PODCAST: ROLAND GARROS TRILOGY

Episodes 124, 125, and 126 of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast

Subscribe and review The Body Serve on iTunes, and follow James and Jonathan on Twitter.

PART ONE: Songs in Clay Major: Roland Garros Preview
 
The denouement of the clay season is upon us with the dawning of the French Open. We're back to preview the year's second major with the help of some of our listeners. We solicited questions specific to Roland Garros, and you all came through big time; we structure our draw analysis through your thoughtful offerings. After parsing through the draws, we finish with a few thoughts on the protected seeding drama that erupted again this week.
 
02:26 Women's draw dark horses
09:34 Muguruza or Ostapenko: who will fare better?
13:57 Players who'll benefit/suffer most from lack of on-court coaching
16:40 Is this the beginning of the end for Aga?
20:00 Other women's draw observations
30:18 Men's dark horses
34:45 Who will be Nadal's fiercest competition?
37:10 The Big 4 as super coaches
42:18 FMK Frenchies edition: Pouille, Chardy, and PHH
44:26 Other men's draw observations
52:06 Wading into the protected seeding WTA issue again

PART TWO: Much Ado About Mother: The Catsuit's Out of the Bag

The quarterfinals of the 2018 French Open are set, and we are back with episode 125 to recap how we got here. Serena Williams dominated week one discussion with her catsuit, and her play, before having to withdraw ahead of a fourth round meeting with Maria Sharapova. Some folks had stuff to say about her attire, and we've got something to say about that. We cover the usual mid-slam topics: upsets, genuine surprises, feel-good stories, amusements, and various atrocities.  
​
02:02 Mother is back, causing ALL the conversation
05:30 The catsuit's out of the bag
15:34 Serena has to withdraw ahead of the Sharapova match
21:15 Girl, BYE: Bill Simons and Karolina Pliskova edition
29:08 WTA upsets, surprises, and  upcoming quarterfinals
39:56 So, let's talk about Sloane
46:55 Marco Trungelliti's road race with destiny
48:12 Cecchinato's surprise and Jack Sock's abominable display
51:08 ATP upsets, disappointments, and other etceteras
53:54 The folly of John Isner
55:34 Grigor and Goffin disappoint, Nole holds court, and QF previews
64:55 Serena's moment of levity/immense pettiness

PART THREE: La Primera y La Undecima: 1s Across the Board at French Open

Simona Halep and Rafael Nadal are your French Open champions. For Simona, it was her first time as last woman standing at a Slam, while Nadal hoisted the Coupe des Mousquetaires for an 11th time. After recapping both finals and notable matches since the quarterfinals, we tackle some of the outside-the-lines etceteras that popped up since our last episode. On tap:  Nadal's alleged equal pay remarks, the ubiquity of flossing, the laughable punishment meted out in the James Blake case, and using Margaret Court to raise the stakes for our current greats.

01:41 Simona turns the Titanic back around
11:05 Putting the many facets of Simona into context
15:55 Muguruza defollicles Maria & Madison has no answers for Sloane
20:02 Complicating Sloane's relationship with the media
24:46 Sloane gives a pitch perfect performance as runner-up
27:00 Nadal's third "La Undécima" & the anxiety of greatness
34:54 How did Dominic acquit himself in his first Slam final?
39:48 The massive elephant in the room: Nadal & equal pay in tennis
53:28 Assessing Novak's performance and loss to Cecchinato
58:11 Speaking of Cecchinato...thinking out loud about sports reporting
63:50 Doubles, juniors & flossing?!?! How do the kids all know how to do it?
70:53 ENOUGH of using Margaret Court to move the goalpost