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

After a few weeks apart, David Law, Catherine Whitaker and Matt Roberts are back together on this week’s podcast, and the only place to start is Naomi Osaka’s split with Sascha Bajin. What could be the reasons behind it ? Should we have seen it coming? And how important is it that she’s prioritising her mental health over her on court success? On a similar theme, is Simona Halep on a mission to prove she can win big without a coach? Her trial period with Thierry Van Cleemput was unsuccessful, but she still reached the final in Doha. What makes her conqueror Elise Mertens such a brilliant player? Elsewhere, the biggest men’s results from the past fortnight are discussed. How good could New York Open champion Reilly Opelka become? What makes Stan Wawrinka’s return to form so uplifting? Will Gael Monfils kick on from his win in Rotterdam? And why should we be paying close attention to the form of Daniil Medvedev? The Tennis Podcast will be weekly throughout 2019 and daily at all the Grand Slam tournaments. It is produced in association with The Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 Feb 201950min

This week, The Tennis Podcast is joined by Laura Robson, who is due to make her return to action tomorrow in Shrewsbury after 8 months on the sidelines with hip surgery.Before commentating on a dramatic final Fed Cup rubber in Bath for BT Sport, Robson tells David Law about the emotions she has experienced while watching the British team that she hopes to be part of again, her long physical rehabilitation process, and her hopes for the future.Recorded in the BT Sport make-up room, Robson and Law are also joined by broadcaster Clare Balding to share stories from the week in Bath, talk about the potential of rising British player Katie Boulter, and solve a few of tennis' current problems, including the creation of a combined Fed and Davis Cup played every two years ...After the Fed Cup tie concludes, Law speaks to former World No.5 and veteran Fed Cup player Jo Durie to look back on a dramatic final rubber in which Jo Konta collapsed and still dragged herself and the British team over the finish line.The Tennis Podcast is produced weekly throughout the year and daily at the Grand Slam tournaments, in association with Telegraph Sport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Feb 201936min

Before they left Melbourne to return home following the Australian Open, David Law and Catherine Whitaker recorded another Q&A special edition of The Tennis Podcast, featuring discussion on numerous topical issues within the sport. This one is guest edited by Jim Boyle.- How long will Ivan Lendl maintain patience with Alexander Zverev? (01:25)- Where does Milos Raonic rank in the list of favourites for Wimbledon? (06:45)- Who has more potential – Katie Swan or Katie Boulter? (10:58)- Will La Caja Mágica in Madrid make a good venue for the Davis Cup Finals? (14:28)- Who is best-placed to succeed Serena Williams as the next serial winner of Grand Slams? (17:13)- What goes into negotiations for appearance fees? (22:44)- Should the Let serve be abolished? (26:24)- Why do some players want to remove Chris Kermode from his position as ATP president? (31:42)- Has women’s tennis ever been in a better place? (36:20)The Tennis Podcast will be uploaded weekly throughout 2019 and daily at the Grand Slam tournaments, courtesy of our Kickstarter backers. It is produced in associated with The Telegraph. *** SOCIAL MEDIA ***Instagram - http://po.st/TTP_InstagramTwitter - http://po.st/TTP_TwitterFacebook - http://po.st/TTP_Facebook*** NEWSLETTER *** Sign-up here for our weekly newsletter - http://po.st/TTP_Newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Feb 201940min

As we expected, Novak Djokovic is the Australian Open champion. But the manner of his victory - an emphatic straight-sets thrashing of Rafael Nadal – came as a big surprise. On The Tennis Podcast, David Law, Catherine Whitaker and Matt Roberts discuss the final in depth.What makes Djokovic so effective against Nadal on a hard court? Will he be able to translate the formula to clay and win a fourth consecutive slam at the French Open? And will he end up winning more slams than both Nadal and Federer?As for Nadal, was he nervous throughout the final? And why did he not try to play his new, more aggressive hard-court game? Would it have even made any difference?Elsewhere, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut completed their career Grand Slam. What makes them work so well together?Finally, how will we all remember the 2019 Australian Open?The Tennis Podcast will be produced weekly throughout the year and daily at all the Grand Slam tournaments in 2019, courtesy of our Kickstarter backers. It is produced in association with The Telegraph. ***SOCIAL MEDIA***: Twitter – http://po.st/TTP_TwitterFacebook – http://po.st/TTP_FacebookInstagram - http://po.st/TTP_Instagram***NEWSLETTER***: We will be producing a weekly newsletter through the year! Sign-up here: http://po.st/TTP_Newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Jan 201939min

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