Assessing Greatness: The Art & Craft of Tennis, Great Sports Writing, & Top 5 Lists

Assessing Greatness: The Art & Craft of Tennis, Great Sports Writing, & Top 5 Lists

Author: BLISTER July 12, 2023 Duration: 1:04:22

Today’s conversation explores the broader question of how to assess greatness? To get there, Jonathan Ellsworth and Troy Russ discuss the art & craft of tennis (and whether it is the greatest of all sports?); the art & craft of great sports writing (and whether David Foster Wallace’s essay, Roger Federer as Religious Experience is the pinnacle of the form?); and finally, we discuss Troy’s Top 5 All-Time Tennis Players, which leads us back into the big question of how to think about assessing greatness in any sport.

TOPICS & TIMES:

Troy’s Tennis Background & Playing Andre Agassi (5:59)

Tennis — the Greatest Sport? (9:07)

David Foster Wallace: Roger Federer as Religious Experience (18:40)

Watching Tennis on TV vs In-Person (25:32)

Troy’s Top 5 Men’s Tennis Players (29:56)

Troy’s Top 5 Women’s Tennis Players (49:55)

Plot Twist: Re-Ranking the Top 5 (55:49)

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There's a particular kind of conversation that happens when someone has dedicated their life to making something tangible, driven by obsession over details most of us overlook. CRAFTED, from BLISTER, is built on those conversations. Each episode moves beyond a simple product review to explore the entire ecosystem of creation, whether the subject is a meticulously roasted coffee, a complex whiskey, a precision timepiece, or a bold new wine. You'll hear directly from the individuals who define these fields-brewers, distillers, founders, and artisans who started their ventures not because it was easy, but because they couldn't imagine doing anything else. This podcast digs into the raw materials, the failed experiments, the business risks taken on a principle, and the quiet triumphs that happen long before a product reaches a shelf. It’s about the philosophy embedded in the process as much as the technical skill. Tuning in feels less like listening to an interview and more like pulling up a stool in a workshop or a tasting room, offering an intimate look at the patience, setbacks, and unwavering standards that transform a simple idea into a crafted object. The stories are specific, but the themes of creativity, resilience, and entrepreneurial spirit are universal, connecting anyone who appreciates the depth behind a well-made thing.
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