Tennis Podcast, US Open 2018 day five: Serena Williams sends message with emphatic victory over Venus
After all the off-court drama of the past week, the excitement on day five at the US Open was to be found on the court. On The Tennis Podcast, David Law (BBC 5 Live) is joined separately by Simon Briggs of Telegraph Sport and Catherine Whitaker (Amazon Prime Video) to talk about it all.
Serena vs Venus was a remarkable occasion, as always, but Serena’s brilliance made it a one-sided contest. Briggs says it was a performance to “send shivers” through the rest of the women’s draw. How much better is her form in New York compared to at Wimbledon? Venus gave her sister the highest possible praise, saying it was the best she had ever played against her.
Serena seems to be on a semi-final collision course with Sloane Stephens. After the defending champion beat Victoria Azarenka, her exuberant celebration caught the eye of Simon Briggs.
The match of the day was undoubtedly the four-hour epic between Rafael Nadal and Karen Khachanov. Is it time to raise our expectations of 22-year-old Khachanov? The sustained quality of his play allowed him to bully Nadal at times. Nadal’s experience and willpower pulled him through, but, after requiring tape, how much of a concern is his knee for the rest of the tournament?
Elsewhere, Saturday promises to be another thrilling day. Eyebrows were raised when Federer vs. Kyrgios was scheduled for the day session, but Law is on hand with an explanation. Will the conditions favour either player?
There will be daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the US Open fortnight.
The Tennis Podcast is produced in association with the Telegraph and sponsored by Amazon Prime Video, the new home of the US Open in the UK.
Prime’s live coverage continues on Saturday at 3.30pm, with multi-court streams, a highlights programme and a match of the day available on-demand - amazon.co.uk/usopen. To find out how to watch the coverage, go to amazon.co.uk/watchanywhere.
How to listen to The Tennis Podcast:
Listen – http://po.st/USOpen18Day5
Download – http://po.st/ USOpen18Day5Download
iTunes - http://po.st/USOpen18Day5Apple
