US Open Media Day - Alcaraz reassures … he’s ready!

After spending the day in the US Open press conference room, Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts react to what the top players had to say as they prepare for the tournament.

Part one - We discuss the way Carlos Alcaraz left us feeling positive about his return from injury, detailing that his wrist has felt fine in practice, that he’s using his experience of being injured in 2024 to help him, and that he plans to play his usual game style. So what can we expect from him this tournament? There’s also chat about how the other men’s contenders - such as Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz - are largely playing down any talk of this being a big opportunity with Jannik Sinner not in the draw. What do we make of that?

Part two (22:10) - On the women’s side, defending champion Aryna Sabelenka has been struggling for form recently. In what way was she defensive about that in her press conference? And can we read anything into it? Coco Gauff, on the other hand, discussed how she’s in a much better place mentally and with her game compared to twelve months ago, while Alexandra Eala spoke with incredible maturity about understanding her growing influence on the sport.

Part three (43:45) - We cover some of the stories from qualifying, including more heartbreak for 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu, defeat for the retiring 2014 finalist Kei Nishikori, and lots of British success.

For ad-free listening and bonus content, become a ⁠Friend of The Tennis Podcast⁠: bit.ly/FriendOfTheTennisPodcast

Check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠new merch shop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:
thetennispodcast.net/shop

Sign up to receive our free ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more): eepurl.com/gbmzRX

Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (@thetennispodcast):
/ djqzbwwmk