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Hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast. It is Monday the 14th of April. The sun is shining. David Law and I are sleep deprived, but we are here and we are... Basking, David, in the glow. of Rory McIlroy and of sport in general. How are you doing? Very well, very well. I am bleary-eyed. I did notice that Billie Jean King has sent her congratulations. I read her Chris Cleary. column this morning where he was comparing...
This to Goran Ivanovic's win at Wimbledon and Jana Novotna finally getting over the line. And it did bring back all those memories. I know this isn't a golf podcast, but it is a sport podcast. And I think last night... events reminded you why we do this to ourselves why we love sport why we invest ourselves and and oh it was magic Yeah, yesterday was the sort of day that made me...
Feel sorry for people that don't like sport. I mean, I know that's ridiculous, each to their own. People get joy from different places in life. But honestly, you are missing out if you didn't get something from... from the sport that was on offer yesterday. Today's an old school podcast, folks. David and I are partying like it's May 2012. It's just the two of us. Where is Matt Roberts? I hear you ask. Let's find out.
hello everyone and greetings from bilbao just wanted to check in with you all and send a little voice note to explain my absence from the podcast this week I have been on holiday. doing a little tour of the Basque country, starting in Biarritz, then headed to a little town called Ondaribia. is where my grandma was from just the most beautiful place one of my favorite places in the world and I'm now in Bilbao
Lots of great food, lots of great views and scenery and just a lot of good times generally this week. As for the tennis, well, I've been... I've been watching a fair bit of it. I've been that guy getting the stream up in the bars and restaurants and watching it on my phone on the street at times. And yeah, it's been really nice to kind of watch it as a fan.
Normally when I'm watching a match, I'm thinking about what my take is going to be on the podcast. But I've just been watching and enjoying the tennis this week, which has been really nice. But two people who I know have been watching and having take. are David and Catherine. So I will leave you with them.
mostly to talk all about Monte Carlo, the sweet, sweet points that Lorenzo Mazzetti has earned me in my fantasy team, return to form of Carlos Alcaraz. It's been really good stuff, and I can't wait to listen. So over to you, David and Catherine, and I will be back next week on the pod. Looking forward to it. So much pressure to have takes now. Thanks for that, Matt.
As absolutely glorious as Matt's holiday has looked and sounded, and he's been very good with sending through lots of content, and truly it has looked wonderful. I'm very pleased for him. Nobody on this planet, I don't think, likes... Ham on more than I do. I just don't believe Matt, even Matt on this glorious holiday, can have had a better day than I had yesterday. Honestly, it was one of those just life-affirming...
Oh, for Billie Jean as well. Life affirming, happy to be alive kind of days. Wake up, dog walk in the sunshine, come back. The Monte Carlo final, Alcaraz against Mazzetti. Then it's Boat Race. Then it's Knapp. Then it's Grand Prix. Then it's Peloton to shake off my... pre-final round of the Masters nerves, then it's final round of the Masters, then it's panic attack, then it's Masters playoff, followed by Rory McIlroy winning the Masters. It was...
Just no notes. It was absolutely sublime, with apologies to all of my friends and family who I love seeing very much. I've had other good days that has involved seeing them.
Just tough to beat. It was just so great. It sounds like you're doing an impersonation of Rory McIlroy because just before his final round commenced, he was interviewed about how his day had gone in the long wait for... getting underway and he said well you know i woke up and sunday's a good sports day so i watched carlos alcaraz in the monte carlo final he said um and then i watched the f1 he sounded exactly like you oh and then he went and actually did the winning
of the uh most incredible sporting events imaginable um so yes it was it was perfection and um And it also caps off a tennis week that I enjoyed so much. I know that a week ago I was... I was talking about having tuned into the Sitsabros doubles because I so enjoy Monte Carlo. And all the way through the week, I just... I was just in my element. I love that tournament so much. It's so full of beautiful colours and the court, the green surrounds, obviously the backdrop.
The feeling that it's one of the three real clay courts events, the clay even looks different on TV. It just pops out of the screen. It looks like it's permanent. It's always there. And I know it is. I mean, I actually... Massive name drop here. I've played on that centre court at Monte Carlo. And it is a different level. And I thought the tennis was really interesting too. There's so many great storylines to get your teeth stuck into.
Yeah, I agree. My only note about Monte Carlo is I wish it was a men's and women's back-to-back tournament. It makes me sad that the WTA don't get the chance to... to play at that venue. But yeah, it was an awesome week of tennis. I think it broke the record for most three set matches. at Monte Carlo. And I know a three-set match doesn't necessarily mean a good match, but I do think that's reflective of the week. I loved the week of tennis.
culminating in Carlos Alcaraz beating Lorenzo Mazzetti 3-6, 6-1. first Monte Carlo title. In fact, these are his first ever wins. in Monte Carlo. It was only his second time playing in the event. He'd never won a match there before this year and he's gone and won his first Masters final all title.
since Indian Wells of last year, and it takes him back to world number two, which absolutely feels like where he should be, given the state of the top of the men's game right now. In terms of the final, David... It was a weird one, wasn't it? Because the first two sets were good. They had great moments, but neither Alcaraz nor Wazzetti felt... It didn't feel like they were...
playing well at the same time. And then you go into the third set, there's this fantastic ovation from the... from the Monte Carlo crowd, this swell that goes around the court as the players stand on their respective baselines, on the precipice of what felt like was going to be a... An explosion into bloom in the third set. just didn't happen. It was in fact the absolute opposite of that, unfortunately.
Yeah, it became a real damn squib. And part of that, because Mazzetti hit the wall, he also got injured. And by the end, he was just trying to get to the finish line of the match. And credit to him for that. And I felt for him. I actually thought the match really... was where I wanted it to be after two games.
The first two games were electric. Alcraz breaking immediately. Mazzetti immediately hitting back. Both of them doing the things that make you love watching them. But then it became error-strewn from Alcraz. And that frankly has been the story of his week. He's standing there with the trophy despite not having played that well.
which is really, I mean, you know, in spells, and he's done some jaw-dropping things the way he sometimes, well, pretty much every match he does some jaw-dropping things, but it's not the sort of tennis you would want. if you were in his camp thinking, my guy is exactly where he needs to be. And so coming out of it is an interesting feeling, really. Mazzetti...
Similarly, a strange week because he was so nearly out of the tournament against Boo in the first round. He was a set and a breakdown. He lost three opening sets of matches, 6-1. And I watched all of those opening sets. I watched a lot of Masetti this last week. I watched pretty much all of the tennis all week long. I just didn't turn it off. I didn't really move very far. And he is such a fascinating guy because...
When he's poor, like he was in those first sets, he's so anemic and he looks down and he looks like he just doesn't know what to do. And then suddenly these little sparks start.
firing off and and the crowd because it's it's on the border there of France and Italy and it's such a huge Italian force that comes into Monte Carlo and they energized him and he energized them and then suddenly anything feels possible So it was a bit of a shame, really, that the final ended up being... impeded the way it was in that third set um yeah damp squib end to an absolutely sensational week um and still i feel like a lot of questions even about the two guys in the final
Yeah, I do too. And like, I don't want to be a downer on Carlos Alcaz. This is undoubtedly a... A massive week for him. We talked on last week's podcast, didn't we, about what a big week this felt like for a number of guys. not least Carlos Alcaraz. And he's done all he can do. He's won the blooming title. He's there with the trophy. And you could say, well, he won the French Open title last year without playing his best tennis. That was a scrappy...
run to the French Open title. But this felt scrappier to me. The lows felt lower and slightly more worrying. The highs were there. It feels like the highs are pretty much...
always there. But it was really, really... spotty you know he he referenced what a difficult period this has been for him on and off the court this this struggle for form said he was really really proud of himself And I guess where I come down is... I think the biggest thing that this week has done for Carlos Alcaraz is give him a mental boost because we have... We have criticised him in the past for not being the best problem solver out there and not being able to turn matches around. Well...
He did a lot of that this week and he did it, David, without Juan Carlos Ferreira there. Same as the title in Rotterdam, his other title of the season. Juan Carlos Ferraro not there. I'm not suggesting correlation is causation here. I don't think Juan Carlos Ferraro is the problem. He's obviously net positive for Carlos Alcaraz, but I also don't think it's totally coincidence that he's done... The biggest triumph of the week has been his problem-solving, and that's when he's...
had to not rely on that crutch, I suppose. And that's not to say he's got other... other support staff there and they're very vocal and encouraging you know he's not he's not an island out there but it is different i think you are having to grow up in front of so many people who are saying so much about you all the time. And that's what came through to me in those interviews afterwards that he
To draw the parallels to Rory McIlroy again... I was going to say, David, it's like you're trying to tempt me into the Rory McIlroy comparisons that I'm trying to resist. They're there, Catherine. McIlroy was a prodigious... junior talent who won big early. He won a similar number of majors at the same sort of age as Al-Kharaz here. And then he went on an 11-year, I think it was.
barren spell of not winning any majors. Now, I don't think that's going to happen to Alcaraz. It's harder to win golf majors than it is tennis grand slams actually as it turns out just because of the sheer numbers of people in the field and the different courses and all that sort of thing um but I don't know. I just feel like he's not who he was three years ago. Why would he be? It was all new to him then. But he didn't seem to have these.
these spotty moments in tournaments. If you think of when he won Miami and Madrid in 2022, and then he eventually ended up going and winning the US Open. That spring, until the French Open, where he lost to Zverev, he looked pretty much unbeaten. for a period there. He's been tinkering with his game. We know he's worked on his serve. He had his serve broken in this tournament 11 times. I mean, that's a lot. And it didn't.
It felt like more than that to me. Every time he steps up to the service line, I was thinking... you know, you're vulnerable here. No matter who was down the other end of the court, he felt vulnerable every time he went to serve. Now, you can get away with that more on Clare. I also felt like every time he stood up to receive, he had a really good chance of breaking. Still, like it's men's tennis. He needs to be getting more out of that serve. And I know he's on a journey. It's not.
It's not easy to make technical changes in tennis, is it? Because there's no time to do it. You're having to do it on the job, make changes on the job. But still, that is an area of concern. I think. Yeah, I think so. I guess the question is, David, he won the French Open last year not playing his best tennis.
He's just won Monte Carlo. Like, OK, these are all good things, but he's not going to win the French Open this year playing the tennis that he's played this past week. I don't think. I think you're really pushing your luck if you don't. if you don't improve and he knows that i mean look he's trying everything he can think of and I do think he would come unstuck, especially with the serve, you know, if he doesn't improve his game. And there's so many good players.
He didn't get lucky in the French Open really last year, but he was pushing his luck. It was one of those sort of... When he won Wimbledon in the finals, certainly, he was just awesome. I mean, he obviously had his issues against Tiafoe. He very nearly got beaten there. But I still watch him and think, God, there's so much more there. There's so much more he could do. And that's an exciting thought on one level. But listening to him talk afterwards made me think, crikey, he sounds like he's...
He's needed to have some therapy recently in order to work through. And I applaud him if he has. And whether it's professional therapy or whether it's just therapy within his own support team of people who've been trying to... calm him down or make him not worry so much about what people, what he perceives as people are saying.
It feels like he's had to work through quite a lot and also working through things with his game. And I just find it really interesting that we're now in this position where it's so open. I know I gave my big Fonseca pick a couple of weeks ago, which I stand by. But, you know, it's so open, Catherine. I don't know. Who's the favourite for the French Open? I don't know. Well, it's Alcaraz, isn't it, right now? I wouldn't take Alcaraz against the field, but I think it's...
You know, the defending champion that's just won Monte Carlo. It has to be Alcaraz. But you're feeling like you're feeling, right? Watching you. It's not convincing. If I had my mortgage resting on Carlos Alcaraz, I would. feel pretty anxious about it. Just very quickly, since you've mentioned your big Fonseca pick.
would say for Fonseca fans out there, David picked McElroy right from there. And I know a lot of people were picking McElroy, but even when he was... you know, double bogeying on the first. David, I'm going to have to switch Five Live off because the tone is funereal. I'll turn it back on later, lads. David. David believed all the way through. David had to send so many reassuring texts to Matt and I over the course of this weekend and he was validated. So there you go.
Joao Fonseca fans. Yeah, I've had a good week or two for predictions of just sort of... I don't know, just watching it. I think it... I do feel like when I watch sport properly close up and sometimes I just sort of gloss over it and don't, you know, I might be multitasking with a phone or something like that. If I'm not doing that, I do feel like you can sense. what's coming a little bit. And with Alcaraz, I don't feel...
With watching, and we'll come on to talk about Artifice later, I feel really settled watching him. He feels like he's got it all under control where he wants to be. And these are the things that I love about watching sport. properly the way we get to cover the grand slams of going to the events and going to sit up close to see how people react under pressure and those sort of things and see you know
They all hit the ball well in practice. When they're in a match and it's under pressure, you get this sense of whether it's repeatable and whether they believe in it. And, yeah, I do find it very interesting about Fonseca that he's not playing this week, for instance, and that he's having a couple of weeks without playing. So all these tactics are really interesting.
Yes. Obviously, you come out of Alcraz's week and you think, well, job done. You got the win. But I feel like we learned more from him again because of the toil he's gone through. And, you know, just on Mazzetti, Catherine. He's got a sort of thespian quality he has of kind of... He looks like he's going through absolutely... turmoil quite a lot of the time. He looks like he's walking around with imposter syndrome so he doesn't really believe he belongs in this guy's company and if...
And then he suddenly hits a shot and he suddenly reminds himself. Jeez, wow, I can hit amazing shots, can't I? The shot he hit to win the first set, David. It was a kind of, it was a drop shot off a full pelt, full-bodied Alcaraz ground stroke, which is... just about the biggest shot in tennis, a full-bodied Alcaraz ground show. And the touch that he applied on that was, and that's Alcaraz's trademark, right? that kind of caressing touch of huge power. He did it.
potentially better than I've ever seen Alcaraz do it. Now, I don't think Mazzetti can do it as repeatedly as Alcaraz does, but that is what he's capable of. He is capable of Alcaraz thing. but he doesn't really believe in it like he is He's not convinced he should be in the final sometimes, I think, or in these guys' company. And I love him for it in a way. You can see it written all over his face, the sort of, the doubt.
the inner struggle. Whereas you look down the other end, and even though Alcross might not be playing his best stuff, he'll just sort of nod his head towards his team and say, yeah, OK, I know what I need to do. Whereas Mazzetti's sort of... asking himself questions internally all the time, I think. And wondering if he's good enough. Well, I think he did some incredible things. Who was it he beat this week? Lehechka. He beat Tsitsipas the first time, I think, in his career.
That's a big deal from a 1-6 scoreline. You know, he's won a set against Alcraz in a final. And, you know, he's really done excellently. Dominoor in the semifinals. Dominoor took some real beating, didn't he? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? Picking up on that point, but also bringing it back to Alcaraz and what you were saying about him before.
Alcaraz invites the pressure, doesn't he? He's had his trailer drop this week for his Netflix documentary series that's going to be coming out, I think, next week, April the 20-something. So within the next couple of weeks, the Alcaraz documentary is going to drop on Netflix. And in the trailer, he says, my... My hope, my plan is to be the greatest of all time. And for a guy to speak that out loud, hot on the heels of the big three era, and for it not to sound ludicrous.
is pretty amazing and it is, you know, that... That really is inviting the pressure on himself, isn't it? I'm still waiting. I love him for it. Yeah. He's working it out on the sort of march as well. I think he's yet to have a period in his career like Yannick Sinner has had, of full maturity, of knowing exactly what his game is, who he is as an athlete, what to expect from himself.
Sinner has kind of done what I thought Alcraz would do more of. I thought by now Alcraz would have settled down and had repeatable match-winning formulas that make it look just... straightforward um and and he he hasn't really has spells of it and then suddenly you're putting a performance you think where's that But what do you think, this is probably an impossible question, but what do you think full maturity Carlos Alcaraz looks like as a tennis player? Because...
You know, one last Rory McIlroy mention, although actually that's a pledge I probably can't. Can't stick to. I was listening to the golf podcast No Laying Up this morning when they were obviously, you know, all high on Rory McIlroy and they referenced a line from there. One of their team, the brilliant writer KVV, Kevin van Volkenberg. about Rory McIlroy saying, and he wrote this pre this weekend, but he said he might be the greatest writer of his generation, but he just can't help typo.
And that's about, you know, 35-year-olds. Rory McIlroy and that's just who he is it's in his DNA and I think the same the same is definitely true of Carlos Alcaraz now and I think that will be the same the same will be true of him even at full maturity and yet I totally agree that we're far from full maturity. I just don't quite know what it'll look like. Well, I think it is a good comparison because I think...
Roy McIlroy is not Tiger Woods. You know, Tiger Woods won 15 majors. McIlroy's won, what, five? Something like that. Which is great. I mean, it's fantastic. But it's not the same. You watch old highlights of Tiger Woods wins, and a lot of them are quite uneventful. He just goes and puts the ball in the right places all the time. I mean, brilliant, but unspectacular.
Some of them were, of course, spectacular, but a lot of them were not that memorable. And you go and look at old Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros wins or Novak Djokovic. winning 24 majors, a lot of them were uneventful against Dominic Thiem or whoever it might have been. Dominic Thiem catching strength. Yeah, but you know what I mean? You could have picked another name. That is rare, at least. Yes, you could. I just feel like...
Uneventful is not something you can ever say about McElroy or our crowds. And that's what draws you to them. It draws me to them anyway. The magnetism, the possibilities, the upper level. is just ridiculous. And I cannot look away because of that. I love the possibilities, but also the way, the struggle as well. I kind of, in Al Krause's case... probably particularly because I went with 12 Grand Slams in a row pretty early, I'd like him to string it all together.
I'd like him to put it all together to see what's possible. But then I also... All David wants is a calendar slam, Carlos, for goodness sake. I still think that's doable for him. I absolutely do. If not three of them back to back. Probably his best match of the week, Alcraz, was against Artifis, wasn't it, in the quarterfinals, 4-6, 7-5. 6-3 for Alcaraz over Feast. I was so pumped for this match to be set up.
when it got to the point that Alcaraz had booked his place in that quarterfinal and we were a Daniel Altmaier away from Alcaraz's fees. I cannot tell you how much I needed Daniel Altmaier to go away at that point with nothing personal at all, but he was... Very much the, you know, the Justin Rose of the situation, which I feel bad about. But, you know, just go away.
Like, have your moment another time. And we got it and it was great. And although we lost it, David, it felt like evidence that he's right there. Yeah, and more there than even I, as his biggest hype man, expected. I didn't think Artifice was this good. I thought he was this exciting, but I didn't see this. stability and repeatable level.
being possible really with his game particularly a year ago when he was I mean he had a terrible first four or five months of the year last year now this time last year he was I remember him beating Dimonor in Barcelona and I was so pumped because, you know, he was losing to everybody. And he went and lost straight away in the next round. But his returns would just go long all the time. He'd be in the middle of a rally, two, three ground strokes, one in the net, one long, time after time.
And yet he would still get these flashes of inspiration where he would suddenly remind you just how exciting he could be, just how athletic he is. And this season has been totally different. Solid play from the baseline is now the headline feature. He's still got the turbo boosters, but it's just, you get into a baseline rally with him, you don't think he's going to break down. He's going toe-to-toe backhands with people like Sverre.
He's hitting forehand to forehand with Alcaraz, you know, and he doesn't look out of place. In this match... he should have won. He should have won. You know, he was three love up two breaks in the first He manages to win the set. He's, I think it was five or love 40 on Alcaraz's serve in the second set. And look, Alcaraz was turned on the genius at that point. And he's got touch that Artifice doesn't have, you know, that nobody has, I think, in terms of...
the drop shots, the little angles around the net. But in terms of sheer athleticism, you know, even down to the... The jumping jacks at the start of the match where they're doing them in perfect synchronicity, the two players... A jump squat. Jump squat. Oh, yeah, that's it. They're going as high as each other. They're landing as softly as each other. And then when they're going toe to toe in the rallies, Artifeez is actually bullying.
That was extraordinary, wasn't it? Yeah, I didn't expect that just off rally balls. I thought he would have moments of inspiration, but it was really quite something to see him in the trade. He's the perfect clay court specimen, really. explosive power, topspin that really jumps off the court. He's now got a really big serve as well. And look, maybe it was a... An isolated week. I mean, he has reached three...
Masters 1,000 quarterfinals in a row now, but it's on clay where he looks the most dangerous. And it would be interesting now, can he back it up in Barcelona? Can he back it up in Madrid? It might be harder for him where it comes shooting through more. But if he can, if he can stay fit and just imagine him in Paris, he's never won a match at the French Open yet. You know, just imagine the French crowd get behind. I definitely think he could win a French Open in the future.
I find him exhilarating. Not this year because obviously... Oh, Fonseca's got it this year, so yeah. Got it, yeah. I take a Fonseca Feast final, though, one of these years. Or Alcaraz, that's fine too. He's up to 14 in the rankings, his Art of Feast. Yeah, he's going to be top 10 before you know it, because... These next few weeks, he hasn't got many points to defend. I mean, he didn't win many matches a year.
Until he got to Wimbledon, he didn't win many. Alejandro Davidovic Fikina, semi-finalist in Monte Carlo, he's eighth in the race with most of the clay court season still to come. sneakily putting together quite a year I still think there is you know there's something fundamentally amiss in his DNA that will probably prevent him from really being a champion of any kind. I don't know. That's a damning thing to say about somebody, but I've seen enough.
of him underarm serving on match point or similar to just think there's a... There's a slight chip missing. But I love watching him. I do know what you mean. Look, I'm going to get out ahead of it again and say he was another one of my good picks of the week. because in the first round I said he's going to do some damage. I've given you McElroy, David. Well, I'm going to take what I can get while I can.
That having been said, he then immediately went to setting a breakdown against Ben Shelton in the match that I was watching. And I was a bit worried about that point, having just said he was going to do some damage. But then he barely lost another game and he just swept Shelton aside. He is, as a natural ball striker, one of the most talented players in the world, I think, from the base.
If he could get a bit more out of his serve. Yeah, it's such a crisp strike from the back of the court. It kind of reminds me of David Nalbandian, the way he moves and strikes a tennis ball and can hearth. Literally anybody in the world. I found him a little bit disappointing in the semifinals against Salkoraz. Talk about imposter syndrome, David. That's exactly what I was thinking. He's got Felix Mantia in his corner this year.
started working together late last year and and davidovich vikina had a really poor year last year but i know mantia back from the late 90s when i was a communications manager he was in the middle of his career then you know i knew him quite well Really solid guy. Really good guy, but just a workhorse. He will get Davidovic Fikina doing the right things. I think he just clearly already has. But I also found it fascinating listening to Davidovich Fikina talk after his win against Jack Draper.
Another one who was just prepared to open up on how poorly he'd been mentally in that match and how he'd let his concentration go. And I just thought, God, that's... That's quite something, how honest he's being about this. He did win the match, but he wasn't impressed with himself in terms of his mental focus. Then the next match he got it back and he won much more straightforwardly against Popperin.
Look, I just think there is nobody who's going to want to draw Davidovich Fikina over the next four weeks. Nobody. He could be... I think the biggest problem he has is when he gets to a semi-fine against Alcraz and then suddenly it's this big deal and everybody's looking at him and I think he's slightly... blinked in that match. But he could, I think he could beat Sinner, Alkraz, Djokovic, Zverev. I think he could beat any of them on the day, on a given day, if he had his best day.
I mean, potentially being able to beat Zverev and Djokovic at the moment, David. Djokovic is catching too many strays in that sentence, but... Is that that big a statement? I mean, Zverev got out backhanded by Matteo Berrettini in his first match in Monte Carlo. I mean, there's nothing really to add on your...
Your Zverev takes from... It was weird, though. ..from the last couple of weeks. Like, rinse and repeat, kind of. Except this time it's clay. In the end it was. He's supposed to be better. I mean, sex two and three, he was terrible. Again. But for the first set, he was awesome.
Like, he won the first set 6-2 against Berrettini, and Berrettini was shocked. He said afterwards, you know, I was not expecting him to come out and play aggressively like that and really go, you know, he says usually you can play your way in against Vero. And I couldn't in that first set. I couldn't. He was just every ball that was there. He was hitting and putting me on the back foot. And I did.
I did think at that point, oh, I'd forgotten quite what an awesome game he has when he really puts it together on clay because the shape of the ball and the spin is really difficult to take on. And then he suddenly couldn't put three balls in a row in the court.
Is there cause, if you're a Zverev fan, is there cause for hope that actually that level is there? You've just got to put it together and unlock it more often. Or is it that, geez, well, where did it go? It just went out of nowhere. And he's now lost. seven of his last 13 matches. I mean, that's a terrible, terrible record. This is his best surface. He goes to Munich now, which he does tend to struggle in Munich because it's often cold and he hates the cold weather.
You know, if he could play that first set form... Sounds like something we have in common. If he could play that first set form, he can be a real threat to anybody. But I would imagine that the accumulation of all these disappointments... in the back of the mind and the hope that it gives everybody else are going to probably do for him
Djokovic lost to Tabilo 6-3, 6-4. He said, I'm sorry for the people who watched this. There was a possibility to play like this, but it was horrible. I mean, it was horrible. He was awful. The unforced error count on the forehand alone, David, was... absolutely shocking and I think for me that looked like footwork like he was constantly hitting forehands where he was just ever so slightly out of position you know or just like slightly lazy on the footwork and I
Look, I don't know how much to read into this at all. Like, it's his home tournament. It's in his back garden. Like, it's possible he just didn't really care and just played it because... I don't think he'd have played it otherwise. Right, nor do I. But then equally, you know, he's got pride. He understands the power of locker room aura, defeats like this. Put dents in that locker room aura. And it is a setback. It's not a neutral loss. I think it does cost him something.
Yeah. In this clay court season. Well, I think he's constantly trying to remind himself and everybody else who he is, who he really is. And the truth is that... With age, I think that who you really are... does start to fade away, and that's why you end up retiring.
I know, but I think it's true. I think if we look at Federer and Nadal... He's hoping for a McElroy moment, though, isn't he? Yes, of course he is, and it may be there. I'm not saying it's not, because what we've seen with him, which I don't think we saw with Federer and Nadal, Serena... he still produced a couple of performances that were probably as good as any I've seen from anybody. What he did against Alcras in those two matches at the Australian Open and the Olympic final.
They were as high standards as anybody's produced, Sinner, Alcaraz, anybody. But they're so isolated now. And even the Miami run to the final. I mean, it still felt like he was having to put coordinates into a computer and hope that the right set of results came out. It wasn't all ingrained the way it used to be. It's difficult to know what's next, really, whether the continual fading will...
will persist or whether he'll be able to rest that for another little bit of defiance, because he's Mr. Defiance, hasn't he? But it is, I do find it quite sad in a way still. It's aging. Aging is sad to see anybody who used to be in their prime not be in their prime anymore. And he's trying to hold on to his prime. Yeah.
I don't know why I'm giving this unsolicited sweeping take, potentially writing off the greatest male player of all time, but I don't think his McElroy moment is coming. Well, actually, no, I think he had it. I think he had it at the Olympics. And I think in the fullness of time, we probably won't remember this period. We will remember that Olympics is the improbable crowning moment of the...
sunset of his career and that is incredible. But I don't think it's coming. I don't think he... has it anymore and yes he had it against Alcaraz at the Australian Open but it physically ruined him. That's part of it. Seven back-to-back best-of-five matches. I think you've put the nail on the head there. Half of me thinks that his employment of Andy Murray will end up producing some magic. I do think more magic is possible. I do think he's capable of winning Wimbledon.
Novak Djokovic. But only if he's fully fit. And that's the problem, is how do you get this body, which is nearing 38, is it now? How do you get that? Next month, he'll be 38. How do you... Rory McIlroy, we talk about his... He's 35 and he's playing a game, a sport that people play in their 50s quite comfortably. They don't play tennis at this level in their 50s, right?
So what Djokovic is doing is absolutely astonishing in itself. To be able to compete with these 19-year-olds, for goodness sake, is amazing. I still think he could win Wimbledon, but it would require him to not have any physical setbacks. That's my prediction. I think he can do it. Last couple of bits of business from Monte Carlo. Gregor Dimitrov got double bagel.
by Alex de Manor in the quarterfinals. That is so weird. Have you ever seen a worse tennis performance than that? No. For six love, three love, he hadn't even had a game point. I don't get it. I haven't seen any quotes from him or anything. He's going to have to be asked about that when people do catch up with him because it was just plain weird. I know it had been a really physical match for him the day before, hadn't it, to get through to that quarterfinal.
But even so, like he was, it was appalling. It was absolutely appalling. What a weird year he's having, you know. The wheelchair in Miami. Because, you know, quarterfinals of Monte Carlo and is it the same in Miami? These are good results, really. He's exited the tournaments in pretty bizarre ways. Just in a snapshot of the age point.
You're probably seeing the same as I've just described with Djokovic there. I mean, he's still... The sadness with Dimitrov is that if he had put this level of application and focus in when he was 23, not 33... what might have been. But now he does hit walls. Quite often. But this is unreal. What a wall. Yeah, I'm really confused. It's the Great Wall of China for Gregor Dimitrov. Last bit of business from Monte Carlo there was... A moment of aggro, which...
Did the rounds on social media, ended up getting clipped up doing the rounds on social media involving Ben Shelton and Andrea Vavasori, improbably. It was after a second round doubles match. Shelton was heard calling Vavasori soft, so soft. after Vavasori showed displeasure at being the target of a Ben Shelton body shop. I just hate, I'm such a Ben Shelton fan. I just hate this. Like language matters so much. And that language is.
like so deep in the toxic masculinity dictionary. It's what Nick Kyrgios called Stephanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon a few years ago. I know this isn't the context in which... It was intended, I'm not accusing Ben Shelton of being homophobic, but that language is misogynistic and homophobic. It's grim and justice for softness everywhere. There is nothing better than softness and there is nothing better than being a soft man. Like that is aspirational. Be soft.
Yeah. That's it for Monte Carlo. I haven't been very disciplined about this part of the show, but I loved it. I loved this week in Monte Carlo. I know we've talked about it. Even though there's only two of us, we've talked about it for nearly an hour. We'll be back in part two. We'll talk about the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers. Do you belong here? Troubleshooting 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. With an army apprenticeship that'll set you right for life. Still listening? You belong here. Army. Recruiting now. Search Army job. You do podcasts. Pizza. Park Run. We'll do your ISA. With the Vanguard-managed ISA, our experts will take care of things for you. What will you do instead? When investing, your capital is at risk. Tax rules apply. Search Vanguard now.
Do you remember the brand that popped up while you were scrolling your social feed? No? But I bet you remember who sponsors your favourite podcast. That's because 74% of listeners recall the brands they hear when listening to podcasts. If you want your business to be top of mind, podcast advertising with Acast is the way to go. Book your campaign today by visiting go.acast.com. Welcome back to part two, where we now talk about the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers. We now know...
After the last week, the line-up and the dates for the Billie Jean King Cup finals in Shenzhen. They will be held between the 16th and 21st of December. excuse me, between the 16th and the 21st of September. So post-US Open, I think that... over the Labour Cup weekend, David. Obviously, that's men's only. That was announced just before the qualifiers this week. And we know the lineup will be Japan. The USA, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Spain, Great Britain and, of course, Italy and China, who we knew.
as the defending champions and the hosts would be in the finals before this weekend. We had Japan defeating Canada and... Romania, Shibahara and Aoyama winning a critical doubles tie for Japan against Canada. No Leila Fernandes for Canada, obviously no Bianca Andrescu, shame for them. We had the USA defeating Denmark and Slovakia, really inexperienced US team, Hayley Baptiste.
and Bernardo Perra both went 2-0. It has to be said there was no Clara Towson for Denmark. Their top-ranked singles player was... Johanna Svensson, David, at 698 in the world. So... I think that was always going to be quite an uphill battle for Denmark. But still, there were real scenes for the US.
I saw Lindsay Davenport embracing Hayley Baptiste. You know, these sorts of moments can be the making of players like that. Yeah, that's actually what... these sort of weeks leave you with i think is that they help you discover new players they help those players kind of maybe discover something about themselves or get a chance to show what they're all about.
And I mean, the whole team thing anyway. And getting to hang out with Lindsay Davenport, who's been a multiple Grand Slam champion for players like Hayley Baptiste. big deal you know and learn from her and yes there were some really brilliant scenes in so many of these ties I did still feel and it gets back to your point about What a shame it is, really, that say a Monte Carlo isn't a mix.
Masters of 1000 event, that this event, that these Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers didn't, aren't played the same week as the Davis Cup qualifiers. And then you can have this team... concentration really for a week in the calendar, whereas actually I really struggle to fit this in.
to my my week of watching you know it's on different channels i've got it i've got to find it it's on a couple of days near the end of the week whereas Monte Carlo's been going on for five days and I'm fully up with the narrative of that tournament. And there's only so many hours in the day, you know. And I do feel like some of these wonderful moments and scenes can get lost.
Whilst I do wonder whether China is going to have an atmosphere in Shenzhen, I deeply hope it does in September. And there's obviously, you know, question marks, I think about. playing it in China anyway, given the history of the last few years with Peng Shui. The fact that it is played in September
In a week where the men are playing team competition, I think that that looks like quite a good date. And I hope, I certainly hope it's well attended. And I dare say there's a lot of players that have... one for their countries here who are going to be seriously pumped about going. Yeah, I think those dates are a win, definitely. Notwithstanding all the concerns we've already mentioned about the venue, I definitely was pleased to see those dates get announced.
Kazakhstan, as I said, will be there. They beat Australia and Colombia. Rabakna and Putin Save are winning all of their singles. real scenes in Poland. Ukraine beat Poland and... Switzerland to qualify for the finals, which will be incredible, I think, having Ukraine in those finals. Poland, obviously, without Igor Sviantek, as we discussed last week, without Magdalena Frech as well.
people still showed up. It was an incredible atmosphere in Poland. Elina Svitolina, who won both her singles, the real talisman of that Ukrainian team, although Marta Kostryk played as well, didn't she? She was so... effusive about their hosts, Poland, and what Poland have done for Ukraine as a nation. And I don't know, it was... It was pretty special in Poland, I think, and that's without Igor Shontek. And it was evidence, I think, OK, when people in Poland were buying those tickets...
they would have been buying them in expectation, in hope or expectation of seeing Elias Viontech without doubt. But I do think it's also evidence, David, of the fact that everybody still showed up and showed out and was invested in that. that a superstar... but can build a, can carry a sport in a, can build a sport in a country beyond themselves. You know, like Vyga Swantek has kind of already left a legacy of tennis in Poland and created.
something there. Obviously, there's a lot of eager Sviontek fans, but... You know, there's also an awful lot of tennis fans in Poland that there wouldn't be probably without Igor Shontek. Yeah, I think that's true. Whenever you see her catch play, he has... some sort of support in Polish colours. It reminds me of what Halep did really in Romania. Wherever Romanian players play, there are Romanian tennis fans. And yeah, I do think that's true. It's not on Fonseca levels, but wherever.
Fiontech goes. I mean, it's extraordinary. There is no venue in the world she could go without support. But David, I feel like with... Fonseca has been able to generate, I mean, look, OK, he's a potentially generational talent, but he's been able to generate this level of excitement and support this quickly from Brazilian tennis fans because... The foundations were laid by Guga. Yeah, true. 30 years ago, you know, the tennis fans are there. They're invested and they've found a host.
to put that on now, but they were there kind of ready and waiting for him to come along, I suppose. Spain beat Czechia and Brazil to qualify for the finals. Jessica Boutas-Monero is the standout player. 2-0 on debut, including a straight-sets win over... Linda Nozkova, so a finals without Czechia. And Team GB... Beat the Netherlands and Germany to qualify for the finals once again. Sonne Cartel 2-0 on debut. So, so impressive, I think. Particularly her win over Eula Niemeyer in the first tie.
And a really brave call, I thought, from Anki Othovong to put Katie Bolter and Jodie Burridge in for the decisive doubles against... the Netherlands. We talked at the finals about lack of a doubles team being a real issue for GB and how... There's nowhere to hide in this format. You need a doubles team. She had Olivia Nicholls there on the squad. Harriet Dart's a decent doubles player. There'd been a lot of footage from the week of...
Anne Giothevon practising doubles. You know, she knows how important that is. And I was still surprised to see Bolter and Burridge be the doubles team. But they... They did it and they beat a decent Dutch team. I was so surprised and impressed for them. And I think that.
That's huge for Team GB to get there once again. So that'll be your line-up for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen in September. And that's it for part two. We'll be back in part three with one of our favourite occasional segments, David. coaching carousel. Do you belong here? Troubleshooting 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. With an army apprenticeship that'll set you right for life. Still listening? You belong here. Army. Recruiting now. Search Army job. You do podcasts. Pizza. Park Run. We'll do your ISO. With the Vanguard-managed ISA, our experts will take care of things for you. What will you do instead? When investing, your capital is at risk. Tax rules apply. Search Vanguard now.
Welcome back to part three of the tennis podcast where we're going to have a bit of an off-season flavour now with some focus on the old coaching carousel or the old faithful. Because there have been recently, I guess maybe it comes with a change of surface. I don't know. stock-taking time of year, a bit like us with our Fantasy League transfer window, where I somehow managed to persuade David to take Hubert Hur catch off my hand.
There have been some changes and some rumours of changes in people's coaching situations. So we'll run through them, starting with rumours that, well, not rumours, I think. confirmed report that Emma Raducanu was in talks with Mark Petchy for him to become her... formal coach. He was with her in Miami. David, wasn't he on a sort of trial informal? She had a run to the quarterfinals there. So I guess given that this isn't particularly...
unexpected. What do you think? No, it's not. And this has been reported by Russell Fuller on the BBC Sport website who... wouldn't be putting a report out there like that unless there were sound. reasons for it. You know, this is clearly something that is being discussed and is in the works. Now, you might wonder why that hasn't just already been announced, because... Very often, Raducanu... doesn't take long to get a new coach and she's had well about eight i think in the last uh in the last
three years since she won the US Open, many on a short term basis in the end, or even on the outset, and not many of them have lasted that long. Well, I think the difference is here, I mean, Mark Petchy is... has got other jobs i mean he he's got a pretty significant role with the tennis channel and i imagine i i haven't spoken to him i don't know what's being said and what's going on but But my guess would be that he is making sure of his ground and or.
time share with the tennis channel in order to do the weeks that he feels able to do or to make sure that it's a secure enough job that he could give up the tennis channel work if he wanted to. I mean, there is a precedent for this for him. With Andy Murray, in the formative stages of Andy Murray's career, he actually...
kind of stepped away. I think maybe he did some occasional work for Sky Sports at the time, but he certainly took time away from it for quite a while and worked full on with Andy Murray. And then when that finished, he went back to Sky. So, you know, he's going to make sure he's... He's OK, I think, in this situation, which is what you've got to do. I think not everybody's able to. Not everybody has another option necessarily like that. But it is interesting that...
Radhika Khan has just had such an unstable time. Obviously, a lot of it injury-based. Obviously, the very difficult situation she's been in personally with this. with people showing up the way they have at tennis tournaments and making her feel so uncomfortable, sort of stalking situations. what is it, nearly three and a half years now, four years it's going to be this year since she won that US Open. And she doesn't want that to be the only thing that is in the CV.
She's capable of more. And, yeah, will this be the right move? Well, we'll have to wait and see. But I suspect it is going to happen one way. I'd love to see her work with a female coach. I know she said Jane O'Donoghue sort of is a presence in her team. Yeah, it feels like female coaches are having a bit of a moment. Donara Safina is going to be working with Diana Schneider, which means that both Safin brackets us.
are back on tour coaching, which is fun. We've also got rumours that Alexander Zverev is going to reformalise his relationship with Boris Becker. This is a weird one, isn't it? Because they have, I mean, they've always been close. He's always been a kind of mentor. I've always had the impression that... Becker is kind of available to Zverev, you know, remotely whenever he likes.
They did have a period of having a formal player-coach relationship, I think. Feels like quite a long time ago now. But there are rumours that they're going to be back together on a formal. Yeah, I don't remember them working together properly before, but they've obviously been, I think... involved together in the Davis Cup. And yes, he's always been around and there is a close relationship between them. And Zverev was asked about this last week.
He said, I've got nothing to say, and when I do, you'll know. But he wasn't saying, no, no, that's not going to happen. And I wondered whether this sort of appointment might have happened earlier after he lost the French Open final. And he said at the end of that, I need to understand why.
I faded in the final. And I remember putting that to him at the Australian Open and he said, no, I meant physically. I don't mean my tennis faded. I meant physically. And that's why I hired Jez Green again to sort that out. But when you look what's happened to him since losing that Australian Open final, he's won six and lost six.
at a time when it's all there for him to actually go and stamp his authority on the tennis tour and take advantage of Yannickson and not being there in Carlos Alcraz's patchy form. It's been so bad that I do wonder whether he's thinking, geez, you know, I've got to figure out how to fill this void. What better opportunity than to call on one of the greats, one of the mental giants in the moment to call on than somebody like Boris Becker?
There's nothing formal out there. He's kind of in the situation. He's kind of in the situation that Andy Murray was in when he pressed the Lendl button, isn't he? Except that Zverev already pressed the Lendl button really early in his career. And I remember the discussion we had at that time was... is he pressing this button too early? I think he was assuming it was going to happen at that stage. Yeah, he's not the player that Andy Murray, not yet the player that Andy Murray ever was, but yeah.
Tried that. So trying Becca now. For me... I don't know, maybe I've read this wrong, but, you know, I've worked with Boris Becker over... not for a few years now, but, you know, during Zverev's career. And it's hard to imagine maybe just his sheer presence on the sidelines will make a difference. But, like, I think...
He's already kind of getting the best of what Boris Becker, you know, if Boris Becker has wisdom that he thinks will make a difference positively to Alexander Zverev's career, I think he's already imparting it to him. Yeah, I mean, the bottom line comes to me is in the moment. When it really matters, do you do what Boris Becker is imploring you to do? And I am sure that Boris Becker would be imploring him to go and get to go and stamp yourself on this match and make it happen. Be bold.
Zverev did in that first set against Berrettini in Monte Carlo is he played bold and... and domineering tennis. And that is surely what you've got to do when it really matters. And that is what he doesn't do when it really matters, or at least he hasn't in his career to this day. And there's no point in hiring Boris Becker unless you're prepared to really let that...
sink in. And you would hope, and what people like Andy Murray have said, is that it's not revolutionary information, it's about who it's coming from, and whether I really take that on board, because he's been there and nobody else has. So, yeah, it's still rumours at this moment, but I really wouldn't be surprised. There's also the thing of like, okay, does that mean your dad...
Taking a step back or does that mean that Boris Becker is going to have to somehow like work with your dad because, you know, moving on to our next rider on the carousel. if you will, Goran Ivanovic is rumoured to be on the cusp of commencing a coaching relationship with Stefanos Tsitsipas. We've tried to work our contacts here, or one contact, to get confirmation of this. We're sort of one stop short of confirmation, David, but let's just say we feel like we know Goran well enough.
to say with some confidence this feels like it. probably going to happen. Well, he refuses to answer the question. And the fact that Sid Surpass also said... we're not there yet makes you very much feel as though okay there's a conversation happening and they're trying to sort this out because they want it to happen. That's my take on it. Goran hasn't said that to me. He's refusing to answer.
He's also not shutting it down. Exactly. If somebody turns around to you and says, no, no, that's bullshit, which I've had that happen as well over the years, then that's very different to... just not answering a question when you know they're listening. At least he got a reply out of him. I got blue ticked and ignored. But that in itself, I think, tells its own story, Catherine. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Look, I'm not surprised to see Goran gearing up to hop back on the carousel again, despite the fact that on the end of January, he said never again to me. But, you know, I never really believed that. It does surprise me that...
Not necessarily sit to pass as a tennis player. I think he's got a lot to offer sit to pass as a tennis player. But, you know, there's potential for this to be a stressful gig. You know, I thought Goran... I thought the next gig Goran even considered taking would be kind of a guaranteed no must, no fuss situation after, you know, what?
what he went through with Rebecca and that short-lived, very dramatic, very stressful situation that made him, you know... think that maybe he was done with coaching altogether. This could be, you know, I think it could be something. I'm excited about it. But I also think it could be a headache for Goran. Yeah, listen, I think, I dare say he will... be pretty strong on his terms as to what he's prepared to accept.
Stephanas' dad has been too big a feature of things in the past when he's tried to have other coaches. I can't see Goran standing for a fair bit of that. I also think... that he's probably thinking, well, it can't be as stressful as it was during the Australian Open. And I think maybe he's realised that the idea of a non-stressful coaching relationship is probably... fanciful because he thought that Rabakina would be. I am excited about what he might do for Sidsapas's career.
His ability certainly is serve. You know, he's improved every player served that he's worked with. And that's a big element of Sitsapas' game that needs work. So I think that that could work for sure. Our last horse on the carousel, or last two horses, are Alexi Poparin and Wayne Ferreira, David. Now, this one is confirmed. Ferreira is replacing Xavier Malif. and he'll work with Poparin's existing coach, Neville Godwin, who's been in the setup for a while.
randomly out of nowhere after a kind of shocking start to the year. He had a really good week in Monte Carlo, beat Umber, Tiafoe and... and Caspar Rood, but you're a bit of an Alexei Popper in... Psychic, I suppose. I don't know. You, not psychic, but you McElroy'd him in Australia. You knew... that Australia wasn't going to go well for her. Yeah, I do feel like he's another one if you...
If I watch him closely, I kind of feel like I know what I'm going to get. And I really was unsure. I saw just, I think I saw about... three or four games of him in an exhibition match against Alcraz. And I remember thinking, God, he looks like his legs down. He just didn't look right at all. He'd not featured in that Davis Cup finals the year before at the end of the year, despite having such a good year. Big blow to his companies.
Two wins, seven losses at the start of this year until Monte Carlo. He just couldn't get anything. On hardcores, you know. And then suddenly he gets on clay and has a great week. But the thing is, he has another one with a really high ceiling. Like when he's on, he's dangerous. And I think that Ferreira, I think that's a good appointment. When I think back to what he did with Tiafoe, he just got this guy to commit.
to a certain way of life and game style. And and I think that Poprin has similar upside. I think he'll be Frere will be no nonsense and just get him playing a certain way. And I would expect this to do well. OK, well, we'll see everybody. I think everybody mentioned their inaction this week. The WTA is in Stuttgart with the WTA 500 there. The world's top four are all playing and, of course, have buys in the opening round. They've also got...
Jasmine Paolini, Miran Draver, Clara Towson, Emma Navarro, Dennis Schneider playing there. It's always a great field, isn't it? Everybody wants to win that pool. So, yeah, I'm very excited for Stuttgart. The WTA is also in Rouen, where Alina Svitolina and Linda Nozgova are the top two seeds. Bianca Andreescu is making her comeback. in Rouen with a wild card. I'm not ready to be hurt again yet, David. I'm trying to be cautious.
About that comeback, she's got a round one match against Susan Lammons. Do you know who's also making a comeback in Rowan, David? Who's that? It's Corne, isn't it? It's Elise Corne. She retired. She had a big ceremony in Roland Garros. She did the celebrity edition of The Traitors in France and now she's making a comeback. I mean, maybe that's aspirational. Maybe that's, you know, maybe I'm just on some level jealous. But on a different level, I feel quite grumpy about it because...
We're going to have to go through another Elize Cornet goodbye at the French Open, aren't we? Did she get another thing, you cross-section of the clay? I just, yeah. The ATP has two 500 events, one in Barcelona where Carlos Alcaraz and Kaspar Ruud are the top two seeds. Tsitsipas, Diminor, Feast, Rublev, Runa. are all also playing great field there. You okay with Alcoraz?
He's played and won Barcelona before, but he's never won a match in Monte Carlo before. He's never done Barcelona having gone all the way in Monte Carlo. Do you think it's still fine? Do you think there's any part of them that would be wondering about skipping Barcelona? I always worry about...
from the perspective of a top player who wins a tournament to go and play another one and then he has to go to Madrid and that's two weeks now. And yes, you probably won't have to play for a week pretty much, but... where's your off switch you don't have one you just have to keep on going and then that's over and then it's Rome and that's two weeks and again where's your off switch I do want I do wonder I do worry about players like him, you know,
Most people turn around and say, well, Nadal did it. Yeah, but not everybody's Nadal. In fact, nobody's Nadal. He's a one-off. So I do worry about hitting the wall. And that's why I think you may have to build in some time off sometimes. I mean, the awkward thing is that Madrid's the one to miss. Like, Madrid is the least... helpful and productive. clay court event in terms of Roland Garros, isn't it? But it's a 1,000, so, I mean, you can make up an injury.
But it's also in Spain. Like, Nadal used to have that issue, didn't he? It's the biggest event in Spain. But Nadal hated Madrid, really. Winning it didn't, you know, it's better than not winning it, but it didn't feel like it really contributed that much to... to Roland Garros' preparation, I suppose. ATP is also in Munich this week, where Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton... are the top two seeds. I think of that event in Munich, David, and I think Colt.
I mean, I know we're ones to talk here in the UK, but we wouldn't hold an outdoor event here in... Early April, I don't think. And we would have been all right this year. But I mean, you're right. I mean, we've seen so many tournaments where... players are wearing jackets during the warm-up and leggings throughout the whole match, you know, and the crowd are all in big puffer jackets, you know, look horrendous. And yet...
However, Catherine, first three days of Munich, Tuesday's 21 degrees, Wednesday's 24 degrees Celsius. Oh, he's come on with a weather forecast. However, Catherine, then on Thursday it goes to 16 and rain. Friday is 13 and rain. And your weekend is drizzly. So Alexander Zverev, fill your boots for the next three days because it might get a bit rubbish after that. You need some Daniel Medvedev tights to wear under your shorts.
Pumped for this week. Just pumped generally, David. Isn't sport great? We have a mascot for this week. Hello to Francis. We know Francis. She's beautiful. Frances is owned by Heather and Jodie. We do know Frances, I think. Heather and Jodie haven't mentioned. I feel like I'm looking at a cat that I recognise. But anyway, Francis is owned by Heather and Jodie and is a frisky, confident kitten. So maybe we don't know if Francis is a kitten.
I just, I feel like I've, maybe I knew her in a different life. A frisky, confident kitten who loves to cuddle with his kitten. Oh, I've also misgendered him. Oh, David, it's all going wrong. Bring back Matt. He's a frisky, confident kitten. He loves to cuddle with his kitty sister Coco and dog... Whoa! And doggy sister Billie Jean. Epic. No way. Oh, okay. I've definitely never met Francis before because I would remember that.
We're trying to do a thing where I don't look at the pet mascot until I'm doing it live so we get the sort of moment of reveal. This is sort of an example where that can go wrong. I've just noticed that it could be Francis after Tiafoe, because it's the same spelling, Coco after Goth, and Billie Jean, obviously, after King. Or Billie Jean Canine.
Heather and Jodie, please let us know if Francis is named after Francis Tiafoe. Oh my gosh, David, it's in the next line. It's gone wrong again. We did say it was a reveal, didn't we? Like his namesake, he is brash and bold with an incredible athleticism that often makes one's jaw drop. I love that. The cat named after Francis Tiafa. That's awesome. And let us know, Heather and Jodie, we're going to assume that Coco is named after Coco Gough. So you've got...
Coco and Francis as brother and sister. And with a doggy, a canine Billie Jean sibling. That is, what a family. That is most excellent. Thank you, Heather and Jodie. And hello to Frances. Frances will be in our newsletter and on our Instagram. And apologies, Frances, for misgendering you. Hello to our mascots, Phoebe, Maisie and Roger. Hello to our executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. No shout outs this week because what is a shout out without Matt Roberts?
A thank you to Friends of the Tennis Podcast subscribers for supporting the Tennis Podcast. It's because of you that we are able to cover the four Grand Slam tournaments each year on the ground in Melbourne, Paris, London. And New York, if you're not a friend currently, you can become one for £6 a month or £60 a year for that. You get ad-free listening to every episode of the show. You get eight editions of Tennis Relive.
A monthly Q&A with the three of us live on YouTube. That's also... available as a podcast, a lot of those. are themed Q&As. Some of them are general Q&As. You have the chance to submit questions on the barge, which, of course, you also get access to. which is our online community for tennis fans. You get four Grand Slam review pods with very special guests.
access to Hannah Wilk's brilliant monthly column, our full Friends podcast archive and an exclusive pre-sale window for tickets to our live audience shows. And we hope to have the... London show on sale soon. The date for that is June the 26th. So watch this space for tickets going on sale soon and there will be... an exclusive pre-sale window for Friends of the Tennis Podcast. So if you fancy becoming a friend, getting access to all of that fun stuff, the link is in our show notes. David.
This has been very fun. I do miss Matt, but I've enjoyed this very much. Same. Yeah, I did too. It's nice to remind ourselves that we can still do it without Matt. But let's just not do it that often. No, exactly. Exactly. Matt, come back. We miss you. It's been fun. Enjoy the week of tennis, folks. We'll speak to you next Monday.
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