Heavy Topspin – Page 45 – The Tennis Abstract blog

Expected Points, April 26: A Blockbuster Weekend on European Clay

Expected Points, my new short, daily podcast, highlights three numbers to illustrate stats, trends, and interesting trivia around the sport.

Up today: Aslan Karatsev climbs another rung on the ladder, Rafael Nadal conquers Stefanos Tsitsipas—and yet another historic achievement, and Ashleigh Barty soaks up the power in an up-and-down final.

Scroll down for a transcript.

You can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and elsewhere in the podcast universe.

The Expected Points podcast is still a work in progress, so please let me know what you think.

Expected Points, April 23: Elina Svitolina Turns the Tables

Expected Points, my new short, daily podcast, highlights three numbers to illustrate stats, trends, and interesting trivia around the sport.

Up today: Elise Mertens is a favorite’s favorite in Istanbul, Barcelona’s final eight is dauntingly strong, and Svitolina tries to do to Petra Kvitova what she’s already done to Angelique Kerber.

Scroll down for a transcript.

You can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and elsewhere in the podcast universe.

The Expected Points podcast is still a work in progress, so please let me know what you think.

Expected Points, April 22: Rafael Nadal Stumbles in Barcelona

Expected Points, my new short, daily podcast, highlights three numbers to illustrate stats, trends, and interesting trivia around the sport.

Up today: Rafa needs an extra set to get through his Barcelona opener, Ashleigh Barty returns to the European clay, and the Sabanov twins are an overnight success–13 years in the making.

Scroll down for a transcript.

You can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and elsewhere in the podcast universe.

The Expected Points podcast is still a work in progress, so please let me know what you think.

Podcast Episode 106: Monte Carlo Simulations Aren’t As Good As the Real Thing

Episode 106 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, is our recap of the Monte Carlo Masters, where Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal bowed out early, and Stefanos Tsitsipas showed us just how good a clay-courter he could be.

We have lots of questions, and offer at least a few potential answers. How much do we need to revise our assessments of Djokovic and Nadal after their early losses? Is Stefanos Tsitsipas now the biggest threat to Nadal at Roland Garros? Has Djokovic fallen back to the pack? Has Rafa lost a step? Is Dan Evans someone worth watching on clay now? Can a slice backhand ever be a weapon on a slow surface? What can flat hitters do to overcome their disadvantage on clay?

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 61 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.

Podcast housekeeping:

In case you haven’t heard, I’m 62 episodes into a short (~4 minute) daily podcast called Expected Points. Here’s today’s episode. I’m also doing a daily baseball podcast with the same format during the MLB season–check out The Opener.
The TAP book club continues next month with Álvaro Enrigue’s novel Sudden Death. We’ll chat about it in an episode next month, and you can read more about it here.

Book Club Selection #4: Sudden Death, by Álvaro Enrigue

The next pick for the Tennis Abstract book club is Álvaro Enrigue’s 2013 novel Sudden Death. Enrigue is Mexican, and he writes in Spanish. An English translation was published in 2017.

How could you not want to read this?

Sudden Death begins with a brutal tennis match that could decide the fate of the world. The bawdy Italian painter Caravaggio and the loutish Spanish poet Quevedo battle it out before a crowd that includes Galileo, Mary Magdalene, and a generation of popes who would throw Europe into the flames. In England, Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII behead Anne Boleyn, and her crafty executioner transforms her legendary locks into the most sought-after tennis balls of the time.

I hope you’ll read along with us! We’re tentatively aiming to discuss in late May, just before the French Open gets underway.

Comments are open, so if you have thoughts about the book you’d like to share, or topics you think we should put on the agenda for the podcast episode about the book, please leave them here.

Past book club selections / podcast episodes:

Expected Points, April 21: Simona Seeks Stuttgart Success

Expected Points, my new short, daily podcast, highlights three numbers to illustrate stats, trends, and interesting trivia around the sport.

Up today: Halep hopes this is her breakthrough year in Stuttgart, Ivo Karlovic plays like he’s still 39, and Angela Mortimer celebrates a birthday.

Scroll down for a transcript.

You can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and elsewhere in the podcast universe.

The Expected Points podcast is still a work in progress, so please let me know what you think.

Expected Points, April 20: A Showcase for the ATP’s Strong Serbians

Expected Points, my new short, daily podcast, highlights three numbers to illustrate stats, trends, and interesting trivia around the sport.

Up today: Novak Djokovic leads a Serb-heavy field in Belgrade, a German qualifier wades into the adult pool in Stuttgart, and the ATP Race keeps getting younger.

Scroll down for a transcript.

You can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and elsewhere in the podcast universe.

The Expected Points podcast is still a work in progress, so please let me know what you think.

Expected Points, April 19: A Dominant Performance From Stefanos Tsitsipas

Expected Points, my new short, daily podcast, highlights three numbers to illustrate stats, trends, and interesting trivia around the sport.

Up today: Tsitsipas claims his first Masters 1000 title, Mihaela Buzarnescu is the BJK Cup’s first marathon woman, and Rafael Nadal will try again in Barcelona.

Scroll down for a transcript.

You can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and elsewhere in the podcast universe.

The Expected Points podcast is still a work in progress, so please let me know what you think.

Expected Points, April 16: A Bump in the Road for Novak Djokovic

Expected Points, my new short, daily podcast, highlights three numbers to illustrate stats, trends, and interesting trivia around the sport.

Up today: Djokovic loses early in Monte Carlo, Linda Fruhvirtova reaches her first WTA quarterfinal, and it’s a good day to remember the contributions of Dr Robert Walter Johnson.

Scroll down for a transcript.

You can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and elsewhere in the podcast universe.

The Expected Points podcast is still a work in progress, so please let me know what you think.

Podcast Episode 105: Book Club: Days of Grace, by Arthur Ashe

Episode 105 of the Tennis Abstract Podcast, with Carl Bialik of the Thirty Love podcast, takes on the third pick of our book club, Arthur Ashe’s 1993 memoir, Days of Grace.

The book gives us a chance to get inside the mind of one of the most important figures in tennis history. He was the first African American man to rise to the top of the tennis world, played a leading role in the professionalization of the sport, spoke out against apartheid South Africa, captained the U.S. Davis Cup team through the turbulent Connors-McEnroe era, and ultimately used his battle with AIDS as an opportunity to educate the public and raise money to fight the disease.

Carl and I consider whether he is sufficiently remembered in tennis today, whether his game was as mercurial as he claimed, how he compares to Billie Jean King, and whether we should chill out about the latest round of changes to the Davis Cup.

Next up in the book club is Alvaro Enrigue’s novel, Sudden Death. I’ll post a bit more about that later this week.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 64 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use our feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.