No Challenges Remaining

Episode 177a: Australian Open Day 1-2: Petko and the Children

The Australian Open is underway, and Ben and Courtney are surviving, so far! Simona Halep was an early casualty, however, so we discuss her limping into the sunset in the tournament's opening hours. Also we hear from longtime NCR stalwart Andrea Petkovic's first round press conference. She's a fun one, yo.

The biggest narrative on the men's side so far has been the cavalcade of gangly teens slowly but surely taking over, so we talk about them with some special attention to Sasha Bublik, who Ben is convinced you will have strong opinions about...someday. 

And 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 #NCR177a!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 176: Australian Open Draw Show

Together again in Melbourne, Ben and Courtney dive right into the women's and men's draws of the 2017 Australian Open, rolling in some thoughts on the season so far along the way. 

It's somewhat business as usual, with so many women relevant and so few men, but there's one particular woman who both Ben and Courtney are super geeked for. Can she break out and win her first Slam? How much or little should we read into early season stumbles by the other top women? And on the men's side, can anyone disrupt the Murray-Djokovic order? And are Roger and/or Rafa ready for runs?

And 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 #NCR176!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 173: Kicking Back With Questions #1

 

With the off-season upon us, Ben and Courtney curl up into their mailbag of questions and use it to keep warm through the winter, while at the same time answering its contents to share the warmth of tennis to all who listen. Gosh I hope no one read that paragraph, it was not our best.

Questions come from all sides on general tennis topics such as: Legacy padding! Bro Culture! Sustaining fledgling pro careers! Singles and doubles specializations! And conflicts of interest!

If you are someone who still has some show-based Kickstarter reward you're waiting on, we'd love for you to message us with your ideas so we can deliver them to you post haste! 

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR173!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 172: Stuffed With Gratitude

The tennis season, save for that pesky Davis Cup final, is finally over, and so Ben and Courtney digest it (before the heavier duty digestion of Thanksgiving) by discussing who the men's player of the year should be. Andy Murray is the year-end #1 after winning London, but there's a sturdy case to be made for Novak Djokovic, too.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, Ben and Courtney then serve themselves heaping helpings of thankfulness for things we treasure in tennis and beyond. It's a gravy boat of gratitude.

To close, Courtney likes a movie and Ben's rant...disappeared?

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR172!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 171: Regime Change

The world has undergone some changes since Ben and Courtney last spoke. Firstly, as this is a tennis show, we guess, we discuss new ATP #1 Andy Murray, what his ascendancy to the top of the rankings means for his career and legacy, and also how alarmed/confused we should be about Novak Djokovic's slide and his enlistment of an unorthodox spiritual advisor.

Also, we briefly wrap up Courtney's trip to Singapore, and the unlikely winner there, Dominika Cibulkova. 

Then, in an expanded rant/feelings segment, we talk about the new man soon to be atop the United States government, and our emotions about that. We have several. 

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR171!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 170: The Boys Are Back in Town

After a WTA-centric episode last time, Ben catches up on the ATP side of the equation this week with special guest Ricky Dimon, fresh off his running the Marine Corps Marathon this past weekend in Washington. After a brief contemplation of the round-robin format after another champion in Singapore went 1-2 in group play, we dive into how this unusual (and underwhelming?) season of men's tennis is wrapping up, especially in regard to the unexpected disappearance of Novak Djokovic. 

Will Murray pass Djokovic for #1 before year's end? And would an entirely different octet of players be better in London? Also, we discuss the race for the final few spots in London, and the trend of homogenized slow court speeds around the tour.

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook  (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR170!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 160d: Wimbledon Volley 4: Serena and Murray Slay

It was a Wimbledon with two worthy champions, Serena Williams and Andy Murray, and two worthy finalists in Angelique Kerber and Milos Raonic who delivered finals of varying levels of entertainingness. First on the women: how much was this win about Serena finally overcoming the Vinci shock, as Patrick Mouratoglou said? And how did Kerber change her legacy?

On the men, why did the final seem so flat and dull? Is this the start of bigger things from Murray, that might even include reaching No. 1 at some point? Also, how much will Federer rue the missed opportunity? 

Also, PB&J and ice. Both nice.

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR60d!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 159: Wimbledon 2016 Draw Preview Super-Duperness!

The grass is ready for Wimbledon, and so are Ben and Courtney for this draw preview show! First, the dudes. Who are the stumbling blocks for Novak Djokovic as he aims for a *fifth* straight Grand Slam title? Is Federer ready to be a threat? How are Dominic Thiem's chances of sustaining momentum? And what did the Brits, bar Murray, do to deserve such brutal draws?

For the ladies, it's Serena vs the field, once again. But there's plenty of room for that to be an incredibly compelling match-up, with tough seeds looming for Serena at the tournament's midway point. Who makes it out of the loadedly grassophilic second quarter? And can Garbine Muguruza reach another final? Or could a Venus or Madison Keys stand in her way?

Also, Brexit.

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR159!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 157: Nick Lester

As Ben soaks up the Halle Weltenschauung, he is joined this week by a voice any tennis fan should be very familiar with: Nick Lester, one of the anchors of the ATP's world feed television coverage, beamed and streamed around the world. Nick discusses his path to the microphones he today graces, plus his takes on what makes for good and bad commentary, and all sorts of other related topics that will hopefully serve to pull back the curtain on how the people behind the best voices in this sport you love get to be such worthwhile voices to listen to. 

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR157!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 156: Muguruza Wins a First; Djokovic Wins Everything

Nearly dried out from a miserably soggy French Open, Ben and Courtney are up in much sunnier Scotland, drinking in the tournament and some ales in an Edinburgh pub (our apologies for the sometimes overwhelming background clatter).

First, Garbine Muguruza won on the women's side. What did she show during her run, and how worried should we be about the inevitability of Serena Williams breaking records?

Then, Novak Djokovic did what he was supposed to, ultimately, and rolled over Andy Murray to win a Novak Slam and a Career Slam. He's really good. Just how really good?

Also, other miscellaneous musings on rain and neighborhood concerns and airport security. 

And as always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR156!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.