Poland win United Cup, but is Swiatek’s form a worry?

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1:16Matt Roberts: Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast, coming to you from Melbourne, Solihull and London for one final time before our daily Australian Open Pods begin on Wednesday, otherwise known as One Point Slam Day. Between now and then, David and Matt will be traversing the entire planet, just like Carlos Alcaraz and Yannick Sinner in their private jet from Seoul. David, did you see the footage of them landing at their private terminal in Melbourne together, trying to pretend that they'd had a you know a tough a tough flight experience just like us but we all know that they'd just stepped off a private jet no no i haven't seen that uh i i never seek that out because you've painted a very good picture i reckon matt's seen it

2:13Catherine Whitaker: i've seen it yeah uh they they had to do the thing of being interviewed straight after a long-haul flight but i do have slightly less sympathy because of the private jet nature of their experience

2:29Matt Roberts: they were like oh i'm so tired so tired still sleepy like yeah yeah um good to have them in australia though they've really uh spent the last few days sort of encapsulating the entire landscape of men's tennis for us, haven't they? Everybody else thrashing around for points in various parts of Australia in very challenging conditions. Those two just having a laugh in South Korea, just playing their own tier of the sport. It was like a computer game where they just unlocked a level that nobody else had access to, and that is the situation in men's tennis at the moment. Yeah, no notes. Brand sinker-as, aren't they really?

3:25They come as a pair now. Was there a result from their match? I don't know whether I saw a result.

3:34Matt Roberts: Oh, I don't actually know. The results seem to be bromance. If I didn't know better, and this might just be my algorithm at the moment, if I didn't know better, I'd say both their agents have seen Heated Rivalry and given them some instruction.

3:53Catherine Whitaker: I think that's all of our algorithms. Capture the moment, guys.

3:57Matt Roberts: Yeah. I haven't seen it. I have downloaded it because I heard it was good. Start with Challenges, David. Hang on, David.

4:05Catherine Whitaker: You've done me with Heated Rivalry. Hang on, David. If you didn't want to watch Challenges on the plane, I can guarantee you're not going to want to watch Heated Rivalry on the plane.

4:13Matt Roberts: Hang on, have you actually downloaded it for the plane? Yeah, well, I've downloaded it as an option, but then I also recorded Jaws 1 and Jaws 2 the other day, which I haven't seen for about 38 years. So, I mean, I don't intend to watch any of these things. It just makes me feel, you know, part of it. What does... OK, yeah, I'm really excited, David, for you to be part of the Heated Rivalry discussion. nothing would thrill me i mean i mean frankly the discussion is very much happening tennis channel

4:45Catherine Whitaker: like in their official write-up of the event they said they are um sort of engaging in their heated rivalry an official account tennis tennis.com and part of the fun sort of social media content that the exhibition had them doing involved questions like what are you saved as in each other's phones things like this these are all very much do you think they understood those references no do you think they i think the people you know coming up with the event very much understood those references i would be shocked to my core if sinner and alcaraz have watched heated rivalry and are

5:28Matt Roberts: maybe they watched it together on their private plan i'd watch it on a private plane yeah just not not on a commercial plane david right what if my neighbors are asleep then i can you know sneak in a quick 15 minutes i david i wouldn't sneak in a quick 15 minutes okay maybe i'll start with challenges now that i've downloaded this you know maybe i can maybe it's all with challenges can be your gateway drug and we'll see how that goes and take it from there. I don't know what to do with Jaws 1 and 2. Probably not on a plane when I'm about to go overseas, I suppose. I don't know why you've done that to yourself because you talk a lot about how genuinely traumatic Jaws was for you as a child.

6:17Matt Roberts: You don't like any of my shark jokes. No. Yeah. I don't know why you've done that. Quite big on facing my fears. Well, I'd suggest you watch Challengers on the Plane then, David. okay don't intend to go and see in perth though so you know folks uh we suddenly have a lot to talk about in the tennis world uh we had a lot to talk about last night didn't we when we recorded our first tennis relived show of the year how long was it matt it was two hours and 16 minutes for the

6:53Catherine Whitaker: final edit there were a lot of andy marry near misses at the australian open yeah they're all

6:59Matt Roberts: That is how much content Andy Murray gave us to talk about with the theme of our show was, well, exactly as Matt said, Andy Murray's near misses at the Australian Open, kind of charting Andy Murray's career down under. Five finals is the most that any man or woman has ever played and lost without ever winning a final at that slam. That's an unfortunate record that Andy Murray has. Or, as we discussed in our intro to the show, an incredible record that Andy Murray has. He reached five finals at this place and ran into Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, two of the greatest players of all time. So there was a lot for us to get our teeth into.

7:44Matt Roberts: We really enjoyed the show, despite all the reliving of trauma. And if you'd like to become a friend of the Tennis Podcast, you can do that at any time. If you'd like to become a friend of the tennis podcast at pet mascot level, then the deadline to do that is a week from now. You just have one more week left to get your pet as a mascot for an episode of the tennis podcast. You also have one week left to book yourself a guest editor spot or to take us on at predictions for 2026. So on with the show and we start with the United Cup that is just finished up in Sydney at midnight local time, of course.

8:32Matt Roberts: And it finished with Poland beating Switzerland, two rubbers to one in a really exciting final. We all have just watched Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski beat the seemingly unbeatable Belinda Bencic and Jakub Paul 6-4, 6-3 in the deciding mixed doubles to clinch the tie for Poland finally. Finally, that after Belinda Bencic beat Igor Svantec 3-6, 6-love, 6-3. That gave Switzerland the lead and it gave Belinda Bencic her ninth win of the tournament across singles and doubles. Then we saw Hubert Hercacz defeat Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. That second set for Wawrinka described by David Law as heroic but pointless.

9:21Matt Roberts: and then as I've just said Kawa and Zielinski putting in an epic performance to beat Bencic and Paul and finally win the United Cup for Poland because Matt, speaking of near misses Poland have had some in this competition

9:40Catherine Whitaker: Yes, I believe they may have had a match point previously to win the whole thing and just not quite be able to get there I think that was against Germany, wasn't it? And it does feel like Poland have been one of the standout teams of the United Cup over the last four years or so. You know, they've really committed to it with Igor Sviontek there, starting her season, obviously backed up really well by Hubert Hercacz. And this year with Kawa and Zielinski as well in the doubles being absolutely fantastic. And it is a slightly odd feeling to have, you know, Poland winning the United Cup. And yet it wasn't Iga Svjantek being the total leader of that team, earning the most points, stepping in in doubles and sort of taking it all on and always winning the singles.

10:32Catherine Whitaker: It was actually, OK, she got some singles wins at the start of the event. But actually, it was the remarkable form of Hubert Hercacz on his comeback and that double specialist duo of Kawa and Zielinski that have ended up getting this done for Poland really, really impressively. And yeah, I wouldn't have thought that that would be possible for Poland if Iga Svantec was going to have the tournament that she would have for them to come out and win it. So it's a kind of strange feeling. I think nice to see Svjantek at the end there looking so happy and so pleased and so part of that team, even without her own individual success in the last couple of days.

11:14Catherine Whitaker: But definitely a few days that brings up a lot of questions about the Igor Svjantek form heading into the Australian Open. But yeah, like it does feel about right that Poland have finally won the United Cup, as you say.

11:30Matt Roberts: yeah let's talk about the eager shantek of it all because she did look so genuinely happy just now to be leaving sydney to finally won this thing with poland we know what it means to her to to represent poland we know that that defeat in the olympic semi-final was one of the most crushing of her career in fact i think some of the most devastating shantek scenes that we've witnessed have been at the Olympics and just look at the support that that Poland get at the United Cup they've got nuns showing up I don't understand the nun it's not for me but people seem really into it um and you know she she she carries the brunt of that pressure doesn't she you know bless you but her catch but she's bearing the brunt of that pressure and of course pressure is a privilege etc but you know it's a lot and she looked genuinely so thrilled and that was great to see and she's leaving with that happy feeling but she's also David leaving with the feeling of two consecutive quite bruising defeats to near rivals and that is unusual there aren't many tournaments where it's even possible to leave with two consecutive defeats to near rivals the only other one really is the WTA finals and if you're leaving there it's at least the end of your season and you can put it behind you and go to the Maldives she's now got to go to the Australian Open with that feeling yeah it's a strange place for her to be it is it is because Coco Goff really took it to her and then Belinda Bencic in sets three two and three really took it to her and I I mean, look, they played out of their minds.

13:15I was really impressed with both of them. And I think that that must be factored into any analysis of where Svantec is, because it's not all on her racket. You know, there are sometimes you're going to play somebody who's going to take it away from you. And those two, I feel like, did that. But at the same time, the very best players, when they are at their best, find a way. tweak something find a way to ride out the storm maybe find a level that even their opponent can't deal with and I realise in best of three sets that's more tricky but I think Sabalenka tends to find a way more than Svantec does Svantec is the most incredible front runner and we saw in her first couple of matches that she played at the United Cup She just looked bang on it.

14:09You know, they're over so quickly. And I was very interested to watch her play against Coco Goff because, you know, theirs is an interesting rivalry. Totally one-sided for years. And Goff couldn't even get a win. And then suddenly she gets one. And then she seems to establish a bit of a blueprint of how to play her. And she actually now seems to be playing her best tennis when it's against Igušvantec. It's almost like it unleashes her. and she stops worrying about the fiddly bits she's got to think about on a server or forehand. She just goes for it, targets bits of Sviantec's game with power and rushes her and kind of takes over.

14:50And Sviantec doesn't seem to have an answer to that really now. And meanwhile, Bencic, a player who's just not lost a match all week at the United Cup, 9-0. That is extraordinary stuff. Once she hits her straps, it's a very difficult game to combat. But usually you feel as though the very top players will just kind of not allow that. Well, Svantec doesn't appear to have enough feel on her big shots to be able to totally trust them. And James Hansen, the athletics editor, was doing some analysis on his social media account of what Schwantek's trying to do with Wim Fusetta and has been trying to do for the last year or so of trying to bring a bit of the variety back and not just have this all-out aggression that she had under Thomas Witt-Koroski.

15:44And yet that's kind of ended up being in her DNA because of how well-conditioned it is. And so she is a bit caught on a hard court, I think, at the moment.

15:54Matt Roberts: yeah it's not it's not the fact of her losing to goth and bencic playing out of their minds it's the pattern of these defeats i think and it's a continuation of a pattern that we saw last year and we were kind of wary about being too alarmist about these sort of defeats that seem to, these matches that seem to get away from Shontek and crumble before her and our eyes because she won Wimbledon last year. You know, as we discussed in all of our various review shows, we think she'd have signed for last season at the start of it. It was a good season for Iga Shontek. And yet there was this slightly dark underbelly of defeats that looked like this, where once the match got away from her once her opponent gets her teeth into the match she starts malfunctioning and her appears to resort to the default of hitting harder and taking more and more risk the opposite of what we understand that her project is with with Wimfocet and it's it's becoming pretty maddening to watch because it's you know it's the def it's the definition of madness you know doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome is the kind of proverbial definition of madness and yet it feels like that is what we're watching in these types of matches she still has matches where she looks absolutely awesome throughout and she's cleaning really great players clocks but these matches are happening and shantek wants to be a Grand Slam champion and this this is a problem Matt it is a problem yeah and you know you use

17:48Catherine Whitaker: that word pattern the pattern now is that it feels like when Svantec goes up against fellow top players more often than not at the moment she's not winning those matches you know and she always used to have dominant records over over fellow top players but that is something that has really changed in the last year or so. And I think it is because of what you describe in terms of these players are good enough now to be able to push her and make it stressful and create pressure. And in those moments, Svantec caught between playing styles is going down the route of hitting harder and harder and is doing it in quite a hectic manner and losing control of her game.

18:40Catherine Whitaker: And we've seen it on clay last year even. We've seen it a lot on the hard courts. Oddly, the outlier now in terms of the last year or so was Wimbledon. And I do think there was something to be said there for a tournament where it did feel like the pressure was off quite a lot more. I know she faced opponents there in the latter stages who have since beaten her and proved to be in her category. It wasn't like she had a kind draw whatsoever with Bencic and Anissim over there at the end. But neither of those players really showed up in those matches to anything like their best due to sort of injury for Bencic.

19:17Catherine Whitaker: And I just think total nerves for Anissim over in that final. But it is a problem for Jviontek now, like increasingly so. And I don't know. I don't know sort of how much time you give it, you know, like it's just been with Wimperset for quite. while now and these things don't seem to be improving and I think the other thing that happened during Wimbledon was that she had a particularly good serving tournament and she carried that on in Cincinnati and sort of that that summer spell she served well unfortunately her serve seems to have dropped off a cliff again and it makes her extremely vulnerable and allows these other players I think to get into the match and get and be able to attack that shot and that creates the stress so from a technical point of view i really think the serve needs to improve and get back to where it was sort of through the summer last year and that would help sort of alleviate maybe some of the stress at times like it did at wimbledon and and cincinnati but i do think the issue runs deeper than that and and trying to manage these moments of of stress better is a huge task for Igor Sviontek right now.

20:33Catherine Whitaker: And it feels like a lot of the field, not, you know, I'm talking mostly about the other best players in the world, have caught up to Igor Sviontek over the last year or so. You know, I think the gap between Sviontek and Sabalenka has grown. Sabalenka has sort of moved ahead. And the other players have sort of slightly caught up to Igor Sviontek. Not enough sort of over the course of the season to counter her genuinely phenomenal still consistency across all tournaments. That's why she's still the number two in the world. But in sort of a lot of individual matches now, you feel like there's a lot more players that can beat Igor Fiontech than there were a couple of years ago.

21:15Catherine Whitaker: And it makes things tougher. for her.

21:22Matt Roberts: The Goff match-up, I feel, particularly shows up, sheds a light on the problem with Iga Svantec because A, Goff is loose in that match-up in a way that she doesn't seem to be a lot of the... A lot of her serving and forehand issues do just seem to kind of miraculously evaporate when she's on the court with Svantec now. And number two, I think Gough Gough knows that if she can hang in the rally long enough, Iga Svantec will make a mistake and nobody hangs in a rally better than Coco Gough. She makes balls that absolutely nobody else can make. I reckon she makes 25 % more balls than pretty much anybody else in the WTA.

22:12Matt Roberts: It's that ridiculous. And yeah, she's like, okay I'll rest on my positives and you're going to cough up enough errors for me to do this thing. And I'm comfortable in that dynamic. And yeah, it's slightly alarming to watch.

22:33Catherine Whitaker: It's eight sets in a row now that Goff has won against Svante. Four matches in a row, all of them straight sets. A total turnaround of that head-to-head. And it did sort of get me thinking about Savalenka's comment in that press conference after she'd lost to Goff in the French Open final saying, oh, well, Iga would have won. And, you know, I kind of sort of bristled at that at the time and thought, I mean, probably, but I wouldn't be so sure. And now, having seen the last few months play out, it does sort of feel like Goff has figured out how to play Svantec and maybe could have even done the same thing in that French Open final to Svantec to what she did to Sabalenka.

23:15Catherine Whitaker: And yeah, the way Goff's forehand holds up now in those exchanges is really, really notable. And she puts pressure on Svantec in a different way. Yes, I think she does try to be a bit more aggressive, generally Goff, when she plays Fiontech. But she also shrinks Fiontech's court with her court coverage. And Fiontech doesn't have the margins to play with and can end up hitting out.

23:40Matt Roberts: But the thing is, Matt, she could have the margins to play with. She has such skill. We know she can put the shape on the ball. and she can do, she has the skill set to do what it, what it A, looks so clearly like she needs to do and B, what she and Winfossette have told us is the plan for her to do. So it's sort of strange thinking about the Winfossette situation because you think, well, look, this isn't working and yet it sounds like what he's telling her to do is the right thing. So either it's just not, you know, we were talking about it in the Andy Murray show yesterday, weren't we? You know, sometimes it's about who you hear things from with coaching.

24:25It's not necessarily about what they're saying. I also think it's more complicated, though, guys, just in as much as you try to establish variety, you know. OK, so when? So when do you choose which shot? It's not as easy as it used to be. Just go in for it.

24:43Matt Roberts: very true but I think this is I think this isn't about variety actually this is just about slightly more conservative type of tennis just not pulling the trigger on every when to do every

24:59Catherine Whitaker: shot is the decision making issue yeah I just felt like today against Benchik she came out with totally the right plan like that first set was a really good set Benchik said it herself she felt like she was playing well and yet she was three love down right at the start because Svante was hitting with height and spin and shape and control on her shots. Like she was being aggressive but she wasn't being reckless with it. It was really good for Miga Svante. Like really good. That tennis is so clearly still there for her. It's just she lost it and wasn't able to get it back. And obviously, like you said, David, Bencic, I mean, whenever she puts on a Swiss shirt is the best version of herself and was absolutely phenomenal.

25:44Catherine Whitaker: And maybe even if Svante had kept playing well, she still wouldn't have won this match. But she never managed to get that style of tennis back. It became played on Bencic's terms completely. And I just found that odd how it disappeared for Svante over the course of the match, I suppose.

26:05Matt Roberts: Let's talk about Bencic, shall we? Bencic has been Bencic has been awesome before Bencic has been awesome in okay not quite this tournament but the equivalent of this tournament she's been awesome at the Hotman Cup I think I once picked her at least to reach the final of the Australian Open in our podcast predictions off the back of some brilliance at the Hotman Cup I'm going to say 2019 could have been 2018 anyway is this different David don't know don't know um I mean it's awesome but the first week of the year how did I just think it's so hard to draw conclusions if somebody told me that Coco golf wasn't going to be in the final throws of the Australian Open last year after the week she had at the United Cup, I would not have believed it.

27:05I do think it's exciting for Bencic coming in. If she plays this sort of tennis, she's absolutely a contender for the title, I think, to go really deep. I do think it's problematic if she runs into the very biggest hitters with her serve. But they've also got to play well. I know it's not very satisfactory as a sort of conclusion but I think her form is exciting but I don't think you can draw conclusions that it's going to be different necessarily.

27:39Catherine Whitaker: The serve is an interesting point though, isn't it? Because this is a new service technique that she's got going into a slam with it for the first time. She sort of changed it after the US opened, didn't she, last year.

27:53Matt Roberts: And she changed it not to improve it but to protect her shoulders. She was experiencing shoulder pain and that always worries me, you know, especially when it's one of these abbreviated motions. They're never particularly pretty on the eye, are they, the abbreviated motions? And yet, and yet, this seems to be working extremely well for her, Matt.

28:17Catherine Whitaker: It does, yeah. You know, I think one of the things we talked about at Wimbledon last year is that the grass kind of suited her serve because she doesn't really have an easy kick serve that she can hit. It is much more of a slice serve, so stays low, skids through on the grass, whereas I think a lot of times she's come unstuck in the biggest matches against the best players because the slice second serve is a little bit less reliable than the kick second serve. And yeah, just generally that shot has let her down. If the Benksic serve has leveled up, then that is a point of difference. going into this Grand Slam compared to previously.

29:01Catherine Whitaker: And from what we saw at the United Cup, it looked like it has, but I do think the test comes at the Australian Open. And right now, it still feels like unlikely to me that she would win the Australian Open, partly because of the form of Marina Sabalenka, by the way, today in Brisbane, which we'll get to. But she's playing pretty much as well as anyone else. it's just that I would you know I would probably back Gough more in a slam because she's been there and done it and I would even back Sviontek more in a slam because she's been there and done it you know like that experience counts for something so I'm very impressed with Bencic and I think her name in the draw is going to be one of the first ones I'm looking out for like who's which top seed could she potentially just disrupt in in the sort of fourth round quarterfinal stage, I suspect.

29:55Matt Roberts: I think she, was she going to be ninth seed, tenth seed, something like that? So, yeah, potentially a fourth round opponent for one of the very top players, which is interesting.

30:10Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, and look, she was brilliant, but as I said, she is normally her best self in these team competitions. And I don't just mean Billie Jean King Cup as well, Olympics, you know, when she puts on, puts on that Swiss shirt, those colours, she does seem to find something extra. And I know that's such unsatisfactory analysis, but I haven't got anything else to go on.

30:36Matt Roberts: But the record speaks for itself. The record playing for Switzerland is unreal. Yeah, it really is. And slams are different. The very best players come with their very best stuff more often at the slams and find something. And she's got something more to play for than Grand Slam Glory, and that is reclaiming her place on the backhand list. Maybe that's the fire in her belly.

30:58Catherine Whitaker: Or maybe she's already done it.

31:03Catherine Whitaker: Sorry, Maya, joint. Oh, is this official? Yeah.

31:09Matt Roberts: Is that an announcement?

31:10Catherine Whitaker: That is. That is.

31:11Matt Roberts: How long was Maya joint on the list for?

31:14Catherine Whitaker: Since Eastbourne last year. She had a good run. Benchik has served her sentence for using her protected ranking to enter US Open mixed doubles with Alexander Zverev she's had a period away from the backhand list but I'm sorry it's undeniable I love that backhand I love it it is it's why it was on the OG list

31:38Matt Roberts: I came to understand it this week watching it I watched a lot of Belinda Benchik from a very lovely position in the RAC arena in Perth and it's a it's a real connoisseur's game Belinda Bencic is isn't it it's not in your face like it's not it's not brute power it's not I don't know everything about it is quite subtle it's you know take the the timing and the taking the ball early it'd be quite hard to explain to a non-tennis fan why she's so good um but I I've always I've always understood that she's really good but I really really came to appreciate the joy of watching it uh this week so there's just such a smoothness Matt I get it but I do think that's quite brutal for poor old Maya joint coming into her in sensation season I know in sense yeah she barely got a racket on the ball against Fionta let alone a backhand right seeing those seeing those like we had the matchup to compare, right?

32:46Catherine Whitaker: We saw the damage the Bencic backhand did. It's in a different league. It has to be on the list.

32:54Matt Roberts: OK, well, other than poor old Maya Joint being rubbish, anything else from the United Cup that's unfolded over the last few days that we would like to pick out to talk about? David? I'd like to just throw a word in the way of Hubert Hercats, who has just been fantastic I mean, this guy couldn't play for six, seven months because of a knee surgery. You know, I mean, the thought of coming back on a knee that you don't know how he's going to react under pressure and playing like that. I mean, he beat Zverev, he beat Fritz, he's beaten Vrinka today. He's serving so well. And I mean, I know that it might not be the same under best of five sets.

33:44And look, I would probably expect that. I would probably expect him to hit a wall at some point. But still, absolutely sensational run of performances. And the manner in which he did them as well felt a little bit different to what I've seen from him before. Or perhaps just being fresh and being back has been exciting and stopped him worrying.

34:07Matt Roberts: Nicholas Massoud has spent a lot of time being a sort of coach with no coaching to do, hasn't he? Because he's stuck by Dominic Thiem through his extended absence and he's stuck by Hubert Hercatch. It was really lovely to see him back on the sidelines.

34:25Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, in Polish colours, as they do at the United Cup. That is an odd element of the United Cup, isn't it?

34:33Matt Roberts: Yeah, I love it.

34:35Catherine Whitaker: And Jim Curio was saying in commentary how, I think it was a year ago, that her catch switched racket and was very much hoping for one that would give him a bit more pop on the ball. And yet then comes his season where he's injured and isn't really able to get to grips with that or play enough matches with it. He's obviously stuck with that racket for his comeback. and Courier was saying he feels like Herkac suddenly looks a lot more comfortable with that racket, like he spent a lot more time with it and they were, you know, putting up the stats on his sort of reps on the ball in terms of his forehand, which has always been his dodgy shot and he was way up, you know.

35:14Catherine Whitaker: He was able to hit that shot with a lot more topspin and control generally through this tournament and obviously serving out of his mind. So, you know, that made him so dangerous and he's going to be one of the most dangerous players in that Australian Open draw based on the form he's had. No one is going to want to draw Hubert Hurk actually in the first couple of rounds. For him, slams have always been a bit of a problem for him. His slam record compared to his tour record is quite disappointing but whether he can now take this to a slam is to be seen. But yeah, props to him because he really was incredible this week in a way that I just was not expecting at all so soon into his comeback.

36:03Matt Roberts: If Hubert Hercats could have a good forehand, he'd be the best player in the world.

36:11And unable to get over the line.

36:13Matt Roberts: He'd be the third best player in the world.

36:17Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, third best player in the world is really up for grabs.

36:21Matt Roberts: He's so up and around. He's just beaten that one, hasn't he? Quite handily the other day. Yeah, absolutely. Taylor Fritz looks to be struggling, doesn't he? Yeah, I mean, it looks like he's going to play the Australian Open, but he lost to Sitsapas, lost to Hercatch. You know, he was competitive in both those matches. He's not sort of a shadow of himself or anything, but he's not winning them. And he's expended a lot of sort of knee canister on them. And it doesn't sound like he's got a lot of knee canister to spare at the moment. Knee canister is an amazing line. People get the idea. Anything else to mention?

37:07Matt Roberts: Belgium? Do Belgium deserve a little mention? Yes.

37:12Catherine Whitaker: Absolutely. Go on then. well Mertens and Bengtich played a great match didn't they Mertens actually came the closest to to beating Bengtich 7-6 in the third she really didn't play a good final set tie break lost it without winning a point Mertens but up until that point and that was in brutal conditions that day in in Sydney like really really extreme heat that they were having to play and I was so impressed with both players. And then Zizi Berg's has been an absolute revelation. He lost his... Well, actually, maybe not a revelation. Maybe that's sort of doing what he did at the back end of last season a disservice because I think this sort of run has been coming and he's felt like a coming player and he's just put it together this week.

38:03Catherine Whitaker: He lost his first match of the tournament but then kept winning. And yeah, every time I looked up, he seemed to be doing something really impressive on the court or twerking on social media. Like, what a week for ZZU Bergs.

38:19Matt Roberts: I like ZZU Bergs. Yeah, I'm a big fan. I hope he happens because I think he'd be good news in men's tennis. World number three is up for grabs, ZZU.

38:35Matt Roberts: Look, I don't want to be a downer. And obviously we've had our fun with Sinner and Alcaraz on the private jet. And I stand by that fun. But mentioning the extreme heat and conditions in Sydney, which were very challenging just to watch. You know, that stadium was empty for large sways of yesterday because it was unbearable to sit in those conditions. And they put the roof on the stadium and that kind of just held the heat in it. We had a message on Instagram from somebody who went to the tournament and had been looking forward to it for a long time and was absolutely just gutted to be confronted with those conditions that they couldn't sit in.

39:21Matt Roberts: you know noted that it would be impossible for elderly or remotely infirm people to to to go to a tennis event and experience those kind of conditions and just sort of the juxtaposition of that and then you know al-Khraz and Sinna arriving via private jet it just and sort of looking around like oh is anybody going to draw a line between these between the between the climate change and the private jets or are we all just going to I don't know my snowflake moment it does feel a bit like does anybody care about this stuff anymore there's a Michael Jackson musical that's just opened down the road here in Melbourne I'm like nobody cares about stuff anymore anyway that's it for part one join us in part two when we'll talk about other tennis stuff.

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42:41Matt Roberts: Welcome back to part two of today's pod, where we should definitely talk now about Irina Sabalenka, who has won Brisbane again, who has nailed herself on as if she needed nailing anywhere. But she has further nailed herself on as the heavy favourite for the Australian Open title with a win in the final over Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk, 6-4, 6-2. Now, yeah, on paper, she was the heavy favourite in that match-up. But how about the players that Kostyuk beat to get there? Three top ten players in a row. Amanda Inisimova, Mira Andreva, Jessica Bagula. Marta Kostiuk was awesome this week. And Sabalenka took care of her quite handily in that final, having beat Karina Mukova in the semifinals.

43:32Matt Roberts: A joyful match, that semifinal, that I watched almost in its entirety, that David, you watched in the middle of the night. And, you know, she's taken care of everybody this week, Sabalenka and lots of different types of players as well like just the absolute dream preparation for Melbourne yeah I think that's true it's on both counts kind of I sort of feel like the United Cup as wonderful an event as it is is emotionally very tiring like I look at the the teams that were out there it's wonderful and I'm sure it'll give them great feels but I also wonder how tired they all are after it, you know, when they go to Melbourne.

44:15Whereas I look at Sabalenka, who's played Brisbane, and she has encountered all these different playing styles and players who are playing well. And she's just sort of worked them out as she's gone along. I mean, the match against Mugov, she was absolutely sensational, really, to use the old word. And she was... The most devastating shot in many ways for me was her use of the backhand drop shot because you could see, and the same happened a little bit in a couple of moments today, where an opponent is drawing her into a slice exchange or a shot where she's got to use that, and then suddenly she'll just throw in a drop shot.

44:53And she plays it with such confidence and such knowledge of when to do it and what it'll do to the opponent and what to do after it, you know, where to run. And it's become a real weapon in the game of Uriina Sabalenka. Mukava tried everything you know she tried everything she's got in that expansive toolkit of hers she's had a good week she looks healthy thank goodness but she just couldn't make any impact against Sabalenka and then you had the final today with a player who could make impact actually I think what Marta Kostic has shown this week as a real light bulb discovery for me I did not know she had that sort of power I'm not even sure that she really realized that if she just opened her shoulders quite like that that the devastation that she could cause against those those big hitting opponents that she's beaten I mean she lost three games against Jessica Bagula um but again you know she was three left down in the final against Sabalenka pretty nervy opening then suddenly she reeled off three games in a row with just the most awesome hitting and and looking at Sabalenka and thinking I wonder what she's making out of that and really she became steadier Sabalenka in the match and and Kostiuk didn't but I hope that this isn't just a one week moment of exciting tennis from Kostiuk above her normal level I hope this is the new her because to me that new level if if it is repeatable puts her in with the top 10 players in the world, you know, and the players that could be in the quarterfinals and maybe better.

46:35But I don't know whether it's just the one week.

46:40Matt Roberts: Matt, a new Marta Kostiuk?

46:43Catherine Whitaker: I mean, she has always been one of those players who I've looked at and thought, you could be ranked higher than you are. You could be doing even better than you are. I do feel like she's been almost waiting to happen for quite a while now. But I do think, again, the serve has often been a bit of an issue for her, which I think looked good this week. And as David said, that extra firepower that she had was really notable. So yes, I definitely, to me, it felt quite repeatable what she was doing, given the foundations that she's laid over the last couple of years or so with her game. So, yeah, I definitely feel pretty confident that Kostiuk can have a good season and keep this up.

47:37Matt Roberts: We were braced for things being awkward after the match. We knew there wasn't going to be a handshake because Marta Kostiuk, like a lot of the Ukrainian players doesn't do handshakes with Russian and Belarusian opponents. Sabalenka knew there wasn't going to be a handshake. The camera's cut away from it, but I don't... I think that all sort of played out fairly smoothly. Sabalenka was caught on mic on the broadcast. I was watching saying to the, I think it was the WTA communications representative, they were discussing, you know, ceremony requirements and Sabalenka said there's not going to be a picture with the two of us, right?

48:18Matt Roberts: And there wasn't a picture with the two of them. And it was incredibly sad and uncomfortable, Matt. I think even more so than I was expecting and I was braced for it.

48:37Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, I think definitely. Kostiuk I thought spoke incredibly well during the ceremony she didn't mention Sabalenka by name in a way that often you know players will do in the ceremony they'll normally start with their opponent and and congratulating them but she did uh sort of say I thank all my opponents this week for the matches and sort of helping to bring out this level in me. And then when it was Sabalenka's turn to speak, she did start by congratulating Marta Kostiuk. She didn't turn round to look at her when she said those words, but she said the right things and spoke very nicely about Kostiuk's game and wished her well for the season ahead.

49:28Catherine Whitaker: And then I don't think there were any, as you said, photos of them together afterwards i think they were done um individually um and of course there was also the sort of added layer of mess uh between them because of because of what happened at the end of last year when kostiuk was taken out of context by tennis 365 uh with her with her comments about um sabalenka being more powerful um and that situation i don't i don't know whether sabalenka was fully across the uh revision that came out afterwards i i think that that that reporting was so bad and so irresponsible that the damage had already been done and you know what they did was inserted a question about intimidation um so it made it really sound like Kostiuk was saying something worse about Sabalenka um and also they took out her comments about um Kostiuk saying that she's she's she's sure that players are not taking anything to boost their testosterone levels and they sort of left it open in that original reporting that Kostiuk might have been hinting at that um i still think you can maybe have some issues with what kostiuk said there um but it was nowhere near as bad as it first seemed when the correction from tennis 365 eventually came but it strikes me that just the damage has been done there and very notably Sabalenka kissed her biceps when she won the match today.

51:26Matt Roberts: In the men's final in Brisbane, Daniel Medvedev, he's back, folks, or is he? I don't know. He beat Brandon Nakashima in the final 6-2, 7-6. He's back, although he's still doing the thing that he's always done, which is winning titles. He's never won before. I had a moment of panic when he was a breakup in the second set of this of this final. Because I thought he'd won Brisbane. I thought, has he won Brisbane before? No, he can't do this. The universe can't allow this to happen. This is one of my favourite, funniest trivia things in tennis. But no, he hasn't won Brisbane before. so it was on he had a little wobble there at the end got broken back and taken to a tie break by nakashima but then accelerated through the tie break very quickly impossible question for you both is daniel medvedev back certainly partially certainly partially um and and i think the rest of the story will unfold in front of us and i know again that's unsatisfactory punditry in many ways but the fact is I think he's playing way way better he's playing the best he's played since he was back here whatever but I don't feel like he's at the level he used to be at yet because it's not a big enough sample size I think at the end of last year he was already showing improved form and improved interest the fact that he kind of changed his whole team and brought Thomas Johansson on board I thought that was a really important moment for him of realization and recognition acknowledgement that he was he was gone really and and it was a big question mark do you do you really want to put the work in do you really want to uncover all the stones to try and get back there again and it's not going to be an overnight thing and it's still not but to win this title off the back of the improvements he's clearly made and he's got his nice short back and sides haircut and he suddenly looks neat and He looks invested.

53:35I think his interest level is back. I think his tennis is looking good. But let's not forget just how good he used to be. You know, this is a guy who was right there with Nadal and Djokovic. And, I mean, OK, not as good as them. But he was fighting out for the titles. He used to beat Yannick Sinner all the time. And then suddenly he stopped beating him. And some of that is because Sinner got so good as well. but clearly Medvedev regressed. And I just feel like it looks like the fog has cleared in his brain and he's really up for it. So I'm fascinated to see whether his body can cope, whether his game is, you know, at some point, some players lose something with the game.

54:20They lose a bit of potency. And I'm trying to find out whether he's still got that or not. And I'm not sure yet.

54:27Matt Roberts: Maybe the comb over was the problem. he's ditched the comb over and he's back I thought Matt that his ground strokes had bite back on them still question marks about the serve I'm not sure the serve will ever be back to 2019 pre-hernia levels but I thought from the back of the court there was a bit more pep in the shots.

55:00Catherine Whitaker: Yes, I thought the same actually and I'm wary because I do think those conditions in Brisbane generally are quite quick, aren't they? And maybe that also helped Marta Kostiuk find a bit of extra in her ground strokes. But also I think with Kostiuk it was the intent behind them really that was so notable and I think with Medvedev it was definitely there, who was definitely able to hurt opponents again. He served really well in this match against Tiafoe. And I do think his first serve has, like you say, not got back to its peak level, but I do think it's better than where it was. I think his shoulder was a bit of an issue for a while.

55:40Catherine Whitaker: It strikes me that maybe that's a bit better than it was. I still think the second serve he's got some problems with. But I was impressed today because I felt like I'd seen Medvedev lose that match he played today a lot last year. You know, where he serves for it, double faults on match point, loses his way. And I thought he could completely go there and implode. But kind of what David's saying about how some of the fog's cleared and he seems a little bit calmer on court and he reset, to use Pam Shriver's word, really well in that tie break. And yeah, like, let's see if he can beat Benjamin Bonzi in the first round of a slam before declaring him back.

56:23Catherine Whitaker: And his form last year at the Slams was absolutely appalling. He won one match, I think, at the Slams all of last year. Nothing to defend. Right. So I tend to come down on the side as David, like I don't think Never Dave's ever going to be back to where he was in terms of world number one and, you know, right at the top of the sport. I do think those days have gone, but I remember us having a conversation at the end of the last year about whether he could get back in the ATP finals, for example, in 2026. And it feels like that is achievable, you know, with this form, with the picture of men's tennis right now.

57:01Catherine Whitaker: You know, we've talked about Fritz struggling. Daniil, world number three is up for grabs. Right. Like, it is, really. And Medvedev is, you know, if Zverev's in that conversation, if Fritz is in that conversation, which they are, I would say this kind of form from Medvedev would, and given his history in terms of he has won a lot of titles and done a lot of winning, it would put him in that conversation. So a sort of half and half. He's back to something closer to.

57:39Matt Roberts: He's not in the abyss.

57:41Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, he's not in the doldrums.

57:44Matt Roberts: because he really was for a little bit there he was but yeah let's if the draw gods like us at all they will draw him to face Benjamin Bonzi in round one of the Australian Open because that's the only way we'll truly know if he's back let's go back to the women let's head to Auckland where Alina Svitolina won the title she beat Wong Jin Yu in the final there 6-3, 7-6, some very good Svitolina Monfils vibes over in Auckland. Hasn't Monfils won the men's title there before? In fact, didn't he win it to become the oldest human ever to win anything? Isn't that a thing?

58:31Catherine Whitaker: Sounds possible.

58:32Matt Roberts: He definitely won it at quite a late stage in his career, shall we say. Back when, David, you declared him the player of the season, I think. Well, I was right at that point. He was awesome. You persuaded me. I signed up for your... First three months of the year, he was absolutely sensational last year. Well, what played he was Vitalina? And he did indeed beat Zizou Berg's in the final 6-3, 6-4 last year in Auckland. And I did see a bit of Vitalina. Really close match with Sonny Cartel. That was good. she was playing well. I mean, she was playing solid, you know. We've got so used to her hitting the Livingdale outside the ball in the last couple of years, but she was moving incredibly well.

59:21She was just like a moving wall. And I was thinking, you know, good luck knocking that down.

59:27Catherine Whitaker: Yeah, Cartel served for the match there, didn't she, against Vitalina, but she did well to turn it round. And yeah, I thought this final, which was sort of the only one of the finals today I didn't watch live, I had to resort to highlights. It was a 4am job in the UK for this. And there was going to be about five tennis matches starting at 6am. So I had to pace myself. But I felt like it was her experience shining through in this one. It felt like she played the big moments better than Wong, who impressed in that second set. And she's got such a good finals record for Selena. She's won 19 of her 23 finals on the WCA Tour.

1:00:10Catherine Whitaker: She knows how to get these done and close them out when she's in those latter stages. It's really impressive, this second career that she's built for herself, for Linus Vitalino, and continues to impress.

1:00:27Matt Roberts: Heading to Hong Kong, prepare yourself for heartbreak. Lorenzo Mazzetti has lost another final.

1:00:35Catherine Whitaker: He needs to have a word with Svitolina.

1:00:37Matt Roberts: This time to Alexander Bublik, who makes his top 10 debut as a result of this result this week in Hong Kong. He was likely to make his top 10 debut kind of regardless at some point in the next few weeks because he's got basically nothing to defend. but still it has happened and that's an incredible achievement for him. Lorenzo Mazzetti has made his top five debut as celebrated by Flavio Caballi on Instagram in sort of just good Italian vibes. Caballi was hitting at Melbourne Park with Sara Arani today. Oh really? Yeah, he's just the sort of Italian vibes guy. He's the David Law of Italian tennis.

1:01:25Matt Roberts: so look that is incredible for Lorenzo Mazzetti and the good news is that world number three is up for grabs Lorenzo well and Alexander Bublik but the bad news is you have lost another final and you haven't won one now since 2022 and that is a problem yeah I would think overall they come out of this tournament both of those two feeling pretty good I mean, Bud Blick in the top 10 for the first time, he was absolutely bowled over by it at the end in the sort of celebration. You could sell that really meant something to him. And obviously a year has gone by and he was in nowhere a year ago. But Mazzetti's just been doing it incrementally, hasn't he?

1:02:09And because he hasn't won titles on along the way, it's pretty hard to make these sort of ranking gains when you're not actually holding any trophies at the end of it all. So he's been very consistent. and I do feel like this is a step in a real step in the right direction because it's on a hard court and and you know I met was it last year in Melbourne Matt that you you purposefully on the first day of the tournament went out to watch Lorenzo Mazzetti I seem to remember this happening I do that a lot and yes it definitely sounds like Matt yeah and he was on clear I think You definitely came back and were a bit disillusioned with things.

1:02:45And because he's such a wonderful watch, isn't he? I mean, watching him play against a guy like Bublik is really fun. But I think that the strides are being taken here.

1:02:58Matt Roberts: This time last year, you definitely said, and I'm sure definitely did say on various podcasts, Matt, Lorenzo Mazzetti has a hardcore problem. Would you say that now?

1:03:09Catherine Whitaker: no I don't think I would I think he has really got a lot better on hard courts over the last year sort of emphasized the back end of last year really with that US Open run and then in particular I think the matches he played after that actually like against even in even in a match he lost against Novak Djokovic in Athens he was awesome and then the nightmare tour right and then he He played great against Dimonor at the ATP finals, didn't he? And got that win and it was a real moment. And this was all happening on hard court. So no, I wouldn't say so. I think some of the changes he's made to his game have helped him, his serve.

1:03:46Catherine Whitaker: He's getting a bit more out of that. And he's hitting his forehand brilliantly, like so well. And that shot is doing damage even on a hard court now. I think the thing about the titles is it's like you would definitely have rather had the progress he's made over the last few years and not picked up any titles rather than just one, a couple here and there, just to say that you've got some titles. Like I think you would sign for what he's done in terms of his trajectory and his improvement. Absolutely. The problem is.

1:04:21Matt Roberts: Especially given it's not like he hasn't won titles. He's not carrying that chain around his neck. OK, it's been a while, but he has cleared the hurdle.

1:04:30Catherine Whitaker: Yeah. I think for me, the bigger thing is what does the finals record represent? Does it still say something sort of a bit fundamental about the Mazzetti game or mindset? And I think he still slightly just lacks that killer instinct. I think he really improved his resistance and his resilience last year in matches. Remember that run in Monte Carlo where he kept coming from a set down and playing all those three set matches? And that was something we'd never really seen from him before. And he's tough to beat now, I would say, Mazzetti. He really is. He has far fewer matches where he just totally doesn't show up.

1:05:16Catherine Whitaker: but can he like go out there and get it and level up in the biggest moments i think i think that's what his sort of finals record sort of slightly represents he's struggling just slightly to just get over the line and that is just a quality that i think you have to you have to either you've got it or you've got to develop it you know like i think i think we have seen some players develop at that to a certain extent and he's still young enough that I think he can but it is still missing I would say from Mazzetti and I think that's the bigger deal than oh he hasn't won a 250 in the last few years I don't think that moves the needle all that much but maybe he needs to win one to unlock it I don't know it's a sort of chicken and egg situation but he's playing really well and he was a bit injured in this in this final.

1:06:13Catherine Whitaker: His elbows seemed to be bothering him. I don't think he had a medical timeout, but he had some treatment on it. He did actually come out and win the doubles final afterwards with Sonnego. So he has won a title in doubles. And they'd been struggling to win. They'd lost two finals last year as well. But he's in a good place. I think Mazzetti generally, he's on the right track. But the problem is it's hanging over him. He's desperate to win a title. And I think if he can just get that get that burden off him, that might help sort of unleash him even more.

1:06:52Matt Roberts: It's tough seeing players injured in like the first week of the season, isn't it? I feel like I've seen more of that. It could be confirmation bias because, you know, I'm so conscious all the time of season length and lack of off-season and, you know, how flogged the players are. But, yeah, seeing players injured now and hearing about withdrawals and long-term chronic issues in young players, which we'll be talking about in part three, it's a bit of a buzzkill. and I'm worried about it. So do come back for part three and more buzzkill. And other news. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into.

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1:08:46Matt Roberts: Welcome back to part three of today's pod, where we have wildcard news from the Australian Open. Justice for Stan Rinker. He gets an Australian Open wildcard. Was it ever in doubt? Who knows? I think it might have been quite in doubt at one point. That is the sense I get. But in a world where wildcards exist, obviously true justice, David, is wildcards not existing. But in a world where wild cards exist, justice has been done. So you don't want Stamford Rinker in the Australian Open? I'd love him to get his ranking up and qualify by right. Right, well, you know. You don't want him in?

1:09:37No.

1:09:38Matt Roberts: Not at the expense of the integrity of the sport, David. That means more to me. Okay. Yeah, I mean, listen, I'm glad he's in and Nick Kyrgios isn't, put it that way. Kyrgios apparently was so decent that he didn't want to have a wild card at the expense of somebody else who could make better use of it. Yes, news from Nick Kyrgios' Instagram. He said after some good conversations with Tennis Australia, I've made the call to focus on doubles for this year's Australian Open that is going to take some beating as a line for this year for 2026 I'm fit and back on court yeah we saw that we saw you losing to Alex Kovacevic but five setters are a different beast and I'm not quite ready to go the distance yet this tournament means everything to me But I'd rather give my spot, my spot, entitled twat.

1:10:50Matt Roberts: I'd rather give my spot to somebody who's ready to make their moment count. It's all building blocks and I'll be back next year and pumped to compete. See you out there.

1:11:04Catherine Whitaker: Look at that, Catherine. You and Nick Keras have got common ground. The integrity of the sport he's thinking about there. We both care equally for the integrity of the sport. Yeah. What a selfless act from Nick Kyrgios.

1:11:21Matt Roberts: Can't wait to see him in the doubles. In less good news, Jung Chin Wen, finalist here just two years ago, obviously a very injury-blighted 2025 season. Well, that continues. She's out of the Australian Open, continuing to recover from that elbow injury that she had surgery on last year. She said, making this decision has been incredibly difficult for me. Melbourne is my lucky place where I won my first Grand Slam main draw match and had my best experience. Although my recovery is progressing well and my off-season has gone smoothly, to play Grand Slam requires players to maintain an extreme competitive condition.

1:12:04Matt Roberts: Currently, I have not yet reached my best condition that I have set for myself. now that's a fairly upbeat statement but the fact is David she had this surgery many months ago and she's not fit yet and that is a fairly big concern I would say at this stage yeah and those sort of body parts as well whether it's wrist or elbow or anything like that you You always worry, don't you? Just how do you rehab that? How do you get fit whilst also stress testing that part of the body? It's not easy. And she's so good for the sport. You know, she's such an important player, really, on numerous levels. And she's a great kind of contender for top titles at her best, too.

1:13:01And this just has stopped her in her tracks, and it's a terrible shame. I hope she's well soon.

1:13:07Matt Roberts: Yeah, we wish her well. Tennis is better for her being a relevant force in it. Last bit of news before we look ahead to this week. Some news reported in The Athletic by Matt Futterman. Some brilliant reporting by Matt Futterman about secret clandestine meetings. It's the traitors of the tennis world. and it's been happening in London. Matt reports, days before the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne, several of the most powerful leaders in tennis gathered 10 ,000 miles away to chart their way out of the antitrust lawsuits that threaten their power. The leaders of the men's and women's tours and the organisers of the other three Grand Slam tournaments, so all of them apart from the Australian Open, spent Tuesday and Wednesday of last week in closed-door meetings.

1:14:03Matt Roberts: in London, according to three sources that were briefed on the discussions. The leaders discussed the structure of a deal aimed at giving tournaments financial security, producing more revenue for the sport and giving players the increased pay benefits and voice for which they've been pushing ever harder in recent months. Basically, this is about reaching some kind of settlement with the PTPA for the lawsuit that they lodged last year. And the reason the Australian Open are involved in this is because they have already reached a private individual settlement with the PTPA. Now, I'd say, David, my knowledge of sort of lawsuits, particularly US lawsuits, is not sufficient or substantial for me to really draw any major conclusions.

1:14:55Matt Roberts: The only one thing that strikes me is if this lawsuit had absolutely nothing to it, it would have been dismissed by now by a judge. It's obviously got some legs. Now, Matt Futterman does report later in the piece that the Grand Slams and the Tours are appealing to a judge for the lawsuit to be thrown out on various different technical grounds. So there's still room for that to happen yet. These things rumble on and on. But it's obviously cleared the first hurdle of credibility or maybe the first few hurdles is what strikes me. Yeah, this is further evidence that they're sufficiently concerned about it, that they're all getting together to try to find a way out.

1:15:47And even though the Professional Tennis Players Association has taken this hit to its own credibility with Novak Djokovic is distancing himself from the organisation he kind of co-invented, these are still serious lawsuits and they require attention. And that's what's been happening. And it sounds like there's still quite a long way to go in that. I mean, Matt reports that they're not close to any sort of resolution here or anything like that. Whereas I found his line about Tennis Australia's decision to settle absolutely fascinating. He said that deal essentially meant that Tennis Australia had switched sides in a tacit agreement to help the PTPA wage a fight against its former allies.

1:16:36I just I just found that really interesting, the manoeuvring that's going on here. and you know when that was reported at the time just before Christmas Tennis Australia were very keen to make sure that it was reported that they were not accepting any fault or that they had done anything wrong but they were settling you know they were they were getting this out of the way and I just I mean it's it's it's I don't have the knowledge either But I suppose I'm somewhat taken by how much this seems to have rattled everybody in the sport to have to come together and do something about it. So it's clearly a serious business.

1:17:24Matt Roberts: And that line, David, that you picked out about Tennis Australia and what their decision to settle apparently represents, all the more interesting in light of the reporting that hasn't been confirmed by any means, But the reporting a few weeks ago that Craig Tiley would be leaving Tennis Australia to take up the role as head of the USTA. I said that hasn't been confirmed, but it hasn't been denied either. And those were credible sources reporting that that was in the works. So as ever, the web of tennis authorities and infrastructure is sticky and complicated. OK, tennis this week, folks. Tennis this week.

1:18:17Matt Roberts: We have a WTA 500 in Adelaide at the same time as an ATP 250. Madison Keyes is the top seed in the women's event after Jessica Pagula withdrew. She's the defending champion, of course, Madison Keyes. Mira Andreva is the de facto top seed because Pagula withdrew after the draw. Clear as day. Round one matches include Dorea Kazikina, of course, now representing Australia, takes on Maria Sakary in round one. Victoria Mboko against Beatrice Hadajmaier. Eilid Tomlianovic against Clara Towson. Svea Kenin against Maya Joint. That's a tough draw. Very tough week for Maya Joint so far. And Yelena Ostapenko against Hotly Tipped for success to Reza Valantova.

1:19:10Matt Roberts: In the men's event in Adelaide, Alejandro Davidovic-Fekina and Tommy Paul are the top two seeds. Also in the draw are Valentin Vachero, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Thomas Mahatch and Francisco Sarundolo.

1:19:23Catherine Whitaker: How long do you think I will still be including Vachero in the also in the draw section of the weekly previews?

1:19:31Matt Roberts: I'm intrigued and I'm going to be monitoring closely.

1:19:35Catherine Whitaker: Okay.

1:19:36Matt Roberts: I love seeing who you've picked out. I'm like, oh, you think that's noteworthy, do you? But no, I accept Vachero clears the bar at the moment. round one matches include Sebastian Korda against Tenasi Koukinakis and Terence Atman against Ugo Umber, another one that's probably on thin ice being picked out I would say tough news out of Adelaide today Joel Fonseca he was supposed to play Hong Kong wasn't he last week withdrew from that, he's now withdrawn from Adelaide too this was the statement from his team Joel has a straightened spine and suffered a stress fracture five years ago when he was still a junior.

1:20:24Matt Roberts: Therefore, his lower back is the most sensitive area of his body and being a high performance athlete requires constant care. That worries me a lot. I know about stress fractures in backs and the long term problems thereof. The fact that it's still a concern five years later suggests that it will probably always be a concern to some degree. It's a very similar situation to what we see Artifees continuing to struggle with. I found this news, and particularly that statement and the sort of revelation of what exactly is going on Fonseca, I found that a real bummer. Like that's a big worry for me with him.

1:21:10And with too many of them, you know, there's so many young players right now that are suffering and it's not just short term muscle injuries. These are things that really worry you. um no i i i was one of the little stories from the andy murray uh podcast the the that we did yesterday um was about his wrist injury and when he was a sort of you know 19 and and it cost him three three months and he'd got knee joint problems so i take some some hope from the fact that he was able to overcome them have a long career but you know the draper feasts and hopefully not Fonseca. You know, we just, the sport needs these guys.

1:21:58Matt Roberts: The WTA are in Hobart this week in Tasmania. WTA 250 there, Raducanu is playing. McCartney Kessler, they're the top two seeds. Round one matches include 45-year-old Venus Williams against 38-year-old Tatiana Maria. Excellent stuff. Also, well, I say excellent stuff. excellent stuff within the landscape of wildcards existing um also also we have and peyton sterns uh round one and we have uh janice chen against eva jovic um two exciting young talents the atp are in auckland where ben shelton and kasper rude are the top two seeds we also have gemul feast yakub menschik and cameron norrie all in the draw and of course we have the Australian Open qualifying this week too.

1:22:55Matt Roberts: We'll be keeping an eye on that. And we have the one point slam. And I saw, I saw, I've seen multiple trailers for that on, on channel nine this week. And I am worried. I'm obviously open and pure hearted about it. It's going to be brilliant, but I am worried. There are Australian celebrities taking part.

1:23:16Catherine Whitaker: I don't understand the one point slam anymore.

1:23:19Matt Roberts: I don't, I don't want Australian celebrities in it. It has gone from one to a hundred in, in like, which obviously is in the spirit of the one point slam. Let's go all in. You know, it's just not what it was. I know. But maybe it'll be still good. I'm going into it with an open mind. I'm going to the qualifiers tomorrow, which are apparently, you have to really dig around to find this information. they are starting from 5pm and they're tomorrow Monday and Tuesday on court 6 it's the qualifiers for the plebs I don't think these random Australian celebrities have to go through the qualifiers

1:24:02Catherine Whitaker: so there's no celebrities at the qualifiers and there's no pros at the qualifiers no it's all ams and have there already been

1:24:11Matt Roberts: so basically going to watch a lot of club level tennis players

1:24:15Catherine Whitaker: play one point

1:24:16Matt Roberts: I pay one point against one another.

1:24:19Catherine Whitaker: Are there any AMs who've already qualified for the big night on Wednesday?

1:24:25Matt Roberts: I couldn't quite get a handle on that from the website, Matt. Because there's a website which highlights the champions from each of the regions. Yeah. And at first I thought, oh, I'll do some research. These are my guys. These are the people I'm going to be cheering for on Wednesday. I got a press release about them. Right. But I don't know if they've only gone into the qualifiers tomorrow night, in which case premature press release, folks. Yeah. But I will go and do some important journalism tomorrow and I will let you know.

1:25:02Catherine Whitaker: Thank you.

1:25:03Matt Roberts: And that is our next pod. After the one point slam on Wednesday, covering all the important stuff from the Australian Open. David and Matt are travelling tomorrow Monday arriving Tuesday night all being well please cross all fingers for them we recorded our Australian Open Relived show last night and that will be up on Monday so probably by the time you're listening to this it is already up or very soon to be up so if you're a friend of the Tennis Podcast check that out or if you'd like to be a friend of the Tennis Podcast in order to check that out then the link of course is in our show notes we are going to have a little meetup in garden square before the one point slam on wednesday

1:25:48Catherine Whitaker: 6 p.m meeting where matt by leslie barry's bust in garden square which is our favorite iconic spot where we recorded an emergency pod what was that six years ago now um and we always get a little photo there whenever we go back to Melbourne Park. So just go round all the busts and find Leslie Bowery and we will be there.

1:26:16Matt Roberts: Like an episode of The Traitors where you have to murder in plain sight. So if you're around Melbourne on Monday and you'd like to come and say hi and generally all get pumped together about the One Point Slam and the actual Australian Open, then we'll see you at Leslie Bowery at 6pm on Wednesday. then we have our draw show on Thursday Matt we like an Australian open draw they had a they had a marching band last year

1:26:44Catherine Whitaker: I believe they've already set up the live stream and they've advertised it they know what they're doing in Australia we like it

1:26:54Matt Roberts: we like it and we'll be here to talk about it with our show on Thursday Friday is media day we'll be going to all the press conferences asking all the important questions David's going to be asking everybody about heated rivalry, I'm sure. Then we have our final Australian Open preview hype show on Saturday. And then it all kicks off on Sunday. I always forget about the Sunday start here. It's not in my DNA yet. But anyway, it all kicks off on Sunday. And we will be here with daily pods, of course. And you can follow our adventures on Instagram. I was a bit short of content today so I had to disclose a very bad thing that happened to me whilst in a Starbucks toilet so do check that out on Instagram I haven't seen that myself yet

1:27:49Matt Roberts: such a bad moment and also do sign up to I feel like I should clarify it's really bad but I think you might also be imagining

1:28:01Catherine Whitaker: something worse given the mention of the toilet.

1:28:04Matt Roberts: I've managed to make it sound worse than it actually is and it was pretty bad but it wasn't like toilet stuff. I just happened to be in the toilet. Great. It wasn't toilet stuff. Okay. Do sign up to the newsletter. No toilet stuff in there. You get stats and you get Matt's stats. Predictions every day of the Australian Open. We put ourselves out there to be humiliated. So if that sounds fun, and it always is fun, then sign up to our newsletter. It is free and the link is in our show notes. And there really is good stuff in there. It's not just, you know, we really put a lot of love into those newsletters and it's good content that you don't get elsewhere.

1:28:51Matt Roberts: It is not just pictures of dogs, although So they definitely are pictures of dogs. And speaking of dogs, folks, hello to my lovely mascot, Bodie. I feel like that's the first time I'm saying that. I did his big intro last week, but this is my first hello, Bodie. And it feels good. Hope you're well, Bodie. David says a big hello to Maisie. Hi, Maisie. And Matt, of course, says hello to Roger. hello Roger

1:29:23Catherine Whitaker: your paws are very popular on our Instagram this week very popular

1:29:28Matt Roberts: and speaking of Roger he's back isn't he Saturday our hype show Federer

1:29:40Matt Roberts: that hype show better not clash with Crowded House I was going to say are we more excited about Federer

1:29:45Catherine Whitaker: or Crowded House

1:29:49Matt Roberts: I'm pretty into Crowded House to be honest. They've got some bangers. Hello to our executive producers Greg, Chris and Jeff. You're all legends and we salute you. Matt, let's have some shout-outs. We have

1:30:02Catherine Whitaker: two shout-outs today. The first for Lucia Carey who was born in Venezuela and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Goodness.

1:30:14Matt Roberts: Hello Lucia. What a name. Wonderful. Thank you, Lucia. A Venezuelan living in America that's wow must be quite a time for Lucia keep you in our thoughts and Lucia

1:30:28Catherine Whitaker: says the shout out was gifted to me by my best friend Stephanie I started playing tennis in 2020 which led me to becoming a mega fan of this podcast my non-stop tennis talk eventually convinced my friend Steph to pick up a racket and also listen to the show it has become our shared favourite obsession.

1:30:53Matt Roberts: Oh, gosh, you've influenced Stephanie to actually start playing tennis. Like Jib. Yeah. Our editor in the Philippines.

1:31:03Catherine Whitaker: It's my favourite thing when people say that the pod got them into playing tennis.

1:31:08Matt Roberts: Lucia, that is absolutely lovely. Thank you for sharing that. Really lovely.

1:31:14Catherine Whitaker: And Lucia says, I'd like to know if you know of any Venezuelan tennis players. I only know of Garbine Muguruza. being born there. And I don't know her any more, no.

1:31:27Matt Roberts: No, same, I would have said Garbini Muguruza. In the early stages of her career, there was talk of whether she might represent Venezuela, wasn't there, but eventually elected for Spain. No, but I'm sure there will be one day, Lucia.

1:31:44Catherine Whitaker: And we also have Madeline Schnittke.

1:31:52Catherine Whitaker: who is from Chicago Home of the Bears who had a big win last night in the very dying seconds against the Green Bay Packers Quite the comeback It's funny how often that happens isn't it

1:32:09Matt Roberts: I think it's like the Labour Cup and the sport is engineered for drama in the dying seconds

1:32:17Catherine Whitaker: and you're like this Madeline says I was brought into the TTP fam during Wimbledon 2022 by my two best friends from law school Melissa and Catherine same church different pew and the shared TTP chat has brought us even closer together my most vivid memory of the pod is listening to the Jimmy Connors relived episode on a long walk and literally crying in the street hearing the guest editors personal story shout out nice greg it's so great to hear all the connections tennis has

1:32:54Matt Roberts: that was executive producer greg that guest edited that show and it's one of the ones that sticks with me as well oh big moment to be called madeline you've got a very famous lily allen song named after you.

1:33:17I knew that.

1:33:18Matt Roberts: That silence is the sound of David nodding along. Madeline, thank you.

1:33:26Catherine Whitaker: That's it. Just the two shout-outs today. Madeline and Lucia. Just the two. Yep.

1:33:30Matt Roberts: The big two.

1:33:32Catherine Whitaker: That is the end of our 2025 shout-outs. Number three is up for grabs.

1:33:38Matt Roberts: That's the theme of our show.

1:33:40Catherine Whitaker: Yeah.

1:33:42Matt Roberts: Madeline and Lucia thank you ever so much for being friends of the tennis podcast we are of course part of the Athletic Podcast Network Matt, David get yourselves to Melbourne safely I can't wait to see you and we will be back on Wednesday when we're all together in Melbourne we'll speak to you then

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