Stay ConnectedYour definitive tennis round up, daily at the Slams. Part of the Athletic Network. Named in Time Mag’s Top 100 podcasts of all time.
Friends of The Tennis Podcast have access to exclusive Q & A’s, new editions of Tennis Re-Lived and more bonus content.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Copyright: © David Law and Catherine Whitaker
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
