Avsnitt
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Quiet week in tennis? It will never happen.
ATP coach Calvin Betton, The i Paper journalist James Gray and former tennis reporter George Bellshaw sit down to discuss a couple of weighty issues in tennis this week.
Jannik Sinner has agreed a three-month ban with Wada after two positive test for clostebol last March. Wada re-stated their acceptance of his excuse, that a member of staff had used it, but would have claimed on appeal that he bore some responsibility for the actions of his team members.
Stefano Vukov, somehow still coach to Elena Rybakina, has been handed a one-year ban by the WTA for "mental abuse", calling Rybakina stupid and telling her she would "still be picking potatoes in Russia" if it wasn't for her, as well as pushing her physically to the point that she got ill. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6035283/2025/02/11/stefano-vukov-wta-ban-report-elena-rybakina-coach/
Joao Fonseca has won his first ATP tour title in Buenos Aires
Jelena Ostapenko didn't win the title in Doha but has cemented her place as Calvin's "absolutely rock star" of women's tennis
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Grand-slam winning tennis coach Calvin Betton, tennis writer George Bellshaw and The i Paper's sports news correspondent James Gray are all back for another episode of the award-winning Tennis Unfiltered podcast.
They discussed...
Emma Raducanu is on a four-match losing streak after another defeat in the first round, this time to Ekaterina Alexandrova in Abu Dhabi - but what next for her in the coaching corner?
Two-time grand slam champion and former world No 1 Simona Halep is retiring at the age of 33
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic remain in talks about their future together as coach and player
Lucas Pouille says he may have played his last match
Belinda Bencic won a title, her first after returning from maternity leave four months ago
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Thank you SO MUCH for voting for us in the Sports Podcast Awards. After two years of disappointment, we the WINNERS of the Best Tennis and Racket Podcast for 2024. We literally could not have done it without you, so thank you to each and every one of you who voted.
James, George and Calvin triumphantly returned to the microphones this week to discuss your questions in the mailbag and...
Jacob Fearnley made his debut for Great Britain in a Davis Cup tie against Japan, beating Kei Nishikori but ultimately unable to drag an injury-stricken team over the line
There was controversy in Hasselt after Zizou Bergs collided with Cristian Garin during a celebration. The Chilean refused to play on, losing final game of the match and the tie, because of an apparent eye injury. (Full footage here: https://x.com/TennisChannel/status/1886151198207549685)
The US Open has expanded to a 15-day tournament, leaving Wimbledon as the only remaining slam to run for "just" two weeks
Felix Auger-Aliassime continues his incredibe record indoors by winning Montpellier
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Calvin Betton, George Bellshaw and James Gray are reunited in the wake of a furiously busy grand slam. They discussed
Calvin helping Henry and Harri to their second grand slam title and refusing to fly economy class ever again
Jannik Sinner wins his third hard-court slam in 13 months and Alexander Zverev vows not to be the best player ever not to win a grand slam
Madison Keys denies Aryna Sabalenka an Australian Open hat-trick after beating Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Danielle Collins and Elina Svitolina in one of the great grand slam runs
Novak Djokovic posts a picture of the muscle tear that forced him out of the Australian Open semi-final as a rogue pundit claims he is out for months
Emma Raducanu is on the hunt for a new coach after Nick Cavaday was forced to step down
The Australian broadcasters breath a sigh of relief after multiple rows with players over their coverage.
Daniil Medvedev gets a massive fine for his antics in early exit to Learner Tien
A winner is crowned in fantasy tennis
AND a fair bit more...
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The pod is still coming down from the highs of Saturday night (and early Sunday morning) but there is the small matter of a men's final to discuss as Jannik Sinner dismantled Alexander Zverev to claim his third straight hard-court grad slam title. He becomes the most successful Italian player, male or female, of all time.
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Henry Patten. Harri Heliovaara.
What a team. Two of the last three slams.
There is so much work by so many other people that went into that win, but they were the two men standing - or more correctly lying - on court at the end.
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...but we wanted a Sabalenka vs Swiatek final.
Aryna Sabalenka did her part, beating best friend Paula Badosa with ease
But then Madison Keys upset the apple-cart, brilliantly hitting Iga Swiatek off the court to reach her second grand slam final, eight years after her first
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Iga Swiatek wins her Australian Open semi-final with ease but not before a controversial double bounce incident (https://inews.co.uk/sport/iga-swiatek-double-bounce-australian-open-emma-navarro-3494688)
Jannik Sinner batts Alex de Minaur, guaranteeing 50 years since the last Australian male winner here
Ben Shelton books his place in a second grand slam semi-final
Madison Keys outlasts Elina Svitolina
SEMI-FINAL PREVIEWS
Iga Swiatek vs Madison Keys
Aryna Sabalenka vs Paula Badosa
Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev
Jannik Sinner vs Ben Shelton
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George Bellshaw and James Gray look back at a thrilling day - or specifically, night - of tennis at Melbourne Park
Novak Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz in an instant classic across four sets
Djokovic had treatment for a left leg injury, thought to be groin or hamstring, but rallied from losing the first set to triumph just before 1am in Melbourne
How will he pull up to face Alexander Zverev, who beat Tommy Paul, in Friday's semi-final?
Aryna Sabalenka outlasted Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a wind-swept semi
Coco Gauff produced 41 unforced errors in just two sets, mostly on her forehand, as Paula Badosa became a shock semi-finalist
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Novak Djokovic boycotted Channel 9 interviews after beating Jiri Lehecka, claiming he had been offended by comments made by anchor Tony Jones. Jones appeared to have already apologised on Saturday, but Djokovic said he would not talk to the broadcaster until an official apology had been issued
Jack Draper was forced to retire after two sets of his fourth-round clash with Carlos Alcaraz (More on that here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/carlos-alcaraz-message-jack-draper-3489163)
Coco Gauff nearly comes a cropper against Belinda Bencic
Tommy Paul ghosts his way into the quarter-finals
Aryna Sabalenka shrugs off Pam Shriver's scheduling complaints: https://x.com/PHShriver/status/1880498898587836547
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Emma Raducanu is thrashed 6-1, 6-0 by Iga Swiatek to end her Australian Open run
Gael Monfils shocks Taylor Fritz to reach the fourth round - and then watches his wife do the same thing by beating Jasmine Paolini on the very same court
Eva Lys, the lucky loser, continues her dream fortnight by reaching the last 16 and setting up the biggest match of her life against Swiatek
Ben Shelton is doing his best to cash in on a soft section of the draw too, beating Lorenzo Musetti in a hard-fought four-setter.
LINKS
Elo ratings piece here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/stat-proves-emma-raducanu-world-class-iga-swiatek-3485830
And Jeff's excellent Elo ratings here: https://tennisabstract.com/reports/atp_elo_ratings.html
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NO. SLEEP. TIL. BROOKLYN.
James Gray is delirious, Jack Draper is through to round three and it's going off in Melbourne Park.
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It's the fifth day of the tournament and I've finally tracked down Calvin Betton, our resident tennis coach, to chat through the biggest issues of the day - including why the Brits are on the verge of history.
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Tuesday at the Australian Open wraps up the first round of the year's opening major
Emma Raducanu beat Ekaterina Alexandrova despite hitting 15 double-faults in an error-strewn performance - but she did win her 7th and 8th tie-breaks in a row
A win for Katie Boulter over Rebecca Marino made it six Brits into the second round, a new record
But Cam Norrie could not join them, beaten by Matteo Berrettini
There was a shock win for Joao Fonseca, the teenage qualifier, over No 9 seed Andrey Rublev
And Daniil Medvedev needed five set to see of Kasidit Samrej, the Thai wildcard, marmalising a camera in the process
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Jacob Fearnley beat Nick Kyrgios in straight sets on Monday, leaving the Australian questioning whether he would ever play singles at the Australian Open ever again.
In his first-round match, Novak Djokovic, now coached by former rival Andy Murray, overcame a challenging start to defeat 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy. After losing the first set, Djokovic rallied to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, marking the beginning of his pursuit for an 11th Australian Open title and a record 25th major title.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, seeded 11th, was eliminated in the first round by American Alex Michelsen. Michelsen secured the victory with a 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win, marking a significant upset in the men's singles draw.
Returning mother Belinda Bencic is back, beating Jelena Ostapenko in straights to catapult her up the rankings from 421 in the world
And finally, legendary rugby player Sonny Bill Williams appeared on Court 6 - and it turns out he is coaching Australian wildcard James McCabe. For more, read James's article for The i Paper here: https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/sonny-bill-williams-coaching-tennis-australian-open-3477653
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George Bellshaw and James Gray look back a rain-affected first day of the Australian Open, talking about Kei Nishikori, Emma Raducanu, Jiri Lehecka and more!
An interview with Andrey Rublev: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jan/12/andrey-rublev-i-dont-feel-any-more-that-crazy-anxiety-and-stress
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Play FTU, AO 2025 edition sponsored by Raquex NOW: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19oQbG9pcnYnX0oXLGFgDkta5ugKcs5MEizCPmXLC3A8/ [Closes 12 January]
James and George go line by line through both draws to suss out the new fantasy tennis format.
Don't forget to vote for us in the Sports Podcast Awards either! https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/ [Closes 13 January]
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VOTE FOR US: It’s your last chance to get a vote in for us in the Sports Podcast Awards, which we would dearly like to win this time after narrowly missing out two years in a row.
The deadline is THIS WEEKEND: www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-tennis-podcast/
George Bellshaw (from convalescence after surgery) and James Gray (preparing for a flight to Australia) get together to discuss a genuinely exciting week of pre-grand slam tennis. The off-season is well and truly over!
FTU is now LIVE! Enter here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19oQbG9pcnYnX0oXLGFgDkta5ugKcs5MEizCPmXLC3A8
They discussed:
Nick Kyrgios returning to court in singles and doubles, and making sure to return to form on Instagram as well. (See Cruz Hewitt’s post with Jannik Sinner: https://www.instagram.com/cruzhewitt/?hl=en)
Novak Djokovic is beaten by Reilly Opelka, who reaches the Brisbane final just over two years since he had hip surgery
Coco Gauff gets another one over on Iga Swiatek as the Americans win a thrilling United Cup (The Brits did okay too, but in truth only won one tie…)
Luke Johnson and Sander Arends take the title in Hong Kong, beating Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov in the final to give Calvin yet another title
Naomi Osaka gets through to the Auckland final but worryingly retires with another injury while a set up in the final
Speaking of big-name Japanese stars and comebacks, Kei Nishikori was back in a final this week too!
Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu did not even make the start line in Auckland, pulling out with a back problem, but is already back in training ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne
Elena Rybakina’s coach Stefano Vukov is suspended by the WTA pending an investigation into an alleged breach of the code of conduct, which he denies (H/t to the great reporting by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare and Matt Futterman here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6034236/2025/01/02/rybakina-vukov-coach-suspended-wta-investigation/)
Gaby Dabrowski reveals she was diagnosed with cancer in April, but has come out the other side - and played through it to win an Olympic medal and the WTA Tour Finals (Read her incredibly moving Instagram post here: https://www.instagram.com/gabydabrowski/p/DEPGbMNvrCF/?img_index=13)
Beatriz Haddad Maia hits one of the all-time bad serves (https://x.com/josemorgado/status/1873229229493764484?s=46&t=Rhiq-18RZr7lX_TkDfCsvA)
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