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Episode 141l: Australian Open Day 13: Kerber Stuns Serena for Title Jan 30, 2016

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Angelique Kerber stunned Serena Williams in three sets to become the 2016 Australian Open champion, and Ben and Courtney are here to take you through how it happened. Why did Serena keep crashing the net with no success? How will this change how Kerber is seen and what she can do in her career? How does Serena recover from this? Will this finally get women's tennis naysayers to shut up for a bit? Hear from us, as well as Kerber, Serena, Torben Beltz, and Patrick Mouratoglou.
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 141k: Australian Open Day 12: Djokovic-Murray Will Go Again Jan 29, 2016

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The Australian Open final is set and it's the fourth time Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are going to be squaring off on a Sunday night in Melbourne. It's a lot. Are Ben and Courtney excited aboutt his match-up? We're...not sure. But we dutifully break down the striking semifinals, including Novak Djokovic's incredible early mastery of Roger Federer and then Andy Murray's escape against a Milos Raonic whose body betrayed him (but sure was snappily dressed!). Lastly, we acknowledge how the strain on Kim Sears might put economic strain on the Australian economy.
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 141j: Australian Open Day 11: Serena and Kerber Into the Final Jan 28, 2016

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We're wrapping up just the women's semifinals from Melbourne today (chat on both men's semifinals coming to you tomorrow), and Ben and Courtney are pretty happy with the final we got. Serena was crazy good against Radwanska, and you'll hear about it from *both* coaches involved, Tomasz Wiktorowski and Patrick Mouratoglou. Serena will face Angelique Kerber in the final, so we hear from both Angie and veteran German reporter Doris Henkel about the state of German tennis and other such bossly goodies. Will this final be a good one? We think/hope so.
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 141i: Australian Open Day 10: Kerber Switches On Jan 27, 2016

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One of the biggest ever upsets that involved a win by the higher-ranked player! Angelique Kerber beat hot pick Victoria Azarenka today in Melbourne, and so Ben is joined (on Courtney's day off) by two awesome fellas: Nick McCarvel and Matt Trollope, freelance writer for Tennis Australia and elsewhere. Just how was Kerber able to turn around her 0-6 record against Azarenka? Hear from her coach Torben Beltz. Also, Vika was not happy. And we also hear from the impressive but quoteful Johanna Konta, a stunning semifinalist here. Lastly, we make our picks for Thursday's three semifinals.
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 141h: Australian Open Day 9: Eating at Us Jan 26, 2016

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Ben and Courtney found Day 9's action entirely underwhelming, with every favorite winning in straight sets with relative ease. So after a brief chat on Serena-Maria, we shift to the coolest story of the tournament: Zhang Shuai, and just why her run is so delightfully life affirming. Then, we talk about being made unwitting reality show stars by the tournament, whose "AO Live" feeds are intruding on what had been considered sheltered spaces in the heart of this tournament. It's a bit much. Then, Courtney delights in discography geography, and Ben doesn't need your thoughts on his orders, thank you very much.
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Episode 141g: Australian Open Day 8: Serena-Maria Nostalgia Jan 25, 2016

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With their 21st meeting tomorrow, Ben and Courtney take a stroll down the very noisy memory lane that is the Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova rivalry (yes, it's a rivalry, you guys). After hearing from Day 8 winners Milos Raonic and Johanna Konta, we gear up for the marquee women's quarterfinal with some archive audio of past Melbourne meetings, and then hear about the tactical side of their match-up from tactician Craig O'Shannessy, who has worked as a consultant with Team Sharapova on trying to solve the Serena riddle.
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!

Episode 141f: Australian Open Day 7: The Unexpecteds Jan 24, 2016

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It's the second week, and Ben and Courtney can now talk about lots of important matches as the tournament reaches its pointy end. Gosh, Serena's good, isn't she? Maria's playing well, too, but does it matter? Then, what the heck was all that Djokovic-Simon nonsense? Does the performance cast any doubt over the overwhelming favorite's chances here? And what do the calm and steady performances of Radwanska and Suarez Navarro teach us about veteranliness? Also, stop spitting near Courtney you gross person.
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!

Episode 141e: Australian Open Day 5-6: Donna Kelso Jan 22, 2016

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As Ben and Courtney wrap the third round, we're joined by a first-rate guest: Donna Kelso, a walkie-talkie-rockin' supervisor for the WTA and Grand Slams. We discuss how the awesome Aussie rose through the ranks of tennis to be a roaming ruler of the tour, after having chair umpired several Australian Open finals. When stuff goes down in tennis, who you gonna call? Donna Kelso! We talk grunting=hindrance?, medical timeouts, and all sorts of other neato stuff.
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!

Episode 141d: Australian Open Day 4: Hooroo, Hewitt! Yokoso, Osaka! Jan 21, 2016

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On Day 4, Ben and Courtney send off Lleyton Hewitt at long last with the help of Australian tennis writer Will Swanton. Is his legacy being overglossied in these moments? Then, we delight in the major debut of underground sensation Naomi Osaka, and talk about her complicated Japanese identity as well as her subversive humor. You'll like this girl.
If you were an NCR backer who got a reward on Kickstarter, please fill out those backers' surveys ASAP! And thanks again!
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!

Episode 141c: Australian Open Day 3: Stanky or Tanky? Jan 20, 2016

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A quick hit from a largely quiet Day 3 of the Australian Open sees Ben and Courtney discussing the moments in a late press conference of Novak Djokovic, when he was confronted with a report in an Italian newspaper that accuses him of not trying his hardest to win once in 2007. Even if the accusation is true, does it mean anything? We have our doubts. And it has nothing to do, almost certainly, with the match fixing stuff that continues to overshadow the tournament.
If you were an NCR Kickstarter backer, thank you again and please fill our the backer surveys we've sent out via email ASAP so we can get you your rewards!
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes or whatever your podcasting platform of choice may be!

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