PODCAST - Halfway Through Roland Garros 2023

CHRISTOPHER CLAREY ON RAFAEL NADAL’S EXPLORATORY SURGERY - ‘I’m assuming one of Nadal’s specialists could only do it on that day because no one in their right mind would chose to do exploratory surgery the night before their birthday. It sounded like it was more an investigative thing, but it’s very rare to do it, so I think Rafa’s grasping for answers a little bit right now’.

LUCIE AHL ON THE POTENTIAL OF ALCARAZ PLAYING DJOKOVIC IN THE SEMI-FINALS - ‘We’ve only had one match where they’ve played each other because of various reasons, so I think everyone is hoping that it happens, I’m looking forward to it. Alcaraz is playing unbelievably well. Djokovic hasn’t dropped a set, but every match he’s had to go to at least one tie-break and there’s a potential issue with his leg, but as we’ve seen so far, I think he’ll find his way through and I don’t think that one will disappoint if they do make it through to the semis’.

CHRISTOPHER CLAREY ON GAEL MONFILS - ‘Like all of us I’ve followed Monfils throughout his career and he is a big moment, big setting character and obviously all the things he’s been through with his wife and Ukraine and having his first child, and Gael’s an empath, so I’m sure he’s felt all of that and so all of the emotions when he came back from 4-0 down in the fifth the other night, that was extraordinary as he shook Baez’s hand and then he just lost it in a beautiful way’.

LUCIE AHL ON SOME LESSER-KNOWN NAMES PROGRESSING IN THE DRAW - ’The depth in the men’s game has got a lot stronger and the Challenger level is tough and we’re starting to see players make the transition through. It’s easy sometimes to see players like Alcaraz and think that’s everyone’s path. Once the lower ranked players start to come through and you see a few more shocks, they will start to get some belief as well’.

CHRISTOPHER CLAREY ON TAYLOR FRITZ SHUSHING THE FRENCH CROWD - ’That was bottled up that reaction he had at the end of that match. He had has his full dose of the french language there after three-plus hours, he’d had more than enough and In some ways I don’t blame him. With someone like Taylor that fire had to come out, but we’ll see what price he has to pay with the french public going forward, because they’ll remember that, him shushing them after beating their player’.

Podcast presented by Chris Bowers Podcast guests - former New York Times Tennis Correspondent, Christopher Clarey and former British number one, Lucie Ahl