American tennis player
POPULARITY
TOMMY HAAS ON A NEW ERA IN MEN'S TENNIS - 'The new era is here right. As a Tournament Director you always want the top players to be part of it, but for different reasons we don't have some of the all-time greats here on the men's side with one being retired, one injured and one wasn't granted entry into the country, so you're looking at the next generation and the new era'.CARLOS ALCARAZ ON DEALING WITH BEING UNDER THE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT - ‘I think this is the first time I've been top seed in a Masters 1000, so it's great, but honestly I don't think too much about it and just enjoy and of course with social media, with the fans and everything outside the court, I'm trying to enjoy as well, so you can see me always smiling and not taking the pressure on board'.CASPER RUUD ON HIS SLOW START TO 2023 - 'There's no hiding the fact it hasn't been what I had hoped for, but it's a long year, so I don't feel stressed and I hope from this week on, things can go well for me and belief in myself and motivation is very high'.FACUNDO LAGONES ON CAMERON NORRIE'S DEVELOPMENT - ‘It's really fun to watch and he's still growing and he's more mature than last year. I feel there were two big changes, one when he turned pro and you could see him developing more as a grown-up and it's not just his tennis, with his career everything became like a business to him and then the second big jump came during lockdown when he became even more mature and he focussed everything on his tennis'. YIBING WU ON MISSING HOME - ‘It's a really long time that I haven't been at home, nearly a year and a half and I can't see my parents, my grand parents of my friends back in China, so whenever I have the chance to go back I always take a bike, ride around the neighbourhood or even around some famous buildings and just feel the city and feel that I am part of the city'.PLUS A FEATURE LOOKING AT DANIIL MEDVEDEV'S THREE TITLES IN THE PAST THREE WEEKS, COURTESY OF THE ATP MEDIA NEWS TEAM- Show presented by Seb Lauzier - Podcast guest Jill Craybas- Interviews by Seb Lauzier, Jill Craybas and Zhensu Xiao- Medvedev feature by ATP Media
Taylor Fritz's coach Michael Russell speaks to Jill Craybas about his amazing tournament victories in Indian Wells and Tokyo 2022 and they also speak about Taylor reaching the world's top 10 for the first time.
Brazilian Thiago Monteiro speaks to Jill Craybas about playing on the Challenger Tour and trying to break through to the main tour.
THIAGO MONTEIRO ON LIFE ON THE ROAD - ‘It's totally mental, for example on the clay we have to go from Monte Carlo to Barcelona and then Roland Garros and more because it's not that cheap or easy to go home and then back again, this logic doesn't work for us so it's different from the European players. Sometimes when I tell someone that this is my seventh week straight or ninth week straight, they think I'm crazy'.EDUARDO INFANTINO ON THE SOUTH AMERICAN MENTALITY - 'The key was big coaches and they were looking to the past, not just to the future and this kind of mentality was the key in South America and was the key for the next generation. This is why so many projects have stopped in one moment, when coaches don't open their eyes and look for another way to practice regarding physical condition, recovery, everything'.DIEGO MOYANO ON WHAT HE LOOKS FOR IN A YOUNG PLAYER - 'To be the best player you can be you need to be a well rounded person and you need to have knowledge of what surrounds you. Even on the tennis side if we live in a bubble, beside that you have to get as close as you can to a normal life, so having friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, whatever makes you happy. If you have the chance to do it go to the galleries, see the fashion and use the tennis to see the other things outside of tennis'.MARCELO AREVALO ON HIS GRAND SLAM VICTORY INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION IN EL SALVADOR - ‘It had a big impact on the kids back at home to believe because tennis is not a popular sport, not only in El Salvador but in the region, in Central America and the Caribbean and I think winning a Slam created hope for all those kids. Tennis is a great sport and if you can impact some people in life and somehow help them, that's what really gives me joy'.RAFAEL MATOS ON WINNING THE 2023 AUSTRALIAN OPEN MIXED DOUBLES - ‘When I woke up on the morning of the final I was so nervous, but I think it's really important, when you are nervous you cannot control things, so you have to be nervous and then control what you can do with that and that was one of the keys for us. Now it's a motivation as since you were a kid you have these goals, so now that it's happened, you feel more confident to win matches and make money'.DANIEL VALLEJO ON PARAGUAY - ‘The best thing about Paraguay has to be the food probably. Paraguay is pretty nice, especially the people. When you are from another country they treat you nice and that is not something that you see in every country, so that is something that you have to know from Paraguay, that's for sure'PLUS...SEBASTIAN BAEZ TALKS ABOUT HOW HE LIKES TO TRAVEL WITH ATP UNCOVERED- Podcast presented by Seb Lauzier- Interviews by Jill Craybas and Candy Reid- Baez feature by ATP Uncovered and Kate Flory
Former WTA Tour Supervisor Yannick Yoshizawa speaks to Jill Craybas about working with his new company, Sense Arena (https://www.sensearena.com). Sense Arena have created virtual reality software to help tennis players train the mind more effectively.
American Tommy Paul's coach Brad Stine speaks to Jill Craybas about the young player's development, his injury struggles and hopes for the future.
This week presenter Chris Bowers is joined by former WTA player Jill Craybas and AO Radio commentator Peter Marcato as they look back on the first week of action at the Australian Open and ahead to week two. Headlines are...PETER MARCATO ON PLAYING TENNIS INTO THE EARLY HOURS - ‘Tennis takes longer to play these days, there's no doubt that matches are getting longer, but also, do they arrive out onto court on time, the time in-between matches, the bathroom breaks, injury timeouts, it seems to be getting longer and longer, so I think that needs to be taken into account'.JILL CRAYBAS ON A GREAT FIRST WEEK FOR THE AMERICANS - ‘I think there's been a United Cup effect in that it's rubbed off into the first week of the Open. If you just see the way they are all acting together and how they gelled as a group, it got them all into a headspace where they had that confidence and I know I'm leaving a lot of Americans out like JJ Wolf and Tommy Paul, but I mean, it's just been phenomenal'.JILL CRAYBAS ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE MEN'S GAME - ‘We've seen it with the women, how anyone can win it and I feel like that's starting to happen with the men, you're seeing so many different guys play so well and get upsets and different names pushing further in slams, which we see in the women's quite a bit, so I'm excited about both tours right now'.Plus...YOSHIHITO NISHIOKA ON THE ADVICE HIS MUM GAVE HIM - ‘A couple of years ago my mum told me that I shouldn't expect to win all matches, but that I can win some matches and have a good time, so now I don't think too much about winning or losing but instead just play and focus and then maybe I can have a chance to win. So right now I'm just trying to play my best tennis and if that doesn't work, I'll just try the next week'. ROBERT LINDSTEDT ON WINNING THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN DOUBLES - ‘Winning the Australian Open was just relief for me because I had so many opportunities in Wimbledon the year before, so It was just a relief of not losing another one, but actually winning was unbelievable and we really enjoyed it late into the night and the next morning'.ROBERT LINDSTEDT ON HOW THE DOUBLES GAME CAN GROW - ‘It's been strong for a very long time, it's got so much more athletic and physical, you can't really be lazy anymore, everybody is training like a singles player if I can use that term, but what we can do more is actually getting the opportunity to showcase the sport, to show we're entertaining and that it's a beautiful sport'.- Podcast presented by Chris Bowers- Podcast guests - AO Radio commentator Peter Marcato & former WTA player Jill Craybas- Interviews by Jill Craybas
Jill Craybas speaks to physio Marc Boada about what he's learnt through his career and what he's done to help Andrey Rublev reach the top of the came. Note: This conversation was recorded towards the end of 2022.
Jill Craybas speaks about the workings of the mind with Lorenzo Betrame from the Italian Tennis Federation. Before taking up a role with the Italian Federation, Beltrame was Director of the legendary LGE Performance System / Human Performance Institute and has also personally trained dozens of professional athletes including 9 players who reached the #1 ranking in the world.
LORENZO BELTRAME ON CHARACTER - ‘Every person has to decide what person they want to become and build into that space. To me character is the automatic version of attitude. Attitude is what we can drive everyday with effort, so today I can choose my attitude and the more I choose the attitude I want to have, the more I build character and eventually it becomes part of my normal behaviours'.JULIA GÖRGES ON LEARNING TO RELAX - ‘From being scheduled 24/7 to not being schedule 24/7, that's already a huge chance for body and mind and beside that we've got to get some yoga and meditation stuff in, so I really enjoy it. I'm writing a blog every two to three weeks and it's about mental health, meditation, goal-setting, stress release, supplements and nutrition, all what is good for your body. I feel there is a lot that can be improved in the world and if I can help someone just one per cent, I'm super happy about it'.JOE SALISBURY ON MEDITATION - ‘It's definitely helped both on and off the court, just feeling you're more in control of your mind. You can always help the thoughts that come into your head, the emotions that you're feeling, but it just helps you deal with them better'.DAVID O'HARE ON DIET AND NUTRITION - ‘When I was a player I had an unhealthy approach to food in viewing it all as fuel. Now I just think it's one of life's great pleasures that you can enjoy and I think your relationship to food is really important, so I think that me stressing or feeling guilty over having an ice cream probably has more of a negative effect on me then having the ice cream itself. A little bit of everything isn't going to hurt'.MARC BOADA ON MANAGING THE PHYSICAL ASPECT OF ATHLETES BODIES - ‘With Novak Djokovic you always feel like all his shots are in perfect control. In order to hit the ball harder, you don't need to be stronger, you need to use your body better and this is a main goal. -Show presented by Seb Lauzier-Interviews by Jill Craybas
LARS CHRISTENSEN ON THE IMPORTANCE OF STATISTICS - ‘I've been doing it from the very beginning, even when he was ten and in the beginning it was about how many unforced errors, how many forced and winners he would do in a match and specifically looking at forehands and backhands and now getting older it's more about serve and return and serve plus one and return plus one, so it's getting more specific but I've kept the statistics always and I always compare during the year'.ROB MORGAN ON GOAL-SETTING - 'The first thing I always do with a player is sit down and work out what's the goal, what's the vision, what does it look like and where do we want to be by the end of the year, so I think sharing a vision is a massive part of coaching. Painting a picture regularly to a player is vital'.ALEX MOLCAN ON LEARNING FROM WATCHING NOVAK DJOKOVIC - ‘Playing against Djokovic showed me it's not about playing crazy fast or trying to be extremely aggressive, it's about the head and you know it looks like Djokovic is playing chess. It was a really incredible experience, I learned a lot from it, I saw how maybe I can play, not exactly, but some moves, how he's thinking, I was re-watching this match a lot and yes, the experience was amazing, it was a good school for me'.SERGIY STAKHOVSKY ON THE WAR IN UKRAINE AND EXPERIENCING OTHER PARTS OF EUROPE - ‘I'm alive, the family is safe, they are in Budapest, they are warm and fed, they go to school, so I think everything is good with them. We all hope we are ok, but unfortunately we don't know that, it's unprecedented times, it's a war, so everybody is trying to live through it to the standards they can. Coming here to Turin after Kyiv has been hit multiple times, coming to a city where it's quiet and peaceful and people are having fun on the tennis court and cheering for tennis, it's different'.ROGER FEDERER ON SAYING GOODBYE TO COMPETITIVE TENNIS - ‘I've definitely given I feel like everything and more to my career than what I could have done. I got to enjoy and learn what hard work and dedication means, so for me, I don't know how much more I could have given, could have tried, I tried I feel a lot of different things, but I feel I'm old enough now to call it a day and I feel really good about it.PLUS MCENROE, BORG, SAMPRAS, AGASSI, HEWITT AND MANY MORE PICK OUT THE FAVOURITE MOMENTS FROM THEIR CAREERS-Show presented by Seb Lauzier-Interviews by Jill Craybas and Chris Bowers-Features by ATP Uncovered
Irish coach David O'Hare speaks to Jill Craybas about the work he's been doing with 2022 Nitto ATP Finals champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, as well as how he became a coach after his playing career and learning from legendary coach and mentor Louis Cayer.
WESLEY KOOLHOF ON PROMOTING THE DOUBLES GAME - ‘A bit more Centre Court time would be great if that's possible. Some tournaments do it actually and it's always nice for us to play in big arenas, in big stadiums. Scheduling-wise I understand that the singles guys are playing on the big stages, but it would be nice for us to play the first, second or even the quarter-final on the bigger court'.JOE SALISBURY ON WINNING WHEN NOT PLAYING WELL - 'That's always one of the things we've always said we've improved the most as a team in the last four years we've been playing together, is that in the tough situations we always find a way, even if we're not playing out best, or we're struggling or we feel our opponents are playing better, to win those matches'.DAVID O'HARE ON LOUIS CAYER - ‘He's been such an important figure in terms of my tennis knowledge and coaching. He's dubbed the doubles guru but that does him a little bit of an injustice because he's fanatical about tennis and his approach is a systematic approach. He's really special, he's like a tennis father to me and to be able to sit beside him during matches to pick his brain, ultimately he has a great vision and I try to implement what he says on a daily basis'.HARRI HELIOVAARA ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CELEBRATING - ‘I've always loved competition and competition has the element of winning and losing and of course winning is much better. Now that I'm older I know that it's not going to last forever, so I'm going to enjoy every moment to the full and when you win matches you made a good job, so why wouldn't you celebrate'.LLOYD GLASSPOOL ON THE SPRINGBOARD MOMENT OF GETTING INTO THE ROME MASTERS - ‘Looking back I think it had a massive impact on our year. It was our first real opportunity to play the top, top guys in a tournament that we'd never been in before. That was our first Masters 1000 because of our ranking and just being able to compete in that, we played the world number one and beat the world number one, so it was just a confidence booster and realisation that we could be one of the best teams in the world'.MARCELO AREVALO ON WINNING ROLAND GARROS - ‘Being the first Salvadorian and Central American player to win a Grand Slam it was a huge success for my country and for my region. I didn't even know until later that I was the first one, I was just trying to win as many matches as possible and I had my goals clear and one of my main goals in life was to become a Grand Slam champion'.MICHAEL VENUS ON TRAVEL - ‘Once the pandemic hit I didn't see my family for six months and then again my wife was pregnant with our second child and I was at home for the birth and then I left two weeks after and I didn't see her for the first six months after that too, so it got to the point where we needed to see each other as a family, so they started travelling towards the end of last year and they've been doing that ever since'.JOHN NEWCOMBE ON THE LACK OF SINGLES PLAYERS INVOLVED IN THE DOUBLES GAME - ‘When you talk about doubles you bring up something that's a bit of a sore point with me because it's just a pity that none of the top players compete in doubles. Ninety percent of players around the world play more doubles than singles. I understand that best of five sets, the top players don't want to play, but as far as doubles goes I would like to see them having to play more doubles in the regular tournaments where it's two out of three sets'.NIKOLA MEKTIC ON LOOKING FORWARD TO A GOOD 2023 - ‘I think mentally we have learned some things this year. The first year we didn't have many setbacks and this year we had to adapt to some not-so-good results, which I think in the end we pulled through, so I'm very optimistic for the next season'.-Show presented by Seb Lauzier-Interviews by Jill Craybas and Chris Bowers
Coach James Trotman sits down with Jill Craybas at the NextGen ATP Finals to discuss Jack Draper's development and what they will be working on going into 2023.
Former player Gilles Simon looks back over his career with Jill Craybas at the recent Nitto ATP Finals.
GREG RUSEDSKI ON HOW THE SPORT IS DEVELOPING - ‘It seems like players are getting a lot quicker and right now you have to be an all-rounder. You have to play defence and offence and if you want to get to the very top, you have to do all of the above'.CARLOS MOYA ON RAFAEL NADAL'S YEAR - 'The last part of the year has not been that good but he's won two slams this year and when you win two slams, it has to be a good year. It's true that the first half of the year was unbelievable and we did not expect that to happen, but with Rafa, you can always expect the best from him'.DENIS SHAPOVALOV ON HIS JUMP BACKHAND - ‘It actually comes from juniors. When I was small a lot of people would get the ball up to my backhand and I remember one practice I just got tired of going back all of the time, so I hit a couple in the air and they worked out well, so it's just been a natural shot for me'.JO-WILFRIED TSONGA ON HIS TOUGHEST OPPONENT - ‘One who gave me a hard time was Andy Murray, he beat me so many times and it was difficult. Every time when I saw the draw I was praying to be in another part and yeah, Andy was a terrible player for me'. PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER ON LEARNING FROM BEST PLAYERS IN PRACTICE - 'They are actually most of the time very relaxed, but then they can switch it on in the crunch time, they have the full focus. So they are really good to be able to practice and enjoy, but if they feel like the crucial moment is coming, then they have another gear maybe and that's something hard to learn, but that's why I always tried to play with the best players in practice'.-Podcast presented by Seb Lauzier-Interviews by Jill Craybas, Richard Connelly & Ursin Caderas- Denis Shapovalov Feature by ATP Uncovered
GORAN IVANIŠEVIĆ ON NOVAK DJOKOVIC - ‘He's practising even harder than when he was at the age of 22 and that's why he's still so good and that's why he's going to be even better. The will to practice, the will to improve, the will to be better is amazing you know and he's taking care of his body. Novak is a genius and he's a guy who always wants to improve'.VEDRAN MARTIC SPEAKS ABOUT ON-COURT COACHING - ‘It's ok if you need to say something to a player, but still I believe a lot in concentration in the match, so for a player it's better to concentrate and not look too much to the coach and expect some unbelievable advice'. UMBERTO RIANNA ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ITALIAN TENNIS - ‘It all started a few years ago when the board of the federation decided to invest in the kids even after their junior years and that was the turning point for us. Everybody is asking me what's the secret, but there are no secrets, just results and when the federation decided to invest, finally we decided to give resources to be able to help the kids to grow'.FRANCES TIAFOE ON WHY LOSING IN THE US OPEN SEMI-FINAL MIGHT BE THE BEST THING THAT'S HAPPENED TO HIM - ‘It was tough because I really thought I was going to get it done but I think it was the best thing for me not to win it honestly because seeing how everyone responded and all the things I got invited to and I didn't win it, It built that little extra hunger, so 2023 that's the goal, to get across that line'.PABLO CARREÑO BUSTA ON LEARNING FROM RAFAEL NADAL - ‘We were partners in the Davis Cup and I learn a lot from him, but probably the consistency and to fight until the end in every moment, that's very important. You cannot be one hundred per cent everyday, because it's very tough to be, but Rafa continues all the time to be his best in every moment and I think that's the best thing from him'.PLUS ALEX DE MINAUR TALKS ABOUT WHAT HE TAKES WITH HIM ON HIS TRAVELS- Show presented by Seb Lauzier- Interviews by Jill Craybas and Chris Bowers- Alex De Minaur Feature by ATP Uncovered
One of the most influential coaches in tennis sits down with Jill Craybas at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin to talk about what it's been like joining Holger Rune's team and his hopes for the youngsters future.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC ON A NITTO ATP FINALS TITLE THAT'S BEEN WORTH THE WAIT - ‘I definitely felt nerves, but I felt grateful to be able to serve the match out. Seven years, it's been a long time but at the same time, the fact I waited seven years makes this victory even bigger and even sweeter.CASPER RUUD ON HIS MENTALITY - ‘I think out of twenty-four hours that we have everyday I think that you should be able to perform two of them at least and have a good focus and put all your effort into it and that's pretty much how I think ahead of every match'.CARLOS ALCARAZ ON INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION - ‘For me it's really important to inspire the young people. I had role models when I was a kid and for me to show good things to the young people, it's crazy as a guy who's nineteen years old, but that's what I'm trying to do'.HOLGER RUNE ON HIS AMAZING YEAR - ‘Crazy in every way. At the beginning of the year I was ranked 103 and nw top 10. It's amazing feeling to finish the year this way and if you had a paper I would sign it straightaway at the beginning of the year. I had a goal to finish in the top 25 and now I'm top 10 so it's even better, so I'm super-pleased and happy'.ANDREY RUBLEV'S PHYSIO, MARC BOADA ON HIS PLAYER'S ENDLESS ENERGY - 'He wants to be the best, so no matter the amount of hours that you tell him to do, he's going to do everything and if he's off he really feels the need to do more, so you need to find his balance'. RAJEEV RAM ON THE DEVELOPMENTS HE AND JOE SALISBURY HAVE MADE - ‘We have the same mindset which is to always try to improve something, daily, weekly, yearly whatever it is and I think something we've got a lot better at is just hanging in their and fighting and you're not always going to play your best and even if someone knows you're going to do that, that's almost an intimidating factor in itself'.NEAL SKUPSKI ON HIS BROTHER AND FORMER DOUBLES PARTNER KEN NOW COACHING HIM - ‘It's been a nice addition from halfway through the year. He knows me inside and out. I've not been the best with having a coach around me because I find it hard to trust someone as a coach telling me what to do, but from an early age I've always looked up to him and I trust him'.LLOYD GLASSPOOL & HARRI HELIOVAARA ON THEIR REMARKABLE RISE - ‘We started playing together for the first time two years ago at a challenger event in Portugal and we were working hard last year and improving our games, but this year it just started clicking and all of a sudden we're beating the best teams in the world and it just kept going'.GABRIELE PARAINO ON HIS EXPERIENCE AS A HITTING PARTNER IN TURIN - ‘It's really a dream to be here and to play with these players. It's always been my dream to be here so it's amazing. Just how they hit the ball, it's really amazing to see them play, to feel how they hit the ball. It's heavier, they hit it earlier and go through the ball always and I think that's the biggest thing I've seen'.PLUS THE EIGHT SINGLES PLAYERS COME TOGETHER FOR ONE INTERVIEW, COURTESY OF THE ATP DIGITAL CHANNELS- Podcast presenter: Seb Lauzier- Interviews by Jill Craybas, Richard Connelly and Kate Flory- Features by ATP Uncovered- Commentary from Mikey Perera and Lee Goodall
At the NextGen ATP Finals in Milan, Jill Craybas sits down with Mosé Navarra from the Italian Tennis Federation to discover how the country is producing so many top players.
Coach to Brandon Nakashima and also working with the Italian Tennis Federation, Eduardo Infantino speaks to Jill Craybas about working with the young player and his coaching philosophy in general.
Jiri Lehecka's coach Michal Navrátil speaks to Jill Craybas about what it's like to coach the young star as well as discussing his own coaching philosophy.
BRANDON NAKASHIMA ON WINNING THE NEXTGEN ATP FINALS - ‘I'm super-happy right now, it was a great feeling all week, it feels amazing, being an American, being able to play here in Milan it's the best feeling in the world and I'm happy to be able to take it back to the US'.EDUARDO INFANTINO ON COACHING BRANDON NAKASHIMA - ‘We're going step-by-step at this moment and he will start to be ready, maybe in the second part of next year. He's still 21 so for sure his best moments will be in two years time. His game needs to be better because he needs to be more aggressive, have more options to be not predictable in his game and my vision is the same vision that Sampras had, don't be predictable'.JIRI LEHECKA ON HIS PROGRESSION - 'This year has been all about experience for me because it was my for year in the top 100 and being able to compete against the best players in the world. Super-happy that I had a chance to compete in all four Grand Slams, to be able to play some very good matches on the ATP Tour and of course the Challenger Tour was also part of my journey this year'.MICHAL NAVRATIL ON WORKING WITH JIRI LEHECKA - ‘For me the first priority is the heart as Kobe Bryant said. I saw the power, the stamina and of course as a nice person, because he was always the guy who came and was respectful and said hello and even if you are giving him some tips, he was always listening'.JAMES TROTMAN ON WORKING WITH JACK DRAPER FROM A YOUNG AGE - ‘He was feisty on court, desperate to win and sometimes that would cloud his judgement, but his competitive instinct and desire to find a way through a match was incredibly impressive. He's had a lot of injury, one year six tournaments, the next twelve, so the biggest thing we've monitored is his workloads and making sure we're being smart in how we trained hi and the goal was as simple as playing twenty-five tournaments the following year'.DOMINIC STRICKER ON PRACTICING WITH ROGER FEDERER - ‘I've learned a lot talking to Roger was very special and I've practiced with him so many times now and he told me some tips like to work on my serve, that was something he told me many times and now I'd say that my serve is pretty good'. BENJAMIN EBRAHIMZADEH ON DEVELOPING THE PLAYER FIRST - ‘I think as a coach you need to understand the person first and you need to understand how to talk to them, how to approach them, what is their behind their story, because their story always comes out in the pressure moments and then you need to understand what their ideal game could look like and then you need to bring these two aspects together, this is what matters the most'.LORENZO MUSETTI ON PLAYING ON HOME SOIL - ‘I have a lot of friends and a small group, six friends who grew up together and we still live together and they are my first fans after my family and we started like a company when we were like eight or nine and we shared a lot of great memories, vacations and holidays together and they are my support for everyday, even in the bad days'.MATTEO ARNALDI ON PLAYING IN BIG VENUES AND EXPERIENCING THE TOUR - ‘I played in Rome, my first Masters 1000 and it was so cool and I think it was the best moment of my year and afterwards I played Wimbledon and then in New York I almost got into the main draw and I think I learned to play on every surface and that was the main thing for this year'.FRANCESCO PASSARO INTERVIEW - ‘We are lucky because we have a lot of tournaments in Italy, we have a chance to play every week in Italy and I think the boom in the amount of Italian players has been down to this I think, so I am very grateful to the Italian Federation'.MOSE NAVARRA ON HIS ROLE DEVELOPING THE ITALIN OVER 18 PLAYERS - 'The players have everything that they need and each one of us coaches has between two to three players that we look after, plus the structure is also following other guys who are below. The Federation has been following these players since the ages of twelve, thirteen, so it's kind of a step-by-step and we look at the ways they are developing as a person a well as a player'.ROSS HUTCHINS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NEXT GEN EVENT AND HOW IT FITS INTO THE BIGGER PICTURE - 'The whole of the tennis world is always asking about the NextGen and when they are asking about what innovations you're doing next year in February or March and this could be Grand Slams, Masters 1000s, media, key sponsors, they are all asking about what we're going to do and who are the next superstars that are going to play, so I think that it has a position in the game is very exciting'.- Podcast hosted by Seb Lauzier- Interviews by Jill Craybas
Jill Craybas sits down with the coach of Felix Auger-Aliassime to find out what's made it possible for the young Canadian to go on an unbelievable winning streak.
French star Jeremy Chardy speaks to Jill Craybas about returing to the game after a long time out with injury and what he's learnt coaching fellow countryman, Ugo Humbert.
HOLGER RUNE ON WINNING THE ROLEX PARIS MASTERS AND BECOMING AN ALTERNATE FOR THE NITTO ATP FINALS - ‘I'm feeling lovely to be honest, it's the possible best feeling to be one out of Turin and if you told me this four weeks ago that I would be top ten and one alternate for the Masters Finals I'd be like, ‘what sorry?' but now I'm there and I'm super proud and hopefully I'll get to play'.PATRICK MOURATOGLU ON HOLGER RUNE'S POTENTIAL - ‘I think a few guys have this potential to become Grand Slam champions and in general those guys go really fast, they climb the rankings really fast, but I guess that Holger has what it takes to become a Grand Slam Champion, he has the self-belief, an incredible determination, a love and passion for the game which is huge and he's prepared to do what it takes, even if it's extremely painful to achieve his goals'.FRÉDÉRIC FONTANG ON FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME'S ANIMATED DEMEANOUR - ‘It was something that we were feeling was important for Felix because he's an aggressive player, he's athletic and when he shows this athleticism on the court it's very positive because it's going to match with his game, going forward, going to the net, so that's why he needs to show lots of emotion'.GILLES SIMON ON THE REASON FOR RETIRING - ‘It was just my life, always wanting to be a tennis player since I was six years old and first watching tennis was here in this stadium and in my head I'm still a tennis player, but it's just that I'm not able to play anymore, it's too painful and I'm not at the level, the guys are too young, too strong, so that's why I stop, I'm not able to compete at this level anymore, but I'm also very happy now that I've stopped to enjoy other things and first priority is the family'.JEREMY CHARDY ON TRYING OUT COACHING WHILST INJURED - ‘It's really different because when you are playing it's more about the feeling, the next point, the next match and when you are a coach you have to think about the preparation, the goal for the game, how to improve and for sure you want to win the next match, but you have to build the game for the next match, the next month. Since I'm coaching I watch video all the time, video of the best guys and I'm much more into tennis now than when I'm playing'.LORENZO MUSETTI ON TAKING INSPIRATION FROM HIS GRANDFATHER - ‘I take a lot of inspiration from him. He was an honest man with great values and I'm trying to be as him because he tried to transfer to me all the passion he had for his work, for life, for his family and I'm trying to be like him in these kind of feelings and I think these things are helping me a lot, because having a balance in your head when you are under stress, for sure it helps you for what you really want'.JACK DRAPER ON THE REASON FOR HIS RISE UP THE RANKINGS - 'The main thing for me is to stay injury free. The last few years I've been constantly injured, so getting that consistency this year of being on court more and having more trust in my body when competing is the main thing. Obviously there is still a long way to go, but I've always known that my tennis has been good enough, it's just about staying on court and it's about working smarter, not harder'.DOMINIC STRICKER'S COACH SVEN SWINNEN ON THE YOUNGSTER'S SURPRISE PROGRESSION - ‘I think he has great potential and I'm sure he will soon crack the top 100. It was great that we were able to give him a wildcard into a Challenger in Switzerland and it was great that he came from nowhere to winning it and made a lot of points and moved up the rankings quickly. I think for his height he's working pretty well and working well on his serve and I like to keep the focus on his strengths and not his weaknesses, but we try to keep mixing up the serve a little bit that he becomes really unpredictable on his service games'.PLUS DAVID NALBANDIAN FEATURE ON WINNING THE 2005 NITTO ATP FINALS- Podcast presented by Seb Lauzier- Interviews by Seb Lauzier, Jill Craybas and Chris Bowers- David Nalbandian feature by ATP Uncovered- Rolex Paris Masters commentary by Lee Goodall
Jill Craybas sits down with former French player Sébastien Grosjean in Paris to talk about his career, tennis in France and how the modern game differs to when he played.
CARLOS ALCARAZ ON HIS REMAINING GOALS FOR THE SEASON - ‘I think I said at the beginning of the year that my goal was to end between the first fifteen players, but I never felt I was going to be number one this soon. I feel the same guy, the same player, for me nothing changed but I want to end the year as number one, I have some good tournaments ahead and I want to do the best of myself in those tournaments and to end the year as number one'.CASPER RUUD ON QUALIFYING FOR BACK-TO-BACK NITTO ATP FINALS - ‘It feels great. Last year was a crazy race towards the end there with four players racing for the last two spots and it came down to Paris, one of the last weeks of the year, but this year I've been able to reach it already and that's a very, very nice feeling'.HUBERT HURKACZ ON HIS DESIRE TO QUALIFY FOR TURIN AGAIN - 'That would be something amazing to play there again, to play in front of such a great crowd in Turin. It was something I was always dreaming of as a kid, eight people qualifying for the final and that was great so it would be something special to play there again'.HENRI LAAKSONEN ON HIS MENTALITY - ‘It takes time to learn who you really are and I still feel there are a few things I can do to improve in my tennis. Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka have been in front of me and It's great for Switzerland to have such great players and I could learn a lot when they are practicing and playing matches, watching what they are doing and it was great for me to learn from the best'.DAVID GOFFIN ON WHAT HE'S LEARNT OVER HIS CAREER - ‘When you get older you just realise how tough it is. It's tougher physically and when you're over thirty you start to feel pain that you've never felt before and all of sudden you realise what you just did before is now tough, so you just have to enjoy differently when you're older'.SEBASTIAN KORDA ON USING 3D GLASSES TO IMPROVE HIS REACTION TIME - ‘I do that six days a week, just kind of fifteen minutes at night or during the day. You have eight balls and you have to track four of them as they bounce around at different speeds so I've been doing that for the last year of so to get my eyes better and I feel it's really helped me with my speed on court and just using my brain a little better'.PLUS ATP UNCOVERED SPEAK TO BOTH STAN WAWRINKA AND DOMINIC THIEM- Show presented by Seb Lauzier- Interviews by Ursin Caderas, Lee Goodall, Jill Craybas and Kate Flory- Laaksonen, Wawrinka and Thiem features by ATP Uncovered
ALEJANDRO DAVIDOVICH FOKINA ON WHY HE HAS A TATTOO OF A TSUNAMI - ‘My mentality it like wherever I go I have to erase it, but my coach says I'm more like a volcano because he knows I have a lot of energy inside of me and I don't know how to control that energy, but now I'm learning to focus on just one point and that's it'.WOLFGANG OSWALD ON DEVELOPING TAYLOR FRITZ'S PHYSIQUE - ‘He's become a lot stronger and that has helped his movement and he's more resilient. He has a hyper-mobile body, so he's very flexible, so those type of athletes need more stability and strength, so that's where we focus. It's hard to do it all as once as a tennis player because you still have to practice on court, so you kind of have to trickle things in over a few years'.TOMMY PAUL ON HIS MENTALITY - ‘I'd say the biggest thing for me to overcome is a lapse of focus, just staying locked in and that's been the biggest thing for a while. I mean anytime you're playing on centre court or a night session or somewhere where there's a packed crowd, the pressure rises, but it's also more fun and I feel that all of the matches that are the most fun, come with the most pressure. As they say, pressure is a privilege'.SEBASTIAN BAEZ ON 2022 AS A BREAKTHROUGH YEAR - ‘I've tried to be better at the little things, on the court, outside the court, with the recovery. For example, if you have physical training at eight in the morning I want to be there at seven fifty. You control your body, your things and your team of course. All the best players are a little bit crazy with these things, to try to do everything a little bit more perfect than yesterday and I think that's the difference to the other players'.ALEXANDER RITSCHARD ON NEARLY LOSING HIS ARM - ‘It was a very strange situation, I was in the gym working out and then I felt a sting in my shoulder and then it turned out to be a huge deal where my artery clogged up and no more blood flowed to my arm. I can only go by what they told me, but they said that they had to make a decision in the next five minutes and the artery was not opening and then I guess I got lucky and it opened and the blood started flowing again and they were able to make sure that my arm received blood'. PLUS DIEGO SCHWARTZMAN TAKES A QUIZ ON HIS OWN CAREER AND MATTEO BERRETTINI LOOKS BACK ON HIS RUN TO THE 2021 NITTO ATP FINALS - Podcast presented by Seb Lauzier- Interviews by Ursin Caderas, Candy Reid, Jill Craybas and Chris Bowers- Tommy Paul, Diego Schwartzman and Matteo Berrettini features by ATP Uncovered
FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME ON HIS HOPES OF QUALIFYING FOR TURIN - ‘For the last two years it's been a clear goal that I want to be in Turin. Last year I was close and this year I have real chances, I'm in the race right now but a lot of things can happen until Turin. I don't think about it day-to-day, but once we get to the last tournaments of the year it's always the talk of the week as the last players are pushing to squeeze in their ticket to Turin'.HOLGER RUNE ON A POTENTIAL RIVALRY WITH CARLOS ALCARAZ - ‘I'm excited, hopefully it's going to be like Roger and Rafa, it could be great, that's what we're seeking for to be the greatest players of all time and to be the greatest players we can be and for my side I'm just trying to fulfil my potential and be as great as I can be everyday and be one percent better every time I step on the practice court'.DENIS SHAPOVALOV ON THE NEED TO HANDLE BIG MOMENTS WITH EXCITEMENT, RATHER THAN FEAR - ‘I think it comes with experience. When you're coming up there's more things to fear like you don't belong or feel like you won't make it, but obviously I feel like I've got a great level with my game and that any moment I can pick it up and play some great tennis'. COACH JOSEPH GILBERT ON JENSON BROOKSBY'S DESIRE TO REACH THE TOP - ‘It was not about building a weapon, it was more about not having weaknesses. We couldn't build him as a typical American player and I think a lot of people have seen that, he wasn't the biggest, fastest, strongest growing up and throughout his career people have not believed he can go to the next level which I think has only fuelled his competitiveness'.ALEXANDER BUBLIK ON PLAYING AT HOME IN KAZAKHSTAN - ‘Every time being here it's a great adventure, great city which has been my home for the past seven years and this is big for me, seeing all these kids and seeing my picture all over the town and you know, spending so much time doing autographs, spending three hours a day signing things on the streets and I'm really enjoying that I have a certain impact on the country'.PLUS MARIN CILIC TAKES QUIZ QUESTIONS ON HIS OWN CAREER AND DIEGO SCHWARTZMAN TALKS US THROUGH THE ITEMS HE TRAVELS WITH- Programme presented by Seb Lauzier- Interviews by Mike Cation, Seb Lauzier, Jill Craybas and Ursin Caderas- Jenson Brooksby, Marin Cilic and Diego Schwartzman features by ATP Uncovered
At the halfway stage of the 2022 US Open, presenter Chris Bowers sits down with former WTA player Jill Craybas and US Open Radio commentator Brian Clark to look back on the stories from week one and introduce interviews with Matteo Berrettini, Emilio Nava, Brandon Holt, Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev, whilst the team at ATP Uncovered ask a number of players about their favourite parts of New York.-Show presented by Chris Bowers with guests Jill Craybas and Brian Clark-Interviews by Chris Bowers, Mike Cation and Ursin Caderas-Feature by ATP Uncovered
PABLO CARRENO BUSTA ON HIS FIRST MASTERS 1000 TITLE - ‘It's very important to be positive all of the time. It's not my best season this year, I lost some matches that in other years I probably wouldn't have lost, but I just continue to keep believing in my team, in myself and on my game'.DAN EVANS ON DEALING WITH LOSING - ‘When I was younger I used to waste a few days dealing with a loss, but you look at the very, very good professionals out here, they're not, I'm sure it hurts, but they are back at work the next day looking ahead and the beauty of this sport is, if you choose to play the next week, you have another opportunity, so that's how I look at it'.JACK DRAPER ON ADAPTING TO LIFE ON TOUR - ‘I think it's just exposure to this level really. Playing futures and the challengers, the actual tennis level is pretty good but it's just they are probably not there every singles point whereas at this level if you're not there every point you lose, so it has just bee about training the mind to be there every single point and hopefully I'm getting there'.FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME ON HIS DAD'S ACADEMY IN QUEBEC CITY - 'To see the young kids playing some good tennis, having a smile on their face, being happy to be there, really makes me happy, sometimes more than winning matches because I feel like it's not only for myself but making a difference for others, for these young kids, inspiring them, it's the best thing and I could talk about it all day'.NICK KYRGIOS ON HIS NEW FOUND DESIRE TO WIN - ‘I've really been driving the bus with my training and how much I've been working back home and it's showing on the court and I'm really enjoying it, it's a roller-coaster every-time I'm out there because I'm giving my best effort, so I'm getting to that vulnerable place of really wanting to win and I think the last couple of years of my career I struggled to get to that place, but now I'm really enjoying it'.FABIO FOGNINI ON TRYING TO QUALIFY FOR THE DOUBLES IN TURIN WITH SIMONE BOLELLI - ‘One of my best goals this year is to try to help him and to go to the ATP Finals in Turin because of course we are in Italy and we are Italian and I think this is going to be a really good achievement for the end of our careers DAVID GOFFIN ON AIMING FOR THE TOP AFTER INJURY - ‘Now I'm playing some good tennis. I want to come back where I was, let's try to be in the top 10 again, that would be fantastic. I think the last few months I proved I have the level to come back really close to the top 20 and why not top 10, so let's continue and we'll see where we can go'. DANI VALLVERDU ON SETTING REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR STAN WAWRINKA'S COMEBACK - 'The goal is to not get back to how he used to play, but the goal is to maximise his potential now and to be competitive on tour, whatever that might be, we'll see what the limits are and how good he can by physically and how good his tennis can be on the court as well, so we're not looking at it comparing it to what was possible in the past'.-Podcast presented by Brian Clark-Interviews by Jill Craybas, Ursin Caderas, Seb Lauzier & Chris Bowers-Auger-Aliassime Feature by ATP Uncovered-Commentary by Kevin Skinner
Recorded before the Citi Open Final in Washington, commentator Brian Clark met with former player Jill Craybas to look back over what's happened in the American capital this week and how it will inform what's left to come on the US Hard Court swing.
NICK KYRGIOS ON HIS WIN IN WASHINGTON - ‘It's just very emotional for me to see where I was that last year to now it's just an incredible transformation, but I just came up with a great energy and I knew I had experience on my side today. I love this court, I've played so many matches here and I'm just really proud of myself'.ALEX DE MINAUR ON THE CAMARADERIE AMONGST AUSTRALIAN PLAYERS - ‘You know there's a lot of Australians out there and I feel they all want the best for me. More than anything they believed that I belonged before I did, so they helped me really believe in myself and believe that I was good enough to be with the best guys in the world, so they instilled their belief in me and that went a long way'.ANDY MURRAY ON DEALING WITH INJURIES - ‘I had to accept that I might not play again before I had the operation and whilst I was going through that process, also made me realise why I was playing tennis in the first place and yes, winning titles is nice and winning major events is great but the reason why I started playing tennis as a kid was not for that, it was because I loved the sport and really enjoyed doing it and that's why I'm still playing'.MISCHA ZVEREV ON SASCHA'S DESIRE TO GET BACK FROM INJURY - ‘Right now that main goal is to come back, to be healthy, to win matches again and then, I think becoming number 1, yes it's a goal, but it's part of the process. We always say just enjoy winning matches, tournaments, you climb up the rankings and one day, in the perfect world you're number 1 and I think that's how it should happen and how it will happen'. REILLY OPELKA ON LEARNING FROM VENUS WILLIAMS - 'Venus is brilliant, she's really a genius, her mind socially is on another level, how well she can read a room is off the charts and I think, knowing her so well now and the way she was as a kid, her awareness on court, what other girls were feeling against her was, I think, why she had so much success and why she always delivered on big matches because she was always aware of what was going on, on the other side of the net'.DENIS SHAPOVALOV FIVE YEARS ON FROM BEATING NADAL IN MONTREAL - ‘I remember blacking out after that win, I can't remember much, just like from videos, but it was definitely unbelievable you know for me at that point and that week literally made my career and it was completely different after that, getting into bigger events, a complete lifestyle change and really this tournament made my career from beating Nadal, this week made me the player I am today'. -Podcast presented by Brian Clark and Jill Craybas-Interviews by Jill Craybas and Seb Lauzier-Denis Shapovalov Feature by ATP Uncovered-Commentary by Chris Bowers, Kevin Skinner, Sam Gore & Robbie Koenig
It's a US Hard Court Swing Special including chats with the following...MICHAEL RUSSELL ON TAYLOR FRITZ - 'It's managing the ups and downs and not getting too high or too low. Taylor won Indian Wells which was incredible the way he played so well and it's understanding that this is your level, that you do belong as a top ten player and you can be there and compete for Grand Slam titles and at the same time not get complacent and expect yourself to play at this level all the time'.DEAN GOLDFINE ON SEB KORDA - ‘What you're seeing more of now is guys like Sebby, guys like Sascha, guys like Daniil, obviously Tsitsipas is another one that are that big that move that well and you see that happening now in tennis and really in all athletics, it's bigger, stronger, faster'.MARCOS GIRON ON HIS MINDSET - ‘I was losing a lot of close matches a few years ago and then I went and played in Los Cabos against Del Potro who was top 5 in the world and I was serving for the first set and it's all of a sudden the realisation that it's not really the tennis that's holding me back and then after that I went and lost pre-qualifying on Challengers and it's like, you got to re-adjust and figure it out, because it's not just about the game'.NICK MONROE ON FRANCES TIAFOE - ‘Playing doubles improves your singles and we saw that last year with Frances when we played a lot of doubles together, it really improved his singles ranking and he would talk about it a lot, how he felt more comfortable moving forward, coming to the net, serving and volleying and it's just a lot of fun playing with the younger generation as they have so much energy'.BRAD STINE ON TOMMY PAUL - ‘When we started in 2019 just after the US Open, Tommy was pretty loosey-goosey in his preparation and everything else. At the same time he was already transitioning to be more professional, but at the same time it was important for me to recognise that I didn't want to take the fun out of what Tommy was doing. He's made progress through the rankings, he's just naturally become more focussed and he has high expectations on where he wants to be'.JOSEPH GILBERT ON JENSON BROOKSBY'S COMPETITIVENESS - 'There's always things he could do to win, so that competitive nature between us is why it's edgy out all there all the time and he shows his emotions out there, he brings them towards me quite a bit but in a positive way and frustrated way, but I'm comfortable with it and the advantage we have from being together for over 13 years is that we're comfortable being uncomfortable'.PLUS ATP UNCOVERED'S FEATURE WITH JENSON BROOKSBY AND WHAT IN HIS TRAVEL BAG- Podcast presented by Brian Clark- Interviews by Jill Craybas, Candy Reid, Anne-Marie Batson, Seb Lauzier & Chris Bowers- Jenson Brooksby Feature by ATP Uncovered
On this week's show...JOHN NEWCOMBE ON NICK KYRGIOS - ‘I can't speak for a lot of the other guys, but the ones I do talk to reasonably regularly, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Tony Roche and all that, we all think his tennis is great, never criticise his tennis at all, but it's just sometimes when he hasn't behaved great on the court, we've felt that not only has he let himself down but the image of Australian tennis gets let down a little bit, but no one certainly has been critical of his tennis and his ability as a great young sportsman. He's doing it his way and maybe one or two guys have come out and been ultra-critical of him, but that's just how life is'.JOHN NEWCOMBE ON DOUBLES - ‘When you talk about doubles you're bringing up something that's a bit of a sore point with me because it's just a pity to see none of the top payers playing in doubles. I understand best of five sets the top players don't want to play, but as far as doubles goes, I'd like to see them having to play more doubles in the regular tournaments where it's two out of three sets'.JOHN NEWCOMBE ON LLEYTON HEWITT'S INDUCTION INTO THE INTERNATIONAL TENNIS HALLL OF FAME - ‘When he was 14 he came to my tennis ranch in Texas and the first week he came up to me and said he'd like to interview me for a school essay and he had 25 questions all written out, very professional and we did the interview and it was little over a year later that we picked him for the Davis Cup team. He came out of the blocks in the first match against Todd Martin who was number nine in the world and he blew him away. It was just a joy to sit on the side of the court, of course he had nerves, but the more nervous he got, the better he played'.FACUNDO LAGONES ON WORKING WITH CAMERON NORRIE - ‘One of Cam's biggest changes is admitting mistakes and realising them and having honest conversations about what happened in the matches or outside the court and being humble enough to recognise what he needed to work on and not just say it and then forget about it. He is really good at working on things that make him better and not making excuses is giving a big edge over most other players because it's pretty common to make excuses here on tour and not fix what's wrong'.PLUS MEKTIC AND PAVIC TAKE OUR GRASS COURT QUIZ-Podcast presented by Chris Bowers, Jill Craybas and Peter Marcato-Interviews by Chris Bowers and Candy Reid-Feature by ATP Uncovered and Kate Flory
-Podcast discussion by Chris Bowers, Peter Marcato and Jill Craybas-Interviews by Candy Reid, Jill Craybas and Ursin Caderas-Feature by ATP UncoveredNICK KYRGIOS ON HOW HE VIEWS TENNIS - ‘Obviously I'm not taking it too serious and the rest of the tour, every single day, everything they do is for tennis and for me, I just want to go out there and have fun, entertain and sometimes it's not easy for other people to concentrate, but you know, I'll never change, from ten years old to now I've always been emotional on court and I've always wanted to make it theatrical, like a show, so that's never going to change I think'.CAMERON NORRIE ON HIS FITNESS - ‘I'm not a player who's going to come out and hit you off the court, I have to chip away at you point-by-point and make sure I'm executing and make sure I'm at the top of my level physically to have a chance with these guys and that's something I try to take care of as much as I can and take care of the diet and the physique as much as I can, because I like playing long rallies'.GILLES MULLER ON HIS FAMOUS VICTORY AGAINST RAFAEL NADAL AT WIMBLEDON - ‘In that match I found my happy place, my happy zone. I was sometimes known for losing it on the court and getting upset with myself and losing control a bit, but in that match I don't know what happened but it was just the perfect day'.VICTOR LILOV ON HIS TRANSITION FROM WIMBLEDON JUNIOR FINALIST TO THE MAIN TOUR - ‘It's just different paths. Some guys get lazy, some get injured and some just don't have the game and some guys, maybe they are not as good in juniors but they have the right mindset or maybe when they are eighteen or nineteen years old they just start really clicking and become a lot better, so I think it's just about the day-in-day-out work and never becoming complacent'.PLUS DENIS SHAPOVALOV, FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME, ALEX DE MINAUR, JOHN MILLMAN, HUBERT HURKACZ AND DUSTIN BROWN TAKE OUR WIMBLEDON QUIZ
Former pro player & current analyst Jill Craybas joins Inside-In to break down all the early drama as the 2022 French Open is officially underway. Craybas explains how Alcaraz & Tsitsipas have been able to survive, gives her early assessments of Nadal & Djokovic, and breaks down the continued dominance of Swiatek. Hosted by Mitch Michals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jill Craybas speaks to Slovak doubles player Filip Polasek about his need to retire from the game in 2013 due to injury and the long road back to the top of the game after a chance encounter with doubles legend Mike Bryan.
This week's show presented by Seb Lauzier contains the following interviews...CARLOS ALCARAZ ON WINNING IN MADRID - ‘I believe in myself all of the time. I always say that I'm not going to play a final, I'm going to win a final, so I always think about it and go for it. I think I'm ready to win a Grand Slam and go for it. It's a goal for me this year to get my first Grand Slam, so I'm going to work for it and let's see what happens in Roland Garros'.ALEXANDER ZVEREV ON CARLOS ALCARAZ - ‘I know how good he is and I said it last year in Acapulco that by 2023 he's going to be top ten and he beat me by a year so there's nothing more to say. He's an incredible player, he's going to be incredible, with 19 years old now he looks like a grown man, so to be honest there is no limit for him'. NOVAK DJOKOVIC ON GETTING BACK TO HIS BEST - ‘I'm still finding the form, not playing at the desired level but I am getting there, it's a process and I have to be patient and believe I'm on the right track, which I am, that's a positive. There's some elements in the game which I feel I've done well with and there are things I know I can improve and I'm conscious of that, I'm aware of that'.RAFAEL NADAL ON HIS EXPECTATIONS - ‘I tell you, when I arrive at a tournament I don't think about how I'm going to be or how I'm not going to be, I just follow the practices everyday without expecting too much. You have to live with the things that are happening eveyday and when you are one month, three weeks outside of the tour and you come here with no preparation, there are of course moments where you feel the worst in the world, but it's something that's normal and I went through these experiences in my career plenty of times'.THOMAS ENQVIST ON THE MAKE-UP OF THE MODERN PLAYER - ‘For sure the game has become more physical and you have to be very athletic, each top player are great athletes and moving, even though they are tall, still moving incredibly well and that's what's impressed me the most'.DAVID NALBANDIAN ON COACHING FORMER WORLD NUMBER ONE JUNIOR MIOMIR KECMANOVIC ‘Doesn't mean anything to me being world number one junior. I can tell you a million examples of world number one juniors and then, two hundred in tennis prop, three hundred, one hundred and never get to, even top fifty, so juniors doesn't mean anything'.JANNIK SINNER ON LEAVING RICCARDO PIATTI'S COACHING SET-UP - ‘I had seven incredible years with Riccardo and his team and I always felt very well with them, I think we did an incredible job with them bringing me to the top ten. Knowing what I have already I don't want to lose, like my mentality, like my way to play, but I think I can add some new stuff and this is what we're working for'.LORENZO SONEGO ON HIS GREAT RUN IN ROME LAST YEAR - ‘It was my best tournament in my life last year, I played some special players like Thiem, Rublev and I also played Djokovic on centre court. Today I come back here to Rome and it's like my home, it's really special and I want to enjoy every moment on court and I want to play my best like last year'.Interviews by Ursin Caderas, Jill Craybas, Seb Lauzier and Richard Connelly
Jill Craybas sits down with Juan Carlos Ferrero, coach to man of the moment, Carlos Alcaraz, to discuss his own career, what he's learnt, how he's shaped the fortunes of Alcaraz over the past few years and the goals for the future.
American doubles player Rajeev Ram speaks to Jill Craybas about what new World Number 1 doubles player Joe Salisbury brings to the table, their experiences winning the Australian Open and US Open and his medal winning performance at the Rio Olympics.
Marc talks about the sudden retirement of Ash Barty and how that will impact the WTA with his guests Blair Henley and Jill Craybas. he also talks about a brilliant win by Taylor Fritz at Indian Wells and Iga Swiatek, and how bright the future is for the US men.
Jill Craybas sits down with Miami Open Tournament Director James Blake to discuss a number of subjects such as the men's and women's tours working more closely together, the role that data and analytics will play in the future and his friendship with fellow American player, Andy Roddick.
Welcome back to Tennis Paradise at the end of the BNP Paribas Open, another exhilarating Masters 1000 showcase here in Indian Wells and over the course of the next forty minutes, we hear from the champion, Taylor Fritz, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Paul Annacone, Michael Chang, Ivan Ljubicic, Gilles Cervara and Craig Boyton, the coach of next week's Miami Open defending champion Hubi Hurkacz .Presenter - Seb LauzierPodcast guest - former WTA player, Jill Craybas. Michael Chang feature supplied by ATP Uncovered TV Show.
American Christopher Eubanks speaks to former player Jill Craybas about training with Serena Williams, learning Tik Tok from Coco Gauff, playing at the Mouratoglu Academy and hanging out with legendary movie star, Jamie Foxx.
Seb Lauzier and Jill Craybas present the show from Indian Wells. Along the way they hear from Daniil Medvedev, Andy Murray, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev. As the conflict in Ukraine continues, they also give their views about tennis' reaction to that, as well as a number of other topics including some of the new player and coach relationships on tour.
Seb Lauzier presents this week's programme and a week on from the Australian Open, hears from doubles legend, John Peers. Peers talks about his new partnership with Filip Polasek, how Australian's have dealt with travel during Covid and his Olympic Bronze Medal alongside Ash Barty. We also get a stringing masterclass and to celebrate his first ATP Tour final, we hear from Finnish player, Emil Ruusuvuori.Interviews by Jill Craybas and Candy Reid.
Back on the regular tour and with an event in Pune, India taking place this week, Jill Craybas spoke to a tennis legend from that region, doubles player Rohan Bopanna. In this wide-ranging conversation the duo discuss the current state of the game in India, doubles tactics, advice from his coach, Scott Davidoff, how Rohan continues to play at the age of 41 and his interests off court, including running tennis academies and his own coffee company.
Presenter Peter Marcato is joined by former player Jill Craybas and AO Radio's Chris Bowers to look back on an epic men's final between Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev. As well as discussing the Championship match in which Nadal made yet more history, the team also speak about the other players who made it through to the latter stages of the tournament. There's also exclusive interviews with recently crowned Australian of the Year, Dylan Alcott, Doubles finalist, Max Purcell and Australian sporting legend, Pat Rafter.Interviews by Chris Bowers and Candy Reid. Commentary from AO Radio.