No Challenges Remaining

The women's Australian Open final is now known for this year, and Ben and Tumaini also talk about several other buzzy topics of the day.

We start with Aryna Sabalenka and the great win she had, as well as the strange hindrance call, which leads to a grunting rehash. We also discuss Elena Rybakina, and the high-quality second set she had against Pegula.

We then take on two other topics of the day: the player backlash against cameras prying into their backstage lives, as well as the increasingly apparent (and rapidly approaching) Serena Williams comeback.

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces! And Tumaini's work at The Guardian! 

This Australian Open still hasn't yet had the epics we've been hoping for, but Ben and Tumaini are here to review and preview as hope springs eternal, and as the star-studded quarterfinals make way for the star-studded semifinals.

There were a lot of duds in the quarterfinals, it must be said, none duddier than Lorenzo Musetti's brutal injury while commandingly leading Novak Djokovic. We also discuss the greatness of Aryna Sabalenka, and the great play of soon-to-be semifinal opponents Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula.

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces! And Tumaini's work at The Guardian! 

The first four rounds of the Australian Open featured historically few upsets--the Top 6 seeds are all still in for both the men and women—and so Ben and Tumaini had lots of big stars to talk about heading into the business end of this tournament.

We start with the women: Sabalenka-Jovic, Gauff-Svitolina, Pegula-Anisimova, and Rybakina-Swiatek.

And then on the men's side, there's Alcaraz-de Minaur, Zverev-Tien (after Tien demolished Medvedev), Musetti-Djokovic, and Shelton-Sinner.

Lastly, Tumaini talks about his cousin being very famous now. 

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces! And Tumaini's work at The Guardian! 

A relatively drama-lite Australian Open third round sets up a blockbuster fourth round in both draws, and Ben and Tumaini were delighted to look back and look ahead as the year's first major rounds into the second week.

We look ahead to the intrigues of matches like Alcaraz-Paul, Bublik-de Minaur, Medvedev-Tien(!!!), Musetti-Fritz, Mensik-Djokovic, Sabalenka-Mboko, Gauff-Muchova, and Pegula-Keys, as well as how all of our second week participants got there.

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces! And Tumaini's work at The Guardian! 

It wasn't the newsiest Round 2 at this Australian Open until near the end, and once all the drama had died down Ben and Tumaini got together to discuss the sudden moments at the finish line.

While Belinda Bencic exited to talented Czech teen Nikola Bartunkova, Naomi Osaka stayed in the talk with a testy finish against Sorana Cirstea.

On the men's side, Stan Wawrinka showed his staying power, winning yet another long match in his long career.

Thank you for listening! Our Patreon is back up and running to ensure NCR keeps going and stays ad-free, and we hope you can join in supporting NCR! And we especially thank our GOAT backers: Pam Shriver and J. O'D.

And please check out Ben's new writing home, Bounces! And Tumaini's work at The Guardian!