Episodes
We review the ATP finals in this episode. Andrew Burton returns to the podcast to join fellow resident guest Skip Schwarzman and host Matt Zemek. The discussions centers on the best matches of the week where Taylor Fritz vs Alex Zverev is discussed at length. Other parts of this episode focusses on similar playing styles from the eight man field with Carlos Alcaraz being the outlier. Another question addressed here is who will be the leading candidate to challenge the Jannik Sinner- Alcaraz...
Published 11/19/24
Host Matt Zemek is joined by resident guest speaker Skip Schwarzman to review the recently concluded WTA finals. The episode is rich in topics such as court speed, visibility for doubles at big events and the significance of the WTA finals itself. Skip also weighed in with his observations on Coco Gauff's phenomenal run at the Riyadh finals where she had to go through a murderer's row of opponents in Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng. Last but not the least Skip expressed his...
Published 11/14/24
Published 11/14/24
Tennis reporters Ravi Ubha and Steve Flink join host Saqib Ali to preview the year end field in Turin. Topics covered include the group breakdown with intriguing matchups and predicting the eventual winner. The conversation also relives some of the interesting moments from the event's history dating back to the inaugural years at Madison Square Garden. Ubha also shares his insights on Jack Draper - who once practiced at the same club as him.
Published 11/08/24
Former top 10 player Lori McNeil joins host Saqib Ali on the podcast this week. McNeil was an accomplished singles player who also enjoyed a great doubles career. She is best remembered for reaching the semi finals of Wimbledon(1994) and US Open(1987) where she defeated Steffi Graf and Chris Evert respectively. In this episode McNeil relives some of those moments and also gives insights into her early days as a junior and how her journey was shaped as the WTA professional. Must listen for...
Published 10/08/24
Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner have won their first US Open titles respectively. In the process they also swept the hard court majors for the year. Mert Ertunga and Andrew Burton join host Matt Zemek for the US Open review episode. The event also had two American finalists - Jessica Pegula on the WTA side and Taylor Fritz who became the first native man to reach the finals in New York since Andy Roddick's run in 2006. Dive in for a very rich conversation that looks back at the last major...
Published 09/11/24
Hall of famer and tennis historian Steve Flink joins host Matt Zemek in the latest episode of the podcast to talk about Novak Djokovic's golden slam. It is a monumental achievement even by Djokovic's illustrious standards and the duo discusses his revival in length. Also discussed in this episode are other Olympic tennis related topics and a look ahead to the already ongoing US summer hard court...
Published 08/07/24
It's a full house at the podcast this week as host Matt Zemek is joined by Andrew Burton, Skip Schwarzman and Mert Ertunga to talk about the championship weekend. Barbora Krejcikova won her second major title as she defeated Jasmine Paolini. Carlos Alcaraz defended his Wimbledon crown by defeating seven time champion Novak Djokovic. It's a packed episode which covers other players as well especially Lorenzo Musetti and Daniil Medvedev.
Published 07/15/24
It is the middle Sunday episode of the Championships. We look back at the first week of Wimbledon 2024 with Andrew Burton and Matt Zemek. The episode also takes stock of the big stories from the first week and eventually transitions to what lies ahead as we approach the business end of the tournament. The WTA event as predicted in the preview show is living up to the chaotic billing while all the the top favorites from the ATP side are still in the draw. Tune in!
Published 07/08/24
Andrew Burton and Sharada Iyer join host Matt Zemek to preview the draw for Wimbledon 2024. The trio dissects the favorites and larger stories going into the 137th edition of The Championships.
Published 06/29/24
Former Wimbledon semi finalist Tim Mayotte and Hall of fame writer Steve Flink join host Saqib Ali as guest speakers to reminisce a shared decade at Wimbledon. In a conversation filled 80's nostalgia we unpack lot of popular players from Johnny Mac to Ivan Lendl through the memory prism of Mayotte and Flink. Its a fun filled episode with great recall and personal details from both men.
Published 06/28/24
We put a wrap to our coverage of Roland Garros 2024 with an episode that covers the business end of the major and also some large themed takeaway into the season ahead. This episode has two segments - in the first segment Andrew Burton joins host Matt Zemek to look back at Iga Swiatek's continued dominance at the clay major. The duo also explores the possibilities for other top players like Gauff, Rybakina and Osaka as we approach the grass season. In the second segment of the episode Skip...
Published 06/12/24
Sharada Iyer and Andrew Burton join host Matt Zemek to talk about Swiatek-Osaka among other first week action from the clay major. The trio also look forward to the conclusion of the 2024 edition of Roland Garros in this middle sunday episode.
Published 06/02/24
Andrew Burton joins host Matt Zemek to preview the WTA and ATP draws of the 2024 Roland Garros. The tide has clearly changed on both tours - WTA draws have displayed more top level stability while the ATP clay season has seen different winners at all key stops. Andrew and Matt also handpick their popcorn matches along with players expected to go deep on both draws. Its Iga and Aryna vs the field on the WTA. On the contrast the three ATP top favorites - Djokovic, Alcaraz and Sinner are all...
Published 05/24/24
Gil Reyes joins the podcast this week as the guest speaker. He was a cornerstone in Andre Agassi's camp for nearly two decades. Reyes was the strength and conditioning coach for the basketball program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas before meeting Agassi in 1989. Together the duo pushed the fitness needle in the men's game during the late 90's. Agassi who started as a flashy shot maker were to become one of the fittest men on the ATP tour and won 8 majors. Reyes talks about his...
Published 05/20/24
Andre Agassi had an incredible career and the 1999 Roland Garros win is one of his career defining moments. In three week's time it will be the 25th anniversary of his famous French Open triumph. In this week's episode hall of famer Steve Flink and TWAA analyst Skip Schwarzman join host Saqib Ali to look back at the career of Andre Agassi. It is hard to capture the Agassi journey in an episode spanning seventy five minutes. However the trio looks back at some of the impactful moments and...
Published 05/13/24
Resident guest Andrew Burton joins host Matt Zemek to review the recently concluded Madrid Open - where Iga Swiatek and Andrey Rublev were victorious in the respective WTA and ATP draws. Burton highlights the women's final weekend as the top player stability talking point with the likes of Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina holding centre stage. It's exactly the kind of weekend which puts the quality of the WTA tour at the front. The duo also looks at the Madrid result as an...
Published 05/06/24
Briana Foust and Sharada Iyer join host Matt Zemek to discuss the ongoing clay swing for the women of the WTA. In a conversation consisting of rich topics from Iga Swiatek's dominance to the form of Danielle Collins - the duo covers a lot of ground. Also covered are topics like the stability of the WTA tour and power ranks for this part of the season. Tune in!
Published 04/20/24
Steve Flink and Gill Gross return to the podcast to discuss the ATP power rankings with the season in full swing. We take a look at the usual suspects of favorites and challengers for this part of the ATP swing. Tune in to find out how your list compares with Steve and Gill's choices.
Published 04/11/24
Podcast regulars Mert Ertunga and Skip Schwarzman join host Saqib Ali to talk about the state of the single hand backhand. The stroke has witnessed a gradual decline over the years and it became a louder conversation after Stefanos Tsitsipas departed the top 10 of the ATP rankings a month ago. Being the true students of the game - both Skip and Mert chimed in with their choices and reasons on how the game has reached this point. Tune in for a very rich conversation. Tennis with an accent on...
Published 04/01/24
Former world number 38 Steve Darcis is the podcast guest this week. Darcis lets us in his world where he talks about his tennis career beginning and all the way to an injury forced retirement. Currently he does not miss the life on tour as he is happily married with kids and is incharge of the Davis cup team among other responsibilities with the Belgian tennis federation. He also talks about his wins over Nadal, Roddick, Berdych and other top pros. Last but not the least he gives us an...
Published 03/01/24
The AO2024 review episode is here - as Andrew Burton and coach Mert Ertunga join host Matt Zemek to recap the first major of the year. Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka are the focal points of this discussion given their dominant form over the fortnight - which saw them secure the first major of the season. Also discussed in length is the process of Sinner's evolution and the instability of the WTA draws. Tune in! Andrew Burton on twitter - https://twitter.com/burtonad Mert Ertunga on...
Published 01/29/24
Happy new year to all the listeners. Andrew Burton joins Matt Zemek to preview the first major of the year. Andrew breaks down the paths of the top 8 seeds on both ATP and WTA - analyzing which player is likely to falter among the top seeds and who are the safe bets to honor their respective seeding. Its that time of the year - tennis is back already! Start listening folks.
Published 01/13/24
Rising WTA player Gabriela Knutson is the podcast guest this week. Knutson has had a meteoric rise in the WTA ranks - jumping 307 spots during the recently completed 2023 season. He played 77 matches this season which was her second on tour. Knutson took the collegiate route to pro tennis while securing a masters degree in Digital Marketing and Renewable energy along the way. In a very candid interview she talks about various elements of her tennis journey with host Saqib Ali - which includes...
Published 12/26/23
We recap the year with a podcast on the ATP decade of the 2000s with historian Steve Flink and coach Mert Ertunga. Beginning of the 2000s was set for a clash of generations with Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and co ready to take on the new balls please campaign stars in Nicolas Kiefer, Magnus Norman, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt among others. The decade belonged to Roger Federer and we look back at his rise to prominence and his storied rivalry with Rafael Nadal - who himself...
Published 12/07/23