US Open Day 11 - Bad, Bizarre, Brilliant: Women’s semis reviewed; Men’s semis preview

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

Shortly after Rafael Nadal had beaten Alex de Minaur on Friday night, David Law, Catherine Whitaker and Grad Matt convened to review day 5 at the Australian Open. Is Nadal playing better than we expected? Does this result tell us anything we didn’t already know about De Minaur? Roger Federer was also a comfortable winner on Friday. Will he have more trouble against Stefanos Tsitsipas? Frances Tiafoe backed up his win over Kevin Anderson by beating Andreas Seppi. Is that indicative of yet another step forward? Tiafoe plays Grigor Dimitrov next, and Catherine talks about her interview with Andre Agassi. In the women’s draw, we were all blown away by the performance of Amanda Anisimova. Could she possibly win the whole tournament? There’s also a preview to day 6. Why is Simona Halep vs Venus Williams not on Rod Laver Arena? Will Denis Shapovalov have any joy against Novak Djokovic? 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.

18 Jan 201936min

The latest ever start to a match at the Australian Open, and one of the latest ever Tennis Podcast recordings, as David Law, Catherine Whitaker and Grad Matt got together at 12:46am, with tennis still being played, to discuss the events of Day 4 at the Australian Open.The day began with Grad Matt’s quarter-final pick Viktoria Kuzmova being beaten. What happened? Is Elina Svitolina playing better than expected? And was it appropriate to ask her about her relationship with Gael Monfils?The match of the day was Milos Raonic vs. Stan Wawrinka. Did we see Goran Ivanisevic’s influence on Raonic? Despite losing, is Stan Wawrinka properly back now?In the women’s event, Serena Williams and Simona Halep remain on a collision course. But how much is Halep struggling physically?Elsewhere, contrasting late-night wins for Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic are discussed, there’s chat about the new Dunlop balls being used this year, and a look ahead to Day 5.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.

17 Jan 201943min

Dan Evans didn’t beat Roger Federer, but he pushed him hard, and did himself proud. That’s the view of David Law, Catherine Whitaker and Grad Matt on The Tennis Podcast at the end of day three at the 2019 Australian Open.How did Evans cause Federer problems? Should he have won the opening set? And how confident should we be that Evans has got his career back on track and won’t have another lapse?Elsewhere, the biggest shock of the tournament so far saw Kevin Anderson lose to Frances Tiafoe. How much was Anderson’s injury a factor? And why does this feel like a significant step forward for Tiafoe?Anderson’s loss opens up the draw for Grigor Dimitrov. How did he look today against Pablo Cuevas?In the night session, David’s man-of-the-tournament Roberto Bautista Agut won a second straight five-setter, this time against John Millman. How does he keep doing it? There was better news for home fans when Alex de Minaur held his nerve to win in five. But is he showing signs of fatigue?There’s also discussion about Bob Bryan’s insight into Andy Murray’s hip injury and surgery, news of David (Thomas Fabbiano) beating Goliath (Reilly Opelka - 67 aces and all), and word on Aryna Sabalenka’s victory over Katie Boulter.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.

16 Jan 201935min

There was less drama on day two of the 2019 Australian Open, but still plenty for David Law, Catherine Whitaker and Grad Matt to talk about on The Tennis Podcast.The biggest story was Simona Halep’s comeback victory against Kaia Kanepi. Just how significant was that for Halep? What was she like when she spoke to Catherine? And can she now go far in the tournament?Halep might run into Serena Williams in the fourth round. Serena thrashed Tatjana Maria in less than an hour. But why did she not do a pre-tournament press conference? Venus Williams was also a winner on Tuesday. Does she get the credit she deserves for her longevity? Is it understandable why she doesn’t give much time to the media?The biggest off-court story was Bernard Tomic’s criticism of Lleyton Hewitt. Why are there so many rifts within Australian tennis?There’s also a look ahead to day three. Can Katie Boulter beat Aryna Sabalenka? And how much will the heat of the day help Dan Evans against 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.

15 Jan 201931min

We thought we’d seen it all from Andy Murray, but in what could be his final ever match, he left us spellbound once more.On The Tennis Podcast, David Law and Catherine Whitaker discuss one of the most extraordinary opening days in Grand Slam history, as Murray produced a rousing comeback in a match of unrivalled poignancy and significance. It wasn’t quite enough for him to beat Roberto Bautista-Agut, but it provided hours of compelling drama. What were David and Catherine feeling as they watched Murray look like Murray again?They also consider his possible next steps. Have we really seen the last of Murray? What was he like in press? Was this match the perfect send off?It was a day of mixed fortunes for the other six Brits in action. Harriet Dart lost 0-6, 0-6 to Maria Sharapova. Was that a harsh scoreline or did it reflect the match? Since when has Katie Boulter been capable of the gritty, aggressive tennis that saw her beat Ekaterina Makarova? And what about Dan Evans? Catherine’s description of his victory over Tatsuma Ito is not to be missed.There’s also excitement over wins for Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari, an analysis of Rafael Nadal’s performance, and David discovers the day’s handshake controversy.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.Our Crowdfunding Kickstarter closes at midnight UK today, so you have a few hours to do your bit and get your name on our backers page, intro a show or take on Catherine and David on at their year's predictions - http://po.st/TP_Kickstarter2019 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Jan 201933min