No Challenges Remaining

Episode 154: Draw Me Like One of Your French Opens, Part Deux

Not much music this time, but Ben and Courtney try to hit all the right notes in this breakdown of the French Open draws (after a quick review of the Rome action), including some predictions. On the men's side, if it takes a team effort to beat Novak Djokovic, then who can contribute to that? And what are the chances like for his rivals Nadal, Wawrinka, and Murray?

On the women's side, does Serena's path become complicated by Azarenka? Is a rematch of last year's semifinal likely? And just how bankable is Begu, suddenly?

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR154!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 153: Madrid, Murresmo, Mozzarella

On the eve of glorious NCRvision, Ben and Courtney debrief briefly on the week that was in Madrid, where Simona Halep put herself back in the conversation by winning yet another wide-open WTA tournament. What does a Paris shortlist look like? Probably not very short. On the men's side, Novak Djokovic wins his 29th Masters, Rafael Nadal dropped off, and Andy Murray ended his two-year partnership with Amelie Mauresmo. Should Murresmo be remembered as a success? We say yes.

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR153!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 151: You Can't Do That on Television

In their last pre-Europe show, Ben and Courtney discuss the things you probably shouldn't do on television, like Roselyne Bachelot's accusations about Rafael Nadal that just drew a defamation lawsuit. But is there any good way to talk about illicit performance enhancement speculation, a question raised by Andy Murray voicing his vague suspicions? Also, Serena Williams and her throne joined Beyonce in Lemonade, which was way neato. Then we take questions on WTA surprises (including the delightful Cagla Buyukakcay, Nishikori stagnation and Djokovic-Nadal. 

As mentioned, here's Irina Falconi's fundraising effort for earthquake relief in Ecuador.

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 142: Gaming the System

Ben and Courtney are delighted to be back stateside, and delighted that Andy Murray's child (it's a girl!) arrived at a convenient time. Less delightful is the latest corruption scandal in tennis, and Ben is joined by Sean Ingle of the Guardian to discuss his report into the silent banning of two chair umpires for misconduct at the Futures level. Less ickily, Fed Cup happened this weekend, so we do a deep dive explainer-thing into what makes that competition tick, and how it gets messy with competing interests, ranking points, etc. Then, because we're American sportswriters, we discuss Cam Newton and what all that means from a tennis lens. 

We're also thrilled to introduce our two 2016 executive producers in this episode: Francisco Resendiz of 10sballs.com and Tal Woolley!

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be. 

Episode 141m: Australian Open Day 14/Wrap: Novak Sends Us Home

Another Australian Open, another Novak Djokovic title. Ben and Courtney know the unsurprisingness of it all is unsurprising, because it's becoming clear that Novak Djokovic is just in a league of his own. So, how will he do against a tougher opponent than any now on tour: history? And where does this tournament leave Andy Murray, besides once again cementing his trophy ceremony tearjerker crown? Then, we wrap up the tournament with a brief look at Petra Kvitova splitting with longtime coach David Kotyza, and who we're going to be watching coming out of Australia.

Thank you guys for hanging with us on this Australian Open spectacular! As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be. 

Episode 141k: Australian Open Day 12: Djokovic-Murray Will Go Again

The Australian Open final is set and it's the fourth time Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are going to be squaring off on a Sunday night in Melbourne. It's a lot. Are Ben and Courtney excited aboutt his match-up? We're...not sure. But we dutifully break down the striking semifinals, including Novak Djokovic's incredible early mastery of Roger Federer and then Andy Murray's escape against a Milos Raonic whose body betrayed him (but sure was snappily dressed!). Lastly, we acknowledge how the strain on Kim Sears might put economic strain on the Australian economy.

As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!