👋 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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Today’s tennis mood: Absolutely buzzing with just a touch of side-eye.

Let’s tennis!

Four Points

🎾 Day four: We’re into the fourth day of the ATP Tour Finals in Turin, with a do-or-die moment for Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime, who are both 0-1 in the group stage. Still, we’ve got a full line-up of two singles matches and two doubles matches on tap today.

Turin - ATP Tour Finals (Hard)

  • Ben Shelton vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime (Round Robin)
  • Jannik Sinner vs. Alexander Zverev (Round Robin)
  • Heliovaara/Patten vs. Salisbury/Skupski (Round Robin)
  • Arevalo-Gonzalez/Pavic vs. Harrison/King (Round Robin)

Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.

🎾 On the board: Lorenzo Musetti earned his first-ever win at the ATP Tour Finals by defeating Alex de Minaur in a thrilling three-setter, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, in which he was down 3-5 in the final set.

  • What he said: “I was really struggling physically because Alex raised the level and intensity and I was really struggling to find the solution,” Musetti said after the match. “But at the end with a big heart and big passion for this game, I don’t know from where, I started to feel better and play better and the support of the crowd is amazing. I have to thank them all.”
  • Next: Musetti faces Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday.

🎾 On the other side of the net: Alex de Minaur had a very difficult set of circumstances playing Musetti before a home crowd. But in his loss, there is one thing that is always true when it comes to de Minaur: He displays the absolute best of the Aussie competitive spirit. No excuses. No whining. He looks his opponent in the eye, shakes hands, and shows respect. That said, what came after the match was pure, raw honesty.

  • What he said: “If I really want to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these matches, I can’t lose them. I just can’t,” De Minaur said in his post-match press conference. “I mean, it feels like I’ve lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it’s getting to a point where mentally it's killing me.” He added: “I just [need to] win these matches. It’s something that if it doesn’t get sorted, it’s going to eat me alive. I need to get it sorted sooner rather than later. I don’t know how many times I can deal with a loss like this one.”
  • Next: Alex de Minaur, 0-2 in round-robin play, will face Taylor Fritz on Thursday.

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