Mats Wilander interview - 'Serena Williams Will Do The Calendar Slam'; 'Nick Kyrgios Can Do What Becker Did'; Heather Watson Has Top Ten Potential'

Catherine, David and Matt react to the men's semi-finals which saw Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Karen Khachanov to reach a first Australian Open final and Novak Djokovic beat Tommy Paul to reach a tenth. We discuss the way in which Djokovic still won without his best tennis, how he dealt in press with the controversy surrounding his father and how he made his position clear on the war, the spectacular sight that was Tsitsipas' forehand, and how much their history against one another will affect the outcome on Sunday. We also look ahead to the women's final between Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka. How on earth are we supposed to predict what might happen between two such in form players? And what could make the difference? *WIN A 3-NIGHT STAY AT THE MIAMI OPEN!*On Location, our Australian Open sponsor, has given us one of Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours packages to the Miami Open presented by Itau, in March to give away to one lucky Tennis Podcast Newsletter subscriber! For full details, go to tours4tennis.com/podcastBecome a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2023, including Tennis Re-Lived, listener questions pods, and Grand Slam review shows.Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profile Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Jan 20231h

Get ready for power in the women's final on Saturday after Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka set up what promises to be a fearsome showdown on Saturday. How did Rybakina win the first set against Victoria Azarenka despite her first serve going missing? Just how impressive was Sabalenka to overcome her Grand Slam semi-final scar tissue? And how will they match up against each other in the final? Elsewhere, with tennis crossing over into geopolitics in the last 24 hours, after Novak Djokovic's father was filmed posing for photos with Vladimir Putin supporters, Simon Briggs joins Catherine, David and Matt to talk about what Djokovic's response might be and whether players have a responsibility to denounce those scenes. Finally, there's good news for the Australian sensations in doubles, we look ahead to Friday's men's semi-finals, and we celebrate the Original 9 after they were honoured on Thursday. *WIN A 3-NIGHT STAY AT THE MIAMI OPEN!*On Location, our Australian Open sponsor, has given us one of Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours packages to the Miami Open presented by Itau, in March to give away to one lucky Tennis Podcast Newsletter subscriber! For full details, go to tours4tennis.com/podcastBecome a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2023, including Tennis Re-Lived, listener questions pods, and Grand Slam review shows.Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profile Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Jan 202358min

As the semi-final line-ups were complete, we were thrilled to welcome Pam Shriver onto the show to talk all about her experience coaching Donna Vekic at this year's Australian Open. Pam opens up about why she's enjoyed the fortnight so much, what she sees as Vekic's potential, how she prepared Vekic for her quarter-final against Aryna Sabalenka, and what happened to Vekic's serve in that match. We also talk about Magda Linette's breakthrough, why Andrey Rublev's match against Novak Djokovic was disappointing, and whether Tommy Paul can fare better against the nine-time champion in the semis. *WIN A 3-NIGHT STAY AT THE MIAMI OPEN!*On Location, our Australian Open sponsor, has given us one of Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours packages to the Miami Open presented by Itau, in March to give away to one lucky Tennis Podcast Newsletter subscriber! For full details, go to tours4tennis.com/podcastBecome a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2023, including Tennis Re-Lived, listener questions pods, and Grand Slam review shows.Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profile Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Jan 20231h 5min

It wasn't a vintage day at the Australian Open with three straight sets matches and one retirement, but there was a vintage performance by Victoria Azarenka as she beat Jessica Pegula 6-4 6-1 to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne for the first time since her title run in 2013. Catherine, David and Matt talk all about that, as well as her extraordinary press conference in which she opened up about the fears and anxiety she experienced last year. There's also our take on what went wrong for Jessica Pegula and where it leaves her, and another fearsome display by Elena Rybakina. Is she now the favourite for the title? On the men's side, there's chat about the scintillating form of Stefanos Tsitsipas and how Karen Khachanov has quietly turned himself into a Grand Slam specialist.*WIN A 3-NIGHT STAY AT THE MIAMI OPEN!*On Location, our Australian Open sponsor, has given us one of Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours packages to the Miami Open presented by Itau, in March to give away to one lucky Tennis Podcast Newsletter subscriber! For full details, go to tours4tennis.com/podcastBecome a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2023, including Tennis Re-Lived, listener questions pods, and Grand Slam review shows.Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profile Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Jan 20231h 3min

Moments after Novak Djokovic produced a masterclass and gave us all an early night, we headed to Garden Square to record the Day 8 pod. We discuss just how good that performance was from Djokovic and what it might mean for the rest of the tournament, Andrey Rublev's nail-biting victory over Holger Rune and what it told us about both players, and our interactions with Ben Shelton and why we think he's such good news for the sport. In the women's draw, we focus on Aryna Sabalenka's statement performance to beat Belinda Bencic, the way in which Magda Linette exposed Caroline Garcia's lack of a Plan B, and more success for the Donna Vekic-Pam Shriver partnership. *WIN A 3-NIGHT STAY AT THE MIAMI OPEN!*On Location, our Australian Open sponsor, has given us one of Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours packages to the Miami Open presented by Itau, in March to give away to one lucky Tennis Podcast Newsletter subscriber! For full details, go to tours4tennis.com/podcastBecome a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2023, including Tennis Re-Lived, listener questions pods, and Grand Slam review shows.Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profile Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Jan 20231h

Our day began with watching Elena Rybakina beating Iga Swiatek on the Rod Laver, a result which set the tone for a dramatic day as Coco Gauff and Felix Auger-Aliassime were also beaten, while Sebastian Korda and Stefanos Tsitsipas survived five setters. Catherine, David and Matt get stuck into it all on the podcast. *WIN A 3-NIGHT STAY AT THE MIAMI OPEN!*On Location, our Australian Open sponsor, has given us one of Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours packages to the Miami Open presented by Itau, in March to give away to one lucky Tennis Podcast Newsletter subscriber! For full details, go to tours4tennis.com/podcastBecome a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2023, including Tennis Re-Lived, listener questions pods, and Grand Slam review shows.Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profile Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Jan 20231h 8min

When we came to Melbourne for the Australian Open, we did not expect to be talking so much about Andy Murray, but once again he was the main story on Day 6, even in defeat. With his match against Roberto Bautista Agut only lasting 3h30m, we finally got the chance to record on site in Garden Square with a beer in hand and tennis noises in the background. There's also discussion about the state of Novak Djokovic's hamstring, the elite form of Andrey Rublev, Caroline Garcia surviving a tricky match against Laura Siegemund, the blockbuster fourth round match between Belinda Bencic and Aryna Sabalenka, and why we're disappointed that Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina is not Prime Time in the night session. *WIN A 3-NIGHT STAY AT THE MIAMI OPEN!*On Location, our Australian Open sponsor, has given us one of Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours packages to the Miami Open presented by Itau, in March to give away to one lucky Tennis Podcast Newsletter subscriber! For full details, go to tours4tennis.com/podcastBecome a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2023, including Tennis Re-Lived, listener questions pods, and Grand Slam review shows.Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profile Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Jan 20231h 3min

The day began with an Andy Murray induced hangover, but it picked up by the night session leaving Catherine, David and Matt plenty to discuss: Women’s fourth round blockbusters setPegula drops two games, Swiatek drops oneKeys crumbles against AzarenkaKorda delivers a big statement to beat MedvedevTiafoe and Shapovalov fall short of Murray-esque comebacksDid Norrie overplay before the Australian Open?What’s different about Tsitsipas this tournament?*WIN A 3-NIGHT STAY AT THE MIAMI OPEN!*On Location, our Australian Open sponsor, has given us one of Steve Furgal’s International Tennis Tours packages to the Miami Open presented by Itau, in March to give away to one lucky Tennis Podcast Newsletter subscriber! For full details, go to tours4tennis.com/podcastBecome a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to help us to produce the show year-round, and receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2023, including Tennis Re-Lived, listener questions pods, and Grand Slam review shows.Sign up to receive our Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Check out our ShopRead our New York Times profile Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Jan 20231h