Catherine, David and Matt return with another episode of Tennis Re-Lived, this time looking back on a couple of classic finals and storylines from Madrid.

In 2012, the clay turned blue, and Janko Tipsarevic explains what it was really like to play on, who it favoured, how it affected Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, why it was ditched, and the reason it was slippery.

Plus, in what way was the final a microcosm of Tomas Berdych’s career? And how did Federer find his feet when others struggled?

The 2014 women’s final between Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep turned out to be a prelude of the Roland Garros final that year, serving as an indication of Sharapova’s progress on clay. What was behind her mid-career transformation on the surface? Sven Groeneveld, her coach at the time, tells us.

The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners every December.

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