The Lucky Letcord Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Today on the Lucky Letcord Podcast tennis Hall of Famer Steve Flink stops by to break down his thoughts on Novak Djokovic's 2024 season. It has a season that has not met the 24-time major champion's lofty standards, but Flink believes that we have not seen the best of the Serbian legend in 2024. He gives his thoughts on Djokovic's performance at Wimbledon, and his 2024 in general, and points ahead to this year's US Open. Flink also talks about the remarkable rise of Carlos Alcaraz, and singles out a key contributor to the Spaniard's stunning summer. And where does it all leave World No.1 Jannik Sinner? Flink, who has just returned from his 55th Wimbledon, has thoughts on that as well. We also look at the women's side, which was wide open this year, and featured a feel good final between Barbora Krejcikova and Jasmine Paolini in the final. Nothing against the matchup, but Flink would prefer to see the top players in the women's game performing better at Wimbledon? Why were they not in the mix on finals weekend this year, and will Iga Swiatek ever find her footing on the grass. Finally we conclude with the performance of the American men and women at Wimbledon as we look at head to the summer and the US Open. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Lucky Letcord Podcast, Richard Pagliaro and Erik Gudris join to break down Wimbledon 2024: Topics discussed: Krejcikova – How did she pull this off?  Carlitos – what impressed us the most about him during Wimbledon? Iga on grass – is there hope?  What’s next for Novak? Has hiw window for 25 passed him by?  Was it a failure for Sinner, losing to Medvedev? He’s No 1 in the rankings but it feels like he’s a distant No.2 now  Most pleasant surprise for you guys?  Grass is a dangerous surface? But is it more dangerous than it used to be? If so what can be done about it?  American breakdown – who impressed? Who disappointed?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's special preview podcast, Erik Gudris and Richard Pagliaro join Chris Oddo to look ahead to the Wimbledon fortnight. Here are the topics we canvas: Can we really read anything into the grass court warm up results as indicators before Wimbledon? Maybe it’s recency bias but I have my eyes on Keys / Kasatkina. I’d say yes. Huge experience for Alcaraz/ Swiatek/ I think you can pick out positives, and maybe not sweat the negatives.  The draw’s out, did it change anything about the way you view this Wimbledon playing out? To me it worked in Swiatek’s favor a bit because the bottom half is stacked.  Is Djokovic the best men’s grass-court player in history if he wins this title? Federer 192-29 on grass with 19 titles. Djokovic 109-18 with eight titles.             DJOKOVIC 3-1 VS FEDERER AT GRASS AND 3-0 VS FEDERER IN WIMBLEDON FINALS Has Swiatek played herself into favorite status with her performance at Bad Homburg?  How is this year’s draw different, with Russian and Belarusian players in the mix again? How will Wimbledon’s decision to allow them to play impact the fortnight?  What is your most outrageous pick for a run to the semis or beyond? How much has Alcaraz improved on grass – and as a player in general – since last Wimbledon? Won his final 10 sets at Queens. Using the slice. Returning aggression.  Is Medvedev a tad overlooked as a grass-court talent? 35-19 with a title on grass. 8-4 at Wimbledon, missed last year but made second week for the first time in 2021 (Hurkacz) Can we expect anything from Berrettini or Kyrgios?  What do we make of Venus Williams and what does it mean for Wimbledon to have her in the draw?  What do we think of Wozniacki’s comeback? 30 titles No.1 for 71 weeks Slam champion going to be 33. physicality???!!! Your favorite first-rounder, men’s and women’s? You’re favorite potential round of 16 matchup and why? (just one)  Jabeur v Kvitova or Muchova v Sabalenka You’re winners and why? (men’s and women’s)  Does Gauff have a better shot at Swiatek on grass than any other surface? Has lost all 14 sets against her… (AND ONLY ONCE WON MORE THAN FOUR GAMES IN A SET V IGA) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Lucky Letcord Podcast we are joined by Noah Rubin to talk about the inspiration behind the growing tennis social media presence "Behind the Racquet." Noah talks about the origin of the Instagram page, how he shoots the raw photos, and his plans for a gallery showing down the road. He also talks about some of the emotional stories that players have revealed via Behind the Racquet and talks about its role in today's sports social media landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Lucky Letcord Podcast we are live at the BNP Paribas Open, staring down from Stadium 4 bleachers as Naomi Osaka and her team are the first once to commence practice. Just another day in tennis paradise... Join the lucky letcord for an exclusive interview with Aryna Sabalenka. The World No.9 reacts to her second-round victory over Ajla Tomljanovic and tells us why she is so darn good in third sets. She also talks about her chemistry with longtime coach Dmitry Tursunov, her memories of her epic encounter with Naomi Osaka at last year's U.S. Open and her excitement about this year's Fed Cup semis [but not about traveling to Australia for the tie in April]. After the jump we preview a busy day at Indian Wells and reflect on the Williams sisters, noting how we should never take the fact that the Williams sisters are playing Indian Wells for granted. There's also a quick look at Naomi Osaka's win over Kristina Mladenovic and a chat on the Felix Auger-Aliassime's epic win over Stefanos Tsitsipas. Thanks for joining us and don't forget to tell your friends about us if you like the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canadian tennis is off the hook in 2019 and much of the buzz is due to 18-year-old wunderkind Bianca Andreescu. The rising phenom joins Chris Oddo to talk about her breakout 2019, her eclectic style of tennis, how she feels about Simona Halep, what the vibe is like between her and Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov and how high she wants to go in the rankings in 2019. Join us for this chat and our breakdown of Friday's action at the BNP Paribas Open! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special guest Olga Savchuk drops by the Lucky Letcord Podcast to talk about her life after tennis. The Former World No.79 talks about her blossoming broadcasting career, her current role as a coach, and gives her views on the future of Ukrainian Tennis. Scroll to 4:00 to check out the interview in its entirety! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Lucky Letcord Podcast Richard Pagliaro joins to talk about Naomi Osaka's stunning split with coach Sascha Bajin. He believes that the sky is not falling for the World No.1. We also discuss the impressive title run of Gael Monfils at Rotterdam while also making a point not to overlook the notable performances put in by Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori. We take a peek at the latin swing and admit that we are both mightily impressed by Marco Cecchinato's clay-court game. And we wonder how good American Reilly Opelka might become as we discuss his breakthrough title at the New York Open. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tennis Hall of Famer Steve Flink joins the Lucky Letcord Podcast to break down the incredible performance of World No.1 Novak Djokovic at the 2019 Australian Open. Flink believes that Djokovic has what it takes to make a push for the all-time Grand Slam titles record, and he thinks that push will continue this spring on the clay. We discuss the final with Nadal and wonder what type of a monster year Djokovic will have in 2019. We discuss the amazing achievement of Naomi Osaka and wonder what makes her game so special. We look at the rise of Stefanos Tsitsipas and the fall of Sascha Zverev. What enabled Tsitsipas to make his breakthrough and what is holding Zverev back? We also talk about the shocking finish to Serena Williams' 2019 Australian Open. How will the 23-time major champion recover from her heartbreaking loss to Karolina Pliskova? Episode Specifics: 0:00 - 2:50 INTRO 2:50 Interview with Steve Flink Begins 3:40 Flink on the Final between Rafa and Nole 5:20 Was it surprising how defensive Nadal played? 6:15 How did Djokovic flip the script on Nadal's serve? 7:45 Is Djokovic ready to defeat Nadal on the terre battue? 9:30 How many Slams might Djokovic win in 2019? 11:15 Is Djokovic approaching Masters and smaller events differently now that he's focusing more on winning major titles? 16:20 What does Naomi Osaka have that the other young talents of the game don't have right now? 18:15 Is Serena Williams running out of time and what does she need to do to get back on top of the sport? 19:37 A discussion of two players that seem to be, at least in the short term, headed in different direction: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev. Thanks for listening! Please rate and review on iTUnes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lucky-letcord-podcast/id1141129184?mt=2 Join us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Gp7fldUc5oL8kZjzW9tdI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's edition of the Lucy Letcord Podcast we ring in the new year by getting pumped up for the 2019 Australian Open! Richard Pagliaro, Tennis Now's Editor joins the show to talk about several burning topics including: 1. Naomi Osaka's tennis and Naomi Osaka's mind 2. Aryna Sabalenka's brilliant run in Shenzhen 3. Speaking of Osaka and Sabalenka, which player is going to have the better season? 4. The women's game is deep, but which players standout among the early favorites for Slam glory in Melbourne (hint: Kerber) 5. Novak Djokovic is the Aussie Open favorite, but do we think less of his chances after he suffered a loss to Roberto Bautista Agut in Doha? 6. Roger Federer was brilliant at Hopman Cup and he's also a six-time champion in Melbourne. What are his chances of taking the title? 7. Kei Nishikori finally cracked the duck in Brisbane by snapping his three year title drought--does this make him a legit contender in Melbourne. 8. Hopman Cup was once again the perfect way to ring in the tennis new year -- so why then we ask does IT HAVE TO GO AWAY? We discuss its fate, and possible alternatives... Thanks for listening, please subscribe, rate and review on iTunes, and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices