Roland Garros Day 8 - A game-changing day for Iga Swiatek? - podcast episode cover

Roland Garros Day 8 - A game-changing day for Iga Swiatek?

Jun 01, 20251 hr 12 minEp. 1378
--:--
--:--
Listen in podcast apps:
Metacast
Spotify
Youtube
RSS

Summary

The Tennis Podcast reviews a dramatic Day 8 at Roland Garros. They analyze Iga Swiatek's stunning comeback against Rybakina, Alina Svitolina's impressive win saving match points and her game transformation, and strong performances from Sabalenka and Zheng. On the men's side, Alcaraz navigated challenges against Shelton, and Musetti impressed by defeating Rune, setting the stage for intriguing quarterfinals.

Episode description

Part one - It was a quite extraordinary day of action in the women’s draw. We discuss how Iga Swiatek overcame a 6-0 2-1 deficit to defeat Elena Rybakina, the way Elina Svitolina has completely transformed herself as a tennis player, the importance Zheng Qinwen places on Roland Garros, and how Aryna Sabalenka showed how she’s developed as a player to defeat Amanda Anisimova in straight sets. 

Part two (39m56s) - Carlos Alcaraz’s victory over Ben Shelton took centre stage for the men on Sunday. David commentated on two sets of it and we assess Alcaraz’s level, discuss the fun moments which punctuated the contest, and wonder whether Tommy Paul will pose a threat to Alcaraz in the next round. 

Part three (49m42s) - We cover Lorenzo Musetti’s victory in the night session over Holger Rune and look ahead to Day 9.

Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. 

Check out our new merch shop

Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. 

Talk tennis with Friends on The Barge! 

Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)

Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)

Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Here we are. A couple of pints. Great. Neck oil, yeah? As requested. So, what did you get up to this weekend? Well... Funny story, actually. I befriended this panda, discovered he had a beautiful singing voice, taught him how to harmonise. We got a record deal, went on tour, went platinum in Basingstoke, then broke up due to creative differences. Right. So that's why there's a panda giving you the finger from across the street, then.

That's right, brother. Stick your neck out. Beavertown. Never normal. Visit drinkaware.co.uk. Enjoy Beavertown beer responsibly. Hi, this is Billie Jean King. This is Marion Bartotti. 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.

Well, hello and welcome to the Tennis Podcast on day eight of Roland Garros. It is 8.30pm and it is absolute chaos outside court Philippe Chatrier because the day session has finished late. So we have the 15,000 day session fans that were on court for an incredible day of tennis on Chaturé. pouring out of the place and the night session crowd, the 15,000 people that are going to be watching Lorenzo Mazzetti against Holger Runa fairly shortly, they are pouring in.

to court Philippe Chatrier and in the pinch points around the place where those two crowds meet, it is... Well, it's absolute chaos, quite frankly. We're in our usual spot. Over to our right, or my right, just casually sitting there like she's anybody else in the world, is four-time French Open champion Justine Henna.

Yeah and I mean so far in the time that I've been sitting here she hasn't been interrupted or bothered which must be quite nice I would have thought given how difficult it is sometimes for players to get around the place. She seems to be having a lovely time. You have one selfie I saw, which is one fewer than I took today. It really supports my theory that it's not actually facial recognition that gets celebrities recognised. It's sort of... how they carried themselves as celebrities, you know?

Yeah, I must admit I've definitely when I've been in tennis kits in the past in the long lost past sort of thought I wonder if I could if I carried myself enough as a tennis player Could I pull it off? I can tell you that I couldn't I once worked with a cameraman who just had long hair and was an absolute creep and just used to style himself like Stefanos Tsitsipas and just tell people, yeah, people keep mistaking me for Stefanos Tsitsipas.

We're like, they're absolutely not doing that, mate. Anyway, it is fitting that we're in the presence of a four-time Roland Garros champion because we're going to start off today's show by talking about a four-time Roland Garros champion. Iger Svjontek beat Elena Rabatkinna today. 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 30 minutes in not even the best match on Chatrier that we saw.

today, but it was a barnstormer, David. Yeah, it really was. And I feel as though we've seen both iterations of Igor Sviantek that we've seen in the past, say, 12 months in that match, because the first set... She was the player that can get dominated. And we've seen dominated several times on clay this clay court season. I'm thinking of Madison Keyes for a set. I'm thinking of the way Coco Goff dismissed her in two straight sets.

OK, Jelena Ostapenko had to go three, but she always beats her, doesn't she? It's six out of six for her. And today she was facing an Elena Rybakken who was... almost doing a Jelena Ostapenko impersonation in terms of her game style. She was really going for broke on the ground strokes. She's obviously got the bigger serve as well. And when she took that first set, I mean, what was it, five love before Svantec got a game?

In under 15 minutes. Really? I didn't realise it was quite that quick, but that tells you everything, doesn't it? And it could so easily have become another Coco Gauff. match from a few weeks ago and Svantec just did not allow it. I mean obviously some of that is Rebecca losing away in the second set. But even so, I have such respect for the way Svantec didn't panic.

just dug in and really went into the trenches and said okay i'm gonna i'm gonna move my feet i'm gonna go after every ball i'm gonna find a way and she did Yeah, this was the match during the course of which I decided Igor Shiontek is probably winning the French Open. I wonder if she feels the same. She said in press after that match, and I think this is a big admission given how defensive she's been up to this point about her recent form. She said...

I think I needed that win. I think I needed that kind of a win to feel these feelings that I'm able to win under pressure, even if it's not going the right way, to still turn the match around. It's great confidence. Confirmation for me, I wanted to have a match like that. And in some ways it was reminiscent of the Naomi Osaka match last year, which obviously came earlier in the tournament.

was more shocking at the time, because Igas Fiontech had been so dominant through the clay court season, and yet suddenly she was having the racket taken out of her hand by Naomi Osaka, hitting... huge ball and just being really really dangerous opponent and she had to save a match point that day and then you know she actually won the rest of her matches at this tournament relatively comfortably for the rest of the tournament but she had to pass that test and she had to pass this test today.

I was so impressed with Chfiontech. Through 612 love. Because Rebecca went up a break at the start of that second set as well. I thought she was heading out. I really did. I didn't think this was going to turn around. Rebecca was looking awesome.

But the difference in demeanour that Svantec had compared to some of those losses that David's referenced earlier in this clay court season was stark. She wasn't getting really, really stressed. She wasn't getting... down on herself she just absolutely dug into that match and made some key changes as well one that she one that i did pick up on in the match and then

To hear her talk about it in the press, really, really stressed that it was an important choice that she made here, which was to give herself more time, step back in the core. particularly on return but also I felt during the rallies a little bit as well so she wasn't as rushed. And it was fascinating to hear her express it in the press conference in terms of that it was Wim Forsett's idea and something that he's been wanting her to do.

for a little while but she hasn't been implementing and i think it goes to show how slightly stuck in her ways she's got because of the amount of success she had playing the previous way under her old coach in an extremely aggressive fashion but that has over time stopped working for her sometimes and she has been a little bit reluctant to adjust. it but she did today and it seemed to make all the difference she just had a lot more time on the ball suddenly

And through the latter half of the second set, and in particular in the third set, I thought she was awesome. She found her forehand again. She hit some absolutely wonderful forehands down the stretch. And yeah, she just stayed very, very calm.

calm in a lot of moments that could have got to her. Going down 6-1-2 love, being up a break in the third and having it pegged back, thinking she's got the crucial break in the third and having the umpire overall a back and a double fault that she thought was going to give her. the break, gets overruled, Rabakina wins the point, wins the game. I thought, gosh, Igor Fiontek from earlier in this clay court season.

might not have won the match from there but she stayed so calm, did absolutely brilliantly and it was an awesome performance and such a big celebration at the end of it as well which I think... really told you just how important this one was. I felt like that quote in press about that tactical adjustment was quite a big moment for win for sets and their relationship. Because we've all... felt like its days are numbered without knowing how big that number is it's felt like

Well, unless she wins the French Open. Winning the French Open is par. Unless she wins it, he's probably going. Like with a football manager, you know, like they're going to go.

It's just a question of when. And the opposition team are singing sacked in the morning, you know. And I was, you know, when we went to take our seats on Chateau for this, Chantec was... already five love down because that had happened so quickly and I think I said to you Matt like how quickly can she sack how quickly can she sack Winfossette if she loses

this match so for her to specifically reference him and the coaching and and her reluctance up until this point to take on board that coaching and the difference that it made the sort of indicative humility in that comment I think is actually quite a watershed moment for that partnership where we've seen moments of significant stress in it haven't we both sort of on the court caught by official cameras and there have been you know social media

of people capturing behind-the-scenes moments of strain between them. I took that as significant. Yeah, I would agree, and I think it maybe shows... One of the challenges for a coach, if they have a clear picture, if a player isn't listening to them, they... They're getting the criticism a lot of the time. I mean, it's impossible not to think back a year and remember how dominant Chvantet was and see her struggle on clay the way she has in recent months and not put it down to win for set.

You know, you just end up doing that because that's the change in the team. And it may be not his fault at all. You know, it may be just she's struggling. She's not necessarily implementing what he thinks because she's stubborn. That also happens. But maybe this is the moment. And look, he is a smart coach. Of that I have no doubt. And that is a very smart tactical change. And actually, if you think back, in the media day press conference she did here,

She was also intimating how stubborn she'd been with her tactics and the way she'd been going about things in Rome when she lost one-on-one. And the time between Rome and now that has... picked her back up was her going back to the drawing board a bit and saying I've got to sort a couple of things out and we did I didn't know exactly what they were but there were clearly a couple of technical things that just she was just stuck in the mud almost literally in in Rome where she'd serve and just

be just stranded um and and she found a way out of trouble today i like problem solved and i think that that is is very encouraging for because not everybody's going to hit a ball like elena rebecca hits a ball either and i can imagine I imagine it's very, very difficult to know where the line is between stubbornness and trusting your instincts. Oh, it's kind of everything, I think, for a great champion, treading that line correctly. You have to be stubborn.

as a great champion they all are so it's a in its best sense it's a quality that they all have but when they're going through some tough times and some doubts it can become a negative i think but yeah i agree with you i think it's a really really Big, big moment that. And I did just want to call out some moments at the start of the second set here, which felt really, really pivotal in this match as well. We're back in our upper break. Mr. Volley.

a forehand volley at 2-1 that gave the break back. It was on break point for Svante. I haven't seen it again. I wonder whether it was at a more awkward height than it looked in the stadium, but it... did look like a really, really poor miss from Rebecca. But then in the very next game, there was this extraordinary sequence where Schiontek was serving at 2-all and kept getting game point and kept double-faulting. She did it three times in a row. And she said in press, I...

I don't think I've ever done that before. I don't think I've ever hit three in a game before. It was extraordinary. And at that point... It felt so on the edge. It really did. That was still in the portion of the match where I thought Shontek wasn't going to come back and win this. So for her to turn that around and get through that game and then come out of it by the end of the match.

playing the sort of tennis that's made us have the discussion we've just had, made her feel like... or made us feel like, because I agree with you Catherine, like she can win this tournament, like she probably is going to win this tournament, like her tennis is good enough, like for that all to change in the course of a match. Pretty extraordinary. It tells you just how good she was, I think, in the latter stages here. It was awesome to see. Rabakina did say she felt like she tired.

as the match went on, and that particularly affected her serve and the way she was able to push up on her serve, and the stats do bear that out. Her first serve percentage dipped as the match went on, ending at... 43% for the third set, while Svantec's first serve percentage went in the other direction. There's rarely just one reason for a match to...

to turn or to pan out the way it does. And I'm not pointing that out to take anything away from Igor Shontek. In fact, you know, the fact that she's able to improve over the course of a gruelling, tense match, I mean... That's part of the sport, isn't it? Staying the course and lasting the distance and feeling physically strong enough to do so. And Rebecca kind of did start to look frail in the end, didn't she? Yeah.

and i actually think the the victory was even more significant because she thought she'd probably already got it with that when that overall came and rebecca has served her way out of trouble after it after it went in her favor and and you know to still regather yourself and win

It's a blooming good go in that. But yeah, maybe this is work in progress for Ravakina. They're kind of in a similar spot in a way. Their best tennis has not been in the last however many months. Yeah, there was that stat I did in the newsletter a couple of weeks ago. at the time of the WTA Top 25.

the only two not to have reached the final since last year's Roland Garros, which is extraordinary. But yeah, I think it goes to show that there has been a similarity, a sort of parallel between them in terms of... decline in the last year or so but yeah extraordinary something I just thought on win for set by the way he was in the Asaka box last year wasn't he for for that match like is he the

He's the secret for these Svantec classics at Roland Garros that we've got the last couple of years. 25th win in a row for Igor Svantec at Roland Garros. She's four away from the record, which belongs, of course, to Chris Ebert. with 29 and in the next round trying to get her 26th win in a row here she will take on Alina Svitolina who won the match of the day.

against Jasmine Paolini, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1 in two hours and 24 minutes, saving three match points in the second set. It became... one-sided in the third set we'll talk about that in a bit I guess we'll take it kind of separately from the rest of the match because up until that third set this was about as high level consistently as a tennis match can be, really. I know the stats say there were unforced errors, but it didn't feel like there were any true unforced errors, really, in that match.

And I generally have issues with how unforced error stats are compiled. I think they're a bit trigger-happy on the unforced side of things. But, I mean, this was just... utter quality. Yeah, we had to attend a sort of meeting in the first few games of the match, but we had the match on on a laptop, and every time I looked at the laptop, one of them was hitting a winner.

And I think they'd got up to sort of midway through the or late last stage of the second set, they'd got 60 winners between them. well in excess of the number of unforced errors, even with that trigger-happy finger that they seem to apply to these matches. These were two players playing well at the same time.

And there haven't been that many matches this fortnight where I've thought that. I think it's rare that you get that anyway, because if you play well, usually it affects your opponent negatively. That just wasn't happening. duking it out, hitting the ball so clean from the baseline. Winner after winner. And they're wonderful retrievers. This is the other thing. They're both great defenders. So to hit winners against one another is bloody hard to do.

I don't quite know how to sum it up from a Jasmine Palloni perspective because she had three match points. You know, if you have that, you should win. And yet... The aggressor felt like Svitolina. She felt like she was the one going for broke in that way that she's applied to her game.

in recent years where she used to be this counter-puncher and this scurrier and suddenly now she's this player who's trying to take your head off. There was one match point save in particular, wasn't there Matt, that really... summed up, encapsulated the Alina Svitolina rebrand, the one she took control of a point and finished off up at the net. Yeah, that was the third one, wasn't it, in the tie-break, because, well, Paolini led 6-4-4-1.

She served for it at 6-4-5-3. She had the first two match points on Svitolina's serve at 6-4-5-4. And then she had another match point, this time on her own serve, in the tiebreak at 6-5 in that tiebreak. And that was the one where Svitolina... just took charge found herself at the net and knocked off the volley and I think at that stage everyone watching was just desperate for another set because this was just so good like nothing against Jasmine Paolini

Tournaments, I think, are generally better when Jasmine Paolini's in the draw, but then they're also better when Elena Svitolina's in the draw. It was one of those. You just wanted this match to go on and on because it was everything. the way Switzerland turned it around. was a little bit reminiscent of their match in Melbourne. I said categorically on the pod two nights ago in an attempt not to underestimate Jasmine Paolini, it will not be like Melbourne. And then it was a bit.

It wasn't as extreme. In Melbourne, Svitolina took over in the second set. completely and it was one-sided from there. Here we had a real tussle in that second set and it could have been over. But Svitolina did take over in a similar way in the third set here. Ran through it. by six games to one. And she was awesome. I think Paolini faded. I think there was probably a hangover from that second set.

not taking her chances. Maybe also some scar tissue from Melbourne and their match there. I think also maybe just, and this is pure speculation on my part, but it's been a lot for Jasmine Paolini, hasn't it, in the last month.

you know singles and doubles rome and paris like it's just a lot of tennis there's a lot of attention it's it's a lot the tank looked empty exactly yeah so I don't want to take that away from Svitolina because she... absolutely earned earned that third set by what she did in the second set but she wasn't quite facing full force paulini in that third set but she absolutely was for the rest of the match and she was toe to toe and it was awesome it was it was

The way she produces her aggression, Alina Svitolina, is quite extraordinary because it's so apparent to me in the way she produces these big, bold shots that... That is not who she is, naturally. That is not in her DNA. It's like you can see her having to overwrite.

her DNA with every single shot. You know, you had the direct comparison of Elena Rabakina coming onto court afterwards and Igor Shiontek and they produced their power and aggression differently but it's very clear where it's coming from. You know, Rabakina's got this... Huge stature and wingspan and incredible timing. And Shontek has this very muscled, armed...

armed forehand in particular and the whiplash timing on the backhand. Alina Svitolina, in order to produce the kind of aggression which I think you have to have now at the top of women's tennis, the days of the Wozniakis. The pure counter punches, I think, are gone. The way she has to produce that is to throw her whole body into every single shot. It just looks like the most extraordinary effort, physical effort and effort of... Will like it's absolutely incredible and I

In my tennis memory, David, I can't think of anybody that has remodelled their entire game and reprogrammed themselves like Alina Svitolina has. Your memory goes back... further than mine and is generally better than mine anyway. So I very well could be doing a lot of players a disservice there, but I can't think of any. We've been discussing it today, haven't we? You've been canvassing opinion.

to find people who might have an example and I know Matt came up with one from the men's game my one was was Mary Jo Fernandez from the early 90s who I who I'd watched a lot and I never thought of her as a threat to the biggest players she was a very good player and she got to two Grand Slam finals the first of which was

at the Australian Open, but I never thought in that run to the Australian Open that she's going to win the thing. And I would watch her at other events, and it was just a good, solid baseline game, decent forehand, etc. When she... went through the draw at Roland Garros in 1993. She beat Gabriela Sabatini, 10-8 in the third. She beat Arantia Sanchez Vicario, 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals. 6-2, 6-2 against one of the great baselines.

And in short, she just socked her off the court with her forehand. I mean, it was like somebody, it was like a boxer. putting cement in the glove and suddenly having way more power. Now, I'm not suggesting there was anything underhand here in Mary Jo Fernandes getting more power. She found power from somewhere. She was able to hurt players.

she changed her racket or what I'd love to speak to her sometime if I ever got the chance about that and whether I'm just imagining it but I remember the before and after and then she played the final against Steffi Graf and won the first set 6-4 and this is you know peak Steffi Graf you're talking about and she'd go forehand to forehand with her and be getting the better of it. She ended up losing the match in three.

and but but my recollection was just of a player who suddenly whether it's will whether it's the the Svitolina overhaul of that type or whether it's I don't know but that's the only thing I can think comparable but if you'd have asked me having covered Svitolina for six years as a commentator when BT Sport had the rights I would never in a million years have imagined this to be possible to me she was the Caroline Wozniacki type counter puncher so to achieve this is

quite extraordinary to me she was the elite version of your your club pusher wasn't she i mean she was incredible at it but that's that's the style of player that she was and now she's this fearless It's unreal. I know we've had people remodel a shot. That happens a lot. And I'm sure people are screaming, Roger Federer in the backhand, 2017. But that is... different. Like I so often think that shot selection is kind of the thing that's actually most difficult to learn and improve.

in the sport there's something so fundamental about it that I don't know just total rewiring blows my mind really Yeah, me too. It's extraordinary. And the one that I thought of was...

Andy Murray under Lendl, particularly when he started under Lendl in that 2012-2013 period. He had a couple of matches against Federer at the Olympics and at the Australian Open where he just... took it to Federer in a way that he hadn't before but I do think it's not quite the same because the point that David makes about Svitolina is I never thought this was possible.

Everyone was calling out for Andy Murray to do that. It felt like the obvious thing that he needed to do. And it was a transformation. He was punching that forehand. He was going after it. He was just... bullying Federer really around the court but everyone knew that he probably was capable of that it was just unlocking that whereas I never thought this was even possible for Svitolina for her to play like this not only has she

unlocked it she's come up with the idea and implemented it implemented it under extremely high pressure situations rather than like reverting back to what she knows best and like she had a ton of success playing the other way like I know she didn't win a slam, but she hasn't won a slam playing this way either. She had a ton of success before, winning 1,000 titles and the WTA finals and getting up into the top five of the rankings.

So for her to come back with this new approach, and I think even though her results this time... haven't actually been like that in terms of titles and ranking she would be she would not be doing what she is now playing that old game she'd come back in the same way she'd be outside the world's top 30? Yeah, I have to think so. Whereas, you know, she's come back and she's pretty consistently...

reaching these latter stages of the Grand Slams and having big wins. And it's so impressive. And look, I think Svitolina is an extreme example of kind of needing to change because her style of play did go out of date. very quickly but do you think there's an incredible kind of psychological example in there of players

Coming back, whatever it's from, from mental health breaks or maternity leave or falling out of love with the sport, whatever it is, players that are searching. We've got a lot of them out there at the moment. Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu. Emma Adekanu, to an extent. Like, rather than trying to re-find what you were, be something new. Find something new to be. And, you know, no mere sarkis.

style of play has not gone out of date. The style of play that won her four major titles, if she could refine that form... it would still, I think, be a major winning style of play. So I recognize it's different, but I do think psychologically there is something so powerful in that rather than trying to be who you once were.

I think she's incredible, Alina Svitolina, absolutely incredible. And if I hadn't seen Igor Shontek do what she did today, after the Svitolina match, I was thinking she'd have a chance against Shontek. Maybe a big chance, but a chance. And I feel slightly less that way after Svantec's win today. I understand why. I still think she does have a chance. Because I think...

that first set should give Svitilina some hope, quite honestly, because, you know, let's not forget, Svantec was a 6-1-2 love down. I realise against Rabakina, but if she hits big... maybe she can get her in that position and put some pressure on. So I wouldn't rule it out. Yeah, look, Svitolina will show up and bring it.

That's for sure. She'll ask Shontek the questions and she'll have to have the answers. And I just backed Shontek to have the answers to questions after today in a way that I was unsure about. before today. Folks, that is not where the fun ends on the women's side of things today, because while Sviontek and Rabakina were duking it out on Philippe Chatre, over on Longlen, Zhongqin Wen was in a...

mighty tussle against Lyudmila Samsonova. This one, the longest match of the three, two hours and 47 minutes. Junqin Wen winning 7-6, 1-6, 6-3. and falling to her back on the clay, David, like she'd won. the golden career slam absolute scenes out there that was the one bit i didn't see because i watched virtually the whole match um and then

I had to be called away for commentary, and on my way up, the match ended. So I didn't get to see the end. That's so exciting. I mean, because it was a really... It was some tussle. Samson of a played out of her mind. She hit so many... winners and drop shot winners. And Jung was under such pressure. I'm not surprised that she's ended up reacting like that. And I do love it. She hadn't quite

realize how big a problem Samsonova had been for Jung Chin Wen before this match. She came into this match, Samsonova with a 3-2 head-to-head against Jung Chin Wen. Jung referenced that in her press conference afterwards. I knew I had a task on my hands today. I was prepared for what this match ended up being. And David was...

screening this from the press seats on Chatery, and at one point he turned to me and he said, Ludmilla Sanderson has turned into Carlos Alcaraz. Suddenly she's just running side to side, hitting incredible... incredible ground strokes and then finishing it with drop shots. Have I missed something here? I don't remember doing this before. It was wonderful seeing her celebrate the way she did in the moment. It's her first quarterfinal here at Roland Garros.

I know it's sort of hard to think that way because she won that Olympic goal, but it's her first Rolongaros quarterfinal and she clearly wasn't taking it for granted that she would get there, but I do think that...

That Olympic gold medal will mean she will always have a special affinity with this Grand Slam. A very special affinity with this Grand Slam. And it was... It was so... interesting seeing her look like a big kid both in the moment of victory and in the press conference afterwards because I am always so struck by and almost mesmerized by the presence and the poise of Zheng Qinwen. She's both intimidating and ethereal in her...

presence and in her stature on a tennis court. And it's very easy to forget that she's only 22. She does not look 22 when she's playing tennis. She seemed younger than 22 in the press conference. There was a touch of Mia Andreva about it. She was almost sort of giggly and giddy and just totally in the moment and couldn't quite believe it. really it was a really kind of special moment and it was a real

getting-to-know-you moment with Zhang Chiuwen, I realise I've not been in nearly enough of your press conferences and I'm going to make a point of going to more from this point onwards. And it is Irina Sabalenka. next for Jung and I'll hand you over to our correspondent on that match Sabalenka's 7563 victory over Amanda Anisimova over on Longland. Matt watched. Every ball of this? Yeah. Of course. Of course. And look, 7.563 sounds pretty routine. And I'm not just saying this as...

Amanda Nissimo, the correspondent. I... This was tough. This was a really tough match and a good win, I think, for Rina Sabalenka. And I am very excited about Sabalenka-Jung now because we get to test. we get to test the theory of how much did Rome matter. And honestly, I take absolutely everything that you've just said there about Xiong. I'm feeling pretty confident in Sabalenka. I thought she was awesome today. I thought she was absolutely brilliant.

This match, obviously we talked about the head-to-head that Anisimova has over Sabalenka. She leads the head-to-head. But the majority of those wins are against... an older version of Irina Sabalenka, the one before she became this force that she is now. And I think today we saw... just how much better Sabalenka has become as a player since they started playing. One of the most standout matches.

that I've ever witnessed live was Anissimova destroying Sabalenka at the Australian Open in 2019 when Sabalenka went in as kind of everyone's everyone's dark horse pick for the title really and Anissimov as a teenager just blew her away that was the match when I discovered the backhand but The player that Sabalenka has become since then, the options that she now has in her game, are...

because she does have problems in the matchup against Anisimova. When Anisimova strikes the ball like she does... Sabalenka doesn't like it. She doesn't like being rushed by the sweet timing, the clean hitting of an Isamova. But whereas before she didn't have anything to counter that, she's now got lots of ways. drop shots, slice, variety generally, and that package just ended up proving to be a little bit too much for a Nisamova.

The sequence of games that Anissam overplayed from 2-5 down in the first set to 5-all, 15-40, she had two break points, was a dream. It was just everything that I love about her game. Backhands, four... hands return winners shots on the run like it was just fantastic but down those two break points Sambalenka used another shot which has developed a lot and that's her serve she hit

a kick serve that Ana Samova couldn't control, she had an ace and time and again in this match she served her way out of trouble. Eleven aces in the match for Sabalenka just generally came up with them and then she took control of the match. But then we had this great moment of drama at the end when Sabalenka just couldn't convert her match points. And Isomova saved seven of them.

six in one game to hold and Longland was up and it was with Anissimova but Samalenka stayed so strong and firm and managed to win it eventually on her eighth match point and there was there was a nice because I thought maybe there was a bit of tension between them during the match but actually I think maybe Inesimova was just a bit annoyed generally and wasn't directing it at Sabalenka there was a lovely embrace between them at the end I think

I think they know that they can kind of bring out the best in each other And Sambalenka knows that's a big win. I thought she was really impressive in this one because it was such a different test to the one she's had so far this tournament. She hadn't been tested and here she was and she came through it. talked about can you be winning too easily I think she proved today that

No, she's still so match tough and tight from all the winnings she's done this year. When she needed it, it was there. And yeah, it was a great win. Pere Reba, Junction Wentz coach, came out to Longland to watch the first set of this. He's making his notes, doing his scouting report, and I don't want to write Jung off, but I've just seen that match up a lot. It's hard to imagine when Savalenka is full pelt and hungry.

To me, it's hard to imagine that she's going to lose to Zhang, but maybe I'm underestimating her. But I'm now in that stage of the tournament where we're tantalizingly close to Svyontek Savalenka at Roland Garros, and I want to see it. I really want to see it. Xionta Xvitolina and Sabalenka Xunqinwen, we would have signed for that. Oh, yeah. It's a fantastic line. Ten days ago, wouldn't we? I have to say, I don't feel any different. I still feel like Sabalenka is the favourite for the team.

title and I was impressed with Fiontek today, of course, but Sabalenka just looks undeniable.

in in her body language you know there was she was put under so much pressure i was watching that match too on the screen next to me and thinking you're having to take a lot here and she just she's just a champion Well, the good news, folks, as much as I love Jasmine Paolini and I'm sad she's out of the tournament and her smile is gone from the tournament, the risk of underestimating Jasmine Paolini is gone for the moment.

Yeah, every clown. And she's still in the doubles. She's still in the doubles and I'll never underestimate her there. And she's playing Siegmund tomorrow. Right. OK, that's it for part one. We'll be back in part two to talk about Carlos Alcaraz and some more men. Here we are. A couple of pints. Great. Neck oil, yeah? As requested.

So, what did you get up to this weekend? Well, funny story, actually. I befriended this panda, discovered he had a beautiful singing voice, taught him how to harmonise. We got a record deal, went on tour, went platinum in Basingstoke, then broke up due to creative differences. Right. So that's why there's a panda giving you the finger from across the street then? That's right, brother. Stick your neck out. Beavertown. Never normal. Visit drinkaware.co.uk. Enjoy Beavertown beer responsibly.

Welcome back to part two of the tennis podcast, where we turn our attention now to the men's event. And we have to start with Carlos Alcaraz, who finished on Chatrier not that long ago, actually. Held up the night session, Lorenzo Mazzetti. and Holger Runa are just getting going. We'll talk about that in part three, don't you worry. Alcaraz against Shelton, a fun time. 7-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 for Alcaraz. Saved a set point in the first set tie break.

and several break points in the first game of the second took a little detour in the third set. This is the Alcaraz way. How much jeopardy? Did you feel, David, that there was in this match for Carlos Alcaraz? Well, overall, not that much, but actually if you were to take it set at a time, he was in trouble in every one of them.

He faced three set points in the first set, and he saved them all. I mean, credit to him for that. But, you know, Ben Shelton's never got really close to him before when they've played, and you just look at it and think, well... He's exciting, he's explosive, but Alcaraz is those things and more. But I do think that there were moments of jeopardy here.

he should have lost that first set really and then the second set he had to fend off five break points in the in the first game of the second set which he did he won that set then he loses the third set um so there was a lot of jeopardy really um and i actually think that what ben shelton did really

Effectively, I think somebody's been in his ear there and told him how to approach this match in a way that might make it winnable. Because you're not going to outplay Carlos Alcraz for the whole match unless he has a terrible day. It reminded me of... The big matches Andy Roddick played against Roger Federer when he nearly got him. You know, the Wimbledon final, the couple of US Open matches they had, where really the emphasis was on...

Keep it close. Keep holding your serve. Don't go for broke all the time because you're going to wear yourself out. But when you get that chance, that glimmer, that sort of scoreboard pressure, then turn on the heat. go after the big forehand, go after the big serve. And he did it, and he did it successfully to keep it close. Alcrest was irritable today, certainly for quite a lot of the first two sets.

He took a very, very heavy fall in the early stages, in the midway through the first set. He sort of was running to his right and his toe hit the court.

before his foot planted and he went straight over he tumbled over and it was a heavy fall i don't think he was injured in a sort of Got a muscular problem or a ligament damage or anything like that, but it really shook him up I think it makes you know sometimes when you fall over like that it It just knocks the stuffing out of you for a while and that's what it felt like he was never you never looked happy out there

particularly, he was relieved. That was a relieved Carlos Alcrast to get that win. Yeah, I felt like four sets was about right for this match. It didn't quite strike me as... like losing an unnecessary set or having a huge dip and causing him to lose that set. I thought Shelton brought it today. I really was impressed with him, considering that he hadn't really...

done all that much on the clay coming into Roland Garros this year. He lost heavily, didn't he, to Jean Mimouna just before the tournament. I didn't have high expectations of Shelton. on the clay at Roland Garros this year really at all but I thought he played really well and probably deserved a set and yeah there was a moment where Alcraz hit a winner without

without his hand on the racket, which... It's a new one, even for him. And it's not allowed. You're not allowed to do that. You have to have your hand on the racket. So he actually conceded the point. That was a nice moment, wasn't it? It was a lovely moment.

I don't think Shelton was really clear what had happened either. It was kind of on Alcaraz to say it, and then the umpire announced it. It was a miraculous volley that he hit, but he didn't have his hand on the racket at the time, so it didn't count. It was Shelton. point how much touch would you have to have to be able to

actually let go of the racket, make contact with the ball and still play a perfectly feathered drop volley. That's it. It was a drop volley, wasn't it? It wasn't like he just hit it and it pinged off the string. No, he kind of got it as a drop volley. It was incredible. But Shelton at the end of that third set was just unleashing some huge shots and rattled Alcraz a bit. All on the forehand though, weren't they? Yeah, and his backhand is...

It keeps the rallies going. And when he goes for it, he doesn't have the control on it. And Alcraz knew that, didn't he? So he was targeted. It's a zone to go to against Shelton. But yeah, he can unleash on the forehand. And yeah, I thought it was a really fun match. I didn't... watch it as closely as I watched Paolini and Sabalenka and Fiontech but whenever I saw it fun stuff was fun stuff was happening I think I think it was a

absolutely sensational three matches in a row on Chatrier there. The crowds on that day's session, God, they got their money's worth today. All of them were just so intriguing. Tommy Paul next. for Carlos Alcaraz. 3-3-3 for him against Alexi Popperin today. I've thought Tommy Paul has been injured since round one. Yeah, well, he has. He said he's got a stomach muscle tear. You know, that is a... I mean, I don't think it was... It can't have been... a serious one, but it was enough to worry him.

And enough to extend a match that he wasn't expecting to be extended on, certainly we weren't, that he scraped through early on. Then he won the five-set epic against Khashanov, which I would have really expected him to lose if he's not 100% fit. He's just, he's getting better. And I mean, he's just absolutely rolled Alexi Popper in today. Will Alcaraz have to be better than he was today to beat Tommy Paul?

Look, it's a totally different match-up, totally different player, but there is somewhere to go against Tommy Paul as well. the forehand rather than the backhand, but there is an obvious weakness. Yeah. It's a funny head-to-head, isn't it? Because Tommy Paul leads it 2-0 in Canada.

and Alcarez leads it 4-0 everywhere else. And they met here at the Olympics last year when it was a straight set to win for Alcarez, albeit with a close second set. Needed a tiebreak that day. I think the thing with Paul is that... Particularly on a hard court, he can move without Karras. And he can kind of live with him in the rallies. He's an incredible athlete. But I heard Andre Agassi actually on Tennis Channel, I think it was last week, analysing what makes Alcarez different.

on clay and on grass, the natural surfaces, he said, on those surfaces, when it's slippery, Alchemist's movement doesn't diminish. It actually... maybe gets better on those surfaces where a lot of players find it easier to move on the hard courts where they've got firm footing. And Tommy Paul, I think, is one of those. He's good on clay, Tommy Paul, but I think the athleticism that he's able to bring to the match-up...

benefits him more on a hard court against Alcares. I think when you've got sliding involved and when you've got points that have been played at the full stretch, that's where Alcares is so brilliant. The strength that he's got and the ability to play defence.

offence from kind of anywhere on the court and I think that's an advantage for him on the clay against against Tommy Paul so will he have to be better than today maybe if he wants to really like clinically beat him I think he could end up in five sets if he plays like he did today I still would back him to win especially with his five set record being so good but yeah he probably does need to go up a level and that's part of

That's part of it in a draw, isn't it? Going through the gears and just bringing a little bit better each round. Yeah, Tommy Paul is a big test for him, for sure. Algoraz Plus Puppies content dropped today. Were you a bit disappointed by it, did I read in the chat, or was it everything you hoped for? Yeah, I mean, look, he's a dog. I mean, you witnessed it live. He's a dog person, and that came across. Yeah, I...

I think I was slightly disappointed, yeah. I think I could tell that by the... Yeah, look, it was clearly a meeting of minds between Carlos Alcaraz and Karim the puppy. Hannah's take on it was, I think the problem is that Alcaraz was genuinely too excited by the puppies to be able to form a coherent sentence in response to any questions, which is relatable. It wasn't as good as Alcaraz and John content. No. Nothing ever is. John better than dogs.

Right, folks, that is it for part two. We will be back in part three to, of course, look ahead to tomorrow's order of play, but also to talk about Francis Tiafoe, who's just beaten. Daniel Altmaier, and he awaits the winner in the quarterfinals of the match just starting between Lorenzo Mazzetti and Holger Una, which we are going to watch. Here we are. A couple of pints. Great. Neck oil, yeah? As requested. So, what did you get up to this weekend? Well...

Funny story, actually. I befriended this panda, discovered he had a beautiful singing voice, taught him how to harmonise. We got a record deal, went on tour, went platinum in Basingstoke, then broke up due to creative differences. Right. So that's why there's a panda giving you the finger from across the street, then. That's right, brother. Stick your neck out. Beavertown. Never normal. Visit drinkaware.co.uk. Enjoy Beavertown beer responsibly.

Welcome back to part three of the tennis podcast where it is now a... Quarter past midnight, we're back at Tennis Podcast Towers. Lorenzo Mazzetti is undressing on the TV before our eyes after a sweaty four-set match against Holger Runa. He's about to do an interview with Fabrice. Santoro, le formidable Lorenzo Mazzetti, as the commentators have just called him. And as Matt just pointed out, we're here having the Lorenzo Mazzetti experience a full three hours earlier.

than we were this time last year. Very good of him, David. It was, and a very good performance, I thought, against Sol Garuna, who was... dynamic in the second set and and he does have great power but he also looked irritable and tired and fatigued i mean he's played several long matches already mazzetti

I know he had a little bit of a scenic route in the last round, but it was never out of his control. He looked fresh tonight. He looked imaginative. He just... dissected runa really throughout that match and what was really impressive is the way he accelerated away from him at once at all i really thought we were going the distance in this match and he He just stamped on that idea. I was considering a disco nap at a settle. I was sort of just assuming we were nailed on for another 2am.

But I underestimated. I found a new Italian to underestimate, apparently. He was darn good tonight, Lorenzo Mazzetti. He was. He really was. He's now into his first... quarterfinal here at Roland Garros, which, you know, feels right. considering the clay court season he's had. And frankly, considering the fact that he's got his rankings where it is now, he's now able to make a run to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros without having to go through.

a Djokovic like he had in the third round last year or an Alcarez who's beaten him here before he's only really lost to top top players at Roland Garros in his career and certainly on the clay i wasn't exactly sure how this matchup would go considering that runa had got the better of him in their previous two meetings on the on the hardcore and grass but i think we saw the level that mozzetti has

compared to Runa on the clay right now. Like, as David said, the greater control over his game, the greater clarity of thought about what it is he's doing out there, an ability to construct points, whereas sometimes... I don't really know how Runa's trying to win these points. Sometimes he seems to be really passive. Sometimes he just randomly goes and pulls the trigger on a shot that he's not quite in position for. Whereas with Mazzetti, it was just all under control.

He went off a bit in the second set. He got a bit too passive, I thought, but stepped it back up. started dominating again and raced through sets three and four pretty comfortably. Yeah, very, very impressive performance and run here from Mazzetti. After what we saw from Runa in... Barcelona beating Carlos Alcaraz for the title there. This Roland Garros has been a bit disappointing from him, hasn't it? It's not...

A fourth round lost to one of the clay court players of the year. This is not a disaster, but it's not a step forward at all. No, no, it's not. We were just reminiscing about his previous defeats to Alexander Verov last year in the fifth set when I thought he was going to win. He was two sets to one up in that. The year before that, he lost to Kasper Rude. You know, he's lost to him a couple of times. I just feel as though he's treading water in the Grand Slams, really.

That performance in Barcelona was so destructive in terms of its power. I mean, the way he was going after the ball. But it strikes me that there he was fresh of mind. he hadn't got himself embroiled in these long matches. I mean, he has missed tournaments or had to withdraw from matches recently. And I wonder whether these things have kind of added up to this sort of performance tonight.

I just feel like he's got such a clean ball strike on both sides and he has truly destructive power. He should be going after them a lot more often and just trying to end rallies a lot earlier because he's got the... the ability to do it. He can start to look very frazzled on a tennis court and he gets those bags under his eyes and he starts to think, oh, well, he looks like a teenager. I know he's got that boyish look, but yeah, I'm just such a fan of the way he hits the ball.

I'd love to see some progress from him. But I do think it's good news, isn't it, to see Lorenzo Mazzetti through to the quarterfinals where he will face Francis Tiafoe. 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 for him over... Daniel Altmaier, what a sneaky little run through to the quarterfinals from Francis Tiafoe. No one saw this coming. No, and he's playing really well. He looks confident. As you would expect on a run like that. But watching him play the points.

There's not... Sometimes I watch him and I think he's pulling the trigger too quickly on drop shots or short balls or angles. And he does have a lovely touch game. But I've noticed... A lot of times I've watched him this week, he's been happy to just dig into a rally and kind of win it on merit and earn the win and not just...

I don't want to say bail out of the rally, but sometimes I think he's trying to end it a bit too quickly. And not just with power, but with these touch rallies. And players get used to that a little bit. They're already taking a step forward. I mean, I realise Altmaier is not the sort of level of player he's going to have to beat in order to kind of go all the way here. He's going to have to beat some of the big guys. But it's great to see him look...

pumped and up for it and excited. He looks so excited at the moment to be playing well. And there's a clarity of thought there. Mazzetti Tiafoe, does Tiafoe have a chance, Matt? I think you'd have to say he has a chance, considering he hasn't dropped a set yet, everything David's described there. But I think Mazzetti's class tells in that match on a clay court. I think he'll have...

too much game for him. But, you know, Mazzetti will be trying to reach, well, they'll both be trying to reach first semifinals here, won't they?

It feels a bit like the pressure's on Mazzetti a little bit more in that match. I think he'll be expected to win. Maybe, you know, maybe Tiafoe can take advantage if there's a little bit of tightness there. But I don't know, I'm just such a... such a believer in everything I'm seeing from Mazzetti this clay court season that I think he passes that test even if Tiafoe sort of throws some of his best at him I think on this surface Mazzetti's just a level above. 3-2 head to head in Tiafoe's favour.

Yeah. The one match they've played on clay was won by Mazzetti in 2023 on the clay there. And that was 6-3 in the third. So that was close. I mean, Mazzetti's made major strides, hasn't he, since then? But yeah, I mean, three of their five matches have gone the distance. And he's had a 7-6 in the third, has Mazzetti four years ago. Tiafoe's had a...

two tie breaks and then a 6-2 in a third as well. That was on grass in Stuttgart. So they've played on everything. But I do feel kind of that maybe... Tiafoe's game might play into the hands of Mazzetti on clay. They're running some highlights of the Mazzetti-Runa match on our screen at the moment, I think while they wait for Mazzetti to make his way to the cupboard.

That is definitely about to happen. Maybe that's why they can't have women in the night session because it would be inappropriate to invite them into the cupboard afterwards. There's a thought. No, they're running some... and they just showed the drop shot smash that Mazzetti hit. And I'm just suddenly convinced he's going to win the French Open. How can anybody that can do that ever lose a tennis match?

Oh, it was wonderful. Riddle me that. Yeah, it was great. It was a lovely use generally of disguise from Mazzetti. He can do that sort of thing. A smash drop shot. He can hold the ball until the last minute when then suddenly decide to hit it to where his opponent...

is not standing, you know, something Federer was so good at, just holding the ground stroke and just flicking it the other way right at the last moment. As if the ball isn't moving, as if it's a golf swing. I simply don't understand how they do it. It's incredible. He must adjust the swing in order to just contact it at a different time. Extraordinary. Yeah. So good. So good. OK, well, that will be in two days time, which will be Wednesday. What is today?

Today was Sunday. Today was Sunday. But it's now Monday. So it'll be a Tuesday match. I definitely need help there. Thank you, Matt. So what have we got to look forward to later today? Monday. Nailed it. Chatrier starts again at 11am with Ekaterina Alexandrovic against Coco Goff. Then it is Lois Boisson. taking on Jessica Pagula, the last French player standing.

A third on Cameron Norrie facing Novak Djokovic. And finally, the night session match on Chatrier-Yannick Sinner against Andrei Rublev. Long Lens starts with Andreeva against Kazikina. Then Zverev, Greeks, Paul. Third on is Madison Keyes and Hayley Baptiste. And finally, it's Alexander Bublik and Jack Draper. Would you like to know what our old friend the Infosys excitement rating has to say about these matches? It was back today, wasn't it? It's back.

A mid-tournament random return that nobody asked for. Apart from us when we're looking to fill content at the end of a long day, it is quite a fun thing to... Yes. To make fun of. Okay. So I'm a little bit glad it's back. Right. One of these matches Infosys hasn't bothered with. That's Draper Public. Didn't bother giving that an excitement rating at all. Charming. Two of these matches have a 100% excitement rating. Right. Which two do you think it is?

Baptiste against Keyes. I think they're reserving 100% for men. I'm trying to... Ones are men's, ones are women's. Oh, okay. I'm not calling the tracker a sexist. Sinner Rublev, night session. 100. I mean, okay. And then... Poisson! No, not even the Infosys excitement rating. Is that silly? Goff Alexandrovich. Yeah! God, I feel conflicted. I'm pleased I got it right, but also worried that I have the same opinions as the excitement. Would you like to know what excitement rating...

Infosys is giving Norrie against Djokovic. How excited are you for Norrie against Djokovic, David? 42. Matt? Oh, Mazzetti's in the cupboard. It's a bit distracting. 42 out of 100. Yes. That's how percentages work, Matt. Yeah. It's not usually me who gets this stuff right, is it? Sorry, I'm distracted. 39. 39. Well, you are wrong, folks, because Infosys definitively says this is a 93% rating.

In at 92 is Zverev against Grixpor. 94 is Andreva in Kazakina. We have two matches languishing in the 70s. Do we have any idea what the criteria is going on? You're not going to like this, Matt. Well, look. Pegu Leboisson is a 71. And who am I to argue with that? Unfortunately, Madison Keyes and Hayley Baptiste are on a 75. Yeah, this is where we differ. That's the match I'm most excited for tomorrow. Yeah, I've slagged it off, but I sort of love it.

What a weird, chaotic feature of the role on Geralt's website. Okay. Does he always only come in at the end of the tournament? Who knows? No, I can't remember. What a load of madness. Okay. Maybe they know something we don't. I'm sure it's based on very sophisticated data and algorithms. AI of some sort. Hello to Moses. Oh, my God, Moses.

Moses is our mascot for today. How am I supposed to read this and not be distracted by Moses' face? Moses is owned by Kelly, a 14-year-old standard schnauzer. Kelly says he's the best good boy and my... best buddy. He's loved kayaking. Going to need some photos of that please Kelly. Hiking, jogging and thousands of walks.

Now we are more keen on naps in the sun and watching tennis together. I'm lucky to have such a good friend to share my interest with. Kelly, that could make me cry. You're telling me that that dog's gone in a kayak? Yes, it's quite hard to get scale, isn't it, from the photo, but I can see how a schnauzer would fit in a kayak. They've got such personality schnauzers. It's a real Gandalf vibe.

It looks like it's got a beard. They do. That is the distinctive feature of the Schnauzer, David. Moses is incredible. Kelly, you're welcome to send us pictures of Moses. Kayaking anytime. Mazzetti is signing his poster in the cupboard. There we go. Hello to our mascots, Phoebe, Maisie and Roger.

Hello to our top folks and executive producers, Greg, Chris and Jeff. And Matt, if you're not too distracted, let's have some shout outs. Oh, he's been handed the poster. What he's always wanted. He's doing quite a good job of... Looking quite pleased with that, isn't he? Off he goes with his poster. Matt, shout outs. We have Alec Mills from Bristol. Hello, Alec. Hello, Alec. How are you doing?

We don't have any more info, so you're going to have to fill. Alec. My granddad was an Alex, but lots of people called him Alec. Okay. Yeah, I don't think we can have any Alex tennis players for an Alec, can we? Wouldn't really work. What I don't know is whether all Alex, Alec plurals. are Alex's or Alexander's? Is Alec a name in itself? I believe it is. Is it? What about Alec Baldwin? Yes, he's an Alec. But what was his name by birth? Talk amongst yourselves, I'm Googling it. Doesn't...

Jo Dury support one of the Bristol teams. She does. Is she from Bristol? I can't think of any other reason to support one of the Bristol teams. How is this relevant? Because Alex from Bristol. Alec Baldwin is an Alexander. Thank goodness I get it now. Yeah. Is Joe Durie from Bristol? Yes. Yes. Well, there we go. Is it Rovers or City that she supports? City. Great. It is fabulously mysterious when people don't supply any information, but it also, you know.

When it's half past midnight, it does. But we love you anyway, Alec. Send us up shit creek without a paddle a bit. Thanks for being a friend though, Alec. In a kayak with Moses. Thank you, Alec. You're very mysterious. Next up, we have Peter from Victoria. Peter Carey. All right, Peter. Hello, Peter. Like Peter Sampras.

That Greg, what Greg used to call him. Greg called him Peter to his face. I've never seen anybody scowl quite like Pete Sampras did when that happened. And yeah, he didn't like it. What do we know about Peter? Peter says, since I live in the Pacific Northwest Tennis Wilderness, where the closest ATP WTA tournament is more than 2,000 kilometres away.

I rarely see professional tennis. So I've been relying on your highly entertaining podcast to keep me up to date on all the important news for years. Oh, that's a very nice message. Thank you, Peter. Hanging on news of Mazzetti in the cupboard. How else is he to get those important updates? Peter, thank you very much. Like Peter McNamara. Yeah. The late Peter McNamara. He was a good one. Thank you, Peter. And finally, we have Kevin and Steph who were at Roland Garros today. Kevin is in our...

newsletter predictions competition. And they would like to give a big thank you to Mike and Betty for supporting their tennis adventures. Kevin says we're halfway to a career grand slam with Wimbledon and Paris after this incredible day on Longland. We had an amazing day. A special thanks to those in the Roland Garros Newsletter Predictions Contest for such a lively... chat this week kevin like kevin all yet a tennis player from i think south africa who is a doubles player

Back in my day at the ATP. I remember that name. Wasn't expecting it to come up tonight. Me neither. That is the beauty of shout outs. Kevin and Steph. Did you say, Matt? Yes. I waved at them on Longland today. Oh. So they got the Joong Samsonova match. They did. And then they got into Chattria tonight. Would Steffi Graf or Stefan Edberg be helpful? I was going to go Steph Dubois. That's good. These are all very good. Yeah. And Betty Stover.

If we're going to have a Betty. Yep. And Mike Cole Russell. Brian. Brian. Mike Brian. Very good. Kevin, Steph, Mike and Betty. Thank you all very much. And hello. Who was it that got the wave from? It was Kevin and Steph. Kevin and Steph. Yeah. Lucky you. Kevin and Steph. Kevin's got the Wikipedia of Alec Baldwin up. That's an adventure. I was going to say. Okay. Okay, folks. The tennis podcast is part of the Athletic Podcast Network and that is excellent.

We're available wherever you get your podcasts. That includes YouTube. We will be back tomorrow, of course. Thank you for listening and we'll speak to you then.

This transcript was generated by Metacast using AI and may contain inaccuracies. Learn more about transcripts.
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android
Open in Metacast