Episodes
Sunday Aug 28, 2022
Episode 344: U.S. Open Draw Show 2022!
Sunday Aug 28, 2022
Sunday Aug 28, 2022
Ben and Tumaini Carayol are courtside at the U.S. Open to give you the outlook on how the year's last Grand Slam and Serena Williams' last tournament is shaking up.
We start with the women, where we discuss Iga Swiatek cooling off from her lava-hot spring swing, her complaints about the balls, the Azarenka-Kostyuk situation, Emma Raducanu, Osaka-Collins, and more.
We finish, of course, with a discussion of Serena, and what her last singles matches could look like.
On the men's side, it seems like a very open draw due to notable absences, except for that Rafael Nadal guy who seems to win every time he's overlooked this year.
Friday May 20, 2022
Episode 337: Draw Me Like One of Your French Opens, 2022
Friday May 20, 2022
Friday May 20, 2022
We are delighted to return to you, and to return to Paris, and to return our favorite annual episode title!
Ben and Tumaini Carayol start this French Open draw show with a bit first on the big news of the day, which was the ATP and WTA deciding to withhold ranking points from this year's Wimbledon Championships because of the tournament banning Russian and Belarusian players. What effect will this have on the tournament, the players, and the outlook for the #1 ranking in men's tennis?
We then break down the French Open draws, starting with the women and prohibitive favorite Iga Swiatek. Who or what can stop her from cruising onward to her second French Open title? We also discuss two of the most compelling floaters, Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu.
On the men's side, we discuss the top-heavy draw, how the three-horse race of Djokovic, Nadal, and Alcaraz has set up, and who can take advantages of the openings on the bottom half.
Thank y'all for listening! Bonsoiree!
Saturday Jun 26, 2021
Episode 302: Quiet, Please - Wimbledon 2021 Draw
Saturday Jun 26, 2021
Saturday Jun 26, 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!)
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 20, 2021
Episode 299c: NCRvision Spotlight: Dan Bern
Thursday May 20, 2021
Thursday May 20, 2021
It's that wonderful time of year, for the first time in two years: Eurovision!
At NCR, Eurovision means NCRvision, our celebration of the intersection of tennis and music--main show here; results show here--where we've found this episode's troubadour.
Dan Bern, the singer-songwriter whose song "Isner and Mahut" closed out NCRvision, joins Ben to chat and play a live concert of several of his original songs inspired by tennis players of the past and present.
It's a show like none we've ever done before on NCR, and we do hope you enjoy it.
If you want to hear more from Dan, he has newly bundled 15 of his original tennis songs together on his Bandcamp for you to check out.
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!)
Monday Nov 23, 2020
Episode 283: The Year in Men's Tennis (with Ricky Dimon)
Monday Nov 23, 2020
Monday Nov 23, 2020
In lieu of their usual annual fall weekend together in DC, Ben is remotely joined by Ricky Dimon for their annual men's tennis season wrap show, this time right after the final tour match of the year, which was Daniil Medvedev beating Dominic Thiem in the last iteration of the ATP Finals to be held in London.
Ben and Ricky discuss the major themes of the year, evaluate the seasons that were had by each of the top eight guys and how they are set up for next year, and discuss the new wrinkles to the ranking system.
We also, as is tradition, go over what would be our ballots for the ATP award slate, including the cases for and against Novak Djokovic as player of the year.
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.
Wednesday Oct 07, 2020
Episode 277k: 2020 French Open Day 11 - Setting Up Semifinals
Wednesday Oct 07, 2020
Wednesday Oct 07, 2020
With just four women and four men left in contention at Roland Garros. Ben and Courtney look back to the quarterfinals and ahead to the semifinals.
Iga Swiatek will face Nadia Podoroska, Petra Kvitova will face Sofia Kenin, Rafael Nadal will face Diego Schwartzman, and Stefanos Tsitsipas will face Novak Djokovic.
These are shaping up as some very different matches, and we have many thoughts across the board.
Thank you again for the incredible support for NCR we've received in recent weeks on the NCR Patreon! If you'd like to join in as we strive to bring you the best French Open content we can from across the Atlantic, 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.