👋 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.

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On tap today: Coco Gauff learned Brad Gilbert’s lesson, Jannik Sinner was on a tear, WTA chairman Steve Simon sets retirement, Carlos Alcaraz takes on Lorenzo Musetti, Jannik Sinner takes on Tommy Paul, plus more in tennis news today.

Let’s tennis!

Three Points

🎾 A lesson learned: It’s been eight months since Coco Gauff ended her partnership with Brad Gilbert. But in her 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 win on Thursday against Qinwen Zheng, she exemplified the lesson Gilbert wanted her to learn the most: Coco Gauff does not need to play her best tennis to win. Indeed, she didn’t. It was winning ugly at its best (ugliest?). In a night match under heavy conditions that lasted more than three-and-a-half hours, neither player could make inroads by playing aggressive tennis. Instead, they had to rely on drawing unforced errors. And there were plenty of those.

  • By the numbers: Gauff racked up 82 unforced errors while claiming only 28 winners. She also accumulated 15 double faults — nearly four games worth — against only two aces.
  • What she said: “I was just trying to go for every point,” Gauff said after the match. “I knew before it was going to be a physical match. Last time we played was over three hours.” She added: “Overall, I’m just happy. Wasn’t my best level at all, to be honest. Just happy to get through it and through to another final.”
  • All focus: Gauff was so focused on her side of the net, sometimes she didnt’ even know what was happening on the other side.
  • Next: Coco Gauff faces Jasmine Paolini in the final on Saturday.

🎾 Demolition Man: In The Daily Theory yesterday, we called out the Jannik Sinner vs. Casper Ruud match, suggesting it would be a good temperature check match for both players going into Roland-Garros. The reading came back, and it’s blue hot! For Jannik Sinner, that is. He absolutely demolished Ruud in just over an hour, 6-0, 6-1.

  • By the numbers: Yes, Sinner was dominating before his suspension, but this was a whole other level. 77 points were played; he won 55 of them. 22 were from winners; 14 were from forced errors.
  • What he said: “I was feeling great on the court today. I think we all saw that. My goal was to try to understand where my level is at this tournament. It raised day by day, so I’m very happy about that. The result doesn’t really matter, but I felt today was a very positive sign for me,” Sinner said after the match.
  • A bit of humility: “Everything can change in one day. It’s not that one performance can tell everything about my shape now, but I’m very happy,” said Sinner. “I think today everything worked very well. I was serving well, also returning well, and moving great on the court. I’m very happy about that and now let’s see what’s coming in the semis.”

🎾 Stepping down: The WTA announced that its chairman, Steve Simon, will be stepping down at the end of the year, following 10 years with the organization.

  • What he said: “Since day one, I have worked to deliver positive change and growth for women’s tennis, to advance the WTA values of progress, opportunity and empowerment, and to promote dialogue and collaboration between players, tournaments and partners across the game,” Simon said in a statement. “I am proud of what we have accomplished and look forward to watching the continued rise of women’s tennis in years to come.”
  • An assessment: During his tenure, Simon has generally been regarded as a well-liked individual. However, his direction of the WTA Tour has also been viewed as a step or two behind the times, a lack of understanding of the tour’s power against governments, and the inability to initiate the necessary deals to make the WTA Tour a success.

And, that’s game.

What They Said

It doesn’t feel so bad...Honestly, I think it was more fun than anything, even though I lost love and one, it’s like you just look at the guy and say: ‘Wow, this is kind of next-level shit.’ Excuse my language. I don’t know what else to say. It was almost fun to witness at the same time. Of course, I wish it was a closer match. I wish I could have given the people, the fans, a longer or closer match. But I think that I was there ready to play, he was just even readier.

-Casper Ruud on what it was like facing Jannik Sinner at that level of performance.

Watch These!

🔥 Carlos Alcaraz vs. Lorenzo Musetti (Semifinals ATP 1000 - Rome):

  • The record: Carlos Alcaraz leads the head-to-head record over Lorenzo Musetti, 4-1. They faced off a few weeks ago in the final of Monte Carlo in which Musetti took the first set before hitting the wall, only winning one game in the next two sets.
  • On the line: Alcaraz wants to face his rival, Jannik Sinner, in the final. But he’ll have to make his way through a tough opponent on his home turf first. As for Musetti, he’s looking for a redo on the Monte Carlo final, while also establishing himself as the most consistent performer going into Roland-Garros.

🔥 Tommy Paul vs. Jannik Sinner (Semifinals ATP 1000 - Rome):

  • The record: Jannik Sinner leads the head-to-head over Tommy Paul, 3-1. Paul’s sole win was on grass, but their only meeting on clay was in Madrid three years ago — a three-set battle that included two tiebreaks.
  • On the line: Tommy Paul has had a great run in Rome, but the only way he sees a rankings bump is if he gets through Sinner because he reached the semis last year, too. Meanwhile, Sinner is looking to make a statement upon his return. He made one yesterday against Casper Ruud, but he wants to face Alcaraz in the final.
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