Painting Lines - A Tennis Podcast

This week Aidan and Erik give a recap of this year's ATP Finals in Turin. This tournament which features the top 8 players in the world was the final chance for the highest ranked players to prove why they belonged at the top this year. For some they truly showed out, such as Taylor Fritz making a run to the championship and boosting his ranking to a career high number four. For others they struggled, with players like Carlos Alcaraz and Danil Medvedev shockingly not making it out of the group stage. The discussion covers all this and more in a very fun conversation. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik are excited to welcome Ivan Yatsuk to the podcast. Ivan is a former high level division 1 college Tennis player, playing at both the University of South Florida and Northwestern. After graduating, Ivan and his colleagues started a tennis recruiting website called recruited.pro, which is changing the game for college tennis recruiting. The conversation first delves into Ivan's tennis background, before jumping into the business side of recruited.pro and the unique service it offers up and coming tennis athletes. It's a fun one, and be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik give a recap of this year's Paris Masters which took place this last week. With some top players like Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner out, this was an opportunity for a new champion to emerge, and this became even more open after the early elimination of players like Danil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz. As the final Masters 1000 of the season, this tournament was the last chance for top players to show out and collect a big title before the season was finished, and while some players floundered, others seized their chance. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik discuss the Vienna Open and Swiss Indoors tournaments which occurred over this past week. While neither tournament featured huge names like Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, or Novak Djokovic, they still were high caliber tournaments and chances for players to show their level as this season comes to a close. Shockingly, we saw very few super high seeds end up in the final rounds of these tournaments, with favorites like Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev missing out to younger talent. With tons of new names to discuss, it was definitely exciting. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik discuss the three tournaments that occurred just after the Asian Swing's conclusion at the Shanghai Masters. The top talent was split, with most of the top 5 taking a break and not playing, while other players in the top 20 attempted to secure a 250 victory either in Kazakhstan, Belgium, or Sweden. With players like Tommy Paul and Grigor Dimitrov going at it in Stockholm, other tournaments found much more shocking players in later rounds, such as Roberto Bautsita Agut winning in Antwerp. The discussion covers each of these tournaments and considers the implications of a much older player winning a tournament at this point in his career.

This week Aidan and Erik give a recap of the 2024 Shanghai Rolex Masters. From some shock upsets through the first few rounds, to the elimination of Carlos Alcaraz, to another matchup between Danil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner, this tournament gave a lot to talk about. While the final couple of rounds went about as expected, this tournament leaves a lot to look forward to in the final couple of months of the 2024 tennis season. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik delve into the history of the Shanghai Rolex Masters, the newest Masters 1000 event on the ATP schedule. From its origin on the calendar in 2009, to past winners such as Djokovic, Murray, and Federer, this episode explains why this event is a significant part of the ATP calendar. They also give a recap on the winners of last week's tournaments in Beijing and Tokyo, and look at how those players may build into this week in Shanghai. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik discuss the first week and a half of the Asian swing, with some exciting tournaments happening last week in Hangzhou and Chengdu, while we are currently in the midst of the Tokyo and Beijing Opens. The discussion covers the shock win by Marin Cilic, the success of Chinese players so far in these events, and the players in both Japan and China this week, with far more of the high ranked players appearing in Beijing compared to Tokyo, with surprising results as well. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik discuss the Laver Cup, an annual event featuring top ATP players in a team tennis exhibition that pits the European players against players from the rest of the world. Led by captains John Mcenroe and Bjorn Borg in their final year as the laver cup captatins, we saw some of the world's best duke it out and the tournament came down to the wire. The discussion covers both the basics of what the laver cup is, who participated, and the end result, as well as going over some of the specific matches that stood out from the tournament. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik take the off week to give their responses to some of the comments they have received on social media posts. From discussing fun nicknames to considering the place of Tennis in the Olympics, these comments give a fun perspective on what other tennis fans think about some of the painting lines posts. A fun discussion about comparing different tennis eras also ensues. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik discuss the final few rounds and eventual winner of the 2024 US Open Championships. After a wild first week with two massive upsets that shocked the tennis world, week two picked up from the wreckage, with top seeds dealing with unexpected opponents in later rounds, while shock runs from low seeds made for an exciting buildup to the championship, where we nearly saw the first American Slam Champion in over 20 years. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik discuss the first week at the US Open, recapping one of the most shocking tournaments in recent memory, with top seeds and favorites Alcaraz and Djokovic both making early exits, leading to an unexpected draw in which unseeded players and low seeds have made deep runs, along with a few different americans showing out at their home grand slam. They go through round by round giving their thoughts on the biggest matches from each round, before previewing the last few rounds and matchups they are excited to see. Be sure to check back next week for an update on how the tournament ended up!

This week Aidan and Erik give their thoughts on the Sinner doping scandal that shocked the tennis world this past week. Should he be banned? Is it fair to other players? Was it covered up? The guys give their thoughts as well as giving an update on the return of Nick Kyrgios and more in this fun episode. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik recap the 2024 Cincinnati Masters, one of the most wild tournaments of the year. What stood out the most were the number of issues that occurred between players and the chair umpires, as well as shocking upsets and runs from players like Frances Tiafoe who were not expected to do well in this tournament. So as we build toward the last Grand Slam of the year, how will this momentum go in NYC?. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik recap the 2024 Canadian Masters which took place this past week in Montreal. From top seeds like Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas being eliminated in their first matches, to the crazy runs from players like Matteo Arnaldi and Sebastian Korda, this tournament had its fair share of unexpected outcomes which makes this an episode you do not want to miss. What happened in this tourney could give us an idea of what to expect from this summer hardcourt season overall in the buildup to the US Open and in the Asian swing later in the autumn. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik recap Men's Tennis at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Novak Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz to win the gold medal. This was a tournament that Djokovic said he had his eye on for the full year but after going titleless to this point it seemed he may not be able to pull it off, especially after undergoing surgery prior to Wimbledon. They discuss upsets from the tournament, some players that are trending up and down, and close it out with some comments on the Washington DC tournament and the Olympics overall. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik discuss a few different topics, from the tournaments that finished up last week, to the start of the olympics, to other rarely covered topics on this pod like doubles. With so much going on it can be tough to follow, so check in here to stay up to date with all the wild stuff going on in the ATP Tour. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik discuss a busy week on the tour, giving updates from four different tournaments on both grass and hard courts. From Nadal making a great run in Bastad, to upsets of Ruud and Rublev, to young players like Fils and Michelsen showing that the next generation of tennis has arrived, it was a great week of tennis. As we build into the olympic games, Djokovic searches for his final accomplishment while we will be saying goodbye to Andy Murray. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik give a recap of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships final few rounds from the quarterfinals to the final and also talk about some notable things that happened during the tournament. While in the end it felt as though the tournament went very much how it was expected to, there were some interesting matches in these last few rounds that kept the tournament exciting. Be sure to check back next week for another episode!

This week Aidan and Erik give an update on the first week of Wimbledon, which went generally as expected. The so called "early upsets" were generally against players who were not truly title contenders and often struggle on grass. Conversely, the majority of the title favorites survived through to the quarterfinals or at least through a few rounds, so despite the tournament having many exciting matches, the results were generally unsurprising.