Tennis & Bagels Podcast

Zverev once again reaches the later stages of a tournament, and is once again utterly incapable of making a match out it against Sinner.As Jannik Sinner continues to sweep every Masters 1000 of the year virtually unchallenged, the question is beginning to get loud online: is the ATP Tour boring? Some might even start saying that Sinner himself is the problem.Well, is he?Short answer is no. But it's probably more complicated if you're a neutral tennis fan. Sinner just isn't the same type of player or person that Federer was, or that Djokovic is. He is introverted, he is efficient, and all that he does is his job: winning. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.But, combining Sinner's ruthless tennis, his introverted demeanor, and the fact that the entirety of the ATP minus Carlos Alcaraz simply has no idea how to even begin to win sets against him, it turns the tour into something rather uneventful.If you are a Sinner fan, that's awesome. Your fave is winning and you're happy when you turn off the tv. If you aren't, you shouldn't blame Sinner. You should question: why the heck isn't anyone else standing up against him?I love seeing records getting broken. But I love a good tennis match with a lot of tension and high stakes tournaments even more. I hope we get that back soon.SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube channel!Follow TENNIS AND BAGELS!Twitter/X: https://x.com/TennisAndBAGELSAndre:Twitter/X - https://x.com/RolembergAndreBlueSky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/andrerolemberg.bsky.socialVansh: https://x.com/vanshv2kOwen (BlueSky Social): https://bsky.app/profile/owensports.bsky.social

Aryna Sabalenka is a three-time Madrid champion, World No.1 by many points, and possible favourite for Roland Garros.Elena Rybakina is the Australian Open champion. World No.1 in the Race, an just won Stuttgart with only one tough match.Yet, in a turn of events, it was Marta Kostyuk who rose up to the challenge and took the opportunity in the final by defeating a struggling Mirra Andreeva to win her first WTA 1000 trophy in Madrid. Sabalenka lost in the Quarter-finals, Rybakina in the 4th round.Sadly, Kostyuk won't play in Rome next, but she remains an intriguing contender for the Roland Garros crown.But where does all that leave us in regards to Rome?In an exciting place where there's a crap ton at stake: dominance, Wolrd No.1 battles, and favouritism for the second major of the year.Rome could be one of the best tournaments of the year, on both tours.SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube channel!Follow TENNIS AND BAGELS!Twitter/X: https://x.com/TennisAndBAGELSAndre:Twitter/X - https://x.com/RolembergAndreBlueSky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/andrerolemberg.bsky.socialVansh: https://x.com/vanshv2kOwen (BlueSky Social): https://bsky.app/profile/owensports.bsky.social

The stage was set in Madrid. The only teenagers in the ATP Top 100 faced each other for the first time. Both carrying the weight of some ever-distant "future of tennis". One loses, gets called overrated, unsubstantiated hype, flop. The other, the real deal, the next Rafa Nadal, the one who will disrupt the Sinner-Alcaraz dual dynasty.Of course, tennis is played over many tournaments, over many months, different conditions, different surfaces, and players ride momentum, get big wins, then fall back a little and struggle with tough losses.As such, Joao Fonseca and Rafa Jodar benefit most not of the hype trains departing the station of Tennis Twitter, with the insanely hyperbolical cries from Tennis TV social media coordinators at every winner. They benefit of the calm. The quiet. The time to think, to assess their mistakes and acknowledge the positive and negative from each match. They need our patience.Jodar is not Alcaraz. He is really freaking good, and I really am excited to see him develop into a Top 10 player threatening to win the biggest titles. But there's a lot of road ahead for him to get disappointed, to lose from match point up, to play a terrible match in windy conditions, serve under 50% first serves in a match. He'll have that, and he'll be alright.Fonseca has had his moment last year. He came, he played, he conquered. Now the other players know him. They work with their coaches to find strategies to exploit his weaknesses and neutralize his forehand. He is getting frustrated, probably, by not having another big win under his belt and a deep run in a big tournament. But it will come. Fonseca will work with his own team to hide his weaknesses, to improve his game, and to find a way to crack into the Top 10 and, along with Jodar, to also be a big threat to win the biggest trophies in tennis.All in due time. All in their own timeline.SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube channel!Follow TENNIS AND BAGELS!Twitter/X: https://x.com/TennisAndBAGELSAndre:Twitter/X - https://x.com/RolembergAndreBlueSky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/andrerolemberg.bsky.socialVansh: https://x.com/vanshv2kOwen (BlueSky Social): https://bsky.app/profile/owensports.bsky.social

Carlos Alcaraz should not have played Barcelona. Now, dropping out of the remainder of the clay season, he's left with no Barcelona title, no Madrid title, no Roland Garros and a chance to hold all four majors at once, and probably no No.1 until 2027.It seems like it's never going to get easier for Sinner. He now has the chance to completely dominate the tour, win every tournament he enters, post what could probably be the best season of ALL TIME.That is, if he can handle the now immense pressure of being the heavy favourite to win every tournament he enters. As heavy a favourite as it can possibly get.And, a quick look into Arthur Fils, whom I believe has tremedous potential to be a huge challenge to the current Big 2 of Alcaraz and Sinner. Maybe just not this year yet, though.SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube channel!Follow TENNIS AND BAGELS!Twitter/X: https://x.com/TennisAndBAGELSAndre:Twitter/X - https://x.com/RolembergAndreBlueSky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/andrerolemberg.bsky.socialVansh: https://x.com/vanshv2kOwen (BlueSky Social): https://bsky.app/profile/owensports.bsky.social

Elena Rybakina could have lost in the quarterfinals in Stuttgart. She didn't. And maybe that was the confidence boost she needed to know she could be one of the big favourites for Roland Garros and the World No.1 mantle, both for the first time.Losing to Fernandez could have thrown Rybakina's No.1 quest off course, and given Sabalenka almost free rein over Madrid and Rome, making only herself her biggest enemy. But now that Rybakina is playing amazing on clay, Madrid and Rome suddenly became the battle grounds for favouritism ahead of the clay-court major in Paris. The results from both, and possibly two mouth-watering clashes in the final of both tournaments, could be decisive factors for who will finish the clay season on top of the World.But the battle doesn't end on just the Top 2 players, unlike what we are seeing on the ATP. The entire WTA Top 10 is very strong, and upwards to the Top 30, every player can be extremely dangerous. Gauff, the Roland Garros defending champion, is a bit of a tough prediction, since she plays at her best infrequently, but always finds ways to win matches no matter against whom she plays. Pegula is not just going to sit there and hope for the best either, letting Sabalenka and Rybakina have all the fun.I am particularly curious about Karolina Muchova and Iga Swiatek. Muchova, former French Open finalist, is having a great season so far, and injury-free, too, which is a relief for her. Although she lost to Rybakina in the Stuttgart final convincignly, she got her first wins over Gauff (1-6) and Svitolina (1-3), both in three tough sets. Perhaps after that emotionally tiring run, she'll come out firing in the next WTA 1000 events.Swiatek is a huge question mark. She showed positive things in Stuttgart, but remains unconvincing as a favourite to any of the next tournaments, despite her impressive clay resume. Will she find her level in time for Roland Garros, where she is a four-time champion? Who knows.All rests on the results from Madrid and Rome.Favourite this podcast if you like our work :)SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube channel!Follow TENNIS AND BAGELS!Twitter/X: https://x.com/TennisAndBAGELSAndre:Twitter/X - https://x.com/RolembergAndreBlueSky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/andrerolemberg.bsky.socialVansh: https://x.com/vanshv2kOwen (BlueSky Social): https://bsky.app/profile/owensports.bsky.social

This is a really important step for the Pod. I really believe in it, and I think we can do even better work and be dedicated to having a place where fans can talk about their wild tennis ideas, predictions, criticisms, and just geek about the sport in general.With the Patreon, we open up an avenue that could allow us to focus a lot more on this project.Join here: patreon.com/TennisBagelsPodcastCurrent benefits:Ads Free Episodes, video and audioThe Bagel Book Club (name wip lmao): a tennis book a month with a video review at the end of each month! Discussion encouraged in the Patreon comments :)We have a lot of cool ideas to put in place, but we need help to grow the pod to allow us to give more content and benefits!Your support is HIGHLY appreciated :DThank you!