Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️🍁
Today’s tennis mood: Anxious over match choices, but ready for whatever presents itself.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 On tap: It’s semifinals day! In both places. At the same time. 🫤 Yes, there’s an hour difference in the start times, but come on. There are some really exciting matches, and we’re going to have to make some hard choices. We’ve got Brandon Nakashima vs. Rafa Jodar on, which will be overlapped by Elina Svitolina vs. Iga Swiatek after an hour. Then Learner Tien vs. Ben Shelton and Coco Gauff vs. Elena Rybakina. What’s your set-up for this scenario? Hit reply and let me know.
🎾 ICYMI: For the most part, yesterday’s matches were a bit bizarre — straightforward wins with the kind of scorelines you expect to see in the first or second round, not in the quarterfinals of a 1000 event. However, there were two interesting battles worth some attention.
Elena Rybakina defeated Naomi Osaka 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Rafael Jodar defeated Arthur Fils 7-6, 6-3.
🎾 One to watch: Coco Gauff vs. Elena Rybakina (Semifinals - WTA 1000 - Toronto): Watch this one for a level check on both players. Rybakina has struggled every round thus far. Meanwhile, Gauff has buzzed right through her matches (and won by walkover against Bencic). How will each handle taking on a fellow top-fiver? Even though they somehow haven’t played each other in years, we know what to expect: Rybakina hitting big and Gauff forcing Rybakina to hit one more ball to draw errors. How will Gauff’s serve and forehand hold up? We’ll see!
The record: Coco Gauff leads the head-to-head record over Elena Rybakina 2-0. However, the last time these two played was four years ago at this very tournament in Toronto.
On the line: For both players, this is a confidence match following an erratic spring and early summer.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 80% of you called for Arthur Fils to defeat Rafael Jodar. Jodar won 7-6, 6-3.)
And that’s game.
