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The tennis podcast on day one of the 2025 Australian Open. You find myself, Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts in an empty 1573 arena. The scene. of Matt Roberts, David Law and Thomas Mahatch rescuing some vibes from what has been an otherwise. We're going to be up front with you here, folks. pretty vibe-less day um relative to uh hype and pumpedness and general vibes leading up to a slam
The vibes today have just been extraordinarily flat for various different reasons. And I'm absolutely certain that the opposite will be the case tomorrow. The forecast is good. The order of play is absolutely wild tomorrow. But today... Yes, they got blighted by the weather, but they also put on an absolute dud of an order of play to open the slam. And Matt and David, you needed Thomas Mahatch to rescue things, and he did.
Yes. Of course he did. Yeah, he did. And so did Sumit Nagal to some degree because he started to mount a fight back and I decided to sit amongst his legion of fans for the closing stages. And very much enjoyed that as the people around me seem to be trying to FaceTime the match live to people elsewhere. But the comeback was short-lived in the end. But actually that did create something of a vibe.
of the things is because it is you know fairly late into the evening here not not by australian open standards maybe but this arena without that many people in it meant you could sit wherever you wanted, get as close to the action as possible. And Thomas Mahatch was actually having to put up with quite a bit of gentle, polite sledging from the Summit Nagal fans.
He smiled at most of it and then went and won. So he's in a better headspace than he was a week ago at the United Cup then, it's safe to say. For sure. I mean, honestly, this match was pretty much a dream for him. Sumit Nagal, as David said, did mount a fight back in that third set and kind of led by a break the whole way before my...
before Mahatsh got him at the end and ended up winning at 7-5. But Sumit Nagal doesn't have the weapons to be able to hurt Thomas Mahatsh. I came out here and I was out here for about 50 minutes and I'd only seen Mahatsh lose one game in that time. able to just fully express himself as a shot maker and as a tennis player.
It was very, very different to the end of the United Cup, the last time we saw Thomas Mahatch on a tennis court. The stadium was a sort of mecca for tennis podcast listeners tonight, which was fun.
They were dotted all around the stadium shouting best player in the world at us. Enjoyed that very much. And needed it, as you said, because it had been a vibeless day. I think the peak... vibeless moment for me was seeing Christian Rood sat courtside on Rod Laver Arena covered in a blanket and I thought oh it's giving Roland Garros
One of those fabulous days we had at Roland Garros last year in the first week. And then we had a load at Wimbledon as well with the rain. You just do not expect it in Melbourne to be like that. As you said, the weather did kind of match the order of play, to be quite honest. Like, not the best. Yeah.
want to get out of the way today i would say no there were there were fun stories uh dotted around the place um which will which will bring you uh and we'll look at tomorrow and look there's there's plenty to talk about today in fact i feel like i could do
quite a detailed description of the little hop that the band of seagulls is doing across the court at the moment. We're being circled by seagulls on this empty... empty arena they're quite a feature of the uh the australian open i think i think we're in quite high poop risk territory just to warn you both i'm under a sort of roof yeah It doesn't quite stretch over my head. Anyway, potential for live pooping throughout the course of this show. So no vibes, but do stay tuned, folks.
For that cliffhanger. That has happened before to you here. It has. It has. It's apparently good luck. Before we talk more about the Vibeless Day, a word from our sponsors. We are brought to you throughout this Australian Open. Steve Fergal's International Tennis Tours. They are your gateway to premium tennis events worldwide.
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Yes, I think that's absolutely accurate. We had a lovely time. Guaranteed good weather, which apparently is not the case in Melbourne. Until tomorrow. It was a bit of a shocker today.
didn't really clear up until about 6pm. There had been about... half an hour 45 minutes of play earlier on in the day before everything got suspendu there was a period mid-afternoon where the show courts were intentionally blank and the outside courts were suspendu and it was day one of a slam and there was literally no tennis on you weren't in the best mood at that point were you
No, it was absolutely ridiculous. Anyway, but then things started happening and things got good and you went out to see Thomas Mahatch and David and I. We went to see Irina Sabalenka beating Sloane Stephens. 6-3, 6-2. This match opened the rod. arena night session it wasn't the match that it it was at the french open a couple of years ago and amelie maresmo dain to put it in the night session it wasn't the match that it might have been a few years ago when
Sloane Stephens was more of a going concern as a tennis player. It wasn't, let's face it, a particularly good tennis match. But Irina Sabalenka has won it 6-3, 6-2. And I thought she played pretty horribly. which is a worry for everyone else in the draw, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, she went racing off into a four-love lead before we'd eaten at our dinner and managed to get out there. But...
It started to become very ragged very quickly and she lost three games in a row, which is a very similar situation to that French Open match when she led 5-0 and it came all the way back to 5-0 before she won the first set 7-5.
You're right about her. She's a very different player since then, and she's a very different player in Australia than she is in Paris, Irina Sabalenka. And Sloane Stephens has... tailed off pretty dramatically in recent times and it's a tough thing to see when you know just how good she's capable of being but no she sort of She decorated the match with some of the amazing things she's able to do, some of the racket skills that she's got in order to sort of make it...
competitive and respectable but you never ever thought that she was going to win the thing and um Actually, the thing of the match that struck me the most was just as we were walking out of the stadium was when they'd shaken hands and Sabalenka had shaked hands with the umpire.
is she came back out into the centre of the court to greet the crowd, who just gave her a standing ovation. There was immense warmth towards Irina Sabalenka. There was a sort of... a respect and an accept an appreciation i think of what she's done here the last two years she has forced her way into the public consciousness and i think people like her here i think that they they're celebrating a champion
who is happy to connect and keep bringing it. They feel like she's hers, don't they? They feel a bit responsible for her success because she's a player that, you know, there was a lot of build-up to her winning her... first Grand Slam like where she did it and when she did it that all felt quite significant because it had stopped feeling totally inevitable Irina Sabalenka winning a slam by the time she won here a couple of years ago and I think I think
Australia feels part of her story in a way the other slams don't. I'm quite sure she'll probably win all of the others. She's half the way to a calendar slam, but I think... Yeah, I think they'll always feel a little protective of her here for that reason. And it's great that there's been that evolution because five or six years ago...
I remember watching the Savalenka-Anissimova match, which I always go on about, the one where I sort of discovered the Amanda-Anissimova backhand. Well, part of that match, part of the story of that match, was the crowd... laughing and mocking at Irina Sabalenka's grunting on court and I don't think that was a specifically Australian thing I think it was a time when maybe a lot of
you know tennis crowds were doing that to arena sabalenka um but it was really uncomfortable i remember feeling really sorry for her out there at the same time that i was enjoying the inisimova game like it was a it was a very uncomfortable experience for her but so it hasn't always It's been easy for her here in Australia, but it's great now that she is getting the recognition that she deserves. Quite interesting that she didn't have her coaching team.
on the on the court they were all sat up in in the usual coaching box and sabalenka has has explained that because she says there's not enough seats down at the bottom she says i don't want half my team in one place and half my team in another place she says when i look at my box i want to be able to see everyone rather than look at in two different places and i thought it was quite an interesting point that she's made there yeah and and they're very strict in the coaching box is for um
technical members of the team. You can have strength and conditioning people in there. I think you can have physios, but you can't have friends and family and agents. They've been very specific about that. Yeah, if you're somebody that just wants to look up and be able to see everybody that means something to you, just giving you encouragement, then, yeah, that's not the thing for you. But it is interesting. You know, I respect all those reasons.
I think it's cool. I think the on-court coaching box is cool, but I also understand why it might not be for everyone. But I think the Australian Open were expecting... players and coaches to just do it and I don't think that's happening this is only one day's worth of data tomorrow is the one that all eyes are on because tomorrow Novak Djokovic is playing on the Rod Laver arena and Andy Murray is his coach
And the tournament, we, everybody is hoping Andy Murray is sat physically on the court for that experience. But I don't think that's a given. No, well, I think today is an... is evidence that it is really not for all the coaches. We've heard from Carlos Alcraz that he doesn't think one Carlos Ferreira is going to have a great view if he does that and maybe not like what he's seeing. And I know others feel that way.
Yeah. Although Novak Djokovic did say that he likes the innovation, didn't he? He did. So that will be interesting. He does. Sorry, just on the specific Murray Djokovic thing, there's also the thing of what we were saying about... Murray not signing autographs after the practice session, the clear mindset of it's not about me. I do wonder if he'll feel some discomfort with being physically sat there on the court. He knows the interest in the circus.
around him. I wonder if that will be an element. Yeah, and I think it's an interesting one for the Australian Open if it doesn't really take off. They've put this area... together on the court and they want to make something of it i need someone that can go in an area i'm quite happy if they've got an empty area that they need filling i have got just the guy no i could i'm big enough to fill them both um but but the fact is that we could end up with a lot of empty...
court side areas and the truth is that that would be a big disappointment to the event and they might have needed to just make it compulsory really if if if they wanted it to happen the way they were hoping because if if it's polite to give the team's a choice, but I'm not convinced the teams are all going to take it up. Yeah, they're always treading a fine line, the Australian Open, of...
I think they're pretty bold and pretty innovative generally. Craig Tiley is a visionary in that way, and I think he's pretty pushy when he wants to make something happen and really believes in something, but they also... are very protective of their status as the happy slam and the one that players kind of speak most glowingly of in terms of their backstage experience. You know, not pissing off players is also a major...
and there might be a source of tension in that department here. It's a bit like the big red button at the United Cup, isn't it? I don't think there's any harm in trying something and it not working. You've got your white elephants sitting there on the court for everyone to see, haven't you? Which is potentially a bit awkward. And look, it's not a white elephant by any means yet. Some coaches... were in the on-court spaces. Sasha Byan...
was there. I understand that Wim Fissett plans to be for Igor Shontek's match tomorrow, but I don't think it's a slam dunk. They're all going to be there like perhaps the tournament were hoping. It did strike me that it... It could create an extra dependency that the teams might not want the player to have that as an excuse or that as a crutch. It's all going to be fascinating to see it unfold. It's Jessica Bouthas-Monero next for Arena Sabalenka, who's a player really...
On the rise, you'll probably remember her from beating Marketa Vondrosheva at Wimbledon last year and having a shh tattoo on her finger. I think she's an impressive player, Boothas Monero. She doesn't have the weapons, I don't think, to hurt Sabalenka. But honestly, maybe no one does. Does Clara Towson, David? Well...
I went out to watch the very end of her match against Linda Noskova, a match that, frankly, Towson should have won in straight sets. She was 5-3 up in the first set and ended up losing it, 7-5, got it back level, and then I just went...
out for the last couple of games and uh there was a breaker serve right at the end and there was a comical moment where Towson is clenching a fist celebrating the win from where I'm looking at the other end of the court and suddenly this racket went somersaulting past my eyes out of nowhere. was Linda Noskova letting out her frustrations by smacking it into the ground and it went flying across the court and so disappointment for her but look.
Towson is a ball striker. I remember at the French Open this year, she said... It was a bit like what Jelena Ostapenko was saying to me during my loitering the other day, that I've got to stop trying to be something that I'm not. Towson is a first-strike player. If she takes on Sabalenka, she's going to be looking to go toe-to-toe. And I think the difference is Sabalenka is a brilliant mover, good touch these days as well. So I think she would probably have too much for her.
Tassel's getting better. Nice for her to win rather than debatably win. Big. Very big. She would be a potential third round opponent for Irina Sabalenka. Let's talk about Zheng Chin Wen. Saved three set points in the opening set as her opponent, the Romanian anchor Tudoni, served for the first set. Eventually got...
No, it was on Jung Shin-wen's serve, wasn't it? Jung serving to stay in that opening set and Tudoni having three set points there eventually lost it on the tie break to Tudoni and then 6-1 in the second set. Actually, Tudoni, who was struggling with injury by the end of this match. Difficult to know too much what to make of Jung Chiu Men. Tudoni was very impressive, I thought, but it wasn't...
It wasn't wholly convincing from Jing Chin Wen, was it? No, she spoke about how nervous she felt, but she said that she likes feeling nervous normally because it makes her play better. But she said today it actually made her play worse. You know, being back on that Rod Laver arena where she obviously had such a big run and breakthrough last year and, you know, obviously her previous moment on that court in a proper match situation.
They'd played some of the exhibitions, but like in the proper match situation was the final. And I think just being back there brought back some memories. And she said she was a little tight from the start. And yeah, like... That first set got tricky because he was actually 40 level up.
with three set points herself serving for it and didn't win that game and then had to face the set points on her serve but came up really really impressively with big serves in those moments and you know the second set was much more much more straightforward um but yeah like I think an important match just to get through really given given the lack of matches that that she came in with and yeah I think she played some pretty good stuff at times but um
even if it wasn't her absolute best. But yeah, I enjoyed that insight that she gave into genuinely how she was feeling out on the court. Potential Lara Siegmund for Jun Chin Wen in round two, so enjoy that, Jun. Catherine doesn't forget easily. I got Siegmunded at the United Cup. Good luck to her. I think she's incredibly impressive, Siegmund, but my God, it's an ordeal watching one of her matches. She's so slow. So slow. She's an absolute troll. and she'd get away with it with the chock clock.
Well, she gets a lot of time violations. I saw her get a time violation receiving for holding up. You know, you're supposed to play at the server's pace and she was holding up the server. She gets them serving as well, but she also has a service. motion where she she runs the clock right down to the wire but then starts her service motion just in time but then she holds it she holds her opening position for several seconds thus
circumventing the rules of the shot clock. She's a wind-up. Absolute wind-up. Good luck, Jun Chin Wen. It really is. She's been created as a tennis player to push all your buttons. Yeah, just ask Coco Gauff and the New York crowd. She got as close as anyone to beating Coco Gauff. en route to that US Open final. Yeah, she is a wind-up. I stand by it. Mira Androva, a winner today, navigated the Buskova Test 6363 over on the John Kane Arena. And it is a test.
I think Marie Buzkova yeah I enjoyed this match I think 6-3, 6-3 Maybe doesn't quite tell the full story, especially if that second set, that was really, really back and forth. She just couldn't shake.
Buzkova off Andreeva she was applying so much pressure on the return she was kind of in every return game but she was having her serve broken a little bit as well and you know she said in the on-court interview afterwards she was putting every ball back what is this which was kind of her attitude and the frame of mind that she was in because she was getting frustrated there was a couple of occasions in the match where she did sort of
swipe her racket and once slam it down like you know there was some frustration there but I did also think it was a match which demonstrated the growth
Because I think a year ago, that would have been a total grind of a match. You know, she's such a good counterpuncture, Andrava. But... now she's added a little bit more weight to her shot she's able to dictate a little bit more and there were just times today where she was pulling the trigger up the line in a way that I don't think she quite had in her game
18 months ago 12 months ago you know and that's of course obviously natural she's still only what 17 years old like she's going to develop um and i think that was important for her today because it meant that she had a way to finish some of those tricky points even when Bouskova was getting everything back she could she could still find the winner eventually in a way that I'm not sure she would have been able to quite so easily so
Yeah, like really, really impressive. And again, in the on-court interview, she credited Conchita Martinez for kind of that development, you know, of really trying to get a bit more aggressive and trying to add a bit more power to her game. They're such a great... partnership I think you know they're both they're both like
Andreva's clearly so comfortable around Conchita Martinez. She's able to joke about her and tell funny stories about her and just sort of gently rib her and tease her in a way that seems really, really helpful. I love seeing a young WTA player have a female coach like that because, you know, I'm always banging on about this, but like...
Growing up, becoming an adult woman in the environment of... tennis I just think having female company and female experience there so whether it's your coach or just someone someone in your team I just think how can that not be be important and that you know there are so many entirely male teams and you know Sabalenka's got an entirely male team and we've been talking about how she's the happiest person on the planet like I know that it can work but
I think it's a healthy thing to have some female energy and it clearly is working for Mir Andreeva. David, you went to a press conference. I tried to watch this on the screen at our desks because I was following another... match at the time and the audio wasn't working on on room the room two press so I couldn't hear what she was saying and I could still tell that it was excellent yes because she comes into the interview room
With a twinkle in her eye. At the start. She is there for fun. I mean she's there. It's obviously part of the job. But look.
It's a pretty daunting environment for a lot of players. These are young people who haven't got that much experience of... contact with with older people like us you know and and they're there to hit tennis balls and win matches really that's what they start out to do and suddenly they've They've also got to be able to handle these situations of being asked lots and lots of questions about what's gone on and what they're doing and what they're interested in and all these sort of things.
Mira Andreeva's just nothing like that at all. She comes in and has a good time. And she was asked... Questions, I think Charlie Eccleshire of the Athletic was there and was asking her about what she eats during a preparation for a match. And she said, I eat... chicken and rice and the problem is if i eat chicken rice on day one i then have to do it every single day of the tournament until i lose and i said what is it superstition then and she said yes um and she said she
She then said, for instance, in Brisbane a couple of weeks ago, ahead of the first match, my coach Conchita Martinez was making up my drink with the powder near the sort of player desk, the player practice desk. where they'd booked the courts out, and she spilt the powder all over the desk. And then she had to go the next day...
And make the drink there again and spill the powder over the desk again. Because that's what worked last time. Oh no, that's unsustainable. So she said the two of us are now working on...
trying to stop the superstitions. OK, that seems like a good way forward. But, I mean, look, obviously she's exaggerating, but it's fun. She makes... press conference environments fun i i i asked my usual question to tennis players about how far ahead in the draw they're prepared to look and she said look in my case
I don't even know yet who the two players are that are playing against each other. She says, I do typically look at the first round. Because I've looked at the first round, I tend to be aware of the second round. You know, she didn't even know yet. It's Miyuka Uchijima and Magda Lynette. Yeah, those two playing against one another. But, I mean...
I mean, and I didn't tell her, I didn't say her, Irina Sabalenka's down the road, by the way, you know, if you win a couple more. I don't think that would be the right thing to do. I've already messed that up once with Naomi Osaka early last year. But actually, it just reminded me when you were talking... talking about Martinez, I had to...
I had the chance to spend some time with Conchita at the French Open this year when I was interviewing her for our Tennis Relived show on her Wimbledon title win. And they'd only just got together at that point. I mean, just in conversation with Conchita away from the mic, she found Andreeva frustrating to kind of teach how to be a professional. What I mean is...
She was up for it, but you could tell this is going to be a lot of work. Because she's a kid. Yeah, she's a kid, and she was known for... throwing the racket about and losing her mind and losing matches as a result and I'd sort of said to Conchita oh she seems to be maturing in the last few matches I've seen I've seen less of that
Conchita rolled her eyes at me as if to say, you don't know what you're talking about. You know, I mean, she says as long as she's winning is what she said to me. But I mean, look, that is now six months ago. And there's clearly real affection between the two, as well as the professional relationship.
I think your word healthy is a good one to describe it. And Drava's getting better. She's on the right track there. Yeah, and I really don't think that can be underestimated because teen phenom and healthy... healthy anything you know healthy emotional development Those two things are generally pretty incompatible, I would say. So that's wonderful to hear and to see. Other women's results from the day. Not too many others, to be honest. Paola Bedossa won. Donna Vekic won.
6-4-6-4 over Diane Parry. I commentated on this match. Vekic's first win of the season. She'd lost three. Two at the United Cup. First round in Adelaide to Putin's saver. You know, she was only playing Adelaide, I think, because she didn't get any match wins at the United Cup. So I think she would have been really nervous here. And Parry is... It's tricky. A lot blunted.
much blunted as a weapon on hard courts versus clay courts. She does have big swings and she was far less dangerous to Vekic on the forehand, which really sits up nicely than on the backhand. lovely sliced backhand parry and she can she can flatten it out and because she does it so rarely it really takes you by surprise like oh blimey single-handed top has been backhand down the line where have you been keeping that
And look, you know, this wasn't an all-time great Donna Vekic performance, but today was not about the performance. Today was getting a win, getting over that mini slump. I suppose. And it was a very competitive match, you know, really tight. I feel like she got some muscle memory for winning and battling into her body. I don't know how far this run will go. She's in Jung Chin Wen's bit. I think she's in Jung Chin Wen's eighth.
And then Irina Sabalenka's quarter, but it is Vondroshova or Yana Fett next, which... You know, is Vondroshova even fit to take to the court? We don't know. And she'd be heavy favourite against Yana Fett. So, yeah, good day for Donna Beckett. She wrote LA in a heart.
on the camera which was you know a message for for everybody in la but obviously in particular pam pam shriver her coach who is he's having a tough old time out there and she's obviously on on donna's mind and she's uh she's on ours as well so hang in there Pam and well played Donna so I think that's it for women's results on day one join us in part two and we'll talk about the men
Look at him go. He's a quality striker. No, not him. The electrician fixing those lights. Wow. Is he? Yes, he uses QuickBooks to prepare for self-assessment. This is truly game-changing. Use QuickBooks year-round to ensure your income tax return is shock-free. That's how you business differently. Intuit QuickBooks. Come on now, John. Let's really feel the burn on this one. Give me five more.
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Whether you're doing emails on the 7.30 to Paddington or taking a video call on-site, our multi-simp plans all come with unlimited calls, texts and data. Plus, with 99% UK coverage... You can do your best work wherever you are. Head in store or search 3Business. Welcome back to part two, where we can talk now about the men's matches that we've had on day one here at Melbourne Park. Mahatch has been covered, unless anyone has anything further. Have to lead with Mahatch, obviously. Let's talk...
about the two five-setters that we had today. The unexpectedly entertaining Kasparud against Jaume Munar, which we didn't expect to spend today trooping out to... to Rod Laver Arena to watch the fifth set of this. We thought we might be letting this match pass us by. But there we were. And we ended up disappointed, didn't we? Because the best of the match had been and gone. The fifth set was a damp squib. But let us not forget what came before because it was good.
For a while there. Really good. And Jawa Munar was really good. Yeah, he was... And outplaying Kasparud, according to Matt, who was sitting next to me watching quite a lot of it. And that's what got us up and into the Rod Laver Arena for the fifth set. And whenever you did look up, there were some spectacular rallies taken. place and um and i don't i don't quite know where to leave that for for casper rude he he lives to fight another round
But you don't really want five sets on the clock after round one against a guy that you would probably be expecting to beat pretty handily. And it doesn't say an awful lot for his form, does it? No, I mean, yeah, two ways of looking at this. He was fading in long matches at the end of last year, wasn't he? Post-parasite. That parasite we now know that he had in the latter stages of the French Open.
You know, looking strong in a fifth set is a good thing. But, you know, is he totally back to who he was pre-Parasite? We don't know, and I don't think it's ideal to have that in his legs. I just don't know about Kasparud. It was part of one of the questions to him today in his on-court interview that...
referencing that he's a three-time Grandstand finalist. And I know I'm always guilty of underestimating Kasparud and probably being a bit dismissive of him because, well, for various reasons, he hasn't personally floated my... over the years but I've you know got enormous respect for him but I I do find myself being surprised every time I'm reminded that he's a three-time Grand Slam finalist because he's totally not in the conversation
to be one again, and yet a three-time finalist should be? I think he's reached the most Grand Slam finals out of any male player who hasn't won a Grand Slam actively. It's been remarkable how well he's done. I'm actually quite keen to speak to Kasparud this tournament. I didn't get the chance today.
I was probably watching Thomas Mahatch. I probably could have gone to speak to Kasparu, but I was doing something else. I can't remember exactly what it was at the time. Vibes were a priority at that point, Matt. But I am keen to talk to him about...
his second half of last season and to try and get some real honesty from him because whenever I've heard him talk about the second half of last season, it's been in sort of... fun videos for social media and and he sort of made a joke about it and said oh well I'm not playing on clay anymore and I
I just think there has to be more to it than that because of the way he looked on court and the way he really was struggling physically. And yes, Clay is his best surface, but he is capable of playing extremely well on hard courts too. He's a US Open finalist. And, you know, I thought he looked pretty good in...
in the United Cup, in Sydney, I think he was, wasn't he? He got good wins there. He beat Mahatch and Hercatch, who, OK, like, circumstantially, he probably played them both at a good time. You know, Mahatch was coming back from his off-season illness. and Herkacz was working with a new coach and trying to implement some new things in his game and playing with a new racket like they probably were there to be beaten but Ruud did beat them and he looked pretty good and then today
Yeah, he was just being totally outplayed by Munar for most of this match. Munar himself in good form, having beaten Mazzetti in Hong Kong and lost to the eventual champion there, Muller. So, you know... Munar certainly played his part in making this match entertaining and taking it to a fifth, but there has to be, I think, something going on with Kasparud post-Parasite, because...
He's been diminished as a player. He was having a really good season last year. OK, most of it on the clay. But for there to be such a big drop-off, it didn't feel to me like just because it was switching surface.
Yeah, I am keen to try and get to the bottom of... of what's been going on and whether he thinks he can build himself up but obviously the first step to build yourself up is to make sure you get through the first round and he's done that but he's got a tricky draw because he's potentially got men sick in the next round and then if he does get through that he's potentially got
the inform or jallier seem so like there's there's just names in there who you think could could cause rude some problems if he doesn't step it up uh the real fifth set fun this afternoon, came, of course, how did we not see it coming, from Kei Nishikori. He had Tiago Montero right where he wanted him. Two sets to love down, two match points down, of course.
Kane Shikori, in the year 2025, won in five unnecessary sets, David. I think that's 29 five-set wins for him and only eight losses, which is an astonishing... record. Nobody's come close to that. I've got so much respect for it. I went into his press conference afterwards just to
Talk to him a little bit about this record. I mean, I'm not the first. I won't be the last. And I think he's... probably a little bit weary of talking about it as much as he is playing those sort of matches but it was one of those because nothing was going on in the day because it was such a damp scrib of the day it was a kind of like oh I get a chance to go and speak to Kane Nishikori I haven't done that for about eight years
At ten past six, David got so pumped about Kane and Shikori's press time coming in. I do. Great, something to do. I wanted to know. That was during intentionally blank, folks.
I wanted to know what it is that he's thinking when he finds himself two sets to love down or two sets to one down that starts these comebacks. I mean, look, he was... Sadly, there's no great... key to it all he's he's very much right well i've just got to concentrate on the next bit and see where that goes but he did it he did accept the premise that the fact that he's done it before is now
a weapon in itself against the other players. It's almost developed a life of its own as a reputation, as something that, oh no. Here he comes. Oh no, I'm two sets to love up against Gaynor Shikori. What a disaster. As soon as the comeback starts, there's a feeling of inevitability about it. And I don't quite know how he's doing it.
He's so unassuming at times as a bloke. He's not giving you the double fist pumps and all the rest of it. He doesn't take over these matches, does he? No. wrench them as you say he does it in a very like non-main character energy way he just quietly comes back and wins and then sort of smiles about it and you think how on earth does that happen you're so annoying I'm sure his opponent's thinking um but I did also ask him towards the end of the press conference Having followed him kind of...
vaguely in as much as I've seen all these injuries that he's kept talking about and oh I can't play and now I'm out and then you'll see his working out videos as he's trying to get back out there and I'm thinking This guy's mid-30s now, and he's reached his Grand Slam final in 2014, and it was a brilliant run. He beat Djokovic in the semi-finals.
He's never going to do that again. I mean, it would be a miracle if he did, and he's not going to do it. He's rich beyond his wildest dreams. He's richer than...
many of the greatest tennis players of all time because of his endorsements. The noodle deals. And the fact is that I was curious, have you ever... considered just calling it a day when one of these injuries has come along and he said he said honestly i i have and and if i'd i decided that if after one of the most recent ones i decided that if i had another surgery I didn't think I could take it anymore. I couldn't come back from another one. But...
It's love of the game. He said it is just sheer love of the game and chance to get out there and play in those sort of matches on those sort of stadium arenas and just make the most of it. And it's lovely to hear. And I saw how much fun David was having at the thought of a Kane Ishikori press conference and followed him into it to try and get in on some of that fun.
Such a slow day. And I asked Kane Ishikori about when he first... realized that he that he kind of had this power in in five sets and he said when everyone kept telling me he said everyone in the locker room kept going up to me and telling me about my five set record And he was like, oh, yeah, I suppose it is pretty good. And, like, the funny thing about this match was you could not get more stark...
Contrast in five-set records. Thiago Montero is one and five. Well, now one and six in five-set matches in his career. And he's not won one since 2017. Oof. Whereas, as we know, Kane Ishikori, just so, so strong. And there was a... There was a real flip in this match. Nishikori was really struggling to convert a break point. You know, he was so struggling in this match to do that. And when he finally did it at the 12th attempt, it was just like a release.
He then started playing even better and Montero just completely hit the wall physically, especially in that fourth set. All the power went from his legs, his serve dropped off. and nishikori did nishikori things and yeah like his his five set record is so fun and
Yes, I think a lot of them have been unnecessary. He should have been winning these matches more straightforwardly. And maybe today is one of those. But I have to say, Montero was unbelievably good in the first two sets. Really, really good. having come through qualifying, and he did bring such a good level to this match. But, you know...
he was up against Nishikori and he couldn't get it done. Final thing on Nishikori's five-set record, he actually lost his first ever five-set match and it was against Rohan Bapana. In Davis Cup. And that's not Matt's stat today. There's something better than that. Unreal. Yeah, something less funny than that. Subscribe to the newsletter, folks, for the better but less funny stat. of the day. Tommy Paul or OG sensation Chris O'Connell?
next for Kei Nishikori. I'm into that match. Me too. And I think big for Nishikori that gets two days off. Yes. Yeah. None of us are as young as we used to be, Kei. Ugo and Bear won in this section of the... This is interesting. He plays Hadi Habib next in round two. Hadi Habib, a qualifier. By qualifying, he became the first Lebanese player.
to play a Grand Slam tennis match. And by beating my guy, Yann Chakotay Boo, today in three straight sets, became the first player from Lebanon to win a Grand Slam tennis match. Extraordinary. And the noise, Catherine. We were here. on this arena the 1573 arena watching Thomas Mahatch when we heard in the distance the celebrations as he was closing in on that victory and it was the loudest noise at Melbourne Park I've heard today yeah really extraordinary story um
So, Humbert Habib is a second-round match. We're going with that to face the winner of Artifis and TBC, because Artifis' second-round opponent, not yet known, will either be Conta Ali's fellow Frenchman, or Adebayo. Walton they're still playing the very faint sounds of electronic line calling and excited Australians are from
That match, which is still taking place right now, Adam Walton was two sets to love up. He's lost the third. It's five all in the fourth. It sounds to me like he just won a point. Art of Feast. David won through in four sets today over Otto Werdenen. 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 was a breakdown in the second. Looked for all the world like he was going to be two sets to love down. And you said if he does go two sets to love down, he ain't going to go.
coming back from that. Honestly, I'm surprised he came back from one set down. I was not convinced by what I saw from Feast today. And he was terrible. He was absolutely terrible for the best part of two sets. And he did improve. He needed to. In his words, in his on-court interview, I played like shit. And the crowd really laughed at that. But the truth is that that's what was happening. Otto Werthinen, by the way, is a clean ball striker. And he knew how to play Art of Peace. He was...
darting cross-court forehands into the big wind-up forehand of Feast, and that thing was just shanking all over the place. And the actual break of serve that... Werton and Gott to go a set and 5-4 up and give him a chance to serve for that second set. Fies hit four unforced errors in a row of all different types. He hit a missed smash. He hit missed forehands, missed backhand, missed volley. It was just terrible. And then in the next game, he lost the first point.
of the game so he's three points away from from two sets to love Dan and he looked over at his coach Sebastian Grosjean and he just sort of looked at him as if so what am I doing what what's going on and Grosjean just quietly nodded at him and suddenly the focus returned in Feast and you could see just one or two points later he was starting to feel it. And he put all the returns in court. Matt had been...
telling me all match long that Vertinen has a problem with nerves and getting tight in the important moments, and that's what happened at the same time. And really, once it was one said all, it was not a contest. It was comfortable for a feast. He's got some growing still to do, that young man. I find him so compelling to watch, as you know. He can beat a lot of players, but he can also lose to pretty much anybody. If Adam Moulton, who...
Was a participant in the one-point slam, Matt, I believe? I think so. I think he was another one that I... But most importantly is my prediction for the day. Ah. Right, so Matt's got a lot... lot riding on the fourth set of this match that's still ongoing if Adam Morton comes through that's going to be interesting to see how Feast copes with the atmosphere of
Playing a sensation. Playing a sensation, yeah. I'm very much here for that. Alexander Zverev about to win against Luka Pui, who looked like he was on his last legs physically after about the third game. Bless him, French wild card.
former semi-finalist here extraordinarily Zverev will play Pedro Martinez of pleased to be there at the Davis Cup finals fame he will play Pedro Martinez in round number two that's it I think for your roundup of matches that happened today do they join us in part three where we'll discuss tomorrow's order of play which definitely will be a vibe.
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Welcome back to part three where we look ahead now to the day two order of play from Melbourne Park. And honestly, this is where it starts, folks. All due respect to the fun stuff that's happened today. The best efforts of Kane Ishikori to make things... make things exciting I wouldn't be making it to his press conference if it was tomorrow but tomorrow oh my goodness there's almost too much good stuff happening tomorrow how about this Rod Laver Arena starts at 11.30
Coco Gough against Sophia Kennan. She often, Gough, gets scheduled first here in Australia because it's pretty much the only time slot that works for the US, certainly the east coast of the US. So Gough, Kennan to kick things off. off on Leiva then it's Yannick Sinner against Nicholas Jarry Matt now thinks Jarry is going to beat Yannick Sinner because he's forgotten to bring his nose strips with him for the honestly I've been bringing them with me for 52 weeks
anticipation of a bit and he's lost in the first round of every slam so I didn't bring them and this is going to be the time where he does something we will see look if Nicholas Jarry does beat Yannick Sinner tomorrow Please trust that I will find a way for Matt to do something comedic with...
with nasal strips. Catherine will approach Nicholas Jarry and ask DeBoris. I will. I'll do whatever needs to be done. Then it's intentionally blank. Hang on. I'm not doing anything with used nasal strips. I mean, he might have some spares in a packet. Unopened. Intentionally blank follows Yannick Sinner and Nicholas Jarry. Then in the night session, Novak Djokovic against Nishesh.
I'm intrigued by that matchup for a number of different reasons. It is followed by Naomi Osaka against Caroline Garcia. That match should not be second on the night session after. Well, shouldn't be second in the night session after a men's match. But yeah, that's a shame. Still pumped about it. The second call tomorrow starts with Isla Tomljanovic against Aisling Kruger. Then it's Tomo against Dominic Kupfer. Jordan Thompson, Dominic Kupfer. The Knights...
Session on the second court. Carlos Alcaraz starts on the second court against Alexander Shevchenko. And then it's Daniel Collins, former finalist here, against Daria Snigur, who is... unorthodox unorthodox let's put it that way uh describe why she's unorthodox just watch her hit a tennis ball yeah well give me a bit of a snapshot quickly
It's hard to describe. No one else hits the ball like her. Yeah, it's weird. Technique-wise. John Kane Arena opens with Stefano Sitzapas against the talented young American Alex Mickelson. Then it's Igor Shiontek, the world number two. starting on the third court tomorrow against Katarina Siniarkovic. She does, though, get a not-before-time for her match, Igor Sviantek. And the twilight session on the John Kane Arena is Maya Joint, the Young Aussie wildcard, against...
Jessica Pagula and finally Nick Kyrgios bringing the circus to... Great Britain's Jacob Fernley. Keir Arena, Diana Schneider playing there, Bronzetti, Azarenka, Kokinakis, Cefuelin and Tommy Paul against Chris O'Connell. 1573 Arena is where you find Rinderknecht. Chiafo Bencic Osteopenko is second on 1573 tomorrow. And Fanini Dimitrov is the last match on there, not before 4pm.
Last time I saw Fabio Fanini, he was attempting a jive. Attempting being the key word there. It was absolutely shocking. Truly. I don't think he was properly on the programme. He was like a guest star and he just had a go at it. This is like Italian strictly, is it? Yeah. I sound like I'm making excuses for him there. It was terrible. It was absolutely... He just...
He clearly couldn't do the dancing, so they did lots of lifts because he's strong, so he was just sort of picking up this poor woman and flinging her around in a very uncontrolled manner while his feet were doing some... bemusing things it was a bit like one of his tennis matches where he can't really be bothered yes Absolutely. That is last on 1573, the court that we're on right now where some men have arrived with some towels and some... And a torch. ...implements and some torches.
Very high-level technical stuff happening on 1573 just now. Are they wiping up poo? Potentially. I mean, you joke, David, but matches have been moved here due to... pigeon poo no seagull poo on court I was once in a Joe Conta situation with a lot of pigeon poo I think that is what they're doing they've got what looks like spray Okay.
Truly seeing how the sausage is made or hearing how the sausage is made here on the Tennis Podcast. Jack Draper plays on court three tomorrow. He's up against Mariano Navone. What else have we got? Mukova is last on court five. tomorrow. Jerry Shang against Alejandro Davidovich for Kina. That could be fun. You've got sensations absolutely everywhere. Jakob Mensik against Nikolaus Basilashvili.
That is first on court 12 tomorrow. Jakob Mensik is definitely on a lot of people's ones to watch. It's going to be... I'm a bit nervous about tomorrow. It could be one of those days where you feel like you're missing stuff, even though you've got six screens in front of you because there's just too much to take in. I'm worried about Matt Roberts' overwhelm.
Tomorrow. You should be worried about that. There's three of us. We can divide it up. I know, but I don't like to feel like I'm missing things. You know, I want to... I want to see it all. I have to say the Australian Open is the best slam for me personally for being able to go out to a court but also take my laptop and watch a match. Like the Wi-Fi just seems to work everywhere. I can get a stream up pretty easily on Channel 9. The media hub also has streams. It's a good situation.
Great. Well done, the media hub. So that's tomorrow. We'll be back at the end of all of it. I'd like to say hello to Lady Bird, nicknamed Birdie. Love that name. Birdie is an absolutely stunning cat with more fur than I've ever seen on an animal. The body to fur ratio is crazy on Birdie. Birdie is owned by Helen. She's a rescue from the streets of Newark, New Jersey.
where all our listeners live, of course. She was found there as a kitten a year ago. She's a gorgeous bullseye tabby, which I've not heard of, but want one.
And Helen says she's the light of our lives, which is absolutely lovely. When not napping, she can be found swatting at birds through our windows, pestering her older sister Maggie, feline, and scampering up and down the stairs like a maniac. She's the only member of our... household to watch tennis with me and the only cat I've ever had who plays fetch wow
albeit with her favourite pink ball, the blue one won't do. Please send us a video, Helen, of Birdie playing fetch. I would enjoy that very much. But in lieu of that, we'll be putting this incredible picture of Birdie. on our Instagram and in our newsletter. Hello, of course, to our mascots. Phoebe, for me today, saw the same call we saw yesterday, again this morning, and got very excited about it. Well, Matt and David were trying to have a conversation about it.
So hello, Phoebe. Hello on David's behalf to Maisie. And hello to dear old TBC. Still haven't thought of a tennis player with those initials. OK, pressure's on, Matt. Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. We salute you and we hand over to Matt for shout-outs. And we start with Susan Ramsey in Falkirk, Scotland. Hello, Susan. Susan or Susie? Susan. Susan, possibly known as Susie. Who knows?
And there's a Susan... Lammons. Lammons, who won today. Yeah, although that's Susan with a Z, I think, because this is with an S in the middle. Any Ramseys? I think I've done pretty well. Aaron Ramsey. Well, we're in the home of Ramsey Street, aren't we? From Neighbours. Very good. Good work, David. Who'd have thought I'd have come up with that? Very good. Thank you, Susan. We've also got Regina Wooten in Chicago. Hello, Regina. Hi, Regina. I believe Gigi Salmon.
The tennis broadcaster's name is Regina. That's correct. Yeah, absolutely. And I think Sebastian Corder's mum is called Regina. Former player. I think you might be right. I can't off the top of my head remember her surname. Corda? Or maybe she hasn't taken her husband's name, and that's brilliant. When she was playing, she wasn't Regina Corda. Okay. But she might be now. But she might be now, yeah. Well...
Regardless, Matt, you've done stunning work there, I would say. Well, only if I'm right. Thank you, Regina. Do we know anything about Regina? We don't. Well, I'm sure she's great. Thank you, Regina. And finally, we have Taylor Linehan in Nashville. Hello, Taylor. And this is great. You're going to like this. This is a surprise shout out to Taylor from dear friends Matt and Claire. Together, we make up Grand Slam DM.
A WhatsApp lifeline to live chat matches together, discuss tennis news and hot takes. problem solve, the occasional life crisis, and of course, debrief on the latest pod. They've got their own mini barge. Yeah. Grand Slam DM realised a collective dream. of attending the 2024 US Open together. And Claire and Matt had the great good luck of meeting Catherine, David and Matt in person just outside the media garden. We may have been stalking. We left Taylor...
alone on court five, to cheer Dan Evans on to victory and feel so guilty about meeting our podcast heroes without her that we're sending her this shout out. Oh. How lovely. Wow. So, Taylor is who the shout-outs for. What are the friends called? Matt and Claire. Great names. Legends all round. Taylor, hello to you. You sound absolutely excellent. How lucky are you that you've got such wonderful friends? And I know it's not tennis related, but of course, I'm going to say Taylor Swift.
Also Fritz, but, you know, in that order. Hello, Taylor. I hope you're enjoying the Australian Open. Hello, Susan. And hello, Regine. Thank you to all of our friends at the Tennis Podcast. If you haven't... with law yet that episode is waiting for you as is our tennis relived looking back to the Australian Open 2005 which was epic
So do check those out and become a friend. If you think any of that sounds fun, add free listening and the barge also available to friends of the pod. The link to become a friend is in our show notes. Thanks for listening. Come back tomorrow and we promise some vibes. Do you belong here? Trouble shooting an engine in a military workshop? What's your gut saying? Wanna turn the volume down? Or stay here and get paid to learn a trade?
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