the third she was just she was moving more gingerly and she was also powered down she had cramps and she was getting she was getting some rubs at the change of ends for that but it it just all changed on match point like so so cruel um and yeah real really tough start to the tournament actually because this one just flipped from being such a joy to to a bit of a tough watch and it didn't look dramatic in the way that sinner's fall did but she was so changed oh after it was a completely different match and look um manan try savankau did did incredibly well there were still moments

26:24Matt Roberts: from Kvilinska after that fall. And she had to play well, Serankia, but yeah, the match just took such a sad turn and just so many examples today on and off the court of this sport just being so devastatingly cruel because while all that was happening, Kvilinska on court number two, Yannick Sinner on centre court, in amongst all of it, we get the news that Jack Draper has withdrawn from this tournament. Jack Draper, who, albeit with a note of caution because of what the last year has looked like, but who we were so taken with in press yesterday, David, we had no reason to think he was holding back, really.

27:10Matt Roberts: It all felt very genuine. And I think it was genuine. I'm not suggesting he was being untruthful, maybe in denial. I don't know. But we were upbeat after his press conference yesterday. Not necessarily about his prospects here because he had Taylor Fritz in the first round, but generally about Jack Draper. And then we get the news that he's withdrawing due to the arm injury, the bone bruising, the issue that has plagued him for a year now.

27:39David Law: Yeah, it is, isn't it? We saw him play Marin Cilic here a year ago, and we then didn't see him again until the US Open in the mixed doubles there. And then he pulled out of the main draw, and then you don't see him again for another, what, seven months? I mean, it's just... And we saw him in the interim in November when he was rehabbing and resting and doing all the things you're supposed to do. and you've taken that long off to protect this bone bruising in your arm and allow it to do what it needs to do. He's so, I don't want to say upbeat, but he's so prepared to go with it, to persevere, to be patient, to be optimistic for the long term, that if he plays the long game, he'll have his chance.

28:32David Law: and he's going to use this sort of adversity to make him stronger and be mentally tougher and try to boost other areas of his game. And he keeps coming back from these setbacks like that with that mentality. And then he had some results, didn't he, in the Sunshine Double? And then he has more problems when he plays in Spain and hurts his knee. And then he's pulled out of another bunch of tournaments. as he misses the French Open and he's back out, does OK in Eastbourne. And here we are again. And he can't play Wimbledon. And I realise he's still a relatively young man, 24. In theory, he should have hopefully another 10 years minimum, you know, in terms of time on the circuit.

29:22David Law: But what do you do if your body just is not allowing you to play the sport?

29:27Matt Roberts: Historically, are there examples of players as good as him whose body just isn't fit for purpose to be a professional tennis player. I mean, you know, Kyle Edmund is a name that comes up a lot, certainly, from a British perspective. And I know he reached a Grand Slam semi-final. Technically, they've both got that same peak to their career. But I think Jack's upside is a lot bigger than that.

29:56David Law: I think Kyle was a good player. I think Jack Draper has the raw materials to be a Grand Slam champion. I really do. I think the way he was trending last year, around this time, four in the world, and hurting people, hurting big-name players from the baseline with his power, it looked like the ultimate was possible for him. And he may still be.

30:26Matt Roberts: And Yannick Sinner said that in press today. I know they're friends, but I don't think he dishes out platitudes. And there's a video circulating, actually, because it was during a BBC interview that Yannick Sinner found out that Jack Draper had pulled out injured. And you can see his face fall. It's such genuine devastation for him. And then he comes into press and speaks so highly of the potential in his game.

30:52David Law: and yeah and the determination the dedication he has to the sport he lives and breathes the sport we we had a chance to spend a lot of time in his company in the last seven or eight months leading up to that interview we did in november and and he just loves it he loves the battle he loves the

31:10Matt Roberts: process he's and lives for it you know i do worry about i worry about his mental health he's a he's a sensitive chap and he's had a lot of i mean this is just he said in his statement i'm devastated to share that I've had to withdraw from my first round match due to a recurrence of the arm injury I hope that having Andy Murray around can can be critical with helping him through

31:32Catherine Whitaker: this but I I do worry about him yeah me too I I think hearing that it's the bone bruising is like kind of the worst thing that it that it could have been really and I was quite encouraged by some of the quotes he was giving yesterday and I said it about the the way that he'd gone back to the service motion but I suppose there what he was talking about was kind of a few weeks ago he felt good about the arm that he went back to the serve and in truth I think there were little signs in Eastbourne the way he I don't know but the way he went to the sleeve in the second match that his serve speeds were down that in the final he wasn't really hitting through the ball like he can so semi-final sorry in the semi-final yeah so I actually haven't covered the Eastbourne final tomorrow there were little signs but I was still shocked I was really shocked by by the withdrawal because of how he seemed in the press conference yesterday and oh it's yeah it's the worst

32:34Matt Roberts: brutal and it comes on the heels of look a totally less shocking but still extremely sad withdrawal from Emma Adekanu about an hour after we finished the show last night and look we were braced for at the very least a potential retirement in her match tomorrow but she had told us in her press conference during the afternoon the plan was to play she then had a another scan on her leg i think and this time it showed a stress fracture which i mean there's just no way around that is there um and i believe there's kind of there's no cheating the recovery from that it's just it's just rest yeah uh and it's it's same old isn't it for emir adekanu rinse and repeat and it's it's absolutely brutal and obviously you know jack draper and emir adekanu it's it's a their contribution to to the stats that we're about to talk about is is very different to others contribution but it heaps misery onto what has been an absolutely dismal day for great britain on day one at Wimbledon.

33:44Matt Roberts: They have had 10 players complete matches today and all 10 have lost.

33:51Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, and Robert McNichol, Wimbledon historian, has been in the library, I believe, with Matt Lamwell of the Daily Mail and they've been trying to put this in historical context and they've come up that they think it's the worst day one ever. Certainly in the open era for Brits in terms of number of Brits losing, you know. And like, you know, of course, there have been years that arguably have been worse because there have been just not that many British players in the draw. So there weren't 10 to be able to lose. You know, these stats are a little hard to sort of quantify. But yeah, basically the headline is just a historically bad day for British tennis.

34:37Catherine Whitaker: It could have been 11. Jack Pennington-Jones is two sets of love down. A stay of execution. Darkness fell on court 18 behind us, and he'll come back tomorrow. And there's eight more Brits on court tomorrow. And the worst in terms of most Brits losing in round one since draws were 128, so we're talking since 1983, was 16. We had 16 Brits losing round one in 1988, that was. so I think that's definitely possible that we that we hit that number here I think all but one

35:12Matt Roberts: are probably underdogs in their matches tomorrow probably Katie Bolter the only one that on paper you'd expect to win her match but then historically actually at Wimbledon she's performed better when she's been the underdog here so I don't know you never know we'll will resume this discussion tomorrow, I guess.

35:32Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, and 2010 is the year that a lot of people point to as the worst one because 88 % of the Brits who were in the draws lost in round one, and it was only Andy Murray who made it through to the second round. But that was seven losses out of eight. You know, we had 19 Brits in the draw this year across men's and women's, plus also Raducanu and Drepu withdrew. So, yeah, like, there's a lot of numbers there, but, like, we're tracking for a very, very bad Wimbledon, unless something dramatic changes tomorrow, of course, but even this was bad enough.

36:11Matt Roberts: I'd imagine you'd like to asterisk Oliver Tarvit, David, sort of being lumped into the statistic of British failure.

36:18David Law: Well, he played very, very well against Arta Rindeknes. He lost in four sets. He only had his serve broken once. That was the last game of the match after four hours and ten minutes. He lost the first two on tie breaks. He won the third despite, and he actually got the first break of the match. And at the same time as he won that break point, he fell to the ground in that horrible moment that I referenced, which really knocked the stuffing out of him. He had to go off the court for a medical timeout, came back out and served it out, and then got very close in the fourth set as well. And there was a way that Rinderkinesh sort of sent him off where you could tell he was saying, you know, you really should be proud of yourself because you really fought hard.

37:11David Law: You did not give me a ball. Because that's what Tarvit's like. He's a terrier of a player. Rinderkinesh, I thought, did really well to come through it. Nine break points, Tarvit set up. only five Rinder Kinesh set up so it just tells you the story of the match doesn't it and it's memorised all the Torvitz stats well you know honestly I really enjoyed it and actually you were talking about Valinska's play early on that you got to witness this match followed Valinska onto court number 12 and we get to sit in press seats which are the front row on the side of the court you are a few metres away from the players sitting there side on and the trajectory of these balls and the intensity of of the play it was it was a great watch um and uh i think that tarvid has got a real future because his attitude just doesn't falter in matches and i just feel as though i saw a lot of british players

38:11Catherine Whitaker: today where that cannot be said yeah i think the other british match to shout out would be the harriet dart yelena ostapenko match that was moved to number one court to to replace uh raducanu and paul rusic went all the way down to court 17.

38:32Matt Roberts: did yelena ostapenko get her tesco sponsorship deal after the upgrade to court one did tesco come a calling once they saw she was getting the upgrade to bbc2 you're gonna have to ask her yeah i mean i really that is actually a terrible dereliction of my journalistic duty that i didn't go to a press conference and ask that if she keeps winning yeah i will seek out the answer it's my favorite tennis sponsorship if

39:00David Law: If she's on court nine in the next round, has she gone?

39:05Matt Roberts: Has it mysteriously gone? It did look very hastily. It looked like it might have even been a sticky label that you get at, like, mingling events. What? To identify yourself. Hi, I'm Catherine. I do not want to chat.

39:25Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I mean, this was... but like for much of it like hot mess with simmering aggro Ostopenko sarcasm to the crowd crowd frenzy they were so into this one on number one court Martina Neresilova was commentating and been pretty scathing about Ostopenko throughout but then like I felt like by the end Ostopenko won Martina over because the surge Ostopenko had at the end you could not deny it and it was it was just too good for Dart but Dart she's quite scrappy in these matches and like puts up a fight and and did that was chasing balls down and the crowd were really into it but ultimately Ostapenko just had enough firepower

40:10Matt Roberts: and poor old Cam Norrie lost out in a fifth set tie break to Michael Zhang he's a good player Michael Zhang and I'm not sure Cam Norrie is 100 % physically at the moment but Zhang had a surge of his own

40:23David Law: in the 10 point tie break You know, you kind of feel... That's a well-timed surge, isn't it? That's Norrie's sweet spot normally, isn't it? I mean, I'm maybe compromised a little bit. Sheng just suddenly started to play lights-up tennis in the 10-point tiebreak. He's a tough cook, he is.

40:42Matt Roberts: OK, that's it for kind of the dramatic portion of the day. We'll talk about some of the other key results in just a moment.

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42:57Matt Roberts: Irina Sabalenka, she beat Teodora Kostovic 6-2, 6-3. I bet the tournament organisers were grateful to her because they'd had this marathon Yannick Sinner match. She knew you had Djokovic drama to come. She got the schedule back on track with a statement win in first round.

43:18Catherine Whitaker: Yes, and it did seem like maybe Sabalenka had read some Kostovic quotes because Kostovic was very much sort of talking up her own game. She's very young. I liked the sort of self-belief that she went into this match with, you know. and she talked about having power that she thought might be able to to hurt Sabalenka and it was almost as though Sabalenka was like no you do not and just quick as a flash was was ahead in this one and yeah pretty uh pretty nice start for her.

43:53Matt Roberts: Coco Goff similar which is not something we often say about Coco Goff here okay this is a kinder draw than some she's had in the first round at Wimbledon but 6-2-6-1 over Tamara Korpatch in 54 minutes yeah and true to her word going after the

44:09Catherine Whitaker: serve a lot more uh multiple above 120 miles an hour I think I saw one at 126 miles an hour like she was she was going for it and uh that that was really the thing I was looking for the most because I did I know she'd lost a lot of matches in a row on grass but I really did think she would she would beat Corp actually I wanted to see sort of how she beat her and yeah I was I was encouraged by that.

44:34Matt Roberts: David my gift to you is a question about Naomi Osaka's outfit you've only got yourself to blame for this. Great. It was a custom Hana Yagi outfit inspired by Japanese ceremonial dress. Thought so yeah. Yeah and it inspired her to a straight set swing over Elsa Giacomo the scene at the net during the coin toss when Osaka is wearing this incredible elaborate outfit but it is it was sort of sprawling all over the court at the net and and Elsa Giacomo

45:07Catherine Whitaker: is there in her tiny shorts yes I mean she's always just Lynn Elsa Giacomo there was there

45:15Matt Roberts: There was about 400 times as much fabric on Naomi Osaka as there was on Elsa Giacomo. But she looked fit, which is the most important thing for Naomi Osaka. I mean...

45:31David Law: Yeah, I mean, actually, at this stage, that's all that matters, isn't it? And getting through, because there must have been... You know, they were talking about this turnaround with Mukova, wasn't she, in that ceremony? that gee we're out there tomorrow so you know we better be all right and here she is she's pulled up in that man she must have been pretty anxiety inducing but in a way I feel like the the fashion that she brings to the court gets her in the right frame of mind for things and stops her maybe overthinking tennis she really loves this she loves to walk out into into into the court in something she has worked on and uh come up with as an idea put herself in too yeah and really just spent months on you know and then suddenly just to walk out and deliver it you know display it present it to the world and um and i think it helps her mentally when she gets out there it seemed it's it's increasingly seen to me and and particularly probably when you're when you are a bit nervous about what you're going to be like and she's never done that well here has she so i think i think it's really quite helpful mentally for her

46:52Matt Roberts: we all know how it feels when you put an outfit on that not only you love and you feel great in but you feel like it's you and it's expressing. I mean, we've all done it in exactly the same way tonight.

47:03David Law: I mean, I don't really know how to describe her outfit. I just know that when I saw the picture, I just went, whoa, that is extraordinary. I've never seen anything like that on a tennis court before. It's so elaborate.

47:15Matt Roberts: To be clear, she didn't play in the robe.

47:19David Law: No, but she walked out onto the court. I mean, if you were a spectator and you did not know this was her thing, you would probably wonder what on earth's going on just covering off the fashion section Novak Djokovic's blazer yeah that that definitely had uh 2006 Federer all over it didn't it you know

47:41Matt Roberts: his was a slight cream Federer wore trousers didn't he the first year he just wore the blazer

47:48David Law: with the shorts. The second year he wore blazer with trousers. Third year he had a very weird jacket. I remember the year after that.

47:57Matt Roberts: Such a long blazer. And I know I should, you know, having said everything we've said about Osaka,

48:03David Law: I really support

48:06Matt Roberts: people expressing themselves in this way, in a way that it looks not everyone's bag but it doesn't harm anyone. And I know that is incompatible with my view that I hated the Novak Djokovic blazer, but I don't want to tell you I hated the Novak Djokovic blazer that didn't feel like expressing himself that felt like him expressing like Wimbledon fancy dress you know

48:33Catherine Whitaker: we haven't mentioned that Bad Bunny was in his in his box

48:37Matt Roberts: do you know who that is David?

48:39David Law: I don't really know who that is so I wouldn't say well it was

48:42Matt Roberts: because Grammy winner

48:43David Law: he was in there yeah right

48:45Catherine Whitaker: yeah he's like the biggest artist in the world right now and he was playing in London the other night he's made to be BTS

48:56David Law: I thought they were the biggest

48:58Catherine Whitaker: no

48:59David Law: no they're big

49:02Matt Roberts: David Beckham he was here as well yeah yeah amazing how he gets tickets isn't it lucky in the ballot every year extraordinary Royal Box Ballot doing important work to be fair

49:14Catherine Whitaker: like I like it when they stay till the end in the Royal Box

49:17Matt Roberts: David Beckham had his mum with him I agree, he stayed to the end you can say that for him what else have we got here Jessica Pagula and Mira Andreva both straight sets winners but not straightforward for either of them Pagula looked like it was going to be straightforward against Dario Vidmanova but she got herself in a real pickle in that first set Matt

49:43Catherine Whitaker: yeah she did, she was four love up and quite quickly became 5-all in that opening set. You know, like a real momentum swing. And interesting hearing her afterwards really own the nerves she was feeling. She said, I'm the most nervous I am, basically, is before the first round of a slam. And particularly at Wimbledon, when she hasn't always liked the grass here as much. We've talked about it a lot. And, you know, I think Vidmanova did a good job of turning it into not just a hitting contest. You know, like she was never going to be able to be more consistent or better from the baseline than Jessica Pagula.

50:22Catherine Whitaker: But she did quite a good job of disrupting things and made it quite stressful for Pagula. And I think those nerves played a part, definitely. But look, she lost this tournament in the first round last year. and it was just vital that she got out of it and got settled and got into the tournament and

50:41Matt Roberts: and she did that and andreva navigated the tricky magdalenette that looked a bit stressful yeah i

50:49Catherine Whitaker: gotta say and she owned that as well she said i was i was stressed yeah i i didn't watch all of

50:54David Law: the match but i watched quite a few points where you got a feel for what this match was and and it was like what I think we thought it was when the draw was made you know when you saw them pitched against each other what a clever player Lynette is her ability to just turn your game back on you but and and I didn't really think that that was going to work as well as it did against Andreva but the fact is Andreva won it you know it's it's it'd be so easy for her to have gone from being a bit stressed to having full-on meltdown and maybe losing or or having to you go deep into a third set or something like that.

51:32David Law: There were a lot of public shows of frustration, I felt. She wasn't hiding it in the match. But bottom line is she won in straight sets. So I think that's a successful day. It's not lucky. She's growing all the time, I think, as a player.

51:51Matt Roberts: A few other results to just whiz you through from today. David Daniel Medverev people were predicting an attritional five setter here against Marin Cilic and nothing like it in the end 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 for him you commentated on this

52:07David Law: I sat down at this with Ryan Harrison and Dan Evans on BBC Radio commentary in the box there and we sat down and thought you know better get the snacks in here because this is going to be about four and a half hours and it was 6-1, 6-2 in an hour for Medvedev. I mean, Cilic was terrible. I don't know whether he was fully fit, to be honest. He made a better fist of it in the third set. I mean, this is a guy who's reached the final before, you know, and won grand slams. I mean, look, he's late 30s, so he's not necessarily always going to be physically as good as he used to be. I mean, that's fair to assume.

52:48David Law: But, I mean, the pundits I were with, I mean, Evans was pulling his hair out about the fact that he just refused to go into the net. He would hit one good shot and then stay on the baseline. The ball would be scooped back to him and he's into a rally again. Medvedev, I thought, was good. Really, really good. Really convincing with his normal game. Third set was a lot more tight. Three love early on for Cilic. But it just never felt like it was going to go beyond three sets and it didn't.

53:19Matt Roberts: There was a defeat of a top seed today, a big shock. Kasper Rude, the 11th seed, he was defeated in three sets. Excuse me. In three sets. In three sets, no more, by Hubert Hercatch. And an even bigger shock than that, I overestimated Kasper Rude because in the newsletter predictions today, I said Hercatch in four.

53:49David Law: It says everything that the favourite for the match, even though Rude is way higher ranked and all the rest of it, was her catch.

53:59Matt Roberts: And it says everything, David. Again, if you're with us on YouTube, you'll have just seen a picture of Casper Rude grinning on his way to the net. That is what I can't... I can't handle it. You don't need to be here. Just go to Ibiza, whatever. I know you could say by ranking you've earned your 80 grand. He'll complain about having to pay tax on that at some point, I'm sure. I don't know. It just, this is a competition.

54:31David Law: I mean, I think he tried.

54:33Catherine Whitaker: You know, it's just. He almost won the third set for you, Catherine, to get you more predictions points.

54:41Matt Roberts: Couldn't even do that, could he? Tommy Paul was in a hurry today. an hour and 13 minutes over Alexander Muller didn't see much of that but saw the scoreline and I was like bloomin' heck Tommy Paul Felix Orgelia Seam not far behind him with an hour and 34 minute win over Alexander Shevchenko so Bald Felix we've got a workshop nickname there we had Bald Caraz crew cut that's just the name of a haircut David that's not that's not a pun Bald Well we had bald carats didn't we? We didn't come up with that but that was a thing Anyway Raphael Hodder

55:25Catherine Whitaker: I'm sensing tension

55:27Matt Roberts: I'll say Raphael Hodder won his first pro match on grass I'm being a professional Matt I'm trying to broadcast through the tension 13 years we've had of this Rafael Hodor on his first pro match on grass he beat Felix Gill in straight sets Jean Fonseca was a winner today against Roberto Bautista Agu on court 18 behind us here

55:54Catherine Whitaker: that was a good win that he was in a bit of trouble in the first set there had to save a set point and was down in the first set tie break I think that could have got tricky for Fonseca but actually he just turned it on when he needed to. I was quite impressed with that.

56:11Matt Roberts: Pablo Carreña Busta ended his Wimbledon drought today. He won his first ever match here. Which is wild, isn't it? And he probably saw that coming when the draw came out and he had Denis Shapovalov. I mean, on paper you think,

56:31Catherine Whitaker: wow, that's a former semi-finalist here. But I watched Shapovalov against Dimonor the other week. And I mean, he borderline tanked in the second set. He's not in a good place right now.

56:44Matt Roberts: Look, he retired from this match, but that's not why he was two sets of love down. He ran into a fence post or something?

56:50Catherine Whitaker: I don't know what he did. It was a bit unclear. He did something to his shoulder at the end of the second set.

56:58Matt Roberts: Very quickly, Zhang Shui beat Bianca Andreescu today, 7-6, 7-6. It was a great win for her, but a bit of a collapse from Andreescu at the end of the second set that she looked like she was in control of. She will have regrets about this match, I think, Bianca Andreescu. That's a tough one for her. Alexandra Onnikova lost love and love in 40 minutes to McCartney Kessler. I think she was a player that we were a bit like Felinska, kind of looking forward to seeing on grass a little bit. And I wasn't braced for that at all.

57:34Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I had lower expectations of Alnacova on grass, I would say. She lost 11-2 to the world number 578 in Eastbourne.

57:45Matt Roberts: Well, you didn't mention that at the start of the day. Okay. Yeah.

57:49Catherine Whitaker: Okay. Noted. We had a double bagel in round one of Wimbledon last year as well.

57:56Matt Roberts: Round run of Samova. that player went all the way to the final so okay watch out for McCartney Kessler Matt a very quick summary if you could please of Dionysio Stremska's win 7-5 in the third

58:09Catherine Whitaker: over Aui Ito low-key possibly match of the day this one like and not a surprise I mean talk about contrast of styles just Stremska who you know hits the shit out of the ball and Ito who has the most unorthodox technique of anyone around at the moment but is a nightmare you know and like Jastrzemska was getting very very frustrated I went out to watch this one stood stood courtside and Jastrzemska came over at one point to her team and and said it's like I'm playing my sister and I rolled it was like it's like under 14s tennis and Pam Shriver in the Jastrzemska box for this one as in part of her role with Yonex was like well you beat your sister oh Pam that's so good just the perfect thing to say and like just like Yostremska needed little reminders like that throughout because playing Ito was was kind of sending her over the edge and it's so tempting with Ito to hit to her forehand because it looks like like it's bad but actually on this surface it was skidding through and it was an absolute nightmare and actually Yostremska was getting the ball she wanted more when she was paying to the backhand but figuring that out in the moment when you're frustrated is such a hard thing to do anyway Yastrzemska wins the first set Ito wins the second Ito has match points in the final set again she goes over to the box and Pam says you've won from two from match points down before and what happens Yastrzemska wins from match points down again and survives the extraordinary wonderful Aoi Ito experience it was also this match was happening at the same time that Japan were leading Brazil in the World Cup and I informed the Japanese fans next to me that they'd they'd scored in the football and they had they had tennis to watch they had football to follow it was it was

1:00:02David Law: all happening it was a real vibe such a fascinating insight into the the courtside coaching that you're now permitted to do I mean and into look of course I'm a bit biased because it's Pam and we love Pam but I mean it is an insight into the how good she is at this stuff and also it's uh you know it

1:00:23Catherine Whitaker: struck me that it was kind of fortunate for for Jostremska that the game she fell match points down she was down the end where the coaches were you know little things like that can make a big difference in a match and she gets that little bit of advice that she needs to hear she settles down She calms down. She plays the right way and she manages to win.

1:00:44Matt Roberts: Checks. Big Checks success today. I've got a little Chek roundup for you to finish off today's results. Barbora Krejcikova, straight sets for her against Hannah Klugman. She looked fit and well and that is a worry, I would say, for everybody else in the draw. Nicola Bartonkova, very different match for her. She beat Peyton Stearns 7-5 in the third. She was in trouble here, Bartonkova.

1:01:05Catherine Whitaker: Yes, I walked past that court when she was a breakdown in the third. She was break point down again to go down a double break, but managed to get out of it. Sterns, by the way, very, very unhappy that she got delivered. Apparently a racket with a tension that she didn't ask for late, late in the third set. She was not happy about that.

1:01:28Matt Roberts: And Karolina Mukova, a winner today. She's broken the four-year run of first round defeats. She beat Anastasia Zakharova, 6-3, 6-2. And Katarina Siniarkova, who seeded this tournament, snuck in as the 32nd seed. She beat Jung Chin Wen, who is not only sort of struggling to come back to form, but clearly hates grass.

1:01:50Catherine Whitaker: Well, hates playing Siniarkova on grass. She's lost to her in the first round of Wimbledon in 2023, 2025 and now 2026. Cool.

1:02:00Matt Roberts: Okay. Wow.

1:02:05David Law: crazy she'll be hoping she gets a different player for these drawers they matter people note that one down for next year yes right

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1:03:24Matt Roberts: Just before we move on to talk about tomorrow's order of play, we had the news drop this morning. It was dramatic before the day even got going, before I'd even had a coffee and put my contact lenses in this morning. We woke up to the news that the world's leading players have ended their boycott of Wimbledon media duties after constructive meetings with the All England Club. they were intending to continue their media but their limiting of time spent with the media both in the press conference room and set visits to and interviews with broadcasters they're planning to limit that not just on media day as they did in Paris but continue it throughout the first week of the tournament so an escalation of the protest which as you heard from Jamie Baker the Wimbledon tournament director that we had on the show last night Wimbledon were clearly taken aback by having upped their prize money by 20 % on last year.

1:04:24Matt Roberts: And this does seem to be a massive rowing back from this group. They need a name, don't they? The group of top players isn't very catchy. It's an admission that they have reached, isn't it?

1:04:41David Law: Larry Scott's Barmy Army.

1:04:43Matt Roberts: Yeah, they got this one wrong.

1:04:46David Law: Yeah, well, I definitely think they overestimated.

1:04:55Matt Roberts: There's already confusion in the chat about the term fancy dress that I used earlier. Hannah's having to explain that that wasn't me saying I thought Djokovic looked fancy. That's what Brits call costume. Like a costume party is a fancy dress party here. So now they've got Barmy Army to contend with. I've not helped.

1:05:16David Law: But I think that they... I don't think that when they came up with this idea that they really realised that some of the very top players weren't going to go with it. And, you know, Alexander Zverev was one who just basically said, I'm going to do half an hour because I think Wimbledon have done OK here. And, you know, and I don't think it's the media's fault. Alex Dimonor we talked about the other day Ben Shelton Jack Draper I just think that they I think that they got confident and bullish because they'd got 20 % and they thought okay we can push this further now and put pressure on the US Open but I don't think it landed very well so they've decided and you heard Jamie saying Wimbledon and the Slams they want to lower the temperature and they probably are going to come back to the table and keep making manoeuvres, you know.

1:06:14David Law: But, yeah, it's just a bit awkward.

1:06:17Matt Roberts: Does it damage them at all longer term that they've got this wrong?

1:06:21David Law: A bit, maybe, but I think that they are... Look, I think that they're getting a reaction. The fact is they got 20%, and I think they're probably going to get a really healthy US Open deal as well, and they probably will do for the Australian Open. Whether they end up getting anywhere near where they're saying they want to go, That's going to be the crux point, is how much further are you prepared to push this? How important is all this stuff for you when you're already getting really good raises? Because at some point, you know, the slams may just decide, all right, we've had enough now. You know, you come back to us.

1:06:59Matt Roberts: OK, fascinating. The story continues. The order of play for tomorrow. there's been a rejig with the centre of court order of play with Taylor Fritz and Jack Draper now becoming Taylor Fritz and lucky loser Dusan Lajovic. We were actually discussing before this change came in whether they could just leave it because Taylor Fritz is a big name in himself. Bit of a blow for Taylor that he has been relegated.

1:07:28Catherine Whitaker: I think so. Only to court one. You genuinely might be annoyed about that.

1:07:31Matt Roberts: You definitely could have just left it as is, couldn't you? But anyway, Taylor Fritz relegated to court one with Dusan Lajovic, whose name was also corrected to Susan Lajovic by somebody on the barge earlier. And that tickled Matt so much. I did.

1:07:47Catherine Whitaker: I enjoyed it a lot. I'm not going to be able to think of him as Dusan anymore.

1:07:52Matt Roberts: So Centre Court tomorrow starts with Taylor Townsend against Igor Shriante. Interesting. Yannick Sinner today, actually quite a lot of his press conference was taken up with him talking about how nervous he was today and how different this experience of walking out as a Grand Slam defending champion felt to all the others that he's had. And I'm going to watch Igor Shontek eagerly tomorrow, having that same experience against a very tricky opponent. And I imagine what will be a very hyped up centre court crowd, because they all know they've got the golden ticket for tomorrow because of what's coming later.

1:08:29Matt Roberts: OK, it's not quite the order of play it was when Draper versus Fritz was on it. I think at that point it was probably the best round one shake or order of play I'd ever seen. But as it sounds, it's Taylor Townsend against Igor Shvantec. Then it's Alexander Blox against Alexander Zverev. Blox is an injury concern, I think, still. That ankle injury that he had in Paris hasn't played since, I don't think. And then finally, the reason, quite frankly, that this is the golden ticket, Serena Williams against Maya Joint. Yeah. We think she's going to win? I do. I do.

1:09:07David Law: I mean, I'm still saying that reputationally and with history in mind because I haven't seen Serena Williams play apart from a bit of doubles at Queen's. That's all I've personally seen. I've seen a hit. I was out there today in Orangi Park where they have the practice courts and I saw Serena practicing in the distance. with Jameer Jenkins and actually a British hitting partner from Wigan, 25-year-old, who apparently got the call. He's on the Futures Tour and he got the call to go out to Florida and had to keep the secret, Russell Fuller was telling me, from a piece he did with him. So quite a moment for him.

1:09:52David Law: And when Serena came off the court, I mean, Irina Sabalenka was going the other way, completely on her own. And Serena walked past with 11 people around her. I mean, nobody else had an entourage like her. I mean, her sister was there as well. Venus was there too. But it was extraordinary to witness just the sheer kind of heft of her stardom. It's showbiz. She's a professional athlete and one of the greatest champions ever, but she's also just this megastar. And it's just lit a touch paper underneath this tournament. And it's going to lift off tomorrow. I think she'll win. What do you two think?

1:10:32Matt Roberts: Yeah, I mean, nothing's changed since I said I thought she'd win a couple of days ago. That is mostly a Maya Joint prediction. Yeah. I mean, there's pretty much nobody in tennis with a worse record this year than Maya Joint. But for a player that hasn't played in four years and is 44, basing the prediction off her opponent feels like as firm a ground as you're going to find. because I have absolutely no idea what Serena Williams is going to look like.

1:11:03Catherine Whitaker: Can't add to that. You've both said it. Can't worry.

1:11:06Matt Roberts: Yeah, me either. Number one court tomorrow, Taylor Fritz against Dushan Lajovic. I wonder if he will be annoyed. I'm looking forward to asking him, actually. Second on is Lois Boisson against Elena Rabatkinner. And third on Stan Rorinka, the wild card, in his final Wimbledon, taking on Matteo Berrettini. Number two court tomorrow is where you'll find Matt at 11am if you're hoping to bump into him because that is where Amanda Anisimova is playing. Matt, I do not know this opponent of hers. Lina Giorceska. Have you been researching? She qualified. I know that.

1:11:44Catherine Whitaker: I'll tell you more tomorrow.

1:11:46Matt Roberts: Great. Second on Otto Vertinen against Ben Shelton. All Ukrainian clash between Alina Svitolina and Darius Niger. And French Open finalist Flavio Caboli is on last on court two tomorrow with Mariano Navone. Katie Bolter up first on court three against Tyra Grant. Hoping to get a win on the board for GB early. Tyra Grant qualified. Very talented young player, but still one that I think Bolter will be expected to win. Interesting. and she's followed onto court three by her fiancé Alex de Menor against Roman Boruchaga, son of...

1:12:25David Law: The Argentine striker or winger who played in the 1986 World Cup alongside Maradona, war number seven, and scored the winning goal in the World Cup final.

1:12:37Matt Roberts: Jakub Menchik and Toby Samuel, the Brit, third on court three, and Nadia Podoroska against Marta Kosciuk, are last on there. Robin Montgomery against Jasmine Paolini, first on 12. Tomorrow, Alexandra Ayala, potential round two opponent for Serena Williams, is third on court 12 against Renata Zarizua. So the winner of that match, we take on the winner of Maya Joint against Serena Williams. And David's pick to make the men's final, Francis Tiafoe. Yep.

1:13:10David Law: I don't know why I shouldn't be laughing at myself, should I?

1:13:12Matt Roberts: Francis Tiafoe takes on Terence Atman last on court 12 tomorrow good player Terence Atman David

1:13:20David Law: good player Francis Tiafoe yes

1:13:23Matt Roberts: okay that is tomorrow hello to Phoebe our wonderful mascot for Wimbledon 2026 Phoebe looks like she's been just as frazzled by today as I have but also looks happy which is an exact reflection of my feelings about day one here at SW19. So thank you, Phoebe, for always getting it. Hello to Bodie, Maisie and Roger, our mascots. Hello to our executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. Matt, let's have some shout outs.

1:13:55Catherine Whitaker: We have Karen Mabem from Switzerland.

1:14:01Matt Roberts: We know Karen. Hello, Karen. I feel like Karen always gets hatching off.

1:14:07Catherine Whitaker: Yes, but actually we've got Karen Knapp. Yes. Knapp, yeah. Very good.

1:14:12David Law: Because of the spelling of the first name.

1:14:14Catherine Whitaker: Exactly. Yeah.

1:14:17Matt Roberts: That is it, though, isn't it? It's Karen Knapp.

1:14:19Catherine Whitaker: It is. Yeah. That'll do. Yeah. And that is all we know. So I will move on to our second shout out.

1:14:27Matt Roberts: Thank you, Karen.

1:14:28Catherine Whitaker: Which we have Barclay Hughes from St. Louis, Missouri. Oh, Barclay.

1:14:34Matt Roberts: St. Louis or St. Louis? Meet me in St.

1:14:36Catherine Whitaker: Louis. I checked with Matt Futterman an hour ago. because I always get it in my head that I don't know what it is.

1:14:43Matt Roberts: Because I think of the film title as Meet Me in St. Louis, but anyway.

1:14:50Catherine Whitaker: Well, don't come for me if I'm wrong, come for Matt Fussman.

1:14:56Matt Roberts: Hang on, I've forgotten the person's name now, I've been so focused. Barclay, Barclay, that's perfect.

1:15:00David Law: Like Ian Barclay, Pat Cash's coach when he won the 1987 Wimbledon. That's the surname.

1:15:06Matt Roberts: I thought you were going to go with like our sponsor Barclays. That also, yeah. Thank you, Barkley, for allowing us to plug our sponsors and Ian Barkley, former coach of Pat Cash. Great stuff. Thank you.

1:15:22Catherine Whitaker: I'll just stay quiet, shall I? Well, we're done. Two shout-outs.

1:15:26Matt Roberts: We are done, except for one thing. Like all great minds, I would like to give you my comeback half an hour later. I'm proudly discerning, David.

1:15:41David Law: I agree

1:15:45Catherine Whitaker: I'm in the middle I'm always in the middle no comment that's what I meant

1:15:53Matt Roberts: we are part of the Athletic Podcast Network thank you all for listening thank you for joining us live on YouTube and joining in the chat if you did tonight if you're listening and you think the YouTube might sound fun then do join in it's a party in there lots of people not understanding what I meant by fancy dress. So I will be more conscious of our American viewers in the future. We are very grateful to have you all. We will be back tomorrow again. The deal is not before 9pm. And beyond that, who knows? It's in the hands of Novak Djokovic and the rest of this lot. But whenever it is after 9pm, we will be here at the end of play on the show courts, live on YouTube.

1:16:35Matt Roberts: Keep across our socials for the link to join us or you can just hit that like and subscribe button and you can get an alert for when we are going live and you can subscribe to our newsletter and we will send you an alert letting you know when we are going live. Folks, thank you so much for joining us tonight. We are live from Wimbledon. We will be back tomorrow. Thank you for listening. Good night.

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