The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The big news this week is that Sharapova will not play Roland Garros, as she was denied a wild card by the French Federation. There's so much tennis news to talk about that we've broken it down into good, bad, and ugly. And man, is there a lot of bad and ugly. But first: Rafa beats Djokovic for this first time since 2014 and wins his third consecutive title.
1:20 The Good: Rafa beats Novak in Madrid - sizing up Rafa and Novak's form
7:30 Hard-hitting Madrid men's final 12:25 Thiem's tournament: looking at Thiem vs. Dimitrov 15:15 Women's final and Mladenovic's endless stream of blunt commentary 22:00 Roland Garros is wide open on the women's side - is there room for Venus? 24:20 Other good: coaching changes, Madrid ball MEN, Schiavone has another great run 28:30 The Bad: Bouchard keeps it petty, with cameos from Maria and Serena 35:00 Juan Monaco announces his retirement 36:15 Federer withdraws from RG 37:45 What to make of the rule changes for the Next Gen Finals? 45:25 Also bad: the two no. 1s are not doing so hot 47:50 The Ugly: persona non grata Nastase hands out the Madrid trophy to Simona ... is Simona problematic? 52:30 Burying the lede: Sharapova will not get a wild card to Roland Garros, main draw or qualifying 56:15 WTA CEO blasts the French Federation, but is their decision technically a "penalty?" Nah.