Friend of the pod Tumaini Carayol joins in Lucy’s absence to go through the day’s action.
Hailey Baptiste versus Mirra Andreeva did not feel like a 6-1, 6-3 match. The American, playing on No 1 Court for the first time in her career, made a nervy start but tightened things up in the second set. Baptiste though can be proud of her third-round run at Wimbledon on debut. The 23-year-old American is trending in the right direction in the rankings and has “a game made for the natural surfaces”, according to Tumaini.
The Guardian man also shares his thoughts on Iga Swiatek-Danielle Collins, which was the match he was assigned to for the day, and also talks about the Aryna Sabalenka-Emma Raducanu third-round match that took place on Day 5. In the final match on No 1 Court,
Ben Shelton looked good against lucky loser Marton Fucsovics. Shelton, making a habit of winning in straight sets at SW19 this year, won 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2. The match felt like it was on American’s racket from ball one – even in the second-set tiebreak, a devilish slice backhand set the American on his way to stamping further authority on the match.
The 10th seed will face Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round. It will be the third Grand Slam in a row the two have faced each other. Listen out for a post-match press snippet from Shelton.
We also talk you through a funny/awkward exchange between the American and a US-based journalist.
John Barrett, interviewed by Yolanda Hester, Nov 6, 2023, for the Arthur Ashe Oral History Project, an initiative of Arthur Ashe Legacy at UCLA. The oral history is from the Center for Oral History Research, University of California.
Credits for instrumental: Caught in the Middle (Instrumental) by Amarent, Free Music Archive, CC BY
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