Behind the Racquet Pod

It's Noah's 25th birthday, so the boys get together to celebrate, recap the AO, and recap the last several weeks on multiple different levels.

-Novak's GOAT status

-Naomi's GOAT status

-Brady and Aslan and what it means for "Challenger players"

-Why didn't Noah play last week.

Love from us to you. We appreciate you, very much.

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Thanks so much for the support of the Behind the Racquet Podcast. You can help by visiting patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod.

This week's guest is 23 year old Will Blumberg, who won a national title with his North Carolina Tar Heel teammates at the ITA Division 1 Men's National Indoor Championships in Champaign. His pro career got delayed by covid, but it's just around the corner. We'll talk about that transition, his prolonged collegiate career, and his relationships with some of the best in the game.

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Luke Saville and his partner Max Purcell won seven Challenger doubles titles in 2019, and moved up around 30 spots in the ATP rankings. But they received a much deserved wild card to the 2020 Australian Open, and fought their way to a Grand Slam final.

One year later, the 27 year old (HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAV!) prepares to defend those points in next week's AO; but first, he's part of Team Australia in this week's ATP Cup. It's his first international team appearance for Australia since Junior Davis Cup, when he was one of the two or three most feared players in his age group.

Sav breaks down his career, his intent with singles and doubles, and the difficulties of opportunity on the doubles side.

Big thanks to our latest patreon sponsor Keith. You can help support the cause at patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod

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When Noah Rubin and Stefan Kozlov met in the Wimbledon 2014 final, it was thought to be one of the many steps in the progression for Stefan Kozlov, at the tender age of 16. Later that year, he knocked off his first top 100 player in Tim Smyczek, on the way to a CHALLENGER FINAL in Sacramento.

Some good runs at ATP events followed, a couple Challenger titles, and then he suddenly just slowly receded away from high level tennis. It's been nearly four years since his last final, but Koz sounds like he's found a path. The 22 year old joined Noah and Mike for a reflection on his last few years.

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A quick note from your editor, Mike: There was a major issue with Noah's recorder in Delray halfway through, along with another issue which you'll hear about....so there's a noticeable audio difference when we had to switch to a cell line. Apologies, it's all we could do in a rushed situation.

Now, a big thanks to our latest patreon sponsor, Steve Quick. He and our other patreon sponsors will be receiving a special pod later this week. You can join at patreon.com/behindtheracquetpod.

The tennis world is absolutely chaotic right now. Yet here we are, embarking on another season. What's the vibe like in Delray, where Noah kicks off his season in a couple days?

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