Live from Wimbledon Day 5 - Did Raducanu play Sabalenka into title-winning form?

0:00David Law: This is Matt Rogers from Lost Culture East, that's with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. This is Bowen Yang from Lost Culture East, that's with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. And now a break from our sponsor, Vital Proteins, the official collagen partner of the U.S. Open, who is upping the excitement at this year's U.S. Open. If a main draw singles match reaches a final set tiebreak beginning in the quarterfinals, fans could win. Thousands of randomly selected entrants may receive vital proteins, collagen peptides, and two people winning grand prizes, including the ultimate 2027 U.S. Open experience. which is two finals tickets, a helicopter ride, flights, hotel, and cash, while another receives the ultimate wellness investment worth$15 ,000 for long-term support.

0:40David Law: Enter the final set tiebreak sweepstakes August 17th at vitalproteins.com slash final dash set dash tiebreak. Seaside for official rules. Thanks again to our sponsor, Vital Proteins.

0:54Matt Roberts: AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into. That's why it's no surprise that more than 85 % of the Fortune 500 use the ServiceNow AI platform. While other platforms duct tape tools together, ServiceNow seamlessly unifies people, data, workflows and AI, connecting every corner of your business. And with AI agents working together autonomously, anyone in any department can focus on the work that matters most. Learn how ServiceNow puts AI to work for people at servicenow.com.

1:38Matt Roberts: Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast live from Wimbledon on one of those oh so special summer nights. Centre Court has just hosted a lock-in for 15 ,000 people, all watching world number one, Irina Sabalenka, beat Britain's Emma Raducanu 7-6, 7-5, in an absolute thriller to reach the round of 16. You know it's been a good night here when the BBC delays the news at 10, and that is exactly what has just happened. Obviously for Emma Raducanu and all of the British fans, it is a disappointing result, but my goodness did she and the crowd inside Centre Court put on a show tonight. Speaking of crowds, we have one over there, Hardy Tennis fans.

2:25Matt Roberts: I think that's better than the crowd Emirati Karni got. Love that, thank you.

2:31Catherine Whitaker: To be fair, the crowd that Emirati Karni had didn't have bins to bang on.

2:34Matt Roberts: No, we appreciate the efforts with the bin banging. I'm Catherine Rittiger, alongside me David Law, Matt Roberts. We've got the champagne out tonight as an annual tradition to celebrate my niece Nina's birthday. And of course, the birthday of Pamela Howard-Shriver. All the best people are born during Wimbledon. So cheers to them and cheers to tennis. Yeah, that's well said.

2:56David Law: It's a bit twee, isn't it, to say that everybody won tonight, but it feels like they did really. Because Serena Sabalenka, I think, had to withstand a lot tonight. you know she had her first big home crowd to deal with since all of the kerfuffle with Coco golf and it would have been very easy to have kind of lost her mind and and lost her composure and she didn't she kept it and yet she was pushed all the way by Emma Raducanu playing that sort of tennis that we kind of all fell in love with four years ago when she had a run at Wimbledon And then she had the incredible US Open title win. And I knew she could hurt Sabalenka.

3:41David Law: What I was surprised about is that she stuck with her for quite as long as she did. I mean, it was straight sets and yet it was grueling. It was such a test mentally for both players. And then for Sabalenka at the end to kind of overhaul a deficit and just put the foot down the way she did was a real statement, I think. And I think that that cements her as a very firm favourite for this title.

4:10Matt Roberts: Matt, I will come to you on Sabalenka and Raducanu, but I do feel like I need to reference for people watching us that you are wearing a nose strip.

4:18David Law: Obviously.

4:19Matt Roberts: I can't editorially put Jarry as the lead item in today's show, so you're just going to have to sit there in a nose strip for quite a long time until we get to

4:30Catherine Whitaker: the jerry of it all sure I am taking one for the team because the last time I wore a nose strip we

4:36Matt Roberts: ended up on the BBC so yeah out of context Matt in nose strip in BBC VT yeah absolutely incredible Matt your takes though your takes on Raducanu and Sabalenka if you make if you don't make them too good then you won't get clipped up great in and out of context yeah make this answer possible

5:00Catherine Whitaker: yeah yeah okay uh look i think i think david said it really really well i think the kind of thing that struck me is that when you're in a grand slam like this you kind of forget that it's friday night right and suddenly i just had a moment and was like wow this is taking place on friday night center court was packed it was a noise that you don't often hear on center court it was fantastic I just was getting a lot of texts from people clearly watching this match. Hannah was saying that more and more people were on the barge. And I just loved that feeling. It felt like, you know, appointment viewing.

5:33Catherine Whitaker: And I love it when tennis and Wimbledon gives you that moment. And it was like that because I think of the level that Raducanu brought to be able to make it so close to Rina Sabalenka. And that first set, I think, is the best set of the tournament, certainly in terms of drama, you know, which is basically what we're looking for. I just had no real sense of where it was going to go. Obviously, Raducanu came out really strongly, playing brilliantly. Actually, she was able to hurt Sabalenka in more ways than I had realised. She was using the Sabalenka pace really well. She was redirecting her shot.

6:13Catherine Whitaker: She was going back behind quite nicely. But she was also using her hands and her slice and her touch. and it was a really, really impressive performance, I thought, from Raducanu and just absolutely fascinating to see Irina Sabalenka thrust back into a fairly similar sort of match and position than we saw her in just a few weeks ago. You know, tennis does that so well, you know, because of the relentlessness of it. It's so often that a player will have some sort of test and either pass it or not and then have the same test again. And it wasn't quite the same because Emma Raducanu is not as an incredible retriever as Coco Goff.

6:53Catherine Whitaker: And, you know, I don't think she's as much in Irina Sabalenka's head as Coco Goff is. So it was different and it wasn't a Grand Sam final. That's kind of the main difference. But there were elements there of Sabalenka having to battle that crowd, having to battle her own game, keep it under control. And I just loved seeing it. And the, what was it, the 4-5 game, Raducanu serving as Sabalenka had set point after set point after set point, I think seven in total. And most of those that she didn't convert were missed backhand returns. It was incredible the way Raducanu just kept serving to the Sabalenka backhand and she kept missing.

7:34Catherine Whitaker: And then eventually Raducanu holds and then she breaks and suddenly the crowd is up. She's leading 6-5. It looks like she's going to take the first set. And that was the moment that Sabalenka just knuckled down, played a brilliant game to get it into the tiebreak. And Sabalenka was mostly ahead during the tiebreak. But suddenly Raducanu got a set point and Sabalenka hit a drop shot winner. After so much power tennis, she hit that drop shot, which she's been talking about as a key shot for her on the grass. She came up with it at the biggest moment. It was a remarkable shot. And then she closed out the set.

8:12Catherine Whitaker: And I didn't see the second set quite as close as I had the first, but impressed that Raducanu managed to build a lead again. And then, you know, Sabalenka kind of surged through to the finish as she had done in the first set as well. But, oh, like, what a night. Like, just straight sets match. But I think everyone just leaves that feeling fulfilled. and, you know, just like, tennis is great.

8:40Matt Roberts: Yeah, 7-6, 6-4, I think I said 7-5 at the top of the show, didn't I? She, yeah, she had the lead throughout that second set, possibly a physical fade at the end there from Radikarni just because of the effort she was having to put in to hang with Sabalenka and she's hitting you with power that you're not facing against anybody else on tour. I mean, Sabalenka prides herself on being the most powerful player on tour, quote, you want power, I'll show you power. You know, there's not really any way to prepare for that and that physical test, and she was withstanding it so well, so I get why there was that fade, but she's going to feel gutted, isn't she?

9:22Matt Roberts: I almost think in some ways it's easier to get crushed out there and not have the what-ifs. Like, I know, of course it's better to play a competitive match, and there are so many positives for Adekarni long-term, But just in this moment, I think she'll be rushed.

9:37David Law: I get that point. In the moment, I think it's a heartbreaker. But I think it's so much... She's had some real hammerings from top players this year. And she needed to have some encouragement. She needed to have something where she was toe-to-toe with the best. And not overwhelmed. And that's what she had tonight. And actually, what was really impressive to me is... I mean, I watched the whole of the first set on the hill, right at the back of the hill. Just the most incredible. I'd love to know a description of what the sound was like in Centre Court because I can think of when Serena played her last match.

10:14David Law: That was an incredible sound. I've seen Raducanu in there before and Andy Murray. But I was on the hill this time. But even on the hill, it sounded like people were trying to get their voices through the screen so that they could be heard by Raducanu as well. But the fact that she came so close in such a long first set and didn't lose the second set 6-1, which I think would have been completely understandable. If you'd have asked me for a prediction at that point, that's what I would have gone with. The fact that she then holds immediately and breaks and leads and is running away with that set until Sabalenka just found a gear that I'm not sure even, I don't think Radakana has it.

10:59David Law: I don't know whether she ever will. because they are two different... As tennis players, they're like boxers in different weight categories. Raducanu played brilliantly, but there's a limit to how hard she can hit a tennis ball. Sabalenka was as precise as Raducanu, as piercing in her distribution of ground strokes, but with just blunt force. And that's why she's won all these Grand Slam titles. There are players that can hit the ball maybe as physically hard, but they don't have the control she has. You know, Madison Keys had that one run at the Australian Open, but she hits so flat. Sabalenka doesn't.

11:38David Law: And I thought she showed what a champion she is tonight. And yet I think that Raducanu will come out of this thinking, I want to work even harder. I want to work this summer now because I'm not that far away and I want to feel this more.

11:53Matt Roberts: I do feel like, look, she's never going to be, nor should she try to be an arena Sabalenka in terms of power. She has attributes that Irina Sabalenka doesn't have in terms of her dexterity and her fleet of foot around the court. But if she could just add an extra 10 % of power to her ground strokes, just to hang with it a bit more. Do you both feel that's doable? I feel like that could make the difference with the step up.

12:26Catherine Whitaker: yeah look I would struggle to comment on how doable that is because I would have thought that she's been trying to do that you know it seems a fairly obvious gap in her game certainly when she comes up against the very very best players and there was a period in that first set where I felt like she did start to try and hit out a little bit more but she was often overhitting you know and I think there was a little run there where Savalenka won maybe nine points out of ten I think a lot of those were Raducanu, just ever so slightly overhitting, almost like feeling like she had to go for it a little bit more.

13:01Catherine Whitaker: But if you think of a Svitolina...

13:03David Law: Yeah, it's true. I think you've got to be prepared to overhit in some matches and lose them in order to make greater gains.

13:13Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I mean, Svitolina's a great case study there because she absolutely has become a much more powerful player. I don't know whether she's a better player like I mean she might be she might be a better player but now she's in an era where if she's a better player but she's not having the results she had like her results were better before and I think it was because she you know she was more in her prime and maybe the tour was in a different place there wasn't such a sort of dominant force all the time I think the tennis Svitolina has played over the last couple of years some of it has been kind of her best ever tennis

13:50David Law: Her Grand Slam results feel better overall to me. Okay, she's had a disappointment this time.

13:57Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, but it's easy to forget just how consistent she was on the tour and a winner of 1 ,000 events. But she wasn't beating Ygrish Fiontek with that game before,

14:06David Law: like she did here last year.

14:08Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, but I just think, well, it was a couple of years ago, wasn't it, that she beat Fiontek here? Two years ago, yeah. So, Fiontech on the grass, like, to me, that's not, that's not like a sort of top one or two win in the world. I still think there's a ceiling, even to Svitolina. Yes, she has improved, but I don't know whether, I don't know whether adding five or five percent or so, if you can do that, makes a massive difference. It would make a difference, but we're talking about Savalenka, who is levels above in terms of power. But she's levels above most people, to be fair. She's astonishing the way she gets that ball.

14:51David Law: You've got to beat her differently, I suppose you're saying. I think so.

14:53Catherine Whitaker: Work on the net game? Yeah, perhaps.

14:56Matt Roberts: There's a greater gain to be made there with her style of play.

15:01Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, and the serve, I think. She's such a good returner, Raducanu, but the serve is sometimes a bit more attackable as well. I think if you just focus on the power, I don't know if you necessarily close the gap, but little improvements everywhere obviously would. People kind of say with Raducanu, oh, she fluked the US Open or whatever. I don't believe you fluked a slam. I really don't. No chance. And look, that was, again, that was a time before Sabalenka had turned into the player she is now. And, you know, I know Simon Briggs always talks about how she did have a bit more power at that US Open with the different balls that were flying through the air that year.

15:44Catherine Whitaker: And little things like that, those small percentages can make a difference. But you see the way she plays tonight, and the game does suit the grass. It does. Like, the way she can get low, there's an incredible crouched shot she hit in that first set. Radvanska style, Kerber style. Like, she's got that in her game as well. but you know for Raducanu she's been beaten at the Slams this year by Sviontek and by Sabalenka, it is taking very very good players at the Slams to beat her this year so that's something, it's just that given she's won a Slam she's obviously desperate and hungry to win another one and at the moment that still feels a long way off

16:29Matt Roberts: She needs to be more consistent on tour to get herself into a position where she's facing Svantec and Sabalenka later in slams. I'm not sure it's within her powers to be beating a peaking Svantec and Sabalenka maybe ever unless they have an off day which is a thing that happens but she needs to be facing them later in these tournaments. It's brutal to be playing that kind of tennis. She'd have beaten so many people in the draw tonight with that kind of tennis but she was facing the world number one and that's because of where she is in the rankings and the rankings don't lie, etc, etc. You've got to be able to do it on the tour.

17:06And she has physical things, aspects,

17:10Matt Roberts: holding her back on that front, don't they? It was pleasing to see the back not be an issue. I think I saw her stretch it out once or twice, but basically not really an issue. So maybe that's a good omen in terms of getting the reps in because I'm afraid that is what tennis is, isn't it? It's getting on the hamster wheel.

17:30David Law: And that's what she had four years ago, if you think she had this run to the fourth round then, and then went straight to America and started trying to qualify for stuff and play matches. And that was the key. She just got herself out of the way. People talk about that US Open like it was out of the blue.

17:49Matt Roberts: And yes, of course it was. Absolutely nobody saw that coming. But she'd done a lot of winning on the hard courts that summer at low levels. but she'd got the reps in and she'd got the winning feeling and winning becomes a habit insert cliche here but they're cliches for a reason i'd definitely be doing it again if she's

18:08David Law: physically able i would be doing that again not i mean you might not be able to enter all the same tournaments but there's quite a long summer ahead and you can kind of do it out of the way because the world goes certainly britain wimbledon happens and then moves on you know that the focus moves on yes it'll be on tv here but but it's tennis fans then watching it isn't it and the tennis all the tennis journalists are having a bit of a break as well you you can just go and do your work go and get get yourself going and see if you can get a load of wins because I still think that there's a heck of a player there and I think you know how close was she to winning the first set and then she's also a breakup in the second I mean this is the best player in the world she's doing this too.

18:55David Law: It's quite something.

18:56Matt Roberts: I did think Sabalenka though was so impressive tonight because she had a horrible time. Like, zero fun was had by Irina Sabalenka out there. The eye rolls were epic. It was like, her eyes were just on a wheel. It was a constant rotation. They were just in constant roll. And I'd forgotten how loud a centre-court crowd could be. Not just the volume, I'd forgotten how how eggy a centre-court crowd can be, you know, with the roof on, where it's all hothoused. Like, that was tough for Sabalenka. And, of course, the French Open final was coming back to her. And the first thing she said in her on-court interview with Annabelle Croft was, Emma's fantastic, she's going to be a top-ten player.

19:43Matt Roberts: Generosity, generosity, generosity. Don't do what you did last time. Yeah, and, you know, I'd be doing the same in her shoes. But she had a horrible time tonight. She hated it. she absolutely hated it and there were moments in that match where she looked like she wanted to get on a plane home and we have seen her not quite check out of matches and certainly not at Grand Slams but I think of the Mirandreva final at Indian Wells sometimes you do just get a vibe with that Sabalenka where it's like, not this not this and there were one or two moments where I thought is she entering that zone where she wants to head back to Mykonos who can blame her but no she just kept wading through the mud of it all and she is made of strong stuff isn't she

20:34David Law: it was a bit Djokovic like in some ways just take it and then give it back and then some and come out on top I mean endless respect for that

20:46Matt Roberts: is she winning the title?

20:49David Law: I struggle to see who's stopping her.

20:53Matt Roberts: Oh, Matt's probably got something to say to that.

20:58Catherine Whitaker: Laura Siegmund? Look, I mean, she was the favourite, I think, for this title before the tournament. And what, she's only one of the top six seeds left, right? We're, what, about halfway through the tournament? Not quite. So I still think she's the favourite. I think there are sort of match-ups and opponents who can trouble her. And I think you can't underestimate that she's not won this title before. And there will be stress, I think, for the remainder of this tournament for Sabalenka. But I am backing her. I do think this is a time.

21:48Matt Roberts: It would just... I mean, the irony of this slam where everything's fallen apart and probably the women's world number one and Rina Sabalenka and one of the men's world numbers one and two, Sinner and Alcaraz are going to end up winning it. Probably. Yeah, and we won't remember the fourth round match between Laura Siegmund and Solana Sierra. which we're going to be previewing shortly.

22:15David Law: Just on Sabalenka, I came into this match thinking that there has to be a real chance that she's inhibited by what happened in Paris. Now that she's come through this, I actually think that the Paris experience can start to benefit her because I feel as though, well, nothing can be quite as hard as that, I wouldn't have thought. And the fact that she's played tonight and then gathered herself at the end and given the sort of speech that you've just talked about or on-court interview, Catherine, I feel like there's somebody who's learned a heck of a lot in the last six weeks and it's not been very nice.

22:57David Law: But if she can handle that and still be playing like this, I think she's more of a threat now.

23:04Matt Roberts: Yeah, I think that's a great take. She's got Elisa Mertens next. Mertens having taken out Alina Svitolina 6-1, 7-6 in the last match on court one today. A rally from Svitolina in the second set, but by all accounts from Vicky, Vicky Spreberry. Hello, Vicky. Incredible Vicky. That was on court one today, Svitolina had a mare in the first set. It sounds like there's no other way of putting it. Svitolina just had one of those shocking days. Good honour for pulling it together, but too late against a player so solid in Elisa Mertens. He's always just there. Of course Elisa Mertens is there when a draw falls apart.

23:44David Law: Just a great pro, isn't she? I was talking to one of my fellow commentators at BBC Radio today, Ian Carter, who's been covering the sport for 30 years plus. He covered the Goran Imanizovic win here in 0-1. And he says he feels like ever since he's ever come here, Elisa Mertens has been in the draw. And what it is, is she so rarely fails to get to a third round. She gets to third round, she gets to fourth round, but then she can't beat anybody who's there because they're all above her in level and she doesn't have another gear. But a creditable opponent all the time.

24:25Catherine Whitaker: And of course Sabalanko and Merton's former doubles partners.

24:29Matt Roberts: It's a bit awkward, I think, isn't it? Do you? yeah well I mean I think it's I think it's a bit awkward

24:38Catherine Whitaker: for Mertens because she always loses to Sabalenka yeah I think it's

24:41Matt Roberts: awkward that

24:42Catherine Whitaker: there's such a gap in their singles career

24:44Matt Roberts: you're equal when you're partners and then when they face one another they are not equals no I don't think

24:50Catherine Whitaker: there's anything personal though

24:51Matt Roberts: no I don't I don't think so what would it be

24:54David Law: about three years ago that Sabalenka stopped when she sort of decided right now I'm a singles player who wants to win

25:01Matt Roberts: You forget that, isn't it? That she was double, I think, number one. Yeah. Yeah.

25:05Catherine Whitaker: Has won some slams. Yeah. Yeah, but I think she's won her last eight or nine in a row against Mertens. You know, like, she really does have a huge upper hand in that matchup.

25:16Matt Roberts: Okay, let's get on to the big upset of the day. Not yet.

25:22Catherine 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

25:41Matt Roberts: you did good there because cameraman Matthew was trying to put you off

25:44Catherine Whitaker: he was, yeah

25:46Matt Roberts: that was like in Mario Kart when someone's throwing the banana in your path you did very well

25:54Catherine Whitaker: I know how Savalenka feels when the crowd's against you

25:58Matt Roberts: Right. I can put it off no longer. We must talk about Laura Siegmund.

26:02David Law: Hooray!

26:03Matt Roberts: That was a stay of execution, but here we are. She was awesome today. Three and three, taking out Madison Keyes. I've put in all caps in the agenda. We should have seen this coming.

26:16David Law: Well, I think you did, didn't you? I mean, when we talked about it the other day, I got the sense that you thought, OK, Madison Keyes is about to have a terrible time.

26:25Matt Roberts: Yeah, look, I didn't pick the result, but I'm always picking Laura Siegman to be an absolute nightmare, particularly for players like Madison Keyes. This was like Keyes versus Tatiana Maria at Queen's, except with edge and egginess. It was like Tatiana Maria in terms of game, but with an extra pop of power. but Yulia Putin savor in terms of in-your-face-ness. Like an absolute nightmare.

27:01Catherine Whitaker: Yeah. Yeah, we were prepared for a 37-year-old German with a sort of tricky grass court game to have a moment at Wimbledon this year but forgot that Siegmund could be that player herself.

27:18Matt Roberts: I never forgot that. I did.

27:21Catherine Whitaker: I don't think about Siegmund coming into a Grand Slam draw. And then suddenly she's there and it's like, oh, my God, Siegmund. And I don't mean to alarm anyone, but Keys keeps losing to eventual champions. Like, she lost to Gough at Roland Garros, to Maria at Queen's, to Vondrosheva in Berlin. And look, Maria and Vondrosheva also players with variety and who like a slice and a drop shot. and can mess you up on the grass. And Keyes has now kind of fallen victim to three of them in a row during this grass court season. I think it was a really, really poor Madison Keyes performance today. Her second serve, she had an absolute disaster off it.

28:08Catherine Whitaker: I was tracking this for the whole match because...

28:10Matt Roberts: Tracking? You were obsessed with it. It came to my attention sort of during the first set

28:17Catherine Whitaker: that she hadn't won a point on her second serve. And you think, OK, well, you know, she'll maybe get that sorted out in the second set. And she just didn't. It just kept happening. And she went 0 for 18 on points behind her second serve up until she was match point down. And finally, she won one on her second serve.

28:35David Law: 0 for 18?

28:36Catherine Whitaker: 0 for 18, 0%. She ended up 1 for 19 off her second serve. It sort of got to the point where I was thinking, surely it would be better to hit another first serve. I don't remember stuff like that ever. Me neither. With anybody. And I have found Keyes' second serve a bit odd this grass court season. Maybe in the clay as well. It strikes me that she's taken a bit of pace off it. And it's kind of going in quite loopy a lot of the time.

29:00Matt Roberts: Is she trying to kick it?

29:01Catherine Whitaker: Maybe.

29:02Matt Roberts: Developing a real kick serve. But it hasn't really worked.

29:06Catherine Whitaker: Early stages of development. It's like she's got really poor contact off it. And look, it wasn't as though Siegmund was necessarily hitting them all for winners. But she was therefore getting in the rallies. Nothing that tells you where Keyes' ground game was today. It was not good. And Seidman was hitting a load of drop shots or drop shot lob combinations or just short balls. Drop shot returns. Drop shot returns. That sort of, you know, in cricket you'd call it the corridor of uncertainty. Keyes doesn't know whether to come forward or stay back.

29:35Matt Roberts: Seidman lives in the corridor of uncertainty. Maria was doing that a lot there in Queen's.

29:40Catherine Whitaker: So a very, very smart match from Seidman. And look, Keyes didn't come to press because of illness, I believe, was the reason given. so you know I think we have to sort of factor that in as well and I think that Keys probably wasn't feeling her best today and that perhaps explains her performance but yeah Siegmund

30:00Matt Roberts: had a game plan and she executed it and she backs herself she does she backs herself to put that game out there and sometimes it's obviously not going to be enough but she knows against a lot She beat Jun Chin Wen in Australia, didn't she? A similar type of player. She knows what she can do to these power hitters. Obviously, I've got my bit with Siegmund, but a lot of that is down to how long her matches take. I was commentating on two particularly epic Siegmund matches. She owns that. She uses that as a tactic, taking so much time between points, asking, you know, disrupting the server and asking them to stop.

30:49Matt Roberts: She didn't actually really do any of that today. This was not a lengthy match. I don't really have, I can't really bring my Siegmund baggage to the party today. She didn't commit any of those offences, really. She was just great. It's just past trauma with me and Laura Siegmund.

31:07David Law: I think she might have got a time violation on match point. that sounds like Laura yeah that's our Laura but yes I mean you're as a sort of advocate of lose the faff she's the kind of opposite she's adding faff

31:23Matt Roberts: I just feel like if you're not ready to receive serve like okay you've lost the point

31:26David Law: she just likes to wind you up really doesn't she

31:30Matt Roberts: yeah

31:31David Law: but that's what she's doing to the opponent just being at the back of the court

31:35Matt Roberts: just faffing around back there

31:37David Law: it's really hard not to get irritated by it if you're the opponent I'll say yeah

31:42Matt Roberts: Oh, she would scramble my eggs in about four points. I'd be done. I think Madison Keyes did an incredible job out there today, losing, what was it, 6-3, 6-3. Well done. Well done, Madison. And well done, Hannah, for coming up with this incredible turn of phrase for Laura Siegman, the unapologetically villainous face of grass-caught devilry.

32:10Matt Roberts: no notes chef's kiss um so we have laura siegmund against solana sierra the argentine lucky loser that took out katie bolter in the previous round she's now followed that up with breaking reggie's heart and beating christina bookshire 751661 siegmund or sierra is into the

32:32Catherine Whitaker: quarters that's cool Sierra is the first lucky loser in the women's draw at Wimbledon to reach the fourth round it never happened before in the women's singles that a lucky loser

32:47David Law: had got to the fourth round um wow great little story yeah and look you would you'd probably make

32:54Catherine Whitaker: Siegmund the favorite there because of because of her experience and see previous discussion but you like if you're Sierra I think you're signing for Siegmund to reach the quarter finals at a slam like

33:09Matt Roberts: I think both of them are signing for these situations yeah wild I mean Laura Siegmund incidentally she's been around a long time she's 37 this is only her second time into the second week of a slam and the one previous time was her run to the quarter finals at the French Open in Covid year, like Covid French Open I'm not discounting Covid French Open as not valid in the record books but it comes with a certain caveat doesn't it, a certain amount of caveat, like this is so huge for Laura Seagman

33:45David Law: I remember commentating on her for BT Sport more than 10 years ago and I think she's in the best form of her life she used to be I always remember sitting down and one of my co-commentators saying oh, she's a bit of a nightmare. She's going to be tough to deal with for this opponent. No, it wasn't Catherine this time. More latterly. But, you know, since then, she's just been this occasional opponent for people. And then she had that match against Coco Gauff when the year that Gauff won the US Open, wasn't it? But she pushed her all the way. And since then, she's just been putting building blocks down all the time.

34:27David Law: and just she's the ultimate maximiser. I mean, she's an absolute pain in the backside if you're an opponent of hers, but she's not just that now. She's got clear ambition that this game can take you through a draw. And now she's beaten a big name and suddenly she's playing somebody who, if you'd have offered her that at the start of the tournament, she'd have snapped your hand off.

34:51Matt Roberts: Regardless of what we may think of it, I guarantee Laura Siegman thinks she can win this title. That's who she is. She knows she can beat the big players, the big hitters. She'll feel like she can beat anybody. She knows she's not the favourite, but she will feel like she can. Absolutely. That's our Laura. Right, Matt, we have arrived at Amanda Anisimova o 'clock. It's really difficult to know what was Matt's favourite moment of the day. It's starting to feel like the Matt Roberts slam, Wimbledon 2025. it's all coming up Matt Roberts Nicholas Jarry to follow but you get to wear the nose strip for the Amanda Anisimova section uniting your two faves she beat Dalma Gelfi today 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 you were out there obviously for every point of this I got in this morning

35:44Catherine Whitaker: so early that I heard the fire alarm rehearsal

35:51Matt Roberts: well you got a great spot on court I was there for most of this match David was in and out I know you went to check on Naomi Osaka David but between us we all watched a lot of this or I kind of tried to watch a lot of it but I was very distracted by watching Matt Roberts watch this because I feel like Amanda she put you through it today

36:12Catherine Whitaker: She went through it yeah it was stressful normally coming out of an Amanda Nissimova match I obviously remember the backhands And I will remember the sort of primal screams today. Like, she was stressed a lot of the time. And there were hints of it. I talked about it after her second round win over Zara Zua, where I thought she was a bit on the edge in that one, even though that was a much more comfortable win. And this one, even more so, her form wasn't great, to be honest, today. And she said it herself in the press conference that she didn't think she hit her backhand all that well today. And her serve, she wasn't getting much out of that.

36:54Catherine Whitaker: She only hit two aces, had eight double faults, just constantly felt like she was under threat when serving, which is obviously not a comfortable position to be in at all. She kind of did... She sort of threw a bit of shade in the on-court interview by saying, oh, my opponent played so great. She was amazing today. And I didn't play well. just having won the match, you know. It is true, though. I think it is. You know, Galfie was, I think, you know, certainly one of the lowest-ranked players remaining left in the draw, and Nissimov was the kind of highest-ranked player in her section remaining.

37:34Catherine Whitaker: I did think she'd win this in straight sets. I really did. And she started the match poorly. She could have gone down 4-1. She was down 3-1. But then she reeled off five games in a row and won the first set comfortably. And at that point, I actually thought, OK, that's been a bit of a scrappy set, but I think she's probably going to be all right here. To Galfie's credit, the second set was quite a lot of a battle. It was a lot of long games and Galfie held off Anissimova as Anissimova was pressing. But then Anissimova dropped her serve right at the end and suddenly it was quite a physical match.

38:09Catherine Whitaker: She was in a third set in a wide open draw where she's kind of the favourite to win some more rounds here. and it's a stressful situation. I think she's feeling the stress of the draw and the opportunity. And I think she also thinks she was playing better on the grass at Queen's. And I think that's true. I think her form this tournament...

38:36Matt Roberts: She won love and love in round one, Matt.

38:38Catherine Whitaker: Yes, but I think we have to factor in how Putin's ever was feeling in that match. And look, Anisimova did play great, but, you know, there was the sort of threat that came to Putin's ever from a member of the crowd. And I'm just not sure we can read too much into it from an Anisimova point of view. The last two rounds, the good bits have obviously been great. Like there are so many magnificent moments. And when she is striking the ball well, it's great. And actually, I think she's hitting her forehand really well, which is encouraging. because that's obviously the wing that isn't as devastating as the backhand.

39:15Catherine Whitaker: And I think she'll find the backhand at some point. It just needs to happen now because she's suddenly... I know the draws open up, but Noskova in the next round is tough. And I think she's going to have to play better than she has done so far to get past her. She's going to need her serve and she's going to need her backhand, which is obviously her best shot, but she hasn't quite had it yet. but I have been impressed with the resilience and I will say that today. All year that's been the word that I've used in reference to Anissa Mova. She's competing a lot better in matches and she competed well today.

39:54Catherine Whitaker: She was stressed at times, sure. Tennis is very, very stressful but she stuck to it and battled through.

40:05Matt Roberts: So did you, Matt, I saw. Yeah. I saw your struggle.

40:09Catherine Whitaker: So I'm getting excited.

40:13Matt Roberts: Okay, but do you feel, as somebody that's been really, really confident in your semi-final prediction ever since the first round, ever since she dodged the Putin's over bullet and how, do you feel any less confident in it given her performance today or do you feel more confident given she's winning on her bad days? Because nobody wins a slam playing brilliantly for seven matches.

40:40Catherine Whitaker: I would feel more confident if her form was better.

40:43Matt Roberts: OK.

40:44Catherine Whitaker: I'm a little bit less... I'm a little bit rocked.

40:47Matt Roberts: Is it because of Nozkova in the next round?

40:49David Law: It's not going to get easy.

40:51Catherine Whitaker: It's not easy. You know, I generally feel like Anissimova, when she comes up against other hitters, I just back Anissimova's game. You know, like she beat Towson at the French Open, for example.

41:04David Law: She can almost use them against them. That's how she had such a great record against Sabalenka early on. She would just time the ball back. And it didn't matter how hard they hit it. If it hit her sweet spot, they were going to be in more trouble than she was.

41:19Matt Roberts: Do you think she'll beat Noskova?

41:20David Law: I do. The form today, she won't. But I don't think we'll get that form against Noskova. As long as she's fit, fit enough, fully fit, I think she will play better against Noskova because of those reasons. I think she's a more complete player.

41:36Matt Roberts: An under-the-radar check, though.

41:39David Law: Yeah, no, I take the point. Noskova's dangerous because she's only got one way to play. She's just going to go for it. And if she's on, she's a bit of a nightmare. But I also think that that does play into Inissimova's hands. Somebody who's trying to knock the living daylights out of the ball. Where do you go to, Inissimova? She can hurt you both sides. and there's not that many players you can say that about.

42:05Catherine Whitaker: And actually there was quite a lot of moments today where, again, like with Zarazua, the success that Galfi was having was with moments of surprising touch or drop shot or there's a few moments where suddenly Inissimova was left completely flat-footed because Galfi had conjured something up and I'm not sure we're going to get a lot of that from Noskova. It is going to be hitting and I think that will favour Inissimova as David says.

42:34Matt Roberts: Last couple of results to talk about on the women's side today. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beating Naomi Osaka from behind. 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. This match, the first one on court two. David, you watched a lot of it and you went to Osaka's press conference, which can be a tough scene after she loses. What's your take on all this?

42:59David Law: It was a tough scene because it was... And we've had this a few times now where she's got close. Obviously, we think of that Igor Svantec match at the French Open last year. And she's got close and not actually got over the line. And is not really making any big inroads into these draws. Now, obviously, at Wimbledon, she's never really had that great a record anyway. But she felt that this might have been the one. And, look, she's a set-up. She gets back. When I got there, she was sort of a breakdown, but she got it back. She's at 4-0 in the second set. She's at 15-40 on Pavlyuchenkova's serve.

43:42David Law: Now, Pavlyuchenkova at that point basically didn't give her a ball. She couldn't get a racket on the ball because Pavlyuchenkova just played out, lights out tennis to hold on to a serve there. But even then, after Pavlyuchenkova had won that second set, you and I, Catherine, were walking back to the media centre talking about, do you remember when Osaka used to go on those surges? And by the time we got back to the media centre, she found herself three love down, and it was Pavlichenkova surging. And I think Osaka had had a bit of a hangover from that set, and it's dispiriting because she's being very vocal after points won.

44:21David Law: She's really screaming, come on to herself, and trying to have positive body language, and there are moments where she gets disappointment, and you feel her hurt and her worry and then she tries to gather herself and get back. And then she managed to get back to 3-0 in that set. And I thought, crikey, she could do this. And she was so close, really. She had several chances. I did think Pavlyuchenko was excellent today and reminded everybody of what a good player she is. But ultimately, the fact is that Osaka, once again, didn't get the result and I think each one of them is mounting up and causing a problem for next time.

45:06David Law: She really needs it to happen soon I think on hard court not so that she doesn't just lose all hope really. She said a year ago when she went to the hard courts of America because she's won the US Open and the Australian Open and she's won the US Open twice now because of that in her mind that's her big chance and she said it was making her tense she was getting over anxious because she because it's supposed to happen now I'm on my I'm on my surface now and it's not happening so it's quite a mental dilemma really because she's she's doing the right things I think to get herself logically speaking in the right mindset but there's a lot of doubt in there as well and um she made it she was she did really well in the press conference to kind of get through it you know and and I have a lot of respect for her putting herself out there like that because she doesn't need to be doing this she's she's she wants to she's she's got competitive desire inside her she wants this to be a thing that that she overcomes and I guess

46:19Matt Roberts: it's hanging in the balance really right now I find it really upsetting hearing somebody so brilliant and talented and not just talented somebody that is brought their talent to fruition be so insecure about their ability I find that find that really hard to hear like she seems so kind of frail in her sense of self as a tennis player and yeah it's tough it's tough to hear I desperately hope she finds it but incredible from Pavlyuchenkova she will face Britain's Sone Cartel in the fourth round of Wimbledon. What a story Sone Cartel is. 6-4, 6-2 today over Diane Parry. OK, that's a decent draw in round three of Wimbledon for a place in the second week.

47:15Matt Roberts: But she's earned that draw by beating the 20th seed, Yelena Ostapenko, in round one. And we've seen plenty of incredible players with on-paper decent draws get Laura Siegmund-ed. Yeah. Sone Cartel's got something about her. I think there's going to be a ceiling to her game, but I think she's, I know this is such an unsexy word, but I think she's going to be a total maximiser in her career because her mindset and her focus and her sort of balance, but also with intensity, there's a fieriness there. It's just very even keeled. I think that's going to take her far, and it's already taken her mat to the second week of Wimbledon.

48:03Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, and she started slowly today. Like, I was a bit worried. It might be a bit awkward because she really was nervous at the start and she said in her on-court interview, didn't she, that she's got a lot of people here. She's got a lot of people watching her here and that's kind of maybe, well, certainly not something that she's used to and she said, I didn't want to let them down. and then so for her to turn that match around in a short space of time you know only best of three you don't have a lot of time if you start poorly to get it back on track but she did and she absolutely raced through this match really nine games in a row i think she won through the middle portion of the match ended up winning 11 of the last 13 i think and she does have games she you You know, she's one of those players who, like, when you first watch her, if you first, the first thing you see is that service motion, and you can think, oh, that's not what top players look like serving.

49:03Matt Roberts: Yeah, it's giving club player, isn't it?

49:05Catherine Whitaker: But she makes it work. Yeah, she gets her lawn out of it. It's a steady serve. She gets it, you know, it's effective for her. And then from the ground, she's super solid. You know, she doesn't miss a lot. Her forehand is effective. it's a good weapon certainly up to a point it's not Rina Sabalenka's forehand but it's a good forehand for the tour absolutely and yeah she sort of draws draws people in I think particularly these sort of British crowds I think they're really going with her and I've really enjoyed watching her she could have gone out in the first round against Ostopenko she was being sort of thrown around in that first set and yet she managed to recover and win that match.

49:52Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I'm pleased because I think we sort of saw this a little bit last year, you know, when she got to, what, I think the third round here last year, second or third round. She played Goff and she kind of impressed for the start of that match and then Goff took over. There was definitely a part of that match where you were kind of impressed with the level and she's just built and built gradually. She's ranked a lot higher than I had kind of realised. she's a very very solid tour player now she's built that career in the space of a year and now we're getting to sort of she's having a bit of a sort of breakout moment at a slam which I think's great I love the kit she's wearing me too really like the Adidas kits

50:33Matt Roberts: and it's been a bit tough for the Adidas kit

50:36Catherine Whitaker: a lot of players have gone out yeah yeah

50:39Matt Roberts: Sonny's carrying them

50:40Catherine Whitaker: yeah yeah

50:42Matt Roberts: which is what that kit deserves I think it's great yeah sort of vintage

50:44Catherine Whitaker: baggy fit yeah

50:47Matt Roberts: tennis kits have been done dirty recently yeah Adidas have put all their efforts into everything apart from the Nike rugby shirt which Matt is channeling tonight and I think doing a great job everything apart from that has been it's been a tough scene I think for tennis kits so well done Adidas

51:05Catherine Whitaker: yeah I really like their range please keep it up tennis deserves better

51:08Matt Roberts: than what it's been getting

51:09Catherine Whitaker: and she seems very comfortable in that kit as well which is great Yeah.

51:14Matt Roberts: Well, now that summer is sadly winding down and the Grand Slam season is drawing to a close, the last thing I want to keep doing is eating out or ordering a takeaway just because I'm too tired to cook. And that is where Home Chef comes in. They can give me restaurant quality meals for way less than a dinner out, right as I'm trying to get back into my routine. Home Chef makes cooking simple, fresh food delivered, easy recipes to follow and meals that actually taste great. It's perfect for busy schedules, whether you need a 30-minute meal, an oven-ready tray, or even a quick microwave lunch. Home Chef has you covered.

51:51Matt Roberts: And people really love it. Home Chef is rated number one by users of other meal kits for quality, convenience, value, taste, and recipes. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering our listeners 50 % off and free shipping for your first box, plus free dessert for life. Go to homechef.com slash tennispod. That's homechef.com slash tennis pod for 50 % off your first box and free dessert for life. Homechef.com slash tennis pod. You must be an active subscriber to receive that free dessert. Today's show is brought to you by Vanguard. To all the financial advisors listening, let's talk about bonds for a minute.

52:33Matt Roberts: Capturing value in fixed income is not easy. Bond markets are massive, murky, and let's be real, Lots of firms throw a couple of flashy fans your way and call it a day, but not Vanguard. Vanguard bonds are institutional quality and that isn't just a tagline. It's a commitment to your clients. It means top grade products across the board. Lots of firms love to highlight their star portfolio managers like it's all about that one brilliant mind making the magic happen. Vanguard's philosophy is a little different. They believe the best active strategy shouldn't be locked away with one person. They should be shared across the team.

53:09Matt Roberts: That way, every client benefits from the collective brainpower, not just one individual's take. So if you're looking to give your clients consistent results year in and year out, go see the record for yourself at Vanguard.com forward slash audio. That's Vanguard.com forward slash audio. All investing is subject to risk. Vanguard Marketing Corporation Distributor. with almost half a million customers and over a trillion dollars of secure payments bill isn't new to intelligent finance it's the proven way to simplify bill pay and maximize cash flow want to learn more visit bill.com proven for a special offer

53:54Matt Roberts: OK, on to the men's matches today. Still a bit of a wait for Jarry.

54:00Catherine Whitaker: Jarry's not leading. Yeah.

54:02Matt Roberts: Just sit tight in your nose strip for a few minutes.

54:05Catherine Whitaker: Who's leading ahead of Jarry?

54:06David Law: Some bloke Alcaraz.

54:08Matt Roberts: You're going to have to do some mediocre Alcaraz takes in your nose strip so they don't get clipped up.

54:13Catherine Whitaker: Sure. He's had a nose strip era.

54:17Matt Roberts: Do you remember when he won a tournament in a... No, well, he played the tournament in a bright pink nose strip, didn't he?

54:23Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I've got a feeling he might have switched to the pink one when he won Rotterdam. Like he wasn't playing in it and then suddenly he was, potentially. Yeah.

54:33Matt Roberts: Matt's our nose strip guy. OK, Carlos Alcaraz nose strip era aside. He beat Jan Leonard Strouf today. 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, which is a pretty standard Carlos Alcaraz grand slam. third round, first round, second round, whatever round scoreline. Was this standard Carlos Alcaraz stuff?

54:57David Law: I think so. I keep waiting for him to do a Yannick Sinner and just start throwing people aside, really, given how good he is. But it's still not happening. And should one worry if you want him to do well? I think history says no, because he plays his way in. and I think it might explain one of the reasons why he's so hard to beat over the distance, because he gets involved in these tussles and he ends up winning them all. Certainly part of it, I think. Look, Struffy is dangerous because he comes in like he's got nothing to lose, and he just swings, and he goes for it, and he comes to the net, and I don't think he's necessarily a good grass-cut player.

55:45David Law: I don't think he actually likes it that much. Even though I kind of think on paper it should suit him. He tends to get better results on clay. But he comes in and he's a handful. And if you're not on it all the time, Sinner is always on it. So Sinner would have just taken him out straight sets. Alcrast doesn't do that. He has these moments, doesn't he, where he just sort of goes for the wrong shot or he just does something a bit silly. but look he got the job done and he's still in the tournament and it wasn't as harrowing as the Francis Tiafoe match a year ago I still think he's going to come through the draw and get to the latter stages and be in the final I see no reason why that won't happen but yeah it's not what I was kind of billing it as this big breakout Alcaraz going all the way without losing a set I don't know whether maybe that will never happen

56:42Catherine Whitaker: yeah it's funny I went out and watched the start of this match and I said to myself right let's watch the Alcaraz serve you know that's that feels like the main talking point at the moment around Alcaraz can he find that queen serve started with a double fold I was like oh great okay and actually in that first set Struff was terrible like really poor and Alcaraz won it 6-1 and I left centre core thinking actually I do think this is going to be the day when Alcraz wins this straightforwardly because I just didn't think Struf was going to mount that much of a challenge to be quite honest obviously David's explained what happened and it's funny I watch matches like this with Alcraz and I end up thinking maybe I'm maybe I'm changing my prediction about who's going to win you know maybe just Sinner and Djokovic just like more convincing through the tournament we see this a lot but then you remember like if Alcares can get to the latter stages which I do think he will he's less likely to have those lapses he's more likely to bring it I think he will improve or he'll have that

57:57Matt Roberts: you know he had plenty of lapses he started off with one big lapse in the French Open final and dug himself the biggest possible hole and still came through it

58:06Catherine Whitaker: yeah Yeah, so Alcaraz in the first few rounds is a different guy. As long as he's not losing, as long as he's not having what happened to him at the US Open against Burtick, then I sort of tell myself, no, I still think Alcaraz is the favourite for this title, even if he's having those poor sets like he did in the second today. Look, he was kind of helped out by Struff right at the end. He was double faulting all over the place at 4-all and he missed a high forehand volley into the net that helped Alcraz break as well. So it wasn't easy today. It was tight, but he got through it. And as long as he keeps doing that, I think we'll see a different guy when he comes up against his biggest rivals.

58:55Matt Roberts: He has Andre Rublev next. Rublev beat Adrian Manorino, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3. is there any world in which Rublev challenges him?

59:05David Law: I do think Alkraus needs to play better. I think he needs to get that serve going. I think if he serves better than he has been, like he can, and I think that that will be a difference maker in this match because he'll get looks on the Rublev serve.

59:21Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, Rublev's second serve is so predictable and Alkraus, I think, can really flourish off that shot. Rublev it was nice reading his interview transcript

59:35Matt Roberts: he's saying

59:36Catherine Whitaker: I'm actually playing well he said I feel like I haven't been playing well for a long time but actually now I can say I'm playing well again and he said I think if I keep this level the results will come back now I don't personally I don't think those sorts of results are beating Carlos Alcraz at a slam but it's better than he has been doing and I was pleased to read that I agree and I think that's a really different mental place for Andrei Rublev than we've ever seen before.

1:00:05Matt Roberts: Usually when he's been through periods of not playing well or having doubts or feeling like he's playing well but the results aren't coming. We've seen some pretty harrowing scenes from Andrei Rublev on the tennis court and in the press conference room where he hurts himself. and he's done this documentary for the ATP where he's opened up completely about it all and talked about that well kind of backing up the worst that we all feared about him that he was having some seriously dark thoughts and we know that the ATP locker room isn't necessarily the most embracing and accepting place for revealing vulnerability and softness and I think it's pretty incredible that he's he's done that and he does seem to be in a better place now that might mean that his tennis results are less good But I think that's okay.

1:01:11David Law: I mean, I'd rather they were less good if he could be happier within himself. And I've got a lot of respect for him doing that documentary and I want to see it. But I'm interested to see. I think it's quite a good little test for both of them. You know, has Rublev moved on? And can he bring his... Because the thing is, can he bring his best tennis? Yes, there's a limit to how good it can be, because I don't think he has a higher level than whatever that is, whereas Alcraz does several levels. But if he doesn't play well, Alcraz, he could find himself in a real struggle.

1:01:55Matt Roberts: Look, I didn't see loads of Rublev against Manorino. I barely saw any of it, but I saw the on-court interview afterwards, and he was asked about the variety that he deployed out there. That is not a word that I associate with Andre Rublev. No, I better go and watch that back, I think. On the edge of my seat to see the Rublev variety come to the party against Carlos Alcaraz in a couple of days' time. What else can I go to to make Matt sit in a nose strip for longer than he needs to out of context? No, OK, we'll go to Nicholas Jarry, Matt. We'll do it. Nicholas Jerry won the Battle of South America.

1:02:34Matt Roberts: He beat Joel Fonseca 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6. He is on a six-match winning streak. And that is why Matt Roberts sits here tonight in a Breathe Right nasal strip.

1:02:49Catherine Whitaker: Matthew's so pleased with himself, zooming in right now.

1:02:55Matt Roberts: No one forced this bit on you, Matt.

1:02:58Catherine Whitaker: No, but that's why commitment to a bit pays off eventually. Loves of it. What is there to say? Well, lots. He was brilliant today. Really did play well against Fonseca. Took her two sets to love lead. And actually was just stopping Fonseca from doing the things he likes to be able to do. He rushed Fonseca repeatedly with his big serve and his big ground strokes. made life really uncomfortable for him. And, you know, it was interesting, wasn't it? It was out on court two, which is obviously, you know, fully ticketed court. And it started in a very hot part of the day. And I think, well, Madison Keys had just lost, hadn't she?

1:03:45Catherine Whitaker: So a lot of the crowd probably wanted a bit of a break. And it was flat. It was flat in that first set, which is not something you ever say about a Fonseca match. And it's something, honestly, you rarely say about a Jarry match because he's often got a lot of Chilean fans there as well. And yet it was kind of like, where is everyone? You know, it was kind of the wrong atmosphere for the match.

1:04:06Matt Roberts: It was bizarre that first set.

1:04:07Catherine Whitaker: I went to centre court for a Taylor Fritz misadventure because I needn't have gone because I got there and he just wrapped up victory very, very quickly. I was like, I need to go and get eyes on Taylor Fritz in case he loses. but I needn't have bothered because, you know, he won the fourth set very quickly. By the time I went back to court two, it had transformed. The place had absolutely changed. There was literally now two guys in front of me drinking mate, which, you know, the sort of South American drink. They were from Argentina. Kids were getting involved in the chance.

1:04:43Matt Roberts: I saw it happening, Matt, because I stayed when you left for Fritz and there was one change of ends. And unfortunately for Fonseca, it was just after he dropped serve in the second set. So he's a set and a break down. And he hasn't, look, he's not playing out of his mind, cracking forehands that nobody on the planet can deal with. But he wasn't playing terribly. Jarry was excellent. Absolutely excellent. But he's a set, he had one lose service game. He's a set and a break down. And then the atmosphere changed in one change of ends. I saw the Brazilians coming in and it's an entirely ticketed court, court two.

1:05:21Matt Roberts: And what had happened was this was the third match on. People, Brazilians had started to get resale tickets and some Chileans as well. And they came in at first. It was just a few, but they're loud. And there was one guy over to my left that took it upon himself to gee up the ones that were there. And he, he pits them out in the crowd and he was like, come on, there's only a few of us. Let's, let's do this. Let's go. and every change of ends, more of them came in. You could feel the tide turning and the atmosphere building. It was incredible, but it was too late for Fonseca. He needed them earlier and it still might not have been enough against Jarry today.

1:05:59Matt Roberts: He was really good. That match and that performance from Jarry reminded me a lot of what we saw yesterday between Cilic and Draper. Jarry reminded me of Cilic a lot.

1:06:11Catherine Whitaker: Honestly, Jarry in that fourth set, and I'm not just saying this, this is now not a bit, was awesome. Because Fonseca was asking a lot of questions. He was creating a lot of break points. If you're wondering, like, why are they always talking about Nicolas Jarry? Like, is he actually any good? Watch the three all and four all games with Jarry serving. Because Fonseca's coming at him. I've realised Fonseca, he loves a target. He's really good at the passing shots. When Jarry was coming forward, so often Fonseca was picking him off. But what Jarry was doing was standing up to all those break points.

1:06:51Catherine Whitaker: I think he faced six between those two games. And he just rose to the occasion. Often with a big serve. It's not necessarily pretty tennis. It's often just a big serve. It's like boom. Just slams a serve down.

1:07:05David Law: Leaves on the backhand.

1:07:07Catherine Whitaker: You're going to get it. I do admire the way he just goes after the ball. He just goes at the ball, hits it flat, and constantly goes after it. And he came up with big shots in big moments. And then, even in the tiebreak, Fonseca is leading that tiebreak. And suddenly, Jarry just took over again. And I've kind of thought of Fonseca as a guy where, like, if he's on, there's nothing the opponent can do. And actually, it was the opposite today. Jerry was on and in those moments there was nothing that you really felt like Fonseca could do. I think Fonseca was definitely struggling physically by the end.

1:07:42Catherine Whitaker: He had blisters and he had a bit of cramp or whatever.

1:07:44David Law: Yeah,

1:07:45Catherine Whitaker: and he had a medical timeout just before he came to serve to stay in the match. He actually said in the press conference it wasn't that bad.

1:07:52David Law: He did look like a boy though. He looked like a man against a boy. Yeah. Really.

1:07:57Matt Roberts: And that's okay. He is a boy. Absolutely right.

1:07:59Catherine Whitaker: Yeah.

1:08:00David Law: Yeah. But you're right.

1:08:02Catherine Whitaker: Like when Jarry is playing like that, there's a lot of Marin Cilic. And it's hard to stop when someone's just hitting the ball flat like that and just committing to going after the ball and coming up with big serves. It's a pretty powerful combination. And yeah, I was saying to David, if that was at Rodon Garros, we'd have been talking about that atmosphere forever. Because it was Wimbledon, it wasn't quite as loud. because I don't think, you know, the sunburned Brits don't really go with it in a way that the local French Parisians do, you know. But there was enough, like, support for Jerry and support for Fonseca to make it really, really fun in those latter stages.

1:08:45Matt Roberts: I'll just miss the Brazilians so much. Like, I'm already just used to that being a part of tennis and something to look forward to and vibe about. And, yeah, Fonseca losing means that they're gone. But the Chilean Jari fans, will they turn out?

1:09:06Catherine Whitaker: Nico, Nico. That's what they were saying. OK.

1:09:12David Law: I was really pleased for him. It was a very emotional interview he gave on court at the end. I mean, he's had a terrible time the last year. I mean, the condition he's got is a problem between his ear and his brain and affects his balance. I mean, he's not been out of play for the last year properly at all. and he says I've had to relearn how to do things he said you know I've lost the ability to do things that I was able to do since I was five he said on court and he was really choked with emotion and I thought God this guy's been through a lot and I'm really happy for him to have this moment he deserves it

1:09:52Matt Roberts: he doesn't know that Matt sort of abandoned him midway through either

1:09:59Catherine Whitaker: fair I probably have to take that on the chin he's back what I said was like don't keep saying that I think Jerry's really really good at the moment I was like no I don't think he is at the moment he's struggling I'm not deluded to think that Jerry is amazing in the last year but he's back

1:10:20Matt Roberts: people bounce back

1:10:22Catherine Whitaker: people bounce back

1:10:23Matt Roberts: so Jerry against Norrie for a place in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Norrie presumably will want that to be on court one because he's won on court one again. David, straight sets against Thomas Bellucci.

1:10:38David Law: Mateo Bellucci. Thomas Bellucci was the Brazilian chef, wasn't he? I was just pleased I didn't say Monica Bellucci. I know, I've said that a few times.

1:10:47Matt Roberts: I love him as well. He's my guy, Mateo Bellucci.

1:10:50David Law: He is fun to watch. I mean, in the first game, Norrie was doing this thing where he's a left-hander. So when he's serving out wide, he actually moved all the way out to the left tram line to exaggerate the angle. And served this sliced serve in the first game of the match. Bellucci, also a left-hander, took a step to his left and did a full swipe as hard as he possibly could. underneath the net tape height, round the net post, between the net post and the umpire's chair where there's a foot, there's about a foot of space. So he's hit it that height straight down the line and into the postage stamp at a million miles an hour, as hard as he possibly could.

1:11:40David Law: Norrie was like... Yeah, winner. Norrie gave him a round of applause. The crowd were like, oh my word, I've just seen Rod Laver arrive. you know and honestly his level his top levels up here and then his his other level is down here I mean he was he was hitting the back fence he was shanking it all over the place it was comical stuff um and I mean he led he led three love he he he won the first seven points against the Norrie serve in the match and and he still didn't win the first set Norrie just sort of chugged along the way he does, you know. And I only started to get nervous when he was a double breakup in the third set and suddenly he couldn't play.

1:12:23David Law: Suddenly he went into that Norrie mode where I'm not a tennis player anymore. I don't know how to hit the ball. And fortunately, Bellucci was worse. So he kind of let him win, sort of thing.

1:12:36Matt Roberts: Okay.

1:12:37David Law: He's trying, but he just was terrible.

1:12:39Matt Roberts: Jarry against Norrie. Yeah. Norrie's going to want this to be on court one again, isn't he?

1:12:45David Law: Oh, yeah, for sure. But can it be? I mean, I think it can be because it's forced round stage. I mean, unfortunately for Norrie, if he wins the next one, he's got to go on centre court.

1:12:57Matt Roberts: It can be, but there's no Raducanu anymore. Yes, there's still Sabalenka, the world number one. Of course, there's Alcaraz. There's Fritz. Yeah, there's Sonny Cartel.

1:13:05David Law: They might work it for him, you know, but he's definitely going to campaign for it. He loves that court.

1:13:12Matt Roberts: And Jarry will want it to be last on. so that the Chileans can get the resale tickets.

1:13:20Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, that's a good point.

1:13:22Matt Roberts: Absolutely. And for a neutral, that would be cool as well. You want that. I'm not Brazilian, but I want all the Brazilians in. I want the Chileans in. Bring that vibe. Taylor Fritz, I mentioned there, and I win the agenda here. I had already written when Taylor Fritz was two sets to love up. Taylor Fritz managed to win in straight sets. There's a line through that. That's your fault.

1:13:43David Law: Blummin' should have done.

1:13:45Matt Roberts: and it's now Taylor Fritz took a bit of a scenic route again versus Alejandro Davidovic Fikina 6-4, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 as you said Matt he was very comfortable in the fourth but by all accounts that third set they were both playing really well at the same time and it was extremely high level and extremely fun

1:14:05Catherine Whitaker: yeah Fritz has been consistent all tournaments saying I'm playing really really well and yet he keeps getting dragged into these into these longer matches. You know, what's he played now? 14 sets in three rounds. He's just been such a main character this tournament. He's, you know, and yet he's had a tricky draw. You know, there have been tricky match-ups. And Reggie was actually out on centre court today and he said basically the crowd carried Davidovic Fikina to help him win that third set. And then the problem was it had been such a long set, everyone left. and then when I got there at the start of the fourth set I walked in, turned the corner and was like oh, where is everyone?

1:14:47Catherine Whitaker: The media seats were empty, the stadium was pretty empty and suddenly it was really flat and David Iksfokina, who had just won the third set and you think maybe he's woken up, he's starting to get into this match it was just a really, really flat fourth set and he wasn't great and Fritz just, I think he is playing well he's barely missing from the baseline right now yeah, he's playing well and he won the fourth incredibly straightforwardly. But yes, like, yet again. It just seemed that it went on for a long time, went on longer than I was expecting, and I'm just fascinated whether it catches up with him, considering he had Eastbourne as well, like, directly the week before Wimbledon.

1:15:29Catherine Whitaker: He's just played so much tennis in the last 10 days or so.

1:15:34Matt Roberts: You think logically it has to, but I get the sense that he's not worried about that. No, I don't think he is at all. I think he really backs himself physically. Yeah. And there haven't been gruelling matches,

1:15:45Catherine Whitaker: certainly the first two rounds, big servers mostly, not extreme rallies, but it's just the mental toll of being on a lot, I think, can catch up with you.

1:15:55Matt Roberts: He's got Jordan Thompson next. Wimbledon 2025 is just the right amount of woke for Jordan Thompson. beat Luciano Darderi in four sets.

1:16:07Catherine Whitaker: I had him on retirement watch in the first round. He's really not been fit particularly over the last few months or so. And yeah, he's got a nice grass court game, Thompson. Oh, lovely grass court game.

1:16:21Matt Roberts: Built for grass.

1:16:22Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, really is. So I don't think that's easy for Fritz either if Thompson is playing well. Honestly, I haven't watched any of Thompson this tournament.

1:16:30Matt Roberts: So Fritz might find himself on centre again If they're looking for ways to put Cam Norrie on number one

1:16:38Catherine Whitaker: Possible

1:16:40Matt Roberts: Okay, fun I assume that'll be five sets And Taylor Fritz will draw blood again Because that's what he's done He did again, didn't he? That's what he's done, two matches in a row

1:16:48Catherine Whitaker: And his elbow

1:16:50Matt Roberts: The Rindeknesh fun is over As is the dream of a Fritz-Rindeknesh rematch Gone but not forgotten Gone but not forgotten, absolutely What even does a Wimbledon 2025 day without Artur Indekinesh on the schedule look like? We will find out tomorrow. He lost in straight sets to Kamil Mayershack, who plays Karen Hashanov next. David, you were into Hashanov against Borgesh.

1:17:18David Law: I was at the end. I mean, I missed the first four hours of it and I wasn't into that part. I mean, look, I think if you had tickets there, you were. It was a real saga, the whole thing. And at the end, Borgia served for it. He's had a lot of matches like that. He has a lot of long, close matches. He's a good player.

1:17:38Matt Roberts: He was 5-2 up in the fifth.

1:17:39David Law: Yeah, it's a tough scene for him. And then at the end, Hatchinov is tough to put away. He's such a fighter. You look up agricultural in the dictionary and you get Karen Hatchinov. He was fantastic. And it goes to the distance, the final set tyre break. And Hasinoff, when he finally won it, he just collapsed in celebration at the end. But, I mean, the best, and that was a good atmosphere at the end, but still the best sound I've heard was in the Majercek match when I was waiting to go on to the Fonseca court, adjacent to me, court 12, was Majercek just wrapping it up against Rindeknesh. And he'd got a huge amount of support, Majercek.

1:18:21Matt Roberts: I wish they'd put John McEnroe on Majercek, Rindeknesh. I did.

1:18:27David Law: just for the pronunciation. Okay.

1:18:31Catherine Whitaker: I wonder what he would have come up with. Yeah, genuinely gagging to know. I mean, to be fair, very hard name to pronounce.

1:18:38Matt Roberts: Very hard. So is van der Zanschorp, but it's not van der Danschloop.

1:18:45Matt Roberts: Okay, so we have Hashanov against Maershak for the quarterfinals. Hashanov's first round of 16 here since 2021. And that's it for summing up the men's matches from today. We also did have the hangovers from yesterday. We had Guilherme Monfils coming back on quarter 18 behind us here to start a fifth set against Martin Futrovic. Having served for it in the fourth set, he ended up losing 6-4 in the fifth. And I do wonder if that affected Lina Svitolina later in the day. That's a gutting result for Guilherme Monfils, but amazing for Martin Futrovic. and the most incredible resumption of all time, I think.

1:19:30Matt Roberts: Ben Shelton, who was called off at 5-4 and serving in the third set last night, needed 70 seconds to finish off Rinki Hidjakarta today. 70 seconds, three aces and an unreturned serve.

1:19:49Catherine Whitaker: Amazing.

1:19:50Matt Roberts: And he said, he explained in press, he was OK about it, but he said, look, they said to me that we have five minutes until the automated line calling stops working because it relies on light. And he was like, fair enough. Like, I get that. I get we have to stop in five minutes. But he said, I need 60 seconds. That's all I need. Let me have a go. And they wouldn't give him that because, well, I guess they didn't trust that it would only take 60 seconds.

1:20:21David Law: I do think they should have let him have that service game.

1:20:24Matt Roberts: Turns out it took 70 seconds. But that was incredible, like how to prove a point by Ben Shelton.

1:20:30Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, perfect, perfect. Robert McNichol actually sent me that it was in 2012. There was a women's singles between Sara Irani and Coco Vandewa, which was abandoned for the day due to rain, with Irani leading 6-1, 5-3 and advantage.

1:20:48Matt Roberts: Of course it's Sara Irani.

1:20:50Catherine Whitaker: And the following afternoon, Vanderway double-faulted.

1:20:57Matt Roberts: No. Epic. I'm fairly sure. Is that on YouTube?

1:21:02Catherine Whitaker: I hope so.

1:21:03David Law: I'm fairly sure. I mean, this was a tour event rather than a grand slam.

1:21:07Catherine Whitaker: That has killed Matthew, by the way.

1:21:10David Law: I'm fairly sure I've seen a match point, which was interrupted mid-rally by an absolute deluge.

1:21:20Matt Roberts: Oh my God, this is incredible. Let's see if Robert McNichol has anything on the deluge. Robert, thank you for that incredible Iranian-related stat. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into. That's why it's no surprise that more than 85 % of the Fortune 500 use the ServiceNow AI platform. While other platforms duct tape tools together, ServiceNow seamlessly unifies people, data, workflows, and AI, connecting every corner of your business. And with AI agents working together autonomously, anyone in any department can focus on the work that matters most. Learn how ServiceNow puts AI to work for people at servicenow.com.

1:22:09Matt Roberts: Hi, this is Kim and Penn Holderness from the Laugh Lines podcast. This episode is sponsored by Oli, your wellness partner for back to school and beyond. Back to school season is here.

1:22:19Catherine Whitaker: Packed backpacks, packed lunches, and packed schedules are officially back.

1:22:24Matt Roberts: Oli Kids Sleep helps little dreamers wind down with a gentle blend of melatonin, L-theanine, and botanicals for restful sleep.

1:22:31Catherine Whitaker: Translation, an easy way to put those school night negotiations to bed.

1:22:35David Law: And for the grownups, Oli's Sleep helps you fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up feeling refreshed.

1:22:41Matt Roberts: Because as you know, the morning mayhem comes early.

1:22:44David Law: Visit Oli.com and stock up on back-to-school must-haves today. That's O-L-L-Y dot com.

1:22:51Matt Roberts: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

1:23:01Matt Roberts: Right, tomorrow, what do we have for you tomorrow? Let me just load the order of play. Talk about your nose strip, Matt, while I load the order of play.

1:23:14Catherine Whitaker: It's actually quite uncomfortable. I don't really know how they play tennis in these for five hours. What's it meant to be doing? I think enhancing my performance.

1:23:25David Law: I was looking for a description of how.

1:23:27Matt Roberts: You'd be the judge of that. Right, tomorrow's order of play. Starting on centre court at 1.30 with Yannick Sinner against Pedro Martinez. It's a good draw, isn't it, for the second week of the slam?

1:23:38Catherine Whitaker: On grass. Yeah. Yeah.

1:23:40Matt Roberts: It's a good draw. Not this, though. Second on, Igu Shontek against Daniel Collins. Yes, please.

1:23:50David Law: Oh, yes.

1:23:51Matt Roberts: Yeah. Third on, Mimir Ketsmanovic against Novak Djokovic. Look, I think Ketsmanovic is kind of an underrated player. A lot of times when I watch him, I'm like, why aren't you better?

1:24:05David Law: What a beautiful ball strike.

1:24:06Matt Roberts: Yeah, but I think that's tough. Just the style of play and... The dynamic and all that. Yeah, the fellow Serbian dynamic is tough there. Court number one is definitely where Matt Roberts is going to be starting his day tomorrow. Mira Andreva against Hailey Baptiste first up.

1:24:27Catherine Whitaker: I was just checking to see whether Baptiste won in doubles today. I accidentally Googled Hailey Bieber and not Hailey Baptiste.

1:24:36Matt Roberts: She was facing Laura Siegmund.

1:24:38Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, and she lost. Yeah, because Laura Siegmund.

1:24:41Matt Roberts: Yeah, she's been Siegmunded. Yeah. She was playing with Katie McNally, wasn't she?

1:24:46Catherine Whitaker: Yes, absolutely, yeah. On one of those outside courts, en route to court two. So I passed it a couple of times. Yeah, me too. Yeah.

1:24:53Matt Roberts: I'm haunted by Laura Siegmund.

1:24:55Catherine Whitaker: I'm looking forward to that. Really looking forward to that, Max. Yeah. I haven't actually been to court one yet, this tournament. Tomorrow's the day. So tomorrow is the day.

1:25:04Matt Roberts: Second on Court 1 tomorrow Barbora Kwechikova against Emma Navarro That could be a nice match Yeah Really nice And finally Ben Shelton against Marton Fuchovic Shelton by the way

1:25:18Catherine Whitaker: like steps up at slams doesn't he

1:25:21Matt Roberts: Big time It's interesting He's had no form

1:25:24Catherine Whitaker: We were talking about him coming in and I was saying I don't know if he's going to get out of that section because his form's not good but I was

1:25:30Matt Roberts: He's a big time guy I was forgetting

1:25:32Catherine Whitaker: about how much she steps up at slams. And look, he's had matches that I expect him to win, but he's won them in a way that he hadn't been doing on tour. I always say love that

1:25:42Matt Roberts: Trinity Rodman didn't show up today. It was like, this was my day off, Ben. You just do your 70 seconds, I'll be doing my thing. Number two court, David doesn't know what I'm talking about, does he?

1:25:55Catherine Whitaker: Who's that? Ben Shelton's girlfriend, who is a, well, Olympic gold medalist. Oh, yes. United States Women's National Team Right Pays for the Washington Spirit

1:26:07Matt Roberts: She'll be making her Court one debut tomorrow I would have thought Number two Court tomorrow Lena Rabachner against Clara Towson Second on August Holmgren against Alex de Manor Fun Fun Yeah Fun Towson Rabachner Fun Interesting Maybe not fun Yeah

1:26:32Catherine Whitaker: Let's go with that Yeah

1:26:32Matt Roberts: Okay number three number three court tomorrow Kasichino against Samsonova and Dimitrov against Ofner if he wins that tomorrow we're going to start thinking silly things I can feel it court 12 Kabali against Menshik first up and then Sonmez against Alexandrova Hannah Klugman also in British juniors action court 18 behind us here is where you find Belinda Benchic and Elisabetta Cotciareto tomorrow and Marin Cilic against Jaume Munar from centre no from court one it was yesterday wasn't it to court 18 and that is I think your singles for tomorrow there's a lot of doubles there's a lot of juniors I think that might be it yeah

1:27:25Catherine Whitaker: there's a few more singles matches on first up I think tomorrow than there were today it's a slightly different right yeah slightly different schedule I think maybe there's a bit of rain in the air tomorrow. Ah. I think.

1:27:37Matt Roberts: Okay.

1:27:37Catherine Whitaker: So that might be a factor.

1:27:39Matt Roberts: I've got some jackets that haven't had a run out yet. And I need to do some washing of my hot weather clothes. So there we are. The weather potentially doing us a favour tomorrow. Folks, we have our mascots. Hello to Phoebe. Hello to Maisie. Hello to Roger. I met Maisie's owner today, Tom. while I was taking a selfie with myself, of course, and Laura Siegmund. He caught me taking a funny selfie with Laura Siegmund.

1:28:13Catherine Whitaker: Oh, I didn't know he was here. Fantastic.

1:28:15Matt Roberts: Yes. Yes, his wife, Christy, was in Centre Court and he was watching... Well, I think he was watching Hayley Baptiste and Katie McNally, actually, but Laura Segment, as she does, was forcing her way into the picture. Playing with Beatrice Hadadjmaya and they won. So hello Tom and hello lovely Maisie. Hello Roger and hello Phoebe, of course. Hello to our top folks and executive producers Greg, Chris and Jeff. Let's have some shout outs, Matt.

1:28:49Catherine Whitaker: We start with Laura Slattery.

1:28:52Matt Roberts: Oh, we know Laura.

1:28:54Catherine Whitaker: Laura Segment.

1:28:55Matt Roberts: Yeah.

1:28:56Catherine Whitaker: Exactly.

1:28:56Matt Roberts: Big day for Laura Hello Laura

1:29:00Catherine Whitaker: Laura's from Dublin and has been a listener since Wimbledon 2016 Wow

1:29:07Matt Roberts: Prima Andy Murray win Yep Yeah I met two Irish listeners today Oh

1:29:15David Law: God you were meeting everyone Yeah apparently so You need talk And you're Amanda Anissim over court That was fun wasn't it Yeah

1:29:24Matt Roberts: That was surrounded David and I arrived and Matt was sitting in the public seats because he arrived so early he could have his pick of where to sit and David and I arrived and actually there was a whole hoo-ha about where we needed to be sitting and we weren't in the wrong place and we got a bit stitched up. But anyway, we were up in the photographer's seats and when we sat down there was a bit of a commotion of people saying, where's Matt? And one lovely Geordie woman leaned over and said, where's Matt? He's the only reason I'm here. She was genuinely a bit irritated.

1:30:03Catherine Whitaker: I don't know what to say to that.

1:30:06Matt Roberts: Anyway, incredible scenes on court three. Laura, thank you very much.

1:30:10Catherine Whitaker: We've also got Kat McNamara from Richmond.

1:30:15Matt Roberts: Hello, Kat. Hi, Kat. Matt's neck of the woods. This is the Matt Roberts slam.

1:30:19Catherine Whitaker: Yeah.

1:30:21Matt Roberts: Richmond, south-west London, not Richmond, Virginia.

1:30:24Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, yeah. and Kat says I love watching tennis with my 11 year old black and white cat Charlie

1:30:31Matt Roberts: and I've been a listener

1:30:33Catherine Whitaker: since 2018

1:30:34Matt Roberts: I wonder if that's after Charlie Chaplin there's no cat lovely thanks Kat thank you Kat like no we've gone too soon with that I was going to say Casey McNally but that's

1:30:49David Law: Kat McNamara like Peter McNamara exactly

1:30:52Matt Roberts: very good

1:30:55Catherine Whitaker: and finally we have David Whittaker

1:30:59Matt Roberts: oh that's my dad that is my dad he says there's no need for a shout out

1:31:06Catherine Whitaker: as I get enough mentions throughout the year but I would like to hear Catherine say we know David

1:31:11Matt Roberts: we do know David we do

1:31:16David Law: we saw him yesterday

1:31:17Matt Roberts: David, it's weird to call him David he took a trip up to Solihull recently and hung out with David independently of me.

1:31:25Catherine Whitaker: We had a lovely time. I loved this so much.

1:31:29Matt Roberts: Yeah, it really was. It was very heartwarming for me. My two favourite Davids. It's taken me this long into my life, career and relationships with you to realise that my dad is called David and my brother's called Matt. It's wild, isn't it? Yeah. I'll speak to my therapist about it. Anyway, David, Kat and Laura. Thank you very much. For your support of the Tennis Podcast, if you'd like to become a friend of the pod, the link is in our show notes, as is the link to subscribe to the newsletter. It's free. It's excellent. That's where you get Matt's stats. They're not all Nicholas Jarry and Amanda Anisimova related.

1:32:14Matt Roberts: He's an equal opportunities stats guy.

1:32:18Catherine Whitaker: Correct. Yeah. Today's is nothing about either of them.

1:32:21Matt Roberts: Right, there you go.

1:32:23Catherine Whitaker: I'm looking forward to it. What's it about? Well, predictably, it's about seeds going out. Ah. Yeah, I thought it was time to do one about that.

1:32:34Matt Roberts: Yeah, Matt knows how to follow a story. It's also where you can keep abreast of our predictions competition.

1:32:40Catherine Whitaker: 60 points today. Thank you, Nicholas. Gary.

1:32:45Matt Roberts: Commitment to the bit pays off, I'm telling you. Absolutely. Matt congratulations for spending this whole show in a breathe right nose strip

1:32:53David Law: can have a day off tomorrow thank you

1:32:56Matt Roberts: absolutely is it going to make a sound effect when you take it off oh god folks thanks for listening thank you to Wimbledon for letting us be here and recording this incredible position thank you to The Athletic we are of course part of The Athletic podcast network do check out their stuff Charlie's stuff Matt's stuff they've got a brilliant live blog as well check it all out on The Athletic and The New York Times. We will be back tomorrow, not before 9.30 or whenever play finishes. The best way to know when we'll be with you is to subscribe to the channel because then you can get an alert when we are going live or you can keep across.

1:33:34Matt Roberts: Our socials will let you know there as well. We'll see you tomorrow. We're pumped. Thank you for watching. Thank you for listening. Goodbye for now.

1:33:48Matt Roberts: This episode is sponsored by HeyGen. HeyGen turns a script, photo, or presentation into a polished video of you in minutes, no camera or crew required. It's how real estate agents, financial advisors, attorneys, and creators show up consistently on every feed and build a brand that brings in clients without spending their whole week making content. Rated the number one AI video platform for small businesses on G2 with the most realistic AI avatars in the industry. trusted by a community of over 30 million people and 85 % of the Fortune 100 and built to work in over 175 languages so you can reach your audience in theirs.

1:34:22Matt Roberts: Here's the wild part. Record yourself for just 15 seconds and HeyGen builds an AI avatar that makes professional videos for you on demand so you can post everywhere your audience is, as yourself, without filming every time. Your first three videos are free at HeyGen.com slash pod. That's H-E-Y-G-E-N dot com slash P-O-D.

1:34:41Catherine Whitaker: Hi all, this is Kim and Penn Holderness from Lifeline.

1:34:44Matt Roberts: Summer is here, which means it's officially travel season.

1:34:47Catherine Whitaker: And when you're out there making plans, you need somewhere reliable to stay.

1:34:51Matt Roberts: That's why Best Western is such a solid option. This summer, get 1 ,000 bonus points and a chance to win 250 ,000 bonus points.

1:34:58David Law: So wherever you're headed, make it count with this limited time offer.

1:35:01Matt Roberts: Life's a trip. Make the most of it at bestwestern.com.

1:35:04David Law: No additional purchase necessary for sweeps. See bonus points, T's and C's and sweeps rules for details and visit bestwestern.com for complete terms and conditions.