Aleks Kovacevic sat down with Mike before the Dallas Open to discuss finally hitting top 100 after his run through qualies and in to the 2nd round of the Australian Open. At the time of publish, Kova is back outside of the top 100, at 102, after losing some points from the Cleveland Challenger title one year ago. But hitting 85 was just one step on his journey. He's a University of Illinois graduate, his game is gorgeous, and he's got a new coach to help him get to that next level.
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Behind the Racquet with Aleks Kovacevic

The Behind the Racquet Pod is the best glimpse you can get in to the ins and outs of professional tennis, told by its players, and voiced by Noah Rubin, and his podcast partner Mike Cation.

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Marcus Willis is a 33 year old from Slough, Great Britain, ranked 116 in the world. He is a 5 time (at this moment) Challenger doubles champion.
Once, he made it to the second round of Wimbledon.
Those two sentences don't begin to sum up the man with some of the best hands in tennis. Marcus sat down with Mike and Noah to talk about THAT run to Wimbledon, THAT episode with the RC Cola and a snickers bar, and also how those big moments have been mixed with some really trying times, both externally, and some self made issues.
As you'd expect with a Brit once nicknamed Cartman, there's a lot of hysterical stories, some introspection, and we get it all on this week's BTR Pod.
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Behind the Racquet with Marcus Willis

First, unfortunately, Mike's mic shut down in recording, so as the least important person on the pod (Noah and Tristan agree on this)..his voice will sound shaky today.
Tristan Boyer is a 23 year old out of Southern California, ranked 231 in the world. In a few weeks, he'll play in Roland Garros qualifying for the first time in his career, just his second career grand slam appearance (after the US Open Qs last year). Just over one year ago, he was ranked 1500 in the world heading in to the green clay Challengers in the states, and reached the Savannah final to really start his professional career.
We talked with Tristan about his more unique training in South American, his departure from Stanford, and what he's focusing on as his career gets underway in earnest.
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Behind the Racquet with Tristan Boyer

Noah is back from his honeymoon, so we do a catchup on some recent topics
Namely the potential tour restructure. What does it mean for the Challengers?
We get a honeymoon recap from Noah, how to best interact with fans, Danielle Collins, and a resurgent Rafa and what that means.
More with Tristan Boyer next week.
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First Quarter Check In with Noah and Mike

Thanasi Kokkinakis sat down with Mike after winning the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open, his 6th Challenger Title. We talk about his return to the top 100, and guaranteeing himself a spot in the French Open main draw with a week on an injured foot.  He battled tough conditions, tough opponents, and the weight of that main draw throughout the week, and is now headed on his European summer trip.
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New Balance Winner's Circle with Thanasi Kokkinakis

Miguel is now 36 years of age, and remains very much in the discussions at the slams as a top 75 doubles player. The former Texas Longhorn talks about his long career as a doubles specialist, what made that decision for him, and how he views the long history of Mexican tennis.
We also get in to some of the ATP Player Council politics, namely how doubles gets more eyes (and money), where the ATP is on a domestic abuse policy, and whether Latin America will be getting a Masters Series event.
More next week!
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Behind the Racquet with Aleks Kovacevic

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