The Tennis Podcast

History was made at the Australian Open on Sunday as Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic to become the youngest man to win the career Grand Slam. Catherine, David and Matt react to a special night in Melbourne. 

Part one - Djokovic’s incredible start to the match, Alcaraz’s tactical adjustments and impressive mindset, a tense fourth set as Djokovic upped his intensity, and Alcaraz proving the doubters wrong. 

Par...

At the end of women’s final night, Catherine, David and Matt discuss Elena Rybakina’s 6-4 4-6 6-4 win over Aryna Sabalenka as she became a two-time major champion. 

Part one - All the talking points from the women’s final including Rybakina’s incredible start and finish, how Sabalenka lost her 3-0 lead in the decider, whether or not Sabalenka has a Grand Slam finals problem, the optics of Stefano Vukov receiving a trophy, a...

The Dud Slam is no more! Catherine, David and Matt react to an extraordinary day as Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic both reached the final in impossibly dramatic fashion. 

Part one - We start with Djokovic’s late night comeback victory over Jannik Sinner. How did he do it? What was new from him and what was vintage? And what more could Sinner have done on his many unconverted break points? 

Part two (26:55) - Movi...

Catherine, David and Matt are in Garden Square to talk about Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina reaching the women’s final. 

Part one - Women’s semi-finals. Some actual drama as Jessica Pegula tried to mount a dramatic comeback in the second set against Rybakina, a dominant display from Sabalenka versus Elina Svitolina which was propelled by a controversial hindrance call, and some early thoughts on what might happen in Saturda...

The semi-finals are set as Catherine, David and Matt wrap up another day of straight sets matches at this most unusual Australian Open. 

Part one - Men’s Results. We cover the devastation of Lorenzo Musetti when forced to retire two sets up, another lucky break for Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner’s continued dominance over Ben Shelton, and whether Djokovic can rediscover any kind of form before facing Sinner in the semis.&nbs...

Catherine, David and Matt discuss another day of matches without much jeopardy, but one that saw Aryna Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina, Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz all reach the semi-finals.

Part one - Men’s results. We cover the total brilliance of Carlos Alcaraz in the night session, a new Alcaraz theory that David’s developed, the devastation of Alex de Minaur, and the remarkable serving performance from Alexander Zverev w...

It was another day at the Australian Open without the matches we were hoping for, but with a record-breaking quarter-final line up in terms of top seeds, surely they’re coming. Catherine, David and Matt discuss it all.

Part one - Women’s results. We cover Madison Keys going out of the tournament and look ahead to Amanda Anisimova vs Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals. 

Part two (27:16)...

Catherine, David and Matt review a day which promised much only to deliver little in the way of drama, but did feature several incredible performances from some of the sport’s biggest names and rising stars. 

Part one - Men’s results. We start with the news of Jakub Mensik’s withdrawal and how much it could help Novak Djokovic, before moving on to the day’s matches which saw standout performances from Carlos Alcaraz, Alex d...

Catherine, David and Matt catch up at the end of a day of scorching heat in Melbourne as Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic both survived very different scares.

Part one - Men’s results. We cover all the drama of Sinner’s victory against Eliot Spizzirri as the Italian cramped badly before the closing of the roof came to his rescue. What can Sinner do to avoid these situations? As for Djokovic, just how close did he come to being dis...

Catherine, David and Matt discuss a day which saw almost all of the big names win through to set up a series of enticing Last 16 matches. 

Part one - Women’s results. We discuss Coco Gauff’s comeback against Hailey Baptiste, Aryna Sabalenka needing her tiebreak record to come through, a breakout performance from Iva Jovic to beat Jasmine Paolini, and some incredible Yulia Putintseva celebrations. 

Part two (26:49) -...

Catherine, David and Matt are together to look back on Stan Wawrinka’s epic victory and a day with some aggro as well as the first big upset in the women’s draw. 

Part one - Men’s results. We discuss Wawrinka stealing the show by winning a fifth set tiebreak against Arthur Gea, another comfortable day for Novak Djokovic, a somewhat surprising loss for Hubert Hurkacz, a sad Stefanos Tsitsipas scene, and an intriguing clash b...

Part one - Men’s results. We discuss Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev withstanding good performances from Yannick Hanfmann and Quentin Halys, Alex de Minaur weathering a bit of a storm on Laver, Alexander Zverev finding his best form, and the distinct lack of upsets so far. 

Part two (30:21) - Women’s Results. We cover a dispiriting performance from Emma Raducanu and concerns over the direction of her game, as well as con...

Catherine, David and Matt gathered on an outside court towards the end of day three as round one came to a close. 

Part one - We focus on the day’s fun matches including Madison Keys coming through the unique test of Oleksandra Oliynykova, Janic Tjen impressing against Leylah Fernandez, and Dane Sweeney outlasting Gael Monfils. 

Part two (25:27) - Unfortunately there were some tougher scenes too, including another s...

Part one - Women’s results. We cover Iga Swiatek passing a pretty tough test against Yuan Yue, Mirra Andreeva’s Mix credentials after her comeback win over Donna Vekic, victories for Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova, more injury concern for Barbora Krejcikova, and the extraordinary scenes around Melbourne Park for Alexandra Eala’s match. 

Part two (49:32) - Men’s results. We discuss Novak Djokovic’s sharp start, Stan Wawrink...

Catherine, David and Matt review an opening day which saw the big contenders advance at night after a fun day session filled with upsets. 

Part one - Men’s Results. We discuss Carlos Alcaraz’s first match without Juan Carlos Ferrero on his team, an unfortunate day for Flavio Cobolli, a disciplined performance from Alexander Bublik, Alexander Zverev finding some form after a slow start, and a big win for Columbia University ...

The one and only Pam Shriver joins Catherine, David and Matt to get hyped for the start of the Australian Open.

Part one - Tales from the press conference room as Novak Djokovic enters this Australian Open strangely under the radar, Emma Raducanu reveals a technique change on the forehand, and Daria Kasatkina opens up about the joy of becoming an Australian citizen.

Part two (29:42) - Titles for Mirra Andreeva and Tomas Machac in Ade...

Catherine and Matt and are joined by The Athletic’s Matt Futterman to discuss the major talking points from media day, where the vibes were mostly very good. 

There’s chat about Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek going for the career Grand Slam, the confidence of Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, tales from some of the smaller interview rooms, Coco Gauff’s search for consistency, and a call out from Amanda Anisimova.

The Te...

It was draw day at the Australian Open on Thursday and Catherine, David and Matt are here to dissect them, make predictions, and pick out the must-watch round one matches. 

Part one - Women’s Draw. Will Matt be going blond? 

Part two (36:06) - Men’s Draw. Can anyone stop another Sinner vs Alcaraz final? Well David has a big prediction. 

Part three (1:10:34) - Reaction to Roger Federer’s press conference.

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Catherine, David and Matt are together in Melbourne for the Australian Open and we start our coverage Down Under by reacting to the One Point Slam which we all attended on the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night. 

We discuss how the event differed from last year’s, the parts that worked and the parts that didn’t, the glorious journeys of eventual champion Jordan Smith and breakout star Joanna Garland, and whether Roland Garr...