No Challenges Remaining

Episode 277n: 2020 French Open Day 14 - Iga Swiatek Wins Big

Ranked outside the Top 50, Iga Swiatek completed one of the most dominant title runs in Grand Slam history on Saturday, beating Sofia Kenin in the French Open final.

Ben and Courtney discuss what makes Swiatek special, her stigma-breaking embrace of sports psychology, and the unique way in which her peers glow about her. 

What other title runs could compare to this one? We also discuss Sofia Kenin's Player-of-the-Year-worthy 2020 season, and Courtney's hopes for tomorrow's Nadal-Djokovic final.

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.

Episode 277m: 2020 French Open Day 13 - Final Showdowns

To preview both the men's and women's finals at Roland Garros this weekend, Ben is joined by the two NCR correspondents, Reem Abulleil and Tumaini Carayol.

First on the men's side, familiar foes Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will meet once again with major stakes in the GOAT race. Who will win? We're on the same page, albeit with different degrees of confidence.

And on the women's side, how to begin to evaluate the somewhat untested Iga Swiatek? And why are folks sleeping on Sofia Kenin, who is one match from locking up Player of the Year?

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.

Episode 277l: 2020 French Open Day 12 - Iga Swiatek's Mental Strength

With 19-year-old Iga Swiatek reaching the French Open final (against Sofia Kenin), showing incredible mental strength and poise that belies her age and relative inexperience, Ben is joined by Daria Abramowicz, the sports psychologist who has been with Swiatek at Roland Garros during her remarkably doinant run.

Ben and Daria discuss the field of sports psychology in general, her work with Iga particularly, and how this sort of focus can fit into an athlete's day and routine. 

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.

Episode 277k: 2020 French Open Day 11 - Setting Up Semifinals

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.

Episode 277j: 2020 French Open Day 10 - GIFs Given and Taken

As the first slate of quarterfinals saw big wins for Argentina, we take a look at what suddenly went missing from the French Open: the small army of GIF-makers who animate (literally) Tennis Twitter so steadfastly.

The French Federation of Tennis issued a major crackdown on GIFs this week, bringing the pictures on our timelines to a stand still. To better understand this landscape, Ben tries to track down an answer from the FFT (no luck yet), and then talks to the King of the Tennis GIFs, @doublefault28, a Tennis Twitter Hall of Famer.

Ben then chats with another GIFer in the Tennis Twitter ranks, Ashish of @Tennis_GIFs.

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.

Episode 277i: 2020 French Open Day 9 - Quarterfinal Previews (With Reem Abulleil)

Reem Abulleil, queen of content for Roland Garros, joins Ben to look ahead to the quarterfinal slates in Paris which are (almost) complete.

On the women's side, how will Elina Svitolina handle the pressure? Will momentum help qualifiers? 

On the men's side, could Jannik Sinner pull off a huge surprise against Nadal, or should Diego Schwartzman pull off a smaller one over Thiem?

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, Christopher Bishop, 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 277h: 2020 French Open Day 8 - Halep Falls; Zverev Ails

Sunday at Roland Garros saw the exit of overwhelming favorite, Simona Halep, and another disappointment from frequently-underwhelming pandemic citizen Sascha Zverev.

Tumaini Carayol is here to discuss both of those events and more. What can Halep's loss be chalked up to? Is it now Elina Svitolina's half of the draw to lose? And on the men's side, we discuss Jannik Sinner's impressively consistent four-set win over Sascha Zverev, and then Zverev's decision to play and stay in the tournament despite symptoms which almost certainly should have forced him out. Who is to blame in this scenario?

Plus a brief look ahead to Monday's slate, and an ode to turtlenecks.

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, Christopher Bishop, 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 277g: 2020 French Open Day 7 - Different Faces, Different Voices

Ben and Courtney reunite to discuss the first week of the French Open, which ended with Danielle Collins beating Garbine Muguruza in one of the bigger surprises so far.

Collins joins many other unexpected names (Daniel Altmaier, anyone?) in the second week of a tournament that could go some very different directions in the next few days.

We discuss how it's felt to cover the tournament that's a world away in many ways, and also get into what it's been like to have a new ear on tennis than usual, as we're home like most viewers, digesting tennis through the coverage on ESPN and Tennis Channel. What do we make about the way issues in the sport (like Hawkeye on clay, notably) are talked about, and what does that say about tennis coverage?

It all makes us very grateful for our independence, let's say that.

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, Christopher Bishop, 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 277f: 2020 French Open Day 6 - Barbora Krejcikova, Making It on Her Own

Roland Garros has seen many new names emerging to go deep into the tournament already, including a bevy of players from outside the Top 100 reaching the second week.

Among them is our guest on today's show: Barbora Krejcikova, a former Slam champ and #1 in doubles, who achieved a long-awaited breakthrough into the Top 100 on Friday by reaching the fourth round of the French Open.

Krejcikova discusses her determination to stick with singles, her ability to accept her shortcomings that allowed her to go further, and the continued inspiration she gets from her late coach, Jana Novotna.

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, Christopher Bishop, 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 277e: 2020 French Open Day 5 - Hot Take-Off (with Alex Gruskin)

With two rounds of the French Open now done, it's time to make some bold calls.

Ben is rejoined by Alex Gruskin of the Cracked Racquets media empire to make some bold calls and predictions about the short-term (Roland Garros) and long-term outlook of tennis.

From Jelena Ostapenko to Sofia Kenin to Sascha Zverev to Serena Williams to Jannik Sinner, we've got all the hot takes you could ever want...and then some. 

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, Christopher Bishop, 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.