Open Era

The French Open is here!

On this week’s Open Era, Simon and Devang discuss Rafael Nadal’s absence, the events in Rome that shook up the WTA and ask what is making Daniil Medvedev so good on clay? Then they get into the big questions at Roland Garros, including who can contend with Swiatek, Rybakina and Sabalenka, is it Djokovic and Alcaraz or bust and who will break through from the Men’s bottom half. In parting shots, Simona Halep faces more doping charges and Roger Fededer has a good time on Twitter.

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The French Open may happen at some point this year but it must be said, we’re missing the Parisian clay right now. This week we head back to 2003 and the classic semifinal between Serena Williams and Justine Henin. Serena was on a 33-match winning streak at the slams but it was not meant to be on this day in what was an extraordinary contest. You don’t get a moniker like ‘The Hand Match’ for nothing.

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To be honest, the cake tastes bad in Madrid anyway… Devang and Simon tackle a huge crop of news over the past fortnight including a titanic battle between the world’s top two. Carlos Alcaraz retained his Madrid Open title and went back to World Number 1. Will he play Djokovic (finally) in Rome? Will we ever see Rafael Nadal play again? All that plus a whole lot of sexism coming out of Madrid.

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This week we continue on our journey through time to relive some of the best matchups that tennis has offered as we examine the 1980 Wimbledon final between Björn Borg of Sweden and John McEnroe of the United States. Simon Bushell and Devang Desai remember all of the drama, the outbursts and the tie-breaks. This episode originally aired on January 12, 2018 as part of The Sport Chronicle.

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Welcome to Madrid, where the days are long and the time between matches is even longer! While Simon and Devang do complain briefly about the lengthy events on the WTA and ATP, they actually do discuss tennis on this week’s Open Era. Teenager Mirra Andreeva is the talk of the town after ousting Haddad-Maia and Leylah Fernandez while Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas took match of the week honors home. The guys also recap Carlos Alcaraz’s latest triumph while tackling the topical question on everyone’s mind regarding Iga Swiatek. In parting shots, they say goodbye to human linespeople and try to explain what the Met Gala is. They tried their best.

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This week we profile someone that never became world number one or captured a Grand Slam, but accomplished something no other player has . David Nalbandian defied explanation, until you saw what he could do on the court when everything was just ‘right.’ We saw that happen in 2007 at the Madrid Open when he became the first and only person to beat Nadal, Djokovic and Federer at the same tournament.

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See you again next week for an all new episode of Open Era.

Andrey Rublev is the champion of Monte Carlo.

On this week’s Open Era, Simon and Devang tackle a brilliant week in the French Riviera which concluded the way ‘most’ of us wanted. The guys discuss Rublev’s breakthrough and what makes him likable among other things.

Staying in Monaco, how did it go for Sinner, Medvedev, Djokovic, Rune and the lot? Mixed results but there’s plenty to talk about.

The Billie Jean King Cup qualifying round is over and Canada is through to the finals thanks to Leylah Fernandez and Gabby Dabrowski. How did they do and does Canada have a shot in November?

Finally, in Parting Shots the ongoing recovery of Rafael Nadal hits another snag and there’s plenty of Tennis in TIME’s most influential people of 2023.

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Patreon subscriber and friend of the show Luke Peristy asks Simon and Devang to relive an improbable run in Paris. Francesca Schiavone became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam tournament, and the first woman in the Open Era to win the French Open while seeded outside the top 10. Schiavone won this tournament using a shot we no longer see much of on the women’s tour. Why?

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On to the clay. Devang and Simon unpack the Miami Open, including the triumphs for Petra Kvitová and Daniil Medvedev. What does another Alcaraz-Sinner battle mean and is ‘Big Babe’ (apologies, it’s terrible) tennis back? Then, on parting shots the guys dig into Wimbledon removing their ban on Russian and Belarussian players, Bianca Andreescu injuries and talk a little footy. Tune in!

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We are back for another duo WTA/ATP event, but this time it’s Miami where the tennis world is gathering to figure out why everything is so damn turquoise.

Devang and Simon discuss the early trajectories of Bianca Andreescu and Denis Shapovalov in the Sunshine state before getting onto their rankings of the best combined events on the tours, outside of the grand slams. In parting shots the guys discuss the ongoing tension between Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian players on tour, celebrate Martina Navratilova’s win over cancer and dive into their two challenges remaining.

Come join the Patreon family for bonus content, access to the exclusive discord server and ad free episodes: https://www.patreon.com/openera

Follow @OpenEra on Twitter! While you're there say hello to @DesaiDevang or reach out to the show and say hey: [email protected]

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If you enjoyed today’s show, please rate Open Era 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts.