The 2020 Australian Open finals are set, and Ben is joined by longtime friends of the show Nick McCarvel and Matt Trollope to predict who will leave Melbourne with the trophies.

The women's final pits Sofia Kenin against Garbine Muguruza, meaning a largely unknown quantity against an often unpredictable one. How will they each handle this occasion?

The men's final represents another chance for Dominic Thiem to break through the stranglehold of the Big Three, but he'll need to beat the toughest Melbourne customer in Novak Djokovic to do so.

If you'd like to support our show, we just launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 

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Ben and Courtney get together at the end of a long week one which really just featured one crazy day.

Beginning with the end of Caroline Wozniacki's career and continuing with the upset wins of Wang Qiang over Serena Williams and Coco Gauff over Naomi Osaka, what exactly happened to make Friday so crazy?

And what else happened throughout the week, and how does it set up the rest of this tournament?

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As we finish Day 3 in Melbourne, you'll hear more about two of the more interesting players to have advanced through two rounds so far, who (somewhat coincidentally, honestly) happen to play each other in the third round. 

First, you'll hear from 2012 Wimbledon champion Freddie Nielsen (who first guested way back on Episode 32) about his compatriot and longtime friend Caroline Wozniacki, who has carried the flag for Denmark in tennis higher than anyone could have imagined it will fly.

Then, Ben is joined by Reem Abulleil to discuss Ons Jabeur, Wozniacki's third round opponent, who is blazing a greater trail for Arab women than anyone has before, and still has tremendous potential left to unlock in her game.

You may not have thought you wanted a Wozniacki-Jabeur hype show, but we're pretty sure you're gonna be ready to run through a brick wall to see it by the time you finish this. 

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To make sense of the hazy situation regarding the poor air quality in Melbourne, Ben talks to Dr. Chris Worsham, a pulmonologist at Mass General and Harvard Medical School, about what to know about the possible risks to players and others at the Australian Open.

What sort of symptoms can be expected? Who might be most affected? What to make in the disparate messaging from tournament and city officials? And what are safe limits when it comes to the air we breathe, whether we're playing tennis or not?

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCRAusOpen!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

The air in Melbourne can change with the winds, but to get a sense of which directions this tournament is listing towards, Ben is joined by Stuart Fraser of the Times of London to get his sense of what's been happening with the air quality and the tennis so far this month, and what might be happening next.

As we gaze through the haze, you'll hear from Stu, from Dalila Jakupovic, and from Craig Tiley. There's controversy, conflict, and confusion. Hopefully the air is clear and the fires subside, but if not, things could quickly become very muddled.

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCRAusOpen!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.