This week’s show focusses on the Laver Cup. Chris Bowers is joined by tennis commentator and former WTA player Sam Smith to look back over the event and discuss its place in the tennis calendar. They also introduce a number or interviews and features. Headlines are...
TEAM WORLD CAPTAIN JOHN MCENROE ’This is something that I’ve believed in from the beginning and to me it was like a no-brainer and I worry that our sport doesn’t understand what It has sometimes and I believe the name Rod Laver is a name we should always use to our advantage and Roger Federer and why this thing isn’t at the top of the chain for all players to play, I don’t know’.
TEAM EUROPE CAPTAIN BJORN BORG - ’This is the most important week for me every year and to pick the right players for the competition is very important and the important thing it that we need different players, different styles, different personalities to get into the Laver Cup’.
FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME ON TENNIS IN CANADA - ‘My dad owns a tennis academy in Quebec City and the interest and number of kids just keeps on growing. I was last week in the National Tennis Centre in Montreal and the gym was full of kids and the courts were full of kids everywhere’.
CASPER RUUD ON HOW LAVER CUP HAS A SPECIAL PLACE IN HIS HEART - ‘You know when I played Laver up the first time I had just reached the top ten for the first time, so I was very excited about that and I’ve been able to stay there now for two years and it has just given me more belief that I belong at this stage, that I belong among the top players in the world and play tennis on the biggest stages and Laver Cup is definitely one of the biggest stages we play throughout the year’.
GAEL MONFILS ON THE ENTERTAINMENT SIDE OF THE GAME - ’Some haters say that trick shots disrespect the opponent but first, it’s not disrespect because to hit a trick shot you have to be super-focussed so you don’t hurt yourself and when you try something different, it’s harder than something simple, but the main thing I’d say to the haters is focus on yourself’.
MIKE RUSSELL ON MANAGING A PLAYING SCHEDULE - ‘We all discuss what’s better what we think is best for his body and tennis, but the difficult thing with scheduling is that as your ranking increases, you get more opportunities and so the off season, where you could have an eight week off season, you then have a whole bunch of exhibition tournaments and events that you can play in and which makes a good financial incentive, so it’s hard to say no to those, so factoring those in and still have proper training weeks physically and focussing on your tennis is hard for everyone’.
PLUS IN AN EXCLUSIVE FEATURE, ATP UNCOVERED LOOK AT THE RETURN OF TENNIS TO CHINA
- Podcast presenter, Chris Bowers
- Podcast guest, Sam Smith
- Interviews by Chris Bowers, Candy Reid and Ursin Caderas
- Feature by ATP Uncovered