Wimbledon DAY 1 Recap w/ Wimbledon Champion, Lloyd Glasspool

Summary

Control the Controllables: Wimbledon 2026 Day 1 Recap w/ Lloyd Glasspool

Podcast: Control the Controllables
Host: Dan Kiernan
Date: June 29, 2026
Episode: Wimbledon Day 1 Recap w/ Wimbledon Champion, Lloyd Glasspool

---

Episode Overview

This special episode kicks off the 2026 Wimbledon daily "live" series—bringing immediate reactions, personal stories, British tennis analysis, and candid insight from within the grounds. For day one, host Dan Kiernan is joined by Lloyd Glasspool, current Wimbledon Men’s Doubles champion, to reflect on his experiences and make sense of a difficult day for British players.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Major Wimbledon Day 1 Stories (00:00–09:30)

Injuries and British Hopes Dashed

• Emma Raducanu withdraws due to a stress fracture. This was anticipated by Dan, citing concerns discussed in the preview show.
  “Emma Raducanu out of the event. Such a shame when she started to find some form.” (02:18)
• Jack Draper pulls out with a recurrence of his arm injury, missing his headline match vs. Taylor Fritz. Draper’s statement:
  “There’s been a lot of painful moments in the last 12 months but this is definitely the absolute worst as there’s no greater honor for a British player than playing at Wimbledon.” (03:42)
• Other Brits fall early: Cam Norrie, Oliver Tarvin, Felix Gill, Max Basing, Harriet Dart, Micah Stalovich, Emily Zhu, Hannah Klugman, Alicia Dudley—all out after day one.
• Pennington Jones and Fran Jones were still on court as of recording, but prospects looked grim.
• Dan laments: “No doubt the media is going to have an absolute field day.” (07:18)

International Headlines

• Yannick Sinner survives, coming from two sets to one down, prevailing in a physical, bloody five-setter after slipping on the grass (injury scare).
  “You did look a little bit of a worry at first... white attire at Wimbledon turned red with the blood.” (08:22)
• Novak Djokovic is in a battle on Centre Court, two sets to one up as of the episode’s close.

---

2. Tennis Athlete Player of the Day: Michael Zheng (09:00–09:30)

• Columbia University’s Michael Zheng beats Cam Norrie in five sets—Zheng’s Wimbledon debut.
  • Twenty-one aces, poise in a dramatic final-set tiebreak.
  • Zheng on his nerves:
    “It definitely wasn’t easy at times. I just do my best not to show it. It was definitely a little bit frustrating… but that is tennis, which we love.” (09:08)
• Dan credits Zheng’s mentality and highlights him as a player to watch.

---

3. Interview: Lloyd Glasspool, 2025 Doubles Champion (09:33–25:16)

Life After Wimbledon Triumph (09:33–12:16)

• Recently married; Dan offers congrats.
• On returning as defending champion:
  “People sending you pictures of your face up on the wall as you walk through… You don’t really get used to it. I almost have to, every time I walk in, pretend it’s not there… But yeah, it’s super cool, and I’m not quite ready for it to go down yet.” (11:00)
• Reflection on winning Wimbledon:
  “It was the pinnacle of any British player’s dream… Looking back I don’t think there’s a single thing I would change about it.” (11:50)

Glasspool’s Emotional Approach and Winning Mindset (12:16–13:56)

• On subdued celebration:
  “I’m not a big celebrator… there was relief in there… a long, stressful two weeks… Just wanted to be honest with myself really, in the biggest moments.” (13:07)
• On emotion and composure:
  “The ability to control your emotions… I would say the ability to stay in the zone and not be too up and down is a massive strength.” (14:04)

Thoughts on British Tennis and Injury Woes (15:06–17:51)

• On Raducanu & Draper’s withdrawals:
  “I know both of them… they’ve been at base doing everything they can… It’s just heartbreaking… My take: If you’re coming back from a load injury, is it not best to skip the Slams… get yourself going through the ATPs, two sets, three sets max… and come out ready next year?” (15:06)
• On British results:
  “Brutal draws for the guys today… but like Freddie [Nielsen] said, British tennis is in a really good place right now… I think it will turn around a bit tomorrow.” (17:51)

Team Culture and Camaraderie (18:43–20:04)

• On Battle of the Brits and team spirit:
  “There’s a big group of younger guys from 100 down, and the vibe’s very good between them. They all want each other to do well.” (19:19)
• Top-ranked British men (Norrie, Draper) are more isolated in prep— but Glasspool feels the broader culture is “in a good vibe, good camp.”

---

4. Quickfire Wimbledon Round with Lloyd Glasspool (20:04–25:16)

Highlights of rapid-fire Q&A — candid, nostalgic, British, and light-hearted moments:

• First Wimbledon memory:
  “Being on Henman Hill as a kid with grounds passes. That’s the pinnacle.” (20:33)
• Most looks forward to on UK return:
  “Staying at home.” (20:48)
• Favourite non-title Wimbledon win:
  “Harry and Henry in the quarters. 7-6 in the third, love-40 down at 6-5.” (21:18)
• Favourite Wimbledon moment (not involving himself):
  “Roddick-Federer final… the five-setter—an absolute epic.” (21:51)
• Favourite British food:
  “Bangers and mash. Lots of gravy.” (22:16)
• Greatest women’s grass court player:
  “Tatiana Maria… but probably Serena [Williams].” (22:44)
• Greatest men’s grass court player:
  “Federer.” (23:15)
• One celebrity to watch you play:
  “Tom Hardy. I love all the movies he’s in… really cool guy.” (23:25)
• Advice to young players:
  “Losing is part of the game. Everyone does it every single week apart from one person. Don’t see it as a failure… try and learn from it.” (23:45)
• Routines/superstitions:
  “Lots of routines. Shower timing, food the same… but more routines than superstitions.” (24:09)
• World Cup prediction:
  “It is coming home!” (24:55)

---

5. Audience Q&A: “Dear Dan” (25:17–end)

• On scouting preparation for opponents:
  • Coaches gather and distill data, often with a performance analytics team. Key:
    “The real skill comes in what is shared with the player, and how… Sometimes we give too much information.” (25:35)
  • Prefers most information is delivered the day before, not match day, to keep focus clear.
• Young players to watch at Wimbledon:
  • Eva Jovic: “18 years old, won a tough match today… mind of a 35-year-old, phenomenal decision-making.”
  • Bartunkova: “Beat Peyton Stearns, only 20, my dark horse pick.”
  • Coco Gauff: Acknowledged but “almost a cop out” since she’s so established.
  • Juan Pablo Varillas (“Buss”): “He can seriously play.”
• Closing reminder:
  • Next episode features women’s doubles finalist Erin Routliff (2024).
  • Novak Djokovic update—up two sets to one on Centre.

---

Notable Quotes

• “It was the pinnacle of any British player’s dream, right? Winning Wimbledon... I wouldn’t have done anything better.” — Lloyd Glasspool, reflecting on his title (11:50)
• “Losing is part of the game. Everyone does it every single week apart from one person. Don’t see it as a failure… try and learn from it.” — Lloyd Glasspool’s advice to junior players (23:45)
• “I think we’ve had brutal draws for the guys today… but British tennis is in a really good place right now.” — Lloyd Glasspool on UK results (17:51)
• “Emma Raducanu out… such a shame when she started to find some form.” — Dan Kiernan (02:18)
• “It sucks for British tennis, let’s be honest.” — Lloyd Glasspool, on withdrawals (16:29)
• “The ability to stay in the zone and not be too up and down is a massive strength.” — Lloyd Glasspool (14:04)
• “British players is where most of this is going to be today, and not for the right reasons.” — Dan Kiernan (01:17)

---

Memorable Moments & Timestamps

• 09:33 – Lloyd Glasspool joins the show
• 11:00 – Reflections as defending champion
• 11:50 – The perfect Wimbledon title day
• 13:07 – On not over-celebrating
• 15:06 – Insights on Raducanu and Draper
• 17:51 – British tennis assessment
• 19:19 – Discussion of team spirit in British tennis
• 20:04 – Start of Wimbledon quickfire round
• 23:45 – Lloyd’s advice for young players
• 25:17 – “Dear Dan” audience Q&A segment

---

Tone & Style

• Warm, open, collegial discussion — friendly banter and honest reflection between Dan and Lloyd, laced with British humor.
• Encouraging but realistic — balanced acknowledgment of both tough tournament outcomes and the strength of Britain’s “next generation.”
• Player-focused, giving unique insider perspective and emotional nuance to big headlines.
• Actionable insight for players, parents, and coaches woven throughout.

---

For Listeners

This recap delivers everything a tennis fan or curious newcomer needs: the main headlines of Wimbledon day one, reactive expert insight (especially regarding British hopes and woes), an in-depth but relaxed interview with a defending champion, and practical tips for the next generation—all laced with personality, humor, and a love for the sport.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. A big A big. Welcome to Control the Controllables. Episode one of our live Wimbledon series, brought to you by Novellas. And this is the series where we're going to bring you. We're going to bring you analysis from inside the grounds. We're going to bring you different segments. We've got the major moment, the two tennis athlete player of the day and our Wimbledon stories with our special guest. And we shall have a quick fire round and then we're going to finish every day with dear, dear Dan and the dear Dan part of the show. Anyone that is from the UK you would have heard of dear Deidre. And that's what that part of the show is going to be about. Your chance to ask your questions, get your questions in and we will get involved in that. Our special guest today is current Wimbledon champion men's doubles champion Lloyd Glasspool. And what, what better way to start the live show than having Lloyd Glasspool coming on and yeah, hearing about his Wimbledon 2025 and getting his reaction to day one here at Wimbledon. You know, we've got lots, lots of things to, to talk about and to. To start us off. I guess the, the major moments brought to us by Soto Tennis Academy today here at Wimbledon. We've, we've had. I guess unfortunately the major moments are really around British players. You know, British tennis players is. Is where most of this is. Is going to be about today and not for, not for the right reasons, you know, where we're not having a whole lot of success as, as British players right now. And obviously the big, big news, Emma Radakanu has pulled out. If you'd preview show a couple of days ago, I did predict this happening. I think the Emiratakan news was kind of public knowledge that she was struggling. We've now found out that she's got a stress fracture and she's unable to play, which is obviously massively unfortunate. Lloyd's come on too early. Lloyd come back on in five minutes, young man. This is the live, live shows we get. We see first guest. He's. He's so eager to come on. He's already on on the screen. He was given the very clear, the very clear detail of come on. But that's great to see that he's eager. But Emma Radicadu out out of the event. And such a shame when she started to. To find some form. And then the big news. I think we'd all hoped we were going to see Jack Draper against Taylor Fritz tomorrow here at Wimbledon, but Jack has pulled out. You know, we played four matches last week in Eastbourne. Like I said was predicted on our preview show that he just hasn't shown that ability to go back to back matches tournaments for quite a while now. Jack's own words. He's devastated to share that I've had to withdraw from my first round match due to recurrence of my arm injury. There's been a lot of painful moments in the last 12 months but this is definitely the absolute worst as there's no greater honor for a British player than playing at Wimbledon. And Dusan Lyevich takes his place to play Taylor Fritz tomorrow. Jack Draper with coach Sir Andy Murray by his side, you know, starting to show that he's got the form. I think we're all waiting for him to be one of the. One of the absolute best top players in the world which he proved a couple of years ago and unfortunately he's not going to get to play. We then also we've had Cameron Nori. All British players so far have lost. I think there's still a couple of matches going on. But Cameron Norrie lost to Michael Zhang, the U. S qualifier college college player. Knew that was going to be a tough match. Spoke to Cam's parents this morning actually who were so lovely and it was a bit like I said to them, it feels a bit like Cam's playing Cam but a lefty against a righty. Two people that have had incredible US college careers. And yeah, Zhang's really stepped up in the. In the long, long fifth set tie break. I'm Oliver Tarvin who qualified. He did put up a great effort but lost 75 in the fourth set. Rindic neck the 25th seed. Felix Gilligan's the the much talked about Rafael, the 23rd seed lost in straight sets was a breakup in the third. Max Basing making his grand slam debut. I know Kieran Vorster spoke about him on the preview. Lost his match. 6 3, 6 love 6 love. Didn't see a lot of it but obviously difficult, difficult. First experience and then on the women's side, Harriet D. Great effort up against Elena Ostepenko losing 64 in the third set. And then Micah Stalovich, tough draw. Lost straight sets to Belinda Benic. Emi zoo won a set against Kazakina but went down down. Hannah Klugman again, tough draw. Kreicher Kova, former Wimbledon champion, lost one four. And then Alicia Dudley against Alicia Parks lost. Now we do have Pennington Jones and Fran Jones still on court right now which are the only, the only hopes but that is a big, big story, I guess coming out of Wimbledon. Freddie Nielsen spoke on the preview. Sean said he felt the year of the Brits, well that that hasn't shown so far, you know and obviously time can change tomorrow we got Jacob Thornley, Arthur Ferry and Johnsky Toby Samuel, Billy Harris all playing on the men's side. And then you've got Katie Bolter and Katie Swan. So no doubt the media is going to have an absolute field day, you know, on that. But to see so many names and so many players on the grass courts winning matches, I don't think it's been a bad grass court season by any stretch of the imagination. And let's see, maybe someone can get a bit of a run going and then I guess our second moment of the day, Yannick Sinner. You know, up until, up until this week, ten five set matches, he's playing his career and there's only one one of them. So I think when we all saw him go two sets to one down against Kekmanovic today, I think the thought was like watch out. But fair play, Yannick Sinner dug his heels in 3 hours 30 minutes, managed to win 63 in the fifth set. He did have a fall, lost his footing changing directions. You did look a little bit of a worry at first. You know I think people were commenting that the, the all white shoes or the all white attire at Wimbledon turned red with the blood. But yeah, it's that kind of slippy grass court first day of Wimbledon. We often get that. But he's, he's come through in five sets as it currently stands. Novak Djokovic is. Let me just quickly check, I know you just we've gone to settle and Novak Djokovic as it currently stands is actually three all in in that set. The other matches have come off. Pennington Jones has come off with bad light. So the last match of the day, Novak Djokovic on center court. He's in a battle with Wu from, from China. And then before we bring Lloyd in we have to talk about our tennis athlete player of the day. Now tennis athlete is delivers age appropriate research back strength and conditioning programs and proven SNC coaches and it's absolutely a platform that I would rec for physical development. So if you head over to sototenis.com tennisathlete or head to the link in the description of the episode if you want more information on that. And our, our player tennis athlete player of the day has to be Michael Zeng. I think qualifying for his first Wimbledon, you know, fresh out of college was at Columbia University. For him to go, you know, 144 in the world to be Cameron Norrie in the UK at Wimbledon in five sets, 21 aces. But up with big shot after big shot in the final set tie break. And I think we've got to absolutely tip our hat to Michael Zeng as our player of the day. He said after the match, it definitely wasn't easy at times. I just do my best not to show it. It was definitely a little bit frustrating when I've been serving so well and I got a couple of chances to break and I hadn't really had during the match. And then Cam very much talking about how surprised he handled his game. You know, he liked his forehand, using Cam's kind of low, flat backhand to his forehand. He seemed to quite like it on the grass, which I think came. Had obviously done his homework and thought maybe that was a way that he was going to get at him, which didn't quite. Didn't quite happen on, on the day. But. But that, that is tennis, but we love. Yeah, lots more matches to come to come tomorrow. And if Lloyd's doing his job, Lloyd will be joining us in the next 30 seconds or so. And yeah, just a little bit about Lloyd. You know, Lloyd Glasspool, someone who I've been fortunate to be around his world for, for quite a long time now. You know, age 10, 11, started coaching him in Birmingham. The great Claire Williamson was, you know, coaching him in his. In his very young junior years and did an amazing job. And, and here he is joining us on time this time, Lloyd Glasspool. How you doing?

[B]

I'm good. How you guys doing?

[A]

You were eager. I like it. Our. Our first guest on our live show. You know, you got the PDF, but you just wanted to be part of it so much. You came on seven minutes early.

[B]

Yeah, I thought there was going to be like a little waiting room job, but then I reread your messages and it did say you're going to be live straight away. So my bad.

[A]

Well, thank you for owning up live, Lloyd, and firstly, a massive congratulations for your. For your marriage a couple of weeks ago. So making an honest man out of you. So big congrats to you and Sophia. How. How does it feel? Is life changed? Has she got under the thumb completely yet or what's. What's happened there?

[B]

No, not much has changed. It's pretty good. It's a good feeling. The day was amazing. Obviously you got to join for a bit. So. Yeah, it was just before the Day, obviously didn't think it'd be that good, but then when it's your day, it's. It's different for sure.

[A]

It was a big honor to be there, so thank you for having me, but big congrats. And like you said, you're the first of. Of this two weeks to come on, so. And as I introduced you, the current Wimbledon Men's doubles champion, you know, it's not. It's not easy to have a current. So how. How did it feel. How did it feel to walk back through the doors knowing that only 12 months ago, a little bit less than 12 months ago, you were. You were lifting the trophy?

[B]

Oh, it was really cool. It was a surreal moment. You know, people sending you pictures of your face up on the wall as you walk through. You know, me seeing it, it's pretty cool. You don't really get used to it. I almost have to every time I walk in. Pretend it's not there and not look, because I don't want people to think I'm still looking at it. But, yeah, it's super cool, and I'm not quite ready for it to go down yet.

[A]

And. And look, I don't. I know you've got. You've got a tournament to prepare for this year, but if I can take you back to. To that moment almost 12 months ago, now that you've had that time to reflect on it. You know, tennis doesn't give us a lot of time to reflect because it happens in the next tournament. And this, you, you know, it's. We're back around. What are your reflections on that tournament as a whole, but specifically, I guess finals day, taking us through to. To lifting that trophy.

[B]

I mean, it's the pinnacle of any British player's dream, right? Winning Wimbledon. I think looking back, it. It was the perfect day. Honestly, I wouldn't have done anything better. We had an early final. The weather is great. Great. We had the whole evening to an afternoon to see friends and family. I mean, it honestly just couldn't have gone any better. Looking back, I don't think there's a single thing I would change about it.

[A]

And in terms of, you know, a lot of people commented on this. You know, I've known you since you were a little boy, so I kind of expected it. I won't mention that the wedding brought out the emotion more than Wimbledon. Wimbledon title. I'll leave that for your mum to come on when we get her on the podcast one day. But. But in terms of the moment happened, you. You'd Won. And you just seemed to just, okay, take it in my stride, shook hands and moved on. What was going on inside? Because I think people see you as some people almost go, well, why is he not celebrating that? You know, you wait all your life to do that and he's not celebrating it. Give us your, I guess counter to. To that on why, why you that reacted and what was actually going on on the inside.

[B]

I think it was a mixture of things. It's like a bit. Yeah, I was playing on the fact that I'm not a big celebrator, you know, and in that moment, everyone expects you to celebrate and you don't, and it kind of stands out a little more. But there was also a bit of relief in there. It was a long, stressful two weeks, especially after the lead up. We'd had to think there was actually a lot of expectation on us, a lot of expectation on ourselves. Yeah. And just anyone that knows me, honestly, that's me as a character. I'm not jumping around loads of emotion either way. And that's just kind of myself, my true self. So, yeah, I think it was a mixture of those three things and yeah, I just wanted to be honest with myself really, in the biggest moments.

[A]

And do you think that, do you think that ability to stay level like that helps you in a moment where. Like a Wimbledon final?

[B]

Yeah, for sure. I mean the ability to control your emotions. Not saying I do amazingly just because I don't show emotions helps massively. I think a load of matches are won on emotions, but I would say the ability to stay in the zone and not be too up and down is a massive strength. Yeah.

[A]

Well, good luck this year. You know, if you, if you win again this year, you will be our first guest of 2027's live shows. If people, if people haven't had enough of me by then, or if I haven't had enough of committing to 9pm every night by then. But, but we do, as part of this segment, we do want to also just ask, and I guess it's quite apt what's happened today. It's probably not the, the best day of British tennis have ever had. You know, there's a couple of little talking points. I know you're, you know, heavily involved. Lt have supported you for many years. You know, you'd be a big, big part of British tennis and the Davis. But firstly, maybe just a few words on Emma Radicano and Jack Draper not being able to take to the court.

[B]

This is obviously so disappointing. I mean, I know Both of them. Personally, I see them day in, day out, you know, every time I get back from tournaments, they've been at base doing everything they can. They're in all day, you know, training hard, literally doing everything they can. Putting all their resources into trying to get on the court and not being able to is a. Just heartbreaking for everyone involved. But I actually think it was one of my takes that I think it might be smart for Jack to. Kind of my opinion on it was if you're coming back from a, a load injury, so to speak, that gets worse when the load increases, is it not at this point best to skip the Slams, which are spikes in load, and just get yourself going through the atps through the two sets, three sets maximum. And then you do that for a few months, for half a year and then come odds you're ready to go if you've got a miss us. And Wimbledon is more than good enough to be top 20, top 10 without slams. So that was just one thing that I thought maybe could be a way to approach it. I know it's obviously so hard to just say, yeah, I'm going to skip Wimbledon because, but, but I don't know if that's the path he's gone down. If it was just. If it's hurting him again too badly. I hope not. I hope it was precautionary. But yeah, it's, it sucks for British tennis, let's be honest.

[A]

Well, I think that's, that's a smart, smart play actually. And then, yeah, I'd actually love to go to a full podcast on that because I think that's a really smart, good answer. But we, we are time limited a little bit on this and I don't want to take up all your time, but the, the press are going to be out for it, right? They're going to be like hounds because they're not going to look at the doubles results. No doubt there's going some great doubles results from, from the Brits as, as there always is. And I guess the optic isn't good. You know, no British winners today. Obviously the, the best chances of, of going far have pulled out. You know, we've drawn unfortunately with, with injuries. What's your words on that? Because it felt we had Freddie Nielsen actually on the preview show the other night and we, we had to give a hot take. You know, that was kind of how we ended. I don't know if this is where my ego gets, gets ahead of myself and I say my hot take was I don't think Emiratakan watch after ever will play the event. But anyway, I didn't mention that. I'll keep. I'll keep my ego aside, but Freddie said his hot take is he felt this was going to be the year of the Brits. You know, he was really impressed with what he was seeing through the grass. There was a lot of guys going deep in Eastbourne Queens. Queens, you know, you'd be kind of seeing a lot of real positive results. I know we still have tomorrow, but how. How do you feel today's gone from a British perspective of players that have played?

[B]

I think we've had brutal draws for the guys that have played today. Rindanesh on the grass is not good. Jodar on any surface is not good. I actually watched a bit of Tarva and I thought I was impressed with what I saw, his mentality, everything that went around it. Yeah, like Freddie said, I actually agree with the British. Tennis is in a really good place right now. So to have the results go the way they did today is unfortunate. Naza was. Yeah, that's a tough one for him to take. He's great on the grass. He's normally a can push for a semi final or something like that. Who knows from there? But yeah, I think tomorrow we've got Arthur. Arthur Ferry playing a few other guys that are great on the grass. Billy Harris, guys that have really earned their spot as well. You know, they're not just random wild cards that have snuck into qualys or whatever. So I think it will turn around a bit tomorrow.

[A]

And what is the spirit like? I think we saw. We saw after Covert, it felt like, you know, all of those kind of events, the. It's escaping me. I don't know why it's escaped me, but the team events that they had, you know, it felt like there was a. There was a collective, there was a coming together. The battle of the Brits. Yeah, you know, which we see. We spoke about on the podcast a lot. Like the Italians have that in bucket loads. You know, the Aussie. The Aussies over the years have got it. What's the spirit like? I guess the team spirit. That's something that has continued to develop with the battle of the Brits or people started to go a little bit more their separate ways, which naturally happens in our sport as well.

[B]

It's a tough one because Nozza and Draper are a little bit. They kind of have their big teams and they do their own thing. Nozza's separate from the lta. He's based in Monte Carlo. Jack you know, he's very focused. There's not loads of banter going on with him around tournaments or training. But there's a big group of younger guys from 100 down, and I actually think they're, you know, the vibe's very good between them. They're all great guys. They all use each other. They all wanted. Everyone wants each other to do well, which I think is a really important part of it. You know, Jack and Nas included. They want to see everyone do well. People follow each other's results. All the LTA staff are following every time. So I think it's. Yeah, everyone's in a good vibe, good camp.

[A]

Good to hear. Are you ready for our Wimbledon quickfire round? I'm ready now this. You're the first one to do it, so if there's some naff questions in there, you'll have to feedback afterwards. And anyone listening needs to feedback as well. And we can change the questions around. This is me not playing the blame game, but Harry the producer came up with these questions. So let's see. Let's see how they. Let's see how they do do. What is your first ever memory at Wimbledon when you were younger?

[B]

I'm probably gonna say being on Hemon Hill as a kid, you get grounds passes. That's. Yeah, you think that's the pinnacle and. Yeah, being on Hemon Hill, watching tennis.

[A]

When Wimbledon starts and you come back to Britain, what thing do you look forward to the most?

[B]

Staying at home.

[A]

It's not like fish and chips or you can't go and give us like a British answer. Roast dinner, fish and chips.

[B]

Staying out during the tournaments is the biggest thing for me.

[A]

I think I would struggle with that.

[B]

No matter. You get a glimpse into the life of football players. It is so much easier than traveling every week. Hotels, you go to work, come back. It's amazing.

[A]

What is your favorite ever win at Wimbledon? That's not winning the tournament.

[B]

Sorry, guys, but it's got to be. Harry and Henry in the quarters was 76 in the third match.

[A]

Points down, three of them.

[B]

Love 40 at 6, 5.

[A]

And what's your favorite ever moment at Wimbledon? That's not involving yourself.

[B]

Not involving myself.

[A]

Yeah. Like, it wasn't. It wasn't. Wasn't you playing, but like your moment, like, of another player or as a someone that you watched or someone that you. You felt, you know, like a real moment at Wimbledon might be like, Nadal, Federer, 202008 final.

[B]

You know, I'm gonna go Roddick, Federer final. The five setter can't remember what year, but it was an absolute epic. It was like it was past six or when they didn't have tie breaks. That one. That was incredible.

[A]

I think I was in the locker room at the end of that match and Roddick. Roddick didn't have many rackets left in the locker room at the end of that match. That was easy. That was his chance. That was his chance. Comments? Your favorite British food.

[B]

Let's go. Bangers and mash.

[A]

Bangers and mash. Like it? Gravy.

[B]

Yeah, lots of gravy. Yeah, that's sausages for those that you don't know.

[A]

Yeah. Onion gravy or just normal gravy?

[B]

Normal gravy.

[A]

Onion gravy. Try it. Red onions. Cook some red onions in there. Put it on top of the mash with the bangers.

[B]

You'll.

[A]

You'll enjoy it. Who's the greatest ever woman's grass court player?

[B]

Got a bit of an out there answer, but Tatiana Maria, she's not, she's not the best ever, but she's very good on grass. I think it's gonna have to be Serena.

[A]

I love the Tatiana Maria answer because I think if that, that question was like, who's the greatest ever compared to how she is on other surfaces.

[B]

Yeah. If the whole year was on grass, she would be top five.

[A]

Yeah, she would. She. She smoked Potensava today as well.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And. And the same question on the men's side.

[B]

I'm gonna have to go Federer.

[A]

For me, it's hard to. Hard to go against that. If you can have one celebrity watch you play, who would you want it to be?

[B]

One celebrity. I think Tom Hardy.

[A]

Why?

[B]

I just love all the movies he in. He's in, the roles he's in. Yeah. I just really think he's a cool guy and love his, love his work.

[A]

Great. And best advice that you give the young tennis players to remember when they're playing tennis.

[B]

Losing is part of the game. Everyone does it every single week apart from one person. So get used to losing. Don't see it as a failure. And yeah, try and learn from it. Enjoy it. Realize it's not failing, it's just. Just losing that week. You'll get another chance.

[A]

Spot on. And do you have any pre or post match rituals or superstitions?

[B]

I mean, lots of routines, ritual superstitions. I do the kind of same shower timing and food needs to be the same kind of for everything. I'd say more routines. I'm not massively superstitious. It would just have. I Mean the routines are exactly the same for every single match. The warm up, the, you know, when I change my shirt, when I put my grass shoes on, all that kind of stuff. But I just said they're normal routines rather than superstitions.

[A]

The rice ball was just a bunch of crap and stuff just chucked in the bowl. That's the same every day as well, isn't it?

[B]

Pretty much.

[A]

Pre and post and last question, who's going to win the World Cup? Is it coming home?

[B]

It is coming home. Yeah. Now we're starting with Saka and Rashford. I like that. I like that setup using the wings.

[A]

Lloyd Classpool, thank you for being our first guest in 2026 Wimbledon live shows. Good luck from all of us at Control Controllables mate. And I will see you on site in the next day or two. Thank you for joining us.

[B]

Cheers. Getting out.

[A]

Top man. Thank you. So there, so there we have it. Our, our first guest of 2026. Like Glaspool, what a way to start, eh? Bringing you a Wimbledon champion on the, on, on the first, on the first episode. And one thing just, I guess a bit of housekeeping. Probably should have said it earlier. I know that you have got your questions that are coming in on various social media channels but also please feel free to, to fight. Send in your, your messages on, on the chat. You know, if you're watching this on YouTube, get your, get your questions in as well. We'll try and keep our eye on that as as we're going. And you are, you are more than welcome to do that and engage it with it because our final section of the show is the Dear Dan section. And as I've said in previous shows, hopefully this is going to be around tennis. You know, I'm here to answer tennis questions. If you do want to come with other questions and you want to, you know, spread your wings a little bit, then try it. You know, maybe I can give you advice on all sorts of things or maybe better at giving other people advice than myself at times. But a couple of questions that we do have coming in here. We got one coming in from, from Sam Slater and Sam Slater has, has come in to let us know what sort of preparation goes into scouting opposing players and. Good question, Sam, because I think lots in, in truth and I guess it's the, the, the coach's job is to, to, to get as much information as they can. And you know, certainly if I talk about my personal experience, I will watch lots of matches. I will have performance analytics team that will also get matches brought together. I know nowadays at the top end of the game, that's big. Everyone's got the data. So all of that information is going into, I guess your mind, you're taking it all on board, you're dissecting that and then this is where for me the real skill then comes, comes, it's then what is then going to be shared with the player. And you know, how are we going to get that across to, to truly make a difference? And you know, sometimes, and I've been guilty of it, we give too much information. I would also say it can be around the timing of when that information is given. One of the things I love about doubles is you're, you're giving different, you're giving them the same information but in different ways to the two players because some, some players will want to receive it in certain way and some will want to receive it in another way. You know, you might need to give more video, visual looks one way with another player. You might just want to give one or two really clear words and simple things in general. I would like, I'd like to see that being done the day before. I'm not a big fan of players receiving too much information on the day on the player that they're playing, you know, on the, on the day. I think it's about you just getting your head into your space playing, being the best performer for what you do on the tennis court. Within the back of your mind you've got some, you know, some real simple statements of intent that you're going to try and put on the court against your player. But I would say more and more now, and the ATP are providing this now with players, there's big scouting areas, all of the matches are on there. The WTA is a little bit behind on that. So anyone listening from the WTA, we need that in WTA as well. Only recently Tennis Insights Tom Corey, who was on the podcast, him and his team are providing that now for the doubles players as well from all ATP events. And you've got scouting areas. I mean the detail is, is absolutely phenomenal. So there's no secrets out there. You know, if you're willing to do the work, which obviously people are, that are, that are trying to win the big events, then the information is there and it's then about dissecting it and using your relationship with your players to be able to bring that through the best. So hopefully that answers the question a little bit and, and yeah, but certainly a big, a big part of, of the sport and one more question because my promise is to not keep these too long and then if you do want your questions being answered, please do keep sending them in on all of our social media platforms. Or you can also, you can also send them in as well if you want to infotortenis.com and we got one here from Joy of Sport who are some young players to look out four at Wimbledon. Loving the shore Now I wish I'd seen this question before so I could have prepared but the, the one that jumps to my mind immediately actually is, is Eva Jovic. Eva Jovic is 18 years old, I believe. I know she won a tough match today. It wasn't easy against Jacqueline Christian. Eva Jovic is seriously good. She's a lovely girl. She's got the mind of a 30 year old, 35 year old. She, her decision making is phenomenal. So not only is a ball striking on both sides phenomenal, but her decision making is so, so good for someone her age. She's someone that's a real one to watch and I know that we've talked about her before another one and I don't know how she did but it was my dark horse pick. I know she was playing today. Yes she did win so that's she won seven five in the third. Bartunkova. Sorry if I'm getting that pronunciation wrong. She beat Peyton Stearns today. She was a setting a breakup on Sabalenka last week. She's only 20 years old. I think she's very good and I think she's someone to look out for at Wimbledon. I, I like how she plays. I like what she's she's doing on the court. It would be a bit of a cop out to say Coco Golf. She's still young but there's obviously cor cough as, as a youngster on the men's side. I, I, it's a one that I again I, I like a lot. I think he's very, very good bus. I don't know exactly how old he is. He's from Peru. He, he beat Nava today. 763-6756 love. He can, he can seriously play and, and I think that that absolutely is, is someone to look out for. It's, it's a little bit of a checkout saying Hodar because we all know him but he is unbelievably young and, and I think he deserves a shout out if we're talking about a young name. So those are a couple I've given you. I've given you a couple. Hopefully, hopefully that's that's enough to put me on the spot. But thank you for your questions. Thank you for the others that I have not got round to, but I will do in the next next couple of days. Tomorrow, sure. We have night again, 9pm I'm going to try and stick to that promise of 9pm UK time every night. Apologies in advance if there is the odd night where my players are playing or something does come up. And we'll still then try and do bring the live show to you because this is then going to go out as podcasts as well. So we want to give you a daily podcast to give you a little bit of a roundup, a little bit of an insight. Please do continue those questions. Coming in tomorrow we have Erin Routliff, who was the women's finalist in 2024 in the women's doubles. Aaron's someone I've had the privilege of working with for a couple of years alongside Gabby Dabrowski. And Erin will be a brilliant guest. So I'm looking forward to hearing her insight to her Wimbledon run of 2024. And then also the amazing stories that we know are going to happen, happen. We know that they're going to happen tomorrow. My last update, Novak Djokovic won the third set, so he's now two sets to one up. And let's see if he takes that and continues along his way. But until next time, thank you for joining us. We're Controller Controllables, brought to you by Novelis. And I'm Dan Kieran.