👋 Welcome back to The Daily Theory, our morning rundown to help you stay on top of your favorite sport. I’m Allen McDuffee, your guide to all things tennis.
On tap today: Carlos Alcaraz hopes to play in Madrid while his Netflix docuseries drops, Coco Gauff has a new doubles partner in Robin Montgomery, Rafa doesn’t miss tennis, Jaume Munar takes on Roberto Bautista Agut, plus more in tennis news.
Let’s tennis!
Four Points
🎾 The Alcaraz report: Carlos Alcaraz said he feels physically prepared to play in Madrid this week, but he will wait for test results before making the final call. The 21-year-old Spaniard required medical treatment to his upper thigh during his straight-set loss to Holger Rune in the final of Barcelona on Sunday.
- What he said: “I feel fine physically,” Alcaraz said on Tuesday. “I’ve had tests, and we’ll see what the results say. I’m used to playing with discomfort, so let’s hope I can play and enjoy Madrid.”
- Count on it: One thing for sure is that tournament organizers will make sure Alcaraz has the most favorable schedule possible to increase his chances of playing before a home crowd that so desperately wants to send him on the road to defend his title at Roland-Garros.
🎾 Speaking of Alcaraz: Today is the release date of the Carlos Alcaraz Netflix miniseries, Carlos Alcaraz: My Way. Will it be the thing that connects potential new tennis fans to the sport? Or will it go the way of Break Point? Let’s hope it’s the former, while also giving insight to all of us existing fans out there.
🎾 New partner: Coco Gauff has a new doubles partner this week in Robin Montgomery. The two are playing for the first time in Madrid, after Gauff’s longtime partner Jessica Pegula said last week that they are unlikely to reunite.
- What’s next: The new pair of Gauff and Montgomery won’t have a moment to settle in as they face fellow Americans and the number four seeds, Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk, in the first round.
🎾 Still getting a laugh: Denis Shapovalov still can’t quite get over the celebration that German teenager Diego Dedura-Palomero displayed after their meeting in Munich last week ended in the Canadian’s retirement. On the practice court in Madrid this week, Shapo reenacted the celebration while Dedura-Palomero was on the next court. 👀
And, that’s game.
What They Said
The truth is that I don’t miss tennis. Zero. I don’t miss it at all. But not because I finished tired of tennis or fighting against tennis, not at all. I finished my career happy, and if I could have, I would have carried on, because I loved what I was doing…It’s just that when you realize that physically you can’t do it anymore… you try to close that chapter. And I closed it.
-Rafael Nadal reflecting on his post-retirement life at the Laureus Sports Awards in Madrid.
Watch This!
🔥 Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Jaume Munar (1st round ATP 1000 - Madrid): Two Spaniards facing off on the clay of Madrid? Yes, please. Based on their history, this should be a dramatically competitive match. Expect Munar to deliver heavy body blows to wear down Bautista Agut, while Bautista Agut uses his clever shot-making as the centerpiece of his strategy.
- The record: Roberto Bautista Agut leads the head-to-head over Jaume Munar 2-1. All three matches have been on clay, and they’ve all been tough battles. Munar won the most recent one — a four-set match at last year’s Roland-Garros.
- On the line: More than anything, for both of them, this is about pride in front of a home crowd. But with a 10-year gap between them, this match means significantly different things at their respective stages of their careers. At 27, Munar is trying to regain the forward momentum he had a handful of years ago and break into the top 50 for the first time. And Bautista Agut wants to have that winning feeling a few more times as he winds down his career.
On The Radar
More tennis matches we’re monitoring today:
Madrid - WTA 1000 (Clay)
- Katie Volynets vs. Petra Kvitova (1st round)
- Nuno Borges vs. Pablo Carreno Busta (1st round)
- Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. Mariano Navone (1st round)
- Suzan Lamens vs. Emma Raducanu (1st round)
- McCartney Kessler vs. Bianca Andreescu (1st round)
- Gael Monfils vs. Borna Gojo (1st round)
- Alex Michelsen vs. Alexander Bublik (1st round)
- Federico Cina vs. Coleman Wong (1st round)
- Benjamin Bonzi vs. Marin Cilic (1st round)
- Francesca Jones vs. Dayana Yastremska (1st round)
- Jaqueline Adina Cristian vs. Sonay Kartal (1st round)
- Roman Safuillin vs. Arthur Rinderknech (1st round)
- Alycia Parks vs. Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (1st round)
- Moyuka Uchijima vs. Robin Montgomery (1st round)
- Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs. Ann Li (1st round)
📺 Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.
Read, Watch, Listen
- In Madrid, Jack Draper stands up for Jannik Sinner: “In terms of actually how I feel about him as a person, I think it’s important for people to know and recognize that the guy’s very, very kind-hearted and a good human being. So he doesn’t deserve any of the hate that he gets.”
- At The Athletic, Matt Futterman profiles Ethan Quinn with a lingering question in mind: Was turning pro after his freshman a mistake?
- With Naomi Osaka signing on executive producer, Leonardo Van Dijl’s film Julie Keeps Quiet takes on the difficult topic of sexual abuse in sports.
- Garbine Muguruza retired from tennis a year ago. She thought she’d disappear for a few years. That didn’t last long.
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