No Challenges Remaining

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! 

With the first round of the Australian Open main draw finally complete, Ben and Tumaini got together to discuss some of the biggest moments and stories.

We discussed the women first, starting with Naomi Osaka's big fashion moment (and her interview with Ben), the tournament's failure to supply seats to meet the massive crowd demand for Alexandra Eala, the impressions Oleksandra Oliynykova made on court and in the press room, plus the veterans Venus Williams and Karolina Pliskova.

On the men's side, we discussed Frances Tiafoe's turnaround, as well as a bit on Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokovic, Michael Zheng, and Italian incontinence.

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! 

Back together in Melbourne for one of their favorite occasions in tennis, Ben and Tumaini jumped on the chance to record a show about the second edition of their beloved "1 Point Slam," the pre-Australian Open event which they fell in love with a year ago.

We discuss this year's bigger and--often--better event, the strong play by the WTA players in particular, and the surprise finalists.

What makes this event so good? And what could be even better?

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!