No Challenges Remaining

In advance of the release of the Strokes of Genius documentary, Ben is joined by friend of the show Jon Wertheim, who wrote the book, literally, on the 2008 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

We discuss what had made this match so exulted and immortal, what it takes to put together a production like this in the disjointed world of tennis, and how the match did (or didn't) change the course of tennis.

The show closes with a cameo by shoeless Ernests Gulbis, who has thoughts on being a second-class Wimbledon citizen as he competes in the qualifying draw at Roehampton.

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Together in Birmingham, Ben and Courtney look back on the French Open, which ended with creative destruction.

But before the "demolition party," there was Rafael Nadal's as-planned crushing of Dominic Thiem. How do we appreciate dominance while not being bored by the inevitable? What progress did Thiem show by reaching his first final? And why should no one be overly impressed by Sascha Zverev's run to the quarterfinals?

On the women's side, what does Simona Halep's break through say about her previous struggles? What has made Sloane Stephens into a perennial contender? And how do we assess Serena's grass prospects?

Then, lots and lots of rants. 

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Back from Indian Wells, Ben and Courtney start with a discussion of surprise champ Naomi Osaka, who won her first title at any level in emphatic fashion against a murderer's row of opponents. What caused her breakthrough now, and what should we expect for Naomi going forward? Also, it was the big stage (and press room) emergence of the runner up, Daria Kasatkina.

Before that, what to make of the comeback of Serena Williams so far (including a loss to Naomi in Miami), and is it at all concerning that Venus hasn't been able to close out titles?

On the men's side, we discuss the breakthrough of Juan Martin del Potro, who at last won a Masters title. Also, checking in on the slumps of Karolina Pliskova and Maria Sharapova, as well as the how to minimize the distraction of stadium music.

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Ben and Courtney fled to opposite corners of the globe after the Australian Open, so just now bring you this show on the Grand Slam that was, in which second seeds Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki won their 20th, and first, respectively. 

First, on the men. Why was closing the roof a correct, obvious decision? And indoors or outdoors, has it all gotten a bit too easy for Roger Federer at an age when it shouldn't? And on the flip side, does Rafael Nadal have grounds to complain as much as he does about schedules and surfaces and such? 

Also, we delve into the Tennys Sandgren saga, what parts of it were fair and not, and what lessons there are to be learned.

Then, onto the women, where champion Caroline Wozniacki may have somehow had the least impressive tournament of any of the semifinalists? On her breakthrough, what we learned about Simona Halep, the joys of Hsieh Su-wei and the underwhelming major results of Elina Svitolina. 

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Ben and Courtney are back in your ears after far too long, and are in Melbourne ready to tee up the first Grand Slam of 2018.

On the women's side, we discuss the women who have surged to start the year (Halep, Kerber, Bencic...Giorgi?) and go through the draw thoroughly to find where openings might emerge. 

On the men's side, Rafael Nadal is a clear draw winner, but there still manage to be lots of exciting early round match-ups throughout. And is it Roger's to lose, or can 2,000 points go to Goffindor?

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!

While the best women battle it out in Singapore, we look ahead to the men's season wrapping up with guest Ricky Dimon back on the show to talk some men's tennis. How did everything get so flipped around in the Big 4 this year, and how does it set up 2018?

Also, we go over our (unsubmitted) ATP awards ballots and dish out some before-and-after fun (full thing on our Facebook page).

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 #NCR199b!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

With the field set for Singapore, Ben and Courtney look back at the fall that was, including the sudden surge of Caroline Garcia to defy the odds and grab a spot among the elite eight.

On the men's side, Roger beat Rafa yet again--that means he's the best player of the year, right? And who gets our player of the year votes on the women's side? And how can we assess the field of play when it's all so tightly packed together on the women's side and when almost no men seem to be playing all that well?

Lastly, would the WTA benefit from a Milan-style showcase for its youngest stars? Or is that event, alternately, detrimental for the men?

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 #NCR199a!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

As she returns from covering the inaugural Laver Cup, NCR's Middle East correspondant Reem Abulleil chats with Ben about the new competition, which proved to be stunningly successful and compelling despite being an exhibition made out of thin air by Roger Federer's marketing team.

What did Laver Cup get so right in its first try? Why were players so invested in it? And how can the stale and neglected Davis Cup learn from it to adapt for this changing tennis landscape?

Reem is the hero of our times.

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 #NCR199!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

The 2017 U.S. Open wrapped up with an unsurprising men's champ in Rafael Nadal and a very surprising women's champ in Sloane Stephens. How did we get there? We discuss.

What do we make of how the draw broke in Rafa's favor? And how was Kevin Anderson the one able to seize the opportunity on the bottom half? 

On the women's side, how did Sloane Stephens go from not being able to walk to playing her best tennis ever so quickly? What's next for her? Also, how should the other Americans in the final four--Madison Keys, CoCo Vandeweghe, Venus Williams--feel about their tournaments? And what sort of #1 will Garbine Muguruza be after unseating Karolina Pliskova?

And snaps to the USTA for one heckuva tournament.

Also, we discuss the new tennis movie Battle of the Sexes, as well as Maria Sharapova's new memoir "Unstoppable."

Mentioned on this episode: Chloe Cooper Jones' GQ piece on Dominic Thiem and Kelsey Anderson talking taxes on NCR.

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 #NCR198b!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

It's our U.S. Open preview show! Ben and Courtney catch up on the happenings of the hardcourt season, and make all the tough picks as we breakdown the women's and men's draws in New York this year.

With Andy Murray's withdrawal the last of five from the ATP top 11, how should we feel about the men's field? And just how open is the women's draw, really, with eight women who can reach #1?

Lots of fun tangents, as per.

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 #NCR197!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!