2024 was a year of new beginnings, and bittersweet ends. Andre, Vansh, and Owen discuss the careers of several incredible players who announced their retirement this year, reminiscing of fantastic matches they played, their game styles, and what value they brought to the tennis world.

Rafael Nadal, the eternal Clay GOAT, but so much more.

Garbiñe Muguruza, who did all that a tennis player could dream of, and leaves tennis enjoying full health and a well deserved rest.

Angelique Kerber, an unorthodox player who probably overachieved, and will forever be one of the greatest defenders tennis has ever seen.

Andy Murray, the only one who could possibly challenge the Big 3 consistently, and carved a space where he alone stands in history.

Dominic Thiem, who had his career stolen by injuries, but reach such heights that will leave fans in awe of his on-court aggressive mindset forever.

And dang, what the heck, Andy Murray is already back on the Tour coaching Novak Djokovic. What?

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The ATP Tour 2024 Season was defined in good and concerning ways by Jannik Sinner, the undisputed World No.1. The doping case still looms, but the Italian make the most of his opportunities to finish the year as the World No.1 and take home two Grand Slams, tied with his main rival, Carlos Alcaraz.

Join Vansh and hall of famer Steve Flink in a back-and-forth conversation about the top players in the world, who's risen to the occasion in 2024, who might struggle and who might dominate in 2025!

Lastly, stay for conversations on what Novak Djokovic still has in store (now with Andy Murray as his coach) and a look back on Rafael Nadal's legendary career, on clay and the other surfaces.

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Join Steve Flink and Vansh for the recap of the US Open 2024!

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Join Steve Flink and Vansh for the recap of the US Open 2024!

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Follow Tennis and Bagels: Twitter @TennisAndBAGELS

Andre Rolemberg @RolembergAndre

Vansh Vermani @vanshv2k

Owen Lewis @tennisnation

Owen's The Golden Rivalry: follow all chapters as they are released on substack!

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At just 21 years old, Carlos Alcaraz adds a fourth Grand Slam title to his name, and a second Wimbledon no less. Though taking on a diminished, post-knee-surgery Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz still proved why he is at the top of the game, and even though Djokovic had enough in him to reach his first final of the year after a major scare at the French Open, it would take nothing but his best to beat the Spaniard.

Join Steve Flink and Vansh for the recap of the tournament!

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Vansh sits down with his traditional post major chat with Hall of Famer Steve Flink to recap all things Roland Garros. They discuss Carlos Alcaraz’s incredible achievement of winning a major on all surfaces at the age of 21 and dissect the 2 sets to 1 comebacks against Sinner and Zverev in the semifinals and finals. Other topics include a discussion on will Zverev ever win a major, Djokovic’s uncertain future and his escapes against Musetti and Cerundolo, Jannik Sinner’s tournament and his rivalry with Alcaraz, and thoughts on Rafael Nadal at the Olympics.

They also discuss Iga Swiatek and where her 5th major title triumph puts her in tennis history, an analysis of the Osaka-Swiatek R2 epic, thoughts on Coco Gauff, and a look ahead to the grass season for the WTA. A plethora of topics jam packed into a great tennis discussion that you don’t want to miss.

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The Madrid Open is known for being the clay court tournament where big hitters and big servers get a chance to beat the best clay court players. And it seems like Aryna Sabalenka was right on that path, beating Iga Swiatek in the 2023 final and clawing her way into the 2024 final again vs the World No.1 - but this time, the Pole had an answer.

The epic women's tournament in Madrid held the entire thing together, to be honest. The men's side was hampered with many withdrawals and injuries, including champion Andrey Rublev's illness which almost cost him the title. In what was probably the match of the year (with still a good number of great tournaments to come) Iga Swiatek was able to overcome the powerful Sabalenka, the reigning Australian Open champion and two-time defending champion in Madrid. Swiatek did not have it easy, though: three match points came and were erased by a clutch Siwatek before she finally was able to cross the finish line after three hours, 20 minutes of pure drama and tennis of the most exquisite quality. Now, Swiatek has completed her clay court set, winning the only big clay tournament that was left for her, having won Rome two times and Roland Garros three times.

For the men's while things looked a little less exciting (and downright worrying) due to injuries and withdrawals, we still got to experience some good stories, matches and drama. Firstly, Rafael Nadal, who is likely in his farewell tour, reached the fourth round with majestic wins over Aelx De Minaur and Pedro Cachin before succumbing to a flawless Jiri Lehecka. Is there still something special in the King of Clay for 2024?

Secondly, while Alcaraz was clearly hindered by some injury in his arm he still gave everything he had, beating Jan Lennard Struff in a rematch of last year's final, and pushing Rublev to three sets. maybe the effort was too much though, as he is not playing in Rome, and is still a question mark for Roland Garros.

Finally, we cannot forget the heroics of Andrey Rublev, who overcame many an adversity to win his second ATP Masters 1000 title, arguably the greatest of all coming in the final match: a quite debilitating illness, and a healthy and fresh Felix Auger Aliassime, who himself enjoyed a particularly odd way to the final with two mid-match retirements and a withdrawal (Jannik Sinner, no less). While no match of the year, at least the fans were entertained by a good fight in a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 win from Rublev.

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This week, Vansh and Andre have a chat about their thoughts on the current clay season progress. Notably, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud have reached the Monte Carlo and Barcelona finals back to back, with the Greek winning Monte Carlo and the Norwegian taking the Barcelona crown for his biggest title to date. On the women's side, Elena Rybakina fought hard to win the Stuttgart indoor clay title, with a win over two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in what was possibly the best match of the week.

With Carlos Alcaraz's withdrawals due to injury, Novak Djokovic's current lack of proper form (and a title in 2024,) ths ATP side of things is looking rather intriguing ahead of Madrid, and, most of all, Rome, as it is the closest in conditions to Roland Garros. Who will emerge as the top contender? Can Rafael Nadal find yet another title on the Parisian clay?

And though Iga Swiatek lost, it's still the same: Rome will define who is truly in the best form for the French Open - although so far we feel pretty confident in the 3-time Roland Garros champion to win the title. That is, if one of Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, and Coco Gauff don't step up to dethrone the World Number 1, or even a rising star in potentially Marta Kostyuk and a finally stable Emma Raducanu.

We also have a quick look back into the achievements and career of Garbine Muguruza, who just announced her retirement from professional tennis in a press conference this past week. Happy retirement!

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