Roland Garros Draw - Swiatek’s worst nightmare?

This episode is brought to you by TNT Sports, where you can watch Grand Slam tennis throughout the summer. With Roland Garros just around the corner, we can't wait to see the world's biggest tennis stars. Take to the iconic Orange Clay for a thrilling start to summer as Grand Slam Tennis arrives on TNT Sports for the first time. Matt, who are you looking forward to seeing in Paris?

I'm always excited to see Carlos Alcaraz. And this year, watching him try to defend his title against the likes of Sinner, Djokovic, and even Britain's Jack Draper, is going to... Good stuff. David, what about the women? Well, Irina Sabalenka is the dominant player, but Iga Svantec is the defending champion. So who's the favorite? Probably Sabalenka. Koko Goff will be there challenging. Maybe Emma Raducanu.

watch every match overall on garros from may 25th to june 8th exclusively live on tnt sports stream only on discovery plus or watch on tnt sports channels on ee sky and virgin media subscription required 18 plus t's and c's 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 Shriver. This is Yannick Noah. And you're listening to the Tennis Podcast.

hello and welcome to the tennis podcast the first of 18 daily tennis podcasts from Roland Garros 2025 which is exactly where you find us. Myself, Catherine Bittiger, Matt Roberts, David Law, we are in Paris, we are at Roland Garros, we are in the shadow of court Philippe Chatrier, the hubbub. you can hear around us is parisians enjoying the penultimate day of qualifying it's a beautiful day in paris we are thrilled to be here today is and was draw day for Roland Garros 2025.

I feel like Matt, I should say congratulations as if it's your wedding day or something. Matt Roberts clad here in his very favourite outfit for one of his very favourite days of the year. Truly one of the best days of the year and I think it lived up to expectations. There's a real sense of occasion about the French Open draw at the Orangerie here at Roland Garros. It was packed. The sun came out for us. It's just been a great day. And we've also got some big...

fun headlines from the draw to get into as well. We do. Lots of fun stuff to talk about, David. I generally love the French Open Draw. I had a really good experience, I always do. I love experiencing draws with Matt. Me too. Because the energy rubs off on me. But there is one element to the French Open draw that I don't enjoy at all.

when an automated computer starts filling in the names on the lines and some weird Muzak plays in the background and I started exclaiming and spluttering about this amount. shot me a look as if to say don't you don't you get down on this draw My vicinity. Don't kill my buzz. And then afterwards he walked out and he said, I didn't have a problem with the music. No, I did have a problem with the interview with Dembele.

French and PSG footballer during the middle of the women's draw after they'd done the electronic naming of the non-seeds, they then just had an interview in the middle of the draw. That was a blow. Otherwise, really good draw. I was just relieved that Ousmane Dembele wasn't being asked to do the...

Analysis. The analysis of the women's draw. There was one moment where I thought that was what was going to be happening. The women's draw I feel like is where we should start here and more specifically with the defending champion, the full-time champion Igor Sviontek's draw because This is where my gasps came from, my personal oohs and ahs. Matt was diligently note-taking throughout this drawer and I saw you write the words, Matt, MURDER RO.

next to Igor Sviontek's name and I don't think that is hyperbola so I think this is a nightmarish draw for Sviontek at a time when that is not what she needs. Yeah, it's very very hard to disagree with that. I think the main reason it's a nightmare is that the one name she didn't want to see come out in her section and to be honest I'm not sure she has seen it yet. You know, we know that she doesn't look at drawers. She was at the drawer, but...

She was not there while the draw was being made. She came after, it had gone from the screens. I don't think she knows yet. But the news is that Ostapenko, who has beaten her every single time they've played, is in her section a potential fourth-round opponent. So that in itself... is a bit of a nightmare. But when you add in the other names that have come out in her drawer... Collectively it looks really really hard.

well I mean I've always I've had a bit of a theory going that Svantec gets the same draw very often you know we do talk about Ostapenko we talk about Noskova and Collins and actually looking at rounds one and two she's got Sramkova in round one, probably to face Emma Raducanu in round two. And look, that sounds pretty tough as well. She did play both of them at Australian Open and beat them both very, very straightforwardly.

but obviously we know she's in a she's in a worse place now in terms of her form and then Marta Kostyuk is a potential third-round opponent and she's been showing great form on the Kai as well so those first three rounds are not sort of traditional game styles that would really trouble Svantec and any other year at Roland Garros I would be looking at those first three rounds Not at all worried on Egos Film Tech's behalf, but this is a different year and those names...

do pop out a little bit as all being a bit tricky and of course the big headline is round four Osterpenker yeah I mean I've spent a lot of time with Matt over the last 24 hours lucky me and you know Matt wants to talk about the draw a lot, which is great. What are you hoping to see in the draw? What are your ideal scenarios? Occasionally he brings up Fulham beating Brentford away on Saturday. but mostly it's draw anticipation chat and look I'm here for it but really

I've only been able to give one answer and that's I just want to see Ostapenko in Shontek's section. I just want to test this theory, to test the robustness of... the most fascinating head-to-head in the sport right now. I know it's pointless to throw ahead to a fourth round match that might not happen, especially when one of the players required to win through three rounds is Yelena Ostapenko, but we got our wish.

didn't we i think every neutral wanted to see those two names come out in the same section and look just to elaborate a bit on what matt was saying they're projected you know best guess at uh at matches for your shantek at this tournament shramkova round one emiradi khani round two marta kosti at round three okay

Shiontek always beats Kostiuk but I feel like this is the best version of Kostiuk we've ever seen and one of the worst or shakiest versions of Shiontek in recent years round four would be Ostapenko or Elena Rabakina who's out of form but has caused Shontek problems in the past quarterfinal would be

Paolini, and I'm not listing these other names because I don't think Paolini's going to get there. I'm not underestimating her. You underestimated her in the agenda by putting slashes. You've got to put Svitolina in a slash.

in a bracket. But no, scheduled quarterfinal opponent, according to Seeds and the tennis podcast, is Jasmine Paolini. But Nozgavis, Vitalina, Vekic are all in that section as well. And then the semifinal... opponent would be Irina Sabalenka it's hellish David I don't really think

you could have written a worse draw on paper for her. Maybe if you put Bencic in the first round rather than Shremkova, who I think Shremkova in herself is a very... dangerous player a very good player there are a heck of a lot of better first round draws you could have had than that but at the same time You know, you would still think Sfjantac would win that, but...

I mean, I'm with you. I want to see her eventually play Ostopenko because of the sheer fascination about which wins out. Is it the incredible record of Schwanczak here at the French Open at Ronin Garros or is it... the head-to-head between the two of them but there's such a long way for them to go to get there because you mentioned Shrantex route I mean Ostapenko finding a way past most likely either Rybakina or Bencic that is not straightforward.

And, frankly, she hasn't been in very good form since she beat Shvantec a few weeks ago and won that title.

It may not happen, our fun may be ruined, but here's hoping. I won't ask for a prediction for a match that might not happen, but I will ask you both whether that match will happen. I'm feeling optimistic. I'm gonna say yes. David? I think it's gonna happen too. I was also really entertained by the way. that Svantec walked into that room looking really fresh and positive. You would not know from her body language that she's had a terrible run.

Of four? I thought you meant in the draw. It's interesting, on the draw, we'll come on to talk about the men's and Carlos Alcaraz. in part two but there was an incredible moment at the draw Alcaraz came for the men's section and he hung around afterwards and he was stood at the front for a long time still there when we left the room gazing

up at the big screen that had the drawer on, analysing it. And his agent came and joined him and he was pointing up at it, you know, really taking it in, looking for Bertic van der Zanschalk's name.

He's okay. I've never seen anything like that before. It's just so public as well. Hundreds of people standing around. He doesn't mind being seen doing this. Whereas Igor Shontek, I'm fairly sure she or her people would have briefed that the draw needs to be not on the screen when I come into the room because it was looming behind Carlos Alcaraz the whole time that he was on the stage and it was it had gone.

when niga sviontek was in there and look with that's not news we know that she doesn't like to know the draw David found out the hard way last year. No, that was a saga. Oh, was it? Yes. But I think that applies to many players. You've got to really tread carefully when you... suggest to a player that oh have you seen what about your third round draw potentially and they're like oh my god bless me shut that down um but no

Look, I suppose pre-tournament, you're full of hope anyway, aren't you? And I do wonder whether Sviantec has come back here. and felt different because she's walked through the gates here as opposed to Rome or Madrid or wherever else it is. This is Roland Garros. This is where she's had her very best moments. She looked happy to be here. If she does, I wonder whether she looks at this drawer at all.

You know, because I think probably the best thing for her too is not, is to just literally do the old cliche of one at a time. But yeah, it's a rough one. That was the question that Matt Futterman put to her after her defeat in Rome, wasn't it? Okay, you're in a bit of a trough right now, but do you think there's a chance you just get to Roland Garros and the vibes and the muscle memory of being there?

spark something in you and she she didn't take kindly for that to that question okay she was in a

tough headspace at the moment but she didn't say yeah that's exactly what i'm hoping hoping for and expecting um so sabalenka obviously this is this is the top half of the draw we're talking about sabalenka is the top seed she's at the top of the top half The draw is fine for her early on. She's got Rakimova round one, round two looks fine, round three most likely fine. But there's a potential Clara Towson or Amanda Anisimova.

in round four, which I'm sure is something very much on your mind, Matt. Absolutely. Amanda Nissimova, of course, who's... generally had a good record against Sabalenka, you know. has beaten her here in fact i know that was a long time ago but there's something about the way that anisimova can turn sabalenka's power back on her which is really really compelling in that rivalry.

Obviously, Sabalenka would be the favorite, you know, for sure. But I'm just thinking of Samova as a name that Sabalenka would be a little bit wary of. And Towson as well, you know, has... has had tough matches against Sabalenka too so yeah maybe circle Daniel Collins in round three as well like I would backs up I would be backing Sabalenka in in that matchup if they met but it's it's a name So yes, easy start for Sabalenka, I think.

but then could get complicated and then the quarterfinal opponent I was really pleased to see this come out in the draw as well because it tests another theory and it in particular tests David The theory that Zheng's win over Samalenka the other week doesn't mean anything. Because Zheng is the possible quarterfinal opponent by seeding for...

Sabalenka and look it's so fascinating how how things can change in your mind because if I had seen that draw without them the other week and I know what happens in that. in that rivalry. That's the one sort of top seed I didn't really want Sabalenka to play, but because Xiong has got that win, it instantly makes it so much more fascinating as a prospect, so I'm really, really...

Excited about that too like this draw is so top-heavy you know, Sabalenco and Sviantec coming out in the same half, but then on top of that having Xiong who won the Olympics here last year, Paolini who's coming in in the best form in terms of having just one Rome, like all of those names are in this.

Top half. Yeah, looking at the bottom half, I've basically in the notes here written, good draw for every major name and seed pretty much. Andrava's at the top of the bottom half. It's a great draw for her, I think. Sorry, Reggie, Christina Bookshire in round one. Jessica Pergula, her scheduled quarterfinal opponent, which... with due respect to her she was kind of of the well not kind of of the top four seed she was she was the one you would have

Wanted is your quarterfinal opponent. Koko Goff is the second seed at the bottom. Great draw for her. I mean the big seed in her section is Barbora Krejcikova. Yeah, such an unknown. I mean, we haven't seen her play hardly, have we? No, I mean, there's a Katarina Alexandrovich who is in Coco Golf's section, who is having a great year. She's currently... top 10 in the race isn't she but she tends to underperform at slams alexandra so hard to see that as a really significant threat to Coco Golf.

Madison Keyes, the scheduled quarter-final opponent for Coco Goff, fantastic draw for her too. I think, I mean, Svea Kenin, Emma Navarro, Hadadj Maia, the seeds in... seeds in her section i mean if keys hits any kind of form it's hard to see her not progressing really I mean yeah it is I didn't quite realize it as the names were were coming out in the draw live in the room but sitting down as I have done over the last hour and really digesting it

I've realized exactly how top-heavy this drawer is. It really is. Do you think that Putin's saver could cause Andreva issues in the third round? I just sort of think, I haven't really thought about what sort of form Putin's saver is in. But I do think it's exactly the sort of match she'd kind of relish. Seeing if she can make the young, exciting star of the sport throw her toys at the bram a bit. It would be quite stompy that match, wouldn't it? Yes. I'm really hoping it happens.

You're right, I think Putin Saver would rise to that kind of occasion. She's not in anything like the form she was in 12 months ago. Putin Saver is the only thing.

Some interesting round ones, Paolo Bedossa and Naomi Osaka, Ava Leeson, Peyton Stearns. Matt found that exciting. I'm not sure many people found that hugely thrilling, but Matt's mentioned it several times. They were both members of my fantasy team, but I did actually swap. lease out for Collins during our recent trade and transfer window but

But as we know, Stearns is winning the French Open, so that's why I've highlighted that one. She's in the Jung Chin Wen section, incidentally, Peyton Stearns, as is Diana Schneider. Do we think we'll get Jung Sabalenka? I'm not convinced, actually. I do hope so, for the reasons I've said, but the two names you've just picked out, Stearns and Schneider, I think would be real tests for Jean. I'm going to say yes. I think she...

is so well set up here at Roland Garros. This is a player who's won Olympic gold here. I feel like the clay and the air and the way the ball flies through the air, I think...

This might be her best chance to have a really big run at a Grand Slam. I think we should highlight her around what former, former finalist Pavlik Enkova. I know she's not in the form that... she used to be in but you know another someone who loves the conditions here and if Pavlikschenkova just has a day where the ball striking is just there That would be tricky, I think. But, yeah, I'd do back jump. Anything else of interest in this women's draw? I feel like...

It's incredibly well set up for great sort of third, fourth round onwards matches. There weren't many fascinating first rounds that jumped out. Obviously that Bedosa-Osaka, Bencic-Robakina is...

Is the other one too? Yeah, I sort of just hope everybody's fit in those matches Because obviously the dust has had so many issues bench itch. I think pulled out of a tournament recently I just want to see these matches happen and be good you know because these are these are players that have had major moments in their careers and I want to see them

It's the benefit of them having had difficulties recently is suddenly they meet in a first round and I think that that is that can be something that lights up the first couple of days of Grand Slam. Speaking of toys out the pram folks... If Shontay Kostopenko doesn't happen... Just going to mark your card now. It's going to be a tough pod day. Yeah, that is the risk of the draw, isn't it? The carrot has been dangled there in front of you. There's no excuse. Yeah, and Ostopenko.

I don't want my happiness resting on Yelena Ostapenko. I just, come on. What do you think? Do you think it's happening? I mean, based on, you know, those three players that Chiantic might end up having to play as well. I feel the same as Matt. I'm in optimistic mood, so I'm going to say yes. And I also think for Ostapenko, that carrot is huge. you know she's i think since since winning stuttgart she's she's been sans carrot hasn't she

Now, Ostomenko is 100% looking at the draw. She knows. She exists to play Iga Svantec and it totally embraces. narrative and I think that's the boost that she needs it's a carrot for us it's a carrot for her It's a big carrot, like Yannick Sinner. Segway to the men's draw. Yes, that's it for part one. Join us in part two for the men's draw.

Well earlier we were talking about Roland Garros and you can watch every match of this incredible Grand Slam live on TNT Sports for the first time. Roland Garros is one of the most iconic sporting events so you don't want to miss a single match.

Who do you think is favourite for the women's title this year? Well, normally the answer to that is Igor Sviantek, but I think it's Irina Sabalenka's title. fun. David, what about the men? I find it very hard to go against Carlos Alcraz coming in as the defending champion. Whenever he's playing his best, he feels like the favourite to me. I think he's coming into form at just... Watch every match of Roland Garros from May 25th to June 8th exclusively live on TNT Sports stream only on Discovery+.

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welcome back to the tennis podcast where we are full of the joys of parisian spring we've chatted about the women's draw time now to look at the men's i feel like we should start with carlos alcaraz even though he's not the top seed just because He was there, he's the defending champion that was that.

incredible moment of him gazing up at the screen just looking disgustingly relaxed wearing a an all-black tracksuit maybe inspired by Yannick Sinners, Johnny Cash vibes in Rome, some very colourful slide. or shoes of some jazzy's description what do we think he was making of his draw as he was gazing up at it? Do you know, I think there's a world where his draw is difficult. I just don't know if we're in that world. because he's got Kane Ishikori.

in the first round. Obviously an incredibly talented player with pedigree. But, you know, he's, what is he now, down in the 60s in the world, Nishikori. He's way past his prime. He did just retire in a match against Hachinov. So, is it that tricky? I don't think so.

There's then a potential Fabian Marijan in the second round who has beaten Carlos Alcaraz before. And, you know, we know that he's great with drop shots and he likes an upset marriage hand. He was a handful for Fonseca the other day, wasn't he? Right. There's no need to bring that up. He's a dangerous name.

Is he dangerous, though, over five sets against Carlos Alcaraz at a slam? I'm less convinced by that. There's then potential third round Mpeshi Paricar, who, look, is not in good form at all, but... It's just a nightmare if he's having a really good day on serve. And then a potential fourth round opponent for him is, well, either...

Ben Shelton or Stephanos Tsitsipas who again are names where In a previous version of this tournament we might well have talked about them as being tricky we know our quest likes to match up with sit surpass sit surpass isn't in great form so that's kind of what I'm saying like there's names here who potentially spell Danger. I just don't know if they spell Danger for Alcaraz now at this tournament.

what we say about our cars all the time is you've always got to be a little bit wary of an Alcaraz poor performance and if one of those comes these are the sorts of players who might be able to take advantage but i don't look at this draw and think i'm really worried for carlos alcaraz david apparently is worried about him against kaina shikori in round one he was do you know what you're talking about testing

theories and records. Wouldn't it be great to see both of them in a fifth set? Because they've both got these incredible fifth set records. They've achieved them in very different ways. It would be fascinating. I do think if they ended up in that situation, the smart money is that then Alcraz's physicality just takes over. Why would he be in a fifth set against Nishikori unless he's not playing as well as he should be? And Nishikori does get better in a fifth set. He's just simple as. I mean...

You ask him about it and he doesn't seem able to explain it. You know, I specifically did in Australia and he couldn't give me a reason that I could understand as to why he's got this incredible fifth set record. So I suspect, though, that our crowds will actually just come out and that the surface suits him so much better than it does Nishikuri. He's so much younger and, frankly, better. He should be fine.

Second round, I think Marjan is a problem because that guy can play. I've watched a lot of him this last couple of months.

His game is more than drop shots. That was the headline when he beat Alcraz in Rome. That was the thing that made you... sort of double take because hold on which one's which here they are they all from afar they look quite similar they've got the same haircut they're they're both hitting an absurd amount of drop shots and actually Marijan is hitting them better but watching Marijan the last couple of months

Here's the carrot stick snap sound that you often refer to, Catherine, about a clean tennis ball hit. Marajan has got. The ball comes out of the center of his racket on both sides. I think the forehand can break down. It's quite unwieldy in the take back. But when he gets it right, it explodes off the strings like an arrow being shot. The backhand is super reliable looking. I think he is a dangerous customer. I suspect over five.

can work that out even if Marisham has a good day but I don't suspect that that's an automatic straight sets win and just on potential fourth fourth-round opponents for Carlos Angras sits a pass of Shelton sits a pass as Echeverry round one and Shelton has Sonigo yeah they could both lose those yeah that's your various I think of him as a really good clay corner, but actually looking at his record the last couple of months, he really hasn't won many matches this year at Chiberi. But,

You know, of all the first round draws you could have, he'd probably not be one you'd choose. And he is going strong in Hamburg, Etcheverry. You know, he's beaten Komasanya, who's had a pretty good clay court season. He just beat Lehekshka today. He's into the semis.

in Hamburg which again you can take two ways can't you like he is coming into form But you know for extra very pretty really desperate to win Hamburg you know like that that might be his priority in a way at this stage now he's got himself to the semis like it might it might actually

be a benefit for Tsitsipas that he's he's playing all these matches and you know may be a little bit distracted by that i want to go and see shelton sonigo wherever that is by the way i think that's a problem for shelton That's going to be a show. They're going to be one-upping each other. Sonneke was involved in a show on Longland last year, wasn't he, against Umber and won it. That's right. Crazy Australian Open qualifying. Shelton Sonecker at the very next slam it comes out in round one

That's why you love draws, isn't it? Yeah, that's the best. Staying with the bottom half, Fritz Mazzetti is the projected... quarter-final from this quarter and a possible Musetti rune around four which is on my wish list of projected things that I'd like to become real things. What a fun list. It was a list of one for now. And I think that's got his Thomas Mahatch face on about the Runa line. Well, I think my take for this... Thomas Mahatch. Con.

finish a tennis match David we're not Thomas Mahatch is not entering the conversation how many retirements in the last year Matt I think it's something like eight since the US Open. I can't remember whether that includes withdrawals as well or just mid-match retirements, but in short, a lot. yeah I think my take from from this quarter is that obviously Fritz is the highest seed in it but it feels like the Mazzetti quarter you know this I said I said the other day Mazzetti has reached the semis

of all of the big play court events this season, and I think he's got the draw to do it again here. You know, I think if he'd drawn Sinner or Alcaraz as his quarterfinal opponent, it's hard to... really make a strong case that he could reach the semis because of them but with this draw I really do think the semis are on for Mazzetti here partly partly because I know there's Holgerunna lurking but a lot of the other big

seeds in this section are the Americans, who don't like the clay so much. Fritz, Mickelson, Corder, Tiafoe, Nakashima. It's a nightmare draw at the US Open, but it's kind of a dream draw at Roland Garros.

I really do think that Mazzetti's coming through this. Yeah, add in Fritz's physical state. I mean, he's sort of technically fit, but just not quite right. He's got an ab issue, hasn't he? And it's affecting his serve and just... he's just sort of a few percent off and you know Game of fine margins and all that, it's enough to be significant. He lost a tie-break recently, a tie-break and a match against Marcus Garan. And I'm thinking, you know... Tyler Fritz, I feel like he's got

levels that are limitations for him. When he faces Senna, when he faces Alcaraz, I think, you know, he usually then comes unstuck. But I never think of him as the guy who's gonna... lose a tie break to a guy like Garone quite honestly as well as he's playing this spring so something definitely not right. he's got daniel altmire round one you know that's not a beaten center here a couple of years ago not you know recent recent past i think that's potentially tricky

And Bertic van der Zanschulp incidentally is in this section and he's got a wild card in round one. So absolute nightmare for him. He wanted Alcaraz. He was hoping for Alcaraz. 127. Yeah, he got Emilio Navas at Navas. Nightmare. Heading to the top half then. You've skipped over Casper Road! Not even mention them. That was... A genuine accident.

What were you going to say? I've got, look, there's his name. I wrote it in. Can you verify, David? I can see it, yeah. But you missed it. It actually says rude slap. ball quarterfinal yeah and that's for our press yes i just think we should mention because you're absolutely that's that's one have you been sitting there for the past 10 minutes thinking is she is she gonna mention that's rude that on most podcasts we do no but that's the you know that's the two winners of the big

Clay Court events in the same quarter of the draw there. You know, Rude and Alcratz have been the dominant forces in terms of winning the big titles on clay this swing and they've both landed in the same... I think we probably get that match in the quarterfinals. Tommy Paul? Possibly. But I think I'm backing Rude over Paul. I think I'm backing Rude as well. I've got making up to do. I think we'll get Rude Alcoraz and I actually don't think that'll be that straightforward for Alcoraz.

No, I think our guys would win, but not straightforward. Have they played since their US Open final? If they had, I don't remember it. Am I allowed to move on past Kasparud now? Absolutely. David, anything to say about Kasparud? Only that I kind of want to speak to him when I'm loitering. Well, the request is in. Yeah, I know. I hope I get to. the loitering is tomorrow by the way folks and i think we're we should find out any minute which loitering requests have been accepted

so we'll let you know watch this space um heading to the top half of the draw which of course is where we find the top seed yannick sinner um bumped into him earlier almost walked dead into him as he was making his way to the levator stand for some sort of sponsor appearance. There was an ooh-la-la when he drew a Frenchman in round one. Bicycle kick retirement fame. And he'll have a Frenchman in round two as well, Richard Gasquet or Terence Atman.

I don't think any of those Frenchmen are going to be a problem, but I do expect the tournament will get very excited about those matches. I was trying to work out whether the bigger ooh-la-la was the fact that Gasquet had drawn Atman. or whether it was the fact that Rinder Kinesh was against Senna. I think it was the cluster of Frenchmen, right? The first three names out of the men's draw were all Frenchmen.

They just couldn't contain themselves. And it deserved, you know, Jaws music, but in fact it was weird lift music. Terence Atman is such a troll. Yes, he is. That's a very funny first round draw against him. Why is he funny? He just is such a... such a disruptor on court. You would like him I think. I can't picture him. I need to go and watch him. Incidentally Gasquet is a big story here, isn't he? Kind of bigger than I anticipated Gasquet retiring. Yeah, Gasquet and Nicolas Mahou.

It wouldn't have been my editorial choices, but there we go. I did see some slightly concerning footage of Gasquet practicing the other week with an injury. Is it all a bit Nadal at the Davis Cup? Yeah. Okay. Just in terms of Sinner, Yurila Hetschka is a possible round three opponent, as is Alejandro Davidovich. for kina possible rublev or art of face in round four and and then jack draper would be his quarter final opponent

I think there's a few names in there which could be bothersome for Yannick Sinner. It's a bit like the Sabalenka draw, isn't it? I think a kind start, albeit with the caveat of French players, but I'm not sure that's a problem for Sinner. but then as you said I think I think it's tricky from from the third round onwards if if he has to play Davidovic Fakina, Feast, Draper

I think that's tricky. Lehechka's a bit of a dormant volcano, I feel, just to borrow a Matt-ism. I know he's done stuff, but his level of talent... I feel like there's stuff coming from him at some point it has to. He just hasn't quite done it yet. But I think he's got potential to be a problem. Davidit Shakina. I could see him playing a heroic four or five setter against Sinner, but just inevitably losing it.

A match that's tight on paper but actually has no feeling of jeopardy whatsoever. And I also think that there is the potential of him just really not showing up and getting totally blown out because I mean the last couple of weeks he's suddenly seems to have lost his form having been so good in Monte Carlo etc but when you look at Senna's draw and generally when I look at him

It's not about rankings, is it? It's about who he's actually playing against. Because there's certain players that, if he ended up playing Dimonor, as good a player as Dimonor is, I don't give Dimonor a chance. But...

If he plays against Davidovich, Fikina, Lehechka in the third round, if he played against Artafis in the fourth round, these are players that I think could discomfort him. Is Artafis getting to the fourth round, David? I think he is. I think he is. He's got... Never want to match here before. I think he is. He's got Nicholas Jarry in the first round and it's the right year to face Jarry. It is.

If it was a year ago... I mean, a year ago, Jarry's a heavy favourite in that match. And now Feast is a heavy favourite in that match. So I think he wins. Just staying on Feast for a moment. Just picking up on a talking point that I raised to try and pass some time in an incredibly long taxi journey from Charles de Gaulle to our apartment yesterday through heavy traffic while the three of us but crammed into an incredibly tight space. And I don't do tight spaces very well.

Artifice on the men's side and kind of, you know, they don't really have any female contenders for the title here. Artifice is the man for France you know Mahou and Gasquet aside Artifice is kind of the man and yet there's this weird situation where he's never won actually never won a match here but he is in a different bracket to any time previously coming into Roland Garros do you think he can a kind of carry all of that and B is he the man enough that will he carry a night session on his own

Will Feast Jarry be scheduled at night? I think not. I think he would need to... They are men, so that's obviously a help. If he played Rublev in the third round, I think that could end up being... But you think he still needs to play another significant player to carry a session on his own? I think if there are very few alternatives...

on the given night he might, but the fact that you've got Sinner, the fact that you've got Djokovic, and even Zverev. Zverev has played numerous night sessions here. I think that they go for the big name. First of all, I mean frankly I think even if you played Rublev that would end up somewhere else in the even maybe not even on the court might be a long lane match which would be absolutely fine by me. It'd be great if they scheduled Gasgate at Man at night wouldn't it because we could

totally ignore it and record early and go out for dinner. Now I'm interested in that man. No David will record without you. I think Jaume Munar is just worth highlighting and faces draw he's had a weird season hasn't he because he was awesome on hard courts and you thought wow imagine him taking this form onto clay and sort of hasn't been as good on clay but

There's no doubt he's been on the scene this year in a way he never has previously. Yeah. I mean, he absolutely took Shelton apart in Rome, didn't he? I think that was

perhaps a bit more on Shelton. He's had a really tough time against Kasparu this year, Xiaomi Mouna, but actually he's been good against a lot of other top players. I would back face, I just think it's... A little bit tricky when you're looking at a guy who's never won a match here I think the other thing is we don't yet know how face Manages the energy levels of Plain here and the and the five set format. I still think that to our chat with Ivan Lubacic in Australia where he where Lubacic

pointed out to us that he is yet to win a straight sets best of five set match and I think that remains the case. He needs to be doing that. He needs to handle in the first round Nicholas Jarry. relatively comfortably and not expend it's not it's not that he's not fitted he's got he's one of the fittest looking guys around but the emotional energy of playing in front of this crowd who are going to be so into here

And it gives him the potential to have that turbo boost when he really needs it. But that's what he's got to save it for. The big commands, the noise. everything else he needs that when he's playing against Rublev and it 5-0, you know, or when he's playing against Sinner and he's keeping it close on his serve, et cetera, et cetera, and then in the tie break. But he's only going to do that by learning and experiencing it, I suspect.

Just staying with this top quarter for another moment. Jack Draper, the schedule. quarter-final opponent for sinner do we think we'll see that i mean in this section we've got jacob mensik and we've got joel fonseca who has drawn hubert hooker

in round one. David, how do we feel about that? I don't feel great on a Fonseca perspective about that. And I can't believe it's me that's doing this and not you. But can I pitch to you that that's potentially quite a good draw it just feels a bit like Rublev round one in Australia you know it'll get a big call it's a big enough scene that it It's a big enough seed and name that it'll... I mean, I don't think Fonseca needs any firing up, but that'll be a big win next to his name, but...

is still winnable like Fonseca I don't know her catcher was a quarter-finalist in Rome wasn't he but he looked physically pretty frail to me at the moment and I don't know I'm not sure that's the worst draw like he's been losing I'm not as convinced as you know on outside courts to Fabien Marjan Fonseca Yeah. The manner of his losses, Fonseca, in the last couple of weeks, his game has looked...

It's looked as though he doesn't really know where the shots are going with any regularity, and so he needs to get that under control. The last time I saw Hubert Hur catch at Roland Garros, he was asking to change the lady. Yeah, what a tournament Hercatch had last year. Permanent state of suspendu. Bye bye, change the lady. And that was the pigeon match, wasn't it? Where a pigeon was rescued mid-match, wasn't it?

wasn't medford involved oh he was yeah it was the same court yeah maybe the same day a lot happened and then her catch retired match point down in wimbledon what summer yeah um Draper, by the way, playing Baluchi in round one. Remember Rotterdam? He was fun. When you got Berrien to Baluchi. Yes. Yes. I forgot about him thereafter. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, and there's a lot of matches there in that little section that I would like to see. Like, I'd like to see Domino Men's...

And I'd like to see the winner of that play either a Draper or a Fonseca. You know, there's some fun names in that little section, I think. I would really like to see Draper Sinner. because even with the friendship thing well that's why I want to see it you know because draper is I mean I've always believed in his fangs but he is sharpened them this year. There's such a steel and a drive and a ruthlessness.

I know he's got a lot of friends on tour. He's a popular guy, but he does seem to have this particular bond with Yannick Sinner, he went for this training block with him right before Sinner's comeback in Rome didn't he and I do just I did just raise a bit of an eyebrow at that you know like that's the sort of thing that Federer Nadal used to do with young

With youngsters, isn't it? I don't know. It felt like Draper was... I know he benefited from it as well. But it felt like Draper was playing the role there of helping Sinner fine-tune himself for his comeback. And Draper's not that guy.

anymore I'm and yet I can imagine that the dynamics in that relationship, and I'm totally guessing it, but I can imagine they're such that if Yannick Sinner calls him and says, do you want to come and train with me for a week, he feels like... can't say no to that it's too good an offer to refuse so i just want to see what that Match up looks like vibe vibe wise now that Draper is ascended to a different plane. Yeah Because I mean Artiface had lost so yes

And title winner, Fonseca. Yeah, that is where I thought you were going with that sentence, David. Well, that's the thing. You say it's going to be a Fonseca against Feast.

Matt, she's Matt. Maybe. Turning our attention to the... second quarter of the men's draw so the bottom of the top half if you will this is where we find Alexander Zverev last year's beaten finalist and it's where we find Novak Djokovic They would be projected quarter-final opponents for one another. Novak Djokovic has Mackenzie McDonald round one and David.

Karantan and Moutet in round two. This has to happen. I had not realized that was a potential until about four seconds ago. Moutet against Djokovic here in Paris. Oh my word. Cancel everything else. Do you remember when Musée was five love up on Yannick Sinem? Distinctly. Here. And that was the worst part of his week because that was on court Philippe Chatrier. I want to see him elsewhere. Well, the problem is Moutet Djokovic would be on Chatrier. That's true. Yeah.

But, you know, I'll take it. It's a shame that that can't be scheduled. Imagine if they just slotted that onto Longwell. The fun, the fun. Apart from that though, I feel like it's not a bad draw for Djokovic through to the quarters. Mackenzie McDonald, Shakavalo for round three, Medvedev's the big-ish seed in there. Yeah, agreed. I think this is a good draw for Djokovic.

I don't really have more analysis to do on that. I just think up until the quarters there and if he does make it to the quarters you'd have thought that he would have found something resembling form.

Yeah, I think this is a good draw for him. And in terms of who he might play in that quarter, I mean, obviously it's seeded to be Alexander Zverev, but he's... having a torrid time form wise we'll talk a little bit about what's been going on in in Hamburg and other events this week in part three but Lerna Tia in round one for Zverev, Felix Orgelia seeing round three and The biggest deal of all, the biggest problem of all here, Francisco Sorundolo, potentially round four, David.

Well, absolutely. I mean, if he does end up playing against Sarundalo, that is pretty much as bad as it can get in the fourth round, I think, for Alexander Zverev, because he has a 0-3 record against the guy, and he doesn't show any real signs of having got to grip. with his game and even in the first round Lerner Tien

is the opponent of Zverev, a guy who beat Zverev as part of this terrible run he's been on just a few weeks ago in Acapulco. I do think it's a different match on clay at Roland Garros. I don't think Lernotien's game necessarily works as well as it does on a hard court. He's such a clever player. He's the sort of guy who could find this very...

Forehand and make life difficult if if there was not like bang on it from from ball one But even even when you look through that little section, yes, but Geong has has got a game that has disrupted players in the past and Oji Ali Asim is the potential third round opponent for Zverev. Or it could be Matteo Arnaldi. And I'd also give a little nod to Flavio Caballi, who's got a good clay court game.

Not an easy draw anyway for Zverev but given his form at the moment I really think he He's gonna have to go some to come through and end up playing against Djokovic And we will talk more about that form as I say in in part three Just just to wrap up the draws Has anything we've seen today in these draws changed how you feel about who's winning these titles and reaching the final?

That's a really good question. I think before the draw I would have said Alcraz and Sabalenka as my winners and I don't think I've seen anything that changes that. Maybe I'm pausing a little bit on Sabalenka just because she's in that tough half. I think it's a great draw for Goff. Like, it's probably my... biggest takeaway there, away from Sabalenka, away from Paulini, away from Svantec, just in a section to do her thing.

you know she's she's reached two finals this year on the clay lost them both I think my takeaway from the draw is that I'm going to be thinking that Coco Goff reaches the final. I'm not sure I would have been... That felt a bit draw-dependent to me, whereas the winners maybe less so. So I think Goff reaching the final is... It's kind of what I've concluded from this draw. And the men's?

The men's, I'm still, yeah, I'm still taking, look, it's hard to, it's hard to look at anything other than Alcraz Sinner still for me. But I'm pausing a little bit more on Sinner than I thought I might. I thought I might just be going Sinner. He's so reliable. Book him into the semi-final and final. There are some dangerous names there and he hasn't got that much tennis in his legs. There could be a pack hunter thing with Sinner.

Someone takes his legs a bit in round three. Does that have a knock-on effect? You know, a physical match is still worrying me a little bit for Sinner. There's that whole thing about him not winning matches over four hours and there are potential tests here. Look, his level might be so good. We called a podcast the other day, Calendar Slam for post-Pope Sinner. I'm trying not to be too reactive in the moment.

The draw has made me give me a little bit of doubt over Sinner that I didn't really have before, but I would still predict him. David No, I mean look, I've slightly had to climb down from that one, but you know, the tournament hasn't started yet, so he's still got just as much chance as all the other 127 players in the draw.

including Carlos Alcaraz. But no, look, I'd be very surprised if Alcaraz doesn't reach the final. Most of my views tally with Matt's. I think Shantek... against Sabalenka as a semi-final is now one I really don't expect to see given the draw Svantec has got and I share the view about Yannick Senna I think that top half think really could be any one of four or five different names that could reach the final because I'm not convinced Senna's coming through all those players.

I think Drape has got a real shot here. Of? Of getting through to player Djokovic, for instance, in that bottom section. I just feel like the way... worked out, Sinner has got the worst to this. Yeah, don't disagree with any of that apart from the Vonseca stuff. That's it for part two. We'll be back with some other bits and bobs, including that shot gloss for Zverev in Hamburg in part three. to do it. Because when you're not worried the right way. You're free to discover your way.

Welcome back to part three of the tennis podcast. Things are winding down here on the penultimate day of qualifying at Roland Garros. The sun is just starting to dip. It's a gorgeous Parisian evening. Just to bring you up to date with a few happenings from events taking place this week. Well, in fact, one big event really, Alexander Zavara, if you took that.

kind of emergency wild card into hamburg lost 7-6 in the third yesterday to alexandra muller um it was a match that we watched the latter stages of in the aforementioned very cozy taxi journey from Rochelle de Gaulle to Boulogne-Billancourt and it was it was more of the same from Alexander Zverev David. Yeah. He was in charge of the match. having turned it around in the tie break to lead at 5-3. There was an extraordinary passing shot cross-court at the forehand from...

Muller that I wasn't entirely sure he knew that much about but it landed on the line so good for him he played some excellent serve and volley stuff did Muller but I mean the headline is that it's very kind of blew it again and his form goes on but

I think the quotes that we read afterwards were more alarming to my mind than the actual performance. Now look, he may have been very unwell. and he may have been heroic to have taken to the court at all. That's certainly the sort of... the impression that Zverev gives with his quotes that He said there are only two players on the tour and he didn't name the other one.

pretty sure given their relationship it was probably Novak Djokovic he said there are only two players in the world on the ATP tour who would have taken to the court today and I'm one of them given how unwell I was and so he's sort of writing the narrative there about being incredibly courageous and not being at fault at all for having lost the match. And look, that may actually be true, for all I know. He may have had a horrible night, you know. It doesn't sound great.

And it's the latest in a long line of excuses and refusal really to take ownership of the fact that he's playing terribly. And he's done nothing since he got to world number two. And he's blown his chance of overhauling Yannick Senna and frankly he doesn't look... in the mixed, in my view, for this tournament. So I guess we'll see. We'll see how he goes in the next few days. 37 times he threw up in the night, apparently.

I mean, that does sound horrible. But, like, why are you trying to call if you're thrown up 37 times? Like, what? Hannah's reaction to those quotes was, incredible she said she's she said you know that says maybe that you're ill but shouldn't you be alarmed about the fact that nobody could tell you're ill because That performance and result was so in keeping with your other recent results where you hadn't thrown up 37 times prior. Matteo Berrettini, The Curse Continues.

with Drew today. Yeah, brutal. He got injured in Rome, didn't he? retire from his match against Gaspar Rhodes. and it's taken a matter of Roland Gareth's as well and yeah such a familiar

brutal, Berrettini story really. In terms of what's happening in Geneva, which of course is where Novak Djokovic is trying to secure a 100th title this week, we watched him beat Martin Fuchovic.

yesterday didn't we he now plays Mateo on Naldi who he lost to in Madrid so that's going to be an interesting test of whether his form is is better than it was we also have nori against popper in quarterfinal offner hashanov and her catch for it is a quarter-final in Geneva in terms of Hamburg and who's left in the draw that Alexander Muller is currently playing his next match.

Incidentally against Felix Orgelia, you see him there in the warm-up. Winner of that to face Andre Rublev. And then the semi-finals, as Matt mentioned earlier, Thomas Martin Etcheverry doing well in Hamburg. He'll play Flavio Caballi. I feel like that must be the most back-to-back matches Flavio Caboli's won in a while. He did win one title a few weeks back, didn't he? But that was a lower level one. Yeah. Obrigada.

i mean david's monitoring very closely because i don't remember the fantasy team he's in my team I actually saw him in Monte Carlo. I was watching. He won a couple there. Then he lost a close one. He looks like he's Not that far away from finding the sort of form he did a year ago when we watched an incredible match of his against Holga Runa, but It is difficult backing up that big first season, isn't it? And I think he's found that many. He didn't win a match till about April.

But I hope he comes again. I like to see him being well. In terms of the women's events this week, we have the 500 event in Strasbourg.

where the quarterfinals are taking place right now. Lyudmila Samsonova is a double breakup on Palabadosa in a quarterfinal. The winner of that to face either anna kalinskay or danielle collins my app is saying walk over next to that match but i i don't know for who so there we go uh the other quarter the other semi-final rather will be elena robachina against beatrice hadaj mayer uh and then the final event going on this week

is in Rabat, Morocco. And what's happening there? We have Ayla Tomljanovic against Maia Joint in an all Australian semi-final. And we have Jacqueline Christian finally scoring me some points. she will she's been a bit of a busted flush for me she'll take on camilla osorio in the semi-finals tomorrow it's anna cannon skyler who's been forced to withdraw with a right car

injury. She'd just beaten Jessica Pergoula in the previous round and Collins, so now into the semis, Collins, she'd beaten Emma Raducanu and there was a bit of it. Injury concern for Anaconda in that match. She took a medical time out. The lower back again. Yeah. So, you know, factoring that in when we talk about her as part of Shrantext's draw. We'll keep you updated on those tournaments.

over the coming days. We're of course back tomorrow. This is the first of 18 daily Roland Garros tennis podcasts.

One last thing to bring your attention on today's show, something called the Mike Dixon Award now, the British Tennis Journalists Association, the BTJA. of which the three of us are our members. They are launching the annual Mike Dixon Award. giving one person aged between 18 and 24 the chance to be a member of the media for a day at Wimbledon and the Queen's Club this summer. This is the most brilliant opportunity, like, imagining...

18 to 24 year old me hearing or reading about this I my application could not have gone in quickly enough And it's a wonderful thing. It's been set up to honor Mike's memory Mike Dixon of course the former tennis correspondent for for the daily mail that passed away in australia tragically last year really devastating thing to happen obviously for his family and for the British media as well and he's very much missed.

and this is to give a helping hand to those who want to develop a career in journalism. sports journalism, which is something that Mike was really known for, giving that helping and guiding hand. The first year that I met Mike Dixon, his work experience guy, was someone called Alex Kay, who is now Alex Kay Jalski, who's head of sport at the BBC. So it's an incredible thing that the BTJA have done. It's an annual award and it's being supported by the All England Club and the LTA.

the winner will receive media accreditation for one day of wimbledon the championships at wimbledon and one day at the hsbc championships atp event at the queen's club with the remit writing a bylined article on each day for the Wimbledon and LTA websites which is Just brilliant. Applicants must submit a 500-word feature on any tennis-related subject of their choosing and no more than 250 words explaining why they're entering.

including details of present employment or studies and any previous media experience entries should be submitted to b t j a dixon that's b t j a d i c k s o n at gmail.com with all details copy contained within the body of the email rather than attachments that's important and please include your name date of birth and city or town of residence the deadline

is 11.59pm on the 1st of June 2025 with the winner then chosen by a panel of BTJA committee members and all applicants will be informed of the outcome on the 5th of June 2025.

Wanted to make listeners aware of that because we we do quite often get people contacting us asking for advice or to be you know notified of any opportunities that that come up and you know it's hard to forge a path and in the the sports journalism world and there's kind of no there's no set way into it there's no you know training scheme or grad scheme or anything like that It's a weird and wonderful world and this sort of opportunity is really priceless, so really do encourage.

encourage entries if that sounds good to you or anybody anybody that you might know and yeah btjadixon at gmail.com is the place to send your entries And the deadline is 11.59pm UK time on the 1st of June. Best of luck folks.

hello to our mascots phoebe maize and roger it's uh it's a first roll on garrows for them as our mascots amazing Maisie's feeling pretty anxious about the Israel Fonseca situation right now. She got me up to it. Sorry, Phoebe, for cheating on you, but I received Roger content yesterday. We all did. It was a good day.

yeah my heart stopped beating for a moment hello to our top folks and executive producers greg chris and jeff matt we have some shout outs we do we have pauline in alexandria like pauline parmentier Very good. Take the words out of my mouth, David. And Pauline has also referenced Pauline. who has come up in some tennis relived. She's been a sort of adjacent character in the Maureen Connolly episode. Excellent.

Thank you Pauline. And Pauline would like to dedicate this shout out to her Aunt Barb who she lost this year to cancer. Aunt Barb was a great tennis player. friend and supporter of other athletes. including her two athletically gifted children and Pauline says my own less impressive efforts as a college tennis athlete. That sounds very impressive, Pauline. Incredibly so. I failed to get on the Nottingham University tennis team, so that impresses me. So yeah, cheers to Barb.

cheers to barb that's uh an incredibly lovely tribute pauline and um yeah it's touching to choose the tennis podcast to do that so thank you very much We've also got Laura Williams from Atlanta, Georgia. Hello, Laura. Hi, Laura. Laura says I'm pleased to share a name with two entertaining tennis Laura's Robson and Siegmund entertaining in different ways Laura great stuff I've got cousins with the surname Williams one of them is called William Williams

Thanks for being a friend, Laura. Thank you, Laura. Up to you whether you want to be Robson or Siegman. Different folks, different strokes. finally we've got Faye Futter who is from London originally but now lives in Michigan. A bit like Matt Futterman. Literally the first part of his surname. lovely time with today lovely chat with earlier filled me in on his daughter's love life very invested in that um Do we know anything about Faye? Because I don't think I know any tennis Faye.

Well, we know that she is halfway to her career slam. She's attended Wimbledon and the US Open. Lots of other tournaments as well, but she is missing the French and the Australian Open. That's good to be halfway through, I think, isn't it? You've had some great experiences, but you've also got a lot to look forward to. Yeah, good place to be, Faye.

Yeah. Keep us posted on your progress, Faye. I hope you make it to Roland Garros and Melbourne at some point. Also the proud owner of an English Springer Spaniel called Jasper. I should have led with that, shouldn't I? Great dog. I know another spring Espanol called Jasper. There we go. Thank you Faye.

Thank you very much to all of our friends of the tennis podcast if you'd like to become a friend at the tennis podcast it gets you lots of things access to all of our bonus episodes we do a live episode every month we every month we do eight episodes of tennis relived every year it also gets you access to the barge our incredible community platform which is always Rocking throughout any Grand Slam. And it gets you ad-free listening of all of our episodes.

the show um which has gone down very well so uh the link if you'd like to become a friend of the pod is in our show notes And also just a heads up that every episode of the tennis podcast will now be available on YouTube as well as every other podcast provider we are. increasingly aware that YouTube is kind of a one-stop shop for a lot of people.

particularly the young people david because you know we're very in touch with the youth here on the tennis podcast so if that's your preferred platform for listening to the pod then you can now enjoy the tennis podcast on youtube all the time not just our live shows so exciting times smash that like smash that like and subscribe button folks The Tennis Podcast is proudly part of the Athletic Podcast Network. This is the first of 18 daily podcasts recorded on-site in Paris one day.

17 to go. Thanks for listening and we'll speak to you tomorrow. It's clay time on TNT Sports and there's a special excitement that comes with Roland Garros. It feels as though it's serving up the start of summer. Matt, do you have any particular favourite Roland Garros memory? I do, and they involve Rafael Nadal, of course. We're going to miss him this year, but every year I love the way he was introduced onto court as a 12, 13, and eventually 14 title.

David, officially king of the 90s. I bet your favourite memories from that decade. Absolutely. I go back to 1992 and one of the all-time great finals between Steffi Graf and Monica Selesh and it went all the way and I hope we get more. Watch every match of Roland Garros from May 25th to June 8th exclusively live on TNT Sports. Stream only on Discovery Plus or watch TNT Sports channels on EE Sky and Virgin Media. Subscription required. Age 18 plus. T's and C's apply.

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