Ben and Courtney have a lot to catch up on after the French Open. Well, maybe a little bit less on the men's side, where a fairly lackluster men's tournament ended in obvious fashion--albeit in style! Rafael Nadal is really good, but we knew that.

Elsewhere in the men's game, things look much better for Andy Murray and much worse for Novak Djokovic. What should Novak do to give himself a chance to be competitive again?

On the women's side, it was perhaps an even wilder one than expected, with Jelena Ostapenko coming out of almost nowhere to stunningly win the French Open. What, if anything, can we project about where she goes from here? And how disappointed should Simona Halep be about losing the final?

Elsewhere, how will Karolina Pliskova roll on to a possible #1 ranking? How did Kiki Mladenovic steal the show? And what might Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniacki have in common?

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 #NCR190!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

It's Slamming time again! Ben and Courtney break down the French Open draws for both the men's and women's.

On the women's side, where there are many favorites to choose from, who got the best and worst draws? And whose great draws and good recent forms could lead them to a second consecutive semifinal (or better)? There are multiple correct answers to that one.

On the men's side, could this be a tournament to get Murray or Djokovic back on track? Or is Rafael Nadal just too far ahead of the pack?

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 #NCR189!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

In our first somewhat normal show together since the European clay swing began in earnest, Ben and Courtney catch up on what has happened in the past several weeks, from Stuttgart to Madrid to Rome.

Firstly, we assess the form and future of Maria Sharapova, the predominant protagonist of those tournaments, even if her runs ended early at the last two. Where does she go from here?

Also, we (again, sorry) wonder if there's any sense to be made of the women's side, and Courtney enjoys that caution actually seems to be the prevailing reaction to any forecasting of what might happen at the French Open.

On the men's side, how big a deal is Sascha Zverev's breakthrough title in Rome, and what should we expect from him from here? Again, we go with caution.

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 #NCR188!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

With a quarter of 2017 now complete, Ben and Courtney try to make sense of it all. But does it make sense, really?

Daria Kasatkina won Charleston in an all-teen final, which should be a big result. But what are results anyhow, when every player seems to have a roughly equal share of success and failure these days? Which characters and plotlines are really relevant? Does TV have the answers?

The men's side is a completely different coin, because one beloved old dude (Roger Federer) has stepped up to fill the void. But just what is that void without Federer being there as a shiny glaze on top of an otherwise questionable confection?

Lastly, we make predictions for the French Open, an amusingly hopeless endeavor. 

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 #NCR184!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.

Wrapping up the happenings in Indian Wells, Ben and Courtney cover the popular champs and the odd ways their matches were pitted against each other. First, is the surprising win of Elena Vesnina reflective of a current landscape of opportunity in women's tennis? And where might this title lead her? And for Roger Federer, how much is about him surging and how much is about the others atop men's tennis receding?

What to make of the impatient foot-tapping during men's tennis-centered folk during the three-set women's final? And how does how the "Group of Death" played out reflect on all of Djokovic, Kyrgios, and Nadal? And what does it say about U.S. tennis coverage that it took us this long to mention Jack Sock?

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 #NCR183!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be.