👋 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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Let’s tennis!

Four Points

🎾 One match, two wins: On Sunday evening, Alex de Minaur came back from a set down and saved three match points to take the title in Washington with a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. But de Minaur also won the hearts of tennis fans as he consoled a completely devastated Davidovich Fokina over his inability to claim his first title by closing out the match, serving at 5-3 in the third set, and then with three match points on de Minaur’s serve.

  • What he said: “Alejandro, you’re way too good not to have one of these, it’s coming for sure,” de Minaur said, motioning toward the trophy. “You deserved it today, I just got lucky. You are a hell of a competitor, hell of a player. No one on the tour wants to play you. And this is not the end, this is only going on for you.”
  • Yes, but: Aside from de Minaur’s kind words, it was his actions on the sidelines that caught attention.
  • Intriguing: I had a bit of analysis ready to go, but a Court Theory reader put it much more succinctly on Bluesky: “What I’m more interested in than ‘Foki choked’ is the dichotomy between Demon, who never believes he is beaten and Foki who loses all belief in his abilities when faced with the prospect of winning. Fascinating. But the level Demon brought in the 5-4 game should not be overlooked.”

🎾 Dinner of champions: Leylah Fernandez took down Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina on her way to winning the title in Washington on Sunday. But how did she recover from some of the longest battles in that DC summer heat? Shake Shack, of course.

  • What she said: “We got burgers, hot dog, cheese fries — everything that an athlete should not eat before a match, but it did the trick,” Fernandez said about what she ate after the Townsend match. “It gave me the right nutrients to recover from the cramps and get ready for the next round.”
  • The numbers: Fernandez jumped up 12 spots in the rankings to 24 in the world.
  • Next: In Montreal on Tuesday, Fernandez plays Maya Joint in the first round for the second week in a row.

🎾 Moving on: Naomi Osaka has split with coach Patrick Mouratoglou ahead of the hard court swing after working together for less than a year.

  • What she said: “Merci Patrick. It was such a great experience learning from you. Wishing you nothing but the best. You are one of the coolest people I’ve ever met and I’m sure I’ll see you around,” Osaka posted on social media.
  • Noteworthy: Osaka began working with Mouratoglou when her confidence was at an all-time low. Once that was reestablished, she needed substance, and it’s not at all clear Mouratoglou was able to provide it.
  • Next: Osaka faces Canadian qualifier Ariana Aresenault in the first round of Montreal on Monday.
  • The Court Theory report: I’ll be on the ground today and will do my best to see who is on the court with her during her practice session.

🎾 The Montreal report: It was Family Day on opening day at the National Bank Open in Montreal, and it was truly delightful to see so many kids excited about our sport. One, in particular, caught my eye: a Black girl about six years old, cheering her head off for Victoria Mboko. On a changeover, her parents pulled her close to tell her: Do you see this? You can do this, too. You can do anything. 🥹