Tennis with an Accent

Gil Reyes joins the podcast this week as the guest speaker. He was a cornerstone in Andre Agassi's camp for nearly two decades. Reyes was the strength and conditioning coach for the basketball program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas before meeting Agassi in 1989. Together the duo pushed the fitness needle in the men's game during the late 90's. Agassi who started as a flashy shot maker were...

Andre Agassi had an incredible career and the 1999 Roland Garros win is one of his career defining moments. In three week's time it will be the 25th anniversary of his famous French Open triumph. In this week's episode hall of famer Steve Flink and TWAA analyst Skip Schwarzman join host Saqib Ali to look back at the career of Andre Agassi. It is hard to capture the Agassi journey in an episode spa...

Resident guest Andrew Burton joins host Matt Zemek to review the recently concluded Madrid Open - where Iga Swiatek and Andrey Rublev were victorious in the respective WTA and ATP draws. Burton highlights the women's final weekend as the top player stability talking point with the likes of Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina holding centre stage. It's exactly the kind of weekend which puts...

Briana Foust and Sharada Iyer join host Matt Zemek to discuss the ongoing clay swing for the women of the WTA. In a conversation consisting of rich topics from Iga Swiatek's dominance to the form of Danielle Collins - the duo covers a lot of ground. Also covered are topics like the stability of the WTA tour and power ranks for this part of the season. Tune in!

Steve Flink and Gill Gross return to the podcast to discuss the ATP power rankings with the season in full swing. We take a look at the usual suspects of favorites and challengers for this part of the ATP swing. Tune in to find out how your list compares with Steve and Gill's choices.

Podcast regulars Mert Ertunga and Skip Schwarzman join host Saqib Ali to talk about the state of the single hand backhand. The stroke has witnessed a gradual decline over the years and it became a louder conversation after Stefanos Tsitsipas departed the top 10 of the ATP rankings a month ago. Being the true students of the game - both Skip and Mert chimed in with their choices and reasons on how...

Former world number 38 Steve Darcis is the podcast guest this week. Darcis lets us in his world where he talks about his tennis career beginning and all the way to an injury forced retirement. Currently he does not miss the life on tour as he is happily married with kids and is incharge of the Davis cup team among other responsibilities with the Belgian tennis federation. He also talks about his w...

The AO2024 review episode is here - as Andrew Burton and coach Mert Ertunga join host Matt Zemek to recap the first major of the year. Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka are the focal points of this discussion given their dominant form over the fortnight - which saw them secure the first major of the season. Also discussed in length is the process of Sinner's evolution and the instability of the WT...

Happy new year to all the listeners. Andrew Burton joins Matt Zemek to preview the first major of the year. Andrew breaks down the paths of the top 8 seeds on both ATP and WTA - analyzing which player is likely to falter among the top seeds and who are the safe bets to honor their respective seeding. Its that time of the year - tennis is back already! Start listening folks.

Rising WTA player Gabriela Knutson is the podcast guest this week. Knutson has had a meteoric rise in the WTA ranks - jumping 307 spots during the recently completed 2023 season. He played 77 matches this season which was her second on tour. Knutson took the collegiate route to pro tennis while securing a masters degree in Digital Marketing and Renewable energy along the way. In a very candid inte...

We recap the year with a podcast on the ATP decade of the 2000s with historian Steve Flink and coach Mert Ertunga. Beginning of the 2000s was set for a clash of generations with Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and co ready to take on the new balls please campaign stars in Nicolas Kiefer, Magnus Norman, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt among others. The decade belonged to Roger Federer and w...

Andrew Burton joins host Matt Zemek to recap the year end ATP finals. Novak Djokovic reigned supreme for a record 7th time at the year end finals and is one of the focal points of discussion. The duo weighs in on the four semi finalists from this event who also happen to be the four best players of this calendar year. The rise of Jannik Sinner in particular is another focal point of this episode a...

Host Matt Zemek is joined by podcast friend and regular contributor Skip Schwarzman in the new episode to talk about the WTA finals and Bercy Indoors. Skip and Matt kickoff the conversation by talking about Iga Swiatek and her dominant form to close out the season. The episode seques into the organizational mess of the chosen venue or venues for the year end WTA finals for last two years. Skip als...

All time great Ivan Lendl is the podcast guest this week. For a younger fan he is a former great who coaches Andy Murray. But for a generation of players and fans growing up in the 80's he is seen as a true game changer. Prior to the dominance of the big three it was Lendl who had been the pillar of consistency in the men's game. A true trailblazer whose methods and practices became a template for...

Cori Gauff and Novak Djokovic are your 2023 US Open winners. We recap the final weekend with in house analyst Andrew Burton who joins host Matt Zemek to do the honors. Andrew compares his pre tournament notes to how the Open played out eventually. The show also looks forward to the next season by taking the latest developments in NY as the scene setter for both WTA and ATP power rankings. Andrew B...

In the latest episode of the podcast we preview the 2023 US Open. Host Matt Zemek is joined by in house analysts Mert Ertunga and Andrew Burton. We look at both ATP and WTA draws and address the big questions ahead of the last major of the year.

In the new episode we take a look back at Stefan Edberg's twin titles in New York. Hall of famer Steve Flink and noted tennis historian Richard Evans join host Saqib Ali to remember the Edberg years in Flushing Meadows. It was not exactly love at first sight between Edberg and New York. Like many european players Edberg struggled to find his rhythm in the last major of the year. This episode focus...

Devang Desai of Sportsnet and Open Era podcast fame is the guest this week as he speaks with host Matt Zemek. Desai was on site in Toronto for the men's edition of the Canadian Open and witnessed the comeback runs of Milos Raonic and Gael Monfils. He also had an opportunity to interview Frederic Fontang - coach of FAA among other interviews. He provides insights on FAA's injury prone season and we...

Natalija Stevanović is the podcast guest this week. In a career spanning little over a decade - Stevanović made her biggest breakthrough at Wimbledon this year when she beat former finalist Karolina Pliskova. In a candid chat with host Saqib Ali she opens up about her big week at Wimbledon, her newly gained fame, her recovery from a serious surgery and the Serbian tennis federation. https://www.wt...

Turkish tennis player Ayla Aksu is the podcast guest this week. This episode was recorded earlier in the year. Aksu was coached by the friend of the podcast - Coach Mert Ertunga till end of 2022. She is currently ranked 413 on the WTA rankings and has won 11 ITF level titles in singles. She is one of the better players to have come out of Turkey. In this episode she gets candid about her career an...

Carlos Alcaraz is the 2023 Wimbledon men's singles champion. He is the first non big 4 player to win the championships since Lleyton Hewitt won the 2002 edition. Andrew Burton joins Matt Zemek and Saqib Ali to talk about the generational Djokovic Alcaraz final.

On the eve of the 136th edition of The Championships we look back at the ultimate wild card in the glorious history of Wimbledon - Goran Ivanisevic. Historian and hall of famer Steve Flink joins Saqib Ali to revisit the 2001 title run by the southpaw from Croatia. https://www.amazon.com/Pete-Sampras-Greatness-Steve-Flink/dp/1937559947

Christopher Clarey is one of the most prominent tennis voices of the last three decades in the printed world. In the latest edition of the podcast he joins hosts Saqib Ali and Andrew Burton in a conversation which is full of candid reflections about his journey as a tennis reporter for NY times. After thirty two years with the NYT Clarey is now transitioning into the role of a full time author - o...

In this episode Matt and Saqib talk about the monumental achievement of Novak Djokovic as he completed a record third career grand slam and also took the lead for the most majors won on the men's side. Djokovic keeps making new standards of being the clutchest athlete in all of sports. We also revisit the final before the final on the men's side as Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz faced off in one of t...

In this week's episode of the podcast host Matt Zemek is joined by in house analysts Andrew Burton and Mert Ertunga to speak about the situation of Rafael Nadal. In a deep winded conversation the group reflects the graph of Nadal's career and also speculates on what may lie ahead for the great champion. Its fitting to release this episode on the birthday of Rafa Nadal. Mert Ertunga on twitter - ht...