No Challenges Remaining

Episode 293a: Australian Open 2021 - Round 1 Round-up

It's been a different feeling Australian Open so far, with more scant crowds than anticipated, but also emphatic early performances by contenders on the women's side.

Ben is joined by three tremendous women on this episode to get a sense of the tournament so far: NCR's Middle East and North Africa correspondent Reem Abulleil (who is delighting in the first ever Egyptian win in a women's Slam main draw), Jessie Pegula (who upset two-time champion Victoria Azarenka) and Ann Li (who routed #31 Zhang Shuai after making the most of two weeks in hard hotel quarantine).

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, and Nicole Copeland!)

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

Episode 292: Australian Open 2021 Draw Show

Another Slam is around the corner, and, in a surprise to no one, there are many players who seem wildly competitively relevant in the women's draw. Serena and Osaka are very good! Barty and Andreescu are back in action! Kenin and Halep remain legit! And then a whole bunch more people!

On the men's side, there's Djokovic, who just about always wins in Melbourne. And then, we guess, Nadal? Thiem? Medvedev, maybe? 

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, and Nicole Copeland!)

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

Episode 291: Stefanos Tsitsipas

Amid his busy schedule of creating photos and music, ATP #6 Stefanos Tsitsipas joins NCR this week, chatting with Ben about all sorts of things in a wide-ranging interview from his hotel room in Melbourne. 

We discuss topics including how he's handled the quarantine so far, his lifelong interest in creating things on the internet, his relationship with Nick Kyrgios, the pressures of the junior tour, being grounded from his travel-loving lifestyle, his fracas with Daniil Medvedev in Miami, tennis as a family business, and more.

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, and Nicole Copeland!)

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

Episode 290: The Complaint Department (with Reem Abulleil)

With conditions tougher than many players had expected for the mandatory quarantine period in Melbourne, and with gripes about how unevenly players have been treated, there were plenty of complaints to be heard from players, and then even louder complaints from the Australian public about those complaints.

Ben and Reem Abulleil discuss what's been going on in Melbourne, whether or not players are entitled to being upset, the perception from the public, the Melbourne-Adelaide divide.

And, most existentially, whether doing all of this, with everything it takes and how much can go wrong, was a bad idea from the jump.

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, and Nicole Copeland!)

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

Episode 289: Locked Inside, with Taro Daniel

The Australian Open lead-up has hit more snags than players expected, with 72 of them (and counting?) facing a hard lockdown that could keep them from leaving their hotel rooms at all for 14 days, presenting major challenges to their Grand Slam preparation.

To discuss that predicament, Ben is joined by one of the 72, ATP player Taro Daniel, who was on a flight from Doha where another passenger tested positive for coronavirus. Taro discusses the mental and physical challenges of being stuck in the room, what might be meaningfully gained by hitting against a mattress in the room, and how the organization of the event has been so far in his mind.

Taro also discusses topics including the PTPA, gaining perspective during the stoppage, and Naomi Osaka's perception in Japan.

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, and Nicole Copeland!)

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

Episode 286a: Remember When? 2020, Part 1

What was it like to form memories in 2020? For Ben and Courtney, things were far more vivid when we were still able to travel, so this first half of our annual "Remember When" is heavy on January.

Have our thoughts on ATP Cup changed with the passage of time? And how about those donations to the Australian bushfire relief?

Where were we when we realized coronavirus was going to be serious? And how did our outlook on the year and our lives shift?

Part 2, which covers April to the present, out later this week! Happy Holidays!

Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received this year on the NCR Patreon! 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, Nicole Copeland, Anna Welinder, and Pam Shriver!)

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

Episode 284: What's Up Down Under: Australian Open 2021 Outlook

The 2020 tennis off-season has begun, but we don't have a very confident idea just how long it will be before the 2021 season begins, with the Australian Open having to navigate a complex landscape in a place that has stood out during the pandemic for its success.

To help explain the context of the conversation about holding a major event in COVID-free Melbourne, Ben is joined by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Tim Callanan to discuss the journey Melbourne and Victoria have been on, and the road ahead from here.

Is the Australian Open the reward Melbourne has earned, or a risk it can't afford? And can tennis players be trusted?

(Apologies for the intermittent crackling on Tim's connection; he's coming to us from quite a ways away.)

Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received this year on the NCR Patreon! 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, Charles Cyna, and Nicole Copeland!)

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

Episode 282: Catching Up (With Courtney!)

Ben and Courtney are back for their first episode together since the French Open! While not particularly enthused by the offerings on tour currently, they have lots to discuss all the same, including Courtney's journey as a Twitch streamer, the unlikelihood of traveling to Australia next year, the shifts in the apparel landscape, and more!

Also for you OGs, we bring back Take a Number! Fun!

And then for considerably less fun, we discuss the silence in the face of the allegations by Olga Sharypova against Alexander Zverev (recorded before the ATP's pretty meh statement on Friday), and breakdown why the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't hold much relevance to how this case should be discussed.

Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received this year on the NCR Patreon! 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, Charles Cyna, and Nicole Copeland!)

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

Episode 245a: Maria Sharapova Retires (with Tumaini Carayol)

After Maria Sharapova announced her retirement on Wednesday morning, Ben is joined by Tumaini Carayol of The Guardian for an emergency episode to discuss her career and its many highs, lows, and controversies.

After expressing some relief that she's stopped, we discuss what made Sharapova keep pushing on through the pain so long, and also what our early memories of her career were. We discuss her arrival as a star, and then the darkening of that when she tested positive for a newly-banned substance in early 2016, which complicated and muddled a career which was already likely on its downhill. 

We also share some of our favorite memories of Maria, and what made her such a tremendously satisfying antagonist on the tour--particularly for Serena Williams, whom she was a distant second behind in the end.

If you'd like to support our show, we've launched an NCR Patreon where you can do just that! Check out our five tiers and see which might be right for you! And thank you to the many who have already given their support! (And thank you to G.O.A.T. backer J O'D!) 

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 #NCR245a!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Episode 243g: Australian Open - Novak Djokovic Eight 'Em Up

Ben and Courtney wrap up the Australian Open with a look at the end of the men's event, which finished for the eighth time with Novak Djokovic as champion. He sure seems to be closing in on that G.O.A.T. count, huh?

Also, we discuss runner-up Dominic Thiem, who is establishing himself as the new Andy Murray, Sascha Zverev, who made a first Slam semifinal and generated a lot of donation talk, and Roger Federer, who toughed out a win over Tennys Sandgren and then gamely took court to face the music against Djokovic.

We also discuss Nick Kyrgios, the female officials who drew praise, and how the protesting of Margaret Court is being led by two retired players.

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

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.