👋 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: the Indian Wells semifinals are set, a special birthday celebration for Coco Gauff, John Feinstein dies at 69, and more tennis news.
Let’s tennis!
Three Points
🎾 Semifinal set-up: Carlos Alcaraz defeated Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets, setting up a semifinal match-up against Jack Draper, who defeated Ben Shelton, also in straight sets. The other semifinal was settled by Daniil Medvedev defeating Arthur Fils and Holger Rune taking down Tallon Griekspoor. The men have today off, and semifinal action will take place on Saturday. (The full rundown on today’s women’s semifinals is below.)
🎾 A special birthday message: Yesterday was Coco Gauff’s 21st birthday, and New Balance released her new shoe with an ad narrated by her grandmother and civil rights activist, Yvonne Lee Odom. It’s a message about moments, place, and people – and it warrants watching a few times to truly grasp what Odom is telling us.
🎾 In memoriam: John Feinstein, one of the country’s finest sports writers and the author of many bestselling books, died unexpectedly on Thursday at 69. Among that list of books is Hard Courts, a deep dive into the 1990 season on the ATP and WTA tours. He wasn’t beloved by all. “He was very passionate about things,” as his brother Robert Feinstein put it. “People either loved him or hated him – and equally strongly.” Still, his mark on generations of sports fans and journalists is undeniable, and this is a loss.
And, that’s game.
What They Said
I’m always proud of myself, always looking at what I’m doing and thinking that I’m doing a good job and stuff like that. Obviously in tennis you’re in a sport where there is always the next match, and you have to prove yourself every time. Certainly, for myself, my mindset… I feel like I’m never content with anything. I always want to have more wins and more opportunities to play top players... I just want to keep on progressing and keep on improving and keep on going for more success. Obviously at the end of the weeks, I look back on what I have done and I’m incredibly proud of myself, but right now it’s all about my next match.
-Jack Draper after defeating Ben Shelton on Thursday night.
Watch Both!
Today, things are a little different. We have two women’s semifinal matches, and neither one should be missed. Here’s the rundown.
🔥 Mirra Andreeva vs. Iga Swiatek (Semifinals WTA 1000 - Indian Wells): Iga Swiatek has won this tournament twice before, and this year so far she’s shown just how comfortable she is in the desert. She’s dropped no more than two games in a match until yesterday, when she defeated Qinwen Zheng straightforwardly, 6-3, 6-3. Mirra Andreeva might not have had quite the same level of dominance in all of her matches, but she hasn’t dropped a set thus far. Expect big cuts at the ball from Swiatek, while Andreeva takes her time with supreme level defending until an opportunity presents itself for her to strike her own unexpected winner. On this surface, with its high bounce, this match may come down to how well Andreeva finds opportunities to rush Swiatek and Andreeva’s first serve percentage to stave off punishing returns from Swiatek.
- The record: Andreeva and Swiatek have played twice and the record is split 1-1. Andreeva handily took the most recent meeting in the quarterfinals of Dubai 6-3, 6-3. Their previous match came last year at Cincinnati in a truly thrilling battle with Swiatek narrowly escaping 7-5 in the third.
- On the line: Andreeva wants to prove that her Dubai 1000 title was no fluke by making the final in her very next event, as well as her worthiness in the top 10 (which is where she’ll be on Monday no matter the outcome of this match). For Swiatek, the goal is a little more standard: a chance at a title by reaching the finals in tour-level play — a place she hasn’t been since Roland-Garros last year.
🔥 Madison Keys vs. Aryna Sabalenka (Semifinals WTA 1000 - Indian Wells): If you love to see heat coming off the ball every time it’s struck, this is the match for you. And, if not, watch it for the emotional battle that’s sure to bring the competitive tension. See? Win-win. Tactically, expect Sabalenka to lock Keys into crosscourt backhand patterns until Keys either rips a winner down the line, misses doing so, or gives Sabalenka a forehand in her strike zone. Those are percentages Sabalenka likes. Meanwhile, Keys will try to do the same from the forehand corner, as well as focus on her serve-plus-one to keep Sabalenka from constructing points. Who wins this one? Based on the level of play in the last couple of rounds, Keys may have a slight edge due to Sabalenka’s periodic dips.
- The record: Aryna Sabalenka leads the head-to-head record against Madison Keys 4-2. But the two matches that are on everyone’s mind — including Keys and Sabalenka — are their two most recent meetings in majors: the 2025 Australian Open final and the 2023 U.S. Open semifinal. Those are the two matches that stung the most for the defeated. How much of a role will those matches play in the psyche of each? We’ll see.
- On the line: Sabalenka may joke about revenge matches, but that’s just a defense mechanism (read: she takes them very seriously). She wants to show that even though she respects Keys, she is the top dog in this head-to-head by getting the most recent win. For Keys, she wants to prove that the Australian Open wasn’t a one-off kind of thing by defeating the number one player in the world — again.
📺 Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.
Read, Watch, Listen
- Carlos Alcaraz wants to know if it’s time for him to buy a house in the California desert.
- At The Athletic, Matt Futterman recalls the return of Serena Williams to Indian Wells.
- Now it’s Alexander Bublik’s turn with a blacked out racket. Another Babolat convert in the works?
- Next week, Bakersfield, California won’t be going by that name: it’s Tennis Town USA.
