Live from Wimbledon preview and punchy predictions

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1:04Matt Roberts: Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast live from Wimbledon on the eve of the Championships 2025. 16 hours from now, the seats behind us here on court number 18 will be filled, probably with very sweaty people because it's going to be 35 degrees here tomorrow. And Alina Svitolina and Anna Bondar will be stepping out onto court for their first round match. The hill will be brimful of people. Thousands will already be in the queue for the following day's play. And Matt Roberts will be staring at his multiple screens in wonderment. I am Catherine Mittergo. Alongside me are the endlessly pumped David Law and the officially invigorated Matt Roberts, courtesy of both Wimbledon vibes and Bruce Springsteen vibes.

1:51Matt Roberts: And we are here to preview the tournament ahead, the first day's order of play and take your questions on the live chat. So if you have a question for us about Wimbledon and you're with us live, then do hop in the live chat if you haven't already and ask away. And while you're at it, you can smash that like and subscribe button. We have lots to talk about still today. We have that order of play. We have the questions. We also have a few media day interviews, the stragglers that don't come in on Saturday for various different reasons. a lot of them because they were playing in various tournaments up until yesterday and that of course includes Iga Svantec who was in the final in Bad Homburg yesterday lost out to Jessica Bagula, both those two finalists have been through the press conference room today I think you were both in the Iga Svantec press conference, is that right?

2:44Iga Swiatek: That was me, yeah, that was the first one of the day at 12 o 'clock She came in bright and early, and as you say, it's a swift turnaround to get into Wimbledon and straight into the press conference. She actually said that she was treating today as a day-off tennis, and therefore she was getting her media work done. But generally speaking, she was fairly circumspect in what she was saying. I thought she looked ready to go. I was curious as to whether not being the French Open champion and the kind of the stuff you have to do afterwards and the big high you get and the photo shoot, whether maybe she might feel fresher coming into Wimbledon this time.

3:29She said, very matter-of-factly,

3:32Iga Swiatek: it's probably only about two days difference, really, because it's just a photo shoot, and I've done that lots of times before, and, you know, so it's maybe a couple of days extra on the court. So she wasn't really buying into that idea. But I do wonder whether that might be a factor, just less chat around her. I mean, it was not a brimful press conference. This was fairly sparsely attended. I do wonder if there's a bit of deflection in there

3:59Matt Roberts: because I saw a couple of her interviews in Bad Homburg after, I think it was after a semi-final victory in Bad Homburg to make it through to that final. And she was really bigging up, having been able to spend a bit more time on the grass this year and been able to get the feel of it a bit more. and okay we're talking about the difference between two practice days ahead of a tournament and four practice days ahead of a tournament but in a sport of fine margins I feel like that that could end up being quite a big deal for her Matt. Yes I think so honestly I think the biggest

4:34Jessica Pegula: deal is that she's got some wins in Bad Homburg and it's the first time she's beaten a top 10 player on the grass I think the way she talks about her game on the grass a lot of the time It's as though she's a bit of a novice on it. She really talks her own game down on grass. But I think the week in Bad Homburg has made her realise that she can be effective on this surface too. She really did play pretty well there, especially against Alexandreva. That was the win that impressed me the most out of that little run there. But it was interesting hearing her talk about the need for confidence to play well on grass.

5:12Jessica Pegula: because you kind of think that coming off Roland Garros, she would always be at her most confident and therefore that that would just sort of help her translate. She said grass is a surface where you have to play with confidence because you have to take it to your opponent. But actually I think often when she gets on the grass, her own natural sort of insecurity about her grass court game sort of takes over the confidence that she's built up through the clay court season and she doesn't look like a confident player on the grass at all, even though she clearly has elements in her game that can work on this surface.

5:45Jessica Pegula: So it is very, very interesting, as always, having Igor Shiontek at Wimbledon. The main difference to me is just how much more under the radar she is, as David said. A press conference not that full, you know, we've been leading discussions with Igor Shiontek's draw at the past and hit here at Wimbledon and all the grand slams, frankly. and now she feels like she's come up in our third preview show. It's just really, really interesting the different place she finds her in now. There is this weird quirk, isn't there, that Pam Shriver sent us today, that she's actually now number four in the world because of that run in Bad Homburg, but because of the way the seedings are used and done before the draw from the week before, she's eighth seed here.

6:34Jessica Pegula: So that's kind of tough, I suppose, But given the sort of weird nature of the fact that none of the top ten players have won Wimbledon before, the seeding amongst them maybe doesn't feel quite as important as it does at some other slams. I don't think the seeding is necessarily the reason why we're maybe not that confident in Igor Shianti.

6:55Matt Roberts: I think this is quite a big deal, a big boost for Igor Shianti's chances here that she's flying under the radar. She's got Irina Sabalenka and Coco Gauff just being a lightning rod at the moment for all the attention in women's tennis and a bit Emma Adekarni here in the UK. Like, it's not just her lack of relative results recently. It's also that story, I think, just dominating all the headlines and taking all the oxygen. And OK, I think, you know, her grand plan is she wants to be back at the top. She wants to be the one to be talked about again. But for now, given the signs of stress that she's shown in her game in recent months, I think it's an incredible boost to her just at the moment that she's able to fly a little bit under the radar.

7:49Matt Roberts: There are other issues, like her game doesn't suit this surface as well as others. The big swings, the spinny stuff, the slightly more attackable serve. But I think at least one of her issues in the past few years on grass is somewhat solved for the time being. Of course, it would only take one big moment or one big win for everyone to suddenly go, wow, Iger Svontek, and everything to turn on its head. But for what it's worth, I think it's quite a big factor for Iger Svontek. We also had Jessica Pergula, of course, who beat her 24 hours ago in Bad Homburg. It suits someone like Jessica Pergula, doesn't it, to play and ideally win the week before.

8:37Matt Roberts: Yeah. I would hate it. I would want to get to a Grand Slam. You know, I get to the airport three hours early. I want to go to the lounge. I want to eat as much free food as possible. I want to just settle in and take it all in. But people are different.

8:54Iga Swiatek: Yeah, and she came in, And honestly, her mood was so good. We was in the smaller room, whereas Yggis Vientiane was in the main media theatre, which is a couple of hundred seats. And, you know, you feel a long way away from a player in that situation, even if you're on the front row. In this situation, it's three rows of chairs and then the desk, and you're right there together having a quiet little chat. And she seemed very comfortable with that. In fact, she seemed very comfortable with everything. She was in no rush. And I would say I got a better insight into Iga Svantec from Jessica Pagula than I got from Iga Svantec.

9:30Iga Swiatek: She was asked a question about her. She said, look, I thought in our match yesterday she was serving really well. She aced me loads of times. And she sort of gently, I don't want to say mocked Svantec, but gently sort of teased the fact that Svantec puts herself down on a grass court. because Pegula's like, she's great on crash. There's no issues. This is somebody who won Wimbledon Juniors. She sort of gives herself too hard a time, is what Jessica Pegula was saying. But she also highlighted in an answer to my question, which was about how open this feels this year. You've got a top seed in Sabalenka who's never won here before.

10:17Iga Swiatek: You've got Koko Goff, who's I think not been beyond the quarterfinals here. Iger Sviantec, who's not won this thing and not come close. And they're the players that have been at the top of the game. And she went through this in great detail to explain why, yes, it is the most open Grand Slam, but it's not just this year. She says it's been like this for a number of years. And you only have to look a year ago, she said, at the fact that Krzykiewa won, that von Drusseva won that even Rabakina won you know her view was that that this is the surface that everybody kind of has to figure out has to find a solution on she says she was talking I can't remember whether it was von Drusseva or Krachikova she says you know suddenly they were in the final and playing well and I think it was von Drusseva if you remember who played that great quarter final against her and Pagula could have won that and she said I do like the surface it's not that I don't, I enjoy playing on it but it's not second nature the way a hardcourt is she knows exactly what's going to happen there and she said sometimes it can feel like there's a little bit of luck involved what bounce you get you can suddenly find you're out of the tournament without having done anything wrong and I found the whole analysis of trying to almost just accept the circumstances aren't ideal all the time on grass the way maybe they are elsewhere.

11:46Iga Swiatek: Very, very interesting.

11:47Jessica Pegula: Given that, David, given the, I think it's eight different champions in eight years and the lack of comfort of the top players

11:57Catherine Whitaker: on this surface, where do you stand on my Pagula in the mix? And given you've been to her press conference today and got a feel.

12:05Matt Roberts: It sounds like Pagula might have heard she's in the mix. She's talking like somebody in the mix.

12:09David Law: I think it's a fair shout.

12:11Iga Swiatek: I agree with it. I agree with it. And actually going Catherine to her press comments did kind of seal that for me. She was so comfortable in her own skin. She did say, you know, it is a bit like you fly in and you feel like you need another day really to kind of get used to your surroundings because you just haven't been here. So that, I think some players having played the week before, we often get a champion who gets beaten in the first round. a champion from the previous week. I don't think it will be her because she's not that kind of player. She doesn't... She might find it a bit strange, but she figures it out.

12:53Iga Swiatek: She finds a solution. But I think some players would. Some players will maybe come in and you think, oh, there's the informed player and suddenly they're out of the tournament. And she was kind of underlining that as a potential consideration,

13:09David Law: but I don't sense it's going to be her.

13:11Matt Roberts: just before we move on to talk about a couple of the the men that came through the press conference room today a couple of the women from yesterday that we we didn't touch upon madison keys came into press conference room too it's been a while since we've seen her at a grand slam in a press conference room that small um so it was just you know there were no major headlines but it's just nice getting to have a sort of fairly relaxed intimate intimate chat with her um she she was gate crashed by Francis Tiafoe. That was a nice exchange. It was, and there was a throwaway question from her as she was walking out, how do you feel about having him as your mixed doubles partner?

13:49And she just eye-rolled, which was sensational.

13:53Matt Roberts: And she's flying a bit under the radar, really, for a Grand Slam champion this year. She pointed out that, okay, she hasn't won a lead-up tournament, which she has sometimes done in the past. She's won grass court tournaments in the past. But she's lost to the eventual champion at both events. And she said that does help mentally when the person you lose to goes on to win the tournament.

14:21Jessica Pegula: And at the French Open, of course, she lost to Coco Gauff. There's a little run now where she's ended up losing to the eventual champion. I really enjoyed this Madison Keyes press conference. I loved her line about could have done better doesn't exist in sport she was asked about that and what really struck me was that she was then asked about she was asked about that in the context of her performances at Wimbledon over the years where you know it has sort of historically actually been her weakest slam despite the fact that she's won a lot of lead in grass court tournaments and I was thinking of my theory that you know she would have won or she could have won Wynwood in last year I'm gonna say would I'm gonna stick to would I almost backed out there would have won Wynwood in last year had had she not got injured against Jasmine Paolini

15:15Matt Roberts: that's in a very punchy mood this tournament isn't he I like it a lot and so I just wondered

15:21Jessica Pegula: whether there'd be like any sense of sort of something you know sort of unfinished business or maybe even a sense of bitterness if the fact that she's got injured and it's derailed her chances. But not at all. She's got such a healthy attitude to her successes and the moments where she hasn't won in her career. And that is kind of what we've been talking about with Madison Keys all year. That's what's unlocked her to be able to win that Grand Sam tournament. I find her so impressive.

15:54Matt Roberts: She continues to be a walking advert for therapy, doesn't she? I hope other players listen to her speak in press conferences and go, get me her therapist's number. Because her perspective is extraordinary, really. In the same room, David, we went to Naomi Osaka's press conference yesterday. Again, we were on the front row for that. And it was an incredibly intimate setting to be with one of the biggest superstars in the sport still. that is that is a deliberate choice of choice of words because of course her coach doesn't think she's a superstar not even a star not even a star no um that was something you asked her

16:37Iga Swiatek: about david yeah and um it was um it was a a very sort of sudden decision to ask the question because it is quite awkward in a way being in a room full of people like that asking what is quite a sensitive question about something her coach has said and she's right there and I didn't really know how she would react to it um and I wanted to I wanted to just say you know he he he said that the the reason that women weren't scheduled in the night session at the French Open is because there aren't many stars in in in women's tennis and and we've we've eye-rolled like you wouldn't believe about the well for a start you are coaching one of them a bit awkward I mean I didn't put that to

17:23David Law: her um because that would have been too awkward but I did say you know what do you what do you think about those those comments and and had you heard them and she she said she hadn't heard them

17:38Iga Swiatek: um but then she sort of pondered it a minute and she said but you know I I do scroll social media sometimes and see some things he said and i think hmm i'm gonna have to ask him about that um and i said uh i said do you ever debate these things with him and um she sort of she sort of looks as though she kind of would like to really um and and and she also actually said her opinion which is that basically she thinks that there should be women playing in the night sessions at the french open and there's really no reason why they wouldn't and she couldn't remember whether her match against Diga Sviantet was night session she asked us and we were able to remind her that well no that was an afternoon match that ended up going it was under the roof wasn't it so she said yeah it was dark so it felt like it was night but no I mean the obvious answer is that there is

18:32David Law: absolutely no reason why they shouldn't be under in the night session but the exchange ended with

18:38Matt Roberts: Her saying, I'll speak to him about it and get back to you.

18:42David Law: And let you know. So, yeah, I look forward to finding out.

18:48Matt Roberts: It is... I love Naomi Osaka. I love her press conferences. It does... the way she talks about Moratoglu and her...

19:01Matt Roberts: her not caring particularly about what he may or may not be saying and thinking about her and women and female athletes maybe that's really healthy that she's able to have that boundary and just think he's my coach so long as so long as he's delivering as a coach I don't mind what he says I certainly couldn't do it do it like that if I were a professional tennis player if she were having fantastic results it might be easier to say well you know it's working for her who who can question it but I do that that that line she gave after she lost in Paris is kind of haunting me about feeling like I've let Patrick down she's she's playing mixed doubles with Nick kyrgios at the u.s open and her management company represents him like i do worry about her um radar for toxic men quite frankly and and i worry i worry for her for that for that reason um but yeah it's difficult it's difficult to expect anything from her here this tournament isn't it?

20:13Matt Roberts: Other than that there was a throwaway line from her she was being asked about Coco Gough in fact she gave a lovely answer about Coco Gough and her winning in Roland Garros and sort of the intertwining of their stories over the years and she said I hope to play as well as Coco on clay one day which hinted at a long-term view of the remainder of her career. A lot of people is speculating that she might not continue to play on much longer if the results don't come and that at least hinted at a at a long-term mindset yeah I mean I think they've been speculating

20:51Jessica Pegula: because she's hinted at that herself really you know in terms of yes she's talked and very much stuck to the idea of playing a fuller schedule since since she came back but she did also give some quotes saying that you know the results need to start happening at at some point and

21:11Catherine Whitaker: they haven't really um but yeah look i would love for naomi osaka to play for a long time because i think draws and tournaments are elevate elevated when when she's in them she she's got star power

21:28Matt Roberts: yeah she's a star back to that yeah absolutely um speaking of of stars perhaps stars in the making uh joel fonseca he was originally scheduled in room five then he got upgraded to room two and then at the last minute he got upgraded to the main room it was it was sort of representative of his career to date wasn't it let's just fast track

21:54Jessica Pegula: this guy to the top of the game yeah and look it wasn't it wasn't a full room by any means again it was a a time of day where i think maybe you know quite a lot of journalists were were not necessarily in it was also partly to do with ava lease being in demand which was which was nice there was a lot of press waiting to speak to her so she needed needed to go in room two so off on seco went to the main room and I don't know about you David, I was mostly just struck by how much he loves Wimbledon

22:27Catherine Whitaker: and how desperate he is to do well here at some point in his career although there was a tricky moment for everyone when he answered your question and cited his main or first Wimbledon memory as 2019 Did that make you feel old? It did.

22:49Jessica Pegula: I'm not going to lie, it did.

22:50David Law: And he confirmed he was supporting Federer?

22:52Jessica Pegula: Yeah, he said Federer-Djokovic final. I was supporting Federer.

22:56Matt Roberts: 2019!

22:58David Law: But he described being here as like a dream. You know, it was lovely, really. It was so heartwarming to see somebody prepared to say, yeah, look, I know I'm here on my ranking and I'm playing against the men now. It was quite interesting hearing him compare playing the juniors

23:19Iga Swiatek: against playing the men as being the big difference on the tour. But he was not hiding this sort of childlike wonder at walking around this place and just loving it. And I don't know whether that will help his performances here. It could overroar him. He doesn't seem that kind of guy.

23:37David Law: I think the bigger thing that's likely to hold him back is his tennis not being ready, I would have thought.

23:42Matt Roberts: Yeah, I was searching for photos of him for professional purposes. on Getty the other day and I searched Joel Fonseca Wimbledon and what came up were pictures from his loss to Henry Searle in the juniors two years ago. This is not a guy with experience here.

24:02Catherine Whitaker: No. Henry Searle is still in room five and Fonseca is now in the main room.

24:10Jessica Pegula: He's got Jacob Fernley, hasn't he? First up. A guy who he's actually beaten twice already this year. Once I think of the Challenger, once at Indian Wells.

24:19Catherine Whitaker: He was asked about, you know, what he thinks the atmosphere might be. You know, being thrust into that occasion in his first Wimbledon match, will there be a big you know, big support for the you know, for the Brit there? And he said, it's tough to be louder than the Brazilians.

24:36Matt Roberts: Do you think there will be a lot of Brazilians? Because that's something I've wondered. He is used to having a rowdy Brazilian army everywhere. It's amazing the corners of the world they show up.

24:48Catherine Whitaker: It's unlikely.

24:49Jessica Pegula: It's going to be different.

24:50Matt Roberts: It's different here, isn't it? How would they get in?

24:52Jessica Pegula: Well, they could. They could queue overnight and they have 500 number one court tickets available for the queue. So I don't doubt that there will be some. I'm sure that some Brazilian fans will have done that.

25:06Catherine Whitaker: But I don't think it's going to be like what we saw as you said, kind of every tournament he's played this year. What I would love is if there is a lot of Brazilians,

25:17Jessica Pegula: can they still make the noise at Wimbledon? There's something about Wimbledon that just, it is different. That quiet is expected.

25:27Catherine Whitaker: And I would love it if some Brazilian fans broke that and created a serious vibe on number one court. That would be brilliant.

25:39Matt Roberts: You're not allowed flags here, are you? Is that right? You can have face paint, though. There are white, you know.

25:45Jessica Pegula: Yeah, you can... Yellow tops. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's things you can do.

25:49Matt Roberts: I backed them to manage it. Go on, Brazil. We had Taylor Fritz in the press conference room today, fresh from his victory in Eastbourne. He was chatty. He was in there for a long time, said yes to all the one-on-one requests. I thought he might be exhausted, but he seems fine.

26:08Jessica Pegula: Yeah, he was talking about how motivated he was after that early exit at Rion Garros to really, I think, get his season really back on track. He was keen to point out that he doesn't think he's been playing badly this season. He actually has had a lot of what's happened to Madison Keys over the last few weeks and that he's lost to eventual champions at events. It's happened to him repeatedly. But he said he's not been playing big points well. So, you know, that was a big thing that needed to change and it sounds like he is really happy with how he played those big points in Stuttgart and in Eastbourne, winning those two titles.

26:48Jessica Pegula: He also spent quite a lot of time talking about the mixed doubles at the US Open. And it was very big, she's never seen my pace energy.

26:59Matt Roberts: That's what I want from Taylor Fritz in mixed doubles.

27:01Jessica Pegula: He described himself as a mixed doubles specialist.

27:05David Law: Go on, Taylor.

27:06Jessica Pegula: He cited his United Cup record with Coco Gough, the fact that he's won the, quote, Indian Wells thing with Rabatkinner, who he's partnering at the US Open. And he said he is going to be extremely competitive at the US Open.

27:25Matt Roberts: Oh, I absolutely believe that. I saw him at the United Cup with Coco Gough. He was a nightmare. She was like, calm down. Yeah, he was talking non-stop. Non-stop. Bless her. I'm not sure anybody else could have coped with that situation with quite the grace that Coco got.

27:42David Law: I might be into him and Rebecca more than anybody else.

27:46Matt Roberts: I think she's just going to sit there disassociating while he talks at her. He's hoping not.

27:50Jessica Pegula: He said, we're doing 100 % competitive. We're going all in. We're there to win. The prize money's great. And I'm afraid he thinks it counts on the bloody roll of honour. Well, you know, he can think again.

28:03David Law: Other than that, I'm right behind him. Yeah.

28:05Jessica Pegula: He cited Ben Shelton and Taylor Townsend as another strong team that he's...

28:10Matt Roberts: Because they've actually played doubles. They've met before. They've met and conversed and played doubles together. Which immediately puts them at an advantage over most of the field. They're in a completely different category to everybody else.

28:20Jessica Pegula: Yeah. So, yeah, he's ready.

28:24Matt Roberts: How much of that stated approach to the tournament do you think Elena Rabatkin is aware of?

28:33Jessica Pegula: that's a very good question i think quite aware because i think it sounded like he even took the indian wells thing seriously and she played with him at that so i think she knows what she's signing up for there well what a laugh that sounds today's show is brought to you by vanguard to all the

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31:02Matt Roberts: Monday's Order of Play at Wimbledon our first Wimbledon 2025 Order of Play it starts of course at 11am on the outside courts and it's still staggered isn't it?

31:19Catherine Whitaker: Yes it's 1pm on number one court and 1.30 on centre court

31:24Matt Roberts: That's right. So Centre Court 130 starts with the men's defending champion, the second seed, going for the three-peat, Carlos Alcaraz against Fabio Fanini. Is there anyone that thinks like, you know... No.

31:43I don't think he's won a main draw match on the tour.

31:48Catherine Whitaker: I'm just here to ask the questions. And I'm here to answer them.

31:50Matt Roberts: But, you know, an inspired by the setting and the moment for Nini? No. No.

31:57Catherine Whitaker: No.

31:57Matt Roberts: A flat Alcaraz, a nervous Alcaraz? No. Second on centre court is Katie Bolter against Paola Badosa.

32:08David Law: That's a good one. This is tasty, isn't it? Yeah, that's a good match. I mean, I'm curious to see what sort of physical shape Badosa's in. and these are two women that have had serious back problems. They've both missed so much time from the sport as a result of it. It seems Katie Boulter's in a lot better shape these days in that regard, but it's a tough first-round draw. I think it's a real 50-50. Do you?

32:38Jessica Pegula: I think Bedos is the favourite. Do you? I think so.

32:42David Law: Even on the surface?

32:43Jessica Pegula: I would say so. And mostly I think it's about Palos' fitness.

32:49Catherine Whitaker: I think that levels it for sure. That's definitely a worry. There have been several matches where she's clearly been impeded.

33:00Jessica Pegula: I don't know. Maybe it's good for Bolter to be a bit of an underdog. I don't think she loved that last year against Harriet Dart.

33:08Matt Roberts: She did not. Every aspect of that was a bad time for Katie Bolter.

33:13Jessica Pegula: But equally, there is pressure of being the Brit on centre court. There's things that you can make. There's things in both players' favour and going against them, I think. But I probably would expect Bedosa to win. But, yeah, it's a good match.

33:30Matt Roberts: Third on centre tomorrow. Alexander Zverev, the third seed, against Artur Rindeknesh. He's playing a lot of big matches on big courts, is Artur Rindeknesh, isn't he?

33:40David Law: Yeah, and I think that that will stand him in good stead, I would have thought. You know, this is a guy who played Yannick Sinner at Roland Garros and he had the best five-game run of anybody apart from Carlos Alciras.

33:51Matt Roberts: He can be the best player in the world for five games. Specifically in front of a French crowd, though, perhaps.

33:57David Law: And his celebrations are epic. I think the grass suits him. The grass suits him.

34:02Matt Roberts: Will Centre Court get the alley shuffle is the big question.

34:06Iga Swiatek: I would love him to have a run in this match and this crowd to kind of get into it. You know, because I think he's capable of doing that. I don't think Zverev's just going to... Unless Rinder Kinesh is terrible, and he is capable of being terrible. But if he's not, you know, he might be able to keep it close because he does have a good serve. And, you know, he's played Alcraz a couple of times at Queen's. Really pushed him on one of the occasions. And so, yeah, I think he could be a factor in the match. I doubt if he'll win, but not over best of five. But I also, I don't think it's beyond the realms that he could cause an upset.

34:47Matt Roberts: How do we feel about Zverevon Centre first day?

34:51Iga Swiatek: I mean, I suppose he's third seed. I don't think that everybody will necessarily be there for it. I think that there'll be a lot of people who go out after the second match.

35:05Matt Roberts: Worth joining the resale queue.

35:07Catherine Whitaker: you know I think my take is that in the other half of the draw you've obviously got Sinner, Draper and Novak Djokovic and it feels like that you know they're probably going to want to get two of them on centre quite often yeah and I feel like this was an opportunity to get two women on on centre on this half the draw because you know you've got that you've got that good Badossa-Bolter match. Then you've got the world number one, Irina Sabalenka. I feel like Irina Sabalenka should be in that slot on centre tomorrow because I... Look, they've got better Wimbledon at doing the... If they do two men's matches one day, doing two the next day.

35:50Matt Roberts: It's going to be tough tomorrow. It's just going to be tough

35:52Catherine Whitaker: with the halves of the draw as they are. This is the side where actually you've got so many women's matches that you could put on centre and not have

36:02Matt Roberts: I guess in a couple of days' time, maybe they're thinking there'll be opportunities on this side of the draw to level things out. It would be Sabalenka-Radakhanu, wouldn't it, in round two, I think. Is that right?

36:14Jessica Pegula: No, round three, I think. Round three. Yeah, but I think it would be Radakhanu could play Vondrosheva, right? Someone, yes.

36:21Matt Roberts: OK. There we go.

36:23Jessica Pegula: Yeah.

36:23Matt Roberts: Anyway, that's how it is on centre for tomorrow. On court number one, Sabalenka and Carson Brandstein is the opener. that's interesting that scheduling it being the first match on the first day I don't know that that kind of enhances the intrigue of this match for me I am really really interested in this I mean there's there is a very good chance it's a beat down two and one and we'll we'll wonder what we were ever interested in but but there's a world in which is interesting, David. Back me up.

37:00Iga Swiatek: Yeah, there is. And not only because Brandstein's quite interesting because she's beaten Bianca Andreescu and Lois Poisson, who's such a big story at the French Open, but because this is the first Grand Slam match we've seen from Marina Sabalenka since the loss at Roland Garros and since the fallout. And I'm still curious whether she will be in any way inhibited in her play, in her demeanour, being at Wimbledon, after all that fuss, all that fallout. She didn't like that, and understandably so. You know, it's tough getting abused. And I just, I think Sabalenka, at her very best, just doesn't care about any noise outside.

37:43Iga Swiatek: She's only focused on her own game. That ball, she's about to hit the living daylights out of it, and that opponent who's going to get taken out. and I just wonder whether she might have something else in her head at all tomorrow. Maybe not, but I think it's a possibility.

38:02Matt Roberts: Second on court number one is Jacob Fernley against Joël Fonseca. David is going to be commentating on this on BBC Radio and you were pumped to discover this was the match that you were assigned.

38:12Iga Swiatek: I was really excited, yeah, because I think this has got everything you want for an opening day match to commentate on. it's in Britain and it's got a British player who had a good run here at Wimbledon last year and actually did well against Novak Djokovic it's him against one of the most exciting young players in the world who's just been telling us it's a dream to get this opportunity to play on number one court and I'm just very curious to see how his game does adapt to grass it could be really close I think it could be long. I think that there's every chance. And the crowd are going to get into it.

38:55Iga Swiatek: One way or another, they're going to get into it, I think.

38:58Matt Roberts: Who's winning it?

39:02I think Fonseca's going to win it.

39:07David Law: What do you think?

39:09Catherine Whitaker: I think Fonseca. I think he took some confidence, kind of the theme of this show. He lost the eventual champion in Eastport. He pushed it. I think he's got a long way to go still, but I think he's actually quite pleased with the progress he's made during this grass court season. Yeah, I'll go Fonseca Fernley, I think. He had a solid run at Queen's. He made his first quarterfinal, didn't he, of an ATP event. But he also had a real issue with his serve and a lot of double faults in clusters. He was talking about them perhaps being anxiety-induced and he gets this sort of shooting pain in his arm and it does bring the double faults.

39:52Catherine Whitaker: And I just would worry about that a little bit for him on that court tomorrow against Fonseca. And I just think Fonseca's got more game. So I would probably go for Fonseca.

40:06Matt Roberts: Third on court one tomorrow, Emma Raducanu against Mimi Zhu, a fellow Brit, a very young fellow Brit that Emma Raducanu knows and has a good relationship with. I think this one is, I think, difficult to call just because we don't know how Amrata Karnu is physically. Obviously, if she's physically okay, she's a heavy favourite for that match. But I am worried about her back and I'm worried about that match for her. I just don't want to see anything upsetting. And I'm anxious. I'm anxious about it on her behalf.

40:41David Law: I understand that. Yeah, I feel similarly.

40:45Iga Swiatek: And if she's OK physically, and I don't really know what she has to do to be OK these days, that's the problem. It sounds, when she talks you through it, it sounds like this is a lot of work to get you out on the court some of the time at the moment. Then I think she's shown that she's able to settle in at Wimbledon and actually produce some fantastic tennis. and that's two runs she's had the year she won the US Open 2021 and here last year that was the sort of tennis that has made me think that she could go all the way at this tournament one year

41:23David Law: and I still feel like that if she had physically no issues but like this, well, I don't expect that and so if she wins, I think she's done really well.

41:35Matt Roberts: Number two court tomorrow starts at 11am with Benjamin Bonzi against Daniel Medvedev. Then it's Elena Gabriela Rusa against Madison Keys. Third on is Jasmine Paolini, who there was a lot of hoo-ha going on yesterday morning when she was due to come into press. She was delayed. Then Naomi Osaka came in. She was delayed. Long story short, I missed the start of Jasmine Paolini's press conference. So maybe the vibes were there at the start. Maybe she was tired. maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, she looked to have lost a little bit of her vibe that we're used to seeing. Only by her very high vibe standards, but I just thought she seemed a little bit off it, vibe-wise, but we'll see.

42:25Matt Roberts: I mean, it's Sevastova in the year 2025, it's a good draw, isn't it? I can't believe I've said good draw pertaining to Jasmine Paolini. Right, finally on number two court tomorrow, Taylor Fritz against Giovanni Mpeshi Perikard, which has suspended for bad light written all over it. I reckon that will be suspended at two sets to one, to someone.

42:51David Law: I'm not convinced Mpeshi Perikard gets a set. He's not been playing well this year, really. But he's also very hard to break.

43:03Iga Swiatek: still and so sets can go on a long time so definitely a chance that that is the situation but i'm still fascinated by fritz and his he's playing all the time same as i was really talking to and she makes me feel like there's no issue and he i just wonder whether he's he can run out of gas or not you know but then he he's done well before doing it so um yeah i think he'll be all

43:30Matt Roberts: number three court tomorrow opens with Yelena Ostapenko having fun with the British crowd against Sone Cartel

43:38Catherine Whitaker: yes and Ostapenko who's lost to Sevastova in the year 2025 this year just to link up those two courts yeah that could be fun couldn't it I think maybe people in the chat or on the barge somewhere could give me suggestions I'm struggling to know where to start my day tomorrow and I'm leaning towards this match, Kartal-Ostopenko.

44:03Matt Roberts: That surprises me because I thought you might start on court 12 with Elmer Moller against Francis Tiafoe.

44:09David Law: I'm tempted by that.

44:10Jessica Pegula: I did consider it. I felt like I got the Elmer Moller experience

44:13Catherine Whitaker: at Ronan Garros, watching him play Tommy Paul there. You know, I feel like I know what he's about.

44:20Matt Roberts: But Matt, if you start your day on court number three with Kartal and Ostopenko, you can...

44:25Jessica Pegula: Just stay on court three.

44:26Matt Roberts: You can stay where you are for Nicholas Jarry. second on against Holger Runa.

44:30David Law: Quite a fun match.

44:32Matt Roberts: It is quite a fun match. Although Jarry's qualified, but he does seem to be physically all over the place. He deserves a break, does Nicholas Jarry? He's had a bad run of it.

44:46Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, he's got an eye problem now. That was in an interview with Clay magazine, where also it was put to him that he's going through a bad patch, which I didn't think was a controversial thing to say.

45:03Jessica Pegula: But he rejected that premise. He said that actually he's been losing to good players and actually he thinks his form is a lot better. Which, you know...

45:13Iga Swiatek: Is his name Alexander's face?

45:16Jessica Pegula: I didn't necessarily... It seemed like he listed the good players that he'd been losing to but left out the other ones. Yep.

45:24Matt Roberts: Right, OK.

45:25Jessica Pegula: But look, he did qualify without dropping a set.

45:28Catherine Whitaker: And that's including a best of five in the final round of qualifying, which they're hanging on to at Wimbledon for some reason. And he's got three matches on the grass there. Runa was a disaster the last time we saw him on grass. He was really poor against Bautista Ragu.

45:43Matt Roberts: As somebody's pointing out in the chat, if Runa couldn't get a single break point against Bautista Ragu, it feels like it's going to be tough for him against Nicholas Jarrett.

45:52Jessica Pegula: I would expect Runa to win, but I do genuinely think that actually could be a close match.

45:59Matt Roberts: Third on number three court tomorrow is your guy, Matteo Bertini. David, he's got Kamil Mejerszak of Poland. And fourth on is Zhang Chinwen against Katerina Siniarkova, which could be interesting. As I've said, Elmer Moller of everyone's very excited about his backhand fame opens up court 12 against Francis Tiafoe of losing to clowns fame.

46:23Iga Swiatek: It's a great court, this one.

46:25Matt Roberts: Yeah, yeah, this is fun tomorrow. We have Stefano Sitsapas, second on court 12 against Aviv Royer of France.

46:33Catherine Whitaker: Valentin.

46:34Matt Roberts: Valentin Royer. He's a new one on me, folks.

46:38Catherine Whitaker: Me too, I just looked that up.

46:39Matt Roberts: I appreciate it. Third on court 12 is Leila Fernandez against the talented young Brit Hannah Klugman. A lot of people very excited about Klugman. And finally, on Court 12, this is where I'll be whenever this match comes on tomorrow. Marketa Vondroshova against the Nottingham champion McCartney Kessler.

47:01Catherine Whitaker: Very into that.

47:02Matt Roberts: Yeah, me too.

47:02Catherine Whitaker: I'm very annoyed that it's scheduled there because it's at the same time.

47:06Matt Roberts: We're coming on to that, Matt.

47:07Catherine Whitaker: It's at the same time as Anissimova Putin's saver. Can I have my moment now and later?

47:12Matt Roberts: Yeah, go for it.

47:13Catherine Whitaker: Well, I'm just annoyed about it. It's my two favourite matches on the order of play.

47:17Matt Roberts: But given they're fourth on, they could actually start at very different times. True, yeah, but I just know the way these things go. Why do the schedulers not specifically bear Matt Roberts in mind?

47:31David Law: They've let him hold the velvet bag for the draw chips. Now they need to have you in the WhatsApp group, apparently.

47:40Matt Roberts: Court 18 starts at 11am. This court behind our incredible position here at Wimbledon. Elina Svitolina opens it up against Anna Bondar. Cameron Norrie, second on against Roberto Batiste-Rogu. That could be long. That could go on forever. Then it's Mackenzie McDonald against Karen Hashinov. Hashinov's played some marathons here as well. And finally, Naomi Osaka against Talia Gibson of Australia. They could be in for a long wait.

48:06David Law: Should bring sleeping bags.

48:08Matt Roberts: Yeah. Court 4, Oliver Tarvit the Brit against Reedy of Switzerland I've got like

48:17Catherine Whitaker: Leandro Reedy

48:21Matt Roberts: there we go 506 in the world Henry Searle the former British junior champion here of a couple of years ago Joel Fonseca along the way who else have we got? Lulu Sun last year's quarter finalist She's on court five tomorrow. Court number six opens with Lerna Tien against Nishesh Basavaredi. That is one that I will be keeping an eye on tomorrow. What have we got? Ava Lees opening up court number eight. Peyton Stearns against Laura Siegmund. That's vibes. That's intensity list. Intensity central. Maybe list to Jason.

49:00Catherine Whitaker: I'm not sure Siegmund's on your list. In fact, I know she's not. She's on another list.

49:05Matt Roberts: Good luck, Peyton Stearns, is all I can say. Catherine Zotherley. Settle in. Speaking of intensity, Olga Danilovic, second on court number nine against Zhang Shuai. It's great having, you know where you stand with Wimbledon with its Monday starts. And, you know, 50 % of round one matches are happening on Monday, 50 % on Tuesday. Beatrice Adajamire against Rebecca Shramkova is second on court number 10 tomorrow.

49:35Catherine Whitaker: And actually that was something that we missed at Wimbledon last year, that sort of organisation to it. Because of the rain, everything actually was all over the place in the first week. But as you've already said, it's going to be stiflingly hot tomorrow. So, you know, we won't have any of those issues.

49:52Matt Roberts: Opening up court number 15 is last year's semi-finalist Donna Vekic. She faces Kim Birrell. and opening up court number 14 against Victoria Tomova is the two-time former finalist here, Ons Jabir. Court number 14 for her tomorrow. I mean, she'll get an incredible crowd, but that's tough.

50:14Jessica Pegula: Yeah, it is slightly bigger than it sounds, 14.

50:18Catherine Whitaker: Like it's a better billing than like court five or six, but yeah, absolutely. It's not a show call.

50:28This is the story of the one. As a shipping manager, he's running the dock, stocking supplies, and making sure every order goes out on time. And Grainger helps him stay prepared. From shipping supplies to PPE to hand tools, he counts on Grainger to keep products moving and trucks rolling. So his operation runs smoothly no matter the shift. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. Hi, it's Mark Bittman from the podcast Food with Mark Bittman and the website The Bittman Project. One of the things that makes Whole Foods Market different is their commitment to quality standards.

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51:31Matt Roberts: Now speaking of Anstriber, just before we answer a few of your questions, there are some coming in on the chat. If you have one, pop it in there. But if you are looking for a deeper dive into the media weekend that we've just had at Wimbledon, then we have just the show for you. Tennis Podcast Meets is our new series for friends of the Tennis Podcast where we do short interviews with all sorts of different players, big names, lesser known players, players that are new on the scene, basically anyone that we're curious about, pretty much. They're short interviews, but we're trying to give a snapshot into that player's world and personality.

52:09Matt Roberts: And for the latest edition that went up today, we have spoken to Matteo Berrettini, Marketa Vondroshova, by accident, Alexander Bublik, Hayley Baptiste, Beatrice Haddad-Schmeier, and the two-time former finalist, Ange Bauer. So here is just a flavour of that show.

52:29Iga Swiatek: Just wonder, Matteo, have you ever watched your Wimbledon final back or one of your great wins here at Wimbledon? I think I don't have the patience. I'm not patient to watch four hours, it doesn't matter. But for sure I watch the highlights, the long highlights, in the good moments and in the bad moments, you know.

52:46Catherine Whitaker: Was Berlin a surprise to you? Like, how, yeah? I think it was actually for everybody. I feel like nobody expected me to win the tournament, not even me or my coach. Even though I played good in the practice, you never know in the matches. So I feel like it was a complete surprise for all of us.

53:09Iga Swiatek: You seemed almost a little irritated about being asked about hitting underarm serves and things like that. When you do that, is it tactical? I think it's just a shot. I don't know why, but everyone's taking it too serious. Imagine you stand up from your desk when you work and you just walk to have a coffee. It's the same thing.

53:27Catherine Whitaker: It's just a move. So was there a time when you lost love for the game? I wouldn't say that I lost love, but it was definitely a struggle sometimes to play. Playing lower-level tournaments and grinding and losing and not having money and not making money. It's not fun.

53:49Iga Swiatek: It's a tough sport, tennis, isn't it? Because every week you go from tournament to tournament. Unless you win the tournament, you have to lose a match. And that must be quite hard mentally at times. Yeah, for sure. We talk a lot that it doesn't matter if you can win a Grand Slam. OK, let's see what you're going to do in the next Grand Slam. So there is always like a ghost and thoughts that you need to fight against.

54:14Matt Roberts: You said that the second Wimbledon final defeat destroyed you. I just wondered how healed you feel now? Not very much, to be honest with you. I mean, when I come here, Wimbledon brings great memories, but at the same time, I feel like there is something missing, an episode that didn't happen. Funny, because lately I have not been feeling great, but appreciating myself and what I have done in the past, that definitely helped me give more value to myself. So, I don't know, it's been a difficult moment, but at the same time giving that to myself, I think it does really help. And that is up now for Friends of the Tennis Podcast.

54:57Matt Roberts: If you'd like to become a friend of the pod, then the link is in our show notes. Yeah, it was an incredible show to get to put together over the weekend and we hope you enjoy it. If you want to become a friend of the pod, then you also get ad-free listening and tons of bonus episodes as well throughout the year. So it is worth checking out. Now on to a few questions from our lovely, lovely listeners. Hello to everybody that is in the live chat just now. We have Jeff Lynch asking about Wang Jin Yu and whether she's a dark horse pick to have a run at this title. He says her grass game seems primed and she's somebody that we've kind of failed to mention, isn't she, over this preview weekend?

55:48Catherine Whitaker: Yes. She obviously reached the final in Berlin. Didn't she beat Pagula here last year? Played great in that match. That was not as close. It was closer than it actually was that match. I think Pagula pinched the set, but actually Wong really outplayed her, struck her forehand so well. She beat a lot of good players in Berlin. I'm just trying to think off the top of my head. I think she's got quite a fun first round draw. I want to say it's a check. I think it might be Mukhova. Yes, it is. She's got Mukhova in the first round.

56:25Matt Roberts: Mukhova's press was cancelled today. I don't know if there's any suspicious reasons for that at all, but it's an eyebrow raiser with her history.

56:34David Law: She's missed so much tennis, hasn't she, even in recent months, that that is the sort of thing that makes you raise your eyebrow. I mean, I saw that final between her and Vondrusseva.

56:46Iga Swiatek: And, you know, all our conversation now is about Vondrusseva because she ended up winning. But the fact is, one should have won that first set and probably should have won the match, if I'm honest. Great credit to Vondrusseva for managing to turn that around. But no, she is. She's one of those players that we haven't spoken about. And I think it's a really good shout to Flagg as somebody who's just very natural and comfortable on the surface. So nobody's going to want to play it.

57:15Matt Roberts: Swarner has asked about the heat, which is something that we haven't mentioned. I'm trying not to be that Brit that complains both when it's too cold and when it's too hot. And I did spend all of last year's Wimbledon complaining about being too cold. So I'm trying to learn and grow this year. But I do reserve the right to regress tomorrow when it is 35 degrees and I'm sweltering in my hand fan. And look, I know that a lot of players are totally dismissing the heat as not a factor, a big I-live-in-Florida energy. But it could be for some players tomorrow, couldn't it?

57:55Iga Swiatek: Yeah, I think for some it absolutely will be. And yeah, they're not used to it here. That's the other thing. You almost condition yourself for what to expect in New York and Australia. And actually, even players who found the heat difficult there have said, the thing is, when it happens here, you're just not expecting it. And do you remember the really hot day we had during Queen's when everybody looked a bit sleepy on the court, including Carlos Alcrest?

58:21Matt Roberts: It affects the crowd a lot, doesn't it? British crowds are not good in heat. Everybody goes very soporific. Everybody just goes quiet.

58:30Iga Swiatek: I mean, to give an example of the difference, a couple of nights ago, it was a warm day on the day we did the draw show. And then when five o 'clock came around, kind of starting to get a little chilly, weren't we? And, you know, thinking about maybe putting the jumper on. And then here we are two hours later today and we're short-sleeved and it is really warm. I mean, you do not need anything to cover the arms or anything like that. And it's going to be hotter tomorrow.

58:58Matt Roberts: A few people asking about Lorenzo Musetti, whether he's fully fit. He hasn't been talked about at all. I feel like you're our Lorenzo Mazzetti guy, Matt.

59:08Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I went to his press conference today. He said he didn't touch a racket for two weeks after the French Open. He was doing a lot of rehab work. It wasn't doing nothing in that time. But yeah, for sure. I think he's over the injury. I do think he's probably still got some strapping on the leg. I think it's just a lack of matches, a lack of, you know, real perfect preparation, really. He also got ill, he said, at the start of the week. So, yeah, I think he's vulnerable early because he just hasn't had good preparation for this tournament. It was also only last year I started to think of him as really a good grass court player.

59:59Catherine Whitaker: He didn't win his first matches on this surface until 2023 at tour level. And he won, I think, six that year, and then he won even more last year. And the game does make sense on the grass with the sliced backhand in particular. He talked about that in his press conference today as well. But given the preparation he's had, and given the fact that he's defending all those points as well, I think he's quite aware of that. It's sort of in his head that he's not really had a fair chance of being able to be at his best here, certainly in the early stages. Maybe he can work his way into the tournament, but I think he's definitely one of the higher seeds who's vulnerable early on, just for his sheer lack of matches.

1:00:46Matt Roberts: A lot of people asking how you become a friend of the tennis podcast. The link is in the show notes, Leo and others, and if we'll put it on Instagram as well, we'll put it everywhere. We'll make sure you find it very easy to become a friend of the Tennis Podcast. Apologies, I wasn't able to note down with all the multitasking that I'm attempting to do here who asked this question, but somebody asked a few minutes ago, do you think any of the top 10 seeds in either the men's or the women's draws are likely to have a first round exit?

1:01:19Catherine Whitaker: I wouldn't say likely no one's draw is hugely jumping out to me I think vulnerable seeds would be a Mazzetti I mean Bedos' ninth seed

1:01:31Matt Roberts: and we've called that a kind of 50-50 tomorrow against Bolter

1:01:35Catherine Whitaker: Medvedev is the ninth seed I think he's got a pretty good draw he's got Bonzi hasn't he and actually he's quite a good grass court player Medvedev I'm always just on a bit of alert for Medvedev these days

1:01:47Matt Roberts: Runa is being...

1:01:48Catherine Whitaker: Against Nicholas Jarry.

1:01:49Matt Roberts: There's a lot of people saying Runa here, Matt. Yeah, good for them. They could just be big Matt Roberts fans that have boarded the Jarry hype train. But, I mean, I feel like Runa could lose to anybody in the right set of circumstances.

1:02:05David Law: Which is ridiculous, isn't it? I mean, given how good he can be, how good he was in Barcelona a couple of months ago. I don't know how healthy he always is. he plays so often but yeah he should win that

1:02:22Jessica Pegula: Shelton is the 10th seed comes in on a three match losing streak hasn't done well on the grass this year and he plays well he plays Alex Bolt

1:02:31Catherine Whitaker: who look is in the grand scheme of things you probably think okay not bad draw but grass is his favourite surface and he qualifies kind of regularly he did so again this year he'll be giving Shelton a different look to what he's used to because Bolt likes to come in and come forward and he's a lefty as well, I think.

1:02:56Jessica Pegula: Again, I wouldn't say likely, but it's one that slightly jumps out to me if we're looking at those top 10 seats.

1:03:03Matt Roberts: LM asks, who will be Wimbledon's Lois Boisson? Which is... There won't be. It's impossible to answer, LM, because nobody knew of the existence of Lois Boisson before Roland Garros. I know that's an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

1:03:23Catherine Whitaker: Only because of Harriet Dahl.

1:03:25Matt Roberts: Well, exactly. The whole concept of Lois Boisson is that it would be somebody that right now we're not thinking about or even potentially knowing about.

1:03:33David Law: But if you're looking at a home player to have a run, that kind of thing, I mean, I'll be honest, My concern from a British perspective and a sort of home tournament vibe is that it really might not go very well.

1:03:49Iga Swiatek: I think that, I mean, there are a lot of players. You know, there's good representation. It's not just wild cards these days. You know, British players are doing pretty well, you know, certainly doing better than they have. But their draws are tough. You know, I give Casey Bolter a chance against Paola Badosa, but she could absolutely lose that. I mean, like you say, probably is the favourite to lose that. OK, there are two Brits playing with Raducanu's match, but, you know, I'm not convinced either one of them is going beyond the second round, put it that way. Fernley's playing Fonseca, that's tough.

1:04:28Iga Swiatek: And Jack Draper, we've talked about how tough his draw is. The other players, I mean, the interesting thing is there are one or two names that are not well known. And I'm fascinated to see whether somebody can come in. Stephen asks

1:04:42Matt Roberts: have the tennis pod team discussed mixed doubles at the US Open Stephen the answer is yes at great length and repeatedly and we will continue to is Stephen trolling us I don't know it could be it could be irony he could be new here either way the answer is the answer is yes just incidentally a lot of people mentioning joint Maya Joint and Alexandra Ayala Ayala came to press today and I watched this one on the screen it wasn't in the room but my goodness me she has a poise and a self-assurance beyond her years she's got Barbora Kraychikova she'll be opening centre court on Tuesday that's cool and she she was asked a question by I think sort of not a tennis journalist which was are you hoping for centre court and she was like I'm playing on centre court like I know I'm playing on centre court and get me there as soon as possible and I want to be excited about that because I'm excited about Ayala but I don't want to see a sad Barbora Krejcik of a situation because she's she's she's not physically right is she we had a

1:05:55Iga Swiatek: sad Marketa Vondrusova situation last year didn't we I think it was against Jessica Balthas-Maneiro if you remember and that great win for her and that introduced her to the world but you know one of the things I like about the fact that you got to speak to Vondrosova is we got to see a different person there because a year ago I remember thinking how sad that was how sort of you know to see the defending champion come out and have this big moment and then it it all go wrong it's a tough scene

1:06:28Matt Roberts: Abhinav asks if we get Bublik versus Draper in round three brackets. Yes, please. Who are you guys going for? Well, you'll have to tune in to the tennis podcast the night before that match if it happens. I think it will happen. Yeah. And I'm pumped. So we'll be talking about it right here. So make sure you tune in. What a promo that was. Well done me. Folks, we will be here nightly every single night of Wimbledon 2025. Not before 9.30pm local time. could be a bit later than that won't be too much later than that though because Matt

1:07:05Catherine Whitaker: because we're not before 9.30 and because there's a curfew no because Wimbledon has a curfew oh sorry yes I forgot my thing there's this tournament

1:07:13Matt Roberts: is this all because of Bruce

1:07:16Catherine Whitaker: yes it's called Wimbledon I'm now anti-curfews

1:07:21Matt Roberts: who even are you folks what I was trying to what I was trying to do there was tell you that Wimbledon has an 11pm curfew, so we are not before 9.30pm and we can't be much after 11pm. The best thing to do, if you want to make sure you don't miss us, is to subscribe to our channel because then you can get alert about when we are going live. We are so excited about Wimbledon 2025. We cannot wait to get going and we hope that you're able to join us either via podcasts or via live YouTubes or via YouTubes after the fact. We will be available to you everywhere you could possibly want to find us. So we hope you join us.

1:08:05Matt Roberts: We have a mascot for today's show. We, of course, have our mascots, Phoebe, Maisie and Roger. Hello to you all. The mascot for this show, though, is an in-memoriam mascot for Ted, who is owned by one of our loveliest, most longstanding and most supportive listeners, Mark Forbes, who gets Matt tickets to see Fulham at Southampton every year. He does.

1:08:33Catherine Whitaker: Mark is the kit man at Southampton. And actually, much more than that, he sort of holds Southampton Football Club together, I think. He's an extraordinary man. And, yeah, he's been very kind to get me down to St Mary's a couple of years, especially because the first time we went Fulham relegate to Southampton, I felt a little bit bad about that.

1:08:55Matt Roberts: yeah he's just a lovely man he's a lovely man and i'm so so sorry mark to hear of the loss of ted um he says this is bittersweet this is ted's third time as a mascot sadly he passed away on christmas eve while playing with our granddaughter he loved chasing tennis balls burying bones and listening to katherine on the podcast waiting for her to say squirrel so he could race into the garden and the belief he would find them there he's very much missed by all the family and as a wise three-year-old granddaughter keeps reminding us he is now in doggy heaven chasing tennis balls and squirrels he loved sitting on the sofa listening to the tennis podcast as he usually had a cuddle and got a doggy treat and we have a picture here of ted helping mark enjoy a pint it's an excellent picture and also an incredible portrait of ted it really is wonderful painted by former uk tennis player and now pet artist gabby taylor do you remember gabby taylor yeah yeah and actually

1:09:56David Law: ted was always been one of her great supporters as well and would often sort of update us on on how she'd been getting on and and that's isn't that lovely i mean yeah you know yeah we're thinking of you mark and and and it's it's a tough thing but um

1:10:12Matt Roberts: yeah he's always been so kind to us yeah an incredibly tough thing luckily billy june is going to live forever. That's what we've decided. That's what's happening. But Mark, thank you for that. That was absolutely beautiful. And Ted was a good one. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. We have shoutouts, Matt. Please talk while I deal with this wasp. Oh God.

1:10:39Catherine Whitaker: It's fine. It's gone. It's gone. We have Ian Nishimura

1:10:43Jessica Pegula: from Honolulu, Hawaii. Hi.

1:10:46Matt Roberts: Hello, Ian.

1:10:47Jessica Pegula: Hi, Ian. Ian has been a listener since 2017.

1:10:52Matt Roberts: So that would mean that Ian heard the incident where I got attacked by a bee live on the pod and David used it for content.

1:11:00Iga Swiatek: I mean, now you'd be proud of me. Back then, you weren't.

1:11:06David Law: Yeah, it was a tough scene. But, you know, fortunately we're still here.

1:11:10Matt Roberts: We are still here being attacked by insects.

1:11:12Catherine Whitaker: David did rush off to get help. I did. Secure the help and then say, can we use it for content?

1:11:18Matt Roberts: He made sure we were still recording, though, didn't he?

1:11:20Iga Swiatek: I made sure we were still recording and then I said, should we keep it in?

1:11:26David Law: And you said, sure. Mary Crillo was on the show. Yes, she was. Yeah. What on earth is going on here?

1:11:33Matt Roberts: Tennis Ians.

1:11:35David Law: Ian Flanagan is all I can think of off the top of my head. That's pretty good.

1:11:40Catherine Whitaker: Well, that's excellent because our next shout out is Carrie Flanagan.

1:11:43David Law: Wow. I did not know that's amazing Ian Flanagan and I hope that is the right

1:11:51Iga Swiatek: combo of names I believe it is was a British tennis player who was somebody who once had a run at Queen's and he beat Mark Filipousis which was quite a win

1:12:04Matt Roberts: I saw Mark Filipousis earlier

1:12:06Iga Swiatek: and he was also mates with Andy Roddick I think they must have come through the juniors or something and yes, they knew one another. But it was relatively a short-lived run in terms of actual career longevity.

1:12:23Matt Roberts: Ian Carey, I hope you enjoyed that edition of Ian Flanagan Relived, especially for you.

1:12:29Jessica Pegula: You just never know which tennis player David's going to know their life story on.

1:12:34Matt Roberts: That was extraordinary.

1:12:35Jessica Pegula: Yeah.

1:12:36Catherine Whitaker: Carey has been living in Northern Ireland for 30 years, but originally from South Carolina in the US.

1:12:44Jessica Pegula: Lovely stuff. And Carrie has Wimbledon tickets for round three, court one, this year.

1:12:51David Law: Oh, that's good.

1:12:52Matt Roberts: Fantastic. You'll have a good time, Carrie. Come and say hello to us here on the roof.

1:12:55David Law: Can I just say, somebody also coined around that time the name Flanmania.

1:13:02Matt Roberts: No, they didn't. They did. Off the back of the Filipistas win. I think it might have been the sun.

1:13:07David Law: I think there might have been a headline. Probably. Flan mania So there we are Ian and Carrie Ian Flanagan

1:13:17Matt Roberts: I'm going to think of that next time I'm eating a flan

1:13:24Jessica Pegula: And finally We have Nicholas Orrett Hello Nicholas

1:13:32Matt Roberts: Hi Nicholas What you got David for Nicholas

1:13:34Iga Swiatek: Nicholas Lepenti The player from Ecuador who once came with his brother Giovanni to Wimbledon, in fact, I think in 1999, and in the fifth and deciding rubber of the Davies Cup, they beat Great Britain, and it led to all sorts of sackings and so forth. Yes, I think Arvin Palmer lost the deciding rubber to Giovanni Lepenti. And Nicholas Lepenti might have been beaten by Tim Hemman and or Greg Rozenski earlier on.

1:14:13David Law: He's doing it again.

1:14:14Matt Roberts: I'm having a... Well, yes, David Riffing, but incredible. Was it this Nicholas last year that prompted you forgetting Nicholas Jarry?

1:14:29Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, he's written it in his... Has he? in his little shout out shall I give some more Nicholas's to help Nicholas the cause of last year's oh my god we forgot Nicholas Jarry and Matt not knowing how to say a word I still don't know how to say Bendigo Bendigo

1:14:45Matt Roberts: and I said Bendigo

1:14:49Catherine Whitaker: maybe Bendigo

1:14:51Matt Roberts: which is where

1:14:52Catherine Whitaker: Australia

1:14:52Matt Roberts: yes I think it's Bendigo they came for me last year and Nicholas Jarry there we go for the love of God, Nicholas Jarry and Eskode?

1:15:03Catherine Whitaker: I was just going to say

1:15:04Matt Roberts: Mau?

1:15:05Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, we came up with all of these ones last year.

1:15:07Matt Roberts: And actually I think it was Friday when we when we arrived to this spot, the first person I saw practising on court 18 behind us was Nicola Mau and of course court 18 is where he played and lost the longest tennis match of all time. That's a bit of a troll putting him on that court, isn't it? He's got a plaque. I wonder if he asked for it maybe be? We will try and find out, folks. That is it for our final preview of Wimbledon 2025. We'll be back tomorrow with our first daily show of 14 throughout the championships. We hope you're as pumped as we are. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching.

1:15:45Matt Roberts: We'll see you tomorrow.

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