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The Tennis Podcast

French Open Day 6 – Svitolina Slips Up Again; Zverev Hangs On; The Compelling Case Of Novak Djokovic; Edmund vs Fognini Preview

The Tennis Podcast

David Law

Sports, Wimbledon, Tennis, Sports & Recreation

4.52.6K Ratings

🗓️ 1 June 2018

⏱️ 27 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

David and Catherine are back together on The Tennis Podcast to discuss yet another intriguing day at Roland Garros.


The biggest story is the defeat of Elina Svitolina. The No.4 seed was among the favourites for the title, but once again she failed to transfer her fantastic tour form to a Grand Slam. Why does this keep happening?


Svitolina was beaten by the unheralded Mihaela Buzărnescu of Romania whose remarkable ranking rise – from outside the Top-400 to inside the Top-40 in the space of twelve months – is lauded.


Much like Svitolina, Sascha Zverev has also struggled to play his best at Grand Slams. After coming through a 5-setter against Dusan Lajovic in round two, the German was pushed to the brink and forced to save a match point on Friday against Damir Džumhur.


Does it bode well for Zverev that he’s coming through these physical tests? Or does he need to be winning these matches more convincingly? David and Catherine give their thoughts.


Novak Djokovic was also a winner on Day 6, beating Roberto Bautista-Agut in a near 4-hour slugfest. It was a match in which Djokovic smashed his racquet with frustration before producing some of his trademark brilliance. In short, it demonstrated exactly why he remains such a compelling talking-point. How well is he playing? Are we expecting too much too soon from him? Catherine reveals the views of Boris Becker.


Elsewhere, why are Caroline Wozniacki and Madison Keys going so under the radar? Their straight-set victories are discussed.


Finally, just before Catherine tucks into her daily cheeseboard, there’s excitement about Edmund vs. Fognini on Saturday. Will Edmund’s steadiness be too much for Fognini’s flashiness?


There will be daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the French Open, in association with Telegraph Sport. It is presented by Catherine Whitaker (Eurosport) and David Law (BBC 5 Live, BT Sport)


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hi, I'm John McAnerod. I'm Bjorn Borg.

0:02.2

This is Martina Navratlova. I'm Matt Vylander.

0:04.9

I'm San Roenka. I'm Lighten Youet.

0:06.8

I'm Andy Murray. And you're listening to the tennis podcast.

0:20.0

So here we are again. The tennis podcast from Ron and Garas Catherine Whittaker is in Paris.

0:25.2

Myself David Law. I'm not. But I have been following things with interest.

0:28.9

And it's been just another Catherine intriguing day every day at the moment seems to throw something up.

0:35.4

And we've we've had a big shock today with the demise of Alina Svittalina, who I think many people

0:41.3

thought this was going to be her time. We keep talking about her in the same breath as Alexander's

0:45.9

Verra, as the players who keep winning big at the master's series event, but not being

0:50.0

able to translate it into the slams. And Zvera very nearly went as well today.

0:54.6

So it's all happening. What's the atmosphere like on the ground there?

0:58.8

Yeah, I feel like it's in the last 24 hours that this tournament has really caught a light

1:03.6

with starting with the Serena Williams-Ashbati match, which really was a thriller.

1:07.8

And then it's kind of followed through into today. Thanks David and Charlie, by the way, for

1:13.3

filling the void while I sort of fell into a cheese coma yesterday evening.

1:19.1

But it's very good to be back. So yeah, the last 24 hours has been by far the best, I think,

1:25.6

so far in this friendship. And I think Alina Svittalina and Gregor Dimitrov would probably disagree.

1:32.4

But it was a weird one because I see parallels status-wise in Alina Svittalina and Sash's Verra.

1:42.3

They've both completely proven themselves. Everyone's convinced of their ability. They're

1:46.5

they're coming in here. Svittalina was the joint favourite along with Halips. Verra of the second

1:50.8

favourite for the men's side will be a distant one. But they've completely not failed.

...

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