Entries from June 2021
June 30th, 2021 ·
Wimbledon is back up and running, but many of the top players have been falling down. Serena Williams was the biggest casualty of the slick Centre Court, aggravating an injury that forced her out of her third round match.
To get the low-down on the ground, Ben is joined for a quick chat by NCR's Charm City correspondent Pam Shriver for her take on the lush lawns, and what might be done to make them less treacherous.
It's been a busy Wimbledon for Ben so this is a fairly tapas-sized meal, but we hope you're feasting on all the tennis!
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! Please consider joining in as we bring you the best shows we can during the Wimbledon! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backers J O'D, Mike, Pam Shriver, and Nicole Copeland!)
Tags: wimbledon · atp · novak djokovic · serena williams · coco gauff
June 26th, 2021 ·
Ben and Courtney reunite from eight time zones apart to discuss the men's and women's draws at Wimbledon, where the tours return after two years away.
We start with the men, where Novak Djokovic is a clear favorite. But the French Open taught us to be ready for surprises, right?
The women's side is, as typical, quite wide open. And like the men, there's some incomplete data for these players on grass which makes it all trickier than a slice from a carving station.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! Please consider joining in as we bring you the best shows we can during the Wimbledon! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backers J O'D, Mike, Pam Shriver, and Nicole Copeland!)
Tags: tennis · wimbledon · sports · ernests gulbis · atp · wta · serena williams · victoria azarenka · angelique kerber · andy murray · roger federer · nick kyrgios · women's sports · venus williams · garbine muguruza · marcus willis · sam querrey · karolina pliskova · iga swiatek · petra kvitova · grigor dimitrov · johanna konta · denis shapovalov · elina svitolina · madison keys · elena vesnina · jelena ostapenko · kevin anderson · marin cilic · elise mertens · hsieh su-wei · diego schwartzman · britain · ons jabeur · karen khachanov · anastasia pavlyuchenkova · stefanos tsitsipas · chris evert · bianca andreescu · carla suarez navarro · marketa vondrousova · ash barty · felix auger-aliassime · alison riske · hubert hurkacz · daniil medvedev · jannik sinner · kristie ahn · matteo berrettini
June 13th, 2021 ·
Novak Djokovic came back from two sets down to win the French Open final on Sunday, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets and putting himself in increasingly rare in men's tennis history.
NCR's Middle East and North Africa correspondent Reem Abulleil joins to discuss what has made Djokovic so uniquely great and unflappable, and how big hopes for his near future should be. His ambitions, and his form, show little sign of abating right now.
We also discuss Tsitsipas, Nadal, and Reem's favorite parts of this very long French Open.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! Please consider joining in as we bring you the best shows we can during the French Open! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backers J O'D, Mike, Pam Shriver, and Nicole Copeland!)
Tags: tennis · sports · atp · rafael nadal · novak djokovic · french open · roland garros · stefanos tsitsipas
June 12th, 2021 ·
Barbora Krejcikova prevailed over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Saturday's unlikely French Open final, and Ben and Courtney are here to talk about what it all means.
How was Krejcikova able to win this match? What does her win tell us about what it takes to win a Slam? What questions do we still have about her and her game? What does this win mean for the tour going forward? And what about that unusually long and casual trophy ceremony?
Also, Courtney has some quick lingering thoughts on Novak Djokovic.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! Please consider joining in as we bring you the best shows we can during the French Open! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backers J O'D, Mike, Pam Shriver, and Nicole Copeland!)
Tags: tennis · sports · atp · wta · novak djokovic · women's sports · french open · roland garros · anastasia pavlyuchenkova
June 12th, 2021 ·
We will have our show on the women's final soon, but in the meantime we are delighted to share a bonus episode with Saša Ozmo, the Serbian reporter who has covered Novak Djokovic more closely than anyone on his ascendancy toward the front of most of the G.O.A.T. discussions.
Ben and Saša discuss Djokovic's win over Nadal (and the importance of consolidating it), the ups and downs on his recent path, where the races against Nadal and Federer now stand, differences between how Djokovic is perceived in Serbia and Western media, and the local context behind Adria Tour.
If you are or know) a Serbian, please do buy Saša's book!
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! Please consider joining in as we bring you the best shows we can during the French Open! And thank you to the many listeners who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backers J O'D, Mike, Pam Shriver, and Nicole Copeland!)
Tags: tennis · sports · atp · novak djokovic · french open · roland garros