The Tennis Abstract Podcast

Jeff and Carl talk about the clay-court success of Charleston winner Madison Keys and consider how aggression seems to be a proven strategy at WTA clay events... though not for everyone. We also do a deep dive on underarm serve strategy, and review some recent research into ATP aging patterns.

Jeff and Carl discuss the newly-minted Miami champions. We start with Ashleigh Barty, possibly now the best hard-court player in the game, and mull over how her throwback style will translate to other surfaces this season. The second half is for Roger Federer, who breezed through a weaker-than-usual draw, but did so in particularly dominating style.

Jeff and Carl catch up on the Miami early rounds, beginning with some rocky starts for Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. We also look at the slew of early upsets and the threats who remain in the draw. We talk about how to evaluate Bianca Andreescu's feats at her age, and the wacky wild cards that always find their way into the Miami main draw.

Jeff and Carl talk about the breakthrough hard-court Masters title for Dominic Thiem, as well as what the result says about the runner-up Roger Federer. We also touch on Nadal's injury battles, particularly lucky lucky losers, and the next generation of WTA stars, led by this week's surprise champion, Bianca Andreescu.

Jeff is joined by guest co-host Jeff McFarland this week, and the two Jeffs talk about the joys of unpredictable tennis. We consider the various explanations for Sloane Stephens's inconsistency, Naomi Osaka's coaching move, and Aliaksandra Sasnovich's ability to bounce back after losing a 6-0 set.

Jeff and Carl start with this week's biggest story in tennis: Roger Federer's 100th title. We consider his chances of breaking Jimmy Connors's record of 109, and the odds that Nadal or Djokovic follow him to triple digits. We also do a deep dive into the enigma that is Nick Kyrgios and talk a bit about what to look forward to in Indian Wells.

Jeff and Carl spend much of the 50th episode on a familiar theme: the difficulty of judging a player's future by his current performance. We focus on the surprise finalists in Rio de Janeiro and Delray Beach, as well as Belinda Bencic's giant-slaying run in Dubai.

Jeff quizzes Carl about his time at the second edition of the ATP New York Open, featuring breakthrough performances from big-serving American Reilly Opelka and underdog Canadian Brayden Schnur. We also talk doubles, clay-court specialists, and dirt-balling tactics.

Jeff and Carl recap the weekend's Fed Cup action, considering the favorites now that the Czechs are out of the picture, and questioning whether the event needs the same overhaul that the Davis Cup is getting. The second half is a review of Jeff's recent analytical work at the Heavy Topspin blog.

Jeff and Carl discuss the first-ever week of Davis Cup Qualifying, including the issues raised by Switzerland's early exit. We also look at some other Davis Cup-related business decisions, a WTA tournament on the move, the persistence of the serve clock, and the soaring status of Dayana Yastremska.

Jeff and Carl discuss Naomi Osaka's second straight major title, and consider what it means for her future, both long-term and in the rest of this year's grand slam schedule. We also review the Djokovic-Nadal final, and wonder how anyone could ever beat Novak on a hard court.

Jeff and Carl talk over a busy week's worth of results from Melbourne. Federer, Wozniacki, and Anderson suffered early exits; Tiafoe, Tsitsipas, Anismiova, and Pavlyuchenkova have shined; and a fast surface hasn't always had predictable effects.

Jeff and Carl consider where Murray ranks among the greatest of all time and wonders where he'll go from here. We also preview the first grand slam of the season, with a close look at an unpredictable women's draw and dose of uncertainty at the top of the men's bracket as well.

Jeff and Carl go through the plethora of results from the first week of the 2019 season, including surprise runs from 18-year-old Bianca Andreescu and 39-year-old Ivo Karlovic, along with strong comebacks from Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Jeff and Carl look ahead to the 2019 season, chatting about the continued dominance of Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, as well as the players most likely to emerge as stars. We also delve into the possible demise of the Hopman Cup and the complexities of the new ITF Transition Tour.

Jeff and Carl cover the 2018 ATP Tour Finals, with Alexander Zverev's career-best title, highlighted by a surprise defeat of Novak Djokovic. We also talk ATP Cup, TennisTV's new uber-stats, and a quick preview of the Davis Cup final.

Jeff and Carl preview this week's ATP Tour Finals, as well as cover the Czech Republic's Fed Cup dynasty and last week's innovation-riddled ATP NextGen Finals in Milan.

Jeff and Carl cover the breakthrough Masters title from Karen Khachanov, along with the instant classic Federer-Djokovic semi-final from Paris. We also recap the WTA finals and Elite Trophy in Singapore and Zhuhai.

Jeff and Carl break down the women's elite eight, with a focus on tactics, rating systems, and the quality of the WTA tour compared to a decade ago. Also: A record-setting Challenger title for Karlovic, and an unnecessary new rule at Wimbledon.

Jeff and Carl recap the Shanghai performances of Djokovic, Coric, and Federer, then talk year-end championship fields, including WTA year-end number one Simona Halep.