Perfect tennis dinner companions, will ATP-WTA unity last, and is it ok to support Tennys Sandgren?

Andy Murray has a sore hip, Novak Djokovic isn’t in the form of 12-18 months ago, Rafael Nadal hasn’t reached the Wimbledon quarters for six years and Roger Federer is closer to 40 years of age than 30. But according to Federer, on the pre-Wimbledon edition of The Tennis Podcast, the Big Four are still the players to beat in the men’s draw. “Andy, Rafa and Novak are the clear favourites to me,” Federer told podcast host Catherine Whitaker. “Andy is the champion and Rafa is coming off an unbelievable run at the French Open. He comes with a lot of confidence even if he doesn’t have the matches on grass. Novak is going to pick up his game. Once he gets rolling and into the second week things are going to look very different - both in terms of how you guys in the media look at him and in the locker room. The same thing for Andy. The last five months have been good ones for me, I feel healthy, which is where I wanted to be for Wimbledon. I’m very excited.”Whitaker also interviews Nadal on his hopes at Wimbledon, John McEnroe on the fitness of Murray, and the returning Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka. All can be heard on this pre-Wimbledon edition of the Tennis Podcast.Whitaker and co-host David Law will both be part of the BBC Radio 5 Live Wimbledon coverage this fortnight, and they record this edition of The Tennis Podcast overlooking the practice courts. They go through the various runners and riders, and make their predictions. Neither with much confidence. A new Tennis Podcast will be out after play every night during Wimbledon. It is produced in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport, who have a highlights show every night from Wimbledon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Heinä 201733min

The final Tennis Podcast from the Aegon Championships at The Queen’s Club features the men of the hour, live.The champion Feliciano Lopez tells Catherine Whitaker and Gigi Salmon just what becoming the oldest man in the Open era means to him.“It’s the best week of my life,” says Lopez. “Not only to win at Queen’s but to beat those players (Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych, Grigor Dimitrov and Marin Cilic in the final). It makes it so special. I take a lot of pride in being the oldest champion in the Open era. It’s a dream for me. This tournament is so special, and outside of the four Slams this is the tournament I wanted most to win.”After that, the vanquished Cilic joined the podcast to talk about the pain of losing 7-6 in the third after holding match point. In lighter moments, he revealed that his encouragement to himself during matches is to shout ‘Emperor’ in Croatian, that he didn’t mind Goran Ivanisevic calling him second favourite for the Wimbledon title - “So, there’s a... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Kesä 201727min

The final of the Aegon Championships is upon us, and although it might lack the top 3 seeds Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic, who all lost on Tuesday, the Tennis Podcast team is predicting an emotional day.The previous final appearance of Feliciano Lopez, in 2014, ended in an agonising loss in a final set tie-break. That was after he had held match point, and it hurt the Spaniard more than just any other loss in his career. 'I’ve wanted to win this tournament so badly throughout my whole career," Lopez told Catherine Whitaker. "Now I have another chance," she saiidMarin Cilic has reached the final before, and won the tournament. The only problem is that nobody can remember any of the tennis in it. On that day, his opponent, David Nalbandian was disqualied for kicking a wooden sponsor box that injured the leg of a lines judge. Cilic is in for a very busy day. After the singles final he plays the conclusion of his doubles semifinal against Jamie Murray and Bruno... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Kesä 201726min

While the world discussed the positive test of Dan Evans on Friday, Grigor Dimitrov, Feliciano Lopez, Marin Cilic and Gilles Muller were making their way to the semifinals of the Aegon Championships.In the latest Tennis Podcast, we hear the statement read by Evans after his positive test for cocaine. One of the semifinalist at Queen’s - Gilles Muller - joins presenters Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and Gigi Salmon (BBC) to celebrate National Luxembourg Day, talk about the first two titles of his career at the age of 23, and how his driving force to play through injuries had been to play in front of his two young sons. We also hear from Dimitrov, who is getting closer to the title he won three years ago, and Lopez, the man that he edged out in three tie-break sets three years ago. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Kesä 201731min

Two years ago, Jonas Bjorkman was part of the Andy Murray coaching team. Now, he is a key cog in Team Marin Cilic, who is into the quarterfinals of the Aegon Championships at The Queen’s Club.In the latest daily Tennis Podcast from Queen’s, Bjorkman joins presenters Catherine Whitaker and Gigi Salmon to talk about life with the big Croatian, who won the US Open in 2014.For starters, they call him The President of the team, although Bjorkman jokes ‘actually he is more like a Dictator’, and that Cilic started a punishments process for any member of the team that is late for team dinners etc. “I was quite pleased,” said Bjorkman. “Marin was late twice this week.”Bjorkman also talks about Cilic’s chances of winning the Aegon Championships title again, having lifted the giant silver trophy in 2012.We also hear from Daniil Medvedev, one of the members of the ATP’s #NextGen group of 21-and-under players after reaching the last eight. Medvedev faces 2014 champion Grigor Dimitrov in... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Kesä 201728min

Thanasi Kokkinakis takes on fellow #NextGen star Daniil Medvedev on centre court at the Aegon Championships today, and part of his pre-match preparation was to join Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and Gigi Salmon (BBC 5 Live) on the Tennis Podcast.How many text messages did he receive after his stunning win over Milos Raonic in the previous round? How stressful was it trying to close out a match of that magnitude after so long out? And most importantly, what superpower would he choose - invisibility, x-ray vision, or the ability to fly?Elsewhere, Tomas Berdych won the match of the tournament so far, edging out Denis Shapovalov, and Grigor Dimitrov overcame a set deficit against Julien Benneteau. The Tennis Podcast is a free, weekly, downloadable tennis audio show, with daily editions during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is produced in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Kesä 201726min

On a day of high-drama at the Aegon Championships as the top three seeds all fell, it was Andy Murray’s surprise defeat to Jordan Thompson that dominated the discussion on the Tennis Podcast.Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and Gigi Salmon (BBC) discuss the match in depth from a shell-shocked Queen’s Club. Would Murray of a year ago have won today? And should the World No.1 enter Eastbourne next week before he heads to Wimbledon to defend his title? There are more questions than answers right now.A disappointed Murray spoke to Gigi post-match. We hear that full interview.And what of Jordan Thompson? The Australian was a lucky loser replacement for Aljaz Bedene but he was far from an understudy. He played an impressively smart match, serving 12 aces, and deserves immense credit.Elsewhere, Stan Wawrinka lost to Feliciano Lopez. Catherine and Gigi agree that while it was an upset on paper, Lopez’s love for grass meant that many saw it... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Kesä 201732min

The Queen’s Club was baked in sunshine as the Aegon Championships got underway, and The Tennis Podcast team of Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and Gigi Salmon (BBC) are on hand to review the day’s action.Billed as match of the day, Denis Shapovalov and Kyle Edmund didn’t disappoint, playing three sets of thrilling tennis in the late afternoon on Centre Court. Shapovalov in particular was impressive, building on his qualifying run to beat Edmund 6-4 in the third. Catherine could barely contain her excitement at his lefty single-handed backhand. We hear from the ATP #NextGen star.Elsewhere, there was disappointment for Nick Kyrgios. The Australian unfortunately had to retire mid-match against Donald Young but is still optimistic for Wimbledon.There were no other big name casualties on the opening day as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Grigor Dimitrov and Tomas Berdych all looked good in straight-set wins.Looking ahead to day two, Andy Murray begins his title defence. His full pre-tournament... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Kesä 201734min