Share

The Tennis Podcast
Making of The Master - Roger Federer, by Chris Clarey
This episode is a discussion with esteemed New York Times journalist and friend of the pod Chris Clarey about his new biography of Roger Federer, titled ‘The Master’.
Chris speaks to David about the process of writing the book and what he learned along the way, the several exclusives he’s had with Federer over the years, the 82 interviews he conducted specifically for the book, why the likes of Mirka Federer, Peter Carter and Pierre Paganini have been fundamental to Federer’s success, how Federer has changed over the years, and how his rivalries with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have shaped him.
We also get Chris to do a quick-fire Federer round and afterwards David chats to Matt about his impressions of the book.
You can buy a copy of The Master, here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Master-Brilliant-Career-Roger-Federer/dp/1529342058/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ABL1O2T8YDE5&dchild=1&keywords=the+master+christopher+clarey&qid=1629812297&sprefix=the+master+chris%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-1
The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, and features Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.
SUPPORT THE TENNIS PODCAST
We crowdfund The Tennis Podcast every December, with shout-outs, mascots and chances to take us on at predictions. For a reminder when the next campaign goes live, put your e-mail address in here - http://eepurl.com/gwWILX
Or, if you don’t want to wait and prefer to support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TheTennisPodcast
NEWSLETTER
Sign up to get our news, offers, predictions and Matt’s Stat - http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter - https://twitter.com/TennisPodcast
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thetennispodcast/
More episodes
View all episodes
1388. Live from Wimbledon - Who's been handed a nightmare draw?
01:06:25||Ep. 1388In our first live show from Wimbledon in 2025, Catherine, David and Matt are here to dissect the men’s and women’s singles draws. Part one - Men’s draw. We discuss Jack Draper’s tough route which could involve facing Alexander Bublik in R3, Novak Djokovic landing in the top half along with Jannik Sinner, the news that Sinner has suddenly split with his fitness trainer and physio, the dream path facing Carlos Alcaraz in the bottom half, a potentially tricky two weeks for Alexander Zverev, and Taylor Fritz’s grass court scheduling. Part two - Women’s draw (33m03s). It looks like a tough road ahead for top seed Aryna Sabalenka. We cover the names which could stop her from going deep as well as Sabalenka’s practice session with Coco Gauff and what that told us about their relationship after the Roland Garros final. There’s also a bold Amanda Anisimova prediction, Iga Swiatek coming in under the radar for once, and lots of intriguing round one matches. Part three - Results round up (54m34s). We cover the intriguing Eastbourne final between Alexandra Eala and Maya Joint, discuss Swiatek’s run in Bad Homburg in more detail, and look ahead to media day on Saturday.Become a Friend of The Tennis PodcastCheck out our new merch shop! Talk tennis with Friends on The Barge! Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.1387. Can anyone stop Alcaraz the serve bot?
01:36:51||Ep. 1387Wimbledon is on the horizon and Catherine and David are joined by Charlie Eccleshare from The Athletic to cover all of the important grass court results and stories.Part one - ATP Queen’s, Halle. Carlos Alcaraz was already a formidable opponent who had reached World No.1 and won five Grand slam titles, but how will anyone stop him now he has learned how to serve like this? His second Queen's title is reviewed, Alexander Bublik's Halle win is covered, and all the potential Wimbledon permutations come into view. Part two - WTA round up (47m00s). The return of Marketa Vondrousova, and where it leaves Aryna Sabalenka after she apologised for her Roland Garros final remarks.Part three - This week (60m30s). The US Open Mixed Doubles entry list - our reaction, and all of the other news in a news-heavy week. Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Become a Friend of The Tennis Podcast Check out our new merch shop! Talk tennis with Friends on The Barge! Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.1386. Tatjana Maria, Queen of Queen's - could 70's tennis win Wimbledon?
01:08:25||Ep. 1386Catherine, David and Matt are back from Paris and here to discuss the first week of the grass court season. Part one - WTA Queen’s. We cover Tatjana Maria’s extraordinary run to the title as women’s tennis returned to The Queen’s Club for the first time in 52 years. How did she use her slice and dice game to defeat the likes of Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys and Amanda Anisimova? And what more could they have done against her? There’s also chat about Zheng Qinwen’s ‘shoenanigans’ and Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter playing doubles together. Part two - Results round up (33m33s). Elise Mertens saves 11 match points against Ekaterina Alexandrova and goes on to triumph in s’Hertogenbosch, Gabriel Diallo wins his first title, and Taylor Fritz continues his dominance over Alexander Zverev. Part three - News (46m30s). We look ahead to this week’s events, including stacked fields in Berlin, Queen’s and Halle, and discuss the main headlines from Wimbledon’s pre event press conference. Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. Talk tennis with Friends on The Barge! Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.1385. Roland Garros Day 15 - Was Alcaraz-Sinner the best Grand Slam final ever?
01:06:06||Ep. 1385Catherine, David and Matt react to Carlos Alcaraz saving three match points to beat Jannik Sinner 4-6 6-7 6-4 7-6 7-6 in one of the best matches of all time to win his second Roland Garros title. Part one - We go through all the key moments of the match, including Sinner’s fast start, the way Alcaraz turned it around, how Sinner overcame concerns about his physicality to come on strong again in the fifth set, the spellbinding closing stages as both players produced their best, and an otherworldly deciding set tiebreak from Alcaraz.Part two (27m52s) We try to take a look at the big picture and think about what this victory for Alcaraz, and defeat for Sinner, mean for the sport. Part three (52m08s) - Doubles results, a big announcement, and our thank yous and goodbyes from Paris in 2025.Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. Talk tennis with Friends on The Barge! Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.1384. Roland Garros Day 14 - Coco’s moment, but what happened to Sabalenka?
01:07:28||Ep. 1384Part one - All about Coco Gauff’s incredible comeback victory over Aryna Sabalenka to win her first Roland Garros title. We discuss the key moments of a dramatic match, Sabalenka’s press conference in which she lamented the conditions, criticised her performance and even threw some shade at Gauff’s, and what the future might hold for both players. Part two (48m19s) - Reaction to the wheelchair, doubles and juniors results, including another heartbreaking loss for Alfie Hewett against Tokito Oda. Part three (53m27s) - A preview of Jannik Sinner vs Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s final on Sunday.Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. Talk tennis with Friends on The Barge! Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.1383. Roland Garros Day 13 - Sinner vs. Alcaraz final at last, but will Djokovic be back?
01:07:44||Ep. 1383Part one - It was an extraordinary night in Paris as Jannik Sinner overcame a remarkable effort from Novak Djokovic to reach his first Roland Garros final. We discuss the crowd support Djokovic received and his emotional exit from the court, how Sinner came out on top in the big moments, and what the future might hold for Djokovic. Part two (26m49s) - We cover Carlos Alcaraz’s win over Lorenzo Musetti, including the way Musetti got his tactics right to start the match, his physical decline at the end, and the absolute abomination that was the decision to play the match under the roof. Plus, we start looking ahead to Sinner vs Alcaraz. Part three (52m16s) - A round up of all the results in the doubles and wheelchair events, plus a preview of Aryna Sabalenka vs Coco Gauff in the women’s final.Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. Talk tennis with Friends on The Barge! Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.1382. Roland Garros Day 12 - Sabalenka vs. Gauff - the ultimate clay court climax
01:10:50||Ep. 1382The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare joins Catherine, David and Matt to discuss Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff reaching the Roland Garros final and ahead to the men’s semi’s-finals on Friday. Part one - We cover Aryna Sabalenka’s 7-6 4-6 6-0 win over Iga Swiatek. Was this a good match? What on earth happened in the final set? And where does Swiatek go from here now her ranking has dropped to No.7 and her streak in Paris is over? Part two (29m26s) - Coco Gauff ended Lois Boisson’s remarkable run in Paris with a straightforward victory. Where was this match won and lost? And what does their head-to-head so far tell us about what might happen when Gauff and Sabalenka meet on Saturday? Part three (49m05s) - A round up of some other results from the tournament so far, including a big shock in the women’s wheelchair event and mixed doubles success for Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori. Plus, a preview of the men’s semi-finals. Does Lorenzo Musetti stand a chance against Carlos Alcaraz? And can Novak Djokovic replicate what he did to Alexander Zverev against Jannik Sinner?Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. Talk tennis with Friends on The Barge! Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.1381. Roland Garros Day 11 - Dream semis set, but who wins them?
01:06:09||Ep. 1381Part one - The Lois Boisson fairytale continues! We cover her remarkable win over Mirra Andreeva, the way the crowd got to Andreeva during the match, and whether Boisson can beat Coco Gauff after the American’s three-set win over Madison Keys in a match filled with unforced errors. Part two (31m34s) - We discuss how Novak Djokovic dissected the game of Alexander Zverev in the night session and start looking ahead to a semi-final between Djokovic and Jannik Sinner. Part three (54m25s) - A look ahead to the women’s semi-finals on Thursday, especially Iga Swiatek vs Aryna Sabalenka.Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. Talk tennis with Friends on The Barge! Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.1380. Roland Garros Day 10 - Swiatek vs. Sabalenka is ON, but who wins?
01:05:05||Ep. 1380Part one - There’s only one place to start and that’s with Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek setting up a tantalising semi-final clash. We discuss how they both got there with impressive wins over Zheng Qinwen and Elina Svitolina respectively. And then our hype for the match begins!Part two (31m29s) - We cover Carlos Alcaraz racing through in the night session against an injured Tommy Paul and Lorenzo Musetti’s slightly controversial win over Frances Tiafoe. Should he have been defaulted? And can Musetti challenge Alcaraz on Friday? Part three (50m46s) - A look ahead to Day 11 in Paris which includes Coco Gauff vs Madison Keys and Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev.Buy tickets for Tennis Podcast Live in London on Thursday 26th June at Shoreditch Town Hall. Check out our new merch shop! Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts, including Tennis Re-Lived episodes, Grand Slam Review Shows, and monthly Live Shows on YouTube. Friends also get access to The Barge, Hannah’s Column, and an ad-free listening experience to all episodes of The Tennis Podcast. Talk tennis with Friends on The Barge! Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.