Live from Wimbledon Day 3 - Gauff, Krejcikova classics light up SW19

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1:17Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast live from Wimbledon and presented by Barclays, the official banking partner of Wimbledon. It is day three of the championships. We're here on the close or at the close of play on what counts as an early night 9 45 p.m and for that we have Novak Djokovic to thank because he just put in the most efficient of all the efficient performances to dispatch poor old Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 6-2 in an hour and 38 minutes you know Novak Djokovic, he's a slow tennis player between points. His matches really don't get much shorter at Grand Slams than an hour and 38 minutes.

2:03This match started at 7.53pm. Deadline Djokovic, David, is back.

2:09David Law: Yeah, and I mean, this time it wasn't about maybe curfew. What have we got? You know, you'd have another hour and 15. There is an element of time pressure there. I think he I think their senses are heightened because he it was a bit messy in the first round you know he had his hands full in that match against Wu Yubing but I think knowing the reputation of Sitsipas after that match he needed to tighten things up he needed to be absolutely on it he didn't want Sitsipas to find sort of 2021 version of himself and find himself in another awful situation um but i also think there is that ticking time in his in his brain hello um i think he's got that ticking time in his in his brain of of of how much energy he's got to spare in this fortnight if he wants to win this tournament and likely have to do what he did in australia and beat yannick sinner in a semi-final which he knows he can do but he And he did that partly because he hadn't had many hours on a tennis court.

3:18David Law: I realise he got a bit lucky there with Lorenzo Mazzetti's retirement and so forth. But he was just so efficient today. He was so clean. And honestly, you said poor old Stefano Sitsipas. It is sad seeing the way he is playing now. Yes, and the break of serve that Djokovic got to start this match and set him on his way in the opening set was the exact reason why I was surprised by the number of people I heard saying today that they thought Sits Pass had a chance in this one. Oh, you've done well not to name names there. Honestly, people have come up to me at various points today and said, Sits Pass, I think you might have a bit of a chance.

4:04Was it Matthew? Well, Matthew was one of the first. Matthew was one of them. and you know he was so committed to it that it even made me think oh am I reading this match wrong because that is not how I feel about it right and then the and then the break that Djokovic gets right at the start is Sitsipas just making several backhand unforced errors in the game you know Djokovic has got a place to go against Sitsipas he has done for years the tour has done for years quite frankly and Sitsipas has also never really improved his return and And that gets exposed on this surface as well. And Djokovic can set up the points that he wants in that way.

4:43And yeah, once he grabbed that opening set, he was off and running. And then the crucial break he got in the second set, extraordinary anticipation and defence from Novak Djokovic. But also like Sitsipas like put the ball away. Like he just wouldn't do it. And Djokovic hung in this rally. And you knew that once he'd made the defensive plays, he was then going to be determined not to lose it. And he hit this incredible cross-court forehand that ended up helping him to win that point and get the break. And at two sets to love, after only an hour on the clock, he was in a perfect position, Djokovic.

5:15And we wondered, after his first round, what damage that had done to his canister and the minutes he's got in his legs here. Well, he's got something back tonight, I think, you know, with this one. I'm not even sure he would have expected to be off the court in just over 90 minutes. this is very very helpful I think for for his prospects in this tournament the jacket was back he put the jacket back on he walked it to where it wore it to walk out he put it back on for the interview there was Rory McIlroy in the royal box today wearing his green master's jacket I just I'm worried about the amount what a moment I'm just worried that blazes what are you saying David's trolling me tonight I don't know I'm just pointing out the you know hindrance calls are on the rise hindrance drama's on the rise puking's on the rise blazers are on the rise it's just another thing to look out for

6:17David Law: are we saying that I'm back in after all these years maybe I was never in he's got Arturindeknesh right next as Novak Djokovic. Credible Arthur. Credible Arthur Rindeknesh. Might he have to be prepared to deploy more canister there? Yeah, maybe. I think it's the kind of match where you'd expect some tight sets. Yeah, absolutely. With Rindeknesh's serve. He's going to have to be on it again. We've seen what Rindeknesh has done playing Alcaraz on this surface. And Alcaraz has needed tight sets to get past him. He beat Zverev here last year. He's a good player on this surface. It kind of rewards his game, I think.

6:56And he likes coming forward. Djokovic is it doesn't feel like the sort of really physical match like he had in Paris to take a load out of him but it feels like a bit more time on court match you know I mean I'd say probably every Grand Slam match remaining in Novak Djokovic's career I would bet would be longer than an hour and 38 that was that was quite something from Djokovic tonight actually we will return to the men's draw we'll talk about Yannick Sinner all the other men's matches today but I actually want to go back Back now to the two matches of the day, quite frankly, that were happening simultaneously, obviously, because tennis, on centre court and number one court.

7:37Coco Goff and Solana Sierra, Goff winning 7-6 in the third. And Balbora Krejcikova and Mira Andreeva with Krejcikova winning 6-4 in the third. Matt, you saw most of both of these, despite them overlapping. Not quite sure how that works.

7:55David Law: We wouldn't have pulled that off. I would like to pose you the truly impossible question of which of these two matches was the match of the day. That is such a good question. You know, I had the feeling that if these were the semi-finals, we'd have had a brilliant day. They were that good. They were worthy of that. Two back-to-back matches. I think just I'm going to give it to Krejcikova over and Draver. I'm imagining that until the last two games. Yes. Goff would have still had it. Yeah. But those last two games, my God. Yeah. And in particular, the game when Krejcikova was was serving it out or trying to serve it out.

8:44And she went up 40 love and you thought, OK, she's done it. she has beaten the French Open champion with some wizardry on court. And then suddenly she plays a terrible drop shot. There's a net chord for Andreeva and then a double fault from Craig Chicova and 40 love becomes deuce. And then unfolded, well, the game of the tournament because the standard in this game was off the charts. it was like they were just responding to one another with brilliance and Andreeva suddenly came alive again I think she'd been brilliant in the first set had kind of lost the creativity she had in a lot of the rallies and started getting pretty petulant, pretty grouchy, pretty teenager-y to be quite honest, on the court Andreeva it was a bit of a lapse back to what we saw earlier in the season not quite to that extent but it was there She was sort of willfully ignoring Conchita Martinez at times and just generally wasn't her best self.

9:48But in this game, she suddenly started coming up with amazing shot making again and kept getting break points. And then Craig Chicova would do something brilliant. There was a volley at one stage that Craig Chicova hit to save a break point that hung in the air for what felt like seconds. It was probably only a couple, but it felt like so long. Is this ball going to be in or out? and it was just absolutely brilliant and Andreeva actually broke in that game and got the final set back on serve and it seemed like maybe we were going to go totally to the distance and Andreeva was going to snatch this having saved six match points in the one game but Krejcikova would not be denied and ended up breaking to win the match and oh it was just fantastic it was you know when when we asked Craig Cheek of her in tennis podcast meets the other day do you still think you can beat everyone and she looked us in the eye and said yes I do well that was the kind of tennis that she was referring to I think that she knows she still has in her and when she started winning matches on the grass the other week when she wasn't injured and she's stringing wins together that should have been alarm bells for everyone in the draw because this tennis is is champion tennis.

11:05We've seen it win Wimbledon. And, OK, it's still a very long way to go. She's in a brutal section of the draw. But she's erupted here. Mount Kroichikovit has taken out the French Open champion, done the damage, and it was an absolute, absolute joy to watch. She's probably thinking right now, I remember that guy in that interview at the weekend that asked me if I was a dormant volcano waiting to erupt. I think he was on to something. She's definitely telling everybody she knows about the concept of dormant volcanoes. Matt, if you had a forehand list, I know you would never because...

11:43David Law: I don't know. After the way he was talking today, after this match. But I don't think it would be a list. I think it would just be... Cray cheek of his name. Barbora Cray cheek of his name, right? Why? It's the way she... And Hannah put this in our chat, I think, really well. It's the way she has such a long take back on it. You know, she swipes at the balls, a windscreen wiper-esque tape back on the forehand. And yet she's not rushed. She has time on it. A quality shared by, I think, all great athletes is the ability to slow down time and play on your terms. And Krejcikova does that with her forehand better than anyone, I think.

12:23And she's got such accuracy with it. She can pick her target. She can drag it cross court. she can thread it up the line it is a thing of beauty and David always talks about this, the way that she has this bright yellow tennis racket as well just adds to the effect of the sort of swoosh that it makes through the air you know, it's so pleasing to me and the backhand is great too, but it's the forehand that I do absolutely love She's been on the backhand list I'm afraid she hasn't Has she not? No Watchlist? Yeah, watchlist She's definitely been on the watch list. Tough. It's tough out there. It is.

13:04Perspective WTA backhands. It's a packed field with great backhands. But the forehand, I love it. I love it. And, you know, I like all her shots as well. Even her serve, I find the placement on it very pleasing. It's not the biggest serve, but she hits her spots. I like her. I'm a big Cray Cheek of a fan. Obviously, chatting to her at the weekend helped. like I enjoyed getting to know her and trying to get a handle on her because she's she's such a one of a kind I think and she's endearing and like likable but she's not trying to be any of those things she she doesn't have a people-pleasing bone in her body she's she's just being in it herself you don't like it then that's up to you and that's that's fine and yeah I find her I find her and her tennis pretty magnetic actually yeah me too and look for andreva it's a it's a it's a reminder of how like brutal this sport is you know you kind of think oh the joy of winning the french open will will last a long time 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 and just very quickly before people do make a pleasant and safe journey home we have some very hardy barges over there who we've come to have they already left?

14:42could you cheer? there we go we have a cheer from them they have had to work so hard to make it to we're being there's been a changing policy this year there's been a changing policy which is putting a spanner in our plan to try and have at least a modest crowd there in the evening. Anyway, thank you to our hardy barges. I think my dad is still battling with security. Thank you, dad, for your efforts. It's the thought that counts. Where were we? Kraychikova. No, Andreeva, actually. Like, winning the French Open, you would expect... I would expect you to still be in a great place at your next time.

15:20and yet like... But I also think just go to Ibiza for a month or something. Absolutely. Think back a year ago. Think of Coco Gough a year ago. Yeah, it's such a quick turnaround. And Draver's even younger than Gough and it's her first one, you know. Just go and have some fun, go and enjoy it. And there was an extraordinary moment where her bracelet fell apart, and Draver, and all her beads went over the centre court. I was kind of reminded of our tennis relived with, well, about Ted Tinling when Mary Carrillo said that the court was suddenly filled with sequins spooge. Because Andreeva's beads went all over centre court and she had to clear them up.

16:09It was a very, very odd moment and I've just never seen that before. And yeah, she was struggling throughout, to be honest, Andreeva. it was a bit of a tough watch from that perspective but Kriychikova more than made up for it as a spectacle. And all the while that that was happening, Coco Gough, well not all the while, they didn't entirely overlap, but they overlapped in large part and they overlapped with England and DR Congo in the football. It was a very overstimulating time. All of that while Coco Gough was being taken to a deciding set tie-break by Solana Sierra on court number one. And we really shouldn't take it for granted that this much amazing tennis was happening in this shorter period of time.

16:55We went a whole grand slam this year waiting for one match like this. We called it the dud slam. And it was. These first three days have been so electrifying that there's always been, okay, not necessarily a deciding set tie break, but there's always been something attention grabbing

17:17David Law: happening and more in the first three days here than there were in the first 13 days yeah or certainly 12 days until the men's semi-finals day at the australian open tell us about goth beating sierra matt yeah this is this is a weird matchup you know they've played three times this year they've done a kind of surface slam they met on hard courts at united cup very one-sided for Coco Goff. They met on clay recently. Goff won, but the whole match was a hot mess. And now they've met on grass, and this was definitely the highest quality match that they've played. And again, it's Goff who gets through it.

18:01And I really thought Goff was going out here when she went 7-4 down in the deciding set tie break. And Sierra had already had a chance to serve out the match and got got broken back this entire final set was thrilling so many games which were just battles break points being saved long deuces sierra is has got the kind of game that can trouble golf you know she she hits big she hits flat she's quite happy going for quite big targets and just trying to rush golf but it's not really sustained you know she does have ups and downs she does have moments where it goes off and and goff just digs in better than anyone doesn't she and even when sierra is serving for the match you still think goff's goff's got a chance but the moment i thought maybe goff didn't have a chance as i said was when she goes seven four down in in the tie break and at that point it had actually been quite a poor tie break final set tie break a lot of errors from both of them but at seven all goff played a drop shot which was not particularly good and Sierra gets up to it quickly and threads her forehand up the line and Goff somehow it looked like the ball had already gone past her she somehow dug it out from under from underneath her and hit a backhand winner cross court past Sierra at the net half half folly flick yeah everyone on number one court was stunned by it look it looked like she'd lost the point and suddenly she'd hit a winner.

19:36Probably three or four players in tennis, men's or women's, that can hit that shot. Alcaraz, Mukova, Goff. Anyone else? Pablo Cuevas. I think he's retired now. I'd still back him. Yeah, like just magical, magical. And it changed everything. You know, she goes eight, seven up and this is in the run of points. And yeah, She won six points in a row to win the match. And okay, there were a few double faults today, but really I want to mention the serve as a weapon for Coco Gauff today. And she talked about it immediately in her on-court interview. She brought it up, how pleased she was. She said she looked at the stats and saw that her percentage was good.

20:22She was pleased with her second serve. And time and time again, even in that tie break, massive serve to win it, the serve came up as a real weapon for her and that is a great development for for Coco Goff considering where she was really not that long ago and you can you can tell how buoyed she is by I feel like she's this is the sort of serving she's been waiting months for and she's been putting up with countless double faults and then countless matches where she's just rolling the serve in and having to grind everything it's a release for her I think to to have it back to some degree and yeah I was so pleased to see it and yes she almost went out today but it was a high quality match I thought Sierra Sierra played really really well and pushed her it's the sort of match that she does tend to have on route to her titles yeah it is she said Sierra hits a big

21:19David Law: ball in the interview in the press conference afterwards and I think it did shake her up a little bit just how how on the back foot she felt in that regard um but also you know as you said this is what she does and and i think that this gets her into the tournament she's already talking about following the football she's she's she's she was keeping an eye out for the england goals as they were going in um you know and obviously she's she's big on on the usa about to play as well um She says she quite likes playing football herself. I can imagine she'd probably be quite good at it. But, yeah, it's going to be interesting, actually, to sort of see.

22:04David Law: She's one of the more fascinating players for me because it didn't happen for Ronan Garros this time. She didn't go all the way. Now she's fresh. You know, she comes in here, and can she get a grass court Wimbledon run going again? We just haven't seen that basically since she broke on the scene in 2019. Well, I'll tell you what, this is a chance. All due respect, Claire Liu next to make it into the second week. This does feel like a chance. It feels like something has shifted to me with Coco Goff, perhaps generally. Like the serve was not a grass-specific problem. And she talked about how she took a lot of heart.

22:47this wasn't today I read this from a couple of rounds ago she took a lot of heart from having a similar forehand grip to Igor Svontek and Svontek making that work on grass last year I think she's always been in her head and we've all heard this analysis if you just you can't make grass work with an extreme forehand grip like that Mira Andreva has a a very similar problem and I think she was like oh okay it can be done then can be done it's it's it's not as natural but it's not necessarily an impediment and i think it's you said you know she dug in like no one else can there was a period there where coco goff lost that amazing to say but or certainly lost the depths of it this season um it's been it's been back for a little while but i felt like today was like okay that is back She's prepared to go where she went against Laura Siegmund when she won her first US Open, not in the final.

23:46Where she went against Irina Sabalenka in the final to win her second Grand Slam title. This is not a goth to win the title prediction, but I have a good feeling about her. Yeah, me too. I think it's possible that she can really make steps on the grass and look better on the grass and still equal her best Wimbledon and not better it because Bengtšić is potentially lurking in the fourth round and she has reached the fourth round here before and she has some trouble with Bengtšić and Bengtšić is more natural on this surface. And I just think even if she goes out in the fourth round but plays a good match against Bencic, we can still say there's kind of been progress there.

24:32It's just the draw is such that that is a potential problem for her, even with these improvements. It's not insurmountable. It's not like she definitely can't beat Bencic. It's just I'm struggling to look beyond that in her draw because it just feels like such a roadblock at this point. Fair enough. Consider the party pooped on. I'd like to see that match. Me too. I'm desperate to see it. Me too. I think Bengtrix plays Callan Skye next. Yes, Gough has Lou. I would back Bengtrix to win that. So I think we're probably going to get it. By the way, seven years to the day since Gough's win over Venus.

25:10David Law: Where's that gone? And Gough and Sierra are the same age. Think about how long you've known about Coco Gough and think about how long you've known about Solana Sierra. Well, exactly a year for Solana Sierra. When she was a lucky loser and got here. I suppose the one dampener I'd put on this is... There's already been one dampener. This is dampener number two. OK, this is number two. The opponent she squeaked past today is not exactly a household name. I know she's talented, but still, she's supposed to be. Look how well she played, though, David. That was a high-quality match. I know what you're saying, and that's why I'm not looking beyond Bengtich.

25:50because Bengtšić is a classy, classy player. I just think this was quality today. I just think you watch this and it was like, these are two players playing really well. And I've not always felt that, even in Goff's run to the fourth round here. Just incidentally, while we're sort of looking ahead to tasty matches a bit of a way down the line, Kojcikova now plays Barton Kovar, which is a big yes, please. And the winner of that could well play Karolina Mukova. who has Manachao Savankhau, who won today, not writing her off, but Krejcikova-Bartankova, the winner to quite possibly pay Mukova. Tasty.

26:31Very Czech. So Czech. So Wimbledon. So Czech, yeah. So clean. Style.

26:37David Law: As matches, aren't they? Yeah, there are some good sections of this draw. More on that in just a moment. Today's show is brought to you by Vanguard. To all the financial advisors listening, let's talk bonds for a minute. Capturing value in fixed income isn't easy. Bond markets are massive, murky, and let's be real, lots of firms throw a couple of flashy funds your way and call it a day, but not Vanguard. Vanguard bonds are institutional quality. Institutional quality isn't a tagline, it's a commitment to your clients. It means top-grade products across the board. Vanguard's been in the game a long time.

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29:01Staying with the women's draw, shall we? Talk about Irina Sabalenka. Also kind of a thriller today. OK, a very different scoreline to those two matches we've just been talking about. But this second set with McCartney-Kessler today, which Sabalenka won on the tiebreak, extending this extraordinary Grand Slam tiebreak record she's got on the go, this was as good as anything I saw today in isolation. And even that first set, David, 6-1 to Sabalenka, way closer than it looked. And Sabalenka was asked in the on-court interview to give herself a mark out of 10 for this match. and it wasn't her best tennis performance, but she gave herself a 9 out of 10 because she was under major pressure.

29:46She's shown issues with composure when under major pressure a lot of late and she sailed through the test, the composure test this time.

29:56David Law: Well, Kessler brings it, doesn't she? She's a competitor, a good player too. And I immediately raised an eyebrow at it on the schedule because of the way Kessler beat Olinikova in 38 minutes in the first round, and I'm not exaggerating, that was how long it took for her to win 6-love, 6-love. Suggests her eye is in, and yeah, it took her a while to get into it on the scoreboard, but I do think Sambalanka was pretty stressed out there, and she had her tie-break record to fall back on. Isn't that a record now? I mean, what is it, 20-odd? She's extended her tie-break streak at majors to 21-1 in a row, which is too clear of what Djokovic put together way back at the start of his career.

30:47David Law: Yeah, I mean, that is an emphatic record. And it does have an impact, I think, on her. You know, she's talked about how it just... Again, it's kind of deadline Djokovic. It gives her this focus. There's nowhere else to go. I can't afford to beat myself up if things don't go well. I've got to just pull it together. And it must impact the opponent. So I think it's no bad thing to have played a really intense competitive match that she also managed to win in straight sets. You know, she's had a lot of tough situations of late. You know, the way she lost at the French Open to Diana Schneider, and just completely tail spun away.

31:33David Law: I suppose that's the one thing I do want to see a case study like that, where she gets pushed into a third set to see if she's solved that. I was dying to see what would happen if Kessler won this second set. Look, you might well see it soon, David. She is on a brutal run in this draw, Sabalenka. It's Jelena Rostepenko next, powered by Tesco. it's working didn't she just lose two games today I barely knew she'd been on the court and she'd won she's on a mission she's playing the sort of tennis that she plays when she knows she's got Svantec lined up in the draw except she doesn't she's on the opposite half doesn't tend to go very well for her against Sabalenka I don't think no but after that it would potentially be a Sarka for Sabalenka and I know she's got the better of their matches but Saka's looking good, you know.

32:31David Law: She does look good. Suddenly the surface that we always assume she can't play on because the results aren't there, you look at it and you think, well, why didn't that work before? I mean, you hit a lovely ball that skids through off the surface, got power, got flat strike on the backhand, got movement. It all looks like it's there. Got a great serve. I think that's it, Dave. I think it's the movement that's improved. Yeah, yeah. She does look ready. And the thing is, the way she was talking afterwards in the press conference, she's starting to believe in it now as well. She's wondering, I think, what the problem was and certainly feels a heck of a lot better now.

33:13Yeah, she's been very good, Osaka. Okay, like not been tested by the quality of opponent yet, but just even like the things that she can control, she's doing very well, like her serve. You know, like the first set today, 88 % first serves in, won 100 % of her second serve points. She kept that number high of first serves in the whole match. And yeah, I really liked what I saw from Masaka. Control on her shots, but potency and still hitting a lot of winners. Not that many unforced errors. It's been really, really good. And yeah, this is a very tough section for Sabalenka because what Kessler did was handled her serve and got depth on her shots.

34:02Like, just hit flat, but deep and hard. And these are things that Ostapenko can do. These are things that Osaka can do if they're playing well. But I am just expecting Sabalenko in these rounds always to rise to the occasion. And we've seen it, haven't we, where her draw suddenly gets tough and she steps it up even more. She's done it repeatedly at slams over the last few years. And, yeah, the way she got out of that second set today, Sabalenka, without losing it was extraordinary because Kessler was doing everything right and Sabalenka refused to lose it. And even in this tough section, I still do back her.

34:45Lots of speculation in the chat about what Yelena Ostopenko's meal deal preferences are. Tell you what, the Tesco meal deal is one of life's hacks in the UK, especially if you have a club card. How much is it now? It's like£3.40 for a sandwich, a drink and a... A snack. A snack.

35:04David Law: Why didn't you tell me about that before? It costs a living crisis. You know about meal deals, don't you? I didn't know about that. You don't know about meal deals? £3.40 or whatever. Maybe£3.60, but yeah, under£4. quid. Greg James was asked for one of his life hacks, or a number of them, and he said, get a Tesco club card and get the meal deal. Tesco aren't paying us, they're paying... Yelena Ostapenko should be saying this. Greg James? Greg James, yeah. Surely he doesn't need a meal deal, does he? He's got a few quid. I don't... but you don't have to be... a good deal's a good deal, David. Okay Yelena Ostopenko knows that So you've got two Tesco questions to ask In the next press conference Yes I do, what was the other one again?

35:58Did you get the deal when you knew you were upgraded To number one court to play Well they extended the deal to today Which suggests Well who knows Maybe it'll be year round

36:09David Law: It's not going to work so well when she's playing in Shanghai Hi. Is Tesco a global brand? I don't think it is. I don't think so. No. Beijing. The last women's result I wanted to mention from today, Jessica Pagula. You were ever so slightly concerned about Sara Cerebers, Tormo 7662 for Pagula today. She now plays Jessica Bothas-Monero next, who came through a wild journey against Diania Stremska. Yes. look I think I was potentially too quick to say that Pagula had an easy draw because actually Serimes Tormo who suddenly I realised that's tricky and now Boutas Monero who likes the grass I think is a bit tricky as well Pagula got out of jail in this one I mean 7662 does not tell the story she was four consecutive set points down in that opening set tie break she should probably have lost it.

37:11And the whole set was an ordeal, breaking serve, losing the break, three-way tour mode, disrupting the rhythm, relentless defence. They have this stat, don't they, that pops up, steal score. What does it mean? It means points won in defence. And I'm not exactly sure how they measure this, but when you're defending, how many of those points are you ending up winning? It's obviously a bit hard to tell what defending is, but go with me here. Draw average they had at 35%. Cerubus Tormo was up at 47%. And that was what we were watching. We were watching Pagula in control of rallies a lot of the time and Cerubus Tormo somehow getting out of them and stealing them and winning them.

38:01and the relentlessness of that was driving Pagula mad and I think she did a very good job here when she was those four set points down to play some great tennis and just get through that first set and that like kind of broke the spell and suddenly in in the in the second set it was a lot more comfortable and that looks like a very frightening scoreline for people that have you know predicted Pagula to win this you're running back on this to win the title but I just think it's such a singular unique test that and she passed it and she passed it well Pergoula like that to me actually I end up coming out of this feeling more confident about Pergoula because she needs to go through tests like that and she did she just about kept her composure and she moves on but yeah Boutas Manera is actually another tricky one I think she would I think she would have preferred your stremska.

38:58Yeah, I think so too. But I do think she'll be all right. I do. She's giving me confidence. Hannah's trying to make Sara Sariba's torment happen. Oh, I like it. Are we having that? I do like that, yeah. And I'm also informed that it's£3.85 with a club card for the meal deal.

39:16David Law: Right. It's getting worse, less appealing. Under£4. It's£3.40 a minute ago. Yeah, okay. Well, inflation is real, David. Let's get back to the men's Yannick Sinner. Straight sets for him against Nuno Borges. 7-6, 7-6, 6-4. This is not peak Yannick Sinner, David. This is far from peak Yannick Sinner. I think you commentated this match. Yeah, so far. I mean, Nuno Borges has played really well. Oh, my word. I'm not sure I've seen him play that well against a top player before. he was just middling everything, and he was sort of living with Sinner, going toe-to-toe. And the first set was just the one or two points, wasn't it?

40:05David Law: It was just Sinner able to deliver when he really needs to. And you'd often get rallies where they're going toe-to-toe, side-to-side. It's just that only one of them could really finish the rally on his own terms, and that was Sinner. Second set, though, Borges really had him. He had a breakup. He was leading all the way through it, served for it, 5-4, and just tightened. And he missed a couple. He just missed a couple that he wasn't missing. Went into the tiebreaker, and he still had his chances, but he didn't take them. And he'll regret that, I think. I mean, I think where Sinner looks less convincing is on the forehand side.

40:45David Law: Low down, it's a little bit of the Coco Gauff. You know, he's got this sort of flicky topspin forehand of his own. And when it's working well, when he's timing everything well, he can come over it and he can hurt you still. But he was miscueing quite a few. And before we cracked it last year, that was a problem here. Do you remember how sort of set back in my belief in the annex center I was by that semi-final? Yeah. Was it semi-final, quarter-final? Semi-final. He played against Novak Djokovic here two years ago. He played in the back-to-back semifinals, didn't he? Yeah, 2023. 2023 was the one that was really one-sided, and his forehand just fell apart.

41:29Now, OK, a lot's happened in three years for Yannick Sinner, and he was improved the next time and won the title next year. But, you know, the Gremlin's still there, isn't it? It's like with Igor Shvantec saying, just because I won last year doesn't mean I'm suddenly, I've solved all my problems and I'm now a natural-born grass quarter. Like, it's just, I don't know, it's just a reminder of that. And he was asked very pointedly about the forehand in his press conference, but I'm not sure, I've just seen the clip, I'm not sure who the journalist was. They said, you know, your forehand's not looking its best at the moment.

42:05He said, yeah, I know. It was steely. Yeah. I'm far less concerned. I don't think that forehand is a problem on the grass, technically. I think he's OK. He hadn't won Wimbledon until last year, but he'd beaten Alcaraz in 2022. He had pushed Djokovic to five sets. His results at Wimbledon on grass were not Coco Gough level. I do think he I think it's I think it's rust still I think he's I think he's still trying to find the feel again and maybe he's slightly underestimated the task of not playing Wimbledon without a grass court event you know you've seen Djokovic do that for years and make it look easy Very different to last year though Matt

42:56David Law: I mean a year ago he came into this tournament without playing any I don't think or did he play Haller He played Haller He played Haller Yeah Lost a public But he I remember him coming. Maybe that's it then. And Dan Evans said that it really can sap you, a match like that that he had at Roland Garros where you just lose all the minerals in your body almost just through feeling so rubbish. But the first three matches of last year, before we played that Dimitrov match, he was barely losing two or three games a set max. and now we've had him go into a fifth set in the first round and then in the second round he's needed two tyre breaks.

43:42David Law: It's certainly not there yet. I mean, OK, maybe that is rust, but... I think what I'm saying is I don't think it's a grass issue. I think he might be in a place where, you know, as well, he's made... He was very open about it. Roland Garros is the big goal. And I think we've been viewing Roland Garros through the lens of Yannick Sinner in the heat and that's obviously a big talking point but what about the lens of having to come back and play another tournament when you know that you can't play Roland Garros for another year and you can't complete the career slam for another year I think I think that might have taken some something out of him a little bit and put him in a slightly different place and you have to rebuild the motivation and I think everything had been geared towards Roland Garros for this year, you know, playing that clay court swing, which I think now he looks back on and thinks maybe he played too much.

44:34But he was gunning for Roland Garros and he didn't get it. And he's had to course correct and he hasn't had the matches. And I'm not totally surprised that he's not quite at his best yet. But, you know, he's still got through in straight sets against a guy playing very, very well, which shows just how good you have to be to try and beat him. Yeah, I just, I don't know. He's got Jenson Brooksby next, but I like his draw in the early stages here still. Yeah, the draw looks good. I think I don't feel confident diagnosing what it is, whether it's rust or all the things you've just said, kind of stepping back and looking at it through a different lens.

45:20Those are all interesting. That was an interesting point you made. Whatever it is, I don't think he looks right. I think he's irritable. I think there's definitely a sort of tension in his team. They are definitely on edge. Yannick needs something from us all the time. They're standing up after every point, which I know is their vibe. They're not a relaxed team while he's on court, but it just seems to have a bit of extra edge to me. Could dissipate as he grows into the tournament, definitely. And as we've seen today, he's good enough to win in straight sets against a whole lot of good players without playing his best.

46:00David Law: Next one could be interesting. How interesting Jenson Brooksby guy do we think it could be? Jenson Brooksby guy is Matthew, by the way, and Matthew did think that Stefano Sittapas was beating Novak Djokovic. So take this with a pinch of salt, but he does rate Jenson Brooksby. Out of 10, Matthew? Out of 10, what are his chances to win the match? if they played this match 10 times Matthew thinks Jensen Brooksby is winning 50 % of the time Blimey Well he didn't win the last time they played I can tell you that so I guess he's due this one Brooksby went through today and was in the interview room and he loves grass he loves it he said you know the moment I get on this surface I feel this is my best surface and he reached the third round a few years ago.

46:55David Law: I mean, he's had a lot of things not go so well since then. Serious injury, ban, a lot's gone on in his world. But he looks in quite a good place just at the moment and he's so unorthodox. If he could play his brand of tennis and play it well, he could be another one to make things just a bit tricky. He is awkward. There's not many players like him. I do think he could get just... I don't think he serves good enough. Yeah, dismissed. If Sinner's on, he may just wipe the floor with him. Only five times out of ten though, David. Well, yeah. Good stat. Very quickly before we move back to round two matches, Flavio Caballi finally completed his ordeal of a round one win over Mariano Navone today.

47:53It was held over from yesterday. He's got to come back tomorrow now and play round two. It could have been a lot more of an ordeal. He saved six set points in that fourth set. And one of them with one of the best backhand passes you will see this tournament. It looked like he was gone in the rally and the set and he somehow found a winner. And yeah, even the final point, he stole with some defence and Navone missed the smash. Like, you know, carried over to an extra day and yet this could have been a lot worse still. Like this was a very tricky match. I felt like he was way too passive. You know, there was a 31-shot rally towards the end.

48:36I mean, that's exactly what Navone wants. He's the clay court grinder here. Caballi is the explosive guy who should be ending points much quicker than that, I think. But, you know, he needed to just get into this tournament, didn't he? And he did do that. He said, I hate my life afterwards. It was the most wonderful, charming on-court interview, wasn't it? It was introducing Flavio Caballi to the Court 3 crowd, I think it was. I mean, look, he reached quarterfinal here last year, didn't he? I think people here do know about Flavio Caballi, although Hugh Grant did fall asleep in that match, didn't he?

49:14It was Caballi Djokovic that Hugh Grant fell asleep in. He threatened to either eat or hit his dad. We're not sure which. He definitely threatened to hit him. Right. But it did sound a lot like eating. And I think Jenny Drummond in the interview thought he said eat originally. It was wonderful. It was very charming the way he pronounced his words. Yeah, totally charming. Back to the round two matches. Felix Auger-Eliassime comfortable against Dino Prismic on court 176-6-3-75. He's got Michael Zhang next, who, heck of an effort qualifying through to round three. Good player, Zhang.

49:55David Law: Quite like the way Auger-Eliassime celebrated that win today over Prismic. You know, we've seen some results from this year. beaten Djokovic, can go toe-to-toe. And actually, he was getting dominated, really, from the baseline. In the end, it was one of those where the rallies look great and the movement looks incredible, but Ogilvy Aliasim just has that much more stick on his shots and intent. There's a real look of meanness about the guy in his hairstyle and in the way he's hitting the ball. and once again it's underlining why shaving your head before a Grand Slam is a good move what do you advise to women?

50:39well I suppose they could shave their head

50:40David Law: yeah sure yep I'm fine with it okay advocating for it we've only got the one stat and it's Carlos Alcruz won the title when he did it by accident Felix Oh, no, we've done Felix. Medvedev, Daniel Medvedev, slightly circuitous route for him against Daniel Merida, 36-63-75-62. He's got Brandon Nakashima next. Is Medvedev flying a little bit under the radar? I don't mind it. I don't think he minds it. Yeah, he wasn't having a great time, but his serve looks pretty good, which is big for Medvedev. actually Nakashima is suspended overnight oh crikey you've got some bonus Nakashima tomorrow and bonus Struffy of course that match has been extended over two days there was some chat in the press room about maybe that might get moved to court one and finish they've kind of stopped doing that a bit more haven't they and it does mean that if Nakashima wins he will play five days in a row because his first round match got suspended as well against Pennington Jones.

51:57That's tough. So Nakashima fans have had their fill this tournament. Where are you? Let us know. Marton Fuchovic defeated injured Leonard Tien. This was actually quite a tough scene. Tien's so obviously injured he was getting a lot of attention on his abdominal area in the middle of this match he was flying in the early stages um look Fuchovic's a good player did did you know all the cliches about it being tough to play an injured opponent and all of that did do a bicep kiss after the match which when you've got a so obviously injured I think I think an ill yeah right oh right so that's why they were palpating and he had the doctor on as well and yeah he was just like he was just eating like plain bread oh

52:48David Law: yeah so Fuchovic not one of those I didn't want to win it like this yeah yeah it's all yeah the bicep kiss was too much wasn't it I think so yeah Joel Fonseca beat injured Jesper de Jong and didn't do a bicep kiss well done Fonseca I do wish players would let me know if they're injured before I do things in the predictions. You feel jilted somehow. You feel like you've been stitched up when you see them getting medical attention on the court. Anyway, probably not the reason he has to be on one today. Joel Fonseca through to round three without dropping a set. So that's back-to-back third round here.

53:29He's got Roman Sifuelin next to... What an inexplicable tennis player he is. Totally round-toe. He can look awesome sometimes, can't he? This is where I can do a newsletter stat. And you're going to be surprised, but it is about Roman Sifulin. I thought I saw Sifulin on your laptop screen earlier. And I thought, OK. Well, he's part of a bigger stat. OK. He's the inspiration for the stat.

53:53David Law: Do you know, I think we've done about, I'm going to say about 700 newsletters over the course of the tennis podcast history. I don't think Roman Sifulin's ever come up in one before. is it about the scorelines of his matches so far yes let's not okay let's say no more sign up for the newsletter is what we will say okay uh it's so it's a fueling next and there's a potential novak djokovic round four just which felt such a long way off when the when the draw came out i I wasn't like getting really, really hyped and excited about it, even though they just played at the last Grand Slam and it was one of the best matches I've ever seen.

54:40And we're suddenly close to it, close to it again. And I think, I actually think Djokovic, I think he'd like another go at that. I think so too. On grass, you know, like he loves beating these younger players, doesn't he? And, you know, let's not forget, he was close to getting that done in straight sets, even on the clay. I think he would back himself. Yeah, I think so too. But I have been impressed with Fonseca. Yes, same. Did Rafael Hoda win? I think that might be suspended as well. Is it suspended? He's disappeared from my screen. He's two sets to one down. Okay, so we'll come back to that one tomorrow.

55:20Hubert Hercatch and Tommy Paul won today. Very handily setting up a round three match between those two. and the last men's result to mention from today Dan Evans, David ended his professional tennis career with a round one doubles defeat alongside, he was partnering Henry Searle who's the young British player that he's been coaching so a really poetic end for Dan Evans and it was emotional out there and I was still at the flat when this was on had it on my screen I'm watching the interview and I can see in the background David Law standing in amongst the crowds. David can stand at the back and still see everything, which is a real superpower here at Wimbledon.

56:06And it made me emotional that you were just there for the last moment.

56:13David Law: I wanted to see the last little throws of his career. And they were struggling. I mean, they were up against a good doubles team there. and then suddenly they got a break back right at the end and the place just erupted. I mean, it was court 15. This is a small court, really. There aren't many seats. But the gangways were just full of people trying to crane and get a view. And it didn't last long. They got broken again. And Evans and Sully had been up and energetic and high-fiving all the way through. and then the moment the match was over, Evans just sat down and just sort of looked at his racket in a sort of nostalgic kind of way and realised, well, you know, my career's over as a tennis player and he gave an interview to Lee McKenzie.

57:10David Law: He was very emotional in it, but he knows he's got no complaints. In the end, after all the roundabout way that he went in his tennis career, he kind of rung out the last drops. And, you know, he did some stuff, I'm sure. I know he regrets along the way to some degree. But he's had a good career, very good career, given where he sort of started and ended up. But, yeah, he didn't quite expect it to finish on court 15, he told me. But, look, it's done. everybody knows I think he should have had a wild card into this tournament I think a lot of people do but you know there we are it's been it's been a good run and I think he'll be a good coach looking forward to Dan Evans Dan Evans the coach AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into that's why it's no surprise that more than 85 percent of the 14 500 use the ServiceNow AI platform.

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59:51A few bits of news to cover. Quite big news, actually. Before we get on to tomorrow's order of play. First of all, picking up from last night, we said when we were on air last night that Serena hadn't been into press yet. And we would eagerly anticipate what she said in press, sort of debating whether or not to take what she would eventually say in press with a pinch of salt. Didn't need to worry about it. She didn't come to press. Good decision not to wait for the Serena press before the live show. Should we delay the live stream to get her quotes in? We made the right call, folks. She didn't come to press.

1:00:29And apparently this was reported by Tom Kershaw in The Times. He had a quote from Jill Smoller, her agent, saying Serena tweaked her knee at the end of the first set and was therefore excused from her media obligations by Wimbledon and the WTA medical teams. He had the scoop that apparently crutches were brought to the medical room. She didn't end up using them. She left unassisted, I think was the wording. But that is the further development from the Serena story today. And it puts her participation in the doubles with Venus into doubt. So that is where we are with Serena at the moment. The big news from today, broken by Ben Rothenberg in his sub stack, Bounces.

1:01:15the WTA finals which we knew wasn't going to continue in Riyadh Saudi Arabia beyond this year which was the final year of the three-year contract that the WTA had with the region it is not going to complete the duration of that contract I think by mutual agreement the final year will not be staged in Riyadh it will be staged in Indian Wells for 2026 this is a one-year deal, I think. Don't know yet at this stage whether there's potential to extend that if it goes well. But look, I know there's an argument and a very good one for taking these events to regions of the world that don't already have tennis events and that was a justification that was oft used to justify it being in Saudi Arabia.

1:02:07I just feel such tremendous relief that this event isn't going to be in Saudi Arabia anymore for lots of reasons that we have discussed at length on this podcast most of them very heavy and um sort of humanitarian but aside from anything I'm so relieved that it will be well not aside from anything but one of my prevailing feelings is just the relief of knowing it's going to be somewhere where there's an appetite for tennis and the crowds will show out, the stands will be full, there'll be an atmosphere. I'm looking forward to watching it already and I've been going into that tournament with a bit of dread in the past few years and I personally feel a lot of relief around this news.

1:02:58Yeah, look, I think there's definitely a point to be made about kind of swapping Saudi money for Larry Ellison money. We maybe don't need to fully get into that now, but I think from an event perspective, excuse me, the WTA has placed a kind of ceiling on just how premium the WTA finals can feel because they've taken it to a place in Saudi Arabia where that marketplace and that genuine, like embedded culture of women's tennis isn't there and yes there's absolutely something to be said for trying to grow the game and and take it to different parts of the world but i i always found it tough that the premium event was in a stadium that was about three would hold about three thousand or so and would often not be full and you compare that to the atp who've had the events in london and in turin over the past several years and that fan base has been there and the event has felt huge and elevated and I'm excited that the women are hopefully going to get that chance this year and those players will get that and bigger, better crowds, outdoors as well which I'm kind of always in favour of.

1:04:19Yes, Matt. I think they're going to be playing in the day because by all accounts it gets pretty chilly in the night in November in Palm Springs. Matt Futterman was like, bring your coat. I think that is going to be like properly cold in the evening. So it's going to be interesting how they do the scheduling. But it sounds like it's going to be nice conditions during the day. And I'm sure they'll take advantage of that. And yeah, like a huge sense of relief and excitement, actually, for what that event could look like. OK, the order of play for tomorrow. day four continuation of round two action here at Wimbledon.

1:04:59Centre court starts at 1.30 with Karolina Pliskova against Igor Svjontek. Second on, and I love this choice for a centre court match. Might have been a surprise to some, but Matteo Berrettini against Artur Feas. I love that being on centre. And finally, it's Katie McNally taking on Elena Rabakner. Now, I've got to tell you, Neil and Pat Roberts are in the house tomorrow. and I won't expose them live on the pod but they had people they did want to see and they had people they didn't want to see.

1:05:29David Law: Yep. And they got people they wanted to see. I was genuinely tight before the order of play came out. It was a big moment when the email came through. How many wildcard Brits are going to be on Centre Court? Zero. Neil and Pat, I hope you have a wonderful day. I'm a bit disappointed we didn't get, you know, the arsy text from your dad about the order of play. He did still find a way to be a little bit concerned about Berrettini Feast. I mean, legitimate, I think, two people who've had a lot of injury problems and, you know, there is a small risk there. But I'm with you. They put Feast out on court 15, was it, for his first round?

1:06:10I was surprised by that. It's quite an upgrade. You'll probably get a Tesco deal. I thought like Feast would carry a bigger court by himself than that at Wimbledon but he's not really done masses here in the past and I guess Berrettini as a former finalist and played that great match the other day and as a combination I do think that's a really good centre-court choice

1:06:36David Law: If Feast is fit it's an opportunity for him to introduce himself to a centre-court crowd and I was asking what he thought of him as a sort of grass court prospect I remember him having the one run where he beat Hubert Hercatch and then he ran into Alex de Minoar and pushed him a couple of years ago and he actually he really thinks that he's got potential on grass I mean this is Goran Ivenizovic I realise he's his coach maybe he wants to big him up but I also think he's a pretty straight shooter about things and he's won Wimbledon he's reached the final many times he said the thing is and this is not something Goran would have ever had to do you know nobody did this back in the day he said that feasts can slide on grass and he says there's only a handful of them that can do that and and actually now it's really important to be able to so um and I'm I'm really fascinated to see if he's if he's fit playing against a guy who really knows what he's doing on the surface in Berrettini who's been to the final himself it'd be fascinating so it's a heck of an order of play and i think because i think both women's matches have real intrigue to them as well you know like obviously spiontech has beaten plisca for six love six love in in the past in a in a 1000 final and i think i think just you know there's such a gap there in terms of like movement i could i could imagine spiontech exploiting that but that's spiontech at her best and is she going to have a second set lapse again if it can't get her serve going and her and her flat ground stroke.

1:08:09So that's interesting. And then McNally, we've been so impressed with. Was it the second round last year where she got a set off Shriontek? And, you know, I definitely think she could cause Rebecca some problems too. So, yeah, lots of intrigue. Yeah, I think that's a fantastic order of play. I'm gutted we don't get Neil's reaction to having to watch Jan Choinski. But I'm pleased that they'll have a good day.

1:08:37David Law: Just as well, just another quick shout out for Tennis Podcast Meets. In light of the fact that Krishikov has had this result today and Katie McNally has set up this match against Elena Rebecca which I asked her about, you know, she says I'm not one of those players who minds knowing the draw and she loves a big stage. We got to spend 15 minutes with both of those two. Well worth going and having a listen if you haven't already and if you're a friend of the Tennis Podcast. It's like you're talking to my dad. Saw him earlier. He hadn't listened. Come on, David. Get your act together. He's going to be so annoyed that I've outed him.

1:09:15He loves tennis podcast meets, but he says he's been so busy with stringing recently and he can't listen to podcasts while he's stringing. Oh, really? That's interesting. He has to concentrate so hard. Okay. That was his defence anyway. All right. Fine. Yes, you're right there, isn't it? Like two very different approaches to knowing your draw and everything. Like I think Craig Chicover, even before her on-court interview today, said to the interviewer do not do not tell me my draw yeah it's going to be almost 48 hours before she wants to know that and that was quite a feature of our yeah our interview with her yeah great promo David you can come again

1:09:50David Law: I didn't want my loitering to get a waste number one court tomorrow this was a bullet dodged for the Robertses Katie Swan against Madison Keyes might be a belter For a lot of people, that's their... Look, each to their own. Yeah. Some people will be thrilled. Second on Valentin Royer against Alexander Zverev. Some people might be thrilled. And finally, Jakub Mensik against Grigor Dimitrov. Everyone would be thrilled. This is a good one. It's good, isn't it? I thought that that could have gone centre, I must say. As a sort of nod for Dimitrov. Yeah, much as I love the fact that Beratini and Fies are getting the nod there, I think kind of just sentimentally it would have been nice to give that one to Dimitrov.

1:10:39David Law: But, you know, it's still a great court, isn't it? It's one of the two main show courts. Number two court tomorrow, the return of the blazer, presumably, for Taylor Fritz, or one of the blazers. They're everywhere. David's wearing one. I think that's a jacket, actually, David. It's a very nice suit jacket. is that good or i think it needs to have actually i don't know what you've raised an interesting point what is the difference does it need to have a sort of public school style embroidered emblem on it to make it a blazer i haven't got one of those no good job because if you did you might look like nigel farage okay well that's what he Here's the famous picture of him on the boat.

1:11:27And then he looked like Alan Partridge. So all in all, David, this is better.

1:11:32David Law: I'm not wearing it tomorrow. I'm going to wear something else. It's just a suit jacket. Maybe I can influence Taylor. Maybe I can wear something that he copies me. Probably not. He doesn't really know who I am. Tailored Fritz. Vicky came up with that. Big fan of that. So the return of the blazer, or the return of Taylor Fritz looking sheepish in the blazer. He's got Patrick Kipson tomorrow opening up number two court. Rafael Hodar comes back to complete his match against Pablo Carreña Busta. Third on court two tomorrow. Amanda Anissa Mova against Sophia Kenin. If you're in tomorrow and you want to see Matt Roberts, that's where he'll be.

1:12:08What time's that going to be on, do we think? Depends how long Fritz takes. That's how tennis works, David. Mid-afternoon.

1:12:16David Law: I know, but I'm going to be commentating on Feast against Berrettini at that time. I think that's going to be on then. Oh. Francis Tiafo, your guy, David. He's got Jan Choinski. Oh, I can make it back for that one. That is back-to-back with Alice Imova. And Jasmine Paolini against Victoria Golubic is last on court three. Adrian Manorino and Alex de Minor open number three. Sorry, last on court two for Paolini Golubic. Number three court. De Minor, Manorino. Joint Eala is second on. Yes. Into that. That sounds good. Very, very into that. And the winner of that would face the winner of Pliskova Svjantek.

1:12:54So a very consequential part of the draw. Flavio Caboli is back to take on James Duckworth. And we have Linda Nozkova against Camilla Osorio last on number three court. Dennis Schneider is on court 12 tomorrow. The resumption of Brandon Nakashima and Jan-Lennard Strouf. Will that match ever end? Find out on court 12 tomorrow. Jacob Fearnley is on against Jaume Munar there. Kim Birrell and Saronica Steyer Alexander Bublik Otto Wertonen and Arta Ferry open up Court 18 that is where we're sending Matthew first up

1:13:28David Law: I'll go with Matthew we think Wertonen might be might be his his thing so we're going to find out tomorrow we'll let you know I thought you were coming with me for Manorino we've got a clash I'll go and see Ferry and Wertonen on my own then you can jump between Marta Kostrick's also on 18 we all want a bit of Matthew time he's never going to be up at 11 o 'clock

1:13:58touche that is the truth what time does breakfast finish at the hotel though Matthew quick as you like we'll come back to him later Venus and Serena Williams aren't on the schedule tomorrow I thought first round doubles had to be completed tomorrow. I don't know. I presume rules can be bent and broken for Venus and Serena Williams. We will keep you posted, folks. I think that is it, though, for tonight in terms of the tennis. We do, though, have to say hello to Phoebe, who is stretching out here in this photo I'm looking at in a very Billie Jean-y way. Two late nights in a row. Phoebe has the right idea.

1:14:44Yes, Phoebe. I woke up this morning trudged into the kitchen David took one look at me and said do you think you need to go back to sleep for a bit?

1:14:53David Law: I did do that and I said yeah I think I do I did that in a concerning way you make me sound no you were absolutely right I hadn't looked in the mirror at that point it was not about that it was just you just looked miserable and like you needed to go back to bed you were trying to force yourself in for first ball because it's the fomo and you don't want to miss anything yeah but you very clearly needed to not be awake here we are i took my inspiration from you phoebe thank you very much hello to bodie maizey and roger our mascots hello to our top folks and executive producers greg chris and jeff matt let's have some shout outs two shout outs tonight None of them Greg Allensworth.

1:15:41We have Catherine Willerton. Oh, hello Catherine. Hi Catherine. Same church, same pew. Oh. And Catherine is from Birkdale, Merseyside. And Catherine says, which normally people haven't heard of, but this year it's the host of the British Open Golf. I was going to say, I thought it was... Which Matt is going to. I am. Look out for Matt in the Birkdale area, Catherine. Yep, day one. Will you be seeing the sights? no it's a it's an in out job okay because i'm moving a bit well like chicago yes indeed i'm moving flat the next week so i've got some packing to do but a quick drip trip to burkdale in between my pre and post slam planning this year has been all over the place what you're up to after the u.s open sleep okay full of we're sending him back to bed after the after the u.s open.

1:16:35Oh, a Catherine. We love a Catherine. We do. My dad met Matt Futterman earlier and my dad multiple times in conversation referred to me as Cathy and I could see Matt sort of just glitching a bit like who's that? Who are we talking about? So I wonder what Catherine's preferred shortening is. Let us know. Catherine like you. We'll go with me. Is Katie McNally a Catherine? I think she might be. Let's go for that. Thank you, Catherine. And finally, we have Susan Ramsey from Falkirk. Like Susan Lievich.

1:17:21David Law: Very good. Isn't there a Susan Lama? Lama. Lama. I'm thinking of the goalkeeper for Man United, maybe. Is he a Lama? I don't know. anyway you can say Susan yes Susan says my dad introduced me to watching tennis Wimbledon was always on at the start of the school holidays in Scotland and so if we weren't watching in TV we were listening to it on the radio on holiday in a caravan I still love tennis on the radio one of my earliest earliest TV memories Susan says is watching Connors McEnroe in 1982 and then Susan has put in brackets, I'm even older than David. That's my second Wimbledon final memory, actually, Susan.

1:18:12David Law: And I always remember it's the first time I'd ever seen Jimmy Connors play in a final and I love the way he would just clinch the fist and, you know, it's great. And the crowd would be up. Oh, it's five setter. It's a brilliant match. Then they played two years later and McEnroe cleaned his clock. well Susan I assume or I hope you'll be listening to David commentator on Art of Feast against Matteo Berrettini tomorrow on BBC Radio yep I'll be there who's your co-com? don't know doesn't matter it'll be brilliant regardless Susan, Catherine thank you ever so much for being friends of the Tennis Podcast if you'd like to become a friend the link is in our show notes and that also gets you access to the Tennis Podcast Meets where you can hear us chat with Barbora Krojcikova, Katie McNally and plenty of others.

1:19:04Folks, that is it for tonight. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for joining us on YouTube. Thank you for joining in the chat. If you did that, sorry to our non-British listeners who have no clue what Tesco is. Look it up. We've all got the internet. Thank you all for being here. We'll be back tomorrow. It's goodnight from us.

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