Episodes
Wednesday Jun 09, 2021
Wednesday Jun 09, 2021
What semblance of stability there had been in the women's draw disappeared with Iga Swiatek's loss on Wednesday to Maria Sakkari, making it four first-time Slam semifinalists in the final four of the French Open.
Hall of Famer Pam Shriver joins Ben to discuss the women's draw, and the high-quality tennis that has led to an unlikely semifinal slate which also includes Barbora Krejcikova, who defeated Coco Gauff earlier on Wednesday.
We also discuss the chalk on the men's draw, where sure things Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal advanced through four-setters to set up yet another big time meeting in the semifinals. How will that big showdown in the semifinals influence the final?
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!)
Tuesday Jun 08, 2021
Episode 301c: French Open Day 10: Tsitsipas Beats Medvedev
Tuesday Jun 08, 2021
Tuesday Jun 08, 2021
In the most highly anticipated quarterfinal, Stefanos Tsitsipas dispatched his rival Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.
Ben is joined by The Guardian's Tumaini Carayol, NCR's Spain and Sub-Saharan Africa correspondent, to discuss Tsitsipas' big win, how it sets up the men's draw, and how much sizzle there really still is to the Tsitsipas-Medvedev beef. We also discuss Tsitsipas' semifinal opponent Sascha Zverev, and the difficult position we and others are put in by having to discuss him while the ATP fails to address or resolve the accusations against him.
We also discuss Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Tamara Zidansek reaching the women's semifinals, and what these continued surprises in women's slam mean in terms of quantifying the achievements.
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!)
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Episode 301b: French Open Day 9: Quarterfinal Previews and Such
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Ben and Courtney reconvene to discuss the eight women and eight men left standing after four rounds at Roland Garros, and how things might play out from here.
We start with Andy Murray fave Iga Swiatek, the last to book her spot, who is becoming an increasingly prohibitive favorite. How will she handle that role? And what of the other women in the top draw who can trouble her? And how might things shake out on the more open bottom half?
In the men's draw, after Courtney weighs in on Federer's withdrawal, we give some props to Diego Schwartzman and then dive into the weird Musetti-Djokovic, which was thrilling and close and then immediately stopped being either of those things on a dime. Also some hopes for Tsitsipas-Medvedev and how we talk about that other quarterfinalist.
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!)
Sunday Jun 06, 2021
Episode 301a: French Open Day 8: Federer and Serena Age Out
Sunday Jun 06, 2021
Sunday Jun 06, 2021
It was a day of easy parallels at Roland Garros, with 39-year-olds Roger Federer and Serena Williams both bowing out, albeit in different fashions.
Federer withdrew from the French Open hours after his late-night win over Dominik Koepfer, having gotten the match practice he wanted before the grass season where he plans to peak. Serena played, but was outplayed by Elena Rybakina, who handed in a pretty straightforward straight-set win. How does that less intentional exit set her up for grass?
To discuss the role of aging, and the young guns left in both the men's and women's draws, we're joined by NCR's Youth Correspondent Alex Gruskin of Cracked Racquets who has all sorts of takes and stats on your Davidovich Fokinas, Musettis and whatnots.
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!)
Thursday Jun 03, 2021
Episode 299j: French Open Day 5: RG Recap: Barty Bows Out; Bob Van De Slap
Thursday Jun 03, 2021
Thursday Jun 03, 2021
Ben and Courtney reunite to look back on the first two rounds that have been completed at Roland Garros in the men's and women's draws.
We start with the men, but the big story from Day 5 was undoubtedly the injury of Ash Barty, which forced the 2019 champion out of the tournament. What were the signs this was coming?
Is Iga Swiatek reaching Nadalesque levels of dominance and inevitability already? What are commentators going to do about Botic van de Zandschulp?
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! If you'd like to join in as we bring you the best shows we can during the French Open, and march toward Episode 300 and 300 followers, check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 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!)
Saturday May 29, 2021
Episode 299e: Draw Me Like One of Your French Opens, 2021
Saturday May 29, 2021
Saturday May 29, 2021
It's our favorite annual episode title! Ben and Courtney dive deep into the draws of Roland Garros to cover themselves in tidbits and terre battue about this draw.
Defending champions Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek hit together on Saturday; how likely was it that Nadal was going to know anything about possible Swiatek first round opponents? We explore.
On the women we go into folks including Barty, Swiatek, Kenin, Pliskova, Stephens, Muguruza, Sabalenka, Serena, Andreescu, and Osaka, while the men's side is more a conversation about how loaded the top half is around Rafael Nadal, and the opportunities it presents for the lads on the bottom.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! If you'd like to join in as we bring you the best shows we can during the French Open, check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 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!)
Thursday May 13, 2021
Episode 299b: Donald Dell
Thursday May 13, 2021
Thursday May 13, 2021
After our mailbag fun over on Patreon in past weeks, we return to the main feed of NCR with the first in-person interview we've done for NCR in more than a year.
Donald Dell, an agent and promoter who did as much to shape the professional tennis landscape into its modern form as anyone over his decades in the sport, joins Ben near DC to discuss the structure of the sport, how it got that way, and what sort of changes might be on the horizon (ATP-WTA merger, a separate players union, etc).
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! If you'd like to join in as we bring you the best shows we can each week, check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 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, Chris Bishop, and Nicole Copeland!)
Tuesday Apr 27, 2021
Episode 299a: Barcelona, Barty, Belgrade and Boseman (in Brooklyn)
Tuesday Apr 27, 2021
Tuesday Apr 27, 2021
Live from Brooklyn, Ben is rejoined by Andrew Eccles of The Spin to discuss a busy April weekend of tennis (and the Oscars).
WTA #1 Ash Barty solidified her hold on the top spot with a title on the indoor clay of Stuttgart; should she be considered the favorite for the French Open, where she won two years ago? And does Aryna Sabalenka get treated fairly by the commentariat?
Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas played a very, very long match that ultimately wasn't the sort of torch pass it might have been; or was it?
Also, Berrettini and our reactions on the surprises of the startlingly shuffled Oscars.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! If you'd like to join in as we bring you the best shows we can each week, check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 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, Chris Bishop, and Nicole Copeland!)
Tuesday Mar 30, 2021
Episode 297: The Broken Economics of Tennis
Tuesday Mar 30, 2021
Tuesday Mar 30, 2021
Think tennis could work better? So does pretty much everyone who works in tennis.
Ben is joined by David Yaffe-Bellany of Bloomberg News, author of a recent piece exploring the long tradition of dysfunction and underperforming within the business side of tennis.
What are the roots of the disorganization and the animosity? What are possible fixes to the sports poor earnings and its short payroll? What do we know about the still largely undefined PTPA and the role it could play?
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! If you'd like to join in as we bring you the best shows we can each week, check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 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, Chris Bishop, and Nicole Copeland!)
Friday Mar 19, 2021
Episode 296: The Voids to Fill
Friday Mar 19, 2021
Friday Mar 19, 2021
As the tours spend another week in the Middle East, the region's tennis queen Reem Abulleil joins NCR once more from (nearly) on-site in Dubai.
First, Reem shares her impressions of having been on site at a tournament this week for the first time in more than a year, at ATP Dubai. How different does the empty bubble atmosphere resonate in person?
Then we discuss Aslan Karatsev, who keeps winning and soaring up the rankings at an incredibly steep rate, all while we really haven't learned much about him or understood what's transformed his career so dramatically. Where might we find answers?
Then we look toward the Miami Open, where there has already been an exodus of top men's talent, making it the first Big 3-less Masters draw since 2004. What can be done to prevent such things? Do tournaments deserve loyalty from their stars in hard times? You'll hear a bit of Denis Shapovalov in this part.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received on the NCR Patreon which has powered us into our TENTH(!) season! If you'd like to join in as we bring you the best shows we can each week, check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! 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, Chris Bishop, and Nicole Copeland!)