The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast

Amos Mansdorf grew up outside of Tel Aviv, a 2nd generation Israeli, as his grandparents migrated to Israel in the 20's. In 1987 he got to 18 in the world, the highest ranking ever for an Israeli, and had an awesome career, beating Hall of Famers Connors, Becker, and Muster to name a few. He appeared in 16 finals and won 6 titles.

Amos joined me from his home in Tel aviv where just hours earlier the sirens were sounded and missiles flew overhead, as Israel is at war. We discussed the situation at length, and then were able to successfully segue to tennis. It was an important and exceptional conversation.

Recorded 10.24 Released 10.26

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There's just nothing better than taking a deep dive with a player that has been through the fire, and Dan Evans fits that bill.

In August Dan came out of a six match losing streak and won his second ATP tournament in Washington DC, defeating Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov en route to the championship that got him to his career high ranking of 21 in the world. The flashy shotmaker followed up the DC win with a virtuoso performance in a losing effort to Carlitos Alcaraz in the 3rd round of the US Open, wowing the crowd and Carlitos, himself. Just a couple weeks later he put the British Davis Cup Team on his back coming off the mat twice to lead his team to victory over France in one of the moist electrifying scenes we've seen all year.

It was a triumphant moment for a player that had been banned from the tour for a failed drug test six years ago, in the prime of his career- and we discussed it all.

Recorded 10.16 Released 10.18

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Jose Luis Clerc represented Argentina on their Davis Cup Team from 1976-1989, alongside Guillermo Vilas for most of those years, and did battle with McEnroe, Wilander, Connors and Lendl to name a few. He got to 4 in the world in 1981 after going on a 25 match win streak, and then went on a 28 match win streak in. 82.

He won 25 tournaments on tour and reached the semis of Roland Garros in 81 and 82. Hew is now the broadcaster for South America, we linked at the US Open and had a great chat. We discussed a myriad of topics, the 5 set format was a tremendous asset, and I loved every second of our chat.

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Recorded 8.30 Released 9.18

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Along with his brothers Vijay, Anand Amritraj is Indian Tennis Royalty and is considered to be amongst the first Indians to compete on the elite level.

He posted a win over John McEnroe on grass, and won 7 titles. In doubles he won 12 titles and reached the semis of Wimbledon and the quarters of the US Open.

He was on the 1974 and 1987 Davis Cup Teams that both reached the finals, and his participation catapulted him into a lifetime of stardom.

With his flowing feathered white hair and his colorful wardrobe, Anand is one of the flashiest dressers the sport has ever seen, is on the cover of Racquet Magazine, and we talked about it all.

Recorded 8.28 at the US Open and Released 9.9

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Gilad Bloom has lived an incredible life in tennis.

He grew up outside of Tel Aviv, Israel, and was an elite junior. He carried the torch for Israel's National Team in both the Davis Cup and The Olympics from 1984-1995, and posted wins over many great players including Jimmy Connors, Marcelo Rios, and Peter Korda.

In 1990 he made a run to the 4th round of The US OPEN, and got to his best ranking, 61. We talked a lot about The US Open, and why its atmosphere is so unique. We talked about how he likes to watch tennis on the side courts and see what is happening on the practice court, as there are a lot of lessons for everyone.

He has resided in New York City since 2000 and has a boutique tennis program and a rock band.

Recorded 8.24 Released 9.1

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Ali Riske-Armritraj grew up in Pittsburgh and in 2009 chose not to attend Vanderbilt University and turn pro. Ten years later she defeated Ash Barty to reach the quarters of Wimbledon and got to 18 in the world. She has won three titles on tour and has represented her country in the Olympics and Fed Cup.

Ali and I discussed current hot button issues including the impending move of the Cincinnati Tournament, to the emergence this summer of Coco Gauff. We talked about her hope for the future of the WTA, and what the US Open special.

We talked about her career in length, which has been incredible.

Recorded 8.21 Released 8.24

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Jaime Yzaga grew up in Lima, Peru with a grandfather that worked him into tennis at a young age, and in 1985 he won the French Open Juniors beating Thomas Muster 6-0 in the 3rd. With the great Colon Nuñez and then Pato Rodriguez at his side he won 8 tour titles and in 1989 got to 18 in the world.

It was at The US Open where he had his greatest success. In 1994 he reached the quarterfinals by beating the previous year's finalist Cedric Pioline, and then Pete Sampras in a 5 set thriller-a feat that is considered one of the greatest upsets in history.

We discussed Jaime's story of moving to the states to train at The Hopman Academy at Bardmoor, and how Colon Nuñez showed him how to be a pro.

Recorded 8.18 Released 8.21

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In 1978 at the age of 16 years old, Baltimore, MD native Pam Shriver got to the final of The US Open as an amateur, defeating world #1 Martina Navratilova in the semis. She was on tour for 20 years, won 21 tournaments and got to 3 in the world, competing week in and week out against Chris Evert, Martina, Tracy Austin, and Steffi Graf to name a few. In doubles she won 108 straight matches with Martina and In 1983 she and Martina won all 4 majors, the only team in history to complete The Grand Slam.

After her Hall of Fame career she embarked on what has been a prolific broadcasting career and can be heard throughout the year on both ESPN's tennis coverage as well as Tennis Channel's coverage.

In April 2022 she shared a deeply personal story of having been in a romantic relationship with her coach, that was 33 years her senior and has since advocated for improved policing of these scenarios when they pop up on tour. We discussed this, and many different hot button topics including the impending Saudi involvement in tennis, the health of The WTA Tour, and her ideas on how to make the sport more appealing to broadcasters.

Recorded 7.24 Released 7.26

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Racquet Guru Roman Prokes of AGASSI Fame broke down everything all you tech fiends ever wanted to know. Swiatek, Alcaraz, Djokovic, add weight, subtract weight, big grips, small grips, overgrips, string patterns, strings. The 2023 Racquet Tech Special is here.

Recorded 6.12 at RPNY, Released 6.16

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Currently ranked 45 in the world, Dusan Lajovic has posted wins over Medvedev, Murray, Rublev, and beat Novak Djokovic just a few weeks ago in Banja Luka.

On the mend in Belgrade after contracting Chicken Pox on the day he was scheduled to play in Paris, Dusan and I discussed Novak in length, and it was extremely illuminating. We discussed his wins over Alcaraz and Ruud in detail, and we talked about the loss to Medvedev at The US Open in 2021. We discussed the PTPA and he shared his opinions about their new tact.

We talked about Dusan's career in length, how he ended up with a one handed backhand in the land of the two hander, and how he has become elite by hiring a Spanish coach, Jose Perlas. He talked in length about what it's like to play Novak, Carlitos, and the other elite players on tour.

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Recorded and Released 6.12.23

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