Canada - Who will take their chance with the big names out?

6 snips

Aug 4, 2025

Dive into the excitement of the Canadian Open as big names are sidelined! Victoria Mboko steals the spotlight with her impressive quarter-final run, while Coco Gauff grapples with double faults. Naomi Osaka turns heads with a resurgence under her new coach. In ATP Toronto, watch Alexei Popyrin defend his title and witness thrilling tiebreaks from Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton. Plus, a playful discussion around wildcard entries and intriguing US Open mixed doubles pairings keeps the conversation lively!

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ANECDOTE

Victoria Mboko's Rise

Victoria Mboko has emerged as a standout Canadian talent at the Montreal Open, winning an impressive match against Coco Gauff.
Her poise under pressure and impressive shot-making has made her a new local star and a player to watch.

INSIGHT

Gauff's Serve Struggles and Resilience

Coco Gauff struggles significantly with double faults, yet her mental toughness keeps her competitive despite poor serving.
Her ability to win matches amid technical issues highlights both the fragility and resilience in her game.

INSIGHT

Swiatek's Recovery and Pressure

Iga Swiatek seems to have regained composure and enjoyment in tennis post recovery, improving her play but still vulnerable to big hitters.
The pressure dynamics after Wimbledon victory may affect her consistency moving forward.

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David is back from holiday to join Catherine and Matt in discussing week one of the Canadian Open, where lots of the big names are out, there has been loads of good matches, and both draws feel pretty open heading into the final few days.

Part one - WTA Montreal. We cover Victoria Mboko’s special run to the quarter-finals, Coco Gauff’s recurring double fault issues, Naomi Osaka’s resurgence under new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, compelling matches involving Madison Keys, Elena Rybakina and Marta Kostyuk, the unorthodox game of Aoi Ito, and the decision to give Eugenie Bouchard a wildcard so she could retire.

Part two - ATP Toronto (from 49m). How much meaning can we take from a tournament without Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic? That’s the task when assessing the men’s event, which has seen Alexei Popyrin mount an impressive title defence so far, Daniil Medvedev continue to slump, and compelling final set tiebreak wins for Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton. There was also a strange complaint from Alejandro Davidovich Fokina leading to sweet spot social media aggro involving Dan Evans.

Part three - US Open news (from 70m15s). With most of the US Open mixed doubles pairings having been announced, we quiz David on his views, and he throws a fun name into the ring for one of the remaining wildcards. There’s also the launch of the US Open’s matchmaker show to discuss.

Tickets are on sale now for the Tennis History Conference at Wimbledon on Tuesday 9th December.

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