👋 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, we’ve got: a changing Novak Djokovic, Qinwen wants friends (maybe), Stefanos Tsitsipas gets practical, Jack Draper vs. Jenson Brooksby, and other news from Indian Wells.

Let’s tennis!

Three Points

🎾 One change we didn’t see coming: To call Novak Djokovic’s loss to Botic van de Zandschulp on Saturday a shock doesn’t quite capture the full experience of what happened. The Dutchman, who got in the draw as a lucky loser, has been known to pull off some amazing upsets. And Djokovic, who is just shy of 38 years old, hasn’t been himself physically or form-wise for some time. Still, what makes the difference is how Djokovic is outwardly expressing his self-view, which borderlines on pre-retirement talk: “Things are different, obviously, for me the last couple of years. I’ve been struggling to play on the desired level. Every now and then, I have a couple of good tournaments, but, you know, mostly it’s really a challenge. It’s a struggle for me.”

🎾 Down a break: On Sunday, Iga Swiatek sent Dayana Yastremska packing in just over an hour 6-0, 6-2. But Yastremska almost didn’t have the chance to unpack in the first place, according to the 24-year-old Ukranian. An unknown person claiming to be Yastremska filed a false report that her passport was lost, which triggered a flag in the system and automated a deportation order.

  • What she said: “[M]y passport was right there in my hands and had never been missing,” Yastremska told Ukrainian Tennis BTU. “They stamped my visa as canceled, and honestly, at that moment I thought, ‘That's it—I’m done, heading back home.’” She added: “After four tense hours, they gave me a document allowing me to stay in the U.S. for six months, after which I’d need to renew my visa. It was stressful and intense—straight out of a movie.”

🎾 Coming out of isolation: Qinwen Zheng has made it clear that she isn’t on the WTA Tour to make friends. But maybe her stance is starting to soften. After her win over Lulu Sun on Sunday, Zheng said she might be open to tennis friendships after all.

  • What she said: “Actually, there are two people in the tennis community whom I really want to befriend. But I haven’t taken that step yet. I’ll talk about it once I do.”
  • Previously: “My answer is very clear: I prefer to always keep distance with players...If I become friends with someone and I have to compete with them on court, I feel I’m not able 100% focused and fighting. Once I figured out that, I decided don’t try to make a friend on tour...”