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The Tennis Podcast
The Roger Federer Story - A Tennis Podcast Special
We know about the 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the 302 weeks at World No.1, the incredible comeback to win an 8th Wimbledon title at the age of nearly 36.
But where did it all start for Roger Federer? Where did he make his professional debut? What was he like as a teenager? Is it true that he had a bad temper? And were there really doubts about whether he would deliver on his talent?
In a special edition of The Tennis Podcast, The Roger Federer Story is told through the eyes of BBC 5 Live commentator and Tennis Podcast presenter David Law, who met Federer for the first time the day before his professional debut as a 16-year-old in Gstaad, Switzerland in 1998.
In his role as Communications Manager on the ATP World Tour, Law worked behind the scenes with Federer for four years, and remembers Federer’s growing pains as he went from boy to man with the eyes of the world waiting for him to fulfil his potential.
We learn of his struggle to come to terms with the death of his first coach Peter Carter in a tragic car accident, and hear from Federer himself in a BBC 5 Live interview with Law less than an hour after his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003. The ‘Federer Years’ of domination are covered, as are the threats to his throne from Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the moments in 2013 when Law thought Federer was finished, and the comeback that made all those writing him off look stupid. Law and co-host Catherine Whitaker also delve into the debate as to whether Federer should be considered the greatest male tennis player of all time.
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1306. WTA Finals - Gauff edges Zheng in classic; ATP Finals preview
01:01:17||Ep. 1306Catherine, David and Matt are joined by Charlie Eccleshare of The Athletic to review the WTA Finals in Riyadh and look ahead to the ATP Finals in Turin. Part one - Coco Gauff’s thrilling victory over Zheng Qinwen in the final and what it might mean for the 2025 season. Part two (from 22 minutes) - Charlie Eccleshare shares his experience of being in Saudi Arabia to cover the WTA Finals. Part three (from 39 minutes) - Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe’s doubles victory in Riyadh; ATP Finals preview. Join The Barge!Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to also help us to produce the show year-round, receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, read Hannah's Column and watch monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our Shop1305. WTA Finals heads for climax as Sabalenka seals No.1
53:29||Ep. 1305Catherine, David and Matt are together in Solihull to wrap up the Group Stages of the WTA Finals and look ahead to finals weekend in Riyadh. Part one - Purple Group Review as Aryna Sabalenka seals year-end number one, there are promising signs for Elena Rybakina, and Zheng Qinwen brings in the crowds. Part two (from 20 minutes) - Orange Group Review as Coco Gauff earns a big win over Iga Swiatek but Barbora Krejcikova pinches first place. Part three (from 41 minutes) - Gauff vs Sabalenka & Zheng vs Krejcikova preview and predictions. Join The Barge!Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to also help us to produce the show year-round, receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, read Hannah's Column and watch monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopFollow us on Twitter1304. WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia - early impressions; Zverev wins Paris, but David holds firm
01:16:23||Ep. 1304Catherine, David and Matt convene for a Sunday night pod to review Paris and the early stages of the WTA Finals. Part one - Zverev thrashes Humbert in Paris final; Humbert-Khachanov aggro; Alcaraz's comments about surface speed; David defends last week's Zverev takes; how much we'll miss Bercy. Part two (from 26 minutes) - Players and WTA Chief Executive Portia Archer face questions about Saudi Arabia; wins for Sabalenka, Swiatek, Paolini and Gauff discussed. Part three (from 57 minutes) - Doubles results from Riyadh; the Race to Turin is going down to the wire, but is that a good thing? Join The Barge!Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to also help us to produce the show year-round, receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, read Hannah's Column and watch monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopFollow us on Twitter1303. WTA Finals - Goran to guide Rybakina as Draws revealed
52:15||Ep. 1303Catherine, David and Matt bring you a preview of the WTA Finals which begin on Saturday in Saudi Arabia. Part one - Purple Group preview and predictions; Rybakina announces Goran Ivanisevic as her new coach for 2025, can anyone stop Sabalenka in Riyadh? Part two (from 30 minutes) - White Group preview and predictions; Gauff's poor head-to-head against her group rivals. Part three (from 39 minutes) - The doubles draw Join The Barge!Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to also help us to produce the show year-round, receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, read Hannah's Column and watch monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopFollow us on Twitter1302. There's a new #NextGen in town
01:15:33||Ep. 1302It was a big week for lots of the tours’ emerging talents as Catherine, David and Matt discuss titles for Jack Draper in Vienna, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in Basel, and Zheng Qinwen in Tokyo. Part one: ATP Results - Draper takes down Khachanov impressively; Mpetshi Perricard redefines the second serve; young generation get the better of Zverev, Tsitsipas, Rublev et al; an update on the Race to Turin and a preview of Paris Part two (from 36 minutes): WTA Results - Zheng Qinwen improves to 29-4 since Wimbledon with a title in Tokyo; Olga Danilovic wins her first title since 2018. Part three (from 53 minutes): News - Dominic Thiem retires; Iga Swiatek commits to the BJK Cup Finals; The Bryan Brothers and Maria Sharapova will be inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2025, but Daniel Nestor won’t be. Join The Barge!Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to also help us to produce the show year-round, receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, read Hannah's Column and watch monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopFollow us on Twitter1301. Saudi Kings cash in, but at what cost?
01:15:28||Ep. 1301Catherine, David and Matt convene to discuss the latest results and news. Part 1: A review of last week’s tour events, including a title for Daria Kasatkina in Ningbo and Tommy Paul in Stockholm.Part 2 (from 25 minutes): Six Kings Slam. Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and friends made millions in Saudi Arabia, but with precious little mention of the spectre of sportswashing. We discuss the subject in depth. Part 3 (from 52 minutes): News - Danielle Collins announces she's not retiring yet, Iga Swiatek hires Wim Fissette as her new coach, and the rankings quirk which means Aryna Sabalenka is World No1. again. Join The Barge!Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to also help us to produce the show year-round, receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, read Hannah's Column and watch monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopFollow us on Twitter1300. Sabalenka-Sinner double again; Djokovic motivation question; Stop scheduling clashes!
01:09:46||Ep. 1300For the fourth time this year, Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner have won titles in the same week. Sabalenka won in Wuhan, beating Zheng Qinwen in a brilliant final, while Sinner became Shanghai champion by beating Novak Djokovic in a rather flat final. Catherine, David and Matt discuss both matches and the talking points from both tournaments, including how Zheng is viewed in the locker room, Coco Gauff’s 21 doubles faults in the semi-final, and whether Novak Djokovic can ever rediscover the edge he needs to beat Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. There’s also a rant about both finals being scheduled at the same time and Matt lauds Tomas Machac. Join The Barge!Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to also help us to produce the show year-round, receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, read Hannah's Column and watch monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopFollow us on Twitter1299. Goodbye Rafa
01:11:03||Ep. 1299The day has come: Rafael Nadal has announced that he will be retiring at the Davis Cup Finals in November. Catherine, David and Matt assemble to react to the news, discuss how it's left them feeling, and share a few Nadal memories. There's also two big announcements from Wimbledon to discuss, reports of a possible ATP-WTA commercial merger, and some appalling behaviour from players towards umpires in Shanghai. Join The Barge!Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to also help us to produce the show year-round, receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, read Hannah's Column and watch monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopFollow us on Twitter1298. Gauff finds final form; Swiatek seeks new guidance; Djokovic returns
01:03:20||Ep. 1298Remember when The Tennis Podcast didn't feature Matt Roberts? No, us neither. But here's a reminder of what we were missing. We did our best with chat about Coco Gauff's Beijing triumph, Karolina Muchova's near miss and the coaching change being sought by Iga Swiatek. Plus, there's a look at the decision to move the Billie Jean King Cup and the Davis Cup back towards home and away ties.Join The Barge!Become a Friend of the Tennis Podcast to also help us to produce the show year-round, receive exclusive access to bonus podcasts throughout 2024, including Tennis Re-Lived and Grand Slam review shows, read Hannah's Column and watch monthly live shows on YouTube. Sign up to receive our free Newsletter (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, predictions, and more)Follow us on Instagram (@thetennispodcast)Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Check out our ShopFollow us on Twitter