No Challenges Remaining

Episode 79: A Wimbledon Intermission

It's the middle Sunday of Wimbledon, and so Ben and Courtney sat down for a brief recap of the first act as they recharged their batteries for the second week. What do we make of Serena flopping at a Slam again? Is Li Na only a hardcourt specialist? And how good was Venus-Kvitova? Also, can Roger Federer actually win this thing? And how do we know when a player has won his or her last Grand Slam? As always, you can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to and review our show on iTunes or whatever your podcast app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 78: Hungry for Wimbledon

Ben and Courtney are ready to whet your appetite for Wimbledon! But when this episode was recorded, Courtney hadn't eaten much strawberries and cream (or much of anything), and her cravings left her crabby and ready to scoop up some heaping helpings of tough love for the tennis world. So you've been warned--this episode comes with a choking hazard. What is to be made of Serena's odd arrival to Wimbledon? And how does her quarter with Serena set up? Should Sabine Lisicki have been given the honor of taking the defending champion's spot on Centre Court? And how tough, really, are the draws that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal got? And lastly, we make our predictions for the finals and champions! As always, you can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to and review our show on iTunes or whatever your podcast app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 77: Get Off My Lawn

The grass season is mowing along quite nicely, so Ben and Courtney are here to catch you up on how everyone is looking going into Wimbledon, albeit before the crucial draws are made. So many questions to be answered! What are reasonable expectations for Rafael Nadal given his grass woes? How much do Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have to lose? How many more Wimbledons does Venus Williams have left in her? How's the chap doing with the lady? Did the window of opportunity close on J0-Wilfried Tsonga? And much more! Even Denis Istomin! As always, you can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to and review our show on iTunes or whatever your podcast app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 76: Finishing the French Open

 SPOILER: Our French Open wrap episode is amazing. Ben and Courtney talk about everything that happened over those 15 magical days in Paris, from Maria Sharapova's impressive title run to the underwhelming men's final, from the enlightened semifinalist Andy Murray's views on women to the other semifinalist Ernests Gulbis' view on women. There's also the youth explosion of Simona Halep, Genie Bouchard, and Garbine Muguruza, and the ways in which the world couldn't get a grip on Taylor Townsend. It's a whole lot of stuff and we have thoughts, you guys. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes! The clay is always greener when you're our listeners.

Episode 75: French Open--Allez We Go!

Live from Paris, Ben and Courtney are super excited for the French Open! We break down the men's and women's draws, which left Maria Sharapova as a big loser and Roger Federer as the big winner. We ask important questions like "Is this finally the year where Novak Djokovic sneaks past Rafael Nadal?" "Who is more likely to win, Rafa or Serena?" "Does Ben help kill spiders?" Then we play another fun game of "Hey, Remember When?" which includes highlights from Rome press conferences including Maria Sharapova owning her iciness and Camila Giorgi's father owning his media beefs. Lastly, Courtney eulogizes the strange, beautiful rise and fall of Dinara Safina's tennis career. She may just be our immortal. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes! Allez!

Episode 74: Where the Finalists Rome

In this special Rome final preview episode taped Saturday afternoon, Ben and Courtney look ahead to the upcoming tilt between Serena Williams and Sara Errani, as well as the week that was on the women's side at the Foro Italico. What do we make of Errani's unexpected emergence on home soil? Does she have a shot against Serena after the brutal loss in Paris last year? Also, our thoughts on the increasingly legit Ana Ivanovic, as well as the rest of the field that came and went through the Foro Italico. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes! You, dear listeners, are the pasta twirled around the fork that is our hearts. Or something. 

Episode 73: Sliding Señoritas

Reunited in Rome on Saturday afternoon, Ben and Courtney hop back into the studio for a special look ahead to the women's final in Madrid, which will pit claylovers Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep against one another for one of the biggest women's titles outside the Slams. What do we make of the form each have shown on clay so far, and how it sets them up for the French Open? Is Sharapova the immediate favorite in any match that doesn't include Serena? And don't you guys miss that blue stuff? As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes! You, dear listeners, get the douze points from our hearts.

Episode 72: Alize Cornet

Ben and Courtney slide into the clay season with the graceee you'd expect of North Americans, so please forgive their lateness. What sort of clay landscape do they find? A confusing one! What's going on with Rafael Nadal losing on clay to lesser Spaniards? What's up with Novak Djokovic's wrist? That Stan Wawrinka guy is keeping himself awfully relevant, isn't he? Is Wawrinka more likely to pull off the Aussie-French double than Li Na? And what of the women winning titles on clay so far, from Maria Sharapova to Caroline Garcia to Taylor Townsend? Lastly, we share with you our interview with the charmant Alize Cornet, who shares her thoughts on her own resurgent career, the ecosystem of the WTA locker room, and on-court dramatics. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes!

Episode 71: Andrea Petkovic (The Petkopalooza)

Ben and Courtney are super, super excited about this episode, you guys. We did an interview for the show with Andrea Petkovic after her second round match in Charleston, and it was predictably awesome. Then Petko kept winning and winning, so we kept seeing her at press the whole rest of the week, which ended with her walking away with the trophy. So we recap the week that was briefly, bring you our interview with her (which touches on handling losing, the differences between men's and women's players, tour gossip, and much, much more), and then bring you some highlights of her press conferences. If you like Andrea Petkovic (and obviously you do), then you'll love this episode (and certainly you will). As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes!  You, dear listeners, are way cooler than Coldplay. 

Episode 70: Madison Keys (and Miami)

Episode 70 is a big, big, big one, and you'll like it quite a bit! Live from Charleston, Ben and Courtney discuss the tournament that was in Miami, and what it means for both Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams to have emerged from Key Biscayne victorious. Also, how do those two tournaments stack up against each other? We then flash forward to Charleston, and (through some studio magic) discuss Serena's surprising first round loss to 78th-ranked Jana Cepelova. Lastly, we are joined by our first guest of 2014, Madison Keys, who discusses dancing with Andrea Petkovic and life as an Eisenbuddy. As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing and reviewing on iTunes!  You, our listeners, deserve all the tiaras.