Tennis with an Accent

Andrew Burton joins host Matt Zemek for a mid point check in for the Australian Open 2025. The discussion centers around some of the marquee matches that loom large in the second week - and none bigger than the Novak Djokovic- Carlos Alcaraz clash. Tune in for a complete QF and beyond preview.

In the latest edition of the podcast we look back at the ATP decade of 2010s. Usual suspects Steve Flink and Mert Ertunga join host Saqib Ali to breakdown the decade which was dominated by Novak Djokovic - who was closely followed by Rafa Nadal. The group looks back with fondness and immense respect at the historic ten year span of the sport which saw the term "big three" come into prominence. This was also a decade where only six men won a major title. This type of top heavy decade may never come around again!

Tune in to relive the most glorious chapter of the men's game with emphasis on big matches, key moments and great careers.

Rafael Nadal is a former tennis player. Here is a little belated tribute episode to look back at the tennis career of Nadal. Host Matt Zemek is joined by the podcast regulars Andrew Burton, Skip Schwarzman and Mert Ertunga. The episode is a collection of how the group looks back at Nadal's impact, his legacy and his greatest hits among other memories.

Former tennis player Mark Lewis is the podcast guest in this episode. Lewis is also widely remembered as Michael Stich's coach during the German's most successful tennis phase. In this episode Lewis sheds light on the tennis scene in his native country of New Zealand. He also touches upon his brother's magical run to the Wimbledon final in 1983 before losing to John McEnroe.

The episode is an extremely candid and generous account of Lewis's tennis journey where he shares lot of details about Stich and life on tour as a coach.

We review the ATP finals in this episode. Andrew Burton returns to the podcast to join fellow resident guest Skip Schwarzman and host Matt Zemek. The discussions centers on the best matches of the week where Taylor Fritz vs Alex Zverev is discussed at length. Other parts of this episode focusses on similar playing styles from the eight man field with Carlos Alcaraz being the outlier.

Another question addressed here is who will be the leading candidate to challenge the Jannik Sinner- Alcaraz dominance at the top. Last but not the least the group takes stock of players who either had a breakthrough year or a missed opportunity at the highest level - Fritz, Zverev and Daniil Medvedev figure in this discussion.

Host Matt Zemek is joined by resident guest speaker Skip Schwarzman to review the recently concluded WTA finals. The episode is rich in topics such as court speed, visibility for doubles at big events and the significance of the WTA finals itself. Skip also weighed in with his observations on Coco Gauff's phenomenal run at the Riyadh finals where she had to go through a murderer's row of opponents in Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng.

Last but not the least Skip expressed his displeasure about the number of ball tosses were being caught by the players! It is a great episode with Skip and Matt. Brew your favorite coffee and get settled - its a detailed view of a lot of relevant topics.

Tennis reporters Ravi Ubha and Steve Flink join host Saqib Ali to preview the year end field in Turin. Topics covered include the group breakdown with intriguing matchups and predicting the eventual winner. The conversation also relives some of the interesting moments from the event's history dating back to the inaugural years at Madison Square Garden. Ubha also shares his insights on Jack Draper - who once practiced at the same club as him.

Former top 10 player Lori McNeil joins host Saqib Ali on the podcast this week. McNeil was an accomplished singles player who also enjoyed a great doubles career. She is best remembered for reaching the semi finals of Wimbledon(1994) and US Open(1987) where she defeated Steffi Graf and Chris Evert respectively.

In this episode McNeil relives some of those moments and also gives insights into her early days as a junior and how her journey was shaped as the WTA professional. Must listen for all tennis fans.

Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner have won their first US Open titles respectively. In the process they also swept the hard court majors for the year.

Mert Ertunga and Andrew Burton join host Matt Zemek for the US Open review episode. The event also had two American finalists - Jessica Pegula on the WTA side and Taylor Fritz who became the first native man to reach the finals in New York since Andy Roddick's run in 2006.

Dive in for a very rich conversation that looks back at the last major of the year and also tackles the big takeaways from the 2024 season.

Hall of famer and tennis historian Steve Flink joins host Matt Zemek in the latest episode of the podcast to talk about Novak Djokovic's golden slam. It is a monumental achievement even by Djokovic's illustrious standards and the duo discusses his revival in length. Also discussed in this episode are other Olympic tennis related topics and a look ahead to the already ongoing US summer hard court swing.

https://www.amazon.com/Pete-Sampras-Greatness-Steve-Flink/dp/1937559947/ref=asc_df_1937559947/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693033695508&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3197514886592869182&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9193783&hvtargid=pla-925947799590&psc=1&mcid=ca7edb41a99d36718e96d52c8c0b4961&gad_source=1