Tennis Unfiltered

• Is there any way of stopping Iga Swiatek?
• How on earth did Coco Gauff get so mature at 18?
• How can Alexander Zverev beat Rafael Nadal?
• Is Nadal's foot going to be alright?
• Where did Marin Cilic's form come from?
• What can Casper Ruud do in the tennis world?

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Read James' comment piece on the scheduling at Roland Garros here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/french-open-schedule-2022-women-match-men-primetime-slot-1662774

We also ask:

• Did Casper Ruud really shout at Holger Rune in the locker room?
• How is Marin Cilic still not done yet?
• Is Iga Swiatek starting to show some weaknesses?
• Can Daria Kasatkina stop her?

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• How on earth do you explain Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal?
• Where did Djokovic go wrong?
• How fit is Nadal really and will we see him at Wimbledon?
• Is 1am in May too late and too cold to play tennis?
• Plus: Zverev vs Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Fernandez's injury and more!

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(All times UK)

Court Philippe Chatrier

• 11am: Martina Trevisan vs Leylah Fernandez (17)
• Followed by: Coco Gauff (18) vs Sloane Stephens
• Followed by: Alexander Zverev (3) vs Carlos Alcaraz (6)
• Not before 7.45pm: Novak Djokovic (1) vs Rafael Nadal (5)

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• Will Felix Auger-Aliassime regret not serving at 70 per cent?
• How is Rafa Nadal playing?
• Can Coco Gauff stop Iga Swiatek?
• Where did Sloane Stephens' form come from?

This and so many other questions to answer from Roland Garros...

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Calvin and James raw and unedited on Saturday's action at Roland Garros

• Jessica Pegula is the highest ranked seed left in the women's draw except for Iga Swiatek
• Who can challenge the Polish world No 1?
• Is Aryna Sabalenka ever going to win a grand slam?

• What does Andrey Rublev add to the draw?
• Why did we never believe that Daniil Medvedev could be good on clay?
• What is Holger Rune's deal?

James will be taking no questions about the football now and for some time afterwards.

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• What a match between Fernandez and Bencic!
• Anisimova got away with one
• Norrie’s French Open campaign is over
• Gauff dispatched the giant-killer Kanepi
• It’s a big day for the top half pretenders tomorrow: Pegula vs Zidansek, Badosa vs Kudermetova; Keys vs Rybakina and Sabalenka vs Giorgi.
• Holger Rune vs Hugo Gaston on Saturday night
• Medvedev faces Kecmanovic, which feels like a big test

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• Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic: who are we more convinced by?
• Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev: who are we less convinced by?
• Can anyone stop Iga Swiatek and is it worth trying?
• How do we rate the British effort?

Plus a look ahead to how the quarter-finals might be shaping up and why Irina-Camelia Begu was not disqualified from the tournament.

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Calvin and James discuss high-profile defeats for Emma Raducanu and Maria Sakkari, while Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz both faced match points but somehow came away with victory.

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After a late-night finish from Tsitsipas and Musetti, this podcast needs no introduction. Also it's very late and I'm very tired. Instead, here is Benoit Paire's introduction to his press conference.

****

I would like to talk about Wimbledon. I would like to know if ATP defends more players or Russia.

This is why I wanted to talk with you guys. Because we are going to play a tournament without any points. When some people had COVID, we didn't say, Oh, okay, we should cancel the tournament altogether.

But then we have three or four Russian players, including Medvedev, and we are rallying against Wimbledon. I think it's a pity, because if we were to listen to all the players, players do not understand this decision. 99% of players, they want to have points and to play the tournament as it was before.

So I want to know if ATP wants to defend players or Russia.

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Today's Roland Garros wrap includes:

• Amanda Anisimova beating Naomi Osaka
• Osaka's Wimbledon bombshell and reaction from Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic
• Emma Raducanu almost slipping on a first-round banana skin
• Novak Djokovic standing up for players' rights

Here is Tuesday's order of play

(All courts start at 10am BST unless stated; British players in bold)

Court Philippe Chatrier

Play starts at 11am

• Alize Cornet vs Misaki Doi
• Casper Ruud (8) vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
• Paula Badosa (3) vs Fiona Ferro
• Not before 7.45pm: Lorenzo Musetti vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (4)

Court Suzanne Lenglen

• Facundo Bagnis vs Daniil Medvedev (2)
• Not before 12pm: Lloyd Harris vs Richard Gasquet 1-6 2-5
• Taylor Townsend vs Carolina Garcia
• Hugo Gaston vs Alex de Minaur (19)
• Chloe Paquet vs Aryna Sabalenka (7)

Court Simonne Mathieu

• Tessah Andrianjafitrimo vs Karolina Pliskova (8)
• Not before 11.30am: Benoit Paire vs Ilya Ivashka 3-6 2-1
• Frances Tiafoe (24) vs Benjamin Bonzi
• Simona Halep (19) vs Nastasja Schunk
• Pablo Carreno Busta (16) vs Gilles Simon

Court 5

• Not before 11am: Ekaterina Alexandrova (30) vs Greet Minnen
• Irina-Camelia Begu vs Jasmine Paolini

Court 6

• Danielle Collins (9) vs Viktoriya Tomova
• Not before 11.30am: Sebastian Korda (27) vs John Millman 1-0
• Adrian Mannarino vs Federico Delbonis
• Claire Liu vs Tamara Zidansek (24)
• Giulio Zeppieri vs Hubert Hurkacz (12)

Court 7

• Emil Ruusuvuori vs Ugo Humbert
• Not before 12pm: Madison Keys (22) vs Anna Kalinskaya 2-1
• Jessica Pegula vs Qiang Wang
• Bjorn Fratangelo vs Jannik Sinner (11)
• Rebecca Sramkova vs Daria Kasatkina (20)

Court 10

• Joao Sousa vs Chun-Hsin Tseng
• Shelby Rogers vs Tereza Martincova
• Roberto Carballes Baena vs Oscar Otte
• Panna Udvardy vs Fernanda Contreras Gomez

Court 11

• Ricardas Berankis vs Laslo Djere
• Jiri Lehecka vs David Goffin
• Irina Bara vs Yulia Putintseva
• Madison Brengle vs Mihaela Buzarnescu

Court 12

• Denis Shapovalov (14) vs Holger Rune
• Not before 12pm: Pedro Martinez vs Henri Laaksonen 6-2 4-6 0-2
• Mayar Sherif vs Marta Kostyuk
• Oksana Selekhmeteva vs Kaja Juvan
• Jiri Vesely vs Steve Johnson

Court 13

• Aleksandra Krunic vs Kamilla Rakhimova
• Not before 11.30am: Arantxa Rus vs Elena Rybakina (16) 1-6 4-2
• Peter Gojowczyk vs Lorenzo Sonego (32)
• Angelina Kalinina vs Hailey Baptiste
• Marco Cecchinato vs Pablo Andujar

Court 14

• Lucia Bronzetti vs Jelena Ostapenko (13)
• Not before 11.30am: Arthur Rinderknech vs Alexander Bublik 2-6 2-4
• Andrey Rublev (7) vs Soonwoo Kwon
• Camila Giorgi (28) vs Shuai Zhang
• Lucas Pouille vs Zdenek Kolar

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We'll be doing daily podlets from Paris to cover off each day's play and preview action from the next day. We hope you enjoy! If you want to watch James' video diaries, head to instagram.com/jamesgraysport

• Ons Jabeur left the women's draw even more wide open when she lost to Magda Linette
• Garbine Muguruza can't buy a win and the last person she needed to face was Kaia Kanepi
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is supposed to be good on clay!
• Plus: Could Nadal REALLY lose in R1? Could Djokovic REALLY lose in R1? (No and no.) How will the Brits fare on Monday? Will it just rain all day and what happens if it does?

The show courts on Monday are as follows...

Court Philippe Chatrier

Play starts at 11am BST

• Iga Swiatek (1) vs Lesia Tsurenk
• Diane Parry vs Barbora Krejcikova (2)
• Jordan Thompson vs Rafael Nadal (5)
• Not before 7.45pm: Novak Djokovic (1) vs Yoshihito Nishioka

Court Suzanne Lenglen

Play starts at 10am BST

• Amanda Anisimova (27) vs Naomi Osaka
• Stan Wawrinka vs Corentin Moutet
• Anett Kontaveit (5) vs Ajla Tomljanovic
• Lloyd Harris vs Richard Gasquet

Court Simonne Mathieu

Play starts at 10am BST

• Ocean Dodin vs Andrea Petkovic
• Cameron Norrie (10) vs Manuel Guinard
• Linda Noskova vs Emma Raducanu (12)
• Benoit Paire vs Ilya Ivashka

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This week, George, James and Calvin react to the breaking news that Wimbledon has been stripped of its ranking points for 2022 as the two tours fire back over the decision to ban players from Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine. Is it the right thing to do? How will Wimbledon react? What next? Will anyone notice?

They also look over the French Open draw and try to pick their fantasy teams in an effort to avoid anyone finding out how little they really know about tennis(!).

As always, if you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review if you are able to do so. We love getting them and it helps us do more with our podcasting.

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• Just hours before this podcast was recorded, the ATP confirmed they would not strip Queen's and Eastbourne of their points over the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players, but would not be drawn on their response to Wimbledon doing the same. What about the WTA? And will Wimbledon really be a ranking points-free zone?

• On the court, Emma Raducanu pulled out injured in Rome, losing to Bianca Andreescu after dropping the first set. Is the back injury a concern? What other 'niggles' are there to shake off ahead of Roland Garros?

• Iga Swiatek mullered the women's draw once again, even Ons Jabeur crumbled in the face of her aggression. Can anyone stop her?

• Novak Djokovic has done what he does best and hit top form and the right time but Carlos Alcaraz will start as joint-favourite for the title. Stefanos Tsitsipas has lots of points to defend in Paris but seems unable to beat the biggest players, while Alexander Zverev is quietly coming up on the rail...

• But what about Rafael Nadal? Roland Garros is his domain but his own body seems to be failing him at the worst possible time.

• PLUS: Jack Draper, Matteo Berrettini and Gael Monfils all pull out of the French Open, Laura Robson officially retires and doubles is the gift that keeps on giving

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• Carlos Alcaraz beat Alexander Zverev in an underwhelming final after perhaps the greatest run of Masters history, beating Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in consecutive days. Will he win *60* grand slams?! George, Calvin and James refuse to get off the hype train.
• Will Nadal and Nole be in better shape come Roland Garros and be able to stop him?
• What of the lost generation, consumed by the all-conquering Alcaraz?
• What next for Ons Jabeur? This is certainly the biggest win of her career, but she now needs to show she can do it at grand slam tournaments at the French Open could be a great opportunity.
• Could Madrid have scheduled the tournament any better? Almost certainly.
• Who is Sonay Kartal? The British 20-year-old has already won three 25Ks this year and is flying up the rankings. The sky is the limit, isn't it?

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Please leave us a five-star review wherever you get your podcast - we will read EVERY single one out on the pod (eventually - the system often filters them out for a few weeks).

You can also contact us on Twitter @LoveTennisPod or by email lovetennispod@gmail.com, and we'll always try to include your questions on the podcast.

Firstly, George sends his apologies this week. North London's most injured tennis player has finally gone under the knife to repair a meniscus damaged putting up flatpack furniture. He assures he will be less pilled up next week and capable of lucid thoughts.

In his absence, James and Calvin did their best to get through another stacked week of tennis news, starting with Emma Raducanu's decision to sack coach Torben Beltz and adopt a new training model, including support from the LTA and a wide range of voices contributing to her development.

Elsewhere, Wimbledon defended their decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from their tournament. They claimed the UK Government advice had left them with little option but to do so. How will the ATP and WTA respond? Could they pull points from the grass-court season in the UK altogether and put on extra tournaments elsewhere?

Plus we discuss the return of Roger Federer at the Swiss Indoors later this year, whether Rafael Nadal really needs that much match practice as he makes his comeback at the Madrid Open, what Iga Swiatek's 'injury' really means, Jack Draper's fine win in Spain and titles for two more young up-and-comers, Holger Rune and Sebastian Baez.

James Gray - @jamesgraysport

George Bellshaw - @bellshawgeorge

Calvin Betton - @calvbetton

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Since we last recorded, Wimbledon turned the tennis world upside down by banning Russian and Belarusian players from the grass-court grand slam. The decision divided opinion in the tennis world, and between George Bellshaw, Calvin Betton and James Gray. Part one of this pod is entirely dedicated to the issue, so if you're sick of that by now, skip the first half hour.

In part two, you'll find Iga Swiatek, Emma Raducanu, Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andy Murray and much, much more.

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Emma Raducanu made her senior professional debut on clay last week - with mixed results. She beat Tereza Martincova, her best result against a player in the top 50 since the US Open, and was then thumped by Marketa Vondrousova. What next for Raducanu in Stuttgart and beyond? And could we see another coaching change in the not-too-distant future?

Stefanos Tsitsipas retained his Monaco crown by seeing off Alejandro Davidovich Fokina - is he the real French Open favourite given the lack of form elsewhere? ADF knocked out Novak Djokovic for him on his return to action for the first time in six weeks, so what can we learn from that result?

'Minute Tennis' returns as Calvin discusses why clay is such an important surface for development and why Brits are usually so poor on it

Plus: Billie Jean King Cup news, blisters, toenails, the No 1 ranking and more!

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Please leave us a five-star review wherever you get your podcast - we will read EVERY single one out on the pod.

You can also contact us on Twitter @LoveTennisPod or by email lovetennispod@gmail.com, and we'll always try to include your questions on the podcast.

Nick Kyrgios has picked up yet more fines for on-court spats with umpires, although this one did concede he had got it wrong. Does tennis need to reflect on how good its umpires are? Or find a better way to deal with players who behave unacceptably towards them?

The so-called golden generation of French tennis is coming to an end as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga announces his retirement. A career well spent or a persistent underperformer? And what now for the game in France as others will soon follow him out to pasture.

Emma Raducanu has been hitting with at the academy run by Riccardo Piatti - is this a hint about where her next coaching change might come from? Torben Beltz remains in charge... for now.

Belinda Bencic beat Ons Jabeur in an excellent final in Charleston, should we consider the Swiss a genuine threat on the clay now?

We also talk about all the latest injury news including Matteo Berrettini, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal.

James Gray - @jamesgraysport

George Bellshaw - @bellshawgeorge

Calvin Betton - @calvbetton

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As always, if you enjoy the podcast, please leave us a five-star review to help us reach more listeners and devote more time to the pod.

- Are we over Ash Barty? The WTA’s new No 1 and the biggest star of the women's game met in Miami final, and gave us all plenty of reasons to be cheerful

- Can anyone beat Iga Swiatek? She was far too strong for Naomi Osaka and now heads to the clay where she won her grand slam title.

- Naomi Osaka is back: we are pleased to see her and she seems please to see us. A rivalry to define an era?

- There’s no escape from Alcaraz as Carlos wins his first Masters title. How many slams will he win? Could he win one *this year*?

- Casper Ruud certainly played his part in Miami as looks a complete top-10 player. Is he a major threat at RG? (But he's not just about the clay.) Do we see him as more than just a sometime semi-finalist at slams?

- Daniil Medvedev is a doubt for the French and for Wimbledon all of a sudden: minor surgery on a hernia is going to keep him out for most of the clay and The Daily Telegraph say the All-England are ready to ban over Russian invasion of Ukraine…

- We also look at Jack Draper's run of wins, Cameron Norrie's move into the top 10, new world No 1 Joe Salisbury, Nick Kyrgios drawing a telling off from the ATP boss for all the players, Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka returning and the Emma Raducanu effect on UK TV right!

Phew...

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Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the most Richard Williams move possible, and then rewrote the story of Serena and Venus' father just as well as the film did

Ashleigh Barty is done with tennis - but is tennis done with her? Certainly not...

How will Iga Swiatek stand up to the pressure of being the sport's new No 1 and leading yet another "new generation" of players?

The Brits are on a roll: Paul Jubb has won his first Challegner title, Heather Watson beat Elina Svitolina, Cam Norrie closing in on the top 10 and Joe Salisbury is set to become world doubles No 1 for the first time

However, Andy Murray has never been more in last chance saloon

Nick Kyrgios looking fit, fired up and ruthless: is a Wimbledon title out of the question given lack of quality on grass/Novak’s lack of activity?

Is Emma Raducanu an easy target for critics who say she is too busy off the court to be successful on it? Or has Raducanu got to do her talking on court?

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• Taylor Fritz won his first ever Masters title by beating Rafael Nadal, the first American to do so in 21 years - is there an era of American success and attention in the offing? And how big would that be for tennis as a whole?
• Nick Kyrgios came, conquered, swore and left again, but not without leaving plenty of entertainment behind. Does he really not care about winning? Actually, says Calvin, it's that he can't cope with losing.
• Liam Broady came through qualifying but how close did he get to springing a main draw upset against Miomir Kecmanovic?
• Iga Swiatek moved up to No 2 in the world for the first time by beating Maria Sakkari in the women's final. Sakkari is also up to a career-high at No 3. Are we starting to see a new world order in the WTA?
• Harriet Dart has cracked the top 100 for the first time after a surprise run in California. Can she go further?
• And a quick look at the Miami Open, where Daniil Medvedev could end up facing Andy Murray in the second round.

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• Andy Murray got his 700th career win at Indian Wells but was then beaten by Alexander Bublik - what can Calvin tell us about his new coaching set-up, and where does he go from here?
• Roger Federer says he is in the middle of a three-part recover from his knee injury and we ask whether he is really a serious tennis player any more.
• Naomi Osaka was left in tears after a spectator shouted "you suck" at her and she said it reminded her of what Serena and Venus went through back in 2001. Is she fit for professional tennis at the moment? How much of her will we see at future tournaments?
• Did Emma Raducanu exceed expectations in California, where she won one and lost one?

QUICK HITS

• Novak Djokovic's draw farce
• Rafael Nadal vs Dan Evans - a foregone conclusion?
• Amanda Anisimova splits with Darren Cahill
• Jack Draper gets a wildcard in Miami

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• Andy Murray has brought Ivan Lendl back into his coaching team for a third spell, reuniting a partnership that picked up three grand slams and two Olympic gold medals
• Serena Williams has taken aim at Alexander Zverev's actions and claimed she would have been put "in jail" if she had done something similar
• Novak Djokovic is doing his best to help on the front line in Ukraine as Dayana Yastremska, who escaped the county, donates her runners-up prize money in Lyon to the cause
• Leylah Fernandez has her second WTA title after beating the improving Camila Osorio in three dramatic sets in Mexico, feature five saved championship points and a floodlight failure

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Anna Smith once again joins James Gray and Calvin Betton to talk all things tennis.

We start with the horrific Russian invasion of Ukraine, brought into the tennis world by the likes of Elina Svitolina and Andrey Rublev this week with strong statements of their views. Will the WTA, ATP and ITF follow suit? We await with interest.

Elsewhere, Cam Norrie reached final and beat Stefanos Tsitsipas along the way but lost to Rafael Nadal. Beating Tsitsipas was only his third ever victory over a top-10 player: a landmark win or a right place, right time victory? And what about Nadal? The man who keeps defying time, and now seems happy to play a relatively full schedule too. How many Slams do we see him winning based on this latest resurgence?

Emma Raducanu continues to struggle for momentum with yet another injury hampering her. Is criticism of her for “doing too many photoshoots” unfair? There are a lot of points to defend later in the year, if any of these injuries are serious and she slips back down the rankings, how will that impact her progress overall?

Jack Draper has won his third Challenger of the year, and is up into the top 150 in the world. How far do we see him going in 2022?

And finally, Alexander Zverev smashes up a chair, gets fined and kicked out of the tournament - but should he get banned by the ATP as well?

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A new voice joins us to talk about all things tennis as Anna Smith, former player and now coach, commentator and broadcaster, replaces George Bellshaw (for this week at least) in the third chair.

She chats with James Gray and Calvin Bellshaw about this week's latest tennis news, including titles for Cam Norrie, Carlos Alcaraz and Jelena Ostapenko, a return to the public eye for Novak Djokovic and three Brits winning titles at lower levels to suggest the future is very bright on home soil

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George Bellshaw, Calvin Betton and James Gray breakdown the latest week in the weird world of tennis.

This week on the Love Tennis Podcast:

• Juan Martin del Potro's on-court tears
• Daniil Medvedev's chase of Novak Djokovic's world No. 1 crown
• Andy Murray's hopes of finding a new coach
• Felix Auger-Aliassime's first ATP title
• The future stars of the men's game
• Anett Kontaveit's roaring indoor streak
• Emma Raducanu's 2,000 points challenge
• Serve bots reign supreme in Dallas

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