Day 6 Wimbledon Recap w/ Danny Sapsford Talking About Playing Pete Sampras at SW19!
Day 6 of our Wimbledon 2026 daily live series, recorded inside the grounds. Brought to you by Novellus.
Live every night at 9pm UK across the Wimbledon fortnight, with Wimbledon champions, tennis icons and special guests joining Dan to break down the day's biggest stories from inside the grounds at SW19.
In this episode:
- Major Moments (brought to you by SotoTennis Academy): a day of women's upsets and a British wildcard writing history on Court 18
- Iga Świątek out to Alexandra Eala 7-6, 6-2, the first Filipino ever into the second week of a Grand Slam
- Rybakina beaten by Elise Mertens 7-6, 6-1 on a poor day at the office, with only 42% of first serves in play
- Amanda Anisimova out to Madison Keys 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, last year's finalist gone
- Arthur Fery beats Zizou Bergs 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6, 7-6 in four and a half hours to become only the sixth British male in the last 40 years to reach Week 2 at Wimbledon
- TennisAthlete Player of the Day: Alexandra Eala, seven years at the Rafa Nadal Academy, her body and mind built for the biggest stage
- Danny Sapsford joins the show on his 1999 Wimbledon run through pre-qualifying, qualifying, and into the third round to face Pete Sampras on Court One
- Danny on why he decided not to warm up for the biggest match of his life, and what it was like standing across from Sampras' serve for the first time
- Danny on retiring at 30 to become an LTA coach, and the charity work through Bright Ideas for Tennis that has raised over £1 million and coached 30,000+ players
- The Wimbledon Quickfire with Danny: his memory of standing on Centre Court behind Björn Borg as a kid, his favourite ever champion, and the strawberries and cream question
- The Andrew Foster story, the last British wildcard to make Week 2 at Wimbledon in 1993, whom Danny had run into that very day
- A special moment on the doubles side: Julian Rojer, 45 years old, five-time Slam doubles champion, into R3 with Theo Winegar in a properly told journeyman story
- Dear Dan: the next Grand Slam winner from the current generation, and Dan's favourite moment of Week 1
Tomorrow on the show: Jonathan Overend joins Dan, the broadcaster who commentated on Andy Murray's first Wimbledon title in 2013, ending Britain's 77-year wait for a men's singles champion.
About Control the Controllables Wimbledon Live
Dan Kiernan and a different special guest every night, bringing you analysis from inside the grounds at Wimbledon. Wimbledon champions, tennis icons, players, coaches and analysts join across the fortnight. Live every evening at 9pm UK on the CTC YouTube channel. Episodes drop as podcasts the next morning wherever you get your podcasts.
Send your Dear Dan questions via Instagram @ctc.podcast or email info@sototennis.com.
Brought to you by Novellus.
Major Moments segment brought to you by SotoTennis Academy. Visit sototennis.com.
Player of the Day brought to you by TennisAthlete, age-appropriate, research-backed strength and conditioning programmes from proven S&C coaches. The platform Dan recommends for physical development. Visit sototennis.com/tennisathlete.