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A Sound Portrait of Wimbledon, A Half-Century Ago
Something different and pretty cool this time: 50 years ago at Wimbledon, the two singles champions were two of the biggest pioneers in tennis history: Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe. It was also the first of many Wimbledons covered by then-young Canadian tennis journalist Tom Tebbutt, and he made a radio documentary for the CBC of a remarkable breadth of voices from around the tournament, from the stars to the various margins. Tom revisited and revamped the documentary this year for the 50th anniversary, and he generously shared it with us here at NCR to build up the hype and heritage around Wimbledon a half century later. It's a time capsule of tennis history, dusted off and showing some things you just wouldn't see (or hear) in the sport anymore, for better and worse. 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!
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42:03
Alcaraz d. Sinner and Gauff d. Sabalenka in French Open Final Thrillers
[Reuploaded to fix what was an incomplete file on some podcast platforms the last time!] Ben and Tumaini, on the mic one last time from their house in Paris, are fresh off two thrilling finals at Roland Garros. We start with the just-ended men's final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, which produced some of the best tennis ever seen after a five-hour mark. What made this match so good? And was it too long or just right? We then get to the women's final, in which Coco Gauff won with her immense mentality and physicality, and in which Aryna Sabalenka turned into a human salt shaker in defeat. Lastly, we discuss what Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic should do with themselves at crossroads in their near futures. 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!
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51:25
Alcaraz d. Sinner and Gauff d. Sabalenka in French Open Final Thrillers
Ben and Tumaini, on the mic one last time from their house in Paris, are fresh off two thrilling finals at Roland Garros. We start with the just-ended men's final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, which produced some of the best tennis ever seen after a five-hour mark. What made this match so good? And was it too long or just right? We then get to the women's final, in which Coco Gauff won with her immense mentality and physicality, and in which Aryna Sabalenka turned into a human salt shaker in defeat. Lastly, we discuss what Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic should do with themselves at crossroads in their near futures. 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!
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51:25
Roland Garros 2025: Quarters Into Semis
Ben and Tumaini, together again, are back to wrap up the quarterfinals and look ahead to the semifinals for both the men and women at Roland Garros. We start with the women, where a too-close-to-call Sabalenka-Swiatek semifinal is set, and super-surprise Lois Boisson might just be playing well enough to keep her strong form going against Coco Gauff? We then shift to the men, where a Sinner-Alcaraz collision course seems likely, and in which Novak Djokovic defeated another similar effort from Alexander Zverev. 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!
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40:18
Roland Garros 2025 Midway Round-Up
Ben and Tumaini, fresh off their collaboration on Ben's Victor Barber interview, catch up on everything in the first four rounds of Roland Garros. We start with the big results of the day--Bublik d. Draper and Boisson d. Pegula--and then discuss the scheduling and the morass of night sessions. We then check in on the various shortlist contenders--Alcaraz, Sinner, Swiatek, Sabalenka, Gauff--and end with some chat on Nadal's retirement ceremony and PSG's big celebrations here. 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!
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44:26