Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️🍁
Today’s tennis mood: Heartbroken for Gabriel Diallo, but charged up for today’s line-up.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 On tap: It’s all second round all day in Toronto and Montreal today, and the line-ups are quite outstanding. The day in Montreal kicks off with a fascinating match-up between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Joao Fonseca, who hasn’t been in competition in over a month. The same goes for Roland-Garros champ Mirra Andreeva after losing in the second round of Wimbledon. There’s a tasty-looking match between Learner Tien and Gael Monfils in prime time. And let’s see what Coco Gauff’s mindset is like as she competes for the first time since her heartbreaking loss to Karolina Muchova in the semifinals of Wimbledon.
🎾 An emotional day: That was Tuesday in Montreal. The upsets of Juncheng Shang over Andrey Rublev and Yannick Hanfmann over Flavio Cobolli were one thing. But watching Jack Draper in tears on a changeover against Terence Atmane as his body — and perhaps his mind — would not cooperate was another. Taking it to a whole other level was watching Gabriel Diallo come down awkwardly on a serve, eventually forcing him to retire and leave the court in a seemingly inconsolable state. The cruelty of this sport, indeed.
🎾 Alcaraz out: Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the Cincinnati Open on Tuesday, per tournament organizers. “We know Carlos is doing everything he can to get back to playing tournaments as soon as possible,” said tournament director Bob Moran in a statement. “We wish him the best with his recovery and look forward to welcoming him back to Cincinnati in the future.”
Yes, but: With this news, and given that Alcaraz hasn’t competed since April, will he possibly play the U.S. Open? Anything is possible, I suppose. But is it advisable? Color me skeptical we’ll see him before the end of the year.
🎾 One to watch: Learner Tien vs. Gael Monfils (2nd round - ATP 1000 - Montreal): Watch this one because we don’t know how many more we have with Monfils. But also watch it because this one spells out pure fun with lots of cat-and-mouse play.
The record: This will be the first time Learner Tien and Gael Monfils face each other.
On the line: Tien has fourth-round points to defend from last year. But, more importantly, he wants to get his favorite season — the hard court season — jumpstarted after losing in the first round in Washington last week. Meanwhile, in his final months on the tour, every match means something to Monfils.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: You all were split 50-50 on Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Martin Damm. Tsitsipas won 6-4, 6-4.)
And that’s game.
