US Op-ocalypse 2017: A Mid-Major Chat Featuring Rene Denfeld

Despite the missing stars, the 2017 US Open has offered no scarcity of big stories: Sharapova's return, Peak Petra defeating Muguruza, Venus' continued good form at majors, and the excitement around Denis Shapovalov. We're so excited to welcome back the insightful Rene Denfeld to the show. The Tennis Twitter-lebrity is covering the US Open for the first time as a journalist, and he shares his thoughts on Sharapova, Fognini, the draws, and what it's like to be there.

 

:35 What a day: James just got Twitter famous, Venus won, and Maria lost

8:00 The great women's round of 16s

11:00 Unpacking Sharapova - the scheduling, the "shade," the reception; or as James calls it, "a feeling of grossness"

21:45 Roger and Rafa's rocky starts to the tournament

26:15 The wild men's bottom half - Querrey, Anderson, PCB or Schwartzman in a major final

29:00 The Shapovalov hype!

33:00 #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas Fabio does Fabio. There's a reason that fogna means sewer

38:00 The problem with "I'm only here for the handshake"

42:10 The wonderful Rene Denfeld is back on the pod, straight from Queens

50:40 Talking with Rene about the weird men's draw, Shapo, Rafa's slow starts

1:00:30 What's it like to be on camera as a reporter? (Rene gets gif-ed)

1:03:50 Did you know? Rene was responsible for Naomi Osaka's excellent 'mesothelioma' monologue

1:08:30 Rene's favorite moments so far