The Tennis Podcast

The weather wrecked the vast majority of the scheduled matches at the US Open on Tuesday, but the roof on Arthur Ashe stadium enabled Japanese player Naomi Osaka to trounce defending champion Angelique Kerber, and Roger Federer to squeeze through in five against Francis Tiafoe.The Tennis Podcast team dodged the showers to reflect on a miserable 12 months for Kerber in which the role of World No.1 and defending Grand Slam champion has not always sat well.We meet her conqueror, 19-year-old Japanese player Naomi Osaka in an interview conducted by presenter David Law for BBC 5 Live. A player quite happy to answer left-field questions, she tells a knock-knock joke on air, explains why she gets nervous about running into people she ‘follows’ on Twitter, and how she reacted when she met her idol Serena Williams in the locker-room. Law and Catherine Whitaker reflect on the form of Rafael Nadal, who won through in straight sets, but endured a tough, testing first set against Dusan Lijovic.And a strange, five-set

Day one of the US Open was dominated by the women’s draw, with the big upset of British No.1 Johanna Konta and the stunning win of Maria Sharapova over Simona Halep.After a long, breathless day, the Tennis Podcast team of David Law (BBC 5 Live), Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and Simon Briggs (Telegraph tennis correspondent) got together to look back on it all.Did Sharapova surpass expectations, or was Halep disappointing? Will the Romanian ever actually reach World No.1 having come within touching distance on so many occasions? And can Sharapova back up this win by going on a run?For Konta, defeat at the hands of World No.78 Aleksandra Krunic, was a big blow. Where was the match won and lost? Is Konta starting to feel the pressure of being a Top Ten player with the associated expectations that come with that status?Elsewhere, there were impressive wins for the two British men in action - Kyle Edmund and Cameron Norrie. How far can they go?A new edition of The Tennis Podcast will be available to download afte

A day before the US Open gets underway, and a day after Andy Murray announced his withdrawal, Tennis Podcast presenters Catherine Whitaker and David Law convened at Flushing Meadows to preview the year’s Grand Slam tournament.Was Murray right to make the call to withdraw? Should he have done so earlier? And should that be it for the year?Why are so many top players getting injured - all of last year’s Top 5 men? Is it coincidence or the sign of a more significant problem? And does tennis need to change radically as a result?Who do the team think will come through the men’s and women’s draws? And is Alexander Zverev getting a bit too big for his boots?A new edition of The Tennis Podcast will be available to download after play every day during the US Open. Presented by broadcasters Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport, BBC 5 Live) and David Law (BBC 5 Live, BT Sport), it is produced weekly throughout the year, and daily at the Grand Slam tournaments, in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. New Tennis

Grigor Dimitrov has made a career out of promising much but failing to deliver, while Garbine Muguruza follows Grand Slam breakthroughs with slumps. Until now.This week’s Tennis Podcast discusses their impressive victories in Cincinnati and wonders whether they could be the forerunners to even bigger wins at the US Open, which starts next week.With Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori all out injured, and question marks over the fitness of Roger Federer and Andy Murray, is this Dimitrov’s time to shine? Could the man he beat in the final - Nick Kyrgios - make a run of his own? And wasn’t he supposed to be injured?Is Muguruza now a clear favourite for the women’s title? And what happened to Simona Halep in the final when she was just one match away from reaching World No.1? The podcast team also discuss the return of Rafael Nadal to World No.1, the US Open wild card given to Maria Sharapova, the likelihood of Andy Murray featuring in New York, and the sad case of Melanie Oudin.The Tennis Podcas

Another week and another piece of evidence that both Alexander Zverev and Elina Svitolina are the real deal in tennis terms.Both Zverev and Svitolina won their fifth titles of 2017 in Montreal and Toronto respectively, and with the US Open just around the corner, the Tennis Podcast team are wondering whether they might reproduce those wins in the Big Apple?Zverev saw off Roger Federer in straight sets, inflicting only the third defeat of the year on the 19-time Grand Slam champion. But as well as Zverev played in his 6-3, 6-4 win, the talk between pod presenters Catherine Whitaker and David Law was as much about the apparent injury Federer was suffering from in the second set. How bad did it look? Should he pull out of Cincinnati? And will Nadal beat him to World No.1?Sviolina swept aside Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-0, but has yet to reproduce her stunning WTA tour form at the Grand Slam tournaments. Will that change in New York?The podcast team also discuss the arrival of 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov, who shoc

Three weeks have passed since Wimbledon, two weeks since our last podcast, and a lot has happened.Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka won’t be in New York. David Law and Catherine Whitaker speculate about whether Roger Federer’s decision not to play again in 2016, followed by such spectacular 2017 results, might have influenced the length of lay-off taken by his two rivals.Former French Open finalist Sara Errani has tested positive for a banned substance and yet only been banned for two months. The podcast team discuss one of the more bizarre doping stories and verdicts. There’s discussion of the immensely open men’s and women’s draws heading into the US Open, and discussion about whether one of the American players might be able to take advantage. Particularly after Madison Keys and Coco Vandeweghe contested the first all-American women’s final not featuring one of the Williams sisters for 14 years. And could youngsters Alexander Zverev or Denis Shapavalov make major runs over the next few weeks?The team t

We know about the 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the 302 weeks at World No.1, the incredible comeback to win an 8th Wimbledon title at the age of nearly 36.But where did it all start for Roger Federer? Where did he make his professional debut? What was he like as a teenager? Is it true that he had a bad temper? And were there really doubts about whether he would deliver on his talent?In a special edition of The Tennis Podcast, The Roger Federer Story is told through the eyes of BBC 5 Live commentator and Tennis Podcast presenter David Law, who met Federer for the first time the day before his professional debut as a 16-year-old in Gstaad, Switzerland in 1998. In his role as Communications Manager on the ATP World Tour, Law worked behind the scenes with Federer for four years, and remembers Federer’s growing pains as he went from boy to man with the eyes of the world waiting for him to fulfil his potential.We learn of his struggle to come to terms with the death of his first coach Peter Carter in a tragic

After Roger Federer became the only man ever to win eight Grand Slam title singles titles and 19 Grand Slam crowns overall, The Tennis Podcast discussed where he sits in the pantheon of all-time greats - and not just in tennis. Is he better than Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, and Rafael Nadal (who has a winning record against him)? Are his achievements superior to those of Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Usain Bolt? Impossible questions to answer, perhaps, but that doesn’t stop David Law and the Telegraph’s Simon Briggs and Charlie Eccleshare from trying to on the podcast. The debate comes after Federer ruthlessly dispatched Marin Cilic, who’s movement was impeded by a bad blister, to win the title in straight sets. How much of Cilic’s capitulation was physical, and how much was mental and emotional, or did the former lead to the latter?We also review a mixed doubles title for Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis, the doubles successes of Marcelo Melo and Lukas Kubot, and Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makara

Garbine Muguruza dashed the dream of Venus Williams in the Wimbledon final and the Tennis Podcast team were as perplexed by the vast difference in quality between the two sets played as everyone else. Williams was arguably the better player in a first set that she lost 7-5, so why did she fade so considerably in set two?Where did that Muguruza performance come from? Should she and will she now go and hire Conchita Martinez as a full-time coach? And can she take her Wimbledon form into the rest of the year and dominate the sport?The men’s singles final could, in the view of Tennis Podcast presenter David Law, be an absolute classic. But only if Marin Cilic is fully fit, and mentally ready to take on Roger Federer in his back yard. What does co-host Catherine Whitaker think? Find out on the show. Both make their predictions, as does Telegraph tennis correspondent Simon Briggs. The Tennis Podcast is a downloadable tennis radio show which is produced in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. Hi

Roger Federer will appear in his 11th Wimbledon final, his 29th Grand Slam singles final overall, and against a man that thrashed him in the US Open semifinal in 2014. Tennis Podcast presenters Catherine Whitaker and David Law are joined by Telegraph tennis correspondent Simon Briggs to look back on Federer’s tight three-set win over Tomas Berdych, and the Marin Cilic defeat of Sam Querrey.After six minutes of Briggs talking and typing as he tried to make his deadline, the Federer press conference was announced, and the podcast team went in to throw a few questions of their own at the great man, including …Does he still get nervous after all these years, and how does that manifest itself if so? And would he feel disappointed in the court scheduling (putting him on Centre Court every day) if he were Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic?Afterwards, Whitaker and Law looked at the women’s final, speaking to New York Times correspondent Christopher Clarey about the Williams family that he has got to know over the l

Jo Konta’s Wimbledon dream may have ended for 2017 but the journey of Venus Williams to the final is an extraordinary story, and one which The Tennis Podcast team review in the latest show.How has a woman of 37 been able to return to the final 17 years after her first title at the All England Club? Where did her match against Konta turn? And how will she get on against Garbine Muguruza in the final?For Konta it was a disappointing day. What happened after she held break point at 4 games all? Did the occasion get to her? And was it poor form that she didn’t wait for Williams before departing the stage?Muguruza’s win over Magdalena Rybarikova is assessed, the team look ahead to the men’s semifinals, and make their predictions for Roger Federer vs. Tomas Berdych and Marin Cilic vs. Sam Querrey. We also hear about podcast presenter David Law’s doorstep-interview with Venus’ mother Oracene on BBC 5 Live, how Law was captioned ‘David Lloyd - former British Tennis Player’ on the Victoria Derbyshire show (much t

Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have won the last four Wimbledon men’s singles titles between them, but they both exited in a manner that prompted as many questions and answers.The Tennis Podcast team - led by presenters Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and joined by Charlie Eccleshare of the Telegraph - assembled to talk it through on the daily show. How injured was Murray, and did the injury decide the outcome of the match? Was Sam Querrey just too good? Should Murray take a significant time out of the game to heal? All discussed. How badly hurt was Djokovic to tap out of his match at 6-7, 0-2 down against Tomas Berdych? Is Djokovic about to ‘do a Roger Federer’ and take the rest of the year off?There’s a preview of the women’s semifinals, with predictions for the Johanna Konta vs. Venus Williams, and Garbine Muguruza vs. Magdalena Rybarikova matches. And the team discuss Goran Ivanisevic, who suggested on BBC Radio 5 Live that he might like to enter Strictly Come Dancing. The Tennis Pod

After a thrilling, (if a little soggy), women's quarter finals day, David & Catherine sought shelter in Southfields to digest an extraordinary battle between 'warriors' Jo Konta and Simona Halep, and an historic victory for sixth seed Konta. Plus, the collapse of Vandeweghe, the surge or Rybarikova, the resurgence of Muguruza and the Majestic Venus. Plus a slightly disgruntled Novak Djokovic, albeit a winning one.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Manic Monday lived up to its name in every sense, with a massive upset, British history made, the World No.1 in the women’s game going out, and a will-they, won’t-they saga about moving Novak Djokovic on to Centre Court late at night. Afterwards, Telegraph tennis correspondent Simon Briggs joined Tennis Podcast presenters Catherine Whitaker and David Law, who are part of the BBC 5 Live team at Wimbledon, to review the day.What a story with Gilles Muller beating Rafael Nadal 15-13 in the 5th set. Did Muller win it, or Nadal lost it?Jo Konta and Andy Murray ensured a British man and woman reached the last 8 for the first time in 44 years. How did they play, and what did they say in the interview room afterwards?Angelique Kerber lost the World No.1 ranking, but not without an enormous fight against Garbine Muguruza in one of the matches of the tournament. But why was it out on Court No.2? Three-time champion Chris Evert reckons the inequality between male and female representation on the show courts needs t

On a day when many of the leading female players fought through scares to take their places in the last 16, and the top male stars cruised into week two of Wimbledon, the main topic of conversation on Saturday was ‘who will be scheduled where on Manic Monday?’It’s a topic that was picked up immediately on The Tennis Podcast, with The Telegraph’s correspondent Simon Briggs joining presenters David Law and Catherine Whitaker.Four men’s matches on Monday (involving the so-called Big 4 of Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) were scheduled on the two main show courts, versus two women’s matches. Is it right that these ‘marquee players’, as they are referred to, get top billing because they are the players ticket-holders are perceived to want to see most, or is a self-perpetuating problem? i.e. can the women’s game ever win the ‘market forces’ game if they are not given the biggest stage on which to show what they can do?In a separate argument, is it fair to, say, Djokovic and Nadal, t

Andy Murray experienced the full Fabio Fognini effect in a Friday night thriller at Wimbledon, and came through it to tell the tale. Fognini hit an array of outrageous winners, some terrible errors, and challenged a vital call mid-rally when he had not challenges remaining. He was also warned for visible obscenities. Tennis Podcast presenters Catherine Whitaker and David Law took a break from their BBC Radio 5 Live broadcasting duties to sit in the crowd and soak it up. Afterwards, they convened to talk all about it to Telegraph tennis correspondent Simon Briggs.Was Murray sub-standard and a little fortunate to get through, or was this a vintage performance full of Murray grit? The Tennis Podcast team discuss and disagree.Heather Watson came close again, but not close enough, losing out in three sets to Victoria Azarenka. Could Azarenka now go all the way? One of the podcast team think so. Jo Konta cruised, however, reaching the last 16 of Wimbledon for the first time. Is she starting to justify her

The day after the pre-tournament favourite Petra Kvitova went out of Wimbledon she was followed onto the sidelines by her compatriot Karolina Pliskova.That means The Tennis Podcast team’s two picks for the women's title are not going to win the event, and so our predictions lie in tatters …Was Pliskova losing really that big a shock? What does that mean for Jo Konta? Is she, as some bookmakers have suggested, now the clear favourite for title? It’s a question that led to BBC Radio 5 Live colleagues and Tennis Podcast presenters Catherine Whitaker and David Law having a massive argument on the show.All other significant day 4 results are covered, including straightforward wins for Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. And finally, we wish Bethanie Mattek Sands a quick recovery after her awful fall at Wimbledon yesterday.The Tennis Podcast is a downloadable tennis radio show which is produced in association with Telegraph Sport and Eurosport. A new Tennis Podcast will be out after play every night during Wimbl

The Tennis Podcast team reckon Jo Konta entered the consciousness of more British people than at any time in her career thanks to her classic 10-8 final set win on Wimbledon’s Centre Court against Donna Vekic. An Australian Open semifinal, a title win in Miami and a Top 10 ranking were enough to get year-round tennis fans on-board, but Wimbledon is where stars are made and this was a perfect setting. How did Konta do it? Was it a Vekic capitulation, or did Konta wrestle the win away from her? Presenters Catherine Whitaker and David Law, who are part of the BBC 5 Live Wimbledon team, discuss.What did they make of the form of Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, who were both straight sets winners?Flying ants, a Daniil Medvedev meltdown, and a big old argument about who should be on Centre Court on Friday are also part of the show, particular after Heather Watson set up a showdown with Victoria Azarenka. The prediction of Law that Petra Kvitova would win the women’s title is also thrown under the micros

The Day Two Tennis Podcast from Wimbledon is dominated by discussion of injury retirements and whether the Grand Slam tournaments need to change their rules to stop players taking to the court with physical problems to ensure they still get a £35,000 first-round loser cheque.The team quote Andy Murray from the US Open 2015. He seems to have the solution.Meanwhile, presenter David Law gives us an insight into new Team Novak Djokovic. The three-time champion practised with his new coaching team of Andre Agassi and former Wimbledon semifinalist Mario Ancic. Afterwards, they fist-bumped and before going their separate ways, Ancic spoke to Law about the set-up of the new team. Law and fellow BBC Radio 5 Live broadcaster Catherine Whitaker also discuss the comments of Bernard Tomic, who admitted after a straight sets defeat that he took an injury time-out to try to change the flow of his match and interrupt his opponent’s momentum. He also claimed to have ‘no motivation’ at Wimbledon. The Tennis Podcast i

US Open champion Stan Wawrinka lost, Andy Murray’s hip looked fine, he revealed his penchant for watching Peppa Pig, and Jo Konta was calm personified in a first-round win. Those were the headline talking points on The Tennis Podcast after day one at Wimbledon.Presenters Catherine Whitaker and David Law, who are part of the BBC Radio 5 Live team at Wimbledon, convened to talk through a cracking opening day. Everyone was watching Murray’s movement closely, and he looked bemused by the interest after his straight sets win over Alexander Bublik. Rafael Nadal looked awesome against John Millman. Can Marin Cilic really see off both Murray and Nadal to reach the final, as Law has picked him to do in their pre-tournament predictions?Petra Kvitova had played only a couple of tournaments since returning from a knife attack in her home at the start of the year, yet she’s the favourite for the title with the bookmakers. How did she look on day one?And Whitaker and Law also discuss a marathon win for Aljaz