Live from Wimbledon Day 5 - Osaka peaks for Sabalenka clash

0:00David Law: As a small business owner, you're the CEO, the marketing team, and the customer service rep all at once. I was recently talking to a shop owner who told me their worst nightmare isn't a slow day, it's the vanishing act. It's that moment you're inches away from a deadline and the Wi-Fi just disappears. We've all felt that pit in our stomach when the connection flares up right when it matters most. Your business is only as strong as your connection. AT &T Business is the reliable provider built for that exact brand of hustle. so you can stay focused on the work that builds your legacy. Powered by AT &T Business.

0:34David Law: Built to work. Get AT &T Business at business.att.com.

0:42Matt 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.

1:27Matt Roberts: Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast live from Wimbledon and presented by Barclays, the official banking partner of Wimbledon. It is day five of the championships. We have our first players through to the second week. It has been an absolutely stunning day here. It still is a stunning day, frankly. It's a beautiful evening, 9.30 local time. We're up here on the broadcast roof. our incredible position, overlooking the grounds, which are slowly being put to sleep for the night. Matt David, I want to start with the women's draw on today's show. Not just because we've had some great matches today, we have, but more than that, we have set up some absolutely tantalising, delicious matches for two days' time.

2:14Matt Roberts: How is this for a round of 16 line-up in this top half of the draw? Irina Sabalenka against Naomi Osaka, Karolina Mukova against Barbora Krejcikova, Jessica Pagula against Ivo Jovic, and Belinda Bencic against Coco Goff.

2:32David Law: I'm not sure it gets much better than that, any better than that. When we were over on Court 1, Catherine and I, just watching Coco Goff, really having to go through it against Claire Liu in a third set there. And I was thinking, right, Now, who does Coco Goff play if she wins this match? So I brought up the draw and I said, Catherine, have you seen this? Look at the top of this draw. You know, the fact that it's Sabalenka or Osaka with Osaka playing the way that she is. Peguli, your picks for the title. You know, and her draw is challenging as well. And then to think you've still got Coco Goff in there up against Belinda Bencic, which I always think of as just a great match-up, just a great contrast of styles.

3:16David Law: and then Krujcikova and Mukova I don't think you could get a more picturesque looking, ball striking ball caressing match than that

3:28Matt Roberts: I thought you were going to say pretty and then I would have said Grigol Dimitrov disagrees with you

3:33David Law: Yeah, I'm not Grigol

3:36Matt Roberts: When David said to me by the way, have you seen these matches? I said, yes David, please look at the agenda

3:46Catherine Whitaker: yeah it's great it's so good and yeah i think david's described it well like bencic's golf always has a little bit of edge to it pugula jovic got the two americans both great ball strikers mukova krejcikova both checks both with a great slice backhand and comfortable on this surface and sabalenka sarko is kind of the sort of real star power matchup that we hadn't seen for years and now we're seeing it all the time on different surfaces and I don't know I'm maybe more excited about it this time than I have been at any time recently when they've met so oh it's it's perfect like tomorrow's order of play is excellent but I'm also incredibly excited for

4:31Matt Roberts: Sunday already yeah it's great knowing that you've got backed up guaranteed great days ahead Should we start with Sabalenka and Osaka and kind of treat them as a duo because they're playing in the next round? Sabalenka beating Elena Rostepenko 6-4, 6-4, and Osaka dismissing Dario Kazekina 6-1, 6-3. Naomi Osaka has lost 15 games in three rounds in this tournament. I mean, there is something different about Naomi Osaka here. I think generally for a little while actually she talked about that a little bit in her press conference but she's never been like this at Wimbledon before I don't think

5:16David Law: No, no, we've never seen the real Naomi Osaka at Wimbledon in my opinion I think we're getting that now the clarity with which she's playing the ball striking is there, the movement is there it's all there and I do feel like the designs that she's got for her clothes that she comes out in have sort of empowered her as a presence on the court. She just looks really up for everything, you know. And that's, Catherine, you and I were talking a little bit about the United Cup at the start of this year when she didn't have that vibe about her. And I was a little concerned, but definitely seems to be in a really great place.

5:58David Law: My only concern from her perspective is that she just can't seem to get near Arena Sabalenka when they actually play. Not most of the time, anyway. And the most recent one being at Ronan Garros. And it's so tempting to think, well, this time it'll be different, because look how she's playing. But look, Sabalenka is just that good and seems to raise her own level against Osaka. But I won't get tired of seeing Osaka set up another one and have another go. I think when we were watching it in Paris, we did wonder how much longer can she keep taking drubbins like that and coming back with hope and optimism and all the grinds you have to go through, the travel and everything else, if she doesn't get any good news.

6:40David Law: But I don't think she's been playing better than this coming into one of those matches.

6:47Matt Roberts: She had some great lines about pretty much all those things you just mentioned there in her press conference, David. She was asked by Matt Futterman about the outfit. She had another slightly different one today. She's clearly got different iterations of this outfit for each round, which obviously this is a rather more light-hearted thing, but it reminded me of the US Open 2020 when she had the seven masks lined up with the seven names of victims of police brutality in the US. You know, she came in planning to reach the final. I'm not necessarily saying it's the same here, but she was obviously planning on reaching the third round at least because she had three outfits lined up and I think pretty much every Wimbledon she's played so far she wouldn't have been confident enough to have three outfits lined up for Wimbledon.

7:37Matt Roberts: And Matt Futterman put a really interesting twist on his line of questioning to her about the outfits. He sort of asked her, do you feel more comfortable talking about that element of things than tennis? And she said, in some ways, I feel a lot more equipped and qualified to talk about my clothes than my tennis. She said, I don't feel an expert on tennis in the way that I do on my outfits that I'm designing and that they're my thing. Now, obviously, she is an expert on tennis, but it's interesting that that is how...

8:11David Law: Must be a hell of a designer.

8:12Matt Roberts: That is how she feels. And she said, the longer I'm in the tournament, the more stories I get to tell with my outfits. And again, this is a far more lighthearted iteration, but it is the same approach she had to those masks. in 2020 i think sabalenka will probably beat her in the next round just because of that match-up but i feel the same as you i'm so glad that she seems to be in such a great place she was asked about the fact that um there had been rumors that she was gonna do these big outfit reveals these elaborate walk-on outfits not just for grand slams and she was going to start doing it on at tour level as well and she was like you guys seem to want me to rock up at cincinnati in a ball gown and I don't think that would be the right vibe she was yeah she was dishing out zingers she was really happy to be there and chat David she said yes to doing an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live she hung around on the roof afterwards to watch her countryman Shintaro Mochizuki's match here on the on that she would have been just over your shoulder David watching that match we'll talk about that in a minute and she was asked about mochizuki who was playing while she was in the press conference and she mentioned united cup david which really took me back to how alarmed we were by the way she was talking at the start of this year and it was a lovely answer she gave about mochizuki but also quite a revealing one as well she said yeah he's a lovely guy i've so much time for him he was the only one that really spoke to me at the united cup she said I'm not sure that was a great experience for her it wasn't didn't really feel like the right time to sort of interrogate her about that but it does sort of clarify maybe something was going on at the start of the year or at the United Cup but oh she's a vibe at the moment she's a vibe

10:09Catherine Whitaker: at this Wimbledon it's brilliant yeah it is and you know I think regardless of how it goes in a couple of days time against Sabalenka we can look back on the last few months and say that Osaka's had her best clay season and her best grass season and I think for her to keep feeling good about her sort of real prospects in this in this sport like she needs those wins along the way and I think having that and looking back on that will give her a lot to be encouraged about going in again to the hardcourt season where obviously she did so well last season so that's very encouraging I think as well and look the thing is with Sabalenka we can we can talk about Osaka's demeanor and how she's feeling and everything but there there have been these tennis reasons why Sabalenka has dominated their head-to-head this year and I suppose the reason I'm more intrigued by it is because I don't know if Sabalenka is at her most convincing on grass like I know like she's still very good on this surface she's reached semifinals here repeatedly but the fact that she hasn't won this tournament I don't actually think she's ever won a grass court title has she Sabalenka like there's there's probably a reason for that and I just wonder whether in my mind I've sort of written a saga off on on grass over the years but actually what we're seeing from her this year makes a lot of sense she's moving so much better on this surface and once she's got that right her ball strike is a problem for every opponent on this surface and if she's in that good place mentally maybe there's a way that it can come together but it's possible that matchup starts and again we're like oh that's what that's what this It used to happen last time.

12:07Catherine Whitaker: You know, like we see the Sabalenka drop shots and the slice and the variety and trying to come into the net and all that kind of stuff, which is added to her game in a way that Osaka hasn't quite so much. But can't wait for it. Really can't wait for it. And I'm pleased that it's kind of... Osaka's one of the only people that I could keep seeing these sorts of matchups through the year and keep seeing her lose to Sabalenka. and to David's point, I keep coming back with hope for the next time because I will always believe in the talent of Naomi Osaka and the potential top level of it. So I always maintain some hope in the match-up for her, even if what we've seen so far this year would suggest otherwise.

12:49Matt Roberts: And I do think what we've seen so far this tournament from Osaka has been close to peak, certainly in terms of grass and post-maternity leave Osaka. I'm not saying this is the level that won her those four grand slams, but recent Osaka feels pretty close to peak to me. Sabalenka hasn't been. I thought it was a great mental performance from her today against Ostapenko. She clearly knew exactly what she was in for, had prepared accordingly, was like settled in for no rhythm, fair bit of nonsense. Actually, there wasn't all that much nonsense, you know, eye rolls and... Standard. You know, that kind of stuff.

13:29But not much,

13:30Matt Roberts: but not a lot of rhythm from Yelena Ostapenko. It was a frustrating day from Sabalenka. She knew she wasn't going to have fun. She knew she just had to bear down and get through it. And she did, and it was impressive from that point of view. But it's not roundly convincing from Sabalenka. I certainly don't think it's anything that Osaka should fear on the basis of her form right now. It's just that we've seen what the match-up looks like.

13:57David Law: Plus, I believe she has come into matches with Osaka a little bit like this before and then found another gear. And I think that Osaka really gets her juices flowing. I think she makes her want to throw down, you know.

14:12Matt Roberts: And particularly with all this fashion stuff, I think that they share the same sponsor and Osaka's the fashion girl, isn't she? And I'm sure, well, not sure. I get the impression Sabalenka would quite like to be or certainly have more custom outfits maybe from her kit sponsor but that's Naomi Osaka's thing. I don't know what the deal is behind the scenes but I definitely think there's some edge there and obviously there's the, having formerly been with the same agency, Naomi Osaka leaving that agency shortly after the Battle of the Sexes event that was staged by that agency earlier or late last year.

14:53Matt Roberts: there's no love lost I don't think.

14:55David Law: There's plenty of backstory I mean Sabalenka always talks glowingly about what Osaka's wearing and thinks it says all the right things that it brings something to the game but there's definitely an edge in terms of how she plays I think she wants to make a point when she plays she wants to be at her absolute best to show everybody no no kind of she's yesterday's champion I'm today's and And I think it's quite difficult to look at your best when you're playing Ostopenko. You just don't get rhythm. You get loads of errors and occasionally blistering winners from the other end. But it played out, honestly, how I expected it to.

15:36David Law: One player has more control over the ball than the other and more options. And I thought it was fairly straightforward, really.

15:43Matt Roberts: Yeah, I agree. In fact, the biggest headline from it, probably that Yelena Ostopenko seems to have lost her Tesco sponsorship. centre court playing the world number one Tesco nowhere to be seen

15:56David Law: maybe her asking price went up

16:00Matt Roberts: I informed Millie my sister-in-law who gave us the intel on the Tesco patch not being there for the doubles yesterday and she said maybe they googled her

16:13Matt Roberts: maybe they didn't do their due diligence in advance anyway I'm pleased she made hay while the Tesco sun was shining, albeit briefly. So Sabalenka to play Osaka, the winner of that to take on the winner of Barbora Krejcikova against Karolina Mukova. That is right, isn't it?

16:37Catherine Whitaker: Yes, that's right.

16:39Matt Roberts: Krejcikova, Matt. Hannah confidently declared midway through the first set of this match, a woman that has publicly predicted that Emma Navarro will win this Wimbledon, Barbora Krejcikova is going to win Wimbledon again. What's Navarro going to do? Yeah. Is she wrong?

16:59Catherine Whitaker: I couldn't possibly say that Hannah's wrong. I think, you know, in the same way that Osaka, you watch Osaka and you have this feeling in the back of the mind that she could come alive again. When you see Krejcikova doing this, it just gives you a feeling of, oh she's doing that thing again which we've seen a couple of times before at majors where she gets her teeth into them she's fit and healthy and that tennis reminds everyone how good it is this had a real like student teacher master apprentice vibe to it you know like krig shikova played the big points well in the first set actually barton kover had i think 11 break points in the first set only converted a couple of them whereas Craig Chicova was three out of three and that was enough for that opening set and then really Craig Chicova should have won this 6-3-6-2 she went up a double break in the second set I was actually up here watching it on on the on the roof here and I thought well this is over Craig Chicova has got this because she's played so well she's more potent than Barton Kovar and she's she's just a superior player at this moment and she's going to cruise through but then some of the demons maybe from from the previous round kicked back in and we saw her need what seven match points eight match points maybe in the in the previous round and today she served for it once got broken served for it again got broken and ended up needing five match points to come through it and that's two matches in a row now where she had a bit of a wobble trying to close it out.

18:38Catherine Whitaker: And, you know, in a way that is quite, quite cheek of her. She does have these quite dramatic matches and conclusions of matches. Sometimes she's on the other end of it and saving all the match points. We've seen her do that many, many times. But I think that's probably the only area of her game that would cause any concern at the moment, like tightening up at the closing stage. And that is quite a big thing. Like someone may well be able to exploit that, But Bartonkova wasn't quite and Krejcikova got through. And honestly, I think of all the excellent round four women's matches we've talked about, like just tennis-wise, as a tennis match, I'm most into Krejcikova-Mukova.

19:23Catherine Whitaker: Like I can't wait to watch it.

19:24Matt Roberts: It's beautiful, isn't it? Is Mukova the player that can exploit that weakness with closing? I think she might get away with it a bit longer I mean I agree tennis wise I could see a Wimbledon champion a two time Wimbledon champion in what I've seen so far from Craig Cheek of her the closing does worry me quite a lot there are so many good players still in this draw that will get their teeth into that

19:54Catherine Whitaker: yeah I think the closing and does the body hold up is another question mark today she did yeah I'm not saying that there's any cause for concern yet it's just she's in as we've said a tough section of the draw she had to be dialed in early in this tournament and it it almost feels a bit pack hunter-y you know like she's having to go through so many players one after the other I just have a you just feel like maybe eventually something's going to catch up with her and she's going to have to play two really grueling matches back to back or something like that and her history generally is of of a pretty injured player so i that that's my doubt because the tennis is great so yeah the closing and the and the physicality of these tournaments

20:37Matt Roberts: i can't believe i'm saying this but fourth round is this mukov is does this equal mukov's

20:42Catherine Whitaker: best no she's reached the quarters a couple of times right okay so one more round and that would equal her but it is years ago isn't it yes i think it's 2019 and 2021 wow i believe yeah so She hadn't won a match at Wimbledon since 2021, prior to this one.

20:58Matt Roberts: Straight sets for her over Menacharya Svankiau today, who's been a joy this Wimbledon. And there's an incredible picture of her just looking gleeful on the court, kind of knowing she'd left it all out there and taken a huge step forward in her career by reaching the third round here. But yeah, Mukovovara against Krejcikovova, the winner of that to take on the winner of Sabalenka Osaka in the second quarter of this half, if you like. We have Jessica Pagula and Eva Jovic and Coco Goff against Belinda Bencic. So Pagula today, no problems at all against both us, Monero 6-2, 6-3. Would that be fair to say, Matt?

21:39Catherine Whitaker: Yes, honestly, this was, you know, kind of one of those matches that passed me by a little bit today, but it looked very comfortable.

21:46Matt Roberts: and Jovic not so 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 for her against Ekaterina Alexandrovich goodness me she's tough Eva Jovic she's right on that player to play for your life list

22:03David Law: you know she said something in her press conference at the outset of this tournament that I've so rarely heard a young player say she says I always like to be the favourite in my matches I don't want to be the underdog You know, how many players want to be the underdog to take the pressure off? To her, being the favourite gives her belief. It's so different. And she says, I think the better I get, the higher I go, the better it'll be for me because I'll be in that position more often. It's so interesting.

22:36Matt Roberts: And she loves grass. I think, I mean, she's incredibly young. She hasn't played on it much, but it so clearly suits her and she knows it. She was asked in her press conference about taking on Pegula, who's so comfortable on the grass, and she was like, yeah, but me too. And she's really walking that line of precociousness well, I think. I think it's really cool to hear somebody like her not have imposter syndrome, to have plenty of respect for her peers, and she clearly has loads for Pegula, but she's not afraid of her. She's here to take her down.

23:14Catherine Whitaker: the grounds will be closing in around 15 minutes please make your way to the exit gates 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 he does a very tight suit zoom now Matthew yeah he really wants me to look at the camera uh it was beautifully done Jovic had lost we're moving on from that Jovic had lost seven deciding sets in a row going into this one she hadn't won a deciding set since Dubai earlier on in the season wow and I was very impressed with her like stress management today because this was this was tight and tense and pretty messy yeah you know it was it was a good match but it was it was about who could control their emotions and stress out there and keep their game under control and look that is not alexandreva's calling card and jovic did it so much better today particularly not in slams indeed exactly um and she had a huge support crew out there as well Jovic like really like a big a big sort of team following her and yeah she saved a break point at four all in the in the third and then and then broke to win it but she'd been three love up in the decider Jovic and been pegged back to four three this could have been very very stressful but she just managed it really well and yeah I mean I'm impressed that that she did that and I do think Pagula's the favourite I think she's got at this stage kind of a bigger weight of shot she's got more experience I think she's got better hands as well for this surface but Jovic is tough and I do think that'll be a close match

25:14Matt Roberts: I still can't believe it's the same player I commented on 18 months ago looking like a child against Elena Rabakined just looking so not ready for senior proper tennis. And here she is totally mixing it with them. OK, I think she's a way off being in the mix for slams, but the ground she has made up in 18 months is incredible.

25:46David Law: The fact that she's in that line-up of eight players that we've gone through and I'm kind of as excited about her as I am about many of the others. She doesn't like stand out in a real weak link. And also it doesn't feel like we're not even sort of singling her out

25:59Matt Roberts: as like, oh, exciting youngster making a breakthrough. It's just like, yeah. It's kind of where she belongs. She's arrived.

26:05Catherine Whitaker: Yeah.

26:05Matt Roberts: Yeah. And that's just happened so quickly. It's like chodar, isn't it?

26:09David Law: And she carries herself. And I would say she's ahead of him. She carries herself around the press room. I watched, I didn't go into her press conference today, but she walked right past me and just even the way she talks to the communications staff and the journalists, everything's so matter of fact. She has got used to this already.

26:28Matt Roberts: Well, she's had advice from Novak Djokovic as well throughout her career. Yeah. He's good with mentorship of young players, I think. And obviously she's got Serbian heritage, hasn't she? So the winner of Pagula against Jovic to take on the winner of Goff-Bencic, Matt, the match that you had kind of circled as problematic for Goff, no matter how well she might be playing. And I still don't quite know exactly how well Goff is playing.

27:02Catherine Whitaker: I was going to ask you, actually, because I think, didn't you go out there? Yeah, we went out for the deciding set.

27:07David Law: And I was watching the end of that second set when, honestly, she should have won that in straight sets. And look, Claire Liu has been playing really well recently. She was dangerous out there. And once Goff had three match points at the end of the second set, which she didn't take, I thought this could be curtains for her, really. Not that I don't believe in Coco Goff, but I struggle with Coco Goff grass court player and Wimbledon player because the results just aren't there, particularly in recent years. She just has looked so uncomfortable. But then she got through that one the other day, didn't she?

27:48David Law: And Catherine and I went out there. And honestly, she was three love up. Sorry, two one up with a break in minutes. And never looked threatened, really, did she? Because she just tightened everything up. I went into her press conference, by the way. And I was looking at her service stats. and I think she's hit 11 double faults in the last five hours of tennis in these two matches that she's just played, obviously long matches. She just says, I'm just going for the serve. I mean, she hit a 122 late on. She started talking about, sometimes I need to go for more slices. But basically, if I go for my serve, the rest of the game feels positive.

28:32David Law: it doesn't feel like she's kind of trying to protect something in the way that she was before might not always work but i think that is a better way to go i think it simplifies things for her yeah

28:43Matt Roberts: i do think the forehand looks like it can get a bit pushy still on uh on grass from what i've seen like she's not always confident in heading through it but i do like her slice for i do like her underspin forehand. I know it's not an aggressive shot, but she's so excellent in defence that I really don't mind it from her. If she is having a period of feeling shakier on her forehand, she's got that in the locker. So I'd be surprised if she didn't give Bencic a run for her money, but Bencic has to be the favourite here, right? Although 7-6 in the third for her today against Kalinskaya. This messy as well?

29:28Catherine Whitaker: yes but just a battle you know like just two great hitters from the baseline um there was again there was a bit of there was a bit of edge to it they both they both seemed a little bit annoyed with some of the noise that was that was happening around this around this match and this court and they were friendly at the end it wasn't i don't think there was any aggro between them it It was just like the whole occasion was just a bit spicy. I think Bengtšić called it a sort of Mickey Mouse sort of organisation at one point with so much noise going on. Whipple tin. Yeah.

30:05David Law: Why me?

30:06Catherine Whitaker: Yeah. It's kind of, it's definitely not that, but okay, I realise it's the heat of the battle. So that was going on. And Bengtšić was up a break in the Decider. Kaneska gets it back. And then we headed into this tiebreak, and Bengtchik's played a fantastic final set tiebreak. Really good. Found her serve, which had been letting her down a little bit through that deciding set. But I'm excited for Goff-Bengtchik. That's a matchup where, again, I think Bengtchik quite likes a lot of it. She can target the Goff forehand. She's comfortable off both wings, going cross-court with her forehand or down the line with her backhand.

30:48Catherine Whitaker: She's got elements in her game that can hurt Goff for sure. And they've had a little bit of aggro on court in the past. What's that aggro been?

30:57Matt Roberts: I'm always confused about anybody managing to have aggro with Coco Goff.

31:00Catherine Whitaker: I can't remember exactly what it was, but Benchik was annoyed about Goff. And Goff stood her ground and said something back to her. I can't quite remember the reason for that. But yeah, it was definitely there. and yeah, I don't know. I'm interested in how they schedule these matches as well. I think they'll use centre one and two. I think there'll be one match on court two, which my guess would be Pugula Jovic will be out there. But I mean, I would love Goff-Bancic to be on centre. I do think Sabalenka-Usaka will be on centre. It's just that to get the two women on, you have to bump one of Sinner or Djokovic off centre.

31:44Catherine Whitaker: I'm not sure they'll do that. Sin has already been on court one. I'm not convinced Djokovic will play off centre court, but I would love them to put two of these on centre because I think they deserve it.

31:56David Law: Can I just query the point you made about Bencic must be the favourite in this match? See, I think she's the more natural grass court player, but I would still make Goff the favourite, personally. I would pick Goff. what would you two think?

32:16Catherine Whitaker: I would pick Bencic

32:19Matt Roberts: I think I would pick Bencic but I

32:22Catherine Whitaker: but I guess you know Goff's got the pedigree that's what I would go with that's what you would go with

32:28David Law: I feel actually I do feel like Bencic given her gifts hasn't got the results to match the gifts so far in her career

32:37Matt Roberts: if it was a final I'd pick Goff

32:39David Law: if it was the Wimbledon final

32:41Matt Roberts: I'd pick Goff but I think fourth round on the basis I think it'll be about the tennis and I think in that match up on grass I get Bencic

32:52Catherine Whitaker: Yeah look I think Goff's done really well this tournament but you know Sierra was very very close to beating her probably should have beaten her Liu pushed it to three today I know Bencic almost lost as well to Kanan Skaya I just think Bencic can put herself in a position maybe similar to what Sierra did and I've just trust her a bit more to close it out, I guess.

33:18David Law: There was a good question from Matt Futterman in the press conference to Goff about are we getting into that stage of the tournament where the locker room's getting a little more empty and it's maybe focusing your attention because you've been there and done this. She said, not yet. She said, today I've really struggled to get a table at lunch. but maybe one more round and we're starting to get into territory that not that many of them have been

33:45Matt Roberts: in you know okay the struggle of being a tennis player is so real isn't it struggling to get a table at lunch okay uh that is it for the women's we're going to talk about the men in a moment

33:58David Law: today's show is brought to you by vanguard to all the financial advisors listening let's talk bonds for a minute. Capturing value in fixed income isn't easy. Bond markets are massive, murky, and let's be real, lots of firms throw a couple of flashy funds your way and call it a day, but not Vanguard. Vanguard bonds are institutional quality. Institutional quality isn't a tagline, it's a commitment to your clients. It means top grade products across the board. Vanguard's been the game a long time and their scale gives them a serious edge. They're able to invest across all kinds of sectors, maturities and geographies, which means they can spot and act on opportunities that others might miss.

34:42David Law: 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.

35:02Catherine Whitaker: Hi, all this is Kim and Penn Holderness from Lifeline.

35:05David Law: Summer is here, which means it's officially travel season.

35:09Catherine Whitaker: And when you're out there making plans, you need somewhere reliable to stay.

35:12David Law: That's why Best Western is such a solid option.

35:14Catherine Whitaker: This summer,

35:15Matt Roberts: get 1000 bonus points and a chance to win 250 ,000 bonus points.

35:20David Law: So wherever you're headed, and make it count with this limited time offer.

35:22Matt Roberts: Life's a trip. Make the most of it at bestwestern.com.

35:25David 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. This episode is sponsored by Michael's, your destination for all things birthday parties. We just had Lucky's first birthday and it was so great to be able to go into Michael's and get everything. Of course, I knew they had craft supplies there,

35:45Matt Roberts: but I didn't realize how expansive their party supplies were And Michael's really is where you can go to get everything for a party, whether you're planning a kid's birthday or even an adult celebration. They've got over 4 ,500 party supplies, more than 60 different themes, and prices starting at just 99 cents.

36:02David Law: Plus, they've recently lowered prices on hundreds of items. We found adorable decorations, balloons, everything we needed to pull the party together without making a bunch of different shopping trips. Plus, I always have a good time going to Michael's. I love shopping there. I could just browse the aisles forever. But if you're short on time, like I always seem to be, you can also get same-day delivery or buy online and pick up at the store. They even offer free helium inflation on select balloon styles, which is such a lifesaver, and it was for our party, truly. So if you've got a birthday coming up or just a celebration, remember, Michael's, everything to celebrate anything.

36:39David Law: Visit Michael's in-store or shop online now.

36:47Matt Roberts: Right, let's talk about the men's matches from today and what's been set up. Because a slightly different flavour, I think, about the men's top half here in terms of the round of 16 matches that we have set up today. Yannick Sinner against Shintaro Mochizuki. Winner of that to take on the winner of Hubert Hercacz and Jan-Leonard Struff. Felix Auger-Eliassime to take on Alejandro Davidovic for Kina and the winner of that to take on Novak Djokovic against Roman Sifulin. Let's start with Djokovic, shall we? 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 against credible Arta Rindeknesh. We're the sprinkling, David, of...

37:33David Law: Fun.

37:33Matt Roberts: The fun Arta Rindeknesh. The circus act Arta Rindeknesh. Has he found the perfect balance of the two Rindekneshes?

37:42David Law: I did think he found it just right today. If anything, he needed a little bit more fun in the first two sets. He was a little bit in his shell, I thought. And Djokovic was right there for him to get at early on. Djokovic was in grouchy mood early on in this match. Everything was irritating him. He got an early break. He then got broken back. Everything was a problem. His shoes didn't work. It was the box's fault. They're all panicking and looking for new ones. Nothing seemed quite right in his world. And he was irritable. He was really irritable all match. And he made that point pretty much in his interview on court at the end that he felt much better in the previous match, beating Stefan Assisi Pass in straight sets.

38:32David Law: I mean, that stands to reason, given the scoreline. But I didn't feel like Rinder Kinesh was doing enough to be warranting this level of irritability from Djokovic at that time. But he got himself a two-sets-to-love advantage. Then he seemed to lose focus. Rinder Kinesh started to play really well and went three-love up. And honestly, he got to five-love. And I asked you to look up for me the group. Has he ever lost a six-love set at Wimbledon, Djokovic? And he never has. He's lost four in his career, you told me. In slams. In slams. Sorry. And he did manage to get a game. And he actually got the game after he's five left down.

39:14David Law: When he's five left down, he punched himself in the thigh 11 times. Really thumped himself with frustration.

39:23Matt Roberts: Well, he was asked about that in the press conference afterwards, about hitting his legs. And he said, it's nothing major. He said, I was just trying to wake my muscles up.

39:33David Law: Yeah.

39:36Matt Roberts: sometimes sometimes for some reason they shut down he said so i was trying to lift my spirit

39:41David Law: lift my energy i get that i get that you know if you you've sat in the one position oh my leg's gone to sleep but anyway um that's what i do uh but no he's not trying to win the wimbledon title that is true you know i'm just sat here talking about the tennis i've seen for a day but in the fourth set it was really good it was great stuff both players brought it Djokovic dialed back in Rindiknes was playing the best tennis he'd played all match and then he started to win a couple of rallies that Djokovic was playing well in and Rindiknes is chasing down drop shots hitting winners and then starting to showboat it was great stuff he's going up to the crowd and doing like this in their face because he's just in a winner.

40:32David Law: And then they get into the ladder stages. They have an extended rally and they both ended up on the floor on match point having dived for a shot. I mean, Djokovic, I felt, probably dived for a ball to put it away that he probably didn't need to, but it was very, very entertaining and theatrical. It was great. It was great stuff.

40:54Matt Roberts: Made for an excellent photo and they're both sort of looking at one another through the net, weren't they, as they both lay on the ground at the end of the match.

41:02David Law: It was a really quite uplifting hour of tennis, that was. And Djokovic needed that.

41:09Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, and it's classic. It was a classic example of how he still got the thing, Djokovic, of being able to win big moments. Rinderhash really pushed him today. Played great tennis. Djokovic said after the time pressed he was, and it was the first time he'd ever met. And I think he was actually quite pleasantly surprised by the game that Rindekinesh had.

41:34Matt Roberts: He had probably seen the Rindekinesh against Sinner.

41:36Catherine Whitaker: He was a joker in my draw.

41:38David Law: If I can survive those five games where he's, I mean, Alcaraz plus Sinner plus Bublik.

41:45Catherine Whitaker: But that ability to just like hyper-focus in the big moment. And he was, what, 3-4 down in that fourth set tie break? In a bit of trouble, Djokovic, and he served back-to-back aces. he just finds this within him still he can do that

42:01Matt Roberts: he's so proud of the level that he found in that tie break

42:05Catherine Whitaker: and I think I agree with David that the final shot he hit was kind of for dramatic effect he didn't need to fall over but the one before it that made Rindikanesh fall over was an incredible piece of skill on the run he just hit this deft slice that barely went over the net like the skill level of that man is a joke and yeah I just think it's that thing isn't it like we saw it in Australia where he was really good at the start of the tournament and then he sort of lost his form a little bit halfway through it and had the Mazzetti match where he got lucky because Mazzetti retired but that he says that happens to him more now every day is more unpredictable he was talking about and how he can lose form a little bit from one day to another.

42:52Catherine Whitaker: And I think that's probably his biggest problem until he gets to Sinner, I would say. Because I don't think... Look, Felix Orjaliacin was excellent tonight. Roman Cefulim was excellent today. But I'm not sure they're beating Djokovic in his top form. But I think they might be able to beat the Djokovic that we saw for large patches of today. you know like certainly Felix so that's that's something he's going to have to navigate over the next few days because I think we just assume that Djokovic is always going to play the same because no about Djokovic but at this stage in his career he has to ride those ups and downs a bit

43:33Matt Roberts: more yeah I mean he has told this today that sometimes for some reason he doesn't know his

43:38David Law: muscles shut down that's not ideal no no I suppose when you're 39 maybe you do it's entirely normal

43:46Matt Roberts: and okay but yeah it potentially i don't know you guys could be a problem just on sufulin that he plays next might be my performance of the day roman sufulin definitely mine joel fonseca he was absolutely unbelievable fonseca looked a bit show shocked actually he was kind of in a daze throughout this whole match like what is what is happening here this guy's 132 in the world he's a he's a qualifier not in a disrespectful way but I think Fonseca was like whoa like really rocked on his heels by Sifuelin who was sublime and it reminded me that he's he reached the quarter finals here three years ago Roman Sifuelin 2023 lost to lost to Yannick Sinner he's had horrendous injuries I did not have on my bingo card for today being emotional about Roman Sifuelin but His post-match interview got me in the gut.

44:46Matt Roberts: He was a wreck out there. He said, I didn't know whether I would be able to come back to play tennis, let alone be reaching the second week of Wimbledon. And how. I mean, I have questions about whether he's a big stage, big occasion player. My question is whether he brings what he brought today against Djokovic on what I assume will be centre court. But if he does, that's serious grass court tennis.

45:15Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, it is. He's very comfortable on this surface. He takes the ball quite early, hits it flat. He's comfortable up at the net. And he just kind of ambushed Fonseca today and schooled him, really, about how to play on this surface. And, yeah, we've known about Sifulin for a little while, as you said, with that run a few years ago. Even before that, he was part of the HP Cup team, I think, back when Russia were playing. And Medvedev was talking about how he would always lose swimming juniors. And he was a good player. And he kind of didn't break through in the way that Medvedev, Hachinov, Rublev did.

45:54Catherine Whitaker: But he's a good player. And, yeah, he's already won three, five set matches this tournament. He won one in qualifying and then he won his first two rounds here in deciding set tie breaks. One of them against Rublev. He's had to fight through, but he's so much tough. And I thought he sensed the moments today against Fonseca where he could raise it. And I have the same feeling as you. Centre core against Djokovic is different. It's, you know, you might freeze. Or not freeze, but he might not be able to play with quite the sharpness that he did today. and Djokovic will make him more uncomfortable, I think, than Fonseca did.

46:33Catherine Whitaker: But he was fantastic today and, yeah, he absolutely deserved to get through.

46:41Matt Roberts: Winner of that, Djokovic against the Fuel Interface, the winner of Felix Rogeliasim and Alejandro Davidovic-Vikina. Felix, very comfortable tonight against Michael Zhang. Final match on centre court, 7-6, 6-2, 6-1. Dialed in, Felix, David, you were very impressed.

46:58David Law: I really was. And it was a satisfying watch to me because it was so clean. There was a thud to the ball. Every shot was hit with intent. Every shot was hit to hurt. You know, he doesn't go for wild swings to try and hit one-shot winners, but he just bludgeoned him into the turf, really. I mean, Zhang's a good player. And he lost his way late on, but only because when he was playing well it wasn't enough you know this is the Argelia scene that beat Zverev at the US Open where he was a bit he was taking more risks but he was playing there then he was playing sort of underdog tennis and playing above his level I felt he found a level here he's playing favorite tennis you know he's third seed and he's playing like it you know it's like he he owned that court he he was i think it was his first time on center right and and he just he just made you feel like yeah i am the third seed i belong in that position because of my ranking i'm out here to get to my seeding which means right in the end zone of the the tournament now the truth is because jokovic is the seventh seed that's a bit misleading um but I'd be very surprised if they don't meet and the way he's playing Djokovic would have to be really on it I think

48:28Matt Roberts: Is David underestimating Alejandro Davidovich for Kina there Matt?

48:34Catherine Whitaker: No I don't think he is

48:37Matt Roberts: Just won a title into the fourth round He's very good

48:41Catherine Whitaker: and I'm so impressed how he's backed up that title it would have been easy for him to have had a real crash after finally winning

48:50Matt Roberts: I think I was expecting it.

48:51Catherine Whitaker: After finally winning a title after all this time. But he's kept it going. And he's done really well, I think, to get to this stage. But I owe backing Felix in that one. I think he's more convincing. I think his plan A is more effective than anything Davidovich Fakina's got. He's got firepower, Davidovich Fakina. and he can be electric, but he doesn't have the nuts and bolts plan of how to win a point that Orjeliasim has got. I hear you. You know, the big serve, the big forehand. He has the bread and butter. Exactly. If that's firing as it is this tournament, he's rock solid, Orjeliasim. And especially tonight under the roof.

49:38Catherine Whitaker: I mean, that was just perfect for him when that roof came on for sets two and three. We know he's a better player indoors.

49:43Matt Roberts: He'll be asking for last on.

49:46David Law: Yeah, I just imagine if he got a couple more last ons. I mean...

49:51Matt Roberts: It's a game changer for him, I think.

49:52David Law: All but one of his titles have come indoors. One of the best indoor tennis players in the world. Yeah.

49:59Matt Roberts: So that's the second quarter, those two round of 16 matches. In terms of the top, Yannick Sinner beat Jenson Bricksby today, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Did a finger-to-the-ear celebration.

50:13David Law: Oh, we like that.

50:14Matt Roberts: Yeah, and he was really, he was asked about it a lot. He was asked about it on the court and in the press conference. And I think he was a bit sort of taken aback by how much people really picked up on it. Like, oh, I didn't mean to make a big deal out of this. Is this you missing Alcaraz? I'm not trying to be Carlos Alcaraz. Yeah, obviously the internet is loving it. He played better, I thought, and he thought that too. he described it as a small step forward I still have some gap to gain in fact I found a lot of his comments in the post-match press conference today Matt very validating of your take that he's potentially regretting not playing a warm-up event or not regretting but certainly maybe feeling like he underestimated how different that would be if he goes on to win it then it won't matter will it how that it took him a bit longer to find his feet but right at the moment I think he might be feeling like oh okay this just rocking up here and playing well isn't

51:21Catherine Whitaker: isn't as easy as I hoped yeah that feeling of oh I'd like to be playing a bit better by now in this in this tournament and look he was better today he served really well to start this match like so convincing on the serve. Immediately when I got out to number one court, you could tell the difference in the sound that Sinner's ground strokes make compared to Brooksby's. Brooksby's were thin off the strings. There's not a real pop to it or a thud, which there is with Sinner when he goes after the ball. And he looked, he was pretty comfortable, I would say, but you weren't watching it in the way you often watch Sinner and just think, well, he's winning the tournament.

52:07Matt Roberts: Who will ever beat him? Yeah, like he's so convincing.

52:10Catherine Whitaker: Where do you go?

52:11Matt Roberts: And looks so in his comfort zone. Totally. It's not giving that at the moment. It's not like that at the moment.

52:15Catherine Whitaker: And what I would say is that he played the match well because there are little moments that Brooksby had break points in the middle of the second set. Sinner saved them and then broke in the next game. And it just felt like it was a two-game swing that kind of just broke Brooksby's spirit a bit. He didn't break and then he gets broken. And then in the third set, he went down a break sinner, but it got it back immediately. And he got broken when trying to serve it out, but then broke back to win. He just didn't let any small fires grow into something bigger. He just stopped them quickly. So that was good.

52:51Catherine Whitaker: And he also, as the match went on, I thought he started to play with a bit more variety. You know, first set was very much big serving, big hitting, but actually he sprinkled in some slice, he sprinkled in some serve volley, he was trying to get to the net a little bit more as this match went on and I think that was hopefully a good sign that he's feeling a bit more comfortable on the court. But look, I think he's been helped by the draw here because really the two names I was most worried about for him in his section before a potential semi-final and I wasn't that worried but a little bit were Medvedev and Tommy Paul.

53:32Matt Roberts: We're coming on to Medvedev

53:34Catherine Whitaker: and they've both gone today so I just think he's still got the time to find what he wants to find on the surface

53:44Matt Roberts: Just one point I wanted to highlight from Sinner, a couple of lines from him, one from the on-court interview and a similar one from the post-match interview in the on-court interview he said I tried to rush to the finish line he said and then in the post in the press conference he said it was really important to finish when I did it could mean nothing he's speaking a second language it could have just meant like yeah you want to get the job done as quickly as possible and get your feet up and move on it's the sort of line that if he ends up losing at some point or suffering from physical issues in a long match we will go back to and with hindsight say well the signs were there.

54:26Matt Roberts: I just wanted to circle those because I immediately my ears pricked up when I heard him say that in the on-court interview and then to hear him repeat it in the press conference I just thought hmm that's a slightly curious thing to be saying sort of after a straight set fairly comfortable not lengthy win. Another thing he said in his press conference I think this was in the Italian section because I've seen it reported by the Italian journalists you know Iga Shontek's parents were in the Royal Box on Tuesday when she came out as the defending champion he said that his parents were invited on Monday to come and watch him be the defending champion I guess that's maybe something the club are doing which is lovely I think he said I was offered to bring my parents but I didn't even ask them he didn't tell them that the offer was there he said I know them and it wasn't even up for discussion wow as in like I think they would have hated it watching I think they have quite a bad time watching stressful situations don't they do you want to be next to Cliff Richard when that's happening

55:35Catherine Whitaker: I mean the food not in the royal box today

55:39Matt Roberts: really

55:39David Law: the food does seem quite nice Cliff Richard was in front of Robert McNichol I sent that screenshot

55:46Catherine Whitaker: to Robert McNichol and he replied oh dear

55:49Matt Roberts: does he know it's on our Instagram no he does not he does now I don't think he has Instagram so I needn't have outed myself there no okay the people are loving it Robert don't worry

56:00Catherine Whitaker: yeah absolutely loving it he says that Cliff does watch a lot of the tennis I said he's gone I was in Centre Court watching Felix Orgello's team I could see Robert McNichol but I couldn't see Cliff Richard I said where's he gone he said he's just left but to be fair to him he does say he'll watch a lot

56:18David Law: He is responsible for my first ever live tennis experience. He used to put on Cliff Richard and Friends. Like Gail and Friends. Every Christmas, just before Christmas, I went down. My mum would always get tickets. And we went down to Brighton and we watched Cliff Richard. And he invited various tennis players. back then it was Claire Wood who was the British number one and various other British tennis players and Frank Bruno turned up because he's his friend as well it's great fun I feel like I've just watched an episode of Alan Partridge

57:00Matt Roberts: and it was incredible Frank Bruno turned up

57:08Catherine Whitaker: well you came back to tennis it didn't put you off forever I loved it I had a great time.

57:15Matt Roberts: So are you saying we wouldn't all be here without Cliff Richard right now? Probably, yeah. Cliff, we thank you. Incidentally, we've probably lost all of our American viewers and listeners because the first conversation I had when I got in today, this morning, was, well, it was a conversation that was already going on that I walked into in the media workroom between Matt and Team Athletic. They were having a debate, and I was confronted with the question, Catherine, name a British pop culture figure. What was the question?

57:48Catherine Whitaker: I believe it was a sort of British institution that an American wouldn't know.

57:55Matt Roberts: Yeah, somebody that's a 10 out of 10 household name here that an American wouldn't know. And the answer was Cliff Richard. And Ava Wallace, our friend and colleague from The Athletic, was being given a hard time as an American for not knowing who Cliff Richard is. and I said, I think that's completely acceptable. I wouldn't expect anybody outside of the UK to know Cliff Richard. You all right with that as a Cliff fan? Yeah, it's fine. He's a, just like Arthur Ferry, he's a budget Alcaraz. Cliff's a budget Elvis, right?

58:29Catherine Whitaker: That's exactly how Charlie described it.

58:32Matt Roberts: I think he'd be all right with that description. Where are we? Shintaro Mochizuki, Yannick Sinners.

58:38David Law: There's a bit of a nasty bug bit. Could you just talk amongst yourselves while I get rid of the bugs, please? Yeah.

58:45Mokshizuki, we love him.

58:46David Law: Oh, yeah. Tell me what it's like as a player to watch him. I mean, I know what he's like coming out of his mouth because I went to his press conference.

58:54Catherine Whitaker: Well, he is, like, by ATP player standards, teeny tiny. Yep. There's not much of him.

59:02David Law: I stood next to him, I could tell you that.

59:05Catherine Whitaker: But he loves the grass. He's a junior champion here at Wimbledon from a few years ago. And you can tell that when he gets on this surface, he's just a lot more dangerous. He can make up for the size gap. He doesn't have like a big weapon, but he takes the ball early and he's so comfortable at the net. Loves coming forward. Won 40 of 46 points at the net today against Hodder.

59:32David Law: That is an incredible record.

59:33Catherine Whitaker: So good.

59:34David Law: Is Hodder's passing and lobbing? not up to much.

59:37Catherine Whitaker: I mean, no. Like, he's still a bit stiff, I think, in the tennis player, and Mochizuki can exploit that. And once he got into this match, he lost the first set 6-1, Mochizuki. Once he got into it, he was comfortable out there. He had a massive support on court 18. And he first came to my attention, really, I saw him beat Fritz in Tokyo a few years ago, and he went on a run in that tournament. And he hasn't really happened since then I think he has found the transition hard because he is undersized compared to a lot of the tour and I think that is always going to hold him back to some extent but I think he's going to have weeks where it all comes together all comes alive and he's going to be I think he could be like a sneaky Wimbledon guy like if he can get himself into the draw I think he can have runs at this tournament and yeah he was awesome and so pleased for him he managed to get the win and then David you went to his press conference

1:00:37David Law: he's already won six matches there is one more for a Grand Slam normally but he qualified so he came through all those rounds he's an endearing guy I mean he came in the first thing he did was sat down looked at the little Evian can that was on the table and he looked at me and he said am I allowed to drink this and I said yeah I think we can allow that that's fine I mean it's not mine but you know go ahead um and anyway i i asked him um about playing sinner next you know do you know how how well do you know sinner what do you think about playing him he gave such a fascinating answer he doesn't know him personally but he says you know to me he's a celebrity and he said uh i said he said to be honest if i if i play normal tennis he's probably going to destroy me um i said okay so what are you going to do he goes he says i think i'm going to try to distract him i said how do you mean what are you gonna do and i think what he meant was um disrupt him yeah

1:01:46David Law: hindrance drama is going to be on the rise in that match it was great stuff and he said no look i i i don't play like most of the other players i hit very flat i hit very low and that will be what I'm trying to do. Maybe it can make it more uncomfortable for him. He said that there was a period where the coaches that he worked with, I mean, he's come through the IMG Academy. There was a period where the coaches were all trying to get him to play bigger tennis, you know, top spin tennis. And he said, it just didn't really work for me at all. So I went, I've gone back to what, what I know, what works for me.

1:02:25David Law: And, um, and, and that's what he's going to do, you know, and he was great and then when we're on the way out i i waited and didn't because often when you have two languages the english language journalists will leave after that portion and and leave the the japanese journalists to to ask their questions i stayed um and then mainly because i feel really i felt a bit a bit awkward especially in that room you know it's a small room and i didn't want to be i didn't want to be rude so i thought i'm going to just sit and and i also like watching his body language you know and um and then we walked out and i just said to him um did you know naomi sarka was watching you today and uh and he said yeah i've just seen it on my phone um i said do you know her well what's uh have you had any dealings and he said yeah she's she's really nice to me she's been really good to me and uh and i thought good for you best of luck that's what I said Godspeed gave him a little bit of a pep talk I'm so glad you had

1:03:26Matt Roberts: a lot of Mochizuki material because I had a lot of bug situation to deal with there how are we? are we okay? if we are going to continue with this live broadcast I am going to need you to tell me if there's a bug in my hair because I've just seen from the live chat that that was the case can we all have an agreement that if there's a bug in my hair

1:03:44Catherine Whitaker: if I see a bug in your hair I will let you know

1:03:47David Law: I drew the attention to the one on you. Maybe it was after the strawberry.

1:03:51Matt Roberts: Could we all just be on the case here? Thank you very much. Daniel Medvedev.

1:03:58David Law: What was he up to today?

1:04:00Matt Roberts: Insert bug pun here. Daniel Medvedev led in every set of his straight set's defeat to Jan Lennard Strouf. At least one break in every set. He had two in the deciding set. Finished this match on a double fault. utterly inexplicable because this wasn't the French Open and you could tell from his comments after the match this was so different to him, to the French Open. This wasn't a sort of, oh, well, I was never going to win this anyway. This was a, I'm really disappointed. I thought I had a chance of going deep at this tournament and I've absolutely blown it today. He was a bit at a loss, actually, about how that ended up happening.

1:04:47Matt Roberts: I mean, even Strouf in his on-court interview was like, I was surprised to win every set of that. But here we are. Glad I did.

1:04:56Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I don't really know what to say. How can you be 5-2 up, double break, on grass, with Medvedev's abilities, against Struff, who's not exactly know about Djokovic on return, and lose serve three times in a row to lose the match. Like, I don't understand it. He was so bad. And look, he's become really poor in majors. You know, round two, round one, round one, round one, round four, round one, round three. It's his last seven majors, going back to the start of last season. yeah you know like it's it's bizarre to me and look the weird thing is I actually think he had a better shot of the French Open the way that draw ended up being you have sort of tried to tell him that and he wasn't he wasn't having that at all but like he's he's he's picking out the French Open is the slam he can't play out well you're playing well at any slam at the moment I'm pretty disappointed actually because I like having Medvedev in draws and we've seen the tennis he's played at points this season I know he's up and down and Struth played very well at the start of this match Matthew was out there and was very impressed with how Struth was playing and we should say that and he applied pressure and he is a good player Struth but he let this one go Medvedev he had it certainly in sets 2 and 3

1:06:30Matt Roberts: big time yeah and look as i think strif knew that uh but it is his first fourth round at wimbledon at the age of 36 strif um and that's a heck of an achievement ai is only as powerful as the platform it's built into that's why it's no surprise that more than 85 percent of the 14 500 use the service now ai platform while other platforms duct tape tools together service now 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.

1:07:16David Law: As a small business owner, you're the CEO, the marketing team, and the customer service rep all at once. I was recently talking to a shop owner who told me their worst nightmare isn't a slow day, it's the vanishing act. It's that moment you're inches away from a deadline and the Wi-Fi just disappears. We've all felt that pit in our stomach when the connection flares up right when it matters most. Your business is only as strong as your connection. AT &T Business is the reliable provider built for that exact brand of hustle, so you can stay focused on the work that builds your legacy. Powered by AT &T Business.

1:07:51David Law: Built to work. Get AT &T Business at business.att.com.

1:07:59Matt Roberts: Okay, let's look ahead to tomorrow, shall we? If the bugs allow that to happen. We're into the show. Day six. How about this? For a centre-court order of play tomorrow, starting at 1.30 with Alexandra Ayala against Iga Svjontek. Second on Amanda Anisimova. Her return to centre court after the final last year. She takes on Madison Keys. And third on the pretty match between Grigor Dimitrov and Matteo Berrettini. Not my words, the words of Dimitrov himself. Matt, just on Anisimova and the return to centre court. Is that anything? The fact that this match is on centre court and she hasn't been back there since that moment last year.

1:08:47Matt Roberts: We know she's processed it incredibly well, but that is still a new experience.

1:08:53Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I agree. I think it's a factor. Just get a game on the board, you know? Yeah. Work from there. Go from there. One game at a time.

1:09:03Matt Roberts: Okay. Yeah, let's take nothing for granted. Number one court tomorrow starts with Elena Rabakina against Elisa Mertens. second on Alexander Zverev against Marcus Girone and third on Francis Tiafoe against Alexander Bublik how worried are you David about your prediction there?

1:09:22David Law: quite worried he's the highest seed Bublik yeah the thing is he can ambush anybody and I think he's more likely to ambush somebody who likes to be the guy you know and that's Tiafoe he's going to be, he likes to disrupt I sort of feel like Bublik against Fritz, Fritz would ride that out over the best of five sets I think He's had some no shows hasn't he

1:09:56Catherine Whitaker: Bublik, like recently on big stages where he just has been flat and not very good and at a time when people are starting to talk him up

1:10:05Matt Roberts: Yeah when more's been expected of him but this might be just

1:10:10David Law: just before we get to that stage in our row in our row of desks we sit with the team from the athletic and uh charlie accol shares a couple of desks down from us when we were talking about this match earlier because i was panicking over my prediction and he didn't help quite honestly he said uh he said the thing is public's breakout year was last year and he came into this tournament everybody was talking about him and then he'd lost first round and he said quite often you can find that the actual breakthrough at a tournament comes the year after when uh when then to win yeah exactly and i did say well charlie i've got i've got a lot a lot of credibility on the line here is the only chance you could revise that for you uh but anyway what he wasn't prepared to do that um so listen it also depends what which francis tiafo turns up because the guy that was in Halle was awesome and I would back him against anybody I'm still backing him

1:11:11Matt Roberts: yeah David is so confident in his prediction he suggested we get the Francis Tiafo ad reads in early in the tournament make of that what you will

1:11:20David Law: that's just sensible

1:11:21Matt Roberts: number two court tomorrow this is a great court two schedule I think Emi Navarro against Marta Kostiuk second on Flavio Caballi against Karen Hashanov and third on Taylor Fritz against Lorenzo Sonnego. Court three tomorrow, Diminor Schweider, backing up the French Open. Really well. Ron Schweider, good on him. Jasmine Paolini against Maria Sakari and third on Sorana Kastea against Lyndon Norskova. Court 12, Samsonova Bushkova, Jarman Mouna against Yuri Lehechka and then you've got Siniakova Townsend in doubles. Third on court 12 and then court 18 tomorrow is where you'll find Darius Snigur and Aisling Kruger and where you'll find Zizou Burgs against the last Brit standing, Arthur Ferry.

1:12:10Matt Roberts: And David, it has been controversial among the Brits that the last Brit standing has been scheduled on court 18, the lowest, the smallest court available for singles action tomorrow and that that will mean there hasn't been a British player on centre all week. I'm OK with it. I do understand where some of the British coverage is coming from I do think it's possible that Arthur Ferry knew that he wasn't going to get centre or one and within those parameters he requested court 18 over say a court 2 or a court 3 because that's where he played his last match and won I don't know but I certainly think it's possible

1:12:55Catherine Whitaker: I've seen some reporting that he requested it

1:12:58David Law: Yeah, and we should say, listen, court 18 isn't as bad as it sounds. It's not the 19th worst court behind centre and the other 17. It's this one right down here. And it's a gorgeous court, isn't it, with a big stand? But at the same time, when you only have one British player left in the third round, I think there was an argument for putting him on one of the two main show courts. It's just that there are a lot of good players and a lot of good matches. I wouldn't change a thing about that centre court schedule tomorrow. I think they've got that bang on. I think there was an argument for putting Zverev on court two tomorrow.

1:13:41David Law: It's not a high-profile contest of a match. We've seen Coco Goff on court two without any trouble and various other top players. But I also, I don't mind, I kind of feel like Ferry's probably got more of a chance if he's on a court like this, I would say. Just because he won't be freaked out. And then if he wins that one, then he absolutely would go on a fair court, I think.

1:14:06Catherine Whitaker: I thought you were going to say that he absolutely will be freaked out in the next round. Probably.

1:14:11Matt Roberts: The other thing to say about tomorrow's schedule is that as it stands, Venus and Serena Williams are on it. In the vaguest possible way. they are scheduled to play first round women's doubles against Camilla Osorio and Solana Sierra not before 4.30 on a match to be announced or arranged arranged I think is what the A stands for so we don't know exactly when or where or if quite frankly there is still time for things to change but as it stands they will be playing tomorrow and I would be surprised if it were on anything other than centre or one i think that's a let's see if one of those finishes early type situation yeah don't you think do you think though if two like let's say centre and one are

1:15:00Catherine Whitaker: going on and two is finishing early i think it's maybe i think they would want to get it on rather

1:15:07Matt Roberts: than roll it over to another day because serena will accept court too do you think she'll just

1:15:14Catherine Whitaker: pull out

1:15:17Matt Roberts: maybe I don't know I don't know potentially I don't know

1:15:21Catherine Whitaker: like court two no I'm out centre

1:15:23David Law: one or

1:15:24Catherine Whitaker: yeah I don't know like I mean there's going to be people there's going to be teams tomorrow going through to the third round before Venus and Serena have played their first round so they've like if there's if they're going to do this they've got to play tomorrow like they've got the

1:15:39David Law: curfew to consider yes

1:15:40Catherine Whitaker: but court two

1:15:41Matt Roberts: doesn't have yeah no

1:15:43Catherine Whitaker: But it's only three matches from 11, whereas centre and one are three matches from one and 130. I think centre, you know, I think they've been doing two women's matches on that side of the draw anyway because there's so many good players and the men's half of the draw is less filled with names. But I imagine they're hoping that with two women's matches on centre, they can maybe get it on late. But I don't know. I think those women's matches could be three sets. I think Dimitrov Berrettini could be four or five sets. I'm not sure it's getting on centre.

1:16:19David Law: Something's tickled Matthew.

1:16:21Matt Roberts: I think it's the mid-concept of Serena Williams playing on court too. Okay. Is it that, Matthew? No. Is there a bug on my head? No. No, something else. Let me know after. Okay, great. Let's talk about Phoebe. Phoebe's picture today is the best yet, and that is saying something because Phoebe takes a good picture. Here she is with tennis pasta, which I can only assume has strawberries in it. Do you remember strawberry pasta from last year?

1:16:51David Law: I was hoping to have blanked that. Do you remember what a thing that was?

1:16:55Matt Roberts: It was like Von Droshofer's cat.

1:16:57David Law: We tried that live on the show. It was one of the worst moments of the time we'd been doing this.

1:17:01Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, we'd love Felicity very much, but I did hate that strawberry pasta that she made.

1:17:07David Law: Well, I'd forgotten that we were kindly made that.

1:17:10Matt Roberts: I don't think your issue was necessarily with how she

1:17:13Catherine Whitaker: No, it was just it

1:17:14Matt Roberts: That's not for you I didn't mind, I quite liked the taste My objection was to it being cold

1:17:20Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, and that's an immediate no for me That was a bizarre

1:17:23Matt Roberts: That was so offended by the concept of cold pasta Please remove the bug Let's carry on, okay, thank you Hello Phoebe, hello to our mascots Bodie, Maisie and Roger Hello to our top folks and executive producers Greg, Chris and Jeff Matt, let's have our shout outs

1:17:42Catherine Whitaker: We have two shout outs tonight and the first is for Alex Tresedon, also known as Teach Trez

1:17:52Matt Roberts: Hello Teach Trez He was here today

1:17:55Catherine Whitaker: Trez was here today on his 30th birthday and Trez always comes to Wimbledon on his birthday, that is his tradition and he says it's the greatest present of all he says on a personal level it's already been an epic year as I went to the Australian Open in January to complete my career at Fan Slam a bucket list moment we also went to Roland Garros and survived the heat and now we're here at Wimbledon on a professional level Teach Trez says it's been a mixed year to be Matt's coach we had the coming together of minds with Pam Shriver on the barge in Melbourne and which was a real treat followed immediately by Matt doing a disaster at the media a one point slam

1:18:38David Law: oh that was a low point wasn't it

1:18:40Catherine Whitaker: luckily Matt has shown faith and retained my services as his coach and I look forward to him conquering the tournament next year our rooftop training sessions in Australia were a particular highlight along with regular London hits with our good pals Luke and Dan who were also here today and we had a lovely moment on centre court where we all spotted each other and waved and yeah happy birthday Trez and

1:19:08Matt Roberts: you're a great guy what a ledge happy birthday happy birthday trez uh well done for making matt better at tennis but not when it counted this time this time there's another time coming yeah you know a mental coach like do you have an associate mental coach yeah that's my job isn't it

1:19:26David Law: well you were there david yeah but he wasn't consulting well that pam pam's a mindset coach

1:19:32Catherine Whitaker: I know a lot I just it's my fault

1:19:36Matt Roberts: I don't think us talking about it the experience like this is going to help change things for next time probably not Trez I hope you had a wonderful birthday it has been great to get to know you you're excellent thank you for being a friend of the pod and for for everything hope you had a wonderful birthday genuinely so thank you

1:19:56Catherine Whitaker: and finally we have Kevin from Indiana and Kevin is in our predictions competition hello kevin and kevin would like to shout out his wife and tennis watching buddy steph kevin says today was supposed to be the cap of our 25th anniversary vacation with a day on court one but it turns out uh that steph couldn't travel unfortunately she had a medical emergency two weeks before this trip and had a few days in hospital so they had to cancel their plans to to come to London but Kevin says the likelihood of a full recovery is is very very high they're going to take their time and hope to be back at Wimbledon in a couple of years so even if it's just on the television they're still watching Wimbledon this year Kevin is still in the predictions competition and yeah we want to send our best wishes to kevin and to steph

1:20:58Matt Roberts: very best wishes kevin and steph wimbledon on the telly is still excellent wimbledon with the pod hopefully is still excellent and um wimbledon isn't going anywhere so it'll it'll be here when you're ready and it'll be extra sweet i would imagine so thank you very much for being a friend of the pod and for being in the predictions. How's Kevin doing in the predictions? If you give me

1:21:25Catherine Whitaker: a little moment I can tell you exactly how he's doing. I had a good time today. Kevin's on zero points.

1:21:34Matt Roberts: Things can only get better Kevin.

1:21:36Catherine Whitaker: Is that me up to second? Yeah we're top of the leaderboard David.

1:21:39Matt Roberts: Excellent. Check us out. Where's Catherine? Kevin. It all changes in week two.

1:21:45Catherine Whitaker: Above Kevin. Okay.

1:21:47Matt Roberts: Kevin. things are we're going to turn a corner yep

1:21:52Catherine Whitaker: still more than half the tournament to go Kevin's going for Cabali tomorrow yes Kevin Cabali guys

1:21:58Matt Roberts: unite Cabali guys unite Kevin thank you very much for being a friend of the tennis podcast Kevin Trez thank you shout out to you if you'd like to become a friend of the tennis podcast then the link is in our show notes do make sure you smash that like and subscribe button we are part of the Athletic Podcast Network we will be back tomorrow at the close of play on the show courts live here from Wimbledon, available shortly afterwards as a podcast as well. Thank you for joining us tonight. We'll speak to you tomorrow.

1:22:33David Law: The grill is shot. The chairs are held together by optimism. And what happened to the rug? Sounds like your outdoor setup is not ready for patio season. Fix it all with Wayfair. Shop Wayfair for grills, rugs, furniture and more. With 20 million five-star reviews, room of choice delivery, and experts set up on qualifying orders, it's never been easier to do more for less. Get 10 % off your first eligible purchase. Hurry to Wayfair.com or download the app now.

1:23:03Matt Roberts: Hey, it's Hannah and Paige from Giggly Squad. We all know finding the perfect pet treat for your cat can be as tricky as dating in the city. But we've got you. Try Temptations Cat Treats, America's number one cat treat brand. Their Temptations Crunchy Cat Treats are the crunchy outside, soft inside treat your cat will love. Butter and Daphne are obsessed. Plus, they're 100 % complete and balanced and under 2 calories per treat. Seriously, 9 out of 10 cats find Temptations Treats irresistible. Make bonding easier with Temptations Cat Treats. Cats can't resist. Thank you.