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Episode 224: The 10 Most Important Women in Tennis History

Taking a conversation that began on Twitter and building it into the longest episode they've ever done on one topic, Ben and Courtney wend their way through the history of women's tennis to discuss which players shaped it the most, from the beginning to the present to the future.

There are consensus picks and contentious picks, but whether you agree or disagree with our assessments, we hope you enjoy this lengthy look at who and what made women's tennis the force it is today, and the many different ways in which both positive and negative impact and importance can be measured and assessed. 

It's all subjective, but it's a great subject, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

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 #NCR224!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 223: Australian Open - Djokovic and Osaka Again

A day after the Australian Open, Ben and Courtney convene to discuss a Slam which seemed to provide more answers than questions, for a change. Both Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka consolidated their US Open wins (and their #1 rankings) with titles in Melbourne, and the future looks reasonably reasonable?

On the men's side, we discuss where it sets up Djokovic, put Nadal's result in context, celebrate new semifinalists Lucas Pouille and Stefanos Tsitsipas, and wonder about what the future looks like for Roger Federer

On the women's side, we discuss the polarizing Danielle Collins, put Serena's setback in context, and look back on Simona Halep's time at #1.

Then, lastly, we do a small bit of Andy Murray reflecting, all caveated by his hedging.

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 #NCR223!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 222: Steve The Talk - Stefanos Tsitsipas, with Vicky Georgatou

With Stefanos Tsitsipas breaking onto the world stage by beating Roger Federer and then backing it up, Ben is joined by Vicky Georgatou, the best (and only) Greek reporter following him around the tour as he's soared up the ranks and into the semifinals of the Australian Open

What has she made of his quick rise and his boisterous supporters here? And how will his unique personality hold up as he continues to grow as a superstar in Greece and abroad?

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 #NCR222!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 221: Mary Carillo Returns

In what we hope will become an annual tradition, Mary Carillo joins us once again as the Australian Open is about to begin, helping us set the table for what should be a tasty Slam.

Across a freewheeling chat that takes several sharp turns along a scenic route to Day 1 of the Australian Open, we discuss Andy Murray, Ash Barty, Hopman Cup, ATP Cup, Serena Williams, and our hopes for the 2019 season, which include records and breakthroughs. 

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 #NCR221!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 220: 2019 Australian Open Draw Show

As they begin Season 8(!) of NCR, Ben and Courtney dive into the men's and women's draws of the Australian Open, which look well set up for the usual suspects on the men's side, and for just about anybody on the women's side. So, business as usual! 

We will have more for you soon (including Courtney's many feelings about Sir Andrew Barron Murray), but for now enjoy this look ahead at what should be a fun two weeks in Melbourne. 

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 #NCR220!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 219c: Remember When? 2018, Part 3

Our seventh season of NCR wraps up with the third part of our marathon "Remember When?" episode, covering everything from the North American hard courts until the end of the season, with some final musings as well.

From Stefanos Tsitsipas' emergence in Canada (and YouTube) to the trauma of the US Open women's final to the Nadal-Djokovic Saudi exhibition that never was, we have lots more to discuss before we're finally done.

And we end, of course, with our final raves of the year. See you in 2019!

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

Episode 219b: Remember When? 2018, Part 2

The second installment of "Remember When?" sees Ben and Courtney reminisce on the very eventful French Open, as well as Wimbledon, where we did not need 16 seeds and we assured you. Lots of stuff on Serena's catsuit, marathon matches, and an unexpected amount of schadenfreude. 

Even if it didn't come home, we're glad you have.

These episodes are less about the headline grabbing stories and more about the smaller moments that made the year feel how it felt, and we do hope you enjoy it as a tasty dessert at the end of a year-long meal. 

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

Episode 219a: Remember When? 2018, Part 1

With a whole year behind them, Ben and Courtney have a whole lot to look back on, both fondly and...less fondly. 

And so, the fairly annual "Remember When?" episode is here, at least the first third of it on the first four or so months on the season. All sorts of wacky things happened in Australia, and the year stayed interesting throughout.

These episodes are less about the headline grabbing stories and more about the smaller moments that made the year feel how it felt, and we do hope you enjoy it as a tasty dessert at the end of a year-long meal. 

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

Episode 218: A Season Ends; A Ninja Departs

Back together for the first time since New York, Ben and Courtney recap the fall season, revisiting Elina Svitoina and Sascha Zverev winning the year-end championships, Darren Cahill stopping his work with Simona Halep, the surge of Wang Qiang, and a bit more.

We then eulogize and celebrate the magnificent career of Agnieszka Radwanska, a player who found unique possibilities for how to play--and excel in--the sport like no other in this era. She's awesome, and we'll miss her a whole lot.

We close the main part of the show with a discussion of the general silence from the tennis media around the arrest of Justin Gimelstob on a felony battery charge in Los Angeles, and what the reaction can and needs to be.

Courtney closes out the show with a comprehensive gift guide for anyone in your life who might like a board game, which we do hope you'll find handy. 

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 #NCR218!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 217: Talking Dudes (With Ricky Dimon)

With Courtney covering the end of the women's season in Zhuhai, Ben is joined once again in Washington with friend of the show Ricky Dimon to talk about all things men's tennis. 

After a quick look back at the season as a whole, Ben and Ricky look ahead to London, which is coming down to a two-horse race between Kei Nishikori and John Isner. Which would make for a more intriguing participant?

Then, we look at the players from last year in London who came nowhere near qualifying this year, most notably Grigor Dimitrov and Jack Sock. On Sock especially, how did he manage to plummet so badly this year?

We then weigh in on the current debate over whether or not Pete Sampras was boring (or the boringest), and what makes a player boring. And then we discuss other superlatives by going over the ATP award nominees, and we imagine who would be on the ballot for antonymous awards (like least sportsmanlike).

We then eulogize retiring players like David Ferrer and Mikhail Youzhny, and raise a #FreeDimonator rallying cry.

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 #NCR217!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!