About this episode
The 14-day quarantine has lifted . . . tennis players in Melbourne and Adelaide are leaving their rooms and playing in maskless stadiums, thanks to months of sacrifice by Australians and much politicking by Tennis Australia. Throughout the 2-week quarantine, the tone and level of complaining softened (for the most part), but it was not without intrigue. We chat about Novak Djokovic's list of requests to TA on behalf of quarantined players and why the universal roasting he received was, well -- maybe a little much? We're also talking about Nadal's comments on quarantine; the Adelaide exhibition; (grudgingly) the Margaret Court carousel; and what's next. 1:20 Checking back in on the quarantiners: fact-checker Artem Sitak; plus Badosa, Tomic & Vanessa, RBA 13:45 So . . . about Adelaide 18:10 Craig Tiley says the quiet part out loud & Rafa offers an imperfect but impassioned forest-for-the-trees perspective 24:00 Peter Bodo blasts Tiley for his "imperial ambitions" and the clear inequalities between the top players and the Melbourne quarantiners 29:05 Looking at Novak Djokovic's requests (suggestions? asks?) on behalf of the Melbourne players 36:35 Margaret Court's honor from the Australian government is met with vocal criticism -- is the tide turning? 40:45 Yastremska's appeal to ITF is denied - but the Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear her doping appeal right away! 44:00 Team8 and Zverev part ways; AZ gets softball interview with BILD; AZ's crisis PR manager (and former employee of BILD) acts out on Twitter again 47:05 Et ceteras: Twitter MVP Chanda Rubin clears a troll 52:35 Adelaide exhibition: Novak disappears and reappears, the Serena-Naomi kiki, and Thiem & Nadal hitting but not giggling 54:40 Actual tennis is starting, like now!