Roland Garros Day 12 - Semis reviewed, Alcaraz-Djokovic previewed with Mary Carillo

After an exhilarating women’s final was won by Naomi Osaka over Petra Kvitova, David Law, Catherine Whitaker and Grad Matt revel in the brilliance of Osaka.What caused her second set wobble? And how did she manage to recover from losing that set in such crushing circumstances?How significant is it that Osaka has now won back-to-back Grand Slams? And how is she so at ease with her relatively newfound status as a champion?Looking ahead to the men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, will it be anything like their 5h53m epic from 2012? If it is, who will it favour? And will Nadal’s new, more aggressive hard court game be able to hurt Djokovic? The Tennis Podcast will be produced daily throughout the Australian Open, and at all the Grand Slams in 2019. It is produced in association with The Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Jan 201937min

In what’s becoming a tradition of the Grand Slam daily pods, Catherine Whitaker and David Law are joined by the great Mary Carillo for a wide-ranging, free-flowing chat over brunch.Who does Mary think will win the women’s final between Kvitova and Osaka? How impressed has she been by Rafael Nadal? Why does she think the scheduling at the Australian Open is ‘terrible’? And what three things would she change in tennis?Catherine and David then return at the end of the show to discuss Novak Djokovic’s impeccable performance against Lucas Pouille. Has he ever played better? Sunday’s final against Nadal has all the ingredients to be a classic, doesn’t it?Looking ahead to the women’s final, both David and Catherine think it will be incredibly close, but why are they both giving the edge to Kvitova?There’s also a review of the uplifting women’s doubles final, won by Sam Stosur and Zhang Shuai.The Tennis Podcast will be produced daily throughout the Australian Open (and at all the Grand Slams in 2019) after our Kickstarter was successfully funded. It is produced in association with The Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Jan 201952min

After chasing him all tournament, David Law and Catherine Whitaker are finally joined by Goran Ivanisevic in part one of today’s podcast.Goran gives an insight into life as Milos Raonic’s coach, compares Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev, and explains why he’s strongly against on-court coaching.Also, what qualities are required to be a good coach? How does the feeling of winning as a coach compare to winning as a player? How often does he watch the 2001 Wimbledon final? And why have we never seen him on Strictly Come Dancing?!In part two, Catherine, David and Grad Matt discuss the day’s singles matches, which were all played in extreme heat. Was it a good decision to close the roof? Is the new heat stress scale a satisfactory solution?As for the tennis, Petra Kvitova and Naomi Osaka set up a “no-lose” final. What makes Osaka so impressive in press? How much did the indoor conditions help Kvitova today?In the evening session, Nadal thrashed Tsitsipas. Has Nadal ever played better on hard courts? And why do we think it’s a good thing that Tsitsipas looked distraught in his press conference?The Tennis Podcast will be produced daily throughout the Australian Open (and at all the Grand Slams in 2019) after our Kickstarter was successfully funded. It is produced in association with The Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Jan 201954min

After the earliest finish of the tournament so far, David Law, Catherine Whitaker and Grad Matt look back on another dramatic day, headlined by Karolina Pliskova’s victory over Serena Williams. In what way is Karolina Pliskova’s new coaching set-up helping her? How much was Serena’s ankle injury to blame for her final set capitulation? And how much of a missed opportunity was this for Serena in her quest to win a 24th Grand Slam?Pliskova will play Naomi Osaka next after she beat Elina Svitolina. Who will have the edge in that match? In the men’s draw, Kei Nishikori was forced to retire against Novak Djokovic. Why was there a sense of inevitability about the whole thing? Djokovic’s semi-final opponent will be Lucas Pouille. How impressive were his tactics to beat Milos Raonic? And what influence is Amélie Mauresmo having on his game? Looking ahead to Day 11, who will reach the women’s final? And can Tsitsipas beat Nadal? The Tennis Podcast will be produced daily throughout the Australian Open (and at all the Grand Slams in 2019) after our Kickstarter was successfully funded. It is produced in association with The Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Jan 201938min

Moments after Rafael Nadal booked his semi-final spot, David Law and Catherine Whitaker got together on The Tennis Podcast to review all the day’s action.Why was Nadal so emotional about reaching the semi-finals? How did he break down Tiafoe’s game so effectively? And will he have the same joy against Tsitsipas?As for Tsitsipas, how did he find a way past Bautista Agut? How significant is it that he’s now backed up the win over Federer? Was today’s victory actually even more impressive than that one? And how will his backhand stand up against Nadal’s topspin forehand?In the women’s draw, Petra Kvitova made light work of Ash Barty. Given the knife attack she suffered just over two years ago, are we guilty of taking her success for granted? Kvitova will face Danielle Collins in the last four. David and Catherine agree that Collins will probably divide opinion, but they explain why they firmly believe she's a good thing for tennis.Finally, David gets a nasty surprise mid-podcast.The Tennis Podcast will be produced daily throughout the Australian Open (and at all the Slams) after our Kickstarter was funded by our listeners. It is produced in association with The Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Jan 201933min

On day 8 of the Australian Open, all eyes were on Serena Williams vs. Simona Halep, and the match did not disappoint. On The Tennis Podcast, David Law and Catherine Whitaker are full of praise for both players.Was that the best Serena has played since returning from giving birth? How was she able to wrestle control in the decider? And has being without a coach actually helped to liberate Halep this tournament?Alexander Zverev, on the other hand, played very badly in a straight-sets defeat to Milos Raonic. Why can’t Zverev step up at Grand Slams? What has happened to his serve? Does he have an attitude problem? And how long will Ivan Lendl stick around if this keeps happening?Elsewhere, Novak Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev, but not without a few problems. Are there some vulnerabilities in the World No.1's game?Finally, David and Catherine discuss impressive wins for Naomi Osaka and Lucas Pouille. And what caused Pablo Carreño Busta to lose his temper with the umpire after losing a five-setter to Kei Nishikori?The Tennis Podcast will be produced daily throughout the Australian Open (and at all the Slams) after our Kickstarter was funded by our listeners. It is produced in association with The Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Jan 201929min

At 02:30am in Melbourne, David Law, Catherine Whitaker and Matt get together on The Tennis Podcast to discuss a tumultuous day of tennis at the Australian Open.And there's only one place to start: Stefanos Tsitsipas’ thrilling late-night defeat of Roger Federer. What was the key to his victory? How does he manage to play with so much belief? How high was Federer’s level? And does this result signal a changing of the guard?Afterwards, Federer announced that he intends to play on clay in 2019. What’s behind that decision?Arguably the biggest shock of the day, however, came in the women’s draw as Danielle Collins thrashed Angelique Kerber. What on earth happened there? And what do we think of the way Collins embraces confrontation?Elsewhere, there’s a look back on Ash Barty’s win over Maria Sharapova. Can the Australian keep it going? And why did Sharapova’s game just disintegrate?The impressive form of Rafael Nadal is also discussed, as well as another step in Frances Tiafoe’s journey. The Tennis Podcast will be produced daily throughout the Australian Open (and at all the Slams) after our Kickstarter was funded by our listeners. It is produced in association with The Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Jan 201935min

Why have there barely been any upsets at this year’s Australian Open so far? That’s the big question for David, Catherine and Grad Matt on The Tennis Podcast after another day which saw the top seeds progress.There were shocks brewing in the morning as both Naomi Osaka and Elina Svitolina found themselves a set down. How did they pull through?Later in the day, Serena Williams and Simona Halep both won to set up their blockbuster Last 16 match. What was Halep like when she spoke to Catherine afterwards? And how is she getting on without a coach?In the men’s draw, Novak Djokovic beat Denis Shapovalov easily. But what caused his third set wobble? And are we right to be a bit disappointed in Shapovalov’s performance?Looking ahead to Day 7, why does David have a sneaky feeling that Stefanos Tsitsipas might beat Roger Federer?The Tennis Podcast will be produced daily throughout the Australian Open (and at all the Slams) after our Kickstarter was funded by our listeners. It is produced in association with The Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Jan 201933min