Kate's just off to work after sleeping in the best bed in the business. And my word, doesn't she look ready for anything. Something about her smile is just brighter. Her eyes seem glintier. And she just feels so much more... Of course, it's no surprise, really, because last night she slept at Premier Inn and she got up to 15% off with Business Booker. Get better sleep for your money. Premier Inn. Rest easy. T's and C's apply.
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Hi, this is Billie Jean King. This is Marion Bartoli. This is Bianca Andreescu. I'm Mats Villander. This is Mary Carrillo. This is Pam Schreiber. This is Yannick Noah, and you're listening to The Tennis Podcast. Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast. It is Sunday the 4th of May. We are with you live following on from the men's final in Madrid, which has seen Kasper Rude.
win his maiden Masters 1000 title, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 over Jack Draper in an awesome final. Yesterday we saw Rina Sabalenka beat Coco Gauff. to lift the women's title for the third time in her career. David Law is here. David, it was a final so good. I am regretting my decision to have dinner after the live show. Yes, went on a bit longer than you expected.
Okay. Well, I think we can get by an adrenaline, the excitement of being live with everybody here. But it was a good final, wasn't it? And in fact, it was quite an interesting last few days, I think. Lots for us to get into. Absolutely. Yeah, I loved it. I absolutely loved that final. I mean no disrespect to either player, but it really exceeded my expectations as a tennis match. I wasn't expecting to be sort of...
hanging on every single point there like I was. I mean, as hungry as I was and continue to be Matt Roberts, I did not want that final to end. no it was absolutely brilliant wasn't it uh i really didn't know who was going to win it in fact we did a little We did a little test run of the live show about half an hour ago, and I predicted that Jack Draper would win it in that third set, so I was very wrong about that.
And yeah, honestly, my main takeaway after it was kind of like, where has this Kasparud been? Like, I feel like it's a long time since I've... felt like that about Kasparud. I remember when he reached that US Open final and played so well, I thought, against Carlos Alcaraz. I remember that night thinking, wow, Kasparud, he can really be a shot maker.
And I felt that again tonight. Some of the shots he was coming up with, absolutely superb. And he closed it out emphatically, if there was a question mark still. in that final game over who was going to win it. Well, Kasparu just absolutely, you know, just answered it. Huge hitting. quality final and a very quality finish to it yeah i was i kind of leave pretty impressed with both players to be honest like it was it was one of those
Yeah. This feels a bit like Wimbledon, doesn't it? Going live straight after the final. It does, yeah. And Wimbledon got a lot of mentions on the coverage tonight. Yes, yes, we will. We will talk about the Jack Draper hype train. I mean, look, we're on board the Jack Draper hype train ourselves, but... Yeah, it's rolling out of the station in a slightly reckless way, I think.
David Kasper, look, I am expecting to get grief as somebody that has a bit as a Kasper Reid hater. I'm not a hater. Oh, my God, Pam's here. Hello, Pam. Pam's here. She's in the chat. Yes, Pam. She's at the gym. Yeah, Pam is working out, watching a live podcast and contributing to the live chat of said live podcast. What a multitasker. What was I saying? Something about Caspar Rude. You're a hater. You're a hater.
Yes, look, look, I'm not a Kasparud hater. I have a lot of, he seems like a, in fact, I was thinking about this, like the irony of me having a, being a Kasparud hater bit. Because, like, he should be right up my alley, shouldn't he? Like, he's a totally... glean anyway like an unproblematic man seems lovely uh got a nice nice nice tennis game it's a lovely forehand he's got apparently he's a he's a serve bot now um you both love gold there's really no We're both golfers. We both, yeah.
Has he got a dog? He does have a dog. It's all there, David. I know. You did a jump backhand winner today? I know. There's no aggro there, is there? I know. He's the great on-paper guy that you go on a date with and you're like, oh, I hate myself. for wanting to leave. But I do. We've all been there. Some of us have been there. But yeah, he's just... And I think it's because it's all felt so... But then I... I saw that reaction, Matt. Not pointless, but just, I don't know. I've trauma from that.
Roland Garros final against Rafael Nadal. He just leaves me a bit cold, but he didn't today. He didn't today. I loved Kasparud's tennis today. I love the way he's talking. And, you know, I... I'm willing to have the same kind of epiphany about Caspar Rood that I had about Madison Keys in Australia this year. Now, you know, he's got a slam to win before I get there, but I'm open to it, you know, because Madison Keyes used to leave me cold and there I was sobbing.
when she won that Australian Open title and came into the press conference room and said what she said. So maybe I'm on a Caspar Rude journey. It's the year of journeys, the one-point slam. I think this was really big for Kasparud. No matter whatever else it leads to, he hadn't done this before.
He'd always been the Neely man. He's a very, very good player who's kept on delivering. But, you know, three Grand Slam finals, which is probably more than I ever thought he would reach in the first place. So, you know, that's a good record in itself. But I never thought he would win any of them in the moment. Because he's not quite that good. I tell you, he's a real contender.
If things go his way, and like, for instance, here in Madrid, no Carlos Alcuras, no discernible Novak Djokovic, not the Djokovic we're used to, no Yannick Sinner. That's not always going to be the case, right? But that's for another day. You know, I did not...
I actually said the other day when we were lining up who's left, who would win. I mean, I'll give myself a little bit of a pat on the back because I said I think I'd make Kasparud the favourite. But as the days went on... I would have come into today and I felt Jack Draper was going to win today because things that I saw since the last time we spoke about this... were that Jack Draper had convinced me that he was even better at the moment than I thought. And
Actually, I'm not sure that Kasparud can handle this opponent playing like this. And actually, I still think that if Jack Draper had played like... He had been playing all the way through today, and if he'd have played all the way through like he did in the first sort of nine games, I still think Kasparud wouldn't have been able to handle it. At the same time, I also... What really impressed me about Ruud is he didn't just hang around Zverev style. He went and...
stepped up. He gave his best stuff. And so I think it would have probably been really toe to toe if Draper had been able to maintain his level, but he couldn't. And a lot of that is about how do you handle the day? How do you handle the moments, the big final? delivered today. Even if he'd have lost, he could have had no regrets because he really stepped up and delivered and I thought he was superb.
And he's talked about that, hasn't he, Matt? He's talked about trying to be more aggressive with his game, trying to slightly remodel himself, it sounds like to me, at this sort of... relatively late stage of his career. I don't mean late as in like these best days are behind him but he's at a different phase of his career to Jack Draper who very much is still in the developmental stage slash on the precipice of winning Wimbledon.
if the hype train is to be believed. But it sounds like Caspar Rood is... I don't know. It obviously looks different because he's doing something today that he's never done before, but it also sounds quite different from Kasper Reid, the way he's talking about his game.
Yeah, and I think maybe the kind of biggest compliment came from Draper himself just then, saying that Rude was braver in the big moments, you know, kind of what... speaking to what David's talking about there, where, you know, he went out and got that match, Kasparud, and... Yeah, I've been really impressed. I thought today he served extremely well. You alluded to it, Catherine, but his serve just came up. So good for him, time after time.
He was winning so many points behind that first serve. And, you know, we know, well, he can hit his forehand as well. It felt like he hit a great number of those as well. I was impressed kind of with all the parts of his game as well. His movement was great. He was digging out some really great defensive points, using the slice to stay in rallies. He just really did seem to have... the whole package today. And yeah, it's very impressive. He's always been...
He just has always been a guy who's taken it step by step, hasn't he? He was always the guy who would only win the 250s on the clay. And then he eventually won in Barcelona for his first 500. And now he's got his... first 1000 like he he is a he i say that i say that he's been doing all these gradual achievements but he's had those big highs of the Grand Sam finals as well, where he ran into, you know, two of the all-time greats in Nadal and Djokovic.
And he also ran into Carlos Alcaraz as well, who was just kind of on an incredible run. that US Open so never really felt like he was going to win one of those slam finals but on the tour he's kind of been progressing in that way in terms of what his ceiling is and
Yeah, maybe he didn't feel like this was the biggest title of his career because he's been in those grandstand finals. It felt like he'd had these big moments. And yet I really think this was a very, very big deal for him and for him to play that aggressive tennis under that pressure. was very, very impressive. Look, you mentioned Madison Keys. There's another big, big similarity in terms of Rude this week talking very, very honestly and openly about...
The help that he's sought out off court, you know, he said that he kind of been on the hamster wheel and he'd been struggling with his mental health. And he said he sought help for that. And he's been able to kind of find. in life again and i thought that was i thought that was really sort of honest of him to say that and um yeah it kind of the point pam just made to us before we came live you know that's that's too
Players this year who've had the biggest wins of their career, having been very open about the help that they've sought for their mental health. And that's a really, really positive message to send, I think, to people. The Kasper Ruud-Madison Keys comparisons, I can see them. Yeah. And I loved, I mean, perhaps it was, perhaps it did for him feel like a a bigger deal to make that revelation than it looked and sounded to us. But there was a...
There was a normalcy about the way that he revealed that, you know, it sounded, he made it sound really normalised. And that is absolutely, of course, how, you know, seeking help for... Well, you don't even have to have mental health problems. Life is hard. Seeking help with, you know, dealing with life should be normalised. But, you know, it's not, especially in a...
in a sporting culture. And I do just wonder whether, you know, Madison Keys deserves a bit of a shout out for that, you know. She's not the first person in tennis to say, I've had therapy, but it was probably the most... high profile moment in which to do it, to say, I've won a Grand Slam on the precipice of my 30th birthday and it's because. I took the leap and had therapy. Would we have had that revelation from Caspar Rood without that from Addison Keys? I don't know.
It's great to hear. It's really, really great to hear. And there are some calls in the chat from Hannah, Matt, for you to have a bit of a moment for Kasparud's jumping backhand. People want me to talk more about backhands. Normally I feel like I never shut up about them and people think I should. You don't often spend a lot of time talking about Caspar Rood's backhand though, so give it its flowers while it has a chance. No, and honestly, I'm not going to. I mean, it was good.
I do think it's probably leveled up. I felt like he was going for it down the line, maybe a little bit more than I've seen. And yes, there was a couple of nice jumping ones. Look, it's never... The Kasparu backhand is never going to give me the backhand feels, but it was great. I'm pleased for him that he's improved his backhand. He had a good day with it. He did. He talked earlier in the week... David about how he thinks Tennis balls have changed since Covid. Did you see these quotes?
i didn't he he thinks that since covid he started talking about ball pressures and he did lose me a bit at that point but basically the bottom line is he thinks that Tennis balls have got less lively and bouncy since COVID. And that the new generation that are coming through, your Drapers, your Sinners, your Alcarazes, the players that have basically only been on tour really since COVID.
You know, they've cut their teeth with those balls, so they're used to it. They develop their game with those balls. He says the change for him is that he can no longer afford a single short ball, even a heavy one. He used to be able to... So long as he had enough weight behind the shot and on clay, you know, spin behind the shot.
He didn't feel like he would necessarily get punished for a shorter ball, but now he feels like any time the ball lands short, it gets ripped. So he just can't afford to be that kind of player anymore and has to be more aggressive. maybe it was confirmation bias, but I really did feel like I saw... evidence of that today. And combined with the serve, I mean, I don't know how Madrid assisted the serving stats were for Kasper Ruud this week, but 81% of points won on first serve today.
Well, he was Draper-esque on serve. His numbers were better than Jack Draper. Well, there's no question that the balls do have an impact. There's no question in Madrid that the altitude does have an impact and it always leads to... a feeling that when we go to next week's tournament, not sure how easy it is to replicate what we've just seen.
I do find that interesting, what he said there. I think whether it's true or not about the balls, I think it points to a wider issue for Kasparud, which is there are several players now. that if he's not bang on his game, can knock him off the court. And we saw it. two weeks ago with what Holger Roona did to him in Barcelona. He had a good day. Roona didn't have a great day and it was just a routine straight-edge win for Roona.
Draper can't. I mean, we'll need to get on to Draper because of what he didn't. show today which I expected him to all the way through but then Sinner and Alcraz and and there are others too there are other players Fonseca will be able to do it there are there are players that just have Roode hits a big ball, but it isn't that sort of big ball. They're hitting one point. power, one-shot power that just ends point.
And so, yeah, you've got to be really good. And he was today and he has been all week long. He was excellent. But maybe his window is closing in terms of his ability to beat these guys. kind of get some success before these guys all take over all the time? What didn't you see today from Draper, David, that you were expecting to? Well, I didn't see the drop-off coming the way it did, the dramatic drop-off. I mean, he was 5'3 up and crucial.
And really, when I say that I came into this final thinking he would win, whereas a few days ago you asked me, is Draper the favourite for this title? And I said no. Because I thought Rude would win it. I just thought... I thought, you know, there's nowhere else for Draper to go. This is as good as it gets, I think, after the Tommy Paul win, which was excellent. But then he backed that up by just manhandling Matteo Arnaldi. Then he just...
played a very, very good Lorenzo Mazzetti. And again, his sheer weight of shot has these players looking shell... And I was watching the way he was galloping up to backhand. and whipping just winners routinely with the forehand. And, I mean, you know, I don't want to get over the top here, but there were little flashes of Nadal about the way he was playing. It was like he was playing with 2-4.
And the confidence in him was just sort of bristling. And you thought, my goodness, if he can carry this on. He could beat anybody, anytime. There was a moment at the end of the Mazzetti match when he started to look like he was blowing a bit. And I thought, oh, you know, if this does go into a third set. I mean, we know he's got the physique for it because he played the back-to-back.
five set matches that he won in Australia. So it's not a stamina issue. But what happened today, and I know we haven't heard from him yet, but what seemed very clear to have happened is that his... His nerves got the better of him, his anxiety, his desperation to win. He always looks like he's on the edge.
He's so pumped up. And it's when does pumped up become stressed and stress become inhibiting the way it did in that Sinner semifinal at the US Open. And today... I think we saw that and he started to just power down and he ended up having to scratch. Is that how you read it as well, Matt? That the physical fade was a stress-anxiety response? It was at the end of the first set, yes, because we weren't that far into the match at all and actually had the same...
phrase come to mind as David, powering down. It was suddenly like... His shots didn't have the same zip on them. His feet suddenly looked a little bit heavy. And Rude played a couple of very nice high returns that Draper just seemed to slightly miss. misjudge a little bit and it was almost though the feet weren't quite working and I did think that that was
perhaps nerve-induced because of what a great position he was in and how emphatically he was winning. And he was very, very... uh angry with himself wasn't he at the end of that first set he was he was shouting sort of at his box, but kind of at himself as well. I thought he did an incredible job after that to play the second set that he did, where he started cruising on serve. He only hit one unforced error in the entire set. It was a very good recovery.
I thought maybe in the third set it was a bit more physical, actually. I did think maybe we saw a bit of a physical fade there as well, whereas... Whereas Rude seemed to really get stronger, which again is impressive because it wasn't that long ago, post-parasite Rude, we were very worried about his physical fade in matches. But it does seem that he's got back to kind of his physical bed.
So I do think there were maybe a couple of things going on. Obviously, we can't know until we see the Draper quotes. And I'm sure he'll be pretty upfront and frank about it.
What I sort of conclude from that is we've... and kind of why I'm still not quite there in terms of putting Draper in like a mix to win a slam is because we've yet to see a slam from Draper where he hasn't had... some kind of physical issue or powering down uh you know whether that be because he was vomiting exactly vomiting being the favorite against nori and just not really being able to cope with that
He's made a lot of improvements, so many. His game is in such a good place. What is he, two in the race right now? He has been phenomenally good this year. But I still think we've got that question mark. next to his name going into the slams about the nerves about the powering down about some of the physical issues he was clutching his leg he did have it taped
It just feels a long way to win seven best of five set matches right now for the Jack Draper that we have. It's not to say that he can't ever get there, but... Yeah, I just think that feels like another improvement that he still needs to make. It was clever from Ruud in the third set there, wasn't it? Because he clocked on to that, the physical fared. I think there was one rally, maybe it was on return, where...
No, it wasn't on return, but there was one rally where Draper's legs sort of just seemed to go to jelly underneath him. And from that point on, suddenly Casper-Reed's drop shotting all over the place and he's really, you know, pretty ruthless about... exploiting that physical fade from Jopra. I thought it was really smart tennis from Kasper Rude. But given everything you've said there about Jack Draper and everything he's told us about the anxiety that he experiences...
I'm really worried for him in the grass court season. And I know that dealing with pressure and expectation is... part of elite sport and part of being from a Grand Slam nation. Being from a Grand Slam nation comes with a lot of privilege, but it also comes with that pressure as well. And learning to deal with that is part of the job.
And look, I'm a huge Jack Draper believer and I do think he's going to win a slam one day, maybe more than one. And I do think it's probably not going to be too long until we're putting him in mixes. I really... I believe in him big time. It's not that I'm not on board the hype train. talking about him as a potential favourite for Wimbledon. And I get it. I really do get it.
why these hype trains do go off the rails the way they do. We used to do it on Amazon with British players. This is not unique to any broadcaster or any person. And that was in the Cam Norrie era. Yeah, we used to have to hype up Cam Norrie. But I'm worried about it, particularly in... in relation to Jack Draper, given that high anxiety that we know he experiences.
I don't know, I feel a bit protective of him, David, and I'm a bit worried about what his sort of grass court season experience is going to look like. And then I think, oh, but he'll have the... you know, the guiding, mentoring hand of Andy Murray in the background, then I'm like, nope, he's going to be sat in Novak Djokovic's coaching box. Not available to you. He'll give him a word of advice if he needs it, I'm sure. But no, I mean, it's... Will he? Yes, I think so. Drape is...
You're talking about Djokovic's, you know, winning Wimbledon is his everything. Well, Draper's a... A man standing in the way of that? A man that could beat him at Wimbledon? Look, if they're about to play to her... Novak Djokovic doesn't want Jack Draper doing well at Wimbledon. No, no, listen, if they're about to play to her, he's not going to start giving him advice. But I think if Draper... was upset on a human level. He would help him out or want to talk to him or listen to him. But anyway.
I don't know that Jack Draper would actually go to Andy Murray now that he is with Djokovic anyway. I don't know that that would be his move. But I do think he's got, he knows he's got something that he's working on here. And I think he's... It's very healthy that he understands it and he's not shying away from it. And he was so open after the US Open. I mean, I have unending admiration.
for jack draper really that he's managing to to do what he's doing when he is somebody who suffers with anxiety and and who is very open about that and that's probably one of the reasons he's able to compete whilst suffering from it. I mean, it's really debilitating. I've experienced it. I've had panic attacks in the past, and I know that they completely power you down. I don't know how how possible it will be for him to to render those.
issues moot you know I don't know whether he can or whether he's just going to have to kind of manage them live with them
Because the thing is, I do feel like... I know you said it was physical in the third set, and I do see what you mean, but kind of the damage has already been done. You've already exhausted yourself because you've had a bit of an anxious... experience and the player that made me think a couple of days ago or even a cut to a two or three hours ago actually I think I think if this Jack Draper that I'm watching here plays Rowan Garrow
I actually think he could beat anybody in being a mix. But then when you're reminded how he can suffer in a match like this and suddenly look like a completely different player. well, then I don't trust that yet. It's that guy who's beating people two and three. Like, good players. These are not nobodies. These are really good clay quarters, and he is just...
throwing them around. There are not many players who can do that. And I actually did not know he had that sort of power. I knew he could hit the ball hard. But this one-punch power has just been astonishing to me. I'm just not sure whether you can keep doing that, because A, the mentality element comes into it, and also best of five sets is... So it's just going to be a constant work in progress for us.
And look, I watched him lose to Jesper de Jong in the first round of Roland Garros last year. He just beat from second. Yeah, maybe Jesper de Jong is in the mix. Casper Rude in the French Open mix.
Has to be, doesn't he? I mean, I said no. I told you the other day, yes. Exactly. I said no on Thursday, but David was… Yeah, this question is aimed firmly at you, Matt. David was… was showing impressive foresight there um I would still be a bit surprised if he won the French Open, but I do think he... has done enough probably to earn Mick's statement.
Because if he gets there, I will say, oh, well, this does make sense. Like he has been to the Roland Garros final two times before. He'd won a Masters 1. Logically, you can talk it through. It's just, I don't know. Maybe it's a me problem. The idea of Gasparud winning the French Open still seems a bit surprising to me. And that is my definition. He probably should be in the mix. He should be in the mix, given his record. He's in my mix. I think my mix is Sinner, Alcaraz, Zverev and Rude.
Rude, that wasn't in priority order, I think. So I was hanging by a thread. Rude's right in that mix for me. No one has Novak Djokovic. Not in mine, no. Not for the French Open, no. No, I would be surprised if he would have won it from where we are right now. Would you be more surprised if Novak Djokovic won the French Open than Kasparovic?
At the moment, yeah. Really? I mean, I genuinely think, is he even going to play the French Open? Really? He's not playing Rome? I mean, I assume he will, but... That's weird that he's not playing right. I just think, I guess I would, like, sitting here right now, I'd maybe be a little bit surprised if Novak Djokovic won the French Open. But if Novak Djokovic won the French Open, it wouldn't...
It wouldn't feel surprising. It would be like, this is what he does. So I feel like he's just always in the mix for me. It's a long way away. It's like Nadal last year, wasn't it? Like, obviously Nadal last year was just not. He wasn't the Nadal that had done anything with Roland Garros before. And yet, of course, it's Nadal. He's in the mix. But Nadal and Roland Garros isn't.
Djokovic at Roland Garros. No, but I think... He's not in my mix right now. I am slightly distracted by the effect this take is having on the live chat now. Sorry, carry on. I don't know. I just think Nadal was so, like, he was done. He was so clearly at the end. I don't think Djokovic is quite there. Yeah, I mean, you were black on the day of his match. Djokovic is targeting Wimbledon now. That's the difference.
I mean, I firmly think he's one of the three favourites for Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic, right now. But I don't think he's that fussed about the French Open because he's coming from too far back. Anyone else? Lorenzo Mazzetti? He's close for me. Like, no, but close. I think if he'd taken that to a third against Draper, he might have won that. I really wanted that match to go to. It was a lovely match, wasn't it?
It was the match we hoped it would be, really, in terms of aesthetics, but it just didn't quite... into a third set, but Draper's just too good. Granoes and Zabajos beat Aravalo and Pavic 6-4, 6-4 to win the men's doubles title. I feel like, not to end on a downer, but I feel like we should... We should mention before moving on from the men's tournament, the Sarundalo-Menschick quarterfinal and the egregious crime against tennis viewership that was committed in that match.
by the two of them wearing identical kits, identical kits down to the backwards baseball cap. It was... It was laughable. And obviously everybody was tweeting about it and talking about it, but it's always in a slightly kind of, same as Shadows, it's always in a slightly, you know, we've done this as well in the past, sort of flippant, funny way. It's not flippant and funny that the sport is literally unwatchable. You make it unwatchable for the viewer. Shadow.
Shadows make it unwatchable. That is a really, really big problem for the sport that, in this case, not so much in the shadows case, because, you know... The sun and shadows do exist in a fairly fundamental way in the world. But the kit thing, we can sort this out. That's how I feel. We can sort this out. What are we doing? But I get that there is a bit of a problem for a tennis tournament to find a way out of.
These players get untold numbers of kits and different and not all the same one. They don't just get the one version from Adidas in this case. They get different. kind of combinations that they could wear and it should be just against the rules to come out wearing the same. They should have a conversation. That should be something that they... The tours don't let them wear... Football, home and away strip. Absolutely. And change... There are...
There are systems in place to ensure that it's not unwatchable for the viewer. There are rules about how big a sponsor patch is allowed to be on a sleeve. But that there's not a rule that you can't wear identical kits. What on earth is that? Yep. Sort it out. Anything to add to the rant, Matt? No, I mean, it falls into the same category of thing, as you say, Catherine, about like late finishes, where you see like official accounts like joking about.
you know, with the Spider-Man meme or whatever. With the Spider-Man. And it's like... great meme right but this is This is a problem. This is bad. Genuinely, I always accept this as a problem. I don't actually, I very rarely have a problem being able to distinguish the two players. I can normally tell who is who. I realise that's because I watch so much tennis.
so many problems telling which one was Mensik and Swindler. Their stroke production is quite similar and they were wearing the same kit and there was a shadow and I didn't know what was going on and it pissed me off. And then it pissed me off even more when the sport's joking about it as though it's funny. It's not funny. You can't tell who's who. It's terrible. I said no. I didn't have anything to add to that rant. But apparently, apparently I did. This is like when...
Charlie Eccleshire of The Athletic mentioned shadows to Matt on a WhatsApp chat earlier this week saying, oh Matt, have you got any pictures of it? Like where else is bad for shadows? And Matt... Pretty much revealed that he had a... Have you got some sort of eye photos? folder called shadow tennis egregious tennis shadows Matt because it really the speed with which you produce those photos suggests that you do
Well, what I actually did was searched shadow in WhatsApp and we have them stored up on our tennis podcast group chat over the years. I was scrolling back to like... 2023 2022 2021 like it's just it's always been an issue so we had i had loads and charlie said that they may be appearing in the athletic this week so those Those screenshots have finally come in hand. It's important journalism, Matt. It's very important work.
From last-minute winners and knockout blows to the biggest gigs of the year. Enjoy more of the moments that matter with Experiences by Wembley Stadium. Your guaranteed seat for world-class events, including the Emirates FA Cup Final. With a range of packages available, get more of what you love with membership at Wembley Stadium. Discover more at wembleystadium.com slash experiences. Kate's just off to work after sleeping in the best bed in the business.
And my word, doesn't she look ready for anything. Something about her smile is just brighter. Her eyes seem glintier. And she just feels so much more... Of course, it's no surprise, really, because last night she slept at Premier Inn and she got up to 50% off with Business Booker. Get better sleep for your money. A quality cup of premium coffee can be a simple gesture with a big impact.
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in the final yesterday not the highest quality final from either side of the net David but I kind of loved it. And I really was gagging for a third set, even though it was... It was pretty shonky all round, shonky from both ends, but in a way that I personally found pretty compelling. I know a lot of people found it a bit sort of...
nails on a chalkboard to watch. But yeah, I enjoyed it and I was disappointed it didn't go to a third set. But I also think fantastic credit to Irina Sabalenka that it didn't because... Towards the end of that second set, it was starting to feel to me a little bit like the US Open final that they played. And I felt like Sabalenka could have got sucked into a very similar match. But she didn't. And I think that is to her tremendous credit. Yeah.
Yeah, I was intrigued by the final and I too wanted it to go longer because I just like to see the best two players of the week really going deep into the trenches, really.
I don't mind it being straight sets if they're both playing... really really well and it's close two sets and and but they weren't playing really really well at the same time there was they were wrestling with their games particularly golf i mean i have respect for her that she sort of manages to make it competitive even though she's struggling so much to get her own game to function.
But to watch her sort of win the first game and then lose, what was it, 17 points in a row or something like that, I mean, that's... That's a tough scene in a final. And again, credit to her that she managed to kind of... stomach that and actually end up becoming a competitive force in the match. I like the way Sabalenka steps up in big matches. You know, we went from her in the quarterfinals... talking about the Svitolina match to come and how Svitolina was the form player.
And then suddenly you've got this reminder that actually there's a gap between these two players if Sabalenka comes out and just becomes her superhero self. And the gap she's got in the rankings and the number of finals she reaches and how rarely she sort of... throws in a dud of a week these days. She's so impressive. Just a great champion and competitor.
But, yeah, the final, I was really looking forward to. And that 17-point run just took the wind out of the sails of it for me. And then by the end, I kind of thought... Maybe they can come back another day and have a better go at this because it's sort of... It's just not been what I hoped for. Guys, let's call it off.
Come back another time and let's forget this ever happened. You compare it to Svantec against Sabalenka a year ago. I know that that's an absurd high bar, but that was three sets of just the highest quality. This was nothing like that. But still an interesting week. But I do feel now... And I wouldn't have said this before the Svantec-Goth match. I do feel now that Sabalenka is the French Open favourite.
And how much of that is because of Svantec? Because the interesting thing about Sabalenka is that... 100%. Well, the interesting thing about Sabalenka is she's not lost to Svantec at the French Open. She's lost to other players. You know, like, it's not like Sviontek has been the barrier for Sabalenka at Roland Garros. You know, she's been...
She's been close, Sabalenka, in the last few years. She's played well. She got ill last year, didn't she, against Andreeva. She should have been in the final the year before, but kind of blew it in that semifinal against Mukova. But... I don't know. I think I might agree, but it still feels like Sabalenka's... got something to prove herself at Roland Garros. Because it hasn't just been Igor Shviontek that's stopping her from winning that tournament. It's been other players.
I think maybe what feels a bit different this year is that Sabalenka feels like the player on the tour going into it. And I think she really enjoys it. I think she likes being the number one in a way that she's never really been at Roland Garros because of because of Igor Svante and you just kind of feel like Kind of as she steps up in big moments in big matches, she might just step up to this occasion as well and just like...
I do say it before, you get windows. Sometimes this is your time. And it does feel like if Sabalenka is going to win Roland Garros. this does feel like a massive, massive chance, for sure, because of Sviontek's problems and her own... We should probably come on, given how much Shontek is coming into this conversation, we should probably touch upon Goff's pretty... shocking defeat of Shontek in the semi-final 6-1, 6-1.
Igor Shontek was shell-shocked by it, or looked shell-shocked by it to me. The crowd inside the Caja Magica was shell-shocked by it. It was very strange. atmosphere in there. And we all watching were totally stunned by that result. And one and one did not flatter Coco Gough or do down Svantec. in terms of representing that match. That was a representation of how one-sided that match was and how ugly it was from an Igor Shiontek perspective. It was really, really shocking to see.
you know, the clay court player of the past five years play like that at a place where she won the title last year with the most extraordinary tennis to be to peaking. Irina Sabalenka, it was one of those like... am I dreaming moments. Look, it's a tough one to analyse because we learned after that defeat that Igor Shontek's grandfather had passed away before the tournament.
She'd been to the funeral. She had referenced. Charlie told us, didn't he, in his voice note in the last episode that she had referenced. having some business to take care of in Poland before the tournament. Well, we obviously now know that that's what was going on. look, these things aren't binary. It's not I lost because my grandfather died. It makes it really, really difficult for us to analyse.
So I guess the best thing to do is to kind of look at it as a trend with Igor Shantek. The fact that she still is yet to reach a final since Roland Garros last year or, of course, win a tie. The fact that she's, you know, she's going into Rome now titleless on clay and the fact that the pressure is ramping up and the fact that she looks...
aware of the pressure and increasingly uncomfortable with it. Whereas, as you said, Irina Sabalenka looks like world number one is where I belong. Bring it on. Bring it on. I was born for this. in every move she makes to me. I'm finding it a really tough watch. I just kind of want to run into my TV and give her a hug the whole time. But yeah, she's not, for a whole bunch of different reasons, Matt, she is not where she wants to be at this stage of the season.
Yeah, so far from it. As you said, so much, it feels so different to a year ago. And I think we have to see it in the context of the last years. It does feel like an absolute accumulation. Look, Egos Film Tech has always slightly existed in a slightly odd space because as great as she is, and I don't use that word lightly, you know. A modern day great in terms of weeks of number one, five slam titles already, the win streaks, the dominant score.
But I think compared to a lot of the other sort of modern day greats, there's always been a bit of a fragility about her. And I think... I think we've talked about that a lot and maybe given the impression of not quite hyping her up as much or maybe doubting her. For me, it has come from a place of genuine concern and sort of worry for her. And that has...
That has only amplified in the last year that just things piling up, you know, increasing the pressure, increasing the scrutiny on her. And I think all of these factors. combining here even going back all the way to not winning the gold at the olympics last year felt like maybe that was the start of it we then of course had The positive test, the ban, that all becoming public.
We had the changes in her team. We had her having a lot of sort of ranking points that she had to feel like she had to defend at the year. And when she wasn't defending them, we know that that sort of affected her as well. And frankly, the setup of the team as well, you know, when... When Stronset was in tears on the court, you know, you kind of think like...
There's a problem in terms of the effect that the mental coach or the psychologist in that team is having. And yet that isn't a part of her team that has... that has changed. And there were some reports in Poland that she might take a break after Roland Garros, depending on how it goes. I think there is a feeling that... Maybe she needs a break now, but... She's not going to take one now because it's Rome and Roland Garros. And I can understand that.
But I would not be surprised if we get an Igor Fiontech break after Roland Garros. And I think it's not out of the question that she skips. Wimbledon this year and tries to have a summer off and away from it because and make changes Yeah, and look, I think most likely it would probably be Wim Forsett who goes. I don't know whether that's the change that needs to happen, but you feel like the buck will probably stop with the tennis coach. And look, the results haven't been...
Haven't been great this year, but it is odd that... She's not lost early in a tournament. She's not had that sign of real struggle. She's made her way through to the quarters or semis at pretty much every event that she's played. And it's when she gets put under a little bit of stress and pressure that things really... really do start to go south pretty quickly right now. And I'm worried for her and about her because it's really uncomfortable to see her like that. I feel for her.
As I said, she's still been getting to the latter stages of these tournaments. So you do still have at the back of your mind that maybe even with all of this, she's so good that she might somehow be able to... to sort of win one of these events i'm not i'm not completely ruling it out i'm not not taking her out of the mix for example um but At the moment, it's a little bit hard to see her actually winning without a break and a change. Trip to Ibiza with Carlos Alcaraz.
I don't think she'd enjoy that. But what's her Ibiza equivalent? Yes, that. I guess. Yeah, I mean, for real. Maybe she'd enjoy Ibiza with Carla Salcaraz more than she thinks. Like, maybe she's somebody that doesn't, you know, doesn't know what her joy is. She enjoyed the power cut. She did enjoy the power cut. I'd have thought maybe an island where there's no phones like White Lotus. Yes, that didn't go great for anybody, though, really, did it? Yeah. Okay.
It's tough. It's a tough one to talk about. Yeah, I really feel for it at the moment. She feels to me, and this is just my reading of the situation, but somebody that feels... out of control of her life. And I'm sure the doping case has a lot to do with that, the way she talks about that. And the loss of control she felt throughout that process. This thing happened that was totally out of my control. I didn't know anything about it. She felt like she was out of control.
you know, the actual event that led to her testing positive and then the process. you know, involved with the ITIA and all of that and it just, you know, I don't know what's cause and what's effect and all the rest of it but it just seems to me like she... She looks to me like someone that feels like the world is happening to her rather than she... And that's a terrible, terrible feeling. And, yeah, she had a lovely message on social media, didn't she, from Caspar Rude. So nice. I mean, just...
Just a great Casper Rude week. Just well done, Casper Rude, for all of your work this week. It was really, really nice. And look, I know Iga Shantek travels with a psychologist. I know that it's not like she, the psychological... help stone is unturned in her life and her career. But Madison Keyes talked, didn't she, at the Australian Open about how she'd had a lot of sports psychology in her career.
throughout her career, but it was different to therapy. That was taking a really different leap and a different plunge. and opening herself up in a new and obviously extremely productive way. And, you know, I do just wonder if there's some wisdom in there for Eagish Films. Alina Svitolina, it's a... We desperately tried to convince ourselves, didn't we, that this could be something. Svitolina against Sabalenka, the former Svitolina, but it's just, it's an awful match-up for her.
I am excited, David, for Svitolina in Rome and Roland Garros. Yeah, and I just think the landscape does feel different because Iga Sviantec is not playing anything like her normal level. You only have to look at the results of Rome last year and see how Svantec, I think she beat Gough 2-4 and then Sabalenka 2-3. And then she went and just destroyed everybody. There was the close one against Osaka.
The reason I reference that is because I think that it can open doors for players like Svitolina. Yes, she has a problem against Sabalenka, but maybe Sabalenka is going to run into somebody else, you know, and there might be a...
You might end up with two champions that are Alina Svisalina and Kasparud, who kind of... are there when everybody else has kind of blown up somehow, you know, and not being able to... to play to their peak or get taken out by somebody else who's just one of those players, whether it's a blistering hitter or whatever. So I think that Svitolina can just be really encouraged by her general form. I wouldn't say she's in the mix for the French Open. I would be surprised if she won it.
But I do see this scenario whereby she could be the one standing if lots and lots of other things happen. Okay, who is in the French Open mix then? Someone who definitely is for me, and I just feel like we should talk a little bit more about her, is Coco Gauff. Because I think that was a week that she needed.
Like, big time. And I know that she didn't have her best tennis in the final. But, you know, she beat Bencic, Andreeva and Sviontek to get to the final. That's a very impressive run. She's now won... Six sets in a row, I think, against Fiontek, which would have seemed absolutely impossible not that long ago. And even without her best tennis...
I thought she actually struck her forehand pretty well throughout most of the finals. She hit more forehand winners than Sabalenka in that final. But even without her best, she still manages to make Sabalenka malfunction a little. Like, that match is never going to be comfortable for Sabalenka, I think. I don't think Sabalenka wants to really see Coco Gauff in her path.
I think she can cause her problems with her defence and her movement. And it was a little bit alarming that the errors for Goff came in those tense moments at the end when she was trying to serve out the second set. She hit three double fold. And there was that forehand in the net in the middle of the tie break. You know, under the biggest pressure, it was Sabalenka who stepped up rather than Goff. I see that as a... as maybe a bit of a problem for golf but
I don't know. I still think this was a really, really good positive week for Goff going into Roland Garros. And she hadn't had one of those in a while. She wasn't playing... She wasn't playing the sort of tennis she was at the back end of last year or the very start of this year. But it was a step forward, I think, personally. You're saying she's in the mix? For me, yeah. David? Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Still, Svantec still wouldn't be surprised if she won the French Open because of who she is and what she's done there. But I wouldn't make her the favourites. I would definitely put Goff in, definitely put Sabalenka in. I think Andreev is an interesting one because I did think... that tailspin against Goff, I would have put her in. And I probably still will, because I still think she's just that good. And I think without Svantec playing like her normal Roland Garros self...
which I think is pretty likely now. No matter what we have between now and then, I don't think you can go in feeling as confident in her as in previous years. It broadens things. It opens, it brings more people in. And, you know, Paolini, I think you could put in. I think there's several. Could or are doing? Yeah, well, yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Jasmine Paulini won the French Open. She reached the final last year and she was beaten by somebody who looks nothing like herself.
I think I would be surprised right now if Jasmine Paolini won the French Open. OK, who's yours now? Shontek, Sabalenka, Goff is in it. Andrava? Maybe that. Right now... I think I would be surprised. She's teetering. It wouldn't take much in Rome, but right now I would be surprised. Okay. I think Andreva's just in for me. Paolini's a little bit of a rude situation for me. I feel like probably should be with the record and the argument David's just made there.
Not quite got the current form that Kasparud's got, but she did look good a few weeks ago. But sitting here right now, yes, I would be surprised if Yasmin Paolini won. One Roland Garros. Jun Chin Wen, Olympic gold medalist at Roland Garros. Should be in the mix, shouldn't she? Makes me think no, but there's still time. BetterHelp Online Therapy bought this 30-second ad to remind you, right now, wherever you are, to unclench your jaw. Relax your shoulders. Take a deep breath in and out.
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From £10 per sim when you buy 20 plus sims on a 24 month plan. Excluding 20% VAT. Unlimited UK only. Fair use policy applies in GoRome destinations. Terms apply. There is someone in the chat, Matt, who is repeatedly telling those present in the chat that Peyton Stearns is going to win Roland Garros. I don't know. But...
Great news to your fantasy team. Look, that would be great news. Speaking of which, can I have some points for Anna Kalinskaya winning a doubles title, please? Because she's not getting me any points in the singles. She and Saronica Steyer... beat, won the doubles title in Madrid as a scratch pairing. Saved championship points to beat Elisa Mertens and Veronica Kudomatova. You watched some of that, David. I did, yeah. It was a dramatic final set.
Tie break. And, yeah, match points on both sides. And it was really interesting watching Cullen Sky and Castella have this opportunity to win it on a first championship point, not win it. And you suddenly thought, oh, crikey, these two have... don't know what this feels like because they've never been together before winning something like this. And I really thought it was going the other way. And then they got...
the championship points. It was really dramatic. But yeah, huge credit to them. They were chuffed afterwards, as you would expect. I think another example of how A player like Callensky had such a great singles year last year and hasn't really been able to back that up this year. It's good for them to play some doubles, you know, just to give themselves some good vibes.
Obviously, you know, a few extra quid and everything, but it's just nice to see people happy because you're so often not as a singles player. Bianca Andreescu won a doubles title this week, didn't she? And in other... results at lower levels. We have had Naomi Osaka, who we reported last week, had entered the WTA 125 event in Saint-Malo. Well, she's won it. a pretty bizarre final due to some quite extraordinary wind. I mean, we're talking like...
in excess of Auckland wind, right? Like, have you ever seen wind like this in a tennis match, Matt? Yes, Serena Williams would have described the conditions as abhorrent. For sure. And she would have been right. It was like a sandstorm whipping up around them. It was more that you could hear the wind.
That was what was so interesting. You know, it's one of these sort of quite small tournaments, any one camera that you're watching, and there's a sort of mic that picks up everything on the court. And there was just this... sort of soundtrack to the match of the wind just whipping up. Honestly. I would have walked out of there if you'd asked me to play a match in those conditions. It was terrible, awful. Like just, I don't know how they, I don't know how they managed to play.
you know reasonably decent quality match so many aborted ball tosses um but yeah like I think a lot of people have been saying for a long time, maybe Osaka does need to drop down a level and get some wins and some confidence. And look, she's won the title here. I don't think she beat anyone in the top 100.
Still, it's going to give her the winning feeling again. It helps her ranking a little bit. She's up into the top 50 again. It's her first title at any level since the 2021 Australian Open, which is just wild. You know, she's never really been a... prolific winner of titles other than you know racking up those slams And she had to battle through. She was in massive trouble against Diane Parry early in the tournament. She lost a set to the earlier Jean-Jean.
She was down a break in the second set today against Kai Yuvan, who, by the way, it's lovely to see her back after she took a break from the sport. Really, really nice player to watch. So, look, she had to battle. And hopefully it sort of helps the confidence a little bit for Osaka. It's still, like, level-wise, it's nowhere near what you'll probably be facing at Roland Garros. I always believe that the level is there with Naomi Osaka because...
You know, we've seen her win slams and we saw her play that way against Fiontech.
at the um at the French Open last year so I can I can tell the deluded part of my brain that you know Osaka is going to absolutely bring it and uh and we can read into a load from a week like this but The sort of logical, realistic part of my brain says, helpful but i don't know how how impactful this is actually going to be in terms of changing her as a as a David's French Open champion Joel Fonseca lost to Jesper de Jong in...
in Estoril, as we mentioned earlier. It's not ideal prep, is it, David, for his big run in Paris, I would say. a bit of extra preparation time you know without having to expend too much energy no it's not um but you know there's still time um what can i say laughter laughter Alex Mickelson won the title there in Estrella, which is coming back as an ATP.
tour event rather than challenger it was downgraded this year it's coming back isn't it um i don't understand why it was downgraded like that that should be an atp So I'm glad that's coming back. Borna Cioric is... kind of a challenge at all specialist now. Is that his...
Am I right that that's his fourth challenger title of the season? Yeah. In Aix-en-Provence. Beat Stan Morinke 7-6 in the third in the final. He'd lost to him in a challenger in Naples a few weeks ago. He can't seem to... looking at Borna Turic actually is. Probably not what Naomi Osaka should be doing right now because he hasn't been able to translate the wins at challenger level really into anything at main tour level. But he's absolutely tearing it up.
on the Challenger Tour and good luck to him. Yeah, he's like one of those football teams that's too good for the league below but not quite good enough for the one above. You know? Yes. Insert Burnley joke here, Matt. This is your chance. So ready to beat Burnley twice next season. Scott Parker sacked by Chris. Okay. Rome. Start. this week we don't have draws yet but my goodness me am I excited for the draw I think they both come out tomorrow yeah and of course Yannick Sinner
is going to be in the men's draw. Who would you like him to face? Who's the best possible unseeded? that he could face from a sort of intrigue perspective. He'll have a bye, won't he, in the first round because tennis is stupid. I should have prepped you for this question. I've put you on the spot here. Fonseca would be quite funny. Jesper de Jong. God he could face Fonseca, couldn't he?
Bortick, he would rise to that occasion. Of course, Bortick. Be still, my heart. I want that match. That's what we need, isn't it? The answer is Bortick. He'd probably have to qualify, would he? Who did he lose to the other day? He lost to Juan Manuel Surundalo. He is the only player in the world who would rather play the good Surundalo.
oh my god it'd be so funny um like it's gonna be an incredible scene though like sinner like they're they're opening up his his practice tomorrow his his first practice i think on on site he's practicing on the main court i think it's in the evening if you've got a grounds pass you can go and watch and It's just going to be a frenzy, I think, isn't it? Like, we've not, I don't know, I can't really remember a moment like this, you know, in terms of...
Obviously, we don't know how he's going to look. We don't know how he's going to play. But normally when you're out for three months or so, it's because you're injured. You know, he has been able to play. He's been able to train. Look, he's not had matches. It's possible that he's not at his best. It's also possible to me that he comes out firing with the support behind him. And I'm really, really intrigued. Like Federer 2017? Yeah. Is there any... How do you feel about the nature of the...
the welcome back that we anticipate he's about to have in Rome. Now obviously this is... You know, it's because it's in Italy, it's in Rome, it's their biggest event, I suppose you could say, the ATP finals. But, you know, this is the one with all the history. And he's going to be welcomed back there like he's returned from war, isn't he? But he is coming back from a doping suspension.
Do you anticipate feeling any level of discomfort with the tone of his reception this week? Or do you feel like he served his time? He's back. That's in the past. If people love him, then good luck to him. They deserve to enjoy him and treat him however they want. I feel like the latter, personally. David? Yeah, I... I suppose that it gets back more to the point that it is just so conveniently placed in this bit of the calendar.
which is perfect for him, that winds me up a bit. Because, you know. There's not going to be a single dissenting voice or anybody thinking that there's any issue whatsoever. And, yeah, returning hero rather than actually a bit awkward, isn't it? He failed a drugs test, you know, for whatever extenuating circumstances there may have been. But look, those are the circumstances and he has served that time.
So on we go. I don't think my discomfort will last very long, put it that way, even if I do, haven't I? Yeah. Yeah, fair enough. Is he going to win the title? Well, I think he could, I said the other day, I think he could look a bit awkward for a round or two, you know.
His best surface isn't clay. I mean, I suppose he will have been able to just practice on it and build his leg strength up and all that sort of thing. But I wonder whether he might be just a bit anxious and a bit discombobulated early on. I think he will, but it's possible he wins the title anyway. He's so good that he can get through some early rounds. feeling anxious and weird and a bit blunt on the match sharpness front.
Unless, of course, he faces Burtig, in which case he's in dreadful trouble. Matt? I've just realised that Burtick will have to get through to round two. He'd have to win a match. That feels... That's the problem. Yeah, the dream has died.
It's funny, isn't it? We talk about... you know the open field a bit and yet I feel like we're going to have a tournament with Sinnoh and Alkraz in the draw and I'm just it's very hard for me not to say that one of them is is going to win it like I don't know that's just kind of it's just kind of how I feel I think he might win it. I think he might win the tournament. Yeah. I think so too. I think one of Sinor Algaraz's is winning.
By the way, have you... Bold prediction from me. You're welcome. Have you seen what they've done to peer triangles? No. It is a crime. widely considered to be like one of the most beautiful tennis courts in the world it's sunken and you can one of the amazing things about it is that you can stand at the back, even if you're not seated on the sort of stone bench and you can watch it. Well, they've added extra seating.
And they've put up... Aren't there statues in the way? So they're between the statues and where you used to be able to stand. But now it just blocks the view. There's just these sort of white... bits of sort of plastic I don't know sort of cardboard or something in front of the seats and you just can't see all the way around it like you used to like you used to be able to and I don't like okay they want
They want more people to be able to sit on Pietrangeli, but they've just added a load of extra courts in Rome. There's a whole new court that they've built this year that's going to be open. It just feels like they've... They've taken away some of the magic of that chord. I hope it still comes across brilliantly on TV. I think it will. But the fan viewer experience of that chord feels like it.
It's been diminished. And just the beauty of it. If there was any court in tennis that didn't need touching. Yeah. Yeah, there was nothing wrong with it. It was perfection. I'm quite upset by that. It's like when the Toby Carvery cut down that tree. Feels like a metaphor for something, you know. I don't know what it is, but it's not good. Okay. Room starts on Tuesday. Yes.
I've just remembered Nicholas Jarry got to the final last year. Yeah. God, that feels like a Jarry-Zverev final. That feels like a long time ago. Presumably Jarry is going to tumble down the rankings. Yes. Yes, but then maybe he'll do a Maria Zachary and the pressure will be off and suddenly he'll be unleashed onto Roland Garros. Have I missed the point where Sakai's been unleashed? No, she...
She got a good win last week, didn't she? Didn't she beat Paolini? Yeah. Who's in David's French Open mix? I think Paolini was... Yeah, okay. All right. Folks, tickets... have been selling like hot cake. for our live show in London on June the 26th, the Thursday before Wimbledon. There are seriously just a handful left. I know this is what you're supposed to say when you're promoting tickets to a thing.
final few remaining but there really are just a handful left for the live show so we'll put the link in our show notes it's on our Instagram It's everywhere. You can just put Tennis Podcast into Eventbrite as well. We'd love to see you on Thursday, the 26th of June at Shoreditch Town Hall for the Tennis Podcast live in London. We also have a live Q&A show for friends this Thursday night, the 8th of May at 8pm.
not too late to become a friend ahead of that if you'd like to join us it'll also be available as a podcast as well and the link to become a friend is in the show notes as always as well and our regular podcast returns on Monday the 12th of May, so a week tomorrow if you're with us live. That is the first Monday after the start of Rome on Tuesday.
We have a mascot for this episode, and that mascot is Spritz, owned by Napat. Spritz is a five-year-old... Oh, I love an Irish set. Oh, my goodness, look. Oh, the shiny coat. Oh, they're lovely dogs. Irish setter. Oh, he's a Londoner, lives in Queen's Park, London. Spritz, loves going on walks and being outside while his dad listens to the tennis podcast.
He also seems to be fascinated by the tennis on the screen and is very attentive, especially when there is grunting involved. Oh, he is a beauty. Oh, they're lovely dogs, aren't they? That deep, that deep red coat. He's just beautiful. I'm very distracted. Thank you, Napat. That's just wonderful. Spritz will be going in our newsletter and on our Instagram as well. Keep scrolling back up. We have, of course, our mascots. Hello to Phoebe. Hello to Maisie and hello to Roger, I believe. Oh, my God.
Roger. Oh, my goodness. We have a Roger update. I believe we have updates also on his size, Matt, as requested. Yes, although I believe the update was a little... You know, I think 40 pounds Roger Wade. But that was a few weeks ago. So I think I think potentially even even larger now. He's a big boy, isn't he? Yeah. Those paws. They are absolutely incredible. I think he could eat Billy Dean in one bite.
that's a horrible thought just slip down you're like like one of those snakes digesting an antelope Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. And Matt, we have some shout outs. We do. We have Ivor Jackson in Brooklyn, New York. All right, over. How are you doing? I hope you will come to our New York live show, which I'm working on at the moment. This shout-out is a gift from my future in-laws who love the pod too. I say future because the wedding is in May.
Congratulations. Wow, this month. Yeah. Ivor, congratulations. And a gift from the in-laws. They sound like good in-laws. You're in there. Well done you. You've locked down a good one. Congratulations and thank you for being a friend of the pod. Any Ivers? I've got Iver from Series 1 of the UK Traitors. What? You can tell me it's a different spelling, aren't you, Matt? No, I'm trying to remember who that was. Wasn't that Ivan?
Oh, was it? Oh. Well, we can all do Ivan. Yeah, you're right. He was great. I was annoyed he went out. Ivan Lendl. Ever heard of him? Yeah, no, he was good. Yeah. I was thinking Tony. Didn't the guy, it's not tennis. Live shout outs. Didn't the guy who used to introduce people on the first tee at the open, didn't he used to be called Ivor? Ivor. Ivor. You're both looking at me blankly. I realise this is... Crikey, Matt. Yes, that guy. You're the great boy.
Well, that has given me the opportunity to mention the Madrid MC. Oh, there we go. Yeah. Who needs to get back in his box, doesn't he? It is not about you, mate. It was kind of funny for a bit, and then he started to realise everybody's talking about him. Oh, I'm going to go up to... 11. Yeah. Yeah. Calm down, mate. Ivor, thank you. We've also got Aaron. And congratulations. Aaron Roth. Like Aaron Crickstein. I've been to Massachusetts and driven through Massachusetts with Matt.
Yes, like Aaron Quickstein. And Aaron says, my love of tennis comes from my grandfather, Edward Roth, who played outdoor doubles year round in Rhode Island into his 90s. Our annual trips to the US Open are among my favourite memories. We even buried him with his racket like some kind of tennis fairy. God, that's... Oh, that gave me goosebumps, actually. Yeah. Wow.
Fantastic. We've done tennis errands. I've always felt like Roth is a very, like, a name of import, you know? There are some big Roths out there in the world. There's a Tim Roth, isn't there? There's a Tim Roth. There's an Eli Roth. Those are the only two I can think of right now. My dissertation supervisor was a Rothman. The big three. Thank you, Aaron. And finally, we have Pamela Hood. In Glasgow. Pamela. We know Pamela, don't we? Hi, Pamela. Pamela, you share a name with...
And Pamela says, my husband likes tennis, but not as much as me. And then passing me, watching my hatch play, he says, oh, the best player in the world. I've never been more proud. He does listen to my tennis nonsense. Oh, it's like a sort of vow renewal right there and then. Oh, that's incredible. sort of gone in by osmosis. I don't know if Pam is still in the live chat, but she certainly was earlier. And of course, there is only one Pam to mention. That's Pamela Howard Shriver.
We don't know if Pamela Hood is a Pam. Either way, though, Pamela, Pam, it's all good. It's all good in the hood. Oh, my God. And on an empty stomach as well. Pamela, thank you. I'm going to go and have some dinner. It's been a long old day. I went to soft play for the first time in my life earlier. I did. Three hours of stand-in parenting for one child. And I would like to just say well done to all the parents out there. Just incredible stuff, what you're doing. Thanks. Any incredible stuff.
Yep. Yeah, I had to have a nap afterwards. One child for three hours. It was a joy though. And this has been a joy as well. Thanks so much for joining us. If you've enjoyed it, please smash that like and subscribe button. Join us next Monday for our next show. Thursday for our next live Friends show. That'll be here on YouTube at 8pm. The link to become a friend is our show note. And as is a link.
to get the last few tickets to our live show in London on June the 26th. Folks, thanks so much for being with us live tonight. If you have been, if you've contributed to the chat, it's been a good vibe in there. Thanks for listening. Your business is going places with three business. Enjoy business class roaming in EU destinations. whether you're video calling from Vienna
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