PODCAST - Halfway Through The 2023 Australian Open

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