Barely Bleating: US Open Wrap

The final Slam of the season sees Iga Swiatek troubleshoot and learn now to extend her dominance, and the coronation of the (not very) long awaited Carlos Alcaraz as a major winner and youngest male #1 in history. As always, we try to be skeptical of hype and take a fresh look at the results and what they might mean for the near future. Also at this US Open: the shambolic choice to have Supreme Court Justice Patrick McEnroe helm the women's doubles presentation, profiteering off Serena's name, and more awful revelations about sexual abuse in women’s tennis.    2:30 Iga Swiatek doesn’t always play her best but proves why she’s the dominant #1 14:40 The women’s draw gets a wonderful crop of quarterfinalists, representative of many of the year’s best 21:45 Are we in the Iga Era? How do we define a deserving number one? What do we want from women's tennis? Who cares! Sit back and watch  24:35 Men’s champ: from barely bleating to curry-ready 35:10 Frances Tiafoe! Not to say I told you so but …   42:50 Listen to Jonathan stretch a subordinate clause far past its breaking point  44:55 Women’s doubles: Krejcikova/Siniakova win the Career Slam; plus, the massive insult of Patrick McEnroe presiding over this trophy ceremony 56:10 TW: SA - Fiona Ferro’s case against her former coach puts another spotlight on abuse and exploitation in women’s tennis 60:55 Et ceteras: bootleg Serena merch, the too-late night matches, and the partisan but only partially engaged US Open crowd 69:25 WTA Finals is moving to … Texas? 73:11 Randomly, our favorite and least favorite types of pasta