BJK Cup Finals Day 5 - Sara Errani, what did you just do?!

As Caroline Wozniacki walked by from television studio to television studio after claiming her long-awaited first Grand Slam title, Catherine Whitaker and David Law tried to do justice on The Tennis Podcast to an epic three-set tussle which had numerous storylines dripping with emotion. Where was the match won and lost? How did Wozniacki react after finally making her dream come true? And will Simona Halep ever get over the finish line in a Slam final herself?The asterisk of ‘never won a Grand Slam’ has been removed forever from Wozniacki’s bio, so is Halep now the best player never to have won a major title? It’s all discussed in the latest daily podcast from the Australian Open.Looking ahead to the men’s singles final on Sunday, what did Goran Ivanisevic tell the pod team he had said to Marin Cilic before his compatriot won his 2014 US Open clash with Roger Federer? And what does Goran think will happen this time?The experiences of Wayne Ferreira describing how he beat Federer many moons ago are recounted, and former World No.2 Alex Corretja drops by to explain how he managed to win matches against the great man. Both admit that Federer is a very different player today.On Sunday, the men’s singles final will be broadcast live on Eurosport, with coverage starting at 8am UK time. BBC Radio 5 Live will carry live commentary from 8.30am. The Tennis Podcast is produced daily throughout the Australian Open, presented by Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and David Law (BBC 5 Live), in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Jan 201831min

Moments after Hyeon Chung pulled out of his Australian Open semifinal because of blisters, ensuring Roger Federer would reach a 30th Grand Slam singles final, Boris Becker joined Catherine Whitaker and David Law on the Tennis Podcast to look ahead to Sunday’s clash with Marin Cilic. The two-time champion also previews the women’s final between Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep, explains why he left the stadium immediately after match point in the 1991 final, and predicts how a peak Becker would have done against Federer.As well as Becker, Catherine Whitaker and David Law are joined by Mary Carillo, who was voted by listeners as the podcast’s favourite guest of 2017. A former player and feted broadcaster in the United States for her work on tennis, documentaries and coverage of the winter and summer Olympics for NBC, Carillo talks about her reaction to Chung’s decision to retire mid-match, her expectations for the men’s and women’s finals, and the documentary she has produced about Margaret Court. On Saturday, the women’s final will be broadcast live on Eurosport, with coverage starting at 8am UK time. BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra will carry commentary from 8.30am. The Tennis Podcast is produced daily throughout the Australian Open, presented by Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and David Law (BBC 5 Live), in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Jan 201832min

Moment after Kyle Edmund’s Australian Open odyssey ended at the hands of Marin Cilic, Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport), David Law (BBC 5 Live) and Simon Briggs (Telegraph) got together in the media cafe to talk over where the match was won and lost.Could he have done anything differently? How big a factor was the injury he apparently sustained? And will Cilic be able to go all the way in the final?Earlier in the day, Simona Halep saved match points for a second time in a week to reach the final. She will face another player that saved match points along the way - Caroline Wozniacki. Halep’s match with Angelique Kerber went from damp squib to instant classic in a sensational 9-7 third set, and meant that Catherine Whitaker did not have to follow through with her threat to ‘sue the tennis gods’ if another match didn’t live up to expectations.Where does the Halep vs. Kerber third set rank among the all-time greats? What did the players say afterwards that so uplifted the podcast team? And how surprising was it that Wozniacki revealed she had been suffering with nerves as she closed in on a semifinal victory against Elise Martens?The women’s final will now feature Halep vs. Wozniack, with one of them crowned a Grand Slam champion for the first time. It will also decide the World No.1 ranking.On Friday, the second men’s semifinal - Roger Federer vs. Hyeon Chung - will be live on Eurosport, with coverage starting at 8am UK time. Both Whitaker and Law think it will be a lot closer than most people seem to expect. The Tennis Podcast is produced daily throughout the Australian Open, presented by Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and David Law (BBC 5 Live), in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Jan 201831min

All of the four quarterfinals played on Wednesday were won in straight sets, but each had its own story, and the resulting semifinals are mouth-watering, according to the Tennis Podcast team. Hyeon Chung is one of the stories of the tournament and he backed up his straight sets win over Novak Djokovic by overcoming a very difference challenge - being the favourite to win against the World No. 97, Tennys Sandgren. It made Chung the first Korean ever to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament and put him into a semifinal against Roger Federer. Sandgren continued to create headlines of his own because of his social media activity, and responded with a statement in his post-match press conference. What sort of challenge do the Tennis Podcast team think Chung can pose to Federer? Catherine Whitaker and David Law weigh up whether the similarities of his strengths to those of Djokovic might be a factor.Federer saved set points against Tomas Berdych and has yet to drop a set, but how well is he actually playing?In the women’s quarterfinals, classics were hoped for but didn’t materialise, partially because of the brilliance of Angelique Kerber and Simon Halep, partly because of erratic displays from Madison Keys and Karolina Pliskova. Surely Kerber vs. Halep is going to deliver?Meanwhile, Kyle Edmund prepares for the biggest match of his career in the semifinals against Marin Cilic. It will be live on Eurosport and BBC Radio 5 Live from 8am UK time. A Tennis Podcast will follow the match, presented by Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and David Law (BBC 5 Live), in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Jan 201831min

In 2010, Andy Murray went through to the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time when Rafael Nadal retired with injury. His opponent in the final four was Marin Cilic. He then met Roger Federer in the final.Eight years on, Nadal retired with injury from a Grand Slam match for only the second time in his career. It was also at the Australian Open, and the result is that a British player will once again be playing against Marin Cilic for a place in the final, and Roger Federer might again be waiting. This time though, Murray is at home recovering from hip surgery, and the name on everyone’s lips is Kyle Edmund.After a tumultuous day of tennis, presenters Catherine Whitaker and David Law, who are in Melbourne for Eurosport and BBC Radio 5 Live respectively, sat down with Telegraph tennis correspondent Simon Briggs to try to make sense of what they had seen.Will Edmund go another step and reach the final? What do the team think will happen between Madison Keys and Angelique Kerber, and Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday? Will Tomas Berdych be able to turn his rivalry against Roger Federer around? And why is everyone so angry at Tennys Sandgren, who takes on Hyeon Chung for a place in the semis? All explained on the latest Tennis Podcast.The Australian Open will be live on Eurosport from midnight, with radio commentary available on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.The Tennis Podcast will be produced daily throughout the Australian Open, presented by Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and David Law (BBC 5 Live), in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Jan 201833min

Novak Djokovic found himself ‘playing in front of a mirror’ according to The Tennis Podcast team, as he was knocked out of the Australian Open by Hyeon Chung at the fourth round stage.Chung out-Djokovic’d Djokovic, pounding whiplash groundstrokes, hitting lines, reaching seemingly irretrievable balls in a blur of speed, and doing the splits when forced out wide. After winning 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 Chung was given a standing ovation inside the Rod Laver Arena. On the podcast, concern turned to the health of Djokovic, who admitted he was in a bad way with his elbow, and that he was back to the drawing board.Elsewhere, World No.96 Tennys Sandgren defeated Dominic Thiem in 5 sets, and will now meet Chung in the quarters. Is that clash, between the World No’s 97 and 54 one of the most unlikely last eight clashes ever? In the other quarterfinal in the bottom half of the draw, Roger Federer will take on Tomas Berdych for a 26th time. Federer leads the head-to-head 19-6, winning their last eight clashes. Can Berdych to turn it around?In the women’s draw, Angelique Kerber and Madison Keys will face off in a blockbuster quarterfinal. How did they get there and what do the team expect when they face off? Plus, is Simona Halep really back to her best after that 15-13 final set epic?And ahead of the Kyle Edmund vs. Grigor Dimitrov clash on Tuesday, the Tennis Podcast team give their predictions. The Australian Open will be live on Eurosport from midnight, with radio commentary available on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.The Tennis Podcast will be produced daily throughout the Australian Open, presented by Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and David Law (BBC 5 Live), in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Jan 201830min

Grigor Dimitrov vs. Nick Kyrgios was ‘instant classic’ material, and only made better from a British perspective in that the winner plays Kyle Edmund, who is into his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.On the Tennis Podcast afterwards, David Law said the match between Dimitrov and Kyrgios was a ‘win-win’ for tennis, but not everyone agrees. Did Kyrgios cross the line with his ranting in the direction of his support team? Or is it time to cut him some slack and celebrate a brilliant performance and an even better one from his opponent? Regarding Dimitrov, is he finally ready to fully deliver on his enormous talent?Edmund’s four-set win over Seppi again saw him fight back from behind to prevail, becoming the first British man not named Andy Murray to reach an Australian Open quarterfinal in 33 years. What do the Tennis Podcast team think of his chances against Dimitrov?There’s also discussion of Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic’s tricky tussles as they set up a quarterfinal clash, and the ever-improving Caroline Wozniacki who is looking more of a threat for the title with every match. The Australian Open will be live on Eurosport from midnight, with radio commentary available on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.The Tennis Podcast will be produced daily throughout the Australian Open, presented by Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and David Law (BBC 5 Live), in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Jan 201829min

Simona Halep produced an incredible feat of fitness and fire to save three match points and win 15-13 in the final set against Lauren Davis, and afterwards The Tennis Podcast team got together to marvel at it. They were joined by British No.3 Naomi Broady, and while chatting, Andy Murray began a jetlag fuelled Q & A session on Twitter. So, Broady told Catherine Whitaker and David Law about the Andy Murray she knows, and also gave a backstage insight into Nick Kyrgios. Later, Whitaker and Law reflected on Angelique Kerber's comfortable win over Maria Sharapova. Is she now the favourite for the title?Meanwhile, what happened to Alexander Zverev, the fourth seeded German that everyone's been talking about? Beaten in a fifth set by Hyeon Chung, how much should be read into another disappointing Grand Slam loss? And what did Roger Federer say to Zverev in a quiet locker room moment afterwards?The podcast team also discuss the progress of the wonderfully named Tennys Sandgren, and Lleyton Hewitt's refusal to retire. The Australian Open will be live on Eurosport from midnight, with radio commentary available on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.The Tennis Podcast will be produced daily throughout the Australian Open, presented by Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and David Law (BBC 5 Live), in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Jan 201831min